‘Reports about arms sales from Pakistan are misleading’
In an interview with Padma Rao-Sundarji, chief of South Asia bureau, Der Spiegel, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera says India’s commitment to their sovereignty and integrity has been steadfast and should there be a bigger crisis, India will be there to help
• The peace process between Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), begun with Norwegian mediation in 2002, remains stalled, violence is the order of the day in the island-state, Scandinavian monitors warn that the ceasefire is now ‘but a piece of paper’.
India not too keen to up its Sri Lanka profile
New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) The influential co-chairs to Sri Lanka's peace process want India to get more actively involved in efforts to bring peace to the island, but New Delhi is unlikely to take up the offer.
Tamil Nadu verdict not to impact Sri Lanka
New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) The victory of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu is not expected to have any impact on Sri Lanka unless war erupts in the island and Tamil refugees flee to the Indian state in large numbers.
Dying to kill
The rise of the suicide bomber
APRIL was a bloody month in many countries. On April 22, a suicide bomber was killed but failed in his mission to blow up an Indian Air Force convoy in Kashmir. On April 25, a female suicide bomber disguised as a pregnant woman, blew herself up in front of the Sri Lankan army chief’s convoy, killing 10 and injuring 26 others including the army chief. Three suicide bombers killed 71 and wounded over 150 in an Iraqi Shia mosque.
Prabhakaran's pride: Or why he refused to meet Akashi
(COMMENTARY)
Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's curt refusal to meet Japan's special envoy Yasushi Akashi is a well thought out public snub that will not surprise those who have seen the Tigers grow from a ragtag group to be the world's most powerful insurgent outfit. Pride, dignity and self-respect are immensely important to Prabhakaran and closely linked to the struggle for Tamil Eelam, even if others consider the goal a mirage.
Whither Sri Lanka's peace process?
Will the situation spiral out of control or will it ultimately veer back to the path of negotiations? The international community could help determine what happens.
SRI LANKA's faltering peace process suffered another blow on April 25 when a woman suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) blew herself up inside the Army headquarters in Colombo. She failed in her mission to kill the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Sarath Fonseka, but what she did was to alter the nature of the engagement between the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE.
Suicide bomber blows up Sri Lanka's peace process
(NEWS ANALYSIS)
New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) Less than 24 hours after India urged Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tiger guerrillas to strictly adhere to the Norwegian-brokered ceasefire, a woman suicide bomber almost killed the island's army chief in a meticulous operation that was capable of being carried out only by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Step in to end Sri Lanka's war
SINGAPORE It seems perverse that a world gripped by the scourge of terrorism neglects the bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, where minority Tamils battling for a separate state against the Sinhala majority are using the full range of terrorist weapons, including suicide bombers.
Sri Lanka situation alarming but war unlikely - for now
The situation in Sri Lanka, where Tamil Tiger guerrillas have formally pulled out of the Geneva peace talks citing growing violence, is alarming but a full-scale war is unlikely for now, well-placed diplomatic sources say.
India worried over Sri Lanka turmoil
India is seriously concerned over the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka where rapidly rising killings and counter-killings have the potential to suddenly blow up.
The Tiger towards its territory
Why won’t the Tamil LTTE unilaterally disarm like the Basque separatist ETA? The LTTE, which was established by Tamil youths in the early 1980s, wants a homeland in northeast Sri Lanka for the ethnic Tamil minority. ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom), which was established by a group of students in 1959, used violent tactics to achieve an independent state for 3 million Basques from France and Spain. Both organisations alleged discrimination by the majority dominated state as the reason for secession and used violent tactics.
Norway peace envoy to discuss Sri Lanka with India
New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) Norway's new peace envoy to Sri Lanka will be here this week to discuss with Indian leaders the situation in the island in the run up to the next round of peace talks in Geneva April 19-21.
India to advocate Sri Lanka 'consensus' to Ranil
New Delhi, March 31 (IANS) India will urge Sri Lankan opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to work for a "southern consensus" to give a push to the island's peace process when he comes here Sunday to meet Indian leaders.
Peace holds in Sri Lanka, for the time being
POLITICS," CHAIRMAN Mao famously said in 1938, "is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed." Sri Lanka's latest politics of war and peace was set in an Alpine chateau in Switzerland, where the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ended yet another round of direct talks on Thursday.
Will Sri Lanka disarm Karuna?
New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) Sri Lanka's peace process has got a new lease of life following the Geneva talks with Tamil Tiger guerrillas but Colombo is faced with a daunting task: how to de-fang 'Colonel' Karuna?
Is India's noisy democracy upsetting America?
(COMMENTARY)
US President George W. Bush's reference to the need for patience in the negotiations with India on the nuclear deal between the two countries suggests that America is waking up to the prerequisites of dealing with a vibrant democracy -- an unusual experience for Washington. Till now, the US has dealt either with adversaries challenging its suspected hegemonic ambitions - the former Soviet Union, Red China and Iran - or with two types of allies.
Killings stall Sri Lanka's revival
COLOMBO Roshan Buddakorala borrowed 2.5 million Sri Lankan rupees to rebuild his restaurant, which was washed away by the 2004 tsunami.
Another attempt to bring peace in Sri Lanka
IT WAS the news that Sri Lanka's peace process was waiting for. On Wednesday, the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam agreed to hold direct talks on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Switzerland. This marks a revival of negotiations that have remained stalled for nearly three years.
US identifies a new foe - close to India
(NEWS ANALYSIS)
New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS) After allowing the Afghan mujahideen to blossom into Taliban and Al Qaeda, the US is taking a hard look at Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas, undoubtedly the world's most lethal insurgent group. The question is: can this lead to a confrontation between the two?
Sri Lanka: towards an enduring solution
New Delhi: In a wide-ranging joint statement, which seeks to catalyse a broader economic relationship between the two countries, India and Sri Lanka reiterated their support for — and commitment to — the embattled peace process in the island nation and agreed that an enduring solution to the country's problems could emerge "only through internal political processes that promote consensus and reconciliation."
Norway to have new peace envoy, with Solheim on top
New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) Norway is going to name a new peace envoy for Sri Lanka but Erik Solheim, who played a key role in crafting a historic ceasefire between Colombo and the Tamil Tigers in 2002, will remain in the driver's seat.
Peace process wears no clothes
The demand for India’s active engagement with the Sri Lankan peace process has been building up for the past couple of years following the gradual erosion in the credibility of Norway as an impartial ‘facilitator’.
India and Sri Lanka: so near, yet so far
While New Delhi seems clear about what it cannot do in relation to Sri Lanka's search for peace, there is no clarity on what it should do.
India rallies around Sri Lanka, condemns Kadirgamar's killing
New Delhi, Aug 13: Describing him as a "long-standing friend", India Saturday condemned the assassination of Sri Lanka's foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and called for swift punishment for those behind "this heinous crime".
Kadirgamar - an icon of a united and resurgent Sri Lanka
Colombo, Aug 13: Many Sri Lankans, cutting across the ethnic divide, would have loved to see Lakshman Kadirgamar as the prime minister of their island country, but the cold-blooded assassins of their favourite leader had scripted a different fate for him.
Norway terms Kadirgamar assassination 'a big big blow'
Oslo, Aug 13 (IANS) Norway, which is mediating between Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels and the government, has deplored the assassination of the country's foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar as a "big big blow" to the ceasefire and the stalled peace process on the island nation.
Natwar Singh in Colombo, backs peace process
Colombo, June 9: Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh Thursday reiterated his country's support for the peace process in Sri Lanka as he arrived here on a three-day visit aimed at improving political and economic relations between the two countries.
Natwar Singh to visit Sri Lanka in June
New Delhi, May 12: India's External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh will pay a three-day visit to Sri Lanka in June, his second since taking office last year.
No LTTE dictatorship, India tells Norway
New Delhi, May 12: India has expressed continued support to the Norway-facilitated peace process in Sri Lanka but made it clear that it is bitterly opposed to any "dictatorship" of the Tamil Tiger guerrillas.
LTTE says it is no threat to India
Colombo, May 11: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas have said that they pose no threat to India.
Indian envoy had narrow escape in Colombo blast
COLOMBO: Dignitaries, including Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao, had a narrow escape in the grenade attack on a concert here that killed two people and injured 19 as Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan made 20,000 star-struck fans rock by screaming "I love you, I love you."
War fears rise as Sri Lanka vows to meet Tiger threats
COLOMBO: Fears that Sri Lanka may be drifting back to war mounted amid sporadic violence, a day after (Dec 6) the government vowed to strengthen its military to meet any security threat.
Sri Lanka vows to strengthen military, rejects Tiger talks offer
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka vowed to strengthen its security forces and meet "any threat" after reiterating that Tamil Tiger conditions to resume stalled peace negotiations were unacceptable.
Norwegian facilitators to meet LTTE
COLOMBO: Norwegian peace facilitators are to meet Tamil Tiger theoretician Anton Balasingham in London over the future of the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka, the state radio announced Wednesday (Dec 1).
Sri Lanka mulls Tiger threat to return to war
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's president and top aides were studying the latest Tamil Tiger threat to return to war amid mounting tension in embattled northern and eastern regions, officials said.
Truce monitors studying Sri Lanka's LTTE camp report
COLOMBO: International truce monitors in Sri Lanka are studying a government report on an alleged military build-up by the Tamil Tigers around the eastern port of Trincomalee, Xinhua reports.
Norway fails in secret bid to revive Sri Lanka peace talks
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's peace hopes dimmed further as Norway failed in a secret attempt to save a stumbling initiative to end three decades of ethnic bloodshed, officials close to the process said.
LTTE changing but could still kill me: Kumaratunga
NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said in remarks published Saturday (Nov 13) that Tamil Tiger guerrillas are still trying to kill her despite signing a truce with her government.
Tamil Tigers forcibly recruit child soldiers: report
NEW YORK: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas have recruited thousands of child soldiers despite signing a peace pact in February 2002, Human Rights watch said in a report released Thursday (Nov 11).
It is back to square one in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: Finally, after more than two and a half years of the Norway-sponsored peace parleys, more and more Sri Lankans are ready to believe that the ethnic conflict can resume again.
Japan envoy upbeat over salvaging Sri Lanka peace process
COLOMBO: Japan's peace envoy wrapped up his latest salvage attempt in Sri Lanka saying he detected some flexibility on the part of the government and hoped negotiations with Tamil separatists could resume soon.
Sri Lankan peace talks likely in November
COLOMBO: Peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels are likely to resume early November after a break of more than a year.
Tamil Tigers willing to resume peace talks
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have said they are willing to resume talks with the government, and are also ready to discuss the government's "counter-proposals" for peace.
LTTE to release abducted homeguards
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have said they will release two homeguards they had abducted in August, following the release on bail of 10 of their cadres.
Two LTTE guerrillas killed in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: Two members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in eastern Sri Lanka Thursday (Oct 14) night in clashes with a rival faction.
Karuna blasts Prabhakaran and Norway, forms party
COLOMBO: A famed former Tamil guerrilla leader Tuesday (Oct 12) announced the formation of a political party in Sri Lanka after branding Tamil Tigers boss Velupillai Prabhakaran as a "coward" and a "mentally deranged person".
Sri Lankan government asked to put house in order
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's main opposition leader Sunday (Oct 10) asked the government to put its house in order before reviving peace talks with the Tamil rebels.
Swiss FM to visit Sri Lanka to aid Tamil revolt mediation
GENEVA: Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey was set to visit Sri Lanka to try to revive peace talks between the government and Tamil rebels, ministry sources said.
Rights bodies ask LTTE to stop killings
LONDON: International human rights organisations have urged Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas to end political killings and recruitment of children into their ranks.
Norway urges Tamil rebels to stop political killings
COLOMBO: Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen has urged Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels to "do everything possible" to stop the political killings which have posed a threat to the country's fragile ceasefire.
Curfew in Sri Lanka town after slaying of Muslim man
COLOMBO: Police clamped an indefinite curfew in a town in northwestern Sri Lanka after violence broke out over the slaying of a Muslim man by suspected Tamil rebels, officials said.
Tamil Tigers seek foreign aid pressure on Sri Lanka to revive talks
COLOMBO: Top Tamil Tiger guerrillas left for Europe to persuade donors to use aid as a tool to pressure Sri Lanka's government to resume peace talks based on rebel self-rule proposals.
Bloody Tamil in-fighting escalates in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: Tamil Tiger guerrillas and a breakaway faction have clashed again in Sri Lanka's embattled east leaving at least seven people dead, residents and military sources said.
Kumaratunga to inaugurate reconciliation council
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga will inaugurate the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NAC) next week to push for the political settlement of the island's two-decade long ethnic conflict, her office said.
Angry Tamil party dumps second corpse outside Norwegian embassy
COLOMBO: For a second time in a week, protesters dumped the coffin of a Tamil politician killed by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels outside the Norwegian embassy in the Sri Lankan capital.
LTTE criticises India
COLOMBO: After a long gap, Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas have publicly criticised India.
Sri Lanka says Tamil Tiger killings undermine peace bid
COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government said a wave of killings blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels was undermining confidence in the peace process which has been stalled since April 2003.
Karuna's brother killed in LTTE operation
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas Thursday (Sept 23) killed the elder brother of a former high-profile regional commander who revolted in March, the pro-rebel TamilNet website reported.
Solheim to renew peace efforts in Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI: Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim will renew next week efforts to persuade the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger guerrillas to resume peace talks, diplomatic sources said Thursday (Sept 23).
LTTE must give up Tamil Eelam demand: Kumaratunga
NEW YORK: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga says the Tamil Tiger guerrillas should explicitly give up their dragging campaign for an independent Tamil Eelam homeland.
Lanka protestors place body outside embassy of peace broker
COLOMBO: Hundreds of Sri Lankan protestors carried the body of a slain political activist to the Norwegian embassy in a noisy protest against Norway's role in brokering peace with Tamil Tiger rebels, witnesses said.
Norwegian negotiators talk to rebels in Kilinochchi
COLOMBO: Norwegian peace negotiators hold talks with Tamil Tiger rebels Thursday (Sept 16) marking the second anniversary of direct negotiations between rebels and the government.
Deadlock fuelling recruitment of child soldiers: UN agency
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's stalled peace process is fuelling the recruitment of child soldiers by Tamil Tiger rebels and damaging efforts to help children affected by war, the UN agency for children said.
US urges LTTE to renounce terrorism
COLOMBO: A visiting US official has urged the Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels to renounce terrorism and resume peace talks with the government, Xinhua reports quoting the Daily News Thursday (Sept 9).
Sri Lanka Tiger rebels to repay war loans
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels have agreed to repay a "huge public debt" raised to finance their war against government forces, a pro-rebel website reported.
Tiger rebels warn Sri Lanka against no-war, no-peace policy
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels asked the government to revive stalled peace talks and warned that a policy of "no war, no peace" was fraught with political and military dangers.
Sri Lanka raises peace hopes despite killings
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels and the opposition are voicing fears the country is again on the brink of war, but a shift in parliament has raised hopes the faltering peace process can still be salvaged.
Sri Lanka president wins new ally to push Tamil peace bid
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's ruling coalition won crucial support from an opposition party to gain a simple majority for the first time since April elections and clear the way for reviving peace talks with Tamil rebels.
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