Category: Politics

Oct 25, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger negotiators have set different agendas for weekend peace talks in Switzerland following months of bloodshed. The Colombo government said Wednesday it wanted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to commit to a schedule and to discuss the “core” issues in the island’s separatist armed […]

Oct 25 (LBO) – The European Commission will give Sri Lanka five million Euros or 667 million rupees in emergency aid to help over 200,000 internally displaced people in an increasingly violent local conflict. The additional funds will add to seven million euros approved for aid work in the country in July this year and […]

Oct 25, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has airlifted hundreds of tons of food and other essential items to Jaffna, which was cut off more than two months ago by fighting with Tamil rebels, the defense ministry said Wednesday. The military operated emergency flights Tuesday and Wednesday and was expected to ferry more goods to […]

ABU DHABI, Oct 25, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels heading for peace talks in Geneva are banking on international pressure on the Sri Lankan government to stop the island returning to “real war”, a top guerrilla leader said Wednesday. “If the international community fails to put pressure on the government to implement the (February […]

Oct 24, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government and rebel negotiators headed to Switzerland Tuesday for talks aimed at saving a troubled ceasefire after 10 months of fighting killed more than 3,000 people, officials said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government are under heavy diplomatic pressure to lift an eight-month impasse in […]

Oct 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party and the opposition agreed Monday to work together towards a political settlement to the island’s bloody ethnic fighting which has claimed more than 60,000 lives.The Tigers warned at the weekend they would unleash their bloody campaign island-wide if violence against Tamil areas continued, while the government […]

Oct 22(AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off a Claymore mine and fired on troops in northern Sri Lanka Sunday, wounding three people, the defence ministry said amid moves to arrange peace talks next weekend.Four previous peace attempts ended in failure.The powerful blast went off in the Jaffna peninsula while troops were on a cordon-and-search […]

Oct 22 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s warring parties were bracing for talks aimed at saving a tattered truce, but arranging next weekend’s parley is becoming a logistical “minefield” that could blow up before the meeting begins. Peace broker Norway’s breakthrough last week, when it coaxed the rebel Tamil Tigers to talks, appears to have been […]

GALLE, Sri Lanka, Oct 19, 2006 (AFP) – Police and troops stepped up security in Sri Lanka’s port city of Galle Thursday, one day after a bold suicide attack that killed at least two people, a police official said. Additional troop reinforcements were poured into the area while military patrols were also stepped up, even […]

Oct 18, 2006 (AFP) – A seaborne attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on the Sri Lankan port town of Galle on Wednesday has highlighted the guerrillas’ lethal “Sea Tiger” arm, whose suicide wing claims to have inspired Al-Qaeda.Suspected rebel suicide bombers using at least five boats infiltrated Galle’s harbour and attacked a key naval […]

Oct 18, 2006 (AFP) – Police opened fire and wounded three people Wednesday in a bid to quell rioting in the southern Sri Lankan town of Galle after Tiger rebels staged a suicide bombing against the naval port there, officials said.Mobs tried to attack shops owned by minority Tamil businessmen at Kittangi, a suburb of […]

Oct 18, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels disguised as fishermen staged a suicide attack against Sri Lanka’s southern port of Galle Wednesday, killing at least two sailors and destroying three gunboats, officials said.The attack in Galle — an historic city and popular tourist destination — came as foreign envoys pushed for the Sri Lankan […]