Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Nov 2013 15:08

Karan M ji,

I see where you are coming from.

Unfortunately, For you and I both, its truly just an academic exercise.

Let the lankans do what they will. It's their country and their business. Just like us, they don't like outsiders poking a nose into their business.

Tamilians are very dear to my heart, Indian tamils, that is.

Canadian tamils, lankan tamils, british tamils, german tamils, pumpkin tamils, potato tamils do not interest me. They have freely made their bed elsewhere, sworn allegiance elsewhere, pay taxes elsewhere and they all salute another flag willingly. If they find themselves in trouble, mostly of their own making why not come back to India?? Then, whatever sham freedom we give to our own citizens, we will willingly give to them also. Lakhs of bangladeshis, thousands of pakis, smartly, have procured the adhar card already. They have anyway been voting here for many years.

many thousands of refugee lankan tamils in refugee camps in India refuse to go back. We generously sheltered prabhakaran's parents in Tamilnadu even whilst the apple of their eye was raping the Indian Army. I am in and out of srilanka fairly frequently on business and don't find any discrimination as alleged by the vaiko and kanunanidhi types. The place is certainly more clean, orderly and peaceful than any Indian city or town.

Folks from bengal and odisha can also claim as much kinship with the sinhalese as the joker politicians from Tamilnadu do the lankan tamils.

Do you deny that the sinhalese are also our very own?? I don't see you taking up their equally worthy cause. They certainly deserve your help more.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Nov 2013 15:16

Karan M wrote:
chetak wrote:Karan M ji, read up on the good Bishop Robert Caldwell (1814–1891) for some idea on identity and culture and their manipulation, thereof.

boss, there is not a single part of india which has not been attacked by or sought to be separated by EJs at one time or the other. by ignoring tamil anger at HR abuses by SLA and passing it off only as a gimmick/dravidian issue etc, you'd have nationalist hindus give over the entire space to the EJ/dravidian politics crowd plus make it apparent to many emotional tamils that claims of their interests being ignored by the center hold good.

never mind the ethical issues of being nicey nice to a SL which has an army which officially condones assault and murder of women/children on a mass scale. ltte did much the same, so whats the difference.. same same..

and seriously stop with the comparisons to the indian armed forces, you are doing them no credit with a comparison to these sadistic freaks who assault, murder and then gleefully take pictures of their victims.

i am not even tamil but the bizarreness of the argumentation - let the SL do anything to the tamils itz all ok, whereas at the same time decrying the influence of EJs etc who then appear as herrows to a battered, savaged population, while so called brave indics protectors of dharma and what not do nothing...is just amazing.

this is the same stuff which has seen our borders forever reduce while dharmics sit and navel gaze and talk of the center, where the diaspora starts more and more talking of its ethnic identity as versus indian identity and even within india, minorities are given preference, whereas ethnic groups/majority groups can go to the dawgs or be abused elsewhere.

by the same stds, everything was a-ok in 1971 as all the pakistani muslim army was doing was sorting out its "own bengali hindus".. and unless they started coming into indian refugee camps, no problemo. similarly, why bother about sikhs in NWFP paying jiziya or hindu women in sindh being abducted.. all ok, its pak problemo onlee.

Has the GOI ever raised the issue with the pakis or the bangladeshis??

I don't think MMS talks about all the poor affected folks that you have mentioned during his biryani discussions with the pakis. salman the cursed would not even dream of mentioning it. The nobel would probably be jeopardized.

We had the 93000 POWs right here in India. Did we try any of them for war crimes??

many of the 93000 jokers were rapists and genocidal mass murderers. vote bank again??

Let sleeping dogs lie peacefully, not to mention vote banks from the second largest majority being affected here.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 10 Nov 2013 20:51

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 10 Nov 2013 20:58

chetak wrote: Foreign policy is the exclusive prerogative of the center, had the center balls of any size. A lot of us did not want MMS speaking to the pakis, did the center listen?? The numbers who do not want MMS talking to the pakis is very much greater than a few thousand tamils in TN.

Foreign policies cannot be formulated in vacuum. Any policy has to take into account both practicalities and emotions of people. The border states definitely have a say. WB concerns, fears and aspirations play a role when dealing with BDesh. Rajasthan's fears and desires become input for relations with Pakistan. So on so forth.

So states providing input to formulate foreign policies should be welcomed and is the wise way to handle relations.

As far as a few politicians black-mailing other politicians, well that is a different ball game => it is coalition politics in India.

Some of us have had the dubious privilege of seeing at first hand a few of the kindly ministrations of the ltte and their oftentimes tender interactions with their own Tamil people.

A swallow does not maketh the summer. Obviously if one talks to an IPKF soldier or his family, they are going to have to say things bad about LTTE; after the peace keeping force ended up in confrontation.

LTTE, was not in control of the tamilians. It was more the other way - right from IG to MGR used LTTE. Srilanka is an example of botched up foreign policy right from the start - 1948. True there used to be LTTE gangs prowling even in Madras, and there were gang wars between different SL tamil groups in TN.

The bulk of Tamialians do not want a separate country for themselves. This LTTE and Christian LTTE is used in BRF to negate any arguments that question the atrocities and actions/inaction of GoSL. LTTE evolution is a larger story in itself, and its phases of growth and how it eliminated other groups require more space. However, the bigger question is the plight of tamilians in SL and what India will do about it.

And for the record, I do not think MMS abstaining from the meet is going to solve anything.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 10 Nov 2013 21:08

Karan M wrote:
sirji you are scoring own goals on the indian armed forces commitment to discipline. given that you were once a member of the aforesaid force, it just speaks volumes how your dislike of the LTTE seems to have taken over any and every bit of prudence in your zeal to defend the indefensible.

+1008. You hit the nail damn hard on its head.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Nov 2013 22:16

SwamyG wrote:
Karan M wrote:
sirji you are scoring own goals on the indian armed forces commitment to discipline. given that you were once a member of the aforesaid force, it just speaks volumes how your dislike of the LTTE seems to have taken over any and every bit of prudence in your zeal to defend the indefensible.

+1008. You hit the nail damn hard on its head.

It is not proper for anyone to talk of the discipline of any force under combat conditions. For every finger you point at the adversary, four are pointed right back at you. It is your perception of goal scoring to shore up your simplistic argument and you are welcome to it.

My point is very simple, let them all stew in their own juice. Incidentally, the lankan tamils do not seem to be asking for our help, on the contrary their elected chief minister is asking us to butt out.

There are some of these hapless lankan tamils settled in karnataka who have legitimized their stay over the years. They were chased out of lanka by the ltte, cheated by Indians who grabbed their money when they were most vulnerable. The property dealers who cheated them were not foolishly side tracked by human rights issues.

A terrorist force which targeted it's own people because they did not support it deserves absolutely no sympathy. It sought legitimacy by systematically butchering non ltte tamil opposition and slaughtering their leaders. Yesterday's terrorists have become today's freedom fighters, suddenly and miraculously worthy of our sympathy for their trampled upon human rights. When fate in the form of lankan soldiers caught up with the ltte fighters, the inevitable happened in some cases to the ltte cadres. Exactly what the ltte themselves did to the lankan/tamil men and women happened to some of them. Are you and your supporters not going to take up those cases?? Why the hell not??

Incidentally the very armed force you accuse me of disparaging has almost universal admiration for the sinhalese army and maybe not so much for the sinhala politicians

The sinhalese took the ltte out. It was very difficult to do and they did it. Some wheat has gone with the chaff. SO WHAT?? Do you think that terrorist families in kashmir thank the IA for the death of their kids?? A tragedy for them is a necessity for us.

No one can rush the sinhalese into accommodation of their tamils. Suspicions will take years to fade away. Trust has to be earned gradually and rights will come in the fullness of time. The human rights record of any army can very easily be and is often willfully stained. That said, all armies have something to hide. When there is so much blood lust, adrenalin and testosterone flowing, everyone will not be a saint. If said army is white skinned, violations are very easily forgotten. Like all congress riots have been forgotten but only Modi is damned over and over for the 2002 riots.

There is a profitable cottage industry to tar and feather Modi just as there is one to tar and feather the sinhalese. The karsevaks burning and the ltte atrocities are conveniently never ever mentioned.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 10 Nov 2013 22:28

Karan M wrote:If Hindus get similarly assaulted and molested in Bangladesh and Pakistan, we should feel likewise?

Well , I have not seen discussions on this issue either in Indian Media or among Hindus or in BRF or even by you ( point me if I am wrong) on the same scale and intensity as Tamizhs take up the cause of SriLankan Tamizh which is a good thing in my opinion.

However one needs to remember that in War such crimes do happen and I think gen S Fonseka should be tried for war crimes and matter be laid to rest. Nothing good will come out of it if we press the issue and allow for LTTE revival which in my opinion should be eliminated lock stock and barrel.

As for Isaipriya, what happened to her is regrettable and is war crime. I also understand that she eulogised suicide bombers and was part of Ltte cadre. I think she knew what was coming to her, unfortunate though it may be.

Actually Ltte did greatest disservice to Srilankan Tamizhs and they were the biggest killers/murderers of Tamizhs and well wishers. They were responsible for elimination of Tamizh leadership and quite intolerant of different opinions.

However we should remember that Geneva convention does not apply to war with Ltte. and as such Srilankan Army can not be tried for war crimes.

Human crimes should be dealt withing their own judicial system and no outside interference should be allowed. Outsiders should look for crime against humanity in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere. And here Indian part comes into play. India should tell srilanka to investigate these evidences and bring them to book in a credible manner. And in my opinion Fonseka must be tried for that being head of army at that time.

Also What India should do is to help Srilankan Tamizhs have meaningful say in democratic process and self governance without actually creating separate country . That is possible only by engaging Srilankan Govt and not by boycotting them. That will drive them to our enemies. How can India engage with Srilankan Govt by boycotting them and the how can they help tamizh if they have no dialogues with both the parties. Now that Ltte is eliminated we need to help SL Tamizh in finding normal life again.

Just my Two cents.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Nov 2013 22:39

SwamyG wrote:
chetak wrote: Foreign policy is the exclusive prerogative of the center, had the center balls of any size. A lot of us did not want MMS speaking to the pakis, did the center listen?? The numbers who do not want MMS talking to the pakis is very much greater than a few thousand tamils in TN.
Foreign policies cannot be formulated in vacuum. Any policy has to take into account both practicalities and emotions of people. The border states definitely have a say. WB concerns, fears and aspirations play a role when dealing with BDesh. Rajasthan's fears and desires become input for relations with Pakistan. So on so forth.

So states providing input to formulate foreign policies should be welcomed and is the wise way to handle relations.

As far as a few politicians black-mailing other politicians, well that is a different ball game => it is coalition politics in India.

Some of us have had the dubious privilege of seeing at first hand a few of the kindly ministrations of the ltte and their oftentimes tender interactions with their own Tamil people.
A swallow does not maketh the summer. Obviously if one talks to an IPKF soldier or his family, they are going to have to say things bad about LTTE; after the peace keeping force ended up in confrontation.

LTTE, was not in control of the tamilians. It was more the other way - right from IG to MGR used LTTE. Srilanka is an example of botched up foreign policy right from the start - 1948. True there used to be LTTE gangs prowling even in Madras, and there were gang wars between different SL tamil groups in TN.

The bulk of Tamialians do not want a separate country for themselves. This LTTE and Christian LTTE is used in BRF to negate any arguments that question the atrocities and actions/inaction of GoSL. LTTE evolution is a larger story in itself, and its phases of growth and how it eliminated other groups require more space. However, the bigger question is the plight of tamilians in SL and what India will do about it.

And for the record, I do not think MMS abstaining from the meet is going to solve anything.

saar,

No one is forgetting or negating the atrocities of the GOSL. Only asking that the atrocities of the ltte also not be negated or forgotten. Fair is fair, right??

East Timor was "freed" by non east timorese, sirjee. There was a very large EJ hand at play there.

I am equally sure that a bulk of the east timorese also did not want a separate country. And yet, it was pried away.

And today they can proudly piss in their own brand new country.

Anything can happen when folks like the ltte start to "speak" on your behalf and the very same EJ hand is benignly hovering in the background.

BTW,

I am sure that the full story of how the EJ powers desperately tried their damnedest to protect and save prabhakaran and family and the top echelon of the ltte leadership during the final days will come out soon. Many countries including India have recorded radio and diplomatic messages and calls made directly by prabhakaran and ltte "top management" to foreign governments. The IA and IN certainly have recorded a bulk of these messages. The sinhalese obviously have the bulk of their own independent recordings and also the direct foreign requests and demands to rajapakse for mercy for prabhakaran and team..

Any wonder that the sinhalese willfully took out papa prabhakaran, mama, baba and baby?? not to mention the top management ??

stories of how the sinhalese trapped most of the top ltte cadres under guise of providing safe passage were rife during the end game stage. prabhakaran was apparently taken many days before he was killed. I have a grisly photograph of the fearless leader with the top of his head blown off. Looked rotund and very well fed.

Some whistleblower will just have to hit the jackpot, no??

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 11 Nov 2013 08:33

Who exterminated the entire moderate Lankan Tamil politicians of the TULF? The LTTE.They also assassinated Kadirgamar,Neelam Tiruchelvam and at least a lakh of Tamils during the Eelam War.Far more Tamils were killed in Lanka than the Lankan forces.The LTTE perfected the abomination of the suicide belt bomber,child bomber,pregnant woman bomber,ttacked the kandy Temple of the Tioth,theb sacred Bo tree at Anuradhapura killing hundreds of pilgrims,not to mention the thousand+ IPKF soldiers and Rajiv G and co. at Sriperumbudur.Apologists for the LTTE are blind to these atrocities of the world's most brutal terrorist force as the LTTE was described internationally.

Now that does not absolve the GOSL of a fair investigation into its own acts of war crimes alleged to have been committed.It also does not absolve it of putting its money where its mouth is regarding the promises made to the Tamils regarding devolution and restoration of normal life in N-East Lanka.By asininely boycotting the CHOGM,in fear of losing seats in TN,where in any case the Congress will win zero,illustrates the utter poverty of commonsense and intelligence by the UPA regime and its top leadership.The Rajapakse regime is riding on a high these days,fuelled by Chinese money,and thinks that it is establishing a thousand yr. Rajapakse family "reich".The problem is that one day the PRC will come up with a fat bill for its largesse.Rajapakse will have to hand over Hambantota and Trinco to it,forget about the exclusive Chinese SEZ coming up which will be a huge intel base on India's doorstep,and the 99 yr. lease of Colombo's new "Port City".This moolah is spurring on massive development in the island which is keeping people happy for the moment.

A day may come if the Rajapakse regime succumbs to Chinese pressure and hands over parts of the island for Chinese military purposes,when India will have to exercise another hard option,that of intervention to safeguard its security.In the absence of a strong dynamic foreign policy,the nation will once again have to turn to the armed forces to guarantee its security. A great pity.The abdication of Indian foreign policy is the going to be one of the hallmarks and remembered legacy of the corrupt,venal and mendacious regime of Quisling Singh.

For an expose of the Rajapakse family empire ,check into the Week's feature.It's along one.

http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/ ... 415&BV_ID=@@@

SPECIAL REPORT
Rajapaksa Inc.
By Lakshmi Subramanian/Colombo
Story Dated: Monday, November 4, 2013

Xcpt:

On May 5, an inter-club rugby sevens qualifying match between Police A team and Navy A team at the Havelock Grounds, Colombo, took a rough turn when a Navy A player, Rohitha, assaulted the referee. When the referee refused to resume the match, Navy A team captain Yoshitha intervened and slapped his younger brother, Rohitha, to put an end to the altercation. In a cricket-crazy and rugby-loving country like Sri Lanka, Rohitha could get away with assaulting a referee in public because he is the son of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Though the referees' association had complained to the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union, nothing came of it as its president, Asanga Seneviratne, reportedly rose to the higher levels in sports authority with the blessings of the Rajapaksa brothers. Such is the clout of the Rajapaksa clan.

“There is no doubt that the Rajapaksa family controls every aspect of the lives of Sri Lankans because of the sheer presence of its family members in every department of the government,” says Suhas Chakma, director, Asian Centre for Human Rights. Dynasty politics or nepotism is not new to the subcontinent. While India has the Nehru-Gandhi family, Pakistan has the Bhuttos. Likewise, Sri Lanka has the Senanayakes, the Bandarnaikes and the Rajapaksas. In fact, the opposition UNP (United National Party) is referred to as the Uncle Nephews Party in Sri Lanka. “While dynasty politics is not new in south Asia, there is indeed no dynastic family which controls a country as much as the Rajapaksa family does in Sri Lanka. It remains unparalleled. The criticism against Rajapaksa family is essentially about as to how the family has turned the entire country into a virtual personal property, where dissent is being silenced by thuggery on the streets,” says Chakma.

http://newindianexpress.com/opinion/Ind ... 883155.ece

Indian blunder in Sri Lanka
By Harsh V Pant

Published: 11th November 2013

So finally the Indian government decided that partisan politics is far too important to be sacrificed at the altar of national interest and took the decision that external affairs minister Salman Khurshid will head the Indian delegation at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka next week instead of prime minister Manmohan Singh. This decision was taken in view of the opposition by parties in Tamil Nadu as well as a section in Congress and further underscores the weakening of the authority of the PM. The external affairs ministry has justified the decision by suggesting that in 10 summit-level meetings since 1993, the PM represented India five times while on four occasions, ministers had headed the Indian delegation. But the decision which has been taken under pressure will have long-term consequences for Indian foreign policy which politicians in their attempt at political tokenism are failing to comprehend.

This decision comes after India voted with 24 other states in May in favour of the controversial United Nation Human Rights Council resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The main aspect of Indian intervention was the need for the institution of a credible and independent investigation into alleged war crimes and human rights abuses. If last year, New Delhi had tried to amend the West-sponsored resolution to make it less intrusive, more balanced and more respectful of Sri Lankan sovereignty, this year it was trying to do the opposite: bring in amendments to make some words in the resolution stronger. It reportedly pushed for seven written amendments in six paragraphs of the resolution. But if this was aimed at the domestic political landscape, it clearly failed to have any impact as both the AIADMK and the DMK accused the UPA government of “diluting” the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC by not moving any amendment demanded by it.

As a consequence of such domestic political posturing, India has not only marginalised itself in the affairs of Tamils in Sri Lanka but has also made sure one of its most important neighbours will move further into the arms of China. After repeatedly opposing country-specific resolutions at the UNHCR and other such bodies, India ended up setting a dangerous precedent that will come back to haunt it. India’s foreign policy stands bereft of principle and pragmatism.

As it is Sri Lanka has been rapidly slipping out of India’s orbit. India failed to exert its leverage over the humanitarian troubles that the Tamils trapped in the fighting were facing. New Delhi’s attempts to end the war and avert humanitarian tragedy in north-east Sri Lanka proved futile.

Colombo’s centrality between Aden and Singapore makes it extremely significant strategically for Indian power projection possibilities. After initially following India’s lead in international affairs, even demanding that the British leave from their naval base at Trincomalee air base and air base at Katunayake in 1957, Colombo gradually gravitated towards a more independent foreign policy posture. And it was India’s enthusiasm for China that made Sri Lanka take China seriously but after the Chinese victory in its 1962 war with India, Colombo started courting Beijing much more seriously.

And now China has displaced Japan as Sri Lanka’s major aid donor with an annual package of $1 billion. Bilateral trade has doubled over the last five years with China emerging as the largest trading partner of Sri Lanka. China is now supplying over half of all the construction and development loans Sri Lanka is receiving.

Chinese investment in the development of infrastructure and oil exploration projects in Sri Lanka has also gathered momentum. China is providing interest free loans and preferential loans at subsidised rates to Sri Lanka for the development of infrastructure. It is the first foreign nation to have an exclusive economic zone in Sri Lanka. China is involved in a range of infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka — constructing power plants, modernising Lankan railway, providing financial and technical assistance in launching of communication satellites.

China is financing over 85 per cent of the Hambantota Development Zone to be completed over the next decade. This will include an international container port, a bunkering system, an oil refinery, and international airport. The port, deeper than the one in Colombo, is to be used as a refuelling and docking station for its navy.

Though the two sides claim that this is merely a commercial venture, its future utility as a strategic asset by China remains a real possibility to India’s consternation. For China, Hambantota will not only be an important transit for general cargo and oil but a presence in Hambantota also enhances China’s monitoring and intelligence gathering capabilities vis-à-vis India.

India has expressed its displeasure about growing Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka on a number of occasions. In 2007, India’s national security adviser openly criticised Sri Lanka for attempting to purchase Chinese-built radar system on the grounds that it would “overreach” into the Indian air space. Yet Sri Lanka has emerged stronger and more stable after the military success in the Eelam war and the two elections at the national level. To counter Chinese influence, India has been forced to step up its diplomatic offensive and offer Colombo reconstruction aid. With the LTTE out of the picture, India has been hoping that it will have greater strategic space to manage bilateral ties.

However, where New Delhi will have to continue to balance domestic sensitivities and strategic interests, Beijing faces no such constraint in developing even stronger ties with Colombo. As a result, India is struggling to make itself more relevant to Sri Lanka than China.

Colombo matters because Indian Ocean matters. The “great game” of this century will be played on the waters of the Indian Ocean. Though India’s location gives it great operational advantages in the ocean, it is by no means certain that New Delhi is in a position to hold on to its geographic advantages. China is rapidly catching up and its ties with Sri Lanka are aimed at expanding its profile in this crucial part of the world.

India’s decision to not attend the CHOGM summit at the prime ministerial level will not only make India even more marginal in Sri Lanka with some grave long-term damage to its vital interests but will also raise doubts about India’s ability to lead South Asia.

The author is a reader in international relations, department of defence studies, King’s College,

London.

E-mail: harsh.pant@kcl.ac.uk

nvishal · Post by **nvishal** » 11 Nov 2013 10:01

There is nothing more punishing to srilanka than sending it under the influence of china and pakistan.

Srilanka is the next Bangladesh

merlin · Post by **merlin** » 11 Nov 2013 12:05

chetak wrote:Karan M ji,

I see where you are coming from.

Unfortunately, For you and I both, its truly just an academic exercise.

Let the lankans do what they will. It's their country and their business. Just like us, they don't like outsiders poking a nose into their business.

Tamilians are very dear to my heart, Indian tamils, that is.

Canadian tamils, lankan tamils, british tamils, german tamils, pumpkin tamils, potato tamils do not interest me. They have freely made their bed elsewhere, sworn allegiance elsewhere, pay taxes elsewhere and they all salute another flag willingly. If they find themselves in trouble, mostly of their own making why not come back to India?? Then, whatever sham freedom we give to our own citizens, we will willingly give to them also. Lakhs of bangladeshis, thousands of pakis, smartly, have procured the adhar card already. They have anyway been voting here for many years.

many thousands of refugee lankan tamils in refugee camps in India refuse to go back. We generously sheltered prabhakaran's parents in Tamilnadu even whilst the apple of their eye was raping the Indian Army. I am in and out of srilanka fairly frequently on business and don't find any discrimination as alleged by the vaiko and kanunanidhi types. The place is certainly more clean, orderly and peaceful than any Indian city or town.

Folks from bengal and odisha can also claim as much kinship with the sinhalese as the joker politicians from Tamilnadu do the lankan tamils.

Do you deny that the sinhalese are also our very own?? I don't see you taking up their equally worthy cause. They certainly deserve your help more.

Ditto sir, fully agree. Have highlighted what I especially agree with.

I don't see the crocodile tears flowing fully from the eyes of the LTTE apologists here also flowing when Indian soldiers from the IPKF were killed in Sri Lanka by the LTTE. Or the numerous Sri Lankan tamils killed in TN by the LTTE, killed on our soil. They also seem to have forgotten the reception received by Indian soldier in Madras when they came back from Sri Lanka.

Finally the LTTE are conveniently Hindu when Indian help is needed. Heck, there are Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh also - no tears shed when they are killed?

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 11 Nov 2013 17:14

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/surrender-on-chogm/article5335703.ece

Once again, foreign policy objectives have been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. After Pakistan and Bangladesh, the surrender by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress to political opposition and a narrow regional view on Sri Lanka is not surprising, but it is disappointing all the same. For India, the two main objectives in its dealings with Sri Lanka are to ensure a just deal for that nation’s Tamil minority, and to protect its own interests in a region of strategic importance. The Prime Minister’s decision not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting came after weeks of pressure by Tamil Nadu political parties, including a resolution by the State Assembly. But if the primary reason for staying away is to express displeasure at Sri Lanka’s reluctance to address alleged atrocities against Tamil civilians during the final battles against the LTTE, it is doubtful if the decision will yield a different, more positive outcome. More likely is a further erosion of New Delhi's influence on the Rajapaksa regime to effect a just settlement of the Tamil question. It was thanks to India's prodding that Sri Lanka held elections in September to the Northern Provincial Council, convincingly won by the Tamil National Alliance. This significant milestone in ethnic reconciliation has given Tamil-dominated northern Sri Lanka a popularly elected administration for the first time. Unfortunately, instead of projecting this as an example of constructive diplomacy, the Congress allowed itself to be blackmailed by its present and potential allies in the State. Political parties in Tamil Nadu virtually ignored the NPC election, giving rise to the suspicion that it is not the interests of Tamils across the Palk Strait that they espouse but their own, as in this election season it is easier to flog the emotional overtones of the issue than respond to more pressing domestic concerns.
A decision by Dr. Singh to go to CHOGM and include a visit to Jaffna would have been a powerful reaffirmation of New Delhi's stakes and interests in the region. India must now deal with the consequences of its decision to stay away, both on the Tamil question and on its own larger interests. In Sri Lanka, it will affect the task of reconciliation considerably, including India’s efforts to ensure the 13th Amendment is not diluted or done away with entirely. It is to be hoped that both countries will guard against any adverse consequences on people-to-people links, and India will have to manage the huge strategic and diplomatic fallout. It is debatable if Sri Lanka will turn into a Chinese satellite in the Indian Ocean as is commonly feared, but clearly, the island will be looking for other allies in the region and beyond.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 11 Nov 2013 18:32

nvishal wrote:There is nothing more punishing to srilanka than sending it under the influence of china and pakistan. Srilanka is the next Bangladesh

I think not, Vishal. Let's not get carried away with blind patriotism.

SL, if (or when) it gets its act together, can out perform India in most economic metrics. I have been to SL several times, met its president and his many chosen ministers (some of them Tamils!) who are technocrats at heart, and have had discussions with the senior managers of banking and other financial institutions. They have a blue print on how to take SL to the next level, with or without India's help.

Secondly, Bangladesh is no longer the basket case of the '70s and '80s. Check it out.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 11 Nov 2013 20:48

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/trouble-at-mullivaikkal-memorial-meeting/article5335882.ece

Meanwhile, a sculpture depicting Balachandran, son of LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran, was declared open by Mr.Nedumaran at the memorial on Saturday.

On Friday, the Thanjavur Taluk Police registered a case against Mr.Nedumaran and five others for putting up hoardings with the images of Prabhakaran.

Only by standing united and rising above caste and religious differences can people pay real homage to those who lost their lives for the cause of Tamils and Tamil language, said R. Nallakannu, Communist Party of India leader, here on Sunday at the concluding day of the three-day events of the inaugural function of the memorial.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tn-assembly-to-hold-special-sitting-on-tuesday/article5339153.ece

The Tamil Nadu Assembly will hold a special sitting on Tuesday evening.

An official release issued by Assembly Secretary A.M.P. Jamaludeen only stated that the Assembly would meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Sources indicate that the House is likely to adopt a resolution on the decision of the Union government to participate in the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to begin on Friday in Colombo. Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to skip the summit, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid would represent India at CHOGM. The pre-CHOGM Foreign Ministers' meeting would be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

When the House met last month for a week, it unanimously, on October 24, adopted a resolution, calling for a "total boycott” of the CHOGM. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/proeelam-outfits-give-bandh-call-tomorrow/article5339075.ece

India’s participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) has triggered protests in Tamil Nadu and some pro-Eelam outfits have given for a day-long bandh call on Monday demanding complete boycott of the meet.

About 20 pro-Eelam outfits including MDMK, have demanded the state government declare a bandh on November 12 scaling up pressure on the Centre.

“May 17 Movement”, Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, CPI have been observing rail blockades demanding total boycott of CHOGM by India in the last few days.

Today, members of Communist Party staged a rail-roko in places like Nagercoil, Madurai, Rajapalayam and also in Chennai demanding that India totally boycott the meet in Colombo, sources said.

Similarly, about 60 members of another pro-Tamil outfit were detained in North Chennai for allegedly trying to burn an effigy of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who will lead a delegation from India for CHOGM.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 11 Nov 2013 20:58

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/chogm-protests-continue-in-districts/article5337382.ece

With various political outfits resorting to different forms of agitations to ventilate their feelings vis a vis the proposed Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka and the move of the Indian government to send a delegation, the police in the Nilgiris were kept on their toes on Sunday.

In the forefront of the demonstrations was the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK). Urging the Kerala government to join the people of Tamil Nadu in espousing the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils and denouncing the island nation for its alleged war crimes, supporters of the NTK staged picketing demonstrations at Kil - Nadugani, Thalur, Cherambadi, Paatavayal and Ayyankolli along the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border near Gudalur. Earlier, NTK activists staged a rail blockade agitation at Coonoor.

Members of the Tamil Desiya Kazhagam also organised a demonstration near the level-crossing in Coonoor.

In the afternoon, scores of VCK activists stormed into the Coonoor railway station and climbed atop the engine of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. They raised slogans against the Sri Lankan government and demanded a total boycott of the CHOGM.

Police sources told The Hindu that totally about 225 persons had been removed in various parts of the district in connection with the agitations. No untoward incidents were reported. Security has been beefed up.

Meanwhile, the Tirupur District Congress Committee president P. Gopi issued a press statement in which he stated that no change would happen and no one would gain any benefit if India boycotted the CHOGM.

“At least some representation should be there from the country if the cause of Tamil-speaking population in Lanka have to be protected and justice obtained for the community,” he said.

In Namakkal , police removed 46 persons attached to two different movements for gheraoing the State Bank branch in Tiruchengode

dinakar · Post by **dinakar** » 11 Nov 2013 22:25

A Guide to Colombo for CHOGM 2013
Some excerpts...

Like the rural façades alleged to have been created for the pleasure of Catherine the Great and her foreign ambassadors on their visit to the Crimea in 1787, Colombo has received a major make over for the pleasure of delegates and visitors to Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013. Indeed Gotabhaya Rajapakse, presidential sibling and now Secretary Defence and Urban Development, probably fancies himself somewhat of a Potemkin, astute military leader and ambitious city builder.

At the airport, each Head of Government will be picked up in one of the more than 50 brand new bullet-proof S400 Mercedes Benz cars imported for the summit. This is in addition to a large fleet of brand new Nissan Teanas, 100 forty-one-seater luxury buses and 60 Land Rover Defender jeeps that have also been imported for the use of delegates, officials and security personnel. Naturally, the total costs of all this is unknown but runs into millions of dollars. While all vehicles will bear special CHOGM number plates they will not reveal the fact that Sri Lanka’s public debt has risen alarmingly, to Rs. 3 trillion or nearly 80 per cent of GDP. At a recent meeting of the Sri Lanka Economic Association, economists were reportedly of the view that “the debt incurred was too much, at too high a cost and used excessively on low productive purposes.”

While visitors race into Colombo on the shiny new 26 kilometre expressway, they will not be told that it cost 1.8 billion rupees or 14 million US dollars per kilometre and that it was mostly financed by a loan from China, whose terms are unknown. As they near the city they will come across neatly erected green-coloured screens, these are not sound barriers but visual barriers, to ensure visitors are not disturbed by the sight of low-income settlements.
The primary venue is named after Mahinda Rajapakse himself and to ensure ruthless efficiency it is run by the military. Just in front of the venue delegates can admire the newly redeveloped and spruced up lush green Viharamahadevi Park. However, they will not be told that like much else this was the work of the military not the municipality, and that the daily wage workers employed by the municipality to clean the park lost their jobs when the Navy took over.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 11 Nov 2013 23:21

"Lanka,Lanka,uber alles,uber alles in der velt...."

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 13 Nov 2013 17:44

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/chogm-pm-seeks-to-assuage-feelings-of-tamils/article5346535.ece?ref=relatedNews

Seeking to assuage the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu opposed to India’s participation in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting meet in Sri Lanka, the Centre on Wednesday detailed its relief and rehabilitation efforts for minority Tamils in the war-torn island nation.

Print advertisements issued by Ministry of External Affairs listed out implementation of “Indian Assisted Projects for Tamil people in Sri Lanka since 2009” and recalled that even before the “30-year armed conflict” came to an end, India had sent emergency relief assistance for internally displaced Tamils.

The statistics detailing Indian efforts in Sri Lanka were accompanied by pictures of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid meeting recently elected Chief Minister of Northern Province C V Wigneswaran and the Minister giving away certificates to beneficiaries under an Indian housing project among others.

“India’s development projects in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka now encompass virtually all sectors of economy, including housing, infrastructure development, education, health, agriculture, fisheries, industry, handicrafts, culture and sports,” it said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/chogm-boycott-over-6000-held-for-rail-roko/article5342654.ece?ref=relatedNews

Cadres owing allegiance to various Tamil nationalist outfits and political parties who resorted to rail roko agitations across the State were arrested on Tuesday.

While essential services, public transport, educational institutions, banks, government and private establishments functioned normally, trains were delayed at several places with slogan-shouting agitators barging into railway stations to stop train services.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 13 Nov 2013 18:00

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/no-mere-emotional-outbursts-jayalalithaa/article5345586.ece

Pointing out that the Assembly had adopted three resolutions on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue in the last two and a half years, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the House on Tuesday that the resolutions were no mere emotional outbursts but outcomes of well thought-out and deeply deliberated process.

“But, till now, the Union government has not taken any decision favourable to the Tamils,” Ms Jayalalithaa said, moving the fourth motion on the subject. The earlier resolutions were adopted in June 2011; March 2013 and October 2013.

She argued that in Sri Lanka, internally-displaced Tamils continued to remain so. There was no enough devolution of powers to the elected provincial government [in Northern Province]. Those who had committed war crimes were yet to be punished.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 14 Nov 2013 15:02

svenkat wrote:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/no-mere-emotional-outbursts-jayalalithaa/article5345586.ece

Pointing out that the Assembly had adopted three resolutions on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue in the last two and a half years, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the House on Tuesday that the resolutions were no mere emotional outbursts but outcomes of well thought-out and deeply deliberated process.

“But, till now, the Union government has not taken any decision favourable to the Tamils,” Ms Jayalalithaa said, moving the fourth motion on the subject. The earlier resolutions were adopted in June 2011; March 2013 and October 2013.

She argued that in Sri Lanka, internally-displaced Tamils continued to remain so. There was no enough devolution of powers to the elected provincial government [in Northern Province]. Those who had committed war crimes were yet to be punished.

I was sadly mistaken about amma.

I thought she had a little more sense and a modicum of strategic vision.

She remains tactically limited and intellectually myopic.

It would have been best if the shroud of turin had permitted mms to put rajapaksa on the mat in srilanka in full public glare.

meanwhile, back at the ranch, the loonies have successfully erected the long pending EJ memorial for the ltte.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 14 Nov 2013 15:42

There is competitive politics going on in TN on the SL issue.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 14 Nov 2013 17:54

The long pending LTTE memorial has been demolished yesterday

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 14 Nov 2013 19:07

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/mullivaikkal-memorial-wall-partly-demolished/article5349261.ece?ref=sliderNews

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Nov 2013 19:18

I think only some structures that were on govt. land.However,it shows one thing,that CM Jayalalitha has made a distinct differentiation from support to Lankan Tamils and their genuine aspirations to support for the LTTE. If she maintains this stance and keeps the LTTE/Eelamist brigade who are regrouping in force in TN,then a major security worry will be assuaged to some extent.However,she should be ever watchful regarding her personal security as we all know what happened to RG and co.

Hero or war criminal? The jury is still out regarding MR,the Lankan pres. When he exterminated the LTTE totally,with the most extreme prejudice,many in India sighed in relief as he had done us a great favour.The TN factor had forced India to be most discreet in it military and intel support for the GOSL.Now hat the war has ended,the losers,the LTTE and the Eelam diaspora have tried their best over the last few years to damn the Rajapakse regime as nothing more than a bunch of bloodthirsty fascists,happily forgetting the innumerable war crimes of the LTTE,including kidnapping Tamil children and forcing them to be child soldiers,suicide bombers,and assassinations galore.In this diabolic attempt to sever Lanka into two,the LTTE was covertly supported by certain western powers who were playing both sides.The real strategy was to carve put an entity in the island which they would use to destabilise India from the south,using a variety of quislings,NGOs,and such like.The Rajapakse regime has however missed the first bus by its lethargy in redevelopment of the north-east. The longer it delays on its promises of devolution and sidelines the reconciliation committee's findings,the greater the danger of the current democratic mood of the north with a very respected former SC judge as CM eroding.In this,India has to be pro-active.We have already lost too much ground to the Chinese in the island,no more obfuscating the issue.

Mahinda Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's saviour or war criminal?

As host of next month's Commonwealth heads of state meeting, the president's human rights record is under close scrutiny. For some he's a robust leader dealing with the bitter legacy of civil war. For others he's a brutal despot

Jason Burke
The Observer, Sunday 27 October 2013

Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa is the controversial host of the Commonwealth heads of state meeting in November 2013. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / R/Reuters

Down in the deep south of Sri Lanka, where life usually moves at a leisurely pace, there is one small town that is less tranquil. Hambantota – population 20,000 – is expanding fast. There is a vast new deep-water port, built with $360m of borrowed Chinese cash; a new 35,000-seater cricket stadium; a huge convention centre; and a $200m international airport. A broad-gauge railway is under construction. Powerful people have ambitions for Hambantota. None is more powerful or more ambitious than President Mahinda Rajapaksa, born nearby in 1945.

There is much construction in Sri Lanka these days. The island nation was already one of the wealthiest in south Asia but its economy had been held back by decades of civil conflict. Now the war is over and growth rates, the government claims, are touching 7%.

Last week a new section of motorway was opened. Undeniably one of the best roads in a part of the world where rutted single-lane highways still link many major cities, it joins the international airport with Colombo, the political and commercial capital. David Cameron, 51 other leaders and Prince Charles will drive down its tarmac next month when they fly in for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.

The summit is controversial. Rajapaksa, now in his eighth year of power, is much reviled – at least in the west. The chief charges against him are serious: that he ignored, condoned or even encouraged war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops in the final bloody phases of the campaign to crush the brutal Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (popularly known as the Tamil Tigers); that he has again ignored, condoned or possibly even ordered a wave of repression directed at those who contest his or his government's authority; that he has made no serious effort to reach out politically to Sri Lanka's Tamil minority; that he aims to ensure that his family's grip on the island nation is without challenge for decades to come.

In short, it is alleged that under his rule Sri Lanka is becoming a nasty, authoritarian quasi-rogue banana republic. If there is some truth in many of the charges, the reality, like the man, is more complex than appearances suggest. In person, Rajapaksa is more avuncular than ogre. Tall, heavy-set, with an astonishing bouffant as solid, glossy and black as polished coal, he exudes the hearty bonhomie of the rugby player he once was. He remembers names, slaps backs, happily strips to the waist when he visits temples, and makes sure his guests, even journalists who have come to grill him, have been offered a cup of tea. One reporter watched astonished as the president went off to fetch biscuits. Such gestures reveal a canny politician with a carefully cultivated folksy style.

Almost all Sri Lanka's post-independence leaders have been smooth, English-speaking, often educated abroad, and from Colombo or its environs. Rajapaksa, a small-town lawyer without a university degree, is thus very different, even if he does come from a political family. Rarely seen in western dress and never in a suit, he is supposed to enjoy a traditional country breakfast of buffalo milk curd and cane sugar treacle. His trademark rust-brown neck scarf deliberately recalls the sweaty rags of farmers and is supposed to represent the millet they sow. He usually speaks Sinhala in public – though he can get by in English, albeit without the fluency of many south Asian senior politicians, and has learned some Tamil.

One problem for his critics is that, though elections are marred by intimidation, violence and the misuse of state resources, few deny that Rajapaksa's successive poll victories reflect a genuine mandate. Even his opponents in Colombo admit that he remains without a serious local political challenger. His heartland is rural, conservative, Buddhist and dominated by the Sinhalese majority.

It was these voters that, as a 24-year-old novice politician armed with a law degree and a famous father, he won over to enter parliament for the first time in 1970. The same voters backed him in 2005 when, after a year as prime minister, he stood for president, and still back him now. Part of the dislike, and the fear, that Rajapaksa inspires in Colombo's political elite is his unashamed exploitation of his status as a political outsider.

The emotions Rajapaksa inspires in many Tamils, who comprise 10%-15% of the population, have their source elsewhere, however. A key election pledge was to end the bitter war against the Tamil Tigers, the de facto government in much of the north, by negotiation. This stance shifted. Here his brother, Gotabhaya, the defence secretary, played a key role, as he would do in the campaign to come. During the 26 years of conflict there had been a number of truces, most recently in 2002. These, the Rajapaksa brothers and the senior military believed, were simply used by the Tamil Tigers to resupply and reorganise. This time the Rajapaksas decided there would be no truce, whatever the international pressure.

The military was expanded hugely. The ceasefire collapsed entirely. One senior Sri Lankan official remembered how, when a report of heavy army casualties arrived on the president's desk, Rajapaksa called Sarath Fonseka, a junior general with a ruthless reputation who had been picked to command the new campaign, to express his concern. Fonseka said that if the president wasn't prepared to have men killed, he would resign. He stayed.

Only during the last few weeks of the conflict did the world begin to take notice of events in the rough, scrubby plains of northern Sri Lanka. As they retreated, the Tamil Tigers took hundreds of thousands of civilians with them. In a series of interviews with the Observer last month, non-combatants spoke of chaos, "no-fire zones" that were not respected by the army, and orders from the Tamil Tigers to leave their homes. What is also clear is that the Tigers made little effort to separate combatants from civilians, particularly towards the end of the fighting, when huge numbers, including fighters and the Tamil Tiger high command, were packed into a tiny area between a lagoon and the sea. They may have shot some people who tried to escape.

But the army bombed, shelled and strafed the area indiscriminately, killing the Tigers' leaders but also thousands of civilians.

"For many days we did not leave our bunker. It was just shells all the time," one refugee from the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu recalled last month. "Finally we decided we would die unless we ran. So we waited until a break … The army was only a few hundred metres away but on the way we passed maybe 25 or 30 bodies, men, women, old people, children."

There are also reports, backed by images shot on soldiers' phones, of large numbers of summary executions of captured rebel cadres and some civilians. These are the alleged war crimes that the UN wants credibly and independently investigated – something the Sri Lankan government has so far failed to do. Rajapaksa has called the allegations "propaganda" and accused the UN of doing the bidding of "big countries" who "bully" little ones.

Such rhetoric plays well at home, particularly from a man whose career has been built on an image of the straight-talker from the backwoods, and can be useful globally too. No one in Rajapaksa's neighbourhood is very keen on lectures from the west either. "We can live with it, but the public finger-wagging doesn't help anyone," said one senior Sri Lankan diplomat.

Since the end of the war other concerns have intensified. There have been scores, some say hundreds, of abductions. Journalists are systematically threatened. Trade unionists and human rights activists receive regular "warnings" or are roughed up. The constitution has been changed to allow Rajapaksa a third term. Dozens of his relatives hold government posts, controlling, according to one estimate, nearly half the state expenditure. A son is being groomed as a successor. There are widespread allegations of graft and an upsurge in sectarian violence.

"It is a situation of total state capture," said JC Weliamuna, a leading human rights lawyer in Colombo.

This is south Asia, of course, where zero-sum politics, dynasties, massive development in the native towns of incumbent leaders, marginalised minorities and corruption is unexceptional. Tourist visits and revenues are up – though not by as much as the government would like, or, probably, claims. Foreign investment worth $2bn is expected this year, officials say. But even regionally there are now worries about where Sri Lanka is headed.

These concerns will all be carefully obscured next month. So far the only invited leader not attending the Commonwealth summit is Canada's Stephen Harper. David Cameron says "tough messages" are best delivered in person. Rajapaksa will no doubt be his usual bluff and cheery self at the meeting. But if anyone is delivering a tough message, it will be him.

THE RAJAPAKSA FILE

Born Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa in Weeraketiya, Hambantota, 18 November 1945. His father was a cabinet minister, DA Rajapaksa. Elected to Parliament in 1970. Studied at the Sri Lanka law college, graduating in 1977. Married Shiranthi Wickramasinghe. Three children: Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha.

Best of times 1994: Appointed minister of labour; 2002: leader of opposition; 2004: became Sri Lanka's 13th prime minister; 2005: sworn in as sixth president.

Worst of times Accused of war crimes in 2009, allegations including responsibility for massacres of LTTE (Tamil Tiger) fighters and Tamil civilians.

What he says "The government is not ready to enter into any kind of ceasefire with terrorists... It is my duty to protect the people of this country. I don't need lectures from western representatives."

"We should live in this country as children of one mother. No differences of race, caste and religion should prevail here."

What others say "I've read his speeches and I knew he was a Sinhalese extremist. I cannot change his mind" - Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding prime minister.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Nov 2013 19:20

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 37771.html

Sri Lanka: Fear and fury as leaders fly in for Commonwealth conference

Minister of Mass Media and Information accuses David Cameron of treating the country 'like a colony'

The contentious Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that begins in Colombo on Friday descended further into acrimony when a minister in the Sri Lankan government accused David Cameron of treating the country “like a colony”.

The prime ministers of India, Canada, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago have already pulled out of the summit, while Mr Cameron said that he wanted a personal meeting with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at which he would raise questions about allegations of war crimes by government forces during the civil war with Tamil rebels that ended in 2009. Mr Cameron will visit the north of the country on Friday where he will meet Tamil leaders.

Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Mass Media and Information, responded to Mr Cameron’s demands by telling the BBC: “We are a sovereign nation. You think someone can just make a demand from Sri Lanka! We are not a colony.”

Mr Rambukwella then reportedly said Mr Cameron’s concern was to win votes among London’s “150,000-strong” Tamil community, according to a BBC source.

Earlier in the day journalists from Channel 4 News were prevented from travelling to the Tamil areas of the north by hundreds of government loyalists, who denounced the team as “terrorist liars” and supporters of the Tamil Tigers as they brought their train to a standstill near the northern city of Anuradhapura.

The reporters were escorted off the train and told to head back south by police, the latest in a series of incidents that have disrupted the team since it arrived in Sri Lanka at the beginning of the week.

Channel 4 has commissioned a series of documentaries exposing evidence of atrocities by both sides in the civil war, including the alleged massacre by government forces of 40,000 people in 2009.

Journalists travelling with the group said the President was reneging on promises before the summit to grant free access to foreign media. They added that the campaign of harassment cast doubt on the British Government’s justification for attending the conference – namely that it would provide an opportunity for Mr Cameron and the Foreign Secretary William Hague to hold the Sri Lankans to account.

Mr Hague arrived in Sri Lanka before Mr Cameron, who is meeting his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, and will arrive in Colombo on Friday.

Ben de Pear, the Channel 4 News editor who is part of the team in Sri Lanka, told The Independent: “What No 10 and the Foreign Office have said in terms of engagement with Sri Lanka has not been borne out. It is clearly impossible for us to travel or work freely and the official British presence here is having absolutely no effect.

“We are not in physical danger but how can we work and interview people from any side if everywhere we go we are followed by a group of people screaming that we are terrorist liars?”

The Channel 4 team said they were tailed on to the train by state intelligence agents as they travelled to interview civil war survivors in the north. The team, whose presence has been front-page news in the Sri Lankan press, were asked to leave the train by police who said they had orders to return them to the capital “for their own protection”.

The Foreign Office said Mr Hague had raised the treatment of the Channel 4 team with his Sri Lankan counterpart. Mr Hague also tweeted: “Urge gov to let journalists report as promised.”

An FCO spokeswoman said: “It’s important that journalists and those they speak to are not harassed, and where this is happening we are raising it at the highest levels.”

Mr Hague also urged the Sri Lankan authorities to launch an investigation into allegations mass rape was used by government forces both during and after the civil war.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 15 Nov 2013 11:39

Philip wrote:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 37771.html

Sri Lanka: Fear and fury as leaders fly in for Commonwealth conference

Minister of Mass Media and Information accuses David Cameron of treating the country 'like a colony'

The contentious Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that begins in Colombo on Friday descended further into acrimony when a minister in the Sri Lankan government accused David Cameron of treating the country “like a colony”.

Earlier in the day journalists from Channel 4 News were prevented from travelling to the Tamil areas of the north by hundreds of government loyalists, who denounced the team as “terrorist liars” and supporters of the Tamil Tigers as they brought their train to a standstill near the northern city of Anuradhapura.

“terrorist liars”??

Nice turn of phrase.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 15 Nov 2013 22:57

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 838159.cms

Is this guy for real?? Whining like this on foreign shores...

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid expressed regret on Friday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not visit Jaffna, a feat undertaken by his British counterpart David Cameron, who became the first head of government to visit the war-torn northern province in Sri Lanka since its independence in 1948.

"Is it not sad? Who is to blame? I wanted my PM to go there first. I was the second Indian foreign minister to go there (after the war). But who do I blame for it. I am only disappointed that I could not take the prime minister to an area where we are building 50,000 houses. We can't show him this and the roads and projects that we are building (in Jaffna)," he told reporters.

Khurshid was answering questions on the historic visit Cameron made to Jaffna after the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth summit in a public relations disaster for Sri Lanka.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Nov 2013 03:52

Amazing! The MEA Min."Salman-the -Kursed" shoots himself in the foot,mouth and privates. This expert whinger has to unpack on foreign soil the dirty linen of his disreputable and utterly incompetent regime.If he was so upset as FM that the "Lion King" MMSingh, chickened out without even a whimper,allowing David Cameron to steal the show in India's very own suburb,then he shou;ld've resigned in protest.But who in the Congress party any longer has any morals,scruples or conscience? A party and PM hell bent upon looting and scooting care little for India's security or foreign policy ,as the subservient PM of our time ,prefers to be an ignoble lackey of neo-imperialist western powers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 43126.html

Philip Murphy

Friday 15 November 2013
The commonwealth is an organisation whose useful life may have ended

The decision to hold the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka has led, with grim inevitability, to a public relations disaster

It is difficult to do justice to the mood of despair that has been haunting the corridors of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters in London in recent months.

The decision to hold the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka has led, with grim inevitability, to a public relations disaster.

For many, the Commonwealth has long been of little relevance. Hopes in Whitehall that it might serve to bolster Britain’s global power in the post-war era had largely been abandoned by the 1960s. Thereafter, it became a useful forum within which to press for an end to white domination in southern Africa. But a subsequent attempt to reinvent it as a champion of democracy, good governance and human rights has failed to give it an equivalent sense of purpose.

The task of any Common-wealth Secretary-General would be thankless. But the performance of the incumbent has been lacklustre. Kamalesh Sharma is a nice man and a distinguished diplomat, yet he has provided his organisation with neither a distinctive voice nor a cogent vision for the future.

The Secretary-General has a duty to warn against decisions that would tarnish the Commonwealth’s image. In the face of relentless lobbying from the Sri Lankan government, Mr Sharma conspicuously failed. The Sri Lankan government has long craved the international respectability accorded to the host of a CHOGM, and now President Rajapaksa begins his two-year tenure as Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth.

Instead of spouting platitudes about the value of the organisation, the Government should follow the example of Canada. It may well be that, at least from a UK perspective, the Commonwealth as currently configured has reached the end of its useful life.

Philip Murphy is director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. A version of this article first ran here: http://theconversation.com/time-for-bri ... alth-20327
React Now

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Nov 2013 13:22

Those who have been emotionally surcharged in TN for their political opportunism, must read this interview by the CM of Northern Province, Mr. Vigneswaran. It is in Tamil.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 16 Nov 2013 14:14

SSridhar wrote:Those who have been emotionally surcharged in TN for their political opportunism, must read this interview by the CM of Northern Province, Mr. Vigneswaran. It is in Tamil.

Sirjee,

Kindly post a synopsis if and when possible.

TIA.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Nov 2013 17:43

Vigneswaran dubs the 'Tamil Eelam' demand emanating from TN ( as opposed to a solution within Sri Lanka that his party is fighting for) as the fight between heart and mind, the heart being TN protestors and the mind being the SL Tamils who, he says are on a journey tempered by reality. As for the TN fishermen, he is categorical that they have ravaged and depleted the riches of the Indian sea by trawling and now wish to do the same within Sri Lankan waters and the SL Tamil fishermen are worried that they will destroy their fishing grounds as well. On the Commonwealth issue, he plays it safe. He says that both boycotting and attending are part of diplomatese and each country takes decision accordingly. He says that Jaffna decided to boycott (which has no meaning really). He reveals that both his sons are married to Sinhalese. He suggests that even the Sinhalese are living with a minority complex and that makes them harass the Tamils even more and he blames TN, once again, for that too because of the support they extend to SL Tamils leading the Sinhalese to believe that they have no support in the world whereas the SL Tamils have a massive TN support.

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 16 Nov 2013 19:12

About fishermen, are there reports of huge mechanical trawlers from China/US/EU in India that is not talked about?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 16 Nov 2013 22:12

SSridhar wrote:Vigneswaran dubs the 'Tamil Eelam' demand emanating from TN ( as opposed to a solution within Sri Lanka that his party is fighting for) as the fight between heart and mind, the heart being TN protestors and the mind being the SL Tamils who, he says are on a journey tempered by reality. As for the TN fishermen, he is categorical that they have ravaged and depleted the riches of the Indian sea by trawling and now wish to do the same within Sri Lankan waters and the SL Tamil fishermen are worried that they will destroy their fishing grounds as well. On the Commonwealth issue, he plays it safe. He says that both boycotting and attending are part of diplomatese and each country takes decision accordingly. He says that Jaffna decided to boycott (which has no meaning really). He reveals that both his sons are married to Sinhalese. He suggests that even the Sinhalese are living with a minority complex and that makes them harass the Tamils even more and he blames TN, once again, for that too because of the support they extend to SL Tamils leading the Sinhalese to believe that they have no support in the world whereas the SL Tamils have a massive TN support.

He is very right about the TN fishermen. They use illegal nets and have completely wiped out sustainable fishing on the Indian side. They willfully transgress into the sri lankan side every day and plunder fish stocks there. The affected fishermen on the other side are largely lankan tamils. So much for lip service.

We cannot violate their territorial integrity under ANY circumstances.

He is being subtle and cagey about eelam.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 16 Nov 2013 22:18

vishvak wrote:About fishermen, are there reports of huge mechanical trawlers from China/US/EU in India that is not talked about?

If there are some, they usually have fishing permits issued by the GOI. Haven't usually heard about China/US/EU trawlers. Usually they are thai, taiwanese etc.

Usually, illegal trawlers when caught in Indian waters are badly damaged (physically) by the ICG and are pushed out

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 17 Nov 2013 01:55

chetak wrote:Karan M ji,

I see where you are coming from.

Unfortunately, For you and I both, its truly just an academic exercise.

Let the lankans do what they will. It's their country and their business. Just like us, they don't like outsiders poking a nose into their business.

Tamilians are very dear to my heart, Indian tamils, that is.

Canadian tamils, lankan tamils, british tamils, german tamils, pumpkin tamils, potato tamils do not interest me. They have freely made their bed elsewhere, sworn allegiance elsewhere, pay taxes elsewhere and they all salute another flag willingly. If they find themselves in trouble, mostly of their own making why not come back to India?? Then, whatever sham freedom we give to our own citizens, we will willingly give to them also. Lakhs of bangladeshis, thousands of pakis, smartly, have procured the adhar card already. They have anyway been voting here for many years.

many thousands of refugee lankan tamils in refugee camps in India refuse to go back. We generously sheltered prabhakaran's parents in Tamilnadu even whilst the apple of their eye was raping the Indian Army. I am in and out of srilanka fairly frequently on business and don't find any discrimination as alleged by the vaiko and kanunanidhi types. The place is certainly more clean, orderly and peaceful than any Indian city or town.

Folks from bengal and odisha can also claim as much kinship with the sinhalese as the joker politicians from Tamilnadu do the lankan tamils.

Do you deny that the sinhalese are also our very own?? I don't see you taking up their equally worthy cause. They certainly deserve your help more.

then by the same standards sirji, since you consider sinhalas to be our very own despite what all they did to the tamils, sparking off this very conflict in the first place, and their rampant bigotry against hindus (check any sinhala webboard f.e. about what they think about non buddhists), why do you get upset when MMS makes lovey dovey with pakis?

after all, the pakis are also our very own, the same as the sinhalas. they are our long lost forgotten "brothers" merely upset with us.

similarly, why does your hindu heart get upset when hindus in the pakistani, bangladesh and other areas get attacked, molested and what not? after all, your heart only beats for indians, and you don't give a darn for any of the diaspora right?

like it or not, your statements are not logical.

they betray a case of transference. your hatred of the ltte has transferred onto the ordinary tamilians living in sri lanka and hence you think its ok to throw them under the bus and here is why i disagree because it is attitudes like these which has in part led to the indian diaspora fracturing and also becoming a) vulnerable to all sorts of busybody meddling b) losing their sense of identity with india c ) causing a problem for india when those folks are then used to influence india itself

after all this, then the usual practise is to yell, scream at these folks for being traitors, opportunists, converts, ej fools etc.

lets leave all this aside and realize some basic facts.

these people whether we like it or not, do share kinship with indian citizens. they also share religious kinship with a vast number of indians.

on the basis of both these factors, they are currently being brutalized by a pipsqueak of a state which first

1. played the indian govt to intervene on its behalf against a minority which it itself brutalized
2. washed its hands off from the mess, and second ate pindi-channa while the indian govt sent its own troops to fight against its own darn diaspora
3. after having watched the bloodletting, then asked for india to be kicked out
4. and many years thence is again, brutalizing the aforesaid groups after having thoroughly defeated the terrorist organization that was victimizing both sides after having cynically using indian help but is still courting pak and china

yet sirji you dont see this, and are busy wondering about the sensitivities of the SL crowd.

if india was truly as powerful as you wish it to be as a patriot, the SL's would be busy sorting out this problem double quick, and not trying their usual tricks in playing both sides against the middle.

and they would truly be worried about messing with indians of any type.

but they aren't. because of the cynical attitude expressed by some folks on this board. y'see its all punjabis, bengalees, tamilians-what have you when the other group gets whacked outside by anyone. then everyone sits around and posts reams about dharma this, dharma that and all sorts of assorted indian great civilization navel gazing.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 17 Nov 2013 02:01

chetak wrote: Has the GOI ever raised the issue with the pakis or the bangladeshis??

I don't think MMS talks about all the poor affected folks that you have mentioned during his biryani discussions with the pakis. salman the cursed would not even dream of mentioning it. The nobel would probably be jeopardized.

sirji why are you so confused about this? two wrongs don't make a right.

of course mms is not bothered. he is displaying the exact same points which you have pushed for. as you said, of his father what goes. yet here you are, angry about the fact that MMS didn't do anything, won't do anything about hindus or sikhs elsewhere no matter how badly they get brutalized, but will weep copious tears over vote banks... yet you want the same stuff over the SL issue, and are cursing MMS for behaving as you wish us to behave with the SL revanchist crowd.

can't you even see the contradiction?

We had the 93000 POWs right here in India. Did we try any of them for war crimes??

many of the 93000 jokers were rapists and genocidal mass murderers. vote bank again??

Let sleeping dogs lie peacefully, not to mention vote banks from the second largest majority being affected here.

agree.

but then you are upset that the great rulers from dilli didn't give a darn about what happened to the bengali hindus from the far away fringes of their wonderful empire - it didn;t bother them in the slightest.

yet, today, you are ok with much the same being repeated with another bunch elsewhere.

sirji, apply the same standards. hold the likes of mms et al to a higher standard. don't allow these guys to play their selective games.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 17 Nov 2013 02:11

chetak wrote:It is not proper for anyone to talk of the discipline of any force under combat conditions. For every finger you point at the adversary, four are pointed right back at you. It is your perception of goal scoring to shore up your simplistic argument and you are welcome to it.

then sir ji why are you dragging the indian armed forces into it? the indian armed forces ARE more professional. they are not going around videographing executions of children and taking gleeful pics of naked women prisoners with clear signs of assault. like it or not, you are scoring own goals. you know this.

that should stop, period.

the indian army, navy, af are not like these thugs who clearly don't give a darn about any convention or otherwise, and are taking trophies.

if that were not bad enough, AFTER the fight is over, there are ample reports of them continuing to brutalize tamilian civilians because now there is no ltte to hit back. it speaks volumes about their professionalism or lack thereof and that this behaviour is clearly state sanctioned.

My point is very simple, let them all stew in their own juice. Incidentally, the lankan tamils do not seem to be asking for our help, on the contrary their elected chief minister is asking us to butt out.

There are some of these hapless lankan tamils settled in karnataka who have legitimized their stay over the years. They were chased out of lanka by the ltte, cheated by Indians who grabbed their money when they were most vulnerable. The property dealers who cheated them were not foolishly side tracked by human rights issues.

A terrorist force which targeted it's own people because they did not support it deserves absolutely no sympathy. It sought legitimacy by systematically butchering non ltte tamil opposition and slaughtering their leaders. Yesterday's terrorists have become today's freedom fighters, suddenly and miraculously worthy of our sympathy for their trampled upon human rights. When fate in the form of lankan soldiers caught up with the ltte fighters, the inevitable happened in some cases to the ltte cadres. Exactly what the ltte themselves did to the lankan/tamil men and women happened to some of them. Are you and your supporters not going to take up those cases?? Why the hell not??

yeah, that "inevitable happened" to the ltte happens to include women who were not even linked to the ltte being reported as being assaulted. seriously, please quit while you are ahead. you are painting an inaccurate picture of "anything goes" as versus the indian armed forces which go to incredible lengths to prevent any such sadism from being the norm.

Incidentally the very armed force you accuse me of disparaging has almost universal admiration for the sinhalese army and maybe not so much for the sinhala politicians

yeah, the entire indian armed forces and their views of what constitutes lawful combat developed in a vacuum, and they'd be ok with what the SLA did as evidence emerges. i think not.

The sinhalese took the ltte out. It was very difficult to do and they did it. Some wheat has gone with the chaff. SO WHAT?? Do you think that terrorist families in kashmir thank the IA for the death of their kids?? A tragedy for them is a necessity for us.

so the terrorist families in kashmir have evidence of the indian army taking their women away for retribution and assaulting them?

no they dont.

because the indian army doesn't do this sh!t.

therein lies the difference sirji.

No one can rush the sinhalese into accommodation of their tamils. Suspicions will take years to fade away. Trust has to be earned gradually and rights will come in the fullness of time. The human rights record of any army can very easily be and is often willfully stained. That said, all armies have something to hide. When there is so much blood lust, adrenalin and testosterone flowing, everyone will not be a saint. If said army is white skinned, violations are very easily forgotten. Like all congress riots have been forgotten but only Modi is damned over and over for the 2002 riots.

what is all this equivocation boss.. "all armies have something to hide", "white skinned armies are not saint", "all congress riots"..you are mixing up things. what you are saying is there are other thugs so the SLA thugs are ok.. well, i disagree. they are a state force, and they should be held to far higher standard.

There is a profitable cottage industry to tar and feather Modi just as there is one to tar and feather the sinhalese. The karsevaks burning and the ltte atrocities are conveniently never ever mentioned.

i suspect the same modi who let a lot of those who rioted get their desserts has a very different idea of what constitutes acceptable behaviour. lets just leave it at that.

there is justice, there is revenge in the heat of the moment, and then there is pure sadism. the last is inexcusable.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 17 Nov 2013 02:25

chaanakya wrote:
Karan M wrote:If Hindus get similarly assaulted and molested in Bangladesh and Pakistan, we should feel likewise?
Well , I have not seen discussions on this issue either in Indian Media or among Hindus or in BRF or even by you ( point me if I am wrong) on the same scale

well do some legwork about folks posting history or what others feel about whats happening to hindus elsewhere and you'll know how upset folks are. like it or not, this is the same stuff that is amazingly galling amongst a lot of the so called "dharmics" on this board who constantly chant white man this, brown man suppressed, hindu this, hindu that, congress that, congress this & promptly come up with convoluted explanations to justify atrocities on indians/hindus elsewhere.

heres the thing. when i was growing up sikhs were slaughtering hindus and vice versa. the punjab insurgency saw khalistanis murder indian army troops. many of these guys even settled abroad. so does that mean that if a sikh in NYC today gets stabbed by rednecks, we should feel schadenfreude about what happens to them?

there is a limit to taking these things forward.

and intensity as Tamizhs take up the cause of SriLankan Tamizh which is a good thing in my opinion.

and therein lies the rub. ideally all of us / we should be equally pissed off about similar issues everywhere.

but most indians are so caught up in their i, me, myself lives they couldn;t give a sh!t about what happens in pak or bangladesh.

meanwhile indian society remains divided. this should not be a tamizh issue. this should be a pan india issue. day that happens, yes, then we have advanced as a nation. and not one which still prizes ethnicity over pan national kinship.

However one needs to remember that in War such crimes do happen and I think gen S Fonseka should be tried for war crimes and matter be laid to rest. Nothing good will come out of it if we press the issue and allow for LTTE revival which in my opinion should be eliminated lock stock and barrel.

not just fonseka, i think more of these guys need to be tried, and most importantly, the assaults on tamil women still going on need to stop.

by now there is ample evidence that there was a kill them all policy with the LTTE. that can still be understood even if illegal or what not (an entirely different debate).

however, what is not acceptable to any civilized human being is the rampant violation of captured tamil women prisoners & the sadism displayed, plus trophies taken.

and that all this sh!t is still continuing. sinhala revanchists crowing about how hindu ltte is being taught a lesson just shows the sick mentality that has been encouraged.

As for Isaipriya, what happened to her is regrettable and is war crime. I also understand that she eulogised suicide bombers and was part of Ltte cadre. I think she knew what was coming to her, unfortunate though it may be.

execute her. hang her after due process. assaulting her, taking trophy photos - was this reasonable? surely not.

Actually Ltte did greatest disservice to Srilankan Tamizhs and they were the biggest killers/murderers of Tamizhs and well wishers. They were responsible for elimination of Tamizh leadership and quite intolerant of different opinions.

agree. but then why are sri lankan tamils today still being assaulted using the fig leaf of the dead ltte.

However we should remember that Geneva convention does not apply to war with Ltte. and as such Srilankan Army can not be tried for war crimes.

professional armies hold themselves to higher standards than merely rule of law, they obey the spirit of the law. which is why our guys tend to be so strict about HR violations despite grave provocations.

the sri lankans completely failed this, and rampantly abused this basic belief system

uman crimes should be dealt withing their own judicial system and no outside interference should be allowed. Outsiders should look for crime against humanity in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere. And here Indian part comes into play. India should tell srilanka to investigate these evidences and bring them to book in a credible manner. And in my opinion Fonseka must be tried for that being head of army at that time.

i agree, and not just fonseka but even their politicians need to be held accountable, and also the people who carried such stuff out. most importantly the continued attacks on tamil women need to stop.

Also What India should do is to help Srilankan Tamizhs have meaningful say in democratic process and self governance without actually creating separate country . That is possible only by engaging Srilankan Govt and not by boycotting them. That will drive them to our enemies. How can India engage with Srilankan Govt by boycotting them and the how can they help tamizh if they have no dialogues with both the parties. Now that Ltte is eliminated we need to help SL Tamizh in finding normal life again.

Just my Two cents.

agree. the method should not be to boycott them publicly but by using a combination of carrots and sticks privately. but they cannot be left to think that they can murder/slaughter non combatants willy nilly and india will sit by and idly navel gaze.
we are the dominant regional power and its high time we started acting like one.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 17 Nov 2013 02:32

merlin wrote:Ditto sir, fully agree. Have highlighted what I especially agree with.

I don't see the crocodile tears flowing fully from the eyes of the LTTE apologists here also flowing when Indian soldiers from the IPKF were killed in Sri Lanka by the LTTE. Or the numerous Sri Lankan tamils killed in TN by the LTTE, killed on our soil. They also seem to have forgotten the reception received by Indian soldier in Madras when they came back from Sri Lanka.

Finally the LTTE are conveniently Hindu when Indian help is needed. Heck, there are Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh also - no tears shed when they are killed?

Ah.. so disliking the fact that tamil hindu women are being assaulted by SLA = LTTE apologist. Wow. Similarly, when Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh are mutilated and killed, lets all celebrate the fact that they are citizens of Pak/Bangladesh so deserve whatever happens to them.

As regards Indian soldiers killed by the LTTE - posted on it, and am happy the LTTE is destroyed. Still doesn't excuse SLA assaulting SL Tamils and "whose father what goes"..

On the one hand, full outrage whenever the Pakistanis mutilate/assault Pakistani hindus. Moar outrage when Bangla hindus get treated likewise. Somehow SL Tamils are from another area and don't matter. Because a terrorist force claimed to fight on their behalf. Lets extend this same analogy ... every Indian group, in India our outside which has had some extremist group on their side fight the Indian state... they are all traitors/verboten and we should be ok with whatever happens to them.

Meanwhile other meddlers come in, pretend to be these folks saviours, convert them, use them - and that's also bad. Confused world we apparently live in. We won;t do anything to retain/help our diaspora but boy are we dharmic or wot.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Nov 2013 08:01

Typical white man's hypocrisy.Issuing ultimatum's to the "natives",in true neo-colonial style.David Cameron should examine Britain's own war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan ,as well as those of his fellow NATO partners,especially the US,before he issues deadlines to the GOSL.Would he dare to do that to the US? Unfortunately,the CW still remains a white man's table where the natives are invited but once every summit.If this is its purpose,for the white man to treat the rest of the CW members as "untermenschen",then it is past time for the CW to be consigned to the dustbin of history.The GOSL has much to explain and do to assuage the feelings of its Tamil people as well as delivering on its promises of genuine devolution,but it is its own affair.There is NO room for a former colonial master to attempt to wield the stick like a public school headmaster any more anywhere in Asia or the globe.

If I was the Lankan Pres.,I would throw into the dustbin the great honour of being the current CW white man's servant and sergeant-major and leave the outfit itself at this very summit.But Rajapakse will never do this as he lacks the guts and gumption to do so, well-knowing that he is "tainted goods" and that a gentle "scratch" at the skin of Lanka today will reveal the enormous grand larceny and misappropriation of the entire wealth of the country into the hands of his extended family and cronies ,in similar manner as if it were a despotic Middle-East monarchy.

Sri Lanka defiant after Cameron sets war crimes inquiry deadline
President Mahinda Rajapaksa says country will 'take its own time' to probe alleged abuses

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/n ... llegations

David Cameron has set a four-month deadline for Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of war crimes, in a parting shot at the host country as he left the Commonwealth summit early.

The British prime minister left Colombo having failed to secure any concessions from President Mahinda Rajapaksa or persuade fellow leaders to criticise Sri Lanka's record in a communique.

Before he left Cameron gave Sri Lanka until March to order an independent inquiry into alleged brutality against civilians or face an international UN-backed investigation.

However, Rajapaksa reacted defiantly to the UK's call, saying "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones", adding that Sri Lanka would "take its own time" in probing alleged abuses.
Link to video: David Cameron bats against Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan- video

Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan also claimed the prime minister must have been misled about human rights abuses in the north of his country following its bloody 25-year civil war.

The world record-holding bowler, a Tamil, challenged his understanding of the situation in the north. Before playing cricket with Cameron, the sportsman, known as Murali, said: "I can't say the prime minister was wrong or not because he's from England, he hasn't seen the site, he hasn't gone and visited these places, yesterday only he has gone."

Cameron said he had given a balanced account of what he saw in Jaffna after visiting newspaper journalists whose six colleagues were killed and a refugee camp where hundreds of people have been living since 1990.

After attacking the country's human rights failings, the prime minister headed to the Gulf Air Show in an attempt to help British businesses sell Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and arms to the United Arab Emirates, which also has a controversial record on allowing dissent.

He was due to have a one-on-one dinner at the palace of Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, to press the case for the Emirates to choose Typhoons, built by a consortium including BAE Systems, over France's rival Rafale fighter. Saudi Arabia and Oman have ordered Typhoons but last year India chose the Rafale as its preferred option, in a blow for Cameron's foreign trade drive.

Speaking in Dubai, the prime minister said: "I continue to support Typhoon around the world, which is doing extremely well and is clearly in the running here as well, so there's a lot of jobs, a lot of investment to be garnered from visits like this."

It is the last leg of Cameron's controversial tour of India, Sri Lanka and the Gulf, which led Labour to criticise his decision to attend the biennial Commonwealth gathering.
Link to video: The Brothers Shaikh: a man searches for answers after his brother's murder in Sri Lanka

India, Canada and Mauritius have all boycotted the summit in protest at the Sri Lankan regime's alleged brutality against some Tamils but Cameron decided to go in order to visit the troubled north of the country.

Among other attendees, he appears to have found muted support for his critical public stance towards Sri Lanka. Asked about claims that opponents of the government are routinely tortured, Tony Abbott, the new Australian prime minister, backed the Sri Lankan government, saying he deplores the use of torture but "sometimes in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen".

The official Commonwealth communique will not mention allegations against the Sri Lankan government and military, although it is understood it will contain pointed references to the need for members to uphold human rights. According to well-placed sources, a draft of the communique refers to the key role of a free media in maintaining peace and democracy.

In public, Sri Lanka has firmly rebuffed calls for fresh inquiries. Nima Siripala de Silva, a cabinet minister, told reporters Sri Lanka does not need to do any more to investigate what happened in its civil war and he was fully confident the country could convince any UN panel of this.

On Friday, Cameron challenged Rajapaksa in an animated one-on-one meeting at the summit in which the president warned him to not to turn the Commonwealth into a punitive body and suggested his trip was a ploy to win votes among the Tamil diaspora in the UK.

However, Downing Street sources said Rajapaksa summoned Cameron for a second meeting on Saturday morning at which he sounded more conciliatory.