Tag: politics

February 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops face another 18 months of fighting even after they have all Tamil Tiger territory under their control, a former rebel has warned.The man known as “Colonel Karuna,” who led an unprecedented split in the movement in 2004, says the Tigers will revert to guerrilla warfare after they […]

NEW DELHI, February 18, 2009 (AFP) – India said Wednesday it was ready to help evacuate tens of thousands of Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire between Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels in the northeast of the island.Indian troops, sent in by ex-Congress premier Rajiv Gandhi to enforce a peace deal on the island, […]

LONDON, February 16, 2009 (AFP) – British police have charged a man with arson and affray after he reportedly tried to set himself on fire outside Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Downing Street offices, they said Sunday. Sivsubarmazam Loges-Waran, 41, of Gloucestershire in western England, is due in court on Monday “charged with arson with intent […]

February 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party headed for a landslide victory in local elections seen as a referendum on the government’s military campaign against Tamil rebels, official results showed Sunday. President Mahinda Rajapakse’s Freedom Alliance won 36 seats out of 58 in the Central Provincial council. The alliance also had collected nearly […]

LONDON, February 13, 2009 (AFP) – Former colonial power Britain fought off Friday angry objections from Sri Lanka over London’s appointment of a special envoy to address the humanitarian needs of the war-torn country. Britain’s Foreign Office said Thursday’s appointment of former defence secretary Des Browne was not made unilaterally and insisted discussions with the […]

GENEVA, February 13, 2009 (AFP) – A British resident of Sri Lankan origin burnt himself to death outside the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva in protest at the south Asian conflict, local police said Friday. Police were alerted by passers-by and UN security late Thursday after the man doused himself in petrol and set himself […]

ZAMBOANGA, February 14, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan peace activist seized by an armed gang in the southern Philippines has been sighted with his kidnappers, a government official said Saturday.Red Cross staffers Andreas Notter of Switzerland, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipina Mary-Jean Lacaba were abducted on January 15 and are still being held by […]

February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Thursday rejected Britain’s appointment of a special envoy to the island, accusing London of interfering in its internal affairs as security forces battled to defeat Tamil Tiger rebels. The diplomatic row between Colombo and London blew up amid mounting international concerns for the tens of thousands of […]

ZAMBOANGA, February 13, 2009 (AFP) – Gunmen kidnapped a Sri Lankan Muslim working as a peace advocate in the southern Philippines on Friday, officials said. Jalil Omar, a Muslim preacher, was seized from his boarding house in Lamitan City, capital of Basilan island before dawn and taken to a nearby mountain area, said police commander […]

Feb 13, 2009 (LBO) – Contrary to claims that several hundred thousand civilians are trapped in a conflict area in the northeast of Sri Lanka, the latest official estimate is that only 65,000 people remain, a government minister said.Disaster relief services minister Rishad Badurdeen said 34,430 people have escaped from remaining Tamil Tiger controlled areas […]

February 9, 2009 (AFP) – The BBC has suspended its FM programming to Sri Lanka’s national broadcaster because of what it claimed was “deliberate interference”, it said Monday. In a statement, the BBC said its programmes and news reports in English, Sinhala and Tamil had been blocked by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), and […]