US sets UNHRC trap for Lanka

India also increases pressure, position of Russia and China uncertain Govt.'s talks with TNA break down; national and international crises worsen

By Our Political Editor

The clock is ticking away for the Government of Sri Lanka. It is still debating whether or not to respond to a call by the United States for what it terms an "Interactive Dialogue" before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva beginning next month. That is through a discussion of the impending final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). That report is due in November this year. Consenting to such a move would mean that participants at the Council sessions will be able to extend the discussions to the report of the UN Panel of Experts on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, matters arising from the Channel 4 videos including the one titled Sri Lanka's Killing Fields and all other related issues. They would also cover alleged violations of international humanitarian laws and human rights abuses during the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas.  More >> ===================================== US fighter jets intrude into Lankan air space Sunday August 07, 2011 Govt. to protest; combat planes believed to be from the Seventh Fleet By Leon Berenger The government will protest to the United States over the intrusion of Sri Lanka’s air space by a squadron of ten fighter jets. The Sunday Times learns that the protest will be handed over to the US Embassy in Colombo by the Ministry of External Affairs. “What we are trying to establish is whether the US fighter jets had violated the oceanic air space or the territorial part of it,” Civil Aviation Director Genera H. M. C. Nimalsiri told the Sunday Times yesterday. “In terms of accepted international norms, anyone wanting to use the country’s air space is required to file flight plans and obtain prior approval,” he said. A senior Air Force official speaking on grounds of anonymity admitted that there were periodic incursions by US combat aircraft into Sri Lanka’s air space. “There were occasions where we had to tell them to move out,” he said. “We have communication intercepts to confirm that they were carrier-based aircraft. In this instance we have reason to believe that the jet squadron was from the US Seventh Fleet,” he said. The tracking station atop Pidurutalagala -- the tallest point in Sri Lanka -- was the first to identify the intruding US aircraft. Officials there immediately conveyed it to the Civil Aviation Authority and the Sri Lanka Air Force. The tracking station with modern radar equipment with a range of 200 nautical miles and covers 380 kilometres of airspace. A US embassy spokesperson declined to comment yesterday.     More >>>