Category: Politics

November 10, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government said Wednesday it had ordered foreign and local aid workers to register with the defence ministry in a move to put them under greater state control. The government information department said there were 250 international and some 1,000 domestic aid agencies working in Sri Lanka, which would […]

November 5, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has postponed a planned visit to Britain, due to a busy schedule rather than fears of a arrest over alleged war crimes, a foreign ministry official said Friday. Rajapakse had planned to address the Oxford Union during his tour later this month. But the Times […]

SYDNEY, October 29, 2010 (AFP) – Australia’s human rights agency Friday urged the government to stop locking up asylum seekers on remote Christmas Island, its main detention centre, saying it was overcrowded and inadequate. Thousands of boatpeople have been brought to the small Indian Ocean island this year, forcing some to sleep in tents and […]

October 29, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court rejected Friday a challenge to the re-election of President Mahinda Rajapakse filed by his defeated — now jailed — opponent, former army chief Sarath Fonseka. The five-judge bench dismissed the petition after accepting a defence argument that there was insufficient grounds to proceed with the case, […]

OTTAWA, October 21, 2010 (AFP) – The Canadian government on Thursday unveiled legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration and human smuggling by imposing stiff penalties and even detaining asylum seekers. The arrival of two ships carrying illegal migrants over the past year “clearly demonstrates that human smuggling networks are targeting Canada as a destination and […]

OTTAWA, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Ottawa on Monday welcomed Thailand’s arrest for possible deportation more than 150 Tamil migrants who some reports said wanted to seek asylum in Canada. “These people are minority Tamils fleeing war in their country and seeking asylum through the UN. But they came to Thailand with tourist visas, allowing […]

LONDON, October 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris rejected “colonial” criticism Tuesday of a government-appointed civil war probe, after foreign rights groups snubbed an invitation to attend. New York-based Human Rights Watch, London-based Amnesty International and Brussels-based International Crisis Group last week accused the panel of a cover-up and refused […]

October 15, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government-appointed war probe Friday reprimanded foreign rights groups that rejected an invitation to testify and said the local panel should not be judged by “preconceived notions”. Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) said it will “strongly safeguard” its independence despite the “ill-founded misgivings” of three international […]

October 11, 2010 (AFP) – Thousands of protestors marched through the streets of Sri Lanka’s capital Monday, demanding the release of ex-army chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka who is serving a 30-month jail term. Activists led by Fonseka’s Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and his wife Anoma marched to the maximum security Welikada prison in […]

OTTAWA, October 7, 2010 (AFP) – Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday his government would soon unveil a law to deter illegal immigration in response to the arrival of rickety cargo ships carrying Tamil refugees. Harper said current legislation does not go far enough to deter human smuggling, which “will increase in the years […]

SYDNEY, October 8, 2010 (AFP) – Australia will urge Indonesia, Malaysia and East Timor to back its proposal for a regional centre to process asylum-seekers during talks next week, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Friday. Bowen, who will leave Monday for Dili to begin high-level discussions on people-smuggling and border security in the three countries, […]

October 4, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s jailed ex-military chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka vowed to fight for democracy as he was escorted out of prison Monday to attend another court case against him. Fonseka, 59, told supporters outside the Colombo High Court that he was prepared to sacrifice his life and will not […]