Tag: Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan jets bombed a suburb of the Tamil Tiger’s northern political capital Tuesday at what the military said was an insurgent training site. Both the military and the rebels said that casualties or damage assessments were not yet available. A Tamil Tiger military spokesman said the attack was […]

Nov 21 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapakse spent the first year in office trying to cobble together a stable coalition but squabbling in the opposition ranks has given him a new opening to call a snap election. The president told his close associates early last month that he did not want to call a snap […]

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (AFP) – Major donors engaged in efforts to end Sri Lanka’s long-running civil war will meet Tuesday in Washington in the latest attempt to revive peace talks between the government and Tamil rebels, the State Department announced Monday.The Co-Chairs, the sole international mechanism focused on the peace process in Sri Lanka, last […]

Nov 21 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapakse spent the first year in office trying to cobble together a stable coalition but squabbling in the opposition ranks has given him a new opening to call a snap election.The president told his close associates early last month that he did not want to call a snap election […]

COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has sent essential supplies to the besieged Jaffna Peninsula amid local and international concern for half a million civilians trapped there, officials said. A government spokesman said a formal request was offered to relief agencies to support a food convoy by road to the Jaffna Peninsula, virtually […]

COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan nationalists led by the island’s main Marxist party Monday demonstrated against a top UN envoy who accused the military of recruiting child soldiers on behalf of a Tamil rebel faction. Hundreds of protestors carried an effigy of special advisor to the United Nations Representative for Children and […]

COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off a land mine in northern Sri Lanka Monday, killing one soldier and wounding three others, defence officials said. The killings added to a weekend toll of 35 people killed according to claims by both sides. The bitter ethnic conflict between Tamil rebels in the […]

COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Monday scoffed a government offer to send supplies to the besieged Jaffna peninsula as a “political gimmick” aimed at appeasing the international community. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they had no formal word from the government about its offer to send […]

November 18, (LBO) – The convention of the main opposition in Sri Lanka went ahead without the rebel faction led by its deputy leader being present, deepening the divisions within the party, United National Party sources said.Three rebels last week lost a court challenge which questioned a decision by a top party body not to […]

COLOMBO, Nov 19, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s main media rights group Sunday expressed concern over a death threat against a Tamil television host after a show in which he discussed the assassination of a Tamil legislator.The Free Media Movement said television talk show host J.Sri Ranga was told of the death threat after he […]

Nov 19, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse came to power promising a new approach to peace.But as he marks the end of his first year in office Sunday, the country continues to be wracked by violence, pushing its defence budget to a record high. The International Monetary Fund warned last week the […]