Category: Politics

Oct 2, 2006 (AFP) – A Norwegian envoy held talks Monday with top Sri Lankan government officials aimed at reviving the island’s stalled peace process and ending an upsurge in ethnic bloodshed.Government officials said Colombo hoped the envoy’s visit could lead to a breakthrough in finalising dates for talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]

Oct 1, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has asked his party to prepare for general elections before year’s end if the main opposition fails to back his minority government, a state-run newspaper said Sunday.President Mahinda Rajapakse has summoned members of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party and asked them to get ready for elections, the […]

Oct 1, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway is set for a fresh attempt to end a seven-month deadlock in talks after the warring parties agreed to meet, diplomats said Sunday. Special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will begin meetings with political leaders on Monday during a four-day visit aimed at jump-starting stalled negotiations between […]

Sept 30, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police commandos killed 15 Tamil Tiger rebels who attacked their camp in the east of the country on Saturday, while three constables died in other violence.The defence ministry said the guerrillas attacked the Pullumalai camp of the police’s Special Task Force (STF) early Saturday. “The STF had good […]

WASHINGTON, Sept 29, 2006 (AFP) – US authorities said Friday they had charged six Asian men with conspiracy to ship arms, including submachine guns and sniper rifles, to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers and unnamed customers in Indonesia.The men, arrested in Guam, are accused of acting as brokers between weapons manufacturers and the Tigers, which is […]

Sept 29, 2006 (AFP) – The United Nations said Friday ongoing fighting between government forces in Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger rebels had badly hit tsunami reconstruction efforts.The UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, Eric Schwartz, also said he was “deeply disturbed” to learn that more than 200 civilians had been killed and […]

Sept 29 (LBO) – A leading member of the Marxist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has resigned his position in the party. Nandana Gunathilake told a local radio station that he has finally resigned his positions in the JVP because the party failed to reform. He said has taken a backseat in the party since February but […]

Sept 29 (LBO) – The simmering power-struggle within the JVP, or People’s Liberation Front, came out into the open today with a stalwart disclosing his differences with the leadership of Somawansa Amarasinghe.Nandana Gunathilake, a politburo member of the Marxist-nationalist party said he sent in his resignations from the high party positions on February 7, but […]

Sept 28, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace broker Norway stepped up moves to arrange face-to-face talks after the government accepted a pledge by the rebel Tamil Tigers to resume negotiations, diplomats said Thursday.The renewed effort came as truce monitors said that intensified fighting between government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) […]

Sept 28, 2006 (AFP) – Fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels has caused the deaths of at least 200 civilians in the past two months, Norwegian-led truce monitors said Thursday.The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said both the Colombo government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had openly violated […]

OSLO, Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) – Norway on Wednesday welcomed an announcement by the Sri Lankan government that the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels was committed to resuming talks on ending decades of ethnic bloodshed.“We see this as a very positive development and we are hopeful both parties will meet for talks as soon […]

Sept 27, 2006 (AFP) – Hopes for peace in Sri Lanka rose Wednesday after the government revealed Tamil Tigers have agreed to resume face-to-face negotiations and end a seven-month deadlock in talks.Over the past three decades more than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka’s drawn out ethnic conflict. Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has […]