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Q: In January the Government of Sri Lanka has withdrawn from the Ceasefire Agreement.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.
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