[International Crisis Group]

Two years since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka is further from reconciliation than ever. Triumphalist in its successful “war on terror”, the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has refused to acknowledge, let alone address, the Tamil minority’s legitimate grievances against the state. The regime destroyed the Tigers by rejecting the more conciliatory approach of prior governments and adopting the insurgents’ brutality and intolerance of dissent. Now, contrary to the image it projects, the government has increasingly cut minorities and opponents out of decisions on their economic and political futures rather than work toward reconciliation. As power and wealth is concentrated in the Rajapaksa family, the risks of renewed conflict are growing again. Partners, especially India, Japan, the U.S., UK, European Union (EU) and UN, should send a strong message against increasing authoritarianism, condition aid on transparency and restored civilian administration in north and east and support accountability, including an international inquiry into alleged atrocities by both sides in the war’s final stages.

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[Channel 4 News]

One week after broadcast, Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields has been watched by over a million viewers in the UK* and over 270,000 views worldwide on VoD. The film has been viewed on 4oD in over 30 countries. On Tuesday, the film was screened to diplomats and US media in New York. United Nations missions from the US, India, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and East Timor attended. The Sri Lankan government sent a delegation of eight with Mr Palitha T.B. Kohona, Ambassador & Permanent Representative of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and Brigadier Shavendra de Silva both speaking after the film.

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[BBC]

A BBC reporter said that the deportees were questioned and later released and that they appeared to be a mixture of failed asylum seekers and overstayers.

Human rights groups have criticised Britain, saying the mainly Tamil asylum seekers may not be safe. The UK government dismissed the fears.

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[BBC]

Amnesty International says that at least one of the failed asylum seekers tried to commit suicide on Wednesday night at an airport detention facility. The fate of the Tamils is currently unclear. Some are reported to have had their deportations deferred. Others, however, are reported to be heading to the airport for departure. Amnesty argues that the British government has a responsibility under international law to protect people at risk of torture.

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[Channel 4 News]

Following the broadcast of the Channel 4 documentary Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, MP Siobhain McDonagh has told the Commons the British Government is complicit in the torture of Tamil civilians as it continues to deport many people seeking asylum in the UK.

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[Reuters]

Britain named a special envoy to Sri Lanka Thursday to try to ease hardship caused by the country’s long-running civil war and to help in the search for a political solution. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the priorities were to achieve a cease-fire and to get a political settlement in Sri Lanka, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in a small area held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).”I’ve asked Des Browne, our former defence secretary, to be an envoy for Sri Lanka,” Brown told a parliamentary committee. “I want him to be involved in seeing whether there is scope for political progress in Sri Lanka as well as looking at the issues of humanitarian aid.”

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[Desi Hits]

The heart of Sri Lanka’s civilians, the soul of United Kingdom, and the memories of being a Sri Lankan refugee are all parts of what creates M.I.A’s flow! Maya Arulpragasam, better known as her stage name M.I.A., experienced a journey that is heard through her music. The Grammy Awards nominated artist was born in the UK. Six months after her birth, she and her family moved to Sri Lanka where M.I.A spent the next ten years of her life. During this time, a conflict between the insurgent Tamil separatists and the majority Sinhanlese broke out into a war. M.I.A fled Sri Lanka with her mother and first took refuge in India.

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