LLRC head’s wife to be appointed as Justice Ministry Secretary

Saturday, 10 December 2011 

The President has decided to appoint Chairman of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), C.R. de Silva’s (Bulla) wife, Kamalini de Alwis as the Justice Ministry Secretary, Ministry sources said.

She is currently an additional secretary to the Ministry.

The President is to appoint current Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath as an Additional Solicitor General to the Attorney General’s Department in order to appoint Mrs. De Silva as the new Justice Ministry Secretary.

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Plan to make student leaders go missing

Saturday, 10 December 2011

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake has told some of his friends that the solution to the current student prompted agitation campaigns was to gee together with the Defence Secretary and abduct several student leaders.

Higher Education Ministry Secretary Sunil Jayantha Navaratne had also participated at the meeting that was held at Dissanayake’s residence.

The Minister had spoken of his days in the university while having a drink and munching on a piece of maldive fish.

He had said that some of the agitation campaign spearheaded by him had resulted in the closure of the Sri Jayewardenepura University for many weeks. However, he had said that he now understood the mistakes.

Dissanayake had also observed that the present students should not be allowed to make the same mistakes.

The Minister had expressed his opinion that all students’ struggles would cease once one of two student union leaders went missing.

He had then informed the Ministry secretary that students and academics who engage in protest campaigns should not be given appointments to meet him.

He had added that a good lesson would be taught to the organizers of the protests.

Dissanayake had also explained the murder of Beddegane Sanjeewa, who was an irritant during his tenure in the opposition.

Since Dissanayake’s wife, Tamara Dissanayake was not at home that evening, the ministry secretary has had to wash the dished that night.

Sri Lanka's Civil War (Complete)

NEW YORK, December 6, 2011 — Documentary filmmaker Callum Macrae, Malinda Seneviratne, Editor-in-Chief of Sri Lanka's The Nation, and Bob Templer of the International Crisis Group present and assess both the Sri Lankan government and international community's perspectives on that country's decades-long sectarian conflict. Tunku Varadarajan, editor of Newsweek International, moderates the discussion. (1 hr., 16 min.)Related blog post

What Are Asian Nations Saying About Sri Lanka’s Conflict?

enlarge image

Sri Lankan state workers and ruling party activists protest outside the main railway station in Colombo on August 2, 2011. The protest was aimed to denounce Britain's Channel 4 documentary 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields'. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m., Asia Society New York will host a film screening — Channel 4's Sri Lanka's Killing Fields — and a panel discussion with Channel 4’s Callum Macrae, The Nation’s Malinda Seneviratne, International Crisis Group's BobTempler, and moderator Tunku Varadarajan, editor ofNewsweek International. More info can be found here.

The days at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war have garnered significant international attention, and Asia Society has covered the Sri Lankan conflict from a range of perspectives over the years, including hosting representatives of the Sri Lankan government, the Tamil National Alliance, and the international community in both public and private programs. Often the debate has centered on the adversarial relationship that exists between “Western” human rights and media organizations and the Sri Lankan government, as well as those measures taken by the Sri Lankan government to ensure the needs of Tamils in the country are adequately addressed. But, what has the role been of other Asian governments, and respective media outlets therein, in response to the conflict?

An editorial in the Japan Times from September 2010, stated that the conviction of Gen. SarathFonseka, an opponent of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2010 presidential election, appeared to be “part of a broader campaign to silence administration critics. The signs are troubling.” In recent days the Japanese government sent a representative, Yasushi Akashi, to Colombo to ask the Sri Lankan government to release findings of the yet to be published Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission report. According to the Associated Press, Akashi asked President Rajapaksa to recognize the importance of “national reconciliation in order to arrive at a lasting peace.”

In a similar vein, a November 2011 column in Malaysia’s New Straits Times wonders, “What could bring the state back” in Sri Lanka? The editorial states that, “While the war was on, media freedoms were curtailed and everybody exhorted to support the war effort. ... Now the war is over, but the repression of the media continues and there is no open political discourse.”

The press of Sri Lanka’s largest neighbor, India, has also offered some, albeit limited, critique of the Sri Lankan government’s policies. An August 2011 editorial in The Hindu states, “Without losing any momentum, the Sri Lankan polity must now quickly move towards setting up the political framework to address the Tamil question — the just solution to which is wide-ranging devolution of powers within a united Sri Lanka.” India’s national security advisor, Shivshankar Menon, mirrored The Hindu’s sentiments: “The quicker the Sri Lankan government can come to a political arrangement (with Tamils) the better."

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese and Chinese governments’ statements seemed to reflect an even greater preference for non-interference in Sri Lanka’s domestic concerns. In October, Vietnamese PresidentTruong Tan Sang traveled to Sri Lanka for a visit mostly focused on trade and tourism cooperation, with the Vietnamese state-run news outlet Vietnam News reporting that both countries, “Expressed determination to strengthen cooperation in joint efforts to prevent acts of aggression.” The acts of “aggression” were not specified, but perhaps referred to both countries’ efforts to minimize the challenges posed by minority groups and external pressures for “democratization” and protection of human rights. Incidentally the article goes on to mention that Sri Lanka will support Vietnam’s bid to join the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The Chinese government took a similar stance. Xinhua News agency reported in April 2011 that China “believes the Sri Lankan government and people will handle properly problems concerning its civil war” while urging “the international community not to complicate the issue.”

Of course, the strong conflicting opinions within Sri Lanka remain, both on the part of the elected government and opposition parties, including the Tamil National Alliance. What role will Sri Lanka’s media play in influencing key political events in the country moving forward? Will films like Macrae’s Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields continue to influence the international community’s view toward this issue?

We encourage you to weigh in with your thoughts below, as well as view the event on Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m., either via live webcast or in person. In preparation, you can view Sri Lanka's Killing Fields in its entirety here [WARNING: Film includes graphic images], and the government's response here.

Dead bodies in exclusion zone - British MEP

 09 December, 2011

	The number of civilian war deaths remains hotly disputed

A Member of the European Parliament who’s just led a delegation visiting Sri Lanka says he believes there are many bodies of dead civilians buried in exclusion zones where the final fighting of the civil war took place in 2009.

Member of European Parliament Richard Howitt said there should be full access to the areas. But the government says the zones are off-limits because there are landmines there. The number of civilian war deaths remains hotly disputed.

The delegation of Socialist Euro-MPs was permitted to pay a visit right up to the edge of the exclusion zone in north-east Sri Lanka, where tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were held by the Tamil Tigers and subjected to bombardment as the government fought the separatists.

Dead bodies are buried

No one is being allowed to resettle in that zone for the foreseeable future and a sense of fear prevails in nearby villages, the delegation’s leader, Richard Howitt, told the BBC.

“What everyone says is that it’s because [it is] literally where the bodies are buried, and that if people with forensic skills go in and investigations start, then the true horrors of what happened in those final days with so many innocent civilians said to have been killed absolutely unnecessarily, that that would come out and that the Sri Lankans will do everything to prevent that” MEP Richard Howitt said.

Army pretty disciplined

In a response to MEP’s comment Sri Lanka’s defence spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, told BBC that certain areas were still excluded for resettlement because of landmines, not because of bodies or whatever else was alleged.

“There had been no landmine deaths since the end of the war and it would be risky to send people into those zones” Minister Rambukwella said. He also expressed his “surprise” at the MEP’s remarks.

The government has built a new village for people from those areas but they’ve complained that it’s too far from the sea.

Richard Howitt had warmer words for the army who he said appeared “pretty disciplined”, although too pervasive in the north.

Social activists: Colombo must resolve the Tamil question

Asia News.it  12/09/2011 

by Melani Manel Perera
" Tamil Indians " in Sri Lanka (originally from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu) still have no right to citizenship or basic rights: work, food, home and land. Even women and children suffer discrimination. Although Sri Lanka is a signatory of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - "The basic rights of every ethnic community must be protected. The right to work, food, a house, land, the rights of women and children: Today we are witnessing gross violations of these, in every aspect of life. Human rights should allow the different ethnic communities to live together in full equality. " This was revealed by the 4 ESC Rights Collective (Collective for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), in a special seminar organized to demand the State account for what it is doing on behalf of the country's ethnic minorities, in particular the "Indian Tamil", since Sri Lanka is among the countries signatories of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Sri Lanka’s so-called "Indian Tamil" are descendants of the original peoples of Tamil Nadu (southern state of India), who in the 19th and 20th centuries were sent to work in tea plantations in Ceylon. They belong to the same ethnic stock of the "Sri Lanka Tamil", but these are from the kingdom of Jaffna.

S. Murugaiayh, of the Plantation Sector Social Forum (Pssf), explains: "The Tamil Indians who work in tea plantations live in tiny huts built over 200 years ago. The houses are too small for large families, without adequate sanitation. But they cannot build bigger houses, or they risk losing their jobs and the narrow huts in which they live. "

To living conditions of these communities are also aggravated by their legal status. "The Citizenship Act No. 18 of 1948 - explains Murugaiayh - deprived the Indian Tamil of nationality and it has never been repealed. This is despite the Granting of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Act of 2003 which sanctioned this right. Thus, thousands of people who work and contribute to the national economy, live as stateless people in their own country, without being able to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights. "

K.P. Somalatha, a representative of the National Alliance for Right to Land, points the finger at "all the development projects implemented by the government, which have uprooted thousands of people from their homelands and from their lives. This is also a gross violation of human rights. " Last year the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has launched a series of development projects - especially in tourism - to make Sri Lanka a "Wonder of Asia". Plans that affect the most vulnerable population: farmers, ranchers and above all fishermen.

We wrote Sri Lanka President’s civil war speech, say lobbyists

• December 5th, 2011 | by Melanie Newman

A demonstration against Sri Lankan government.

Senior executives at Bell Pottinger told undercover reporters that they were so influential that they had written a key note speech given by the Sri Lankan President to the United Nations.

During the address by President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year, which the company said was used in preference to one prepared by the Sri Lankan foreign ministry, the president suggested rules governing the humanitarian conduct of war should be re-examined. He described his troops’ action against Tamil Tiger separatists as humanitarian.

President Rajapaksa also claimed in the speech that a Commission established by the government to look into the last years of the civil war, was giving ‘full expression to the principles of accountability’.

Heavily criticisedThe Commission has been heavily criticised by human rights groups including Amnesty International because it does not have a mandate to hold individuals to account for war crimes.  

‘We had a team working in the president’s office. We wrote the president’s speech to the UN last year which was very well received … it went a long way to taking the country where it needed to go,’ said David Wilson, chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Relations, during the undercover meeting with the Bureau.

But during the meeting Mr Wilson seemed to agree with Amnesty, describing the Commission as having a ‘fundamental flaw in its remit in investigating what has gone on in the past, to try to bury the past.’ 

The company also attended a meeting of Tamil dissidents in London, the British Tamils Forum (BTF) said.

 Tim Ryan meets Dr Wickremabahu Karunaratne, the Singhalese general secretary of the NSS Party.

Days before President Rajapaksa’s arrival in London in December 2010, Tim Ryan chairman of Bell Pottinger International, and a colleague attended an open political meeting in Harrow organised by the BTF and the Nava Sama Samaja (New Social Equality) Party.

Standing outGobi Ratnam, a Tamil journalist who chaired the event, titled How Powerful is Mahinda in his Second Term? said the pair stood out as the only white people present and were eventually questioned by some of the delegates. 

We had a team working in the president’s office. We wrote the president’s speech to the UN last year which was very well received … it went a long way to taking the country where it needed to go.
David Wilson, Bell Pottinger Public Relations

He said the two said they were from Bell Pottinger. ‘They said they wanted to listen to our problems, to learn and help the Sri Lankan people,’ said Mr Ratnam. ‘A lot of people were talking to them. A few there knew about this firm and tried to warn people not to give out too many details.’

Related article: How the Bureau investigated Bell Pottinger

 Dr Wickremabahu Karunaratne, the Singhalese general secretary of the NSS Party who stood for president in the last election, was visiting the country from Sri Lanka and gave a speech at the meeting. He called for Tamil forces to join a new alliance of opposition members and breakaway groups to challenge the government – comments that were widely reported. 

Dr Karunaratne spoke with Mr Ryan after the speech. He told the Bureau he had not known Mr Ryan was working for the Rajapaska government prior to the meeting, but ‘he made me aware of that’. 

Mr Ryan told him he was ‘collecting information to help the government campaign,’ he added. Bell Pottinger refutes this. It says its representatives were interested as part of their brief to learn and to understand the views of the Sri Lankan diaspora in the UK.

The BTF claims Bell Pottinger representatives also attended a Tamil Remembrance event at London’s Excel Centre on November 27, 2010. The firm has not confirmed this.

There is no suggestion that Bell Pottinger did anything illegal in its dealings with the Sri Lankan government.  

Sri Lankan Minister, Iranian Envoy Agree on Expanding Media Cooperation

2011-12-09

Sri Lankan Minister, Iranian Envoy Agree on Expanding Media Cooperation TEHRAN (FNA)- Sri Lanka's Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella met with Iranian Ambassador to the South Asian nation Mohammad Nabi Hasaki to discuss cooperation between the two countries in the field of media.

Following the meeting, Rambukwella told reporters that the Iranian and Sri Lankan governments have agreed to exchange knowledge and technology in the fields of media and filming industry. The Sri Lankan government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iranian government regarding media cooperation between the two countries, he said. "The relationship between the two countries has grown to the highest level during the last five years, mainly, following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Sri Lanka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to Iran," Minister Rambukwella said. Diplomatic relations between Iran and Sri Lanka were established in 1961.

At UN, Pillay Says Deferring Sri Lanka Visit Until LLRC Report, Won't Count Deaths

Pillay, d'Escoto and HRW, 2d term and HRC action on Sri Lanka not shownBy Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 9 -- When High Commissioner on Human Rights Navi Pillay appeared at the UN on Friday, Inner City Press asked her about inaction on the killing of civilians in Sri Lanka, including the performance of the UN and certain high UN officials. Inner City Press also asked how many civilians she believed had been killed in Sri Lanka, and if she was seeking a second terms of HCHR.

Pillay spoke generally that there should be accountability, adding that she is postponing a visit to Sri Lanka until the release of the report of the government's Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission, which she said in the hands of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

She said she favored the LLRC report, along with the UN Panel of Experts (or "Darusman") Report being the subject of a debate in the Human Rights Council. Sources in Geneva tell Inner City Press that the push for that is not prominent, and such a debate prior to Sri Lanka's so-called Universal Periodic Review is unlikely. Will Ms. Pillay and others push harder?

Pillay declined to provide any estimate of the number of dead, just minutes after saying that over 4,000 have been killed in Syria, to which her access is decidedly limited.

She also declined to answer if she will seek a second term, saying she has six months left, but "thank you for reminding me" that the decision time is looming. For Sri Lanka as well? Watch this site.

Sri Lanka govt ally protests NATO attack in Pak

Friday, December 09, 2011 
Colombo: The activists of National Freedom Front (NFF), an ally in the ruling coalition of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Friday protested here against the NATO attack in Pakistan late month. 

The NATO air strike had left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead along the Pak-Afghan border. 
Protestors numbering a few hundreds held posters carrying the portrait of the US president Barrak Obama calling 'wanted for murder'. 

They urged US to respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. The NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa is a minister in the Cabinet of Rajapaksa. 
PTI 

Sri Lankan civil war: Use of the image for corrupt ends

• By Rachael Cloughton
• Notebook - A selection of Independent views -
• Friday, 9 December 2011 at 10:00 am

The photograph once served as a relatively removed document of warfare, now the image has become a powerful weapon within it. The distance between the photographer and the activities of war has moved closer proportionate to the increasing accessibility of the camera. Replacing a limited number of commissioned photographers are the proliferating numbers of amateurs whose smartphones and digital cameras are well within reach and whose agendas are open corruption.

The accessibility of the camera has been abused on many occasions. In the catastrophic photographs that emerged from Abu Ghraib the act of photographing is implicit in the act of terror. It is known that in Israeli prisons photographs of abused bodies have been shown to prisoners as a method of torture. The photographs taken by government forces during the Sri Lankan civil war evidence further use of the image for corrupt ends.  Full Story>>>

Jaya unveils scheme for Tamil refugees' education

NT Bureau | Fri, 09 Dec, 2011

Tamilnadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today announced a Rs seven crore scheme to enable wards of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to get proper education in the State.

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According to an official release here, the Chief Minister, on coming to know that children from as many as 21,000 refugee families in the State found it difficult to get proper education in schools and colleges in Tamilnadu, has ordered that they could stay in all Adi Dravida, Tribal, Backward, Most Backward and Minority welfare hostels being run in the State. As per her order, five extra vacancies have been created in each of the 1,294 Adi Dravida and Tribal students hostels in the State. The movie will result in the government spending an extra Rs 3.15 crore. Likewise, five vacancies have been created in 1238 hostels run by the Backward, Most Backward and Minorities Welfare Department of Tamilnadu government. This will incur in an additional expense of Rs 4.25 crore. A total number of 12,660 vacancies have been created for refugee students, the release said.

Abductions escalate in North, families urged to approach Co-Chair Ambassadors in Colombo

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 December 2011, 09:51 GMT]
21-year-old Tharsan Kannuchamy, who was earlier released after detention by the Sri Lanka Army following Vanni war, has been reported missing since Monday this week, according to a complaint lodged by his family with the SL Police in Chu'n'naakam in Jaffna. Mr. Tharsan was last seen leaving for work to a shop in Jaffna from Uduvil, where his family has recently settled after living in the nearby town of Chu'n'naakam. SL Police and Red Cross declining to take complaints, helpless human rights workers now advise family members of the abducted to report matters to the Ambassadors of the Co-Chair countries that are accountable to the war and post-war in the island. 

In the meantime, another youth abducted from Mu'l'liyava'lai earlier this week on Tuesday, was taken to the Vanni headquarters of the occupying SL military, a police source in Vavuniyaa said. However, the military officials at the camp, formerly known as Joint Operations Security Forces Headquarters (JOSFH) camp declined to verify the custody of Mr. Rathan Ganeshamoorthy. The JOSFH camp has been a notorious place for abuses of political prisoners.

Catholic priests in Jaffna, frustrated with the lack of mechanism to safeguard the interests of the youth reunited with their families, have urged the families of persons being abducted or harassed to make complaints directly with the Co-Chair Ambassadors in Colombo, as these Ambassadors were in good terms with the occupying SL commanders in all the districts of the Tamil country.

Commenting on the suggestion by the priests, human rights activists pointed out to the statements made by the Co-Chair countries during the war, asking the people of Vanni to move into the hands of the SLA in Vavuniyaa.

Now, when people are abducted silently, one by one, and there is no presence of independent international monitoring agencies, the only parties who could can have any influence on the SL military seem to be the ambassadors of USA, Japan, Norway and EU, according to the priests in Jaffna.

Visiting Jaffna a few months ago, the US Asst. Secretary of State spoke against the 'grease devils' and the menace stopped. Recently, when a Jaffna University student was abducted, he was released at the intervention of some Western embassies in Colombo. USA and Britain had scheduled their delegations to visit the occupying SL commander in Jaffna during that week.

When exposed, genocidal Sri Lanka has expertise in withdrawing one atrocity and then bringing in ten new atrocities, observers watching the pattern said.

Many Eezham Tamils have now started thinking that the continued genocide throughout the country of Eezham Tamils is a premeditated affair agreed upon by the same forces that abetted Sri Lanka's genocidal war in Vanni.

In the meantime, ex-LTTE members are told by the SL military officials not to seek employment outside the island. If they get caught at the airport for trying to leave the country, their lives are not guaranteed, they were told.
Related Articles:
08.12.11   Abductions on rise in Vanni, Red Cross joins SL Police in re.. 
01.12.11   West endorses ethno-military rule, military solution: Tamil .. 
30.11.11   Abducted university student released 

Government says 'sorry' for nun's arrest

Sri Lanka Government says it apologises for the raid of Missionaries of Charity Convent in Moratuwa and the arrest of its superior nun. "This is a serious and very sensitive issue. The apology by the cabinet minister responsible for the subject is a clear indication of the government's stand on this matter" Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told media on Thursday. Police raided the convent last week and arrested Sister Mary Eliza, superior nun of the Missionaries of Charity convent on suspicion of her involvement in child-trafficking. "If there had been any failings in handling this case, the government will take steps to rectify them" Minister Rambukwella said. Apology welcomed Spokesman for the Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Father Benedict Joseph told BBC Sandeshaya that he welcomed the government's apology. "We expected further than an apology and present details in a manner that helps the nuns to be freed from their predicament" he added. Last week, the Achbishop of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith announced the boycott of all government functions during the festive season in protest against the arrest of the nun. Sister Eliza released on bail is due to appear before court on the 15th of December.

Rajapaksa fears the expat Tamils more than anybody else

By Brian Senewiratne   09 Dec 2011

Posted 08-Dec-2011 Vol 2 Issue 49 Sinhalese are now learning that the guns that mowed Tamils will next be turned on them, says Brian Senewiratne, an Australia based Sinhalese doctor in the fourth and last of a series for TWL. (Also Read: First Part, Second Part, Third Part)  The Government of Sri Lanka claims that the Tamil Tigers were the problem. The reality is that they were not the problem but the result of the problem. The ‘problem’ was, and still is, Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism, and Sinhala political opportunism to get the votes of the majority Sinhalese (74% of the population) to get into or remain in power.             Read More

Land Issues in the Northern Province: Post-War Politics, Policy and Practices

6 December 2011: 
Land Issues in the Northern Province: Post-War Politics, Policy and Practices


by Senior Researchers Bhavani Fonseka and Mirak Raheem at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is the most recent endeavour by CPA to critique and provide alternatives to land and related issues in the post-war Northern Province in Sri Lanka.

Download the report as a PDF here.

The report examines the dynamic nature of land in the North, exploring issues such as governance, development and the role of marginal groups and their relevance to land in the area. The report also documents key trends such as militarisation, centralisation, politicisation and the ethnic dimension in relation to land. Beyond the war-affected areas, issues such as landlessness, competing claims and acquisition of land for development and public purposes all make clear that there is a need for policy reform which can define the post-conflict context in Sri Lanka.

The context in the North has dramatically changed over the last two and a half years since the war ended and the report attempts to capture some of these key changes. With the end of war, large areas are being demined and significant numbers of people have returned to their places of origin amidst high levels of militarisation, increased assistance and development programmes and significant political developments. As returnees and other war-affected communities attempt to rebuild, they have attempted to regain control over and claim ownership to their land. The Government has also made clear its interest in acquiring land for national security, development and other public purposes. The report highlights that land has re-surfaced as a central problem on the post-war agenda, especially given the situation regarding land ownership and control in the North, the high instances of lost documentation, mass displacement and secondary occupation, landless populations, and military occupation of land and involvement in land administration.

The report sets out key areas that need further attention and highlights ongoing processes for policy change. After a three-decade-old war, many changes have taken place where reform is needed to address present needs and grievances and avoid future disputes. The Government is engaged in an-ongoing initiative to address some of the key issues with respect to land in the North, the content and implications of which are discussed in this report. While welcoming moves for reform, CPA hopes such moves are done in a transparent and participatory manner, with the involvement of communities and local actors, and in keeping with principles such as equity and conflict sensitivity.

The report makes a strong case for reform, but the process through which such reform is introduced and implemented also needs consideration. CPA hopes the findings in the present report will inform stakeholders and the public of the issues in the area and create a constructive dialogue on resolving land and related issues in the North.

To obtain further information regarding the report and other initiatives related to the topic, the following persons can be contacted-

Bhavani Fonseka- bhavani@cpalanka.org

Mirak Raheem- mirak@cpalanka.org

Who is MR. THANUJA GEETHENDRA USLIYANAGE- COUNSELOR

December 7, 2011

Who is MR. THANUJA GEETHENDRA USLIYANAGE-  COUNSELOR.

Many of our readers have requested us in the USA to publish the details of who is “USliyanage” and how he was appointed as Minister in the Sri Lanka embassy after being an aimless student for many years in America, and falling foul with the US immigration services, and ICE threatening to deport him for several violations of the US Law.

Well, the Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya is a “Captain” of not only the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington DC, but an expert on assisting many to violate the US immigration laws. One glaring case in point was the appointment of former UNP who was forced to resign by Ranil, after he colloborated with the RAW and LTTE senior leader and UK felon Karuna. Ali Zahir Seyed Mowlana was appointed as Minister of the embassy, although Ali and his wife Melani Thanuja Paiva (Formerly Mrs David Pluitt of California- Marriage of convenience), who were on a pending political asylum visa application since June 2004. The embassy filed for a diplomatic visa for Ali and his wife, since he was now employed as a Minister in the Sri Lankan embassy, after he crossed over from the UNP. President Rajapakse who new Ali well in the Parliament gave the orders to expedite the claims.

However, The State Dept. ran into some barriers, when the FBI got involved with the Dept. of Justice. In April 2008, Bruce Fein on instructions of his client “Tamils For Justice” filed two complaints with the FBI director Robert Mueller of the immigration fraud perpetrated by Ali Zahir Seyed Mowlana and Melanie Thanu Paiva aka M T P Pruitt, aka Mrs M T Mowlana.

First fraud was committed sometime in 1987, when Melanie was involved in a marriage of convenience “Fraud” with one David Pruitt who was a Gay Man with a Sri Lankan connection. He was involved with a Sinhalese from Kandy as his gay partner ( Gamini “Rajapakse” – Last name with held and fictitious for privacy reasons), apaprently a friend of Jaliya Wickramasuriya the President’s first cousin.

When Gamini threatened to report the fraud to authorities, the couple fled to  Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The second fraud was executed when they arrived as tourist with the help of then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, and UNP’s ambassador Devinda Subasinghe who coordinated and facilitated the whole sordid affair, with the senior State Dept.  officials, (One again the 3 names with held out of respect to the Republican appointed State Department officials). There were several cables exchanged between the State Dept. and the US Embassy in Colombo, where Ashley Wills was the Ambassador. Most likely Wikileaks are in possession of some of the cables related to the transaction, according some of our legal eagles was illegal and unethical conduct.

Our investigators will shortly release and publish the Wikileaks cables slowly but surely, via our UK associates.

We would also release letters of the letters to the FBI by our attorney, Bruce Fein in April 2008, as well as to the other authorities such as Department of Home Land security, Department of Justice, and the State Department.

Due to all above the State Department never issued a diplomatic Visa to the Mowlanas and they soon left for Sri Lanka.

Jaliya Wickramasinghe himself is a Canadian citizen and a Green Card Holder, and as soon as he became the Consul General in Los Angeles, he was forced to give up his Green Card, which he did with great reluctance. So did his replacement Jeff Gunawardene, who was unceremonious kicked out due to serious violations of election fraud being involved in raising funds for President Obama.

After losing his Green Card due to a diplomatic position, another immigration fraud has been committed, as the 60 year old businessman and con artist,  suddenly married a 23 year old Sri Lankan born (Now US citizen)… She has sponsored him as a US citizen and spouse for US citizenship.

Now returning to our original story, of violations of US immigration laws, deportation, and State Dept. issuing diplomatic status to Thanuja USliyanage. He is none other than President Rajapakse’s secretary Lalith Weeratunge’s eldest son, and he made a special private request to the State Dept. our informed sources in Washington confirmed many months ago. Now divorced from USliyanage’s mother, Lalith Weeratunge married Indrani Sugathadasa who is the head of the SEC -Sri Lanka’s stock exchange, who resigned yesterday due to turmoil in the exchange.

More details to follow soon.

SRI LANKA

EMBASSY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA
CHANCERY: 2148 WYOMING AVENUE, NW 20008
(EMBASSY             202-483-4025      ) (FAX 202-232-7181)

HIS EXCELLENCY JALIYA CHITRAN WICKRAMASURIYA; MRS. PRIYANGA WICKRAMASURIYA
AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY & PLENIPOTENTIARY

MR. WATTE WALAWWE TISSA WIJERATNE; MRS. RATNAYAKE MUDIYANSELAGE WIJERATNE
MINISTER (DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION)

MR. NIMAL K. ALUTHGAMA GAMALADDALAGE; MRS. CHANDRANI KARUNATILAKE RAIGALA
MINISTER (COMMERCIAL)

MRS. WASANTHA PERERA
MINISTER

MR. THANUJA GEETHENDRA USLIYANAGE; MRS. HELANGA HESHANI USLIYANAGE
COUNSELOR

BRIGADIER GANWARIGE VIJITHA RAVIPRIYA; MRS. MAHAMENDIGE SAMUDRA P. MENDIS
DEFENSE, MILITARY, NAVAL & AIR ATTACHE