News - Country profile: Sri Lanka
| dating ethnic/datingwebsiteintheuk.toptrendweb.com/2008/03/10/news-german-retail-giant-in-shake-up/”>Free online interracial dating site //blogs.andalucianoticias.es/russianadultdating8/2008/03/02/news-german-retail-giant-in-shake-up/”>Dating dating free online single the southern tip of India, the tropical island of Sri Lanka has beguiled travellers for centuries with its palm-fringed beaches, diverse landscapes and historical monuments. But for nearly two decades, the island was scarred by a bitter civil war arising out of ethnic tensions. On paper, a ceasefire signed in 2002 remains in place, but it has been undermined by deadly violence.
Known as “Serendip” to Arab geographers, the island fell under Portuguese and Dutch influence and finally came under British rule when it was called Ceylon.
There is a long-established Tamil minority in the north and east. But the majority Buddhist Sinhalese community resented what they saw as favouritism towards the mainly-Hindu Tamils under British administration. The growth of a more assertive Sinhala nationalism after independence fanned the flames of ethnic division until civil war erupted in the 1980s between Tamils pressing for self-rule and the government. Most of the fighting took place in the north. But the conflict also penetrated the heart of Sri Lankan society with Tamil Tiger rebels carrying out devastating suicide bombings in Colombo in the 1990s. The violence killed more than 60,000 people, damaged the economy and harmed tourism in one of South Asia’s potentially prosperous societies.
A ceasefire and a political agreement reached between the government and rebels in late 2002 raised hopes for a lasting settlement. But How to start an online dating site Escalating violence between the two sides in 2006 killed hundreds of people and raised fears of a return to all-out war. There has been no meeting of minds over the rebels’ demand for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east. Sri Lanka suffered its worst disaster in late 2004 when giant waves generated by an undersea earthquake off Indonesia swept ashore, killing more than 30,000 people and devasting swathes of the coast. OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS MEDIA |
- Full name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
- Population: 19.4 million (UN, 2005)
- Capital: Colombo (commercial), Sri Jayawardenepura (administrative)
- Largest city: Colombo
- Area: 65,610 sq km (25,332 sq miles)
- Major languages: Sinhala, Tamil, English
- Major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity
- Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 77 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: Sri Lankan rupee
- Main exports: Clothing and textiles, tea, gems, rubber, coconuts
- GNI per capita: US $1,160 (World Bank, 2006)
- Internet domain: .lk
- International dialling code: +94
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President: Mahinda Rajapakse
Mahinda Rajapakse, prime minister at the time of his election, won the November 2005 presidential poll by a narrow margin. His main rival was the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Mahinda Rajapakse has signalled a tough stance against rebels
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Mr Rajapakse was backed by Marxist and Buddhist parties in the government. He also benefited from an extremely low turnout by Tamils in the north and east.
But he inherited a troubled economy and a faltering peace process. During campaigning he promised to take a hard line in any peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels and said he would seek direct talks with the group’s leader.
He says the solution to the conflict lies in a unitary state.
Mr Rajapakse, a Buddhist lawyer, became prime minister in 2004, heading a heavily-polarised parliament.
He served under Chandrika Bandaranaike-Kumaratunga, president since 1994. She had backed economic liberalisation while in office but government rifts slowed the pace of change.
Her coalition was also divided over the Tamil peace process. The former president pursued a twin-track approach during the civil war, trying to offer the Tamil rebels some form of autonomy while seeking the upper hand on the battlefield.
However, she accused the government of making too many concessions to the rebels and tensions over the peace process led to a bitter power struggle with the then prime minister, Ranil Wickramasinghe, in 2003.
The Sri Lankan president can appoint and dismiss the prime minister, and can dissolve parliament.
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS MEDIA
Media outlets are divided along linguistic and ethnic lines, with state-run and private operators offering services in the main languages.
Deteriorating security has had an impact on the media
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Many of the main broadcasters and publications are state-owned, including two major TV stations, radio networks operated by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), and newspapers in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
There are more than a dozen private radio stations, and eight privately-run TV stations. Sri Lanka’s privately-owned press and broadcasters often engage in political debate, and criticise government policies.
In 2002, against the background of the peace process, the government allowed Tamil Tiger rebels to begin FM broadcasts of their Voice of Tigers radio station in the north. The station had previously operated on a clandestine basis.
As violence escalated in 2006, the media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders said “murders, arrests, threats and bombings” had become “the daily lot” for many reporters. It added that Tamil factional violence had had “bloody” consequences for some journalists.
The internet is a growing medium for news; many papers have online editions.
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