Sri Lankan war crimes have not lost their resonance

27 March 2012 

No end to ethnic polarisation: The vote on Lankan war crimes at the UN Human Rights council has not only hardened the position of the Rajapaksa government and the Sinhala chauvinists

The euphoria was short-lived. The hopes generated after India's vote at Geneva for holding Colombo accountable for war crimes, have now evaporated.

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh bending over backwards to placate our tiny southern neighbor, there is nothing much to cheer about.

But the Lankan Tamil issue has returned to centre stage with all parties in the state speaking in one voice.

Even the normally reticent Tamil Nadu Congress Committee hasn't gone against the tide. Clearly, the issue of Lankan war crimes has not lost its resonance.

The Congress is accused of being a silent collaborator in the war. Worse, DMK was seen as a betrayer of the Tamil cause.

As a recent opinion poll shows, the plight of the Lankan Tamils continues to exercise the masses so much that many even favour the creation of an independent Eelam.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2121270/Sri-Lankan-war-crimes-lost-resonance.html#ixzz1qNQKFBE0

Main Stream responds to the President’s statement on not receiving help from any country to win the war

Tuesday, 27 March 2012 

A member of the Main Stream Force that was formed by former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka during the final stages of the told Lanka News Web how the US security units helped the President who has claimed that the ending of the war in 2009 was achieved without any outside help.

The US had established a task force to prevent all LTTE activities in America following a request made by former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera from then US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in 2006.

The under cover agents had arrested LTTE members who had entered the US through the Canadian border to purchase anti aircraft missiles. They were arrested in January 2007 and their assets were taken over by the state, thereby crippling the LTTE’s arms procurement network.

The US government had taken these measures due to the good relation built with the country by the former Foreign Minister Samaraweera.

Also, on a request made by the Sri Lankan government, the US government the 7th Fleet USS Blue Ridge under the purview of the US-Hawai Pacific Fleet that was stationed in the Indian Ocean had continuously provided satellite images of the activities of the ships belonging to the LTTE, especially in the transportation of arms. The satellite images were provided to the Sri Lankan military through the US embassy in Colombo.

Since the Sri Lanka Army did not have a qualified officer to read these satellite images, the US embassy in Colombo made arrangements to grant a scholarship to Major Kelum Maddumage to follow an intense course at the Colorado Military Academy.

Afterwards, then Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda was taken to the famous Pearl Harbor in Honolulu to give him a special training on preventing activities of the LTTE that take place in 700 nautical miles off the shore in the deep seas and to pursue and attack.

Following the special training, the 7th Fleet USS Blue Ridge has provided technical assistance and supervision for the Sri Lanka Navy to carry out operations to destroy the LTTE’s activities in the deep seas based on the satellite images received by the military.

The Sri Lanka Navy managed to destroy all LTTE vessels that were transporting hi-tech military weapons and equipment in the deep seas due to the assistance received by the US military. The senior member from Main Stream said that had the 7-8 ships that contained weapons for the LTTE managed to reach the North, the final outcome of the war would have been different.

He added that more details would be revealed in future on how Israel and Britain helped to contain the LTTE. He said that Fonseka is always grateful to the assistance provided by these countries during the war since it played a key role in the final outcome.

Tamils For Obama Meets With Blake On 29th Feb

March 27, 2012By Colombo Telegraph -

Delegates from Tamils for Obama accepted an invitation from Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake and met with him and other State Department officials on February 29, 2012. The delegates discussed matters concerning Tamils in Sri Lanka with Blake and several State Department officials and then handed Blake two copies of Tamils for Obama’s petition for a “Referendum in Sri Lanka to Gain Self-determination for Tamils,” and asked him to hand the second copy to Secretary Clinton.

New York, New York (PRWEB) March 27, 2012

Delegates from Tamils for Obama met with Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake last February 29, 2012, and discussed matters important to Tamils in Sri Lanka.

“We also handed him a copy of our Referendum in Sri Lanka to Gain Self-determination for Tamils,” said a press spokesman for Tamils for Obama, “It is modeled on the one that was recently voted on in southern Sudan, and which led to the creation of the new country of South Sudan. We hope for a similar referendum and result in northeastern Sri Lanka.

“We also gave him a second copy which we asked him to pass along to Secretary of State Clinton. He promised it would be done, and immediately passed the copy along to a subordinate official to take to Secretary Clinton. This petition was signed by more than 31,000 people, Tamils and non-Tamils,” said the spokesman. “Tamils for Obama has been gathering signatures for this petition since last June.”

Blake was accompanied at the meeting by three other State Department officials.

“When we handed the petition to Secretary Blake, we commented that it was appropriate in a democracy to get the opinion of the people who will be affected by an official action,” said one of the Tamils for Obama delegates who attended the meeting. “We think that the consent of the people makes any subsequent action more legitimate.

“We want to thank all those people who signed the petition,” said the press spokesman. “We think that if our effort is successful and a country of Northeastern Sri Lanka—Tamil Eelam—results, this may become a historic document, and these signatures will be part of it.”

To see the Referendum, go to: http://www.tamilsforobama.com/Referendum2011/english.asp

To see the initial press release “Tamils for Obama Launches a Signature Campaign for a Referendum in Sri Lanka to Gain Self-Determination for Tamils”, go to:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/6/prweb8503874.htm

Tamils for Obama is a politically active group of Tamil Americans. We supported Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama in the Democratic primary and US general election in 2008. We believe that over 70,000 Tamil civilians were massacred during the last weeks of the Sri Lankan civil war. We have watched the behavior of the Sri Lankan Singhalese victors after the war, and we strongly conclude that Tamils in Sri Lanka will only be safe when this unfortunate island is divided into two states.

To contact the group, call at             (617) 765-4394       and speak to, or leave a message for, the Communication Director, Tamils for Obama.

http://www.TamilsForObama.com

Email: info(at)TamilsforObama(dot)com

Communication Director
Tamils for Obama
(617) 765-4394
Email Information

Tamils for Obama Launches a Signature Campaign for a Referendum in Sri Lanka to Gain Self-Determination for Tamils

Choose your Language | English | தமிழ் | Français | Deutsch Dear Mr. President, In the recent referendum in Southern Sudan, people overwhelmingly approved independence for Southern Sudan We approve and support this referendum, in which it was recommended that the southern Sudan be given sovereignty. This accomplishes two important ends: it gives the southern Sudanese safety and peace within their own homeland, and it ends a decades-long bloody civil war. We urge that the US support a similar referendum being held in Sri Lanka. Like Sudan, Sri Lanka has endured a decades-long civil war in which the government brutalized and murdered a powerless minority. As with the southern Sudanese, Sri Lankan Tamils need a sovereign homeland in which they can be safe and free. The Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka was published Monday, April 25, 2011. The report referred to “(i) Killing of civilians through widespread shelling; (ii) Shelling of hospitals and humanitarian objects; (iii) Denial of humanitarian assistance; (iv) Human rights violations suffered by victims and survivors of the conflict, including both IDPs and suspected LTTE cadre; and (v) Human rights violations outside the conflict zone, including against the media and other critics of the Government.” The report recommends international investigations. We additionally ask for a referendum on Tamil sovereignty. We the undersigned request that the US support and advance a referendum in Sri Lanka asking whether the Tamils should gain sovereignty within their own region. 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Sri Lanka struggles to reduce $1 bn dollar deficit

Sri Lanka,Business/Economy, Tue, 27 Mar 2012

Colombo, March 27 (IANS) Sri Lanka's external trade in 2012 has begun with a nearly $1 billion trade deficit due to a mixed performance with subdued exports and high imports, the Central Bank said here Tuesday.

Exports in January were down by $5 million or 0.6 percent to $918 million in comparison to a year earlier whilst imports grew by 20 percent to $1.88 billion triggering a deficit of $965.5 million, reported Xinhua.

The deficit saw an increase of 50 percent when compared with January 2011, Central Bank data said.

Agriculture exports saw a dip of 14 percent to $181.5 million in January. Tea exports, Sri Lanka's highest foreignexchange earning crop, dipped by 20 percent to plunge to $104 million.

Sri Lanka's top foreign exchange earner, apparel, had managed to grow by 1.6 percent to $366.6 million whilst overall industrial exports which contribute about 80 percent to the total exports improved by 3.3 percent to $732.6 million.

Sri Lanka has been struggling to reduce its trade deficit with the Central Bank working on increasing inflows to stabilize a fast depreciating rupee, which is also hurting exports. The currency depreciated by 14 percent in February before hitting a new low of 131 against the dollar.

After UN vote, Sri Lanka to shut few embassies in Europe

FirstpostColombo: Less than a week after the West voted against Sri Lanka at a UN human rights meet, Colombo has decided to close some of its embassies in Europe.

Colombo: Less than a week after the West voted against Sri Lanka at a UN human rights meet, Colombo has decided to close some of its embassies in Europe.

The external affairs ministry said Tuesday that the embassies in Europe that were not serving any purpose in winning support for Sri Lanka’s national issues will be shut and new embassies will be opened in Asia.

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa had discussed the issue with the government. It will now be decided exactly which embassy in which country in Europe will be closed,” a ministry spokesperson told Xinhua.

The EU voted for the US sponsored resolution asking Sri Lanka to fully implement the recommendations of an accountability commission following the end of the war in 2009. Reuters

He said the move was not a result of several European countries deciding to vote against Sri Lanka on a resolution over human rights violations at a 22 March UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

But the spokesperson quoted External Affairs Minister GL Peiris as saying that with almost all Asian countries, excluding India, voting for Sri Lanka in Geneva, it was felt that strengthening ties in Asia will be helpful for Colombo.

“The government has limited resources, so it is difficult to maintain embassies in every single country. So the government feels it will be more productive to have embassies in countries where we can gain something,” the official said.

The European Union voted for the US sponsored resolution asking Sri Lanka to fully implement the recommendations of an accountability commission following the end of the war in 2009.

APPGT statement on the United Nations Human Rights Council 19th session resolution on Sri Lanka

Tuesday, 27 March 2012 

APPGT welcome the United Nations Human Rights Council on successfully adopting a resolution on Sri Lanka. We see this as a first step towards an international effort to bring sustainable peace in the Island.

The session was attended by representatives of APPGt – Lee Scott MP Ilford North Chair; Siobhain McDonough MP Mitcham and Morden Vice Chair; Tom Brake MP Carshalton and Wallington and John Mann MP Bassetlaw. All the MPS took part in several meetings with delegates from several countries outlining the situation and conveying the requirement for supporting the resolution.

We have watched the most harrowing footages of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity on Channel 4’s documentary last week titled “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished”. The documentary presents a basis for an investigation and the subsequent prosecution of those responsible for these heinous crimes.

Accountability is paramount for any long-term sustainable political solution in Sri Lanka. An International independent investigation into War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity committed during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009 is essential for this.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils wants to send a strong message to those who intimidated and threatened the members of NGOs undertaking human rights activities in the very council and we will take this up as one of our highest priorities.

We would like to thank the mission from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for their support and help during our visit to the United Nations Human Rights Council sessions.