[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 […]
Trapped 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 […]
Sri 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 […]
Dying 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 […]
Sri 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 […]