“Our failure to acknowledge male rape leaves it in the shadows, compounding the humiliation that survivors experience. For instance, the majority of Tamil males in Sri Lanka who were sexually assaulted during that country’s long civil war did not report it to the authorities at the time, later explaining that they were simply too ashamed.

Amongst the changes to atttract foreign investment, Sri Lanka is to abolish its standard tool for this – long tax holidays for those prepared to invest.

Sarath Amunugama, senior minister for international monetary co-operation, says it’s his idea:

“I was the chairman of a committee to look into this and we have suggested drastic changes and one is to abolish tax concessions given under the Board of Investments (BOI).”

“The brutal attacks on fishermen who stray into Sri Lankan waters has given ordinary Indians a brief glimpse of the lack of accountability of Sri Lanka's security forces, and the unresponsiveness of the Rajapakse government to serious abuses.

“The Indian government was right to condemn the murder of its own citizens, and demand an investigation. But it also should ensure justice for Sri Lankan victims. When the UN panel of experts submits its report next month, it will be important to have the Indian government standing behind them.”

Sri Lanka could be hauled before a war crimes tribunal over the killing of “many thousands of civilians” in the final months in 2009 of its armed conflict.

The warning by US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, came in an interview with AFP Monday.

See AFP’s report here.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was quoted Sunday as saying the party was hopeful of reaching an understanding on power sharing with the Sri Lankan government at talks this week.

See the Sunday Times report here

However, another Sunday Times story then quoted the TNA saying that the talks had been “postponed indefinitely”.

See WSWS's photo gallery here, taken on the once heavily fought for A9 highway through Vanni to Jaffna.

Despite the end of the war, foreigners need permission to visit the Vanni region, once home to 300,000 Tamils, all of whom were displaced in Sri Lanka's onslaught.

The UN says 160,000 houses in Vanni were destroyed or damaged in the final phase of the war (2006-9).

Whilst Sri Lanka and its international allies labour to present an image of emerging 'post-conflict' normalcy - and even of 'reconciliation' in the offing - events in Jaffna this week made clear the country's future is exactly the reverse. The military's desecration of the ashes of LTTE leader Vellupillai Pirapaharan's mother, and its anxious, violent efforts in preceding days to prevent public mourning of her death underline not only the popular sentiment amongst Tamils, but the state's unshakable insecurity. In short, the seventy-year long antagonism between the Sinhala ethnocracy and the Tamil people will endure and grow. This is not a matter of ancient hatreds, but of state policy and the politics to come.

“Sixes hit (by Sri Lankans) shatter the roof of the English palace and things in it tumble.”

- verse from Sri Lanka’s official song for the cricket World Cup.

Well after the start of the cricket World Cup, President Mahinda Rajapaksa Wednesday ordered his country’s official song to be taken off air.

Rajapaksa told reporters he was displeased with its contents because it insults foreign teams.