francesharrison.jux.com
Photographs from Dec 2012 of abandoned belongings in the war zone.
Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
UK MPs express concern over Jaffna Uni arrests in Commons
British MPs raised the issue of the arrests of the Jaffna University students during the House of Commons debate on Tuesday. Expressing concern at the arrests, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alistair Burt, said:
British MPs raised the issue of the arrests of the Jaffna University students during the House of Commons debate on Tuesday. Expressing concern at the arrests, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alistair Burt, said:Jaffna University Students
10. Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP): What assessment he has made of reported clashes between Sri Lankan security forces and Jaffna university students and the situation of those who have been arrested and detained. [138340]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt): We are concerned about the attacks on students at Jaffna university in November last year. Our high commissioner has expressed those concerns to the authorities in Sri Lanka, and we continue to monitor the detention of those students. We take every opportunity to raise human rights concerns with the Government of Sri Lanka, and I will raise those concerns, including this case, when I visit Sri Lanka fairly shortly.
Mark Durkan: I thank the Minister for his answer and his personal engagement. The attacks and arrests took place on the day after Tamil remembrance day. The region is highly militarised and even this week the Sri Lankan Parliament is looking at legislation to extend detention without warrant. When the Minister visits Sri Lanka next week, will he tell the regime there that he will not be persuaded by the language of reconciliation that it offers the diplomatic community, given that it offers only an arsenal of repression to the Tamil community?
Alistair Burt: The hon. Gentleman puts his case well. I expect to have straightforward private conversations with the Sri Lankan authorities. I will make the point that if reconciliation is to mean anything, a straightforward gesture such as converting the current triumphal expressions following the end of the war into a day of national reconciliation, as recommended by the lessons learned and reconciliation committee, would be a good step forward and perhaps start to defuse the tension, an increase of which would be very unwelcome.
Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD): Commonwealth Heads of Government are due to meet in Sri Lanka this November, with Australia in the chair. Have concerns about human rights been raised in the Minister’s preparatory conversations with the secretary-general and the Australian and Sri Lankan Governments?
Alistair Burt: Yes, concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka are raised among those who have the interests of all Sri Lankans at heart. The United Kingdom has made no decision yet as to the level of its attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
Wednesday , 23 January 2013
Parliament member Sivaganam Sritharan's Kilinochchi office was searched for the second time yesterday by the Terrorism Prevention unit. During the search operation a computer which was in his officer was taken away.
Yesterday at about 9.30 a.m, the personnel from the Terrorism Prevention unit visited Sritharan's office and were searching the area for an hour.
Parliament member Sritharan's Personnel Assistant Ponnambalam Lakshmikanthan was arrested by Terrorism Prevention unit at the Kattunayake airport and on this basis, the office is searched was said by the Terrorism Prevention unit personnel visited from Colombo.
Concerning the incident Parliament member Sritharan was contacted and he said, he was not informed about his office in Kilinochchi getting searched. Regarding today's (yesterday) probe in my office, I came to know from the parliament. I contacted those who came to investigate.
One identifying himself as Sarathchandra spoke to me. He said, he came from Colombo and he is attached to the TID and according to instruction from high level he is investigating.
Regarding this issues, I brought to the attention of Leader Sambanthan. Leader Sambanthan and member Sumenthiran brought this yesterday to the attention of Speaker.
He said my office is under search operation due to contradicting information. Last 12th my office was investigated and Tamil National Alliance Kilinochchi District Organizer A.Velamaligithan was arrested.
Conspiracy to threat and annihilate Sritharan. Saravanabawan MP doubtful
Wednesday , 23 January 2013
Tamil National Alliance Jaffna district parliament member Sivaganam Sritharan's Kilinochchi office came under sudden search operation by the Terrorism Prevention unit and later the incidents of protest and arrest, are systemized conspiracy activities to threaten him is the suspicion existing.
This was said by Tamil National Alliance parliament member E.Saravanabawan.
Regarding this he further mentioned in his statement, Jaffna district parliament member Sivaganam Sritharan's Kilinochchi office was recently under search operation by Terrorism Prevention unit. The defense sector informed that explosives and pornography cassettes were seized.
Not only this, but parliament member’s Personal Assistant and Coordinating Secretary were for a long time investigated by the Terrorism Prevention unit. Later Coordinating Secretary Velamalikithan was arrested by Terrorism Prevention unit.
The reasons for the search operation, and the incidents occurred, and the arrested done in connection with this, and the protest held for the closure of the office in the next days, have raised many questions amidst us. Doubts arise that this is a systemized conspiracy to threat and to embarrass the parliament member and those members jointly working with him.
Parliament member Sritharan was already called by the Terrorism Prevention unit and was inquired and later released. The security given to him was withdrawn without any reasons. Concerning this, he contacted the relevant officials, but it did not turn successful. But it is stated that explosives were taken from the security center where his security personnel were occupying.
This security center is constructed outside the office. A bag containing explosives were seized was stated, but it was not opened and shown to anyone, what was inside the bag.
Concerning the explosive seized from the locality where parliament member's security stationed, the withdrawal of the parliament member’s security, stating explosives were inside the bag, and not showing what is inside the bag, are continuous incidents which have occurred in a systemized basis which are the questions raised up.
Meanwhile a protest was held at Kilinochchi in the following days after this incident occurred for the closure of this office. People were called for some other reasons, and those from the streets were forcibly dragged to participate. This also we observe as a continuous action.
Kabilnath a student from Chavakachcheri was demanded ransom and was killed and buried. Concerning this an arrest was made and produced in courts, and it was identified that he was a candidate contested on behalf of EPDP, and there are queries, why EPDP offices were not closed still. By forgetting the wound in the back, and reviewing the pimple of another, looks like a foolish act.
In spite of hazard and obstacles by the state sector and state supportive parties, parliament member Sritharan, serves for the people. Not only this, he has gained the expanded appreciation from the Kilinochchi people. He bravely exposes against the anti-people activities advanced by the government, state forces and parties which are joined with the government
Due to this reason by humiliating him and his workers, the people explicitly feel that this is a well-planned action by branding terrorism, and squeeze his voice which he continuously raise for the peoples welfare. How could we get justice, when Terrorism Prevention unit are arresting, investigating and they are the witness.
Hence through this action, the Tamil National Alliance and its parliament members, should not cease their voices but continue to serve the people and voice for justice which I wish to state with much confident.
Doctor brief the Mullivaikal tragedy awarded with "First Living Hero Award"
 [ Wednesday, 23 January 2013, 07:55.47 AM GMT +05:30 ] |
 Canadian Tamil Congress introduced the “Living Hero Award” which is given to a person who has demonstrated exemplary leadership, courage and empathy in challenging circumstances. |
 The recipient of CTC’s first Living Hero award was “the Doctor” from Frances Harrison’s book “Still Counting the Dead”. The Doctor was instrumental in saving the lives of thousands of war wounded people in Mulliwaikal. This award ceremony held on January 19th, 2013 at the Markham Hilton Suites Conference Centre.CTC was proud to be joined by leaders and political representatives from the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. Established professionals of all stripes, leaders of industry, emerging artists, business owners, renowned writers, community builders and faith leaders were all in attendance. Deputy Mayor Jack Heath for City of Markham, Dr. Helena Jackzek, MPP Oakridges-Markham for Government of Ontario and Mr. Chris Alexander, MP Ajax-Pickering for Government of Canada. There were numerous political leaders, including leadership candidates and other dignitaries present. A special mention must be made of Ms. Olivia Chow, MP as she came to thank CTC for honouring her late husband Jack Layton with “Service Excellence Award” in the 2012 Pongal dinner.  In his speech he said, we remain committed to giving back to our Canadian home. We invested in our future leaders by launching the Center for Leadership and Innovation (CFLI) and we hosted inspirational individuals who have helped share our stories worldwide. Incidentally, the students of CFLI gave a remarkable performance to showcase why this centre is going to be a huge success going forward. Currently, over 50 students aged 10 to 16 are enrolled in the programme. Umasuthan emphasized that 2013 is shaping up to be an ever more challenging year for CTC. CTC will host the 26th annual convention of FeTNA (Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America)in Toronto in July! He said it promises to be a memorable event, and stressed the need for the support of everyone. On the advocacy side, “we are redoubling our effort this year with the Canadian Government and the international community to call for an independent international investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sri Lanka.” To this end, he said we will participate in the 22nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2013. Furthermore, if we don’t see any tangible changes to the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, CTC will work hard on asking the commonwealth governments to boycott the CHOGM meeting scheduled to be held in Colombo in November. |
Second accuse given bail concerning Achchuweli murder incident.
The second suspect serving remand prison on allegation of murdering a person in the Achchuweli area was released on bail yesterday by the Jaffna high court.
Protest against Lankan official in Malaysia
The second suspect serving remand prison on allegation of murdering a person in the Achchuweli area was released on bail yesterday by the Jaffna high court.
In the presence of Jaffna High Court Commissioner J.Viswanathan, the bail application regarding the suspected persons was taken for inquiries.
Sabaratnam Jayachandran a residence of Jaffna living in Mattakuliya, had gone to Achchuweli in year 2011 March month, was involved in renovating a house in the locality.
During this period, a dispute erupted between two sectors, hence Jayachandran was killed. On this allegation, five persons were arrested from a factory located at Achchuweli west. They were produced at Mallakam courts and court ordered them for remand prison.
A bail petition was submitted to bail out the second suspect Ratna Sabapathi Mahalakshmi.
High Court Judge examined the petition, and gave permission to bail out on two personal bails amounting to, two lacks of rupees each.
A condition was also imposed by the courts that the suspect should place his signature at the Achchuweli police station, at the end of each month.
Protest against Lankan official in Malaysia
Wednesday, 23 Jan 2013
Tempers flared and the Sri Lankan national flag was ripped to pieces by a group of angry protesters this morning who demanded an apology from the deputy high commissioner who had apparently insulted Malaysia.
Armed with placards, the protesters, who gathered outside the high commission here, claimed that on Dec 27, Sunil Vikramesing had chased a group of protesters from the commission’s grounds and uttered inappropriate words as reported.
Sunil was said to have made these remarks when the Tamil Progressive Team (TPT) brought a few Sri Lankan workers to the high commission, who were abused and not paid their salaries.
“We are asking for Sunil and the high commission to express their apologies and we will disperse peacefully… what they said was insulting to all Malaysians,” said TPT president K Arjunan.
A group of police personnel numbering around 30 stood guard outside the building to prevent the protesters from marching towards the high commission’s grounds.
Arjunan, who was adamant that the protesters be allowed to meet Sunil, tried to break the human barrier created by the police.
Following this, a scuffle broke out between Arjunan and a few police personnel who were holding him back.
Arjunan told FMT that the police had no dignity and were working in tandem with the embassy.
“Why are you [police] stopping us? Don’t you have any dignity? That guy [Sunil] said harsh words about Malaysia and you’re not doing anything to arrest him and you’re stopping us Malaysians?” he said.
Arjunan, who led the group of 15 protesters, repeatedly chanted: “Sri Lanka…die…Sri Lanka…die…we are a patriotic bunch…we will protect our rights.”
Kapar MP S Manikavasagam, who was also present at the protest, asked the police for help in getting an official from the high commission to explain the matter to the protesters.
A public relations officer from the embassy later met Manikavasagam and MS Arjunan, who is the information chief of Kepong PKR.
“We deny that Sunil ever uttered any of those words inside the embassy grounds and we will wait for the police to investigate and we must conduct this in a civilised manner,” said the official.
However, Manikavasagam told the official that he was giving them two weeks to issue an apology.
“If after two weeks there is no action…I will bring thousands of people to protest here and things might get ugly… if it’s necessary to bring a coffin and burn it here…I will do it,” he warned.
During the protest, Arjunan also tore the national flag of Sri Lanka while calling for the country to be “destroyed”. (Free Malaysia Today)
India, Sri Lanka to deepen trade, tourism and investment relations
Jan 22, Colombo: Sri Lanka and India, recognizing the need to build a special economic partnership framework to achieve the common goals of poverty alleviation, job creation and economic development for the people of the two countries, have agreed to deepen the trade, tourism and investment relations.
In this context, the two countries at the 8th India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission held Tuesday in New Delhi agreed to take measures to double the bilateral trade to US$ 10 billion within the next three years.
During the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. G.L. Peiris and his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid, the two sides comprehensively reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations.
Following today's meeting, the two countries have signed two agreements to "Combat International Terrorism and Illicit Drug Trafficking" and to revise the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
Both countries as a measure to expand bilateral trade agreed to initiate a dialogue between the Commerce Secretary of India and the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Sri Lanka at an early date to evolve a framework for a special economic partnership between the two countries.
The Joint Commission expressed satisfaction with the progress made in implementation of the projects funded by India to relief, resettlement and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and livelihood generation and reconstruction efforts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.
Both sides, noting the impressive growth of two-way tourism traffic between the two countries, agreed to meet at the earliest to finalize and sign a revised Air Services Agreement and to restart the ferry services between Thalaimannar and Rameswaram.
The Joint Commission also decided to hold the meeting of the Joint Working Group on Tourism in the first quarter to 2013 to identify potential areas of cooperation, including marketing and capacity-building.
The two sides also agreed to speed up and complete the India -funded Sampur Power Project to build a coal power plant in the Trincomalee district of Eastern Sri Lanka by 2016.
The Joint Commission noted that both sides are committed to decrease incidents pertaining to fishing on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and decided to encourage senior officials of the Joint Working Group on Fishing to meet regularly to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation on fishing related issues.
Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in the energy sector and to promote dialogue on security and defence issues of relevance to the bilateral relationship.
The Joint Commission noted that the trilateral cooperation mechanism between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives was an important initiative to promote maritime security in the region.
During his visit to New Delhi, Minister Peiris has also met with the Prime Minister of India and had a separate meeting with the External Affairs Minister of India.
Minister Kurshid has accepted an invitation extended by Minister Peiris to visit Sri Lanka in the first half of 2013 on a date to be worked out through diplomatic channels.
The next session of the Joint Commission would be held in Sri Lanka in the first half of 2014 on a date to be mutually agreed upon between the two sides.
i Jan 22, Colombo: Sri Lanka and India, recognizing the need to build a special economic partnership framework to achieve the common goals of poverty alleviation, job creation and economic development for the people of the two countries, have agreed to deepen the trade, tourism and investment relations.In this context, the two countries at the 8th India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission held Tuesday in New Delhi agreed to take measures to double the bilateral trade to US$ 10 billion within the next three years.
During the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. G.L. Peiris and his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid, the two sides comprehensively reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations.
Following today's meeting, the two countries have signed two agreements to "Combat International Terrorism and Illicit Drug Trafficking" and to revise the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
Both countries as a measure to expand bilateral trade agreed to initiate a dialogue between the Commerce Secretary of India and the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Sri Lanka at an early date to evolve a framework for a special economic partnership between the two countries.
The Joint Commission expressed satisfaction with the progress made in implementation of the projects funded by India to relief, resettlement and rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and livelihood generation and reconstruction efforts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.
Both sides, noting the impressive growth of two-way tourism traffic between the two countries, agreed to meet at the earliest to finalize and sign a revised Air Services Agreement and to restart the ferry services between Thalaimannar and Rameswaram.
The Joint Commission also decided to hold the meeting of the Joint Working Group on Tourism in the first quarter to 2013 to identify potential areas of cooperation, including marketing and capacity-building.
The two sides also agreed to speed up and complete the India -funded Sampur Power Project to build a coal power plant in the Trincomalee district of Eastern Sri Lanka by 2016.
The Joint Commission noted that both sides are committed to decrease incidents pertaining to fishing on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and decided to encourage senior officials of the Joint Working Group on Fishing to meet regularly to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation on fishing related issues.
Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in the energy sector and to promote dialogue on security and defence issues of relevance to the bilateral relationship.
The Joint Commission noted that the trilateral cooperation mechanism between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives was an important initiative to promote maritime security in the region.
During his visit to New Delhi, Minister Peiris has also met with the Prime Minister of India and had a separate meeting with the External Affairs Minister of India.
Minister Kurshid has accepted an invitation extended by Minister Peiris to visit Sri Lanka in the first half of 2013 on a date to be worked out through diplomatic channels.
The next session of the Joint Commission would be held in Sri Lanka in the first half of 2014 on a date to be mutually agreed upon between the two sides.
| Ensure equality, dignity for Tamils, India tells Sri Lanka |
| [ Wednesday, 23 January 2013, 02:20.43 PM GMT +05:30 ] |
 India has asked Sri Lanka to continue dialogue with the Tamil community to ensure a future for them that is marked by "equality, dignity and justice", and also expressed hope for early progress on "meaningful devolution" of powers to Tamil majority areas. |
 Addressing a joint media conference with visiting Sri Lanka Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also emphasized on the safety of fishermen of both countries.The two countries Tuesday held the eighth meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission and also inked three agreements. We hope that there will be early progress on meaningful devolution building upon the 13th Amendment and leading to national reconciliation," Khurshid said. |
Sri Lanka govt Web sites hit in spate of attacks
By Ellyne Phneah |
Summary: Hacker Davy Jones breaches government sites, including that of Sri Lanka Port Authority site, Bureau of Foreign Employment, and those of two local TV stations.
A hacker on Tuesday breached the Web site of Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA), and also attacked and leaked the Web sites of two Sri Lankan TV channels and the Bureau of Foreign Employment over the last weekend.
According to E Hacking News on Tuesday, the main page had not been defaced, but instead, a Web page with a path to the "admin" folder was uploaded. SLPA is a government agency in charge of the development and maintenance of all commercial ports in Sri Lanka.
The defacement page read: "You have been hacked by Davy Jones. We are always here to give boots to asses!"
Other sites hacked, leaked on pastebin
Over the weekend, the same hacker breached the Web sites of two Sri Lankan TV Channels, Rupavahini TV and One SriLanka, and the Bureau of Foreign Employment site, according to aseparate report on E Hacking News.
Davy Jones claimed that he had hacked Rupavahini TV channel's database server and leaked it in a pastebin post. The paste had contained database details and credentials stolen from the target server, including administrator username, e-mail Ids, and password hash with salt.
He also said that he hacked the Web site of One SriLanka, extracting data with 1,000 e-mail IDs and passwords, in a separate pastebin post. The paste also included a mediafire download link that contains the dump comprised from the One SriLanka TV Web site.
Last week, Davy Jones also hacked into the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment's Web site, and leaked the database on pastebin in a similar manner, with the leak containing log-in credentials, including admin IDs and passwords.
These are the latest in a spate of cyberattacks against Sri Lankan Web sites. Last week, the official Web site of Sri Lanka Media Center for National Security (MCNS) had been hacked and defaced by a hacker calling himself Game Over, as reported by news site ColomboPage. He had redirected the Web site to another site and gained access to the servers, taking away and leaking hundreds of log-in information details of site users.
CAN THE ‘CHINA CARD’ TRUMP AMERICA?
by Upul Joshep Fernando
( January 23, 2913, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) “If the US withdrew the training programmes China would replace them.” Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made this remark at an event at the National Chamber of Commerce recently. At a time when three US Deputy Assistant Secretaries are scheduled to visit the country, these remarks have assumed an added significance.
 |
Mahinda Rajapaksa himself has the key to change American state policy towards Sri Lanka; by changing his own egregious policy for a better power sharing policy to resolve the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka.
It can be safely assumed from such signals emanating from the government that it considers the departure of Hillary Clinton from the State Department and the arrival of John Kerry as Secretary of State as a favourable sign. Such thinking is not without reason. When John Kerry was Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the country report on Sri Lanka and future relations with it specifically said pushing Sri Lanka more towards China by exerting too much pressure with its human rights issues should be avoided, as it could impact negatively on bilateral relations.
US country report on Lanka
A few excerpts of pertinent selections from the report are given below:
“Yet, in Colombo, the government considers the bilateral relationship with Washington to be on a downward trajectory. Most US criticisms of Sri Lankan actions at the end of the war and treatment of IDPs have fallen on deaf ears, with Sri Lankan authorities dismissing the US posture as ‘no carrots and all sticks’. US assistance to Sri Lanka, although delivered in grants and not loans, has attracted criticism from the Rajapaksa Government for its emphasis on political reform. This growing rift in US-Sri Lanka relations can be seen in Colombo’s realignment toward non-Western countries, who offer an alternative model of development that places greater value on security over freedoms.
“Indeed, Sri Lanka’s geopolitical position has evolved considerably. As Western countries became increasingly critical of the Sri Lankan Government’s handling of the war and human rights record, the Rajapaksa leadership cultivated ties with such countries as Burma, China, Iran, and Libya. The Chinese have invested billions of dollars in Sri Lanka through military loans, infrastructure loans, and port development, with none of the strings attached by Western nations. While the United States shares with the Indians and the Chinese a common interest in securing maritime trade routes through the Indian Ocean, the US Government has invested relatively little in the economy or the security sector in Sri Lanka, instead focusing more on IDPs and civil society. As a result, Sri Lanka has grown politically and economically from the West.
“This strategic drift will have consequences for US interests in the region. Along with our legitimate humanitarian and political concerns, US policymakers have tended to underestimate Sri Lanka’s geostrategic importance for American interests. Sri Lanka is located at the nexus of crucial maritime trading routes in the Indian Ocean connecting Europe and the Middle East to China and the rest of Asia. The United States, India, and China all share an interest in deterring terrorist activity and curbing piracy that could disrupt maritime trade. Security considerations extend beyond sea-lanes to the stability of India, the world’s largest democracy. Communal tensions in Sri Lanka have the potential to undermine stability in India, particularly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, home to 60 million Tamils. All of these concerns should be part of our bilateral relationship.
“The United States cannot afford to ‘lose’ Sri Lanka. This does not mean changing the relationship overnight or ignoring the real concerns about Sri Lanka’s political and humanitarian record. It does mean, however, considering a new approach that increases US leverage vis-a-vis Sri Lanka by expanding the number of tools at our disposal. A more multifaceted US strategy would capitalize on the economic, trade, and security aspects of the relationship. This approach in turn could catalyze much-needed political reforms that will ultimately help secure longer term US strategic interests in the Indian Ocean. US strategy should also invest in Sinhalese parts of the country, instead of just focusing aid on the Tamil-dominated North and East.”
Disregard for Tamil people’s problems
When this report was released, the LTTE Diaspora in Boston picketed in front of Senator John Kerry’s office protesting that the committee chaired by him was extremely partial to the Sri Lanka Government with cynical disregard of the Tamil people’s problem.
From the time it came to be known that John Kerry would be the next Secretary of State in the US, the Sri Lanka Government presumably lined up a strategy of weaving a cocoon around itself by raising the spectre of China as a warning in a general sense. Therefore, the Defence Secretary’s remarks perfectly dovetails with the presumed strategy of playing the ‘China card’.
In retrospect, it looks as if America has not taken Kerry’s report that seriously, as evident from the fact that America played the key role in bringing a motion against Sri Lanka at the last sessions of the UNHRC in Geneva.
Furthermore, John Kerry adamantly rooted for an America sponsored ceasefire during the last stages of the war against the LTTE.
Copied below is a letter he had written to Mahinda Rajapaksa at that time.
Mahinda Rajapaksa,
President of Sri Lanka,
‘Temple Trees’,
Colombo 3,
Sri Lanka.
Dear President Rajapaksa,
I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. As you may know, on February 24, the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East and South Asia held a hearing on the crisis in Sri Lanka. During this hearing, witnesses described horrific atrocities by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), including the use of civilians as human shields. The LTTE’s blatant disregard for human life underscores why the United States designated the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization. Let me personally convey my condolences for the innocent victims of the March 10 bombing outside a mosque in southern Sri Lanka and of other incidents of terrorist violence.
While the Tamil Tigers have committed egregious acts, I am also alarmed by reports about actions taken by the Government of Sri Lanka, especially in the North and East. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that 150,000 civilians are still trapped in the Vanni region, caught between the forces of the government and the Tigers. According to the ICRC, even those fortunate enough to have escaped the fighting remain confined under poor conditions in government internment camps. There are also reports that government troops have shelled civilians and hospitals in the so-called ‘government safe-zones’; humanitarian agencies and aid workers have had only limited access to provide emergency food, medical aid, and relief supplies; and journalists have been banned from the North, imprisoned, and even murdered.
This situation jeopardizes the international standing of Sri Lanka and its relations with friendly countries. On February 2, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member, Senator Richard Lugar, and I issued a statement urging you to immediately take all necessary steps to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. We also urged your government to protect all of your citizens and conduct swift, full, and credible investigations into attacks on journalists and other non-combatants. I understand that you recently spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who made similar points. Let me once again emphasize the urgent need for the Sri Lankan Government to take all necessary steps to protect civilians, allow humanitarian access to the displaced and credibly investigate human rights violations by all members of government security forces.
As military operations against the LTTE wind down, the people of Sri Lanka will seek your leadership in finding a way to move the country forward after a quarter-century of conflict. You will have the opportunity to start down the path toward a durable and lasting peace through a political solution that acknowledge the legitimate aspirations of all Sri Lankans. As a friend of Sri Lanka, the United States will continue to closely monitor the situation – and will stand ready to facilitate a return to the peace and prosperity so earnestly desired by all of its citizens. I appreciate your personal efforts to bring a quick end to this crisis.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
Chairman.
Indo-Lanka relations
Kerry’s report, which was released after the war, as mentioned earlier, was overshadowed by India, according to political analysts at the time. Bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka – bilateral at the time – were at its best. India wholeheartedly took upon itself the responsibility of protecting Sri Lanka without harming its American relations. It could well be the rationale behind India’s stated misgivings that unmitigated US perusal of human rights issues during the war could push Sri Lanka towards stronger alliance with China. This line of reasoning has crept in toto, into John Kerry’s report released after the war with the LTTE, giving credence to the contention that his report had India’s shadow over it.
Today, the position has visibly reversed, in that India-Sri Lanka bilateral relations have reached a new low-ebb. India promised its protection to the country on condition that Sri Lanka should honour its promise to solve the ethnic problem with the 13th Amendment and plus devolution of power to the minority Tamils. However, Sri Lanka latterly reneged on its promise of devolution, thus spurning Indian protection in the scrapes, which could surely crop up in the international arena, in the days ahead. India has by now taken measure of any possible threat from China to its strategic interests and its expanding interests in Sri Lanka does not weigh heavily compared to its interests in the region. India forcefully showed that it was no longer concerned with such considerations when it gave its full backing to American sponsored UNHRC resolution against Sri Lanka at the last Geneva sessions.
In this scenario, pinning any hope on the Kerry report to give us some respite from US interference in the diplomatic arena is unrealistic. Similarly, the change of personnel holding the office of US Secretary of State does in no way affect the overall US diplomatic stance viz-a-viz, Sri Lanka. Wishing for a change of American state policy towards Sri Lanka, based on change of personnel in the US state power structure is a no win situation.
Mahinda Rajapaksa himself has the key to change American state policy towards Sri Lanka; by changing his own egregious policy for a better power sharing policy to resolve the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka.
( Upul Joshep Fernando is a senior journalist with the Ceylon Today)
Prageeth Ekneligoda: A 3 year struggle to find husband, father, cartoonist and journalist
Ruki-23 Jan, 2013
I had never met Prageeth Ekneligoda.
But after he disappeared, on 24th Jan. 2010, I read some of his articles. I found them to be thought provoking and cover many issues related to freedom of expression, human rights in general, democracy etc. But what struck me most was some of his cartoons. I was first shown the cartoons at his house, by his wife Sandya, just a few days after he had disappeared.
Amongst the cartoons that made a lasting impression on me was one that showed about ten men abusing a single woman. It was titled “if the will of the majority identifies as democracy”. I found it very powerful in it’s meaning and simple to understand. Subsequently, I had regularly used this cartoon in making presentations and conducting trainings, on issues related to minority rights and majority – minority relations in a democracy. It had always proved to be provocative, from international audiences to teenaged students. It also caused shock when I identified the author as being amongst those who had disappeared in Sri Lanka. Another of Prageeth’s cartoon that I used frequently was one titled “if we lose our voice, there will be no voice even to claim our voice”.
He had also drawn a cartoon depicting the 20 year old sentence given to journalist Tissainayagam, citing Tissa as an example of media that fulfilled the “sacred duty of providing an eyesight”. Tissa became free after several years in prison, due to a sustained campaign by his wife, friends, colleagues and international pressure. But when he drew that cartoon, perhaps Prageeth may never have thought that a worse fate was in store for him. Despite an equally determined and courageous campaign by Prageeth’s wife Sandya with support of other concerned individuals and groups, there is still no news of Prageeth, nearly three years after he had disappeared.
When Sandya asked me to write an article to a book she hopes to publish on Prageeth, I thought such a book would not be complete without at least one article about Sandya’s own struggle to find Prageeth, and more broadly against disappearances and for democracy and human rights. Given also my close association with Sandya, I therefore thought I will write more about Sandya than Prageeth.
I first met Sandya Ekneligoda, a few days after Prageeth’s disappearance. It was a time she was trying to get as much help as possible from various individuals and organizations in her struggle to find Prageeth. She was in touch with those she already knew and those who knew Prageeth – but she was also approaching others like me that didn’t know him or her. After that first encounter, we met often. I together with some colleagues tried to do our best to support her in her search. At that time in 2010, I was working at LST and soon, Sandya became a regular visitor there, with consent and full support of Mrs. Wickremesekera, the then Director, and warm friendship and support offered by most staff at LST. It was a time families of those disappeared, detained, killed, victims of torture and those living in fear of their lives – Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils – frequented LST along with local and international activists, journalists, researchers, diplomats, clergy, young lawyers etc. Sandya was always happy to talk to most of these people whenever she bumped into them – not just about Prageeth’s disappearance and her struggle, but about anyone else’s problems and broader human rights issues. Despite the importance and desperate urgency of her struggle to find her husband and weariness of going to so many placed using public transport, she was always patient and ready to wait till I finished talking to others or even when I was late.
Soon, Sandya became more than someone I and my colleagues and friends were trying to help. She became an inspiration and friend to me and many others. Like many other women I had met whose husband’s, children, relatives had disappeared, Sandya showed exceptional determination to pursue her simple, but dangerous and difficult quest of finding her husband.
Immediately after the disappearance, she had made complaints at several Police stations and later, at the National Human Rights Commission. This itself was no easy task as it sounds, given the hostility these institutions displayed towards her and their reluctance to accept and act on the complaints. Later she filed a habeas corpus case in Appeal Courts. She wrote to the President and as a wife and mother, wrote to the President’s wife, appealing for the first lady’s interventions to help find Prageeth. She stood outside the parliament with her teenaged son and distributed appeals to parliamentarians. She and her son also went to the Galle Literary Festival and distributed appeals to the writers and others gathered there. She took the initiative in organizing numerous protests and vigils in Colombo. She worked with Prageeth’s friends and concerned people to publish two books with his articles and two editions of a book with his cartoons.
As she continued her battle to find her husband, she also showed increasing concern about problems faced by Tamils, especially in the North. She showed a keen interest to visit the North and meet families of disappeared persons there. My friends in North had heard about her and were keen to meet her and host her when I asked them about a possibility for her to visit. After her first visit to Mannar and Vanni, she told me that she wanted to work more closely with families of disappeared people she had met there. Infact, her visit inspired families of disappeared persons, church leaders and civil society in Mannar to organize a public event highlighting disappearances for the first time after several years, on international human rights day, braving intimidation from the military. Sandya went back to Mannar for the event, which also displayed cartoons of Prageeth. Subsequently, several families of disappeared persons from North also came to Colombo to join vigil, protests, religious services etc. Sandya also personally went to distribute invitations for events related to Prageeth and she also took a lot of effort to talk to the few sympathetic journalists individually about developments (and often lack of!) in Prageeth’s case.
In addition to all these local efforts, Sandya also sought help of the international community to find Prageeth. She made formal complaints to various UN mechanisms that Sri Lankan government has agreed to be part of. She submitted a personal appeal to the UN Secretary General and met the UN’s Resident Representative in Colombo to have over this appeal. She went to USA and also visited Europe several times to talk about Prageeth and disappearances in Sri Lanka. Her testimony in Geneva during the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2012 led to her being intimidated, abused and ridiculed – in Geneva and even inside a Sri Lankan court, by a Deputy Solicitor General at the Attorney General’s Department. Her “crime” was that her efforts at trying to find her husband was bringing the country into disrepute! When Mr. Mohan Peiris, the head of Government’s delegation to the UN Committee Against Torture claimed that Prageeth was living abroad, Sandya wrote to the Committee to make further inquiries. Domestically, she launched a determined campaign to get Mr. Peiris to testify in Court of Law in Sri Lanka. Despite resistance by high level authorities, Sandya’s persistence led to Mr. Peiris being summoned to courts to disclose what he knew. But the much anticipated testimony proved to be an anti climax, as Mr. Peiris simply retracted his statement to the UN Committee Against Torture and said he doesn’t know where Prageeth is! Earlier this month, in a move that was widely condemned, Mr. Peiris was appointed by the President as the Chief Justice, after the previous Chief Justice was impeached in an unconstitutional manner.
Cartoonist Rights Network International based in the USA gave a special commendation to Sandya for “her persistent pressure brought to bear on the Sri Lankan government to account for the disappearance of her cartoonist husband” at an award ceremony in the USA.
On 24th January 2013, it will be 3 years since Prageeth disappeared. But ideas that he dedicated his life to, lives on – through his personal memory to those who knew him, and through his articles and cartoons which have been published, to those like me who were not fortunate to know him. And hopefully, another publication will further spread his thinking.
Often, I wondered what I can tell Sandya and her sons. I’m sure there is a lot of pain they are keeping inside. Often, I felt helpless and powerless – feeling that nothing I or my friends, Sandya’s and Prageeth’s friends and human rights defenders are doing will help find Prageeth. But Sandya never asked for sympathy, she only sought to discuss practical things we could do, and often would share and suggest new ideas she had in mind. Even when she used to visit me during the three months I was stuck at home with a broken leg. During the many times that I was exhausted, mentally and physically, frustrated at lack of results despite numerous efforts, Sandya’s calls, emails and meetings encouraged me to do more. So in the last three years, I became part of her life – at vigils, protests, religious events, during court hearings, seminars, helping prepare her submissions, speeches, letters to local and international bodies etc. Indeed, it seemed to me that her life itself seemed to have been centered on her search for Prageeth. And others who had disappeared and for democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka. Her determination and perseverance has at times made me ashamed at my own limits and weaknesses, but she continues to amaze and inspire me. She also faced specific challenges due to her being a woman. Despite all these challenges, Sandya continues her search for Prageeth and also supports and encourages other families of disappeared person in their struggles. I believe no person who believes in and works for human rights can refuse to be part of Sandya’s journey and struggle.
(Revised and updated version of a Sinhalese article by the author written for a book to be published on Prageeth Ekneligoda)
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