Sri Lanka

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka said on Saturday it will allow greater freedom of movement to refugees held in military-guarded camps from next month, after facing pressure to speed up resettlement of thousands of Tamils displaced by war. The government's announcement comes two days after United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes voiced concern over the displaced Tamils' freedom of movement. Sri Lanka is due to hold elections by April and opposition parties are considering backing a possible challenge by the victorious army chief against President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who they blame for the failure to resettle many refugees after the end of ... Read Full Story

The U.N. humanitarian chief says Sri Lanka's decision to release Tamil refugees confined to government camps is good news but the United Nations is concerned about how they are being returned home. John Holmes, who just returned from Sri Lanka, said Monday the U.N. wants more consultation with the detainees and opportunities for them to see their home areas before going back, as called for in U.N. guidelines. He said another piece of good news is the government's announcement that starting Dec. 1, the 136,000 Tamils detained since Sri Lanka's civil war ended six months ago will be allowed freedom of movement subject to ... Read Full Story

The U.S. Department of State last week issued a "revised" travel advisory for Americans in Sri Lanka to, "reflect improving security circumstances in the country," the U.S. delegation in Colombo announced. In its revised travel warning, the State Department states: "Stability in the southern and western areas of the country has improved with the end of fighting. The Department of State urges U.S. people to remain watchful while traveling in Sri Lanka." The State Department's decision comes exactly six months after Sri Lankan Government forces defeated the LTTE. No terrorist incidents have occurred in Sri Lanka as then, and tourism arrivals have jumped considerably. ... Read Full Story

Dozens of Sri Lankan asylum seekers on Wednesday left an Australian customs vessel anchored off Indonesia after they were promised they would be resettled, ending a monthlong standoff. The 46 men, five women and five children were taken from Australia's Oceanic Viking to a detention center on nearby Bintan island off Sumatra, said Sugiyo, the center's head. They joined 22 others who disembarked last week. The Oceanic Viking rescued the Sri Lankans last month from a wooden boat with a broken engine as it drifted in international waters near Indonesia. Sujatmiko, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's director for diplomatic security, told The Associated Press that ... Read Full Story

In a village deep in west Sri Lanka, one of the island's few remaining communities of African descent breaks into song -- a poignant elegy to a disappearing culture. The music starts with a slow, gentle rhythm played on a tambourine, spoons and coconut shells, before it builds to a climax with dancers swinging their hips, hands and feet wildly. The performance is a direct link back to the tiny minority's distant African past. "We are forgotten people," Peter Luis, 52, said. "We are losing our language and, having inter-married many times, our children are losing their African features." The population of African-Sri Lankans ... Read Full Story