Washington: Sri Lanka will conduct investigations into the allegations of war abuses, its Foreign Minister said while presenting a detailed reconciliation plan of the island to the US. The visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, GM Peiris, presented to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a detailed reconciliation plan and said that Sri Lanka itself would conduct investigations into allegations of war abuses, which includes those by the security forces. The...
01:01 PM, May 19, 2012
Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga on Tuesday said that India's decision to vote against the country on a UN resolution is not good for the island nation. Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN's Senior Editor Suhasini Haidar, Kumaratunga said something "serious must have happened" that India took a decision of not supporting Sri Lanka. Here is a full transcript of the interview: Suhasini Haidar: Your views on India's vote against Sri...
02:53 PM, Apr 10, 2012
Los Angeles: The makers of the viral "Kony 2012" video that drew world attention to a violent rebel campaign by fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony released a new film on Thursday, pushing back against criticism that their work oversimplified a long-running conflict. The video, shot in the same energetic and idealistic style as the viral hit, encourages viewers to see themselves as global citizens in a close-knit world that needs...
08:00 AM, Apr 06, 2012
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said that his country has a rich and proud record of safeguarding human rights. Addressing a public gathering in the central town of Balangoda, Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka's human rights protection was inspired by the influence of Buddhism over a period of over 2,500 years. Rajapaksa said his objective while appointing the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was that he did...
12:52 AM, Apr 01, 2012
Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has decided to shut down some of its embassies in Europe, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday. A spokesperson at the ministry said that the government is of the view that embassies in Europe which are not serving any purpose in obtaining support for Sri Lanka's national issues will be closed and new embassies will be opened in Asia. "President Mahinda Rajapaksa had discussed...
02:01 PM, Mar 27, 2012
New Delhi: India played a key role to introduce "an element of balance" in the US-sponsored resolution in Geneva on Sri Lanka rights violations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said. In a letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Manmohan Singh said he had instructed the Indian delegation "to remain in close contact with its Sri Lanka counterparts in an attempt to find a positive way forward." "You would be aware that...
03:53 AM, Mar 25, 2012
Colombo: Despite India's backing for a US resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, the country must continue to be friends with its neighbour, a senior minister said on Saturday. "We must continue to be friends with India. We must remember that when south Indian film stars joined Tamil Nadu politicians to bring pressure on Sri Lanka through India, the Indian central government stood by us," Dullas...
11:20 PM, Mar 24, 2012
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday offered Sri Lanka an olive branch explaining India's vote against it at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The PM in his letter said that Delhi made every effort to ensure the resolution was balanced. The PM said that it is India's conviction that a meaningful devolution package would lead towards a lasting political solution. "I had instructed our delegation to...
07:06 PM, Mar 24, 2012
New Delhi: The UNHRC has issued a stern warning to Sri Lanka over intimidation of human rights activists by local activists. The UN is calling these threats unprecedented alleging intimidation by members of NGOs, families of victims and also a few Sri Lankan officials. Many activists and officials are in fact in Geneva to lobby against a US resolution that seeks action against alleged Sri Lankan war crimes. However, the...
09:11 AM, Mar 24, 2012
Colombo: 'India is a loser', the Sri Lankan media on Friday proclaimed in comments, a day after Colombo faced censure at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying New Delhi had failed to carry other South Asian nations with it on the issue. "India has failed to carry Asia, or at least South Asia with it. In other words, Sri Lanka has won against India in Asia," the pro-government...
01:58 PM, Mar 23, 2012
Sri Lanka is disappointed not just with India's stand but the resolution adopted at the UNHRC itself. ...
10:00 AM, Mar 23, 2012
New Delhi: India voted in favor of a US-sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Council against Sri Lanka calling for Colombo to investigate human rights violations during the war with LTTE. While Colombo has called India's anti-Lanka vote a big disappointment, the opinion is divided back in India with some calling it a monumental error made under US pressure. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy said, "It's...
07:36 AM, Mar 23, 2012
However, Sri Lanka got the support of 15 countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Russia and China, all of whom voted against the resolution. ...
10:50 PM, Mar 22, 2012
Colombo: The 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with 24 countries voting in favour, 15 against and eight abstaining. India also voted in favour of the US-backed resolution. Reacting to the adoption of the resolution, Sri Lanka said that it was a matter of "great satisfaction" for them that 15 countries voted with them "despite the...
06:52 PM, Mar 22, 2012
New Delhi: The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with 24 countries, including India, voting in favour, 15 against and eight abstaining. Welcoming the move of India to vote in favour of the US-backed resolution, DMK MP Kanimozhi said that all the parties in Tamil Nadu were asking for it and the credit for it went to...
05:40 PM, Mar 22, 2012
New Delhi: The 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with 24 countries voting in favour, 15 against and eight abstaining. India also voted in favour of the US-backed resolution. The resolution urged Colombo to investigate alleged war crimes during the last stage of its military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Ministry...
05:26 PM, Mar 22, 2012
Geneva: The 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with 24 countries voting in favour, 15 against and eight abstaining. India also voted in favour of the US-backed resolution. The resolution urged Colombo to investigate alleged war crimes during the last stage of its military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The United States,...
04:32 PM, Mar 22, 2012
Geneva: The 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva began debating a resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes on Thursday with a vote also expected later. The US-backed resolution urges Colombo to investigate alleged war crimes during the last stage of its military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sri Lanka is strongly lobbying against the resolution moved by the US, France and Norway,...
04:04 PM, Mar 22, 2012
Is the PM's decision to support an anti-Sri Lankan US-sponsored resolution at the UN a wise concession or an unfortunate mistake? ...
09:49 PM, Mar 20, 2012
Puducherry: Opposition AIADMK on Tuesday said the dawn to dusk bandh on Wednesday, urging the UPA government to back the US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at UNHRC at Geneva on March 23, would be held as scheduled. This was stated in a party press release in Puducherry. Functinoaries of AIADMK's local unit on Tuesday distributed pamphlets at various centres, asking traders, fleet operators, auto and tempo workers, students and...
06:48 PM, Mar 20, 2012
