Sri Lanka is facing 'a very serious crisis' that makes India naturally worried, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday and dismissed suggestions about such a situation arising in India.
Sri Lanka plans to hold elections in the country's north -- formerly controlled by the defeated LTTE -- within four months to ensure "legitimate" political leadership in the Tamil-dominated area which was "destroyed" by Tiger chief V Prabhakaran.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has accused Sri Lanka of sabotaging a UN-mandated probe into the country's nearly three decades-long brutal civil war, drawing a sharp reaction from Colombo as it dismissed the charges.
The situation in Sri Lanka, where thousands of Tamil civilians are trapped in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's strongholds, permeated the 45-minute discussion on Monday between United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. This was the first high-level interaction between India and the Obama administration in Washington.
The Pakistan under-19 side, captained by Rohail Nazir, was scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on April 30 to play two four-day matches, followed by three one-dayers.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, allegations have been made that the Muslim militants in Sri Lanka draw sustenance from India. An overarching impression is being created that the ISIS is gaining ground in India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Thirty-five Tiger rebels were killed in clashes with the army in Mannar, while two other rebels were killed in Jaffna when they attempted to breach a security forces' defence line.
'The ban is to ensure national security... No one should obscure their faces to make identification difficult,' Sirisena's office said in a statement.
"It is Tamils only who can be truly loyal to neighbouring India, and India should keep this in mind," the Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian, M K Sivajilingam said.
The SLPP, led by prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has won in 145 constituencies, bagging a total of 150 seats with its allies, a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament, according to the results announced by the election commission.
Sri Lanka's main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance has backed a United States-sponsored resolution to censure Colombo at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Sri Lanka enjoys good bilateral relations with India despite the anti-Lanka protests in Tamil Nadu, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Monday. Replying to a question on the simmering tension in Tamil Nadu vis a vis Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa said that he would welcome the politicians from the state to visit the island nation and witness its progress.
Breaking a 28-year-long hiatus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on an important visit to Sri Lanka with the message that India favoured a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity for Tamils in its "new journey" of peace and reconciliation.
Col Hariharan joins readers on Rediff Chat on February 5, 2009 to answer their queries on the crisis in Sri Lanka and about India's role in the conflict, if any.
The LTTE certainly did not expect to fade into oblivion, their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran a fugitive. A couple of years ago, the Tigers were rampant, scoring victories on land and sea, and terrorising Colombo with their makeshift air force. What turned things around? Probably much covert aid from governments, including India's, wary of the Tigers' propensity for redrawing boundaries by force
President Maithripala Sirisena's government in Colombo has clearly decided to restore some balance in its diplomatic outreach, which presents a great opportunity for India.
Expressing concern over the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday made it clear that political reconciliation is a must for calm in that country and said India will strive to ensure dignity and self respect for the ethnic minority.
The Indian Air Force has stepped up its efforts to assist Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, deploying aircraft and helicopters for relief operations and evacuation of stranded citizens under Operation Sagar Bandhu.
Since the IPKF's withdrawal from Sri Lanka in March 1990, the LTTE's once-powerful influence in Tamil Nadu has faded.
Cyclone Ditwah is moving towards the Tamil Nadu coast, bringing the threat of heavy rainfall. The state government is reviewing preparedness measures, and a red alert has been issued for southern and delta districts.
Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday imposed emergency giving him sweeping powers ahead of the key election on July 20 to pick a new President as he urged the political parties to put aside differences and form an all-party government, with the Opposition dubbing his decision as an 'undemocratic draconian act'.
Rajapaksa is the first president to be sworn in outside Colombo.
Colombo's enduring interests suggest the relationship between the Sri Lanka and China will only strengthen, says Nitin Pai.
India went in with five bowling options against Pakistan on Sunday and it did not work out in their favour
A defiant President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday once again rejected demands for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes during the military campaign against the LTTE, saying countries should not "dictate" to Sri Lanka.
The rebels attempted to breach the Muhamalai forward defence line in northern Lanka late on Wednesday night, leading to clashes between the Tigers and the army. While 14 rebels were gunned down by the security forces, seven were killed on Thursday.
The LTTE chief's parents were settled in Tiruchirapalli.
The protests brought home the fact that the Sri Lankan public is in no mood for halfway measures, as voices against Rajapaksa 'family rule' and 'securitisation' of the civilian administration began sidestepping the more critical economic crisis, affecting the nation and afflicting the individual, observes Sri Lanka watcher N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a significant development, India for the first time on Thursday abstained from voting on the United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged human rights violation which was passed by 23 votes in favour as against 12 in opposition and 12 abstentions in the United Nation's Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Forty suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers, have been arrested in connection with the attacks which shook Sri Lanka.
Twenty four Indian fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near Katchateevu today, officials said. The fishermen were arrested on the charge of intruding into Sri Lankan territory, fisheries department officials and Innocent Fishermen's Association Arulanandham said.
The incidents of arrests of fishermen and the recent firing should be viewed as an "indirect attempt to intimidate India and browbeat it into not raising its voice" against Sri Lanka on the innocent Tamils there in the international fora which is highly unacceptable, she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will lead a fourteen-member Parliament delegation to Sri Lanka on Monday to study the alleged human rights violation during the operations against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north eastern province of the island nation.
Maithripala Sirisena, who scored a stunning victory, was on Friday sworn-in as Sri Lankan president, bringing the curtains down on the 10-year rule of Mahinda Rajapaksa, marking a smooth transition of power.
Sri Lanka has slammed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi's call for a Tamil Eelam, with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying he can have it in India where a larger population of Tamils live.
Amid severe attack by Tamil parties over engagement with Sri Lanka, the government has called off the annual defence dialogue with that country scheduled to start from March 23.
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who visited Sri Lanka last week and met President Mahinda Rajapakse and senior Sri Lankan officials, has said that India had been reassured over the Lankan government's efforts to return internally-displaced persons to their homes and also hopeful over a future political process to alleviate the lot of the Tamil-speaking community and other minorities.
Sri Lanka on Friday briefed India about steps being taken towards political reconciliation with ethnic Tamils, amid a growing unease over the slow pace of reforms to enable devolution of power to the war ravaged north.
Sri Lanka's signals -- that it is ready for 'joint fishing' initiatives -- and Tamil Nadu fishermen's sticking to commitments have paved the way for a negotiated settlement on a long festering issue, says N Sathiya Moorthy
Sri Lanka rules out Oslo, Norway as venue for truce talks with LTTE.
