The Lanka Academic
 
JANUARY 28, 2010 EST, USA
 
QUAERE VERUM
 
VOL. 10, NO. 297
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Headline Summary
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Sri Lanka president to dissolve parliament, call poll
Reuters, Jan 28. COLOMBO (Reuters) -- Re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa will dissolve parliament shortly and call a legislative election, his office said Thursday, in a move that could enable him to reshape the unwieldy coalition now backing him. Skip related content Rajapaksa won a thumping victory Tuesday over his former army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, in the Indian Ocean island's first nationwide election since the defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers.

Rajapaksa had sought a new mandate to bless his plans to develop Sri Lanka by exploiting its geographically strategic position astride air and sea lanes, rebuilding infrastructure and encouraging foreign investment and local productivity.

"(The) President is to dissolve parliament and go for a general election soon," presidential spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said More...Discuss this story
Published: Thu Jan 28 10:19:36 EST 2010

Beaten Sri Lankan general considers asylum in Australia
abc, jan 28. Beaten Sri Lankan presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka says he could consider seeking asylum in Australia.

The former army chief lost Tuesday's presidential election and is coming under increasing pressure from the Sri Lankan government.

General Fonseka fears for his safety and his officials have already approached several embassies in Colombo about possible asylum.

He says he would also consider seeking asylum in Australia, but Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says there has been no official request as yet.

"No such approach has been made," he said.

"I think it is very important that General Fonseka be provided with two things - that he be provided with freedom of movement and he be provided with security, personal security in the circumstances that he is in." More...
Published: Thu Jan 28 18:11:47 EST 2010 Back to the top

Fonseka attempted to assassinate Rajapaksa, says Sri Lanka
HT, Jan 28. Sri Lankan government on Thursday hit back at defeated Opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka, alleging he had attempted to "assassinate" President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.

A day after Fonseka charged the Army with attempting to kill him and was seeking India's protection, the Defence Ministry on Thursday claimed there was "ample evidence" to prove that the former Army Chief Fonseka hatched the conspiracy from two hotels in Colombo.

Director of Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hullugale claimed that the President and his family were to be assassinated along Galle Road in Colombo or at the Lake House Junction in the commerce hub of Fort. More...
Published: Thu Jan 28 10:30:29 EST 2010 Back to the top

Sri Lanka may 'take action' over opposition candidate
 BBC, Thursday, 28 January 2010. Sri Lanka is considering taking action against defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, the defence secretary has told the BBC... Back to the top
Sri Lankan president faces new challenges in 2nd term
 Xinhua, Jan. 27 . COLOMBO, (Xinhua) -- The result of Sri Lankans' choice made between the war president and the war general was clear on Wednesday... Back to the top
Security alert in India over LTTE landings, ammunition seizure
 Sify, 2010-01-28. A security alert has been sounded following the seizure of ammunition on the Tamil Nadu coast and the arrest of four Indian men who allegedly helped former Tamil Tiger guerrillas fleeing Sri Lanka take shelter in India... Back to the top
An island still divided
 ie, jan 28. Elected by over 60 per cent of the voters, Mahinda Rajapaksa has retained the presidency of Sri Lanka... Back to the top
Rajapaksa Has ‘Lot to Do’ to Lure Mobius After Sri Lanka Vote
 bw, jan 28. Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will need to use the platform of the biggest election victory in 16 years to heal the wounds left by a civil war and lure the investment he needs to rebuild the economy. Rajapaksa won 58 percent of the vote in the Jan... Back to the top
Sri Lanka president wins historic re-election
 Reuters, jan 27. COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa won re-election on Wednesday in an historic post-war vote but his chief rival called for the results to be nullified after soldiers surrounded him in a luxury hotel... Back to the top
Resignation greets sentencing of Tamil men
 STar, jan 28. That’s how Tamil Vision International’s Ragavan Paranchothy summed up the feeling of Greater Toronto’s Tamil community toward the sentencing of two of their own this week in a terrorism trial in New York—eight months after Tamil rebels were defeated by government forces in their homeland... Back to the top
Hint of exile as defeated general Sarath Fonseka ends poll stand-off in depleted motorcade
 Times, jan 28. Four words summed up the outlook for retired general Sarath Fonseka when he boarded a black BMW and sped away from his hotel last night as the emphatic loser in Sri Lanka’s presidential election... Back to the top
Sri Lanka: President’s New Term Time for Accountability
 HRW, Jan 27. New York) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and key international actors should take steps to bring accountability for Sri Lanka's grave human rights violations so that the thousands of victims will not continue to be denied justice during President Mahinda Rajapaksa's second term, Human Rights Watch said today... Back to the top
Sarath Fonseka letter to Sri Lanka Elections Commission
 bbc, jan 28. Excerpts of a letter by Gen Sarath Fonseka to Sri Lanka's Elections Commission, following his defeat in the presidential poll... Back to the top
Sri Lanka: Initial Results Show President Leads
 The New York Times, Jan 27, 2010. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Hundreds of Sri Lankan troops surrounded the hotel where the opposition candidate was holed up Wednesday as early returns from the nation's hard-fought presidential election gave the incumbent a comfortable lead... Back to the top
Sarath Fonseka claims assassination plot as Mahinda Rajapaksa wins poll
 times, jan 27. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the incumbent President of Sri Lanka, was declared the winner of a presidential election today even as his main challenger, surrounded by troops in a luxury hotel, contested the results and accused the government of trying to have him assassinated... Back to the top
Rajapaksa registers landslide win in Sri Lanka presidential poll
 Hindu, Jan27. The sitting Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, seeking a second endorsement to two years ahead of his first tenure, registered a landslide victory against his chief opponent and the opposition consensus nominee retired General Sarath Fonseka... Back to the top
Complaints flow from loser of Sri Lankan election
 Calcutta News.Net, jan 27. The winner of Sri Lanka's presidential poll has been declared, but the loser has rejected the result... Back to the top
Rajapaksa leads SL polls; army surrounds Fonseka's hotel
 India Today, jan 27. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was on Wednesday leading the presidential polls amid accusations by rival candidate Sarath Fonseka that the elections had been rigged and his life was under threat... Back to the top
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