Word: lanka
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...auspicious day for the people of northern Sri Lanka. They were eagerly waiting to vote in the first presidential election since the Sri Lankan Civil War between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government came to an end in May 2009. But what followed was a crisis that requires international attention...
...former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka as their common candidate and asked for a mandate to start a reconciliation process with the Tamils in the north. They also demanded the abolishment of the executive presidency, which is powerful enough to overrule decisions made by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in order to empower the Parliament to be more responsible to the people by enacting new laws to fight state corruption, foster democracy, and promote freedom of expression. These demands stemmed from the fact that Sri Lanka has already had three armed uprisings after independence because of a rigid system...
Following unprecedented levels of abuse of state media by the ruling party candidate, the election commissioner demanded that all media follow ethical guidelines. Upon the state’s failure to enforce law, on Jan. 16, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ordered the media to follow the guidelines of the election commissioner. This order fell on deaf ears. Violence escalated, and by Jan. 26, four people had died...
...violence did not stop there. On election day, people in the camps for internally displaced people in northern Sri Lanka waited in vain for the buses that were supposed to bring them to their polling stations. The bomb blasts that rocked some areas in the north reminded them of the horror of the war that ended just few months ago and scared many voters away. Fear brought voter turnout down to 20 percent in the north. But 70 percent out of those who ventured out to vote chose Fonseka’s cause. That sent the south a strong message...
...President keeps his promises. I hope that he will be a savior for Sri Lanka." - Gamage Banduwathie, a former member of the opposition United National Party, who left to support Rajapaksa in the election (The New York Times...