02/07/2010
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The New York Times
After 26 years of war that ended with a decisive government assault last May, Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority seems no closer to winning a measure of autonomy in a Sinhalese-dominated nation, and Tamil nationalism, the cri de coeur of the Tamil Tiger insurgency, seems all but dead.
02/04/2010
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Sydney Morning Herald
It will be years before the landmines will be cleared from the ravaged country's battlefields, writes Matt Wade.
02/03/2010
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The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has sad that the Centre had intimated to the State government that it was examining the demand for according permanent residence status to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the state.
01/27/2010
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Christian Science Monitor
The reelection of Sri Lanka’s president – whom influential Tamil expats had bitterly opposed during the long civil war – has revived questions of what role they should play in their homeland.
01/26/2010
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The Age
A HEAVILY pregnant asylum seeker says she is prepared to have her baby on board the crowded vessel where about 250 Sri Lankans have been engaged in a stand-off with authorities at the Indonesian port of Merak.
01/26/2010
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Los Angeles Times
Incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa expected an easy reelection, especially after the country's 20-year civil war ended on his watch. But former army commander Sarath Fonseka is mounting a tough challenge.
01/26/2010
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New York Times
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — As voters streamed to the polls on Tuesday in Sri Lanka’s first election since the defeat of the Tamil Tiger insurgency, the Tamil vote emerged as the bloc that could decide the winner.
01/25/2010
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Associated Press
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- When Sri Lanka's president decided two months ago to call this week's snap presidential poll, his re-election appeared assured - until his former army chief joined the race.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's popularity within the country's Sinhalese majority was sky-high in November after government troops crushed the Tamil Tigers' decades-long insurgency, setting the stage for Tuesday's first peacetime election in decades.
However, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who led the government troops to victory, also is considered a hero among the Sinhalese and his decision later that month to contest the election turned it into a bitter race.
There have been no reliable polls, but the campaign is believed to be close. In an ironic twist, the votes of the Tamil minority - those who suffered most from the government offensive against the rebels - may help decide who will lead this embattled island nation as it tries to rebuild after decades of conflict.
01/21/2010
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BBC
The fishing boats seem to chase each other out in the lagoon. A flock of seabirds rises, glorious against the blue sky.
Calm has returned to Jaffna's waters after decades of turbulence.
It is still a tense peace. The bay where they repair their boats is cordoned off, guarded by the military. Parts of the shore are lined with razor-wire.
But as the vessels crowd into the wharf by the fish market, there is a real buzz in the air.
The men weigh their crabs and cuttlefish, hack the big meaty fish into steaks, bargaining, bartering.
A young fisherman tells the BBC he is delighted with peace in the north. Restrictions have been lifted, he says: they can sail to more places; export their fish abroad; find more markets at home, too.
And he is enthusiastic about the 26 January election.
The two main candidates, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the former army chief (and former northern commander), General Sarath Fonseka, are both widely viewed as hardline advocates for the island's Sinhalese ethnic majority - people instrumental in vanquishing many Tamils' desire for an autonomous homeland.
Fisherman in Jaffna
Earlier we were voting under threat. Now we're free, and people can decide for themselves
Fisherman in Jaffna
But the election is relevant to Tamils, too, says the man.
"It's important to vote - after all, this is for our president.
"Earlier we were voting under threat. Now we're free, and people can decide for themselves who's good for this country.
"The Tamil Tigers and the government fought - we were the innocent victims," says another. "We'll support whoever will benefit ordinary Tamil people."
01/10/2010
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Sunday Times
The United States yesterday distanced itself from a well-organized campaign there against the purchase of Sri Lankan manufactured garments.“We have seen reports of the boycott. Private citizens have organized the action and it is not backed by the U.S. Government. In the United States, citizens have the right to organise such campaigns and to decide what they buy,” U.S. Ambassador Patricia. Butenis said.