Talking tough, the United States on Friday told Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to immediately end the war in the island's north and cautioned Colombo that its unity and reconciliation could be at stake if it continued with its current endeavours to end the ethnic conflict 'militarily'. The White House said it was taking 'very seriously' the allegations of violations of international humanitarian law by both sides.
India on Thursday said devolution of powers to Tamil-dominated areas in northern Sri Lanka is "really the way" to address the decades-old ethnic conflict in the island nation in a "credible fashion" without which the risk of alienation of the minorities will continue.
Concerned over the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, United States and Britain have asked both the island nation and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to agree to a 'temporary no-fire period' to allow civilians and the wounded to leave the conflict zone. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also called for a political resolution to the decades-old ethnic conflict in the country.
Observing that it does not propose to run the administration in Manipur, the apex court said necessary verifications shall be carried out before issuing the Aadhaar cards expeditiously.
As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: "Take care of yourself."
A group of 57 lawmakers have appealed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call to call an independent international probe into alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka's 25 years of civil war.
The BRICS stressed on resolution of conflicts in a declaration issued after a virtual meeting of foreign ministers of the member nations of the grouping. The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
'My one recommendation would be to first quell the violence and then encourage dialogue and build the trust among the different communities.' 'This is not easy but necessary, for violence cannot be the way forward.'
Sri Lankan Tamil poet and journalist Theepachelvan Pratheepan shares the experiences during his petrified childhood days spent in the war-torn island nation with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
The rocket which fell on the compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng's residence seemed to be an improvised one.
S C Chandrahasan, a Tamil leader, advocating a non-violent solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic war, speaks out.
In a memorandum submitted to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the 21 opposition MPs who signed the document demanded urgent rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people to bring peace and harmony to the state.
Sri Lanka on Thursday blamed strategic alliances and domestic political issues, an apparent reference to politics in Tamil Nadu, for the UNHRC resolution that was backed by India to censure Colombo for its alleged war crimes during the ethnic conflict with the Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Amid speculation that the crucial Sri Lankan probe into the three-decade ethnic conflict may be kept under wraps, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to make the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission findings public.
'The central government can stop further destruction... if they have the political will to do so.'
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Addressing a Social Unity Conference in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening, Pawar also criticised the Centre's handling of the ethnic strife in Manipur, which has claimed several lives since last May.
The Sindh Home Department late Sunday night imposed an indefinite ban on pillion riding in the city just a week after lifting it.
The International Crisis Group, an advocacy group based in Brussels and Washington, said despite its promises to protect civilians and aid workers, the Sri Lankan government had bombed relentlessly in areas where it knew unarmed people were present. ICR said it has reasons to believe that senior government and military officials were aware of the attacks, but failed to protect the civilians.
Sri Lanka on Friday rejected Britain's 'unilateral appointment' of a special envoy to focus on the humanitarian situation in the embattled north and help find a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict, terming it an intrusion in the island's internal affairs. Former British Defence Secretary Des Browne was appointed by British Premier Gordon Brown as his special envoy to Sri Lanka on Thursday. The Sri Lankan government, however, rejected his appointment.
Against the backdrop of demands by political parties in Tamil Nadu to stop military aid to Sri Lanka, India today virtually ruled out that option saying the island nation's security is "connected" with its security and it would not like "international players in our backyard".
The Kukis have already declared that they are not fielding any candidate in the parliamentary polls as an act of boycott.
Addressing the Manipur assembly during the commencement of the budget session, she said that 198 companies of central armed police forces and 140 army columns have been deployed along with state forces to maintain law and order.
A majority of over 50,000 internally displaced people are currently staying at relief centres across five valley districts and three hill districts.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Saturday witnessed the conditions of tens of thousands of displaced Tamil civilians in northern Sri Lanka as he appealed to a triumphant government to 'heal the wounds' left by three decades of ethnic conflict. The Secretary General visited the camps in Vavuniya district today, where more than 300,000 people are staying, after escaping from the battle lines between government forces and Tamil Tigers.
With the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam out of its way, Sri Lanka on Thursday assured India that it will implement a law for devolving powers to Tamil-dominated areas, as both the countries agreed on the need for a lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict. The assurance was contained in a joint statement issued after National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.
'India should not confuse fighting the LTTE with fighting for the Tamil cause because the LTTE forfeited that expectation when it fought a needless war with India and alienated its support,' says intelligence expert Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
The government's assurance came amid reports of Meiteis fleeing the state following an 'advisory' by an ex-militant's association of Mizoram asking them to leave due to tension triggered by the viral video of two women being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur.
Lankan MP M K Sivajilingam of Pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance, said the Sri Lankan government's move to devolve powers to region is a 'joke played by them (Lankan government) on minority Tamils' who have 'not been able to lead a peaceful life in their own nation'.
"Any renegotiation of the Indo-US nuclear deal will have torpedo the deal and also have a deleterious effect on foreign investment to India," says Prof Sumit Ganguly.
'What did the quest for self-sufficiency buy India over a span of forty-odd years?
During the 30-minute meeting between Samaraweera and Rice, the peace process in Sri Lanka and the current security situation came up for discussion.
Shooting in Sri Lanka costs one-fourth of that in India, has one-tenth of the headaches, looks like Indians and the country can easily form the background for an Indian story.
The country is an old hand at pitching for international productions.
'We urge you to consider recognising Tamil sovereignty as a constructive approach to end the five decades long, large-scale, and serious rights violations against the Tamil people,' the LTTE political head B Nadesan said in a letter to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday.
The Reang tribes left Mizoram and took shelter in six camps at Kanchanpur subdivision in North Tripura following fierce ethnic violence between the minority Reangs and majority Lushais (Mizos) in October 1997.
The ongoing war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cannot be a solution to the ethnic conflict in the island nation and only a negotiated settlement will bring lasting peace in the nation, former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statements favouring a negotiated settlement to end the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has said the remarks raised hopes of the Centre taking steps to halt Lankan troops' offensive against Tamils in LTTE-held areas.
'It is difficult to replace him because if he is replaced, it will lead to a sense of defeat among the Meiteis, rightly or wrongly, and more chaos.'
The Indian armed force will police the southern Darfur region, which has been wracked by ethnic conflict between Muslim and Christian militia.
