Category: Politics

June 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police say they have arrested an astrologer after he predicted serious political and economic problems for the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse.Chandrasiri Bandara, who writes an astrology column for a pro-opposition weekly, was taken in on Thursday, police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said. “The CID (Criminal Investigations Department) is […]

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka needs to reach out to its Tamil minority and improve conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced after defeating Tiger rebels, the nominee to be the next US ambassador said Tuesday. Patricia Butenis, testifying in a Senate confirmation hearing, said she would also press Sri Lanka to […]

June 16, 2009 (AFP) – The few surviving leaders of Sri Lanka’s defeated Tamil Tigers announced Tuesday they were reorganising the rebel movement and forming a “transnational government.” The rebel group’s international relations chief, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, said in a recorded message that the organisation would continue to pursue its aim of a separate Tamil state […]

June 11, 2009 (AFP) – Japan on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to develop closer ties with the international community as Colombo tries to rebuild the war-battered north of the island after decades of bloody ethnic conflict.Akashi said international opinion was divided on the way the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended, […]

June 10, 2009 (AFP) – A Canadian MP was detained on arrival at Sri Lanka’s international airport on Wednesday and could be deported for allegedly having supported the Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said.Bob Rae, a Liberal member of parliament and outspoken critic of the Sri Lankan military’s offensive against the rebels, was stopped at Bandaranaike […]

June 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities Monday ordered a foreign-owned ship carrying aid for Tamil civilians to leave the island without unloading its cargo.The Syrian-registered ship, Captain Ali, was seized last week, and the Sri Lankan defence ministry said the cargo of food and other supplies had been destined for the now defeated […]

LONDON, June 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has denied claims that more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the government’s final onslaught against rebels, a report said Saturday. Bogollagama told The Times that the newspaper was wrong to report last week that so many civilians had died in the […]

June 05, 2009 (LBO) – India has rapped UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillai saying she should not abuse her position to pursue hidden agendas against Sri Lanka.Ambassador Gopinath Achamkulangare of India said in a statement India believes that the commissioner will accept the outcome the special session on Sri Lanka without taking a position […]

June 3, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs a new diplomatic drive to win in the international arena, after defeating terrorism in the country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address. “Many countries have helped us,” President Rajapaksa said. “We appreciate it very much. “The hearts of our people will remember it.” Government […]

June 2, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan journalist was recovering in hospital Tuesday after being beaten up near the capital Colombo as a rights group expressed renewed concern for the safety of the island’s media. Poddala Jayantha, secretary of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association, was abducted near his home and severely attacked with […]

UNITED NATIONS, June 1, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday categorically rejected allegations the world body had deliberately underestimated the death toll in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.“I categorically reject — repeat categorically — any suggestion that the United Nations has deliberately underestimated any figures,” he told the UN General Assembly. […]

May 31, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Sunday rejected growing calls to probe human rights violations amid allegations that thousands of civilians perished in the final battle against Tamil separatists. A report in the Times of London newspaper on Friday citing confidential UN reports said that more than 20,000 non-combatants were killed by Sri […]