Tag: lbo

February, 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Navy has fired on an identified ship off the island’s south coast after the ship ignored an order to halt and fired on a government vessel a Navy spokesman said. The spokesman said the vessel which had been contacted by Navy officials had given false identification and turned to […]

February 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s use of anti-terror law against the media has been condemned by the Reporters without Borders (RSF) which called for the release of a media official arrested two days ago. RSF called for the release of Dushantha Basnayake, financial director of Standard Newspapers, which publishes the Sinhalese-language weekly Mawbima, who […]

Feb 27, 2007 (AFP) – The ambassadors of the United States and Italy were wounded Tuesday in an artillery attack by suspected Tamil rebels in eastern Sri Lanka, Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told AFP.Samarasinghe, who was accompanying a group of Colombo-based diplomats to the district of Batticaloa, said the attack came shortly after one […]

TOKYO, Feb 27, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka is safe after Tamil rebels attacked a group of diplomats Tuesday, wounding the US and Italian envoys, the foreign ministry said.Ambassador Kiyoshi Araki was one of the diplomats who had flown in two helicopters to the island’s restive eastern Batticaloa district. “Our ambassador was […]

COLOMBO, Feb 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan jets bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions in eastern Sri Lanka on Tuesday after the rebels shelled two military helicopters and wounded three Western diplomats, officials said.Air force aircraft attacked the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who admitted they shelled the landing points of military aircraft which […]

BEIJING, Feb 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s foreign minister condemned an artillery attack Tuesday by Tamil Tiger rebels that wounded the German, Italian and US ambassadors, saying it was a deliberate strike against the diplomats.“The government of Sri Lanka condemns this attack by the LTTE in the strongest terms,” Rohitha Bogollagama, who is accompanying […]

BEIJING, Feb 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse began a week-long state visit to China on Monday — and showed up with an elephant as a gift as well as a large delegation, state media said.Rajapakse, in China to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between the countries, will meet Chinese President […]

COLOMBO, Feb 25, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops seized at least four bases from Tamil Tiger strongholds in the northeast in the past week, the defence ministry said Sunday, in fighting that has forced thousands to flee.The LTTE has not commented on the military’s claim, but on Thursday night announced they were relaunching their […]

Feb 25, 2007 (AFP) – As thousands flee for their lives amid heavy weekend artillery fire in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, analysts say the government, Tamil rebels and Norway are clinging to a truce that is dead.The Oslo-backed peace process suffered yet another blow last week when the rebels vowed to resume their campaign […]

SYDNEY, Feb 24, 2007 (AFP) – Australia vowed Saturday not to send home a group of 85, mostly Sri Lankan boat people if it meant they would face persecution.The Australian government said the fate of the group, intercepted by a navy ship this week, was being discussed with both Jakarta and the tiny Pacific nation […]

COLOMBO, Feb 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka and the rebel Tamil Tigers marked the fifth anniversary of their truce on Friday, hours after the guerrillas said the deal was all but dead and that they will press ahead for full statehood.The party of nationalist Buddhist monks argued that there was no need for the […]