Unless Sri Lanka’s hardline government abandons its militarist path, the EU should impose sanctions, Germany said this week, adding that an EU-Troika will travel to Sri Lanka in early March to assess the situation. In an interview with the Tages Speigel newspaper published on February 9, German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul also said Germany had frozen new development cooperation projects with Sri Lanka and, because of the deteriorating security situation, was withdrawing half their development personnel from the island as well as closing the German Development Bank in Sri Lanka. The English translation of extracts of the Tages Speigel interview with Minister Wieczorek-Zeul published in The Morning Leader newspaper Wednesday follow:
Q: In January the Government of Sri Lanka has withdrawn from the Ceasefire Agreement. What can Europe and the world do?
A: The international community must influence both parties to the conflict to seek a political solution and withdraw from the war which brings only suffering to the people. In the beginning of March an EU-Troika will travel to Sri Lanka. If the Sri Lankan government continues to insist on a military option, I will demand that the EU should withdraw the General System of Preference (GSP) offered to Sri Lanka. This concession enables Sri Lanka to export its goods and products to the EU at reduced or exempted tax and duty levies. This step will really bring economic pressure on the GoSL. For Sri Lanka a preference system plus is in place until the end of 2008 which, however, requires good governance. If the EU continues to accept the present situation the plus is meaningless. The biggest portion of Sri Lanka's exports consists of textile exports. Only garment product exports to the EU markets are valued at US$ 1-2 billion annually. The other part is exported to the United States. It is also important to consult with the US which has also taken up a very critical position towards Sri Lanka in the past weeks.
Q: And development cooperation?
A: For the past two years we have not concluded any new agreements on cooperation as projects cannot be implemented due to the security situation. We are only engaged in completing what we have started earlier. We could make new agreements over _38 million, but we shall not do so at this point.
Q: How should the United Nations act?
A: It would be encouraging if the UN Security Council takes up this issue. However, it seems that it is difficult at the moment for the UN Security Council to act. However, what the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon can do without a formal decision of the Security Council is to send a special envoy to Sri Lanka. After the departure of the Norwegian monitors who were in place since the Ceasefire Agreement of 2002 there is nobody to document human rights violations. The war is now again in full swing.
Q: Why has Sri Lanka failed to achieve peace after the tsunami of 2004 as it has happened in the Aceh Province of Indonesia?
A: After the tsunami I had greater hopes of Sri Lanka achieving peace than in Indonesia. There were so many initiatives from people from around the world. But it turned out to be different. The reconstruction in Aceh is successful and there is a responsible government set up even in the province of Aceh. In the north and the east of Sri Lanka where many Tamils live we practically cannot further undertake development projects. I presume both parties to the conflict believe they can solve the conflict which continues from 1983 by military means. However, this is unrealistic. It will result only in more deaths numbering thousands. Since 1983 more than 75,000 lives have been lost in the fighting between the government and the LTTE. The LTTE considers itself as a freedom movement but the EU banned the LTTE as a terrorist organisation almost two years ago. It is such a beautiful country and its people are very motivated. I feel a genuine responsibility for the people of this country. If the violence increases the international community has a responsibility to act.
Q: Should tourists travel to Sri Lanka?
A: It is up to the Federal Foreign Office of Germany to issue travel recommendations. However, we are withdrawing half of the personnel working in development cooperation and we will close the office of the German Development Bank (Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau), because the security situation is very critical.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
What's MR's solution to the on going carnage?
The government with its decision to close Colombo schools till Monday (11) following terrorist attacks last week has placed itself in the position of that heroic Dutch boy who saved his town from inundation by the sea by plugging a leak in the dyke that protected the town with his finger. The boy who stopped the leak in the evening had to plug the leak all night till rescuers found him the next day.
The problem for the government is greater. Would the terrorist threat to schools disappear once schools reopen? If after schools reopen an attack is made, what would the government do? Close them again or keep them open?
The threat of a terrorist attack on schools has been there for quite sometime. Some years ago a vehicle loaded with bombs was heading towards Maradana at the time schools were closing, when the children were on the streets and a smart policeman detected it and followed it on his motorcycle. The terrorist detonated the bomb at Maradana junction wreaking human carnage but most of the school children were saved. The marks left by the shrapnel of that deadly bomb can still be seen on the concrete pillars of the Maradana overhead bridge.
What the government can do is to place tight security nets around school areas but as most people are aware such security cordons are not impenetrable. The hard reality is that all institutions and people are vulnerable in this age of the human bomber. The ultimate solution lies beyond security cordons. But it must be said however unpalatable it maybe for the modern day Dutugemunus, that schools and school children in the north and east too have faced the brunt of the military offensives with 12 school girls reported killed in a claymore attack in Mannar just two weeks back.
Even UN reports on Children and Armed Conflict have dealt with the impact the war has had on schools and school children in the north and east and there is no getting away from the fact that the government is responsible for the security of those children as much as those in the south.
The threat from terrorism has been escalating as government forces step up attacks on LTTE held territories. The LTTE counter attacks are directed not so much against advancing government forces but on vulnerable civilians in Colombo, other urban centres and areas on the boundaries. The government may be having some kind of counter-strategy which the public is not aware of and are yet to see but there is no gainsaying it is the bounden duty of the state to protect the civilians to the best of its ability and capacity, be it in the north or the south. And one way to do that is not give the LTTE reason to launch tit for tat attacks on civilians.
President Rajapakse, his brother Gotabaya, the Defence Secretary as well as military leaders like Gen. Sarath Fonseka have been predicting a quick defeat of the LTTE, as close as August this year. Thus their plan may be to go hell for leather with their attacks irrespective of what the LTTE retaliation would be. This would be placing the civilian population at terrible risk.
The government's position has been that the LTTE has been refusing to negotiate for many years while continuing its terrorist attacks and there is no alternative but to crush LTTE terrorism militarily. There was the possibility of negotiations with the assistance of foreign nations but all that has been cast aside both by the government and LTTE.
Meanwhile the international community, particularly those concerned about human rights, are watching the situation and the UN Security Council Working Group is to meet on the Sri Lankan issue on February 21. What President Rajapakse should endeavour to do is to avoid confrontation with the international community, especially the UN. The Kosovo situation has some parallels to Sri Lanka where Kosovo, a province of Serbia with a minority population of Azerbaijanis wants to make a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from Serbia and is expected to do so very soon. This UDI has strong backing from the Western nations and only the Soviet Union with veto powers can prevent UN recognition of such a state. The Sri Lankan situation differs considerably from Serbia but we should take heed against rubbing powerful Western nations on the wrong side.
It will be the supreme irony if the very extremists who are hollering for war and the eviction of international agencies in the name of protecting the country's sovereignty pave the way for UN intervention in Sri Lanka by their own ostrich like approach to international affairs and diplomacy, and that is not a very remote prospect either.
President Rajapakse is proud of his foreign policy achievements and he said so in his Independence Day address. But Sri Lanka's image as a democratic nation among the international community has been steadily slipping, particularly among Western nations that matter. It was reported last week that Sri Lanka has been ranked by the World Association of Newspapers as 'the third most deadliest place in the world for journalists.' Only Iraq and Somalia have been placed before us.
Sri Lanka's policy in resolving its national problem is looked down upon by Western nations such as the United States which has cut off military assistance. These are serious setbacks for a small nation fighting an internal insurrection for over 30 years.
President Rajapakse either does not care about adverse reactions by powerful nations or is ostrich like burying his head in the sand and pretending not to be aware of it. On Independence Day he said: 'As a policy we do not have cosmetic and shallow relations with Western countries. Our relations with them are true and real.. The confidence placed in us by the international community has not decreased by one iota.' Perhaps President Rajapakse needs much more severe shocks to awaken him from his reverie.
The President also appears to be committing the mistake of linking up the war to petty political campaigns. To some living in regions of the country not affected by terrorism his war is popular particularly as unverifiable statistics of deaths of the enemy are doled out freely by government propagandists. The government makes much of the war to boost confidence in itself. We are perhaps the only country in the world that produced a time table of ending a war - a 30-year- old war at that. It is supposed to end by August. We do hope that their wishes come true but giving time tables to end wars are unheard of. There is a Napoleonic quip: Unhappy the general, who comes on the field of battle with a system.
Mahinda Rajapakse's singular achievement for his two-year rule has been 'the conquest of the east.' Terrorism has been defeated, and it is being rebuilt and rehabilitated is his proud boast. And now elections to local bodies are to be held but there are strong protests about elections being held because the conditions are not conducive for free and fair elections. Both the UNP and the TNA have protested and are not participating in elections while the Muslim Congress has pointed to the anarchic situation prevalent in the east.
UNP Parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne said on Thursday in parliament that 28 persons including 12 candidates have been abducted in the Eastern Province after nominations papers had been filed. PAFFREL, an elections monitoring body has urged the government to make a credible demonstration of its capacity to control violence and dispel fears of the people regarding the possible use of arms by contesting parties. It is an open secret that the TVMP, the Karuna branch of the LTTE now under a new leadership, has its armed cadres roaming and is alleged to be in cahoots with government interests. Indeed they have come to an electoral agreement. All this makes a mockery of Mahinda Rajapakse's boast of having rid the province of terrorism and fostering a vibrant democracy. Keeping the war separated from politics will be in the interest of the country but that maybe too much to ask of the Rajapakse brothers.
The problem for the government is greater. Would the terrorist threat to schools disappear once schools reopen? If after schools reopen an attack is made, what would the government do? Close them again or keep them open?
The threat of a terrorist attack on schools has been there for quite sometime. Some years ago a vehicle loaded with bombs was heading towards Maradana at the time schools were closing, when the children were on the streets and a smart policeman detected it and followed it on his motorcycle. The terrorist detonated the bomb at Maradana junction wreaking human carnage but most of the school children were saved. The marks left by the shrapnel of that deadly bomb can still be seen on the concrete pillars of the Maradana overhead bridge.
What the government can do is to place tight security nets around school areas but as most people are aware such security cordons are not impenetrable. The hard reality is that all institutions and people are vulnerable in this age of the human bomber. The ultimate solution lies beyond security cordons. But it must be said however unpalatable it maybe for the modern day Dutugemunus, that schools and school children in the north and east too have faced the brunt of the military offensives with 12 school girls reported killed in a claymore attack in Mannar just two weeks back.
Even UN reports on Children and Armed Conflict have dealt with the impact the war has had on schools and school children in the north and east and there is no getting away from the fact that the government is responsible for the security of those children as much as those in the south.
The threat from terrorism has been escalating as government forces step up attacks on LTTE held territories. The LTTE counter attacks are directed not so much against advancing government forces but on vulnerable civilians in Colombo, other urban centres and areas on the boundaries. The government may be having some kind of counter-strategy which the public is not aware of and are yet to see but there is no gainsaying it is the bounden duty of the state to protect the civilians to the best of its ability and capacity, be it in the north or the south. And one way to do that is not give the LTTE reason to launch tit for tat attacks on civilians.
President Rajapakse, his brother Gotabaya, the Defence Secretary as well as military leaders like Gen. Sarath Fonseka have been predicting a quick defeat of the LTTE, as close as August this year. Thus their plan may be to go hell for leather with their attacks irrespective of what the LTTE retaliation would be. This would be placing the civilian population at terrible risk.
The government's position has been that the LTTE has been refusing to negotiate for many years while continuing its terrorist attacks and there is no alternative but to crush LTTE terrorism militarily. There was the possibility of negotiations with the assistance of foreign nations but all that has been cast aside both by the government and LTTE.
Meanwhile the international community, particularly those concerned about human rights, are watching the situation and the UN Security Council Working Group is to meet on the Sri Lankan issue on February 21. What President Rajapakse should endeavour to do is to avoid confrontation with the international community, especially the UN. The Kosovo situation has some parallels to Sri Lanka where Kosovo, a province of Serbia with a minority population of Azerbaijanis wants to make a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from Serbia and is expected to do so very soon. This UDI has strong backing from the Western nations and only the Soviet Union with veto powers can prevent UN recognition of such a state. The Sri Lankan situation differs considerably from Serbia but we should take heed against rubbing powerful Western nations on the wrong side.
It will be the supreme irony if the very extremists who are hollering for war and the eviction of international agencies in the name of protecting the country's sovereignty pave the way for UN intervention in Sri Lanka by their own ostrich like approach to international affairs and diplomacy, and that is not a very remote prospect either.
President Rajapakse is proud of his foreign policy achievements and he said so in his Independence Day address. But Sri Lanka's image as a democratic nation among the international community has been steadily slipping, particularly among Western nations that matter. It was reported last week that Sri Lanka has been ranked by the World Association of Newspapers as 'the third most deadliest place in the world for journalists.' Only Iraq and Somalia have been placed before us.
Sri Lanka's policy in resolving its national problem is looked down upon by Western nations such as the United States which has cut off military assistance. These are serious setbacks for a small nation fighting an internal insurrection for over 30 years.
President Rajapakse either does not care about adverse reactions by powerful nations or is ostrich like burying his head in the sand and pretending not to be aware of it. On Independence Day he said: 'As a policy we do not have cosmetic and shallow relations with Western countries. Our relations with them are true and real.. The confidence placed in us by the international community has not decreased by one iota.' Perhaps President Rajapakse needs much more severe shocks to awaken him from his reverie.
The President also appears to be committing the mistake of linking up the war to petty political campaigns. To some living in regions of the country not affected by terrorism his war is popular particularly as unverifiable statistics of deaths of the enemy are doled out freely by government propagandists. The government makes much of the war to boost confidence in itself. We are perhaps the only country in the world that produced a time table of ending a war - a 30-year- old war at that. It is supposed to end by August. We do hope that their wishes come true but giving time tables to end wars are unheard of. There is a Napoleonic quip: Unhappy the general, who comes on the field of battle with a system.
Mahinda Rajapakse's singular achievement for his two-year rule has been 'the conquest of the east.' Terrorism has been defeated, and it is being rebuilt and rehabilitated is his proud boast. And now elections to local bodies are to be held but there are strong protests about elections being held because the conditions are not conducive for free and fair elections. Both the UNP and the TNA have protested and are not participating in elections while the Muslim Congress has pointed to the anarchic situation prevalent in the east.
UNP Parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne said on Thursday in parliament that 28 persons including 12 candidates have been abducted in the Eastern Province after nominations papers had been filed. PAFFREL, an elections monitoring body has urged the government to make a credible demonstration of its capacity to control violence and dispel fears of the people regarding the possible use of arms by contesting parties. It is an open secret that the TVMP, the Karuna branch of the LTTE now under a new leadership, has its armed cadres roaming and is alleged to be in cahoots with government interests. Indeed they have come to an electoral agreement. All this makes a mockery of Mahinda Rajapakse's boast of having rid the province of terrorism and fostering a vibrant democracy. Keeping the war separated from politics will be in the interest of the country but that maybe too much to ask of the Rajapakse brothers.
Serendipity
Divided we stand, united we fall
Freedom Day was a day of rigorous imprisonment. The sad thing about it was that we could have gone anywhere but in fact there was nowhere to go. We are not the kind to go to places of worship but even if we were so inclined, we were advised not to go to places where people congregate. Clubs were closed or even if they were open, there were no souls in them. As that old lament goes: 'There's nothing so lonesome as a....' Mahinda Percy had put his Thitha (full stop) which he boasts about so often.
Confined to our 'home sweet home,' we put on the TV hoping for some lively entertainment such as that favourite song of the '70s: Bomb, Bomb, Bomb - Bombay Merai Hai, which would have been in keeping with the spirit of the times but wiser counsel had prevailed. TV personalities do not want Dutu Gemunus accompanied by their bodyguards storming their studios.
But to our good fortune there appeared on screen the favourite star of the Rupavahini Channel, Mahinda Percival Rajapakse in his immaculate white costume, kurakkan shawl and glistening black Godrej mousto beaming like the full moon.
National unity
Our beloved leader was somewhat of a disappointment that day. His theme was 'national unity,' a rather hackneyed theme, starting from the inauguration of independence 60 years ago by D.S. Senanayake. Every leader of the nation has been calling for 'unity' since then but at the end of six decades the nation is disunited as ever. We leave it to our readers to debate the causes for it but suggest just one plausible cause.
Unlike other nations we do not seem to believe in that adage: United we stand; divided we fall. Instead we believe in the opposite: Divided we stand; united we fall. We have written earlier about the late Sir John Kotelawala's yarn about Sri Lankans in hell, which is worth repeating.
In hell there are hell holes for each nation with armed guards to prevent anyone escaping from their national hell holes. But the Sri Lankan hell hole has no guards. The reason is that if any Sri Lankan attempts to escape, others pull him back by his legs. Such is our unity.
Mahinda Percy made a vigorous call for national unity at Galle Face that day. But watching this 'historic occasion' we failed to spot even one Tamil in the distinguished audience. We stand to be corrected if we had failed to scrutinise the VIP audience closely from the TV coverage.
Theory of Relativity
Our leader's political philosophy - Mahinda Chinthanaya - is difficult to comprehend. In an earlier column we contended that it runs parallel to Einstein's Theory of Relativity - which according to some of his callow critics amounts to giving top state jobs to his relations. It is much more serious than one involving time, direction and motion. We explained it in terms of his relative political progress - one step forwards, two steps backwards; five steps forwards ten steps backwards, and side stepping frequently.
Applying his Theory of Relativity to his concept of unity you can see that he unified the SLFP by getting rid of Chandrika and her faction; united with the JVP to defeat the UNP then kicked out the JVP and united with the UNP, then split up the UNP by buying over 17 top UNPers with cabinet portfolios; then united with the JVP when threatened with defeat during the last budget and has once again separated probably, temporarily.
He kicked out two of his key lieutenants, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi when they threatened his leadership and it is said that he even did an under-the-table deal with Velupillai before the elections and won the elections and then went back on Velu and declared full scale war.
And on the 60th Independence Day our leader with utter insouciance calls for national unity 'to achieve the nobler objectives of the Sri Lankan nation.'
Solution
Bringing in a touch of Mark Anthony oratory (Friends, Romans.) he said: 'Friends, our solution must be based on what could be implemented in this country. We cannot offer solutions that are experiments. ..That is why we selected a solution which can be implemented about which we have experience.'
The solution which our honourable leader and his advisors laboured for two years to discover was the one that he opposed and sabotaged by taking to the streets 20 years ago. It has been selected by an 'All Party Conference' which does not include the three major parties of the country - the UNP, the JVP and the TNA.
But this is the solution which will unite the country, he vows.
As we said earlier, Mahinda Chinthanaya is a difficult concept to comprehend - as difficult as Einstein's concepts of space, matter and time. Unity according to the Chinthanaya at times may become disunity and disunity becomes unity. All are relative, like matter becoming energy and energy becoming matter. Einstein's theory mathematically expressed is E=MC2. However, E stands for Energy, M for Mass and C the velocity of light. MC is not for Mahinda Chinthanaya.
Oil all over
Mahinda Chinthanaya has parallels in Greek philosophy like the Theory of Heraclitus - Everything is in a state of flux: 'You cannot step twice into the same river; for fresh waters are ever flowing upon you.'
Apart from this deep philosophy Mahinda Percy had some cheerful news as well for ordinary folks. Not only will electricity be generated from Norochcholai and Upper Kotmale but oil reserves will be harnessed from the sea of Mannar, he has pledged.
Perhaps our leader would not remember (as he would have been at school at that time) that in the '60s foreign companies hired by the Sri Lanka government drilled the seas off Mannar for quite sometime and gave up because they could not locate these oil reserves. But President Rajapakse and his ministers are a promising lot. Minister for Petroleum Reserves, A.H.M. Fowzie had told reporters last week that a cabinet paper would be presented on offers for oil exploration in the Mannar seas. Apart from oil from Mannar, there was the possibility of oil being found in the Jaffna peninsula and there were southern coastal oil reserves as well, the optimistic Fowzie had said. So far the only oil that has come from Jaffna is gingelly oil while from the south is the oil from the coconut mills of Matara. We wish Rajapakse, Fowzie and others all the very best.
Freedom Day was a day of rigorous imprisonment. The sad thing about it was that we could have gone anywhere but in fact there was nowhere to go. We are not the kind to go to places of worship but even if we were so inclined, we were advised not to go to places where people congregate. Clubs were closed or even if they were open, there were no souls in them. As that old lament goes: 'There's nothing so lonesome as a....' Mahinda Percy had put his Thitha (full stop) which he boasts about so often.
Confined to our 'home sweet home,' we put on the TV hoping for some lively entertainment such as that favourite song of the '70s: Bomb, Bomb, Bomb - Bombay Merai Hai, which would have been in keeping with the spirit of the times but wiser counsel had prevailed. TV personalities do not want Dutu Gemunus accompanied by their bodyguards storming their studios.
But to our good fortune there appeared on screen the favourite star of the Rupavahini Channel, Mahinda Percival Rajapakse in his immaculate white costume, kurakkan shawl and glistening black Godrej mousto beaming like the full moon.
National unity
Our beloved leader was somewhat of a disappointment that day. His theme was 'national unity,' a rather hackneyed theme, starting from the inauguration of independence 60 years ago by D.S. Senanayake. Every leader of the nation has been calling for 'unity' since then but at the end of six decades the nation is disunited as ever. We leave it to our readers to debate the causes for it but suggest just one plausible cause.
Unlike other nations we do not seem to believe in that adage: United we stand; divided we fall. Instead we believe in the opposite: Divided we stand; united we fall. We have written earlier about the late Sir John Kotelawala's yarn about Sri Lankans in hell, which is worth repeating.
In hell there are hell holes for each nation with armed guards to prevent anyone escaping from their national hell holes. But the Sri Lankan hell hole has no guards. The reason is that if any Sri Lankan attempts to escape, others pull him back by his legs. Such is our unity.
Mahinda Percy made a vigorous call for national unity at Galle Face that day. But watching this 'historic occasion' we failed to spot even one Tamil in the distinguished audience. We stand to be corrected if we had failed to scrutinise the VIP audience closely from the TV coverage.
Theory of Relativity
Our leader's political philosophy - Mahinda Chinthanaya - is difficult to comprehend. In an earlier column we contended that it runs parallel to Einstein's Theory of Relativity - which according to some of his callow critics amounts to giving top state jobs to his relations. It is much more serious than one involving time, direction and motion. We explained it in terms of his relative political progress - one step forwards, two steps backwards; five steps forwards ten steps backwards, and side stepping frequently.
Applying his Theory of Relativity to his concept of unity you can see that he unified the SLFP by getting rid of Chandrika and her faction; united with the JVP to defeat the UNP then kicked out the JVP and united with the UNP, then split up the UNP by buying over 17 top UNPers with cabinet portfolios; then united with the JVP when threatened with defeat during the last budget and has once again separated probably, temporarily.
He kicked out two of his key lieutenants, Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi when they threatened his leadership and it is said that he even did an under-the-table deal with Velupillai before the elections and won the elections and then went back on Velu and declared full scale war.
And on the 60th Independence Day our leader with utter insouciance calls for national unity 'to achieve the nobler objectives of the Sri Lankan nation.'
Solution
Bringing in a touch of Mark Anthony oratory (Friends, Romans.) he said: 'Friends, our solution must be based on what could be implemented in this country. We cannot offer solutions that are experiments. ..That is why we selected a solution which can be implemented about which we have experience.'
The solution which our honourable leader and his advisors laboured for two years to discover was the one that he opposed and sabotaged by taking to the streets 20 years ago. It has been selected by an 'All Party Conference' which does not include the three major parties of the country - the UNP, the JVP and the TNA.
But this is the solution which will unite the country, he vows.
As we said earlier, Mahinda Chinthanaya is a difficult concept to comprehend - as difficult as Einstein's concepts of space, matter and time. Unity according to the Chinthanaya at times may become disunity and disunity becomes unity. All are relative, like matter becoming energy and energy becoming matter. Einstein's theory mathematically expressed is E=MC2. However, E stands for Energy, M for Mass and C the velocity of light. MC is not for Mahinda Chinthanaya.
Oil all over
Mahinda Chinthanaya has parallels in Greek philosophy like the Theory of Heraclitus - Everything is in a state of flux: 'You cannot step twice into the same river; for fresh waters are ever flowing upon you.'
Apart from this deep philosophy Mahinda Percy had some cheerful news as well for ordinary folks. Not only will electricity be generated from Norochcholai and Upper Kotmale but oil reserves will be harnessed from the sea of Mannar, he has pledged.
Perhaps our leader would not remember (as he would have been at school at that time) that in the '60s foreign companies hired by the Sri Lanka government drilled the seas off Mannar for quite sometime and gave up because they could not locate these oil reserves. But President Rajapakse and his ministers are a promising lot. Minister for Petroleum Reserves, A.H.M. Fowzie had told reporters last week that a cabinet paper would be presented on offers for oil exploration in the Mannar seas. Apart from oil from Mannar, there was the possibility of oil being found in the Jaffna peninsula and there were southern coastal oil reserves as well, the optimistic Fowzie had said. So far the only oil that has come from Jaffna is gingelly oil while from the south is the oil from the coconut mills of Matara. We wish Rajapakse, Fowzie and others all the very best.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Srilanka's Democracy is dead says LMD-TNS survey
In an exclusive island-wide survey commissioned by LMD and conducted by TNS Lanka, more than half of those polled believe that true democracy does not prevail in Sri Lanka, leading business magazine LMD reports, in its February issue.
“The ongoing war, human-rights violations and the absence of freedom of speech all indicate that our ‘democratic socialist republic’ is not really any of these! But surprisingly perhaps, a third of respondents say they live freely and enjoy freedom of expression,” says the pioneering business journal.
According to an LMD-commissioned TNS Lanka island-wide poll, nearly half those polled believe that the judiciary and civic leaders must take the initiative to restore true democracy in our country, while some think that the general public and the media should also play a part in this process – “However, they do not put their faith in either public-interest groups or the business community being able to take the initiative in such a scenario. Forty-five per cent of respondents to the survey call for legal action to be taken against any violation of the democratic process”, LMD’s Talking Point column observes.
TNS Lanka, which undertakes the monthly opinion poll for LMD, asked respondents whether the country has made progress since independence. “Most people (56 per cent, to be precise) agree that Sri Lanka has made some progress since 1948, citing the education and health sectors in particular,” LMD reports.
“Western-style of democracy does not suit Asian countries, or so it seems,” a spokesman for LMD’s publisher Media Services says. He adds: “But there are some who maintain that if properly implemented, the system would work perfectly in Sri Lanka.”
“The ongoing war, human-rights violations and the absence of freedom of speech all indicate that our ‘democratic socialist republic’ is not really any of these! But surprisingly perhaps, a third of respondents say they live freely and enjoy freedom of expression,” says the pioneering business journal.
According to an LMD-commissioned TNS Lanka island-wide poll, nearly half those polled believe that the judiciary and civic leaders must take the initiative to restore true democracy in our country, while some think that the general public and the media should also play a part in this process – “However, they do not put their faith in either public-interest groups or the business community being able to take the initiative in such a scenario. Forty-five per cent of respondents to the survey call for legal action to be taken against any violation of the democratic process”, LMD’s Talking Point column observes.
TNS Lanka, which undertakes the monthly opinion poll for LMD, asked respondents whether the country has made progress since independence. “Most people (56 per cent, to be precise) agree that Sri Lanka has made some progress since 1948, citing the education and health sectors in particular,” LMD reports.
“Western-style of democracy does not suit Asian countries, or so it seems,” a spokesman for LMD’s publisher Media Services says. He adds: “But there are some who maintain that if properly implemented, the system would work perfectly in Sri Lanka.”
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
British Tamils mark Sri Lanka's '60 years of Oppression'
Tamil expatriates in Britain marked Sri Lanka's independence day with protests and publicity campaigns highlighting '60 years of oppression'. Hundreds of Tamils participated in a lively demonstration outside 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence. Another group of expatriates hosted a major photo exhibition of Sri Lanka's post-independence history highlighting the state's repression of the Tamils. The British Tamils photo exhibition staged with the professed aim of informing the second-generation of Tamils in the UK about the past six decades of 'oppression, ethnic cleansing and discrimination that the Tamil community has faced at the hands of the sovereign state of Sri Lanka' was staged near the British parliament.
The exhibition highlighted the destruction and suffering of the post-independence anti-Tamil riots, the state's crushing of Tamil democratic protests, the outlawing of democratic articulation of independence, the destruction of Tamil homes, places of worship and cultural icons, like the Jaffna library.The all day event at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster drew curious visitors from the British public as well as several MPs, including Joan Ryan MP (North Enfield), Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North) and Robert Evans MEP (London), organisers said.“Over a thousand visitors from various communities walked patiently viewing the photos that were explained by volunteers,” the BTF statement said.The Sri Lankan High Commission had put extreme pressure on the venue's management to cancel the event, claiming the exhibition was supporting terrorism, sources saidHowever the venue had pointed out that British security forces had not objected to the Tamil event, sources said.A British Tamils Forum statement said the organisation “intends to organise the same at various major cities in the UK, Europe and through our Sister Associations in countries like Canada, Australian, US and South Africa.”Meanwhile, hundreds of Tamils protested outside the British Prime Minister's residence, 10 Downing Street. Chanting slogans and holding banners protesting Sri Lanka's “state terror” and “60 years of Oppression”.The protestors were entertained by a street drama with actors parodying the statements of Sri Lanka's militarist President, Mahinda Rajapakse.
The exhibition highlighted the destruction and suffering of the post-independence anti-Tamil riots, the state's crushing of Tamil democratic protests, the outlawing of democratic articulation of independence, the destruction of Tamil homes, places of worship and cultural icons, like the Jaffna library.The all day event at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster drew curious visitors from the British public as well as several MPs, including Joan Ryan MP (North Enfield), Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North) and Robert Evans MEP (London), organisers said.“Over a thousand visitors from various communities walked patiently viewing the photos that were explained by volunteers,” the BTF statement said.The Sri Lankan High Commission had put extreme pressure on the venue's management to cancel the event, claiming the exhibition was supporting terrorism, sources saidHowever the venue had pointed out that British security forces had not objected to the Tamil event, sources said.A British Tamils Forum statement said the organisation “intends to organise the same at various major cities in the UK, Europe and through our Sister Associations in countries like Canada, Australian, US and South Africa.”Meanwhile, hundreds of Tamils protested outside the British Prime Minister's residence, 10 Downing Street. Chanting slogans and holding banners protesting Sri Lanka's “state terror” and “60 years of Oppression”.The protestors were entertained by a street drama with actors parodying the statements of Sri Lanka's militarist President, Mahinda Rajapakse.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Srilankan Independance
Thousands of civilians, troops and Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed since a 2002 truce gave way to renewed civil war.
Hundreds of thousands uprooted
Thousands of child soldiers recruited
At least 1 million mines laid
The United Nations estimates more than 500,000 people are displaced across the island due to war past and present and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Violence first erupted in 1983. Since then, some 70,000 people have been killed in fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels who want an independent state in the north and east of the island.
Landmines and explosive debris have left large areas uninhabitable. The fighting has also laid waste to agricultural land, contributing to child malnutrition. One of the biggest tragedies has been the rebels' use of child soldiers, some as young as nine.
The conflict has its roots in ethnic tension between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the mainly Hindu Tamil minority who accuse the government of discrimination.
A ceasefire was agreed in 2002 and the rebels dropped their demand for an independent state, settling for regional autonomy.
But violence has surged since the end of 2005 and the Tigers have reverted to their original demand for all-out independence. The government declared the truce dead at the beginning of 2008.
key facts
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE (IDPs)
Total IDPs in 2006
650,000 (Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre 2007)
Total refugees abroad 2006
116,966 (Source: UNHCR)
MALNUTRITION
Percentage of underweight under-fives 1996-2005
29 (UNICEF 2007 report)
Percentage of undernourished population 2002-2004
22 (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation 2006)
CHILD SOLDIERS
Recruitment
3,883 cases reported from Feb 2002-2005 to UNICEF, which believes the actual figure is more than three times higher.
LANDMINES
Casualties in 2006
64, of which 27 killed and 37 injured (See Landmine Monitor 2007 report)
Hundreds of thousands uprooted
Thousands of child soldiers recruited
At least 1 million mines laid
The United Nations estimates more than 500,000 people are displaced across the island due to war past and present and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Violence first erupted in 1983. Since then, some 70,000 people have been killed in fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels who want an independent state in the north and east of the island.
Landmines and explosive debris have left large areas uninhabitable. The fighting has also laid waste to agricultural land, contributing to child malnutrition. One of the biggest tragedies has been the rebels' use of child soldiers, some as young as nine.
The conflict has its roots in ethnic tension between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and the mainly Hindu Tamil minority who accuse the government of discrimination.
A ceasefire was agreed in 2002 and the rebels dropped their demand for an independent state, settling for regional autonomy.
But violence has surged since the end of 2005 and the Tigers have reverted to their original demand for all-out independence. The government declared the truce dead at the beginning of 2008.
key facts
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE (IDPs)
Total IDPs in 2006
650,000 (Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre 2007)
Total refugees abroad 2006
116,966 (Source: UNHCR)
MALNUTRITION
Percentage of underweight under-fives 1996-2005
29 (UNICEF 2007 report)
Percentage of undernourished population 2002-2004
22 (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation 2006)
CHILD SOLDIERS
Recruitment
3,883 cases reported from Feb 2002-2005 to UNICEF, which believes the actual figure is more than three times higher.
LANDMINES
Casualties in 2006
64, of which 27 killed and 37 injured (See Landmine Monitor 2007 report)
Friday, February 01, 2008
Sri Lanka: Truce End Shows Need for UN Monitors
The imminent departure of Norwegian-led monitors from Sri Lanka highlights the need for a UN human rights monitoring mission, Human Rights Watch said today. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is leaving because of the Sri Lankan government’s decision to end the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Now the need for a UN monitoring mission is greater than ever.
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch
“The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was deeply flawed, but its monitors helped to minimize abuses against civilians,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Now the need for a UN monitoring mission is greater than ever.” The Sri Lankan government announced its withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement on January 2, 2008, hours after a bomb attack on an army bus in the capital, Colombo, killed one soldier and three civilians, and wounded 28 others, mostly civilians. The ceasefire had largely been ignored by both the government and the armed secessionist LTTE since major new fighting broke out in mid-2006. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was created under the ceasefire agreement to monitor truce violations, including killings of civilians, by the government and the LTTE. Originally consisting of about 60 monitors from five Nordic countries, the mission was scaled down to 20 monitors from Norway and 10 from Iceland in 2005 after the European Union proscribed the LTTE, which then demanded that Nordic EU members leave the mission. But even at full strength, the mission never had the appropriate mandate or capacity to play a strong protection role. Both the government and the LTTE frequently ignored its recommendations, and its monitors were often denied access to areas where serious incidents had occurred (including, for instance, to Mutur in Trincomalee district, after 17 humanitarian workers were murdered in August 2006.) Nonetheless, individual monitors often showed initiative at the local level that provided some measure of protection for those at risk. “Civilians caught up in the fighting will have a harder time finding safety once the monitors have withdrawn,” said Pearson. Human Rights Watch called on both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to immediately implement practical measures to protect civilians from continuing armed hostilities. The government and the LTTE should:
Agree to the establishment of a United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka;
Designate demilitarized zones as sanctuaries in conflict areas and pre-position humanitarian relief in known places of refuge;
Improve humanitarian access to populations at risk, including by ending unnecessary restrictions on humanitarian agencies;
Whenever possible, provide effective advance warning of military operations, both broadly – through loudspeakers, radio announcements or leaflets – and directly through messages to community leaders; and
Appoint local civilian liaison officers who are known and accessible to local communities and have sufficient rank to ensure that community concerns are heeded.
Now the need for a UN monitoring mission is greater than ever.
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch
“The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was deeply flawed, but its monitors helped to minimize abuses against civilians,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Now the need for a UN monitoring mission is greater than ever.” The Sri Lankan government announced its withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement on January 2, 2008, hours after a bomb attack on an army bus in the capital, Colombo, killed one soldier and three civilians, and wounded 28 others, mostly civilians. The ceasefire had largely been ignored by both the government and the armed secessionist LTTE since major new fighting broke out in mid-2006. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission was created under the ceasefire agreement to monitor truce violations, including killings of civilians, by the government and the LTTE. Originally consisting of about 60 monitors from five Nordic countries, the mission was scaled down to 20 monitors from Norway and 10 from Iceland in 2005 after the European Union proscribed the LTTE, which then demanded that Nordic EU members leave the mission. But even at full strength, the mission never had the appropriate mandate or capacity to play a strong protection role. Both the government and the LTTE frequently ignored its recommendations, and its monitors were often denied access to areas where serious incidents had occurred (including, for instance, to Mutur in Trincomalee district, after 17 humanitarian workers were murdered in August 2006.) Nonetheless, individual monitors often showed initiative at the local level that provided some measure of protection for those at risk. “Civilians caught up in the fighting will have a harder time finding safety once the monitors have withdrawn,” said Pearson. Human Rights Watch called on both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE to immediately implement practical measures to protect civilians from continuing armed hostilities. The government and the LTTE should:
Agree to the establishment of a United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka;
Designate demilitarized zones as sanctuaries in conflict areas and pre-position humanitarian relief in known places of refuge;
Improve humanitarian access to populations at risk, including by ending unnecessary restrictions on humanitarian agencies;
Whenever possible, provide effective advance warning of military operations, both broadly – through loudspeakers, radio announcements or leaflets – and directly through messages to community leaders; and
Appoint local civilian liaison officers who are known and accessible to local communities and have sufficient rank to ensure that community concerns are heeded.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
SLA dumps dead soldiers in the stretches of Arippu
Sri Lanka Army in Mannaar, while under-reporting their casualties in the fighting, has been dumping tractor-loads of dead soldiers in the delta of Aruvi Aa'ru (Malwattu Oya), the area emptied of people after capturing it from the LTTE last year. Two Sri Lanka Army soldiers, escaping from the battlefield with the help of local residents have said that their fellow troopers killed in the battle were being dumped near a coconut palm grove at Ooral, a locality 1 km south of Aruvi Aa'ru and few kilometers east of the coastline between Arippu and Chilaavatturai. Hundreds of wounded SLA soldiers were sent to various hospitals in the adjacent district headquarters and in the South while their fellow soldiers who died in the battlefield did not receive military honors or proper funeral, reportedly according to instructions from the top. The dead are included in the list of deserted soldiers.Medical sources in Mannaar, Anuradhapura and Vavuniyaa, while confirming that many wounded soldiers have been brought in for treatment, indicated that dead bodies of soldiers were brought in only rarely.The dead bodies were transported in tractors through Uyilangku'lam junction from the battlefield to the banks of Aruvi Aa'ru.
LTTE Political Head writes to UN Secretary General
Liberation Tigers Political Head B. Nadesan, in a letter to United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, bringing attention to the Claymore attack by the Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit in Madu, urged the UN Secretary to "recognize Tamil sovereignty as a constructive approach to end the unending five decades long, large scale, and serious rights violations against the Tamil people." Stating that the Tigers have ensured that there was no underage members in the movement and that the LTTE has respected the efforts made by the international community to rectify the rights situation, Mr. Nadesan said the LTTE has "demonstrated its readiness to cooperate with the international community." Full text of the letter released to media by the LTTE Peace Secretariat follows:
"On 28 January 2008 at 2.30pm, a Sri Lankan military Deep Penetration Unit attacked a civilian bus on the Madhu-Palampiddy road in the Mannar district killing eighteen civilians including twelve children. The attackers would have known that buses at that time carry school children returning home from school. This attack on a bus with scores of children, therefore, deliberately targeted the children. Among the eighteen civilians killed were twelve children aged from 8 to 16."Just three weeks ago on 4 January, in an aerial bombing of Uppupukulam village in the Mullaithivu district, seven children ranging in age from 3 to 16 were among those injured. Just two months ago, on 27 November, in another claymore attack on a van arrying school children trained in first aid, six children were among those killed. On that same day in an aerial bombing of the Voice of Tigers radio building three children traveling on the road were among those killed. Just two days prior to this, in an aerial bombing on the village of Tharmapuram in the Mullaithivu district three children were among those killed. On the 8th of that same month one child was killed and another lost his leg in an aerial bombing of the village of Alampil in the Mullaithivu district."The deliberate targeting of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan State has continued even through the nearly six year period of the ceasefire agreement signed in February 2002. Since the present President of Sri Lanka took office in November 2005, 2056 Tamil civilians including 132 Tamil children have been massacred by the Sri Lankan State forces."The pace of civilian killing by the Sri Lankan State, after unilaterally abrogating the ceasefire agreement of February 2002, after evicting the ceasefire monitoring mission, the SLMM, and after adamantly refusing to allow UN human rights monitoring body continues to increase. The response of the Sri Lankan State to the concerns raised by senior UN officials about the rights violations has been uncivilized to say the least. It has responded to the concerns raised by many senior UN officials by calling these UN officials "terrorists" and "colonizers". In effect the Sri Lankan State is repulsing all efforts by the international community to rectify the appalling rights situation in this island."The Sri Lankan State unilaterally abrogated many of the agreements that were made even within the six year ceasefire period. These include, agreement reached during the early peace talks to address the immediate humanitarian needs of the war affected Tamils, agreement reached on de-escalation according to the ceasefire, and the agreement signed for rebuilding the tsunami affected areas."We wish to emphasize to you that all along we have respected the efforts made by the international community to rectify the rights situation and to bring peace in this island. Respecting the international norms we have entirely eliminated those under the age of 18 becoming members of our organization."We have consistently called for the 100 percent implementation of the internationally supported ceasefire agreement of February 2002 for regaining the rights of the Tamils. We also cooperated fully with the Norwegian facilitators, respecting the wishes of the international community, in drafting and implementing the above mentioned agreements, that on immediate humanitarian relief, that on de-escalation and that on post tsunami reconstruction, that were later abrogated by the Sri Lankan State."It should be obvious to the international community by now that our organization has demonstrated its readiness to cooperate with the international community. It should also be obvious to the international community that there is only one path open to regain the rights of the Tamil people and that is for the international community to recognize the sovereignty of the Tamil nation."We, therefore, urge you to consider recognizing Tamil sovereignty as a constructive approach to end the unending five decades long, large scale, and serious rights violations against the Tamil people."
"On 28 January 2008 at 2.30pm, a Sri Lankan military Deep Penetration Unit attacked a civilian bus on the Madhu-Palampiddy road in the Mannar district killing eighteen civilians including twelve children. The attackers would have known that buses at that time carry school children returning home from school. This attack on a bus with scores of children, therefore, deliberately targeted the children. Among the eighteen civilians killed were twelve children aged from 8 to 16."Just three weeks ago on 4 January, in an aerial bombing of Uppupukulam village in the Mullaithivu district, seven children ranging in age from 3 to 16 were among those injured. Just two months ago, on 27 November, in another claymore attack on a van arrying school children trained in first aid, six children were among those killed. On that same day in an aerial bombing of the Voice of Tigers radio building three children traveling on the road were among those killed. Just two days prior to this, in an aerial bombing on the village of Tharmapuram in the Mullaithivu district three children were among those killed. On the 8th of that same month one child was killed and another lost his leg in an aerial bombing of the village of Alampil in the Mullaithivu district."The deliberate targeting of Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan State has continued even through the nearly six year period of the ceasefire agreement signed in February 2002. Since the present President of Sri Lanka took office in November 2005, 2056 Tamil civilians including 132 Tamil children have been massacred by the Sri Lankan State forces."The pace of civilian killing by the Sri Lankan State, after unilaterally abrogating the ceasefire agreement of February 2002, after evicting the ceasefire monitoring mission, the SLMM, and after adamantly refusing to allow UN human rights monitoring body continues to increase. The response of the Sri Lankan State to the concerns raised by senior UN officials about the rights violations has been uncivilized to say the least. It has responded to the concerns raised by many senior UN officials by calling these UN officials "terrorists" and "colonizers". In effect the Sri Lankan State is repulsing all efforts by the international community to rectify the appalling rights situation in this island."The Sri Lankan State unilaterally abrogated many of the agreements that were made even within the six year ceasefire period. These include, agreement reached during the early peace talks to address the immediate humanitarian needs of the war affected Tamils, agreement reached on de-escalation according to the ceasefire, and the agreement signed for rebuilding the tsunami affected areas."We wish to emphasize to you that all along we have respected the efforts made by the international community to rectify the rights situation and to bring peace in this island. Respecting the international norms we have entirely eliminated those under the age of 18 becoming members of our organization."We have consistently called for the 100 percent implementation of the internationally supported ceasefire agreement of February 2002 for regaining the rights of the Tamils. We also cooperated fully with the Norwegian facilitators, respecting the wishes of the international community, in drafting and implementing the above mentioned agreements, that on immediate humanitarian relief, that on de-escalation and that on post tsunami reconstruction, that were later abrogated by the Sri Lankan State."It should be obvious to the international community by now that our organization has demonstrated its readiness to cooperate with the international community. It should also be obvious to the international community that there is only one path open to regain the rights of the Tamil people and that is for the international community to recognize the sovereignty of the Tamil nation."We, therefore, urge you to consider recognizing Tamil sovereignty as a constructive approach to end the unending five decades long, large scale, and serious rights violations against the Tamil people."
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Contain threats against media, RSF appeals to Rajapakse
Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), a Paris-based media watchdog, expressing concern over escalating threats and violence against media personnel in Sri Lanka, in a press release issued Tuesday appealing to Mr Rajapakse, said: "Mr. President, it is not yet too late to restrain those of your close associates and political allies who sow trouble and fear among journalists," and added, "The violent behaviour of the men employed by some of your ministers is bringing the government into disrepute, a situation that will be hard to redress if nothing is done." Full text of the press release follows:
Irresponsible comments and actions by ministers endanger journalists
Reporters Without Borders appealed today to President Mahinda Rajapakse to rein in various government ministers whose inflammatory comments and incitements to violence have serious threatened the safety of dozens of Sri Lankan journalists."Mr. President, it is not yet too late to restrain those of your close associates and political allies who sow trouble and fear among journalists," the press freedom organisation said. "The violent behaviour of the men employed by some of your ministers is bringing the government into disrepute, a situation that will be hard to redress if nothing is done."The defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the president’s brother, said in an interview in the Sunday Lankadeepa on 27 January: "Journalists should not be allowed to write about military matters. Strong action ought to be taken against those who do. We should return to the laws that criminalize defamation in order to punish those who try to murder us." He also criticised the Wijeya and Maharajah private press groups.Thugs working for labour minister Mervyn Silva, who is well known for his racist comments about Tamils and his diatribes against journalists, were probably responsible for the stabbing of Lal Hemantha Mawalage, a journalist employed by state broadcaster Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), on 25 January.Two men on a motorcycle, who were armed with knives, ambushed and attacked Mawalage as he was returning home on the outskirts of Colombo. He and his son managed to hide in a forest until the police came. He was hospitalised with stab wounds to the hands and body.Mawalage told several journalists he had received death threats in the weeks that followed the violence at SLRC headquarters on 27 December, when Silva ordered his men to beat up the channel’s news director T. M. G. Chandrasekara. Terrified at the possibility of further reprisals, Chandrasekara recently asked to be relieved of his post.After that incident, Reporters Without Borders contacted presidential aides to express concern about the threats to SLRC journalists.On 7 January, social welfare minister Douglas Devananda, who is also the head of the pro-governmental EPDP militia, accused journalists working for Minnal, a Tamil programme on Shakthi TV, of orchestrating an interview with a Tamil opposition parliamentarian at the behest of the Tamil Tigers rebels. In the interview, conducted a few days before he was murdered in Colombo, the parliamentarian told the station he was being threatened by the EPDP.Devananda called on the police to investigate the programme’s journalists, especially Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam. Following his comments, demonstrations were held in various parts of the country to defend Minnal, which is one of the few remaining Tamil programmes to cover politics in an independent manner.Devananda’s thugs are also suspected of being responsible for the threatening phone call made on 6 January to the Jaffna-based daily Uthayan. The call came from Kayts, an island controlled by the EPDP. Uthayan editors told Reporters Without Borders they feared for the safety of their employees.Another journalist, Suhaib Kasim, a former senior member of the staff of the Tamil-language daily Thinakaran, was stabbed by unidentified assailants at his Colombo home yesterday. The motive of the attack is not known.
Irresponsible comments and actions by ministers endanger journalists
Reporters Without Borders appealed today to President Mahinda Rajapakse to rein in various government ministers whose inflammatory comments and incitements to violence have serious threatened the safety of dozens of Sri Lankan journalists."Mr. President, it is not yet too late to restrain those of your close associates and political allies who sow trouble and fear among journalists," the press freedom organisation said. "The violent behaviour of the men employed by some of your ministers is bringing the government into disrepute, a situation that will be hard to redress if nothing is done."The defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the president’s brother, said in an interview in the Sunday Lankadeepa on 27 January: "Journalists should not be allowed to write about military matters. Strong action ought to be taken against those who do. We should return to the laws that criminalize defamation in order to punish those who try to murder us." He also criticised the Wijeya and Maharajah private press groups.Thugs working for labour minister Mervyn Silva, who is well known for his racist comments about Tamils and his diatribes against journalists, were probably responsible for the stabbing of Lal Hemantha Mawalage, a journalist employed by state broadcaster Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), on 25 January.Two men on a motorcycle, who were armed with knives, ambushed and attacked Mawalage as he was returning home on the outskirts of Colombo. He and his son managed to hide in a forest until the police came. He was hospitalised with stab wounds to the hands and body.Mawalage told several journalists he had received death threats in the weeks that followed the violence at SLRC headquarters on 27 December, when Silva ordered his men to beat up the channel’s news director T. M. G. Chandrasekara. Terrified at the possibility of further reprisals, Chandrasekara recently asked to be relieved of his post.After that incident, Reporters Without Borders contacted presidential aides to express concern about the threats to SLRC journalists.On 7 January, social welfare minister Douglas Devananda, who is also the head of the pro-governmental EPDP militia, accused journalists working for Minnal, a Tamil programme on Shakthi TV, of orchestrating an interview with a Tamil opposition parliamentarian at the behest of the Tamil Tigers rebels. In the interview, conducted a few days before he was murdered in Colombo, the parliamentarian told the station he was being threatened by the EPDP.Devananda called on the police to investigate the programme’s journalists, especially Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam. Following his comments, demonstrations were held in various parts of the country to defend Minnal, which is one of the few remaining Tamil programmes to cover politics in an independent manner.Devananda’s thugs are also suspected of being responsible for the threatening phone call made on 6 January to the Jaffna-based daily Uthayan. The call came from Kayts, an island controlled by the EPDP. Uthayan editors told Reporters Without Borders they feared for the safety of their employees.Another journalist, Suhaib Kasim, a former senior member of the staff of the Tamil-language daily Thinakaran, was stabbed by unidentified assailants at his Colombo home yesterday. The motive of the attack is not known.
SLA attacks bus carrying school children in Madu, 17 killed, 17 wounded
At least 11 school children, principal of the displaced Chinna Pandivirichchaan school and two teachers were killed and 17 wounded when a Deep Penetration Unit of Sri Lanka Army triggered a Claymore mine targeting the bus carrying school children in Madu division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam controlled territory Tuesday at 2:25 p.m. Pa'l'lamadu hospital authorities told TamilNet that 11 of 17 killed in the attack were school children. The bus was 1 km away from Madu church, after having picked up the children at Thadcha'naamaruthamadu and was on its way to Pa'l'lamadu from Madu. The principal was among the dead. 7 children were critically wounded. 12 of the 17 wounded were in critical state. Officials at the Mannaar Operations Command of the LTTE said they had spoiled a number of attempts by the SLA DPU teams to infiltrate and place Claymore mines along the roads within the past 3 months
Monday, January 28, 2008
Cancelled Canadian radar program is Sri Lanka's gain
A high-tech radar capable of monitoring small boats operated by drug dealers and terrorists and developed with Canadian tax dollars is being installed in Sri Lanka after the federal government decided it couldn't use the system.
The high-frequency surface wave radar, developed at a cost of $39 million by Ottawa defence scientists and Raytheon Canada Limited, had been hailed several years ago by federal officials as the only one of its kind in the world and a major boost for domestic security.
The federal government set aside $43 million to build and operate eight radar sites on the East and West Coasts as part of its push to improve security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the U.S.
But the government has shut down the existing experimental radar sites in Newfoundland and the program has been cancelled. The project was derailed after one complaint was received that the radar interfered with civilian communications. The experimental radars had been operating for 10 years without a complaint.
But Raytheon Canada, which builds the high-frequency surface wave radar, is pushing ahead with marketing the system to other nations. It has sold the radar to Sri Lanka with the help of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown agency that helps firms market their products overseas. Other international customers are being lined up, said Raytheon Canada vice president Denny Roberts.
"The technology works," said Roberts. "Other countries don't seem to have a problem with it."
Roberts said the U.S. State Department informed the company on Jan. 15 that the high-frequency radar is not subject to U.S. government regulations since it is designed to track vessels within a nation's own waters and because of that is not considered military equipment.
In the past the State Department has prevented sales of Canadian defence products to other countries by citing regulations which can limit where equipment with U.S.-made parts might be sold.
Raytheon Canada, which is owned by a U.S. parent corporation, will now boost its marketing efforts on the high-frequency radar. "Now that means that all my people in Raytheon will be clued in to sell it worldwide," Roberts said.
Other nations besides Sri Lanka have expressed an interest in purchasing the radar.
The radar is unique in that it can track ships at much greater distances than regular surveillance systems. It can detect objects as far away as 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from Canada's coasts.
The information gathered by the radar network was to have been fed into the navy's surveillance centres in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C. and shared with various federal agencies.
Canada has been leading development in the area of surface wave radar technology. The British government built a surface wave radar system during the Second World War, but it had limited range.
The technology had not been fully exploited in the aftermath of the war, but with recent advances in computer processing, scientists from Defence Research and Development Canada's Ottawa laboratories decided to revisit the idea.
DRDC Ottawa, one of the Defence Department's research branches, played a key role in developing the new radar system.
The system transmits high-frequency waves that follow the curvature of the Earth to detect and track objects hundreds of kilometres over the horizon. Regular radars are restricted to objects in their line of sight on the horizon. To gain its advantage, the high-frequency surface wave radar uses the ocean as a conducting surface to increase its range.
The main problem according to defence officials, is that Industry Canada is concerned the frequency the radar operates on could interfere with civilian communications. Under international communications agreements, the Canadian government has little choice but to deal with the matter and cannot simply ignore the problem, according to military officials.
But some defence analysts and industry representatives have said the easy way around that is to set aside higher frequencies, not used that often for civilian communications, exclusively for security use.
Industry officials said that the government may fund a research program in the coming months to try to work on getting the radars operating for Canadian use.
The Canadian navy had been hoping the radars would cut down on surveillance costs, in particular the flying time of Aurora maritime patrol planes. The radar could be used to pinpoint suspicious ships, after which Aurora aircraft could be directed to those vessels to conduct further surveillance
-David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
The high-frequency surface wave radar, developed at a cost of $39 million by Ottawa defence scientists and Raytheon Canada Limited, had been hailed several years ago by federal officials as the only one of its kind in the world and a major boost for domestic security.
The federal government set aside $43 million to build and operate eight radar sites on the East and West Coasts as part of its push to improve security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the U.S.
But the government has shut down the existing experimental radar sites in Newfoundland and the program has been cancelled. The project was derailed after one complaint was received that the radar interfered with civilian communications. The experimental radars had been operating for 10 years without a complaint.
But Raytheon Canada, which builds the high-frequency surface wave radar, is pushing ahead with marketing the system to other nations. It has sold the radar to Sri Lanka with the help of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown agency that helps firms market their products overseas. Other international customers are being lined up, said Raytheon Canada vice president Denny Roberts.
"The technology works," said Roberts. "Other countries don't seem to have a problem with it."
Roberts said the U.S. State Department informed the company on Jan. 15 that the high-frequency radar is not subject to U.S. government regulations since it is designed to track vessels within a nation's own waters and because of that is not considered military equipment.
In the past the State Department has prevented sales of Canadian defence products to other countries by citing regulations which can limit where equipment with U.S.-made parts might be sold.
Raytheon Canada, which is owned by a U.S. parent corporation, will now boost its marketing efforts on the high-frequency radar. "Now that means that all my people in Raytheon will be clued in to sell it worldwide," Roberts said.
Other nations besides Sri Lanka have expressed an interest in purchasing the radar.
The radar is unique in that it can track ships at much greater distances than regular surveillance systems. It can detect objects as far away as 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from Canada's coasts.
The information gathered by the radar network was to have been fed into the navy's surveillance centres in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C. and shared with various federal agencies.
Canada has been leading development in the area of surface wave radar technology. The British government built a surface wave radar system during the Second World War, but it had limited range.
The technology had not been fully exploited in the aftermath of the war, but with recent advances in computer processing, scientists from Defence Research and Development Canada's Ottawa laboratories decided to revisit the idea.
DRDC Ottawa, one of the Defence Department's research branches, played a key role in developing the new radar system.
The system transmits high-frequency waves that follow the curvature of the Earth to detect and track objects hundreds of kilometres over the horizon. Regular radars are restricted to objects in their line of sight on the horizon. To gain its advantage, the high-frequency surface wave radar uses the ocean as a conducting surface to increase its range.
The main problem according to defence officials, is that Industry Canada is concerned the frequency the radar operates on could interfere with civilian communications. Under international communications agreements, the Canadian government has little choice but to deal with the matter and cannot simply ignore the problem, according to military officials.
But some defence analysts and industry representatives have said the easy way around that is to set aside higher frequencies, not used that often for civilian communications, exclusively for security use.
Industry officials said that the government may fund a research program in the coming months to try to work on getting the radars operating for Canadian use.
The Canadian navy had been hoping the radars would cut down on surveillance costs, in particular the flying time of Aurora maritime patrol planes. The radar could be used to pinpoint suspicious ships, after which Aurora aircraft could be directed to those vessels to conduct further surveillance
-David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Radar fell off screen at home, but sells well in Sri Lanka
A high-tech radar capable of monitoring small boats operated by drug dealers and terrorists and developed with Canadian tax dollars is being installed in Sri Lanka after the federal government decided it couldn't use the system.
The high-frequency surface wave radar, developed at a cost of $39 million by Ottawa defence scientists and Raytheon Canada, had been hailed several years ago by federal officials as the only one of its kind in the world and a major boost for domestic security.
The federal government set aside $43 million to build and operate eight radar sites on the East and West coasts as part of its push to improve security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the U.S.
But the government has shut down the existing experimental radar sites in Newfoundland and the program has been cancelled.
The project was derailed after one complaint was received that the radar interfered with civilian communications. The experimental radars had been operating for 10 years without a complaint.
But Raytheon Canada, which builds the high-frequency surface wave radar, is pushing ahead with marketing the system to other nations. It has sold the radar to Sri Lanka with the help of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown agency that helps firms market their products overseas. Other international customers are being lined up, said Raytheon Canada vice-president Denny Roberts.
"The technology works," said Mr. Roberts. "Other countries don't seem to have a problem with it."
Mr. Roberts said the U.S. State Department informed the company Jan. 15 that the high-frequency radar is not subject to U.S. government regulations since it is designed to track vessels within a nation's own waters and because of that is not considered military equipment. In the past, the State Department has prevented sales of Canadian defence products to other countries by citing regulations that can limit where equipment with U.S.-made parts might be sold.
Raytheon Canada, which is owned by a U.S. parent corporation, will now boost its marketing efforts on the high-frequency radar. "Now that means that all my people in Raytheon will be clued in to sell it worldwide," Mr. Roberts said.
Other nations besides Sri Lanka have expressed an interest in purchasing the radar.
The radar is unique in that it can track ships at much greater distances than regular surveillance systems. It can detect objects as far away as 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) offshore.
The information gathered by the radar network was to have been fed into the navy's surveillance centres in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C., and shared with various federal agencies.
Canada has been leading development in the area of surface wave radar technology. The British government built a surface wave radar system during the Second World War, but it had limited range. The technology had not been fully exploited in the aftermath of the war, but with recent advances in computer processing, scientists from Defence Research and Development Canada's Ottawa laboratories decided to revisit the idea.
The high-frequency surface wave radar, developed at a cost of $39 million by Ottawa defence scientists and Raytheon Canada, had been hailed several years ago by federal officials as the only one of its kind in the world and a major boost for domestic security.
The federal government set aside $43 million to build and operate eight radar sites on the East and West coasts as part of its push to improve security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the U.S.
But the government has shut down the existing experimental radar sites in Newfoundland and the program has been cancelled.
The project was derailed after one complaint was received that the radar interfered with civilian communications. The experimental radars had been operating for 10 years without a complaint.
But Raytheon Canada, which builds the high-frequency surface wave radar, is pushing ahead with marketing the system to other nations. It has sold the radar to Sri Lanka with the help of the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown agency that helps firms market their products overseas. Other international customers are being lined up, said Raytheon Canada vice-president Denny Roberts.
"The technology works," said Mr. Roberts. "Other countries don't seem to have a problem with it."
Mr. Roberts said the U.S. State Department informed the company Jan. 15 that the high-frequency radar is not subject to U.S. government regulations since it is designed to track vessels within a nation's own waters and because of that is not considered military equipment. In the past, the State Department has prevented sales of Canadian defence products to other countries by citing regulations that can limit where equipment with U.S.-made parts might be sold.
Raytheon Canada, which is owned by a U.S. parent corporation, will now boost its marketing efforts on the high-frequency radar. "Now that means that all my people in Raytheon will be clued in to sell it worldwide," Mr. Roberts said.
Other nations besides Sri Lanka have expressed an interest in purchasing the radar.
The radar is unique in that it can track ships at much greater distances than regular surveillance systems. It can detect objects as far away as 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) offshore.
The information gathered by the radar network was to have been fed into the navy's surveillance centres in Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C., and shared with various federal agencies.
Canada has been leading development in the area of surface wave radar technology. The British government built a surface wave radar system during the Second World War, but it had limited range. The technology had not been fully exploited in the aftermath of the war, but with recent advances in computer processing, scientists from Defence Research and Development Canada's Ottawa laboratories decided to revisit the idea.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Man on Mars???
The image, taken by Nasa's Mars Explorer Spirit, seems to show a figure on the surface of the red planet.
However the more sceptical have decided that it is just a rock.
At first astronomers were disappointed with pictures sent back from the surface of the Red Planet by the six-wheel robot four years ago.
But a space fan spotted the figure, which was just a pinprick in the original photograph. It was blown up and posted on a website.
One stargazer writes on the site: "My first thought - it's Big Foot! If you show me another rock in another photo from Mars or Earth that naturally looks like that, I will reconsider."
Another said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked and saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars."
Experts say that if the planet once had surface water, there was the potential to support life.
Analysis of soil showed it contained 90% silica - a concentration only likely to have formed when water is present.
But as to whether there are likely to be aliens moving around, opinion is clearly divided.
However the more sceptical have decided that it is just a rock.
At first astronomers were disappointed with pictures sent back from the surface of the Red Planet by the six-wheel robot four years ago.
But a space fan spotted the figure, which was just a pinprick in the original photograph. It was blown up and posted on a website.
One stargazer writes on the site: "My first thought - it's Big Foot! If you show me another rock in another photo from Mars or Earth that naturally looks like that, I will reconsider."
Another said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked and saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars."
Experts say that if the planet once had surface water, there was the potential to support life.
Analysis of soil showed it contained 90% silica - a concentration only likely to have formed when water is present.
But as to whether there are likely to be aliens moving around, opinion is clearly divided.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sri Lanka: Criminal Investigations Need Monitoring
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
ASIA/SRI LANKA: UN human rights monitoring urgently needed to resuscitate criminal investigations
The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly supports the call for a human rights monitoring mission by the United Nations as a measure to resuscitate the severely damaged criminal investigation capacity of the Sri Lankan policing system.
The state, as the sovereign, owes an obligation to investigate into all crimes irrespective as to whether these are done by organised criminal gangs, terrorists or state agencies themselves. This obligation implies that there needs to be a competent and impartial criminal investigation branch within the policing system which has not been corrupted or impaired by political interference. There is consensus within Sri Lanka that the capacity of the police investigation system has been gravely diminished due to political interference over several years and that its internal capacity for investigations has become extremely limited. When it comes to organised crimes, acts of terrorists and also extrajudicial acts of the military and the police, the police investigation system has not demonstrated any capacity for effective investigations in recent years.
The inability to ensure effective criminal investigations is a fundamental failure of the state in ensuring security to its people. This situation needs to be cured immediately. A United Nations human rights monitoring body can assist the revival of this system and without such assistance there is no predictable way of how such a revival might happen.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reiterated her call for human rights monitoring in her statement to the Human Rights Council on December 10th 2007.
“I was very pleased to visit Sri Lanka from 9-12 October at the invitation of President Rajapakse and am grateful for the broad access I was given to Government representatives, political parties and members of civil society, including the troubled northern region of Jaffna. I regret not having the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), as I would have liked to convey to them directly my deep concern with their serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including recruitment of children, forced recruitment and abduction of adults, and political killings.
During my visit, I paid special attention to the issue of abductions and disappearances, which have been reported in alarming numbers over the past two years. While the Government pointed to several initiatives it had taken to address these issues, there has yet to be an adequate investigation or credible public accounting for the vast majority of these cases. I am also concerned about safeguards for those detained under the emergency regulations, including during recent mass arrests in Colombo.
Regrettably, the various national institutions and mechanisms that could be expected to safeguard human rights have failed to deliver adequate protection. In particular, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, which had previously enjoyed a proud reputation internationally, has had its independence compromised by the irregular appointment of its Commissioners and the credibility of its work has suffered. Further, despite high expectations, the special Commission of inquiry appointed by the President more than one year ago to investigate high profile killings and disappearances has yet to complete any of its cases. The Eminent Persons invited to observe the Commission have expressed concerns about its compliance with international standards.
In a highly polarized context, where human rights information is easily manipulated for propaganda gains, there is a critical need for an independent actor to gather information and publicly report on the human rights situation. For this reason, I have suggested that the Government would benefit from the support of a presence of OHCHR in the country, with a full mandate incorporating technical assistance and public reporting. Since my visit, my Office has engaged in discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on possible models involving an OHCHR presence working alongside national structures. We have reached no agreement on a formula by which independent, public reporting by OHCHR could be ensured. OHCHR will continue to assist the authorities in strengthening the national human rights system, but this will fall short of meeting the critical protection gap.”
The phantom limb in human rights protection
A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and is moving appropriately with other body parts. The pronouncement of the Sri Lankan government that it has adequate local mechanisms to deal with investigations into human rights violations reflects a similar mentality. The recent statement of Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights is the latest expression of this same mentality. Where are these investigation mechanisms, one may ask and the answer would not be different to one that might come from an amputee who feels as if his missing limb still exists, like the missing limb a credible investigation mechanism simply does not exist.
The amputation of the investigation mechanism for human rights abuses has taken place over a long period of time with the operation of emergency regulations, anti terrorism laws and the deliberate dismantling of the basic institutions of public administration including the institutions of the administration of justice. The large scale killings that took place in 1971 and 1986 to the 1990 period in the south and the continuous repression in the north and east from 1978 to the present day required that no credible investigations could be allowed into allegations of human rights abuses as it would cause unrest in the military and this would affect the stability of the ruling political regimes. The limitations imposed on investigations naturally infected the prosecution system under the Attorney General's Department, which was often required to cooperate in the cover up of the perpetrators and guarantee them impunity. The independence of the judiciary was crushed by the pressures from the presidential system as well as through legal limitations imposed by various constitutional amendments and emergency laws.
The former Supreme Court Judge K.M.M.B. Kulatunga recalls a time when Sri Lanka did have a competent criminal investigations capacity within its police, even to deal with very serious crimes as evidenced in many cases reported in the new law reports. These included political cases such as the assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the attempted coup of 1962. However, this system was seriously interfered with in order to facilitate the causing of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture on a large scale through the police, military and paramilitary groups. Today the system does not have the capacity to even investigate ordinary crimes let alone those crimes done with the connivance of political authorities for military purposes. The ugly situation that prevails is manifested through the constant killing of arrested persons in police custody, allegedly whey they try to throw grenades at police officers while they are taken to find concealed objects. The falsification of information in order to justify crimes committed by state agencies, which would appear to any reasonable person as pathetically ridiculous, is offered in the name of the sovereign state of Sri Lanka by the state agents and its propaganda units.
The phantom limb on criminal investigations in Sri Lanka is manifest daily in many of the statements that come out under various propaganda units such as the Peace Secretariat, the Geneva Consulate, the office of the Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, the Secretariat of Defense and even in the name of the President himself. The claim of the existence of a competent and credible criminal investigation capacity is offered both as a cover up for the incapacity and unwillingness to investigate human rights abuses, as well as to counteract any calls for assistance to the Sri Lankan government by the international community by way of human rights monitoring through the United Nations. The phantom limb mentality prevents the finding of real solutions to the real problems that make Sri Lanka one of the most lawless places in the world.
The Asian Human Rights Commission in the past ten years has consistently pointed out the way the Sri Lankan criminal justice system has become dysfunctional (kindly see http://www.ahrchk.net/pub/ - Sri Lanka's Dysfunctional Criminal Justice System). As long as this situation remains, life will remain a nightmare to all civilians in the country. To this civilian nightmare is now added the targeting of civilians by the LTTE, the government as well as other paramilitary groups which operate freely in the country. This climate is also unscrupulously used naturally by the criminal elements who try to profit from this situation by way of all sorts of crimes including kidnapping for ransom.
It is not possible to protect the people with a phantom limb. The sooner this illusion is demolished the better it will be for all the people of Sri Lanka.
Human rights monitoring and the independence of the judiciary
In the reply of the Sri Lankan government to the High Commissioner’s speech there was an insinuation that such monitoring would infringe upon the sovereignty of Sri Lanka and particularly the independence of the judiciary. There is no basis at all to see a conflict between support for investigations into human rights abuses by the United Nations and the independence of the judiciary. The judicial branch will have all the powers it presently has for pre-trial, trial and appeal functions, as well as other functions under writ jurisdiction and fundamental rights. Human rights monitoring is about how the investigations are done and not about how courts conduct their affairs under the laws of Sri Lanka. The only problem that the human rights monitors would address is the very absence of such investigations, which prevails at present due to problems within the policing system. By engagement in such investigations the present impasse can be addressed and the police themselves will benefit when the likelihood of political interference into investigations is removed. Once United Nations human rights monitors can address the limitations imposed on the Sri Lankan police for political and other reasons, competent Sri Lankan criminal investigators themselves will be able to play their role and regain their lost professional prestige and dignity.
Therefore we call upon the citizens of Sri Lanka to avail themselves of this invitation made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in order to address one of the problems that all citizens are well aware of in terms of the defective policing system of Sri Lanka. Here the country has an opportunity to deal with the problem that has troubled the nation for several decades now. If the country’s criminal investigation section is resuscitated it will be possible for the people to deal with such massive problems as corruption. To defeat corruption is not to defeat sovereignty but to assert it. It is quite clear that what the spokesmen against human rights monitoring are concerned about is not defending the sovereignty of Sri Lanka but defending a bad policing system, abuse of power and the massive corruption that prevails within the country.
ASIA/SRI LANKA: UN human rights monitoring urgently needed to resuscitate criminal investigations
The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly supports the call for a human rights monitoring mission by the United Nations as a measure to resuscitate the severely damaged criminal investigation capacity of the Sri Lankan policing system.
The state, as the sovereign, owes an obligation to investigate into all crimes irrespective as to whether these are done by organised criminal gangs, terrorists or state agencies themselves. This obligation implies that there needs to be a competent and impartial criminal investigation branch within the policing system which has not been corrupted or impaired by political interference. There is consensus within Sri Lanka that the capacity of the police investigation system has been gravely diminished due to political interference over several years and that its internal capacity for investigations has become extremely limited. When it comes to organised crimes, acts of terrorists and also extrajudicial acts of the military and the police, the police investigation system has not demonstrated any capacity for effective investigations in recent years.
The inability to ensure effective criminal investigations is a fundamental failure of the state in ensuring security to its people. This situation needs to be cured immediately. A United Nations human rights monitoring body can assist the revival of this system and without such assistance there is no predictable way of how such a revival might happen.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reiterated her call for human rights monitoring in her statement to the Human Rights Council on December 10th 2007.
“I was very pleased to visit Sri Lanka from 9-12 October at the invitation of President Rajapakse and am grateful for the broad access I was given to Government representatives, political parties and members of civil society, including the troubled northern region of Jaffna. I regret not having the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), as I would have liked to convey to them directly my deep concern with their serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, including recruitment of children, forced recruitment and abduction of adults, and political killings.
During my visit, I paid special attention to the issue of abductions and disappearances, which have been reported in alarming numbers over the past two years. While the Government pointed to several initiatives it had taken to address these issues, there has yet to be an adequate investigation or credible public accounting for the vast majority of these cases. I am also concerned about safeguards for those detained under the emergency regulations, including during recent mass arrests in Colombo.
Regrettably, the various national institutions and mechanisms that could be expected to safeguard human rights have failed to deliver adequate protection. In particular, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, which had previously enjoyed a proud reputation internationally, has had its independence compromised by the irregular appointment of its Commissioners and the credibility of its work has suffered. Further, despite high expectations, the special Commission of inquiry appointed by the President more than one year ago to investigate high profile killings and disappearances has yet to complete any of its cases. The Eminent Persons invited to observe the Commission have expressed concerns about its compliance with international standards.
In a highly polarized context, where human rights information is easily manipulated for propaganda gains, there is a critical need for an independent actor to gather information and publicly report on the human rights situation. For this reason, I have suggested that the Government would benefit from the support of a presence of OHCHR in the country, with a full mandate incorporating technical assistance and public reporting. Since my visit, my Office has engaged in discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on possible models involving an OHCHR presence working alongside national structures. We have reached no agreement on a formula by which independent, public reporting by OHCHR could be ensured. OHCHR will continue to assist the authorities in strengthening the national human rights system, but this will fall short of meeting the critical protection gap.”
The phantom limb in human rights protection
A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and is moving appropriately with other body parts. The pronouncement of the Sri Lankan government that it has adequate local mechanisms to deal with investigations into human rights violations reflects a similar mentality. The recent statement of Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights is the latest expression of this same mentality. Where are these investigation mechanisms, one may ask and the answer would not be different to one that might come from an amputee who feels as if his missing limb still exists, like the missing limb a credible investigation mechanism simply does not exist.
The amputation of the investigation mechanism for human rights abuses has taken place over a long period of time with the operation of emergency regulations, anti terrorism laws and the deliberate dismantling of the basic institutions of public administration including the institutions of the administration of justice. The large scale killings that took place in 1971 and 1986 to the 1990 period in the south and the continuous repression in the north and east from 1978 to the present day required that no credible investigations could be allowed into allegations of human rights abuses as it would cause unrest in the military and this would affect the stability of the ruling political regimes. The limitations imposed on investigations naturally infected the prosecution system under the Attorney General's Department, which was often required to cooperate in the cover up of the perpetrators and guarantee them impunity. The independence of the judiciary was crushed by the pressures from the presidential system as well as through legal limitations imposed by various constitutional amendments and emergency laws.
The former Supreme Court Judge K.M.M.B. Kulatunga recalls a time when Sri Lanka did have a competent criminal investigations capacity within its police, even to deal with very serious crimes as evidenced in many cases reported in the new law reports. These included political cases such as the assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the attempted coup of 1962. However, this system was seriously interfered with in order to facilitate the causing of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture on a large scale through the police, military and paramilitary groups. Today the system does not have the capacity to even investigate ordinary crimes let alone those crimes done with the connivance of political authorities for military purposes. The ugly situation that prevails is manifested through the constant killing of arrested persons in police custody, allegedly whey they try to throw grenades at police officers while they are taken to find concealed objects. The falsification of information in order to justify crimes committed by state agencies, which would appear to any reasonable person as pathetically ridiculous, is offered in the name of the sovereign state of Sri Lanka by the state agents and its propaganda units.
The phantom limb on criminal investigations in Sri Lanka is manifest daily in many of the statements that come out under various propaganda units such as the Peace Secretariat, the Geneva Consulate, the office of the Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, the Secretariat of Defense and even in the name of the President himself. The claim of the existence of a competent and credible criminal investigation capacity is offered both as a cover up for the incapacity and unwillingness to investigate human rights abuses, as well as to counteract any calls for assistance to the Sri Lankan government by the international community by way of human rights monitoring through the United Nations. The phantom limb mentality prevents the finding of real solutions to the real problems that make Sri Lanka one of the most lawless places in the world.
The Asian Human Rights Commission in the past ten years has consistently pointed out the way the Sri Lankan criminal justice system has become dysfunctional (kindly see http://www.ahrchk.net/pub/ - Sri Lanka's Dysfunctional Criminal Justice System). As long as this situation remains, life will remain a nightmare to all civilians in the country. To this civilian nightmare is now added the targeting of civilians by the LTTE, the government as well as other paramilitary groups which operate freely in the country. This climate is also unscrupulously used naturally by the criminal elements who try to profit from this situation by way of all sorts of crimes including kidnapping for ransom.
It is not possible to protect the people with a phantom limb. The sooner this illusion is demolished the better it will be for all the people of Sri Lanka.
Human rights monitoring and the independence of the judiciary
In the reply of the Sri Lankan government to the High Commissioner’s speech there was an insinuation that such monitoring would infringe upon the sovereignty of Sri Lanka and particularly the independence of the judiciary. There is no basis at all to see a conflict between support for investigations into human rights abuses by the United Nations and the independence of the judiciary. The judicial branch will have all the powers it presently has for pre-trial, trial and appeal functions, as well as other functions under writ jurisdiction and fundamental rights. Human rights monitoring is about how the investigations are done and not about how courts conduct their affairs under the laws of Sri Lanka. The only problem that the human rights monitors would address is the very absence of such investigations, which prevails at present due to problems within the policing system. By engagement in such investigations the present impasse can be addressed and the police themselves will benefit when the likelihood of political interference into investigations is removed. Once United Nations human rights monitors can address the limitations imposed on the Sri Lankan police for political and other reasons, competent Sri Lankan criminal investigators themselves will be able to play their role and regain their lost professional prestige and dignity.
Therefore we call upon the citizens of Sri Lanka to avail themselves of this invitation made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in order to address one of the problems that all citizens are well aware of in terms of the defective policing system of Sri Lanka. Here the country has an opportunity to deal with the problem that has troubled the nation for several decades now. If the country’s criminal investigation section is resuscitated it will be possible for the people to deal with such massive problems as corruption. To defeat corruption is not to defeat sovereignty but to assert it. It is quite clear that what the spokesmen against human rights monitoring are concerned about is not defending the sovereignty of Sri Lanka but defending a bad policing system, abuse of power and the massive corruption that prevails within the country.
Sri Lanka Navy plants explosives in Historic Waters
Satellite image showing the location of Kachchatheevu [Image courtesy: NASA, Visible Earth]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) has planted underwater mines between Kachchatheevu and Neduntheevu (Delft Island) endangering the lives of Tamil Nadu fishermen according to reports in the Indian media Wednesday. Consequently, 12 fishermen from Rameswaram (Raameasvaram) in Tamil Nadu were taken into custody by the SLN Monday when they attempted to exercise their traditional fishing rights in Kachchatheevu. "In a shameless show of solidarity with the SLN which has violated the international convention, the Indian Navy has also arrested 60 fishermen from Rameswaram in the last two days," said a fishermen society representative in Rameswaram.
According to Indian media reports, the SLN had sent a fax message to the Indian Navy office at Rameswaram informing them that sea mines had been laid along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). SLN had wanted the Indian Navy "to warn Tamil Nadu fishermen" against entering the sea between Kachchatheevu and Neduntheevu.Commodore Phillip Van Haltren, Naval Officer In-Charge, Tamil Nadu had told The Hindu Tuesday that he had received the communication from the SLN on the installation of the underwater "defence system." "The message implied there will be serious consequences if fishing boats from Tamil Nadu or elsewhere come in contact with the explosives planted in the water. Hence, the seriousness of the warning message has been immediately sent to the authorities concerned. The fishermen will have to keep away from the danger zone," Mr. Haltren added.According to Tamil Nadu state fisheries department officials, SLN on Tuesday had arrested 12 Indian fishermen for allegedly nearing Kachchatheevu and seized three boats used by them. The fishermen were later remanded to police custody by the Judicial Magistrate at Oorkaval near Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka, the officials said.Meanwhile, the Indian Navy also took into custody 48 fishermen from Rameswaram who had attempted to cross to the Sri Lankan waters on Tuesday and handed them over to the Tamil Nadu Fisheries department officials. On Monday, 12 fishermen from Rameswaram had been arrested by the Indian Navy when they had tried to access Kachchatheevu island.Officials in Tamil Nadu have reportedly said that planting underwater mines was against international maritime rules and could only prove to be fatal to the fishermen. They also admitted that it was not possible for lay fishermen to identify the IMBL or distinguish between Indian and Sri Lankan waters.Fishermen groups from Tamil Nadu have expressed concern that the LTTE had all the latest gadgets to detect and escape the mines whereas only they would be hurt. They felt that the move was to prevent Indian fishermen from entering Sri Lankan waters and asked the Indian Coast Guard and Navy officials to take appropriate steps to get the mines removed.Cutting across the political divide, Tamil Nadu leaders have stressed the need for India to take back Kachchatheevu from Sri Lanka in order to safeguard Tamil fishermen.Kachchatheevu, which was long an island of contention between India and Sri Lanka, became a part of Sri Lanka through an agreement concluded in 1974, on the boundary of Historic Waters between the two countries.It was agreed by both the countries that fishermen from Tamil Nadu would be allowed access to Kachatheevu Island for rest, for drying of nets and to offer prayers in the local St.Anthony's Church. Indian fishermen have repeatedly asserted that their traditional fishing rights should be respected.During her tenure as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa – known for her staunch anti-LTTE posturing – had demanded taking of Kachchatheevu island perpetual lease to put an end to the problem of SLN attacking Indian fishermen. She wrote to the Indian prime minister in January 2006 seeking a long term and permanent solution to the 'burning issue of violence against the poor fishermen of Tamil Nadu in the Gulf of Mannar'.'Such indiscriminate and murderous attacks on the fishermen, who venture into the sea in search of their livelihood is against all canons of natural justice and violates their human rights. The Centre must find a final and lasting solution to the problem since it involves the question of traditional rights of fishermen', her letter said.
According to Indian media reports, the SLN had sent a fax message to the Indian Navy office at Rameswaram informing them that sea mines had been laid along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). SLN had wanted the Indian Navy "to warn Tamil Nadu fishermen" against entering the sea between Kachchatheevu and Neduntheevu.Commodore Phillip Van Haltren, Naval Officer In-Charge, Tamil Nadu had told The Hindu Tuesday that he had received the communication from the SLN on the installation of the underwater "defence system." "The message implied there will be serious consequences if fishing boats from Tamil Nadu or elsewhere come in contact with the explosives planted in the water. Hence, the seriousness of the warning message has been immediately sent to the authorities concerned. The fishermen will have to keep away from the danger zone," Mr. Haltren added.According to Tamil Nadu state fisheries department officials, SLN on Tuesday had arrested 12 Indian fishermen for allegedly nearing Kachchatheevu and seized three boats used by them. The fishermen were later remanded to police custody by the Judicial Magistrate at Oorkaval near Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka, the officials said.Meanwhile, the Indian Navy also took into custody 48 fishermen from Rameswaram who had attempted to cross to the Sri Lankan waters on Tuesday and handed them over to the Tamil Nadu Fisheries department officials. On Monday, 12 fishermen from Rameswaram had been arrested by the Indian Navy when they had tried to access Kachchatheevu island.Officials in Tamil Nadu have reportedly said that planting underwater mines was against international maritime rules and could only prove to be fatal to the fishermen. They also admitted that it was not possible for lay fishermen to identify the IMBL or distinguish between Indian and Sri Lankan waters.Fishermen groups from Tamil Nadu have expressed concern that the LTTE had all the latest gadgets to detect and escape the mines whereas only they would be hurt. They felt that the move was to prevent Indian fishermen from entering Sri Lankan waters and asked the Indian Coast Guard and Navy officials to take appropriate steps to get the mines removed.Cutting across the political divide, Tamil Nadu leaders have stressed the need for India to take back Kachchatheevu from Sri Lanka in order to safeguard Tamil fishermen.Kachchatheevu, which was long an island of contention between India and Sri Lanka, became a part of Sri Lanka through an agreement concluded in 1974, on the boundary of Historic Waters between the two countries.It was agreed by both the countries that fishermen from Tamil Nadu would be allowed access to Kachatheevu Island for rest, for drying of nets and to offer prayers in the local St.Anthony's Church. Indian fishermen have repeatedly asserted that their traditional fishing rights should be respected.During her tenure as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa – known for her staunch anti-LTTE posturing – had demanded taking of Kachchatheevu island perpetual lease to put an end to the problem of SLN attacking Indian fishermen. She wrote to the Indian prime minister in January 2006 seeking a long term and permanent solution to the 'burning issue of violence against the poor fishermen of Tamil Nadu in the Gulf of Mannar'.'Such indiscriminate and murderous attacks on the fishermen, who venture into the sea in search of their livelihood is against all canons of natural justice and violates their human rights. The Centre must find a final and lasting solution to the problem since it involves the question of traditional rights of fishermen', her letter said.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
"International HR intervention, only over our dead bodies" - Weerawansa
As long as there is JVP in Sri Lanka, no one can intervene and subject the Sri Lankan leaders to international investigations on Human Rights," declared Wimal Weerawansa, the Propaganda Secretary of the Sinhala extreme nationalist party, in a protest against UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, held in front of the UN office in Colombo Wednesday 10:00 a.m., sources in Colombo said.
"That could only happen over our dead bodies," Mr. Wimal Weerawanse said. “UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louis Arbour, is actively working to create separatism in Sri Lanka and to safeguard Liberation Tigers,” Weerawansa charged in the protest demonstration.JVP parliamentarians Vijitha Herath (Gampaha district), Sunil Handunneththi (Colombo district), Bimal Ratnayake (Kurunegala district) and Piyasiri Wijenayake (Kalutara district) participated in the demonstration along with hundreds of supporters.“Louis Arbour is wrong in saying that key leaders of Sri Lanka may have to be produced before the International justice system if human rights violations on the people of Sri Lanka continue,” Wimal Weerawansa said.The UN is treating Sri Lanka like Kosovo, Sudan and East Timor, he charged. The demonstrators held placards and shouted slogans, including the following:
Arbour, keep the assistance to yourself!
Neo Colonialist Arbour, keep hands off Sri Lanka!
Arrest the Tigers hiding in your home country Canada!
Don’t try to establish Neo Colonialism in Sri Lanka! The demonstration lasted for nearly 30 minutes.
"That could only happen over our dead bodies," Mr. Wimal Weerawanse said. “UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louis Arbour, is actively working to create separatism in Sri Lanka and to safeguard Liberation Tigers,” Weerawansa charged in the protest demonstration.JVP parliamentarians Vijitha Herath (Gampaha district), Sunil Handunneththi (Colombo district), Bimal Ratnayake (Kurunegala district) and Piyasiri Wijenayake (Kalutara district) participated in the demonstration along with hundreds of supporters.“Louis Arbour is wrong in saying that key leaders of Sri Lanka may have to be produced before the International justice system if human rights violations on the people of Sri Lanka continue,” Wimal Weerawansa said.The UN is treating Sri Lanka like Kosovo, Sudan and East Timor, he charged. The demonstrators held placards and shouted slogans, including the following:
Arbour, keep the assistance to yourself!
Neo Colonialist Arbour, keep hands off Sri Lanka!
Arrest the Tigers hiding in your home country Canada!
Don’t try to establish Neo Colonialism in Sri Lanka! The demonstration lasted for nearly 30 minutes.
Monday, January 21, 2008
CPI calls for political solution in Sri Lanka
Expressing its deep concern over the present situation in Sri Lanka, the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday said that only a political solution would end the ethnic strife in the island Nation.
A resolution to this effect was adopted at the National Council meeting of the party here in Chennai. The three-day National Council of the party, which began its sitting here, in a resolution said a military offensive could not be a solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
Noting that the armed conflict in Sri Lanka had claimed over 65,000 lives since 1983, it said ceasefire declared by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was unilaterally terminated by the government.
“The National Council of the CPI is of the view that a military offensive cannot be a solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. The Tamils of Sri Lanka are striving for peaceful co-existence with equal rights over these years. The legitimate aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka with all democratic and human rights must be safeguarded through a proper mechanism for devolution of powers on the basis of federal principles within Sri Lanka,” the resolution said.
Party General Secretary A B Bardhan placed the draft political resolution to be placed before the party's 20th Congress to be held at Hyderabad from March 23.
The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also said dialogue is the only way to stop further violence in Sri Lanka.
"These latest deadly attacks coincide with the expiration today of the ceasefire agreement. The Secretary-General reiterates his firm belief that the only way to stop further violence in Sri Lanka is through dialogue," UNSG spokesperson said in a statement
A resolution to this effect was adopted at the National Council meeting of the party here in Chennai. The three-day National Council of the party, which began its sitting here, in a resolution said a military offensive could not be a solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
Noting that the armed conflict in Sri Lanka had claimed over 65,000 lives since 1983, it said ceasefire declared by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was unilaterally terminated by the government.
“The National Council of the CPI is of the view that a military offensive cannot be a solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. The Tamils of Sri Lanka are striving for peaceful co-existence with equal rights over these years. The legitimate aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka with all democratic and human rights must be safeguarded through a proper mechanism for devolution of powers on the basis of federal principles within Sri Lanka,” the resolution said.
Party General Secretary A B Bardhan placed the draft political resolution to be placed before the party's 20th Congress to be held at Hyderabad from March 23.
The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also said dialogue is the only way to stop further violence in Sri Lanka.
"These latest deadly attacks coincide with the expiration today of the ceasefire agreement. The Secretary-General reiterates his firm belief that the only way to stop further violence in Sri Lanka is through dialogue," UNSG spokesperson said in a statement
Sunday, January 20, 2008
UK issues stern warning to Colombo
The British government has issued a stern warning to Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse that "the world is watching and waiting" for the island nation to make a "bold" leap towards peace. The warning comes barely 72 hours after Colombo scrapped the tattered 2002 ceasefire with Tamil rebels. Calling for a new ceasefire, foreign office minister Kim Howells issued the warning to Colombo during a special parliamentary adjournment debate requested by MPs anxious about the deteriorating situation after fighting between government troops and LTTE militants escalated in recent weeks. The British government's rap on Sri Lankan knuckles came just hours after UK MPs, members of the European Parliament and leading politicians across party lines met members of the British Tamil community to discuss the plight of their friends and relatives in the embattled north and east of Sri Lanka. Cautioning Rajpakse against a too-hasty and ill-judged attempt to sideline Tamil representatives by failing to invite them onto the powerful All Party Representative Committee (APRC), which will recommend a devolution package a week from now, Howells said it was a "big mistake". He added that the president's refusal to invite the Tamil National Alliance onto the APRC did not bode well for Rajapakse's promise to "take the necessary bold steps to put an end to dashed hopes and aspirations and lost opportunities". The warning came even as Sri Lanka's former colonial master reminded the world of the crying need for Colombo to "address the grievances of the Tamil people" in the 60th anniversary-year of independence. The minister insisted that the Sri Lankan government, which had ended the ceasefire, consequently bore "a heavy responsibility to deliver their commitment to produce a just political solution that satisfies the legitimate aspirations of all Sri Lankans. That must happen soon." The strong UK statement came as MPs across party lines, including Liberal Democrat president Simon Hughes, Labour's David Kidney, Andrew Love and Paul Murphy and Conservatives Clifton Brown and Lee Stark, expressed grave concern about the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka. The minister said that the withdrawal of the Sri Lanka monitoring mission "can only add to deep concern about the human rights and humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka". Pointing out that after a recent visit to Sri Lanka, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed "alarm at the weakness of the rule of law and the prevalence of impunity for those abusing human rights", Howells said the UNHCR had "criticized the absence of credible systems of public accountability for the vast majority of these deplorable incidents and the general lack of confidence in the ability of existing government institutions to safeguard against the most serious human rights abuses". In what many described as one of the strongest nudges from the British parliament to Colombo urgently to pay heed to Tamil problems, the minister pointed out that "Tamils argue that the military pursuit of self-determination is generated by a sense of despair that their grievances will never be addressed in a united Sri Lanka." MP Simon Hughes criticized Sri Lankan government forces for the "absolutely unacceptable" practice of being "actively involved in forcibly recruiting children", even as Paul Murphy of the governing Labour Party urged muscular international interventionism. Earlier, on the very day Colombo formally abrogated the ceasefire agreement, the parliamentary meeting organised by the British Tamils Forum (BTF) and chaired by Goan-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz drew parallels between the Tamil plight and the Rwandan genocide, Darfur killings and Bosnian ethnic cleansing. Gareth Thomas, parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Department for International Development, told the Tamils his government regretted Colombo's decision to walk away from the peace process and that London suspended aid payments to Sri Lanka last year because of growing concerns about human rights abuses by government forces. BTF spokesman Suren Surendiran alleged that Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe is violating his people's human rights sans international assistance but the Rajapakse government was "abusing the Tamils fundamental human rights and killing innocent Tamil civilians with the aid and assistance from the international community."
Five countries issue travel ban on Sri Lanka
The country’s tourism sector, which is already in dire straits, was dealt yet another severe blow after at least five countries issued strict advisories against their citizens travelling to the war-torn island, owing to the prevailing fear psychosis.Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and Russia late last week updated their travel warnings in the backdrop of back-to-back bomb blasts and other sporadic violence-related incidents occurring in almost all parts of the country. Some of the countries which warned their citizens against travelling to Sri Lanka were the main sources of tourism to the island.The British warning, issued on January 18, has warned its nationals of a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka and emphasised that the attacks could be indiscriminate and have occurred in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers, including in and around Colombo.The updated advisory also warned its citizens against all travel to the north and east of Sri Lanka. Germany has also cautioned its citizens against travelling to Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Canada in its advisory issued also on Friday advised against non-essential travel to Sri Lanka unless the visitors had critical business or family reasons to do so.The Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada noted that incidents of violence could occur without notice throughout the entire country and were not restricted to the north and east of Sri Lanka.“Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada advises against all travel to areas in the east and north of the country, including Kilinochchi, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara Districts, the Jaffna peninsula, Mannar and Vavuniya. Canadians currently in these regions should leave if it is safe to do so,” the warning said.Australia, in its warning issued on January 17, advised its citizens to reconsider their need to travel to Sri Lanka at this time because of ongoing civil unrest, the volatile security situation and the very high risk of terrorist attacks.Russia in a recommendation to its citizens requested them to refrain from trips to Sri Lanka in the wake of growing violent incidents in the nation.“In the light of it, the Foreign Ministry recommends Russian citizens to refrain from trips to Sri Lanka until the situation in that country returns to normal,” the advisory said.
APRC: key to peace or an albatross?
J.R. Jayawardena's Government claimed that the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution passed in August 1987 fulfilled the promises made in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, to 'devolve power' on the Tamil people. Liberation Tigers dismissed the legislation outright, and said it allowed "perpetuation of the domination, oppression and exploitation of the Tamil masses by the racist Sinhala state," and N. Satyendra, a constitutional scholar and attorney who represented ex-militants in Sri Lanka trials, ridiculed the legislation as a "comic opera."
LTTE critique of Indo-Sri Lanka AccordOn the 13th Amendment, the LTTE said in 1988, "With Presidential authority exerting rigid control over the functions of the Provincial Councils, the powers accorded to Parliament to amend or repeal the chapter pertaining to the P.C's make this 'devolution package' a mockery. "The legislative powers devolved to the Councils become meaningless and impotent since Parliament retains the power to legislate even on matters allotted to Provincial Councils. In brief, the provisions of these Bills, having effectively constrained devolutional power, allow the perpetuation of the tyranny of the Parliamentary majority which has been the medium of repressive racist policies against the Tamil people," LTTE said in its report.
13th Amendment TextNow, Sri Lanka's President has given an ultimatum to the the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), appointed by him in June 2006, and tasked to produce a consensus of the South in devolving power, to deliver by the 23rd January, a proposal based on the 13th Amendment.
Click for larger image (Adapted from Economist of Jun 28th 2007)
Rajapakse aims to achieve two political objectives with this effort. First, he intends to placate India and to encourage a visit by the Indian Prime Minister to attend the 4th February Independence day celebrations. Secondly, Colombo is under severe international pressure to present a political solution to the Tamils, the abrogation of the CFA by Colombo making this matter even more urgent. Rajapakse appears to believe that this effort will help to convince the international community of the bona fides of his peace motives.He needs “something” from APRC's report to be handed over to him on Wednesday [23rd January deadline] as “everybody expects us to put a political package on the table,” Sunday Times quoted Rajapakse as telling APRC members.APRC has become an albatross, as a committee that hinders political progress with its duplicitous conduct reacting to external political exigencies.
Groundviews article by LiyanageSumanasiri Liyanage who teaches political economy at University of Peradeniya says in a recent article: "Although the full implementation of the 13th Amendment is a positive step, this proposal is a backward one. Why? For two reasons. First, the full implementation of 13th Amendment today means something less than the 13th Amendment of 1987 because of the Supreme Court decision to de-merge Northern and Eastern provinces. Secondly, many powers initially devolved to the provincial councils have already been taken back by the center government. Now the provincial councils have lesser number of schools, hospitals, and many other institutions."Shanthi Satchithanantham, a prominent civil activist, echoes this view, and doubts the ability of Colombo in genuinely implementing any proposal, and says there is no political will to even sorting out the "concurrent list" in the 13th Amendment to fully devolve power.
13th Amendment: Devolution or Comic OperaThe provisions of the 13th Amendment are impossibly "burlesque and farcical," Satyendra says.While derisively calling the Provincial Governor, the Provincial Board of Ministers with a Chief Minister, and the Provincial Council "a trinity of marvels, he adds, "In sum, executive power in relation to provincial matters, will be exercised by a Governor who will be appointed by the President, who will hold office 'during the pleasure' of the President, and who will exercise his executive powers as the faithful and loyal servant of the Executive President of Sri Lanka. That is the naked political and constitutional reality of the character of a Provincial Governor under the 13th Amendment."
Indo_SriLanka Accord: Not even a Kovanam- SivaramLate Dharmeratnam Sivaram, a popular military analyst, and senior editor at TamilNet, said the 13th Amendment did not provide even a "loin cloth" to the Tamils even after a decade of its existence.But APRC is speculated to present a 'parallel' set of proposals to lay claim the need for "further discussions." Without the participation of UNP, JVP, and TNA.
LTTE critique of Indo-Sri Lanka AccordOn the 13th Amendment, the LTTE said in 1988, "With Presidential authority exerting rigid control over the functions of the Provincial Councils, the powers accorded to Parliament to amend or repeal the chapter pertaining to the P.C's make this 'devolution package' a mockery. "The legislative powers devolved to the Councils become meaningless and impotent since Parliament retains the power to legislate even on matters allotted to Provincial Councils. In brief, the provisions of these Bills, having effectively constrained devolutional power, allow the perpetuation of the tyranny of the Parliamentary majority which has been the medium of repressive racist policies against the Tamil people," LTTE said in its report.
13th Amendment TextNow, Sri Lanka's President has given an ultimatum to the the All Party Representative Committee (APRC), appointed by him in June 2006, and tasked to produce a consensus of the South in devolving power, to deliver by the 23rd January, a proposal based on the 13th Amendment.
Click for larger image (Adapted from Economist of Jun 28th 2007)
Rajapakse aims to achieve two political objectives with this effort. First, he intends to placate India and to encourage a visit by the Indian Prime Minister to attend the 4th February Independence day celebrations. Secondly, Colombo is under severe international pressure to present a political solution to the Tamils, the abrogation of the CFA by Colombo making this matter even more urgent. Rajapakse appears to believe that this effort will help to convince the international community of the bona fides of his peace motives.He needs “something” from APRC's report to be handed over to him on Wednesday [23rd January deadline] as “everybody expects us to put a political package on the table,” Sunday Times quoted Rajapakse as telling APRC members.APRC has become an albatross, as a committee that hinders political progress with its duplicitous conduct reacting to external political exigencies.
Groundviews article by LiyanageSumanasiri Liyanage who teaches political economy at University of Peradeniya says in a recent article: "Although the full implementation of the 13th Amendment is a positive step, this proposal is a backward one. Why? For two reasons. First, the full implementation of 13th Amendment today means something less than the 13th Amendment of 1987 because of the Supreme Court decision to de-merge Northern and Eastern provinces. Secondly, many powers initially devolved to the provincial councils have already been taken back by the center government. Now the provincial councils have lesser number of schools, hospitals, and many other institutions."Shanthi Satchithanantham, a prominent civil activist, echoes this view, and doubts the ability of Colombo in genuinely implementing any proposal, and says there is no political will to even sorting out the "concurrent list" in the 13th Amendment to fully devolve power.
13th Amendment: Devolution or Comic OperaThe provisions of the 13th Amendment are impossibly "burlesque and farcical," Satyendra says.While derisively calling the Provincial Governor, the Provincial Board of Ministers with a Chief Minister, and the Provincial Council "a trinity of marvels, he adds, "In sum, executive power in relation to provincial matters, will be exercised by a Governor who will be appointed by the President, who will hold office 'during the pleasure' of the President, and who will exercise his executive powers as the faithful and loyal servant of the Executive President of Sri Lanka. That is the naked political and constitutional reality of the character of a Provincial Governor under the 13th Amendment."
Indo_SriLanka Accord: Not even a Kovanam- SivaramLate Dharmeratnam Sivaram, a popular military analyst, and senior editor at TamilNet, said the 13th Amendment did not provide even a "loin cloth" to the Tamils even after a decade of its existence.But APRC is speculated to present a 'parallel' set of proposals to lay claim the need for "further discussions." Without the participation of UNP, JVP, and TNA.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
On the road to chaos
Even as President Mahinda Rajapakse started last week to kiss Indian posteriors in a bid to settle for the 13th Amendment as a final solution to the ethnic conflict, a gallon of petrol was to hit an all time high of Rs.571.50.
While the economic burdens become unbearable and the government continues to blame the rising cost of international fuel prices for the drastic price hike in fuel last Sunday the JVP that condemned previous regimes for raising prices by a much smaller amount due to international increases remains dumb struck. Ironically while a debt ridden toy project of Rajapakse’s, the loss making Mihin Lanka continues to burden the public of Sri Lanka owing a colossal amount of over Rs 420 million to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the CPC states it incurs a monthly loss of Rs. 3,089 million and has no option but to burden the general public by increasing kerosene, furnace oil, diesel and petrol further.
Wallowing
Rajapakse meanwhile is wallowing in a false sense of euphoria as the military pushes forward into the Wanni and news of a large number of war dead reaches the ears. Rajapakse has in this militarised high, like Pharaoh, hardened his heart. Despite the voice of common sense prevailing upon him he now feels there is no need for concessions or negotiations whatsoever.
Already he has made this clear to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) which had toiled for 18 months to carve out a solution and a much publicised southern consensus in accordance with that supreme document – the Mahinda Chinthanaya.
Rajapakse for his part was happy to bring out a soiled copy of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which provides for provincial councils and directed the APRC to rehash the document and present it to him on January 23 as their own final draft.
He rejected the APRC final draft stating he would lose the support of the JVP leading to the fall of the government making the entire exercise worthless.
Ironically Rajapakse as Executive President has all the powers to fully implement the provisions of the 13th Amendment which is now part of the constitution of the land but wants the APRC to forward it as a new mantra.
The irony of course is that he has to fall back on a package introduced by the UNP in 1987 as his great solution to the national crisis, a solution he opposed tooth and nail at the time, even taking to the streets in protest.
MR’s subterfuge
Mahindra Percy however was setting the stage to perpetrate the ultimate subterfuge on the public weal by first falsely planting stories in several newspapers the APRC had in its final draft called for a full implementation of the 13th Amendment.
Then in what can only be termed absurd and excessive, he started to build a monument to the IPKF near parliament and even invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Colombo on Independence Day, February 4, to inaugurate the structure. He insisted on lauding and applauding the 20 year old Indo Lanka Peace Accord of 1987 – a formula mind you of which he was a vociferous opponent.
Indeed he was one of the most vocal critics of the IPKF too having taken to the streets calling for their eviction.
To this end he was to give one of the most puerile and grossly infantile interviews ever given by a politician in the history of independent Sri Lanka. (See full interview on page 7.)
Speaking to the Indian Express Editor-in-Chief, Shekhar Gupta on NDTV 24x7’s Walk The Talk, he first invited India to mediate with the LTTE. And the man who stood with the late President Premadasa in his bid to flush out the IPKF 20 years ago now, roundly condemned Premadasa calling his move purely politically motivated.
India as mediator
‘Why not India (to mediate with LTTE)? I trust neighbours, if they are ready. I think they know LTTE’s mentality,’ Rajapakse stated. He also said he was the only politician ready to talk with the Tigers and said he did not want the Wanni to lay down arms and was ready to talk to them while fighting to the last.
That India itself was not enamoured of this new found fondness was evident as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has now declined the offer to officiate as an honoured guest at the Independence Day celebrations.
In fact Rajapakse or at least his brother Basil should know that the entire international community including India has been supporting Norway as the most suitable facilitator for the country. Indeed the Co-Chairs in their statement on the abrogation of the CFA has said this in no uncertain terms and India has completely washed its hands off being a mediator.
It is obvious given the history with the LTTE that India would not be suitable in the first place, unless Rajapakse intends to negotiate with a party other than the LTTE.
India washes its hands off
Interestingly enough giving an indication of India’s hands off policy on Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee speaking with Karan Thapar on Devil’s Advocate on CNN-IBN on Sunday washed his hands off the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement but insisted there was no military solution to the conflict.
Earlier when asked by Thapar if it wasn’t a bit rude and discourteous to Sri Lanka not to make up India’s mind on whether it would accept the invitation or not, Mukherjee curtly replied, ‘No, because we require time. As and when it is decided we will let you know, but no decision has been taken.’
Mukherjee also reiterated that India has zero tolerance for terrorism but it is important to note he said a country must take action within their legal system. He also circumvented any value judgment on the abrogation by stating India was not a party to it and had scrupulously avoided any attempts to drag them into the equation.
The Minister warned however that the legitimate aspirations of the ethnic minorities including Tamils had to be fulfilled when finding a solution.
Japan as facilitator
But if India was refusing to get involved, not so the Co-Chairs – especially Japan. With a possible end to the Norwegian role near, Japan was ready to take on the mantle of neutral facilitator. A role Japan, looking to upgrade its international profile has been keen to play in the region for a long time.
So far Japan which has often refused to take a stand on gross human rights violations by government forces has been seen as a pro establishment player and has failed in its attempts to be perceived as neutral.
Japan provides nearly two-thirds of all international aid to Sri Lanka but had declined to link financial aid to a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation despite growing international concern over the country’s rights record.
But this position had undergone an apparent change with Akashi telling the media Tuesday at a press conference that Japan will take a decision on its aid commitments based on the situation in Sri Lanka including human rights and the political solution the government would forward.
Akashi rejected by LTTE
In fact Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi has been refused a meeting with LTTE supremo 13 times due to the deep distrust the Wanni had cultivated over a period towards the Japanese’ role in the peace process due to the country’s perceived stance of being partial to the government as a Co-Chair member.
In an attempt to salvage its neutrality Akashi Monday on a three day visit to Sri Lanka met with both Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and President Mahinda Rajapakse expressing concern over the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement, even as the international community stepped up pressure on the Rajapakse government to reconsider its decision. It is following these meetings that he set out Japan’s position at the media conference.
Akashi meets Ranil
In fact Monday night at a dinner meeting with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP Ravi Karunanayake and Bradman Weerakoon too the Japanese envoy was to express serious concern at the trajectory of the political process and the deteriorating human rights situation and said Japan cannot act in isolation when the international community is calling for action on the human rights and political fronts.
Thus in sharp contrast to its previous stand Japan this time indicated it could withhold aid to Sri Lanka if the violence keeps escalating.
Akashi did not visit the war torn Wanni but met with the JVP on Sunday and the Marxists sensing the shifting policy of Akashi was to also go on the offensive in what was a counter productive exercise for the government considering the JVP was a close ally of Rajapakse.
JVP insults Japan
Critical of Japan, the JVP told media "While Japan and other international donors give a lot of aid to Sri Lanka, Mr. Akashi indicated donors may call off aid, given the current ground situation," the JVP said after the talks. And in a state of pique the JVP also drew parallels with Japan’s World War II kamikaze pilots to LTTE’s suicide bombers. These statements Akashi was to consider downright insulting as it later surfaced when they privately conferred at the Embassy.
Meanwhile rights groups warn that the departure of the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the official end to the CFA today would lead to an upsurge in violence.
The government continues to press forward in the north in its promise to wipe out 3000 Tamil Tigers by August. On that score too conflicting reports emerged with the security forces claiming a large number of Tigers were killed but with the LTTE stating 30 soldiers were killed and scores injured.
And with the government set to launch an all out offensive in the days to come the humanitarian crisis is bound to escalate with civilians compelled to move out to safer territory by the thousands and that is what India fears most.
India’s concerns
Such a move India believes will make it extremely difficult for them to stay neutral given the outcry that is bound to follow from South India and with the SLMM also out of the way, pressure will mount to accede to a UN mission.
This aspect the Co-Chairs have also hinted at in their statement as has other rights groups and in the absence of a viable political package as well, there is little the government will be able to draw from the international community by way of support in such a scenario.
US based Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Elaine Pearson in fact warned earlier this month that the monitors helped to minimise abuses against civilians even as Sri Lanka’s largest aid givers including the Co-Chairs, the United States, the European Union and Norway, have sought access to meet with the LTTE and are pushing the Rajapakse regime to allow the United Nations to monitor human rights.
A call the Rajapakse regime in a JVP stranglehold has completely rejected.
More devastating was UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour’s statement yesterday warning even international criminal action against human rights violators including against those in command. That is the strongest statement yet to come out of the UN which paints the government into a corner as it prepares for all out war against the LTTE having disposed of the CFA.
http://www.themorningleader.lk/20080116/politics.html
While the economic burdens become unbearable and the government continues to blame the rising cost of international fuel prices for the drastic price hike in fuel last Sunday the JVP that condemned previous regimes for raising prices by a much smaller amount due to international increases remains dumb struck. Ironically while a debt ridden toy project of Rajapakse’s, the loss making Mihin Lanka continues to burden the public of Sri Lanka owing a colossal amount of over Rs 420 million to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the CPC states it incurs a monthly loss of Rs. 3,089 million and has no option but to burden the general public by increasing kerosene, furnace oil, diesel and petrol further.
Wallowing
Rajapakse meanwhile is wallowing in a false sense of euphoria as the military pushes forward into the Wanni and news of a large number of war dead reaches the ears. Rajapakse has in this militarised high, like Pharaoh, hardened his heart. Despite the voice of common sense prevailing upon him he now feels there is no need for concessions or negotiations whatsoever.
Already he has made this clear to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) which had toiled for 18 months to carve out a solution and a much publicised southern consensus in accordance with that supreme document – the Mahinda Chinthanaya.
Rajapakse for his part was happy to bring out a soiled copy of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which provides for provincial councils and directed the APRC to rehash the document and present it to him on January 23 as their own final draft.
He rejected the APRC final draft stating he would lose the support of the JVP leading to the fall of the government making the entire exercise worthless.
Ironically Rajapakse as Executive President has all the powers to fully implement the provisions of the 13th Amendment which is now part of the constitution of the land but wants the APRC to forward it as a new mantra.
The irony of course is that he has to fall back on a package introduced by the UNP in 1987 as his great solution to the national crisis, a solution he opposed tooth and nail at the time, even taking to the streets in protest.
MR’s subterfuge
Mahindra Percy however was setting the stage to perpetrate the ultimate subterfuge on the public weal by first falsely planting stories in several newspapers the APRC had in its final draft called for a full implementation of the 13th Amendment.
Then in what can only be termed absurd and excessive, he started to build a monument to the IPKF near parliament and even invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Colombo on Independence Day, February 4, to inaugurate the structure. He insisted on lauding and applauding the 20 year old Indo Lanka Peace Accord of 1987 – a formula mind you of which he was a vociferous opponent.
Indeed he was one of the most vocal critics of the IPKF too having taken to the streets calling for their eviction.
To this end he was to give one of the most puerile and grossly infantile interviews ever given by a politician in the history of independent Sri Lanka. (See full interview on page 7.)
Speaking to the Indian Express Editor-in-Chief, Shekhar Gupta on NDTV 24x7’s Walk The Talk, he first invited India to mediate with the LTTE. And the man who stood with the late President Premadasa in his bid to flush out the IPKF 20 years ago now, roundly condemned Premadasa calling his move purely politically motivated.
India as mediator
‘Why not India (to mediate with LTTE)? I trust neighbours, if they are ready. I think they know LTTE’s mentality,’ Rajapakse stated. He also said he was the only politician ready to talk with the Tigers and said he did not want the Wanni to lay down arms and was ready to talk to them while fighting to the last.
That India itself was not enamoured of this new found fondness was evident as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has now declined the offer to officiate as an honoured guest at the Independence Day celebrations.
In fact Rajapakse or at least his brother Basil should know that the entire international community including India has been supporting Norway as the most suitable facilitator for the country. Indeed the Co-Chairs in their statement on the abrogation of the CFA has said this in no uncertain terms and India has completely washed its hands off being a mediator.
It is obvious given the history with the LTTE that India would not be suitable in the first place, unless Rajapakse intends to negotiate with a party other than the LTTE.
India washes its hands off
Interestingly enough giving an indication of India’s hands off policy on Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee speaking with Karan Thapar on Devil’s Advocate on CNN-IBN on Sunday washed his hands off the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement but insisted there was no military solution to the conflict.
Earlier when asked by Thapar if it wasn’t a bit rude and discourteous to Sri Lanka not to make up India’s mind on whether it would accept the invitation or not, Mukherjee curtly replied, ‘No, because we require time. As and when it is decided we will let you know, but no decision has been taken.’
Mukherjee also reiterated that India has zero tolerance for terrorism but it is important to note he said a country must take action within their legal system. He also circumvented any value judgment on the abrogation by stating India was not a party to it and had scrupulously avoided any attempts to drag them into the equation.
The Minister warned however that the legitimate aspirations of the ethnic minorities including Tamils had to be fulfilled when finding a solution.
Japan as facilitator
But if India was refusing to get involved, not so the Co-Chairs – especially Japan. With a possible end to the Norwegian role near, Japan was ready to take on the mantle of neutral facilitator. A role Japan, looking to upgrade its international profile has been keen to play in the region for a long time.
So far Japan which has often refused to take a stand on gross human rights violations by government forces has been seen as a pro establishment player and has failed in its attempts to be perceived as neutral.
Japan provides nearly two-thirds of all international aid to Sri Lanka but had declined to link financial aid to a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation despite growing international concern over the country’s rights record.
But this position had undergone an apparent change with Akashi telling the media Tuesday at a press conference that Japan will take a decision on its aid commitments based on the situation in Sri Lanka including human rights and the political solution the government would forward.
Akashi rejected by LTTE
In fact Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi has been refused a meeting with LTTE supremo 13 times due to the deep distrust the Wanni had cultivated over a period towards the Japanese’ role in the peace process due to the country’s perceived stance of being partial to the government as a Co-Chair member.
In an attempt to salvage its neutrality Akashi Monday on a three day visit to Sri Lanka met with both Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and President Mahinda Rajapakse expressing concern over the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement, even as the international community stepped up pressure on the Rajapakse government to reconsider its decision. It is following these meetings that he set out Japan’s position at the media conference.
Akashi meets Ranil
In fact Monday night at a dinner meeting with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP Ravi Karunanayake and Bradman Weerakoon too the Japanese envoy was to express serious concern at the trajectory of the political process and the deteriorating human rights situation and said Japan cannot act in isolation when the international community is calling for action on the human rights and political fronts.
Thus in sharp contrast to its previous stand Japan this time indicated it could withhold aid to Sri Lanka if the violence keeps escalating.
Akashi did not visit the war torn Wanni but met with the JVP on Sunday and the Marxists sensing the shifting policy of Akashi was to also go on the offensive in what was a counter productive exercise for the government considering the JVP was a close ally of Rajapakse.
JVP insults Japan
Critical of Japan, the JVP told media "While Japan and other international donors give a lot of aid to Sri Lanka, Mr. Akashi indicated donors may call off aid, given the current ground situation," the JVP said after the talks. And in a state of pique the JVP also drew parallels with Japan’s World War II kamikaze pilots to LTTE’s suicide bombers. These statements Akashi was to consider downright insulting as it later surfaced when they privately conferred at the Embassy.
Meanwhile rights groups warn that the departure of the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the official end to the CFA today would lead to an upsurge in violence.
The government continues to press forward in the north in its promise to wipe out 3000 Tamil Tigers by August. On that score too conflicting reports emerged with the security forces claiming a large number of Tigers were killed but with the LTTE stating 30 soldiers were killed and scores injured.
And with the government set to launch an all out offensive in the days to come the humanitarian crisis is bound to escalate with civilians compelled to move out to safer territory by the thousands and that is what India fears most.
India’s concerns
Such a move India believes will make it extremely difficult for them to stay neutral given the outcry that is bound to follow from South India and with the SLMM also out of the way, pressure will mount to accede to a UN mission.
This aspect the Co-Chairs have also hinted at in their statement as has other rights groups and in the absence of a viable political package as well, there is little the government will be able to draw from the international community by way of support in such a scenario.
US based Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Elaine Pearson in fact warned earlier this month that the monitors helped to minimise abuses against civilians even as Sri Lanka’s largest aid givers including the Co-Chairs, the United States, the European Union and Norway, have sought access to meet with the LTTE and are pushing the Rajapakse regime to allow the United Nations to monitor human rights.
A call the Rajapakse regime in a JVP stranglehold has completely rejected.
More devastating was UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour’s statement yesterday warning even international criminal action against human rights violators including against those in command. That is the strongest statement yet to come out of the UN which paints the government into a corner as it prepares for all out war against the LTTE having disposed of the CFA.
http://www.themorningleader.lk/20080116/politics.html
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