Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda, whose visit as part of presidential delegation has come under controversy following reports that he is a proclaimed offender in India, on Thursday said all political leaders were pardoned as per the Indo-Sri Lanka pact but maintained that he was prepared to face legal action, if any.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his former army chief Sarath Fonseka were responsible for alleged war crimes and killing of Tamil civilians during the last phase of the 30-year-old civil war, according to a secret United States cable made public by WikiLeaks.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on Thursday won two more seats in Kandy and Trincolamee districts, but still fell short of two-thirds majority it was seeking to carry out constitutional changes.
The 73-year-old leader on Thursday emailed his resignation letter to the Speaker soon after he was allowed by Singapore to enter the city-state on a "private visit".
Keen to forge all-weather ties with India, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has lauded the developmental work undertaken by the country in the war-ravaged northern region and vowed not to allow his nation's soil to be used against it.
India has assured Sri Lanka of its support to the process of resettlement and rehabilitation of Tamil civilians displaced due to the war and pushed for a political solution to the decades-old ethnic question.
Rajapaksa had accepted a 'joint' invitation from the Indian government and the event organisers, and would be flying to India on Wednesday, according to diplomatic sources and protocol officials in Delhi.
India Under-19 completed their domination of Sri Lanka with another emphatic result -- a victory by an innings and 147 runs in the second 'Youth Test' in Hambantota, on Friday.
Official spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said Rajapakse, who won re-election in presidential elections last month, signed a decree dissolving the national assembly with effect from midnight Tuesday.
General Sarath Fonseka, the defeated candidate in the recent Sri Lanka's presidential election and the country's former Army chief, has been arrested, BBC has reported.
Over 100 personnel from Sri Lanka's elite Special Task Force on Friday raided the office of former army chief and defeated opposition presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka in Colombo."I don't know what they are looking for. They have also questioned the staff," said a close aide of Fonseka, who was trounced by incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January 26 presidential polls.
Mahinda Rajapaksa's re-election as Sri Lankan president has come as a disappointment for the Tamil diaspora, which is still reeling from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels' defeat in the country's civil war last year. The influential community of Tamils living overseas now doesn't know about what role it should play in their homeland, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
Triumphant Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared on Thursday that emergency provisions in the country would be scrapped but not hastily and said he would soon unveil a political plan for the estranged Tamils. A day after his thumping victory in the presidential elections, 64-year-old Rajapaksa said he would come out with his plans after a dialouge with Tamil leaders.
The Sri Lankan army on Wednesday surrounded the Colombo hotel occupied by former army chief General Sarath Fonseka, who is the main opponent of President Mahinda Rajapakse in the presidential poll, counting for which began on Tuesday night.Heavily armed Lankan troops were deployed around the building following information that army deserters were among the 400 people present inside the lake-front luxury hotel in central Colombo.
'They wanted the army commander to arrest me and he told the air force commander to put air force people at their airport take over their airport they sent the army to all broadcasting stations and television stations... they sent all the people on leave; they had only some people and the army these were indications of a military coup,' Fonseka told television channel NewsX.
Incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has acquired an initial lead in postal vote counting in the country's sixth presidential election against main challenger and former army chief General (retired) Sarath Fonseka.According to the island-nation's Election Office, over 70 per cent of the 14 million-plus voters exercised their franchise in Tuesday's presidential election, which was held from 7 am to 4 pm.
Nearly 70 percent voters cast their franchise in Sri Lanka's first post-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam presidential election on Tuesday, expected to be a close finish between incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger General Sarath Fonseka.
The stage is now set for what is expected to be the most closely contested Presidential polls in Sri Lanka, with the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger Sarath Fonseka are exuding full confidence of emerging victorious.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today declared that the war against the LTTE was over as he reached out to the Tamil population, saying their protection was the responsibility of his government.
In a major boost to the presidential campaign of former top Sri Lankan army general Sarath Fonseka, the dominant Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance on Wednesday announced support to him.
A Sri Lankan military court on Friday stripped the country's war hero and former army chief Sarath Fonseka of his rank and medals after finding him guilty of dabbling in politics while in service. The General was convicted by a three-member military court which began deliberations five months ago. The court verdict has to be ratified by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the Sri Lankan media reported.
Questioning the purpose of opposition Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka's recent India visit, an ally of Sri Lanka's ruling party has asked the former Army General to reveal the details of his tour and whether he reached an agreement with New Delhi.
Art of Living teacher Swami Sadyojathah talks about the trauma relief programme he conducted for Sri Lanka's terror-hit cricket team and the secret to healthy living.
Sri Lanka's former top General Sarath Fonseka, who quit following a spat with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Sunday announced that he would be the joint candidate of opposition parties in the presidential polls slated for January 26 next year.
Sri Lanka's former top general Sarath Fonseka, who resigned last week following a spat with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has vowed to protect democratic freedom and human rights, amid reports that he may contest the presidential polls as an opposition candidate.
According to General Sarath Fonseka's retirement letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it all boils down to the government's fears of a military coup and its mistrust of Sri Lanka's first and only serving four-star general.
"I have also urged upon the Sri Lankan president the need for reconciliation among communities in Sri Lanka and for practical arrangements, including devolution of powers, to enable all minorities in Sri Lanka, particularly the Tamil minority, to lead lives of dignity," Dr Manmohan Singh said in his letter dated June 10
Padma Vibhushan awardee Murthy has stepped down as Infosys CEO but continues as its chief mentor and board chairman.
During the two-day visit, Mukherjee will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and discuss the latest situation in the northern part of the island nation, sources said. Mukherjee is expected to impress upon Rajapaksa government the need for finding a political solution to the ethnic problem to ensure lasting peace.
Unidentified persons on Monday desecrated a statue of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in Puducherry, leading to tension in the city. The police said an effigy of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa garlanded with footwear was found hanging around the hand of Rajiv Gandhi statue at the Tahattavam junction.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, during the discussions he had with the Sri Lankan leaders including President Mahinda Rajapaksa as part of his two-day visit to Colombo, welcomed the Island nation's commitment for a devolution package in the embattled north. Menon, who concluded his visit on Saturday, 'urged early movement towards a peacefully negotiated political settlement in the island, including in the north', an Indian High Commission release said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the mastermind behind the attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3.
In the first post war elections in Sri Lanka after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a pro-Tiger party on Sunday won the municipal poll in Vavuniya, an indication that the separatists still attract popular support, even as President Mahinda Rajapaksa's coalition won the prestigious Jaffna local elections.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed a three-member court martial panel to try detained ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka on treason charges and the proceedings against him would be launched on March 16.
"I made clear to President (Mahinda) Rajapaksa that I intend to move forward on a Group of Experts which will advise me on setting the broad parameters and standards on the way ahead on establishing accountability concerning Sri Lanka," Ban told media-persons I New York, referring to a conversation he had with Sri Lankan President on Thursday.
India is keen to open a consulate in Jaffna, once a stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on Monday, even as she pressed for political reconciliation among all communities in Sri Lanka so as to usher in peace and harmony."Of course, we have to work out the modalities. Because we feel our office there will help us to be in touch with the local people, help us do assistance programmes, help issue visas," she said.
'For the common man, the economic conditions are not going to get better.'
"My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the injured," Modi said.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has launched his son Namal into active politics ahead of the April 8 parliamentary polls in which the 23-year- old would contest from the southeastern Hambantota district.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to Colombo to apprise him of the ethnic Tamils issue, Sri Lankan Tamil MP Arumuga Thondaiman claimed today.
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