Channel 4 Documentary "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" screened at Canadian Parliament

Emotions were high at the conclusion of the screening of Channel 4 documentary "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" in Canadian Parliament today. Approximately 20 MP's along with their staff were present for the screening. The attendees who watched the Channel 4 documentary were all shocked at what they had just witnessed and had never imagined such horrendous events would take place on the tiny island of Sri Lanka. From the many conversations that were taking place afterwards, it was clear that perpetrators had to be held accountable and Canada indeed has to take a leadership role.

NDP MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan (Scarborough-Rouge River), Conservative Party MP Patrick Brown (Barrie) and Liberal Party MP John McKay (Scarborough-Guildwood) co-hosted the screening.

Elaine Pearson, Deputy Director (Asia Division) of Human Rights Watch who presented the event said "only an independent investigation from the international community, not one held by LLRC will bring justice and accountability of the Sri Lankan government. Canada must lobby other like minded nations, like India, Indonesia in the upcoming UN Human Rights Council in March 2012."

“I’m very pleased that all parties came together to host this event. This issue runs deeper than political ties, and it is very important we all work together to raise awareness of this issue and to engage in an open dialogue concerning the atrocities that took place in Sri Lanka.” said Rathika Sitsabaiesan MP for Scarborough-Rouge River.

Conservative Party MP for Barrie, Patrick Brown said he has been aware of the situation in Sri Lanka through his constituents and will continue to advocate for accountability and justice.

"I have watched the documentary several times, and it has always been difficult to watch. Canada is a nation that values human rights and Canada bears responsibility to the 300,000 Tamil Canadians here." said John McKay, Liberal Party MP for Scarborough-Guildwood.

Some photos from the event

Courtesy: TamilCanadian
Published on: Sep 29, 2011 3:14:04 GMT

Last-minute court order halts Sri Lankan deportation

 Wednesday 28 September 2011
Jonathan Miller

Foreign Affairs Correspondent

A forced removal of failed asylum-seekers to Sri Lanka has been put on hold by a judge after a day of frantic legal appeals. Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Miller reports.

Frantic efforts by lawyers in London to prevent an aircraft, chartered by the British government, from forcibly returning failed asylum-seekers to Sri Lanka have succeeded in delaying the plane’s scheduled departure.     Full story>>>
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Buddhist temple being erected in the place where there was Pillayar Hindu Kovil

(September 28, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) 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.

MP Mervyn Silva 'chief' patron of drug kingpins

28 September 2011

Leaked US embassy cables, state that MP Mervyn Silva was believed to be giving patronage to drug traffickers in 2009, along side his son, Malika Silva.

"According to a former Sri Lankan security services official, drug kingpins in Sri Lanka have political patrons in the government, chief among them Dr. Mervyn Silva, a Member of Parliament and the Minister of Labor."
"His son, Malika Silva, is suspected of trafficking the drug “ecstasy” in Colombo nightclubs."

A further cable drew attention to the wider culture of impunity within the Sri Lankan state, highlighting its failure to investigate or prosecution those accused of corruption whilst in public office.

"A government commission established to investigate bribery and corruptioncharges against public officials that resumed operations in 2004 continued through 2009, although with little activity."

"There are unconfirmed reports of links between drug traffickers and individual corrupt officials." 
"However, since late 2007, there have been no arrests of government officials on bribery or corruption charges related to drugs." 

According to the cables, in 2009, Sri Lanka experienced an increase in the consumption of heroin, cannabis and ecstasy.
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Tamils continue struggle for self-determination after Sri Lanka's killing fields

BY KRISNA SARAVANAMUTTU 

| SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

The war in Sri Lanka spanned over three decades and reached its bloody conclusion in May 2009. Both the UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka and a U.K. film entitled Sri Lanka's Killing Fields agreed that the Sri Lankan Armed Forces committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Thousands of men, women and children were killed throughout northern Sri Lanka during the last phase of the war.     more>>>

Norway broadcaster shows Sri Lanka Civil War revelations

The Foreigner  Wednesday, 28th September, 2011

NRK has ignored calls from the Sri Lankan Embassy to cancel transmitting a contentious programme.

Last night’s compelling, and controversial documentary on NRK2 revealed the reality of Sri Lanka’s bloody war with society. It was originally broadcast on the UK’s Channel 4 Dispatches series back in June 2011.

The programme was heavily criticised by Sri Lankan authorities, who initially attempted to halt the Norwegian channel from showing the extremist group Tamil Tigers’ cruel intentions.

In an official statement before the show, with an expected six-figure audience, embassy staff wrote: “We urge NRK 2 not to air the UK Channel 4 program and give coverage to content which is unsubstantiated and without any guarantee of authenticity.”

“At a time when a great deal of efforts are underway for reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka, this type of sinister and unsubstantiated visual material could inflame the passions of those elements concerned only about carving out a mono-ethnic enclave against the wishes of Sri Lankan nationals treading on democratic pluralistic ideals.”

Whilst it is unknown if there were any complaints about last night’s broadcast, British television complaints commissioner Ofcom announced 37 people criticised the programme’s distressing content.

The Tamil Tigers hit the Norwegian headlines earlier this year, when police arrested a 34-year-old man in February on suspicion of murdering three people, including an officer

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Lankan embassy in Oslo angry

 Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Sri Lankan Ambassador in Oslo, Norway Rodney M. Perera, has protested the decision by a leading Norwegian television station to air the British Channel 4 documentary titled “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” yesterday.

In a letter sent to TV NRK, the Ambassador said that the program content is completely biased and contains unsubstantiated allegations against the government of Sri Lanka.

The Ambassador said that at a time when a great deal of efforts are underway for reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka, this type of sinister and unsubstantiated visual material could inflame the passions of those elements concerned only about carving out a mono-ethnic enclave against the wishes of Sri Lankan nationals treading on democratic pluralistic ideals.

“The obvious bias of the program is further illustrated by the fact that a major portion of the dubious video footage has been acquired from LTTE-related sources,” the Ambassador said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to the media by TV NRK.

The Ambassador warned that the safety and security of not only the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Oslo and its staff, but that of all persons of  Sri Lankan origin residing in Norway, could be compromised by these types of telecasts.

However at the same time he also urged NRK to consider telecasting the video titled “Lies Agreed Upon,” a documentary released by the Ministry of Defence which looks to counter the Channel 4 video.

Donors 'ignoring' resettled IDPs

28 September, 2011
By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Colombo

SLRC says it feared the donors was getting sidetracked by human rights concerns

The Sri Lankan Red Cross society has spoken out about the difficulties of ordinary people living in the country’s former war zone.

It says hundreds of thousands of civilians, mostly returning displaced people, still lack the basics of life and that international donors are not doing enough to help them.

The organisation said it feared the international community was getting sidetracked by human rights concerns, but a major donor has denied that this is the case.    Full Story>>>

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UK not monitoring safety of Tamils deported to Sri Lanka

Ian Cobain
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 28 September 2011

Admission comes hours before up to 50 people denied asylum were due to be flown back despite warnings they risk torture or even death

Internally displaced Tamils at a camp Sri Lanka, where those forcibly removed from the UK face risk of maltreatment, say charities. Photograph: Eranga Jayawardena/AP

The government has conceded that it is doing nothing to establish what is happening to scores of Tamils who are being forcibly removed from the UK despite concerns for their safety in Sri Lanka.

Full Story>>>
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Protest over Governor's order to demolish 'Old Park' in Jaffna

Times Online     WEDNESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2011

An order by the Governor for the northern province Major General (retd)  G.A.Chandrasiri to demolish an ancient building with archeological value  in Jaffna has sparked off a dispute.

Municipal workers started demolishing the building when representations were made to the Government Agent for Jaffna Emelda Sukumar who in turn informed the Archeology department officials and got the work stopped.

This building known as Old Park was built during the period of 1796 when Jaffna was taken over by the British.

The first GA for Jaffna Percival Akland Dyke donated the Old Park for the people of Jaffna later.

Earlier this month the this month the Archeology Department  declared the Old Park as an archeological site.

Popular writer Leornard woolf also lived in this building when he worked as a cadet officer at  the Jaffna GA’s office  during the period of 1904-1905.

By N.Parameswaran

Government of Sri Lanka Must Take Credible Steps to Address Allegations of Human Rights

U.S. Department of State 

 Mark C. Toner

Deputy Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing

Washington, DC

September 26, 2011

MR. TONER: He wants to go to Sri Lanka now.QUESTION: Going to Sri Lanka, the UN Secretary General has referred his UN panel report to UN Human Rights and to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for further action. But also there has been a --
MR. TONER: Sorry. Rewind. I missed the first part. Who referred it to the UN?
QUESTION: Mr. Ban Ki-moon has referred his report on UN panel report of Sri Lanka --
MR. TONER: Okay.
QUESTION: -- which created all the – to UN Human Rights Council and also to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for further action. In all this UN General Assembly, this was not – didn’t get so much. But also there is a court case has been filed in a New York court against the visiting president of Sri Lanka Rajapaksa. So what is the latest update from the U.S.? Are you still pressurizing? Are you – what is the latest from the State Department?
MR. TONER: Again, I’m – our longstanding policy has been – position, rather, has been that the Government of Sri Lanka needs to take steps to credibly address some of these allegations. We urge it to do so. I’ll try to get an update on where the UN action stands at this point, but I don’t have anything beyond that at this point.
QUESTION: Anything on the --
MR. TONER: And nothing on the court case, and I doubt I could comment anyway, since it’s an ongoing legal matter.Yeah. Go ahead.

Sept. 26, 2011: U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing by Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner

September 26, 201

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SRI LANKA: Authorities fail to investigate death threats made against another journalist

27 September 2011
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SRI LANKA: Authorities fail to investigate death threats made against another journalist

ISSUES: Freedom of expression; impunity; police negligence; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk of Matara District is the regional news reporter of the Sinhala medium 'Lankadeepa' and English medium 'Daily Mirror' news papers, both are the of the most widely circulated newspapers in the island. On 1 September 2011 he received death threats from one of the leading politicians of the ruling party. Though Jayaruk made a complaint to the Headquarters Police Station of Matara regarding the incident the police failed to make an investigation. Despite requests made by several media organisations the law enforcement agencies turn a blind eye thereby ensuring impunity to the perpetrators. The victim, his relatives and the society as a whole are witnesses to the inaction of the police. This case is yet another illustration of the exceptional danger faced by journalists and members of the media. 
Read More...
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Torture charity calls on UK to halt deportation flight to Sri Lanka

Ian Cobain
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 September 2011 
Tamils at risk of being detained and tortured as result of UK Border Agency action, claims Freedom from Torture

Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been linked to war crimes in the fight against the Tamil Tigers. Photograph: Reuters

Britain is being urged to halt plans to deport a planeload of Tamils to Sri Lanka on Wednesday amid fears they will be at risk of being detained and tortured on arrival.

Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been linked to war crimes in the fight against the Tamil Tigers. Photograph: Reuters

 Full Story>>>