India must use the opportunity to extract a commitment from Sri Lanka to initiate a serious process of dialogue aimed at evolving a political solution to the Tamil issue.
The value of Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee lies more in the process it created and the multiple narratives it brought in from the periphery rather than as an end product in itself.
The island hopping game being played out is an indication of China’s strategy for gaining access to the IOR by developing the capabilities of “reach”, “presence” and “sustainability”.
Much water has flown down the Mahaveli since the elimination of V. Prabhakaran and decimation of LTTE, the terror outfit he led, in Sri Lanka in May 2009. President Mahinda Rajapaksa cashed in on the situation well; he called for a new presidential election two years before expiration of his term and won it convincingly in January 2010. His party secured an easy and emphatic victory in the subsequent parliamentary elections, short of a two-thirds majority, in April 2010.
During the Eelam Wars in Sri Lanka, there was considerable concern about the use of chemical weapons. Allegedly, both the LTTE and Sri Lankan army had possessed such weapons. However,… Continue reading Chemical Weapons in Sri Lanka
If adequate attention is not given to reintegrating former LTTE militants, there are chances that they may resort to criminal or militant activities for their livelihood.
Though Pakistan and Afghanistan still continue to be embroiled in religious and ethnic conflict, the rest of South Asia appears keen to check and go beyond such tendencies.
Acknowledging the fact that military victory over the LTTE is not the final solution, Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised to restore the rights and dignity of the Tamils through a political solution.
The Panel has recommended genuine investigations into the alleged violations of the international humanitarian and human rights law committed by the GOSL and the LTTE.
Infrastructure development projects in the North and the Eastern province is undoubtedly important to banish poverty but cannot be a “major part of political solution” as pronounced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
