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Sri Lanka is losing its soul to war Posted By: Peter Foster at Sep 22, 2008 at 07:48:18 [General] Posted in: Foreign Correspondents Predictably in a conflict which stirs such bitterness, my last post on Sri Lanka and an analysis piece I wrote in Saturday's paper on Sri Lanka's human rights record has generated a slew of emails accusing me of failing to understand the conflict and ‘siding with the terrorists.' I must preface this post, therefore, with the (I hope unnecessary) disclaimer that I hold no candle for the Tamil Tigers or their methods, which include recruiting child soldiers and the abduction, intimidation and extortion of Tamils both ho…

It was India that first sent its External Affairs Minister to Sri Lanka within 24 hours after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s President on November 18. It was also India that became the first diplomatic destination for President Rajapaksa. Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Subramaniam Jaishanker arrived in Sri Lanka with a personal message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 19 and held talks with the new Sri Lankan President and extended an invitation to the President to visit New Delhi. Accordingly, President Rajapaksa left for Indian Capital for a two-day official visit on November 29 with a small delegation and held talk…

எதிலோ அடிக்க பல்லு போன கதை தான் இது. No desecration of Nehru’s bust, it just fell off’ NEW DELHI: The Indian High Commission in London has denied that there was any desecration of the Nehru bust located just outside its visa office. There were reports earlier that LTTE sympathisers had "beheaded" the bust. "It just fell off," said M Subhashini, spokesperson for the High Commission. "The bust got separated from the pedestal. There's nothing suspicious about it at all," she told a news agency on Friday. It was alleged that Tamil protestors had vandalised the bust to show their support for the LTTE and India's "indifference" to their plight in Sri L…

By Simon Gardner COLOMBO (Reuters) - A Sri Lankan government probe into the massacre last year of 17 aid workers that international truce monitors have blamed on the military is beset with shortcomings, an international rights group cautioned on Friday. Authorities are still probing the execution-style killings of local staff of French aid group Action Contre La Faim -- the worst attack on humanitarian workers since a 2003 suicide bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad killed 22 U.N. staff. But so far police have failed to properly explore the possibility that troops rather than Tamil Tiger rebels could have been responsible and forensic evidence was o…

EXCLUSIVE - S.Lanka monitors fear more violence, blame both sides Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:32 PM IST By Peter Apps BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka faces the spectre of worsening violence and neither government nor Tamil Tiger rebels have shown commitment to peace talks, the head of the international truce monitoring team said on Saturday. The Nordic-staffed unarmed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), tasked with monitoring a strained 2002 truce, was to have escorted a convoy of Tamil Tiger leaders to their de facto capital but the rebels cancelled the trip and announced they would not go to planned talks in Switzerland. "I'm worried about the sit…

Despite rejection, Govt. works out strategy to face UN probe By Our Political Editor Pakistani lawyer briefs Govt. leaders on what to do, but non-confluence of thoughts in UPFA - Urgent Bill to protect victims of crime and witnesses as another response to Geneva resolution View(s): The Government is engaged in a number of informal diplomatic initiatives to counter accusations against Sri Lanka, particularly when the UN Human Rights Council’s international investigation into alleged war crimes gets under way. The move is notwithstanding the official position that no such investigation would be recognised nor would those conducting it be allowed to enter the country. Th…

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's ruling party unveiled devolution proposals on Monday aimed at ending the island's two-decade civil war, but Tamil Tiger rebels dismissed them and analysts said they were doomed to fail. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) wants to devolve power at district rather than a higher level and insists on rebel disarmament, according to the text seen by Reuters. By contrast, Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for an independent state want a separate homeland for minority Tamils -- which Rajapaksa flatly rules out -- and have repeatedly warned they will not lay down arms. The rebels and the military are locked…

Ancient Aboriginal underwater archaeological sites discovered, and a new frontier for study ABC Pilbara / By Karen Michelmore Posted 2 days ago, updated2 days ago This area was dry land just 8,000 years ago.(Supplied: Jerem Leach) Scientists have discovered Australia's first ever ancient Aboriginal underwater archaeological sites, settled on the sea bed for thousands of years. Key points: Australia's first underwater Aboriginal heritage sites have been confirmed off WA's Pilbara coast Australia's coastline was two million square kilometres larger before s…

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) pushing for an international war crimes inquiry targeting Sri Lanka over accountability issues during the conflict here yesterday said that the Palestinian authority could use the newly gained UN recognition to take up Israeli atrocities at the International Criminal Court (ICC). UK based GTF is widely believed to be the most influential Tamil Diaspora organization pushing western powers to haul Sri Lanka up before an international tribunal on the basis of ‘Darusman report’ which dealt with accountability issues. The GTF was responding to a query by The Sunday Island. GTF spokesman Suren Surendiran said that they whole heartedly con…

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay tells Channel 4 News that she is "deeply disturbed" by the shooting of a Sri Lankan journalist and calls on the Sri Lankan government to protect him. In an exclusive interview with Channel 4 News, Navi Pillay urged the Sri Lankan government to "provide immediate protection" for Faraz Shaukatally, who is currently in intensive care after being shot by three unidentified gunmen on Friday night. Ms Pillay said: "It's an act of attempted assassination so he needs to be protected immediately." Mr Shauketaly, 52, who holds joint British and Sri Lankan citizenship, is a reporter for the Sri Lankan newspaper The Sunda…

This bus-driver needs to get put in JAIL. Share this and expose this man's brutality. Everyone's worried about the safety of the drivers, but don't care about the safety of the passengers! This took place in Lincoln, Nebraska! Sign the Petition to get the bus driver charged with criminal charges! https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=639834509366319 http://www.change.org/petitions/the-amalgamated-transit-union-local-1293-stop-atu-local-1293-from-defending-a-criminal-act?utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition#invite

Action, not words is needed - paper [TamilNet, February 03, 2006 20:43 GMT] The Sri Lankan government’s tardy response to the kidnapping of ten aid workers of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) have raised serious doubts about the prospects of peace talks, the Tamil Guardian newspaper said this week. Arguing that “last week’s optimism [about talks] was premature and, as many Tamils now feel, sorely misplaced,” the expatriate publication said “this incident has demonstrated exactly what the future of negotiations with President Rajapakse and his government is likely to be.” The full text of the Tamil Guardian editorial follows: Norway’s announcement…

In the Coronavirus Fight in Scandinavia, Sweden Stands Apart The country has drawn global attention with an unorthodox approach while its neighbors have imposed extensive restrictions. The Old Town in Stockholm, Sweden, on Wednesday. The country has stayed open for business while other nations beyond Scandinavia have attacked the outbreak with various measures ambitious in scope and reach.Credit...Jonathan Nackstrand/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Christina Anderson and Henri…

Only CFA can save Sri Lanka: Thamilchelvan. S.P Thamilchelvan, head of the Political Division of the LTTE, in an interview with TamilNet on Monday said that to bring peace and pave the way for talks, the international community should come forward to "support the struggle for rights of the Tamil people and force the Sri Lankan Government to implement the ceasefire agreement in full. Characterizing the efforts to bring a united position among the southern parties as the "same old drama," that has gone on throughout the Tamil people’s struggle for their rights, he said only the CFA can save the island from the disaster. Welcoming the timely meeting by the Co-chai…

பிரபல சி.என்.என் அறிவிப்பாளர் Rick Sanchez வேலையால் நீக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார். CNN’s Rick Sanchez fired for saying TV industry is run by Jews Comments Twitter LinkedIn Digg Buzz Email .Agence France-Presse October 1, 2010 – 7:25 pm Stewart .Rick Sanchez, a CNN television anchor, was fired on Friday after calling a popular comedian a “bigot” and suggesting the TV industry, including his own news network, is run by Jews. “Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well,” CNN said in a terse statement released less than 24 hours after the afternoon anchor made his controversial comments. Sanche…

Plight of Sri Lanka's desperate refugees By Dumeetha Luthra BBC News, Mannar I first met Maduraweeran Kantharajah in a navy camp with his family. They had been caught the night before trying to escape from northern Sri Lanka across the 30km (18-mile) stretch of water from Mannar to southern India. He had sold everything he owned for the desperate journey away from the island's growing conflict. Hundreds of Tamil civilians have now made that crossing into the state of Tamil Nadu. Many more want to do likewise and flee violence in the east of the country. Meagre belongings Maduraweeran paid $650 (£353) to smugglers in Mannar.…

Colombo battles to sidestep Human Rights focus - Thamilchelvan The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is trying to sidestep International Community's focus on Colombo's worst record of human rights abuses and institutionalized impunity for crimes against the Tamil people, by attempting to use the forum of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit against Tamil people's right to defend themselves, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan told TamilNet when asked to comment on Colombo's focus shift to LTTE's air capability, prior to the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi. "It is crucial that the voice of Tamil …

We can’t despair, we can’t abandon things, says Sri Lanka’s R. Sampanthan Meera Srinivasan TNA’s R. Sampanthan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Sri Lanka’s seniormost politician on the government’s record on the political solution to the Tamil issue R. Sampanthan, leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka’s Parliament, is also the country’s seniormost politician, having been in politics for more than six decades. In the January 2015 presidential poll, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) he leads backed the President Maithripala Sirisena–Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe combine that ousted former President Mahinda Rajapak…

Honda's withdrawal from Formula One racing came as a shock this week, but there were several signs over the past days that the auto industry's crisis would spill over into world sport. Less than a fortnight ago General Motors announced the premature end of their endorsement of golf star Tiger Woods, saving them an estimated $7 million (5.5 million euros) a year. On Thursday, the hopes of a future German America's Cup effectively ended when Audi announced that they won't be sponsoring a team. Audi followed up on Friday with the confirmation that it will stop auto racing after nine years in the American Le Mans series. Apart from banks and other financial companie…

Peace Fills a Vacuum by Hussein Aghe and Robert Malley, The New York Times Op-Ed page, June 3, 2008 Intent on isolating its foes, the United States has instead ended up marginalizing itself. In one case after another, the Bush administration has wagered on the losing party or on a lost cause... The United States has cut itself off from the region on the dubious assumption that it can somehow maximize pressure on its foes by withholding contact, choosing to flaunt its might in the most primitive and costly of ways. It has pushed its local allies toward civil wars — arming Fatah against Hamas; financing some Lebanese forces against Hezbollah — they could not…

Sri Lanka will not depend on aid: president Sri Lanka's president vowed on Wednesday not to depend on foreign aid after Britain said it would suspend debt relief to its former colony until Colombo improves its human rights record.President Mahinda Rajapakse said he would accept "genuine aid," but will not depend on it, his office quoted him as saying during a meeting with local newspaper editors at his residence. "If we are offered genuine aid we will take it. If not we will forget about aid and do our job," the president said. "We will not be dependent on aid."The president's office said he was commenting on the "reported suspending of aid by Britain.""Today, w…

1000 Days of Protest, No Action or New Information on War Disappeared in Sri Lanka Geneva Nov 15, 2019: The families of Tamil civilians who are the victims of enforced disappearances and who remain missing during and after the war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan government have been holding awareness rally in public now for 1000 consecutive days. They have received no new information about the fate of their loved ones and no action has taken against the perpetrators in all that time. Since the start of the campaign, 53 mothers and fathers of the disappeared have passed away, two of them this week, without knowing the fate of their so…

Two top LTTE cadres slip through immigration net By Munza Mushtaq Two top LTTE cadres, wanted by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), have slipped through the net of Immigration authorities and fled to Singapore. They have made their get-away with the assistance of one Thavarajah. The duo had migrated abroad a few weeks ago. Following this development, S. Thavarajah, a former MP and the second most senior member of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) has left for England. Reports reveal that he is unlikely to return to the country. Thavarajah, who was representing the EDPD at the All Party Representative Committee, had informed the party…

The state of Kachin produces some of the best jade in the world A giant jade stone weighing 175 tonnes has been uncovered by miners in Myanmar. The stone is 4.3m (14ft) high and 5.8m (19ft) long, and is reportedly worth an estimated $170m (£140m). It was found in a mine in the jade-producing Kachin state, in the north of the country. Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the source of nearly all of the world's finest jadeite, a near-translucent green stone. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37670305