Destructive effects of racial nihilism

| by Nilantha Ilangamuwa

"Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first deprives of their senses."

- Euripides

( Photo: A Buddhist monk holds a sticker calling for the boycott of U.S products in Colombo March 23, 2012.)

( March 25, 2012, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The government has about an year to improve governance in terms of human rights, instead of selling racial nihilism and isolating itself from the world and the people. Next March (2013 March) the High Commissioner for Human Rights would report to the UN Human Rights Council the report the office of the Commissioner would prepare about Sri Lanka based on the UN resolution on Sri Lanka. The events preceding the passage of UN resolution (A/HRC/19/L.2) indicated strongly the genuine commitment of other world concerning affairs in Sri Lanka. 

The clamor in Colombo concerning the resolution has subsided and the balloon of 'patriotism' has deflated. Those who made objections against the resolution perhaps have realized that they have wasted time and energy to support a corrupt, abusive, fraudulent regime, which has thus far failed to deal with essential problems in the country, but is continuing to bluff its way with the people. Read More »

They Weren’t Even Cubs

Killing Fields Suspected LTTE men stripped and shot

I got to Sri Lanka two days after the tsunami in 2004 where I worked for the UN. I was evacuated on September 16, ’08. All the UN aid agencies and NGOs were ordered to evacuate from Kilinochchi that morning as the Lankan government said they could no longer offer protection to us. The UN gave in and decided to pull out. There was no pressure actually and I am quite critical of what the UN did at that time. At least 2,50,000 civilians lived in the north. The next 2-3 days, there were civilians protesting in front of our office, pleading with us not to leave. We were told if we left they would lose the only witnesses they had. We were the international witness to the war but we jumped into our cars and left.

In those few weeks before the pullout, the UN had reached an agreement which essentially meant that if any explosives or air attacks took place where we worked, we must evacuate immediately. There were aid organisations from the world over. And at that point the army was closing in—a pincer-like movement from Mullatheevu and Jaffna.

As the army advanced, we realised we were less and less able to help the people. Tens of thousands of people were heading from all over the north, Vavuniya and Mullatheevu, heading towards Kilinochchi. It was becoming an impossible situation for us humanitarian workers to try and find secure shelter, water and food for these desperate people. At the same time, the A-9 road that led to Kilinochchi was becoming compromised. Checkpoints by the army led to embargoes on kerosene, diesel and food items. Basically, we were being squeezed out.

The LTTE political and civil HQ was at Kilinochchi while the military headquarters was in Mullatheevu. On September 10, my office in Kilinochchi came under heavy air attack, for unbeknownst to us the LTTE had put an intelligence installation in one of the civilian homes. At 6 am, two jets came swooping down and a bomb exploded, killing four civilians. Some of the shrapnel narrowly missed my leg. It was getting plain dangerous.

Six hundred people outside our compound were pleading with us not to go. We just turned our backs and left. Even the LTTE called and asked us not to leave as they saw the UN as shields. But we left and we know civilians and LTTE members were killed after that.

I am not an Indian citizen but I think India has a moral obligation to do something here. I am no one to comment on India’s external relations and internal decisions and I don’t want to take a position on the resolution before the UN human rights council. But I believe the UN let down the Tamils in Sri Lanka, that horrific war crimes took place, that there were large-scale violations of international laws. It’s not just a question for India, we all have an obligation to the people who were trapped in the conflict. Perpetrators of that violence are sitting in government, representing Sri Lanka at the UN and in delegations to other states.

The Rajapakse administration say they need to move on. How will the country heal? There are people in Sri Lanka from all communities, people who have left and others who felt compelled to leave and are in Chennai, Zurich and Toronto who now lead completely destroyed lives.

I remember the brutality. Around the same time the civilians were coming out, there were checkpoints where everyone was asked to strip and checked. Female Tigers were raped. Those were the gruesome days and they have been well chronicled by some of my colleagues. There was a lot of abuse of women, as is evident from the images in the Channel 4 documentary, The Killing Fields. A large number of these Tigers were kids, civilians suddenly given a gun and forced to join up by the LTTE. At the end of the war, when the remaining Tigers were taken to the rehabilitation camps, many disappeared, many others were killed in cold blood. My security guard was a skinny, lovely guy who was taken by the Tigers. He was 21 years old. Forced to go to the frontline, he died there.

This may have been a successful counter-insurgency operation but morally, under international law, it was absolutely reprehensible.

Geneva: An Unnecessary War; A Needless Defeat

 By Tisaranee Gunasekara

 Saturday, March 24, 2012 

“…this process of grotesque self-deception.”
Twain (Chronicle of Young Satan)

The Geneva Resolution was not inimical to Sri Lanka or Sri Lankans. Its adoption is not a defeat for Sri Lanka or Sri Lankans.
But for the Rajapaksas, the Geneva vote is a defeat; a defeat as needless as the battle itself.
The US stands accused of innumerable crimes and misdeeds, past and present, including conspiracies against sovereign governments, such as that other 9/11, the overthrow of the elected Popular Unity administration of Salvador Allende in Chile. But the American Resolution on Sri Lanka was not a conspiracy hatched in secrecy. On the contrary, Washington kept Colombo informed of it officially, from the very inception. Nor was it a unilateralist move. The Americans seemed keen to make the Resolution a consensual one and Minister G. L. Peiris was invited to visit Washington to participate in the drafting process.Read More »

The Sinhalese doctor defying the ethnic odds

You don’t have to look far to find stories on how divided Sri Lanka still is. Granted, this website is no different. Despite the end of the Tamil war in 2009, there is still a deep dividing line between ethnic groups in the country. And yet there are people who defy these ethnic lines and just do what they think is necessary to heal the scars left behind by the 30-year war. Dr Panagamuwa Bandara is one of them.

Dr Bandara is Sinhalese, born in Sri Lanka, but raised and educated in the UK. He trained as a doctor and went on to become a surgeon in Birmingham, specializing in artificial limbs and prosthetics.

But in 2009, shortly after the Tamil war ended, he decided to go back to his native country to work in a local hospital in the north-western, Tamil-dominated town of Mannar.

Sad sight
“I felt I had to go back,” he now says. “When I came here in July, 2009, this place was a sad sight. The hospital was old and dilapidated. People were sleeping in the corridors on newspapers. But it was the only safe place at the time.”

Dr Bandara knew that a lot of work needed to be done. First he built a couple of new hospital wards. After that, a steady stream of patients came to his hospital once they’d heard of this Sinhalese man who was defying all the odds by working in a Tamil region.

Missing limbs
Most patients who visited the hospital had one thing in common: they were missing limbs, in 95% of the cases casualties of war. But because of that war, many amputees hadn’t yet received proper medical care. Now the war had ended, Dr Bandara and his staff could start working on rehabilitations.

While treating his patients, Dr Bandara rarely ever discusses the cause of the injuries. He doesn’t talk about the war. “Does it matter how the person got injured?” he asks rhetorically. “I don’t think it does. What matters is that the wounds are healed and that the patient is capable of living a fairly normal life in the future.”

Click here to watch a video of Dr Bandara's work in Sri Lanka. Video produced by Kannan Arunasalam for Groundviews.

Ambitions
“It’s important to know what his or her ambitions and aspirations are. We try to get them in a state where their condition or handicap is not a deciding part of their life anymore. That’s what we do, regardless of their background or ethnicity.”

Dr Bandara’s work in Birmingham with artificial limbs and prosthetics spurred his ambition to give back to his native country. “Sometimes a patient would get a brand new, expensive artificial limb but it wouldn’t fit. We had to simply throw that material away, as we were not allowed to recycle it. I thought that was silly, so I collected these materials, kept them in my garage and shipped them to Sri Lanka.”

Love and kindness
His work was recognized by colleagues and friends, who helped him to found a professional organisation, Meththa, or ‘love and kindness’ in Sinhalese. “That’s what we wanted to base our work on. No financial gain, no profit, no political motives, no different treatment for different ethnic groups. We simply help those who need help.”

He’s already helped dozens of patients. Some get a simple prosthetic with which they can get their lives back on track, other receive discarded artificial limbs donated by UK hospitals. For them, a whole new life begins. “My people should get the best. Not just a ‘Third World’ artificial limb of inferior quality,” he says.

Trust
Through his work, Dr Bandara has gained the trust of many people in the Mannar region, most of whom are Tamil.

“I’m not responsible for being Sinhalese,” he says, almost apologetically. “As a Buddhist, I believe this is my karma. I’ve had the opportunity to study and become a doctor. I didn’t ask for it, it just happened.  So it is my duty to use my skills here. The fact that someone is Tamil, white or Sinhalese doesn’t matter. We’re just trying to help people.”

He’ll continue working in Mannar for as long as he’s needed there. “We had a war for 30 years. Now we have a choice: either go back to war, or try to leave it behind us and give peace a chance. I choose the latter. Let people get on with their lives.”

Oil imports: US gives concessions to Lanka

 Sunday March 25, 2012

No total ban on supplies from Iran, only 15% reduction says Petroleum Minister

Hard on the heels of the US sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, Sri Lanka has gained a concession from the US on restrictions imposed on fuel imports from Iran. United States, which imposed sanctions on Iran, has asked Sri Lanka to scale down crude oil imports from Iran for the current year only by 15 per cent, a senior Minister said yesterday. Petroleum Industries Minister, Susil Premajayantha said such a reduction meant Sri Lanka would not face a total ban immediately. Earlier, a total ban was expected to come into force from June this year fuelling fears that the country may face a serious fuel crisis. “The concession to reduce crude oil imports only by 15 per cent was a result of the appeal made to the US earlier,” Minister Premajayantha said. Sri Lanka imports as much as 93 per cent of its annual crude oil requirements from Iran. Read more..

Abuse Away From Home

 Saturday, March 24, 201

By Maryam Azwer

“I want my daughter back” - Nesamalar, with a photo of her daughter Meghala

Three years ago, Nesamalar Kanapathipulla bid farewell to her daughter Sundaralingam Meghala, who was leaving to Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker. Meghala had previously worked in Jordan and Dubai, to help bring in more income to support their family.
This time around however, Nesamalar had reason to panic. Shortly after Meghala began work at her sponsor’s house, her Ampara-based family stopped hearing from her. Months dragged on, into nearly three years, until finally, last year, Nesamalar vistied Colombo, and lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). Nesamalar still had not heard from Meghala, until finally, early this year, she received a telephone call from a man who said he had worked for Meghala’s employers.

Read More » 

Look at LTTE a few years later if you don’t implement political reforms now

 March 24, 2012,

Indian media to Mahinda

By S Venkat Narayan

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, March 24: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa could be looking at LTTE 2.0 a few years down the line if he fails to implement political reforms to achieve ethnic reconciliation without any further loss of time.

This is the view of the Indian media in the wake of India’s decision to vote for the resolution last Thursday at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), demanding a thorough investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE in the civil war that ended in May 2009.Read more...

We Should Re-Think Economic Ties With India: Lanka

 MAR 24, 2012

A coalition partner in the Sri Lankan government today said that Colombo should stop according any preferential trade treatment to New Delhi, two days after India voted in favour of a UNHRC resolution against it.

"We should not grant favours to countries merely because they are our neighbours. India was the only Asian country that sided with the US.

"Whenever we (Sri Lanka) take a decision we are always concerned how it would affect India", Udaya Gammanpila, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) spokesman told reporters.

JHU is a partner in the ruling UPFA coalition.

Gammanpila said the Indian vote at the UNHRC was inconsistent with its own foreign policy.

The JHU comments however vary with the official stance of the government.

The government leaders have been saying that Indian vote at the UNHRC needs to be understood in the context of domestic politics.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa has called for a boycott of all US brands including Google mail.

Since the conflict with the LTTE ended in 2009, India has doubled its assistance programme in Sri Lanka .

The Indian assistance extends to infra structure development, educational and technical assistance to reconstruction and rehabilitation support.

Indian brand names in diverse areas are dominant in the island.

GTF on UN resolution on Sri Lanka

 24 March 2012
Global Tamil Forum on UN resolution on Sri Lanka 

Global Tamil Forum (GTF) commends the passing of the UN resolution on Sri Lanka, at the current Human Rights Council (HRC) session in Geneva, as a crucial first step towards accountability and justice for victims on the island. Tamils all over the world are thankful to the United States for spearheading the initiative and to all those who have made this first meaningful step possible.

We are most encouraged by India for having made a significant vote in favour of addressing human rights abuses and the importance that accountability plays in facilitating just peace.

In addition to the lobbying efforts of the Tamil Diaspora, Tamils in Tamil Nadu and Malaysia, many international parliamentarians, media organisations, non-government bodies and some progressive human rights activists from the South of Sri Lanka have all contributed towards the success of this Resolution. GTF encourages all Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka to convey to the Tamil population the significance of this passing of the resolution as a constructive move towards accountability and sustainable reconciliation.

The UNHRC has demonstrated its will to promote human rights, equality and peace, but it’s true effectiveness will be in its monitoring of the implementation of the resolution in its entirety and measurement of progress.

 69% of the 47 voting countries including abstentions (8 abstentions) have not supported Sri Lanka. 78% of the 9 voting countries have supported outright in South America. 77% of the African Union countries - 10 (including 5 abstentions) out of 13 voting countries have either supported or have refused to object to this resolution being passed. Tamils are very grateful to all and will work internationally to create awareness even more.

 GTF remains resolute that only an independent, international investigation will bring justice to the victim’s of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and their families. However, these important small steps can pave the way for an international mechanism towards truth, accountability and lasting peace on the island. 

-ENDS-

Media Contact: Suren Surendiran

Tel: +44 (0) 7958 590196 

Email: media@globaltamilforum.org

Resolution respects Lankan sovereignty: Indian envoy to NDTV

 24 March 2012

                                  

Incurably insane or innately aberrant ?

 (Lanka-e-News-23.March.2012, 11.55PM) The Ministers and MPs of the Govt. engaged in a queer task yesterday which truly pertains to the Diplomatic circles. That is, their staging of protests carrying banners and shouting slogans in front of the Parliament yesterday. During the protests they claimed that the opposition were traitors and were betraying the country while also demonstrating against the International human rights conference.

What was most strikingly noteworthy were the conspicuous absence of Weerawansa- Champika cardboard heroes who during the last several days screamed hoarse against the Int. conference and the US resolutions keeping away from yesterday’s protests .

Despite the Govt. sending notice after notice to all of them on this , these cardboard patriots made it a point to keep away. Not only the two cardboard heroes , 60 others also did not participate. Though the Govt. organizers toiled hard , of the 162 Ministers and MPs of the Govt. , only 102 took part in the protests. 

  Full story >>>

PM writes to President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka

       

PM writes to President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka on the resolution in the UN Human Rights Council. The text of the Prime Minister's letter to the President of Sri Lanka is as follows: "Thank you for your letter of March 19 regarding the ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Council and the introduction of a resolution therein on the post-conflict situation in Sri Lanka. As Your Excellency is aware, the Government and the people of India have stood firmly by Sri Lanka in its struggle against terrorism. The end in May 2009 of a long and tragic conflict that had claimed numerous innocent lives, in Sri Lanka and in India, was something that we regarded as providing, at long last, an opportunity for genuine national reconciliation end for addressing the urgent needs of development and reconstruction of all citizens of Sri Lanka. Our two governments have, over the last three years, engaged intensively in the immediate tasks of relief and rehabilitation for those displaced by the conflict, as well as the more long-term effort of reconstruction of national infrastructure. Much important progress has been registered on this front and I wish to record my appreciation of the assistance your Government has provided to various Indian agencies implementing projects of national significance on the ground in Sri Lanka. I was also happy to learn of Your Excellency's intention to continue the process of implementing the recommendations of the LLRC. We have also had occasion in the past to discuss the way ahead with regard to a political solution that will address all outstanding issues, in particular the grievances of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, in a spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation. It is our conviction that a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would lead towards a lasting political settlement on many of these issues and create conditions in which all citizens of Sri Lanka, irrespective of their ethnicity, can find justice, dignity, equality and self-respect. I would like to reiterate to Your Excellency my Government's commitment to continue to be of assistance in the achievement of this important objective. With regard to the matter of the resolution in the UN Human Rights Council, I had instructed our delegation to remain in close contact with its Sri Lanka counterparts in an attempt to find a positive way forward. Your Excellency would be aware that we spared no effort and were successful in introducing an element of balance in the language of the resolution. I wish to assure Your Excellency that, going forward, we will continue our engagement with the shared objective of building a stable, secure and prosperous environment in Sri Lanka in which all communities can flourish and in which India-Sri Lanka relations can continue to grow from strength to strength."

24-March, 2012

HESITANT BUT WELCOME CHANGE IN INDIA’S SRI LANKA POLICY

 24-Mar-2012
 By V. Suryanarayan 

Human Rights organizations and Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora have valid reasons to be jubilant about the outcome of the 19^th Session of Human Rights Council held in Geneva on March 22, 2012. There was intense lobbying by the Sri Lankan Government to defeat the US sponsored resolution to promote reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, activists in the Tamil diaspora ceaselessly campaigned, supported by human rights groups, to hold the Sri Lankan Government accountable for the gross human rights violations and the killing of nearly 40,000 innocent civilians during the last stages of the Fourth Eelam War.

There was one common bond uniting those who were for and against Sri Lanka. Both sides were keen to get India’s support to their point of view. And in the end, it was the human rights groups which had reasons to be satisfied with the outcome. They were quite happy that New Delhi voted for the resolution, which marked a welcome change in India’s Sri Lanka policy. The highly respected, soft spoken Christian priest, Fr. SJ Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum, hailed the UN resolution as the “first step in seeking justice” for thousands of innocent Tamil civilians who “died in vain” during the war. He added that the Tamils were particularly “thankful” to the Government and people of India for supporting the cause of justice.

Full Story>>>

Dayan Jayathileke and Tamara Kunanayagam sidelined

Saturday, 24 March 2012

The diplomatic community is talking as to why Sri Lanka’s ambassador to France, Dayan Jayathileke was not got down to Geneva when the Sri Lankan mission in Geneva had got down Sri Lankan ambassadors from around the world to Geneva.

Although Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lankan ambassador to Germany Sarath Kongahage and former ambassador in Germany Kshenuka Seneviratne were in Geneva, Jayathileke who was instrumental in getting the resolution on Sri Lanka defeated in 2009 had not been called to Geneva. Jayathileke is stationed in Paris, which is less than hour away from Geneva.

In an interview to the media, Jayathileke has said that the country’s foreign policy should be handled only by the President and External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris.

When the resolution on Sri Lanka was taken up on the 22nd at the UNHRC, Peiris was given a back seat while Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe played the main role.

Former Attorney General Mohan Peiris took the seat next to Samarasinghe.

Sources from Geneva say that Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Geneva, Tamara Kunanayagam, who has been praised by Jayathileke is likely to be sent once again as the Sri Lankan ambassador to Cuba.

When questioned by the media, Jayathileke has said that Samarasinghe could do a great service to the country’s Foreign Service if he limited his work only to his portfolio.

Sri Lanka blows hot and cold against India

YahooNews  By Indo Asian News Service
Colombo, March 24 (IANS) Sri Lanka is blowing hot and cold againstIndia following the passage of a resolution in Geneva that raised questions over rights violations during the war on the Tamil Tigers.

While President Mahinda Rajapaksa warned that countries which voted for the resolution will have to worry about consequences of terrorism, a minister mildly praised India for dilution of the impact of the resolution.

India was one of 24 nations which voted for the resolution, but after ensuring critical amendments that forbade intrusion into Sri Lankan affairs by the UN or others.

Lankapage.com quoted Rajapaksa as saying that "no external forces will be allowed to threaten the country's sovereignty".

Speaking Friday, he vowed to continue his government's development and reconciliation programmes in the island's northeastern region that was the former war zone.

He asked people not to fall "prey to conspirators, opportunists and traitors".

The president commended the 15 countries which voted against "the anti-Lanka resolution for their support" and the eight nations which abstained from the vote in the 47-member UN Human Rights Council.

Countries which voted against Sri Lanka would have to be concerned of consequences of terrorism in the future, he was quoted as saying.

But Minister Maithreepala Sirisena pointed out that the resolution was passed with the amendments added by India to safeguard Sri Lanka from "the interferences of UN bodies".

These amendments ensured that no intrusions can be imposed without the consent of the government, he added.

India forced the US to amend its resolution to safeguard Sri Lanka from international intrusions by adding a clause that said the UNHRC can provide advice and technical assistance "in consultation with, and with the concurrence of, the government of Sri Lanka".

Sri Lanka downplayed India's support to the resolution, saying New Delhi gave in to pressures from its coalition partners in Tamil Nadu ranged against Colombo.

Another minister, Dullas Alahapperuma, urged the Sri Lankan public not to hate India for supporting the resolution.

Although India had gone the extra mile to make the resolution less "intrusive", New Delhi's siding with the West against an ally which stands by India in every platform "is seen as a betrayal", he said.

Pillay warns Sri Lanka over reprisals

 Friday, March 23, 2012

The High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today warned that there must be no reprisals against Sri Lankan human rights defenders in the aftermath of yesterday’s adoption by the Human Rights Council of a resolution on Sri Lanka.

During this Human Rights Council session, there has been an unprecedented and totally unacceptable level of threats, harassment and intimidation directed at Sri Lankan activists who had travelled to Geneva to engage in the debate, including by members of the 71-member official Sri Lankan government delegation. Intimidation and harassment of Sri Lankan civil society activists have also been reported in other locations around Geneva, the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said today.

it also said that newspapers, news websites and TV and radio stations in Sri Lanka have since January been running a continuous campaign of vilification, including naming and in many cases picturing activists, describing them as an “NGO gang” and repeatedly accusing them of treason, mercenary activities and association with terrorism. Some of these reports have contained barely veiled incitement and threats of retaliation. At least two comments posted by readers of articles of this type have called for burning down of the houses of the civil society activists named in the articles, and at least one such comment called openly for them to be killed.

The High Commissioner has noted that some of the attacks on human rights defenders were carried in Sri Lankan state media and Government websites or were filed by journalists who had been officially accredited to the Human Rights Council session by the Sri Lankan permanent mission. She is calling on the Government to ensure the protection of human rights defenders, to publicly disassociate itself from such statements, and to clearly uphold the right of Sri Lankan citizens to freely engage in international debate of this kind.

The High Commissioner has also noted that Sri Lanka’s own Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission, in its report published in December, made extensive and positive references to the role civil society can play in reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts, and stressed this would require greater tolerance towards differing views within Sri Lankan civil society and the protection of Sri Lankan human rights defenders.