Tag: Sri Lanka

June 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top media rights body has condemned a statement by a minister who made remarks about hacking a Tamil news website which was blocked by at least two of the country’s top telecom firms, reportedly on government orders. The full statement is reproduced below: The Free Media Movement (FMM) […]

June 21, 2007 (LBO) – Relations between Sri Lanka and Britain remained strong with a shared history, cricket and economic ties binding the two nations, the British High Commission said on the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. “The more we see others in this way, the more we can understand them and their points of […]

June 21, 2007 (LBO) – Rebel lawmakers of the ruling party are claiming wider support to become a moderate “third force” in Sri Lanka’s politics, and said they would initiate talks with other opposition parties soon. Samaraweera is closely associated with Kumaratunga. Mangala Samaraweera, who was sacked by President Mahinda Rajapakse earlier, said the rebels […]

June 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy attacked a flotilla of Tamil Tiger boats off the island’s northern coast Tuesday, sinking at least three craft, an official said.The latest naval battle came as troops in the east of the island stepped up pressure on the guerrillas who have been fighting for independence since 1972.More […]

June 20, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the country’s largest Internet service provider, has blocked a pro-rebel website on government orders, a source at the company said Wednesday.A Sri Lanka Telecom executive, who declined to be named, said the website has been blocked for several days on the “advice” of the government. The London-based […]

June 20, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement (FMM) has slammed a move to block access to a Tamil news internet website , saying that the country was on a “slippery slope of web and internet censorship”. . The full statement from FMM is reproduced below: The Free Media Movement is deeply disturbed […]

June 20, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan army said Wednesday that two months of fighting aimed at ousting Tamil Tiger rebels from jungles in the east of the island has left 197 dead, the vast majority of them guerrillas. The island’s security forces have been trying to remove pockets of rebels from the Thoppigala […]

June 20, 2007 (AFP) – Nordic monitors in Sri Lanka said Wednesday they would stop issuing rulings on government or Tamil Tiger violations of a 2002 truce that is no longer being respected.The decision comes after more than a year of escalating fighting between Sri Lankan government troops and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]

June 20, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military now has the capacity to shoot down Tamil Tiger light airplanes which have bombed four targets on the island this year, the government said Wednesday. The enhanced capability means the island’s only international airport will soon reopen for night flights after its closure earlier this year as […]

June 19, 2007 (LBO) – Two former Sri Lankan government ministers crossed to the opposition benches of the parliament Tuesday, deepening divisions in the ruling coalition. Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi, who were sacked from their portfolios after differences with President Mahinda Rajapakse, took their seats on the opposition benches on Friday morning. Samaraweera explained […]

June 19, 2007 (LBO) – Two former ministers of the main ruling party in Sri Lanka said they are forming a new political wing, after crossing over to sit in opposition benches Tuesday, deepening divisions in the ruling coalition. . The Sri Lanka Freedom Party- Mahajana Wing or ‘Peoples’ Wing’ would be formally launched Friday, […]