As Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse begins his third year in office, India is desperately hoping that he will unveil a credible power sharing package to end one of the world's most protracted conflicts.

 

After two years of escalating violence and many political twists and turns, the optimism in New Delhi seems to be slowly ebbing away vis-a-vis an early negotiated solution.

 

Although Rajapakse chose India as his first destination

In his contribution to a recent publication, 'Sri Lanka: Search for Peace', by the New Delhi based Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), Professor P.

Vakarai division, largely jungle tracts crisscrossed with 14 or so villages and little hamlets, situated along the northern border of Batticaloa District.

Sri Lanka’s hardline government has approached Iran for a loan to replace aircraft destroyed by the Tamil Tigers in a daring raid last month.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented what can only be described as a war budget to parliament on November 7. (It was passed on Nov 19with a comfortable majority). Announcing a record allocation on defence spending, he insisted that “protecting the motherland” took priority over other areas of government spending.

 

Rajapakse is directly responsible for plunging the island back to civil war.

Killings, disappearances and abductions of persons persist in the highly militarized environment of Trincomalee and Mutur, while thousands languish in welfare camps seeking adequate food, shelter and protection, the Law and Society Trust (LST) said in a report.

 

“Despite claims of liberation and reawakening of the East, civilians in Trincomalee live in a highly militarized environment.

Disappearances and killings of will continue as long as ‘anti-terrorist’ operations are continuing, Sri Lanka’s Army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka said last week in a interview to British investigative reporters.

 

Asked about human rights abuses in the newly captured Eastern province, the commander replied: “This area is not a normal area.

"We tried our best to convince the International Community of our grievances. We are a small nation, struggling all alone to uphold our rights. But the International Community in an uneven judgement in applying its norms, scaled us with Sri Lankan government abounding with military and economic resources. The scale was not fair.

Sri Lanka’s largest political party has condemned the US action to freeze the US-based accounts of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) saying Washington was deepening the plight of the Tamil people.

 

“While the Government of Sri Lanka has imposed an effective economic embargo in Vanni, and the sustained bombardments of Sri Lanka Military have made situation difficult for International Non-Governmental Organizations to work amidst the affected local reside

UNHCR expressed its ‘grave concerns’ on the deteriorating security situation and various incidents reported from areas in the eastern Sri Lanka, including incidents of involuntary return of displaced people.

 

“UNHCR has received reports of a number of killings, abductions, incidents of harassment and general insecurity in these areas,” said UNHCR spokesperson, Jennifer Pagonis, at today's Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva.

 

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Reacting defiantly to decisions by Sri Lanka and the United States to ban it, the leading Tamil charity in the island, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation, vowed to continue its founding mission to help the victims of the Sinhala government’s military campaign and called on Tamils around the world to support its work.

 

“We assure you that our mission will continue in our homeland areas without interruption and we call on the international community and the Tam

The Sri Lankan government has indicated that it may ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) once again, considering the stormy political developments in the Sinhala south and the stepped-up war against the armed movement in the north.

 

A ban on the LTTE will rule out the possibility of any negotiations to end the protracted conflict as the Tigers have consistently refused to talk whilst they are deemed outlaws.