Category: Politics

Jan 09, 2008 (LBO) – Violence against media is a conspiracy to pave the way for international involvement in the island’s internal affairs, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. The most recent violence drew widespread condemnation from the United States, the European Union and rights bodies, who called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, and […]

January 9, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Sri Lankan journalists took to the streets Friday to protest against the killing of a newspaper editor, as the government came under local and foreign pressure to protect freedom of expression.The demonstration in Colombo demanded a halt to violence, threats and intimidation after Thursday’s shooting of Lasantha Wickrematunga, […]

Jan 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition called for an international probe into the killing of a newspaper editor, which rights bodies called a terrifying blow against the freedom of expression and an absolute scandal that should not go unpunished. Lasantha Wickrematunga, editor of the The Sunday Leader, a newspaper which is strongly […]

January 8, 2009 (AFP) – The editor of a Sri Lankan anti-government newspaper was shot dead on Thursday as he drove to work near the capital Colombo, police said, in the second attack on journalists this week. Gunmen on two motorcycles escaped after opening fire on Lasantha Wickrematunga, the editor of the Sunday Leader, police […]

January 7, 2009 (AFP) – Media rights groups Wednesday urged Sri Lanka to punish those behind a recent attack on a privately-run television station that was torched by an armed gang. Gunmen stormed the studios and control rooms of the Maharaja TV network outside Colombo, held staff at gunpoint, and smashed and set alight equipment, […]

Jan 06, 2009 (LBO) – An independent privately-owned TV station in Sri Lanka was attacked by an armed gang who stormed its main studio complex in the outskirts of the capital Colombo, an official said.An MTV employee said a group of around dozen or more persons had arrived in a white van around 2.00 am, […]

Jan 06, 2008 (LBO) – The United States has strongly condemned an attack on an independent broadcaster in Sri Lanka by a heavily armed group that stormed its main studio facilities and called for swift investigation. A similar raid was conducted by a group of armed men against the independent The Sunday Leader newspaper, who […]

Jan 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top business chambers condemned an attack on a private television station, saying the government’s credibility is at stake if it failed to bring the culprits to justice and prevent further attacks. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) […]

Jan 06, 2009 (LBO) – The British government has urged Sri Lanka to urgently draw up a political solution to the ethnic crisis following the fall of a key Tamil Tiger rebel stronghold to the army.“This is the only way to achieve a strong and sustainable peace in Sri Lanka in which all communities can […]

WASHINGTON, January 2, 2009 (AFP) – The US State Department on Friday urged the Sri Lankan and Tamil Tigers to start negotiating over the “legitimate” demands of the Tamils after Colombo announced a key win over the rebels.Sri Lanka said Friday its troops had finally captured Kilinochchi, the unofficial capital of the Tigers, and urged […]

January 1, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday took the country’s influential media ministry under his wing ahead of a key mid-term election for his administration, officials said.The Ministry of Mass Media and Information was taken away from Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, who was instead given the Ministry of Investment Promotion post, […]

VATICAN CITY, December 25, 2008 (AFP) – War and economic hardship loomed over Christmas celebrations across the world Thursday, with Pope Benedict XVI denouncing greed and pleading for an end to violence in the Middle East. The pontiff lamented that “the horizon seems once again bleak for Israelis and Palestinians,” and he decried the conflicts […]