“Sri Lankan soldiers inspect the area inside the war zone near Mullaittivu. Sri Lanka’s president has called for an end to the ethnic divisions that have caused decades of war in the country, saying defeat of the Tamil Tiger separatists should usher in an era of unity.” Photo by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence via the AFP.
Here’s the latest on what’s happening in Sri Lanka:
The Washington Post reports that the International Committee of the Red Cross has said that “its workers have been barred from the country’s largest refugee camp and cannot distribute aid to or monitor the well-being of some 130,000 displaced residents.”
Following up on this, Reuters reports that the Sri Lankan government has said that it plans to resettle most of the 280,000 refugees who fled the war with the defeated Tamil Tigers within six months.
Human Rights Now – Amnesty USA Blog reports that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Sri Lanka “to visit the conflict zone and the camps for the internally displaced civilians.” In addition, the UN will hold a special session on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
Barbara O’Brien over at Barbara’s Buddhism Blog points us to an article at the Times Online about Buddhist monk Venerable Athuraliye Rathana, who has been “one of the most powerful advocates of the military campaign against the Tamil Tigers, a conflict that the Sri Lankan Government won by adopting the guerrilla tactics — and some would argue the utter ruthlessness — of its adversaries.”
Speaking of Buddhist monks, Ajahn Punnadhammo wonders about what will come next for the South Asian country over at Bhikkhu’s Blog.
“Crowds gather again outside Rangoon’s Insein Prison as the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi enters its third day.” Photo by Aung Thet Wine for The Irrawaddy.
