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Sri Lanka 's top Muslim party splits ahead Parliament election
Associated Press,
Fri February 20, 2004 10:15 EST .
- - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) Sri Lanka - 's main Muslim party split in two Friday, with breakaway members accusing their former leader of compromising Muslim interests in government peace talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels. Muslims comprise 1.3 million of Sri Lanka - 's population of 18.6 million and live mostly in the country's northeast. The 3.2 million minority Tamils are mostly Hindus. President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament earlier this month and called for snap polls more than three years ahead of schedule amid a bitter power struggle with Wickremesinghe. The two leaders have disagreed over how to run the peace talks with the rebels. A two-year-old cease-fire ended 19 years of fighting that left about 65,000 people dead.
Published: Fri Feb 20 11:56:56 EST 2004
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New Zealand Cabinet minister resigns over Sri Lankan teenager deportation row
Associated Press,
Fri February 20, 2004 02:24 EST .
The document included handwritten notes by the lawyer of the deportee, a teenage girl who had sought refuge in New Zealand claiming that she had been sexually abused by a family member in Sri Lanka .They included details of the lawyer's strategy to keep the girl in the country after an immigration court had turned down her final appeal for asylum status.The girl and her grandmother were expelled from New Zealand on Feb. 13.Dalziel leaked a copy of the report to TV3 after she was apparently angered by the lawyer's notes. The minister accused the lawyer of running a public campaign of misinformation to prevent deportation of the girl. Dalziel also was stripped of her posts as minister of commerce and senior citizens and as associate minister of justice and education. An investigation is underway into how Dalziel obtained the document, which was reportedly found in a room at an immigration detention center where the girl had been detained prior to her expulsion. Dalziel, who been regarded as a top performer in Clark's Cabinet, later said she was reviewing her future but expected to stay in parliament as a legislator for the government Labour Party.
Published: Fri Feb 20 03:59:54 EST 2004
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US Ambassador Says Political Parties Must Remain Committed to the Peace Process
Bandula Jayasekara in Colombo,
SLT 12.15 P.M Friday 20 February.
US Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead says it is vital that the political parties
remain committed to the peace process during the election campaign. He also
said that although the peace pecae negotations are suspended . the peace
process goes on everyday with de-mining and reconcilation activities.
Lunstead was speaking at the launch of a teledrama series titled 'Take This
Road' funded by the US Agency for International Development, (USAID), and
implemented by the Academy of Educational Development, a US based
non-governmental organization. The Ambassador also said "One of the most
important aspects of "Take This Road" is that it brings the perspectives of
different groups of Sri Lankans - Muslim, Tamil and Sinhala - to a wide,
diverse audience. This tele-drama helps people all over Sri Lanka to
understand each other in a dynamic and accessible way - through the stories
of their daily lives." USAID/Sri Lanka works to improve democratic
institutions and processes, promotes respect for human rights, and enhances
economic growth and financial stability through market-oriented reforms.
Published: Fri Feb 20 01:16:57 EST 2004
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