Tag: lbo

April 9, 2008 (AFP) – At least 93 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and another 686 injured during clashes with Tamil Tiger rebels last month, the prime minister told parliament Wednesday. Premier Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, in a statement to the 225-member national legislature, said 38 civilians were killed and another 21 wounded in March. “The number […]

April 08, 2008 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan Marxist-nationalist politician Tuesday said his party had decided to expel him, confirming reports of a split in the party. Wimal Weerawansa, firebrand spokesman of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) told parliament that he had not been officially informed of the move to cancel his party membership. He […]

COLOMBO, April 8, 2008 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels asked peace-broker Norway on Tuesday to pressure Sri Lanka’s government to stop a military offensive in the island’s north, saying a venerated Catholic church was at risk.Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Sri Lanka’s separatist conflict. The Tigers have been fighting for an […]

April 08, 2008 (LBO) – Differences within Sri Lanka’s Marxist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) exploded dramatically Tuesday with controversial lawmaker Wimal Weerawansa speaking out publicly and gaining the support of nine others. Charismatic speaker and propaganda secretary Wimal Weerawansa fell out with the party hierarchy ostensibly over his public support for saying that a breakaway […]

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2008 (AFP) – The Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan rebel group responsible of killing about 4,000 people in the past two years, have quietly established a US presence to help finance their separatist campaigns, The Washington Times reported Monday. Citing various US government sources, the newspaper said the organization was trying to […]

April 07, 2008 (LBO) – The United States, European Union and Canada have condemned Sunday’s Tamil Tiger suicide bombing which killed a Sri Lankan minister, saying only a political solution, not violence, would ensure peace. “The United States denounces this vicious and reprehensible terrorist attack on civilians in the strongest possible terms,” a US embassy […]

April 6, 2008 (AFP) – A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed Sri Lanka’s highways minister as he opened a marathon Sunday in an attack that left 11 others dead and nearly 100 wounded, police and officials said. . Senior minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, 55, was killed in the town of Weliveriya outside of the capital […]

April 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers have entered the contest in provincial council elections in the east with a last-minute filing of nomination papers through a proxy party, media reports said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political wing, the People’s Front of Liberation Tigers (PFLT) submitted nominations for the polls […]

April 04, 2008 (LBO) – A split in Sri Lanka’s Marxist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is emerging with moves to oust its firebrand spokesman Wimal Weerawansa, party insiders said Friday. But Weerawansa said he had not been informed of a decision to remove him, amid reports that the party’s central committee has voted to replace […]

April 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party says it is starting a protest campaign against rising prices after inflation in the country hit a new record. “The whole of 2007 we saw increases in prices. Daily the prices increased,” UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told a meeting of the party’s women’s […]

April 3, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Thursday announced that key local government elections will be held next month in an area that was last year wrested from rebel control after months of heavy fighting.The elections commission said voting for the Eastern Provincial Council will be held on May 10. Security forces established control over […]