Sri Lankan media hails SC decision on Rajiv Gandhi`s killers

Colombo: The Indian Supreme Court`s decision to stop Tamil Nadu from releasing seven persons convicted in the 1991 assassination of former premier Rajiv Gandhi is a slap in the face of separatist elements in this country, the Sri Lankan media said today.

Praising the court`s decision, Sinhala language daily Rivira said in an editorial, "Rajiv Gandhi challenged Sri Lanka`s sovereignty, his support to LTTE left a bad taste among the Sri Lankans. But his murder was not something that any Sri Lankan enjoyed." The court`s intervention was "a slap in the face of Sri Lankan separatist elements", it said. English daily The Island said the wrong policies of the Congress and BJP governments over the past few decades have created a situation where "the tail is wagging the dog".