Restore law and order in Jaffna: Ranil

TUESDAY, 06 SEPTEMBER 2011
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe today proposed that a committee comprising all the MPs from the Jaffna district be appointed for the government to consult in matters such as the dismantling of the High Security Zones in the aftermath of the withdrawal of the emergency regulations.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, raising a question under the Standing Order 23-II , said that advice could be sought from this committee on such matters.  He stressed the need to return the lands within the High Securty Zones to their legitimate owners.

Also, he took a swipe at the government for the failure on the part of it to prevent the ‘Grease Yaka’ harassing the people of Jaffna.“Other members have also raised this matter in the House. We expected the government to go into this issue and restore law and order in Jaffna.  Unfortunately, this has not been done. The incidents of the Grease Yaka has increased in Jaffna and feelings are running high in the peninsula. At no time, has the government taken any steps to arrest this situation,” he said.

He said that it is the perception of people that it is a covert attempt to intimidate the people of Jaffna. “At the moment, there are 50,000 security force personnel stationed in Jaffna. 25-30 lands are within the High Security Zones. There are many checkpoints and patrolling that takes place round the clock. This is sufficient to apprehend the Grease Yaka,” he said.

However, Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva said that it grossly unfair for Mr. Wickremesinghje to refer to the inability of the security forces to stop the harassment of the people in Jaffna.

 “This statement has far reaching consequences. Let me remind the leader of the Opposition that it is these very security forces that liberated the people of the North including the people of Jaffna from the brutal terrorists that dominated the northern province,” he said.
He said that the law and order situation in Jaffna is normal and at a satisfactory level, and the issue of the Grease Yaka is a mythical creation of those who want to throw this country into turmoil. (Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera)
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'complete destruction' seen by Moon

06 September, 2011

The UN Secretary General had told the diplomats that he saw a scene of "complete destruction", when he flew over the former "no-fire zone" in Sri Lanka. He described the conditions of Manik Farm refugee camp as worse than anything he had ever seen before, reveals a US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks.

Sataellite images of shelling in the no fire zone

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon briefed Co-Chair Ambassadors of Sri Lanka aid group at Colombo airport on the night of 23 May 2009 at the end of his 24-hour visit to Sri Lanka.

Responding to a question from Norwegian Ambassador Tore Hattrem on his assessment of conditions at Manik Farm, Secretary General had said his visit to the camp had been "very sobering and very sad."

 Full Story>>>

Searching for Sri Lanka’s Anna Hazare

 groundviewsjournalism Forcitizens

Searching for Sri Lanka’s Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare, courtesy Injustices.in Foundation It was just last week that the BBC featured a documentary describing the post war atrocities committed against vulnerable Tamil women in the north and east who are part of the captive Tamil population subject to heavy militarization. Although the state of emergency was suddenly and mysteriously lifted by the President, last week, obviously due to international pressure, we see that new legislation is being introduced to circumvent such action and thereby nullify the objective of removing now redundant laws that stifle democratic freedoms and fundamental rights of the people. While we wait and watch, another phenomenon is taking place – that of the ‘grease devils’ which, incidentally, was also featured on international news recently. Why are areas of disturbance predominantly in ethnic minority populated regions of the country such as Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee,Batticaloa, Ampara, Puttalam and Hatton. The latest attack being in Kokuvil, Jaffna( recently sinhalized name change is  kokavilla). Use of force by…

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Indian activist Anna Hazare returns home after fast

BBC                     

News South Asia 
1 September 2011
Villagers greeted Mr Hazare when he reached home


Indian anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare has returned to his village three days after he ended a 12-day hunger strike in the capital, Delhi.
Mr Hazare arrived at Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra after he was released from a Delhi hospital on Wednesday.
The 74-year-old broke his fast after MPs expressed support for proposed changes to anti-corruption legislation.

Indians have been angered by a string of corruption scandals and Mr Hazare's campaign received widespread support.    Full Story>>>

Rajapakse prepares again to attend UN (wedding) assembly wasting public funds : Rs. 40 million for limousine mania!

Tuesday 6 of September 2011

(Lanka-e-News -04.Sep.2011, 11.50P.M.) The President Mahinda Rajapakse is scheduled to attend the UN 66th General assembly which is being held from the 19th to 21st this month, accompanied by a jumbo delegation, according to reports reaching Lanka e news. According to our New York correspondent, like last year when a colossal amount of public funds was wasted on this UN assembly junket , this year too grandiose preparations are under way for this year’s UN assembly entourage at a huge cost . Based on information from unofficial sources, a jumbo delegation comprising 116 members are to participate in this President’s jolly junket at state expense.

Already arrangements have been made to hire 90 super luxury limousines for the purpose of transport of the delegation . US $ 45/- per hour is the hiring charge of each vehicle. Each vehicle is being hired for 16 to 18 hours for a day. In addition to this a number of Vans have also been hired each at 65 $ per hour to transport the supporting groups . The total expenditure per day on these hiring vehicles in SL Rupees is Rs. 80 lakhs ! For a minimum of five days , the total cost will be Rs. 40 million.!

It is saddening to state that despite spending such a colossal sum of money on this junket last year , most of the chairs were empty in the Hall when he was addressing the assembly.

We shall be bringing you more interesting news on this year’s Rajapakse jumbo junket and jollity at state expense.
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Long journey beyond Sri Lanka’s killing fields

TRIBUNEMAGAZINE.co.uk

What explains the British Government’s inertia over very recent wartime atrocities? asks Fred Carver

by Tribune Web Editor

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

I recently visited the Vanni, the jungle-covered, former Tamil Tiger-controlled area of northern Sri Lanka. In one village, I met a mental health worker who told me that at least one person per village was too terrified to come out of their home after what they had seen during the war. In another village, I met a man and his 16-year-old daughter who are all that left of their family after May 2009 when his wife and their two youngest daughters crawled into a small foxhole in the infamous “No Fire Zone 2” to protect them against artillery bombardment. They were followed by a mortar that “didn’t even leave anything to bury”.    Full Story>>>

Lankan expats should apply for new deeds

Abandoned lands in North:

September 5, 2011, 9:52 pm 

By Franklin R. Satyapalan

The government requests the Tamils who have gone abroad for various reasons and not visited their agricultural and residential land in the Northern Region for several decades, to apply for new deeds, Minister of Land and Land Development Janaka Bandara Tennakoon says.

The Minister said yesterday that some members of the Tamil community who had abandoned their properties and gone abroad for fear of the LTTE or the conflict or in search of greener pastures should obtain the application form from the Divisional Secretariats.

Once the Ministry of Land and Land Development receives the perfected forms, inquiries to verify the authenticity of each application would be carried out by land officers, and the respective land would be surveyed before a new deed is issued to the rightful owners.

When contacted, the Senior Assistant Secretary to the Ministry of Lands and Land Development P. M. P. Udayakantha said that the government had decided to conduct inquiries in stages in each Divisional Secretariat in the districts of the Northern Region.

"Currently, we are inquiring into lands in the Nallur Divisional Secretariat area in the Jaffna District and forms have been made available at the respective Divisional Secretariat, he said.

Land matters in Karachchi, in the Killinochchi district, Nedunkerni in the Vavuniya District, Maritime Pattru in the Mullaitivu district and Musali in the Mannar district are also been looked into.

Udayakantha said that it would be appreciated if applicants would obtain a form, fill it and hand it over personally, but for those who are living abroad and cannot make it to Sri Lanka immediately, they could search the WEB – bimsaviya.gov.lk (In the homepage).
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Amnesty slams Sri Lanka over 'flawed' war probe

Amnesty slams Sri Lanka over 'flawed' war probe

PHOTO

Former female Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels walk across the courtyard at a rehabilitation camp in Ratmalana on January 21, 2009. [AFP]

Last Updated: 23 hours 43 minutes ago

The Sri Lankan Government's inquiry into its military victory over Tamil rebels was flawed and no substitute for an international war crimes investigation, a leading human rights watchdog says.

Amnesty International has issued a 69-page report slamming the work of the government's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

    Full Story>>>

SRI LANKA: India Should Revise its Stance on Human Rights Violations

06-Sep-2011

Guest Column by V. Suryanarayan and Ashik Bonofer 

Intervening in the Lok Sabha debate on the “Steps taken by the Government of India for the relief and rehabilitation of the Tamils” on August 26, 2011 the Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna referred to human rights violations that had taken place at the end of the Fourth Eelam War and clarified New Delhi’s policy on the subject as follows: “It is for the Sri Lankan Government to investigate and enquire into them and establish their veracity or otherwise through a transparent process. We note …that it is also doing so through the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission”. New Delhi’s stance that the human rights violations are a matter of domestic jurisdiction and it should be left to the Sri Lankan Government to resolve the issue has disappointed the Tamils throughout the world. It had also saddened human rights activists who want India to take the lead in exposing the heinous crimes of the Sri Lankan Government and bring the guilty to book. A change in India’s policy would have been welcomed by the international community, especially the Tamil minority groups in Sri Lanka and 70 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu.  Full Story>>>
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Rajapakse License to Grab Sri Lanka Lands : China gets Foothold

September 5, 2011

During the cold war season the Trincomalee port in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka was a bone of contention. The Indian policy makers were threatening Indian public that Americans were aiming Trincomnalee for their naval base which was a potential security threat to India. Making use of the situation the Sinhala rulers of Sri Lanka bargained with India just like their current China card strategy to get benefits from India.

But the cold war has become a hot war of Globalization which has resulted in rapid changes in Land policies of the Governments. The Governments in developing countries including that of India have come up with a policy of chasing away the original inhabitants of the lands depriving them of their rights to live in their traditional ancestral lands. This has helped the foreign Governments to send their corporate agents to these lands to grab them easily by getting 99 years lease. No need to say that the political leaders shall take away illegal money for leasing Government land to save dollars and gold in a far way country.

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Genocide in Sri Lanka targets Tamil women, affects fertility: TNA MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 September 2011, 06:17 GMT]
While talking on the past and on-going genocide of Eezham Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Vanni, S. Sritharan on Sunday said in a meeting in London that Tamil women are particularly targeted now and the fertility of Tamils is systematically jeopardized. He cited the examples of ‘grease devil’ attacks on women and the plight of young widows in child-producing age group. Eezham Tamils are increasingly convinced today that a united Sri Lanka would not work, he said. Later, when a question was asked why the TNA had not raised the issues of genocide and right to self-determination in the recent meet convened by a Congress MP at New Delhi, the deputy leader of TNA Maavai Senadhiraja answered that their unawareness of the agenda of the organizers and the desire not to exhibit disunity among the invited groups had been the reasons. 
S. Sritharan-Mavai Senathiraja

Answering another question, why the TNA deviates from the principles of the Vaddukkoaddai Resolution and also distances itself from even uttering the name of the LTTE leader Pirapaharan, Maavai said that people have to be patient enough and the TNA will be taking some crucial decisions in three months time.
Maavai preferred to call the UN Panel Report as ‘Darusman’ report as it was not submitted to any formal UN forum. But, he was challenged by the journalists present in the meeting, who cited the usage of UN Panel report in the report itself.---------

   Full story >>
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Less Guns Mean More Food

By Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Sep 5, 2011 (IPS) - As paddy cultivation revives in Sri Lanka’s former war zones, prospects for the island’s food security have improved dramatically.

Experts say the extra capacity will not only make up for shortages of the country’s staple caused by the twin floods that hit the eastern and central regions this year, but actually provide a surplus. 

"I don’t think there will be a shortage this year. The northern harvest is good, it could be better next year," Nimal Dissanayake, who heads the Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI), Sri Lanka’s premier rice research centre, told IPS. Full Story>>>

State of Emergency in Sri Lanka, with or without it

5 Sep, 2011

 groundviewsjournalism Forcitizens

Photo courtesy JDS

The decision of the Sri Lankan government to lift the Emergency Regulations (ER) is received in good faith by many. For example, the International Community has expressed its pleasure and satisfaction. The Indian minister of external affairs, S.M. Krishna welcomed the move as an “effective step leading to genuine national reconciliation in the country” (The Hindu, August 27, 2011). At the same time, it has also generated a suspicion whether the act of repeal is merely an attempt “to generate good publicity for the government on the eve of the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva next month” (The Telegraph, Calcutta, August 30, 2011). This sense of uncertainty and doubt has being substantiated by the introduction of new regulations which would provide the basis for the operation of Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), High Security Zones (HSZs) and prosecution of LTTE cadres etc. In addition, militarisation of the society, internalisation of emergency rules within the institutions responsible for law and order and the systemic issues which encourage authoritarian practices of politics other than the prevalence of PTA and Public Security Ordinance (PSO) have resulted in a permanent state of emergency.

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President shown photos of shelling civilians

05 September, 2011

'The Foreign Minister insisted that satellite images did not provide information needed to determine the source of fire,' says the US embassy cable US diplomats in Sri Lanka have shown satellite images of damage by shelling in "safe zone" even after the government announced ending heavy artillery and aerial bombing, according to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Charge d'Affaires of the US embassy James R. Moore, has said that he showed the images to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona two weeks before the government declared its military victory over Tamil Tigers. Sending a cable to the secretary of state, with a copy to the White House, Mr Moore says he took the opportunity to meet the president and Mr Kohona following a meeting Mr Rajapaksa had with donor co-chair ambassadors on 5 May 2009. Full Story>>> Satellite images show clearance of camps for displaced people in Sri Lanka's conflict zone

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Commonwealth Leaders Must Call For Justice in Sri Lanka

• Target: The Commonwealth Heads of Government
• Sponsored by: The Global Tamil Forum

The Government of Sri Lanka has consistently refused to acknowledge the grievances of minorities and has acted with impunity to block every attempt to establish an independent and credible investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

This October the Commonwealth Heads of Government will meet in Perth, Australia, to discuss issues of worldwide importance, including human rights. We believe the Heads of Government present should send a strong message to the Government of Sri Lanka that it must fulfil the obligations it has to its people, and ensure that justice and accountability are achieved.

Please sign our petition and add your voice to the calls for justice in Sri Lanka.   Full Story>>>>

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Rajiv Case: Investigator For Commuting Death Penalty

SEP 05, 2011
Amid a raging debate on the issue of clemency for killers of Rajiv Gandhi, the main investigator in the 20-year-old case D R Karthikeyan says that he will be happy if the death penalty of the three accused is commuted to life sentence.

With the demand for commuting their death sentence becoming an emotive issue in Tamil Nadu, he suggested that Parliament should convene a special session to discuss the policy with regard to capital punishment as decisions taken on regional basis would set a dangerous precedent.

"I have nothing personal against them. I did my duty, let the government do their duty now. I will be happy if their death sentence is reduced to life imprisonment," Karthikeyan told PTI.

Karthikeyan was asked to take charge of the Special Investigation Team, a day after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination on May 21, 1991. Within a year on May 20, 1992, a day before the first anniversary of the assassination, his team filed the charge-sheet naming 41 people as accused.

The former IPS officer said the commutation of Nalini Sreeharan's death sentence may help the other three accused, whose mercy petition has been rejected by President Pratibha Patil. The Supreme Court had sentenced Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan and Nalini to death in 1999.

The Madras High Court had recently granted an eight-week interim stay on the execution of the convicts which was scheduled for September 9.

"They have got a case, as one of the condemned prisoners' death sentence has been commuted to life. Moreover, they have been in jail for 20 years, and their mercy petitions have taken 11 years, which was a long period of uncertainty," he said.

TNA to legally challenge new laws

SUNDAY, 04 SEPTEMBER 2011
The Tamil National Alliance decided to legally challenge the regulations imposed  under the Prevention of Terrorism Act on the principle that things done by the  government under the state of emergency could not be done under a different  legal regime, TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran said today.

The government imposed these  regulations on August 30, 2011 to keep the ban on the LTTE and the Tamil  Rehabilitation Organisation intact and to take action against terrorist suspects  and surrendees in the context of emergency regulations being lifted. Mr.  Sumanthiran told the Daily Mirror that what the government did under the state  of emergency could not be done under a separate legal regime. “We will challenge  the new regulations in a court of law soon. First, we have to see the contents  of the new regulations,” he said.

The TNA MP said his party would oppose these  regulations and the proposed Emergency Consequential Provisional Bill to be  introduced in Parliament. Also, he said the government had failed to issue the  gazette notification announcing these regulations, and therefore, there was no  legal validity to them as of now. Responding to former Attorney General Mohan  Peiris who said these regulations had been in force once they were announced,  Mr. Sumanthiran said any law would be in force only after it was published. “It  is a basic fact expected to be known even by a law student,” he said. (Kelum  Bandara) 
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Sri Lanka’s integration task

Khaleej Times Online > EDITORIAL
 
5 September 2011Colombo has a critical choice to make. The government’s decision to hold on alleged terror suspects for time immemorial, irrespective of its earlier commitment that it wants to free them and rehabilitate, accordingly, is a setback of sorts.The newly promulgated regulations under the powerful Prevention of Terrorism Act are primarily meant to deny political space to the incarcerated Tamil suspects, and are widely seen as a ploy to further emergency provisions. The draconian laws that were there in force for the last three decades had curbed civil and political liberties and were prima facie justified as a tactic as the island-nation state was in a state of war with the Tamil Tigers. But this crisscross and maneuvering to keep the minority population under the thumb of stringent laws, especially Tamil detainees, will not go well with the spirit that President Mahinda Rajapakse had furthered by promising to accommodate the aggrieved sections of the society through a phased-out reconciliation strategy. Whatever may be the political and security-driven compulsions for Rajapakse any effort to corner the Tamils is bound to backfire.             Full Story»>

Donors knew of shelling civilians

04 September, 2011

Donors knew of shelling civilians

'They (Japan, Norway) argued that a critical public statement now might set back Basil's efforts to provide more food' International donors were aware of artillery attacks on Tamil civilians by the Sri Lanka military in the last stages of the war against Tamil Tigers, according to recent Wikileaks revelations. However, donor nations have stopped short of making their knowledge public. The international co-chairs in a meeting held on 05 March 2009 was told by the then US Ambassador in Colombo, Robert O' Blake, that he raised the issue with Basil Rajapaksa, senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Full Story>>> ============================================ Civilians will be dealt under PTA - army 04 September, 2011 By Saroj Pathirana More than 120 people have been arrested in Jaffna for vigilante attacks Those who attack military and police installations are "terrorists" and will be charged with country's anti-terror regulations, says Sri Lanka military. Military spokesman Brig Nihal Hapuarachchi told BBC Sandeshaya that over 120 people were recently arrested in Jaffna as they came to attack a military camp. "They attacked a joint army-police camp. It is a terrorist act," he said. "It is wrong for civilians to attack an army camp or police station. Those who do that are terrorists. We will take action against them under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)," added Brig Hapuarachchi. At a recent meeting with Muslim imams, Sri Lanka’s defence secretary said that, just as the army defeated “terrorists”, it would act against anyone making trouble.   Full Story>>>