Category: Politics

Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) – At least 43 aid workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since early last year amid an escalation of fighting between troops and Tamil separatists, the Asian Human Rights Commission said on Thursday. The AHRC said that another 14 people had gone missing since January 2006 as the government and […]

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) – Top military intelligence chiefs from 19 nations gathered here Wednesday for the first time to discuss terrorism, maritime security and disaster relief. “This is an opportunity for the intelligence chiefs from all these countries to get together to talk about areas of mutual cooperation and how we can […]

PORT BLAIR, India, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) – A massive naval drill opens in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday with warships from the United States and four other nations flexing their muscle in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Twenty-seven ships and submarines from the United States, Australia, Japan and Singapore will join seven […]

Sept 04, 2007 (LBO) – The European Union has told Sri Lanka to ensure there are no more human rights abuses while the government has said its recent military actions were only to defend against Tamil Tiger terrorism. EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner has told Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama […]

Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) – Troops in Sri Lanka have blocked a key supply route used by the Tamil Tigers in possible preparation for a delayed major assault on the rebels’ northern heartland, military experts said Monday. The military has been trying to break into the stronghold, the Wanni, for weeks but took some nearby […]

Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) – At least 34 people have “disappeared” in Sri Lanka over the past three weeks, the Red Cross said Monday ahead of a United Nations meeting to discuss the island’s human rights record.More than 5,400 people have been killed in clashes since December 2005 in an ethnic conflict that has claimed […]

PARIS, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan embassy in Paris claimed Monday that Tamil Tiger rebels vandalised its flag ahead of a visit by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama later this week.In a statement denouncing “intimidatory tactics” by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the embassy said “LTTE agents” destroyed its flag pole and […]

Sept 2, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Sunday that troops have consolidated a hold on territory seized from Tamil rebels during intense weekend fighting that the guerrillas said killed nine civilians.Security forces seized territory that had been held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) just south of Mannar in the northwest of […]

Sept 2, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Sunday that troops captured a Tamil Tiger naval base during a weekend advance into rebel-held territory the guerrillas said nine civilians died.The two sides have been locked in combat since 1972, with the Tigers fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils. The 35-year-old ethnic conflict has […]

August 31, 2007 (LBO) – The mistakes of Sri Lanka and other newly independent ‘failed states’ made Singapore go in a different direction, its founding prime minister told the International Herald Tribune (IHT) in an interview. Lee Kwan Yew, now minister mentor, said when Singapore broke off from the Malayan Federation it had a hostile […]

Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) – Dozens of Sri Lankan journalists took to the streets Thursday to condemn censorship and support a columnist who exposed alleged corruption in the purchase of second-hand supersonic jets.Reporters, cameramen and editors carried placards and chanted slogans outside the main railway station in Colombo, expressing solidarity with Iqbal Athas of the […]