Category: Politics

Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s minority government has weakened the opposition with a spate of defections and won a crucial simple majority in parliament, but analysts say the turncoats will only trigger more instability.President Mahinda Rajapakse swore in Sunday a 53-member cabinet, by far the largest since independence from Britain in 1948. He […]

Jan 28, 2007 (AFP) – A group of Sri Lankan opposition lawmakers defected Sunday, effectively scuttling a landmark peace deal aimed at ending decades of separatist violence in the island, officials said.Eighteen members of the right-wing United National Party (UNP) formally joined the leftist government of President Mahinda Rajapakse at his office in Colombo, a […]

January, 28 (LBO) – The defection of 18 opposition members has strengthened the administration of President Mahinda Rajapakse, a senior minister said, while the opposition symbolically tore up a co-operation agreement with the government in front of journalists. œThe most experienced and ablest member of the opposition has joined the government, Information Minister Anura Yapa […]

COLOMBO Jan, 26 (AFP) – Sri Lanka rejected Friday allegations by a human rights group that its security forces supported recruitment of child soldiers, but pledged an “independent” probe into the charges.The government said New York-based Human Rights Watch lacked evidence to backup its allegations of military support for enlisting child soldiers, relying instead on […]

Jan 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy attacked and destroyed three Tamil Tiger boats on Saturday as the rebels launched their first assault on the port of Colombo in 10 years, the defence ministry said.Naval craft blew up one boat after the three were spotted near a restricted zone before chasing and sinking the […]

Jan 26, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a Claymore mine in northern Sri Lanka Friday, killing two security personnel and a civilian, police said. The powerful roadside bomb was exploded in the district of Vavuniya as troops and police were on a routine patrol, a police official in Vavuniya town, 260 […]

COLOMBO, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has begun restoring mobile phone services to half a million subscribers in the war-hit island’s east after lines were shut down during a battle, telephone operators said Wednesday. The move comes after the capture of the main Tamil rebel bastion in the restive area by government forces. […]

Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – A leading human rights group Wednesday slammed Sri Lanka for conscripting hundreds of child soldiers to fight against Tamil rebels, saying the police had turned a blind eye to the practice for years.New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the government of “hypocrisy”, saying in a 100-page report that Colombo […]

Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – Two roadside bombs exploded in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 10, while suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hijacked a truck with six construction workers, police said.The blasts occurred in the besieged government-controlled Jaffna peninsula, while the workers were kidnapped by suspected Tiger rebels in the northern town […]

Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – An international graft-buster Tuesday kicked off a campaign for survivors of Sri Lanka’s December 2004 tsunami to report allegations of corruption involving local and international aid. Transparency International, an international anti-corruption group, set a five-month timetable to give tsunami victims a chance to voice any charges of graft when aid […]

COLOMBO, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan journalists Tuesday protested the killings and abductions of colleagues during a rally in the capital that called for the government and Tamil rebels to halt the violence.“Hands off journalists,” said a banner carried by a reporter. “Report Card 2006-2007: Eight journalists killed,” said another placard. Activists at […]

January 23, (LBO) – Around 18 opposition parliamentarians will crossover to the government by Monday in the first round, if a cabinet re-shuffle takes place over the weekend, a United National Party ‘Karu’ faction official said. The LTTE also split in two after it stopped fighting the government during the ceasefire agreement. Parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne […]