Tag: politics

October 6, 2009 (AFP) – Britain on Tuesday expressed disappointment with Sri Lanka’s handling of war-displaced civilians and demanded that they be given the freedom to leave state-run camps. “Freedom of movement is critical if a humanitarian crisis is to be averted,” visiting British Development Minister Mike Foster said after touring the camps, where over […]

WASHINGTON, October 4, 2009 (AFP) – The United States, responding to protests from Sri Lanka over remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said it had no recent evidence of women being raped while in Sri Lankan government custody.Colombo faced condemnation for its handling of the final stages of the war against Tiger rebels and […]

October 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will tap foreign donors to raise more cash to look after over 250,000 people displaced by its offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels, a minister said Monday.“We are drawing up a fresh appeal to meet our running costs next year that will include funds for livelihood support and resettlement […]

WASHINGTON, October 2, 2009 (AFP) – J.S. Tissainayagam, a Tamil reporter and editor serving a 20-year prison sentence in Sri Lanka, was awarded the first Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism on Friday.The Peter Mackler Award rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the […]

October 3, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka lodged a protest over US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks that rape had been used as a war tactic on the island, officials said Saturday.Colombo’s displeasure over a statement by Clinton to the United Nations Security Council was conveyed to US diplomats in the Sri Lankan capital, […]

September 29, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Tuesday issued its strongest criticism yet of Sri Lanka over its continued internment of 250,000 people who fled fighting in the final stages of the island’s separatist war.Walter Kaelin, a representative of the United Nations secretary-general, said civilians held in tightly-guarded camps should be granted freedom […]

UNITED NATIONS, September 26, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s prime minister vowed anew here Saturday that Colombo would quickly resettle civilians still in state-run camps after being displaced by the government rout of Tamil separatists.He complained that Sri Lankan authorities were not making sufficient progress in implementing a deal reached in May by Colombo and […]

September 23, 2009 (AFP) – Human rights groups urged world leaders Wednesday to pressure Sri Lanka over the immediate resettlement of quarter of a million war-displaced civilians held in state-run camps.New York-based Human Rights Watch said the upcoming UN general assembly as well as the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh should address the plight of […]

September 21, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations is sending a top official to Sri Lanka this week to press for the speedy resettlement of 300,000 war-displaced, officials said Monday, the second UN visit in as many weeks.Walter Kalin, the UN Secretary-General’s envoy for refugee rights, will arrive late Wednesday for a five-day visit that […]

September 19, 2009 (AFP) – A top UN official issued a strong call for “truth-seeking” into alleged excesses by security forces during the crushing of Tamil rebels as he ended a visit to Sri Lanka, a UN statement said Saturday. The UN has said that up to 7,000 civilians may have perished in the first […]

September 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse promised the United Nations on Friday that he will resettle all war-displaced civilians by January, his office said. Rajapakse made the pledge during talks with the UN undersecretary-general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe, who is here to follow up on Colombo’s previous pledge to return […]

September 18, 2009 (AFP) – A top UN official was due to wrap up a three-day visit to Sri Lanka on Friday after pressing the authorities to free tens of thousands of war-displaced civilians held in internment camps. UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe is scheduled to meet with President Mahinda Rajapakse […]