Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka minister rejects charges of funds misuse
Sept 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s deputy finance minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya rejected charges that the government had misused funds in starting a new budget airline and a bank. He gave no further details in his speech. He also said the government has evidence of transfers of funds by previous governments from the Treasury to […]
Sri Lanka minister block queries over pension fund losses; new questions emerge
Sept 20, 2007 (LBO) – A government minister blocked reporters from questioning officials about real losses made by a pension fund of private sector workers, as disturbing new information about its management in state hands continued to emerge. The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Sri Lanka’s largest pension fund, is estimated to have made a 37 […]
Sri Lanka opposition accuses govt of misusing public funds
Sept 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Wednesday accused the government of illegally channeling state funds to a new budget airline and a bank.He said the right of the Parliament to control public finances is a fundamental principle of democracy. The transfer of funds to set up the new state-owned budget […]
Sri Lanka rights probe is flawed, top panel says
COLOMBO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – A top international panel on Wednesday accused Sri Lanka of failing to honour promises to investigate grave human rights violations and accused the government of a virtual cover-up.The 11-member International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) said a government probe into 16 high-profile cases, including mass murder, had failed […]
Sri Lanka president appoints brother to parliament
COLOMBO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Wednesday appointed his younger brother as a member of parliament, officials said, in a move which tightens the family grip on power.Basil Rajapakse, senior adviser to the president, replaced a ruling party legislator who died last week, parliamentary officials said. Sri Lanka’s parliamentary system […]
Sri Lanka conflict exacerbates malnutrition: charity body
COLOMBO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s lengthy separatist conflict is compounding problems of malnutrition on the island, an international charity said Wednesday.“The prevailing conflict and the frequency of droughts, floods and landslides have further increased poverty and reduced people’s access to food,” Action Aid senior official Rohitha Rajindra said in a statement. Nearly […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit narrows in July, import growth slows
Sept 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit has narrowed in July with oil imports slowing and exports growing by 33.9 percent, the Central Bank said Tuesday. Exports had grown to 690 million US dollars in July 2007 against 516 million US dollars in July. “The persistently strong demand for apparel has continued to […]
Panel urges UN to act on Sri Lanka killings
Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) – The Asian Human Rights Commission asked the United Nations Tuesday to intervene to end extra-judicial killings in Sri Lanka, where it said at least 50 people were killed in the last month alone.It accused the Sri Lankan government of failing to prevent a wave of killings allegedly carried out by […]
” naval success
COLOMBO, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) – Navy chiefs in Sri Lanka organised a party Monday to welcome back teams involved in what they claim was the government’s biggest success to date against Tamil separatists. The six patrol craft and their supply ships were reported last week to have sunk three Tamil Tiger gun-running ships in […]
Sri Lanka needs to crush Tamil Tigers, top official says
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) – A top Sri Lankan official said Monday that Tamil Tiger rebels need to be defeated, an apparent shift in the government’s previously stated intention to negotiate.Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who is the brother of the island’s president, argued that unless this were achieved, any political solution to […]
Sri Lanka busts US$250mn to prop up exchange rate
Sept 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has spent more than 200 million US dollars to prop up the rupee during the past four months in an intervention campaign analysts say helped worsen exchange and demand pressure. There are fears among some market analysts, that if the bond price is manipulated it will give opportunities […]
” military action against Tigers
Sept 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top business chamber wants to create a lobby group to push for peace but at the same times has acknowledged the necessity for a limited military campaign against Tamil Tigers. Mahen Dayananda, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce chairman, said its leaders had recognized it was almost impossible to separate […]