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Sri Lanka government gains support of Buddhist monks By Somini Sengupta Published: February 23, 2007 E COLOMBO: With full-scale war blossoming once more in a country beset by a quarter century of ethnic conflict, an ever more assertive government has found a sturdy ally in what might seem an unexpected source: hard-line Buddhist monks. The monks have long been active in Sri Lanka's deeply polarized politics, but for the first time they have joined the governing coalition with their own political party. Called the Jathika Hela Urumaya, or National Heritage Party, they now hold 9 seats in Sri Lanka's 225-member Parliament. The party sits at the extreme …

தமிழர்களின் உரிமைகளை வலியுறுத்து - கனடாவின் மிகப்பெரிய பத்திரிக்கை ஆசிரியர் தலையங்கம் Sri Lanka must address war crimes charges and show respect for Tamil rights Three years after bringing Sri Lanka’s bitter 25-year civil war to an end, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his triumphalist government risk becoming pariahs. At the United Nations they are under fire for not fully probing what the UN calls “credible allegations” of war crimes, and for not healing the broken nation. In Geneva this week Canada is co-sponsoring an American push at the UN Human Rights Council to demand that Rajapaksa’s Sinhala-dominated government set up a “credible and independent” p…

India's Peace and War [TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 01:24 GMT] The now defunct Ceasefire Agreement in Sri Lanka was mooted and shadow-managed by the BJP government, according to Indian journalist, M.R. Narayan Swamy. Wickramasinghe and Pirapaharan were aware of this top secret mission of India, supervised by Vajpayee's Advisor Brajesh Mishra, but not J.N. Dixit who succeeded him with the change of government in May 2004. Dixit had to learn it from Wickramasinghe. The CFA signed in February 2002 was unilaterally withdrawn by the Sri Lanka government in January 2008. Swamy's revealing and the chronology of events implicate the Congress establishment and the eg…

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…

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…

UN slams Sri Lanka warring parties over slow tsunami recovery by Amal Jayasinghe Tue Dec 26, 6:32 AM ET COLOMBO (AFP) - The United Nations slammed Sri Lanka's warring parties for stalling tsunami reconstruction efforts as the island marked the second anniversary of the disaster. The outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan blamed both Colombo and the Tamil Tiger rebels for the violence that has slowed rebuilding after the December 26, 2004 tsunami that killed an estimated 31,000 people in the island. In a statement, he said the conflict between the government and rebels had made reconstruction even more difficult in the mainly B…

AFP Japan, a top aid giver to Sri Lanka, on Wednesday urged the island's government to probe war crimes allegedly committed while defeating Tamil rebels and pressed Colombo to improve human rights. Japan said it wanted "genuine reconciliation" in Sri Lanka after troops crushed Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 and declared an end to nearly four-decades of ethnic strife that claimed up to 100,000 lives. Tokyo's special envoy to Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, said there was a "perception of insecurity" despite the end of conflict. "I emphasised the vital need to improve the human rights situation in this country," Akashi told reporters at the end of a four-day visit …

U.N. official says human rights not being protected in Sri Lanka's protracted civil war By Bharatha Mallawarachi ASSOCIATED PRESS 10:03 a.m. October 13, 2007 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The large numbers of people reported killed, abducted and disappeared in Sri Lanka's protracted civil war underscores the need for greater protection of human rights in the country, the top U.N. rights official said Saturday. Meanwhile, government troops sank a Tamil Tiger rebel boat and the insurgents downed an army vessel in a battle off northern Sri Lanka, a defense official said. Three rebels died and three soldiers were missing, the official said. Advertiseme…

எவ்வாறு இந்த முதல்தர நிறுவனக்கள் தெரிவுசெய்யப்பட்டன. http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/bestemployers/article/892795--how-the-gta-s-best-employers-are-chosen இந்த அட்டவணையில் முதல் இடத்தில் மின்வலையின் முதுகெலும்பான சிஸ்கோ. Cisco Systems: Proud and empowered: http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/bestemployers/article/892798--cisco-systems-proud-and-empowered www.cisco.com email : jemadden@cisco.com மிகுதி நிறுவனங்ககளும் அவர்களின் இணையத்தளங்களும் வேலை தேடி உங்கள் விண்ணப்பத்தை / உங்களைப்பற்றி (Resume) அனுப்ப வேண்டிய முகவரிகளும் இணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/bestemployers/article/892881

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…

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…

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

Sri Lanka debt default has begun, says rating agency IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Sri Lanka is about to default on its debts, two of the world's largest credit rating agencies have warned. Fitch Ratings lowered its assessment of the South Asian nation, saying "a sovereign default process has begun". S&P Global Ratings made a similar announcement and said that a default is now a "virtual certainty". This week, Sri Lanka said it will …

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…

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…

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…

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…

உருவத்தால் மனிதர்களாகவும்... உணர்வுகளால் மனித தன்மையற்றவர்களாகவும் இருப்போர் செய்யும் காரியங்களில் இதுவும் ஒன்றாகும். Disability royal commission: Six key takeaways from the public hearing this week By Nas Campanella and Zalika Rizmal Posted 18 hours ago, updated10 hours ago The inquiry heard people with disabilities living in group homes were segregated in harsh conditions.(ABC News: Elizabeth Pickering) The disability royal commission turned its attention to group homes in Victoria this week. It chose to look into the topic because the home should be a place where people feel safe and free t…

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…

International Chakkadaththaar [TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 October 2007, 13:38 GMT] The main reason why Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict couldn’t be resolved all these decades was that it was approached as a terrorist issue. The approach, which served the convenience and deceit of the Sinhala politicians, was endorsed by the world system, because everybody had skeletons in their cupboards. It was a general debility of international polity and political ideologies to resolve situations similar to that of Sri Lanka. As a result, the mainstream international system has led the world into an Age of Paranoia. The bigger the State, the bigger is the paranoia, writes Opinion Column…

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…

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 …

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.…

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…