Tag: news

May 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement (FMM) has said media freedom in the island remains under threat by both parties to the internal conflict, the government and the Tamil Tigers. In a World Press freedom day statement, the media watchdog urged an immediately halt to all threats, harassment, abductions and attacks […]

UNITED NATIONS, April 30, 2008 (AFP) – India, the Philippines, Mexico and Colombia — all democracies — were cited Wednesday among 13 countries with the poorest records of prosecuting murders of journalists, in a list released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The CPJ noted that while Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia, all four […]

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, April 28, 2008 (AFP) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Monday in Pakistan for a brief visit to meet the country’s new government and his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf.Ahmadinejad’s plane touched down at Chaklala Airbase in Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining Islamabad, where an air force honour guard greeted him on the tarmac, […]

KAHAPOLA, Sri Lanka, April 27, 2008 (AFP) – With both hands clasped, Pat Amarasinghe prays before a Buddha statue seeking divine help for the impossible — to bring back her son, Ishara, who died in a bus blast in Sri Lanka. Ishara and his fiancee, Geethika, both 24, were among 26 people killed when suspected […]

April 22, 2008 (AFP) – A team of international legal experts Tuesday stepped up their criticism of Sri Lanka, noting that repeated calls to improve its record on the issue had fallen on deaf ears. The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) said Colombo lacked the political will to investigate grave rights abuses. The […]

April 22, 2008 (LBO) – The United States has called on Sri Lanka to improve its human rights record and ensure forthcoming elections in the east are free and fair, the embassy said in a statement Tuesday. It quoted Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Don Camp as characterizing his meetings […]

April 20, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan forces Sunday killed a Roman Catholic priest inside rebel-held territory, Tiger guerrillas said as the defence ministry reported 16 more deaths in fresh violence.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Father M.X. Karunaratnam, who was also a top human rights campaigner, was killed in a roadside bomb […]

April 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement (FMM), a media watchdog, said Friday its treasurer, journalist K. Rushangan, has received threats demanding the payment of a ransom before April 25. Despite complaints to the police, no action has been taken to probe the threats, the organisation said in a statement. Rushangan is […]

April 17, 2008 (AFP) – Hospitals in Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebel-held territory are running low on basic medicines and medical staff, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday.Fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels has escalated since January, when the government withdrew from a 2002 truce arranged by peace broker Norway and […]

April 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition political party says the island is facing international isolation and economic sanctions, a charge rejected by the government. The opposition United National Party accused the government of being unable to effectively address international concerns over human rights abuses by the military. But a government spokesman dismissed […]