Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka premier apologizes for evicting Tamils
June 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s prime minister on Sunday apologised to ethnic minority Tamils for evicting them from the capital, promising there would be no repeat of the controversial operation.“That is why I am expressing regret and apologising on behalf of the government.” “It was a big mistake,” Ratnasiri Wickremanayake told reporters here, […]
”’: PM
June 10, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels have rigged up a truck with over a tonne of explosives that could blow up half of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake claimed Sunday.The authorities received information about the truck bomb following the discovery last week of over 1,000 kilogrammes (2,200 pounds) of plastic explosives […]
Sri Lanka president orders police probe on Tamil evictions
COLOMBO, June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday promised an investigation into police action that forced hundreds of ethnic Tamils from the capital at gunpoint in early morning raids condemned around the World. President Mahinda Rajapakse invited evicted people back to Colombo and ordered a disciplinary probe against the police chief responsible. Officers […]
Japan will not halt aid to Sri Lanka; hoping for peace
June 9, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s special envoy to Sri Lanka ended a four-day visit Saturday saying he was still hopeful that the island’s tattered peace process could be salvaged.The LTTE has been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in a 35-year old ethnic conflict that has claimed over 60,000 lives. Yasushi Akashi, […]
Sri Lanka troops kill 30 Tigers in east
June 9, 2007 (AFP) – At least 30 Tamil Tiger rebels and one soldier were killed when Sri Lankan troops overran four guerrilla jungle bases, the defence ministry said Saturday.Soldiers captured the bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during an offensive late Friday and early Saturday in the eastern Batticaloa district, the […]
UN see pattern in Sri Lanka aid worker killings
GENEVA, June 7, 2007 (AFP) – The murder of two Red Cross workers in Sri Lanka appears to be part of a trend in which aid workers are deliberately targeted, two United Nations human rights experts said Thursday. Sri Lankan Red Cross workers Sinnarasa Shanmugalingam and Karthekesu Chandramohan were abducted in the capital Colombo last […]
US condemns Sri Lanka Tamil evictions from capital
June 8, 2007 (LBO) – The United States Friday condemned the eviction of ethnic Tamils without jobs from Colombo, and asked the government to reveal where they were taken. Sri Lanka’s police say the move was aimed at blocking Tamil Tiger guerillas from infiltrating the capital, setting off explosions and engaging in other subversive activities. […]
Sri Lanka president raps police chief, invites Tamils back
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday criticised his police chief for evicting hundreds of minority Tamils from the capital and ordered them to be brought back immediately, an official said.Sri Lanka’s main opposition said the move was similar to what Hitler did to the Jews in the early days in Germany.President Mahinda […]
Sri Lanka court halts eviction of Tamils
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday ordered an immediate halt to the eviction of minority ethnic Tamils from the capital, a day after hundreds were expelled at gunpoint, a court official said. The Court issued the order following a complaint by a political activist group that Thursday’s police operation was a […]
Badly mutilated bodies found near Sri Lanka airport
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Nine badly mutilated bodies were found in a garbage dump just north of Sri Lanka’s international airport Friday, police said, prompting officers to start a bigger search.“We don’t know the identity of the victims,” a local police official said by telephone. “We are now digging the area because there could […]
Rights groups accuse Sri Lanka over evictions
June 8, 2007 (AFP) – Human rights activists accused Sri Lanka’s government Friday of imposing a “collective punishment” on its minority Tamil community after forcing hundreds of them out of the capital. Activists and opposition politicians said the expulsions from Colombo, a measure the government said was to prevent Tiger terror attacks, had added to […]
Japanese peace envoy in talks with Sri Lanka president
June 6, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks in Colombo Wednesday with a top Japanese envoy on the future of the island’s peace process following bloody recent clashes, officials said.Rajapakse held closed-door talks with Japan’s Yasushi Akashi at the president’s tightly-guarded Temple Trees residence and the peace envoy later had discussions […]