Sri Lankan PM regrets Tamil expulsions

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake on Sunday apologised to the Tamil minority for evicting them from the capital and promised there would be no repeat of the “big mistake” in future. The expulsion of 376 Tamils was initially described as a security precaution amid a worsening ethnic conflict that has claimed more than 5,000 lives in 19 months, but it was roundly condemned by rights groups and donors, as well as the United States.