Training of Lankan soldiers cancelled following protest

July 23, 2011
Following protests from Tamil outfits, a proposed programme to train 25 Sri Lankan soldiers at the Defence Service Staff College at Wellington in nearby Nilgiris district has been cancelled, officials said on Saturday. The Lankan soldiers, who reached the college on Friday for themonth-long training, were sent back following the protests, they said.
The soldiers were sent in a bus to Chennai from where they would return to Sri Lanka, the officials said.
Over 200 activists of various pro-Sri Lankan Tamil outfits had staged a demonstration in front of the Madras Regimental Centre (MRC) at Wellington protesting the training programme.
The protesters included members of Periyar Dravida Kazhagam, Naam Tamizhar Party and Viduthualai Chiruthaigal Katchi.
They alleged that Tamils in Sri Lanka were suffering at the hands of that country's Army and the decision to provide training to the island
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M.I.A. - A Beautiful Reflection of the Besieged Tamils of Sri Lanka

Jul-22-2011
Tim King Salem-News.com

"It was about bringing information to the people, I knew something and I had experienced it" - M.I.A.

M.I.A. photo courtesy: mediabistro.com

(SALEM, Oregon) - I am the first to admit that I'm extremely judgmental of entertainers who have the attention of large numbers of people but fail to do the right thing with it. I suppose it is tied to the fact that as a child, I watched music bring an end to the Vietnam War. Few mediums are this powerful.

Singer and actress M.I.A. (Tamil: மாதங்கி 'மாயா' அருள்பிரகாசம், Mātaṅki 'Māyā' Aruḷpirakācam) is the only frontline entertainer today of Tamil heritage and after seeing her talk about the struggle of her people, and by that I mean the recent Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka, I'm left with the impression that she can be a real force in demanding change and accountability.  Full Story>>>

'Clinton, Jayalalitha discuss current situation in Sri Lanka'

Posted: Jul 23, 2011
 
Washington US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha had a long conversation over the current situation in Sri Lanka and felt the need for greater progress towards reconciliation there, a State Department official has said. Last week, Clinton met Jayalalitha during her visit to Chennai.
"They actually had quite a long conversation about Sri Lanka, and I think they both agreed that we have concerns about the situation in Sri Lanka," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told reporters.     Full Story>>>
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In Tamil Nadu, School Without Textbooks

THE Wall Street Journal July 20, 2011

By Vibhuti Agarwal

After a day of hectic parleys in India’s national capital, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the city of Chennai on Wednesday to better acquaint herself with southern India, which has become a focus for growing U.S. trade and investment.
Although her one-day visit to Tamil Nadu, the first ever there by a serving U.S. Secretary of State, included meetings with school students,  Ms. Clinton probably did not get to discuss a unique feature of Tamil Nadu under the new Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa: school without textbooks.

Read  Full  Post  

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, left, in Chennai, Wednesday. 

Wither Independence When Judges Host Parties For Politicians?

  By Uvindu Kurukulasuriya  
        service exacts from itself a higher standard because it recognizes that the state is entitled to demand that its servants shall not only be honest in fact but beyond the reach of suspicion of dishonesty” – Colvin R De Silva- no confidence motion against Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike
Chief Justice Asoka De Silva recently retired and took up a position as advisor to President Rajapaksa
When one achieves something in life, throwing a party is a normal thing. When a judge is promoted to the Supreme Court, he or she, like any layman, would want to celebrate it. But an unusual celebration took place two weeks ago on Friday July 1st, at the Gregory’s Road residence of the newly appointed judge to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Sathya Hettige.
                                            Full Story>>>
Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake
and Former Chief Justice Sarath N.
Silva holds up a copy of the Ravaya
newspaper
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SRI LANKA: Northerners go to the polls

humanitarian news and analysis 

a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Security has been beefed up ahead of the polls

COLOMBO, 22 July 2011 (IRIN) - Voters in northern Sri Lanka go to the polls on 23 July in what could prove a litmus test of public sentiment in the former conflict zone, say experts.

The crucial local elections are the first in the area since the government declared victory in 2009 over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1983.

"This is a real opportunity for the people of the north to have a voice; to let the government know how they are feeling," Soosaipillai Keethaponcalan, head of the department of political science at the University of Colombo, told IRIN.

The last elections to be held in the north were the presidential and parliamentary elections of January and April 2010.

Of the 65 local administrative bodies to be decided nationwide, 20 will be determined in the north, including 16 in Jaffna District, three in Kilinochchi and one in Mullaitivu.

More than 440,000 people are eligible to vote in the three northern districts, according to Sri Lanka's Department of Elections, many of them displaced in the final days of the conflict.   Full Story

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Sri Lanka: Is The Government Really Ready to Face its Past?

 

By Anissa Haddadi | July 22, 2011 3:23 PM GMT

Minority Tamil candidates hope a weekend election in their heartland in northern Sri Lanka will give them a mandate to demand self-determination, as tensions between the Tamils and the government are still mounting.
Analysts however warn that the country's ruling coalition has put a lot of work in the campaign for the local council races in Saturday's vote, benefitting from more resources and influence.
The campaign is extremely important for the coalition, which hope to prevent other countries from reiterating their call for an international war crimes investigation and vindication of the harsh tactics that killed thousands of Tamil civilians in this area in the final months of its quarter-century civil war.      Read more 

Reuters
wo boys walk past local government election campaign posters in Jaffna

US panel okays aid ban to Sri Lanka

Videos

US panel okays aid ban to Sri Lanka

The US congressional committee's decision to ban aid to Sri Lanka except on humanitarian grounds comes after Headlines Today aired a Channel 4 documentary showing war crimes by Lankan army. Story
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US panel votes to bar aid to Sri Lanka

 

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  File photo of Sri Lankan troops in the north-eastern district of Mullaittivu during …

A US congressional committee voted to ban aid to Sri Lanka unless the nation shows "accountability" over the bloodshed in the final stages of its civil war in 2009.

In a voice vote, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a measure that would ban all US government funding to Sri Lanka except for humanitarian aid, demining and activities to promote democracy and governance.

The measure -- sponsored by Representative Howard Berman, the top member of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party on the panel -- would only allow aid once the administration certifies progress by Sri Lanka on key concerns.

The concerns include "accountability for those involved in violations of human rights and war crimes at the end of Sri Lanka's civil war," including members of the defeated rebel Tamil Tigers.

Other criteria include an improved climate for freedom of the press, an end to emergency regulations and information from the government on the fate of people unaccounted for at the end of the civil war.

The US Agency for International Development had requested close to $13 million for Sri Lanka in the 2010 fiscal year.

While the House measure enjoyed broad support, it will not immediately take effect as it was in the form of an amendment for spending in the next fiscal year starting in October. A final package will come through lengthy negotiations between the House of Representatives and Senate.

In 2009, Sri Lanka's military killed the top leaders of the Tamil Tiger rebels, wiping out an insurgent force known for suicide bombings and recruitment of child soldiers in its decades-long separatist campaign.

The United Nations has said that up to 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of fighting. A UN report has also spoken of abuses, alleging that the government executed rebel leaders who had worked out a surrender.

A documentary first broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 last month purportedly shows prisoner executions, sexual assaults and the aftermath of the shelling of civilian hospitals.

Sri Lanka's military has denied any civilian deaths and said that the footage on the documentary was doctored.

The country has promised that a local panel will take action if war crime allegations are proven but has rejected international calls for a UN-backed probe.

War over, fear still stalks polls in north Sri Lanka

By Shihar Aneez

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka | Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:00pm IST

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's northern cities hold local polls for the first time in many years on Saturday and though the civil war is over, fear and intimidation remain rife, poll monitors and opposition politicians say.
Voters in the separatist Tamil Tigers' self-declared capital of Kilinochchi, and in Mullaittivu where they were defeated by government forces in May 2009, will elect local councillors for the first time in 29 years.
The northern Jaffna district, under military control in the latter half of the 26-year civil war, will be holding its first local government election in 12 years.
 Full Story>>>
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It is time to start building a bridge from New Delhi to Colombo

Bidanda Chengappa | Friday, July 22, 2011
The visit of the Indian troika to Sri Lanka comprising the national security adviser, foreign secretary and defence secretary to Colombo recently suggests that there is more to conceal than reveal in India-Sri Lanka relations.
Considering Colombo chose not to organise a press conference after the high powered Indian delegation’s visit only indicates such a reality.India-Sri Lanka relations have reached a new low in 2011.
The trust deficit between New Delhi and Colombo has widened considerably. There has been no major positive development in bilateral relations since May 2009 which witnessed a military solution to the LTTE’s three decade old civil war.        Full Story>>>

A Tamil woman collects water from a well on which political posters had been pasted ahead of local government election in Killinochchi July 21, 2011. Elections will be held in the North on Saturday.

Credit: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

A Tamil woman collects water from a well on which political posters had been pasted ahead of local government election in Killinochchi July 21, 2011. Elections will be held in the North on Saturday.

Credit: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

A Tamil woman collects water from a well on which political posters had been pasted ahead of local government election in Killinochchi July 21, 2011. Elections will be held in the North on Saturday.

Credit: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

US has no clue to solve Tamils plight in Sri Lanka – Clinton

July 21, 2011 – 11:33 pm  By Ayyappa Prasad


Chennai,July 21(TruthDive): U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Tamil Nadu Chief Minister that her country was groping around to break the impasse  of the displaced  Tamils in Sri Lanka. She also hinted that US supports India as their ally in the Asia and not China.Later she told a group of students that US wanted India to open its trade barriers and be more assertive in Asia especially about human rights in the region.
Hillary who congratulated Jayalalitha on her electoral victory  in a one hour talk that dealt with issues ranging from Sri Lanka to investment from US majors in the city. The TN CM told Clinton that despite the war between LTTE and Sri Lanka over two years back the displaced Tamils from the island nation were in refugee camps. The rehabiltation  process has not been put in place.
Ms.Jayalalithaa also expressed concern over the reduction in the issue of H1B visas even though, in terms of number of Visas issued, the Chennai U.S. Consulate was the second largest in the world. Ms. Clinton invited Ms.Jayalalithaa to visit the United States.
Referring to the upcoming East Asian Summit at Indonesia Clinton, said her country will collaborate with India and others.”We encourage India to look East and Act East,” she said.
She said the issue that is high on the agenda of US President Barack Obama who will be attending the summit is the maritime security and development of disaster relief. The  US has decided to invite India to participate as an observer, for the first time, in the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that the U.S. will host in Hawaii in November.  Membership in the group is limited to nations and economies that border the Pacific Ocean, which India does not.

Struggle of IDPs in Kilinochchi

20 July, 2011 Struggle of IDPs in Kilinochchi

Two years after the end of the Sri Lankan war, hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians are returning to the northern villages which they fled as the army chased the Tamil Tigers from the land they had controlled. Outside access to the north has long been heavily restricted.

BBC correspondent Charles Haviland recently secured unconfined access to Kilinochchi, once the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers, and met some of those trying to rebuild their lives.

Haveiland spoke to many Internaly displaced civilians who trying to resettle in the former war zone.

Many of them are struggling to put up temporary shelters while struggling to overcome the trauma of war.

Chandrasegaran Thayakaran said "We’re glad we’ve come from the camp to our own village. But I lost my mother, my little brother and my elder sister and brother in the war. We’ve come here without our family. So we’re not really living happily. “

Like every family, Thayakaran has received a a small UN grant when they came out of the refugee camp, but have had to pawn their possessions to get by. They’re now building with the help of Save the Children.

Kilinochchi, long ruled over by the Tamil Tiger militants, was completely depopulated as the war front advanced more than two years ago.

The Tigers forced everyone to go with them and thousands of civilians – no one knows how many – were subsequently killed.

The Government Agent of in Kilinochchi, told the BBC that the government has been helping many returnees get their lives going with training and cash support. But some have clearly slipped through the net and say they’re getting almost nothing.

The government says it’s developing the north – but big road and electricity projects are not yet benefitting everyone, observed Havilland.
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UNICEF supports effort to trace missing children in post-conflict Sri Lanka

© UNICEF Sri Lanka/2011/Fletcher

Jhoncy (centre), 20, is flanked by her sisters Nirojini,14, and Jenitta, 11, outside the children’s home where they live in northern Sri Lanka. Their brother Jhonson, 17, is missing.

By Mervyn Fletcher
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, 20 July 2011 – Jhoncy sits in the shaded courtyard of a children’s home, alone in quiet thought. Understandably, she has a lot on her mind.
When we arrive, Jhoncy, 20, gets up from her chair and wanders over to greet us. We shake hands and she looks us in the eye. Her first question is, “Can you help me find my brother?”
More than two years have passed since she last heard of Jhonson, who should be 17 years old. He has disappeared. Jhoncy’s quest to know what has happened to him has become the source of a deep, lingering pain for her.      Full Story>>>

Sri Lanka, human rights and foreign policy in a tweet

Kevin Rudd, or @kruddmp to his online followers, likes to tweet. I strongly support his use of Twitter - social media is an important new tool in the world of digital diplomacy - but I was struck by one message from the Foreign Minister on July 4.
It read "4 corners tonight on Sri Lanka deeply disturbing. UN Human Rights Council can't simply push this to one side. Action needed. KRudd".
The program, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, was indeed deeply disturbing. It documents serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law against Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka's military, including systemic rape, murder and the targeting of hospitals and health care clinics. The allegations are not new, however. The program aired in the UK on June 14. Both the US State Department and Human Rights Watch issued reports on possible war crimes in Sri Lanka as far back as 2009. Full Story>>>
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Protecting Human Rights in Sri Lanka

Karunyan Arulantham

Member of the Tamil American Peace Initiative

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to India this week offers a vital opportunity for the world's two greatest democracies to jointly promote their common values supporting freedom and civil rights in South Asia -- a region where extremism and China's influence continues to grow. More specifically, the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue must include a strategy for protecting human rights and fundamental democratic principles in Sri Lanka. Two years have passed since the end of the island-nation's 26-year civil war, yet little has been done to address the underlying causes of the conflict.              Read Post  
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Hillary Clinton and Jayalalithaa fail to mention War Crimes in Sri Lanka

July 21, 2011   
It was presumed in the recent article in truthdive.com that the discussion about the investigations on war crimes in Sri Lanka will not be in the agenda of Ms. Hillary Clinton the US Secretary of state visiting Chennai on Wednesday.
http://truthdive.com/2011/07/18/hillary-clinton-india-and-war-crimes-in-srilanka.html
As predicted the Government of India have managed to silence both Ms. Hillary Clinton and the Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa to fall in line with the official position of India in offering no comments on investigations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.                      Read More    

Clinton calls for Sri Lankan reconciliation

	Hillary and Jayalalitha

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said India’s example of multicultural democracy should serve as a model for neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Speaking in the South Indian city of Chennai , Clinton said, "Every Sri Lankan deserves the same hope and opportunity."

“India's diverse democratic system in which people from all faith and background participate equally, serves as a model for Sri Lanka as it pursues for a political reconciliation.” said Hilary Clinton

Mrs Clinton's three-day visit is her second to India as secretary of state and follows President Barack Obama's trip last November.
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Building a new life after the war in Sri Lanka

South AsiaWorld

• Watch Tamils return home after Sri Lanka war

  21 July 2011 Last updated at 01:17 ET
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians are returning to their home villages in the north two years after the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka.
Access to the region for outsiders has been heavily restricted by the military for many years but the rules have just been relaxed.
The BBC's Charles Haviland is the first journalist to travel there and meet those trying to rebuild their lives. He sent this report from Kilinochchi district, once the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers.

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Hard times in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north

South Asia  21 July 2011

By Charles Haviland BBC News, Kilinochchi 

 

In Kilinochchi, people have a difficult homecoming

The dirt road leading south-west from Kilinochchi town is pale red, the colour of the soil of the Vanni, the northerly extreme of the Sri Lankan mainland.

It is a land that lost all its people. They retreated with the Tamil Tigers as the civil war swept through Kilinochchi more than two years ago. There are burnt-out husks of houses.
But new huts are now scattered among the trees. There is a bonfire by the roadside and small shops that returnees have opened.
A few soldiers pass on bicycles. People walk by the roadside like strangers rediscovering the land of their roots. Hundreds of thousands have left army-run camps to come home.
Entry to this region has been heavily restricted for years. But the BBC was given unconfined, though temporary, access to Kilinochchi district.        Full Story>>>

We don’t need advice from other countries -- MR

Wednesday, 20 July 2011 By  Sandun A. Jayasekera in Chavakachcheri

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that the government had no intention of taking advice from Europe or any other power to resolve the country’s problems.Addressing an election rally in Kilinochchci in support of the UPFA candidates contesting the local government elections in Jaffna, he said, “We do not intend to get advice from Europe or any other power to resolve our problems. We have the capability to find answers in a cordial and peaceful manner. The government expects to resolve the problems through dialogue, cooperation and mutual understanding. Sitting together and listening to each other, we can discuss any matter and resolve any conflict.”
He also said that the government would apply ‘Compassionate Justice’ when dealing with the Tamil youths who were detained for alleged involvement in terrorist activities while all the others would be integrated into society after rehabilitation.
“A majority of ex-LTTE combatants have been rehabilitated, given skills development training and released as law abiding citizens. Some of them have even found employment abroad and many others in various parts of the country. Tamil youth engage in their day to day activities with much enthusiasm and they enjoy their new found freedom and the sense of security,” he said.
He said, “It is sad to note that certain people exploit political issues to their advantage and attempt to mislead innocent Tamil youths and lead them to destruction once again. However, the government is confident that they will not fall prey to these treacherous elements. These people are conducting a disinformation campaign against Sri Lanka, highlighting Tamil grievances while having a good time in Europe with all luxuries at their disposal.”
The government is aware that the Tamil community, the young generation in particular, has undergone immense hardships under terrorism for 30 years. The government is doing its best to help them and has launched a huge development programme. The government has allocated the largest amount of state funds to the northern province.
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South Indian popular singers invited deceitfully take next flight back to India on discovering the fraud

  (Lanka-e-News -20.July.2011, 11.50P.M.) According to reports reaching Lanka e news, a singing group got down from India to perform tonight at Kilinochchi in connection with the Govt.’s election rally , on learning of the true reason as to why they have been invited had immediately done a ‘U’ turn and gone back .

This group comprising popular south Indian singing stars Mano, Chris and Suchitra had been invited by the Organizers giving the impression to the group that they are being got down to delight the Tamil people of Wanni, and the invitees have agreed mostly on the ground that they ought to perform for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. They had not been informed that political speeches are going to be interspersed with their performances. The three member group had arrived at Katunayake Airport this morning (20) . But at the Airport following the receipt of a telephone call they have come to know this invitation is to perform at an election rally attended by President Rajapakse . The three popular singers who were not conveyed the true picture had taken offence at it , and blamed the organizers. Thereafter , they had taken the next flight back to India.

Sri Lankan Jails ‘Hell’ for Females

By Ranmali Bandarage

Exterior wall of the Welikada Prison, Colombo. Credit:Ranmali Bandarage/IPS Buy this picture

COLOMBO, Jul 20, 2011 (IPS) - Monthly ‘visiting hours’ at the female ward of Sri Lanka’s notorious Welikada Prison are as traumatic for the inmates as they are for their family and friends. A tiny room, measuring 10 feet by seven feet, is divided in half by a mesh counter. On one side, mothers, fathers, children and relatives jostle for standing room. On the other the inmates, in white prison clothes, shout to be heard over the din.

This monthly ordeal is emblematic of the prison system itself – chaotic, overcrowded and inhumane.

"We are treated as far less than human," one of the female prisoners, speaking under strict condition of anonymity, told IPS.          MORE >>
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Thamalini taken to TID

The CID informed Colombo Chief   Magistrate that the LTTE Vavuniya Political Wing Leader Thamalini, was taken to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) from the prison in a lawful manner on the  orders of a Magistrate to investigate  into another inquiry conducted by the TID.

The CID made this disclosure in respect of the order made by Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli on considering a complaint made by the suspect’s Attorney – at- law Majula Pathiraja on the last date of the case.

Counsel Pathiraja complained to the Magistrate that his client Subramaniam Sivagami alias Thamalini who was remanded  was taken away from the remand prison by the TID  on two occasions acting  unlawfully without any court order and thereafter she had been subjected for lengthy questioning.

The Prison authorities submitted the copy of the order to the Colombo Chief Magistrate for his perusal by which the authorities released Thamalini to TID for questioning.

Counsel Dusith Johndasan appearing with Manjula Pathiraja for the suspect submitted that their client had been kept in prison without framing any charges for a long period of time and requested the Magistrate to release her if no charges are framing against her.

Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli remanded Tamilini till August 1 and ordered the CID to file their report in court on that date.

It was revealed that the suspected after  passing G.C.E. Advanced Level had joined the LTTE on 27th May 1991. Upon receiving five months military training, she had been assigned to the LTTE Political Wing entrusting to educate Tamil Public and to organize recruits.

Having served in Kilinochchi, Kilali, and in Walikamam, she had participated in the LTTE attack on Pooneryn on 11th November 1993. Thereafter, she had been engaged in publishing the LTTE News Paper for Women “ Suvander Paraveihal ” from 1991 to 2000. During her involvement, with the LTTE she had attended Political Orientation Programs conducted by LTTE Theoretician. Anton Balasingham.

When the Women’s Division, leader died in a clash in Muhamalai Tamalini was made the Leader of that division. She had travelled to Switzerland and Norway in May 2003 to conduct orientation sessions for Tamil women in those countries. Back in Vanni, she had even run an Office in Kilinochchi and had been provided with a Pick up Vehicle for her use. (TFT) Read more...

Sri Lanka Tamils: US looking at innovative ideas to break impasse, says Hillary Clinton

Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday voiced concern over the plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Sri Lanka and said United States was looking at some innovative and creative ideas to break the impasse over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
Hillary, who called on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the secretariat in Chennai, told her that US was looking at enabling Sri Lankan Tamils in camps get back to their own homes.
Jayalalithaa said though the war between the Sri Lankan army and LTTE in the island nation was over two years ago, Sri Lankan Tamils in Jaffna area are unable to go back to where they used to live.
While discussing the issue of Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa told Hillary they have been provided all facilities that were available to local citizens.
Both of them discussed various social, political and economic issues of common interest.
The US Secretary of State also congratulated Jayalalithaa on her electoral victory in the April 13 assembly polls.
During the meeting, Jayalalithaa recalled the strong bilateral trade relations between India and United States. Inviting more US investment in the Automobile sector in Tamil Nadu, she said Tamil Nadu enjoyed pre-eminence in automotive and auto components.
Jayalalithaa also expressed concern over reduction in issue of H1B visas even though in terms of number of Visas issued, the Chennai US Consulate was the second largest in the world.
Hillary invited Jayalalithaa to visit US which would enable Americans to know about the achievements of Tamil Nadu.
The meeting lasted for an hour.
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Sri Lanka’s white vans deliver fear and oppression

Sri Lanka’s reputation as an Indian Ocean paradise may hold true for determined holiday-makers, but for the sober-minded this image has been shattered in recent months. 

By International Justice Desk in Sri Lanka
First a damning UN report accused both sides in the country’s 30-year civil war of atrocities – a claim the current government refutes categorically. Then in June Britain’s Channel 4 broadcast a devastating account of the closing weeks of the conflict in 2009 – at this time, the programme said, the Sri Lankan military systematically murdered thousands of civilians. Colombo says the evidence is ‘fabricated’. Distinguishing truth from artifice is problematic in a country where the free press claims it is under constant threat. RNW sent a team to Sri Lanka to investigate.
Reporters with borders
In a new report the International Crisis Group says Sri Lankan “President Rajapaksa and his powerful brothers continue to repress the media and political opponents”. Other rights groups describe killings and disappearances of reporters alongside police impunity.
And they claim a widespread lack of press freedom – that the media does not tell it how it is, and that people are afraid to speak to reporters. Pressure is brought to bear on them with the use of armed men in white mini-vans, who kidnap or murder journalists. RNW’s team experienced the phenomenon first hand after a surprise roadside attack.                       More >              

BJP vows to take up Eezham Tamils plight in Indian Parliament

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 July 2011, 07:10 GMT]
Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari who met a top delegation of the British Tamils Forum (BTF) last weekend in London, has said that the BJP was very serious on taking up the ‘Sri Lanka issue’ in the Indian Lok-Sabha. BTF leaders V Ravi Kumar and S. Pathmanathan, who led the BTF delegation to the meeting with the visiting Indian politicians, expressed hope that the BJP would be consulting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa on the plight of Eezham Tamils and that the Indian leaders would also be meeting the Tamil representatives from the occupied country of Eezham Tamils. The BJP is yet to adopt a stand on the accountability issue on the question of Eezham Tamils and the genocide committed on them.

Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia and BJP women’s wing president Smriti Irani accompanied Mr. Gadkari on a 6 day trip to UK. The top-level BJP delegation addressed the first political convention organised by the Overseas Friends of the BJP in the UK.

Stating that the atrocities brought to light by the hard-hitting Channel 4 documentary “Sri Lanka's Killing Fields,” televised recently in India by Headlines Today and the debate that followed have brought broader attention among the Indian populations on the burning Tamil issue, the BJP leaders told the BTF delegation that their party was keen to discuss the plight of Eezham Tamils with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari [right] discussing with BTF leader Ravi Kumar

Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia [right] discussing with S. Pathmanathan of the BTF

Mr. Ravi Kumar, a key leader of the BTF, said that his organisation and other diaspora formations were engaging with a cross section of Indian political parties and movements, seeking Indian support for international investigations and an Indian Foreign Policy that recognises the genocide committed on Eezham Tamils since the so-called independence of Ceylon, during the war and during the post-Mu'l'livaaykkaal scenario.

Mr. Pathmanathan of the humanitarian advocacy team of the BTF, in a statement issued on Wednesday said that the lack of understanding of the true situation and the political reality of Sri Lanka is the primary reason for the level of apathy in India on Eezham Tamils plight.

The BJP leaders also attended the Telangana Cultural Festival in London expressing their support for the demand for a separate Telangana state.

Stating that Congress government in India was delaying the implementation of the recommendations made by the Justice Srikrishna Commission on Telangana, the BJP president said that his party was in favour of smaller states and that it would support the formation of Telegana state when the question is seriously taken up for a resolution in the Lok Sabha.