Tag: politics

November 20, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former top military officer who resigned last week promised on Friday to “fight for democracy” amid reports he will challenge the president at upcoming elections.General Sarath Fonseka, who quit as chief of defence staff following a spat with President Mahinda Rajapakse, said he was committing himself to restoring […]

November 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse Sunday asked his supporters for more time to announce dates for snap elections as he faced an unexpected challenge from his erstwhile military chief.General Sarath Fonseka resigned last week after accusing the government of corruption, mismanagement and failing to “win the peace” with minority Tamils […]

JAKARTA, November 15, 2009 (AFP) – A group of 22 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who left an Australian customs ship to come ashore in Indonesia will be allowed to stay for up to three months, an official said Sunday. The standoff has caused a political headache for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has been […]

ANURADHAPURA, November 14, 2009 (AFP) – Large flag-waving crowds greeted Myanmar’s junta leader General Than Shwe on Saturday as he toured an ancient city in north-central Sri Lanka on a religious pilgrimage.The crowds, clutching flags of Myanmar and Sri Lanka, lined the streets of the sacred Buddhist city of Anuradhapura to welcome the reclusive general, […]

KANDY, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Dozens of dancers, drummers and three elephants greeted Myanmar’s reclusive junta leader as the elderly general began a pilgrimage in Sri Lanka Friday on a rare foreign outing. Schoolchildren cheered and waved paper flags of both countries and passers-by took pictures as the visiting leader’s motorcade slowly drove through […]

November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has asked his military chief to step down immediately, rejecting his request to serve for another two weeks, an official said Friday.President Mahinda Rajapakse accepted General Sarath Fonseka’s resignation, tendered on Thursday, and wanted him to leave immediately, a government official said. “The president asked him to […]

November 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top general Sarath Fonseka, a war hero at home credited with crushing Tamil rebels, quit Thursday, heightening speculation he will enter politics to challenge President Mahinda Rajapakse.“I gave my resignation. I have submitted my retirement papers,” Fonseka told reporters at a Buddhist temple he visited after sending his […]

November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government sidelined top general Sarath Fonseka because of fears he would launch a coup, he wrote in a bitter resignation letter ahead of an expected election battle with the president. The United Nations reported that more than 7,000 civilians may have perished in fighting this year, though this […]

KANDY, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Myanmar junta leader General Than Shwe was treated for a mild stomach bug hours after his arrival in Sri Lanka, a doctor from the hospital that treated him said Friday.The reclusive junta leader complained of discomfort after his entourage had checked into a deluxe hotel in the central Buddhist […]

TANJUNG PINANG, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – A group of 22 Sri Lankan asylum seekers left an Australian customs ship to come ashore in Indonesia Friday, police said, partially easing a standoff which began last month.The group, who were among a total of 78 ethnic Tamils on the Oceanic Viking anchored off Bintan island near […]

JAKARTA, November 11, 2009 (AFP) – Indonesia has “no problems” with extending permission for an Australian customs ship loaded with 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers to stay in the country, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.Indonesia will look at any request by Australia to extend the stay of the Oceanic Viking, which is anchored off Bintan […]

November 11, 2009 (AFP) – Dissident Myanmar monks living in Colombo on Wednesday criticised the Sri Lankan government for inviting junta leader General Than Shwe for a state visit. The monks said Sri Lanka’s increasingly close relations with Myanmar’s military regime would further raise international concern over the island’s human rights record. They said President […]