Tag: politics

Jan 12, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa said he wanted to make Sri Lanka ‘Asia’s miracle’ if elected to a second term and also vowed to combat corruption, a key battle cry of the island’s opposition. “We want to change people leaving the country and make it an attraction for people,” Rajapaksa […]

January 12, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Tuesday offered concessions to ethnic Tamil demands for greater autonomy ahead of elections in which the minority community could play a decisive role. But as the architect of the military victory, Fonseka can also lay claim to credit for ending the conflict. Fonseka has offered to […]

January 11, 2010 (AFP) – For decades, Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels fought for an independent ethnic homeland. In May they were defeated, but observers say Tamil voters could now be key to who becomes the next president. The two main candidates — incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse and former army chief Sarath Fonseka — both claim […]

UNITED NATIONS, January 7, 2010 (AFP) – A UN envoy concluded Thursday that video footage allegedly showing Sri Lankan troops executing Tamil Tiger rebels last year was authentic and urged Colombo to accept an impartial probe. The video, aired on Britain’s Channel 4 in August, “is authentic,” Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, […]

January 8, 2010 (AFP) – International media rights groups criticised Sri Lanka on Friday for failing to identify the assassins of a top anti-establishment editor who was killed exactly a year ago. The Paris-based RSF (Reporters Without Borders) said the authorities had failed to make any headway in solving the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge, the […]

January 7, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief on Thursday launched his manifesto for the January 26 presidential elections, promising greater press freedom and a battle against rampant corruption. Sarath Fonseka, 59, the main opposition challenger to President Mahinda Rajapakse, said he would scrap the press council which is empowered to shut down […]

January 6, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former army chief received a boost to his presidential ambitions Wednesday when minority Tamil parties said they would back him against incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse in polls later this month. Fonseka and Rajapakse have been at loggerheads since the end of the conflict. Fonseka quit after accusing the government […]

January 4, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main minority Tamil party on Monday backed the main opposition presidential candidate, Sarath Fonseka, who as army chief led the offensive that crushed Tamil rebels last year, officials said. Fonseka, a former four-star general who quit in November following differences with his political boss President Mahinda Rajapakse, pledged […]

January 5, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition vowed on Tuesday to immediately end the state of emergency that has been in place on the island for 27 years if its presidential candidate wins this month’s election. The opposition’s candidate, Sarath Fonseka, will scrap the tough laws that have been in effect almost continuously […]

January 2, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former military chief Sarath Fonseka took his presidential campaign Saturday to the ethnic heartland of the Tamil Tiger rebellion he helped crush last year. The retired four-star general, who is seen as the main challenger to President Mahinda Rajapakse in polls slated for January 26, visited the northern […]

December 31, 2009 (AFP) – Anti-graft campaign group Transparency International accused Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday of using state property and public cash to illegally finance his re-election bid.The Sri Lanka branch of the Berlin-based watchdog said armed forces, police and public servants were being deployed to campaign for the ruling party in […]

PARIS, December 29, 2009 (AFP) – The number of journalists killed because of their work rose to 76 this year from 60 in 2008, the media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday. “The authorities in these countries have understood that by encouraging journalists to leave, they considerably reduced the pluralism of ideas and the […]