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Indian diplomat visits Sri Lanka S Lanka denounces UN rights panel
(about 22 hours later)
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is due to arrive in neighbouring Sri Lanka for a three-day visit involving talks with top officials. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has denounced plans by UN chief Ban Ki-Moon to ask a panel of experts to look into human rights issues on the island.
Details have not been revealed, but the diplomats may discuss a political solution to the grievances of the Tamil minority in the island state. Mr Rajapaksa told Mr Ban the move was "uncalled for and unwarranted", the president's office said in a statement.
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been be vague about any plans for such a solution. Human rights groups want some sort of accountability for abuses alleged to have been committed during the war against Tamil Tiger separatists.
But many feel that Colombo could listen to gentle pressure from Delhi. The Sri Lankan government insists it did nothing wrong.
Last week Mrs Rao was struggling to rebuild a rapprochement with India's bitter rival, Pakistan. Mr Ban plans to ask a panel of experts to advise the UN on "accountability issues" relating to possible human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, his spokesman said on Friday.
Her visit to Sri Lanka will be an entirely different matter. But Rajapaksa's office said the president spoke to Mr Ban by telephone on Friday and told him that alleged rights abuses were "misrepresentations" by supporters of the Tamil Tigers and other groups working against Sri Lanka.
Despite historical baggage, such as an ill-fated Indian military intervention 20 years ago, India now regards its small southern neighbour as one of its very closest allies. 'Interference'
The feeling is mutual. Colombo bitterly rejected diplomatic pressure from Western countries when they criticised its tactics in its all-out military crushing of the Tamil Tiger rebels last year. "President Rajapaksa has pointed out that the intention of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a panel of experts to advise him on Sri Lanka is totally uncalled for and unwarranted," the statement said.
Chinese investment It said the panel would "certainly be perceived as an interference with the current general election campaign", referring to next month's poll.
Any pressure from India has been gentler and more acceptable to the government here. The statement added that Sri Lanka would take "necessary and appropriate action", but did not specify what that would be.
Yet India does have its concerns. It is home to far more Tamils than Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapaksa aims to win a majority in parliament
And its Foreign Minister, SM Krishna, said on Wednesday that India had "stressed" to its neighbour the need to reach a political settlement acceptable to all communities including the Tamils. The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that three decades of ethnic war were disastrous for human rights in Sri Lanka but the current government - like others before it - is very sensitive when the issue is raised.
India does have another concern. It is lagging behind China in investing to help develop and rebuild infrastructure in post-war Sri Lanka. A joint UN-Sri Lankan statement last May said the government would take measures to address grievances concerning possible war crimes. But the government's critics say it has not followed through on this.
So during these top-level diplomatic talks the two sides may start discussing further bilateral projects. The UN has reported that more than 7,000 civilians died as government forces closed in and crushed the rebellion in the north of the island last year.
The government has been accused - among other things - of firing heavy weapons into civilian areas, and the Tamil rebels have been accused of holding civilians as human shields.
Mr Rajapaksa, who won a second term as president in January, has called parliamentary elections for 8 April hoping to further tighten his grip on power by securing a majority in the 225-member legislature.
In another development, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is due to arrive in Sri Lanka for talks with top officials.
Details have not been revealed, but analysts say a political solution to the grievances of the Tamil minority may be on the agenda.