Category: Politics

Apr 04, 2014 (LBO) – The full text of US ambassador Michele J Sison’s address to the Foreign Correspondents Association in Colombo on Thursday. Ambassador Sison’s Remarks to the Foreign Correspondents Association April 3, 2014 Thank you for inviting me to speak tonight. Last year, you also invited me to speak in early April, and […]

COLOMBO, April 1, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s energy minister offered flowers and lit thousands of oil lamps as she prayed for rains to replenish drought-hit reservoirs which are used for hydro-power plants, an official said Tuesday. Minister Pavithra Waniarachchi illuminated the sacred temple town of Anuradhapura with 4,000 coconut oil lamps seeking divine help […]

COLOMBO, April 2, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has designated 15 foreign organisations run by ethnic Tamils as “terrorist groups”, accusing them of trying to revive a separatist war which ended in 2009, an official said Wednesday. Among the designated groups are the British Tamil Forum, World Tamil Movement, Canadian Tamil Congress, Australian Tamil Congress […]

COLOMBO, March 30, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party was headed for victory in local elections but with smaller than expected margins in a crucial mid-term test for President Mahinda Rajapakse, early results showed Sunday.The ruling party had tried to turn Saturday’s vote into a referendum on a UN Human Rights Council’s resolution last […]

COLOMBO, March 30, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party won local elections, but with smaller than expected margins in a crucial mid-term test for President Mahinda Rajapakse, official results showed Sunday.The president campaigned for polls held Saturday for southern and western provincial councils, both in the ethnic majority Sinhalese heartland, which account for more […]

COLOMBO, March 28, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday ordered the release of Indian fishermen detained for poaching after New Delhi surprisingly refused to back a US-led censure motion against Colombo at the UN’s top rights body.The exact number of fishermen who were released was not immediately known but several dozens are thought to […]

COLOMBO, March 28, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka tried to claim a moral victory Friday and insisted it would push on with reconciliation efforts after being censured by the UN’s top rights body for failing to bring perpetrators of war crimes to justice.The US-initiated resolution was carried at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva […]

Mar 27, (LBO) – The following is a statement from US Secretary of State John Kerry on UN resolution on Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan people are resilient. They have demonstrated grit and determination through years of war. Now, they are demanding democracy and prosperity in years of peace. They deserve that chance. The United […]

Mar 27, 2013 (LBO) – India abstained on voting on a resolution on Sri Lanka’s human rights which called for a external probe. The full statement is reproduced below:- India’s Explanation of Vote on Resolution œPromoting Reconciliation, Accountability, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/25/L.1/Rev.1) Mr. President, 1. The UN Human Rights Council has adopted […]

COLOMBO, March 27, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse rejected Thursday’s UN Human Rights Council resolution ordering a war crimes probe, telling AFP that he would instead press ahead with his own reconciliation plan.“We reject this,” Rajapakse said. “This resolution only hurts our reconciliation efforts.It does not help. “But I am not discouraged. […]

GENEVA, March 27, 2014 (AFP) – The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday launched an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, despite Colombo’s fierce efforts to block an investigation.But they question the credibility of his efforts to come clean on the past and to stem what they say are ongoing rights violations. “The […]

COLOMBO, March 26, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka faces fresh condemnation at the United Nations’ top human rights body this week in a move that observers say could lead to an international criminal investigation for war crimes.A US-led resolution demanding accountability for thousands of deaths of ethnic Tamil civilians five years ago is almost certain […]