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Rajapaksa is expected to visit New Delhi next week

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to visit New Delhi next week India hopes to carry forward the dialogue on rehabilitation of Tamils displaced in the war between the Lankan army and LTTE, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Friday. “We are expecting the Sri Lankan President to visit Delhi next week to carry the dialogue forward”, he told reporters here.

“The crisis has just ended. The process of rehabilitation (of displaced Tamils) has just started. It is a gigantic task of rehabilitating thousands of displaced persons, overwhelming majority of which are Tamil-speaking people”, Mr. Krishna said. Mr. Krishna, who hails from Karnataka, was given a rousing reception by his supporters on his maiden visit to the city after assuming charge. Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon and National Security Adviser M K Narayanan had met Rajapaksa recently during which “certain assurances have been given to them”, Mr. Krishna said. Mr. Krishna ruled out the need for India to take a “re-look” at its foreign policy with Nepal with which the country has strong relations. “There is no question of a re-look. We have very friendly relations with Nepal.”, he said adding “our relationship with Nepal is on a very solid foundation”. India is also looking forward to the visit of US State Secretary Hillary Clinton next month, Mr. Krishna said. “A number of issues will be taken on bilateral basis with the US Secretary of State”, he said.

 

Sri Lanka: Before charging us with warcrimes probe US, UK troops

Amid calls for war crimes probe against its military for its conduct during the campaign to eliminate the LTTE, Sri Lanka today said US and British troops will have to be hauled before tribunals first if any charges are brought against its armed forces.

The remarks came a day after President Mahinda Rajapaksa accused unnamed foreign elements of trying to stop the military offensive “by threatening to haul us before war crimes tribunals” and declared that he was even ready “to go to the gallows” for defeating the Tamil rebels.

“Sri Lankan forces did much much better than all the forces everywhere in the world when it comes to civilian casualties. We took all precautions to prevent civilian casualties from the beginning to the end (of the war),” Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told Indian channel NDTV today.

Rajapaksa, who is also the President’s brother, said “if one talks of taking our military to a war crimes tribunal, before that you have to take US troops, UK troops, all those troops and all those leaders into war crimes (tribunals).” The UN or human rights organisations should “first do those investigations and (then) talk about investigation here,” he said.

Calls have been growing for probe into possible war crimes by both government troops and Tamil Tigers during the war, with a number of European nations reportedly trying to bring a resolution to this effect at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council next week.

In an interview to NDTV, Sri Lankan army chief General Sarath Fonseka also blasted certain western countries for trying to save the LTTE leaders by calling for a ceasefire. “They were trying to do it in the pretext of saving civilians but any ceasefire at that time, any fool would realise it was not going to save any civilian but would save the bunch of terrorists who were there,” he said.

In the backdrop of allegations that LTTE political wing chief B Nadesan and peace secretariat head S Pulidevan were shot dead in cold blood when they had approached the forces for surrendering, Gen Fonseka said “(in) the last 300-400 metres area we surrounded them, cornered them.” “Nadesan, Pulidevan they got killed there. Ten minutes before we were shooting at them, and I think, some members had spoken to Secretary Defence and said this Nadesan wants to surrender and in 10 minutes we recovered his dead body. The bullets were going over his head, through his ears,” he said.

 

Rajapakse dismisses threat of war crimes charges

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday brushed off calls for an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by government troops in their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. “There are some who tried to stop our military campaign by threatening to haul us before war crimes tribunals,” Rajapakse said in a speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters outside the national parliament. “They are still trying to do that, but I am not afraid,” the president said.

“The strength I have is your support. I am even ready to go to the gallows on your behalf.” Rajapakse, who is also the commander in chief of the armed forces, said the Tamil Tigers had been completely crushed with no possibility of them staging another uprising. afp

 

Lanka’s bloody victory comes at a price

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in a jovial mood when he declared that his government had finally won the civil war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), which has been trying for decades to forge a separate homeland for the Tamil population.

Now that the 25-year-old war is over – leaving more than 70,000 people dead and over 250,000 as refugees – it is time for the Sri Lankan government to start considering future needs. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka this week to press for national reconciliation and to visit the refugee camp at Menik Farm.

The UN assessment is pivotal because international relief organisations have not been allowed into the areas of conflict. Without proper assessment and remedial measures, the injustice, suffering and pain that have been inflicted upon the Tamil minority in the past few decades will continue to serve as a springboard for the remnants of the LTTE and young aspirants to return and adopt guerrilla tactics.

The war can be won but a durable peace in Sri Lanka remains elusive. Although President Rajapaksa has said that he will be reconciliatory after the victory, and is willing to share power with the Tamils, nobody believes him at the moment. If he is to be trusted, he must move quickly to heal the national divisions and ensure that this victory will not permanently polarise Sri Lankan society. An inclusive political settlement in the future is both necessary and the only option.

The killing of LTTE supreme commander Velupillai Prabhakaran meant the end of the Tigers’ military operation and their area of control inside Sri Lanka. The separatists should have declared a ceasefire long ago when both sides were still open to dialogue and negotiations. But the LTTE thought it could win this war through world opinion and the effective use of its sophisticated propaganda machinery. Once the peace window closed, people realised there would be bloodshed on a grand scale. Indeed, there was. Sri Lanka has won the war against the LTTE but at a very high price. During the fierce offensive, foreign and local media were not allowed to cover the fighting; instead they had to rely on information and videos made available by the Sri Lankan army.

In the near future, clearer accounts of casualties will surface and could further damage the Sri Lankan government. So, while the government can, it should voluntarily provide information and the number of people affected by bombing and shelling by government forces. The international community stands ready to assist the relief and humanitarian effort, but it has to know the truth before committing the vast resources necessary to help people recover. Colombo alone cannot handle a humanitarian crisis of this scale.

LTTE supporters – part of the Tamil diaspora in Europe and North America – are still active. They will not give up easily, because they are angry at the Sri Lankan government’s treatment of their people. They might throw their support behind a new Tamil group that is willing to fight the government forces in new ways. But it would take time to build up such a force.

The only way to heal this rift is to integrate the Tamil community with the rest of Sri Lankan society. This is easier said than done. But a first step will be for the government to immediately help civilian victims and help them to get back to their normal lives.

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The war had been against the Tamil Tigers and not the Tamil people

Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has declared his country liberated from Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year sectarian war and has promised to develop a solution to meet the political aspirations of the Tamil minority.

In the televised speech to the Sri Lankan parliament, Mr Rajapaksa said the war had been against the Tamil Tigers and not the Tamil people.

“It is my responsibility and my duty to protect the Tamil-speaking people living in this country,” he said. “They should live without fear and with equal civil rights.”

Mr Rajapaksa, who has strong support among Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority, said the Tigers’ defeat was a significant day for Sri Lanka and the world.

But as he spoke there was confusion about the fate of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was reportedly killed in the final battle of the war on Monday.

The Tamil Tigers’ head of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, said in a statement on the pro-rebel website, Tamilnet: “Our beloved leader is alive and safe. He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people.”

There are rumours in the Tamil diaspora that Prabhakaran escaped from Sri Lanka about two weeks ago and is hiding in Eritrea in eastern Africa.

As speculation grew last night about the whereabouts of the rebel leader, Sri Lankan army chief General Sarath Fonseka said Prabhakaran’s body had been recovered yesterday.

“A few hours ago, the body of terrorist leader Prabhakaran, who ruined this country, was found in the battleground,” he told state television. “I take responsibility for this statement.”

The army released video footage of A body it said was Prabhakaran in uniform lying on a bloodstained stretcher. The head was covered by a cloth, the eyes were open and the face bloated. It showed a copy of a military ID tag written in Tamil, bearing the number “0:01″.

Prabhakaran launched the Tigers’ armed struggle for a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka in 1983, claiming Tamils were being discriminated against.

Mr Rajapaksa, who used the Tamil language for some of this speech to the parliament, said ethnic and religious divisions in Sri Lanka should end.

“We must find a home-grown solution to this conflict. That solution should be acceptable to all the communities,” he said.

Mr Rajapaksa gave no detail on how this would be achieved.

Sri Lanka is under international pressure to follow up its military victory with a political strategy that meets Tamil aspirations.

Sri Lanka’s giant neighbour India, home for about 60 million Tamils, said it expected Sri Lanka to fix the root causes of the long civil war.

“This would include political steps towards the effective devolution of power within the Sri Lankan constitution so that Sri Lankans of all communities, including the Tamils, can feel at home and lead lives of dignity of their own free will,” an Indian Government spokesman said.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary, Palitha Kohona, said the Government was working on political reform. “The question of devolution of power is now on top of the agenda,” he said.

Dr Kohona said calls for an investigation on whether the Sri Lankan army had committed war crimes in its drive to wipe out the Tamil Tigers as the height of cynicism. “We have taken every measure possible to protect civilians,” he said.

“We hope the international community will recognise the achievements of the Sir Lankan Government and help with the reconstruction of the northern province and the rehabilitation of the people”

 

Velupillai Prabhakaran has been killed

Sri Lanka declared Monday it had crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels, killing their chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.

State television broke into its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran’s death, and the government information department sent a text message to cell phones across the country confirming he was killed along with top deputies, Soosai and Pottu Amman.

The announcement sparked mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing.

Prabhakaran’s death has been seen as crucial in bringing closure to this war-wracked Indian Ocean island nation. If he had escaped, he could have used his large international smuggling network and the support of Tamil expatriates to spark a new round of guerrilla warfare here. His death in battle could still turn him into a martyr for other Tamil separatists.

Sri Lanka’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Sareth Fonseka, said on television that his troops routed the last rebels from the northern war zone Monday morning and were working to identify Prabhakaran’s body from among the dead.

“We can announce very responsibly that we have liberated the whole country from terrorism,” he told state television. It was widely presumed Fonseka was waiting for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to announce Prabhakaran’s death.

 

President accorded warm welcome

Bravo to President Rajapaksa! We at Lanka Page applaud you President our nations hero.

 

President Mahinda Rajapakse returns home greeted with celebrations

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse returned home on Sunday morning from a visit to Jordan and was greeted with lighting of crackers in celebration and hoisting of the national flag throughout the island.

The Sri Lankan president kissed the ground upon alighting the aircraft at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.

The president is due to address the nation later Sunday announcing his troops’ victory over rebel Tamil Tigers.

“I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE. This freedom comes after 30 long years”, Rajapakse said in Jordan on Saturday.

Sri Lankan troops are on throes of completely sealing the fate of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.

The rebels are now trapped to an area of less than 2 sq km as opposed to an area of 19,000 sq km they once held in the island’s north and eastern provinces when Rajapakse was elected president in late 2005.

Troops said on Saturday that they had gained control of the entire coastal area shutting all avenues of exit for rebel leaders.

Whereabouts of the rebel leader Velupillai Prabakaran and other senior leaders have been much speculated.

The LTTE rebels have been fighting for an independent homeland since the 1970s. The campaign erupted into full-scale civil war in 1983 and cost more than 70,000 lives.