Tag: lankabusinessonline

April 24, 2008 (LBO) – A former Tamil Tiger who ran the group’s arm in Eastern Sri Lanka has been appointed to a deputy chairman post in the ruling Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, alias Karuna, is already a government minister. SLFP general secretary Maithripla Sirisena said Muralitharan was given the […]

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2009 (AFP) – A US official warned on Monday that time was running out for a deal that he hoped would bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka as he pressed for both sides to halt the fighting.Sri Lankan authorities set a deadline of midday (0630 GMT) Tuesday for the surrender of Tamil […]

LONDON, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Saturday he would ask UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s top aide to report to the Security Council “immediately” on his return from strife-torn Sri Lanka. Miliband said he was “gravely concerned” about the conflict there, while insisting that the government was listening to protesters […]

SYDNEY, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil protesters who staged a seven-day hunger strike outside the Australian prime minister’s home said Saturday they had ended their protest following assurances their demands had been heard. “Australia continues to call on the Sri Lankan government to put forward credible political reforms to engage Tamils and other minorities […]

UNITED NATIONS, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon has dispatched a top aide to Sri Lanka to try to ease the plight of tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting between government forces and Tamil separatists, a UN spokesman said Thursday. Farhan Haq told AFP that Vijay Nambiar, Ban’s chief staff, […]

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday urged an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka to save thousands of trapped civilians, saying the Colombo government had a chance to finally end three decades of war. “We call upon the government and military of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers to immediately stop […]

GENEVA, April 17, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Friday renewed its call for a pause in fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops in order to allow civilians trapped by the conflict to flee.“UNICEF is calling for a ceasefire and for a humanitarian pause which allows humanitarian workers to access the conflict […]

LONDON, April 15, 2009 (AFP) – The British and French foreign ministers said Wednesday that Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka are using civilians as human shields, which was preventing them from leaving the conflict zone. Miliband and Kouchner urged both sides to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and to do everything […]

SYDNEY, April 13, 2009 (AFP) – Hundreds of Tamil protesters staged a rally outside Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s official Sydney residence Monday calling for a lasting ceasefire in Sri Lanka. About 300 demonstrators gathered outside Kirribilli House and nearby Admiralty House, the governor-general’s residence, to urge the Australian government to call for Colombo to […]

OSLO, April 12, 2009 (AFP) – A group of Tamil protesters stormed the Sri Lankan embassy in Oslo Sunday, police said, on the fifth day of demonstrations in the Norwegian capital calling for the end of fighting in Sri Lanka.Even Joerstad, an Oslo police superintendent, told AFP that around 100 Tamil demonstrators tried to storm […]

April 9, 2009 (AFP) – An international media rights group said Thursday there was a “lack of political will” in Sri Lanka to identify the killers of an anti-establishment newspaper editor. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders accused Sri Lankan authorities of dragging out the probe into the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, who […]