India urged to raise human rights issues in Sri Lanka

[Amnesty International] As the Indian Foreign Secretary visits Sri Lanka this week, he has been urged to raise concerns over the safety of displaced civilians trapped in the Wanni, in discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka. In an open letter to Shivshankar Menon, Amnesty International has asked him to pay special attention to the…

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Sri Lanka: Views from the conflict

[BBC] The Sri Lankan military has secured a string of military successes over the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] in recent months. As the army announces it has seized full control of the Jaffna peninsula in the north, people across the country give their views and experiences of the latest phase in the conflict.…

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“Attacks on media must stop”

[IRIN] The Sri Lankan government is under intense local and international pressure to halt attacks against journalists and media organisations after a newspaper editor was killed and a private television station attacked by unidentified armed gangs. The incidents came as the military announced making significant headway in its battle against Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam…

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Sri Lanka: a voice cries freedom from beyond the grave

[Telegraph] Back from Beijing (where I spent last week, apologies for lack of posts) to report, with the heaviest heart, the murder of one of Sri Lanka’s bravest and most controversial journalists. Lasantha Wickrematunge, 50, was stabbed and shot to death in broad daylight last Friday as he drove to work at The Sunday Leader,…

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