Sri Lanka must invest in rights protection(Japan Times)

As the Sri Lankan government celebrates the first anniversary of its historic triumph over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), it is increasingly clear that the battlefield victory will prove Pyrrhic unless the legitimate grievances of Sri Lanka's minority communities are recognized and addressed. By failing to reach out meaningfully to the Tamil-speaking minority, and by cracking down on opposition voices and any kind of dissent in Sri Lanka, the government is throwing away a once-in-a-generation opportunity. But it is not too late for President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government to change course and begin to build a truly multiethnic society. Indeed, the country's future depends on his doing so. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/eo20100604a2.html