WORLD TAMIL REFUGEES FORUM

Sexual abuse of a Dutch TOURIST at a guest house in Matara can be considered a ‘terrible’ incident& SINHALA GOVT must act upon SAFETY OF TOURISTS.!!!

2012-01-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Sexual abuse of another foreign woman down south

Increased police presence needed for unsupervised, unlicensed guest houses in new tourist zones

A Dutch couple was holidaying in Polhena, Matara early this month. The 25-year-old woman and her husband in the early 30s, were relaxing on the beach, when the husband decided to visit the nearby market.

A little while after the husband had left, the lone woman on the beach was approached by a guest house owner who told her there was a spa nearby and, if she was interested, to follow him. Not suspecting anything, she had followed the man. Once inside the ‘spa’, the woman was sexually abused. The husband, on his return, encountered a distraught wife who related the sordid crime committed on her.

The couple made a written complaint to the Matara police, but, as their visas were expiring on the following day, they had to return to their country and hence could not pursue the case further.
The Matara police arrested the hotelier (identified as one Ruwan) and produced him in Courts, where he was initially remanded and later released on bail.

Southern Hoteliers Association has raised concern over the increasing number of sexual abuse against foreign women. File pic of a foreigner sunbathing on a beach down south
Police said they were following the case, despite the absence of the complainant. There was concern from the Netherlands Embassy as well as from women’s rights groups about the incident.

Netherlands Embassy First Secretary Jaco Beerends said, “The sexual abuse of a female Dutch national at a guest house in Matara can be considered a ‘terrible’ incident and the authorities must act upon any incident that concerns the safety of tourists arriving in the country.”

“One such incident can create a huge impact, as safety is the important factor for a tourist on vacation, and we are concerned of the safety of Dutch nationals,” he said. Mr. Beerends said there will be no change in the travel advisory, as this is an isolated incident.

According to him, 291,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka in 2011, from Western Europe, mostly from Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. “There is a growing number of tourist arrivals from the Netherlands. Recently, a Dutch tour operator has made arrangements for direct trips from the Netherlands to Sri Lanka. Tourists from Western Europe are known for long stays and spending more,” he said.

He said the victim did not contact the Embassy after the incident. “As they have lodged a complaint with the police, we believe the authorities will inquire into the incident,” he concluded.

Condemning the incident, Southern Hoteliers Association president Priyankara Wickremasekare said there is a need to increase the number of tourist police officers and a mechanism or body to monitor unlicensed tourist guest houses.

“More police officers should be deployed in places where community tourism takes place, where tourists build close contacts with the people in the area. These incidents do not take place in known tourist zones like Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna, but in newly developed tourist zones like Tangalle and Madiha. People in these rural areas have the idea that European women can be approached easily,” he said. He said that authorities should take all measures to prevent these incidents

“In this case, a motel owner was involved in the sexual abuse. There are unprofessional motel owners within the tourist industry, with no tourist body to guide or train them, or set a code of ethics. There are no laws in place in this regard,” Mr. Wickremasekare said.

According to him, unlicensed guest houses do not come under the supervision of the Tourist Authority, as they have failed to meet the required standards. UNP Lakvanitha Movement president Ms. Shanthini Kongahage, this week, handed over a petition to the Child Development & Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadda, expressing concern about incidents of rape and sexual abuse of locals as well foreigners visiting the country.

“If women coming to Sri Lanka, looking for hospitality, are being raped or sexually abused, that would not augur well for the country. We are worried about mothers and daughters,” the petition said.

The organisation called upon the Minister to take action to prevent the increasing number of cases of sexual abuse of children and women.

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‘Silenced Voices – Tales of Sri Lankan Journalists in Exile’, a new documentary by Norwegian filmmaker Beate Arnestad: 09-02-12/ 18-20 VIKA KINO,OSLO!

2012-01-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

Award winning filmmaker presents documentary on exiled Sinhala, Tamil journalists
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 January 2012, 22:45 GMT]

‘Silenced Voices – Tales of Sri Lankan Journalists in Exile’, a new documentary by Norwegian filmmaker Beate Arnestad, who directed and produced the award winning documentary ‘My Daughter the Terrorist’ in 2007, is to be pre-premiered in Oslo, Norway, on February 09. The screening of ‘Silenced Voices’, which is about journalists, who contributed to international exposure of the internationally abetted genocidal war without witnesses, will be followed by a debate featuring journalists Bashana Abeywardane, the former chief editor of Hiru weekly, Frances Harrison, the former BBC foreign correspondent to Sri Lanka and Sverre Tom Radøy, a Norwegian journalist. The film features Mr. Bashana Abeywardene, his wife Sharmila Logeswaram, Sonali Wickrematunge and A. Lokeesan, TamilNet wartime correspondent, who was reporting from 2005 to April 2009 from Vanni.

Mr. Lokeesan was given safe passage to Europe with assistance from international media organisations by the efforts of the progressive Sinhalese of the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS). Lokeesan is currently documenting his experiences as a TamilNet correspondent.

The documentary about journalists from the island of Sri Lanka in exile, with focus on issues of freedom of speech and media suppression in the island, will be screened at Vika Cinema from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by Norway’s The Fritt Ord Foundation and co-organized by the Human Rights Human Wrongs Documentary Film Festival.

“The film is told as a personal encounter with exiled journalists from Sri Lanka who have been “silenced” and almost killed in their home country because they exposed war crimes, corruption and massacres of civilians. They claim these crimes are being committed by the state. Sri Lanka is ranking one of the worst countries in Asia with respect to freedom of expression. In the past years, many have disappeared or are found tortured and killed. Close to 50 media workers have recently fled the country,” a media announcement by the Fritt Ord Foundation said.

Many journalists have faced and continue to face grave physical threats to life, family and property from the Sri Lankan state. Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, who filed news reports for TamilNet was killed in 2000 and Sivaram Dharmeratnam (Taraki), a senior editor of TamilNet was abducted and assassinated in 2005.

The Norwegian filmmaker Beate Arnestad has over twenty years of experience producing and directing content for departments at Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Her first independent and award- winning documentary was My Daughter the Terrorist filmed during the time she lived in Sri Lanka. She is also behind the documentary Telling Truths in Arusha (2010).

Chronology:

24.01.12 Award winning filmmaker presents documentary on ex..
04.11.10 TamilNet wartime correspondent from Vanni reaches ..

External Links:
Fritt Ord: Pre-premiere of ‘Silenced Voices – Tales of Sri Lankan Journalists in Exile’ and panel debate

Copyright © 1997-2012 TamilNet URL: http://www.tamilnet.com email: tamilnet@tamilnet.com

MPS: Not against granting land and police powers to provincial councils in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.!!!

2012-01-25T06:49:00.001-08:00

JVP dissidents will not oppose police, land powers to North

January 25, 2012, 7:10 am

JVP dissidents said Monday that they were not against granting land and police powers to provincial councils in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Political Secretary of the Movement for People’s Struggle (MPS) formed by JVP dissidents, Pubudu Jagoda told the BBC Sandeshaya programme that if Tamil citizens’ demand was for police and land powers to be granted to the provincial councils, they must be granted.

Jagoda, who was earlier a politburo member of the JVP, said that the newly formed MPS had no faith or trust in the Senate proposed by the government to bring about reconciliation and answers to problems facing the Tamil people.

Participating in an interview with the BBC Sandeshya programme aired on Monday night, Jagoda said his movement did not approve of the TNA, but MPS too was for granting police and land powers to the Tamil people if that was what they needed. Democracy should be restored in the North. People should be granted their rights.

Jagoda said that the MPS did not believe in devolution of power would empower the communities but if the people of the North demand those powers as a solution to the problems, the MPS would not object to it.

The interview could be accessed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/sinhala/meta/tx/sin1500?size=au&bgc=003399&lang=si&nbwm=1

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72 DOCTORS among 800 Medical Officers who were given post intern appointments last month! They left SRILANKA without doing their internships.!!!

2012-01-25T06:27:00.000-08:00

More than 70 recently passed out docs have left the country

January 24, 2012, 9:26 pm

By Dilanthi Jayamanne

Over 70 doctors who were given appointments last month have already left the country without informing the Health Ministry. Quoting Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena the Ministry spokesman said yesterday that many leave Sri Lanka after obtaining the five year MBBS medical degree at the tax payers expense.

The spokesman said foreign countries benefited from their expertise and service while the government and people who paid for their education were the losers.

Last year Minister Sirisena appealed to 10,000 Sri Lankan doctors serving in United Kingdom, Australia and USA to return to serve the country as the war had ended.

Additional Secretary Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe said that 72 doctors who left the country were those who had received post internship appointments and decided against taking up positions or those who had not applied for post intern appointments at all. He said they were among the 800 medical officers who were given post intern appointments last month. They left the country without doing their internships.

Dr. Marasinghe said the GMOA had unofficial information that approximately 60 MBBS qualified medical officers had left the country without doing their internship the previous year.

A majority leave the country due to the lack of facilities to work in the peripheries and concerns over schooling of their children. Recently the GMOA held discussions with the President regarding the issues faced by medical officers. One of them being, schooling facilities for their children. The GMOA appealed to the President to provide 280 seats in country wide schools so that their children and they themselves would not be faced with the dilemma of finding schools or being separated from their families owing to the issue, he said.

Doctors are transferred every four years and thereby are unable to provide the school with a permanent address.

Dr. Marasinghe also cautioned the government that it would be faced with another crisis in the future when MBBS doctors opt to do their internship and post internship in private hospitals rather than face the issues of serving in government hospitals.

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SUPPORTING PRESIDENT: BARACK OBAMA! & COURTESY MAIL FROM HON:OBAMA!

2012-01-25T06:15:00.000-08:00

From: info@barackobama.com

Subject: Before I speak tonight

Friend..!

I'm heading to Capitol Hill soon to deliver my third State of the Union address.

Before I go, I want to say thanks for everything you're doing.

Tonight, we set the tone for the year ahead. I'm going to lay out in concrete terms the path we need to take as a country if we want an economy that works for everyone and rewards hard work and responsibility.

I'm glad to know you'll be standing with me up there.

Barack

-----
Support President Obama.

UNP:Engaging in further talks is waste of time! Urgent need is not brinkmanship & statements to please India,while telling Sinhalese another story.!!!

2012-01-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

Solving ethnic issue: UNP willing to cooperate with government but ...

13 A provided for land and police powers

January 24, 2012, 9:24 pm

by Zacki Jabbar

The UNP said yesterday that it was willing to co-operate with the government to find a political solution to the ethnic issue, but the the latter should stop its dilatory tactics such as the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee on the national question.

General Secretary of the UNP, Tissa Attanayake told a news conference in Colombo, that numerous Committees had discussed the ethnic issue and the Rajapaksa regime had even discarded the recommendations of the All Party Representative Committee.

The problems and solutions had been debated for decades and the answers were very clear. It was now up to the government to state its policy without making contradictory statements from time to time, Attanayake said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had informed India that he was committed to 13th Amendment Plus, while some of his ministers said that land and police powers could not be devolved, Attanayake said adding that a responsible government should not behave in such a manner.

The UNPGeneral Secretary said that there had to be sincerity of purpose on national issues, and the term 13th Amendment Plus, had to be explained if the government expected the cooperation of the UNP and other Opposition parties.

The 13th Amendment provided for the devolution of land and police powers, which the Tamil parties were agitating for. Engaging in further talks was a waste of time. The need of the hour was not brinkmanship and statements to please India, while telling the Sinhalese a different story, Attanayake observed.

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At the last HRC sessions,UNSG transmitted the PoE(expert panel) to the HRC & UN Human Rights Commissioner without even bothering to inform Sri Lanka.!

2012-01-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

SL denied opportunity to counter Ratner

Geneva confab on alleged war crimes:

January 24, 2012, 9:23 pm

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Sri Lanka was not invited to a recent roundtable conference held under the auspices of the UN in Geneva, where a key member of UNSG Ban Ki-moon’s Panel of Experts (PoE) on accountability in Sri Lanka, Prof. Steven Ratner reiterated the demand for an international investigation.

Responding to Monday’s The Island exclusive headlined ‘Ground being prepared for int’l war crimes probe’, External Affairs Ministry said that the Sri Lankan mission hadn’t received an invitation hence couldn’t comment on the latest event staged by those wanting to haul Sri Lanka before an international war crimes tribunal.

A senior official said that there could be a couple of more events, including the screening of ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ in the run-up to the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva late next month.

The roundtable discussion, "Delivering on the commitment to accountability,’ at Villa Moynier-Rue de Lausanne had been an exercise aimed at reaching agreement on an international war crimes inquiry on the basis of unsubstantiated report by UNSG’s PoE and Lanka’s Killing Fields,’ produced by a British company at the behest of the LTTE rump, the official said.

The PoE comprised former Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, Sreven Ratner and South Africa’s, Yasmin Sooka.

The Island learns that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had inquired from the External Affairs Ministry as to the measures taken by the ministry to counter stepped-up propaganda efforts ahead of the forthcoming HRC sessions.

Among those invited in the discussion were US Ambassador to the HRC, Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, Canadian Permanent Representative, Elissa Golberg, British Permanent Representative, Peter Gooderham, Norwegian Permanent Representative, Steffen Kongstad, French Permanent Representative, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, German Permanent Representative, Hanns H. Schumacher, Australian Permanent Representative, Peter Woolcott, EU Permanent Representative, Mariangela Zappia, Rory Mungroven (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), Peter Splinter (Amnesty International), Pooja Patel (Forum Asia), Philippe Dam (Human Rights Watch), Alex Conte (International Commission of Jurists), Ms Beris Gwynne (World Vision International).

The External Affairs Ministry said that since the conclusion of the conflict in May, 2009, an international grouping with the support of some disruptive elements in Sri Lanka had been trying to undermine the country. The ministry said that the last HRC sessions in Geneva and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2011), too, were turned into anti-Sri Lanka projects.

Addressing the Colombo-based diplomatic community recently, External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris pointed out the illogicality of a Canadian move to have a firm decision on an ‘interactive dialogue’ on the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) at the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) scheduled to begin in late February 2012. Prof. Peiris said that Canada had wanted to decide on this issue at the 18th Sessions of the HRC in Geneva even before the LLRC released its report. Calling the move a gross abuse of process, Prof. Peiris urged those skeptical about Sri Lanka’s intentions not to pre-judge.

Minister Peiris said that there could be more victims in the future if Sri Lanka’s case was allowed to be manipulated now.

At the last HRC sessions, UNSG transmitted the PoE to the HRC and UN Human Rights Commissioner without even bothering to inform Sri Lanka.

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HRW: SINHALA Govt in the past failed to advance justice and accountability for the victims of the country’s 26-year-long civil conflict,!!!

2012-01-24T15:06:00.001-08:00

Lanka News Web.COM .Sri Lanka: No Progress on Justice .

Tuesday, 24 January 2012 20:47

The Sri Lankan government in the past year failed to advance justice and accountability for the victims of the country’s 26-year-long civil conflict, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012. While Sri Lanka’s war-ravaged north and east became more open, the government deepened repression of basic freedoms throughout the country.
The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa continued to stall on accountability for abuses by the security forces, threatened media and civil society groups, and largely ignored complaints of insecurity and land grabbing in the north and east, Human Rights Watch said. The long-awaited report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), published in December, largely absolved the military for its conduct in the bloody final months of the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which ended in May 2009.

“In 2011, accountability remained a dead issue, the media faced increasing censorship, and the long-standing grievances which led to the conflict were not seriously addressed,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Sri Lankans face a lack of justice, weak rule of law, land grabbing, and a censored media from a government that is increasingly authoritarian.”

In its 676-page report, Human Rights Watch assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries, including popular uprisings in the Arab world that few would have imagined. Given the violent forces resisting the “Arab Spring,” the international community has an important role to play in assisting the birth of rights-respecting democracies in the region, Human Rights Watch said in the report.

The government’s failure to hold perpetrators of abuses accountable remained a key issue throughout the year. No one was prosecuted for atrocities committed during the conflict with the LTTE. The government ignored the findings of a Panel of Experts report, commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which found rampant abuses by both government forces and the LTTE, and called for an independent international mechanism to investigate laws-of-war violations. The government insisted instead that its LLRC would be the mechanism to address wartime abuses, though the mandate, composition and procedures of the commission were deeply flawed. The LLRC effectively exonerated government forces for laws-of-war violations, rehashed long-standing recommendations, and took no concrete steps to advance accountability.

The commission’s findings stand in stark contrast to those of the UN Panel of Experts, the UN special envoy on extrajudicial executions, and nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch. Although the LLRC found that government shelling resulted in civilian casualties, an allegation that the government had strenuously denied, it did not even consider the repeated attacks on civilian areas and hospitals as possible indiscriminate attacks prohibited by the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said.

“The abuses by government forces detailed in the UN Panel of Experts report are strangely missing in the LLRC’s findings,” Adams said. “Even the LLRC’s useful recommendations seem destined to join those of other Sri Lankan commissions that got filed away and ignored.”

Free expression in Sri Lanka was under assault in 2011. The editor of a Jaffna-based newspaper was beaten with iron bars by a group of unidentified youths in late July. Also in July, a team of Radio Netherlands journalists were harassed by police and later robbed and attacked at gunpoint by men in a white van, a notorious symbol of terror in Sri Lanka. The chairman of the Sunday Leader, whose brother Lasantha Wickrematunge had been gunned down in 2009, received a phone call from President Rajapaksa who threatened to attack him personally in response to articles in the Sunday Leader about high-level corruption. In December, two human rights activists, Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan, disappeared, apparently abducted while en route to a planned protest rally in Jaffna. Weeraraj’s father stated that his son had received anonymous phone calls prior to the protest telling him that he would be eliminated if he continued his political involvement.

In November, the government-owned Daily News announced that the government would issue guidelines and a code of conduct for the country’s media. The Media Ministry called on all news websites to register. At least five websites critical of the government were subsequently blocked inside the country.

“A free media is an essential building block of a democratic state,” Adams said. “The Rajapaksa administration is putting this in jeopardy by reacting to criticism with heavy-handed measures.”

The government says that there has been meaningful progress on reconciliation, but there is little evidence to support that contention, Human Rights Watch said. Talks between the government and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) on distribution of powers remained stalled through most of 2011. While campaigning ahead of elections in Jaffna in June, members and supporters of the TNA were attacked by army personnel wielding rods, batons and sticks.

There were some improvements for the Tamil population in the north and east in 2011. Freedom of movement to the north has allowed for greater access by humanitarian, local human rights and media groups, as well as by families. However, the government took inadequate steps in 2011 to normalize living conditions. Security in the region remained poor, with alarming incidents reported of gender-based violence and enforced prostitution. The unsettling attacks mid-year by “grease devils” – unidentified male assailants – exposed the vacuum in the security forces’ ability to respond adequately to civilians’ needs for protection. The heavy military presence in the north and east was a continuing source of distrust among the largely Tamil population.

The issue of land, one of the central problems undergirding the decades-long conflict, remains unresolved. Although the cabinet in April passed a circular intended to address the issue of land ownership and competing claims, particularly for those who fled during the war, little was done to implement its provisions.

Further, the government failed to appoint a National Land Commission, as required under the 13th amendment to the constitution. Reports of land-grabbing by the military in the north and elsewhere in the country increased through 2011. In some cases, the military provided some compensation, but sporadically and only when initiated by the owners, not the occupiers.

“The government has barely made an effort to address the grievances of the Tamil population,” Adams said. “Instead of the government facilitating greater dialogue, Tamil political representatives are subject to threats and harassment.”

Most of the nearly 300,000 displaced persons illegally confined in military-controlled detention centers after the war were able to leave by early 2010, but many have still not been able to return to their previous homes or communities. About 57,000 people live with host families, and another roughly 53,000 remain in the camps, in part because de-mining activities have not yet been completed in their original home areas.

By December, the government had released all but about 1,000 of the nearly 12,000 LTTE “surrenderees,” alleged combatants and supporters that it was detaining without charge or trial, and claimed that those remaining would be released by mid-2012. The government says these former combatants have been rehabilitated and trained to enter civilian life. The government said another 1,000 “hardcore” LTTE members are being held at Camp Boosa. The conditions for all of these detainees are not known.

Allegations of mistreatment and torture in custody have not been investigated.

The Emergency Regulations were allowed to expire on August 31, but the 1979 Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and other laws and regulations permitting detention without charge for up to 18 months leave an abusive detention regime in place.

Local government elections held between March and October further consolidated the hold of Rajapaksa’s United Freedom People’s Alliance party. It won control over 270 of the 322 local authorites contested. As in previous years, the president relied on close family members to strengthen his hold on government. Various Rajapaksa brothers remain as cabinet ministers with important portfolios. Opposition parties were effectively sidelined.

Sarath Fonseka, the former army commander who challenged Rajapaksa during the 2010 presidential election, was sentenced to an additional three years in prison after his current sentence expires in January 2012.

“As the Rajapaksa government has strengthened its grip politically, basic rights protections in the country have deteriorated,” Adams said.

- HRW

SLA is constantly threatening former Tamil Tigers who were released in the north following rehabilitation, to stay away from political activities.!!!

2012-01-24T15:01:00.000-08:00

Former Tigers 'threatened' in north

'These former LTTE cadres are now forced to live under the watchful eye of military intelligence,' says Councillor MK Sivajilingam

The military in Sri Lanka is constantly threatening former Tamil Tigers who were released in the north following rehabilitation, to stay away from political activities, local politicians say.
The former combatants are particularly told by military not to engage with the Peoples Struggle Movement (PSM), Velvettithurai Urban Councillor MK Sivajilingam told BBC Sandeshaya.

"This is a denial of their political rights," he said.

PSM is a breakaway group of Janatha Vimkuthi Peramuna (JVP).

The Sri Lanka army, however, has categorically rejected the accusation.

Military rejects

Military spokesman, Brig Nihal Hapuarachchi told BBC Sandeshaya that while the police keep an eye on the activities of the former rebels, the military has no role to play after they were released.

It is true that the police are keeping an eye on those former Tamil Tigers for about an year

Military spokesman, Brig Nihal Hapuarachchi

"These former LTTE cadres are now forced to live under the watchful eye of military intelligence," said Mr Sivajilingam.

The situation is widespread in Jaffna islands and in the Vanni.

"Some of them are told to report to the military once a week and others are told to come once a month," added the former MP.

He declined to reveal specific details fearing retribution by the military.

Brig Hapuarachchi, however, says neither the local media nor local councillors have raised such an issue with the military.

"It is true that the police are keeping an eye on those former Tamil Tigers for about an year," he told BBC Sinhala service.

Denying any threat by the military the spokesman however said that the aim of the police supervision is "to take necessary action if in case these people getting involved in any unnecessary activities," he added.

Insisting that it is not wrong for the police to supervise them, Mr Sivajilingam says it is the threats to their day to day activity that needs to be stopped.

"They are told that they will face death if they get involved in anti government politics," he added.

Sandeshaya

BBC

Janarala/SINHALA Newspaper: Vehicles with Special Gas Chambers to Murder Persons who are Abducted by the White Van groups are currently roaming IN SL!

2012-01-24T03:08:00.000-08:00

Lanka News Web.com
Gas rooms for the White Van unit .

Sunday, 22 January 2012 07:45 Lanka News Web

The Janarala newspaper states that vehicles with special gas chambers to murder persons who are abducted by the White Van groups are currently roaming around the country.

The gas chamber with the gas used to cremate bodies in crematoriums is reportedly attached to a vehicle that is traveling around the country.

A large number of persons abducted in white vans have been killed and cremated in such gas chambers, it is stated.

These gas chambers have been sent to Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy, Galle, Matara, Anuradhapura districts and the districts in the North and Eastern Provinces. Gas chambers have been deployed to cover each district.

A specially trained paramilitary group has been assigned to handle these gas chambers in a secretive manner.

Since it is dangerous to detain persons who have been abducted in white vans, this method has been used to murder then and destroy the evidence.

According to the Janarala newspaper, it is this reason that has made it difficult to find any details about the persons who have gone missing.

lankanewsweb.com

VK/NSSP:LLRC Report& its Recommendations Do not Satisfy the Tamil organizations! There is No Mention of War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity & INQUIRY!

2012-01-24T02:55:00.000-08:00

A commission worth taking!

The full report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) is in public domain, after it was presented in parliament on 16 December, by the Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva. He in fact made it very certain that the recommendations would be carried out to the letter.

Tamil organizations

The report and its recommendations do not satisfy the Tamil organizations. There is no mention of war crimes, crimes against humanity and there is no mention of a need to investigate such crimes.

I agree that it is a fraud, made to satisfy the global masters. The commission worked under duress with the military chasing it every where it went. Those who came to give evidence, particularly the Tamils and Muslims, were terrorized and discouraged.

In Tamil areas the military regime was openly hostile to the investigation. The report does not reveal the truth, certainly not. It does not cover the tragedy that happened in this country. Far from it; it is a crude attempt to conceal the barbarism of the regime. However in spite of this, Ministers Champika, Douglas and Wimal have condemned the report as unacceptable.

Champika has said;

“We have reservations or questions of the manner in which the panel has reached certain decisions. It must be stated that the panel seems to have exceeded the limit that had been given or stipulated. They have expressed certain suggestions exceeding that limit. The committee that was formed to look into incidents from February 2002-May 2009 has come up with the suggestion that the solution to the North-East ethnic issue is devolution of power. That is a clear example of them exceeding their powers and limits.”

Even the commission appointed by the regime to whitewash itself, was not able to conceal some of the daring facts. Commissioners could not cover barbarism without becoming a part of it. They have struggled hard to keep their good names in civil society. Result is the anomalies spelled out in the report.

Kusal says;

“Despite that choice of the regime, the following five issues at least, as taken by the LLRC in its findings and recommendations, has put the government in the dock.

Responding to the Channel 4 programmes
Armed groups in operation
Heavy militarization in North - East
Land disputes and alienation
Devolution of powers.”
Many political analysts who are far from any sympathy to the Tamil liberation say that these recommendations will lead to a grave crisis in the government, if any attempt is made by the regime to implement these.

Can it independently investigate Channel 4 footage for authenticity and also if authentic, to take legal action to punish the culprits?
Can it disarm all para military groups and withdraw the military from public life and leave civil life to a civil administration in the Tamil home land?
Can it devolve power to the peripheries, giving power over land and police to the provincial council PC system?
From the beginning

From the very beginning we have demanded reforms such as these to solve the Tamil national problem. That would have been the only method to stop the separation of the Tamil speaking people. Such autonomy would have satisfied the Tamil aspiration for self rule and preserving its identity. Any substantial reform of that kind would have avoided all this bloodshed and destruction.

Now after going through inhumanity and genocide the government commission is recommending a large step in that direction. It is a command for an about turn. The communal elements within the government such as Champika have given the sign for putting on armour for the coming battle.

Are we gong back to the days of 88/89, when we battled with arms in hand with the chauvinist who opposed devolution and equality? It is clear there cannot be any democracy or civil society in this country unless we battle out and resolve the Tamil national problem. It is very necessary for the left and the democracy to stand together for the implementation of the LLRC recommendations.

nssp.info

Where there is righteousness in the heart,There is beauty in the character! When there is harmony in the home,There is an order in the nation! PEACE.!

2012-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

Kalam recommends tri-lingual initiative to Lanka

January 22, 2012, 12:00 pm

Former Indian President Dr A.P. J. Kalam Saturday recommended to Sri Lanka the tri-lingual initiative as it could enable Lankan youth towards cultural and socio-economic unity.

Speaking at the launch of the National Action Plan and declaring 2012 as the year fpr a Trilingual Sri Lanka, Dr Kalam said that it would be a continuation of the efforts in quality education for all which was pioneered by the first education minister and the father of Sri Lanka’s free education system, C.W.W. Kannangara whose efforts were reflected in very high literacy rate in the country. "So young children of Sri Lanka, may I greet you today on this historic occasion", he said.

Full text of speech:

When I was flying from New Delhi to Colombo yesterday night (21 Jan 2012), I was thinking about what message that I can share it with you. Then came, the poem, which I would like to share it with you.

Dream of Sri Lankan Youth

I had a dream, I have a dream.

The dream for peace,

The dream for prosperity.

It was a full moon night, Island fully immersed,

A Divine soul raises,

From the musical waves of sea surrounding Sri Lanka.

Journey to North, south,

East and west and touches 20 million hearts,

And removes the pain with Compassion.

And the divine soul echoes,

Oh, Sri Lanka, Oh youth of Sri Lanka,

If God is for us, who can be against.

You Sri Lankan, radiate everywhere

compassion and love to every heart in Sri Lanka,

That beautiful compassionate touch will bring prosperity and peace.

I am delighted to participate in the historic event of the launch of National Action Plan and declaring 2012 as the "Year for a Trilingual Sri Lanka". My greetings to all of you. Friends, at this juncture, I would like to recall an experience during the British India when I was a school student. At that time, upto the age of 15, I was taught all the subjects including mathematics, science, geography, history in my mother tongue. My experience is that when we learn subjects in our own mother tongue, we learn faster and could grasp the inherent meaning of the subject and we start thinking naturally. This is what the tri-lingual initiative can bring to the youth of Sri Lanka and enable them towards cultural and socio-economic unity. It would be a continuation of the efforts in quality education for all which was pioneered by the first education minister and the father of Sri Lanka’s free education system, C.W.W. Kannangara whose efforts are reflected in very high literacy rate in Sri Lanka. So, young children of Sri Lanka, may I greet you today on this historic occasion. Today I would like talk on the topic Evolution of a Noble Nations which I think is crucial to development of humanity.

Origins of Life

Ancient human history has been revealed beautifully by Paleoanthropology. Life originated 600 million years ago and continental drift occurred 200 million years ago creating five continents. Mammals evolved 140 million years ago, Hominids that is the human type, evolved 26 million years ago but modern man only arrived on the scene some 200,000 years ago. He migrated and inhabited the world only in the last 50,000 years. The spoken language is some 10,000 years old while writing evolved only a few thousand years ago. In this situation we have to see how to evolve a language system in a diversified society for the common welfare of all citizens. I am sure that the Trilingual Sri Lanka initiative will enable across – the - language – learning, enrich the education and further civilizational heritage of the nation.

The evolution of human being has been greatly accelerated by the application of science and technology in several fields. With expansion of ideas, geo-political situation changed and many new independent nations were born in the Second World War era. Most of the nations had great civilizational heritage. They have had a glorious past but suffered under colonial rule for many centuries. After the colonization has gone the independent nations formed governments of their own often propelled by democratic aspirations. The process continues and 21st century is going to see a fully evolved world. We are all destined to realize, happiness, dignity of life, freedom and creativity, but it can be realized only through nations becoming noble.

Nobility of a Nation

How do we define nobility of nation?

It is not merely in terms of economic indicators, human development indicators, or any other form of numerical indicators. It is more of a quality than a quantitative measure. I was reflecting on the feature of a noble nation, the essence of a noble society. Naturally, a noble nation have to be populated by people who are noble – not just at individual level, but in a collective sense as well. And nobility has to begin from the top – from the leader and percolate to various levels of society to the artisans and peasants.

Do we have a good example? Is there an ideal description of such a nobility?

Mahatma Gandhi – A Noble Leader

A scene comes to my mind from the life of Mahatma Gandhi ji. You may be aware of the events towards the final years of struggle for Indian Independence. A great nation with a civilizational history and heritage of many millennia had been partitioned politically. You know also the terrible blood letting, disturbance, migration issues, almost akin to a civil war which tore the nation. Then came the independence.

When our first Prime Minister addressed the nation on 15th August 1947 early morning, he chose hope of a future in a multi cultural democratic context and articulation on the issues of a developing country. The uncharted path ahead had vast opportunities but also grave challenges. Everybody in the political system, and many other citizens had assembled there. In those days, there was no real time TV broadcast. Maximum outreach was through the radio. I heard the historic speech of Freedom at Midnight, on the All India Radio at Rameswaram where many of us had crowded around a community radio. Next day, newspaper carried various photographs. One person uniquely was missing from the photos and the addresses. That was Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation. He was away in strife torn Bengal amongst trodden aggrieved people and was giving love and care those brutalized by human frenzy of hatred and intolerance. He was trying to find the solution for curing of the menace which was poisoning the society and people.

Mahatma Gandhi created benchmark of noble nation, a noble society and a noble leader by this simple example of practical action. That scene is playing again - again in my mind. All the leaders of nations; be it in government, political opposition, business, media, education, and people from civil society should scene of a serving leader capture this in their minds and actions, again and again.

Dear Friends, for evolving Noble nation, let us answer five questions ourselves:

1. Am I a noble individual?

2. Is my society noble?

3. Is my nation noble?

4. If not what should I do?

5. How I do change the current situation and go towards nobility?

If we all ask these questions, sincerely and answer them truthfully, we will find solutions leading to concrete action.

Many noble nations will then emerge.

Humanity will prosper. Civilization will advance.

Everyday Issues of a Noble Nation

Having addressed this subtle principle and ideal, let us focus some practical aspects of life which provide ground for nobility to arise in society and people. These are the removal of poverty, hunger and pain from diseases. This will need a development agenda based on the core competence of the nation and its entire different people.

When different societies come together to build a cohesive social system and a nation, it is necessary to ensure that benefits of development encompass all sections of the society which comprise the nation. World over, poverty, illiteracy, un-employment and deprivation are precipitating into the forces of strife, anger and violence. These forces link themselves to some earlier real or perceived historical enmities, tyrannies injustice, inequities, ethnic issues and religious fundamentalism flowing into an outburst of extremism worldwide. Both India and Sri Lanka have witnessed and are witnessing such various acts. We have to address ourselves to the root causes of such phenomena for finding lasting solutions for promoting peace.

We also need to minimize damages from natural disaster and risks from manmade industry and activities. These give basic human security to enable people not to hate others and not be jealous of others. For this transformation to take place, we have to replace the urge of "What Can I Take" with the spirit of "What Can I Give?"

PURA and Sri Lankan PURA Plan

Friends, Buddha had said the "Nibbana (nirvana) cannot be had on empty stomach". How can we translate this message into action.

Hence, another need of a noble nation in the creation of an environment of inclusive development where every citizen gets an opportunity to build capacity and generate income based on their competencies. For this to be realized, the need of the hour is the evolution of sustainable systems which act as "enablers" and bring inclusive growth and integrated development to the nation.

Let me present one such sustainable development system is the mission of Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) through creation of three connectivities namely physical, electronic, knowledge leading to economic connectivity for 15,000 villages of Sri Lanka.

PURA means :

1. The villages must be connected within themselves and with main towns and metros by good roads, waterways and wherever needed by the railway lines. They must have other infrastructure like schools, colleges, hospitals and amenities for the local population and the visitors. This is physical connectivity.

2. In the emerging knowledge era, the native knowledge has to be preserved and enhanced with latest tools of technology, training and research. The villages have to have access to good education from best teachers wherever they are, must have the benefit of good medical treatment, and must have latest information on their pursuits like agriculture, fishery, horticulture and food processing. That means they have to have electronic connectivity.

3. Once the Physical and Electronic connectivity are enabled, the knowledge connectivity is enabled. That can facilitate the ability increase the productivity, the utilization of spare time, awareness of health welfare, ensuring a market for products, increasing quality conscience, interacting with partners, getting the best equipment, increasing transparency and so in general knowledge connectivity.

4. Once the three connectivities viz Physical, Electronic and knowledge connectivity are ensured, they facilitate earning capacity leading to economic connectivity. When we Provide Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA), we can lead to upliftment of rural areas, we can attract investors, we can introduce effectively useful systems like Rural BPOs, Micro Finance and small scale industries.

There are operational PURAs already in India initiated by many educational, healthcare institutions, industry and other institutions. Government of India is moving ahead with the implementation of PURA on the national scale across several districts of India.

PURA structure for Sri Lanka

With 16 million rural citizens, represent about 79% of the population, Sri Lanka has a potential of deploying about 160 PURA complexes based on the core competencies of the cluster of villages. These may focus on the following aspects:

a) Coastal PURA: Focusing on marine industry including on sea fishing, processing, packaging and sales. Sri Lanka’s vast coastlands can be organized into about 50 Coastal PURA Complexes, primarily focusing on fishing and also service industry of sea tourism. Another industry which can be promoted in these PURAs can be based on gems and precious stones.

b) Plain PURA: Based on the inlands of Sri Lanka, we can realize about 60 Plain PURA complexes, focusing on agro products and processing like rice and coconut, forest products, natural and medicinal tourism and IT/ITES Industry to generate employment for the rural youth.

c) Hill PURA: With large areas of the central Sri Lanka being located on highlands, there is also a potential for creating about 50 Hill PURA complexes. Suitable rainfall and weather conditions make them ideally suited for creating industry based on tea. To consolidate the industry in these regions, the Hill PURAs of Sri Lanka can exclusively promote Tea Cooperatives of Farmers who can manage end-to-end production of tea to better realize the value of their farm products. The Sri Lankan tea has high value on the export market, and thereby is potential for high income growth to the local community.

Of course, there are many more detailed aspects which would go within each of the specific PURAs. The execution of such a PURA mission can be done in an entrepreneurial way, with Public-Private-Community Partnership model with active involvement from all the diverse societies of the nation. I, along with my team of experts, would be happy to participate in the planning of pilot PURA complexes in Sri Lanka to empower the 16 million rural citizens of the nation.

Unity in diversity

Friends, another important area is the removal of greed and undue competition by spreading love for all, even to those whom you think are different from you, or those who don’t agree with your view or even those with whom you share an unfavourable disposition. Human love and mutual trusts can overcome all such barriers of the past. We have an example of how European nations, who were constantly warring against each other for centuries could come together in a European Union and help each in times of economic crisis and create a win-win situation for a society which is otherwise diverse on counts of religion, language and ethnic backgrounds.

Birth of Ahimsa Dharma

I recall the connectivity with the Kalinga war scene around 2300 years back where Emperor Ashoka, while celebrating the victory in the Kalinga war, at the cost of the death of more than one hundred thousand people and equal number injured. In his victory, the emperor saw the blood bath in the moon lit night. Here we see the birth of Ahimsa Dharma, out of this tragic scene created by the Emperor himself and grow into a laudable philosophy that spread across the world. This philosophy of Ahmisa Dharma, is the founding principle of Mahatma Gandhi who won India’s freedom and became example of many nations seeking for independence. The greatest ideal expressed by Buddha, propagated by Ashoka and followed by Mahatma Gandhi; what is that?

Tolerance is the foundation of sustainable development and peaceful society

It will be appropriate to have an introspection by all of us about the social awakening needed for the national development. Every civilized society exists not only for day-to-day sustenance, but lives with a clear perception for the future and the generations to come. Such a situation would pre-suppose that each individual in such a society would cherish and translate into practice noble ideals of constructive tolerance, positive fellow-feeling and a total commitment to live and let live. None can have express this better, the Albert Einstein who said: "Laws alone can’t secure freedom of expression; in order that every man presents his views without penalty, there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population".

We have to evolve a society that will respect differences and celebrate differences. What are the various issues on tolerance?

1. Tolerance for people’s opinion

2. Tolerance for people’s culture

3. Tolerance for people’s belief system, and

4. and Tolerance for people’s styles

In fact, such an attitude, be it that of an individual or a collection of them i.e. society, is the hallmark of a civilized nation. That is what characterizes and differentiates life from sheer existence. Honesty and integrity - both in thought and action, independence and inter-dependence – in their wholesome and positive manifestations, would distinguish a civilized nation in its true sense. It is for each citizen, regardless of his or her background, to strive to inculcate these eternal values in him or her, and that alone would be the surest path and unfailing guarantee for a civilized society and its future.

The Great Reconciliation in human history

Indomitable Spirit and Forgiveness: I met a great personality who was responsible for the freedom of South Africa. He is none other than Dr. Nelson Mandela. Particularly the young people can learn two big lessons from this personality. These are indomitable spirit and virtue of forgiveness.

During my visit to South Africa in 2004, I went to the Robben Island. This is the place where the freedom of individuals was chained. We were received at the Island by Mr. Ahmed Kathrada, a South African, who was a co-prisoner with Dr. Nelson Mandela on the island. What surprised me was, in a tiny room where sleeping and all human needs have to be fulfilled. It has to be remembered that Dr. Nelson Mandela, who was 6 feet tall was imprisoned in that room for 26 years – fighting against the apartheid. The major part of his life was spent in this silent Island. He used to be taken for quarrying in the nearby mountain for a few hours in the hot sun. This is the time his sight got damaged. In spite of his body being tortured, he revealed to the world his indomitable spirit. That was the time he evolved a manuscript of freedom in tiny letters every day, when the jail wardens went to sleep. This small tiny lettered manuscript finally became the famous book of Mandela "A long walk to freedom".

It was a great event for me to meet him in his house in Johannesburg. Dear friends, I would like to share with you, when I entered Dr. Nelson Mandela’s house, I saw his three dimensional form with cheerfulness: the mighty man who got the freedom for South Africa from the tyranny of apartheid. And also a person when he became the President of South Africa he gave the people freedom to move, freedom to live in South Africa to those people who perpetuated the apartheid and tormented him in the jail for 26 years. Dr. Nelson Mandela accepted them as equal citizens. While I shook hands with Dr Mandela, I felt that I am touching the hand of a mighty soul filled with tolerance and respect and love for all humankind. When he started walking, he discarded his walking stick and put his hand on my shoulder as his support. Dear citizens of Srilanka, a big lesson that we learnt from this personality Dr. Nelson Mandela, which is explained in one of the Thirukkurals written 2200 years before.

which means, for those who do ill to you, the best punishment is to return good to them.

Conclusion

21st century humankind will cherish the hallmark system of empowered democracy with civilizational heritage based on tolerance mutual love and trust. We will need a system where diversities are basis for celebration and not conflict and where eternal goodness and wholesomeness in human conduct is brought about by the "Righteousness".

As our sages says:

Righteousness

Where there is righteousness in the heart

There is beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character,

There is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home.

There is an order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation,

There is peace in the world.

For meeting the challenges of these missions, we can draw the inspiration from the saying of Maharishi Patanjali, about 2,500 years ago "When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents come alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamt yourself to be."

My best wishes to all the participants of this event for success in their mission of evolving a noble nation.

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Mark "Black January" during which many prominent media personnel were either murdered, disappeared or attacks against media institutions in SL..!!!

2012-01-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

Media groups to mark 'Black January'

The watchdogs also point out that the murder of Tamil parliamentarian T Maheshwaran and former army commander Sarath Fonseka describing certain journalist as “traitors” also happened in January in recent years.

Media organisations in Sri Lanka have urged the authorities to investigate all recent attacks on media personnel and institutions.
The watchdogs say they will stage a protest on 25 January in Colombo against a series of attacks against media personnel in recent years.

It will especially mark "Black January" during which many prominent media personnel were either murdered, disappeared or attacks against media institutions, say the organisers.

Attacks on media in January
Set fire on LankaeNews office - 2011
Abduction of Prageeth elneligoda - 2010
Lasantha Wickrematunga killed - 2009
Bomb attack on Sirasa - 2009
Subramanium Sugeertharajan killed - 2006
Sathasivam Sundaram killed - 1982

The murder of Sunday Leader editor, Lasantha wickrematunga in 2009, disappearance of political columnist Prageeth Ekneligoda in 2010, the attack on Sirasa media network in 2009 and brutal attack on television producer Lal Hemantha Mawalage in 2008 are among the major incidents cited in the statement issued by the watchdogs.

The protesters say they will also urge the authorities to conduct proper investigations into other serious incidents including setting fire to LankaeNews office in 2010 and the attack on Rivira editor Upali Tennakoon in 2009.

The watchdogs also point out that the murder of Tamil parliamentarian T Maheshwaran, the abduction of Akuna journalists Sisira Priyankara, Nihal Serasinghe and Lalith Seneviratne and the former army commander Sarath Fonseka describing certain journalist as “traitors” also happened in January in recent years.

Sandeshaya |

BBCsinhala.com

An Open Letter to Dr. Abdul Kalam by World Thamil Organization..!!!

2012-01-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

An Open Letter to Dr. Abdul Kalam by WTO

Dear and Respected Dr. Abdul Kalam,

World Thamil Organization is a Registered, Non-Profit organization, incorporated in the United States of America. Since its inception in the year 1991, World Thamil Organization (WTO) has been promoting Tamil language and particularly espousing the cause of Tamil people's rights and liberty.

We are deeply shocked and dismayed to learn that you are planning to visit Sri Lanka on January 21-st at the invitation of its Government. The recent past experiences have proved that Sri Lanka has become the world class expert in deceiving the visiting international dignitaries by carefully choreographing its conducted tour by showing only one side and hiding its ugly, murderous side. In spite of this, we would welcome your visit to Lanka if you can, at your own free will, meet and discuss with all the students and faculty of the University of Jaffna at your own choice and not be taken on a "conducted tour" by the Sri Lankan government authorities to meet with only selected students and faculty members of the Government’s choice. Also, you must make sure that you have a private, detailed discussion with the Members of Parliament belonging to Tamil National Alliance, the elected representatives of Tamil people.

We strongly urge you not to participate in any programs sponsored by the Sri Lankan government or meet with Sri Lankan government officials or any Tamil Para-military groups colluding with the Sinhalese government which has always been anti-Tamil. You must also publicly announce, with no interference whatsoever from the Sri Lankan Government, the aspirations and legitimate rights of the Tamil people in their ancestral homeland.

As you know very well, the chauvinistic, fascist, anti-Tamil Sri Lankan Government (which is a Government of the Sinhalese, by the Sinhalese and for the Sinhalese) stands accused of committing genocide against the Tamil people and it is trying to use prominent Tamils like you to hide its horrendous crimes against the Tamils. We would like to bring to your attention that the Tamils all over the world are boycotting Sri Lanka. The reasons for boycotting Sri Lanka are too many to list here; some are shown below:

1. Sri Lanka is one of the Top Red Alert Countries identified for Genocide.

2. Approximately, 216,000+ innocent Thamil civilians have been killed by the Sri Lankan Government during Military Operations. A study reported in the British Medical Journal on June 19, 2008 by the University of Washington, Seattle and Harvard Medical School (BMJ [2008]; Vol:336: p.1482-1486, doi:10.1136/bmj.a137 (published 19 June 2008) states that realistic estimate of the number of people died due to the conflict in Sri Lanka between 1975 – 2002 alone is 124,000 - 229,000. An overwhelming of these dead are Tamil people at the hands of the Sri Lankan military.

3. About 80,000 innocent Tamil civilians including elderly and children were killed by Sri Lankan government during the last days of the military operation in May 2009 alone and over 100,000 people are still missing.

4. During the conflict, Sri Lanka did shelling and aerial bombardments on Safety Zones, hospitals, schools and places of worship. A published UN report says that there are credible evidence of Sri Lankan government's involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

5. Sri Lanka tortured and killed 500+ Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

6. Sri Lanka gained its reputation as the Number One Human Rights Violator in South Asia.

7. Sri Lanka is listed as the 2nd worst in the world in disappearances of people.

8. Sri Lanka is the 8th Worst in press freedom out of 173 free nations.

9. Sri Lanka is voted off United Nations Humans Rights Council.

10. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution requesting the Government of India to apply economic sanctions against Sri Lanka.

11. It is alleged that during tsunami, Sri Lanka received $US 2.2 billion. Out of this, Sri Lanka spent $US 603.4 million on projects unrelated to the disaster and $US 471.9 million is missing.

12. After an unduly long delay, Sri Lanka finally came out with its flawed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report. It failed to address the serious and pertinent issues raised in the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts Report. Amnesty International (AI) has said: “The report’s major shortcoming is in addressing alleged violations of the laws of war, whereas the LLRC appears to have taken the government's responses uncritically.”

As you know, academic boycott, economic sanctions and boycott of Sri Lankan products are among the tools used by international governments to make the rogue Governments like Sri Lanka to follow the international law.

We echo the voice of the Tamils all over the world to boycott any program organized either directly by the Sri Lankan government or by organizations sponsored by the Sri Lankan government.

We urge you to use your influence to protect the life and well-being of the Tamils who are undergoing untold sufferings at the brutal hands of the Sri Lankan Government and also in restoring to them the freedom, liberty and self-determination that they rightfully deserve in their ancestral homeland. Towards achieving these goals and objectives, we earnestly urge you to do the following:

1. Lead the campaign in India and elsewhere by exposing the atrocities committed by Sri Lanka against the Tamil people.

2. Tell all the Indian political leaders that they are supporting the persecution and genocide of Tamils by helping Sri Lanka which has always been anti- India and anti-Tamil and always pursued anti-Tamil pogroms since the island gained independence in 1948.

3. Tell the Indian government that its wrong policy of supporting Sri Lanka against the Tamils is bad not only for the Tamils but also for India’s self-interests.

4. Make the Indian leaders

i) realize that the Tamils in the North and East of the island of Lanka possess their inalienable rights to establish their own Nation on their ancestral homeland, much like the Bangladesh people have in their homeland, and
ii) actively support Tamil people's quest for freedom and dignity.

Sincerely,
Selvan Patchamuthu
President, World Thamil Organization, Inc.

A Tamil asylum seeker has set fire to herself and her baby at an asylum camp in western Norway after reject of asylum by INHUMAN UDI + UNE.!!!

2012-01-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

Rejected asylum seeker kills herself and her child in Norway
[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 January 2012, 23:14 GMT]

A 24-year-old Eezham Tamil asylum seeker has set fire to herself and her 20-month-old baby child Tuesday at an asylum camp in western Norway. The Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende reported Thursday that the mother succumbed to her injuries the same day and the son on Wednesday after doctors fought to save their lives. The future was very bleak for the victim, who was living in Norway since 2006 undergoing a lot of suffering. One week before her death, her 18-year-old sister was found dead in Jaffna.

The news of the mysterious death of her sister, which is believed to be a killing, and the recent rejection of her asylum case by the Norwegian immigration authorities have caused the tragic event, according to fellow asylum seekers who attended a memorial service on Thursday.

Kurdish asylum seekers Shahab Shamloo and Tayyeh Hoshyav who took part in a memorial service blamed the Norwegian immigration policy as having caused the deaths, according to BT.no.

The findings by the Norwegian Police so far suggest that the woman had set fire to herself and her child, news reports said.

The woman lived alone with her child in the apartment.

Kristine Aarre Hånes, the lawyer who represented the 24-year-old woman, has told NRK that the victim was very close to her younger sister whom she lost a week ago.

External Links:
NRK: Familien forstår ikkje politiet sin konklusjon på dødsbrannen
BT: Dødsbrannen var påsett
BT: - Ein tragedie at slikt skal skje

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Develop 600,000 villages of India through PURA/Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas through 4connectivities:Physical,Electronic,Knowledge,Economy!

2012-01-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

Kalam: Learn Sinhala, Tamil and English and make Sri Lanka a great nation
Exclusive Interview

January 20, 2012, 12:00 pm

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, January 20: India’s former President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam has appealed to Sri Lankans to use the Trilingual Initiative being launched in Colombo on Saturday to learn Sinhala, Tamil and English and make the island-nation great.

In an exclusive interview to The Island on the eve of his departure for Colombo, Kalam said: "Languages have a very important role in connecting the individual minds, articulate aspirations of the people and shape the dreams of a nation. Learning in one’s mother tongue is natural. But learning the other languages of the people of your nation and a link language will create harmony of thought and can lead to a prosperous and peaceful society."

He hadded: "I fervently hope that Sri Lankans will use the opportunity being provided by this three-language formula and make their nation great."

Kalam is especially visiting Sri Lanka to join President Mahinda Rajapaksa to launch the" Triligual Sri Lanka Initiative" in Colombo on Saturday.

Asked how India can help Sri Lankans rebuild their country after the three-decade-long civil war ended, he said: "The process of rebuilding in Sri Lanka is going on between our two countries. What is important is how fast rebuilding is taking place, and how quickly and fully the benefits reach the affected people. Here, what we need is only compassion in understanding the pain and generosity in removing the pain in time."

Question: What will be your advice to Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils and Muslims to live together without ethnic tensions?

Kalam: My nation, India, with its population of multi-culture, multi-religion, multi-language has a very important tool of living together for more than 60 years. That is: democracy, democracy and democracy. Democracy gives equal rights to every citizen to prosper and live peacefully. Since Sri Lanka and India are close friends, let the people of our two countries enjoy together the fruits of democracy.

Answering a question about his visit to Jaffna on Monday, he said he will be meeting the youth in the University of Jaffna and the Hindu College. "I will definitely be very happy to meet the scholars, professionals and the concerned citizens in the Jaffna peninsula."

Kalam also said: "I would like to share an experience. My team and I have developed a Developed India Vision 2020 document on how India can transform into an economically developed nation before the year 2020. And also I have given the roadmap on how to develop 600,000 villages of India through PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) through four connectivities called Physical, Electronic, Knowledge connectivities leading to Economic connectivity. I will be very happy to share these development experiences with the people of Sri Lanka, particularly the leaders and the youth."

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TNA Talk with the SINHALA Govt which was planned for Tuesday did not take place as agreed due to MR-Govt Representatives Failing to turn up.!!!

2012-01-21T05:43:00.001-08:00

Thirteen Plus means 'setting up a senate'

The Sri Lankan government says that the establishment of an upper house is its definition of 'Thirteen Plus'.

"The president assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the Thirteen Plus approach" SM Krishna

Government Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists in Colombo on Thursday that the government expects to establish a senate to 'represent minority groups and for consultation'.

"This will create a meaningful link between the central government and the provinces," he said.

The minister said that India has also been briefed on the government's intentions by Sri Lanka's president.

'Assurance by Rajapaksa'

Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna while in Colombo on a four day visit said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had assured him of his commitment to devolve more powers to the provinces beyond what has been proposed by the 13th amendment to the constitution.

Land and police rights
They will neither be taken away nor fully implemented

Minister Keheliya Rambukwella

"The president assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the Thirteen Plus approach," Minister Krishna told journalists in Colombo on Tuesday.

Tamils have been calling for more devolution to the provinces including police and land powers as a step towards finding a solution to the national problem.

Land and police powers

However, Minister Rambukwella said that Thirteen Plus does not include devolving land and police rights.

"There are issues with police and land rights. However, they will neither be taken away nor fully implemented," was his reply to a question by journalists.

These issues, the minister said, should be discussed in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) and outside.

TNA and PSC

"That is why the government insists the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to nominate their representatives to the PSC," the Minister said.

TNA leader R Sampanthan said that TNA has never declined to participate in the parliamentary select committee process.

However, Mr. Sampanthan said that talks with the government which was planned for Tuesday did not take place as agreed due to government representatives failing to turn up.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

FMR Army CHIEF of Sri Lanka has accused the MR-Govt for being Responsible for Series of Abductions & Disappearances Recently Reported IN NORTH.!!!

2012-01-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

Govt behind abductions - Fonseka

Mr Fonseka says he 'strongly condemns' the disappearance of activists in Jaffna

The former army commander of Sri Lanka has accused the government for being responsible for series of abductions and disappearances recently reported in the north.

Former general Sarath Fonseka made the accusation as he was brought to Colombo High Court as a suspect of a case involving alleged corruption when he was the army commander.

The government on Thursday said that it does not have any information on the whereabouts of Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan, who went missing in Jaffna since 09 December.

Quoting from a police report, Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva told the parliament police are yet to get any important leads on the incident.

'LTTE payroll'

Saying that he "strongly condemns abductions," Mr Fonseka said: "The government should take the responsibility for it (abductions)."

JVP dissident group has lodged a complaint with the UN regarding the disappearance

Mr Fonseka also accused the current security forces commander in Jaffna, of being responsible for the spate of abductions and disappearance in Jaffna.

"The commander in Jaffna is the one who took Rs 30,000 a month as a bribe from the terrorist leader in Colombo during the war. He is the one who is behind these incidents" he added.

The military under Mr Fonseka is also accused of gross human rights violations including abductions and involuntary disappearances.

The Appeal Court had earlier accepted a petition submitted by the parents of two missing human rights activists asking the court to order the army commander in Jaffna to produce them before courts.

The activists of JVP affiliated Jana Aragalaya (People's Struggle) were in Jaffna to organise a protest to commemorate the International Human Rights Day.

The petitioners argued that since Jaffna peninsula is under army control, the security forces are responsible for any incidents happening in the peninsular.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

Allow for an Independent International Mechanism to Investigate Alleged War Crimes and Violations of Intl Human Rights Law during THE CONFLICT!

2012-01-21T05:16:00.001-08:00

Berman Calls on Sri Lankan Government to Hold Accountable Human Rights Abusers .
Friday, 20 January 2012 14:51

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Howard Berman, Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the following statement on the recent release of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report. “I welcome the public release of the report of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), and I urge the Government of Sri Lanka to expeditiously implement the Commission’s recommendations on a wide range of issues, including on devolution of power, language policy, rule of law and governance, and media freedom,” said Rep. Berman. “Such steps would help foster reconciliation and strengthen democracy in Sri Lanka.”

“At the same time, I remain concerned that credible allegations against the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, as described by the UN Panel of Experts report, continue to go uninvestigated, and I call upon the Sri Lankan government to allow for an independent international mechanism to investigate alleged war crimes and violations of international human rights law during the nearly 30 year conflict,” continued Rep. Berman. “Only a credible investigation and process that holds those guilty accountable for their crimes can ensure that reconciliation in Sri Lanka is long lasting “

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SLPolice:223 school children were killed;4,100 others critically injured in accidents in 2011! In 2010, 223students died in road mishaps;3400 injured!

2012-01-20T02:01:00.000-08:00

Road mishaps kill 223
schoolchildren in 2011

Police promise stern action against reckless drivers
January 19, 2012, 10:14 pm

Police say 223 schoolchildren were killed and 4,100 others critically injured in road accidents in 2011. In 2010, 223 students died in road mishaps while 3,400 were injured.

by Harischandra Gunaratne

Wednesday’s disastrous accident in Mt. Lavinia, where nine schoolchildren were injured, has jolted the police into mulling tough measures against reckless drivers.

Police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana, addressing the media, yesterday said 223 schoolchildren had been killed and 4,100 others critically injured in road accidents in 2011. In 2010, 223 students had died in road mishaps while 3,400 were injured, he said.

The driver of the ill-fated school van in Wednesday’s accident was only 21 years old and he had obtained his driving licencee in June last year, SSP Rohana. Action would be taken to cancel the driving licences of those who exposed children to danger, he said.

"The police alone cannot control this situation and they need the cooperation of parents and the public," SP Rohana said.The police called the media briefing in the wake of President Mahinda Rajapaksa calling for a report from IGP N. K. Ilangakoon on Wednesday’s accident in the Mt. Lavinia police area.

The Presodebtial Secretariat said that President Rajapaksa had also directed the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to take tangible action to discipline private van operators.

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India must respond to how China has advanced its influence in the Region, with allies like Pakistan, Myanmar & SL! China has established AS A BULLY!!!

2012-01-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

India must kick China out of Sri Lanka: William Avery .
Thursday, 19 January 2012 15:33 Lanka News Web

There are few more knowledgeable observers of US-India relations than William H Avery, a former US diplomat, who served at the US Consulate in Chennai in the 1990s, a time when India’s relations with the US soured after New Delhi’s nuclear tests. In his new book, China’s Nightmare, America’s Dream: India as the Next Global Power, Avery offers a detailed anatomy of the growing ties between the world’s largest and wealthiest democracies.

Avery’s book also delivers a broadside against China and says India must respond to how China has advanced its influence in the region, with allies like Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. China has established itself as a growing, and sometimes bullying, power in India’s neighbourhood.

India and most of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have festering territorial disputes with China. Avery says India must respond to the Chinese challenge by spending even more on defence and using economic persuasion to influence its neighbours.

“India must now concentrate on the Finlandization of Sri Lanka,” Avery writes, while referring to Finland’s subjugation by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. “In the short term this will mean preventing any further non-Indian involvement in Sri Lanka’s affairs.”

Avery described how China invested millions to turn the sleepy fishing hamlet of Hambantota in Sri Lanka into a booming new port, just off India’s southeast coast, furthering an ambitious trading strategy in South Asia that is reshaping the region and forcing India to rethink relations with its neighbours.

China has been developing port facilities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and it is planning to build railroad lines in Nepal. These projects, analysts like Avery argue, are irksome to India; there are worries that China is expanding its sphere of regional influence by surrounding India with a “string of pearls” that could eventually undermine India’s pre-eminence and potentially rise to an economic and security threat.

Avery worries that India’s economic growth since 1991 has not been matched by an appropriate increase in its global political clout. It is now, however, beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Obama administration, like the previous Bush administration, is investing in a long-term strategic partnership with India, and has identified China as a threat while declaring Asia as a priority to the US.

India is no budding UK, and any US policymaker who believes New Delhi will act as a lieutenant for US interests has been smoking something herbal. But Avery suggests that New Delhi must build on recent economic successes to make India a truly global power. He suggests that where India sees common interests with the US — a wide and growing field — it should be more than willing to cooperate.

“India possesses the same core values that underpinned the Anglo-American relationship: democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the free market,” Avery writes in his book.

Despite rooting for a stronger India-US partnership, Avery compares India’s reliance on IT outsourcing, or supplying low-cost brains over the Internet to largely US companies, as a kind of “colonial servitude.” He implies that Indian firms are boosting efficiency for US companies with factory-like business processes. “Today,” he writes, “India is falling in to the colonial trap all over again, except this time it is doing so willingly.”

The Wall Street Journal felt that Avery’s book, while “thought-provoking,” sort of missed the plot when it panned outsourcing which was a huge business opportunity.

“It’s a fair point that IT outsourcing is draining India’s brightest minds from pursuing innovation. But to compare the industry to India’s plight under the British Empire, when the country exported raw materials and imported goods manufactured from those materials, is a step too far. (India, for instance, runs a large trade surplus with the US),” wrote Tom Wright in The Wall Street Journal.

Avery will warm the hearts of the folks opposing Wal-Mart’s march into India by arguing that India should think about “more protection” for its nascent industries at a time when its markets are growing and the West is stagnant.
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Commission to Investigate Allegations on Bribery/Corruption (CIABC) had received 1,637complaints during 2010& only 641 investigated! 23 CONVICTED.!!!

2012-01-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

Bribery Commission gets 1,637 complaints, probes 641 in 2010
January 18, 2012, 10:33 pm

The Commission to Investigate Allegations on Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) had received 1,637complaints during the year 2010 and only 641 of them had been investigated, a document tabled in Parliament said yesterday.

The document tabled by Chief Government Whip Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in response to a question raised by UNP Colombo District MP Ravi Karunanyake said that a total sum of Rs 176,450,000 had been allocated to the CIABOC last year. The number of persons convicted during the year was 23.

The document also said that the Commission was currently fully functional. (SI)

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We were checked meaninglessly and even falsely accused. They said that they have received information that we were carrying bombs.!!!

2012-01-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

17 January, 2012 - Published 17:19 GMT

Protesters allege intimidation in the north

Activists who travelled from the South to Jaffna to protest against disappearances say they were stopped by state security forcers.

Udul Premaratna who spoke on behalf of the Movement against Disappearances and Abductions said that they were blocked at several places north of Omanthai, Vavuniya.

"We were checked meaninglessly and even falsely accused. They said that they have received information that we were carrying bombs. It took five hours for our vehicles to pass ten kilometres from the Vavuniya town "said Udul Premaratna.

The protesters who were not able to enter Jaffna had to return after holding a demonstration in Puliyankulam.

"Nearly 50 soldiers carrying poles intimidated us in Puliyankulam," charged Mr. Premaratne.

The planned protest was organised by a number of political parties and human rights organisations.

Sandeshaya

BBCSINHALA.COM

SINHALA POLICE Hanged him from legs& tortured using clubs! Left eye is now totally blind as a result of torture! Detained without charge FOR 3 YRS,!!!

2012-01-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

13 January, 2012 - Published 15:23 GMT

White Van abductee 'tortured in police'

Suspect says he was abducted by a group but later turned up at a police detention centre

A Tamil Tiger suspect in Sri Lanka has detailed in the court the alleged torture in police custody after being abducted by a white van.
Thyagarajah Prabhakaran, 24, a resident of Puttalam, in a petition to the Supreme Court state that he was abducted by a group came in a white van in Colombo, on 04 February, 2009.

Thereafter, the officers of police Crime Investigation Division (CID) detained him at an unknown location, which he believes could be in Wattala.

While being detained, the suspect said, CID officers hanged him from the legs and tortured using clubs.

'Blinded'

Though his left eye was partially blind at the time of the abduction, said the suspect, the left eye is now totally blind as a result of the torture.

In his petition suspect Thyagarajah Prabhakaran requests the Court to order the authorities to release him as he is being detained without being charged for two years and ten months.

The Supreme Court noted that the allegations raised in the petition are of very serious nature.

After considering his appeal, the Supreme Court ordered the Attorney General to submit a report on the possibility of releasing the suspect on 08 March, or to file charges against him.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

The Hindu : News / International : Move towards expeditious political settlement, India urges Sri Lanka

2012-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

The Hindu : News / International : Move towards expeditious political settlement, India urges Sri Lanka

I have already given the order to liquidate him.! Those who went to meet him were shocked at MR’s outrageous conduct– they could not believe it.!!!

2012-01-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

‘Attack him and be done with’, I have already given the order: another white Van criminal operation under regime chief

(Lanka-e-. News -14Jan.2012, 6.30PM) On the 10th, Lanka e news exposed the white Van operators under the caption ‘Operators of the white van new criminal dimension and culture exposed’. Following this exposure, Lanka e news is in receipt of copious evidence and information that this white Van criminal operations are being conducted by the regime chief . We give hereunder an incident which amply testifies to this truth.

Vasantha Senanayake is a representative of the Mirigama electorate for Parliament currently. He is a popular descendent of the D S Senanayake lineage who entered Parliament in the SLFP ticket for the first time. He is a Lawyer who is not in practice. He is a businessman. A playful youth. He is a frivolous globe trotter , and who attends Parliament once in a blue moon. When the regime chief inquired from him as to his conduct , Senanayake had told him he is mostly abroad because a business rival of his , Neil is lying in wait to kill him.

The brutal regime chief had then said , my MPs cannot be in fear like that , and ordered the white van criminals to attack the businessman Neil. ‘Gahala dhanawa’ (attack and be done with ), was his order . When Chandiyas ( thugs and gangsters), soldiers order ‘attack him’ ,it means shoot and kill him. Now the brutal regime chief’s language follows that same pattern ‘attack him’. In other words what he meant was to kill Neil.

Neil is a businessman from Katana. His main business is purchasing ‘rejects’ of clothes from the Free trade zone factories and selling them in the market. He has been engaged in this business for a long while. His other business was importing vehicles from abroad and selling them. He owns a number of car sales points. He was a long time supporter of late Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. He was a SLFP er himself.

When he heard of the criminal order of the regime chief , he began hiding in fear. Neil had told the SLFP Ministers and MPs who had obtained political support from him to help him out of the crisis.

As a sequel to his request, Faiz Musthafa, Sarath Gunaratne, and Sudarhsani Fernandopulle (widow of Jeyaraj) along with other MPS and Ministers have met MaRa, the regime chief. When they began explaining that Neil is a supporter of theirs , and he had been supporting Jaeyraj Fernandopulle even when he was living , the regime chief had furiously retorted,’ No, No, he is waiting to kill an M P. I have already given the order to liquidate him’ . Those who went to meet him were shocked at MaRa’s outrageous conduct – they could not believe their eyes and ears when they heard and saw a Democratically elected leader of a country talking openly of giving orders to liquidate his own people – reminiscent of Hitler’s orders during the Nazi rule.

Neil had been hiding for a month since, while the Van had been combing the Matara district in search of him where his relatives live. He is in such a mortal fear that he is frightened to go even to the Airport to bolt out of the country. He has no faith at all in anyone , not to mention the police. His only option available to him now is to disclose his predicament to Lanka e news which fearlessly , frankly and forthrightly exposes the truth, and reveal to the whole world his dire plight , he states. We are only acting in compliance with his pathetic request as he is now in a country where jungle laws prevail with brutes , buffalos , wolves , hyenas and serpents ruling the roost.

Lamentably , this is the dangerous situation in this country .

Lawlessness is enthroned with law abiding citizens having nowhere to go to get redress to their woes . When the chief who sits on that throne is lawlessness personified , those around him too are infected with that deadly contagion. Incidentally , the Kelaniya local body members are still not having a peaceful sleep with threat of death and abduction stalking them every moment of the day. They are still sleeping in abodes providing them security .

If the SLFP members who are law abiding and civilized do not take action to combat this dire and deadly environment . The next tragic drama they may well have to witness will be, an order ,‘attack him’ from the chief MaRa directed against Maithri, Nimal or Berty . When that order actually comes it will be too late for the SLFP ers to counter MaRa's killing strategies. Perhaps, by that time they may not live to tell the tale any longer, let alone complain.

Please await more horror news about the white Van criminal operations under the 'terror of MaRa'

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NFR: GOSL Responsible for the disappearance of both HRDs & Call for an independent inquiry of this incident & other incidents of DISAPPEARANCES.!!!

2012-01-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

GOSL should held responsible for the disappearance of two human rights defenders in Jaffna .

Monday, 16 January 2012 Lanka News Web.com

NfR Sri Lanka, a network of Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs) expresses its deep concern over the disappearance of Mr. Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Mr. Kugan Muruganandan.

Even though more than five weeks have passed since disappearance there has been no information about them to date and all efforts to trace them have been of no avail. They went missing from Jaffna on 9th December, 2011 while they were active in organizing a press conference to be held in Jaffna on 10th December, on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day.

They were both human rights defenders and leading members of the ‘We Are Sri Lankans’ (WESL). That is an organization working towards national harmony and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Mr. Weeraraj was a tireless HRD and ironically his focus has been the involuntary disappearances that have taken place during the last phase of the war. He played a courageous and inspiring role in setting up committees of Families of the Disappeared in all the districts in the North. He organized protest campaigns with families of the disappeared on number of occasions. At the time of his disappearance he was the Jaffna Coordinator of the Movement for People’s Struggle (MPS) (Jana Aragala Wiyapaaraya). He was unlawfully arrested on number of occasions and beaten up by pro government thugs in the presence of police. He was abducted twice before, once by the military in uniform in the Killinochchi town and released after questioning. In the face of all these intimidations and obstacles he did not give up his human rights work. In short, he was an emerging civil and political leader in the war torn Northern districts campaigning for human rights.

Mr. Kugan Muruganandan had been his close associate in all these human rights work of Mr. Weeraraj

Related incidents reported since their disappearance points towards the government's culpability in this heinous crime.

Close to midnight on the day of their disappearance, 9th December Mr. Weeraraj’s father received a number of threatening phone calls on his mobile phone. The callers threatened to kill Mr. Weeraraja and warned that “either you remove your son from Jaffna or we will do it for you”.

On 14th December, Mr. Muruganandan’s wife found the motor cycle bearing no. NP GT7852, in which Mr. Muruganandan and Mr. Weeraraj were last seen, parked inside the Atchchuveli Police Station. Until she inquired about this motor cycle the police didn’t inform her about the custody of this motor cycle.

Next day, on 15th December, Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the media at a Cabinet briefing that ‘Mr. Weeraraj and Mr. Muruganandan have not disappeared, but are there’.

Even though a number of local and international organizations have called for an immediate and impartial investigation into the disappearance of two HRDs, the law enforcement agencies have failed to take any serious action on this matter.

According to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on there are more than 5000 unresolved reported cases of involuntary disappearances in Sri Lanka. In addition local NGOs working on disappearances have reported that they have received around 5000 complaints of disappearances during the recent years. The media has reported a dozen abductions by unidentified groups during the last few weeks. Politically motivated involuntary disappearances have been part of the Sri Lanka Government’s way of suppressing dissent for decades now.

The disappearance of the two human rights defenders, Weeraraj amd Kugan, is not only a violation of their right to life but constitute a larger threat to the freedom of association and freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. Moreover this incident shows that there are forces within Sri Lanka that will not allow any genuine investigation into crimes against humanity that have taken place during the last phase of the war.

In this context that NfR holds the government of Sri Lanka responsible for the disappearance of both these HRDs and call for an independent investigation into this incident in particular and the other incidents of disappearances in general. Failure to do so would inevitably lead to the conclusion that such incidents have occurred at the hands of agents of the State against whom the government does not wish to take action.

Assistance given to win the war came with an understanding!The understanding was that SL would deal justly with Tamils& address the roots of conflict!

2012-01-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

Indian visit and importance of keeping commitments
January 16, 2012, 6:51 pm

by Jehan Perera

S. M. Krishna
The visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Sri Lanka this week comes at an important time. Several noteworthy events are billed to take place during his visit. In June 2010, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised that India would donate 50,000 houses to meet the needs of the war affected people in Sri Lanka’s North where the last battles of the war were fought, and which turned much of it into a wasteland. But so far this promise has been confined to the pilot phase, and only a thousand of these houses are in the process of being built.

Now there are bigger tasks that have to be taken on. Amongst these are the launching of the second (main) phase of the housing project for the internally displaced persons of the North and the reconstruction of the northern railway to Jaffna. These projects have been slow to get off the ground and are in contrast to the major infrastructure projects that have been done with Chinese assistance.

In the meantime the war affected people continue to live in temporary housing, either in their own land or in the homes of relatives. Similar slow progress has been a feature of other Indian projects that could provide a boost to the country’s economic development. However, demonstrating the ability to resolve problems ahead of the ministerial visit the two governments agreed to repatriate fishermen held in each other’s territory and to also speed up a pact to jointly develop fisheries.

The timing of the Indian visit is also significant to Sri Lanka for another reason. This is the forthcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that starts on February 27 and continues for most of March. The Sri Lankan government has a strong interest in ensuring that the issue of alleged war crimes in the last phase of the war is not taken up at this session or at any future session for that matter. Indian support will be crucial to see that the Sri Lankan government is not taken to the dock.

INDIAN ROLE

Although the present government showed itself capable of eliminating the LTTE through military means, it has so far not been able to quell Tamil nationalism through political means. At the present time the most visible location of this struggle is outside of Sri Lanka where the Tamil Diaspora groups are most active. The issue of war crimes is their main weapon. Strengthening this claim is the inability of the Sri Lankan government to make an internationally credible response to the accusation that it is not coming up with a political solution to Tamil grievances.

The ability of the Tamil Diaspora to obtain invitations to attend the 100th anniversary of the African National Congress in South Africa has been viewed as a serious affront by the Sri Lankan government that boycotted the event. The willingness of the ruling party in South Africa to give legitimacy to the Tamil Diaspora and its demands is a sign that other countries in the third world might begin thinking on similar lines. The moral influence of South Africa on the world’s conscience due to the enlightened post-apartheid leadership of former President Nelson Mandela cannot be underestimated.

The Tamil Diaspora’s success can also be seen in the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s reiteration that he will boycott the next Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka unless there is progress in Sri Lanka. A spokesman for the Prime Minister has said that actual change must occur before Canada opens its mind to attending the 2013 summit in Colombo. While Canada has the largest Tamil Diaspora in the world, its approach can influence other countries with large Tamil Diaspora populations.

The danger for Sri Lanka is that the South African and Canadian stances might be an example to other countries from both the developing and developed countries when it comes to a vote at the Human Rights Council, if not in March this year then sometime in the future. The end of the war against the LTTE on the military battlefield has not ended the Tamil nationalist struggle. The visiting Indian External Affairs Minister has expressed the hope for a lasting political solution to the outstanding issues between the Tamils and the government. This condition might have to be satisfied if Sri Lanka is to continue to count on India’s support.

PROMISING RESPONSE

So far the most promising response that the government has been able to come up with has been the release of the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The LLRC exceeded expectations in providing answers to the issues of governance and political reform. Even the TNA which has made a severe critique of the LLRC report and called for an international investigation into war crimes has stated that some of its recommendations (on issues other than accountability) have positive elements that the TNA itself would support if implemented.

The Indian government in its own response to the LLRC report said that it had "been assured by the Government of Sri Lanka on several occasions in the past, of its commitment towards pursuit of a political process, through a broader dialogue with all parties, including the Tamil National Alliance, leading to the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, and to go beyond, so as to achieve meaningful devolution of powers and genuine national reconciliation." More recently the UK government endorsed the recommendations of the LLRC on good governance and a political solution, while expressing disappointment on its findings with respect to accountability for war crimes.

As an astute politician President Rajapaksa will be aware of the importance of keeping commitments. During the height of the war, the President boldly promised that his government would go beyond the current limits of the 13th Amendment to "13th Amendment Plus" and he would deliver a political solution within six months of winning the last Presidential Election in November 2009. Inexperienced politicians may believe that they can promise one thing and deliver another. But a politician with over 40 years of experience, as the President has, will know that the breakdown of trust with the electorate will almost surely guarantee defeat at the next elections.

In dealing with international governments it is equally if not more important to keep commitments. The international community of governments is not as gullible as the voting public often is. It does not require much reading between the lines of statements issued by the international community, especially India, to understand that the assistance given to win the war came with an understanding. The understanding was that Sri Lanka would deal justly with the Tamil people and address the roots of the ethnic conflict, which is what the LLRC itself is asking the government to do. Having won the military battle over Tamil nationalism the government must deal with it politically and soon, through a just and negotiated political solution.

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Convenor of ‘We are Sri Lankans’ Udul Premaratne: Some 500 people have been reported missing in the NESL alone over the past few years.!!!

2012-01-15T13:35:00.001-08:00

Sri Lanka’s Disappeared
■ Mohan Peiris says will testify over reports he received
■ Police to begin probe on hundreds of missing persons

By Indika Sri Aravinda

The police have begun investigations into hundreds of people reported missing over the past several months. In the last 40 days alone eleven persons have been abducted in white vans. They have disappeared with no clue except for Amal Rodrigo, Coordinating Secretary for Mervyn Silva who was returned after being abducted.
Out of the ten who were ‘whitevanned’ in the last one and a half months include two JVP rebel activists abducted in Jaffna, Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Murugasan, who remain missing.
Former Attorney General (AG) Mohan Peiris told The Sunday Leader that IGP N. K. Illangakoon had issued instructions to police regional heads around the country on Thursday.
Convenor of ‘We are Sri Lankans’ Udul Premaratne told The Sunday Leader that some 500 people have been reported missing in the North and East alone over the past few years.
Of those missing are 110 persons from Trincomalee, 100 from Mannar, 140 from Vavuniya and several others from Jaffna and parts of Killinochchi and Batticaloa.
Among those abducted are State employees, fishermen and university students, Udul Premaratne added.
Meanwhile former MP Mano Ganeshan said that between 2005 – 2009 there were around 550 persons reported missing in Colombo and its immediate suburbs.
He said the whereabouts of these people are still not known and blamed the government for the alleged abductions.
Mohan Peiris meanwhile said that he has already informed the relevant officials on the information he had received about the whereabouts of missing journalist Pradeep Eknaligoda.
Peiris, who is now a Presidential Advisor, said that he had received information from another source that Eknaligoda was overseas and so he asked the relevant officials to investigate the claims.
Peiris said he had received the information when he was still the Attorney General and it was now up to the relevant officials to investigate the claims.
Last year Peiris had also told the UN Human Rights Council that Eknaligoda was overseas and this created a stir with human rights groups asking him to clarify his statement.
He also said that if summons is issued on him to give evidence in court regarding his statement on Eknaligoda then he will do so.
The Appeal Court had ruled last week that Pieris could be called in as a witness to inquire into the disappearance of Eknaligoda.
Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of Prageeth had requested courts to order the police to produce the missing journalist in courts.

SUNDAYLEADER.LK

MR Econ.Model is selling/leasing land! Proposed amendment to the Town/Country Plan Act was aimed at giving the Regime Absolute POWER TO GRAB ANY LAND!

2012-01-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

The Tiger-Bogey And The 13th Amendment
“A historic victory can wreak as much havoc as a historic defeat”

Tony Judt (Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten 20th Century)

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has spoken: the dead Tiger might arise.
If the Tiger does rise from the ashes of an annihilating defeat, a lion-share of the credit for that near-miraculous resurrection would belong to the Rajapaksas.
Can the re-emergence of the LTTE – or some approximation of it – be forestalled by ringing the North with tri-forces camps? By delaying a political solution indefinitely while hollowing out the 13th Amendment? By violating the fundamental rights and ignoring the basic needs of the Tamils?
By keeping the North quiescent at gun-point?
Mr. Rajapaksa is critical of those who criticise the post-war military build-up: “Unfortunately, there are some parties…that question why the Defence establishment continues to be so large and why so much money is allocated in the national budget for the Defence Ministry. These parties seem to have forgotten the lessons of the recent past. We all know how the LTTE sprang up from being a small group of armed militants into one of the world’s largest and deadliest terrorist organisations within a short number of years” (Public Lecture at the SLFI).
The Tiger was born because successive administrations instituted discriminatory measures against Tamils and failed to address their politico-economic-security fallouts. The Tigers’ first great leap forward was enabled by Black July. Without that carnage, the Four-Four Bravo operation may have become the LTTE’s swan song. Even after Black July, had the Jayewardene administration apologised to the Tamils, offered them compensation and a political solution, the long war could have been avoided. But that regime took refuge in lies and denial, in Sinhala supremacism and repression – actions tailor-made for the advancement of the LTTE.
This history is absent in Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s long peroration. Naturally; the Rajapaksas reject the existence of an ethnic problem. According to their worldview, the Tamils did not face any discrimination or injustice; the war could have been avoided had previous administrations adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards Tamil nationalism and beefed-up the military. Devolution may have made some sense to the Rajapaksas as a sop to the LTTE; that need vanished with the elimination of the Tigers. In the Rajapaksa book, the way to prevent a Tiger-resurgence is through enhanced militarization: keep them in line by keeping them down.
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa correctly accuses Diaspora groups of attempting to turn international opinion against Sri Lanka. What Mr. Rajapaksa fails to understand is that he and his Siblings are aiding and abetting these efforts, substantially. Had they shifted to a ‘soft power’ strategy, post-war, the pro-Tiger Diaspora groups would have found themselves with no political feathers to fly with. The Rajapaksas did the opposite. They refused to acknowledge the reality of civilian casualties and rights violations (thus giving the pro-Tiger elements a life-saving injection). They incarcerated 300,000+ civilian Tamils in camps. They turned the North into a de facto occupied territory. Instead of making political concessions they heaped gratuitous insults on Tamils such as the reintroduction of the Sinhala Only National Anthem.
According to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (and his Siblings), the North is speeding towards unprecedented development and prosperity. The reality is otherwise. The Rajapaksas’ strategy prioritises the building of army camps, cantonments and grandiose infrastructure projects which have little relevance to a populace struggling to survive: “They are talking of development. Right along the main A9 road, nice buildings are coming up. Who wants a stadium? Who wants a mansion for the government agent to live in? …. Palaces, they are building palaces! The army is spending lavishly on guest houses…for their own use. Houses are built for the army alone, not for civilians… There are no housing schemes, except from some NGOs…” (Lakbima News – 8.1.2012). That damning assessment carries conviction because it comes not from a Tiger supporter but from the very anti-Tiger V. Anandasangaree.
After the 1958 anti-Tamil riots, Tarzie Vittachi asked, “What are we left with? A nation in ruins, some grim lessons which we cannot afford to forget and a momentous question: Have the Sinhalese and Tamils reached the parting of ways?” (quoted in ‘Tigers of Sri Lanka’ – M. R. Narayan Swami). His prophetic words fell on deaf ears, then. More than half a century, innumerable deaths and immeasurable destruction later, that inability to comprehend reality, let alone find solutions, remains unchanged. With each Sinhala supremacist or repressive act, the Rajapaksas present the pro-Tiger Diaspora elements ammunition to be used against Sri Lanka.

Devolution Charade and India

The Rajapaksas want to keep all power in Rajapaksa hands; they oppose devolution primarily because they do not want to share power with any non-relation.
Sinhala supremacism is the politico-ideological plinth on which the Rajapaksas have mounted their anti-devolution policy. They embrace Sinhala supremacism out of conviction and as the way to defeat devolution and centralise all power in their hands. The Siblings labour hard to maintain the myth of an anti-devolution South, even though opinion surveys indicate a different reality. The Rajapaksas need the image of Sinhalese foaming-at-the mouth against devolution as an excuse to delay a political solution indefinitely.
The anti-Accord riots were not spontaneous; they were engineered by the JVP and the SLFP. Mahinda Rajapaksa was at the forefront of those efforts to ignite the country, in the name of patriotism. President Rajapaksa continues to use similar methods to evade Indian/Western pressure to resolve the ethnic issue. He used his Sinhala-hardline acolytes to discredit the Majority Report of the Expert Panel and to negate the APRC recommendations. Once the LLRC Report has served its purpose (deflecting international pressure/buying time) it too will be interred using identical tactics.
Indian leaders would have to be remarkably dense not to realise that the Rajapaksas will not share power. But starting a fight with Colombo on behalf of Lankan Tamils is not on Delhi’s agenda. India’s main concern is keeping China’s footprint in Sri Lanka from growing any bigger. Delhi’s pressure for a political solution is sourced primarily in its own electoral needs. Indian pressure ebbs and flows, according to the electoral almanac. Knowing this, the Rajapaksas have become quite adept at producing sops, whenever politico-electoral pressure compels India to ratchet up the rhetoric. It is a smoke-and-mirrors show both parties engage in knowingly.
A pillar of the Rajapaksa economic model is selling/leasing land. The proposed amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act was aimed at giving the regime absolute power to grab any land it wanted, any time it wanted. The Supreme Court refused to countenance that draconian law because land is a devolved subject thanks to the 13th Amendment. That is why the Rajapaksas will move to dilute the 13th Amendment, by shifting land and police powers from the devolved list to the concurrent list.
The Siblings will present this anti-democratic dilution as a development necessity and as a precaution against a Tiger-resurgence. Will the South see beyond these patriotic shibboleths and realise that this measure will be as inimical to Sinhalese and Muslims as it is to Tamils? Will Southern and Northern opposition join hands to defeat a measure which will empower the Rajapaksas by disempowering all Lankans?

SUNDAYLEADER.LK

TAMIL LAND Owners in the High Security Zone (HSZ) area in Mathagal, Jaffna have sought legal action to get back their lands,FROM SINHALA ONLY ARMY.!!!

2012-01-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

Land Owners Seek Legal Action
By Maryam Azwer

Owners of lands in the High Security Zone (HSZ) area in Mathagal, Jaffna have sought legal action to get back their lands, said TNA MP and Attorney-at-law, M. A. Sumanthiran.
He said he was approached by a group of Mathagal land owners last month, who had explained their situation and asked if a legal remedy was available.
Sumanthiran also said that this was an issue related to certain cases filed around eight years ago, regarding land being held in the HSZ.
Two of these cases are still pending in court, he said, one of them in which TNA General Secretary, Mavai Senathirajah, is a petitioner.

“Mr. Senathirajah, as a Member of Parliament, filed one of those cases. His house is also in that area,” explained Sumanthiran. “It is in that case that the court gave an order, around four or five years ago, directing that people must be resettled, once the demining certificates are obtained,” he said.
He added that, “Accordingly, although progress is slow, as and when the demining certificate is obtained, people are allowed to go.”
The people of the Mathagal area, however, have not been allowed back to their lands, said Sumanthiran.
“Mathagal is a place which has been demined, and tourists are allowed to go, but residents have been told that they will not be allowed to resettle there. This is contrary to the direction already given by court, and that is the issue now,” he said.
He added that, based on this, they were looking at the possibilities of court action.
“We are looking into it now, and will advise them accordingly, on the appropriate legal steps we should take,” said Sumanthiran.

sundayleader.lk

FM/ INDIA heads to Sri Lanka on a 3-day visit that will focus on pushing the reconciliation and devolution process in SL.!!!

2012-01-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

SM Krishna heads to SL, devolution tops agenda .
Sunday, 15 January 2012 16:30

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna heads to Sri Lanka Monday on a three-day visit that will focus on pushing the reconciliation and devolution process in the island nation.

Krishna is expected to hold wide-ranging talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris and call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In his discussions, Krishna is expected to reiterate the imperative need to find a lasting political solution to the decades-old ethnic Tamil issue that has been a source of conflict and instability in Sri Lanka.

He is expected to impress upon Sri Lanka leaders the need to take concrete steps for "genuine national reconciliation" and a lasting political settlement in Sri Lanka.
He will also meet representatives of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and elicit their views on the progress in their talks with Colombo over the proposed devolution of powers to the regions.

The TNA has been pushing for land and police powers in the provinces. Although Rajapaksa has made it clear that the government will not devolve these powers to the regions in line with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, his government has indicated its willingness to discuss the issue.

Early this week, Rajiva Wijesinha, the advisor on reconciliation to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said here that a separate ministry for reconciliation, with responsibilities of implementing the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) should be set up.

Krishna will also review progress in an India-assisted project for building 50,000 houses in the war-ravaged north for internally-displaced people. He will go to Galle to inaugurate the Southern Railway Project, which has been renovated with India's concessional line of credit.

The issue of fishermen straying into each other's territory will also figure in the discussions. Ahead of Krishna's visit to Colombo, a joint working group of fisheries met in Colombo during which India agreed to work on faster repatriation of Sri Lankan fishermen who get stranded in Indian waters. (Source: IANS)

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Most current views of the President, however, reflect the govt’s unwillingness to even implement the provisions of the Constitution/13th Amendment.!!!

2012-01-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

TNA dismisses LLRC report and sets the agenda for talks .
Sunday, 15 January 2012 18:41

Barely two days before the commencement of a crucial round of talks between the Tamil National Alliance, an umbrella group representing Tamil political parties, and the Sri Lankan government, the outfit again called for outside scrutiny of the Eelam War IV.

The war concluded in May 2009 and the government has conceded that there have been civilian casualties in the war. Almost all civilians killed were Tamils.

“The need for an accountability process that meets international standards while delivering on the right of victims to truth, justice and reparations (including guarantees of non-recurrence) is an urgent and important one. Given the government’s failure to institute a process that meets these benchmarks, the TNA calls on the international community to institute measures that will advance accountability and encourage reconciliation in Sri Lanka in keeping with the recommendations of the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts,” the TNA said in its 70-page analytical ‘Response to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission Report.

The TNA had earlier rejected the report in a short response a few days after the release. The Report of the UNSG’s Panel of Experts was seen in Sri Lanka as an affront on the country. The TNA, however, welcomed its findings.

The detailed response was released here on Sunday, barely a day before the TNA meets the Indian External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna. The Sri Lankan government – TNA talks are scheduled to be held on January 17, 18 and 19. “The talks will go on as scheduled,” M.A. Sumanthiran, Member of Parliament belonging to the TNA, told The Hindu, when asked if there was any change in dates for the talks. Mr. Krishna’s presence in Sri Lanka during the talks is seen as a chance for achieving some forward movement in the discussions.

The main stumbling block in the talks related to the extent and kind of autonomy that the Northern Province could be accorded. Terming the LLRC’s recommendations on this vital question “exceedingly vague,” the TNA said that these “fail to measure up to the past proposals,” including that of the 2006 report of the All Party Representative Committee’s Expert Committee.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has gone on record, saying that land and police powers will not be accorded. Recalling this stand, the TNA said that “the most current views of the President, however, reflect the government’s unwillingness to even implement the provisions of the Constitution vis-à-vis the Thirteenth Amendment.” This has only reinforced the Tamil fears on the government not being genuine about political solution based on meaningful devolution, it added. (Source: The Hindu.COM)

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Copyright © 2012 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

Root cause of the ethnic conflict in SriLanka lies in the failure of Successive SINHALA Govts to Address the Genuine Grievances of the Tamils..!!!

2012-01-15T11:59:00.001-08:00

British Govt. comments on LLRC report .
Friday, 13 January 2012 06:02 .

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alistair Burt stated: I would like to inform the House of the Government’s views on the Sri Lankan Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) report, which was published on December 16, 2011. The LLRC was established in May 2010 to look into the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The British Government welcomes the fact that the LLRC report has been published in full. We have read the report closely and have considered in particular its findings relating to: reconciliation and an enduring political solution in the North and East; accountability for alleged war crimes committed during the conflict; and ongoing human rights issues in Sri Lanka.

We have noted the Sri Lankan government’s initial response to the report. We have also seen statements from political parties in Sri Lanka, from respected human rights organisations and from other governments. The British Government believes that the report contains many constructive recommendations for action on post-conflict reconciliation and a political settlement. Implementation of these recommendations, however, is the real test of Sri Lanka’s progress. We note the Commission’s conclusion that the root cause of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka lies in the failure of successive governments to address the genuine grievances of the Tamil people and the recommendation that the Sri Lankan government should take the lead in delivering a devolution package.

We urge the Sri Lankan government to implement quickly this recommendation and the LLRC’s call for the Northern Province to be returned to civilian administration. We note the Sri Lankan government’s recent assurance that it will ensure the withdrawal of security forces from all aspects of community life and restrict their role exclusively to security matters.

We agree with the recommendation that more action be taken to help internally displaced persons rebuild their lives. We also agree that the government should make available to relatives a list of all detainees in custody since the end of the conflict; publicly declare all detention sites; and allow family, judicial and International Committee of the Red Cross access. We support the call for anyone responsible for unlawful detentions to be prosecuted.

The British Government is, on the whole, disappointed by the report’s findings and recommendations on accountability. Like many others, we feel that these leave many gaps and unanswered questions. We welcome the acknowledgement that “considerable civilian casualties” occurred during the final stages of the conflict and the recommendation that specific incidents require further investigation. But we note that many credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including from the UN Panel of Experts report, are either not addressed or only partially answered. We believe that video footage, authenticated by UN Special Rapporteurs, should inform substantive, not just technical, investigations into apparent grave abuses.

The British Government believes that the report’s recommendations on ongoing human rights issues in Sri Lanka are well founded. We hope they will be implemented vigorously. We welcome especially the focus on tackling attacks on media freedom and disappearances – including thousands of outstanding cases. We encourage the Sri Lankan government to move quickly to implement the LLRC report’s recommendations.

Some recommendations could be completed in a matter of months. Others may take time to implement fully, but initial steps can be taken now. Ultimately, the success or failure of the LLRC will be judged on the Sri Lankan government’s implementation of its recommendations. On accountability, implementing the report’s recommendations would represent a useful first step. But we continue to believe it is important that an independent, credible and thorough mechanism is put in place to investigate all allegations of grave abuses. The British Government has consistently condemned terrorism in all its forms. The LTTE is a brutal and ruthless organisation which remains proscribed in the UK. Our long-term interest is in a stable, peaceful Sri Lanka, free from the scourge of terrorism, and as a fellow member of the Commonwealth, conforming to the standards and values which Commonwealth membership requires.

Sri Lanka’s aim of achieving reconciliation amongst its people is one we value. It can be achieved through an honest acknowledgement of the past and processes, in which all parties take part, to ensure justice, reconciliation and political progress. We remain committed to helping Sri Lanka achieve lasting peace and reconciliation and will work with international partners to this end, including with the assistance of relevant international organisations. (Source: BHC Press Release)

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Copyright © 2012 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

How can the SINHALA Govt stop recurrence when it is in hock to these very goons because they are the managers of its support base?

2012-01-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

‘Thugocracy’ versus development
Tangalle incident a timely reminder
January 14, 2012, 4:39 pm

by Kumar David

Pecuniary corruption does not necessarily undermine the emergence of capitalism as the example of the robber barons of yore bears witness; but the sociologically otiose free reign of goons and thugs, bearing allegiance to and protected by the ruling party or regime, invariably derails the development of capitalism, especially in modern times. Capitalism emerged in one of two ways. In the cities and city states of Sixteenth Century Italy and Holland and in subsequent decades in England there emerged a class of burghers or citizens of independent means; the prototype of today’s entrepreneur. The city burghers were not in fealty to the landed classes of the countryside, nor were they incorporated into the rigidity and restrictions of the guild system by which artisans were bound. Soon the opening of overseas trade from the great ports of Venice, Antwerp and London encouraged accumulation of mercantile capital (accumulation from trade and commerce rather than manufacturing and industry which came later). This is how capitalism first took root.

Then the common lands were robbed (recall the Waste Lands Ordinance and Colebrook-Cameron reforms in 19th Century Ceylon) and the peasantry expelled, disallowing the people in the countryside a time honoured usufruct, thus creating a market for goods, and a creature that had nothing but his labour-power to sell, the working class. This is how capitalism was consolidated.

There was also another genesis. In a later period, in continental Europe, Germany and Russia, and in China, the accumulation of capital also found another route. Robber barons were an instrument of primitive accumulation through robbery and acquisition by force. Of course mercantilisms retained a role, as fascinating Chinese compradors, go-betweens connecting European merchant houses to suppliers of goods and labour, depict in the early history of Shanghai, Tsingtao and Hong Kong. But away from the colonial settlements in Asia, and in Europe till disciplined by Napoleon’s rearrangement of the European map and nearly a century later till subjected to Bismarck’s iron yoke, robber barons accumulated and readied for their future role as captains of industry. Corruption of business ethics and unbridled financial impropriety are not new, nor a product of an age of finance capital; they are congenital to capitalism.

The restoration of capitalism in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union also followed the bandit trail. In the 1990s in the Yeltsin years, state property, the common property of the people, was stolen by party and government apparatchiks who emerged as the new Russian rulers. In this they were aided and abetted by IMF and American Ivy League business schools bent on stripping national property and vesting it new oligarchic classes. Subsequently in the Putin years, corrupt and vicious, oligarchs began gouging out each others eyes and burying Russian civil society under slime. But hateful as it is there is nevertheless a historical process unfolding. It is the grubby story of the rebirth of capitalism in Russia.

The goons of UPFA politics

However none of the foregoing should be confused with the rule of the goon and the thug that UPFA politics has instituted in the last five years. The processes so far described in the outside world, nasty though they were, were also agents of historical change; midwives to a new, materially more powerful world order called capitalism. The ubiquitous political goon in today’s Sri Lanka must not be confused with such agents of socio-economic change pregnant within society. The political goons and thugs that populate the environs of UPFA polity are neither the conscious nor unconscious agents of a historical process; they are vehicles of pure political terrorism, economic vultures; and worse, they disrupt the progress of industry, commerce and the services. The UPFA’s ‘thugocracy’ is socially pernicious and it is also historically nihilistic.

Imagine an incident such as the following that we have all witnessed at firsthand or heard about reliably at second-hand. Car A, perhaps carrying a family or a group of ordinary folk, has a brush, an accident or altercation between drivers, with car B. Promptly, out of car B pour scowling heavy set types, perhaps inebriated, who thump on the bonnet and maybe yank open driver A’s door. Then conversation invariably goes like this. "Do you know who we are? I am the brother in law of such and such a Provincial Chief Minister, Junior Minister, relative of the Royal Family". This is followed by foul language indifferent to the presence of children. Or the goons may point to a fat slob in national dress squatting in the back seat of car B and demand to know: "Do you know who he is?" The answer is supplied forthwith and brags on about similar political connections or family nexus.

If the occupants of A have any sense they will bend their heads, grovel and whimper; it cares not tuppence who was right or wrong. The women in A are already screaming at sons or husbands to shut up, if any had the temerity to talk law points. The police! What police? Have you ever heard of an incident such as this where the police, having arrived more than 45 minutes later, have not grovelled before the chief political goon? Go to courts! Is the judiciary in recent times any different? True its stuffed and ceremonial costumes are more colourful than the drab grey of the policemen.

The point I am driving at is twofold. Firstly, this has become the norm whether on the roads, in club, restaurant or hotel, or even at private gatherings if you have the bad luck to cross the path or contradict an almighty UPFA politico – all of them are almighty! Secondly, and this completes my picture, this mobster behaviour, when it becomes the style and sinew of the ruling party, goes beyond loutish performances per se, it injures economic activity on a national scale.

Tourism the first casualty

I am not supportive of excessive emphasis on the expansion of tourism, though its limited and well managed contributory role as a currency earner has to be recognised. Unfortunately the government’s attitude to the expansion of tourism lacks good sense and is effusive and goes overboard into over-fulsome commitment. There are several reasons why restraint must be employed in developing tourism; emphasis must be placed on the hard economic sectors such as industry and export-led development not soft sectors, secondly tourism has cultural implications that conservatives, religious types and the sexually repressed get fidgety about; third it leads to economic losses for ordinary folk (loss of beach front land, selling of Colombo’s choice locations – maybe for 10% on the side), and fourth, what is relevant to the topic of this piece, is that tourism is very volatile. A few incidents and the market crashes.

Of course there will be one-of incidents anywhere in the world and a robust tourist industry will ride through comfortably. Countless numbers have their pockets picked on the streets of Rome and some say that pinching bottoms actually increases the flow of the nubile and the voluptuous to the eternal city. But the Italian police force and legal system are not at the beck and call of ruling party politicians. Or in the US, someone as high as the Managing Director of the IMF could not push his weight around with New York’s public prosecutor.

However, as in the Tangalle murder of a tourist and the sexual harassment of a foreign female, when political entanglement with the UPFA surfaces, and when it is alleged that there are high protective connections, the incident falls within the ambit of my discourse in this article. The peculiarity of police and official responses confirms this. That there is a breakdown of law and order in the country because of political protection afforded at high places is not news to readers; the Bharatha Lakshman killing was a recent prior incident. The point is this: In any incident involving political connection, including the Lakshman and Tangalle events, there is no confidence in the public mind at home, that justice will be done. If a similar belief spreads abroad about tourism, it will be curtains for the tourist industry. This will have a hefty economic cost because the government and private investors are pouring money into the sector.

Ruling party goons and right-hand men of people in high places are not robber barons accumulating capital by strong arm means for investment and development. No, they are vultures and parasites pure and simple contributing to the despoilment of the economy. One or two more Tangalle like incidents and tourism will dry up. The most frightening thought, however, is this: How can the government stop recurrence when it is in hock to these very goons because they are the managers of its support base? My gloomy assessment is that ‘thugocracy’ cannot be abolished as it lies at the heart of the UPFA’s political gearing and supplements the military repression exercised by the central state.

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A gp of THUGS who came in motorbikes destroyed the statue of Swami Vivekananda, a well known Vedantic spiritual leader of HINDUISM.!!!

2012-01-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

Motorbike squad destroys Swami Vivekananda statue in Batticaloa
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 January 2012, 23:39 GMT]

A group of men who came in motorbikes Tuesday around 00:30 a.m. destroyed the statue of Swami Vivekananda, a well known Vedantic spiritual leader of Hinduism from the 18th century. The statue, located in front of a fuel filling station on Batticaloa Kalmunai Road (A4) and is regarded locally as a border mark of Tamil dominated Aaraiyampathi and Muslim dominated Kaaththaankudi in Batticaloa district. The destruction is viewed as an attempt to create further divisions between Tamils and Muslims in the district. The SL police is allegedly involved in activities creating dissension between Tamils and Muslims by engineering such attacks, informed sources in Kaaththaankudi told TamilNet Tuesday.

The hands, legs, face of the statue were badly damaged.

A watcher of the fuel filling station, who witnessed the motorbike squad, was taken into custody by the SL Police in Kaaththaankudi.

Certain elements in the ruling UPFA were protesting against the use of Arabic in the East in the beginning of 2011.

Later, in September, name boards in Tamil were destroyed by an unknown squad, allegedly operatives of Colombo.

The welcome board “Va'nakkam, Batticaloa welcomes you” in Tamil was removed and the Sri Lankan police was spreading a rumour that certain Muslim leaders, including the Batticaloa Urban Council chairman considered “Va'nakkam” in Tamil as harem at that time.

In the meantime, M.L.A.M.Hisbullah, a deputy minister in the Rajapaksa government has condemned the attack on the Swami Vivekananda statue as an irresponsible act of some ‘criminal elements’.

Related Articles:
23.09.11 Tamil name boards removed along Batticaloa - Kalmunai Road
26.04.11 Kaaththaankudi UC defends Arabic usage in name boards

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We are trying for a political solution that recognises Tamils as a nation & South Africa's help will be vital for both the TNA & the SINHALA Govt.!!!

2012-01-10T03:33:00.000-08:00

TNA to discuss Tamil issue with ANC

The TNA says it will discuss Sri Lanka's Tamil issue with the ANC

The major Tamil party in Sri Lanka says it will urge South Africa's ruling party to help resolve the national question.

A delegation of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is in South Africa to attend the centenary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC), a leading liberation movement and the party that holds power in South Africa.

TNA leader R Sampanthan is leading a four member delegation to the ANC centenary celebrations.

TNA parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran told BBC Sandeshaya that it hopes both the TNA as well as Sri Lanka government could learn from the ANC's experience.

"We are trying for a political solution that recognises Tamils as a nation and South Africa's help will be vital for both the TNA and the government in achieving that," he said.

Govt 'boycott'

In a recent visit to Sri Lanka, he said, a South African minister held discussions with the government as well as the TNA.

We are trying for a political solution that recognises Tamils as a nation and South Africa's help will be vital for both the TNA and the government in achieving that

MA Sumanthiran, MP

Mr Sumanthiran said Global Tamil Forum (GTF) representing Sri Lankan Tamils worldwide is also among the invited delegates for the centenary celebrations.

The Sri Lankan government has boycotted the celebration, for which over 40 heads of states and government taking part, in protest over the participation of the GTF, according to Sunday Times published in Colombo.

GTF spokesman Suren Surendiran said that seven delegates from several member country organisations in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Germany including its President Rev S J Emmanuel is representing the Tamil Diaspora.

African and world leaders, as well as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and African-American civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, are also in Bloemfontein for the celebrations.

They attended a gala dinner on Saturday night, and an interfaith service on Sunday at the Wesleyan Church in Mangaung, just outside Bloemfontein, where chiefs, church leaders and other prominent people gathered on 8 January 1912 to create the liberation movement.

Sandeshaya || BBC Languages

TNA, GTF join ANC centenary celebration, Sri Lanka boycotts..!!!

2012-01-10T03:14:00.000-08:00

TNA, GTF join ANC centenary celebration, Sri Lanka boycotts
[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2012, 09:48 GMT]

Delegations from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) are amongst international attendees of the centenary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday. Sri Lanka has refused to participate at the event in Bloemfontein because of the ANC’s invitation to the GTF, the Sunday Times reports. Dozens of heads of state and representatives of other governments, as well as large numbers of dignitaries from across Africa are joining over 100,000 politicians, members and supporters of the ANC in the historic celebration. In the meantime, a Tamil academic based in Colombo cautioned Eezham Tamils to be aware of the duality of South Africa. While the ruling party has been engaged in a show of solidarity with struggling forces across the world, the South African State has joined hands with anti-people regimes as it did during the 2009 voting at the UNHRC.

Bloemfontein, 400 km south of Johannesburg, is where the ANC, Africa's oldest liberation movement, was born 100 years ago in a small village church.

TNA delegation in South AfricaThe TNA’s delegation includes leader R. Sampanthan, M.A. Sumanthiran, Selvam Adaikalanathan and Suresh Premachandran.

The GTF’s 7-person delegation is lead by its President, Rev (Dr) S J Emmanuel, and includes representatives of its member organisations in the United States, Britain, Australia, Malaysia, and Germany.

The two delegations are to hold talks on the sidelines of the event.

The ANC wrote to the TNA and the member organisations of the GTF inviting them to join its historical celebrations.

TNA, GTF at ANC centenary celebrations (Courtesy: BBC)Sri Lanka has refused the ANC’s invitation because inviting the GTF thus giving the diaspora organisation official status and placing it on par with a government delegation was not acceptable, an External Affairs Ministry source told the Sri Lankan Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were amongst those who arrived in Bloemfontein Saturday.

They, along with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and forty other national leaders, will join a mass rally to be addresssed on Sunday by South African President Jacob Zuma.

Announcing the centenary celebrations, the ANC said:

“For the ANC this event is important for numerous reasons, but key amongst those is the fact that in the 100 years of its existence we remain relevant to the situation in South Africa, the continent and the world. Secondly, the ANC continues to embody the ideals of a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic country.”

“The prestige and importance of this event is evident given the international interest it has generated for historic and concurrent roles South Africa plays in the affairs of the region, the continent and the world.”

On Saturday, British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the ANC as “a beacon for the world in the fight against discrimination and the struggle for freedom from oppression.”

“On behalf of the British people, I want to congratulate you and everyone involved with the African National Congress on this very special anniversary,” he wrote.

“We will stand with you in the ongoing struggle for equality, democracy and prosperity for the people of South Africa, and for justice and freedom from tyranny around the world.”

At the celebrations in Bloemfontein, 86-year-old ANC veteran Andrew Mlangeni, who was jailed alongside ANC icon Nelson Mandela, 93, by the Apartheid regime, told reporters: “I'm very happy and proud that we have achieved what we fought for: freedom.”

“People of South Africa today are free and this is what we had been struggling for,” he said.

Throughout decades of struggle against Apartheid, the ANC’s leaders were also deemed international terrorists - the United States only removed Mandela from its terrorist watch list in 2008 – but were undaunted.

"We never saw ourselves as terrorists, we were satisfied in our minds that we were freedom fighters,” said Mac Maharaj, the current presidential spokesman and former head of the ANC’s armed wing, told AFP.

But once in power, the party chose economic liberalism, creating a new generation of "black economic power" that has changed the face of the Africa’s biggest economy - South Africa's black middle class counts between two and three million people.

"We are the oldest organisation in the continent," President Zuma told a cheering crowd after a walk-about Friday in Botshabelo around 25 miles from Bloemfontein.

"Many organisations have been created, born, established along the way and many have perished, have died, have collapsed. Not the ANC."

External Links:
BBC: ANC at 100: South Africa celebrations begin with golf
BBC: South Africa's Jacob Zuma under pressure as ANC turns 100

Copyright © 1997-2012 TamilNet URL: http://www.tamilnet.com email: tamilnet@tamilnet.com

MR,So brazen in their genocidal criminality that they are not even going to bother giving themselves “Amnesty.” They will continue to tough it out.!!!

2012-01-10T03:05:00.000-08:00

No amnesty for war-criminals, says UN's Navi Pillay
[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 January 2012, 04:01 GMT]

Granting amnesty to perpetrators of war crimes and human rights abuses under Yemen's presidential power transition deal would be against international law, the United Nations human rights chief said on Friday, undermining the peace agreement, Reuters reported. The implications of this to pending litigation of sitting and ex-Presidents in courts around the world are significant according to legal sources in Washington. Professor Francis Boyle commented that while the UN pronouncements were directed towards Yemen, for bringing the culpable Sri Lanka leaders to justice for crimes committed during the Mu'l'livaaykkaal massacre, continued action outside Sri Lanka by Tamil expatriates was crucial.

Professor Boyle in a note sent to TamilNet said: "The GOSL [Government of Sri Lanka] are so brazen in their genocidal criminality that they are not even going to bother giving themselves “amnesty.” They will continue to tough it out and figure they can get away with it forever. So far every government in the world including and especially India has let them do so, as well as the United Nations Organization. It is up to us People to turn the situation around and hold the GOSL accountable. 50,000 massacred Tamils in Vanni demand no less of our Common Humanity!"

Noting that Pillay has previously blamed Yemeni government forces for using live ammunition against unarmed protesters and has said President Ali Abdullah Saleh should not get amnesty in a deal to persuade him to leave power, Reuters summarized Navi Pillay's statement as follows:

"I have been closely following the events in Yemen, particularly the very contentious debate about an amnesty law to be presented to Parliament shortly,"

"International law and the U.N. policy are clear on the matter: amnesties are not permissible if they prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be criminally responsible for international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and gross violations of human rights."

"Based on information we have gathered, there is reason to believe that some of these crimes were committed in Yemen during the period for which an amnesty is under consideration. Such an amnesty would be in violation of Yemen's international human rights obligations,"
Saudi Arabia has supported Saleh by donating diesel and crude oil and the United States, which long backed Saleh as a pillar of its "counter-terrorism" strategy, helped craft the power transition deal giving him immunity from prosecution, Reuters report said.

External Links:
Reuters: UN's Pillay: Yemen peace-deal amnesty may be unlawful

Latest 15 Reports
10.01.12 06:10
SL paramilitary in Jaffna monopolises cable TV market at gunpoint
09.01.12 12:02
Ampaa'rai Tamil driver found dead with cut injuries in Nuwara Eliya
09.01.12 02:54
Internment continues unchecked in Sri Lanka, as an era ends in US
08.01.12 16:43
Durham apparel company moves manufacturing out of Sri Lanka
08.01.12 09:48
TNA, GTF join ANC centenary celebration, Sri Lanka boycotts
08.01.12 04:01
No amnesty for war-criminals, says UN's Navi Pillay
07.01.12 16:57
Sound of Silent Speech
07.01.12 13:33
Colombo Tamil group fallen into GoSL net?
07.01.12 09:48
SL military-led administration in North harasses Tamil journalists
06.01.12 18:44
Hearing in Sivaram assassination case put off for April 25
06.01.12 15:58
Rajapaksa to visit Pakistan
05.01.12 20:48
SLA, Police launch cordon, search in Trincomalee city
05.01.12 20:43
TNA MPs urge Ampaa'rai GA to allow resettlement of war-displaced Tamils
05.01.12 09:14
SL Military governor sabotages Jaffna GA meeting British Conservative MP
04.01.12 16:09
Colombo targets Tamil officials who defy instruction in land alienation in East

Copyright © 1997-2012 TamilNet URL: http://www.tamilnet.com email: tamilnet@tamilnet.com

The intelligence report says: A good number of Chinese enter India on business visas, ostensibly for some clandestine activities.!!!

2012-01-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Threat to the Dalai Lama in India from a Chinese terrorist?
January 7, 2012, 6:02 pm
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, January 7: The Mumbai police have received intelligence that some terrorists from the Tibetan region of China may sneak in to India to eliminate the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual guru, the Dalai Lama.

Reporting this today, The Times of India quoted intelligence claiming that a Chinese national of Tibetan origin by the name Tashi Phuntsok is likely to enter India to gather intelligence on the Tibetan administration as well as to cause harm to the 77-year-old Dalai Lama.

The intelligence also says that six Chinese nationals of Tibetan origin, including Phuntsok, possibly from Chinese secret services, are suspected.

The intelligence report says: "A good number of Chinese youth enter India on business visas, ostensibly for some clandestine activities. It’s likely that they may try to visit certain areas prohibited for the Chinese, like Tibetan camps.

"The Dalai Lama visits Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra. The threat to him must not be underestimated. Loss of Chinese passports and recovery of unknown Chinese passports need to be reported promptly, so that the concerned agencies can question them. In this regard, the activities of the followers of ‘Shugden cult—- an anti-Dalai Lama group—-need to be kept under strict vigil."

The Mumbai police have informed Tibetan organizations, and directed the Special Branch and the local police to keep police officers updated about the Dalai Lama’s visit to Mumbai. "He often comes to Mumbai and even goes to slums and mixes with people. We will have to enhance security cover fom him in Mumbai,’’ the newspaper quoted a Mumbai police officer as saying.

The 14th Dalai Lama has been living in exile eversince he fled to India along with 80,000 of his followers on 30 March 1959 in the wake of an uprising in his native Tibet. He and several thousands of his followers live in Dharamsala in the foothills of the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh in north India.

The winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize used to be the Tibetans’ spiritual guru and head of state of the Tibetan administration-in-exile. In March last year, he resigned as head of state but continues as the spiritual guru. Last year, he was rated as the second most spiritually influential person in the world.

While China dubs him as a "splittist" who wants to break Tibet away from China, the Dalai Lama insists that he only wants religious and political freedom for his people, and not separation from China.

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Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) expressed deep resent over the crass, undignified, unprofessional & incompetent way of E.D.!!!

2012-01-07T18:00:00.001-08:00

A/L results mess up portrays incompetence of state authorities says FUTA
January 7, 2012, 6:02 pm

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) expressed deep resent over the crass, undignified, unprofessional and incompetent way the educational authorities have followed in releasing 2011 Advanced Level results.

"It is reported that the results released are highly inconsistent and warped. This clearly portrays the incompetence and ignorance the state authorities have exhibited in releasing the results of the most competitive examination in the country which decides the future of students. The authorities not only made a complete mess by bungling the results, but also made utter ignoramuses of themselves by their uncouthness in the process of amelioration of the issue", FUTA said in a statement last week.

"The authorities are now engaged in a futile effort to cover the mess stating that this sort of minor mistakes have abundantly happened throughout the history. This amply reflects the attitude and concern that education authorities have for the children of this country", it noted.

FUTA highlighted this "unprecedented tragedy" as an example to warn the people of Sri Lanka, that it is the same group of incompetent individuals and chaotically run institutions that are now trying to reform the entire education system in our country keeping all stakeholders including dons in total darkness.

Though all the stakeholders of the higher education system in Sri Lanka have repeatedly been asking for a broad dialogue on the issue of the process of higher education reforms, the above mentioned individuals leading the said institutions have been unyielding to this basic democratic request. This is despite a general agreement between the government and the FUTA that all higher-education related reform processes will involve representation of FUTA", the statement signed by FUTA President, Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said.

However, we reliably learn that that Quality Assurance Accreditation and Qualification Framework Bill commonly known as Non- State University Bill supposedly governing the establishment and functioning of non-state higher education institutions which has already received the approval of the cabinet will be presented to the Parliament in early January. This is in total contravention to the agreement between FUTA and the government (Ministry of Higher Education and the UGC).

At this juncture, FUTA reasserts that formulation of new reforms should only be performed through a proper dialogue that involves the major stakeholders of higher education. So far, the purported bill has not been seen by most of the stakeholders, including the Vice Chancellors, Deans, and the members of the academic staff of the state-universities. The academia is deeply disturbed and puzzled over the secrecy behind the bill, which putatively aims to enhance the higher education system in Sri Lanka.

"FUTA views the non-consultative process of introducing the aforesaid bill as a blatant violation of trust between academia and the government authorities, and hence will resort to take the maximum possible steps to preserve the dignity of all the stakeholders of higher education, while preserving the education system in the country".

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Bring back the rule of law rather than the rule of one family, delink the police from the defence estabt, disengage SLA from civil administration.!!!

2012-01-07T17:52:00.001-08:00

Virtually no investigation into Lasantha’s killing says wife
January 7, 2012, 5:57 pm

The third anniversary of the death of Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, falls today.

In a statement issued from New York, his widow, Sonali Samarasinghe, Journalist-in-Residence at the City University of New York, alleged that in the 36 months since the killing, ``there has been virtually no investigation into this crime.’’

``Police had earlier succeeded in taking into custody five mobile phones, which on the day Lasantha was killed, moved in the same pattern as his phone. Police say the phones that passed through 11 cellular phone towers that day have not been used before or since the day of the killing. However, they have not been disconnected either. According to police, one of the five phones appears to have been used to monitor and control the entire operation. A track path of the calls made between the five telephones indicates that they communicated regularly with each other, constantly calling one particular mobile,’’ she said.

``One of the five phone numbers indicated on the mobile path shows a call having been made from the spot Lasantha was attacked. According to witnesses, the assassins all rode a uniform make and type of motorcycle. A motorcycle allegedly used in the attack had been recovered the government claimed.

``During the course of 2010 seven soldiers belonging to the Sri Lankan army’s Military Intelligence Directorate—a unit headed by a close confidant of former Army Commander General Fonseka—were detained for questioning by the Terrorist Investigations Department (TID) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The seven soldiers were separated from an original 17 who were taken into police custody. All 17 have since been released.

``In October 2011 the only suspect remaining in custody, Pitchai Jesudasan, mysteriously died. According to the B Report submitted by the Terrorist Investigations Department dated March 30, 2010, Pitchai Jesudasan was arrested for the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge and attempted murder of the then Editor of the Rivira newspaper Upali Tennakoon and previous attack on Deputy Editor for the Nation newspaper Keith Noyahr.?

``With relation to the murder of Wickrematunge police charged that Jesudasan’s national ID had been used to obtain the five SIM cards which were later believed to have been used by the five man hit squad who trailed and murdered my husband on January 8, 2009.

``Jesudasan may have died of natural causes but the circumstances of his death in custody give rise to questions and therefore must be independently investigated.

``Moreover, despite the existence of numerous witnesses, no accurate description of the attack on my husband was ever made public by the police. Had there been even the slightest political will to solve this murder the apprehension of his murderers would have been child’s play.

``Certainly taken together, all this can leave little doubt in a rational mind that Lasantha’s murder has been the focus of an extensive—if clumsy—cover up.

``As we remember Lasantha and his work and other journalists and activists around the world who have paid the supreme price in the line of duty, I call upon the international community to urge Sri Lanka’s government to hold a proper independent investigation into Lasantha’s murder, to bring back the rule of law rather than the rule of one family, to delink the police from the defence establishment, to properly disengage the army from civil administration, to restore the Seventeenth Amendment in order to ensure independent commissions for the Police, Judiciary, Bribery, Finance, Elections and Human Rights Commissions and to sincerely effectively and meaningfully deal with issues of accountability that now plague our nation.’’

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CPA: We welcome the LLRC recommendation that named Individuals & Organizations Associated with the Govt be investigated for HumanRights Violations:!!!

2012-01-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

CPA calls for immediate implementation of LLRC recommendations
January 4, 2012, 11:09 pm

Welcoming the release of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report, its analysis of the root cause of the conflict, the cataloguing of the atrocities of the LTTE, recommendations in respect of governance – especially the de-politicization of existing institutions, the introduction of Right to Information legislation, militarization, attacks on the freedom of expression, language rights, reconciliation and the investigation of the allegations contained in the Channel Four documentary as well as the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for disappearances and civilian deaths, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) on Tuesday reiterated its long standing demand for an international inquiry.

The CPA statement: "We also welcome the LLRC recommendation that named individuals and organizations associated with the government be investigated for human rights violations and para-military activity, and its recommendations in respect of the Northern Muslims evicted by the LTTE and the Up Country Tamil population. The attention accorded by the LLRC to the situation of these two communities strengthens the coherence of this report on the pivotal issue of reconciliation for the peoples of Sri Lanka. We strongly urge that the testimonies and record of the proceedings of the LLRC be preserved for posterity.

CPA did not go before the LLRC because of reservations about the mandate and composition of the commission, the past record of presidential commissions, specifically the non- release and non-implementation of their recommendations –a point also made in the LLRC Report. We note however that a number of the observations and recommendations made by the LLRC reiterate those made by CPA and other civil society actors regarding the state of governance, the culture of impunity and human rights protection in Sri Lanka, in particular. The endorsement of these views by a presidential commission reinforces this civil society critique and underscores the importance of the credible and effective implementation of the LLRC recommendations in the areas mentioned above as a matter of the utmost national priority. This in turn, as also highlighted by the LLRC, is underscored by the failure of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to implement in full the interim recommendations of the LLRC.

Following the release of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Panel Report and the calls for international investigation of the allegations of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) made against the LTTE and the GOSL, the GOSL has maintained that the LLRC Report would answer its critics. Central to this is establishing what happened in the last phase of the conflict and the issue of accountability. At the outset it needs to be noted that the LLRC was not mandated to investigate human rights or IHL violations but was tasked to examine the collapse of the ceasefire agreement of 2001. The LLRC has concluded that in certain cases the truth is near impossible to ascertain given the information presented to the commission and more importantly, the information that at this point can be obtained.

Notwithstanding the issue of the limitations of the information available to it, the LLRC categorically states that it was not the intention of the GOSL to target civilians at any point. The LLRC also concludes that in certain cases further investigations are is warranted to establish the responsibility of members of the armed forces for civilian deaths, war crimes and violations of IHL, though it maintains, "this may not have been with an intent to cause harm".

This is a conclusion that echoes the testimonies of senior officers and officials in the political and security establishment. It has been arrived at through a process in which there was no witness and victim protection mechanism to facilitate further civilian testimony and thereby, a comprehensive account of what happened in the last phase of the war. In this connection it is pertinent to note the hardship and subsequent harassment faced by civilians who testified before the commission and the insufficient time allocated to civilians to make oral submissions before it. Most importantly, that so many family members of the disappeared and killed came before the commission, regardless of the difficulties and dangers they faced, attests to the dire need for affected communities to be heard as well as to the urgent need for justice and accountability at the community level.

CPA finds the conclusion about the intentions of the armed forces disappointing. We firmly believe that it reinforces the demands for an international investigation rather than addresses and lays them to rest. These demands are further augmented by the critique of the LLRC of the current state of governance and the rule of law, the need to delink the police force from the defence establishment and the need in effect to restore the Seventeenth Amendment and independent commissions for the police and public service amongst others. The state of governance and the rule of law described by the LLRC, begs the question as to how the investigations it recommends can be conducted nationally, given the erosion of the integrity of the institutions that will be involved in such investigations. Explicit guidelines from the LLRC for these "independent" and "proper" "investigations" it recommends, would have made these recommendations more robust and meaningful.

Our disappointment extends to the commission’s treatment of the issue of the number of civilians in the Vanni during the last phase of the war and the provision of food and medical supplies to them. In this regard we are concerned that information from actors in international governmental and non-governmental organization in direct contact with civilians on the ground may not have been sufficiently sourced. This concern includes the population data available from the civilian administration in the region. The "White Flag incident" involving the killing of surrendering LTTE officials, the legality of High Security Zones, and the incarceration of almost 300,000 civilians in the Menik Farm and other sites complex in violation of their fundamental rights are some issues that, as well as the recent Land Circular, should have been dealt with, given their impact on reconciliation and the allegations of war crimes.

These reservations apart, we call on the GOSL to implement the LLRC recommendations without delay and with sincerity and commitment to the cherished goal of a truly plural and united Sri Lanka. We note that the LLLRC report is the initiation of a process of reconciliation; not the end of it. Furthermore, the LLRC clearly states that it is the GOSL that has to take the lead in the process and in particular, in arriving at a political and constitutional settlement based on devolution of "the ethnic problem as well as other serious problems that threaten democratic institutions". In this regard as in all others, we also note that the implementation of the LLRC recommendations necessitate a major paradigm shift by the GOSL.

We strongly urge that this be undertaken as a matter of national priority, and look forward to solid, demonstrable progress in reconciliation, accountability and human rights protection in 2012 and beyond. This is vital to the necessary transition from a post-war to post conflict situation and the enduring peace and unity the latter entails."

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T 56 Used in the murder of the British national, an ICRC aid worker by LG Chairman is a WEAPON FROM SL-PRESIDENT's SECURITY DIVISION!

2012-01-04T15:06:00.001-08:00

T-56 weapon assigned to President’s security division that had been used to murder Red Cross worker British citizen !

(Lanka-e-News -27.Dec.2011, 9.00AM) The T 56 weapon used in the murder of the British national, an International Red Cross aid worker in Tangalla by local body Chairman Vidhanapathirane is a weapon that had been allocated for the President’s security division , according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

This weapon has been assigned to the security division of President’s Carlton house . In order to suppress this information leaking out every move is being made , according to inside sources of the Tangalla police.

How did a T 56 weapon assigned to the President’s security reach the hands of a chairman of a local body is a big question mark ?

The first conspiracy to suppress this murder was the distortion of the facts pertaining to the murder by a concocted medical report that the victim died of cut injuries when he died of gunshot injuries caused by this weapon. The second was the medical report spuriously prepared that the bullets were not of T 56 weapon. Yet at the scene of the incident , T56 bullets had been found.

To fuel the suspicions on the investigation process even more , no statement had been recorded of the eye witnesses to this murder committed by Vidyapathirane. The statement of the Manageress of the Nature reef Hotel had been distorted and had not been pasted in the book yet. It is an SI , Jayasinghe of the Tangalla police who is making these inquiries sans impartiality. Namal Rajapakse had given as many as 8 calls to this SI until now forcing him to distort the facts and hold the investigation to suit Namal’s instructions.

Might it be recalled that during the last Presidential election period , when UNP supporters were traveling in a bus , they were shot at, and one lady died as a result. In that crime, Vidyapathirane was a suspect, yet he was not arrested.

Though under the reference 49/2011 there is registration of this murder by the Tangalla police in the heinous crime register , the police had not recorded the GHT form No. or the phone message in this regard at the time of admitting the victim who was murdered to Hospital ,in the register under ref.49/2011 or in the heinous crime record book.

The ASP Jayalath Balagalla of Tangalla under intense pressure from the MaRa regime is moving heaven and earth to hide and expunge the information regarding the T56 weapon and Vidyapathirane’s involvement in the crime.

The deceased, Kurami Shaik is a British National and Int. Red Cross aid worker . He had come to SL on a passport No. 099211927 issued in Geneva.

Yesterday(26) night suspect Sampath Vidanapathirane has surrendered to the police with his lawyers
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Comments ( 15 ) | This Article Viewers ( 5189 ) |
@Kumaraya , so it is the dead guy's fault to go to the club... Yeah , we understand now.
Posted By: SahanHi, Jagath, 800,000 arrived, 799,999 departed alive.
Posted By: Mala Jones

NOW WE SEE WHAT PRESIDENTS SECURITY IS ALL ABOUT. THEY ARE GIVEN A FREE HAND TO MURDER AT WILL. LIKE THE PRADESHIYA SABHA UNP CHAIRMAN AND WEERASINGHE MURDERED IN TANGALLE IN THE LLATE 90'S
Posted By: deshapremiya
It is more than two years since the end of the war. Why on earth should politicians and their security be armed. Is it to allow them to murder their opponents as in the case of Bharatha Lakshman or to intimidate and kill peace loving people on holiday as in the case of the Tangalle incident.
Posted By: Don Em
There is a proverb in Thamil. As is the way of the King so is the way of the common people. Mahinda Rajapakse and his siblings have set a bad example by grabbing political and economic power in their hands. They have subverted the rule of law which discriminates between government supporters and opponents. You can even get away with murder as in the case of Duminda Silva who instead of getting arrested was dispatched to Singapore for treatment at government expense. So goes the list. It is endless. Rajapakse's government has out performed all other governments combined.
Posted By: Vel Thanga
There is a proverb in Thamil. As is the way of the King so is the way of the common people. Mahinda Rajapakse and his siblings have set a bad example by grabbing political and economic power in their hands. They have subverted the rule of law which discriminates between government supporters and opponents. You can even get away with murder as in the case of Duminda Silva who instead of getting arrested was dispatched to Singapore for treatment at government expense. So goes the list. It is endless. Rajapakse's government has out performed all other governments combined.
Posted By: Thanga

MARA TAKES THE FULL CREDIT IN WAR VICTORY AND SAYS HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING LTTE LEADER PRABHAKARAN & GANG THAT NUMBERED ABOUT 30000. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT HE TAKES THE FULL CREDIT IN THIS CASE TOO.
Posted By: sanath bandarasingho
The deceit and crookednes of the SL government and its officials should be exposed to the International community. Now that the Tamils have been murdered, you can start murdering the tourists. No wonder the defence budget is so high ; arming all the political thugs of the regime. Are these also part of the Lessons we are Learning ?
Posted By: Walter PereraIt is a tough choice for the police... Do I refuse to help MaRa regime and loose the job or do I get prosecuted in the future for the crimes I committed for MaRa regime and go to prison? Yep, no one is envious of the police officers today. But those basteds deserve what they get; filth of humanity!
Posted By: NamalWhen Murder runs in the Rajapakse family, this is a minor matter. Is it true that Ranil saved MR from murder inquiries on the death of his first wife? If this is the pattern among politicians why make a fuss. Strange, a British citz. holds a Passport issued through a Geneva Consular Office?
Posted By: punchinilameThis IS a tragic event and justice must be done. BUT, what was a Red Cross worker with a British passport doing in a "booz" club with a Russian woman at that time of the night, in a remote place where just 50 years ago, elephants crossed the road.!!??!!
Posted By: kumarayaLEN, Pls submit all these information to British high commission or any other powerful international authority in order to make sure that all the culprits be taken to task. Must inform all British sources.
Posted By: asela

British Government Please announce Sri lanka is no longer safe for
Tourist or Any Human. Ban Sri Lanka............
Posted By: Niroshan

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SOUTH SL Tourist Hotel CRUEL Murder & Rape- here is the True story with Evidence: Russian girl raped by 8 Persons –Eye witnesses say!-LANKA-E-NEWS

2012-01-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

Tangalla tourist Hotel ghastly murder and rape- here is the true story with evidence: Russian girl raped by 8 persons –eye witnesses say

(Lanka-e-News -03.Jan.2012, 11.55P.M.) In the recent ghastly murder and rape committed at a Tangalla tourist resort where a foreign tourist Kuram Shaik , a red cross worker was gruesomely murdered and a lady , Russian national was critically injured, it has come to light that the latter had been raped viciously by 8 persons, according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

Lanka e news is also in possession of clear , cogent and irrefutable evidence that the tourist Kuram Shaik , the British National had got killed when he obstructed the local body Chairman Sampath and his violent gang from raping the Russian tourist , and not when he tried to intervene in a quarrel between the Chairman and his violent gang , and another group, which was the distorted picture painted by the Police. Lanka e news is armed with full evidence to prove that the police is concocting a false story to protect the actual murderers.

A French national tourist , a resident of Canada who was an eye witness when this murder was committed revealed the stark facts pertaining to this gruesome murder . We shall name him as ‘Daniel’ in this story.

According to him , Sampath , the Chairman of the local body and his violent gang who were under the influence of liquor had tried to solicit the Russian national tourist, Victoria, offering money assuming that she was a harlot . When she had stated that she is not a prostitute and tried to get away from them , the group had begun molesting her and fiddling with her private parts . At that juncture , the deceased Kuram Shaik had told them not to manhandle her , and intervened . These hooligans had then dragged Shaik away and attacked him with a broken bottle . When Shaik was struggling with the Chairman’s gangsters , one of the assailants had taken an automatic weapon which was with him and shot at Shaikh killing him. Victoria too had intervened in this tussle. The gangsters had then assaulted her fiercely so much so that she became motionless. They have then forcibly taken her to a room on the lower floor of the Hotel , and committed mass rape.

The Chairman and his violent gang who were on the rampage had threatened all those around that they are from the Gotabaya Rajapakse defense Ministry. They have also threatened the tourists that if anyone says a word , all of them before they leave will be murdered in the same way as Shaikh. These dire threats have alarmed the tourists immensely.

‘Daniel’ who related this story told us he saw through the open door two individuals raping Victoria. He also added that he saw her abandoned nude on the cement floor of the room by the 8 individuals who raped her in the belief that she was dead.

‘Daniel’ went on to say , that the victim was in a most critical condition , yet nobody came forward to help. Even the police arrived at the scene several hours after the crimes were reported. The police who came this late , did not even take a statement from any of the tourists who saw the incident with open eyes.

‘Daniel’ stated that he is revealing this information in mortal fear even after leaving the shores of Sri Lanka. He also added that he has video tapes of all the events , and he is prepared to present them in courts as evidence . He is now seeking the assistance of Lawyers in this connection.

Apart from the disclosures made by ‘Daniel’ , Lanka e news is having in its possession copious and cogent evidence to substantiate the factual story .

The Bed ticket No. of Decca Hewa Victoria Ellen Domina the Russian national who was the victim of the brutal rape and assault , and admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital in a most critical condition is 114755 and the GHT form No. of Hospital Doctor for court , Dr. L H Dhamma is 5879/2011. Based on the medical reports , the condition of Victoria who is admitted to the Hospital is as follows :

All injuries of the victim are serious. She had sustained injuries ,internal and external following battery, assault , cuts , stabs and piercing with blunt and sharp instruments.

At the time she was admitted she was on the verge of dying..

The victim and been subject to assault and has sustained multiple injuries in the region of her private parts. .

The Lady Doctor on the reverse of the GHT form had referring to the rape made her medical minutes based on 12 grounds. She had stated that as Victoria’s private parts have been severely damaged , it bears testimony that many persons have committed rape on her forcefully.

Unfortunately , all these facts and records have been suppressed from the courts. While Victoria was receiving intensive care treatment at Karapitiya Hospital , she had been brought to the Colombo Apollo Hospital. This is an illegal action, because it is only on a request made by a relative of the patient that such an action can be taken. Above all , what arouses most grave suspicion is , the present chief administrative officer of this private Hospital is Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse whose name was proudly mentioned by the murderers at the Hotel after the killing and rape, when they claimed that they ( criminals) are from Gotabaya’s Ministry.

It has become very clear that the witness , a Manager of another Hotel who supposedly gave evidence to the police that these crimes were a sequel to a quarrel which was triggered when two individuals collided physically , is a witness coached by the police.

Meanwhile , when one of our LeN representatives inquired from the Manageress, Dilrukshi Tharanga peiris of the ‘Nature reef Hotel’ where this ghastly and grueling crimes occurred , she remarked , ‘they will of course leave the country. But it is I who will have to die facing this in this country.’ ‘ Are you wishing me to die?’ she asked.

Meanwhile The Sri Lanka Police have recorded 1,636 cases of molestation of women in the last 11 months. Statistics have revealed a steady increase in rapes and molestations of women in the country. The number of incidents has seen a massive increase since 2007 in this regime.

The number of incidents that stood at 542 in 1995 has risen to 1,397 in 2007. There were 1,582 cases in 2008, 1,624 in 2009 and 1,854 in 2010.
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Comments ( 9 ) | This Article Viewers ( 4497 ) |

LANKA E news should be given the noble price ,with all the threats , harassment,E news ,champion's the way ,thank you e news ,for putting out the absolute truth,these clowns should be exposed ,please send a copy to the Russian and UK , embassy's,news papers, tourist authority and UN
Posted By: Deepal Abaysakara

This humble request for western,USA and other democratic countries if you all are really lovers of huminity and democrasy please stop all tourists commonig to Sri lanka till this country goes to the hand of civilised,cultured and educated people persent leaders are the people from uncivilised not born to real parents and their supportes are also the same clan people know how leaders were loitering and sitting on culverts at Madamulana and raping innocent civilians and bladdy Chandrika gave them a chance to ruin this country if western people send tourists they will never learn any lessons and allow their henthmen to do even worse in the future Naamal
Posted By: Naamal Ranasinghe

What a shameful country you people live in. If the LTTE was around, this would never have happened. What a disgrace. I will never let my mates come visit this hell hole country.
Posted By: Wombat Power

I am a senior solicitor of England and Wales and an Attorney at law Sri Lanka.I am willing to take the risk of assisting Daniel as a human rights lawyer.

Posted By: Don Wickremebandu

GOING BY ALL OF THIS , THE FACT IS THE ABSENCE OF LAW AND ORDER IN SRI LANKA. WITH A REGIME THAT MOLLYCODDLES DRUG DEALERS,AND PUNISH THE POLIMEN WHO APPREHEND THEM, THE LEADER OF THE COUNTRY PROUDLY BEING PHOTOGRAPHED WITH THE CRIMINAL IN TEMPLE TREES, THE FAMOUS SWINDLER SAKVITHI ALSO HAD THE REGIME CHIEF BESTOWING DESHAMANYA ACCOLADE TO HIM. THE KNOWN LTTE PROCURER KUMARAN PATHMANATHAN ALIAS KP IS FREE AND GIVING PRESS CONFERENCES WITH NO CHARGES FRAMED AGAINST , WHILST THE SINHALA GENERAL WHO DEFEATED THE LTTE MILITARILY IS IMPRISONED ON COOKED UP CHARGES. WHEN THE RREGIME LEADERS TWIST THE LAW TO SUIT THEM, WHAT OTHER BEHAVIOUR DOES ONE EXPECT FROIM THEIR HENCHMEN. SUCH ACTIONS WILL MOST CERTAINLY MAKE THIS THE WONDER OF ASIA

Posted By: deshapremiya

Why the hell Is British high commission and the russians keeping their mouth shut ? How barbaric? Can it get worse than this ?

Posted By: Raz Both are rapists from down south NZ dual citizen

Posted By: NZ Dual Citizenwell done raja

Posted By: champika perera
Lankaenews and the Canadian national should expose this atrocious murder to the world through all major news outlets.. to save guard other visiters from the murderous MaRa regime..

Posted By: Hilmy Raheem

©lankaenews.com 2005-2008 E-Mail: info@lankaenews.com

SK/ ELWP: Powers & Blessings of the State are with Rapists & Murderers! SRILANKA has not experienced a Dark & Barbaric Period like one in the Present!

2012-01-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

Sri Lanka Mirror.com
‘State’s powers, blessings with rapists, murderers’
Wednesday, 04 January 2012

Powers and blessings of the state are with rapists and murderers, alleges Eksath Lak Wanitha Peramuna chairperson Shanthini Kongahage says.

In a statement, she says this is confirmed in the Tangalle killing of a British tourist and the rape of his partner, Russian national Victoria Alexandrovna.

It has now been found that a regional politician of the government is one person responsible for the incident, at a time when the Southern province is under the governorship of a woman in Kumari Balasuriya, she says.

Mrs. Kongahage adds that this incident has threatened tourism, one of the industries on which national income depends.

More than 1,670 rapes of women took place in the past year in this Buddhist country, she says.

The country has not experienced a dark and barbaric period like one in the present, Mrs. Kongahage says, adding that all women should join together to eliminate sexuality and to safeguard the country’s dignity.

AHRC: Friend of the Murdered British Tourist Zaman was sexually assaulted after the brutal attack on the couple!Russian girl is being treated at ICU.!

2012-01-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

Tangalle victim 'raped' - AHRC

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says the companion of the murdered British tourist Kuram Shaikah Zaman was sexually assaulted after the brutal attack on the couple. Russian national Victoria Alexandrovna, 23, is being treated in Karapitiya hospital, Galle at the intensive care unit.

Police investigations continue

Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha, Sampath Chandra Pushpa Vidanapathirana, was arrested as the main suspect of the assault and murder of the Red Cross employee on Christmas eve in Tangalle.

Found naked

"After the attack Victoria was found naked by the time the police arrived to investigate. According to an eye witness she was raped even as she lay bleeding from the head wound". The chairman of the AHRC Basil Fernando told the BBC Sinhala Service.

The AHRC says the eye witnesses who gave statements are now being threatened and are expressing concern for their own safety.

"Meanwhile several journalists who have reported the incident have also received death threats and reported the matter to their media agencies", says the AHRC.

Not conclusive

"A government spokesman's first reaction to the media was to deny the rape. This is the usual pattern of government spokesmen who tried to defend government politicians even when they are involved in serious crimes". Fernando told the BBC.

However the police spokesman says the evidence about a sexual assault is not conclusive as the final medical reports are yet to be received.

"The final medical reports on the bodily fluids taken from the alleged victim and the suspects will be submitted in court on the 6th of January", Police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana told the BBC Sinhala Service.

victim moved from hospital

After initial medical treatment at Karapitiya National Hospital, Victoria Alexandrovna was transferred to Lanka private hospital in Colombo.

All her medical expenses are paid by the government of Sri Lanka, Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardhana told the BBC Sinhala Service on Thursday.

The ICRC has no further details on the specific circumstances under which Mr. Shaikh was killed

- ICRC

“A criminal investigation was launched by the concerned local authorities to follow-up on the circumstances of the incident”. Spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told the BBC Sinhala Service.

“The ICRC has no further details on the specific circumstances under which Mr. Shaikh was killed. The ICRC is following-up on the matter with the concerned authorities”. Christian Cardon Media and Public Relation officer - South Asia region for the ICRC, in Geneva said.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

How President Rajapaksa deals with these SINHALA Violent/thuggish elements within his own party will tell how Happy 2012 will be for all IN SL.!!!

2012-01-03T02:48:00.000-08:00

The Need For A Non-Criminal Government Post War...THESUNDAYLEADER.LK

This year a Tangalle politician saw fit to celebrate Christmas by firing a T56 assault rifle in the air and allegedly assaulting and killing a British tourist. In October, two ruling party politicians ended a local election by shooting each other on the streets of Colombo. How President Mahinda Rajapaksa deals with these violent and thuggish elements within his own party will tell how happy 2012 will be for us all.
2011 saw the stabilization of the country and government after years of war. While the war definitively ended in 2009, people had waited to see if separatist violence would re-emerge. By 2011, it seemed obvious that the war was over for good. This year also saw the fruition of many development projects, some successful (the Southern Expressway) and some open in name only (the Hambantota Port).
This year also saw the increasingly successful beautification of Colombo and numerous visible examples that indicate we are entering a hopeful post-war era.
While President Rajapaksa has pushed for development, however, Sri Lankan politics remains atrophied, most notably his ruling party. Most serious projects are headed by the President or his brothers, hardly a sustainable model. For all of their successes, there are numerous excesses – like the hobbling of Sri Lankan Airlines with the vanity airline Mihin Lanka, or unproductive investment in Hambantota to the relative neglect of the booming North and North-Central provinces.
Non-family Ministers like Johnston Fernando and S. B. Dissanayake have royally messed up food supply issues (like the use of vegetable crates) and the delivery of A/Level results, respectively.
Worse, since the governments emphasis has been on competence and connection rather than quality, numerous thugs, lackies and hangers-on have found themselves in positions of power, squandering both money and lives.
The most notable examples are MP R. Dumindha Silva and Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha, Sampath Vidanapathirana. These politicians have behaved more like low-level mafia soldiers than representatives, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. Their behavior (allegedly killing a politician and a tourist, respectively) is so atrocious that it must be addressed. Countless daily abuses by countless politicians continue and go unpunished and unheard.
At some point Mahinda Rajapaksa will have to decide if he wants to be the head of a prosperous country or a successful mafia. It cannot be both, especially when even local thugs feel empowered to kill.
Since the opposition parties were unable to reform or unite in 2011, these debates will likely take place within the SLFP and the current government. Most thinking UNP politicians have already crossed over and that once uniting party has lost the support of the Tamil and Muslim parties it once held within its fold. The UNP under Ranil Wickremasinghe is also opposed to much of the private media, so it remains a largely feudal preserve. Once called the Uncle Nephew Party, Ranil seems determined to make this so, trying to follow his uncle J. R. Jayawardena into power by any means necessary. The old man waited until his 70s, something Ranil seems determined to do, needs of the nation be damned.
Hence there is no longer any democratic bulwark for minorities or the weak to oppose the government and its excesses. The only pressure has to and increasingly does come from within the SLFP and the government itself. This is necessary because – high hopes and projections aside – great excesses remain.
The Rule of Law does not apply in Sri Lanka, largely because our leadership has flouted it. The police never ordered Duminda Silva’s arrest as a murder suspect until it was impossible to arrest him (he left the country for treatment, with full government escort and support). While Vidanapathirana has been arrested, locals have complained about undue pressure and called for an impartial investigation. Sarath Fonseka remains in jail, essentially on Presidential demand, and things like asset seizures are carried out by dictat wrapped in law, like fish in a newspaper.
To the common man, this means that thuggery is seen as a valid means of dispute resolution, especially since many of the thugs hold official office. In the court system, influence is the rule rather than the exception, starting from the top. This system is especially abusive to minorities, women, and the average man, while rewarding thugs and the corrupt.
Again, President Rajapaksa must decide if this is the Wonder of Asia he aspires to build. No matter what his plans, if they are executed by thugs and imbeciles, they will come to naught. Perhaps not now, when there is so much low-hanging fruit, but later when returns depend on finesse and skill more than dusting of old development plans and doling out the contracts.
From Sri Lanka Cricket to Sri Lanka Tourism, there is extraordinary wastage and bad planning that goes unattended because the post-war tide is rising so high. At some point, however, that post-war growth will peter out and deliver decreasing marginal returns. At that point what matters will not be the obvious but the innovative, something a mafia-style government cannot deliver.
2011 has given the President many presents. Peace, investment, the most tourists ever, investment from China and a supine opposition jealously herded by Ranil. In 2012, however, he must decide whether he wants to use his relative safety (rare for a Sri Lankan politician) to lead the nation or essentially follow the thuggish patterns of before.
The nation needs to be led into respectable governance not just because of excesses like the street and beachside murders we have seen, but also because that is the only way to execute the grand plans the President has for this region. While strong-arm incompetents could serve for dividing up the pie during war years, they have no idea how to grow the pie as befits a post-war Sri Lanka. They only know how to stab and take, not how to grow and bake.
In 2011 Mahinda has gotten everything he wanted, but for 2012 we hope something will return to the people. A decent and at least non-criminal government, to match the great hopes we have for Sri Lanka in the century to come.

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3 Comments for
“2012 The Need For A Non-Criminal Government Post War”Wombat Power
January 1, 2012 - 5:27 pm
No wonder tourists don’t visit this place anymore. I successfully stopped 12 of my best mates from coming to SL as there are rapes and shootings everyday. We went to Paris instead, so much better in quality and peaceful.

Reply Ajith
January 2, 2012 - 12:30 am
The country clamoured for a law abiding, respectful nation after more than 30 yrs of lawlessmess in the hands of the LTTE. Sadly and unfortunately they have been replaced by Mafia style govt. with killings, white van abductions, underworld connections, impotent and blind law specifically against them with all the blessings of the govt. The ruthlessness of LTTE has been replaced by such acts of govt. leaving the hopes of people shattered.

Reply TAMILSON
January 2, 2012 - 6:51 am
None Criminal Govt. ? You mean Fonseka or Ranil what a none sence!!

SriLanka’s Booming Holiday Season Has Been Marred by the Brutal Murder& Assault of Tourists(BRITISH-ISRAELI/RUSSIAN) IN THE SOUTH on Christmas Eve.!!!

2012-01-03T00:45:00.000-08:00

Murderer Turned Politician Let loose to kill again
By Nirmala Kannangara in Tangalle - Pictures by Thusitha Kumara ..THESUNDAYLEADER.LK

Sampath Vidanapathirana, Police guard at the resort- picture taken over the closed gates, The Nature Tangalle where the unfortunate incident occured, Kuram Shaikah Zaman, The poster that announced the Christmas party at The Nature and The lawn where Zaman lay bleeding
Sri Lanka’s booming holiday season has been marred by the brutal murder and assault of two tourists in Tangalle on Christmas Eve.
British tourist Kuram Shaikah Zaman was murdered while his friend, Russian national Victoria Alexandrovna, was viciously assaulted during a visit to a tourist resort in Tangalle.
According to the International Committee of Red Cross, Zaman worked in the Gaza Strip fitting prosthetic limbs.
Police say the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha, Sampath Vidanapathirana is the main suspect in this case.
The politician allegedly stabbed and then gunned down Zaman, a British national of Israeli origin, on the dance floor of The Nature Tangalle.
An eye witness recalled witnessing the sexual assault of Alexandrovna, although charges are yet to be confirmed by authorities.
The tragedy spells disaster for the government’s ‘Visit Sri Lankan’ campaign which has predicted a tourism boom in the next five years.

Holiday Tragedy

32 year old Zaman and 23 year old Victoria were in Sri Lanka to celebrate Christmas and see the New Year in together in the picturesque town of Tangalle.
Zaman reportedly organized a Christmas party for his friends to celebrate the holiday season at The Nature Tangalle. However what began as an innocent night with loved ones has ended in bloodshed and an international media frenzy.
The suspect Vidanapathirana, who is known to be a close confidante of MP Namal Rajapaksa, allegedly stabbed Zaman to death at The Nature Tangalle while the victim attempted to settle a brawl between the politician and a local restaurant owner known as Ryan.
Ryan told The Sunday Leader, “It was around 10 p.m. when Vidanapathirana and eleven others walked into the resort to have some dinner and drinks. I was dancing with two foreign girls”.
“The altercation began because none of the foreign girls wanted to dance with Vidanapathirana. He and his companions then assaulted me and a brawl broke out. It was at this time that Zaman and his friend rushed to the scene from the pool side. When the British tourist tried to settle the fight, Vidanapathirana attacked Zaman with broken bottles”.
Ryan described the growing intensity of the attack saying, “Zaman and Victoria were cut several times before they ran for their lives. I watched as Vidanapathirana and his men followed the couple with a T56 weapon and empty bottles in hand. Since I was hiding behind a wall I could not see exactly how the tourist was killed but I witnessed Victoria being dragged away by four men”.
The scene Ryan goes on to describe is a disturbing one, “they stripped and raped her mercilessly although she was bleeding from her head. Later I saw Zaman lying on the lawn next to the restaurant but did not know whether he was dead or alive,” he added.
While running to the beach for safety, Ryan cannot recall who took the injured to hospital or how Vidanapathirana and his men fled the scene.
“I only came back when I heard the vehicles leaving the hotel. When I returned I saw many tourists fleeing the hotel in fear,” he said.
According to Ryan, the police arrived one hour after the incident and all hotel staff were prohibited from leaving or giving statements.
“All those who were in the hotel when the police arrived were held there for three days for questioning,” he said.
Following the attack, the two tourists were rushed to Tangalle hospital where Zaman was later pronounced dead.
Suffering stab wounds to the head, Alexandrovna was immediately transferred to the Matara General Hospital and later to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for an urgent operation. She is now confined to a hospital bed at the Lanka Hospitals in Colombo.
According to the Director of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, Dr. Priyani Senadheera, Alexandrovna was brought to Karapitiya for a brain CT scan.
In an exclusive interview, Dr. Senadheera told The Sunday Leader, “The patient suffered a blunt trauma and has sustained a skull fracture. She was immediately admitted to the emergency trauma unit and was taken for an urgent operation. She was kept in the High Dependence Unit of the Neurosurgical Unit until she was transferred to Lanka Hospitals on Tuesday December 27. This was requested by the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Dr. Nalaka Godahewa”.
According to Dr. Senadheera, the Chairman of the Tourist Board made a special visit to the Karapitiya Hospital on Monday December 26, to see Alexandrovna and make arrangements to have her transferred to Lanka Hospitals.
Along with increased care and comfortable quarters, a reliable source from the Karapitiya Hospital told The Sunday Leader that the patient was given a police escort to the ambulance which then transferred her to Colombo.
The care did not stop there. The source explained that, “in addition to the police escort, two uniformed policemen guarded the High Dependence Unit preventing the media from approaching her. Since she is the only person to recall the disturbing incident clearly, the government is trying to prevent her from talking to the media”. The informant wished to remain anonymous.
Sources expressed their concern to The Sunday Leader, that the Buddhist leaders of this country who observe sil and listen to bana every Poya day are the same individuals who give refuge to the criminals who terrorize civilians and tourists on a daily basis.
All sources including the eyewitness told The Sunday Leader they wished to remain anonymous as they fear for their lives. Each informant willingly spoke to the newspaper with a desire to educate the people about the true state of affairs in Tangalle over the past few years. For them, Tangalle and Hambantota are becoming the most dangerous cities in the country.
“Tangalle was one a peaceful town. But if things continue this way it will become one of the most dreadful places to live in” they said.
These people live in constant fear that their families will be attacked by ruling political groups who keep a tight reign on information disseminated to the media.
The Tangalle police have also come under fire from residents, accusing them of not arresting the main suspect immediately after the incident even though they were aware of his location.
“The Tangalle police knew where Vidanapathirana was taking refuge, but did not take any action because of his connection to high level political families in the district,” an angry holiday resort worker explained.
“It is jungle law that prevails in this part of the country. Law and order do not exist in Tangalle, Hambantota and other areas in the district. Anyone with connections to high level political families will not be prosecuted after committing criminal offences”.
This explains why Vidanapathirana was released after murdering an elderly woman in Thalunna in the run-up to the 2010 Presidential elections.
Neighbouring resort workers now fear for their jobs in the wake of this incident. It is clear that the attack will prove to be a major set back for the tourism industry in Tangalle and indeed Sri Lanka.
Outraged workers told The Sunday Leader they have lost faith in the Sri Lankan police and judicial systems as politicians consistently skip prosecution after committing some of the most heinous crimes.
“When Vidanapathirana was arrested for murdering an elderly woman, the police submitted a medical report to the courts stating he was mentally ill. He was later released on those grounds. If Vidanapathirana is mentally ill, why then is he allowed to continue working in politics?”
The question remains as to whether the police will follow the same course of action in this case. Sources told The Sunday Leader that, following Vidanapathirana’s surrender to the Tangalle police on December 26, authorities from the highest levels of government requested that the officers arrange a comfortable room for Vidanapathirana in the police station.
It is also believed that Vidanapathirana has been directly involved in several other crimes in Tangalle and Hambantota over the past several years.
“Even before he was elected to the Pradeshiya Sabha, Vidanapathirana had committed many crimes with a pistol that he owned. During the last local government election he damaged UNP MP Sajith Premadasa’s vehicle, vandalized the house of a southern provincial council member and has even threatened his own party members,” sources said.
Meanwhile almost all tourists holidaying in nearby resorts had checked out immediately after the incident.
“Although there were several bookings up to mid-January we are concerned about the growing number of cancellations since then. We had great hopes for the winter season but there seems to be a bleak forecast in the wake of this killing”.
When The Sunday Leader visited the Nature Resort Tangalle, the media were prohibited from entering the premises. However our staff photographer was able to capture photos over the parapet wall. The photographs reveal police on constant guard at the hotel and staff running to hide themselves from being photographed.
When The Sunday Leader visited Lanka Hospitals to speak with Alexandrovna in the Intensive Care Unit, permission was not granted. The Chief Executive Officer Lakith Peiris spoke to the newspaper over the phone and explained that only Russian Embassy officials are permitted to see her.
“Her condition has improved a lot and she is recuperating. No visitors other than embassy officials are allowed,” he said.
When asked as to why police protection was given to her, he first said that he does not know but later revealed that it was on request of the Russian Embassy.
“There are three police constables and hospital OICs in the ward. Sources say although the patient is recuperating, she is suffering from a conjunctival hemorrhage in her eye due to injuries sustained to her forehead,” the sources said.
Meanwhile Police Spokesperson SP Ajith Rohana said that Zaman died on admission to Tangalle hospital due to fatal injuries to the neck from a sharp object. Rohana says the gunshot injury he sustained to his head was not as serious as the stab wounds which were the cause of death.
“He died due to stab injuries to the neck and according to the JMO’s report the bullets did not penetrate his skull. The death was due to stab injuries to his neck with a sharp object,” said SP Rohana.
SP Rohana also revealed that although onlookers recalled seeing a T56 used in the attack, it was not the weapon which was used to shoot Zaman.
According to SP Rohana, six suspects including five main suspects and the driver of the vehicle were remanded on Tuesday December 27 and will remain in custody until January 6, 2012 as ordered by the Tangalle Chief Magistrate.
“They will be produced on January 6 for an identification parade,” he said.
SP Rohana revealed that Alexandrovna has been given full security as she is a key witness in this tragedy. “She was in a terrible condition upon admission so we had to provide security until she recovered sufficiently to give a statement. In addition to this, the patient is a foreigner and there is no one for her in this country. So we provided extensive security for her until she leaves the country. We are not sure what plans the perpetrators have for her if she is left unprotected,” he added.
When asked why the police did not allow media presence at the scene of crime after three full days, SP Rohana said it is general practice to seal off a crime scene until all investigations are completed.
He denied any allegations against the Tangalle police for providing special quarters to Vidanapathirana. “This is a baseless allegation. When I checked with the Tangalle police I was informed that the main suspect spent the night in a cell with all the other suspects,” he explained.
Meanwhile UPFA General Secretary and Petroleum Minister Susil Premjayantha has said that stern disciplinary action will be taken to reprimand the Tangalle PS Chairman.
“It is not only this instance. There have been several cases he has been involved in since the local government elections. Once the case is filed in court we will appoint a committee to take disciplinary action against Vidanapathirana and all UPFA members who commit crimes,” he said.
When asked why Vidanapathirana was nominated to the party since his arrest and subsequent release from a previous crime, Minister Premjayantha said he only signs the nomination paper approved by the district leaders and does not know the individuals personally.
Minister Premjayantha told The Sunday Leader, “It is the district leader who must take responsibility in such a case. I do not however, have any suspicions in this instance, I believe the police will do their job without any prejudice”.
ICRC Sri Lanka Spokesperson Sarasi Wijeratne told The Sunday Leader that Zaman was a dedicated ICRC worker in the Gaza Strip and his absence will be felt terribly.
“We are sure that justice will prevail and the culprits will be punished,” said Wijeratne.
President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka Anura Lokuhetti insisted to The Sunday Leader that this random act of violence must be left behind.
“There is no reason to talk too much about this as it is not good for the tourism industry. These things happen regularly in other countries but are left behind in favour of working towards the betterment of the industry and the country as a whole. This was a horrible incident. We have a duty of care to our guests. Those who were involved in this murder should be punished immediately,” Lokuhetti said.
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6 Comments for
“A Murderer Turned Politician Let loose to kill again”valentine
January 1, 2012 - 10:22 pm
Duminda junior?

Reply Sri
January 1, 2012 - 11:09 pm
When war crimes are possible anything goes with impunity. Tangalle surely rings a bell.

Reply Ajith
January 2, 2012 - 12:08 am
Sadly the responsibilty of such incidents are indirectly related to the highest in the govt. for nurturing, suporting, assisiting, encouraging criminals as politiciens and for protecting them when ever they do a crime. These criminals ideally should have been behind bars decades ago for their crimes but shamefully they are entrusted political power enhancing their criminality with guns, security and with that invincibility of what ever they do. This and several other high profile criminality witnessed recently are the result of political leadership ‘sleeping with such criminals’ !

Reply saman
January 2, 2012 - 12:36 am
People get the leaders they deserve. Although people of Tangalle blame the police for not taking action, it is the same people of Tangalle who voted these murderers in, in the first place. According to information provided, the concerned politician has been involved in nefarious activities for quite a while. Yet, people had continue to support him. Neither the police nor the judiciary can purge this menace off the country. Its the people who can do this. Until such time people vote intelligently, everybody will suffer the consequences. Recall, the famous politician from Kelaniya who was voted in with 3rd highest preferences!

Reply Ranmal
January 2, 2012 - 1:24 am
The nation -mostly youngsters and leaders are sick of sex– that is the main cause of all this mayhem. Religious leaders have a big duty on their hands

Reply Lihini
January 2, 2012 - 2:06 am
This is v. bad…Rajapakshas are loosing it. All the political thugs who commit murder in SL are close friends of the first family. What is going on with you guys? you people should be careful and stay away from these thugs. Better give them justice regardless of the level of friendship. Can’t you see, these guys can’t be your friends. By their actions these thugs are undermining your good name. If you let things go on like this you will have to pay one day. I am not threatening but just stating a fact that would become a reality one day. Power is not eternal, they work in short cycles, if you try to prolong it with undue methods things can backfire.

Reply shan
January 3, 2012 - 2:12 pm
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

2012..REAPING TIME FOR POISONOUS SEEDS SOWN IN NESL(2006-2011)
BAD KARMA NEVER ALLOW TO LIVE PEACEFULLY! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
SARASI/ICRC IS NOW TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE! GREAT YOU REMEMBER THAT WORD NOW! GOD WILL DO THE JUSTICE NOW!

True Reconciliation & Stable Peace is a long process & has to start from the smallest unit, namely the Village! Imagine 14,400Self reliant VILLAGES!

2012-01-02T05:47:00.001-08:00

Anandasangari’s task for govt. & a win-win situation for all Sri Lankans
January 1, 2012, 6:17 pm

By Arjuna Hulugalle

Veerasingham Anandasangaree, the Tamil elder Statesman and Manjeet Singh UNESCO Award laureate wrote recently that the "President’s immediate task is to win over Tamils". The converse question should also be posed, namely that the Tamil leadership’s first priority should be to win over the Sinhala people and all the other communities. The average citizen from the two communities will have no problem with that. It is the leaders and some elements of the media who may have a spot of trouble. The LLRC before which Mr Anandasangaraee gave evidence was meant to come up with a process to create the atmosphere to promote a Win Win situation for all Sri Lankans and now it has come up with the report.

The Mahathma Gandhi Centre in its submission before the Commission prefaced its presentation with the statement "We sincerely believe that this Commission has a critical role to play in shaping the future of this country. Sri Lanka may not ever have the benefit of another Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and this may be the last opportunity to start afresh and we cannot afford to let it go".

The first rumblings

The first rumblings of criticism against the LLRC report are surfacing from diverse sectors. The detractors are motivated by points of view which diametrically differ and could be representative of the fringes. This is to be expected in a vibrant democracy. It is unlikely that the LLRC could have "squared that circle". Judging by the composition of the Commission its report had to concentrate on the main stream and a sound vision for the future to establish a stable society.

Solid start

The LLRC report is a solid start. Thousands of persons have come before it and made submissions. No commission has ever done such a comprehensive and such an in-depth study getting opinions of people from all over the country. The Commissioners were men of very high integrity and with the intelligence and capacity to grasp the most complex issues. They are not a group of men, who make proclamations on Sri Lanka with scanty knowledge of the country and "wet behind their ears". Nor do they belong to the nit pickers of the world who have nothing to lose or those seeking publicity with hollow rhetoric.

The LLRC report can be a basis on which the future of the country could be shaped. Sri Lanka must seize the opportunity and make the best use of it. If there are lapses, these can be dealt with by the local polity.

Pressure from western bodies like the International Crisis Group and ethnic based entities like the TNA have to be expected. Nothing infuriates the average Sri Lankan more than to get a condescending sermon from a foreign source. This type of pressure is in reality counterproductive and this has to be explained with tact to foreigners.

The TNA and its national role

With regard to the TNA, it will continue to carry the stigma of its alliance with the LTTE unless it will unequivocally break with the past. The words of St Paul are worth heeding: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me…". The TNA has to give up the syndrome of continuing to be "childish" and graduate to becoming a vibrant and productive part of the Sri Lankan nation. Civil obedience should be furthest from their mind. Otherwise, in the worst case scenario the TNA will become a Piped Piper, who like the one from Hamelin in Germany will lead the Tamils to follow them to a cave of no return. God forbid that happening!

The Tamils of the North, of the East and in Colombo together with the Upcountry Tamils, the Muslims, the Burghers and Sinhala people have to put their shoulders to the wheel to build a prosperous nation. There is so much of work to do to meet the coming challenges ahead. This can only be achieved if there is unity among all the people. All efforts should concentrate strengthening the possibility that we could have a Head of State or Prime Minister who happens to be a Tamil, a Muslim, a Malay or a Burgher. For this we have to go beyond ethnicity. Most Sri Lankans could accept a Lakshman Kadirgamar as their Prime Minister. He had grown out of ethnicity and profiled himself as an outstanding statesman, one South Asia was proud of.

India has shown the way with Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Abdul Kalam. There is no reason that with time Sri Lanka cannot do the same.

Outstanding students

It is heartening to note that at the recently concluded Advanced Level Examinations, a student from the Udupiddy American Mission College was placed first in the island in Mathematics. The second place also went to a student from the same school, Krishnakumar Thaniroojan the third place to K.Pratheep of Nelliyaddy Maha Vidyalaya. In addition Ananda Nadarajah Sanjayan came second in Science at the Advanced level examinations. These developments reflect a renaissance in the North. This is a positive beginning.

Pipe dreams and dead sea fruits

The Tamils like all the other communities have a very important part to play in the Sri Lanka of tomorrow. Pipe dreams will only be "like Dead Sea fruits that tempt the eye, but turn to ashes on the lips". The reverberating success of the young students from the North show that they have turned away from pipe dreams.

People’s Councils

The LLRC report highlights the submissions made by the Mahathma Gandhi Centre (MGC) and interfaith groups one of which NEIFR (North East Interfaith Forum for Reconciliation) has been promoted by the MGC and gives the submissions due recognition. What both these bodies stand for is a format to achieve social cohesion. For this the country needs stable families and stable villages. The MGC in its submission has advocated:

"The People’s Councils in every village seems to offer a practical alternative to meet people’s varying aspirations for self reliance and to practice principles of good governance through accountability and effective use of resources".

Focus on People’s welfare

The focus has to be solidly on the welfare of the people, for which the structured People’s Council, will set the stage. Alternatively we will continue with senseless political bickering. The price for that will ultimately have to be borne by the people.

True reconciliation and a stable Peace is a long process and has to start from the smallest unit, namely the village. Imagine 14,400 self reliant and prosperous villages in the country; 924 of which will be in the Northern Province. This is a process that can be started immediately. It will bring about a rational movement in the political process which will facilitate changes without too much disruption.

The LLRC has created a spirit to make this happen.

UPALI NEWSPAPERS (PVT) LTD
Copyright © Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Ltd.

2 TAMIL Activists WERE in Jaffna to organise an Event to Commemorate the International Human Rights Day! They have been Missing Since 9 Dec 2011.!!!

2011-12-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

BBCSinhala.com

Petition filed calling Northern Commander in court

The Appeal Court of Sri Lanka has accepted a petition filed by the parents of two activists of 'Jana Aragalaya '(People's Struggle), Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan.
The parents of the two activists, in their petition, have petetioned to the appeal court to order the army commander in Jaffna to produce the two activists before the court.

The court having accepted the petition ordered court registrar to fix dates for public hearing.

The two activists were in Jaffna to organise an event to commemorate the International Human Rights Day. They have been missing since 9 December.

Security forces responsible

The petitioners said in their petition that since the whole of Jaffna peninsula is under army control, they, the security forces are responsible for any incidents happening in the peninsular.

The parents of the victims also appealed to the court to call the regional Commander, Mahinda Hathurusinghe and other officials to court and question them about the disappearances.

Sandeshaya

BBC News

'Attempted Rape' of Swedish Tourist.!!! TOUR GUIDES say Similar Incidents Occur Regularly and Put the Blame on the SINHALA Police.!!!

2011-12-31T08:14:00.001-08:00

'Attempted rape' of Swedish tourist

The school children have allegedly harassed tourists swimming in Negombo sea
A group of school children in a tourist resort in Sri Lanka have been arrested over an alleged attempted rape of a Swedish tourist.

The five teenagers who attended the same school were produced before court on Friday.

The tourist, who is a school teacher, has requested the court to warn the school children, who were badly drunk as they harassed the tourist in Negombo, and release them.

Journalist Prasad Purnimal Jayamanne said the authorities near the resort where the incident happened refused to reveal any details saying it would badly affect the tourist industry in the area.

But the tour guides in the resort maintain a different view.

They say similar incidents occur regularly and put the blame on the police.

"Tourists are continuously targeted by the youngsters," they told BBC Sandeshaya.

Sandeshaya

BBC News

Bad omen for the Whole of Sri Lanka.!!! All planned Events& Festivities for Tourists in the southern Sri Lanka resort has been cancelled.!!!

2011-12-31T08:07:00.001-08:00

Call to eradicate fear from Tangalle tourists

Tourists are afraid to go out in the night - Mr. Wedaarachchi

All planned events and festivities for tourists in the southern Sri Lankan resort of Tangalle has been cancelled following the killing of a holiday maker, say local tourism promoters.
“Normally, tourists move around and visit other venues in the area, but now they are afraid to go out in the night” President of the Tangalle Tourist Hoteliers Association Keerthi Priya Wedaarachchi told BBC Sandeshaya.

According to President Wedaarachchi tourists avoid using guest houses in the area.

He said that there had been many tourists in the area than anticipated before the fatal attack on two tourists on Christmas Eve.

This is a bad omen not only for Tangalle but for the whole of Sri Lanka. So everybody has to work hard to eradicate fear from

Mr. Wedaarachchi

"Almost all hotel rooms were full in Tangalle before the murder on the Christmas day."

“This is a bad omen not only for Tangalle but for the whole of Sri Lanka. So everybody has to work hard to eradicate fear from,” he added.

Meanwhile, police said that key suspects who handed over themselves to the police on the 26th evening, have been remanded until the 6th of January.

Victim transferred

Police spokesperson Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana confirmed that the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha, Sampath Chandrapushpa Vidanapathirana is among those remanded.

Tourists are not staying in Tanglle - Mr Wedaarachchi

Five Sri Lankan men have been arrested so far on suspicion of killing, Kuram Shaikah Zaman, a British national of Israeli origin, an ICRC volunteer working in the Gaza strip.

Shaikah Zaman’s colleague Victoria Alexandrovna who was also attacked has been transferred on Tuesday to privately owned Lanka hospitals in Colombo following treatment at the intensive care unit at Karapitiya Hospital Galle.

When questioned whether the Russian female has been sexually assaulted the police said that it was awaiting medical reports.

“We were informed that there were no cloths on the Russian female when she was admitted to the hospital. However, we are still waiting to see the medical reports including DNA tests” the police spokesman said.

Sandeshaya
BBC News

SINHALA GOVT Put Up Obstacles Every Step of the Way to Prevent the Shipment from being Speedily Delivered! A glaring example of VICTIMISING TAMILS.!!!

2011-12-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

The head of a UK charity that sent a consignment of wheelchairs to Sri Lanka has condemned the decision to impose customs duties of over $8,000 (£5,180).

Peter Thompson, of the Yorkshire-based PhysioNet charity, said the shipment for Tamil war victims also took more than three months to clear customs.

The Sri Lankan authorities said the delay was because paperwork for the shipment was not properly completed.

They said all shipments arriving in Colombo are subject to duty payments.

But Mr Thompson said the $8,000 (1m Sri Lankan rupees) that had to be paid in customs duties and port storage fees was unacceptable.

He argued that the delay in clearing the shipment - which contained 322 wheelchairs and other mobility items for disabled Tamil war victims - meant that the bill had to be paid before it was allowed to be transported to the north of the country.

The shipment was sent by PhysioNet in conjunction with a Sri Lankan Tamil charity based in the UK and the Roman Catholic church; together they met all of the costs of getting the consignment to Sri Lanka.

"But problems arose in Colombo when it took three months to clear the docks," Mr Thompson told the BBC.

"This is a record for the longest time one of our shipments has languished on the docks of a recipient country - and that includes some of the most corrupt and inefficient countries in Africa."

Mr Thompson said the Sri Lankan authorities appeared to put up obstacles every step of the way to prevent the shipment from being speedily delivered.

"Only following endless paperwork and the payment of $8,000 was the container released and allowed to be transported to the north of the country," he said.

"During the three months it took for these problems to be resolved, the demurrage charges were building up substantially in Colombo.

"It's difficult to conclude that this is anything other than a glaring example of the Sri Lankan authorities victimising the Tamil community."

The Sri Lankan government in May 2009 defeated Tamil Tigers rebels fighting for independence in the north and east of the country after a bitterly-fought war spanning two decades.

Mr Thompson said his charity hoped to send another shipment to Sri Lanka next year, "but only if there are some assurances that this unhappy experience will not be repeated".

A spokesman for the port authority in Colombo that handled the consignment said all imports - including those brought in for charitable purposes - are subject to import duties.

He said the delay in clearing the wheelchairs was because various government ministries had to give their permission before shipments to the north were allowed to go ahead.

bbc.co.uk

MLK:We shall have to Repent in this Generation not so much for the Evil Deeds of the Wicked people, But for the Appalling Silence of the Good People.!

2011-12-31T05:03:00.000-08:00

The LLRC Report : Meaningful Implementation is the key to reconciliation
December 30, 2011, 8:04 pm

NOTEBOOK OF A NOBODY
by Shanie

"The moody mountain frowns, aloof, detached,

What was your crime, you little mountain town?

Just that you lay upon the Armies’ route;

Two tracks met here by whim in ancient time."

- Norman Morris writing about the plight of civilians in a Sicilian town during World War 2 (1943)

The Government has laid to rest doubts some had that the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission would not be released to the public, or only selected parts, if at all. President Rajapaksa did the right thing in releasing it in full. But public scepticism about the political will to implement the recommendations of the LLRC still remains. The LLRC made interim recommendations over fifteen months ago. A committee under the chairpersonship of Mohan Peiris, then Attorney General, was appointed to oversee the implementation of those interim recommendations. That committee appears to have been largely ineffective. The Friday Forum, in a statement, noted that they had written to the chairperson of the committee inquiring about the progress made in implementation of the LLRC’s interim recommendations and had received no response. The LLRC itself in its final report lamented that in respect of one of their interim recommendations, no concrete action appears to have been taken. It is this lack of a will to take action on the interim recommendations of the LLRC that gives rise to doubts as to whether LLRC’s recommendations will be implemented at all.

A diversionary tactic

There is a further reason for anxiety. The JHU, a constituent political party of the governing coalition, has gone public stating that the LLRC has exceeded its mandate by proposing that political steps be taken to devolve political power to further the cause of reconciliation. It is not a question of the JHU and its cabinet minister in the government misreading the mandate of the LLRC. The question is simply that the JHU does not recognize that there is any need to devolve power to the regions and thereby give political strength to areas where the minorities are in a majority.

The President’s mandate to the LLRC was clear. Every single one of the five items in the mandate would have justified the LLRC making the recommendations they made for national unity and reconciliation. But specifically, the LLRC was asked to recommend institutional, administrative and legislative measures needed to ‘prevent a recurrence of such concerns (arising from the events in the last phase of the war) in the future, and to promote further national unity and reconciliation among communities.’ The warrant further gave the LLRC a blanket authority to make any recommendations in respect of any matter that they had inquired into in respect of the warrant. The JHU, and the other narrow-minded nationalists on all sides of the ethnic divide, who unable to have a broader vision for Sri Lanka, must know that there was general agreement in the country when the President stated in the warrant that a need had arisen for the country to learn from its recent history, lessons that would ensure that there will be no recurrence of any internecine conflict in the future and that people are assured of an era of peace, harmony and prosperity. As the LLRC commented, their mandate was not just to ‘look back at the conflict Sri Lanka suffered’ but also to ‘look ahead for an era of healing and peace building in the country.’

It is in this spirit that the Commissioners stated in their preamble that "Sri Lanka now faces a moment of unprecedented opportunity. Rarely does such an opportunity come along without equally important attendant challenges. This is especially true of any meaningful effort towards post-conflict peace building following a protracted conflict. Sri Lanka’s case is no exception. Terrorism and violence have ended. Time and space have been created for healing and building sustainable peace and security so that the fruits of democracy and citizenship can be equitably enjoyed by all Sri Lankans. To this end, the success of ending armed conflict must be invested in an all-inclusive political process of dialogue and accommodation so that the conflict by other means will not continue."

The Commissioners further noted that if the people’s expectations were to become a reality in the form of a multi-ethnic nation at peace with itself in a democratic Sri Lanka, the Government and all political leaders must manifest political will and sincerity of purpose to take the necessary decisions to ensure the good-faith implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. "Based on what it heard from the people, the Commission is confident that the citizens are ready and willing to support consensual approaches advancing national interest, national reconciliation, justice and equality for all citizens, so long as the political leaders take the lead in a spirit of tolerance, accommodation and compromise."

Another source of concern regarding the implementation of the LLRC recommendations is the veiled attempt being made to divert attention to other issues. Dayan Jayatilleka writing in The Island this week seeks to introduce a new element. He says, "Two of the three major players in the last stage of the Sri Lankan conflict have undertaken and undergone a preliminary audit of sorts—the Sri Lankan state and the Norwegians– while the third (and the second in importance) has not, and not even thought to. There has been no equivalent from within the Tamil civil society or the ‘Tamil nationalist movement’. The country knows and Jayatilleka knows that the third major player in the conflict was the LTTE. Does Jayatilleka equate the LTTE with Tamil civil society or the non-LTTE Tamil nationalist movement? We are aware that before their demise, the LTTE claimed to be the sole representatives of the Tamil people. From what he writes now, does Jayatilleka accept that claim which many Sri Lankans, Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim, rejected outright? Or is it a case that since the LTTE is defeated, it pays politically to equate the Tamils with the LTTE? Of course, over the thirty years, very few of the political parties, and many individuals in civil society, were willing to take a public stand to reach out for reconciliation across the communal divide. In many cases, this was due to the fear of being humiliated and labeled a ‘traitor’ by one side or the other.

The inter-ethnic conflict has existed since Sri Lanka’s independence from colonial rule, even though the war might have been fought over the last thirty years. Two weapons were used during the war and the wider conflict. The war was fought using military strategy and weapons. The wider conflict saw the use of psychological abuse and hate to beat down anyone or any group advocating accommodation and goodwill in resolving the conflict. This happened before the defeat of the LTTE and it is happening now as well. Anyone or any party representing the minorities advocating rights for the minorities or devolution was immediately termed as representing ‘the LTTE rump’; any Sinhala person doing so is an LTTE-lover and a ‘traitor’. Unfortunately leadership for this communal abuse came from parties and individuals allied to the governing coalition. We still have to travel a long way for national reconciliation. As the LLRC report acknowledges: "The Commission was also reminded that despite the lapse of two years since the ending of the conflict, the violence, suspicion and sense of discrimination are still prevalent in social and political life. Delay in the implementation of a clearly focused post-conflict peace building agenda may have contributed to this situation."

The overriding need then is to set up a credible mechanism (not on the model of the Mohan Peiris Committee) to implement the recommendations of the LLRC. It must be a mechanism that will work within a defined time-frame and have authority to ensure that the recommendations are carried out, It must function in an open and transparent manner.

The failure of all political parties

The LLRC finds all political parties and their leadership failing in their duty to promote national reconciliation, justice and equality for all citizens. They are collectively responsible for the violence that had and continues to envelop our society. We would suggest that our religious leaders, with a mere couple of exceptions, are also culpable in this regard. Martin Luther King’s words ring so very true of our society: "We shall have to repent in this generation not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people." The Commissioners suggest that all parties, not just the Tamil civil society as Jayatilleka suggests, engage in self-appraisal of their complicity in promoting this conflict over the years.

The LLRC says the need is for a political solution to the National Question. This can come about only if there is a political will on the part of all. In the light of the government and the TNA both seemingly having "non-negotiable" conditions for their negotiations, it may not be a bad idea,, as happened in Northern Ireland, to have an independent mediator acceptable to both parties and to the SLMC, who also need to be brought into the negotiations as the largest party representing the Muslims. But negotiations can succeed only if there is a political will on the part of all sides to find a solution that will ensure justice for all.

It is appropriate to end with this final recommendation of the LLRC: "A collective act of contrition for what happened would not come easily to either party. It would come only if they are ready to make a profound moral self appraisal in the light of the human tragedy that has occurred. Seeds of reconciliation can take root only if there is forgiveness and compassion. Leaders of all sides should reach out to each other in humility and make a joint declaration, extending an apology to innocent citizens who fell victim to this conflict, as a result of the collective failure of the political leadership on all sides to prevent such a conflict from emerging. Religious leaders and civil society should work towards it and emphasize the healing impact it would have on the entire process of reconciliation."

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UNP Challenged MR-Govt to Reveal its Position on the LLRC’s Recommendation without trying to divert attention by making foolish attempt to blame TNA.!

2011-12-30T02:49:00.000-08:00

‘Devolve police, land powers or scrap 13 A’
TNA’s India-backed demand justified

December 29, 2011, 9:56 pm

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The UNP yesterday challenged the UPFA to abolish the 13th Amendment to the Constitution if the SLFP-led coalition felt it couldn’t be fully implemented without jeopardizing security of the State. The main opposition party said the government shouldn’t expect the TNA to drop its just demand for police and land powers in line with the Constitution.

"There is no point in further discussing the issue with the TNA or any other political party. The government can easily use its two-thirds majority in Parliament to do away with the controversial amendment," UNP Deputy Secretary General Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena, MP, said in a brief interview with The Island yesterday.

Asked whether the UNP, too, would extend its support for the abolition of the 13th Amendment, the Gampaha District MP emphasized the UPFA could do it on its own the way it abolished the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.

Unless the government was willing to devolve police and land powers there was absolutely no point in even discussing the 13th Amendment. It would be nothing but a joke to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to resolve the ethnic issue against the backdrop of UPFA’s decision not to implement the 13th Amendment in its entirety. The UNP wouldn’t fault the TNA for pushing for key powers, parliamentarian Jayawardena said.

The bottom line was that particular Amendment couldn’t be even called 13th Amendment if police and land powers were dropped, he said, accusing the government of playing politics with the national issue, though the LTTE was no longer a hindrance to achieve a lasting solution.

The former Rehabilitation Minister urged the government not to ignore a recent statement attributed to the official spokesperson of India’s External Affairs Ministry. While responding to Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report, the official had emphasized the pivotal importance of the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and even going beyond it, the he pointed out. That meant the TNA had the explicit support of the Government of India. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that India was speaking on behalf of those countries pushing the UPFA on the path of genuine devolution, the UNPer said.

The President of the UNP’s trade union arm, the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya, blamed the UPFA for the failure on its part to change its attitude in spite of eradicating the LTTE. Nothing could be as unfortunate as failing to capitalize on post-war stability to reach political consensus with those in the Opposition, particularly the TNA. Whatever the TNA’s relationship with the LTTE earlier, it shouldn’t be an obstacle to ongoing efforts aimed at reaching political consensus on the national issue.

Jayawardena said that the government couldn’t ignore the LLRC’s call for a political settlement on the basis of devolution without jeopardizing territorial integrity and unity of the country. The MP pointed out the absurdity in the JHU’s criticism of the LLRC pertaining to its position on the devolution of power. Addressing the media early this week, JHU heavyweight Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka alleged that the LLRC, headed by former Attorney General C. R. de Silva, had gone beyond its mandate.

Now that the LTTE had been eradiated there couldn’t be any other obstruction to devolution of power, the MP echoed the LLRC.

The UNP challenged the government to reveal its position on the LLRC’s recommendation without trying to divert attention by making a foolish attempt to blame the TNA for the impasse.

The MP commended the LLRC for recommending the re-establishment of independent commissions to run police and public service without further delay. The LLRC’s recommendation was evidence that it disapproved the scrapping of 17th Amendment, which provided for the establishment of independent commissions, de-politicizes key sectors.

The LLRC also faulted the government for moving so called urgent bills depriving people an opportunity to challenge them in Supreme Court, while calling for freedom of information. Dr. Jayawardena said that the government should make its position clear regarding key issues raised by the Commission.

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A SINHALA Soldier, manning a check post on Poonakari Road, Shot & Killed a Traveller on motorbike after Demanding to Hand over his Motorbike.!!!

2011-12-29T14:36:00.001-08:00

SLA soldier shoots dead traveller on Poonakari Road
[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 December 2011, 14:29 GMT]

A Sri Lanka Army soldier, manning a check post on Poonakari Road, shot and killed a traveller on motorbike Thursday around 7:00 a.m. after demanding the traveller to hand over his motorbike, sources in Poonakari told TamilNet. The SLA soldier was reportedly killed in friendly-fire when he later confronted fellow soldiers, the sources further said. Tension prevailed in the area and the road remained closed for hours. Although the dead body of the SLA soldier was sent to Jaffna hospital and transferred to Palaali military hospital, the information or identity of the slain traveller is yet to be made public. SL military officials are yet to reveal details of the episode and journalists were blocked from reaching the site.

The SLA soldier at the bridge had demanded the motorbike from the young man who was on his way to Jaffna from Vanni.

When the man politely declined to hand over his motorbike saying that he was on an urgent trip to Jaffna, the soldier shot him, reportedly killing him on the spot.

After killing the traveller, the SLA soldier started to fire at his fellow soldiers, who attempted to control him.

When the situation got out of control, the SLA soldier was seriously wounded in the gunfire from fellow soldiers and later succumbed to his injuries.

The slain traveller was an innocent victim, according to the construction workers, who witnessed the episode.

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SINHALA Education Ministry had agreed to hand over a 54 acre land belonging to the TAMIL'S Teacher Training School to SINHALA Defence MINISTRY.!!!

2011-12-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

Lanka News Web.com
Defence Ministry takes over Palali Teaching School land .
Monday, 26 December 2011 09:28 Lanka News Web

Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) Secretary Joseph Stalin says that the Education Ministry had agreed to hand over a 54 acre land belonging to the Palali Teacher Training School to the Defence Secretary.

Instead of the two teaching schools in the Jaffna peninsula – Palali Teacher Training School and Kopay Teacher Training School – there is now one combined teaching school.

The school had been taken to the Sinnaveli Muththuthambi College in 1990 and it currently teaches Roman Catholicism.

Stalin says that the Tamil teaching students are being treated unfairly by putting in place one teaching school that teaches only Roman Catholicism instead of teaching Math, Science, English Commerce, Agriculture, Dancing and Singing like it did at the Palali Teacher Training School when the high security zone (HSZ) is being cleared.

He noted that it was unfortunate that the Tamil speaking teachers were losing one of their training institutes after it is allocated to the Defence Ministry and the Tamil students were losing their chance to a proper education even after the end of the war.

Science Faculty Commissioner of the Education Ministry Prof. TIssa Hewavitharana said the Palali Teacher Training School has been combnied with the Kopay Teacher Training School to prevent the wastage of resources.

However, he denied any knowledge of the land being allocated to the Defence Ministry.

Military Spokesperson Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi said that he was not aware of the matter, but there was a military camp close by. Therefore he said the decision would have been made by the Defence Ministry.

SCV has been accused of abusing a British lady at Hotel after killing her Husband! NR has Turned down the Request to Hand over suspect to Courts.!!!

2011-12-29T14:06:00.001-08:00

Lanka News Web.COM .Basil and Namal clash over death of British tourist .

Monday, 26 December 2011 14:06 Lanka News Web Hits: 2118 . .Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa has turned down the request made by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa to hand over the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Chandrapushpa Vidanapathirana to courts.

Vidanapathirana has been accused of abusing a British lady at the Nature Reef Hotel in Medilla, Tangalle after killing her husband.

Minister Rajapaksa has said there was mounting international pressure over the incident and the hiding of the person responsible for it and it was a black mark on the country’s tourism industry.

MP Namal Rajapaksa has said that the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman was a trusted friend of the President and himself and has worked immensely to safeguard the government’s interests. He has explained to Uncle Basil that handing him over would have an adverse impact in future.

Therefore, the Chairman would be kept under his supervision until the issue is resolved, Namal has said.

The Hindu : News / International : EPDP sees motive in Lessons report

2011-12-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Hindu : News / International : EPDP sees motive in Lessons report

RESETTLED TAMILS staged spontaneous protest against SINHALA Military Demanding the Right of the Dead to be Cremated in their own Cremation Ground.!!!

2011-12-28T01:36:00.000-08:00

Protestors force SL military to open cremation ground in HSZ
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 December 2011, 18:51 GMT]

Resettled Tamils in the eastern part of Kaangkeasanthu'rai (KKS) on Tuesday staged a spontaneous protest against the Sri Lanka military demanding the right of the dead to be cremated in their own cremation ground. The protestors threatening to carry the casket of one of their relatives to the cremation ground blocked the main access route of the SL military, demanding the occupying army to open the route to the cemetery. Although the SL military blocked more than a hundred villagers, who attempted to take forward the casket to the cremation ground, the military hierarchy was forced to allow the villagers to reach the cremation ground through an alternative route as the protest lasted for more than 3 hours. The elected TNA members of the civic body in KKS joined the protest, which is described as first of its kind agitation in the SL occupied Jaffna.

The protesting villagers were blocking the access route of southern tourists to KKS. They also blocked SL military vehicles.

Earlier, when the matter of cemetery was brought to the SL military through Valikaamam North Piratheasa Chapai (PS) officials, who are elected representatives of the TNA, they were told by the military to approach their hierarchy through EPDP paramilitary leader and SL minister Douglas Devananda for the request to be considered. But, the villagers had declined the SL military offer calling it ‘cemetery politics’ by Mr. Devananda.

Three deaths have occurred since the resettlement in the village. But, the dead were cremated in private land.

The SL military was embarrassed by the civil protest on Tuesday, according to the journalists who were at the protest site.

The president of the Valikaamam North PS, S. Sugirthan, told the journalists that the protest demanding the SL military to open the main access route to the cemetery would be stepped up.

The SL military has opened only 3% of the High Security Zone for resettlement in the Jaffna peninsula.

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Instances which clearly demonstrate the SINHALA Govt’s lack of sincere commitment to the welfare of the affected TAMILS & desire of cheap politics:!!!

2011-12-27T05:01:00.000-08:00

Home Indian aid to war-affected Tamils diverted to Sinhala colonisers
[TamilNet, Monday, 26 December 2011, 08:02 GMT]

Sri Lankan Colonial Governor of the Northern Province, Major General (retired ) G.A.Chandrasiri, has diverted a portion of India-donated aid, meant for ‘resettled’ Tamil civilians in the five districts of North, once again as in the case of the India-donated tractors. This time, 2,000 bicycles were donated to each district. G.A. Chandrasiri has diverted 500 of 2,000 bicycles allocated to Jaffna district to Sinhala colonisers who have occupied the Ma'naalaa'ru division in Vanni. Even the aid provided by India to the people of North, as a public relations maneuver in camouflaging its anti-people collaboration with the genocidal Colombo's structural genocide on the country of Eezham Tamils, is being exploited by the SL military-led civil administration, commented civil officials in Jaffna.

The Sinhala military governor of North has directed officials concerned to divert five hundred bicycles allocated for each district in the Northern province to the division of Ma'nalaa'ru (Weli Oya).

The Government of India had donated 10,000 bicycles through Colombo to be distributed among war-affected people in the five districts in the Northern Province at the rate of 2000 to each district.

The civil officials had carefully selected the beneficiaries of the scheme from persons who lost their limbs in the conflict, students affected and war widows and persons who needed bicycles to take forward their livelihood work.

Jaffna district secretariat officials are now in a quandary to find out ways and means to fill the shortage of bicycles to be donated to the war-affected Tamils.

Mr. R. Sampanthan of Tamil National Allliance, observed the following in a press statement issued on 18th July.

“The callous actions of the Government in regard to the allocation of the 500 tractors gifted for the benefit of the affected people in the Vanni by India, the politically motivated bias showed in the choice of persons to whom land masters gifted by a Humanitarian Organization were distributed and the inordinate delay again for political reasons in the commencement of implementation of the 50,000 Houses programme gifted by India, are a few instances which clearly demonstrate the [Sri Lankan] government’s lack of sincere commitment to the welfare of the affected people and the overwhelming desire for cheap political gain.”

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After his Bullying & Teasing as many SINHALA Policemen do to female drivers,to satisfy their Sadistic Entertainment needs,the Sergeant LET THEM GO.!!!

2011-12-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

Bribe me or I will send you to court
December 24, 2011, 10:22 am

By Dushy Ranetunge

"Help (bribe) me or go to court" was the persistent demand of a Police Sergeant at Colpetty (Kollupitiya) checkpoint last Sunday.

An 18 year old with a full British driving licence was driving a vehicle with her mother sitting next to her. The mother had a full Sri Lankan driving licence and was helping her daughter get familiar with the Colombo roads.

At the checkpoint in front of Methodist College, they were stopped. A Police officer requested driving licences and vehicle documents to be produced.

This was irregular as the legal requirement at a checkpoint is identification and not traffic issues. This policeman correctly advised the occupants that the law had changed and that you cannot put your own "L" board anymore, but is required to obtain one from the Department of Motor Traffic after paying a fee.

He then moved away and handed over the British licence to the senior officer on duty, PS No. (withheld).

The sergeant informed the occupants that since it’s a foreign licence holder driving, he cannot issue a fine on a foreign driving licence and that the offence would have to be referred to court.

He then suggested that the matter could be settled if he was given an "ardareyak’ (help). The mother inquired what kind of help he was he expecting. The sergeant stated that it was a monetary help.

The mother stated that such monetary help couldn’t be given to a person in uniform. She apologized and stated that the law was breached because they were unaware of the recent changes and stated that she will take over driving of the vehicle, but that she cannot give a bribe to the police officer.

This conversation continued for awhile with the sergeant teasing the women by offering the licence back and when they tried to take it, he would hold onto it pulled it back, and repeatedly asking for a bribe.

He had turned to another and stated that the occupants are saying they cannot give help.

When he threatened court action, the mother stated that even if it was referred to court, it would be a fine and she preferred the fine to be paid to court, rather than bribing a police officer.

Finally after his bullying and teasing as many Sri Lankan policemen do to female drivers, to satisfy their sadistic entertainment needs, the sergeant allowed them to go.

Later the British 18-year old girl informed Kollupitiya police that she does not even tease her dog in that manner. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing for certain Sri Lankan policemen to entertain themselves at the expense of females.

It was pointed out that female police officers have never asked for bribes, while male police officers often have. A senior officer at the police station later stated that this is because the female officers are aware of the concept of shame and that the male officers have no shame.

Being a checkpoint, those on duty were not legally authorized to inquire into traffic issues. So the whole threat was a sham to extract a bribe. This incident took place at about 2.20pm last Sunday.

The following day the OIC at Kollupitiya was informed. He summoned the sergeant and severely reprimanded him and instructed the occupants of the vehicle to lodge an official complaint against the sergeant.

Initially the sergeant 26926 the incident had taken place. Later he revised his position and apologized as he realized that the evidence against him was substantial. The mother in the vehicle was also in the legal profession.

The complainant suggested that the matter be dealt with via the police disciplinary process rather than the courts. The Sri Lankan Police Force takes such issues seriously and perpetrators face severe consequences.

A senior officer at the Police station stated that this is a frequent occurrence, but that most people pay the bribe as they don’t want to face the inconvenience of going to court. If most people complain, as in this instance, there would be consequences for those demanding bribes and this practice will become too dangerous for the perpetrators.

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MRG: Serious Human Rights Violations including enforced disappearances, torture& extra-judicial killings are continuing in SL 2.5yrs AFTER END OF WAR!

2011-12-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Lanka News Web.COM

MRG calls for independent international mechanism to deal with issue of accountability in Sri Lanka .
24 December 2011 14:59 Lanka News Web .Minority Rights Group International (MRG) welcomes some recommendations made by the Sri Lankan government’s ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’ (LLRC), but condemns its failure to deal with the crucial issue of accountability regarding events during the latter stages of the war in 2009.

MRG welcomed the government’s decision to table the LLRC report in parliament and make it publicly available.

The international human rights organisation says that the LLRC report has dealt with some key minority rights concerns. The report has important and useful recommendations on issues of language and land rights, resettlement, enforced disappearances and the security of women, all of which affect minority Muslims and Tamils. MRG particularly welcomes the recommendations made on Muslim displacement –an issue that has been ignored by Sri Lankan governments for more than two decades.

MRG calls on the Sri Lankan government to ensure redress for the major human rights violations raised in the LLRC report and implement recommendations made on the above issues.

The LLRC report, however, does not sufficiently investigate the allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law in the last stages of the war. The report displays bias by basing its arguments mainly on statements made by military and government leaders, and while acknowledging large numbers of civilian deaths, exonerates the government for the manner in which the military campaign was conducted during this period.

The report contradicts the findings made by the panel of experts appointed to look into this issue by the UN Secretary General, and by other national and international human rights organisations including MRG. The report also does not discuss further serious human rights violations, including torture and sexual violence, perpetrated by government forces.

In the past year the Sri Lankan government has brushed away calls for an international investigation into war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by insisting that the LLRC – its domestic mechanism – is capable of fulfilling this task. The credibility of the LLRC has been repeatedly questioned because of its wide mandate and because some of its members were key government defenders of the war.

Serious human rights violations including enforced disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings are continuing in Sri Lanka two and a half years after the end of the armed conflict. MRG says the current climate of impunity and the government’s failure to fully deal with the issue of justice and accountability are thwarting the much needed reconciliation process in the country.

In this context, MRG says, international action is now crucial. It calls on the UN Human Rights Council to start a formal discussion on both the LLRC report and the UN Panel report with the aim of establishing an independent international mechanism to investigate fully the credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian committed by all parties involved in the armed conflict and to monitor progress towards the implementation of an effective transitional justice process by the Government of Sri Lanka .

LEE: Want Singapore to be like SriLanka with Unending Racial Strife Between Sinhalas & Tamils, Because Sinhalas Imposed their language upon WHOLE SL??

2011-12-23T23:39:00.001-08:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bas Baskaran
Date: Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 8:01 PM
Subject: Singapore Vs Sri Lanka
To: chelvadurai@gmail.com

My lifelong challenge by Lee Kuan Yew. It was released about two weeks ago.

Would like to share excerpts (on page 60/61) from it.

"Following my experiences as a student in London and Cambridge, I believed firmly that knowing one’s mother tongue was a must. It gives one the sense of belonging to a culture, and increases self-confidence and self-respect. Hence, we decided that we must teach each student two languages English and the mother tongue. However, implementing the policy was most difficult.

The Chinese challenge

The first bid for Chinese supremacy came eight weeks after separation from Malaysia. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce issued a challenge. It wanted the government to guarantee the status of the Chinese language in the constitution, although our constitution made the four major languages official languages. The Chamber’s treasurer, Kheng Chin Hock, a champion of the Chinese language, argued that Chinese was used by more than 80 per cent of the population and should be the first among the four languages.

I gave him a dressing down. Did he want Singapore to be like Sri-Lanka, with unending racial strife between Sinhalese and the Tamils because the Singhalese imposed their language upon the whole country? Did he want Malays and Indians to feel discriminated against? ..

I told the Chamber that if they wanted to continue pushing for the primacy of the Chinese language, they could go ahead and make that an election issue. That stopped them.

I made it clear that every ethnic community in Singapore could keep what it already had. Nobody would stop them from learning their own language or using it. But if they did not learn English, they would pay a price. The price would be decided by the market."

To me, this sums up the reason why Ceylon retrogressed and Singapore progressed and continues to progress.

http://www.4-traders.com/SINGAPORE-PRESS-HLD-6491128/news/SINGAPORE-PRESS-HLD-Launch-of-My-Lifelong-Challenge-Singapore-s-Bilingual-Journey-by-Lee-Kuan-Yew-13899516/

His lifelong challenge reminds me of some of Mr. Rajaratnam’s (one of the founding fathers of Singapore) public statements:

In April 1978 he said: There are many parts of the world where to be a minority is to be resented and be oppressed. In the kind of Singapore we are creating there are no majorities and minorities but simply good men and bad men with the good men whatever their race, language and religion invariably triumphing over the bad men whatever their race, language and religion.

In February 1985, when addressing the gathering of the Ceylon Tamil Association, he said: Racial and religious conflicts are growing at an unprecedented rate in many parts of the world and all of them arose as a consequence of crooked politics and cowardly leadership.

The aspiration of both Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and Mr. Rajaratnam (to achieve what they set out to achieve) is reflected in the Singapore pledge:

We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

The Hindu : News / International : TNA: will soon take a call on talks

2011-12-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

The Hindu : News / International : TNA: will soon take a call on talks

Sexual violence when TAMIL Women go to"SINHALA ONLY ARMY"for information about their detained Husbands! These are especially difficult to corroborate!

2011-12-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

Lanka News Web.COM
Rights group: Sri Lankan Tamil women exposed to sexual violence, trafficking after war Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Ethnic Tamil women in Sri Lanka’s former war zones face abuses including sexual violence, trafficking and forced prostitution, an international human rights group said Wednesday.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said there have been credible allegations of sexual violence against women in those areas at the hands of both security forces and men from their own communities.

The group said many cases go unreported in the country’s north and east, where a 25-year civil war ended in May 2009 when government troops defeated separatist Tamil rebels.

Scores of Tamil women live alone, or with young children or elderly parents because their husbands are dead or in government detention.

“The fear of sexual violence in the home is widespread in part because the military’s access is unfettered and women often have no choice but to interact with them,” the group said in a statement.

“There are also alleged incidents of sexual violence when women go to the security forces for information about their detained husbands. These cases are especially difficult to corroborate, perhaps in part because these victims would put their husbands at risk if they came forward.”

Military spokesman Brig. Nihal Hapuarachchi said he has been monitoring events in the former war zones but has not come across any such incident.

- The Associated Press

Lessons unlearnt and reconciliation deconstructed..!!! THEY NEVER LEARN LESSONS.!!! NEVER CHANGE.!!! NEVER LISTEN.!!!

2011-12-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

Lessons unlearnt and reconciliation deconstructed
Uploaded by admin KumarDavid, LLRC, LTTE, srilanka 7:50:00 PM

| by Dr Kumar David

(December 21, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse has submitted its report and it is now in the public domain. I do not intend to summarise the 460-pages but only to give my evaluation in a few paragraphs. I will follow this up with a short closing section in which I will make an assessment of what the report’s impact is likely to be on foreign actors. The initial evaluation will be grouped under four headings.

The Report

The LTTE

The LLRC denounced the LTTE as killers, terrorists, abductors of children, separatists and heartless maniacs whose actions were solely responsible for the loss of tens of thousands of lives. The full and unmitigated responsibility for the carnage of Tamil civilians is placed on the shoulders of the LTTE, its artillery placements, taking cover close to hospitals, gunning down escapees, and such like acts. I am critical of the politics, militarism and subjugation of the Tamil people by the LTTE, and though I would do it on my own terms, I will not defend the LTTE in the face of these denunciations. I agree with the conclusion that the LTTE violated human rights and committed war crimes. Hence one duty of the Commission has been achieved; unfortunately the remainder of the report vitiates this.

Getty Images

The Commission’s attitude shows that it is incapable of understanding the LTTE politically, the reasons for its rise, the role of Sinhala chauvinism and the dynamics of ethnic conflict that fertilised the LTTE’s growth, and more broadly the learned commissioners have only a skin deep grasp of what is called the national question or the Tamil problem. Therefore the Commission’s report will have no effect on ethnic reconciliation or providing a basis for settling problems.
The military

The Commission’s findings in respect of the military are an unmitigated whitewash and an exoneration that will make even a soldier blush. The military’s version of events is swallowed hook line and sinker; field commanders are not confronted with the tens of thousands of dead, they are not challenged that such an outcome is unacceptable. Instead the learned commissioners eulogize the military for giving “protection of the civilian population the highest priority” and note “that protection of civilian life was key factor”. And this after tens of thousands were killed by shellfire! Two brief quotations will suffice to illustrate the commissioner’s psychological bent.

“The Commission is satisfied that the military strategy that was adopted to secure the LTTE held areas was one that was carefully conceived, in which the protection of the civilian population was given the highest priority. In reaching this conclusion the Commission has taken due account of all the material placed before it”. (Emphasis added).

“These factors are consistent with the position that protection of civilian life was a key factor in the formulation of a policy for carrying out military operations. They militate against any proposition that deliberate targeting of civilians was part and parcel of a policy”. (Emphasis added).

Tamils in Lanka and abroad will decry this as a lie of Goebbelsian proportions and there will be anger and dismay. If this is what, in Tamil eyes a Sinhalese a Presidential Commission, concluded about the largest massacre of Lankan Tamils in known history, then in my sober judgement, ethnic relations will be poisoned beyond redemption. Consider the plight of a moderate Tamil who wishes to promote cooperation with the government. He has no option but to condemn this as falsehood akin to holocaust denial. Then how to promote economic cooperation and reconciliation with a regime that kills and claims to protect? It is my prediction that the outrage against this affront delivered to the Tamils by the LLRC will infuriate Tamils and play into the hands of those who say: “See! This is who they are; we are better off going our own way”.

The government

There is nothing in the report to show that the Commissioners probed the military or the Executive about orders given to field commanders. This is a most serious defect if the Report is to contribute to judgements about war crimes of the political leadership. This is an enormous lacuna that undermines the worth of the report on a vital issue.

US Ambassador Butenis, according to a Wikileaks cable, warned that no government would conduct an investigation that would allocate a portion of the blame to the excesses of its armed forces or concede the crimes of its side. This may be so, but we the general public must not let the LLRC off the hook for its dereliction of duty.

Addressing Tamil grievances

I have said that I am prepared to go along with condemnation of the LTTE, though on my not the LLRC’s terms, and the other part of the report that could have been beneficial are land policy and resettlement; unfortunately the LLRC is both weak-kneed and knock-kneed. Chapter 6 on Land Policy is acquiescence or congratulatory of state policy and contains no bold recommendations, especially in respect of closing down of the High Security Zones and returning of commandeered land to rightful owners.

And what rot to talk of reconciliation without boldly addressing devolution of power to the Tamil people in their areas of traditional domicile, demilitarisation of the North-East, and the release of Tamil youth in illegal state custody for many years. Forget about reconciliation with the Tamils if they must continue to live under military occupation by a Sinhala state. As expected the LLRC is a waste of time on core issues. Anyway, everybody knows that the purpose of appointing the LLRC had little to do with an ethnic settlement; its all about getting international pressure on war crimes and human rights violations off the back of the government.

How will the international community respond?

The LLRC match is being played out for the sake of international actors. If GoSL wants to settle the national question it knows what it needs to do and could have done so a long time ago; no need for commissions. End the military occupation of Tamil areas and close down the High Security Zones, implement full devolution of power, and release Tamil youth held in illegal detention. For starters, these few steps will do more than a hundred commissions of inquiry. This game is not being played for reconciliation with the Tamils; it is being played to get the human rights and international agencies baying for blood off the back of the government.

Will the human rights lobbies, New Delhi, and the Western powers take the bait and concur with the LLRC that the regime and its armed forces stand acquitted of war crimes and human rights violations? My guess is as follows; non-governmental and human rights lobbies will not take the bait, New Delhi will be delighted to go along with the report, as for Western governments, let’s watch for a bit. The nigger in the woodpile is the Sonia-Singh administration in India, which I will not trust with a five anna coin when it comes to human rights in Lanka. What are India’s interests in this game? Having backed, diplomatically supported and provided military intelligence to an operation hell bent on a course that led to tens of thousands of casualties, the only interest that the Sonia-Singh administration now has is to avoid having its face further blackened before the world.

The LLRC Report absolves the Sri Lankan military of war crimes and human rights abuses. Bravo for India, so it is not the accomplice of a marauder. One can only hope that Indian and South Indian public opinion will not let Delhi get away with such misdemeanour. It is necessary to build a campaign in India around this objective.

srilankaguardian.org

Opposition leader Ranil: SINHALA Mobs who hurled stones at ME at Sirikotha , Missed their target & hit the Buddha Statue.!!!

2011-12-21T06:13:00.000-08:00

They hurled stones at me, but hit the Buddha statue - Ranil

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 (Srilankamirror.COM) - Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says the mobs who hurled stones at him at Sirikotha on December 19 missed their target and hit the Buddha statue in front of the party headquarters building.

At a media briefing at his office yesterday (Dec. 20), he displayed one of the rocks, which he said was aimed at him, and said it was thrown by Keli Rajamahendran.

As a Christmas gift, it would be wrapped and sent back to my friend Keli, said Mr. Wickremesinghe, adding that his Sirasa and MTV channels continued to attack him.

Maubima and Rivira newspapers, state run newspapers and televisions too, attack the UNP, but none of them attacked Sirikotha, which the party considers sacred second only to the Sri Dalada Maligawa.

It was only Maharaja’s Sirasa that attacked Sirikotha, because they want to create hatred among the people against me and the UNP, an emotional UNP leader said.

Speaking further, he said that he would take the maximum possible measures under the powers vested in him against the mobs who carried out the attack.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said that the new term of the party office bearers begins on January 01 next year.

He added that he would not treat his unsuccessful challenger Karu Jayasuriya and his followers as enemies, but would obtain their contributions to build the party.

SEE HOW Serious Damage was done by SINHALA UNP EXTREMISTs to the UNP HQ, Sirikotha, EVEN AFTER DEMOCRATIC VOTING PEACEFULLY!THIS IS SINHALA BEHAVIOUR!

2011-12-21T05:49:00.000-08:00

19 December, 2011

UNP head office attacked by dissidents

Serious damage was done by the protesters to the UNP head office, says an MP
Scuffles have broken out at the headquarters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition after the party voted to retain the leadership of Ranil Wickremasinghe.
United National Party (UNP) MP, Dr Jayalath Jayawardene told BBC Sandeshaya over the telephone that serious damage was done by the protesters to the UNP head office, Sirikotha.

Several vehicles including the general secretary’s car was damaged by a group who carried placards against Ranil Wickremasinghe.

Tissa Attanayake, MP, later told journalists that the police failed to provide adaquate security despite a written request but the police denied it.

'Karu, Sajith, Dayasiri'

Mr. Wickramasinghe has been re-instated as the leader defeating the challenged posed by the former deputy leader, Karu Jayasuriya, MP.

The placards held by those who attacked bore the slogan, “our hope is Karu, Sajith, Dayasiri,” said Dr Jayawardene, the assistant general secretary of the UNP.

On Monday’s election, Sajith Premadasa, MP, was elected as the deputy leader while provincial councillor Daya Gamage was elected as the national organiser defeating Dayasiri Jayasekara, MP, who supports Mr Premadasa.

Dr Jayawardene said police who arrived at Sirikotha after the attack have been trying to disperse the crowds with the help of those who challenged the Wickremasinghe leadership.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

M.Court ordered to call FMR-AG as a witness despite objections by AG when a petition filed by the wife of Journalist PRAGEETH WHO DISAPPERED IN 2010.!

2011-12-21T05:41:00.000-08:00

Mohan Pieris to be called before court

Missing Journliast Prageeth Ekneligoda

Sri Lankan court allowed to call in Former Sri Lanka attorney general Mohan Pieris as a witness before court to inquire into the disappearance of Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda.

Homagama Magistrate Court gave the order to call him as a witness despite objections by attorney general when a petition filed by the wife of Journalist Ekneligoda was taken up for hearing on Tuesday.

Political asylum

Lawyer appearing for Mrs.Sandya Ekneligoda told court that former attorney general, Mr.Mohan Pieris had made a statement during a presentation at UN Committee against Torture that journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda has sought political asylum abroad.

Former Attorney General Mohan Pieirs

State counsel requested the court to reject the request by the petitioner on the ground that there is no provision under the constitution to add up new witnesses.

Homagama Magistrate, T.B.A.S.Perera ruled that he has the powers to summon anyone as witness to inquire into a case of disappearance.

Prageeth Eknaligoda, a journalist and a cartoonist who worked in lanakenews has been missing since 24 January 2010.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

Heavy Rain/Floods have made life Miserable to 1000s of resettled TAMIL IDPs in Vanni!Over 6500 families in Killinochi/Mullativu BADLY AFFECTED! HELP.!

2011-12-21T05:25:00.001-08:00

Floods affect life of resettled families in Vanni
Over 6500 familes have been affected

Heavy rain and floods have made life miserable to thousands of resettled families in the Vanni. Over 6500 families in the Killinochchi and Mullativu districts have been badly affected, officials said.
Irrigation tanks are over flowing and Shivapuram village in Killinochchi is inundated with flood water.

Temporary accommodation

Affected families have sought refuge in public buildings and schools.

Government Agent, Killinochchi, Rupvathie Ketheeswaran said that most of the families in the Killinochchi district are displaced due to flood water.

"1369 families have been accommodated in twenty four temporary shelters and they are being provided with dry rations", she said.

Almost all the government servants have been deployed to facilitate them, however, rains prevent them from their relief work, she added.

Government Agent, Mullativu, Nagalingam Vedanayagam said that 3000 families are in three temporary accommodation.

However, he said, he was not sure about the exact number of families displaced as there are areas where they could not reach.

Sluice gates open

Irrigation Director, Killinochchi, Navartnam Sudhakaran said that the sluice gates of Iranaimadu tank have been opened to maintain a safe water level and as a result the number affected has increased.

Mullaitivu - Jaffna road and Paranthan - Pudukudirrippu road are impassable due floods, he added.

Sandeshaya |

BBCSINHALA.COM

Militarisation & SINHALA Govt’s refusal to devolve power/restore local civilian admn in the NESL have directly contributed SOCIAL DISTRESS.!!!

2011-12-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

Lanka News Web.COM
Sri Lanka: Women’s Insecurity in the North and East

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 09:32 Lanka News Web

Women in Sri Lanka’s predominantly Tamil-speaking north and east are facing a desperate lack of security in the aftermath of the long civil war. Today many still live in fear of violence from various sources. Those who fall victim to it have little means of redress.

Women’s economic security is precarious, and their physical mobility is limited. The heavily militarised and centralised control of the north and east – with almost exclusively male, Sinhalese security forces – raises particular problems for women there in terms of their safety, sense of security and ability to access assistance. They have little control over their lives and no reliable institutions to turn to. The government has mostly dismissed women’s security issues and exacerbated fears, especially in the north and east. The international community has failed to appreciate and respond effectively to the challenges faced by women and girls in the former war zone. A concerted and

immediate effort to empower and protect them is needed.

Thirty years of civil war between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has resulted in tens of thousands of female-headed households in the north and east. Families throughout those areas experienced many waves of conflict, displacement and militarisation. In the war’s final stages in 2008 and 2009, hundreds of thousands of civilians in the northern Vanni region endured serial displacements and months of being shelled by the government and held hostage by the LTTE, after which they were herded into closed government camps. Most lost nearly all possessions and multiple family members, many of whom are still missing or detained as suspected LTTE cadres. When families eventually returned to villages, homes and land had been destroyed or taken over by the military. There was less physical destruction in the east, which was retaken by the government in 2007, but those communities have also suffered and now live under the tight grip of

the military and central government.

These events have left women and girls vulnerable at multiple levels. In the Vanni in particular, their housing is inadequate, and they have limited means of transportation and employment opportunities. Many do not have sufficient funds to feed their families, let alone to care for those who were maimed or disabled in the war. The continuing search for the missing and the struggle to maintain relations with the detained are further strains. Children’s education was severely disrupted for years, and many are only slowly returning to school. The trauma of the war, especially the final months in 2009, is evident in every family. The conflict has badly damaged the social fabric.

The consequences for women and girls have been severe. There have been alarming incidents of gender-based violence, including domestic violence within the Tamil community, in part fuelled by rising alcohol use by men. Many women have been forced into prostitution or coercive sexual relationships. Some have also been trafficked within the country and abroad. Pregnancies among teenagers have increased. Fear of abuse has further restricted women’s movement and impinged on education and employment opportunities. The fact that women must rely on the military for everyday needs not only puts them at greater risk of gender-based violence, but also prevents them from building their own capacity within communities. The island-wide spate of attacks on women by individuals labelled “grease yakas (devils)”, which reached the north and east in August and into September 2011, and the lack of serious response by the security forces (except to brutally crack-down

on protesters across the north and east, and especially in Jaffna), exposed the near-complete collapse of trust in law enforcement.

Militarisation and the government’s refusal to devolve power or restore local civilian administration in the north and east have directly contributed to this complex societal distress, which comes on the heels of the collapse of the repressive regime run by the LTTE. Over decades, the Tigers created an elaborate coercive structure around which people organised their lives. The absence of this structure has left many adrift. While this has had some important positive consequences, including for women, the devastation of the final year of war and the replacement of the LTTE in effect by the military and its proxies negate the gains for these communities. The experience and perception of pervasive insecurity are having profound harmful effects on women’s lives.

Instead of recognising these vulnerabilities and taking steps to protect women and girls, the government has largely ignored them. The heavily militarised and centralised systems of control in the north and east exclude most residents, but especially women from decisions that affect their security. While there are some female civilian officials and some programs nominally directed at women, all activities occur within a male, Sinhalese, military structure. The government has constrained access for international humanitarian organisations and even more so for local civil society. The vision of security the government has pursued is a masculine, militarised one. Human security is lacking.

The current situation in the north and east comes in the wake of serious accusations of sexual violence by the military against Tamil women at the end of the war and in the months thereafter. There is credible evidence to support some of these accusations. Yet cultural stigma, decades of impunity, and the government’s refusal to allow any independent investigation of the end of the war and its aftermath make it impossible to determine the full extent of misconduct. In a well-known rape case in the north in June 2010, criminal prosecution has been pending for eighteen months against four soldiers following concerted pressure from local women’s groups. But this is a striking exception.

The government’s overwhelming response to allegations of sexual violence has been to reject them, as it has done with video footage that shows what appears to be Sinhalese soldiers making sexual comments while handling the dead, naked bodies of female suspected LTTE fighters, some of whom have their hands bound. The long-awaited report of the government’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was delivered to the president on 20 November 2011 and released to the public on 16 December. Among its recommendations is one that the government initiate yet another “independent investigation” into the footage, which officials repeatedly have said was “faked”. Another government assessment of it now – without a complementary international one focused on alleged sexual violence – risks further feeding Tamil fears of such violence and the exploitation of those fears by some diaspora activists.

The international response to women’s insecurity has been unnecessarily muted. Not only have Sri Lanka’s international partners, including the United Nations, failed to speak out publicly and clearly about threats to women and allegations of abuse, but they have agreed to work within militarised structures that have amplified vulnerability and reduced transparency. Unless they do more to demand changes to those structures and to target funding and assistance at initiatives that can help protect and empower women, their engagement will be ineffectual, at best.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations supplement and complement Crisis Group’s continuing calls – as set forth in Crisis Group Asia Report N°209, Reconciliation in Sri Lanka: Harder than Ever, 18 July 2011 – for an international inquiry into the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the LTTE and government forces in the final stages of the war, as well as for the restoration of the rule of law and an end to corruption, impunity and authoritarianism throughout the country. While the government has promoted the LLRC as the cornerstone of its post-war accountability process, serious deficiencies in its independence, mandate and witness protection capacity have crippled it. The LLRC’s report, which acknowledges important grievances and makes a number of sensible recommendations, ultimately fails to question the government’s version of events with any rigour. Thus, in terms of accountability, the question remains: is the

government willing and able to hold accountable those responsible for alleged crimes? To date it has failed to demonstrate that it is.

To the Government of Sri Lanka:

1. Acknowledge that women and girls in the north and east face serious threats to their economic and physical security and commit to reduce those threats, including by:

a) reducing the military presence in those areas substantially by closing military camps and checkpoints, returning all property seized by the military to rightful owners, ending the military’s involvement in commercial activities, fully demobilising troops – including investigating and prosecuting alleged abuses – and reintegrating soldiers with their families and into their communities;

b) devolving power to provincial and local government structures and officials in the north and east, including by expediting elections for the Northern Provincial Council and decentralising decision-making on economic development;

c) reforming the police presence in those areas by recruiting male and female Tamils and Muslims at all ranks and giving them real authority to better reflect the populations served, and by training the police to anticipate and respond to the security needs of women and girls, including as regards gender-based violence; and

d) prioritising reconstruction and development projects that will protect the rights of and empower women in those areas, including by committing government funds (see Recommendation 5 below for suggested projects).

2. Revise government policies that are increasing women’s vulnerability in the north and east, including by:

a) ending what is still in effect a state of emergency and military rule and ensuring anti-terrorism laws and practices are brought into line with international legal standards;

b) making available to family members the names and locations of all individuals detained for suspected involvement in the LTTE, including those in rehabilitation centres; providing detainees with access to lawyers and ensuring basic due process rights; and allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to monitor conditions of detention and facilitate family visitation and communication with detainees in all parts of the country;

c) stopping all ad hoc visits by the military to women’s homes as well as all surveillance of alleged former LTTE cadres unless it is demonstrated through a credible judicial process that they pose a threat to public safety; and otherwise ending the exercise of civilian functions by the military;

d) issuing accurate death certificates or declarations of absence for those who were killed or went missing in the conflict, without compromising the rights of family members to seek further information or remedies;

e) permitting full freedom of movement and assembly in the north and east, including for local women’s organisations; and

f) reducing restrictions on and improving access for humanitarian and civil society groups, and allowing them to increase levels of assistance – including to address psycho-social issues, reproductive health and gender-based violence – with input from local communities and local women’s groups.

To Sri Lanka’s International Partners, including China, India, Japan, the U.S., UK, EU and UN:

3. Evaluate all aid, investment and engagement in light of the risks of a return to conflict and of increasing women’s insecurity in the former war zone, and insist on meeting international standards and ensuring the highest levels of transparency, external monitoring and non-discriminatory community participation in setting priorities.

4. Highlight consistently in public and private communications the issues that affect all of Sri Lanka’s ethnic communities, including growing authoritarianism, militarisation, weak rule of law, impunity, corruption and repression of dissent, as well as gender-based violence and economic inequities for women.

5. Convene a high-level meeting of donors and other development partners, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, as well as community leaders and activists knowledgeable about women’s issues in the north and east, to agree upon and ratify with the government a strong set of principles for the delivery and monitoring of assistance – including accountability for past and continuing human rights abuses; and to fully fund a concrete set of reconstruction and development projects to be completed in 2012 that will help protect and empower women in the north and east, such as:

a) a comprehensive, independent assessment of the needs and vulnerabilities of this population;

b) expedited construction of safe, permanent housing and sanitation facilities for those at greatest risk of violence;

c) training, equipment and professional support for mobile health clinics staffed in part by local female residents;

d) support to and protection for local women’s groups to establish women’s centres for meetings, training and collective work spaces;

e) a nationwide program led by ICRC and local non-governmental partners to register and trace missing persons and facilitate family access to detainees;

f) initiatives to start collecting comprehensive data on, and better respond to, gender-based violence, including a nationwide violence-against-women help-line, the appointment of judicial medical officers (JMOs) for every district, and the establishment of women-friendly desks in all police stations so women can make complaints in their own language and in the presence of female officers;

g) training on gender-based violence and national domestic violence laws for all government officials and police officers in the north and east; and

h) training on gender-based violence and national domestic violence laws, reproductive health education and support, psycho-social support and demobilisation counselling for current and, as needed, former members of the security forces – provided by qualified local or international experts, not by other national militaries.

To the UN and Member States:

6. Endorse the findings and recommendations of various UN bodies regarding Sri Lanka, including the forthcoming report of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Conflict-related Sexual Violence; the Secretary-General’s upcoming review of UN actions during the final stages of the war, as announced in September 2011; the November 2011 report of the Committee Against Torture; the April 2011 report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability, and the February 2011 report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women – and ensure that the UN system, including the country team in Sri Lanka, works toward fulfilment of these recommendations.

7. Take action on these findings and recommendations, including at the Human Rights Council session in March 2012 and during Sri Lanka’s second Universal Periodic Review in September 2012.

8. Ensure, in particular, that the UN country team in Sri Lanka takes a strong stand to demand access and speak out about protection concerns, including for women and girls in the north and east, and that all UN staff and staff for UN-funded programs working in the north and east are adequately trained on the post-war needs and concerns of women in those areas and to engage the expertise of local women’s groups.

9. Review Sri Lanka’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and refrain from accepting new participation of its troops until there is a credible investigation of the allegations against the military in the UN panel of experts report.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 December 2011 09:54

editor@lankanewsweb.com

US State Dep.: Victoria Nuland reiterated concerns over the failure on the part of the LLRC to address all the allegations of serious HR violations.!!

2011-12-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

US sees holes in LLRC report

December 20, 2011, 9:47 pm

The US on Monday (19) alleged that Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) Commission hadn’t addressed all relevant issues with regard to the war against the LTTE.

US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland reiterated concerns over the failure on the part of the LLRC to address all the allegations of serious human rights violations.

The US embassy website quoted Nuland as having said in response to several questions raised at a US State Department meeting:

QUESTION: Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission has cleared the country’s army of deliberately targeting civilians during the final days of its war against LTTE. Do you have any comments? And where are they heading?

MS. NULAND: Well, we appreciate the important work of the Sri Lankan Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission. The Commission has addressed a number of the crucial areas of concern to Sri Lankans. In particular, the report recognizes and makes substantive recommendations in the areas of reconciliation, devolution of authority, demilitarization, rule of law, media freedom, disappearances, human rights violations.

And while we’re still studying the full report, I do have to say that we have concerns that the report, nonetheless, does not fully address all the allegations of serious human rights violations that occurred in the final phase of the conflict. So this leaves questions about accountability and – for those allegations, and so we urge the Sri Lankan Government not only to fulfill all of the recommendations of the report as it stands, but also to address those issues that the report did not cover.

QUESTION: Has there been any official communication between Washington and Colombo?

MS. NULAND: There has. Assistant Secretary Blake has been in contact with various Sri Lankan counterparts, as has our ambassador there. I’d also say that we’ve seen the government’s preliminary action plan, but we don’t think it really provides the kind of detailed roadmap that we had hoped to see for fulfilling all of the Commission’s recommendations. So those are the things that we are, in our private conversation, urging them to continue to work on, implementation of the recommendations in the report, and addressing those gaps that the report left.

QUESTION: Are you looking forward to, or – in your discussions, have you put any time period, any kind of – that – it cannot just go on for next 10 years or 20 years?

MS. NULAND: No, of course. But we’re looking in the first instance to a report – a response from the Sri Lankan Government to these concerns that we’ve expressed and that a number of Sri Lankans have expressed, to hear what their proposed timetable, as I said, their proposed roadmap is for remediating these issues.

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US Embassy:LLRC report was being studied by officials here& in Washington & that the State Dept would post its response soon!AU studying it CAREFULLY!

2011-12-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

US, Aus studying LLRC report before responding .

Tuesday, 20 December 2011 The United States and Australia are studying the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report before responding to it.

The much awaited report highly publicized by the Ministry of External Affairs as a “home-grown solution” and a mechanism for reconciliation was tabled in parliament on Friday.

The US Embassy said the report was being studied by officials here and in Washington and that the State Department would post its response soon.

Meanwhile the Australian High Commission said the Australian government was studying the LLRC report carefully.

“We will assess the report and the follow-up action taken by the Sri Lankan government. Australia is keen for the Sri Lankan government to act on the report's recommendations so as to move forward on reconciliation,” a high level high commission official said. (Dianne Silva)

courtesy to 'dailymirror.lk'
Copyright © 2010 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

TNA delegation had then responded stating that it was a proposal made by the APRC which was appointed by the present president.!!!

2011-12-19T13:07:00.000-08:00

TNA renews call for land powers .

Monday, 19 December 2011 22:15 The TNA today renewed its call for land powers for the centre of devolution. This request was made by the party’s delegation who met a team of government members for discussions today.

TNA MP Suresh Premachnadran told the Daily Mirror that the party requested for land powers as it had been recommended by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) while it was a major demand by the Tamil parties during the 1995 discussions they had with the then government.

However the government delegation has turned down this request stating that devolving land powers is not the policy of the present regime unlike the previous regimes.

The TNA delegation had then responded stating that it was a proposal made by the APRC which was appointed by the present president.
Talks have however ended without a proper decision regarding the matter.

Mr. Premachnadran said the two parties would meet tomorrow to discuss a future date for the next round of talks.

The government delegation which was led by Leader of the House Nimal Siripala De Silva comprised Minister of External Affairs Professor G. L. Peiris, MPs Rajiwa Wijesinghe and monitoring MP Sajin Vass Gunawardena. While the TNA delegation was led by R. Sampathan, and included M. A. Sunmanthiran, Mavai Senathirajah together with Mr. Premachndran.

The two delegations met at the Parliamentary complex. (Yohan Perera)

courtesy to 'dailymirror.lk'
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TNA calls on the International Community to acknowledge the consistent failure of domestic accountability mechanisms in SL & take steps to JUSTICE.!!!

2011-12-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

TNA rejects LLRC report, demands international probe

December 19, 2011, 10:00 pm

Rejecting the LLRC report, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday reiterated its call for an international war crimes inquiry.

The following is the full text of a statement issued by the 13-member TNA parliamentary group:

The TNA notes the release of the Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. The TNA always had strong reservations about the composition of the Commission and its mandate. These matters will be fully referred to in a comprehensive statement that the TNA will issue.

In its Joint Statement with the United Nations Secretary General on 26th May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka expressed its strongest commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights in keeping with international human rights standards and Sri Lanka’s international obligations. In this statement, the UN Secretary-General ‘underlined the importance of an accountability process for addressing violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.’ The Government undertook to take measures to address those grievances.

A year later, on 15th May 2010, the President appointed the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and held out to the world that this Commission would address those accountability issues.

The LLRC report categorically fails to effectively and meaningfully deal with issues of accountability.

Several thousand Tamil civilians gave evidence before the LLRC. These civilians were the direct victims of the war. They recounted their experiences before the LLRC expecting justice and accountability on the basis of the truth. Yet the findings of the LLRC offend the dignity of these victims.

Allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides during the last stages of the war needed to be fully investigated. The LTTE had been accused of deliberately targeting civilians and using them as ‘human shields’. The Government of Sri Lanka had been accused of deliberately underestimating civilian numbers in the Vanni in order to deprive them of food and medical supplies, deliberately or recklessly endangering the lives of civilians in No-Fire Zones, targeting civilian objects including hospitals, and executing or causing the disappearance of, warmed surrendees.

The LLRC concludes that, on these issues, the Government is not responsible. Instead, it shifts blame onto individual soldiers and surmises that any violations that may have been committed were merely isolated incidents. For example, large numbers of disappearances that resulted from the surrender of unarmed persons to Government forces have been cynically dismissed as isolated incidents perpetrated ‘by a few’. The LLRC unjustifiably rules out the possibility that these violations were systematic.

In June 2010, the UN Secretary General appointed a Panel of Experts to advise him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka. In their report dated 31st March 2011, the Panel concluded that there were several credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which required ‘genuine investigations’. The Panel also opined that the Government’s notion of accountability is not in accordance with international standards and that unless the Government ‘genuinely addresses the allegations of violations committed by both sides and places the rights and dignity of the victims of the conflict at the centre of its approach to accountability, its measures will fall dramatically short of international expectations.’ The Panel observed that the Sri Lanka Army’s campaign between September 2008 and 19th May 2009 constituted ‘persecution of the population of the Vanni.’

The Panel also concluded that ‘the conduct of the war represented a grave assault on the entire regime of international law designed to protect individual dignity during both war and peace’. Accordingly, the allegations against the Government were found to be credible by the Panel. Such allegations included large-scale and indiscriminate shelling of civilian targets in three consecutive No-Fire Zones, which the Government had encouraged the civilian population to concentrate in, while indicating that it would cease to use heavy weapons. The Panel found that the Government shelled these areas ‘in spite of its knowledge of the impact, provided by its own intelligence systems and through notifications of the United Nations and the ICRC and others’. The Panel also observed that the Government systematically shelled hospitals on the frontlines and systematically deprived the people of food and medicine. To this end, the Government ‘purposefully underestimated the number of civilians who remained in the conflict zone’.

In rejecting outright all allegations of ‘systematic’ and ‘widespread’ violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the LLRC has dramatically failed the victims of the conflict. By mischaracterizing the crimes committed during the last days of the war as isolated acts of individual perpetrators, the LLRC has effectively granted immunity to civilian and military leaders responsible for devising the policies that led directly to the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The LLRC has, therefore, reinforced the fact that those most responsible for the commission of crimes would never be held accountable within Sri Lanka. The TNA calls on the international community to acknowledge the consistent failure of domestic accountability mechanisms in Sri Lanka and take steps to establish an international mechanism for accountability.

The report of the LLRC is a serious assault on the dignity of the victims of the war in Sri Lanka, and as such, has not only gravely damaged the chances of genuine reconciliation but has further alienated the victims of the war.

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Accused the SINHALA Army in Jaffna of Not allowing even a People’s Representative to move freely in the City known as Cultural Heartland of Tamils.!!!

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Protest in Jaffna against abductions

People in Jaffna still live in fear, says the JVP MP

Hundreds of people have joined a protest in the northern Sri Lanka town of Jaffna against the recent spate of abductions, organisers say.
The Jana Aragala Movement (Movement for People’s Struggle) organised the protest following two of its disappeared in Jaffna, last week.

Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan were in Jaffna to help relatives of the missing in their search for the loved ones.

Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has said that they were not missing and may be produced before a court, according to Ajith Kumara, MP, one of the organisers.

'Live in fear'

"We organised protests in many parts of the country demanding their release and continued it today in Jaffna," he told BBC Sandeshaya.

I have been travelling to the north at least three times recently but even as an MP, I am not allowed to move freely by the military

Ajith Kumara, MP

R Weeraraj, the father of the missing rights activist was also among the protesters.

The protest in Jaffna that called to end disappearances was held despite disruptions by the military, added the JVP MP.

He accused the Sri Lanka security forces in Jaffna of not allowing even a people’s representative to move freely in the city known as the cultural heartland of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

"I have been travelling to the north at least three times recently but even as an MP, I am not allowed to move freely by the military. Even at this moment of time, the security forces have stopped me saying they need to check my vehicle," he said.

He stressed that the civilians in Jaffna still live in fear, despite the armed conflict with the Tamil tigers ended more than two years ago.

Sandeshaya |
BBCsinhala.com

We doubt SL's will & ability to bring the perpetrators to justice, given the scale of the allegations & the potential that SLG may be implicated..!!!

2011-12-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

Monday 19 December 2011

Sri Lankan army commanders 'assassinated surrendering Tamils'

Sri Lankan army commanders were ordered by the country's leaders to assassinate surrendering Tamils in the final phase of the long and brutal civil war, according to a senior former military officer.
By Alex Spillius and Emanuel Stoakes
9:00PM GMT 18 Dec 2011
29 Comments
The claims are contained in a sworn deposition, seen by The Daily Telegraph, made by a career officer who rose to the rank of major general before he fled the country in fear of his life to seek asylum in the United States.

He is the highest ranking person to assert that atrocities against Tamil rebels and civilians were sanctioned at the highest echelons of the government. The source had the highest security clearance and close contact with some of the army's most powerful figures.

His testimony contradicted a government-appointed commission, which concluded that Sri Lanka's military did not intentionally target civilians.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report, which was released last week, said some isolated allegations of civilian abuses by security forces needed to be investigated further, suggesting that any violations could only have resulted from soldiers who were not following orders.

That assertion flew in the face of an extensive United Nations report that accused the government of deliberately shelling civilian areas and possibly killing tens of thousands of people in the final months.

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In his deposition, the major general says that he was informed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the defence secretary and brother of President Mahindra Rajapaksa, passed on "some instructions to a field commander to get rid of those LTTE [Tamil Tiger] cadres [who] are surrendering without adhering to normal procedures".

Such an order, he said, "should come from either the secretary of the defence, with the knowledge of the president involved. He also has to be kept informed. The commanders could not undertake such decisions."

It has been estimated that 20,000 people or more died in the closing months of the civil war in 2009.

The source, whose name has been withheld for his own safety, confirmed that assassinating Tamil Tigers who had been captured or surrendered became "standard operating procedure" as the Sri Lankan military forces closed in on the last rebel resistance on a strip of land on the island's northeastern coast. Tamil activists are hoping that the evidence provided by the officer will build pressure for a war crimes prosecution against the president or defence secretary.

The US Department of Justice has a live file on the issue but has yet to prosecute, despite a leaked cable written by the US ambassador to Colombo which said that "responsibility for many alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership", including both Rajapaksas and Gen Sarath Fonseka, then the armed forces commander.

American human rights lawyers are seeking to prosecute the defence secretary under the US Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows prosecutions against foreign leaders and officials who commit torture or extra-judicial killings.

Bruce Fein, a human rights lawyer, said that the alleged actions of Sri Lanka's rulers and commanders appeared to be genocide.

"It's hard to come to conclusion that the aim wasn't to destroy the Tamil people in whole or substantial part," he said, citing the definition of genocide under international law.

A video obtained by Channel 4 purported to show the assassination of what were thought to be Tamil rebels. The Sri Lankan army labelled the video as a fabrication. Other witnesses described various incidents of indiscriminate killing.

The UN also blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for allegedly using civilians as human shields – a claim also made by the Sri Lankan government – and for using child soldiers.

Throughout its 26-year battle for autonomy, the ethnic minority rebels pioneered suicide bombing as a terror method, killed thousands of civilians among the Sinhalese majority and committed numerous atrocities that led to it being designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and Britain.

The testimony from the senior officer was first obtained by The International, an investigative website based in the US. It backed up various other allegations of illegal conduct by the authorities.

He said that to his knowledge shortly after becoming defence secretary in 2005 Mr Rajapaksa sanctioned the creation of a "hit squad" known for operating out of a white van to remove suspected LTTE members or collaborators off the streets of the capital Colombo.

Yolanda Foster, the Sri Lanka researcher for Amnesty International, said: "We doubt Sri Lanka's will and ability to bring the perpetrators to justice, given the scale of the allegations and the potential that serving members of the Sri Lankan government may be implicated."

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan high commission in London said: "We categorically deny these malicious allegations."
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/srilanka/8964147/Sri-Lankan-army-commanders-assassinated-surrendering-Tamils.html

Need for the Tamils to Create Their Own Independent State in Order to Protect Themselves from Further Extermination & Total Annihilation BY SRILANKA.!

2011-12-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Boyle: Tamils safety possible only under separate state
[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 December 2011, 23:17 GMT]

Asserting that the "Tamils on the Island known as “Sri Lanka” have been the victims of genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," Francis A. Boyle, an expert in International Law, and a professor at the School of Law, University of Illinois, argues using the "remedial sovereignty" doctrine in support, and noting that "[h]istorically the only way a people who have been subjected to genocide like the Tamils on Sri Lanka have been able to protect themselves from further extermination has been the creation of an independent state of their own," and concludes, "[h]ence the need for the Tamils on Sri Lanka to create their own independent state in order to protect themselves from further extermination and total annihilation by Sri Lanka."

Full text of the article written by Boyle follows:

Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka
On 8 April 1993 and 13 September 1993 the author single-handedly won two World Court Orders on the basis of the 1948 Genocide Convention that were overwhelmingly in favor of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Yugoslavia to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the Bosnians.

Professor Francis A. Boyle, University of IllinoisThe Tamils on the Island known as “Sri Lanka” have been the victims of genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

I say that as the first person to have ever won anything from the International Court of Justice in The Hague (the so-called World Court of the United Nations System) on the basis of the Genocide Convention. And the fact that the Tamils living on “Sri Lanka” have been victims of genocide only strengthens and reinforces their right to self-determination under international law, including establishing their own independent State of Tamil Eelam if that is their desire. *(Clarity Press: 2010). © Copyright 2011 by Francis A. Boyle. All rights reserved.

Article II of the Genocide Convention defines the international crime of genocide in relevant part as follows: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group such as:
•(a)Killing members of the group;
•(b)Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
•(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; ….
Certainly the Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka and its legal predecessor Ceylon have committed genocide against the Hindu/Christian Tamils that actually started on or about 1948 and has continued apace until today in violation of Genocide Convention Articles II(a), (b), and (c).

For the past six decades, the Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka has implemented a systematic and comprehensive military, political, and economic campaign with the intent to destroy in substantial part the different national, ethnical, racial, and religious group constituting the Hindu/Christian Tamils. This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has consisted of killing members of the Hindu/Christian Tamils in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(a). This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has also caused serious bodily and mental harm to the Hindu/Christian Tamils in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(b). This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has also deliberately inflicted on the Hindu/Christian Tamils conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in substantial part in violation of Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention.

Since 1983 the Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/ Sri Lanka has exterminated approximately 150,000 Hindu/Christian Tamils. Nevertheless, apologists for Sri Lanka have argued that since these mass atrocities are not tantamount to the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews, therefore they do not qualify as “genocide.” Previously, I had encountered and refuted this completely disingenuous, deceptive and bogus argument against labeling genocide for what it truly is, when I was the Lawyer for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina arguing their genocide case against Yugoslavia before the International Court of Justice. There the genocidal Yugoslavia was represented by Shabtai Rosenne from Israel as their Lawyer against me. Rosenne proceeded to argue to the World Court that since he was an Israeli Jew, what Yugoslavia had done to the Bosnians was not the equivalent of the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews and therefore did not qualify as “genocide” within the meaning of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

I rebutted Rosenne by arguing to the World Court that you did not need an equivalent to the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews in order to find that wholesale atrocities constitute “genocide” in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Indeed the entire purpose of the 1948 Genocide Convention was to prevent another Nazi Holocaust against the Jews. That is why Article I of the Genocide Convention clearly provided: “The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.” (Emphasis supplied.) You did not need six million dead human beings in order to constitute “genocide.”

Furthermore, in support of my 1993 genocide argument to the World Court for Bosnia, I submitted that Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention expressly provided: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group, as such…” (Emphasis supplied.) In other words, that to be guilty of genocide a government did not have to intend to destroy the “whole” group as the Nazis intended to do with the Jews. Rather, a government can be guilty of genocide if it intends to destroy a mere “part” of the group. Certainly Yugoslavia did indeed intend to exterminate all Bosnian Muslims if they could have gotten away with it, as manifested by their subsequent mass extermination of at least 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in July of 1995.

But in 1993 it was not necessary for me to argue to the World Court that Yugoslavia intended to exterminate all the Bosnian Muslims. Rather, I argued to the World Court that at that point in time the best estimate was that Yugoslavia had exterminated about 250,000 Bosnians out of the population of about 4 million Bosnians, including therein about 2.5 million Bosnian Muslims. Therefore, I argued to the World Court that these dead victims constituted a “substantial part” of the group and that the appropriate interpretation of the words “or in part” set forth in Article II of the Genocide Convention should mean a “substantial part.”

The World Court emphatically agreed with me and rejected Rosenne’s specious, reprehensible, and deplorable arguments. So on 8 April 1993 the International Court of Justice issued an Order for three provisional measures of protection on behalf of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Yugoslavia that were overwhelmingly in favor of Bosnia to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against all the Bosnians, both directly and indirectly. This World Court Order for the indication of provisional measures of protection was the international equivalent of a U.S. domestic Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction combined. The same was true for the Second World Court Order with three additional provisional measures of protection that I won for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Yugoslavia on 13 September 1993 on the basis of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

In its final Judgment on the merits in the Bosnia case that was issued in 2007, the World Court definitively agreed with me once and for all time that in order to constitute genocide, a state must only intend to destroy a “substantial part” of the group “as such”:

198. In terms of that question of law, the Court refers to three matters relevant to the determination of “part” of the “group” for the purposes of Article II. In the first place, the intent must be to destroy at least a substantial part of the particular group. That is demanded by the very nature of the crime of genocide: since the object and purpose of the Convention as a whole is to prevent the intentional destruction of groups, the part targeted must be significant enough to have an impact on the group as a whole. That requirement of substantiality is supported by consistent rulings of the ICTY and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and by the Commentary of the ILC to its Articles in the draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of mankind (e.g. Krstić, IT-98-33-A, Appeals Chamber Judgment, 19 April 2004, paras. 8-11 and the cases of Kayishema, Byilishema, and Semanza there referred to; and Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1996, Vol. II, Part Two, p. 45, para. 8 of the Commentary to Article 17).

In other words, in order to find Sri Lanka guilty of genocide against the Tamils, it is not required to prove that Sri Lanka has the intention to exterminate all Tamils. Rather, all that is necessary is to establish that Sri Lanka intended to destroy a “substantial part” of the Tamils living on Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, in paragraphs 293 and 294 of its 26 February 2007 Bosnian Judgment, the World Court found that you did not even need 250,000 exterminated Bosnians in order to constitute genocide, let alone six million exterminated Jews. Rather, even the seven thousand extermininated Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica were enough to constitute genocide. According to the World Court, these victims constituted about one-fifth of the Srebrenica community. Certainly since the World Court ruled in its 2007 Judgment that the extermination of 7000 Bosnians at Srebrenica constituted “genocide,” then a fortiori Sri Lanka’s extermination of 50,000 Tamils in Vanni two years later in 2009 also constituted genocide.

Historically the only way a people who have been subjected to genocide like the Tamils on Sri Lanka have been able to protect themselves from further extermination has been the creation of an independent state of their own. Indeed as the entire world witnessed during the first six months of 2009, Sri Lanka wantonly, openly, shamelessly, and gratuitously exterminated over 50,000 Tamils in Vanni. Yet not one state in the entire world rose to protect them or defend them or help them as required by Article I of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Hence the need for the Tamils on Sri Lanka to create their own independent state in order to protect themselves from further extermination and total annihilation by Sri Lanka.

International law and practice establish that an independent state of their own is the only effective protection as well as the only appropriate reparation for a people who have been the victims of genocide. Bosnia’s Statehood was the only thing that prevented the Bosnians from going the same way the Jews did in 1939. The creation of the Independent State of Tamil Eelam will be the only thing preventing the Tamils on Sri Lanka from going the way of history. Create Tamil Eelam!

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07.07.09 The onus is on the diaspora
26.11.05 Sovereignty fears
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LLRC Process was a Waste of Time & Money as the Govt did not appoint the LLRC to solve the National Qs BUT TO RESCUE PRESIDENT FROM CRISIS.!!!

2011-12-18T11:13:00.001-08:00

LLRC a waste of time and money: JVP .

Sunday, 18 December 2011 22:24 .The JVP today charged that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) process was a waste of time and money as the government did not appoint the LLRC to solve the national question that still existed even after the war is over. The party politburo in a statement claimed the LLRC was appointed to rescue the President from the crisis he was faced with.

It said the government tabled the LLRC report in Parliament last week as a result of external pressure.

It accused that the commission was not appointed with a genuine intention of studying the social, economic and political root causes that had been behind the secessionist conflict and finding a solution to it, rather it was appointed to free the government from the pressures and accusations exerted by foreign forces.
The party was of the view that the appointing of this commission was not an effort to look into the whole issue and find a solution, but it was just to handle some of the incidents that had taken place between February 21, 2002 and May 19, 2009, out of more than 30 years of secessionist conflict.
Many people who wanted to give evidence before the commission were unable to do so as they were not given adequate time for that, the JVP alleged.

It said the recommendations of a commission are not needed to resettle the IDPs, to give them their lands and other facilities, to solve the problems of the missing persons and to establish civil administration, democracy and good governance.

This was not a commission meant for the resolution of the national question that still exists or for reconciliation. It has even failed to even identify the core problem, the JVP statement said.

courtesy to 'dailymirror.lk'
Copyright © 2010 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

WAR WIDOWS:Life is very difficult!We don’t get any help!Nobody help us! We need most is the finances to complete our houses! WHERE IS INDIAN PROMISE??

2011-12-18T10:56:00.001-08:00

Above: A resettled war widow who is now engaged in paddy cultivation as a means of sustenance.

Yoganathan Rathika is twenty-six years old, and has a two year old daughter. She lives in a resettlement village in Manthai West, Mannar. Like a lot of women trying to resume normal life after the war, Rathika faces several hardships. But Rathika has one additional burden to bear. She is a widow.

There are presently 89,000 widows in the North and East, including many women like Rathika, who lost their husbands to the 30 year civil war.
They suffered through the war, lost their homes and their husbands. Even in peacetime, the suffering continues. The war widows have a myriad of problems to deal with. Many have been newly resettled, in remote areas, in half-built houses. They also have young children to raise. To add to this, they are also faced with social insecurity.
And all these problems, they have to deal with on their own.

Struggles and Stigma

“Life is very difficult. We don’t get a lot of help. Nobody really thinks of helping us,” said Rathika. Rathika goes out to find work as a labourer in order to support herself and her child. “I live in an area surrounded by forest. We have to cycle six kilometres to get to the nearest bus halt. My house is only half-built, and I am afraid to stay there alone,” she said.
“What we need most right now is the finances to complete our houses, but this is very difficult to obtain. Nobody is willing to give us a loan, because they aren’t sure how we will be able to pay it back,” explained Rathika.
Mahalakshmi Kurushanthan, of the Mannar Women’s Development Federation (MWDF) has been working with widows like Rathika, and has a clear insight into the problems faced by the multitude of war widows.
“Widows have to put up with a lot of social stigma. People watch them with a very critical eye. Even when they go out to work, people are always watching them,” said Mahalakshmi.
She went on to explain how a large number of women have been psychologically affected by their situation. Many women never found out what happened to their husbands, and were thus unable to carry out the final rites for them, as per their customs.
Meanwhile, Co-founder of the MWDF, Shreen Saroor, pointed out that the social stigma faced by widows also proved to be a barrier when they tried to make a living.
“Society as a whole looks down upon these women. We still have a system where widows are not treated the same as married women. They have to struggle a lot to find work. The problem is, who is going to give them market access? And if they want to go out and find work, who is going to look after their children? They need a set up where they can earn a decent living,” she said.
Most widows in the Eastern Province are under the age of 35, according to Ithayarani Sithravel of the Voluntary Service Organization for Women, in Trincomalee. “Because of their young age, they face several social issues, and find it difficult to go out and find work,” she said, adding that “They were used to depending on their husbands for a living.”
Those who have young children face the additional problems of having to provide them with food, and education. All these issues have been overlooked to a great extent, and these women do need assistance in dealing with their specific problems, said Ithayarani.
“The most important thing, is to teach them to be independent,” she said.

The Need For A Practical Solution

Shreen Saroor is of the opinion that although there are ongoing state efforts to assist these women, some of these efforts need to be more practical in addressing their issues.
“The Government apparently has a programme for them, but we don’t see it as something that can create a change in these women’s lives. It’s not just about giving them money. We need to make a structural change, because these women are vulnerable,” she pointed out.
According to Saroor, some of the state efforts involve recruiting these women into profit-making industries. “Many of us working in the field feel that there is some form of exploitation when they are recruited into profit making industries,” she said.
“The women of the North and East are used to engaging in activities like animal husbandry, poultry farming, home-gardening and such,” she said, adding that facilitating such livelihoods for widows could be more beneficial.
Apart from the social stigma and hardships, they are however faced with yet another problem : that of the Militarization of certain areas in the North and East. This has also imposed restrictions on these women’s lives, said Saroor. “In some places there is complete control over natural resources. Sometimes they can’t access the jungle, even to collect firewood,” she said.
Despite these obstacles, these women are trying to get by, doing whatever little they can to support themselves. K. Jeyanthi, 47, is from the same resettlement area as Rathika. “I lost my husband towards the end of the war, on the 22nd of April, 2009. I have two daughters. One of them is married, but the other one stays with me,” said Jeyanthi, who is also presently faced with the problem of a house only half-built. When asked how much her monthly income is, she said “For a month? That’s difficult to say. I packet mixture (a fried snack) and sell it whenever I can. It’s very difficult, making a living,” she said.

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