Sri Lanka: Ban stresses need for accountability process over end to civil war

Ki-moon with Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka (file photo)



24 September 2011 – 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need for a “credible national accountability process” over actions in the final stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka during a meeting with Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country’s President.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka (file photo)

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Probe war crimes charges, urges UN

Probe war crimes charges, urges UN

Mr Ban has stressed the need for a “credible national accountability process" The UN secretary-general has once again called on Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations of war crimes during the last stages of war against the Tamil Tigers. But in an apparent change of tone, Ban ki-Moon has stressed the need for a “credible national accountability process,” the UN news centre said. The call has come during a meeting with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in New York. “The Secretary-General reiterated the need for a credible national accountability process as envisaged in the joint statement of 23 May 2009,” the UN statement said.      Full Story>>>

Land in the North and East of Sri Lanka: Concern and confusion over Government circular

*groundviews journalism For citizens

Image credit Jeremy Suyker, via Foto8

The Government recently unveiled a policy regarding land in the North and East through the introduction of a Cabinet Memorandum (memo) titled ‘Regularize Land Management in Northern and Eastern Provinces,’ which was subsequently followed by a Land Circular (circular) titled ‘Regulating the Activities Regarding Management of Lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces’ (Circular No: 2011/04) issued on 22^nd July by the Land Commissioner Generals Department in Colombo in order to operationalise the memo.

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Tamils stage demonstrations outside UN headquarters when President addresses assembly – not one to support Govt. organized counter protest!

Saturday 24 of September 2011
(Lanka-e-News -24.Sep.2011, 2.30The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse who took a mega delegation to New York using up colossal amount of state funds addressed the 66th UN assembly on yesterday. 

At that moment , a protest was staged by the Tamils abroad in front of the UN Headquarters. The large crowd which staged the demonstrations braved the inclement weather in New York and the continuous rains which came down. The protestors demanded that punishment be meted out against Rajapakse on war crimes and to conduct fair investigations into the thousands of civilians who died during the war .    Full story >>

Tamils protest outside Rajapakse's UN address

[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 September 2011, 07:13 GMT]
Nearly one thousand Tamils protested outside the United Nations Friday between 10 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. while Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse was addressing the UN's General Assembly. Protesters held placards criticizing UN's inaction on Sri Lanka, and took the 'Pongku Thamizh' oath promising to continue to non-violent struggle until Tamils' inalienable rights are recognized in a political settlement based on Tamils right to self-determination, attendees to the event said. Several protesters crossed the Canadian border to be present at the rally held amid tight security on the 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue.

The TGTE (New York) poster of inappropriate comparison, calling for Pongku Thamizh rally against Rajapaksa at UN on Friday.

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, of the New York establishment of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) addressed the participants of the rally.
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Sitrampalam proves self-determination not a diaspora fantasy

[Sat, 24 Sep 2011, 05:24 GMT]

Prof SK Sitrampalam, Senior Vice President of Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK), writing in Thinakkural this month on the importance of Eezham Tamils asserting to their right to self-determination, disproved a distorting campaign by Colombo, New Delhi, Washington, international crisis managers and even the UN panel report trying to tell that this right is not an aspiration of the Tamils in the island but only in the diaspora. While the concerted campaigners assert to their audacity without seeking a referendum and while the Eezham Tamils in the island are constitutionally and militarily gagged to open mouth on the issue, the bold voice of Sitrampalam coming from the island was highly appreciated by many. Today, Tamils in the island are left to feel more compellingly for liberation than Tamils in the diaspora, Tamil political circles said. Full story >>

At UN, Sri Lankan Defends Religion From "Human Rights of Alien Cultures"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- Amid war crimes charges, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's speech Friday at the UN General Assembly was full of ironies.

   Known for ruthlessly ending a separatist movement, Rajapaksa in his speech said that dialogue is the only way to resolve problems.  He has insisted that the Panel of Experts report detailing war crimes is not a UN report -- but he thanked that UN. 

  Having opposed an aspiration for independence or autonomy, he nevertheless expressed support for a Palestinian state. He invoked religion and wished his audience peace, even as he's sued for war crimes.

  

Ban & M Rajapaksa 364 days ago: this year more stonewalling

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Congress fast turns violent in Trichy

TNN Sep 23, 2011, 01.30am IST   

TRICHY: A Congress-led token fast demanding the hanging of three Rajiv Gandhi killers – Perarivalan, Santhan and Murugan - on Thursday turned violent, as various Tamil groups and political parties opposing the move came into direct confrontation with the fasting members.

About a hundred members of various organisations and political parties clashed with Congress members, particularly the Kisan wing of the Congress, as the two police vans carrying the arrested supporters of the pro-Tamils passed by the fast venue near the Chintamani Anna Statue.

Interestingly, the entire blame for the incident was put on the city police, which without exercising discretion "deliberately paraded" the 72 arrested members in front the fast venue. In fact, city mayor S Sujatha said, such a clash was waiting to happen, as the pro-Tamils had already made a request to the police to sit in a fast right in front of the Congress fast venue on the Trichy-Karur Road.

Sources said the Congress members were seen pelting stones, chairs and sandals at the police van carrying the pro-Tamils, which was reciprocated by the latter. However, all the 72 persons who had squatted on the road some 300 ft from the fast venue in protest against the Congress' fast were arrested as a preventive measure and later released in the evening.

K Shankar, the city secretary of Puthiya Tamilagam told TOI that the police had deliberately taken the arrested members through the site of the Congress fast site. Police Commissioner E Ma Masanamuthu admitted that the police had erred a little in their judgment when dealing with a chaotic situation.

Lawsuit filed against Sri Lankan Army General Responsible for Executions, Torture & Attacking Civilians; Currently Living in NY

NEWS RELEASE

For Further Information: 

202-725-8745

NEWS RELEASEFor Further Information: 202-725-8745 Lawsuit  filed against Sri Lankan  Army General Responsible for Executions, Torture & Attacking Civilians; Currently Living in NYCNEW YORK, N.Y., SEPT. 23, 2011 – This morning, American University Washington College of Law’s UNROW Human Rights Impact Litigation Clinic filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) against  Sri Lankan General  Shavendra Silva,  who currently resides in New York City. General Silva was the commander of the 58th Division of the Sri Lankan Army during its brutal counter-insurgencycampaign that costs the lives of up to 40,000 civilians in spring 2009. General Silva currently resides in New York City, and is Sri Lanka’s Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations. As the United Nations General Assembly is ongoing, this lawsuit shines a spotlight on a war criminal in its midst.As commander of the 58th Division, General Silva was responsible for conducting Sri Lanka’s bitter and brutal war against Tamils in northern Sri Lanka, and directly caused the untold suffering of thousands of Tamil civilians. Under the auspices of “fighting terrorism”, General Silva led the Army’s campaign of war crimes and crimes against humanity across northern Sri Lanka. In particular, protected persons – civilians –and protected places – hospitals – were deliberately attacked by General Silva and his forces, which violates Sri Lankan law, American law and international law. General Silva is also responsible for the torture and extrajudicial executions of surrendering members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in clear contravention of the laws of war. “These egregious violations of international and domestic law have gone unanswered for over two years now, as survivors continue to suffer in suffocating silence on the island. Finally, after years of waitingfor someone to answer for the loss of loved ones, the voices of Tamil victims  and survivors have been granted their day in court. Today, U.S. courts provide a forum for justice and accountability, where there would otherwise be continued impunity for Sri Lanka’s crimes against Tamils,”  said Ali  Beydoun,  lead counsel on this case, director at American University Washington College of Law’s UNROW Human Rights Impact Litigation Clinic, and a Senior Partner at SPEAK Human Rights Initiative.Up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final months of Sri Lanka’s military onslaught against Tamil regions in 2009, according to a report from a United Nations Panel of Experts. However, over two years later, there have been no investigations or prosecutions of those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.  “This lawsuit is one small yet substantial step towards accountability for Sri Lanka’s bloodbath on the beach. We will continue pursuing these cases until justice is served,” Beydoun said

This lawsuit  seeks damages  for violations of international, Sri Lankan and domestic law under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). These statutes grant jurisdiction to U.S. courts  over human rights  violations committed  abroad, and serve to ensure that the U.S. does not become a safe haven for war criminals. The day will not be getting any easier for Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as  massive protests greet his arrival in New York for the 66th U.N. General Assembly. This day marks a uniquely perfect storm for justice, as demands for accountability begin to echo throughout New York and the world.WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW4801 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, NW     WASHINGTON, DC 20016-8181     202-274-4088    FAX: 202-895-4520

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The US Googly And A Government Canar

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Sri Lanka leader says international criticism 'tainted'

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Sri Lanka's president on Friday condemned "tainted" international allegations of a military massacre of civilians during an assault to end a Tamil rebellion.

President Mahinda Rajapakse appealed for international support as pressure mounted for the UN Human Rights Council to launch a war crimes inquiry into the 2009 campaign in which a UN panel said tens of thousands were killed.

"My country has reason for concern with approaches tainted by an unacceptable selectivity, which we have brought to the notice of the organizations in question in recent weeks," Rajapakse told the UN summit.

He called for solidarity from other developing countries "against these irregular modalities which should be resisted through our collective strength."

Defending the government campaign, Rajapakse said "after three decades of pain and anguish, today Sri Lankans of all ethnicities living in all parts of Sri Lanka are free from LTTE terror and no longer live in a state of fear."

He added that after defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the government was now working on building "the foundations of a unified and vibrant nation."

According to Rajapakse, 95 percent of displaced people from the conflict have returned to their homes in the 30 months since the military campaign and the economy has been revived.

"Contrary to malicious propaganda, the number of armed forces personnel in the Northern Province is at a minimal level," he insisted.

"We ask our friends in distant lands to drop pre-conceived notions," he added in another veiled reference to the international criticism.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon last week sent a report by an independent panel on the military campaign to the UN Human Rights Council, which could call for an international probe.

Ban has said he cannot order an international inquiry into the alleged killings -- which the Sri Lankan government has strongly denied -- but that a forum such as the council could do so.

The panel of experts named by Ban said in April that the Sri Lankan army killed most of the tens of thousands of civilian victims of the final offensive against Tamil separatists in 2009 but both sides may be guilty of war crimes.

A documentary shown on Britain's Channel Four in June said the military shelled civilian targets and showed footage of what it said were prisoner executions and the bodies of sexually assaulted Tamil Tiger fighters.

Sri Lanka leader says international criticism 'tainted'

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Is Sri Lanka guilty of war crimes? Video

      

Buddhist temple being erected in the place where there was Pillayar Hindu Kovil

(Lanka-e-News -23.Sep.2011, 5.00PM)In Kokilai district, Mulaitivu where there was a Hindu Kovil (temple) which was damaged during the war is being demolished and a Buddhist Temple is being erected in that place, according to reports reaching Lanka e news. Buddhist monks have arrived there and the construction has begun. Part of the land of the Hospital in Kokilai and part of the land of a post office are being used to construct this Buddhist Temple . Earlier, it was the Arasadi Pillayar Kovil that was there in that place , our correspondent reports.
Prior to the war , Tamils and Sinhalese lived there , but due to the war the Sinhalese were displaced. By now those Sinhalese who were displaced have returned and are engaged in fishing activities.
Sources say , if it is the objective after the conclusion of the war to build harmony and peace between the two communities , what the officials ought to have done was built a Hindu Temple in the place where there was a Hindu temple and not a Buddhist Temple. No matter what religion the Govt. belongs to , if it gives in to extremists ,racialists and destructive forces , the end result will not be peace but eternal strife , disharmony and tension in the country.
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Laws to confiscate assets of those funding terrorists introduced: will they retroactively operate on Mahinda and Premadasa ?

Friday 23 of September 2011

(Lanka-e-News -23.Sep.2011, 5.30P.M.) A draft amendment was presented in Parliament on the 21st in regard to the prohibition of supplying funds in any form for terrorists, and this was unanimously passed . Under this amendment , if it is proved that anyone has provided funds to terrorists , their assets will be liable to total confiscation by the Govt.  Full story >>

India, Sri Lanka conduct naval exercises

R. K. RADHAKRISHNAN

The HinduIndian Navy’s destroyer Ranvijay preparing to sail out of the Trincomalee port to take part in the final leg of the joint naval exercises on Friday. Photo: R.K. Radhakrishnan

The Indian Navy gained from the Sri Lankan experience with low intensity conflict, while the Sri Lankan Navy learnt to operate more effectively in a multi-force environment on the conclusion of the biggest-ever exercise between the two Navies.

The exercises, “SLINEX II,” which commenced on September 19 and ended on Friday, were aimed at enhancing interoperability.          Full Story>>>
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Col Ramesh's wife files a case in US against Sri Lanka President for Killing her husband: TGTE

/EINPresswire.com/ Col Ramesh's wife, Mrs. Vathsala Devi, has filed a case in the United States, against the visiting Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse for killing her husband. 

This case was filed in the Southern District of New York, under Alien Tort Statutes, on behalf of Col Ramesh's wife, by Attorney- at- Law Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran. The docket number of this case is: 11 CIV 6634. 

Col Ramesh was shown on a documentary by UK's Channel 4 "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields", being interrogated by Sri Lankan soldiers in an undisclosed location. His body was also shown in different TV and was confirmed by his wife as her husband's body. 

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Sri Lanka's women deminers clean up legacy of Asia's longest war

 

Biruntha Ravichandran, 21, a deminer working for the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), searches for mines in a mine field in Kannaddi, located in Mannar district in Sri Lanka, September 8, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/ALERTNET/Nita Bhalla

Biruntha Ravichandran, 21, a deminer working for the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), searches for mines in a mine field in Kannaddi, located in Mannar district in Sri Lanka, September 8, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/ALERTNET/Nita Bhalla

By Nita Bhalla

Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:37pm EDT
MANNAR, Sri Lanka (AlertNet) - Wearing a visor and a protective vest over grey fatigues tucked into black military boots, former housewife S. Dishanty crawls on her hands and knees through dense bush, slowly inching forward and methodically scanning the ground.
A year ago, this 23-year-old Sri Lankan woman was looking after her elderly parents and young son in their war-devastated village. Nowadays, she searches for an instrument of that destruction: landmines.          Full story>>>
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The Canadian Tamil Congress appreciates the recent movements made by Canada in the past few days

For Immediate Release
September 23, 2011

The United Nations Human Rights Council opened its 18th regular session on September 12th, 2011 in Geneva. The Canadian Tamil Congress welcomes the recent actions by His Excellency, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on the issues of accountability in the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. The Panel of Expert’s report, which advised the Secretary General on issues of accountability, was released to the public in late April of this year, and found “credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law was committed both by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE – some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” At that time, the Secretary General suggested that he lacked the authority to establish an independent international accountability mechanism and maintained that another UN body like the Security Council or the Human Rights Council would have to authorize such an establishment.      Full Story>>> 

Report on Sri Lanka Called "UN Report" by Rudd, Nambiar Declines Comment

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 22 -- While Sri Lanka's government claims that 

Rudd at UN Sept 22, action on "UN Report" not shown

the Panel of Experts report describing war crimes is "not a UN report," that is precisely what Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called it Thursday night at the UN when Inner City Press asked him about the report.
Rudd had been scheduled to speak at 6 pm about the Commonwealth. Notably, there is a move to oust Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth in light of war crimes.
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SL at risk of being hauled before UN: Minister

FRIDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2011

By Sandun A. Jayasekera
Sri Lanka needs to counter the Darusman Report in a concerted and effective manner at an International level because the country is still at risk of being hauled before the United Nations General Assembly or the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC),  Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said yesterday.
The minister, who was a member of the high-powered government delegation that represented Sri Lanka at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva, told a media conference the delegation was able to prevent the Darusman Report being included in the agenda or taken up for debate.
He said the sessions would end next Friday but there was the possibility of the Sri Lanka issue being taken up for debate at the General Assembly and at the next UNHRC session in March.
The minister said the delegation headed by Minister Mahinda Samarasingha was able to convince the 40 countries that took part in the sessions about the biased and prejudicial nature of the Darusman Report that had been prepared on third party and unconfirmed information.
“We convinced the member states that the Darusman Report was a document prepared for the use of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Mr. Ban has no right whatsoever to release it to UN member states. And it is a violation of the UN charter and contravenes the rights and privileges of Sri Lanka,” the minister said.
He said Sri Lanka was strongly backed by African, Asian, Middle Eastern and Caribbean countries and by the member states of the Non Aligned Movement.

Sri Lanka: put an end to impunity

Sri Lankan deputy ambassador in Switzerland accused of war crimes

War crimes in Sri Lanka Former Sri Lankan deputy ambassador will 
be investigated if he comes back to Switzerland

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At UN, Sri Lanka FM Peiris Meets Pascoe Then Nambiar, Ban No Time for Killing Fields

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, September 22, updated -- Amid charges of war crimes leveled at the government of Sri Lanka, including its Permanent Representative to the UN Palitha Kohona, the country's foreign minister G.L. Peiris came to UN Headquarters Thursday morning for at least two meetings.    

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Sri Lanka's survivors tormented by horrors of war

By Nita Bhalla

Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:41am EDT

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (AlertNet) - Ranjini wakes up screaming. Her mother's body is on fire, her teenage sister is covered in blood and the mutilated, charred corpses of her relatives lie scattered everywhere.

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Discussions in Geneva show world plunging into ‘State Anarchy’

[Thu, 22 Sep 2011, 05:26 GMT]
The way Sri Lanka’s war crimes were viewed by many State actors at Geneva showed how these States are leading the world into anarchy and are contributing to global unrest of peoples, political observers said. In an informal discussion of State delegates and human rights groups held in Geneva on Wednesday on a draft proposal from Canada to convene an Interactive Discussion on the outcome of Sri Lanka’s LLRC in the 19th session in March 2011, Sri Lanka challenged such a procedure. Russia, China, Cuba and Pakistan opposed any demand on Sri Lanka. Malaysia and Algeria were not happy of the procedure. Thailand, Chili and Mexico were sitting on the fence. The EU, UK, USA, Poland, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand welcomed the proposal. India and Maldives present in the room were silent. Full story >>
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US cables show how international silence enabled Sri Lanka’s genocide

 

Robert O'Blake, Former Ambassador to Sri Lanka-  Francis Deng, Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide          U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan RiceIn In March 2009 Sri Lanka had come to the attention of the UN’s Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, but despite his disquiet he did not take further steps as Sri Lanka had assured him the United States and India supported its military campaign, according to a leaked US cable. The account of the meeting on March 16, 2009 between Mr. Deng and the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, as well as other US cables, shows how international inaction and silence, rather than ignorance, made it possible for Sri Lanka to continue and escalate its mass killings of Tamil civilians. 

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