PTI, May 04,2012 - New Delhi - India's concerns over the problems being faced by Tamilians in Sri Lanka were conveyed by a multi-party delegation, which recently visited that country, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said here today. "They had a very fruitful and constructive visit...this delegation served a very useful purpose of conveying the entire country's concerns about the problems Tamil speaking Sri Lankan citizens in the country are facing and it has served a very useful purpose," Krishna told reporters outside Parliament House.

By Usha S Sri-Skanda-Rajah, SAAG, 30 April 2012 - It is hard for a man to keep a straight face and tell a lie but President Rajapakse manages to do it every time he has to face the Indians and the International community about devolving power to the Tamil NorthEast. He just did it again when he had breakfast with Sushma Swaraj on the last day of the Indian delegation’s visit to Sri Lanka. There is now a huge confusion as to who said what. Sushma says Rajapakse talked about devolution and mentioned 13th +Amendment and Rajapakse through the Island denies he said that: “The Sri Lankan government on Monday strongly denied a statement attributed to Indian Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj, that her delegation had received an assurance from Mr. Rajapaksa on his commitment to the 13th Amendment, and his readiness to go even beyond it.”

By Bharat Bhushan, BBC, 30 April 2012 - Indian disappointment with Sri Lanka's refusal to undertake genuine reconciliation with its Tamil population ought to have been apparent to Colombo for some time now. It must have been brought home forcefully with the visit of an all-party delegation of Indian parliamentarians to Sri Lanka last week. Although India supported the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam it was wrong to presume that it would turn a blind eye to Colombo's indifference towards resolving the Tamil question since the war ended three years ago.

By T K Rangarajan, People's Democracy, 29 April 2012 - THE army must be pushed back to the barracks; the Tamils living in camps resettled in their original inhabitations; accountability fixed of those who indulged in war crimes during the last phase of the war in Summer 2009; and powers devolved to the Tamil provinces as was stipulated by a constitutional amendment after heroic struggles and sacrifices. These were the demands made by an Indian all-party parliamentary delegation that visited Sri Lanka for six days starting April 16, 2012. It was only after a lot of controversy that the visit of the 12 member parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka, led by leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, Ms Sushma Swaraj (BJP), took place.

PTI, 29 Avril 2012 - New Delhi: Congress MPs, who were part of the delegation that visited Sri Lanka recently, have demanded India's intervention in ensuring political empowerment of minority Tamils by implementing the historic 13th Amendment, holding talks with various political parties there. Four Congress MPs from Tamil Nadu also asked India to demand urgent steps from Sri Lanka to implement recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) with a "clear time-bound programme". Rajya Sabha member EM Sudarshana Natchiappan, Lok Sabha members M Krishnasamy, NSV Chithan and Manicka Tagore made these demands in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after they returned last week.

By Col. R. Hariharan, SAAG, 23-Apr-2012 - There are both positives and negatives in the reports on the Indian parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Colombo. The reports include a statement of Mrs Sushma Swaraj, the multi-party delegation leader issued at the end of the visit, as well as inputs on the press conference she addressed in Colombo. But what was left unsaid can be read between the lines in these reports. These are equally important to gain a balanced perspective on issues that impact India-Sri Lanka relations.

BBC, 18 April 2012 - Sri Lanka’s major Tamil party expressed optimism that the visiting Indian parliamentary delegation will take positive steps towards addressing social, political and safety issues faced by Tamils in the north and east. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs led by Rajavarothayam Sampanthan has told Indian Parliamentarians led by the leader of opposition in the Indian Lower house of parliament- Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj that Tamils need effective power devolution similar to the Indian system. “Power devolution without power is of no use,” TNA MP Selvam Adaikkalanadan told BBC Tamil service following an hour long meeting with the Indian delegation in Colombo.

PTI, 12 April 2012 - A Sri Lankan MP has demanded that an Indian MPs' delegation, scheduled to visit the island nation for a week from April 16 to assess the resettlement and political process in war-torn areas, meet and talk to Tamils without any mediators. Speaking at a meeting convened by Madurai Bar Association here yesterday, S Shritharan (Tamil National Alliance), wanted the delegation also to inspect places like Mullivaikal, where final phase of the war against LTTE took place.

PTI, 11 April 2012 - Expressing displeasure over the itinerary of the all-party MPs delegation scheduled to visit Sri Lanka next week, AIADMK leader Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today announced pulling out her party's lone representative A William Rabi Bernard from the team. From the looks of it, this visit seemed more like a "formality," and prepared by Sri Lankan government to favour itself, she said adding the absence of journalists and independent monitors in the delegation "further strengthens my apprehensions." "A lack of enough opportunities to interact with the affected persons is disappointing. I wish to inform that AIADMK is withdrawing from the delegation and its member Bernard will not participate (in its functions)," she said.