The Sri Lankan Parliament on Friday extended the State of Emergency in the country for another month by 102 votes to 15, amidst fears of a military coup allegedly planned by the former Army Commander and defeated presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka.
Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency ever since Tamil and Sinhalese insurgencies began in the 1970s. The measure is renewed every month by a simple parliamentary majority.
Tamil parties have been opposing the extension for long, and the opposition is particularly strong now as the LTTE has been defeated and there is no terrorism since May 2009. But, the government feels the remnants of the LTTE are still there, aided and abetted by Western forces.
There is now an additional fear of an Opposition-inspired military coup headed by Gen Sarath Fonseka. Several retired armed forces officers and some serving personnel have been detained. There has also been a major shake-up in the top echelons of the army to weed out personnel close to Fonseka.
expressbuzz
paranoid government
buthayata baye ada yata hangila innawa wage
Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency ever since Tamil and Sinhalese insurgencies began in the 1970s. The measure is renewed every month by a simple parliamentary majority.
Tamil parties have been opposing the extension for long, and the opposition is particularly strong now as the LTTE has been defeated and there is no terrorism since May 2009. But, the government feels the remnants of the LTTE are still there, aided and abetted by Western forces.
There is now an additional fear of an Opposition-inspired military coup headed by Gen Sarath Fonseka. Several retired armed forces officers and some serving personnel have been detained. There has also been a major shake-up in the top echelons of the army to weed out personnel close to Fonseka.
expressbuzz
paranoid government
buthayata baye ada yata hangila innawa wage
