ECONOMIC Times, one of India's leading business dailies, on Sunday revealed that in spite of possible "political and diplomatic ramifications", the Indian Government was "finalizing a soft loan package of $100 million for Sri Lankan defence department to buy arms and ammunition." The newspaper went one step ahead and dubbed this move "the India fund for fighting Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka."

Citing reliable sources, the news report added that India was giving the loan at a "highly concessional interest rate of just 2%" though Sri Lanka did not come under the category of Least Developed Country which would enable it to secure such a discounted interest.

India was also planning to give another term loan of $100 million to Sri Lanka for railway projects. The combined soft loan amount of $200 million ($100 for defence, $100 for development) was very high compared to India's total "bilateral disbursement of $500 million soft loans" for the entire fiscal year 2008, the Economic Times news report said. Moreover, the daily also added that India's move was seen as "yet another attempt to eliminate the Tamil Tigers in an indirect manner."

The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is a formal system of exemption from the general rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) aimed at encouraging developing countries to export by allowing their products preferential access to the markets of developed countries.

GSP, specifically, provides exemption from the Most Favored Nation (MFN) principle that requires WTO member countries to treat the imports of all other WTO member countries no worse than they treat the imports of their "most favored" trading partner. In essence, MFN requires WTO member countries to treat imports coming from all other WTO member countries equally by imposing equal tariffs on them.

GSP was adopted in the United Nations in 1968. According to resolution 21 (II) passed at the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) in New Delhi in 1968, the objectives of the generalized, non-reciprocal, non-discriminatory system of preferences in favour of the developing countries, including special measures in favour of the least advanced among the developing countries, are:

(a) to increase their export earnings;

(b) to promote their industrialization; and

(c) to accelerate their rates of economic growth.

Under GSP schemes of preference-giving counties, selected products originating in developing countries are granted reduced or zero tariff rates over the MFN rates.

There are currently 13 national GSP schemes in operation. The following countries grant GSP preferences: Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States of America.

The EU's GSP is managed by the European Commission. In managing the GSP, the Commission is assisted by the Committee on Generalised Preferences, composed of representatives of Member States and chaired by the Commission. This Committee has to be consulted before certain measures are taken. More important measures need to be supported by a qualified majority of Member States.

The EU’s GSP programme classifies benefiting developing countries as standard beneficiary country, least developed country and GSP+ country, with countries classified as GSP+ country receiving most preferential rates including duty-free access for 7200 products.

To benefit as a GSP+ country, the applying countries need to demonstrate that their economies are poorly diversified, and therefore dependent and vulnerable. Poor diversification and dependence is defined as meaning that the five largest sections of its GSP-covered imports to the EU must represent more than 75% of its total GSP-covered imports. GSP-covered imports from that country must also represent less than 1% of total EU imports under GSP.

In addition to the above, must also ratify and effectively implement the 16 core conventions on human and labour rights and 7 (out of 11) of the conventions related to good governance and the protection of the environment.

Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Sri Lanka, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, El Salvador and Venezuela benefit from the EU’s existing GSP+ scheme which runs from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2008.

Countries wishing to receive GSP+ status from 2009 onwards must apply by October 2008. For future eligibility, applying countries will need to have ratified 27 international conventions on human rights, labour standards, environmental protection, and governance principles by 31 December 2008.

Core human and labour rights UN/ILO Conventions that must be ratified and effectively implemented for GSP Plus to apply are:

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
• Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
• Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (N° 138)
• Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (N° 182)
• Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (N° 105)
• Forced Compulsory Labour Convention (N° 29)
• Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value Convention (N° 100)
• Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation Convention (N° 111)
• Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (N° 87)
• Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively Convention (N°98)
• International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
• Stockholm Convention on persistent Organic Pollutants; Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
• Convention on Biological Diversity
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
• UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971); UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
• Mexico UN Convention Against Corruption.

The strong relationship between Iran and Sri Lanka was on show last week with the high profile visit of Iranian President to Sri Lanka and the red carpet welcome that was extended to him by the Sri Lankan state.

Iranian President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Colombo on a Monday, April 28 on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka as part of his South Asian tour. President Mahinda Rajapakse personally received the Iranian President at the Bandaranike International Airport and the streets of Colombo were decorated with Sri Lankan and Iranian flags. Posters with slogans reading "Traditional Asian Solidarity" "The Path to Progress" were also on display along the streets of Colombo.

Cheque book diplomacy

Addressing a joint news conference with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, Ahmadinejad said: “Sri Lanka and Iran have agreed to cooperate in all spheres for the mutual benefit of each other,”

Iranian President added that Iran was happy to assist a ‘long standing friend such as Sri Lanka’ and carry out ‘mutual consultation and cooperation’ and said that comprehensive cooperation between the two countries would provide security for both in their endeavour to ‘seek justice and fair play in the world.’

With the international community working towards isolating Iran over its nuclear program and raising concerns against the human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, both countries looking for new allies.

The Rajapakse administration in recent times has turned to the east towards countries like China, India and Iran, which unlike United States, Europe and Japan do not raise human rights issues as a condition for such assistance.
Iran assistance in the energy sector is crucial to the Sri Lankan government at a time when it its finding it difficult to pay for its increasingly costly oil imports. The Goverenment of Ahmadinejad readily agreed to provide oil at concessional rates and invest heavily in improving Sri Lanka’s capacity to refine oil.

Iran agreed to invest US $ 1.5 billion in energy-related projects in Sri Lanka. One of these projects is for the production of hydel power and the other to double the capacity of an existing oil refinery in Sri Lanka. Work on the construction of the hydel project started during Ahmadinejad's visit.

Iranian engineers have already been preparing the project report for doubling the capacity of the refinery and for modifying it to enable it to refine in future Iranian crude to be supplied at concessional rates. The existing capacity is 50,000 barrels a day.

In addition Iran is also providing low-interest loan to Sri Lanka to enable it to purchase defence-related equipment from China and Pakistan and providing Sri Lankan Army and Military Intelligence officers.

According to analysts, the interest shown by Iran in Sri Lanka since last year is attributed to its desire to counter the Israeli influence in Sri Lanka and to use Sri Lanka as a base for monitoring the movements of US naval ships between the Pacific and the Gulf. Since Rajapakse came to power, the visit of US naval vessels and officers to Sri Lanka has increased. Even before he came to power, Israel had emerged as an important supplier of military equipment, particularly for the Sri Lankan Air Force.

Analyst also pointed the fact that even at the risk of misunderstanding with Israel, Rajapakse chose to approach Iran and accepted its ready offer of assistance underlined the serious economic situation in which Sri Lanka found itself.


Sri Lanka supports Nuclear Iran

In a joint statement issued at the conclusion of Iranian President’s visit Sri Lanka said it supported the peaceful use of nuclear energy by Iran within the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"The two sides confirmed the full and non-discriminatory implementation of Article IV of the NPT on peaceful nuclear co-operation." The statement read.

It further said the two sides reiterated the importance of global nuclear disarmament, particularly the need for the nuclear powers to destroy their nuclear weapons, based on the decisions of the relevant international meetings.

The communiqué also expressed the recognition of the inalienable rights and the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, stressed the need for security and peace in Lebanon and emphasised the need for the preservation of the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq.

The press release further said that Iran and Sri Lanka supported, as a matter of priority, the endeavours of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to restore peace and stability.


No Preachers

Explaining the importance of cultivating a close friendship with Iran, an aide close to Rajapakse said: “Iran is the sole supplier of crude oil for the only refinery in Sri Lanka in Sapugaskanda. The oil made available to Sri Lanka is given on easy payment basis and is a boon in a situation where we are compelled to spend exorbitant amounts fighting the Tamil Tigers”

Meanwhile, government officials are busy reiterating why Sri Lanka prefers the company of its ‘non-preaching’ Asian cohabitants rather than the West whose critical focus on the country has only got sharper as Sri Lanka’s war spirals and its human rights record further deteriorates.

“In Asia, there is no superiority complex. Asian leaders are not obsessed with preaching like the West is,” a senior government official said as economists point out that it is no secret that Sri Lanka has taken its war drained financial woes to Asia in a background where the emphatically anti- war West has threatened to cut aid and remove concessions.

As military analysts point out, while Sri Lanka’s primary reason for bonding with Iran is oil, where countries such as China and Pakistan are concerned it is the military factor that motivates the relationship. With western countries as well as neighbouring India refusing to sell arms to Sri Lanka to fight the Tamil Tigers, Rajapakse has only countries such as China and Pakistan to turn to. In the past one and a half years Rajapakse has visited China twice and also India and Pakistan as well as Iran.

In a visit to Sri Lanka, Marks & Spencer’s boss has hailed the country’s “ethical standards” and assured that he will he do ‘everything possible to support Sri Lanka’s application for the GSP+ concessions’.

Chief Executive Officer, Sir Stuart Rose told Sri Lankan ministers Professor G. L. Peiris and Dr. Sarath Amunugama: "I deeply appreciate Sri Lanka’s ethical standards and her splendid performance in the apparel sector"

Ignoring Sri Lanka’s human rights record and the European Union’s (EU) recent announcement linking Sri Lanka’s compliance to human rights and labor rights conventions, Rose extended his full support for Sri Lanka’s application for GSP+ concessions.

"I understand how important the GSP+ scheme is for Sri Lanka. I will do everything possible to support your application for these concessions", said Rose.

After visiting MAS Intimates Thurulie, Marks and Spencer’s’ new and Sri Lanka’s first eco-friendly manufacturing plant at MAS Fabric Park, Thulhiriya Rose said: "This is one the best factories that I ever visited"

"There are others who merely talk, but Sri Lanka is a doer, that’s what makes the difference".

The innovative green plant will manufacture lingerie for M&S, UK’s largest clothing retailer, which operates stores in more than 30 countries.

Describing the factory as a trend-setter, Rose noted: ‘Sri Lanka set standards which others will and should follow".

The launch of the eco-friendly plant is in keeping with Marks and Spencer new drive, called "Plan A", towards ethical trading and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

The five-year scheme will see M&S become carbon neutral, stop sending waste to landfill and extend its sustainable sourcing by 2012.

Whilst applauding Marks and Spencer’s eco-friendly approach to business, political observers questioned Rose’s wisdom on supporting Sri Lanka, a country accused of grave human rights abuses by international rights groups.

According to Sri Lankan daily, The Island, delighted by the unexpected boost to Sri Lanka’s GSP+ cause, Ministers Peiris and Amunugama who visited the factory with Rose congratulated him for the inspiring speech.

Speaking at the event, Amunugama emphasized the importance Sri Lanka attaches to the GSP+ saying this scheme sustains the country’s 7% growth.

"The GSP+ is not a give away, but a hard earned reward for managing our apparel industry exceedingly well", The Island quoted noted.

"We rightly deserve these concessions".

Sri Lanka has hailed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit here Monday as an important step in cementing closer ties between the two nations.

But the trip also highlighted Sri Lanka's slow turn away from the West, which has expressed increasing concerns about Colombo's human rights record and its embrace of donors less critical of its escalating war against ethnic Tamil Tigers.

"In Asia, we don't go around preaching to our neighbors and our friends," said Sri Lanka's foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona. "This public naming and shaming process that seems to have become so popular in the West is really not so accepted here."

As if to drive home the point, the capital city of Colombo was plastered Sunday with posters showing smiling photos of Ahmadinejad and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa over the slogans: "The Friendly Path to Progress" and "Traditional Asian Solidarity."

In the past 18 months Rajapaksa visited China twice, dropped in on neighbors India and Pakistan and traveled to Iran in November.

During that trip, Iran pledged US$1.9 billion (€1.2 billion) in soft loans and grants to Sri Lanka to help it expand its only oil refinery, develop an irrigation and hydropower project and buy Iranian oil, Kohona said.

"It is the biggest development assistance package for Sri Lanka at the moment," he said.

It is money Sri Lanka desperately needs as it continues to wage civil war with the Tamil Tigers — a fight projected to cost US$1.5 billion (€1 billion) this year.

Ahmadinejad was expected to meet top officials and to tour several development projects during his two-day visit. It has not been announced whether he will come bearing further aid for this South Asian nation.
China is also giving about US$1 billion (€650 million) in aid for a massive new port, an arts center, a power plant and other development projects, Kohona said.

Meanwhile, Western nations have been giving far less money and much heavier criticism of Sri Lanka's conduct of the war.

A U.S. State Department report issued in March accused the government and allied militias of attacking civilians and practicing "torture, kidnapping, hostage-taking, and extortion with impunity."

A European Union delegation that visited last month said it had "very serious concerns" about reports of human rights abuses. It implied that if the situation did not improve, Sri Lankan exports could lose a lucrative tariff exemption.

Some Western nations and United Nations officials have also called for a U.N. human rights monitoring mission to be sent here. The government has rejected the idea as a breach of its sovereignty.

Kohona brushed off much of the criticism, saying the government had made improvements but was also in the middle of a war.

"I think it's a little unfair to beat up on a small democracy that is struggling to fight back a bitter and brutal terrorist organization," he said.

Sri Lanka's increasingly close ties with less traditional donor nations are allowing it to resist the Western pressure on its rights record, analysts say.

"It is sending a message to the international community ... that the government does have other options to keep its development policies kicking along, and those options come from its new allies," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives, a Colombo-based think tank.

But he warned that while Sri Lanka has always had good relations with Iran and China, it could be taking a risk by too closely embracing countries with shaky reputations of their own in the West, which remains Sri Lanka's most crucial trading partner.

"That is also the danger here that a small country trying to play big politics could end up as the big loser," Saravanamuttu said.

Sri Lanka exported more than US$2 billion (€1.3 billion) worth of goods to the United States last year and US$1.7 billion (€1.1 billion) worth of goods to the European Union in 2006. Sri Lanka also relies on loans from international financial institutions and the sale of bonds, which also require good relations with the West, Saravanamuttu said.

Kohona said Sri Lanka had no intention of shunning the U.S. and Europe.
"Aid from the West is appreciated. Our relationships are valued and we would like to continue those relationships," he said. "Our goal is to maintain and strengthen relations with everybody."

According to a poll conducted by a local think tank its not just Indian politicians who are calling for greater Indian participation in bringing peace to Sri Lanka but also Sri Lankans of all ethnicity.

A survey by the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that cutting across ethnic lines, there is significant support in Sri Lanka for a greater Indian role on the island, both in the political and economic spheres, the think tank revealed last week.

The survey conducted in March in all but the war-torn northern province, the survey found majority support from all communities except the Sinhalese for Indian participation in peace negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Only 47.8 per cent of the Sinhalese backed that tactic whereas 62.9 per cent of Sri Lankan Tamils; 61.1 per cent of Indian-origin Tamils; and 70.6 per cent of Muslims sought India’s assistance in peace talks with the LTTE.

However, the three communities differed widely on the question of an Indian role in military operations against the LTTE.

While the Sinhalese and Muslims wanted Indian military involvement, the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils were against it. While 58.5 per cent of Sinhalese, and 61.5 per cent of Muslims approved an Indian military involvement, only 7.2 per cent of Sri Lankan Tamils and 4.9 per cent of Indian Tamils did.

Political observers point out the atrocities committed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) when it was deployed in Sri Lanka between 1987-1990 in the north and east.

Tamilnadu Assembly resolution

The Tamilnadu Assembly on Wednesday, April 23 passed a resolution urging the Centre to take efforts to solve the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka by initiating dialogue between two warring factions.

The resolution was tabled by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and was welcomed by Congress, PMK and MDMK.

After Question Hour, a Special Call Attention Motion was taken up to discuss the Lankan issue.

Karunanidhi suggested that India should organise negotiations between the warring parties in Sri Lanka to bring peace to the island nation.

"To bring about peace in Sri Lanka, the Union government should come forward to organise useful negotiations so that a proper political solution is thrashed out," he said in an interview to The Times of India.”

”When the trouble started in Lanka, men like Selva waged a non-violent protest.”

“However when their efforts failed to yield the right results, it forced people there to take to violence only to emancipate themselves from the clutches of Lankan authorities.”

“Had everyone fought unitedly then, an amicable solution would have been arrived like in the neighbouring Nepal, he observed.”

“Unfortunately the lack of unity between the war groups is a major reason for all the trouble.”

There are examples of several freedom movements attaining success staying and fighting together, Karunanidhi said and added, ‘since the war groups in Lanka are divided, the Sinhala army is attacking them’.

BJP supports call

Reacting to a recent resolution adopted by the Tamilnadu Assembly calling for India's role to arrange peace talks between the warring parties, President Rajnath Singh of Barathia Janatha Party (BJP), India’s main opposition, told a press conference that India should play a "direct" role in this regard.

Asking India to play a "direct" role to end the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, the BJP said the Centre should utilise diplomatic channels to bring the warring parties in the island republic to the negotiation table.
"The Indian Government should play a major role to bring both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government to negotiating table," Rajnath Singh told reporters.

Priyanka’s Visit

The recent visit of former Prime Minsiter Rajeev Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Vadhra’s on March 19 to Vellore Prison to meet Nalini, a convict in her father’s assassination has created stir both in Sri Lanka and India.
Some saw it as having strategic implications and cite the quotes, issued by Nalini’s lawyer, S. Duraisamy.

• What happened to my father should not happen to any member of my family.

• If the LTTE has any anger or hatred against my family, it should be buried.

Some observers see it as a non political event. Karunannidhi also reflected this view when he said ‘such instances which go on to prove that there is still
compassion and love among people’

However some saw it as a political gimmick in preparation for elections.
Barathya Janatha Party, India’s main opposition party, dismissed the visit as a political ploy and said "Her visit to see Nalini was a diplomatic tactics used by the Congress with a motive rpt motive."

ACCORDING to Sri Lankan military officials, Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) launched an air attack on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) positions in Manalaaru in the early hours of Sunday.

Two Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) aircraft dropped five bombs around 1.45 am on Sunday March 27, targeting two military bases in the Manalaaru region in the east of the island, injuring one soldier, damaging some buildings occupied by SLA and causing damage to six vehicles.

The air raid whilst not causing any fatalities struck a psychological blow to the Sri Lankan military which has invested heavily in air defence in recent months, security sources claimed.

"They dropped three bombs at two locations and flew back," the source said.

"The damage caused is insignificant, but the attack is symbolic. It shows they have coordinates of military installations."

The Defence ministry said the Sri Lankan air force scrambled intercepter aircraft, but the LTTE planes had safely returned to their base.

Colombo was forced into staging Mukamaalai offensive to ensure safety to troops in Jaffna which had fallen within the range of artillery, panelists said during a Political Analysis segment of National Television of Tamileelam (NTT), participated by LTTE military spokesperson, Irasiah Ilanthiraiyan, and Chief-Editor of Viduthalaip Pulika'l, LTTE's official organ, S. Ravi, in the programme moderated by K. Veera, this week.

Panelists added that Colombo's assertion that LTTE is moving troops between different Northern fronts is a figment of their imagination, and refuted the claim that the Sri Lanka Air Force has caused detrimental impact to LTTE's war machinery.

Excerpts from the discussion held in the NTT program segment titled "Implications of Mukamaalai Battle," follows:

Veera: What could have been the military objective behind the recent confrontation; why was Mukamaalai selected as the staging ground for that objective?

Ilanthiraiyan: The Mukamaalai operation had military and political objectives. Politically, after Colombo chose military path – with Maavilaaru operation –, without stated milestones, it had a need to demonstrate military success. Colombo currently is forced to divert internal pressures resulting from the international criticism aimed at human rights failings and from commodity price increase and prolonged war fatigue.

Militarily, many observers commented that the security of armed forces in Jaffna was compromised as long as the two entry points to the peninsula- Palaali and KKS - were within artillery range of LTTE guns. There was a need to move the Mukamaalai FDL further south.

Veera: What battle plan was adopted by SLA for this latest Mukamaalai confrontation?

Ilanthiraiyan: Their 55th brigade advanced through A9. 53rd through Ka'ndal area. 55th brigade participated in the battle started in the early hours of 23rd (22nd night). Mechanized Infantry participated 23rd early morning; foot soldiers were supposed to open up path for the newly developed Mech Infantry to move forward. This didn’t materialize.

Veera: Would you anticipate any changes in military tactics resulting from the latest confrontations?

Illanthiraiyan: One battle is unlikely to cause changes in war tactics. They may review the tactics used the past three confrontations - Agni Keala, 2006 confrontation, and the recent one - to advance in the northern FDL. Northern FDL is 12 km long and runs through, Kilaali, Ka'ndal, Mukamaalai, and Naakar Koayil. They used different tactics in all three confrontations and failed.

Veera: Illanthiraiyan mentioned that the political incentives for the Mukamaalai confrontation. What are your thoughts?

Ravi: All SLA military confrontations had political motives in the background. Sinhala media has projected the on-going war effort as the means to achieve many objectives, including capturing Kilinochchi. However, the battle front activities in recent months were not producing victory stories to satisfy the expectations of the South. The political need to assure the public by capturing a well known area, in this case, Elephant Pass, was there. The timing of the operation is also noteworthy. Week beginning on April 22, brings many historical anniversaries – Capture of Elephant Pass, failed Agni Kela operation by SLA to recapture Elephant Pass, Bomb attack on Sarath Fonseka, all fall within this week.

Veera: There is an opinion that this operation was planned to divert the attention of the people from the prevailing rice shortage; do you think there is any connection?

Ravi: Sri Lanka’s politics has historically been connected to the availability of rice. There is a difference between the rice shortages in the past and the current crisis. Current crisis is portrayed as linked to the war against Tamil people. We have to wait and see which gets priority in people’s mind– the war or rice. There is a fear that Sri Lanka is going to face economic hardship due to the reduction of aid and military cooperation from some countries of the international community – countries include America, European Union, Japan and Israel. So far, the military procurement of Sri Lanka was generally through long term loans – which is close to gift because in many cases, at a future date, the country is likely to be excused from repaying loan. The war against Tamils was conducted using arms procured through this mechanism, which didn’t need much economic sacrifice from Sri Lankan economy. Currently, Sri Lanka has chosen new partners to obtain military procurement – Iran, China, and Pakistan are the new contacts made for this purpose. Procurement of arms from China, Pakistan or Iran is in exchange for Sri Lanka’s exports. This is bound to increase the economic woes of Sri Lanka.

Veera: Why was the Mukamaalai battle front news censored in the south?

Ravi: Sri Lanka’s political leadership has always tried to keep the public from knowing the true statistics of their battle front losses. It is not clear whether this deception is possible due to effective information engineering by the political leadership, or the naivity of the population which is thirsty for military victories. Always the true situation has been exposed within a few days.

Veera: SLA has simultaneously opened many war fronts in different geographical areas. This is to stretch the LTTE forces and to apply maximum pressure. How pressured is LTTE now?

Ilanthiraiyan: From SLA’s point of view, they are applying maximum pressure on us. From our point of view, the current situation demonstrates that we have been ready to confront them at any FDL at all times. At the same time Mukamaalai battle started, SLA advanced from Paalaikkuzhi to Adampan with tanks – they had to retreat under heavy resistance by the Tigers. The following day they advanced in Thirukeatheeswaram area from Cheaththukulam; this advance was also routed. Simultaneously, there were attacks in Ma'nalaa'ru – this was also defeated. Sri Lanka has projected that LTTE is not capable of withstanding simultaneous attacks in many fronts. We have proved this projection wrong.

Veera: There is an opinion that LTTE has moved its forces from Manalaaru Mannaar areas to confront the Mukamaalai battle.

Ilanthiraiyan: This is laughable to even military novices. Manaalaru, Mannaar and Mukamaalai are geographically separated from each other. It is not possible move our cadres from one front to within the time demands of ongoing battles.

Veera: Observers say that the SLA has the advantage from the coordinated action of the air force. What type of advantage do they have with their air force?

Ilanthiraiyan: It is true they have attacked two or three targets after conducting hundreds of air attacks. These are mostly civilian targets. SLAF attacks are conducted mostly to create war fear among the civilian population. Sri Lankan air attacks rarely executed in a way to have a serious impact to the war activities of our soldiers. Our fighting or resulting victories of battles were rarely hindered by SLA’s air force activities.

Veera: What impact will Mukamaalai battle have in international opinion?

Ravi: Sri Lanka is following a battle path with the belief that they can defeat the LTTE. There was a time when international community also provided space for SLA to succeed in this objective. Mukamaalai battle will reinforce the popular view that the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka needs political and not military solution. Mukamaalai battle will further reinforce the fact that Tigers are a liberation movement supported by its people.

Veera: LTTE Political Head, Nadesan, sent a letter recently to Norway saying that LTTE still ready to honour the CFA signed with Sri Lanka. Current battles engaged by LTTE are of defensive nature. He also said that LTTE will conduct offensive war to protect Tamileelam boundaries. Can you elaborate this issue?

Ravi: Nadesan’s letter discussed our policy regarding CFA and the current battles. Sometimes offensive war provides the best defense. Nadesan’s letter stated this fact; LTTE will use all methods available to protect the Tamil homeland.

The United States Government has sent out a strong warning to Sri Lanka over the island’s rapidly growing close ties and diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the backdrop of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s scheduled state visit to Sri Lanka tomorrow, US State Department Spokesperson Tom Casey has clearly disclosed their concerns over the Iranian President’s South Asia visit.

During the daily press briefing in Washington, last Monday, Spokesperson Casey said that it was up to every country to determine for itself how it was going to organise its bilateral relations with Iran and that it was up to them to determine how best to manage them.

“We would hope that the Indian Government or any government that was engaging with the Iranians, including with President Ahmadinejad, would call on him to meet the requirements that the Security Council and the international community has placed on him in terms of suspending their uranium enrichment activities and complying with the other requirements regarding their nuclear programme,” the State Department Spokesperson said.

He also urged the South Asian nations to urge Iran to end what he termed as “unhelpful activities with Iraq, with respect to support for terrorism, including organisations like Hezbollah and Hamas, and to otherwise become a more responsible actor on the world stage.”

It is learnt that, a few weeks before Casey’s remarks on the Iran connection, the US State Department had already conveyed its displeasure to Colombo, through diplomatic channels, about the Sri Lankan Government’s rapidly growing bilateral relationship with Iran.

High-ranking Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry Officials in Colombo downplayed the importance of Sri Lanka’s close ties with Iran as traditional bilateral diplomatic relations between two independent countries.

But The Nation learns that US State Department officials were not satisfied with the government’s response.

The US has also expressed its very serious concerns over Sri Lanka’s growing ties with China and Russia.

Sri Lanka's military victory over the Tamil Tigers in the multi-ethnic east of the island means little to displaced people such as 12-year-old Suna Madushandan who can not go home.

Along with the rest of his family, he ran for his life when their home in Sampur, in the northeastern district of Trincomalee, was showered with mortar bombs fired by advancing government forces in 2006.

"My stomach and leg were hit," he says, displaying the scars. His mother, Mary Sinnamah, points to the scars from shrapnel wounds near his eight-year-old sister Sandawani's ear.

"Since the start of April, there were 21,201 internally displaced people here," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

That total includes 8,000 people from Trincomalee who have sought shelter in the lagoon town of Batticaloa, 303 kilometres (190 miles) from Colombo.

They were all caught in the crossfire of a struggle for land between government troops and Tamil Tigers who are fighting for an independent state in the Northeast of the island.

They have been sleeping in schools, churches, government buildings and relatives' homes since 2006 when the military began a push to flush the rebels from their eastern stronghold.

The east is now in government hands, but 10 months on thousands still live in makeshift camps, surviving on aid agency handouts and sleeping on plastic mats on concrete floors.

"The government is working hard to resettle people by September," said Catholic priest Father Sylvester Sritharan, who runs three shelters.

"But Sampur has now been demarcated a high security zone and people can't go back," he said.

The new place is jungle and there isn't enough work

The government has offered alternative land, but some people, including maths teacher N. Paramanandan and 341 other former Sampur residents, have refused to budge from their temporary shelter in Sinhala Maha Vidyalaya in Batticaloa.

"The new place is jungle. There are wild animals. It's not safe and there isn't enough work," Paramanandan said in his "home" -- a former classroom where each family's living space is separated by a blue plastic sheet.

Mortar fire killed three of Yogeswari Thewendran's sons, while a shell burnt through her right hand.

She used to be a farm hand but now cannot find work to provide for her two remaining boys, aged six and eight.

Lack of jobs, food and water shortages, and poor sanitation are among key issues facing the people camped in Batticaloa, according to UN relief agencies.

"There are so many people looking for work alongside local residents. There's not enough work being created," Sritharan said.

Reminders of the war's destructive legacy can be seen everywhere in the windowless concrete buildings and crumbled ruins of homes that are steadily being overgrown by creepers and other vegetation.

The local economy -- largely driven by fishing and farming -- was shattered by years of living under the shadow of the gun, and the December 2004 tsunami that razed beachside homes and businesses, and killed hundreds in the area.

The government wants to begin rebuilding the war-ravaged east and in March conducted polls -- the first in 14 years -- to select people to run local administrations.

Running on the government ticket the breakaway Tiger faction, the TMVP, secured the majority of votes but they have been accused by rights groups of abuses such as kidnappings, executions and recruiting child soldiers.  

The polls were a curtain-raiser for the government to hold larger provincial council elections on May 10, to give more autonomy to minority Tamils. 

The May elections are part of the government's master plan for greater devolution in minority Tamil areas that it hopes will undermine the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Sri Lanka's military promised at the start of this year to wipe out the Tigers by the end of June.

Fears elections could usher in 'rule by the bullet'

But there are worries among some of the locals, such as businessman T. Perimbarajah, that the TMVP will extend its position by winning the provincial elections.

"There's a fear that if the militiamen take control, they will rule by the bullet," he said.

A strong military presence is still visible in Batticaloa with soldiers manning barbed-wire checkpoints across the district and armed troops patrolling the streets.

Former farmer Kumaraswamy Perimbarajah, 50, cycles along bumpy roads to nearby Punani village to collect 100 kilos of firewood from which he earns just five dollars a day to feed his wife and two teenage sons.
He said he was delighted to vote in the recent polls after last filling in a ballot paper in 1994.

"These elections are good," he said, but added he didn't think they would change much.

"The roads will stay potholed and I won't be able to get electricity for my house," he said.

For others, such as 52-year-old former Qatar housemaid Kanagamani Sarvanamuttu, displaced by years of war, the local elections are meaningless.

"What use are these elections? I want to go back to my village and rebuild my life. The contestants said nothing about resettling us quickly," she said

Humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka are preparing for the fallout as increasing food prices and shortages put vulnerable populations at risk of malnutrition and leave many families no longer able to afford essentials such as medical care and school tuition.

The global food crisis, referred to by World Food Programme (WFP) officials as "the silent tsunami" during a summit in London on 22 April, is hitting home.

Munniandy Muttur, a janitor in the capital Colombo, told IRIN: "I earn only Rs350 [US$3.20] per day, and that amount is not enough if we try to eat well. If I or my wife fall sick, we can't even think of private hospital. God willing, we will either not fall sick, or just fall dead, that is better."

The 66-year-old man said he and his wife had cut down on meat and survived as best they could. "Everything is getting expensive, but we are not getting paid more."

Relief agencies warn that vulnerable communities will increasingly cut back on essentials just to get by.

"Poor communities are surviving from one day to another - the rise in food prices means the poor families are living in a 'survival mode', planning for their next meal, rather than making and acting on long-term plans for them and their children," Nayomi Kannangara, Child Protection Program Manager with Christian Children's Fund in Sri Lanka, told IRIN.

Kannangara warned that children's education and healthcare may be neglected first.

"Some families may not be able to afford the bus fare to the hospital where the medical care is free and may not be able to purchase the drugs that are not available through the free clinics," she said. "Symptoms are neglected and less attention is paid to non-critical medical needs."

Rice stocks have dwindled since the government imposed price controls on 17 April. In addition, the World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily suspended its work for food project in the war-torn northeast due to a lack of resources. WFP country director Mohamed Salaheen told IRIN the programme had been benefiting 175,000 people.

"We held discussions with the government and agreed on what our priorities are," he said. "Given the resources we have, we cannot take care of everything."

The suspension will remain in force until new donor commitments allow the WFP to recommence it.

The WFP in Sri Lanka is facing increasing budgetary restrictions given that food prices have shot up by more than 50 percent in the past year and the agency is facing a 40 percent funding shortfall.

"We need an additional US$35 million to meet the funding requirements that were set on older prices, but now they have sky-rocketed," the WFP country director said.

The food price increases have been exacerbated by a 12.5 percent shortfall in domestic rice supply, the staple food of the islanders, according to government statistics.

Inflation jump

The government Census and Statistics Department recorded that average annual inflation rose by 16.8 percent in March 2008. A monthly 1.5 percent rise in the Colombo consumer price index (CCPI) was due to escalating food prices.

"The increase in the CCPI for March 2008 is mainly due to an increase in prices of rice, fresh milk, condensed milk, Lactogen [baby food], tea, red onions, coconut oil, butter, jam, some varieties of fresh fish, dried fish, coconuts, potatoes and some varieties of vegetables," it said in its latest CCPI report.

Agencies working with vulnerable populations have already begun to factor in the rising prices into their estimates.

"We are in discussions with WFP on whether to increase the monthly amount provided to poor families," Meneka Calyanaratne, chief of communications for Save the Children UK in Sri Lanka, told IRIN. Such assistance, while important, is marginal in terms of numbers, compared with the WFP programme that has been feeding more than a million people. "It will all depend on what the assessments of WFP and other UN agencies are, but there is a very real likelihood that the individual grants will go up."

Save the Children provides Rs1,600 (approx $16) per month for 2,672 poor families countrywide.

Calyanaratne also said rising food prices may force older children in poorer families to leave school for lack of funds. "When families find it hard to make ends meet," she said, "they tend to look for easy avenues for more income; sending children to work is one of the easiest."

Sri Lankans on average spend 37.6 percent of their monthly expenditure on food, according to the latest Census and Statistics Department data, with vulnerable families spending as much as 70 percent.

THE MILITARY advisor to the British High Commission in Sri Lanka, Lieutenant Colonel A. S. Gash, along with two other British military officers, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rex and Wing Commander Andy Lee flew to Jaffna last weekend on a two-day official visit to the Sri Lankan military there.

The visiting British military officers on their arrival in Palaly airbase were received by the Security Forces commander in Jaffna, Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, and were later conducted to military headquarters for a formal briefing on the security arrangements in place in the peninsula.

An estimated 40,000 Sri Lankan troops are occupying the Tamil-dominated peninsula. In the past few two years, as in the previous phase of the conflict, from 1995-2001, Sri Lankan troops have carried thousands of abductions, disappearances and extra-judicial killings.

600 people who went missing in the three month period after July 1996, were “either tortured to death or killed in military custody,” an Amnesty International report said.

Since August 2006, the Sri Lankan military has been conducting major offensives against the LTTE’s frontlines in the Jaffna peninsula. On April 23, the SLA suffered a serious setback, losing almost 200 soldiers killed and 350 wounded.

However, during his briefing to the British delegation, Major General G.A. Chandrasiri gave an account regarding humanitarian work carried out so far by the military in the period after August last year.

The British delegation paid a visit to areas controlled by the SLA’s 51 Division and 55 Division, which “enabled them to get a better picture,” the SLA said.

The British delegation also met Division Commander in 53 Division area and obtained a detailed report on the conditions prevailing in its areas of control.

The SLA’s 53 and 55 Divisions are those engaged in offensive operations, whilst the 51 and 52 Divisions are responsible for controlling the peninsula and its 600,000 residents.

As the last leg of their visit, they visited the Northern Naval command in Kankasanthurai and Palaly air base before they returned to Colombo on Saturday.

MARKING the World Press Freedom Day, local and international rights groups appealed to the warring parties to refrain from hurting media workers and comply with their obligations under international law.

Free Media Movement (FMM), a Sri Lankan based media rights organisation, in a press release said ‘never before has it been so dangerous to be a journalist in Sri Lanka as now’.

Referring to the World Press Freedom Day FMM said: "This day is almost a cruel joke in a country farther away from meaningful press freedom than it has ever been in living memory.

The “significant deterioration of media freedom and the freedom of expression is a marker of an inexorable erosion of democratic governance” so much so that “free media is under unprecedented siege”, the statement added.

“Accurate, impartial and responsible reporting is almost impossible in Sri Lanka today in relation to the war, corruption or matters related to the regime and its constituent members”.

"The arbitrary actions against media by paramilitary groups sheltered by the Government, the shocking complicity of the Police in schemes to adduct senior journalists is a situation that media is placed in Sri Lanka today that beggars belief."

Since the beginning of 2006 at least 10 media workers have been unlawfully killed in Sri Lanka. Many more have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and allegedly disappeared while in the custody of security forces.

The FMM documented more than 10 violations of freedom of expression, 63 incidents in which media and journalists were threatened; 15 journalists and media workers were arrested and more than 25 have had to leave their home and some even the country.

Listing state censorship and interference in media, FMM said three state media officials were removed from their posts without explanations; a website was blocked and another was forced to shut down without any obvious reason; and five radio stations were forced to interrupt their broadcast.

The FMM declared that the government should reverse action already undertaken that restricts press freedom and freedom of expression and refrain from any moves to introduce any form of direct or indirect censorship.

It also called on the government and the LTTE to “Immediately halt all threats, harassment, abductions and attacks against media practitioners and outlets currently being perpetrated by all parties to the conflict; undertake complete, transparent and timely investigations into the murder of media practitioners and death threats issued against media practitioners and their families; halt the dangerous and irresponsible practice of publicly vilifying media practitioners.”

Amnesty International in a statement, also, urged both the parties to the conflict to stop targeting journalists.

The international rights group specifically called upon the Sri Lankan government "to respect media workers and publicly announce that killings, threats, or other attacks will not be tolerated and to investigate all cases of attacks, disappearances and killings of media workers promptly, independently, impartially and effectively, irrespective of the identity of perpetrators or victims."

AI also urged the LTTE to issue instructions to all its members against all killings, threats or other attacks on media workers.

“The importance of the media in conflict situations cannot be overstated, without reports, pictures and film of the fighting and the violence, no-one knows enough to put the pressure on the participants to ensure human rights are respected”, the statement read, adding “this need is particularly strong in Sri Lanka”

Amnesty also referred to its February report Silencing Dissent, and repeated its accusations that Sri Lanka is a country where media coverage of war has effectively been silenced – through threats, restrictions and violence.


International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in its statement said: “The relationship between the State, civil society and the media has deteriorated rapidly. Weakening democratic commitments on the part of the authorities are leading in turn to an environment of impunity for corruption and human rights violations”.
The IFJ said that with few willing to publicly condemn such excesses, the ground was laid for more serious threats to the safety and security of journalists and media workers across Sri Lanka.
“Physical attacks, harassment, restrictions on movement and death threats have become a part of the working lives of journalists, photographers and all those engaged in the gathering, publication and dissemination of information in Sri Lanka,” the IFJ statement added.