Updates Sri Lanka

... There has been plenty of drama in Tamil Nadu with the election dates drawing near. Jayalalithaa has suddenly found a lot of virtue in supporting the Tamil Eelam, which she feels is the only way to protect the Tamil interests. She claims that this change of heart is due to the video clippings that she was shown by the AOL master Shri Shri Ravishankar.

Well, the media and notably the Tamil net have been bringing out the reports from the war zones quite regularly. To any discerning observer, the pictures were fairly clear despite soms gaps in the information. The election manifesto of the AIADMK had said that it would support a Tamil Eelam if the SL Government did not give equal rights to the Tamils . However, this qualification has been removed with the recent stance adopted by the AIADMK supremo. It is clear that she did not want to let go of an opportunity to be identified as the enlightened leader who now stood for a cause and was willing to break away from her earlier stand . Her allies the PMK, MDMK and others look very happy that now there is synchronisation of their goals for fighting the elections in the near future.

The old man of Tamil Nadu decided to go on a fast this morning demanding a cease fire and called off the hunger strike with in hours appparently on being informed that the Sri Lankan forces have decided to call off heavy artillery and aerial bombardment in the NFZ. Quite a farce by any standards. There are tall claims now that the SL Government has been pressurised by the hunger strike of the leader of DMK. If that were the case, why it did not happen when he fasted last time begs answers. The DMK finds itseld in a state where all the winds have been taken out of its sails by the opponents and there is very little left for political manoeuvre just a few weeks before the election.

The Congress led UPA also appears to be seen as doing something and sent its emissaries to Colombo. Both the NSA and the Foreign Secretary came back explaining that "Sri Lanks is sensitive to India's concern". It is clear that this hardly changes anything in the context of the ongoing war. Sri Lanka is determined to bring the war to its logical conclusion on its terms. It has already snubbed US, UK and other who are trying to bring pressure to stop the war. It has maintained that we can not have double standards in tackling the war on terror. Remember, India made similar noises when Pakistan aided terrorists attacked Mumbai .Purely from the point of view of the military, it would be fool hardy to stop the war now as the LTTE is on its last breath and the end has to be expedited. Only then can the SL Government concentrate on the process of rehabilitation, restructuring and of course the most important of "devolution of power to the people in the North and the East".

The support of China has raised the heckles in the country as it has been interpreted as China using the opportunity to curry favour with Sri Lanka for its Indian Ocean ambitions.It is a major supplier of arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka . India in the past has tried to prevent the entry of China with selective success. The development of Hamban thota has already given the Chinese a foot hold in the southern tip of the Island giving it an option for future ambitions. Pakistan likewise has also helped out Sri Lanka in providng the necessary arms to fight the terrorists. India has come under intense pressure from the Tamil politicans to stop providing training and equipment to the SL Military. In the larger scheme of things, Sri Lanka has capitalised on the opportunity to get the best of all the countries involved in the regional power politics. So conveniently , it has used the China and Pakistan card against India and has perhaps used the India card with the willing neighbours of a volatile sub continent.

As this goes to the web, the Tamils who are stranded between the devil and the deep sea have very little options. The unending war has brutalised them and has played merry hell with their lives . Many have lost their family members in the war either due to forced conscription or due to the collateral damage. The statement by Mahinda that it may take up to three years for the process of rehabilitation is alarming and portends great trouble for the displaced tamilians of Sri Lanka. There is a need to expedite this process by involvement of all the international actors by both material and moral support.