Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

PARTISANS of human rights have been rightly outraged this year by the behavior of ruthless regimes in Burma, Zimbabwe, and Sudan. But when the government of Sri Lanka was stripped of its seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council this spring - a body that includes Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Russia among its members - hardly anyone noticed, outside of the small community of human-rights organizations.

This inattention has a price. It means there is scant outside pressure on President Mahinda Rajapakse to protect civilians caught up in a vicious war between the army and separatist guerrillas known as the Tamil Tigers. Tamil civilians in the northern Jaffna peninsula are exposed to indiscriminate bombing and artillery shelling, and a strict army pass system keeps much of the civilian population from escaping.

Human Rights Watch has called on the government to stop the arbitrary detention of Tamil civilians, who have been held in a kind of concentration camp in the north. 'The Sri Lankan government shouldn't treat civilians as criminals just because they're fleeing a conflict area,' said a recent statement from the group's Asia director.

It was not about me and you.
It was about the way the Tamils respond to the sinhala Nazi's genocide and babaric actions against the Tamils.
Tamils react and respond in various ways and magnitude according to their CIRCUMSTANCES.
This what I was trying to drive in.

Indian warships to provide cover for PM during SAARC summit



India is not taking any chances with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's security during his visit to Colombo for the SAARC summit early next month.
The Centre is planning to despatch three warships, including two frontline guided-missile destroyers, to Sri Lankan waters as security cover for the PM and his entourage from the much-feared LTTE.

With national security adviser M K Narayanan personally looking into the issue due to the high threat perception from the LTTE, hectic consultations are on between India and Sri Lanka to ensure fool-proof security arrangements. As the Tamil Tigers are known to use suicide bombers, there can be no room for mistakes.

With the LTTE having both air and naval wings, and even using trained deep-sea

divers for underwater suicide missions, Indian experts obviously do not want to take any chances. What must also be weighing on the minds of the Indian agencies is the LTTE's success in using light aircraft to bomb a military airfield near Colombo without the radar detecting it.

Sources said the contingent of the Special Protection Group (SPG) which provides proximate security to the PM would be much larger this time as compared to the PM's other foreign visits. While the eight-day summit will begin on July 27, the PM will attend it only on the last two days.

Apart from Sri Lankan security personnel, security cover will be bolstered by the three Indian warships, including a Delhi-class destroyer and a Rajput-class destroyer, equipped with Sea King and Chetak helicopters.

'They will be geared to meet the entire spectrum of security requirements,' said a source.

The 6,900-tonne Delhi-class destroyer, with a 360-crew, for instance, is a power-projection warship capable of operating even in an NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological) environment, with a wide array of missiles and weapon systems.

There is even talk of IAF helicopters being deployed in the skies over Colombo for aerial surveillance of high-security zones like the Colombo Fort and Kollupitiya areas, apart from strengthening the air defence cover around the summit.

The high-profile Indian armed presence is bound to attract some criticism in Sri Lanka. In fact, a section is already up in arms over the high costs of security, including hundreds of bullet-proof vehicles. Some nationalist groups are upset with reports that Indian security personnel will swamp Colombo when the PM is there. (TOI)

The louder you shout against Sinhalese a better Tamil You become

so let me get this right..the louder you shout against Sinhalese the better Tamil you become..is that what your saying?

China and competing Asian powers India and Pakistan could help end the conflict. But they have been more interested in doing business in Sri Lanka and securing geopolitical influence there - just as they have in Burma and elsewhere. The solution to Sri Lanka's conflict must be political, not military. Rajapakse should be encouraged to strike a deal that grants Tamils substantial autonomy in their own homeland areas. If not, the war will drag on, and Sri Lanka's government may find itself classified alongside the regimes in Burma, Zimbabwe, and Sudan as an international pariah.

Indian warships to provide cover for PM