Posts Tagged ‘Guardian’
Tamil killed himself ‘to guide others to liberation’
[Guardian.co.uk] His life had taken him from the northern tip of Sri Lanka to a pebble-dashed semi in north-west London and finally to a cold square in Geneva. But it is for his death that the 26-year-old Tamil, Murugathasan Varnakulasingham, is likely to be remembered. A little after eight o’clock last Thursday night, the computing…
Read MoreTrapped Sri Lankans ‘dying in makeshift hospital’
[The Observer] Doctors say wounded Sri Lankan civilians are dying for want of proper medical treatment as they lie trapped in a makeshift hospital in the last rebel-held pocket in the north-east of the island. This weekend, hundreds of injured civilians poured in to the improvised medical facility in Putumattalan village, which has been repeatedly…
Read MoreSri Lanka rejects international call for ceasefire with Tamil Tigers
[Guardian] Sri Lanka snubbed the international community’s call for a ceasefire today, saying troops would not suspend their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels despite reports of a growing civilian death toll. The government said it would offer a limited amnesty to rebel forces that were ready to lay down their arms as they were on…
Read MoreDying for free speech in Sri Lanka
[Guardian] While driving to work on 8 January Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor in chief of the Sunday Leader, was assassinated by four gunmen on motorcycles. He was shot at point-blank range after being forced to stop at a traffic light. He was rushed to the Kalubowila hospital where he later died. His death came just two…
Read MoreSri Lankan president hails victory as army seizes Tamil Tiger capital
[ The Guardian ] The Sri Lankan army today seized control of Kilinochchi, the low-lying northern town in which separatist Tamil Tiger rebels had put together the institutions of their long sought-after independent state. The major symbolic victory for the government could also prove a decisive turning point in the country’s 25-year civil war. “This…
Read More