Tag: politics

February 14, 2010 (AFP) – Leaders of Sri Lanka’s influential Buddhist clergy backed opposition demands Sunday for the immediate release of former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. Top monks representing four sects made a joint appeal to President Mahinda Rajapakse to free Fonseka who was arrested last Monday by the military on […]

February 13, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president said Saturday there was no reason for concern over the arrest and detention of ex-army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. President Mahinda Rajapakse has promised “due process” will be followed in dealing with Fonseka, the president’s website said. Fonseka was arrested Monday by military police […]

February 12, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition pressed President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday to release detained presidential candidate and former army chief Sarath Fonseka. Opposition leaders say Fonseka was arrested on Monday as he was talking with them about the possibility of running in upcoming legislative elections. President Rajapakse dissolved parliament on Tuesday […]

February 11, 2010 (AFP) – A regional human rights group sharply criticised Sri Lanka Thursday over plans to court martial the island’s former army chief on charges of conspiring against the government. “The case is being pursued in military courts, thus avoiding the country’s ordinary courts and depriving him of due process,” the Hong Kong-based […]

February 11, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has appealed for calm, his wife said Thursday, after violent clashes linked to his arrest on conspiracy charges. “He wanted me to convey to the people and especially the troops to remain calm and not to be provoked by […]

February 11, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police used batons and tear gas Thursday against protesters demanding the immediate release of defeated presidential candidate and former army chief Sarath Fonseka, witnesses said. Police charged into the crowds and beat them in Maharagama, a suburb of Colombo, a day after similar protests outside the Supreme Court […]

NEW DELHI, February 11, 2010 (AFP) – India urged Sri Lanka on Thursday to follow “due process” in its prosecution of Sri Lanka’s former army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. “As a friend and neighbour, we trust that due processes of law will be observed in democratic Sri Lanka in this matter,” the […]

UNITED NATIONS, February 9, 2010 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by the arrest of Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka and urged Colombo to guarantee his safety, his spokesman said Tuesday. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban “is following developments in Sri Lanka with concern” and urged Colombo authorities “to follow […]

PARIS, February 9, 2010 (AFP) – France said Tuesday it was “extremely worried” about the arrest of Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential hopeful and deplored the mounting official pressure faced by journalists there. France is “extremely worried about the announcement of the arrest of Sarath Fonseka and his aides a few days after the vote,” a […]

February 10, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police fired tear gas Wednesday as opposition and ruling party activists clashed outside Colombo’s main court complex over the arrest of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. Witnesses said anti-riot squads moved in after ruling party supporters pelted stones at thousands of opposition demonstrators demanding the release of former […]

Feb 10, 2010 (LBO) – The United States government has given more aid to help Sri Lankans returning to their homes in the former northern war zone and speed up their resettlement, the US embassy said. It said in a statement the aid agency United States Agency for International Development has given 343 million rupees […]

February 8, 2010 (AFP) – The defeated candidate in Sri Lanka’s presidential vote, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, was arrested Monday hours after vowing to give evidence before any war crimes tribunal. State media said Fonseka, who led the army to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels last year, ending a bloody 37-year insurgency, was taken […]