SRI LANKA: UN Human Rights Committee wants Sri Lanka to investigate and prosecute "Murderers"

January 16, 201

 

We wish to share with you the following article from Transcurrents, written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene.

Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FAT-003-2012
January 16, 2012

An article from Transcurrents forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

SRI LANKA: UN Human Rights Committee wants Sri Lanka to investigate and prosecute “Murderers”

The continuing failure of Sri Lanka’s institutions of justice is well demonstrated in the most recent Views of the Geneva based United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN Committee) calling upon the Sri Lankan State to effectively investigate and prosecute the murderers of a small time businessman in Negombo after he, his wife and their two children had been repeatedly intimidated and threatened by police officers whom they had angered.

The Committee was responding to an Individual Communication filed by the deceased’s wife Pathmini Peiris

Shrewd foreign affairs policy at one time

It is necessary first to give some background to this discussion. Under the shrewd direction of then Foreign Affairs Minister the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka was a frontrunner in the South Asian subcontinent in acceding to the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the late 1990′s.

This was a deliberate policy decision meant to signal to the world that Sri Lanka had nothing to hide and that constructive criticism, if it is for the betterment of its own citizens, would be gladly accepted.

The Protocol allows persons subject to the jurisdiction of that State to bring an individual communication before the UN Committee alleging a violation of Covenant rights provided that domestic remedies have been exhausted and the matter is not before any other international procedure.

The Committee, (unlike in the case of the United Nations Human Rights Council), is comprised of jurists having no loyalty towards a particular country or state policy but who are selected on the basis of their proven professional and legal competence.

Threats to the domestic judiciary

Interestingly, the Individual Communications procedure was actually not resorted to very much initially. Despite all its turbulence during 1998 and most of 1999, the country’s judiciary was, by and large, acknowledged as having the capacity and the independence to respond to allegations of rights violations, even if this meant antagonizing the executive.

It was only after then Attorney General Sarath Silva was appointed to the office of Chief Justice by former President Chandrika Kumaratunge in late 1999, heralding what became the veritable twilight of the independence of Sri Lanka’s judiciary, that more and more Individual Communications gradually came to be filed in Geneva.

During the years that followed, the Committee handed down more than eleven Views recommending reform of laws as well as urging the judiciary to better balance its constitutional role. Some of these non binding opinions scrutinized direct decisions of the then Chief Justice in respect of the procedure and sentencing in cases of contempt and the arbitrary and intemperate dismissals of lower court judges by the Judicial Service Commission.

None of these Views were implemented by the various governments in power, including during the brief period of the United National Front administration. Even a most salutary recommendation to enact a Contempt of Court Act was ignored.

The Committee’s Views were in response to various pleas filed by, among others, a parliamentarian, a journalist, several detainees, a lay teacher of English convicted of contempt of court by the Supreme Court, a judicial officer and several victims of torture.

Apart from the successful applications, there were many others which were rejected on procedural grounds as well as applications which were dismissed on their merits.

Unsurprisingly, a Divisional Bench of the Supreme Court presided over by the retired Chief Justice Sarath Silva ruled in the Singarasa Case (2006), that the Views of the Committee had no force or effect in Sri Lanka. The Court also held, quite contestably, that Sri Lanka’s very accession to the Protocol was unconstitutional. This was based on an assumption that the UN Committee exercises judicial power within Sri Lanka’s territorial boundaries which however, was patently not the case. In any event and in consequence, the far sighted policy reasoning which had led Sri Lanka to accede to the Protocol was wholly negated.

Factual context to latest Communication of Views

But the filing of individual applications before the Committee did not cease as a result of the Singarasa decision. Increasingly the applications had a monotonous tone to them, with the common thread being the general impunity afforded to perpetrators, whether in North, East, South or West (broadly speaking).

Pathmini Pieris’s complaint filed on 6th February 2009 was distinctly in line with this trend. She and her deceased husband had run foul of police officers of the Negombo police station including a Headquarters Inspector and a Senior Superintendent of Police. A complaint had been filed by them accusing a senior police officer of bribery at the then functional National Police Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the Bribery Commission but no action followed.

Angered police officers meanwhile repeatedly threatened, intimidated and asked them to withdraw the complaint. The applicant’s husband was told in no uncertain terms that he would be killed if he persisted in the complaint. At one point, on a routine visit to the police station, the husband, wife and ten year old son were mercilessly kicked and assaulted with obscene behavior being directed towards the daughter. Again, the complaints had no impact.

In desperation, they decided to file a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court in 2007 which was still pending at the time that the individual communication was filed before the Committee. Thereafter the intensity of the threats increased and in late September 2008, the applicant’s husband was shot at point blank range when they were sitting inside their lorry at Dalupotha Junction. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

State under a duty to investigate and prosecute

In concluding the complaint in favour of the applicant (October 26th 2011), the Committee observed that the State was under a strict duty to effectively investigate and prosecute in all cases of violations of life, regardless of who the alleged perpetrators are. Despite several pleas for witness protection, no action had been taken by state authorities.

No effective investigation was done. It was opined that the facts before it ‘reveal that the death of the author’s husband must be held attributable to the State party itself’. In concluding that there had been multiple violations of Covenant rights, the State was asked to bring the perpetrators of the murder to justice or find itself in breach of the Covenant.

But inevitably this Communication, like all the others, would be ignored, no doubt.

However, whether the call stems from international juristic bodies, our own judicial institutions, fact finding processes such as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) or general public opinion, the message to the government is clear and consistent. It must abide by its constitutional and statutory duty to ensure that Sri Lanka’s justice institutions effectively investigate and prosecute violations of the law. Until this duty is met, this outcry will certainly persist to our detriment. courtesy: The Sunday Times

Commission accused of compromising witness secrecy

Jan 16, 2012 
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s ethnic minority Tamil party has accused a government-appointed commission of compromising the secrecy of witnesses who testified on alleged abuses during the country’s civil war. 

It also says the commission fell “dramatically short” of international investigative standards.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission in its report last month cleared government forces of deliberately targeting civilians, while saying isolated cases needed further investigation, and it accused the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels of routinely violating international humanitarian law.

The Tamil National Alliance, the main political party representing the ethnic minority, said in a report released Sunday that the commission lacked independence, assigned less importance to witnesses’ perspective and did not have a plan for witness protection. It said the commission has failed to fulfill the expectations of the Tamil community and called for an international mechanism to ensure accountability.

It cited an example where a woman who testified on alleged torture and sexual assault by a pro-government paramilitary unit was summoned by police detectives in an intimidating manner.

“The entire incident is an indictment on the LLRC’s processes in terms of witness protection. The incident also reveals that the CID amongst other government entities monitored the public hearings and was equipped to crack down on witnesses who provided potentially damaging evidence against the government and its allies,” it said.

The party also said that the commission contradicts itself when it accepts the government’s explanation that its forces pursued precise targets while also saying that civilian deaths did in fact occur but they were unintentional.

The commission in its report also disregarded serious allegations against the government, such as deliberately undercounting the number of civilians trapped in the war zone in order to deprive them of food and medicine, it said.

Earlier last year, a U.N.-appointed panel said serious abuse allegations on both sides were credible and warranted an international inquiry.

Sri Lanka’s government responded by appointing its own commission and with its report in hand, is expected to argue now that international inquiry is unnecessary.

In response to the commission’s report, the TNA said the “climate of hostility” in Sri Lanka toward those who accuse the government of war crimes “renders any accountability mechanism futile unless witnesses and victims are convinced that testimony implicating senior government functionaries in crimes will not be met with reprisals.”

The party called 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.”

It said the recommendations of the U.N. panel would “provide a useful and important starting point for further action.”

The United States expressed concerns last month that the report did not fully address all the allegations of serious human rights violations. The State Department called on Sri Lanka to address those shortcomings but stopped short itself of supporting an international inquiry.

The U.S. has previously said that pressure would grow for an international probe if Sri Lanka should fail to investigate alleged abuses properly.

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

 

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.

‘Wanni & universities are alike, as both are under military control’

Monday, 16 January 2012  

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says he sees no difference between the Wanni area and the country’s universities, as both are now under the control of the military.

He was addressing UNP activists at western provincial councillor Ajith Mannapperuma’s office in Gampaha yesterday.

Mr. Wickremesinghe questioned as to what would happen if the university students, who have been given military training despite strong opposition, get involved in a clash with the military.

He wanted to know whether the government would seek the intervention of the UN peacekeepers to the country if such a situation arose.

Instead of resolving issues in the universities, this government is doing the worst possible irrational things, he said.

He went onto note that university vice chancellors were discussing about the z-score, without resolving issues in their own universities.

Claiming that higher education has now collapsed, the opposition leader said continuation of this situation would only spell disaster for the country’s students.

If this government is not prepared to solve the national issues realistically, all should unite, overthrow it and appoint a UNP regime, he said.

It is the traitors who go to strengthen the hands of the president, and so are the persons who attacked ‘Sirikotha’ instead of attacking the government, he added.

Shavendra accuses Kohona

Monday, 16 January 2012 

Deputy Permanent Representative for Sri Lanka at the UN, Major General Shavendra Silva has accused the Permanent Representative at the mission, Dr. Plaitha Kohona of reporting to the President and the Defence Secretary that he had sexually abused Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s daughter Chandula.

Shavendra Silva has told several officials at the Sri Lanka mission in the UN that Dr. Kohona has been jealous of him and therefore had acted to bring disrepute to his good. He has said Dr. Kohona had even gone to the extent of giving information about him to the websites.

Minister Rambukwella’s daughter had informed Dr. Kohona that Shavendra Silva had tried to sexually abuse her using his authority.

However, the President has now put the matter aside claiming Shavendra would be punished later on.

A senior government minister told us that the President has asked Rambukwella to keep silent about the matter and has decided to give special consideration to him at the Cabinet reshuffle. The President is also considering appointing Rambukwella as the SLFP National Organizer as well.

Final phase of Lankan war merits investigation: Gordon Weiss

G Pramod Kumar Jan 16, 2012

The political evolution of China and India and the movements in the UN Human Rights Council offer some scope for a possible international investigation into the alleged civilian deaths during the 2009 siege in Sri Lanka, says Gordon Weiss, author of The Cage, that vividly documented the final days of the defeat of LTTE and the suffering of Tamil civilians.

“I think the ground clearly exists for any basis of fairness, and equivalence with other similar international situations that there should be an international investigation.” However, it will be foolish for anybody to bet precisely on what’s going to happen in the next six months or a year or two years,” he said in an exclusive interview with Firstpost.

Weiss added that he stood by the accounts of civilian suffering and casualties that he described in the book, and said that the great story of the conquest of a terrorist organisation without bloodshed and the greatest refugee operation in history has been thrown out of the window. Full Story>>>

Weiss said he believed that there was scope for an international investigation into the final phase of the Lankan war: Firstpost

Sri Lanka: TNA Seeks India's Help for 'Corrective Steps'

JAN 16, 2012    PTI | E T B SIVAPRIYAN

Tamil National Alliance, an umbrella group of Tamil political parties, today complained to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's about Lankan government's "lethargic" attitude in talks for evolving a political solution to the ethnic crisis and sought India's help for "corrective steps".

A delegation of leaders of TNA led by its Parliamentary Party Chief R Sampanthan met Krishna, who arrived here on a four-day visit, and said "no progress" has been achieved during the dialogue that the group has been holding with the Sri Lankan Government for the past one year.

Sources said the Minister assured the delegation that India is firmly committed to ensuring political settlement, including devolution of powers, to address the aspirations of Tamil community and will discuss the matter with the highest levels of the Sri Lankan government.

During a 45-minute meeting, the TNA leaders told Krishna that India should play an "active role" in taking the process forward to arrive at a political solution to the decades-old ethnic problem.

"The talks with the Indian Foreign Minister were cordial. We briefed him about the talks we have been holding with the Sri Lankan Government. We can't say that any progress has been made in the past one year and this is because of the lethargic attitude being adopted by the government here," Sampanthan said after the meeting.

He said Krishna gave a patient hearing to them and said India would take everything into consideration. 

During its talks with the Lankan government, the TNA, which has emerged as the main political force representing the Tamils especially after the 2010 Parliamentary polls, has been demanding that police and land powers be vested with the provincial government as envisaged by the 13th Amendment.

However, the Lankan government has rejected the demand.

Sampanthan said the delegation also told the Indian leader that some "collective action" is needed in evolving a political solution that is acceptable to the Tamil-speaking people of Sri Lanka.

Sampanthan said India is keen to ensure that Tamils in Sri Lanka live with "self-respect and dignity" and that the delegation asked New Delhi to play its role to achieve that goal.

"We also impressed upon the Indian side that corrective steps needed to be taken if the talks have to be set on proper course," he said.

Later, Krishna also received a delegation from the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, which represents Muslims who speak Tamil who briefed him about the current political situation in the country.

Sri Lanka: Can Krishna succeed where Brahma has failed?

16-Jan-2012

Guest Column by Dr Kumar David 

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his delegation have arrived in Colombo. You must forgive people here if they treat this umpteenth visit of a high and mighty Indian delegation with ennui. How much jet fuel has India burnt, hotel rooms slept in and verbal effusion expended to no purpose? Indian readers must not think me disrespectful for noting this simple and truthful actuality.  

The Mahinda Rajapakse government will not budge on its positions on the Tamil question even if the whole Hindu pantheon descends on our serendipitous island. Siva the avenger, that would have been different, if Delhi flexed its muscle at the height of the war. Now with the LTTE wiped out what reason is there for the regime to concede to the Tamils what it has refused to grant for sixty years and even when war was burning? What bargaining power do the Tamils now have? Zilch!     Full Story>>>

Ex-LTTE Rebels Warned

Monday, January 16, 2012 

By Dinouk Colombage

The Sri Lankan Army has warned ex-LTTE rebels that joining any groups looking to destabilise the country will result in their arrest.
Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Major General Chandana Rajaguru, speaking to The Sunday Leader, explained that any former LTTE cadre who is found to be involved with groups looking to destabilise the country will be arrested.
He explained that all the rehabilitated cadres are free to take part in politics, but in doing so they must follow the legal channels. ‘Looking to overthrow the government in an uprising is illegal,’ he added.
Rajaguru’s comments came in response to an inquiry over Udul Premaratne’s comments that the JVP dissidents had taken into their ranks former LTTE cadres. Rajaguru explained that such comments had not been taken seriously as the army had been monitoring the actions of the ex-LTTE combatants who have been rehabilitated.
‘Our people who are monitoring these people have not reported their joining this group. These comments have been made by an individual and do not represent the truth,’ he said.
Earlier Premaratne had told media that former LTTE members have now joined the dissidents. He further added that this did not mean they in anyway supported terrorism or do politics with terrorists.
He went on to explain that they are now working with the ex-combatants as they feel the problems in the country lie with class distinction. He further added that despite the LTTE having been defeated, members of the organisation are active overseas. Premaratne said that they could easily rejoin the LTTE unless they are drafted into mainstream politics in the country.
When Premaratne was contacted over a response to the government’s stance, he asked under which law were they allowed to arrest former LTTE cadres. He called upon the government to clearly define what they see as anti-government action.
Premaratne went on to state that these people cannot be sidelined just because of their past affiliations with the LTTE. He warned that if such stifling actions against these individuals continued a similar uprising could occur in the future. Premaratne finally said that if these former cadres are rehabilitated as the government claims, then they should be allowed to express their views.

TNA Response to the LLRC Report

As the elected representatives of the worst affected victims of the war, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has consistently maintained that genuine reconciliation in Sri Lanka is contingent on a credible accountability process that ensures the right of victims to truth, justice and reparations. On 15th May 2010, the President appointed the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and held out to the world that this Commission would address accountability issues.

Reports

• TNA Response to LLRC Report [PDF]
• Preamble Tamil [PDF]
• Executive Summary Tamil [PDF]
• Preamble Sinhala [PDF]
• Executive Summary Sinhala [PDF]
  
  
• Official LLRC Report [PDF]
  

Courtesy: TNA
Published on: Jan 15, 2012 16:50:01 GMT

Sri Lanka visit: SM Krishna to hand over houses to Tamils in Jaffna

15 JAN, 2012, 04.


NEW DELHI: The first set of houses built by India inJaffna for ethnic Tamils will be handed over when External Affairs Minister S M Krishna travels to Sri Lanka tomorrow for a four-day visit during which the steps for their rehabilitation and political reconciliation will be discussed. 

At least four pacts are expected to be signed covering areas like housing, railways, agriculture and telecom, sources said here today. 

Krishna will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister D M Jayaratne besides holding extensive talks with his counterpart G L Peiris. He will also meet the Leader of Opposition and leaders of Tamil National Alliance and Sri Lankan Muslim Congress. 

He will will visit Colombo, Jaffna, Kilinochi and Galle. He will also visit the Indian Peacekeeping Force Memorial located outside Colombo. 

Considering that the visit is taking place just after the unveiling of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission's report, Krishna is expected to impress upon the Sri Lankan leadership the need for taking steps for its expeditious implementation so that the momentum is not lost, the sources said. 

The Commission which went into the war between the Army and the LTTE, has come out with recommendations for enduring political solutions in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, accountability for alleged war crimes and human rights issue. 

Krishna heads to Lanka, hopes for solution to Tamils’ problems (Lead)

Thaindian News  Sun Jan 15 2012

Bangalore/New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Sunday hoped for a lasting political solution to the outstanding issues between the minority Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans and the government.

“It is in the interest of the island nation to work out a lasting solution to the ethnic Tamils’ issues,” Krishna told IANS here ahead of his four-day visit to Sri Lanka Monday.

Noting that the Sri Lankan government should talk to a cross-section of the Tamil-speaking minorities and their leadership for an amicable settlement of all pending issues, he said the Indian approach to this contentious issue had been for a genuine national reconciliation and thereby a lasting political settlement in the island nation.

“We have taken the Tamil sentiments into account and factored them in our policies. Our view is that all outstanding issues should be resolved through dialogue and to the satisfaction of both the parties,” he said.

During his second visit, Krishna will hold wide-ranging talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris on the Tamils’ issue, repatriation of genuine fishermen held in each other territory and expedite negotiations for a pact to jointly develop fisheries.

Krishna first visited Sri Lanka as external affairs minister in November 2010.

“I think an early and amicable solution will help improve people-to-people contact between Tamils in India and northern Sri Lanka. If trade and movement of people between the two countries, especially from Tamil Nadu thrives, it will be a win-win situation,” Krishna pointed out.

Krishna will also call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister D. M Jayaratne during the visit and discuss bilateral issues between the two countries.

Krishna will 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.

TNA has been pushing for land and police powers in the provinces.

Although Rajapaksa has made it clear that the government would not devolve these powers to the regions in line with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, his government had indicated its willingness to discuss the issue.

Krishna will also review progress in an India-assisted project for building 50,000 houses in war-ravaged north for internally-displaced people and hand over the first set of houses in Jaffna, built for ethnic Tamils.

He will go to Galle to inaugurate the Southern Railway Project, which has been renovated with India’s concessional line of credit.

“Though we had been contributing to the socio-economic development of the Tamil region all along, it had taken a back seat during the internal strife. Now that normalcy is restored, we believe that all projects, which have been delayed or held up, will move forward hereafter,” Krishna added.

Reiterating that India’s political relations with Sri Lanka certainly had economic criteria, the minister said he would continue to lay emphasis on economic interaction with the island nation.

According to an external affairs ministry spokesperson, India and Sri Lanka will sign four agreements in housing, railways, agriculture and telecommunications during Krishna’s visit.

Besides Colombo and Jaffna, Krishna will visit Jaffna and Kilinochi and the Indian Peace-Keeping Force Memorial near Colombo.

Ontario Premier sends Thai Pongal greetings

Marking the Tamil harvest festival of Thai Pongal, the Premier of Onatrio Dalton McGuinty realised a video statement praising the contribution the Tamil community have made to Canada. 


Extracts from the statement have been reproduced below.

“The diversity of our people is a big reason why our province is exciting, so dynamic and so strong. In Ontario’s vibrant Tamil community, with strong values like devotion to family, hard work and charity, truly makes our province a better place to live for all of us.” 

They say the start of the month of Thai paves the way for new opportunities and in today’s challenging times, Ontarians together are determined to seek new opportunity and build a bright future. So, thank you for the many ways you make Ontario stronger. And best wishes for a joyful Thai Pongal. 

Nandri, vanakkam.”

War panel report a 'fatal contradiction'

15 January, 2012 

The TNA calls for an international probe into the conduct of Sri Lanka's war The main Tamil political party in Sri Lanka says the report of the government appointed war panel has failed to win the confidence of the Tamil community. The report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) also reveals “a fatal contradiction,” said the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in its first response to the report. “On the one hand, the LLRC unquestioningly accepts the narrative provided by the security forces –that they carefully and meticulously planned each attack,” said the detailed response issued by the TNA on Sunday. The LLRC in its report has admitted that civilian casualties did occur, contradicting initial government statements of “zero civilian casualties,” as a result of military operations. International investigation "On the other hand, the Commission concludes that the civilian deaths, which did in fact occur, were unintentional and resulted in from an unprecedented situation where no other choice was possible.”  The Commission also falls dramatically short of international standards applicable to accountability processes   Saying that the panel “falls dramatically short” of international standards on accountability, the TNA points out that it did not have a proper witness protection programme. It also accuses the LLRC of failing to call for “crucial evidence” taken by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), videos of aerial attacks by the military and military log books. "Such vital evidence points towards a systematic attempt on the part of the government to prevent food from reaching the starving population of the Vanni," it said. The TNA is also highly critical of the “vague” recommendations by the panel in terms of devolution of power and says the views recently expressed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa regarding the 13 amendment to the constitution reiterates fears of Tamils that the government is "not genuine" in finding a political solution. Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, however, says it welcomes some positive recommendations including disengaging the military from civilian activities. But the need for an accountability process that meets international standards is the need of the hour, according to the TNA. TNA parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran told BBC Sandeshaya that the party calls for an international investigation into Sri Lanka's conflict as the war panel has failed to address the accountability issues.

US sanctions put Sri Lanka in tight spot

15 January, 2012 

Sri Lanka and Iran have had a close relationship during Rajapaksa presidency

The Sri Lankan government says it is looking for importing crude oil from Qatar and Oman following latest US sanctions against Iran.

Petroleum Resources Minister Susil Premajayanth told BBC Sandeshaya that the government was informed by the US of the latest sanctions against Iran.

"We refine approximately 40,000 barrels of crude oil a day that was imported from Iran," he said.

The refinery that was built in late 60s, said the minister, can only refine either Iranian Light or AramCo which is imported from Saudi Arabia.

Apart from one shipment a year from Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka imports most of its crude oil from Iran.

Six months

"With the latest US sanctions, of which we were also informed, we have six months period to prepare," Minister Premjayanth told BBC Sinhala service.

We refine approximately 40,000 barrels of crude oil a day that was imported from Iran   Minister Susil Premjayanth

At the same time, the government will discuss importing crude oil with Emir of Qatar who is currently visiting Sri Lanka.

"Although Oman Light is not the same as crude oil imported from Iran for example, we will be able to blend and use it and we are also looking at other options such as Qatar," added the minister.

Oman's minister in charge of Oil is also expected to visit the island at the end of this month.

Sri Lanka "is in a virtual straitjacket," according to Reuters, as the United States tries to tighten the noose on Iran in an attempt to control its nulcear programme.

The United States is Sri Lanka's biggest trade partner.

President Barack Obama signed a new law on New Year's Eve that imposed sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, which clears oil payments.

Washington has already imposed sanctions on a Chinese oil company and in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Minister Premjayanth stressed, however, that there was no specific instructions to Sri Lanka apart from the notice issued to all countries.

Significance of Thamil New Year 2043 and Pongal Festival

By: Veluppillai Thangavelu

Thanksgiving is an important aspect of Thamil culture and tradition like many other civilisations. Most thanksgiving ceremonies are religious in nature as people of each culture thank their chosen deity for the favours granted to them, though this is not always the case.

The Thamil festival of Thai Pongal is a thanks-giving ceremony and secular in nature. It is the equivalent of Canada's Thanks Giving Day. Pongal is a traditional four-days-long harvest festival celebrated by Thamils living around the globe. Pongal day and the date following are national holidays in Thamil Nadu, India.

If we reconstruct people made the transition from a nomadic way of life, based on hunting and then planting and gathering food, there has been some form of harvest festival. Pongal is one of the most important popular festivals of the year. This four-days festival of thanksgiving takes its name from the Thamil word meaning "to boil" and is held on the first day of the month of Thai (January -February) when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested.    Full Story>>>

High Sec-Zone land stays put with Army-Cites national security concerns

Sunday 15 January 2012
By Ranga Jayasuriya
The army has issued a directive to the Government Agent (GA) of Jaffna that certain High Security Zone (HSZ) lands which were earlier earmarked to be released to their private owners be retained for military use, claims the Tamil National Alliance.
“Certain properties in Mathagal and Thelakatti, the latter which is located in the Pallali High Security Zone were earlier earmarked to be handed over to their owners, but now the army has written to the GA that these properties would be retained,” TNA MP Suresh Premachandra said.
He said his party would petition the Supreme Court over the issue. The TNA earlier obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court over the government’s land circular, which exclusively deals with land in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. It requires all persons in the North and East, including private landowners, to submit ‘ownership application forms’ disclosing all details of their land. If the private owners fail to furnish details within two months, they stand to lose their lands.
Army spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi declined to comment on the specific allegation, saying that the issue comes under the purview of the Ministry of Defence.
However, he added that the army is in the process of handing over HSZ lands to their owners and that the General Officer Command (Jaffna), Major General Hathurusinghe has set an ultimatum to complete the process.
“But the army will be forced to retain certain areas as per the requirement of national security and the owners of those lands will be properly compensated,” he said. “But the majority of the lands will be released and the process is now underway,” he added.

Global Tamil Forum on Government of Sri Lanka and Tamil National Alliance ‘Talks’

Sunday, 15 January 2012 

In the history of political societies, there are times, which come very rarely, when individuals, groups, organisations and peoples in general within it are required to shed their differences and connect one with another, united to repel the aggressive forces threatening their existence in order to promote the general good of society. The Tamil speaking peoples in Sri Lanka are passing through such times.

The victorious Sri Lankan state is heaping a long train of abuses on them, occupying their lands, denying their liberty, usurping their property, pursuing a design to reduce them to perpetual servitude. It is the right of the oppressed to reject such state practices and guard their future welfare and security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these peoples that we need to dissolve our differences and strengthen our resolve to alter this system of governance.

The history of the present Sri Lankan state since independence is a history of establishing such a tyranny over its Tamil speaking peoples, both Tamils and Muslims. We believe that the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has not ended by ending the armed conflict. The Tamil speaking peoples are still subject to the same chauvinistic forces which have oppressed them since 1948.

We note that the elected representatives of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has engaged with the Government of Sri Lanka for the past one year, in dialogue to find a durable, and dignified political solution to the National Question. Such resolution must necessarily alter the governance structure of the country to recognise that the Tamil speaking peoples are entitled to the right to self-determination and granting to them irreversible autonomy in the areas of historic habitation. We for our part will support the full implementation of such an arrangement if agreed upon, and urge the international community to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to come up with such an acceptable political solution and ensure its genuine implementation.

First Lady objects to decision to appoint Chamal as Prime Minister

Sunday, 15 January 2012

First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa has vehemently opposed the President’s to appoint Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister, a senior official from the Presidential Secretariat said.

She has told the President that Uva Province Chief Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa would gain prominence if his father Chamal Rajapaksa was appointed as the Prime Minister and that the President’s son MP Namal Rajapaksa would eventually be sidelined.

Shiranthi Rajapaksa has threatened to go overseas with the children if the Preisdnet does not heed her request claiming that she would not allow Namal’s political life to be destroyed the way their baby daughter was killed.

The President has told the First Lady that Namal is his son as well and would never take a decision that would have a negative impact on his political future. He has added his only desire was to ensure that Namal would one day become the head of state.

Therefore, the President has promised to appoint Namal as a deputy minister to an important portfolio and to appoint him as a Cabinet minister a few months later.

However, the First Lady has not responded positively to the proposal. The official who gave us the information said there was likelihood to see a change in the President’s decision to appoint Chamal as Prime Minister.

Disturbed by the family crisis, the President has told several of his friends that his elder brother Chamal Rajapaksa has made many sacrifices to bring the Rajapaksa brothers to where they are today.

The President has said that he would never forget how Chamal joined the police force to maintain the family after their father’s death.

However, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, who was on an overseas tour, has returned to the country. Chamal has met a well known astrologer monk as soon as he returned to the country. The monk has said that Chamal was to be appointed to a very high office and that Shashindra’s horoscope was also favorable to it. According to the monk, Shashindra’s horoscope has a rajayoga.