Third parties were involved several times for negotiations but expected results were always out of reach.

UN is kept out of internal affairs to avoid bigger problems such as rule by proxy by big powers.

The internal problems can be solved by Sri Lankans, in spite of its complexities, if parties come together with an open mind and give up inequitable demands

Remember that Prabahkaran was offered the total administration of the Northern and Eastern provinces for Ten years without subjecting it to an election.

Imagine what the two provinces could have achieved if the $300 million annual income was used to develop those two provinces instead of spending that on arms and destruction?

If he had the foresight to accept, he would still be amongst the living and truly loved by ALL Tamils out of genuine respect and not through fear. He would have saved invaluable lives of tens of thousands in the process too.

If he ruled with righteousness he would moreover be loved and respected even by the Sinhalese and Muslims in the same way that the Tamil King Elara was loved and respected by his Sinhalese subjects

In hind sight I believe he squandered the best chance he had by rejecting that offer

Sri Lankan Prime Minister at UN General Assembly, September 2009: “UN should not interfere in the internal affairs of States” . This has been said by previous heads of Sri Lanka too.

How can we disentangle this extremely complex conflict without the help of a third party? Impossible.

The more we delay the more difficult it’s going to be even for a third party.

Could you be more specific please?

I have searched the ABC Radio site and the United Nations web sites but cannot find anything where Lynn Pascoe refers to the infamous Channel 4 video anywhere.

Kindly provide the URL that confirms your statement quoted below

Quote
nvestigation on the Channel 4 video controversy which the UN dismissed as one conducted by the alleged perpetrators.
Unquote

Please check Lynn Pascoe’s (UN) with ABC radio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_attributed_to_the_Sri_Lankan_military

What is a war criminal? Was not war itself a crime against God and humanity, and, therefore, were not all those who sanctioned, engineered, and conducted wars, war criminals? War criminals are not confined to the Axis Powers alone. Roosevelt and Churchill are no less war criminals than Hitler and Mussolini. England, America and Russia have all of them got their hands dyed more or less red — not merely Germany and Japan.
-Mohandas K. Gandhi-

…according to Gandhi’s quote, Prabahakaran, Karuna, Pillayan, Mahinda, Gotabaya and Sarath Fonseka are all war criminals! Though i’m not a Buddhist, I believe in ‘Ditta dahma waydaneeya karma’…Prabahakaran got what he deserved…I’m waiting to see what will happen to the rest.

Interesting

Do you have a link to the following statement?

Quote
nvestigation on the Channel 4 video controversy which the UN dismissed as one conducted by the alleged perpetrators.
Unquote

There is always hope.

From the UN to all those in the picture are demanding an independent investigation on the conduct of the war, particularly the final phase. The SL govt has vehemently denied this, lamely claiming that not even one life was lost in its conduct of this war. Laughable it may seem but even more hilarious was the President’s recent lecture to an unassuming and ignorant home crowd that he will never give in for any inquiry thus “President Mahinda Rajapakse today insisted that he would not permit Sri Lankan war heroes to be produced before an international war crimes tribunal”. He may talk like this to his home crowd but those or anyone involved in war crimes cannot produce a certificate from their President to proclaim their innocence, insofar as the international criminal court is concerned. There is nothing the President can do if any of those involved in such crimes are indicted. The fact that the SL govt has vehemently denied any independent investigation on the war atrocities, constantly parroting that no atrocities took place would suggest even that it has something to hide. It seems more comfortable with the kind of home-generated investigation on the Channel 4 video controversy which the UN dismissed as one conducted by the alleged perpetrators.

Now it has gone thumping to the whole world that it has a success formula to defeat terrorism, but surely none of the democratic conscious world would even dare to look at such a formula, aptly labeled as a war without witnesses. Maybe Iran and Burma and even Libya would love to buy such a formula, who incidentally have become bosom friends of late.

There was hope that with the defeat of terrorism, to make sure people do not turn to the LTTE or any of its offshoots anymore, there would be a credible and legitimate consideration of the Tamils’ rights, as this may pave the way for the people to move away from such recalcitrant movements but alas Mahinda Rajapakse and his regime cling on the belief that anything and everything they deal with has a military dimension and should approach with a military mindset.

Whereof ye Sri Lanka?

A lot of potential hidden in it.

2. Let’s not lose HOPE.

Mhhh… ……..
Can someone stop camps being hastily put up in Amparai and Karainagar for groups of detainees to bte transferred from Vavuniya Megacamp?

It is easy to carry around a hope board and hope that all is well or will be in the years to come. But from what I see around me there is very little cause for hope. There are many reasons for this some of which you have stated such as human rights violations, criminal activity, lack of media freedom, and “nationalistic rhetoric from those in high echelons of power.”
My own observations are that “nationalistic rhetoric” is emanating not only from those in high positions of power but from the general public as well. We are not post nationalistic or post racial. It is very difficult or indeed impossible to hope for change or act as change agents in such a context.

ie. discipline first, then development n l8r so called democracy!