Sri Lanka’s ignored war

[Boston Globe] ASIA’S longest civil war is building to a violent crescendo. In the island nation of Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese-majority government should be pressed to accept a cease-fire, to permit a political settlement. Government forces are besieging the rebel Tamil Tigers in the north of the country. Since abandoning a ceasefire in 2006 and…

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The one-man show is unworkable

[AHRC] A former minister of the government and a well-known lawyer, Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, is quoted in Lankadissent (December 22), in an interview given earlier to Lakbima as saying: “I relinquished my ministerial position because I was not allowed to exercise my powers. I was the only minister without a secretary. Then, how could the work…

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A war against the judiciary

[AHRC] The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in a judgement that is considered controversial this week (December 17) ordered that petrol prices should be reduced to Rs 100/= per litre to be effective from midnight the same day. The prevalent price for petrol with a octane count of 90, was Rs 122/= and petrol with…

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Sri Lankan govt has public backing for war on Tigers: survey

[AFP] The Sri Lankan government has overwhelming public support for its war against the Tamil Tigers, and most people believe the rebels will soon be defeated, an opinion poll published Wednesday shows. The privately run research group TNS Lanka questioned 500 people living outside the northern conflict zone between October and November. The result will…

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Sri Lanka signs off on record war spending

[Reuters] Sri Lanka’s parliament approved a budget on Monday pledging record spending next year on the war with the Tamil Tigers, while troops resumed attacks on the edge of the rebels’ headquarters town of Kilinochchi. And in a sign President Mahinda Rajapaksa will use the greatest military success by any government so far in the…

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