Sri Lanka was hit by scathing criticism over its human rights record last week, with its government fingered over hundreds of "disappearances" and an influential international panel of observers storming off the island.

A team of top foreign judicial and forensic experts said it was quitting the war-torn nation because Colombo had failed to seriously investigate a string of high-profile cases including the massacre of aid workers.

Dear Friends,

I want to share my experience at the Hillary Clinton campaign speech in Houston, Texas on March 3rd.

It was a very well attended event. President Clinton gave a half hour speech mainly on the economy and the future of the country. My husband and I displayed placards that we prepared and took to the event.

The Canadian Parliament’s Bill C-3 came into force February 22, amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2000, just one day before a Supreme Court deadline expired.

Velupillai Pirapaharan, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) posthumously conferred the title of Maamanithar (Great human being), the highest national civilian honour of the LTTE, to K. Sivanesan.

The text of the LTTE statement announcing the decision follows:

Tamil Diaspora organisations Friday condemned the killing of Tamil parliamentarian K. Sivanesan Thursday in a fragmentation mine attack blamed on Sri Lankan commandos and called for international action against the Colombo government.

Amid numerous reports of small victories and LTTE casualties—all undoubtedly exaggerated—the military has failed to gain a great deal of ground.

“They started beating Thiyagarajah. They took his T-shirt off and stuffed it into his mouth. The neighbors came out to help, but they pushed them away. His wife was crying and shouting, and they hit her with a gun butt. She was nine months pregnant. They were accusing Thiyagarajah of having bombs in the house, and forced him to dig the ground around the house. They searched the house, turning everything upside down, but didn’t find anything.

International Human Rights Monitoring Mission Urgently Needed

Chinese aid grew last year to nearly $1 billion, eclipsing Sri Lanka’s longtime biggest donor, Japan. India’s aid reached $500 million.

Britain will be pressing Sri Lanka’s hardline government for greater access for senior UN officials and would join European allies in taking a stronger position against Colombo over human rights abuses.

In a meeting with Tamil Diaspora representatives at the British Foreign Office on February 25, Foreign Minister Lord Malloch-Brown said he would personally be attending the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva to press the point.

Jaffna District Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, K. Sivanesan, was killed in a Claymore attack on his vehicle carried out by a Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lanka Army lying in ambush along the A9 highway in Tamil Tiger controlled Vanni.

His driver was also killed in the attack in which the DPU soldiers exploded four Claymore mines in a row, Tamileelam Police officials said.

Why should the Tamils expect a change in international conduct?

Tamil leaders of Sri Lanka have rejected the island nation government’s devolution package aimed at ending the 25-year-old ethnic conflict saying the move was ‘a joke played on Tamils’.

The All Party Representation Committee (APRC), formed by the Mahinda Rajapakse government to counter LTTE’s struggle for separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka, had submitted its report to the government last month.

Sporting red T-shirts, with an Eelam map Australian Tamil youth from Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne gathered on February 12 in the Australian capital, Canberra, to voice support for the Tamil struggle and to highlight the worsening humanitarian situation in the northeast of Sri Lanka.

The 200 fans arrived wearing red "Voice of Tamils" T-shirts bearing the slogan "Where is the Humanity", and set up a party outside the gates with drummers, dancers and whistles before play.