UN UNABLE TO SEND OBSERVERS FOR SRI LANKAN ELECTIONS

The United Nations said it is unable to meet a request by Sri Lankato send observers for the Jan. 26 presidential election because of time constraints.

“In the light of the limited lead time available, and since, as per practice, the United Nations election observation requires a mandate from the General Assembly” the UN won’t provide observers, Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said in New York.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa called the election two years before his mandate expires as he bids to capitalize on his government defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May, ending a 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland. The U.K.last month said Sri Lankamust ensure the ballot covers all communities, including Tamils in the north and east.

The leading challenger to 64-year-old Rajapaksa is opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka, the former army chief who led the battle against the Tigers. Fonseka, 59, this week won backing from the Tamil National Alliance, which holds 22 seats in the 225-member parliament.

Sri Lanka’s first election in recent history to be held in a unitary state will be free and fair, Cabinet spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said last month. Parliamentary elections will follow some time before April.

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GL SLAMS ‘COLONIAL’ RIGHTS GROUPS

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris rejected “colonial” criticism Tuesday of a government-appointed civil war probe, after foreign rights groups snubbed an invitation to attend. New York-based Human Rights Watch, London-based Amnesty International and Brussels-based International Crisis Group last week accused the panel of a cover-up and refused an offer from Colombo to appear before it. Peiris said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a leading think-tank based in London, that the rights groups had displayed a “most unattractive attitude.” “It smacks of an attitude that is almost colonial, patronising and condescending, the assumption being that other people must step in because Sri Lankans are unable to chart a course for their own future,” he said. Peiris, who is in London for talks with the British government, said the LLRC was based on similar reconciliation commissions in countries such as South Africa. He urged rights groups and

IRRESPONSIBLE TALK BY MEMBERS COST UNP ITS VOTERS, SAYS SAJITH

The voters have distanced themselves from the United National Party (UNP) because several members had demeaned the military victories during the recently concluded war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, said Hambantota District parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa. Former President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s son, Sajith was addressing a meeting at Gurutalawa at the Yatinuwara electorate in Kandy last evening to raise awareness on his Jathika Jeewaya Programme. Mr. Premadasa launched this programme within three electorates in the Gampaha District last week as well. Adding further, Sajith Pramadasa said the UNP suffered erosion in its support as some had uttered irresponsible comments when the Sri Lankan armed forces were gaining victory after victory in the fight against the LTTE. When the Army captured Thoppigala, some in the UNP had said that Thoppigala was only a jungle, while some had accused the then government and the military of claiming to be advancing towards Kilinochc

TNA vows civil disobedience

Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party on Saturday vowed to launch a Gandhi-style civil disobedience campaign to press a long-standing demand for regional autonomy for their ethnic minority. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in its manifesto for April parliamentary elections renewed its demand for extensive regional autonomy – after Tamil Tiger rebels who fought in their name were crushed last year. “If the Sri Lankan state continues its present style of governance without due regard to the rights of the Tamil-speaking peoples, the TNA will launch a peaceful, non-violent campaign of civil disobedience on the Gandhian model,” the party said. The TNA was a puppet of the Tamil Tiger rebels who were crushed by security forces in May last year after 37 years of fighting. The United Nations has said up to 100,000 people were killed in the conflict. On Saturday the alliance said it would lobby neighbouring India and the international community to ensure the island’s Tamil community -- 12.5 percent

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