Category: Politics

May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday accused government forces of killing a senior field commander in the island’s restive eastern region at the weekend, a pro-rebel website said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said their chief intelligence operative in the region — identified as Ramanan — was gunned […]

May 22, 2006 (AFP) – A United Nations agency Monday condemned the bombing of international aid agencies in Sri Lanka and said it was appalled by the continuing “despicable attacks”. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka said grenade attacks on three non-governmental organisations in the Trincomalee district Sunday injured one international staff […]

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – An elderly Sri Lankan fisherman described Monday how gunmen shot dead six members of his family on a navy-controlled northern Sri Lankan islet and left him wounded in both legs.The man, 61, lies on a hospital bed at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital with white bandages around both […]

May 21, 2006 (AFP) – The chief negotiator for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels warned Sunday that an imminent European ban on the group could scuttle future peace negotiations, as artillery duels continued in front-line regions.London-based Anton Balasingham said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam would retreat from talks with the government if they are […]

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, May 21, 2006 (AFP) – Refugees who fled after an alleged military massacre on a northern Sri Lanka islet arrived at the inland Tamil rebel capital at the weekend, and brought their fishing boats with them.“We want to go to a fishing area,” he said. – by Ian Timberlake The 120 people […]

May 22, 2006 (AFP) – A top Tamil Tiger field commander was shot dead in eastern Sri Lanka Sunday by an unidentified gunman, rebel and military sources said. The number two in the Tamil Tiger military wing and its chief intelligence operative in the eastern region — identified as Ramanan — was gunned down in […]

May 20, 2006 (AFP) – Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels traded artillery fire across a de facto front line in the island’s north Saturday, military officials said.There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side after a 30-minute exchange of fire at Muhamalai in the Jaffna peninsula, but the main entry and exit […]

COLOMBO, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – A European Union ban on Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels will only lead to war in the country, the rebels’ top negotiator said in comments received Friday. The statement by Anton Balasingham came as Sri Lanka’s foreign minister visited Japan where he sought the help of donor nations to […]

COLOMBO, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union has agreed in principle to blacklist Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels as a “terrorist” group, EU diplomats said Friday, in a move the rebels said would only lead to war in the country. US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Camp […]

OSLO, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union’s decision to place the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on its list of terrorist organisations risks isolating Norway, which has played a key role in the nation’s peace process, chief negotiator Erik Solheim said on Friday. Norway, which is not an EU member, has mediated […]