A controversial Sri Lankan Buddhist monk linked to a wave of hate attacks targeting the country’s Muslim minority has gone into hiding, his party and police said Thursday. Galagodaatte Gnanasara’s Buddhist Force party said the monk, who is wanted in connection with recent arson attacks against mosques and Muslim-owned businesses, had feared he could be … Read more
A US equity firm that bid to buy a stake in Sri Lanka’s loss-making national airline has pulled its offer, officials said Saturday as the carrier scrambled for a new partner. TPG, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, has withdrawn its bid for a 49 percent stake in Sri Lankan, dashing hopes of a quick … Read more
The brother of Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapakse denied Tuesday involvement in war-era death squads, blaming the then army chief for an alleged secretive campaign of extrajudicial murders. Gotabhaya Rajapakse has been accused of giving orders to a shadowy military outfit allegedly involved in murdering journalists and political dissidents during Sri Lanka’s long-running civil … Read more
Former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapakse’s brother Gotabhaya directed a top-secret death squad which targeted journalists and dissidents, a court was told Monday. Criminal Investigations Department (CID) told the Mount Lavinia magistrate’s court that Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who was Sri Lanka’s defence secretary during his brother’s rule, directed a secret unit which is accused of assassinating … Read more