Sri Lanka: Former Tamil Tigers complain of harassment

South Asia   29 July 2011

By Charles Haviland BBC News, northern Sri Lanka

Many former rebels find it difficult to let go of the past

Former Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka say they cannot find jobs or reintegrate into society, a year after they were freed from government "rehabilitation" and detention camps.

In a series of exclusive interviews with the BBC, some also said they were being harassed by the security forces, though others were being left alone.
After the LTTE were defeated in 2009, more than 11,000 former militants or alleged militants were taken to the special camps after being screened off from civilian war refugees. A few thousand remain inside but more than half have been released, in phases, and gone home.
In Jaffna I called on Kumarasamy Muralitharan, nine months after I met him on his release.
He is an ex-LTTE doctor who was trained in the militants' medical colleges and served for 20 years in their medical wing. When I met him in October he wondered nervously whether his qualifications would get him a job as a doctor in post-war Sri Lanka, and whether he would be accepted by society.
                                                                            Continue reading the main story
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Sri Lanka's ethnic polarisation persists strongly despite peace

29 Jul 2011 15:01
* Tamils say uncomfortable with post-war reconciliation
* Poll results show old ethnic divisions still strong
* Rajapaksa drags political solution
By Shihar Aneez
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, July 29 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's old war zone has been at peace for two years but the minority Tamils who populate it say they are hungry for jobs, despite the economic revival the government has offered instead of the political powers for which Tamils first took up arms.

In Sri Lanka's north and east, people last week voted for the first time in at least 12 years and as many as 29 to elect local councils, two years after the military wiped out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to end a 25-year war           Full Story>>>

Sri Lanka: Tamil hopes and national unity

July 27, 2011

R. K. Radhakrishnan

AP Sri Lankan voters walk to polling stations as a policeman stands guard in Jaffna on July 23, 2011. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the umbrella organisation of Tamil political parties, recorded convincing victories in local body elections in Sri Lanka's north and east.

The sweeping victory of the Tamil National Alliance in local elections in Sri Lanka's North lends a fresh perspective to talks with the government that lie ahead.

More than two years ago the guns fell silent in Sri Lanka, ending a three decade-old civil war with the LTTE. But voices demanding an acceptable solution that accommodates Tamil aspirations are still strident. The country's leadership is seeking to meet these demands within a national unity framework. 

  Full Story>>>
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PM Heblikar: 25 years on, the Indo-Lanka Accord has some silver linings

PM Heblikar | Friday, July 29, 2011

The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord signed on July 29, 1987 will soon enter its twenty-fifth year. It still remains the best example of an earnest attempt by both sides to provide a durable political solution to the ethnic issue and underscores the importance of mutual security interests.
This document has survived sabotage by the LTTE, faced opposition by several Sinhala chauvinist groups such as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and reluctance of the ruling dispensations, at different periods of time, to give effect to those provisions having political and constitutional validity.
Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made the best attempt in 2001 to come to political terms with the LTTE by brokering a ceasefire, with a safety net provided by India, Japan, Norway and several other countries. While the ceasefire failed due to many reasons, it significantly caused the beginning of the end of the LTTE.
President Rajapaksa took the military option and eventually routed the LTTE in May 2009. The circumstances of the military defeat of the LTTE are mired in controversy, and Sri Lanka faces an uphill task to provide a credible defence to clear its alleged involvement in the ghastly death of LTTE combatants and Tamil civilians.                                        Full Story>>>

TNA’s electoral victory indicates Tamils’ resolve for self-determination

By Ramu Manivannan   30 Jul 2011

Posted 29-Jul-2011 Vol 2 Issue 30 The remarkable success of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the umbrella organization of Tamil Political parties in the recently held local body elections in the North and East of Sri Lanka is yet another reaffirmation of the Tamils’ belief in their right to self determination. The TNA won 18 of the 26 local bodies in the region in an election they fought amidst hostile conditions. The Sri Lankan government and the ruling elite cannot dismiss this mandate as votes gathered under the dictum of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Brave voters: Tamils in North Sri Lanka braved threats from pro-Rajapaksa parties to cast their votes in favour of TNA. (Photo above was taken in a Tamil area last week) The political will of the Eelam Tamils has been continually expressed under the shadow of different organizations and various circumstances, but never been under doubt since the historical Vattukotai resolution in 1976. The President of Jathika Hela Urumaya, Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, has said the results do not reflect a desire for a federal system, since the ruling party has secured 56 percent of the total vote share in the polls, including the North.            Read More

Missing HR activist’s body exhumed

By Susitha R. Fernando

The body of human rights activist Pattinin Razeek who disappeared more than one and half years ago was exhumed before Valachchenai Magistrate on a lead given by a suspect today.

The body was buried within a half built private house in a remote village in Uddamaveli, Valachchenai. The Valachchenai Magistrate ordered to send the body to the Government Analyst Department for the scientific identification.

The position of the body was uncovered following a lead given by suspect Ismail Mohamed Musteen who was arrested by police. Earlier the police had identified Shahabdeen Nowshaadh as the chief suspect in Mr. Razeek’s disappearance.

Razeek, head of the Community Trust Fund (CTF), a Sri Lankan NGO based in the town of Puttalam had been missing since February 11, 2010, after disappearing in the town of Polonnaruwa.

The body of the disappeared human rights activist Pattini Razeek exhumed

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

(July 29, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mr. Pattini Razeek, a well known human rights activist and a member of the executive committee of Forum Asia disappeared on February 11, 2010, yesterday (July 28) his body was exhumed before the Valachchenai Magistrate. The body had been buried within a half built private house in a remote village in Uddamaveli, Valachchanair and the location was identified due to a lead given by a suspect. The body has been sent to the government analyst department for scientific identification on the orders of the Magistrate. For the last one and a half years there had been a continuous demand from the members of his family, from the people in his residential area as well as from human rights organisations in Sri Lanka and abroad for an investigation into his disappearance. Razeek was the head of the Community Trust Fund (CTF), a Sri Lankan NGO based in the town of Puttalam.

The discovery of the body should be the beginning of the process of uncovering the circumstances leading to the death of this human rights activist and community leader. It is the duty of the government to ensure a thorough enquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the mystery of this disappearance and to place before the courts the entire evidence relating to the conspiracy for this murder. Obviously this murder and the disappearance is a part of a well thought out criminal conspiracy.    

Pictures courtesy of Daily Mirror

The circumstances of this disappearance and murder suggest the involvement of powerful forces for the causing of this crime as well as for the attempt to hide the body. The reports published earlier suggest political motives for this murder. The events relating to the disposal of the Community Trust Fund also suggests that there were interested parties to make claims for this trust fund after his disappearance. All these factors need to be thoroughly investigated and brought to the notice of the court and the public.

The public in Sri Lanka has a great interest in the outcome of these investigations. For a long time the causing of forced disappearances has become a common phenomenon in the country. So far there has not been a single case of a disappearance which has led to the discovery of the culprits. The perpetrators of disappearances have enjoyed immunity in almost all instances of such occurrences.

This first discovery of the body of a person who was considered to have been disappeared should lead to a great demand from the community for accountability. As the inquiries are of the greatest public importance such inquiries should be conducted with transparency. It is necessary, not only to uncover the direct perpetrators of this crime but what is even more important is to uncover the conspiracy behind this disappearance and murder.

The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of Sri Lanka to conduct speedy and credible inquiries through competent and impartial investigators and to speedily bring the matter before the court for trial. The AHRC also urges complete transparency into the inquiries so that the public should have access to all the information relating to this heinous crime. The AHRC also urges the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure proper monitoring of this important case with the view that the circumstances surrounding such occurrence could be fully revealed.

Thousands of other cases of forced disappearances remain unresolved. The families of such disappeared persons should be given opportunities to make their complaints to competent authorities and to demand inquiries into such disappearances. The failure to ensure enquiries into such heinous crimes amounts to a conspiracy to ensure secrecy relating to such crimes. As the numbers of the persons making such complaints are many there should be a more robust response from the government to ensure credible enquiries.

At the time of the recovery of Razeek's body the case of Prageeth Eknaligoda will naturally come to the minds of the Sri Lankan public. The demand for enquiries into his forced disappearance has been made forcefully by his family as well as many concerned groups in Sri Lanka as well as by the international community. It is the duty of the Sri Lankan governemtn to responde to such demands and to ensure a credible inquiry by competent and impartial investigators into his disappearance.

Read More  

TNA Opposes Elections Department Statement

Friday, July 29, 2011

The TNA has said the decision of the Elections Department to reduce the number of parliamentary seats allocated to the Jaffna District was unfair.
TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran has told the media that the decision to reduce the parliamentary seats from 10 to six was not a fair decision.
The Elections Department announced earlier in the day that the number of seats allocated to the Jaffna District may be reduced due to the decline in the number of voters by 320,000 since 2009.
The media reported that the four remaining seats would be allocated to the Ratnapura, Matara, Kurunegala and Badulla Districts.
However, Premachandran has explained that many civilians who have fled fromJaffnaduring the war were still in the process of returning to the country.
The parliamentarian has added that the party would discuss the matter with the Elections Department.
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Jaffna to Lose 3 Parliamentary Seats

Jul 29, 2011
Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated Jaffna district will have its parliamentary seats slashed from nine to six as the Election Commission said the region had witnessed number of voters dropping to half the previous figure of 700,000.

The officials said the fall in number of parliamentarians was due to the country's complicated proportional representation system of elections.

Vowing to oppose the move, the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which recently swept the local election in the province, alleged that the fall in voters had been due to people being forced to leave their homes due to a three-decade long ethnic violence.

"People are still returning from India after the end of the war. The diaspora still feel unsafe to return to Jaffna but when they decide to return you will find that they will not be able to exercise their franchise," Suresh Premachandran, the senior TNA MP said.

Elections commissioner's department officials said that the Jaffna district will have just six MPs representing the voters as opposed to the current number of nine MPs.

The decision has been made in view of the decreased number of voters in Jaffna. The current voter figure dropped to just over 300,000 from the previous 700,000.

During the height of the military conflict in the north and east when the LTTE waged a war to create a separate homeland for the Sri Lanka Tamils, a large number of Jaffna residents fled the area, either migrated mostly to West or located themselves elsewhere in the country, mostly in the capital Colombo.

DPF: Tamil People Need Political Power

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Democratic People’s Front (DPF) says that the results of the recently concluded local government elections in the North indicated that the Tamil people needed political power to make their own decisions to develop their regions.
DPF Leader Mano Ganeshan said in a statement that the Tamil people have rejected the development decisions made inColombo.
He said that the government played the development slogan explicitly in its campaign in the North and Minister Wimal Weerawansa openly said they wanted the Tamils on their side in the East, in order to face the international community.
Ganeshan observes the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had repeatedly said it was prepared to share power within a united Sri Lanka and that the Tamil people in the North and East have agreed with the TNA position by rejecting government overtures and positions at last Saturday’s local government elections.
The DPF supported the election campaign of the TNA at the recently concluded local government elections.
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30 fishermen injured in attack by Lankan Navy

Thirty fishermen were injured when they were assaulted allegedly by Sri Lankan Naval personnel in the high seas off the coast here on Thursday, police said.

The fishermen alleged that the Lankan Naval men, who came in seven boats, whipped them with a rope, and took away their catch and GPS equipment, among others, early Thursday morning.

Two of the boats were fitted with machine guns, while the Naval personnel in five other boats were heavily armed, they told officials.

Tension prevailed in this island town as the fishermen gathered at the fisheries office to complain about the assault.

A case has been registered in this regard, police said.

Recurring attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen, allegedly by Sri Lankan Navy, had been an issue for a long time. Sri Lanka accused the fishermen of crossing the IMBL and fishing in the island waters, offering rich fish wealth.
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Sri Lanka rejects new war crimes charge

Photo of Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse. - AP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s military Thursday rejected new allegations that its political bosses ordered the execution of surrendering Tamil rebels during the final days of the island’s separatist war.
Reacting to a new broadcast from Britain’s Channel 4 that accused defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse of ordering executions, military spokesman Ubaya Medawela dismissed the allegations as “completely false”.
Channel 4 said two Sri Lankan soldiers who declined to be named had told them that orders to execute surrendering rebels came directly from the defence secretary, who is the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse.                                   Full Story

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with TNA MP Suresh Premachandran on the LG elections, Parliamentary Select Committee and Political Solution

groundviews journalism For citizens

Groundviews caught up with TNA Member of Parliament Suresh Premachandran, who spoke to us about the nature of election violations that occurred in the Northern Province prior to the 23^rd of July and on Election Day, which included intimidation, assault, bribery, voter transportation, continuous campaigning and reports of the systematic and forced appropriation of ballot and identity cards by ‘armed actors’. Premachandran asserted that the result of the election delivered two messages to the Government; firstly, the Tamil people require development, but also ‘a political settlement’ and secondly, that there is a consensus on the need for an ‘investigation’ and ‘some sort of accountability’. Premachandran also spoke about the Government’s insistence on a Parliamentary Select Committee for drawing up a political solution, which he simply dismissed as a ‘delay tactic’.
On the issue of negotiations with the Government for a political solution, Premachandran stated that there was ‘no progress on devolution matters’. Furthermore, in what appeared to be a fit of idiosyncrasy Premachandran stated that the TNA did not provide ‘any comprehensive proposals as such’, but instead submitted ‘notes for discussions’. What ‘comprehensive proposals/report’ were Mathiaparanan Sumanthiran and Mavai Senadhirajah talking about a few months ago? It is hard to believe that when dealing with an intransigent and duplicitous government, Premachandran could deny the existence of ‘comprehensive proposals’ submitted by at least the TNA, particularly when the Long-term Reconciliation Committee – the unfortunate title given to the collective from the Government negotiating with the TNA – appears to have absolutely no concrete mandate or framework that delineates the basis for negotiations.
It is also interesting to note that Premachandran felt that the TNA might have to expand its mandate in order to address issues such as militarisation in the south and thereby fill the void created by the lack of effective opposition politics given the imbroglio of the UNP. While this does seem ambitious and perhaps even unrealistic, it does reinforce certain opinions expressed about the TNA being the only opposition alliance with the political backbone to challenge this government on critical post-war issues.
There is also growing concern about whether adequate funds will be provided to local government bodies in the Northern Province and with racist apparatchiks of the Government challenging the TNA to ‘develop the north’, it does seem as though the TNA will find it increasingly difficult to exercise effective administration, particularly if the Government adopts a retributive agenda in light of its significant defeat in the region. Premachandran ends ominously by stating that ‘if they [the Government] are not going to have a proper settlement through discussion[s] with TNA, then of course we have to take the struggle diplomatically…we will have to mobilise our people, we will have to start non-violent agitation…so that will continue’.

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with TNA MP Suresh Premachandran by Sanjana Hattotuwa

'Withdrawal of funds' from north

27 July, 2011

	TNA says that the government is trying to negate TNA's victory

The major Tamil political party in Sri Lanka warns that the government is planning to withdraw funds to a majority of local governing bodies in the north.

Tamil Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran told BBC Sandeshaya that the challenge by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to develop the north on its own is clear evidence of that plan.

Power and Energies Minister Ranawaka commenting on the TNA landslide victory in the north told journalists on Tuesday that it is the responsibility of the winners themselves to rebuild the area.

"It was not the Sinhalese who destroyed the tanks, electricity and railway lines," he charged.

'Undemocratic means'

TNA MP Sumanthiran in response said, "the government is trying to negate the Tamil people's democratic will by economic force".

	The minister says that it was the LTTE that destroyed the north

He alleged that the ruling coalition failing to win the north by force during the local government elections is now resorting to undemocratic means.

Earlier, the the secretary general of the ruling party said that it has received more votes than in the last elections.

"We will start by building upon our 57 members who have been elected," said United Peoples Front Alliance (UPFA) Seceretary General Minister Susil Premjayanth.

Minister Ranawaka has also said that the TNA with the new found support should not demand police and land powers or federal status.

"This threat to democratically elected bodies sends a wrong signal that the Tamil people cannot achieve their democratic aspirations through the ballot," said Mr Sumanthiran.

Sri Lanka 'war crimes' soldiers ordered to 'finish the job'

Wednesday 27 July 2011 

Former Sri Lankan President denounces current government
The latest revelations on Channel 4 News came after the former president of Sri Lanka condemned the current government in a speech in Colombo. Chandrika Kumaratunga warned that the country could descend into anarchy following the civil war between the govenment and Tamil rebels. Speaking in Colombo, Mrs Kumaratunga said her children had reacted with 'shock and horror' to Channel 4's 'Killing Fields' documentary which alleged war-time atrocities. "My 28 year-old son called me, sobbing on the phone to say how ashamed he was to call himself a Sinhalese and a Lankan," she said. Mrs Kumaratunga served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2005. She is the country's only female President to date.Kumaratunga suffered permanent nerve damage and lost vision in her right eye following an assassination attempt by the Tamil Tigers at her final election rally in Colombo in 1999.


Full Story>>>

The Sri Lankan soldiers 'whose hearts turned to stone'

Wednesday 27 July 2011Exclusive: As the Sri Lankan war approached its endgame, 130,000 civilians were trapped along a small strip of beach. An eyewitness recalls the bloodshed that followed and how civilians were targeted.

This report contains details some readers may find distressing.

Over the last two years Channel 4 News has broadcast footage that the UN says constitutes "credible evidence of war crimes" in Sri Lanka.
In the final stages of 26 years of civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, and better known as the Tamil Tigers), the United Nations estimated up to 40,000 civilians were killed.
"Fernando" was operating with Sri Lanka's 58 Division during the final assault. He has risked his life as well as the lives of his family to speak out about the horrors he witnessed. He told Channel 4 News that men, women, and children were actively targeted with small arms by government forces.



 The Sri Lankan soldiers 'whose hearts turned to stone'                                                               
   Full Story

‘Live and Let live’message delivered by Tamil people -Mano Ganesan

Wednesday 27 of July 2011
 
(Lanka-e-News -25.July.2011, 8.00PM) Live and let live is the message delivered by Tamil people in the north and east to the government says Democratic Peoples Front leader Mano Ganesan in a statement issued by DPF media office. DPF supported TNA at the recently concluded elections. Ganesan who personally took part in TNA election campaign in Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts in the north says further in the statement,

Government played the development slogan explicitly in its campaign in the north. Minister Weerawansa went to east and openly said that they wanted Tamil people on their side to face the international community. TNA has repeatedly said that it is prepared to share power within united Sri Lanka. Tamil people living in the north and east have echoed this position of TNA by rejecting government overtures and positions.

Tamils in the north and east demand the extension of the same and equal civil status enjoyed by the Sinhalese in the south. They need their villages and towns to be developed with bridges, roads, schools and hospitals. But they have rejected the development decisions made in Colombo. The verdict at the elections clearly state that Tamil people needed political power onto their own hands to make their own decisions to develop their own regions.
This verdict of the Tamil people in north and east has to be now respected. We joined hands with TNA to strengthen democracy in the Tamil regions. TNA victory is the victory for democracy in north and east. Government should now stop deliberately mixing up the demands of the LTTE and TNA. Instead we call upon the government to make use of the talks with TNA to arrive at a fair solution to share political power.

On Friday, Jonathan Rugman reported from Mogadishu for Channel 4 News on the thousands of refugees who have risked everything to escape famine in Somalia.

Reblogged from unicefuk

On Friday, Jonathan Rugman reported from Mogadishu for Channel 4 News on the thousands of refugees who have risked everything to escape famine in Somalia.
Read about UNICEF’s work in Somalia.

Local Elections in the North and East: Rebuking the Regime

 

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

The results of the second phase of the 2011 local government elections reveal a north/ south divide with the ruling UPFA winning comfortably outside of the north and east and the TNA capturing the overwhelming majority of local bodies in those areas.  These results need serious analysis by all political parties as an indication of the trajectory of politics to come.  For the UNP and the JVP in particular, deep soul searching and political strategizing is in order.  They failed miserably and may well claim that local bodies invariably go to the party in government. However, there has been enough out there in the public realm to latch on to and capitalize upon in respect of corruption and financial mismanagement to mount a fight back in earnest.  Were they to ignore the message of the electorate, there is the danger that the elections to municipal and urban councils to come, could spell their irrelevance as political forces to be reckoned with.       Full Story>>> 
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What South Africa can do to help with reconciliation in Sri Lanka

Louise Arbour, The Sunday Times  |   24 Jul 2011

 

As South Africa knows better than most, a country cannot begin to overcome decades of internal conflict without a sustained effort at revealing the truth of the past and a committed push for reconciliation. If only Sri Lanka could learn that lesson.

It has been more than two years since the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in a war whose final months saw both the Sinhalese-majority government and the rebels contribute to the massive loss of Tamil civilian lives. Rather than starting on the slow, painful path towards a more democratic and equal society, however, the post-war policies of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his powerful brothers have further undermined the country’s damaged political institutions and deepened the ethnic divide.      Full Story>>>

     

TNA challenged to "develop north if possible"

26 July, 2011

Sri Lanka’s ruling party has challenged the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to bring about development if possible to the north.

Minister Ranwaka posed this challenge with referance to the landslide victory of the TNA at the local polls in the North.

Federal system

President of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka talking to media on the recently concluded local government elections said that local government election results do not reflect that there should be a federal system in the country.

Tamil National Alliance with other Tamil parties won twenty local government bodies in the North on Saturday’s elections.
unitary state

Minister Ranawaka said that the ruling party has now received a total of 56 percent of votes in the local government bodies including the north for a unitary state of the country.

The minister warned that under this background; winning a few local bodies, TNA should not try to challenge the majority by demanding lands rights and police powers.

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New Democratic MPs behind Layton, Mulcair says

CBC News Canada    Jul 26, 2011

Support continued to pour in Tuesday for NDP Leader Jack Layton following his announcement a day earlier that he is battling another form of cancer. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

NDP deputy leader Thomas Mulcair says the whole party is standing behind Jack Layton in his fight against cancer.

Layton stepped down as party leader Monday to concentrate on his health, recommending the party's federal council choose Hull-Aylmer, Que., MP Nycole Turmel as interim leader.
Mulcair said he supports that recommendation, pointing out he was there to help announce Turmel's candidacy.      Full Story>>>

TNA insists on police, land powers

Tuesday, 26 July 2011
By Sandun
A. Jayasekera
The Tamil National Alliance(TNA) which swept the board in Saturday’s local council elections in the North said yesterday it would be impossible to reach a political solution and bring about lasting peace, justice and democracy in the North without the devolution of police and land powers.
Jaffna district parliamentarian and TNA spokesman Suresh Premachandra told Daily Mirror the TNA which won 18 of the 23 local councils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces was in a stronger position to negotiate with the government at the ongoing talks following the overwhelming mandate it received from the Tamil-speaking people.
“It’s unfortunate that the government has failed to understand fully and correctly the real  problems facing the Tamil community and their aspirations. I wonder whether the government even realises the impact of the TNA’s electoral victory,” Mr. Premachandra said.
With regard to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s stance that police and land powers are non-negotiable, Mr. Premachandra said these two subjects were extremely necessary for lasting peace, justice, democracy and northern development.
“If the government continues to be adamant on police and land powers I do not see the need to continue the current dialogue,” Mr. Premchandra said. “The TNA is ready to accept a dignified solution to the ethnic problem within a united Sri Lanka. We need a serious dialogue with the government and the sad part of this is that the government has not understood this properly. I do not know how we could convince the government.”
With regard to allegations of war crimes during the last stages of the war, Mr. Premchandra said the government must heed the requests of the United Nations, Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and the international community by setting up a credible local mechanism to investigate these allegations.
“If this is not done, no one can prevent Sri Lanka being called a ‘Pariah State’ in the eyes of the international community and organizations,” Mr. Premachandra said.
He emphasised the futility of appointing a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to work out proposals to resolve the national question apart from it being a time-wasting exercise.
“Arriving at an acceptable solution will be impossible with Sinhalese extremists like the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) in parliament,” he said.
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Setback for Rajapaksa's reconciliation

Jul 27, 2011 By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE - Local election results in Sri Lanka indicate that while President Mahinda Rajapaksa can still count on solid support in the Sinhala south, his post-war development strategy to address Tamil alienation has failed to cut ice with Tamils in the north and east.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) exceeded expectations to take control of 18 of 26 local bodies in the north and east in the polls on Saturday. Another Tamil party, the Tamil United Liberation Front, took two local councils - both in Killinochchi district - where it was reportedly backed by the TNA.   
Full Story>>>

Sri Lanka: What next after the TNA victory ?

26-July-2011Guest Column: By Dr Kumar David

The local government elections of 23 July in so far as the North and East of Lanka are concerned bear far greater significance than the functions of the councils and sabhas warrant. The outcome is a barometer of the crucial relationship between the Ceylon Tamils and the Rajapakse state. (I use the term Ceylon Tamil to indicate the exclusion of the upcountry Tamil community of more recent Indian origin). During the run up the government, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the International Community, Delhi and Tamil Nadu well appreciated what was at stake. At stake was a simple question: Did the Tamils, post-war, accept that the way forward in the next phase was under the leadership of the Rajapakse government, or were they going to rebuff Rajapakse and repose their trust in an indigenous, nationalist Tamil movement?

The question has been answered with resounding clarity. The Ceylon Tamils, for better for worse, have rejected Rajapakse and sent a message of no confidence in his regime. Let me explain the scale of the defeat of the government in the Tamil areas and the significance of its victories in the Sinhalese areas before touching on some deeper issues.                          Full Story>>>
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In Sri Lanka, the Ballot Takes Over where the Bullet Ruled .

By Amantha Perera/Colombo Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Homes lie destroyed in an abandoned conflict zone where Tamil Tigers separatists made their last stand before their defeat by the Sri Lankan army in northeastern Sri Lanka, May 23, 2009.

Joe Klamar / AFP / Getty Images

It was an election of little if any practical importance, but huge symbolic value. Twenty local administrative bodies in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north went to polls over the weekend to elect members. Though power in the region is still in the hands of the central government, the elections in the northern districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mulaittivu were closely watched around the country as the first public referendum of post-war redevelopment and reconciliation efforts by the government of President Mahinda Rajapakasa.
Read more:

TNA MP Suresh Premachandran on the result of the Local Government elections

groundviews journalism For citizens

This statement on the results of the recently concluded local government elections (covered in detail by Groundviews here) was issued originally in Tamil by  Tamil National Alliance MP  Suresh Premachandran. Download PDF here. Only brief excerpts in English have been picked up by domestic and international media.
In order to stimulate wider debate over its content and points, we’ve translated Premachandran’s full statement in English. Though we’ve checked it for accuracy twice, a note from our translator is worth keeping in mind, “The meaning [of the statement] is captured though every subtle nuance and emphasis is not. The entire thing is written in free flowing passive voice Tamil which while lyrical, is difficult to translate.” We also encourage our readers to suggest better translations of key phrases and words through comments. 
Continue reading »
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AI disappointed

Sunday, 24 July 2011 09:19 Amnesty International (AI) says it was “disappointed” with a meeting held with the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona last week.
The international human rights group said that the Sri Lankan delegation, at the meeting in New York, had consistently denied that the military had committed any crimes during the war.
“Amnesty International had a different interpretation of the meeting and was, in fact, disappointed that after the Sri Lankan government expressed a desire for a more constructive dialogue, the tone of the meeting remained one of denial that any wrongdoing had occurred,” Jim McDonald, Sri Lanka Country Specialist of Amnesty International USA said.
The Head of Amnesty International, United Nations Office, Jose Luis Diaz, met with Dr. Palitha Kohona, to initiate a dialogue on issues relating to Sri Lanka, particularly those arising from the screening of the Channel-4 video.
Asked about the government response to those who feel that the events close to the end of the conflict must be thoroughly investigated in order to prevent Sri Lanka becoming a model in similar conflict situations, Ambassador Kohona had said at the meeting that Sri Lanka prides itself on being governed by the rule of law and by a long established legal tradition and had no intention of being a model for anyone else.
“Amnesty International believes that an international investigation is needed, whether or not Sri Lanka engages in domestic inquiries,” Jim McDonald said when asked if after the meeting AI felt that a domestic mechanism was enough.
He also said that Amnesty International has made a number of requests to visit Sri Lanka and reiterated that request during Jose Luis Diaz’s meeting with Ambassador Kohona last week.

(Report by Easwaran Rutnam for News Now.lk)
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PRESS RELEASE: International calls grow for end to tourism land grabs in Sri LankaJul 25, 2011

Jul 25, 2011 The Sri Lankan government and large tourism developers must stop forcibly displacing communities, destroying livelihoods, threatening food security, and wreaking havoc on the environment in the name of tourism, say Sri Lankan and international campaigning groups (i).
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The groups, including participants of a recent International Fact Finding Mission, are calling for an immediate halt to the Kalpitiya Integrated Tourism Resort Project on Sri Lanka’s western coast– the country’s largest tourism development to date (ii).
Herman Kumara of Sri Lanka’s National Fishworkers’ Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) says: “Whole communities face an imminent threat of displacement. The entire process is lacking transparency, accountability and responsiveness by the Sri Lankan government. We need a National Commission to review the plans, to listen to the concerns of the people of Kalpitiya and ensure their needs are met.”
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