Tamils sceptical of development, voting in Sri Lanka's war-weary north

By Shihar Aneez

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka | Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:47am IST
 

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's minority Tamils say President Mahinda Rajapaksa's post-war development and infrastructure projects in the former war zone in the island's north have yet to address their real concerns and have not excluded their participation.
Sri Lanka's northern cities hold local polls for the first time in many years on Saturday amid opposition and poll monitor complaints of intimidation.
Healing after a 25-year war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in May 2009, Tamils in the northern city of Jaffna, long the centre of Sri Lanka's Tamil culture, feel there is little to gain from voting.      Full Story>>>
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Colombo Hardens Stance on Fisheries Issue

22-July-2011

Colombo Hardens Stance on Fisheries Issue

Guest column by V. Suryanarayan 

The Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi organized an international Conference on “Fisheries Issues” between India and Sri Lanka in New Delhi on July 18-19, 2011. The participants included not only specialists from India and Sri Lanka, but also from Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Australia. The idea behind inviting foreign scholars was to encourage India and Sri Lanka to meaningfully learn from the experiences of others who also face similar problems.  The free and frank discussions, within and outside the Conference, enabled the delegates to have a better appreciation of the complex issues.         Full Story>>>