Category: Politics
UN urges Sri Lanka to free its staff, respect human rights
UNITED NATIONS, September 11, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Thursday called on Sri Lanka to respect the human rights of two UN employees who have been held without charge since June on suspicion of collaborating with Tamil separatists. One of them, Charles Raveendran Navaratnam, was working for the UN refugee agency UNHCR in […]
Sri Lankan court frees Tiger officials on bail
September 11, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan court on Friday released on bail two members of the Tamil Tiger rebel group who gave themselves up a month before the military leadership of their movement was wiped out, officials said.Court officials said former Tiger spokesman Velayudam Dayanidi, better known as Daya Master, and a top […]
‘s Sri Lanka expulsion
UNITED NATIONS, September 8, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday denounced a decision by the Sri Lankan government to expel a UNICEF spokesman, who allegedly took a pro-rebel stance at the end of the island’s ethnic war. “The secretary-general strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan government to expel Mr.James Elder,” Ban’s […]
Sri Lanka gets US help to clear mines
Sept 09, 2009 (LBO) – The United States military’s Pacific Command is providing training and equipment to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to helps it clear landmines in the island’s former war zone, the US embassy said. This training will build additional SLA capacity to clear mines in the Northern Province and expedite the safe […]
” UN official expulsion: official
September 7, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is reviewing a move to expel a senior United Nations official over comments he made during the final weeks of the country’s decades long ethnic war, a senior official said Monday.James Elder, communications chief for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was ordered out of the country for […]
Sri Lanka expels UN official over war comments
September 6, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government said on Sunday it had ordered a senior United Nations official to leave the country over comments he made about the recently ended war against Tamil Tiger separatist rebels. James Elder, spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), appeared regularly on foreign television news channels […]
Sri Lanka strengthens navy to deter overseas threats
Sept 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s navy commissioned 90 officers and an offshore patrol vessel last weekend as it continues to expand, having defeated the powerful Tamil Tiger naval wing.Senior defence officials said the navy’s future focus will be on protecting the island’s ocean resources and patrolling the surrounding seas to ensure terrorism, which […]
Sri Lanka imports machines to clear mines
September 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has imported equipment to speed up mine clearing in the former war zone in the island’s north, the defence ministry said Saturday. The mine-clearing machines imported from Slovakia would be used to accelerate resettlement of people driven out of the area during the height of fighting, the ministry […]
EU joins criticism of jailing of Sri Lanka journalist
BRUSSELS, September 3, 2009 (AFP) – The European Union joined Thursday the international outcry over the sentencing to 20 years in jail of a journalist in Sri Lanka for his alleged links to Tamil Tiger rebels.The foreign ministry in Colombo has rejected international criticism of the verdict, which has also come from the United States […]
UN chief, minister discuss plight of displaced Sri Lankans
UNITED NATIONS, September 3, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon met with a Sri Lankan minister in Geneva Thursday to discuss the plight of civilians displaced by the government defeat of the Tamil separatist insurgency earlier this year, his press office said. But she added that UN officials could not confirm its authenticity. The […]
Sri Lanka ex-combatant rehabilitation gets UK backing
Sept 04, 2009 (LBO) – The United Kingdom is giving 17 million rupees to support the rehabilitation of ex-combatants in Sri Lanka conflict by the island’s ministry of justic, the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said.Justice minister Milinda Moragoda has welcomed the support given for the rehabilitation efforts led by his ministry and Sri Lanka’s […]
Sri Lankan child soldiers get jobs in Malaysia: govt
September 3, 2009 (AFP) – A group of former child soldiers from Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels have won jobs on construction sites in Malaysia after undergoing re-training, the government here said Thursday.The seven men were among hundreds of former child soldiers who surrendered in the months before government troops finally defeated the Tigers in […]