Tag: politics

July 25, 2011 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan lawmaker has challenged a government minister to a television debate over the sale of state land to a Chinese firm. Harsha de Silva, a lawmaker representing Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party, referred to a statement attributed to deputy economic development minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene by […]

NEW DELHI, July 15, 2011 (AFP) – India on Friday urged Sri Lanka to examine claims made in a British documentary that said it targeted civilians while crushing Tamil Tiger rebels two years ago. The Channel 4 documentary, “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” aired last month on British television contained footage of what it said were […]

GENEVA, June 30, 2011 (AFP) – The UN’s human rights chief Thursday warned Sri Lanka not to take too long in probing war crimes allegations, saying failure to carry out a credible inquiry could lead to international action. Colombo has questioned the authenticity of the Channel 4 footage but said that a local panel, known […]

June 21, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party used its parliamentary majority Tuesday to defeat an opposition-initiated bill to grant greater media freedom, a parliamentary official said. President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance, which enjoys a two-thirds majority in the 225-member assembly, shot down the Freedom of Information Bill presented by an opposition […]

OTTAWA, June 16, 2011 (AFP) – A Canadian minister on Thursday unveiled measures to curb human smuggling, calling it a “despicable crime” that abused country’s “generosity” towards immigrants and refugees. The proposed law is in response to a wave of arrivals in Canada aboard rickety cargo ships that has weakened public support for the country’s […]

June 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main minority Tamil political group on Friday accused army troops of assaulting its lawmakers and breaking up a party meeting on the northern peninsula of Jaffna. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said troops stormed their venue on Thursday evening and attacked members of parliament and party supporters who […]

June 11, 2011 (AFP) – India on Saturday asked Sri Lanka to address the grievances of the island’s Tamil minority two years after the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels were finally defeated, reports said. Three top Indian officials held closed-door talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse during an overnight visit to Sri Lanka and urged a renewed […]

June 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition which contributed to the systematic breakdown of rule of law and limiting the freedoms of the people, has spoken out against the growing lawlessness and attacks on unarmed sections of the population. But small civil society organizations such as Friday Forum, Citizens Movement for Good Governance, […]

June 03, 2011 (LBO) – The International Bar Association’s human rights arm said it was concerned over what it called “the increasing erosion of judicial independence in Sri Lanka.” The association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) said recent and planned changes to the island’s constitution could undermine the independence of the judiciary. The International Bar Association’s […]

June 3, 2011 (AFP) – Hundreds of Buddhist monks took to the streets of Sri Lanka’s capital Friday to express solidarity with factory workers protesting a controversial pensions bill. The legislation sparked clashes with police on Monday in which a factory worker was fatally shot and more than 150 were wounded. Saffron-robed clergy marched to […]

May 27, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday vowed to defend his military from war crimes allegations as the island marked the second year of its victory over Tamil Tiger rebels. “We will not betray you to the world,” Rajapakse told troops during a colourful military parade at Colombo’s seafront Galle […]

May 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka freed 858 convicts on Tuesday to mark the most important day in the Buddhist calendar, a prison official said. President Mahinda Rajapakse granted freedom to 13 women and 845 men held at 29 prisons across the country to commemorate Vesak, which marks Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, commissioner […]