Sri Lanka said in the same league as Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

While war preparations are widening, the ongoing undeclared war in between the government and the LTTE is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the truth, as casualty figures become part of the war effort, a Sri Lankan defence column reported last week.

New security restrictions would deny Tamils “their fundamental right to resettle on the lands owned and possessed by them", says MP.

Two Tamils in Britain were charged last Wednesday under the Terrorism Act 2000 with providing support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is proscribed in UK.

Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar, (also known as ‘AC Shanthan’), 50, and Goldan Lambert, 29 appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates Court last Thursday.

Sri Lanka’s main foreign donors last week declined to issue a statement, but also decided against sanctioning Sri Lanka for its human rights abuses.

Top diplomats from Japan, Norway, the United States and European Union - known collectively as the Co-Chairs - meet in Oslo Tuesday last week at a time when Sri Lanka's relations with the international community are increasingly strained.

Sri Lanka has to militarily defeat the Liberation Tigers to encourage the majority Sinhalese to accept a peace deal with the Tamils, says G.L Peiris.

Due to inefficiency, corruption, fall in income and the mounting expenditure on war, the Sri Lankan government is facing a financial crunch. This is likely to get worse in the future because of a planned rise in defence expenditure.

At last Wednesday's cabinet meeting, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had turned down requests from a number of ministers for more financial allocations, The Sunday Times reported.

The international community has not taken any concrete measures to end state violence against the Tamil people.'

President Mahinda Rajapaksa threatens to dissolve parliament and seek a fresh mandate.

Two former ministers of the main ruling party in Sri Lanka launched a new political party last week, and the main opposition is exploring the possibility of an alliance.

Separately, the country’s Sinhala nationalist Marxists called for the new party to join an alliance with it.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party- Mahajana Wing (SLFP(MW)) or 'Peoples' Wing' was formally launched last Friday, by ousted former ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi.

Media reactions to the formation of the SLFP (MW) have been cynical.

In the media's view, the SLFP (MW) doesn't look as if it will make a difference to the political scene, the Hindustan Times reported.

“But at the same time, it is acknowledged that President Mahinda Rajapaksa may be a worried man,” the paper said.

Envoys barred from meeting Tigers

International inaction stems from divergent interests.

The EU, US, Japan and Norway urge Sri Lanka to give up push for a military solution.