Sri Lankan Army Parade Rehearsal

Sri Lankan army in the capital, Colombo, held a parade rehearsal. Sri Lanka will be held May 19, held a grand parade to commemorate the third anniversary of the elimination of the LTTE. Sri Lanka military elite to participate in rehearsals out with tanks and troops, machine guns side team, sniper side team.

Sri Lankan Soldiers Participate in Victory Day Parade

Sri Lankan Army soldiers march in a parade during a war victory ceremony in Colombo.

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Violence Is Returning To Northern Sri Lanka

Lawmakers: Violence Returns To Northern Sri Lanka -- Washington Post/AP

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka's former war zone is again seeing unexplained killings, abductions and rapes despite tight security in the region, lawmakers said Thursday.

A group of ethnic Tamil lawmakers submitted to Parliament a list of 15 serious incidents that they say occurred in the northern Jaffna peninsula in the past two months. They asked the government to explain how such crimes could take place considering the area's security situation.

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My Comment: It will take years .... if not decades .... before there is any semblance of peace in this region.

Are The Tamil Tigers Reorganizing To Restart The Sri Lanka Civil War?

Tamil Tiger rebels fire on Sri Lankan government troops during last year's civil war. Photo from The Telegraph

Tamil Tigers Trying To Regroup -- Straits Times/AFP

COLOMBO - TAMIL rebel leaders based in the United States and Norway are trying to revive their defeated separatist movement, Sri Lanka's prime minister told parliament on Tuesday.

Premier D. M. Jayaratne's statements came during a debate to extend a state of emergency giving sweeping powers to police and armed forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial.

Mr Jayaratne told lawmakers two rebel leaders in the United States and Norway were reorganising the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which Colombo said was defeated in May last year following a major military offensive.

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More News On The Tamil Tigers And Sri Lanka

SLankan PM warns of Tamil Tiger revival -- Radio Australia News
Sri Lankan Parliament extends emergency, PM says Tigers are regrouping -- Colombo Page
Sri Lanka eying on Tamil rebel int'l network -- Global Times/Xinhuanet
US convicts Singapore man in Tamil Tigers arms plot -- Asia One News/Reuters
Man convicted of trying to buy U.S. weapons for Tamil Tigers -- CNN
S Lanka rejects 'atrocity' photos -- BBC
More photos of "tamil massacre" surface -- Hindustan Times
Sri Lanka Abuse Photos - Militray Officers Identified -- Sri Lanka Guardian
Over 4,000 ex-LTTE rebels rehabilitated in Sri Lanka -- Times of India
Sri Lankan Model for Fighting Terrorism -- Ground Report

Sri Lanka's War Hero And Former Army Chief Is Stripped Of Rank And Pension

Former army chief and parliamentarian General Sarath Fonseka waves as he leaves after a media conference at the parliament in Colombo July 8. A Sri Lanka military court today convicted Fonseka of meddling in politics while on duty. Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters/File

Fonseka Convicted In Sri Lanka Amid Delayed Inquiry Over Tamil Tigers War -- Christian Science Monitor

Former Sri Lanka Army chief Sarath Fonseka was convicted today of meddling in politics while on duty. Fonseka has said war crimes may have been committed during the civil war with the Tamil Tigers.

A Sri Lanka military court today convicted former Army chief Sarath Fonseka of meddling in politics while on duty, raising concerns that the government is trying to silence a retired general who has hinted that the government may have committed war crimes during its 25-year civil war with the Tamil Tigers.

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More News On the Conviction Of Sri Lanka's War Hero And Former Army Chief of Staff

S.Lanka strips former war-hero of pension and prestige -- AFP
Sri Lankan president OKs ex-army chief's discharge -- AP
Sri Lankan president approves former army chief's dishonourable discharge -- Canadian Press
SLanka ratifies Fonseka conviction -- Al Jazeera
Sri Lankan president ratifies ex-army chief's dishonorable discharge -- Sify

My Comment: U.S. General Douglas MacArthur had it right .... Generals should just fade away.

Sri Lanka Marks 1st Anniversary Of The Civil War's End

S.Lanka Marks Tiger Defeat As War Crimes Pressure Mounts -- Yahoo News/AFP

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka staged a delayed victory parade Friday to mark the first anniversary of the end of its 37-year civil war as pressure mounted for a probe into alleged crimes committed during the fighting.

President Mahinda Rajapakse took the salute at the ceremony attended by thousands of troops drawn from units that led the final assault against the Tamil Tiger rebels, whose leadership was wiped out on May 18 last year.

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More News On Sri Lanka's One year Anniversary In Ending The War

Sri Lanka marks 1st anniversary of civil war's end -- AP
Sri Lanka Marks War Anniversary -- Voice of America
Sri Lanka commemorates victory, rejects war crimes push -- Reuters
Sri Lanka president condemns critics in victory pageant -- BBC
In pictures: Sri Lanka's victory pageant -- BBC
UN panel on Sri Lanka civil war in place 'next week' -- BBC
UN panel on Sri Lanka civil war may be set up by next week -- Sify News
UN to appoint a rights panel on Sri Lanka in move likely to irk government -- Canadian Press

Sri Lanka Has No Interest In Having The UN Conduct Wartime Investigations

This photograph released by the Sri Lankan military on May 15, 2009 shows what the army says are civilians fleeing from the area inside the 'No Fire Zone' that is still held by the Tiger rebels. Photo from People's Daily Online

Sri Lanka, UN Duel Over Wartime Investigations -- Christian Science Monitor

A UN panel is set to monitor how Sri Lanka responds to allegations of violating human rights during the end of its civil war with the Tamil Tigers. But Sri Lanka has resisted this and other outside attempts at accountability.

One year after Sri Lanka’s decisive victory over Tamil insurgents, controversy still swirls over the bloody end to the 26-year civil war.

Sri Lankan officials argue that they defeated an outlawed terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had refused to make peace. They insist that their military strategy was legitimate and had popular support. Political leaders have drawn parallels to America's wartime actions and asked why nobody calls Western powers to account for civilian suffering.

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My Comment: This blog covered the end of the Sri Lankan civil war extensively with daily posts .... it was not pretty. The pictures that were emailed to me, the stories that I read, the witness accounts from Sri Lankan soldiers themselves .... the last two months were bloody, messy, indiscriminate, and horrifying. Thousands died needlessly .... and even more injured.

Does the Sri Lankan Government want this story to be told again .... right now .... I doubt it.

I know that one day there will be a reconciliation and examination of the war. Some accountability will need to be addressed, and some decisions will need to be explained and understood. But not now .... the wounds are still fresh and deep and the bitterness is still there. But do understand that other agendas are at work right now .... and like the end of the Sri Lankan war this debate on a UN war crimes investigation is not going to be pretty.

War Crime Accusations Leveled At Sri Lanka

An army soldier guards a group of armored personnel carriers on the water front in Colombo Wednesday. Sri Lanka was supposed to mark the first anniversary of the end of its war against the Tamil Tigers with a large parade in Colombo, but had to postpone it indefinitely due to heavy rain. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Reuters

Rights Groups Say New Evidence Suggests Sri Lanka War Crimes Against Tamil Tigers -- Christian Science Monitor

Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group have each released new evidence implicating the Sri Lanka government in war crimes during its offensive against the Tamil Tigers one year ago.

Two independent human rights groups published reports this week accusing the Sri Lanka government of war crimes during the final months of its war against the Tamil Tigers, which ended last May.

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More News on Claims Of Sri Lanka War Crimes

Rights group offers evidence of Sri Lanka war crimes -- AFP
Sri Lanka's detained ex-army chief denies war crimes -- Reuters
Former Sri Lanka army head denies war crimes -- BBC
Group presents new evidence on abuses in Sri Lanka -- AP
Sri Lankan diplomat dismisses war-crimes claim -- Globe And Mail

Sri Lanka's Ruling Party Wins In Parliamentary Elections

A Sri Lankan election official carries a ballot box to be transferred to a main counting centre in Colombo on April 8. AFP Photo

Sri Lanka Ruling Party Wins Majority In Parliament -- BBC News

The governing coalition in Sri Lanka has won a majority in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary figures released by election officials.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance has so far won 117 of the assembly's 225 seats.

The main opposition party has won 46 seats, making it unlikely the alliance will win the two-thirds majority needed to make constitutional changes.

It is the first parliamentary poll since the civil war ended last year.

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More News On Sri Lanka's Elections

Sri Lanka's ruling coalition wins election -- CBC
Sri Lanka elections buoy ruling party; Tamils sidelined -- Christian Science Monitor
Sri Lanka ruling party cruises to victory -- Brisbane Times
Ruling bloc wins Sri Lanka poll -- Al Jazeera
Sri Lanka's ruling coalition wins parliamentary elections -- Today Online
Sri Lanka elections: ruling party claims victory -- The Telegraph
Q+A - Sri Lanka's president seeks constitutional majority -- Reuters

Laying The Groundwork For A New Sri Lankan Civil War?

Archaeology Sparks New Conflict Between Sri Lankan Tamils And Sinhalese -- Times Online

Recent visitors to Kilinochchi, the former capital of the Tamil Tigers, had noticed something unusual — there was a single, new building standing among the bombed-out ruins of the abandoned city in northern Sri Lanka.

It was a whitewashed Buddhist shrine, strewn with flowers. “We thought it strange because there was no one there except soldiers — the civilians had all fled,” one of the visitors said.

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My Comment: It appears that there is no interest from the Sri Lankan Government to search for some pathway towards reconciliation. If this is the case, this is only going to create bitterness and animosities that will take generations to calm down .... and even then.

Unrest Breaks Out In Sri lanka Over Arrest Of Oppositon Leader

Sri Lanka Government, Opposition Supporters Clash in Colombo -- Voice of America

Sri Lankan government supporters clashed with opposition activists protesting the arrest of their defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka.

Thousands of opposition demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court in Colombo Wednesday, when they were confronted by ruling-party activists who pelted them with stones.

Police stepped in to break up the clashes. Witnesses say several people were wounded.

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More News on Sri Lanka

Political mobs clash in Sri Lanka over arrest of opposition leader -- The Guardian
Sri Lanka opposition, in tight corner, rallies for leader Fonseka -- Christian Science Monitor
Political supporters clash in streets of Sri Lanka -- AP
Sri Lanka Clashes Erupt Over Former Army Chief's Arrest -- BBC
Political supporters clash in Sri Lanka over arrested general -- Reuters
Colombo clashes over arrested opposition leader -- Euronews
Sri Lanka opposition blasts ex-general's arrest, calls for protests -- CNN
The rising of peoples’ power against Fonseka’s arrest -- Sri Lanka Guardian
Sri Lankan Gen Sarath Fonseka's arrest to be challenged -- BBC

Ominous Developments In Sri lanka

General Sarath Fonseka, arrested on Monday, stood for election
to the Sri Lankan presidency in January Photo: AFP

Sri Lankan Opposition Leader Arrested -- Time Magazine

General Sarath Fonseka, the defeated candidate in Sri Lanka's recent presidential election, was arrested by military police at his Colombo residence Monday night. The government said that Fonseka, the former Army commander, had been arrested on charges of "committing military offenses," but offered no details. Lakshman Hulugalle, Director General of the Media Centre for National Security, told state TV that Fonseka will be court martialed. No date was given for any possible court appearance.

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More News On Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka opposition leader arrested -- Foreign Policy
Sri Lankan general who stood for power arrested -- The Independent
Losing Presidential Election Candidate Arrested in Sri Lanka -- Voice of America
US concerned on Sri Lanka arrest -- AFP
Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate arrested -- The Telegraph
Former Sri Lankan army chief, losing presidential candidate forcibly arrested on coup charges -- Canadian Press
Fonseka detained for ‘military offences’ -- The Hindu
Fonseka arrested; to be court martialled -- Business Standard
Rajapaksa’s political rival humiliated, but at what cost? -- Times Online

Sri Lanka Is Still Trying ToFind Its Way

Sri Lanka President Vows To Regain Progress Lost In War -- New York Times/Reuters

KANDY, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's newly re-elected president vowed on Thursday to regain the progress lost in a quarter-century war with the Tamil Tigers separatists by boosting the country's economy and unifying its people.

Speaking at Sri Lanka's first independence day since the end of the civil war last year, Mahinda Rajapaksa also signalled that he would not accept any outside solutions imposed to solve the ethnic strife that sparked the war.

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More News On Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan president calls for reconciliation -- BBC
Sri Lanka leader says Tamils should work with govt -- Washington Post
Sri Lanka leader calls for unity after poll win -- AFP
Rajapaksa promises peace and prosperity at Independence Day speech -- The Hindu

Vote chief rejects Sri Lanka rigging charges -- AFP
Fonseka denies coup attempt to unseat Rajapaksa -- Express India
Sri Lanka holds 37 over 'plot to assassinate president' -- BBC
Sri Lanka in biggest military purge after coup fears -- AFP
Sri Lanka settles scores with critics -- The Australian

Commentaries And Analysis

As Tamil refugees resettle, their well-being could determine Sri Lanka’s -- Christian Science Monitor
FACTBOX-Five political risks to watch in Sri Lanka -- Reuters
Sore winners: How not to celebrate a victory -- The Economist
Independence Day In Sri Lanka -- Voice of America editorial
Sri Lanka Looks to the Future -- Mahinda Rajapaksa, Wall Street Journal

Controversy Plagues Sri Lanka's Presidential Results -- News Updates January 27, 2010

A man hung posters of President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka on Wednesday morning as Mr. Rajapaksa declared victory in his race for a second term. Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Sri Lankan Leader Orders Troop Deployment After Election Victory Declared -- The Telegraph

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president, moved to tighten his grip on power last night, deploying troops against his main rival, a former army general, after securing a landslide victory in a disputed presidential election.

General Sarath Fonseka, the former army chief who ran against Mr Rajapaksa after the pair fell out over the share of credit for the country's civil war, said the president had imposed a military encirclement of his hotel to disarm his bodyguard. Gen Fonseka rejected the outcome of the election and claimed there had been ballot rigging, intimidation and abuse of state media. He spent most of the day holed up in the hotel but was reported to have been driven to another location late in the evening.

The scale of President Rajapaksa's victory – 57 per cent to General Fonseka's 40 per cent – shocked election monitors who had believed the campaigns were neck and neck.

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More News On Sri Lanka's Presidential Election

Sri Lanka Reelects President; Loser Protests -- Time Magazine
Sri Lanka president’s election win disappoints Tamil expats -- Christian Science Monitor
Sri Lanka’s President Wins Re-election but Is Challenged -- New York Times
Sri Lanka President Declared Re-Elected, Top Rival Claims Results Rigged -- Voice of America
Sarath Fonseka claims assassination plot as Mahinda Rajapaksa wins poll - -Times Online
Fonseka cries foul, asks Election Commissioner to annul the polls -- Colombo Page
Sri Lanka opposition candidate is free to leave the hotel anytime, Minister says -- Colombo Page

Sri Lanka's Presidential Election In Turmoil. Violence Is Feared

Sarath Fonseka couldn't vote as his name wasn't on the electoral register.
Photo AFP

Sri Lanka On Brink Of Fresh Violence After Controversial Election -- Times Online

Eight months after the Tamil Tigers’ defeat, Sri Lanka stood on the brink of a new and potentially violent political confrontation after the government challenged the legitimacy of the main opposition candidate in today’s presidential election.

The poll was a bitterly contested duel between Mahinda Rajapaksa, the incumbent President, and Sarath Foneska, the former army chief who led the campaign against the Tigers before resigning and joining the opposition.

The final result is expected tomorrow, and most analysts say it is too close to call as the two men, who both claim credit for beating the Tigers, have split the vote of the Sinhalese ethnic majority and had mixed results appealing to minority Tamils.

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More News On Sri Lanka's Presidential Election

Candidate Not Allowed to Vote in Sri Lanka -- New York Times
Sri Lankan Government Disputes Eligibility of Opposition Candidate in Presidential Election -- Voice of America
Sri Lanka politicians vow to block vote favorite -- CNN
Top S.Lankan challenger 'ineligible': govt -- AFP
Over 70 per cent voting in Sri Lanka presidential poll -- The Hindu

Tensions Ahead In Sri Lanka's Presidential Elections (Tuesday)

Sri Lankan Presidential Election Sparks Fears Of Rising Violence -- The Guardian

• Race between incumbent and former army chief
• Tamil minority's vote key after end of long civil war

Sri Lanka will on Tuesday hold its first presidential elections since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, amid allegations that the ruling party is planning to stir up violence in a desperate attempt to cling on to power.

The increasingly bitter election campaign came to an end this weekend with final rallies for the two main candidates, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka, the former head of the army.

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More News On Sri Lanka's Presidential Elections

Sri Lanka opposition accuses President Rajapaksa of plotting coup -- Times Online
Sri Lanka President’s New Challenge: Fending Off His Own General -- New York Times
Tensions rise in lead-up to Sri Lankan election -- ABC News (Australia)
Sri Lankans braced for election battle between two victors of civil war -- Financial Times
Sri Lanka ex-president delivers poll blow to Rajapaksa -- BBC
Tamils may hand power to general who crushed Tigers -- The Independent
Sri Lanka to Choose New President Tuesday -- Voice of America

War Crime Accusations Made In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka recently staved off attempts by Western nations to launch
a UN war crimes probe. Photo AFP

UN Asks Sri Lanka To Answer New War Crime Charges -- AFP

COLOMBO — The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to explain allegations by a former army general that surrendering Tamil rebel leaders were killed in cold blood in mid-May, the government said on Monday.

The presidency in Colombo said the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, sought explanations on what had happened to three rebel leaders and their families who wanted to surrender.

"The government is making a careful study of the UN Rapporteur?s letter, prior to a formal response, and any action that may be necessary," the president's office said in a statement.

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More News On Sri Lanka

UN presses Sri Lanka over Tamil Tiger killings -- BBC
Sri Lanka says U.N. wants explanation on Tiger deaths -- Reuters
The Conquerors of the Tigers Now Battle for the Spoils -- Time Magazine
Sri Lanka's war heroes battle for a clean image -- AFP
Sri Lanka refugees may lose voting rights - monitors -- Reuters
Sri Lankan Civilians Use Highway Closed for 24 Years During War -- Bloomberg
Sri Lanka seizes Tiger rebel ship: navy -- AFP
Sri Lanka Navy brings LTTE arms carrier to Colombo port -- Colombo Page

Is The Sri Lankan Civil War Really Over?

A Sri Lankan navy gunboat patrols the coastline near Trincomalee

New Tamil Group People’s Liberation Army Vows To Start A Fresh War -- Times Online

A Marxist group of Tamil militants with connections to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and Cuba is preparing to mount a new insurgency in Sri Lanka six months after the Government declared an end to the 26-year-old war there.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was founded in eastern Sri Lanka four months ago and has vowed to launch attacks against government and military targets unless its demands for a separate Tamil homeland are met.

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More News On Sri Lanka

Emergence of a new Tamil militant group was inevitable, a new insurgency is not -- Times Online
Sri Lanka war crime allegations surface -- ABC News
11,000 Tamil 'fighters' held in secured Lankan camps: Report -- DNAIndia
Sri Lanka keeps up media ban on war refugees -- AFP
Tamil detainees enjoy taste of freedom - but it comes at a high price -- Times Online
Under Global Pressure, Sri Lanka Opens Camps -- Time Magazine
U.S. Report on Sri Lanka Urges New Approach -- New York Times

Detained Sri Lankan war Refugees To Be Released Within One Month

250,000 Tamils were detained after fleeing the frontline in the last stages of the 26-year-civil war. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images)

Sri Lanka Agrees To Release 130,000 Tamils Displaced By War -- CNN

Colombo, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- The Sri Lankan government said Saturday it will lift restrictions on thousands of war-displaced ethnic Tamils still residing in squalid internment camps.

More than 300,000 people displaced by the fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels were placed in a sprawling, heavily guarded camp called Menik Farm near the northern town of Vavuniya. Many have already been released.

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More News On Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka to relax Tamil camp restrictions -- ABC News
Sri Lanka 'to free Tamil refugees' -- Al Jazeera
Sri Lanka to free all war-displaced civilians -- AFP
Sri Lanka Tamil refugee camps 'to be opened next month' -- BBC
'Sri Lanka has released half of war-displaced' -- AFP

My Comment: Better late than never. Personally, I am surprised that the Sri Lankan Government is doing this. It tells me that international pressure has played a role in ending these internment camps .... but closing these camps is only the first step in building a peace process that must proceed between the two different Sri Lankan communities.

Sri Lanka Is Still Nervous 5 Months After The End Of Its Civil War

General Sarath Fonseka, left, wrote a bitter letter of resignation

Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa ‘Feared Coup’ After Defeat Of Tamil Tigers -- Times Online

President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was so afraid of a military coup after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers that he warned India to place its troops on high alert as recently as last month, according to the former head of the Sri Lankan Army. General Sarath Fonseka, who led the victorious campaign against the Tigers only to be sidelined two months later, made the allegation in a bitter resignation letter, seen by The Times yesterday.

General Fonseka, who was switched to the largely ceremonial role of Chief of Defence Staff in July, said the Government alerted India on October 15 that a coup was imminent, “unnecessarily placing Indian troops on high alert”.

“This action tarnished the image and reputation gained by the Sri Lankan Army as a competent and professional organisation capable of defeating a terrorist group,” he said.

After resigning, General Fonseka is now expected to challenge Mr Rajapaksa in a presidential election due by April.

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My Comment: Sri Lanka's civilian leadership does not trust the military .... and the military does not trust the civilian leadership.

Hmmmm .... I guess Sri Lanka's upcoming elections are going to be interesting.