Many Tamil rebel cadres surrendered in Sri Lanka
Cynide culture loosened
(W3lanka, April 30, Colombo)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) was one time famous as an inpenetrable organization due to opting to commit suicide instead of being arrested. But, with the ultimate defeat of the conventional war machine of the organization, the number of surrendees have gone rapidly upward.
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Situation in Northern Sri Lanka is critical, says UNHCR
Calls on the government to provide more resources
(W3lanka, April 30, Colombo)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR) has so far confirmed that some 160,000 people had been displaced by fighting into the government controlled areas, of which, more than 140,000 are being accommodated in 32 sites in Vavuniya, another 11,000 in Jaffna and some 5,000 in Trincomalee.
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UN Security Council members fail to broker a ceasefire in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka resolute to end Tamil fight
(W3lanka, April 29, Colombo)
After Sri Lanka's controversial denial of entry for Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to the island, his expected-to-be companions, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, arrived in Sri Lanka today. But after talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama, the foreign ministers of Britain and France said they had failed to secure an agreement from Sri Lanka to end an offensive against Tamil rebels and allow humanitarian access to civilians trapped by the fighting.
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Sri Lanka government in between war and ceasefire
Western dollars to flow in as rehabilitation and reconstruction aids
(W3lanka, April 28, Colombo)
Sri Lanka government denied reports about agreeing a ceasefire in reciprocation to the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), due to international pressure to do so. The government says that the operations to 'rescue' the 'hostages' held by the LTTE is still underway. But a statement from the office of President Mahinda Rajapaksha said earlier that“combat operations have reached their conclusion.”
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West maximizes pressure on Sri Lanka government to go for a ceasefire and settlement with Tigers
Can Rajapaksha regime withstand?
Nimber of influential westerners visit Sri Lanka
(W3lanka, April 27, Colombo)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) yeterday declared unilateral ceasefire "In the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and in response to the calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of the USA, India and others" but Sri Lanka Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksha rejected it within two hours.
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Ethnic division displayed in the Provincial Council election of Sri Lanka
Clear mandate to government from Sinhalese voters to continue military onslaught
(W3lanka, April 26, Colombo)
Sri Lanka's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is slated to win the Western Provincial Council election. But the election clearly indicated the ethnic division between the majority Sinhalese community and the minorities.
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"Sri Lanka lost so many fighters and civilians and Prabhakaran is responsible for all this. I used to say to him, 'Why did you kill all those people?' He's a very horrible man. He has to be eliminated," says former second-in-command of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) Colonel Karuna to Sunday Telegraph six years after his defection from the rebel organization. He was earlier considered a hardliner in LTTE and was accused of a series of mass killings including monks and Muslims. Following the defection, he melted like butter and now he is a Minister in the government that denies even the calls for power decentralization to the Provincial Councils. enlarge image
Sri Lanka rejects UN truce call
Likely to reject humanitarian team too
(W3lanka, April 25, Colombo)
The Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes will be traveling to Sri Lanka today for a three-day mission while Dayan Jayatilleke, Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva earlier Friday rejected calls for a humanitarian pause in the Tamil conflict to allow trapped civilians to flee.
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Sri Lanka not to give in to Indian pressure for a truce
Indian officials return empty-handed following talks with the President
(W3lanka, April 25, Colombo)
Friday's visit of Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and National Security Adviser M.K Narayanan not likely to mean any real change in the policy of Sri Lanka government regarding the ongoing military operations against Tamil Tiger rebels, It was more likely to ease election pressure on the Congress party in the Tamil-majority state of Tamil Nadu.
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Sri Lanka; 6432 killed; 13,946 injured in three months - UN
More than 5500 killed in the no-fire zone
(W3lanka, April 24, Colombo)
At least 6,432 civilians were killed in the intense fighting over the past three months and 13,946 wounded, according to a private U.N. document circulated among diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka as "verified data" in recent days, says Associated Press.
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Surrendered LTTE officials to talk to media
Daya Master says 15,000 remain in LTTE-held areas
(W3lanka, April 23, Colombo)
S. Pulithevan, the chief of the Peace Secretariat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) said to BBC that the surrender of the rebel's media spokesman Daya Master and former political leader S. P. Thamilchelvan's translator George were caused due to their health condition. He further said that they were away from LTTE activities around a year because of their difficulty to move.
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US expresses disappointment with the Sri Lankan government for the current humanitarian crisis
There has to be a political resolution, says Clinton
(W3lanka, April 23, Colombo)
"I think the Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed, that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is causing such untold suffering," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in her appearance before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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Vijay Nambiar to brief to UN security council on Sri Lanka
Situation catastrophic, says ICRC
(W3lanka, April 23, Colombo)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar who visited Sri Lanka recently who was earlier reluctant to give the Security Council even a closed door briefing on the crisis, has reversed and is expected to do the briefing, Inner City Press reported.
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US does not exert pressure to IMF on bailout for Sri Lanka - Cabral
Wimal Weerawansa says opposite idea
(W3lanka, April 23, Colombo)
The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivard Cabral has denied the rumors about US exerting pressure on the IMF to delay the US $ 1.9 bailout package Sri Lanka has applied for to get rid of the severe foreign reserve crisis the government is facing.
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Arithmetic of Sri Lanka's no-fire zone
(W3lanka, April 21, Colombo)
Recently, Sandaruwan Senadheera of Lanka-e-News interviewed ex-deputy of Tamil Tigers Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman recently. The journalist identifies Vinayagamurthi Karuna Amman as the best example from Sri Lanka for what he calls ‘political sense.’ In that interview commenting on the diverse calculations on the number of civilians trapped in the no-fire zone, Karuna Amman said, “Tamil National Alliance’s “300,000 calculation” is false. There were 180,000 people in Tamil Tiger-held Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi and Mannar districts. With the start of war, around 90,000 of them moved out of the war zone. Of the rest 90,000 civilians, 65,000 have crossed into the state-controlled areas now. According to my estimations, there are less than 30,000 people in the no-fire zone.”
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US blocks IMF bailout for Sri Lanka
LTTE trying to befriend US
(W3lanka, April 21, Colombo)
United States seems influencing the IMF to put more pressure on Sri Lanka by delaying the US $ 1.9 billion bailout package the island nation has applied for recovering from the instant foreign reserve crisis.
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Sri Lanka government coalition parties demonstrate before the Norwegian embassy in Colombo urging segregation of diplomatic ties with the fomer peace broker enlarge image
Sri Lanka about to segregate diplomatic ties with Norway
Ruling coalition parties demonstrate before the Norwegian embassy in Sri Lanka
(W3lanka, April 21, Colombo)
Sri Lanka is reportedly near segregation of diplomatic ties with Norway, the peace broker invited by the island nation few years ago to facilitate a ceasefire which is now moribund.
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Tamil Tiger rebels lose control in no-fire zone
Mass exodus begins amidst suicide attacks
(W3lanka, April 20, Colombo)
Sri Lanka Army launched operations into the state-demarcated no-fire zone, the last stronghold of the Tamil Tiger rebels, making a major breakthrough in civilian movements out of the no-fire zone today. Latest reports say that over 20,000 civilians lined up to enter the Army-held area and many more are expected throughout the day.
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Escalation of criminals in custody attacking police in Sri Lanka
Provide additional security to police before NGOs name them as summery executions
(W3lanka, April 20, Colombo)
Since recent times, the criminal suspects of Sri Lanka have started to attack the police when they were taken to arrest weapons or to visit the crime scenes for investigations.
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UN top official meets President and the Defense Secretary of Sri Lanka
Enhanced UN involvement in Sri Lanka's affairs
(W3lanka, April 17, Colombo)
The Chief of Staff of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, veteran Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar who arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday for a two-day unannounced visit, met President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the plight of civilians trapped in fighting between the troops and LTTE as well as efforts to free them.
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Jayalalitha vows to back seperate Ealam if equal status not granted for Tamils in future devolution
Pledges a grant of Rs 10,000 crore for the restoration and development of the Tamil areas
(W3lanka, April 17, Colombo)
Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK of Tamil Nadu says in its newly released election manifesto that if devolution of powers in Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka fails to give equal status to Tamils it would press for a "separate Eelam".
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Wipe-out the LTTE? Diplomacy? Both?
Diversity of ideas about war among Sri Lankan rulers
(W3lanka, April 16, Colombo)
Sri Lankan rulers are reportedly having a diversity of ideologies over the way forward of their war on terror as the security forces have surrounded the 21-square kilometer no-fire zone declared by the state in the Tamil Tiger-held territory in the Northern Province.
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Longer truce is needed in Sri Lanka - UN
Not possible due to the attitude of the rebels - Government
(W3lanka, April 16, Colombo)
As the two-day truce declared by the Sri Lanka government ended on midnight April 14 and the war resumed, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holms told reporters at the world body's headquarters in New York that the 48-hour ceasefire between the Sri Lankan Army and LTTE had been a valuable first step in allowing trapped civilians to leave the conflict area.
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Sri Lanka government 'waits and see'
Upbeat military can take matters to its own hand
(W3lanka, April 11, Colombo)
Sri Lanka government is following a 'wait and see' strategy before the mounting pressure on it to avoid bloodbath in a final military operation to totaly anihilate the Tamil Tiger rebels now battered and cornered to the no-fire zone declared by the government.
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UN chief telephones to Sri Lanka President
Human Rights Minister says that the UN has not specified the action clearly
(W3lanka, April 10, Colombo)
A UN statement said the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Sri Lanka President "spoke again by telephone about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Vanni region and their shared concerns about the civilians still trapped in the area.
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Sri Lanka Marxist nationalists wake up as the killers tap their doors
Charges Wimal Weerawansa faction for killing a cadre
(W3lanka, April 10, Colombo)
The clash between the Sri Lanka's Marxist nationalist People's Liberation Front (JVP) and the breakaway group National Freedom Front (JNP) has escalated to the heights of murder charges.
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British Tamils march tomorrow over issue of Sri Lanka
(W3lanka, April 10, Colombo)
British Tamil Forum, an expatriate organization of Sri Lankan Tamils living in UK has organized a protest march tomorrow, April 11, from 1.30 to 4.30 pm in Central London.
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Sri Lanka to sell state enterprises to qualify for IMF loan
Hedging issues are also to be settled
(W3lanka, April 09, Colombo)
Rumors are spreading that Sri Lanka government has agreed to privatize a number of state enterprises and Sri Lanka Telecom is at the top of the prospective list of companies. Further, the government will have to settle the issues of petroleum hedging contracts with the relevant banks ahead of the loan.
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Time for surrender for the Tamil Tiger rebels of Sri Lanka
Government guarantee safety
(W3lanka, April 09, Colombo)
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse called for the Tamil Tiger rebels to surrender unconditionally to save the save the civilians trapped in the no-fire zone declared by state but still controlled by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE).
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UN official calls for a pause in fighting following a visit to Sri Lanka
UN downs estimate of civilians in no-fire zone to 100,000
(W3lanka, April 08, Colombo)
A UN official who finished a four-day visit in Sri Lanka urged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) to allow civilians trapped in the no-fire zone to move into safer grounds and called for a pause in the fighting.
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Will LTTE be able to hold the Tamil civilians?
(W3lanka, April 07, Colombo)
The situation in war-torn Vanni in northern Sri Lanka remained tense yesterday following the debacle of the Tamil Tigers who lost around 500 rebel cadres and injured an unknown large number of fighters in the outskirts of Puthukudirippu.
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Back to Thimpu
(W3lanka, April 07, Colombo)
Political chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), N. Nadesan told Indian Tamil daily Janasakthi that Tiger leader Velupilai Prabakaran is still deeply committed to the freedom struggle and is tackling the crisis with self-confdence and greater resolve.
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Barack Obama's New World Order
-TIME
(TIME)
Most of the hallmarks of the foreign policy of George W. Bush are gone. The old conservative idea of "American exceptionalism," which placed the U.S. on a plane above the rest of the world as a unique beacon of democracy and financial might, has been rejected. At almost every stop, Obama has made clear that the U.S. is but one actor in a global community.
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Ferocious battles fought in northern Sri Lanka
Government renames civilians as 'hostages"
(W3lanka, April 05, Colombo)
Sri Lanka Army says it caused massive destruction to the Liberation Tigers if Tamil Ealam (LTTE) and captured entire Puthukudirippu area restraining the Tigers into the no-fire zone declared by the government. More than 500 LTTE cadres have succumbed and a similar number have sustained injuries during the past couple of days, state media says.
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Sri Lanka workers' 'godfather' leaves
(Gulf Daily News, April 05)
A man described as a godfather to the Sri Lankan community has returned home after almost 30 years in Bahrain.
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Sri Lanka police not bothered to collect data report of Lasantha's mobile phone
-Committee to Protect Journalists
(W3lanka, April 04, Colombo)
Moratuwa University of Sri Lanka has said the police investigation the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramathunga have not bothered to collect telephone data report of the slain journalist, which was nearly completed in early March, says Bob Dietz, the Asia Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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STF ambush is the hardest blow to Tamil Tigers' new guerilla war
Over 60 more LTTE cadres in the unit
(W3lanka, April 04, Colombo)
Military analysts say that the successful ambush and killing of 13 guerillas of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in Ampara district of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka is the hardest blow the Tamil Tigers' new stage of guerilla warfare sustained.
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Political turmoil in National Freedom Front
Leaders leave the party
(W3lanka, April 03, Colombo)
Reliable sources say that Sri Lanka's National Freedom Front (JNP) led by Wimal Weerawansa is meeting with a very serious political turmoil.
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UN senior official in Sri Lanka
(W3lanka, April 03, Colombo)
Walter Kaelin, the representative for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the rights of internally displaced people has arrived in Sri Lanka on an invitation of the government. He will meet government and aid officials and visit camps during his five-day visit, according to a U.N. statement.
'Jaffna' to be shooted in Sri Lanka
(W3lanka, April 03, Colombo)
Bollywood cinema director Shoojith Shrekar will shoot his latest movie 'Jaffna' in August in Sri Lanka. 'Jaffna' is a thriller based on a story of a soldier in battle front, says the director adding that he has obtained permission for shooting in Sri Lanka. The cast has not been selected yet.
This will be the first Hindi film on Sri Lanka's ethnic problem. Previously, Mani Rathnam directed a Tamil movie 'Kannaththil Muthamittal' about the problem. Madhawan and Simran acted the main roles in the movie.
Batticaloa-based Muslim newspaper editor attacked
Newspaper office damaged
(W3lanka, April 02, Colombo)
Batticaloa-based Muslim newspaper editor M.I. Rahmahetulla was attacked by a gang of five armed with guns, long knives and swords seriously injuring him around 10.45 pm yesterday at his newspaper office situated at ALS road, New Katthankudi in Batticloa district of Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lanka lacks funds for Southern expressway
No opening in 2010
(W3lanka, April 02, Colombo)
Sri Lanka is in short of funds to construct the last 30 kilometers of the southern expressway that connects southern town Mathara to the capital city Colombo.
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Twelve thousand school children among IDPs in Vavuniya
No proper education
(W3lanka, April 02, Colombo)
Vavuniya zonal education office says that over 12,000 children of the school age are in IDP camps in Vavuniya. Although there are seven temporary schools in these welfare centers, they lack facilities, laments Vavuniya zonal education director Ranjani Oswald.
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