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When Sri Lanka resumed its war against the Tamil Tigers in mid 2006, the first offensives were directed at Sampur and nearby areas in Trincomalee district.
Over 40,000 Tamil civilians were driven from their homes, which were razed to the ground. The vast majority remain displaced. President Rajapaksa hailed the capture.
Sri Lanka then pledged the land in Sampur to India to build a power-station on it, and designated it another 'High Security Zone'.
Delhi was a strong backer of Sri Lanka’s military campaign, and the power station project has long been billed as a major milestone in bilateral ties.
However, the joint venture has never been taken forward, despite years of negotiation. The billion dollar project should have been completed this year. (See Sunday Leader's report here)
And this month Colombo again come up with more objections to the deal.
Last week the Times of India reported how, at the last minute, Sri Lanka Attorney General's office has raised 70 new queries on basic issues.
One Indian official protests,
"These are very fundamental to the understandings reached [with] the Lanka government over the last two years and should not be reopened."
See TamilNet’s feature on the de-population of Sampur and the Indian deal here.
