Thursday, February 04, 2010

Sri Lanka leader says Tamils should work with govt



Sri Lanka's president called Thursday for minority ethnic Tamils to work with the government to settle their differences but said there would be no self-rule for them, as the country celebrated its first Independence Day since the end of a 25-year civil war.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was re-elected last month by a wide margin, largely because of support from the country's Sinhalese majority, said Tamil leaders should not "misguide" people or harbor political ambitions based on ethnicity or region.

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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Asian Human Rights Commission issues an urgent appeal for Prageeth



Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has issued an urgent appeal for journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who is missing since 24th January. The Sri Lankan authorities has repeatedly denied any knowledge about his disappearance.

Highlighting the fact that 'Sri Lanka remains as one of the most dangerous environments in the region for journalists' AHRC has appealed to the concerned groups and individuals to "write letters to the relevant authorities to urge for stronger and clearer efforts to thoroughly investigate Prageeth's disappearance, ensure his safe return, and provide security for the victim’s family."

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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Tension amid Sri Lanka celebrations



Sri Lanka's president, has called on the country's ethnic Tamils to help ease tensions, as the country marks its first independence day since the end of a 25-year civil war.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Kandy on Thursday, indicated there would be no self-determination for Tamils, but called on them to work with the government.

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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Gov’t defends detention of suspected Tamil rebels



Read the Human Right Watch report on Sri Lankan detainees

Sri Lanka is rejecting claims that some 11,000 people who surrendered as suspected Tamil rebels just before the decades-long bloody conflict ended in May 2009 are being held incommunicado or risk being tortured.

"These allegations are untrue. The surrendered persons have access to relatives and family and we are working with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in their rehabilitation and reintegration programme," said Major General Daya Ratnayake, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, which is in charge of all rebel suspects undergoing rehabilitation.



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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Sri Lanka: Northern Journalists express concern on post election violence



North Sri Lanka Journalists Association (NSLJA) expresses is grave concern on increasing violence against media and opposition political activists in the election post period. We earnestly hope that normalcy will return to whole country and rule of law will prevail which is a necessary pre condition for long awaited peace and reconciliation.

North of Sri Lanka has witnessed peoples rights being violated for a long time, our media and journalists faced unprecedented repression during the last few years. We express solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the south of Sri Lanka, who are undergoing the same situation we faced for a long time. We express our contentment that ban on Lanka newspaper has been lifted by the judiciary and hope that its editor Chandana Sirimalwattaa will be released soon. NSLJA condemn all acts against media unconditionally.

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Thursday, February 04, 2010

SLA constructs Maximum HSZ in Jaffna



Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna has begun constructing an earthen dam in an area encompassing Kaangeasanthu’rai and Keerimalai in Valikaamam North as part of the new Maximum High Security Zone (MHSZ) Wednesday, sources in Jaffna said. 20 Village Officer (VO) divisions of the 27 VO divisions occupied as SLA High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam North are to be turned into the new MHSZ, the sources added.

Basil Rajapakse, the brother and Senior Advisor of President Mahinda Rajapakse, prior to the presidential election, had promised the residents evicted by SLA in Valikaamam North that they will be permitted to resettle in their houses

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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Violence Isn't Slowing in Sri Lanka



Despite promises by the Sri Lankan government to ease curbs on civil rights and a new era of reconciliation following its defeat of the Tamil Tigers, human rights and press freedom organizations say little has changed. Repression and state-sponsored violence are continuing in the wake of a convincing victory by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a snap election on Jan. 26 and if anything, anything, threats and intimidation appear to have accelerated, the rights organizations say.

Rajapaksa's electoral success was built on the government's crushing defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009, ending a 26-year insurgency by the island's minority Tamil population. The opposition, led by the former Army chief, Sarath Fonseka, has charged that Rajapaksa's landslide victory, by 57.9 percent against 40.1 percent, was characterized by illegal imprisonment and intimidation of opposition figures. In return Rajapaksa accused Fonseka, a former ally, of seeking to organize a coup, and ordered the arrest of some of Fonseka's army colleagues.

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Thursday, February 04, 2010

Sri Lankan opposition hits the streets to protest presidential election results



Thousands of opposition supporters have hit the streets of the capital, in protest over last week's presidential election results, which they claim were rigged.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa secured a landslide victory, defeating his former army chief Sarath Fonseka in the Jan. 26 poll, according to official results.

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