Category: Politics

May 16, 2007 (LBO) – Police has questioned a newspaper editor over reporting of the activities of the Goldquest scheme in Sri Lanka, and a subsequent controversial investigation by the country’s Central Bank. “Ms. Samarasinghe’s right to publish information as she sees fit in her capacity as a professional journalist, is no exception to the […]

COLOMBO, May 14, 2007 (AFP) – Eight Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed in fresh clashes in Sri Lanka’s embattled northern and eastern regions, the defence ministry said Monday.Security forces killed seven rebels in the northern district of Vavuniya late Sunday in a gunbattle along their defence lines, the ministry said. In a separate confrontation […]

May 13, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s failure to share power with minority Tamils and put an end to extra-judicial killings have raised prospects of more aid cuts to the embattled island, officials and diplomats say. A top US envoy left Colombo on Thursday after castigating the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse for not delivering […]

May 13, 2007 (AFP) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Buddhist monk in eastern Sri Lanka Sunday as security forces killed five Tamil Tiger rebels elsewhere, officials said. Monk Sandungamuwe Nandaratana was shot dead at a temple about 260 kilometres (162 miles) northeast of Colombo, military officials said, adding that the attackers had escaped. The […]

May 12, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan unit of Royal Dutch Shell suffered damages of at least 700,000 dollars in an air attack by Tamil Tiger rebels last month, the company said on Saturday. Two bombs exploded at the Anglo-Dutch company’s storage facility on the outskirts of Colombo, damaging one of its four storage […]

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan national pleaded guilty in a Maryland court Thursday to charges he tried to smuggle US weapons to Tamil Tiger rebels, the US Justice Department announced.Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, 37, pleaded guilty to attempted export of arms and munitions and to conspiracy to support the Tamil Tigers, a group […]

May 11, 2007 (AFP) – Human Rights Watch on Friday renewed a call for independent foreign monitoring of human rights in Sri Lanka, where hundreds of people have been killed by unidentified gunmen.The New York-based watchdog said international monitors should be able to report publicly on the abuses by Tamil Tiger guerrillas, a breakaway faction […]

May 10, 2007 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka president Chandrika Kumaratunga has protested the withdrawal of commandos assigned to protect her, saying she was still a target for assassination.She retained a staff of 198 and used 36 vehicles after stepping down. The constitution allows a former president to use two cars and a staff of […]

COLOMBO, May 10, 2007 (AFP) – The United States Thursday accused Sri Lanka of going back on promises to protect human rights and said the situation in the embattled island had “deteriorated” in the past year.Visiting US diplomat Richard Boucher said there was more bloodshed and that the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse had failed […]

May 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in the north of the island on Tuesday as ground battles raged elsewhere in the region, a military official said.Security forces killed the man who was riding a motorcycle in Vavuniya district. An official, speaking from the area by […]

May 8, 2007 (AFP) – The United States is to raise concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka during a state visit that follows international concern over extra-judicial killings, diplomats said Tuesday.US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who was due to arrive later Tuesday, will hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse, addressing the island’s […]

May 6, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces were locked in combat in Sri Lanka’s northeast Sunday with both sides claiming heavy losses against each other. A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the defence ministry said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]