SMH – Refugees try to put nightmares behind them
Yuko Narushima Immigration Correspondent
RAMASH* carries a plastic bag as he shuffles into the Dulwich Hill Uniting Church hall. The 25-year-old produces a bottle of cranberry soda and offers it to his friends, two men he didn’t know in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, but with whom he’ll form a surrogate family to adjust to life in Sydney.
The men are all Tamil refugees. Sanjay* is the youngest but looks the oldest. Vinoth*, 25, is slightly stooped and nervous. More
AFP - SLanka military chief skips US war crimes quiz: MP
Sri Lanka’s military commander left the United States ahead of possible questioning over alleged war crimes committed during the defeat of the island’s Tamil rebels, a legislator said Wednesday.
General Sarath Fonseka headed back to Sri Lanka without facing questioning by the Department of Homeland Security later in the day, Samantha Vidyaratne told parliament. More
Time – The U.S. Wants to Talk to Sri Lanka’s Tiger Tamer
To many Sri Lankans, Lieut. General Sarath Fonseka is a bit of a hero. Now the equivalent of the U.S. military’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fonseka was the former army commander who helped strategize and lead the campaign that put a decisive end to the quarter-century-long separatist war of the Tamil Tigers. The intensity of the onslaught raised criticism around the world, including a 68-page State Department report to the U.S. Congress that took to task the conduct of both government forces and the Tigers. Now, what appears to be an attempt by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to interview Fonseka about the war has raised angry protests from the highest official ranks in Sri Lanka. More
Reuters – Sri Lanka police fire water cannon at protesters
Sri Lankan police fired tear gas and water cannon on Wednesday to stop unemployed graduate protesters entering a high security area near President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s official residence.
Rajapaksa has been riding a wave of popularity since the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May ended a 25-year civil year, but is now coming under pressure from protests and strikes by trade and student unions ahead of elections in early 2010. More
