srilanka1998
Member
- Registriert
- 26. Juli 2005
- Beiträge
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Modify your opinion of Canadian Tamils
[ Tamil Mirror ] [ 10:44 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The Canadian English language media, have been highlighting several issues recently, which in their opinion impacts the Tamil community in Canada seriously, suggesting to Ban the Tigers and Halt extortion. Their opinion is based on the American Human Rights Watch report by Jo Becker, titled ‘Funding the Final War’ of 15th March, 2006. Unbiased and balanced opinion is something that is always welcomed and appreciated. Strangely that has been missing this time around in their writing. Sadly lacking in these news reports and Editorials is the background material out of an investigative reporting to base their writings. The general accusation had been ‘Extortion of finance, accompanied by threats causing mass fear in the Tamil community’. This is a highly exaggerated version by the Human Rights Watch to say that the 250,000 strong Tamil community members are being shaken down for the money by the LTTE.
Rajapaksa’s options
[ TamilCanadian ] [ 10:51 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The immediate task is obviously to turn around the recent descent towards war. The crucial issue here would be removing the main stumbling block that has put the ceasefire agreement in jeopardy. That stumbling block is none other than Tamil dissident paramilitary units working under the protection of the government’s forces. Rajapaksa’s immediate task would be to convince the Tamil dissident groups and the military leaders to embrace the political path necessary to pacify separatism, as Britain has done.Meanwhile, whether the president himself has a military agenda up his sleeve will very quickly become clear in view of the political options available to him along above lines.
The Role of Human Rights in Peace Agreements - Norway’s facilitation of peace processes
[ Ministry of Foreign Affiars - Norway ] [ 10:58 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway is engaged in a number of peace and reconciliation processes around the world. Our efforts in places like Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Sudan and the Middle East have received some attention, but Norway generally supports other actors – the UN, regional organisations, NGOs and other governments, rather than going alone.In some cases, however, we play a more prominent part. This is always at the explicit request of the parties to a conflict, and always because we believe that we can make a contribution. So what are the defining traits of Norway’s approach to conflict management and the facilitation of peace processes?..Turning to the situation in Sri Lanka, where we also cooperate closely with Switzerland, the recent developments in the peace process have been promising. The parties met in Geneva in March to discuss how they could strengthen the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. And they will meet again in two weeks’ time, again in Geneva.
Sri Lanka president meets Nordic peace envoy
[ ABC Asia Pacific ] [ 11:01 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway's peace envoys to Sri Lanka have met President Mahinda Rajapakse to discuss the country's peace process.Officials at the president's office have revealed no details of the talks, which were held behind closed-doors.Norway is trying to broker a peace agreement between the Colombo government and Tamil Tiger separatist rebels.Oslo's international development minister, Erik Solheim, and new peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, are in Sri Lanka to help prepare both sides for a second round of peace negotiations due to take place in Geneva, Switzerland later this month. On Wednesday, Mr Hanssen-Bauer had a separate meeting with the Tamil Tiger leadership in the rebel-held north.The Tigers have urged the envoy to make sure the government honours a pledge to disarm a rival Tamil faction before the Geneva talks begin on April 19.
ICRC’s new Head of Delegation meets with LTTE
[ LTTE Peace Secretariat ] [ 11:07 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The new Head of Delegation of the ICRC Mr.Toon Vandenhove visited Kilinochchi today, 6 April 2006 and had an informal meeting with Mr.S.P.Tamilselvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing at the Peace Secretariat.Accompanying the new Head of Delegation was Mr.Thieerry Meyrat, the outgoing Head. Thanking the LTTE for the co-operation extended during his stay Mr.Meyrat assured that the ICRC would continue its role with commitment as long as the parties want their presence.It was agreed to expand the dissemination exercise to all units of the LTTE and continue the process of dialogue in all matters concerning the humaniarian activities of the ICRC. Mr.Tamilselvan conveyed his appreciation to the ICRC for all its humanitarian services and especially the valuable and timely service rendered during Tsunami in December 2004.
Sri Lanka Seeking $500 Million Loan From Saudi Arabia for Refinery Capacity Expansion
[ AP ] [ 11:11 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The Sri Lankan government is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to obtain a US$500 million (euro407.76 million) loan for expanding the country's only refinery, the Petroleum Resources minister said Thursday."We are seeking the loan from the government of Saudi Arabia and discussions are underway. We expect a decision to be a made in about a month from now," A.H.M. Fowzie told a news conference.The loan will be used for a planned expansion of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corp.'s Sapugaskanda refinery located outside the capital, Colombo. The expansion will nearly double the capacity of the refinery.Sri Lanka imports all its crude oil requirements mainly from Iran. Refined petroleum products are imported from Malaysia and the Middle East.
Norway peace envoys meet Sri Lanka president in bid to save truce
[ AFP ] [ 11:30 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway's top peace envoys met Sri Lanka's president, diplomats said, amid doubts about whether the next round of talks on salvaging the island's ceasefire will go ahead. Oslo's International Development Minister Erik Solheim and new peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer had closed-door talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse to arrange the truce negotiations slated for April 19 in Switzerland. Officials at the president's office said talks were underway on the peace process but declined to give details. Hanssen-Bauer had a separate meeting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leadership in the rebel-held north on Wednesday and on Thursday he also met the country's main Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem.
Cocking a Snoop
[ Tamil Guardian ] [ 11:49 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government are scheduled to meet in Geneva in two weeks for the second round of negotiations on stabilising the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). But there are serious – and rapidly growing - doubts over the efficacy of these talks. The central issue, as ever, is the continuing operations of Army-backed paramilitaries. Sri Lanka is obliged under the CFA to have disarmed them four years ago. The matter was raised by the LTTE in the first round in February, whereupon it was agreed Sri Lanka would now ensure this. The joint statement issued after the talks pointedly declared: “[the government of Sri Lanka] is committed to taking all necessary measures in accordance with the [2002] Ceasefire Agreement to ensure that no armed group or person other than Government security forces will carry arms or conduct armed operations.”
Sri Lanka banks on poorest women
[ BBC ] [ 14:32 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Women's banks are flourishing in Sri Lanka but there are questions about whether they really make a difference to poverty. There is barely space to move in Philomena Aranasingham's front room. She lives in the Kirullapone slums in the heart of Colombo, moments away from a still waterway with sewage floating by. Her room is swamped with red velvet curtains and silk shirts. She runs a lucrative tailoring business from here. "Five years ago I had nothing. Now we have comfort at home, a phone and our children can go to school without shame." The drapes are a major commission from the Sri Lankan army. Philomena was the first recipient of loans to women from the Grameen bank, which has operated in Sri Lanka for almost six years.
Sri Lanka offers safe passage for Tigers after fresh Norway bid
[ AFP ] [ 14:33 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Sri Lanka gave security guarantees to Tiger rebels travelling to Switzerland for talks on saving their faltering ceasefire, a Norwegian minister said here after talks with the president. Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim said President Mahinda Rajapakse agreed to Tamil Tiger demands for safe passage to Switzerland amid doubts if talks scheduled for April 19 will go ahead. "The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) asked for clear-cut guarantees," Solheim told the Foreign Correspondents' Association here on Thursday. "The president gave clear guarantees that no harm will happen to the LTTE." The next round of talks was thrown into doubt after the Tigers insisted that Colombo should deliver on a promise made at talks in Switzerland in February to stop the activities of rival Tamils.
Norway sees improved peace prospects in Sri Lanka
[ Kyodo ] [ 14:33 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway sees the landslide victory at Sri Lanka's March 30 local elections for President Mahinda Rajapakse's United People's Freedom Alliance as a strengthening of Rajapakse's hand to take forward the country's fragile peace process, a top Norwegian minister said Thursday. "The local election result was a clear mandate to Mahinda Rajapakse to move the (peace) process forward," Erik Solheim, Norway's minister of international development who is heading the peace facilitation effort, told reporters. "It's a new platform to move forward," added Jon Hanssan-Bauer, the senior Norwegian diplomat who will handle the day-to-day running of the peace process under Solheim's leadership. "It's a significant development."
[ Tamil Mirror ] [ 10:44 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The Canadian English language media, have been highlighting several issues recently, which in their opinion impacts the Tamil community in Canada seriously, suggesting to Ban the Tigers and Halt extortion. Their opinion is based on the American Human Rights Watch report by Jo Becker, titled ‘Funding the Final War’ of 15th March, 2006. Unbiased and balanced opinion is something that is always welcomed and appreciated. Strangely that has been missing this time around in their writing. Sadly lacking in these news reports and Editorials is the background material out of an investigative reporting to base their writings. The general accusation had been ‘Extortion of finance, accompanied by threats causing mass fear in the Tamil community’. This is a highly exaggerated version by the Human Rights Watch to say that the 250,000 strong Tamil community members are being shaken down for the money by the LTTE.
Rajapaksa’s options
[ TamilCanadian ] [ 10:51 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The immediate task is obviously to turn around the recent descent towards war. The crucial issue here would be removing the main stumbling block that has put the ceasefire agreement in jeopardy. That stumbling block is none other than Tamil dissident paramilitary units working under the protection of the government’s forces. Rajapaksa’s immediate task would be to convince the Tamil dissident groups and the military leaders to embrace the political path necessary to pacify separatism, as Britain has done.Meanwhile, whether the president himself has a military agenda up his sleeve will very quickly become clear in view of the political options available to him along above lines.
The Role of Human Rights in Peace Agreements - Norway’s facilitation of peace processes
[ Ministry of Foreign Affiars - Norway ] [ 10:58 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway is engaged in a number of peace and reconciliation processes around the world. Our efforts in places like Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Sudan and the Middle East have received some attention, but Norway generally supports other actors – the UN, regional organisations, NGOs and other governments, rather than going alone.In some cases, however, we play a more prominent part. This is always at the explicit request of the parties to a conflict, and always because we believe that we can make a contribution. So what are the defining traits of Norway’s approach to conflict management and the facilitation of peace processes?..Turning to the situation in Sri Lanka, where we also cooperate closely with Switzerland, the recent developments in the peace process have been promising. The parties met in Geneva in March to discuss how they could strengthen the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. And they will meet again in two weeks’ time, again in Geneva.
Sri Lanka president meets Nordic peace envoy
[ ABC Asia Pacific ] [ 11:01 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway's peace envoys to Sri Lanka have met President Mahinda Rajapakse to discuss the country's peace process.Officials at the president's office have revealed no details of the talks, which were held behind closed-doors.Norway is trying to broker a peace agreement between the Colombo government and Tamil Tiger separatist rebels.Oslo's international development minister, Erik Solheim, and new peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, are in Sri Lanka to help prepare both sides for a second round of peace negotiations due to take place in Geneva, Switzerland later this month. On Wednesday, Mr Hanssen-Bauer had a separate meeting with the Tamil Tiger leadership in the rebel-held north.The Tigers have urged the envoy to make sure the government honours a pledge to disarm a rival Tamil faction before the Geneva talks begin on April 19.
ICRC’s new Head of Delegation meets with LTTE
[ LTTE Peace Secretariat ] [ 11:07 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The new Head of Delegation of the ICRC Mr.Toon Vandenhove visited Kilinochchi today, 6 April 2006 and had an informal meeting with Mr.S.P.Tamilselvan, Head of the LTTE Political Wing at the Peace Secretariat.Accompanying the new Head of Delegation was Mr.Thieerry Meyrat, the outgoing Head. Thanking the LTTE for the co-operation extended during his stay Mr.Meyrat assured that the ICRC would continue its role with commitment as long as the parties want their presence.It was agreed to expand the dissemination exercise to all units of the LTTE and continue the process of dialogue in all matters concerning the humaniarian activities of the ICRC. Mr.Tamilselvan conveyed his appreciation to the ICRC for all its humanitarian services and especially the valuable and timely service rendered during Tsunami in December 2004.
Sri Lanka Seeking $500 Million Loan From Saudi Arabia for Refinery Capacity Expansion
[ AP ] [ 11:11 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The Sri Lankan government is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to obtain a US$500 million (euro407.76 million) loan for expanding the country's only refinery, the Petroleum Resources minister said Thursday."We are seeking the loan from the government of Saudi Arabia and discussions are underway. We expect a decision to be a made in about a month from now," A.H.M. Fowzie told a news conference.The loan will be used for a planned expansion of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corp.'s Sapugaskanda refinery located outside the capital, Colombo. The expansion will nearly double the capacity of the refinery.Sri Lanka imports all its crude oil requirements mainly from Iran. Refined petroleum products are imported from Malaysia and the Middle East.
Norway peace envoys meet Sri Lanka president in bid to save truce
[ AFP ] [ 11:30 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway's top peace envoys met Sri Lanka's president, diplomats said, amid doubts about whether the next round of talks on salvaging the island's ceasefire will go ahead. Oslo's International Development Minister Erik Solheim and new peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer had closed-door talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse to arrange the truce negotiations slated for April 19 in Switzerland. Officials at the president's office said talks were underway on the peace process but declined to give details. Hanssen-Bauer had a separate meeting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leadership in the rebel-held north on Wednesday and on Thursday he also met the country's main Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem.
Cocking a Snoop
[ Tamil Guardian ] [ 11:49 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
The Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government are scheduled to meet in Geneva in two weeks for the second round of negotiations on stabilising the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). But there are serious – and rapidly growing - doubts over the efficacy of these talks. The central issue, as ever, is the continuing operations of Army-backed paramilitaries. Sri Lanka is obliged under the CFA to have disarmed them four years ago. The matter was raised by the LTTE in the first round in February, whereupon it was agreed Sri Lanka would now ensure this. The joint statement issued after the talks pointedly declared: “[the government of Sri Lanka] is committed to taking all necessary measures in accordance with the [2002] Ceasefire Agreement to ensure that no armed group or person other than Government security forces will carry arms or conduct armed operations.”
Sri Lanka banks on poorest women
[ BBC ] [ 14:32 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Women's banks are flourishing in Sri Lanka but there are questions about whether they really make a difference to poverty. There is barely space to move in Philomena Aranasingham's front room. She lives in the Kirullapone slums in the heart of Colombo, moments away from a still waterway with sewage floating by. Her room is swamped with red velvet curtains and silk shirts. She runs a lucrative tailoring business from here. "Five years ago I had nothing. Now we have comfort at home, a phone and our children can go to school without shame." The drapes are a major commission from the Sri Lankan army. Philomena was the first recipient of loans to women from the Grameen bank, which has operated in Sri Lanka for almost six years.
Sri Lanka offers safe passage for Tigers after fresh Norway bid
[ AFP ] [ 14:33 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Sri Lanka gave security guarantees to Tiger rebels travelling to Switzerland for talks on saving their faltering ceasefire, a Norwegian minister said here after talks with the president. Norway's International Development Minister Erik Solheim said President Mahinda Rajapakse agreed to Tamil Tiger demands for safe passage to Switzerland amid doubts if talks scheduled for April 19 will go ahead. "The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) asked for clear-cut guarantees," Solheim told the Foreign Correspondents' Association here on Thursday. "The president gave clear guarantees that no harm will happen to the LTTE." The next round of talks was thrown into doubt after the Tigers insisted that Colombo should deliver on a promise made at talks in Switzerland in February to stop the activities of rival Tamils.
Norway sees improved peace prospects in Sri Lanka
[ Kyodo ] [ 14:33 GMT, Apr. 6, 2006 ]
Norway sees the landslide victory at Sri Lanka's March 30 local elections for President Mahinda Rajapakse's United People's Freedom Alliance as a strengthening of Rajapakse's hand to take forward the country's fragile peace process, a top Norwegian minister said Thursday. "The local election result was a clear mandate to Mahinda Rajapakse to move the (peace) process forward," Erik Solheim, Norway's minister of international development who is heading the peace facilitation effort, told reporters. "It's a new platform to move forward," added Jon Hanssan-Bauer, the senior Norwegian diplomat who will handle the day-to-day running of the peace process under Solheim's leadership. "It's a significant development."