[Voice of America]

Tens of thousands of people fleeing the Sri Lanka’s civil war are taking refuge in government-run relief camps in the north. Many more are expected in the weeks ahead as the country’s 25-year war appears to be grinding to an end. That is creating a difficult humanitarian situation. Sri Lanka’s government has sealed off the relief camps in the country’s north to most visitors, including foreign journalists. But eyewitnesses said they are becoming overcrowded and that they lack supplies of drinkable water.

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[AP]

Sri Lanka warned Western diplomats, foreign journalists and aid groups Sunday that they would be “chased” out of the country if they appear to favor the Tamil Tiger rebels. Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa singled out the ambassadors of Switzerland and Germany, and television networks CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera in his criticism of foreigners, accusing them of being biased. Rajapaksa said certain foreign media reports were damaging the security forces at a time they were “dealing the final death blow” to the Tigers.

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[Toronto Star]

Hundreds of thousands of trapped refugees are cowering under the assault of fighter jets and mortars, with uncounted casualties and warnings of “genocidal” atrocities from human rights activists. Ignoring the pact cobbled together long ago by Norwegian negotiators, the government is using its lopsided military advantage to pummel enemy fighters who shelter in schools and use human shields. After decades of inconclusive fighting, the government still refuses to recognize the rump statelet on its doorstep, even at the cost of more suicide bombers stalking its civilians. And despite its democratic pretensions, the government bans all foreign journalists from the war zone, perhaps hoping for less graphic images of the hospitals and schools it has bombed.

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