Floods affect life of resettled families in Vanni

20 December, 2011

Over 6500 familes have been affected Heavy rain and floods have made life miserable to thousands of resettled families in the Vanni. Over 6500 families in the Killinochchi and Mullativu districts have been badly affected, officials said. Irrigation tanks are over flowing and Shivapuram village in Killinochchi is inundated with flood water. Temporary accommodation Affected families have sought refuge in public buildings and schools. Government Agent, Killinochchi, Rupvathie Ketheeswaran said that most of the families in the Killinochchi district are displaced due to flood water. "1369 families have been accommodated in twenty four temporary shelters and they are being provided with dry rations", she said. Almost all the government servants have been deployed to facilitate them, however, rains prevent them from their relief work, she added. Government Agent, Mullativu, Nagalingam Vedanayagam said that 3000 families are in three temporary accommodation. However, he said, he was not sure about the exact number of families displaced as there are areas where they could not reach. Sluice gates open Irrigation Director, Killinochchi, Navartnam Sudhakaran said that the sluice gates of Iranaimadu tank have been opened to maintain a safe water level and as a result the number affected has increased. Mullaitivu - Jaffna road and Paranthan - Pudukudirrippu road are impassable due floods, he added.

Eezham Tamil Diaspora activists in UK question SL reconciliation motives

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 December 2011, 00:41 GMT]
While structural genocide continues unabated in the homeland of the Eezham Tamils, certain well funded Sri Lankan NGO’s that harp on peace and reconciliation are steadily pursuing a war by other means on the Eezham Tamil Diaspora. Programmes initiated by organizations like the One Text Initiative, which receives generous funding from foreign donors as well as support from the Sri Lankan state, in the name of ‘engaging with the Sri Lankan diaspora’, are attempting to marginalize the Eezham Tamil diaspora polity that is pushing for international investigation into genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state as well as recognition of their political sovereignty. This agenda was evident from a recent meeting in London where such proponents of reconciliation were challenged by Eezham Tamil activists of various shades. 

This model of ‘peace-building’ seems to fall in the counter-insurgency tactics of the Sri Lankan state and its foreign patrons, observers among the Tamil diaspora in UK told TamilNet. Full story >>

Indian delegation to visit Sri Lanka to discuss fishing issue

COLOMBO, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- A high level Indian delegation is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka next month to discuss the deepening rift between Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen, a minister said on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka's Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne told reporters at a media briefing that the Indian delegation is expected to include the Indian external affairs minister, defense secretary and navy commander.

Senaratne said that the Indian delegation which is scheduled to arrive on Jan. 13 will look to work out a mechanism to ensure fishermen from both countries avoid clashing with each other.

Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen often clash when they cross the International Maritime Boundary to look for a better catch.

Indian fishermen often allege that the Sri Lankan navy attacks them when they enter Sri Lankan waters north of the island. The Sri Lankan navy has, however, rejected the allegations.

Senaratne also said that the Sri Lankan government has decided to make it mandatory for Sri Lankan fishermen to have insurance in order to obtain a license to fish at sea.

He said several fishermen were killed during the recent storm which lashed parts of the south of the country but yet the families of the victims could not claim insurance.

The minister said that although an insurance scheme is available for fishermen very few have made use of it and as a result the government is to make it mandatory from January for fishermen to obtain insurance.

Anti-conversion bill may look to make a comeback

Tamil Guardian 19 December 2011

Efforts are being made by the ultra Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist JHU party to reinstate an “anti-conversion” law, making it illegal for an individual to change religions, except in special circumstances with a magistrates’ permission. According to the Vatican news agency, Agenzia Fides, local sources have said the JHU has sees other religions on the island as “contamination for the country”, and has renewed efforts to pass the law, which they have been pushing for the last 7 years. The JHU currently have 9 monks as Members of Parliament. This follows the Ministry of Religious Affairs ordering the closure of all “non official churches” last September and ordered that all “construction or maintenance” work for places of worship needed prior approval from the Ministry. There has been a long history of attacks against Christian churches, dating back several years. See below for a video for a past protest that resulted in a church being attacked.

Address the past for Sri Lanka’s sake

LANKA Standard  

Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on December 13, 2011

Periodically there are strong statements made by members of foreign governments on the issues of war crimes and human

Navi Pillay

rights violations in Sri Lanka. But it ends there unless the Sri Lankan government chooses to answer. While the international rhetoric of war crimes and human rights abuses still prevails, there is little or no manifestation of that pressure in concrete terms. Now there are media reports that the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Navaneethan Pillay, has decided to postpone her planned visit to Sri Lanka until after the public release of the report of the Presidential Commission on Lessons Learned and Reconciliation. At the present time this report is with the President.

Full Story>>>

TNA demands international mechanism for accountability in Sri Lanka

R. K. RADHAKRISHNAN
A file picture of TNA leader R. Sampanthan during a press meet in 
New Delhi. Photo: V.V. Krishnan.

Calling upon the international community to “establish” a “mechanism for accountability” to bring to book the perpetrators of war crimes during the last stages of Eelam War that ended in May 2009, The Tamil National Alliance on Monday said that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report “categorically fails to effectively and meaningfully deal with issues of accountability.”

The TNA insisted that the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the Tamil Tigers and the Government, during the last stages of the war, needed to be fully investigated. The UN Panel of Experts which investigated the last stages of the war, had concluded that the LTTE had deliberately targeted civilians and used them as human shields, among other violations.

The allegations against the Sri Lanka government include, deliberately underestimating civilian numbers in the Vanni area in order to deprive them of food and medical supplies, deliberately or recklessly endangering the lives of civilians in No-Fire Zones, targeting civilian objects including hospitals, and executing or causing the disappearance of those who had surrendered.

“The LLRC concludes that, on these issues, the Government is not responsible. Instead, it shifts blame onto individual soldiers and surmises that any violations that may have been committed were merely isolated incidents. For example, large numbers of disappearances that resulted from the surrender of unarmed persons to Government forces have been cynically dismissed as isolated incidents perpetrated 'by a few'. The LLRC unjustifiably rules out the possibility that these violations were systematic,” Mr. Sampanthan said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies 'of heart attack'

By Greg Botelho and Holly Yan, CNN   Mon December 19, 20111

Tearful reaction to Kim's death

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: South avoiding "anything troublesome," a U.S.-based diplomat says
• NEW: The U.S. sees no sign of movement across the DMZ, general says
• Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack while on a train, KCNA says
• The ruling Workers' Party dubs his son Kim Jong Un "the great successor"

(CNN) -- Seoul put South Korean forces on high alert and Pyongyang urged an increase in its "military capability" as the death of North Korea's enigmatic leader Kim Jong Il spurred fresh security concerns in the tense region.

The 69-year-old "dear leader" of the reclusive communist state died of a heart attack on Saturday, state news outlets reported Monday. The ruling Worker's Party proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, "the great successor," indicating he would assume his father's post.

 Full Story>>>

Sri Lanka: new test of India's global influence

Jason OverdorfDecember 19, 2011

Displaced Tamil civilians watch as unseen French and British Foreign Ministers, Bernard Kouchner and David Miliband arrive at Kadirgamh camp in Chettikulam, northern Sri Lanka on April 29, 2009. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI, India — The Sri Lankan government's efforts to erase from history the final months of its 25-year-long war against Tamil separatists hit a snag this week, as humanitarian organizations blasted the report of an internal probe into alleged human rights violations and possible war crimes as a whitewash.

Now, the fight for clarity, if not justice, may well depend on India.

The Sri Lankan government's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) posted its report on the last months of the civil war Dec. 16. But despite the government's hopes that the internal assessment would end calls for an international investigation, Human Rights Watch identified “serious shortcomings” in the 388-page report.

Most troubling, the LLRC largely exonerated government forces for alleged violations of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. full story

Govt. at fault for failure in finding missing dissidents: JVP

MONDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2011
The JVP today found fault with the government for its failure to find a clue on the disappearance of its dissident group members Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and his colleague Kugan Murugananthan who have been reported missing.

JVP MP Vijitha Herath who was speaking during the committee stage debate on the budget in the House charged that the government had failed to uncover as to what had become of these two persons. He further charged that disappearances are increasing in numbers almost daily and the people are being subjected to pressure each day.

Mr. Herath said this had people’s rights have been suppressed in the past as well and the 30 year old war was a result of it. “The 1987 arms struggle was also a result of it,” he said. The JVP MP alleged that some of the armed groups who are patronised by the government politicians are behind most of the abductions and disappearances that are taking place in the North and the East. He said proper resettlement of IDPs in the North had not taken place to date. Mr. Herath made this point by highlighting that resettlement means allowing the IDPS to go back to the places where they were residing before the war broke out. He said resettlement is taking place on a cluster basis today. Citing an example he said there have been 53 cluster settlements in KKS alone. 

Mr. Herath warned that the ultimate result of this would be another struggle as people will not be able to stand the pressure they are undergoing for long. “Make a genuine effort to bring reconciliation and re-establish civil administration in the North,” he told the member. (Yohan Perera and Kelum Bandara)

Rajapakse case, a legal pioneer, reaches historic milestone, says Fein

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 December 2011, 15:38 GMT]
An historic legal milestone was passed last Friday in the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) lawsuit against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the extra-judicial killings of six Sri Lankan Tamils pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, attorney for the plaintiffs, Bruce Fein said. A lawyer representing President Rajapaksa from the mega-law firm Patton Boggs LLC tacitly acknowledged receipt of the complaint and summons filed by the Plaintiffs in a motion to request the District Court to ask the U.S. Department of State for its views about the lawsuit. "The motion filed by President Rajapaksa formally brings him into the case, where for the first time he will be accountable to the rule of law, not the rule of the jungle," Fein added. 

Excerpts from Fein's statement to TamilNet follow:

Bruce Fein, former US Associate Deputy Attorney General

"It can be anticipated that Patton Boggs will launch a massive lobbying effort at the State Department and in Congress in hopes of eliciting executive and legislative opposition to the TVPA lawsuit voiced to the United States District Court. The District Judge, however, has the final word irrespective of the President or Congress.

"We urgently need Tamil expatriates' generous support to launch an ambitious counter-campaign to recruit human rights groups, Nobel Peace Prize winners, former State Department officials who headed its human rights bureau, Members of Congress, and the media in favor of litigating the TVPA claims and against any legal immunity for President Rajapaksa. 

"This case is a legal pioneer in several respects, and the legal research and analysis to litigate will be challenging. But if we can prevail on the immunity question, then countless other victims of President Rajapaksa’s signature human rights atrocities could file TVPA suits by piggy-backing on our legal victory. Among other things, President Rajapaksa is claiming act of state, sitting head of state, foreign sovereign immunity, political question, and personal jurisdiction defenses. 

"We all know that the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission report is a joke to enable President Rajapaksa to escape accountability for his endless human rights crimes. The pending TVPA lawsuit in the United States is our best hope to foil that ignominious escape," Fein told TamilNet.

In a country where the public relations Minister is demanding ‘extortion money’- is there a Govt. or anarchy?

(Lanka-e-News -18.Dec.2011, 11.55PM) The Minister of public relations Mervyn Silva of the Rajapakse regime clearly demonstrated that in Sri Lanka now , there does not exist a Govt. but it is anarchy that is prevailing when he confirmed that he is a Minister who is an extortionist committing this crime openly and with impunity, because the victims have no one to go to and get their woes redressed under this regime... In early times , extortionists were ‘ chandiyas’ ( underworld leaders). When a chandiya committed extortion , there was a possibility to at least complain . But now to whom can the victim complain when the Minister of the Govt. is himself indulging in this crime .? It is unavailing complaining to the Kelaniya temple prelate , because he too is tying pirith (blessed ) twine on Mervyn the extortionist.

Mervyn the vermin , as he is appropriately termed has become a tremendous pestilence to the Kiribathgoda traders , for he is collecting extortion money from them as though those business places belong to his parents. His rates of extortion monthly are : Rs. 15000/- from each shop and Rs. 20,000/- from each liquor Bar. Mervyn the Vermin has appointed Oman a bar owner for the collections. The extortion monies collected are credited to the personal account of ‘Singapore Sarath’ alias Sarath Edirisinghe. If these extortion monies are not paid , the traders are forced to close their business places. Hereunder is one such instance of the many extortion closures …..….

Vasana Bakery situated on the right side at the turn to Eriyawetiyawa Road , Kiribathgoda is a lucrative business concern . Oman and ‘Singapore Sarath ‘ two henchmen of Minister Mervyn the notorious vermin have arrived at the crowded Bakery frightening the Bakery workers , and have stated that their ‘boss’ Mervyn the vermin will be going to the Traders Association , and demanded extortion money. These two Mervyn the vermin’s henchmen had yelled out ‘ where is the owner ?’. When the owner had appeared they have shouted at him ‘ a sum of Rs. 20,000/- shall be paid monthly to the Traders Association’ , and if he doesn’t , he must close the business. When the owner had said , he cannot pay that amount of extortion money , these marauding henchmen had forced the owner and the workers to get out from the premises , assaulted the owner and closed the Bakery by padlocking it.

The owner is in dire despair , not knowing where to go to explain his grievance and get redress , for his complaint to the police is unavailing.
Finally , as the Bakery owner was subject to endless threats , he had agreed to pay Rs.15,000/- as extortion money and re opened his business . This was because he is in a country where a victim of a crime has nowhere to go to and secure redress. The police cannot help , and the Govt. too cannot help as the Govt.’s own Minister is committing the crime of extortion. Mind you , this is just one of the instances of the countless extortions that are being committed in Kelaniya. All these extortion collections are credited to the account of ‘Singapore Sarath’. Mervyn the vermin who is collecting millions of rupees via this modus operandi gives a share to Singapore Sarath who had been in jail on a murder charge.
When a prominent person from Kelaniya had asked from the President as to why he is turning a blind eye to Mervyn’s crimes committed outrageously , the SL President who came to power on a people’s mandate to serve them lawfully and ensure all people obey the law including himself and his hooligan Ministers has given a most outrageous answer, ‘ I have allowed him to make some money’. Isn’t Sri Lanka a ‘blessed’ country with such a unique President at the helm and a unique Minister as Mervyn ? 

So , let us live also live as unique residents in Kelaniya who tolerate such a unique regime.

SLBFE Chairman's Sister to London Sri Lankan Mission

(Lanka-e-News-19.Dec.2011, 3.45PM) Almost all the main Sri Lankan Missions are manned by political appointees. Only China and India have been spared. This is because there should be people with specialized knowledge to handle these countries. At the same time, it is the view of the regime that west is not important. Therefore, the Missions in the west are given to the political henchmen to relax and enjoy their life. Applying the same theory, the sister of SLBFE Chairman has been appointed to London as no 02. Present Deputy High Commissioner in London Mr. P.M.Amza will be recalled if he does not willing to become No 03. It seems the regime has applied condom theory to Mr. Amza. London is a place where the LTTE is very active. Mr.Amza has been doing a significant job in the fight against the LTTE. This has been done as the sister of SLBFE Chairman is known to the High Commissioner for a long period. However, Mr.Amza has already completed three years in London and before London he served in Chennai for a period over 4 years. The Ministry of External Affairs has also been asked to present a proposal to increase the allowances for these countries. The aim of this exercise is to provide more money to the political henchmen. Although the political leadership has been very critical about giving more money to the Missions, in particular, for education allowances, more funds are pumped to the Missions handled by political appointees.

Sri Lankan army commanders 'assassinated surrendering Tamils'

The Telegraph

        By Alex Spillius and Emanuel Stoakes  18 Dec 2011

Sri Lankan army commanders were ordered by the country's leaders to assassinate surrendering Tamils in the final phase of the long and brutal civil war, according to a senior former military officer.

The claims are contained in a sworn deposition, seen by The Daily Telegraph, made by a career officer who rose to the rank of major general before he fled the country in fear of his life to seek asylum in the United States.

He is the highest ranking person to assert that atrocities against Tamil rebels and civilians were sanctioned at the highest echelons of the government. The source had the highest security clearance and close contact with some of the army's most powerful figures.

His testimony contradicted a government-appointed commission, which concluded that Sri Lanka's military did not intentionally target civilians.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report, which was released last week, said some isolated allegations of civilian abuses by security forces needed to be investigated further, suggesting that any violations could only have resulted from soldiers who were not following orders.

That assertion flew in the face of an extensive United Nations report that accused the government of deliberately shelling civilian areas and possibly killing tens of thousands of people in the final months.

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In his deposition, the major general says that he was informed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the defence secretary and brother of President Mahindra Rajapaksa, passed on "some instructions to a field commander to get rid of those LTTE [Tamil Tiger] cadres [who] are surrendering without adhering to normal procedures".

Such an order, he said, "should come from either the secretary of the defence, with the knowledge of the president involved. He also has to be kept informed. The commanders could not undertake such decisions."

It has been estimated that 20,000 people or more died in the closing months of the civil war in 2009.

The source, whose name has been withheld for his own safety, confirmed that assassinating Tamil Tigers who had been captured or surrendered became "standard operating procedure" as the Sri Lankanmilitary forces closed in on the last rebel resistance on a strip of land on the island's northeastern coast. Tamil activists are hoping that the evidence provided by the officer will build pressure for a war crimes prosecution against the president or defence secretary.

The US Department of Justice has a live file on the issue but has yet to prosecute, despite a leaked cable written by the US ambassador to Colombo which said that "responsibility for many alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership", including both Rajapaksas and Gen Sarath Fonseka, then the armed forces commander.

American human rights lawyers are seeking to prosecute the defence secretary under the US Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows prosecutions against foreign leaders and officials who commit torture or extra-judicial killings.

Bruce Fein, a human rights lawyer, said that the alleged actions of Sri Lanka's rulers and commanders appeared to be genocide.

"It's hard to come to conclusion that the aim wasn't to destroy the Tamil people in whole or substantial part," he said, citing the definition of genocide under international law.

A video obtained by Channel 4 purported to show the assassination of what were thought to be Tamil rebels. The Sri Lankan army labelled the video as a fabrication. Other witnesses described various incidents of indiscriminate killing.

The UN also blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for allegedly using civilians as human shields – a claim also made by the Sri Lankan government – and for using child soldiers.

Throughout its 26-year battle for autonomy, the ethnic minority rebels pioneered suicide bombing as a terror method, killed thousands of civilians among the Sinhalese majority and committed numerous atrocities that led to it being designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and Britain.

The testimony from the senior officer was first obtained by The International, an investigative website based in the US. It backed up various other allegations of illegal conduct by the authorities.

He said that to his knowledge shortly after becoming defence secretary in 2005 Mr Rajapaksa sanctioned the creation of a "hit squad" known for operating out of a white van to remove suspected LTTE members or collaborators off the streets of the capital Colombo.

Yolanda Foster, the Sri Lanka researcher for Amnesty International, said: "We doubt Sri Lanka's will and ability to bring the perpetrators to justice, given the scale of the allegations and the potential that serving members of the Sri Lankan government may be implicated."

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan high commission in London said: "We categorically deny these malicious allegations."

Religious liberty under fire in Sri Lanka

December 19, 2011

Recent days have seen the revival of a campaign to ban conversions in Sri Lanka, according to the Fides news agency. In addition, the government’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is ordering the closure of “non-authorized” evangelical Protestant churches and has decreed that the “construction or maintenance of places of worship must have prior approval of the ministry.”

The nation of 21.5 million is 7% Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; almost all Christians there are Catholic. 69% of Sri Lankans are Buddhist, 8% are Muslim, and 7% are Hindu.

Sri Lanka war report lays blame on both sides

Monday Dec 19, 2011  Ben Doherty

SRI LANKA'S civil war reconciliation commission has blamed both Sinhalese and Tamil leaders for the violence that gripped the country for more than a quarter of a century, but it has refused to criticise the army for the violence at the end of the conflict, in which it is alleged civilians were targeted and up to 40,000 non-combatants killed.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, the government-backed tribunal that took evidence in thousands of interviews and dozens of public hearings across Sri Lanka, says both sides were to blame for the war.

"The conflict could have been avoided had the southern [Sinhalese] political leaders … acted in the national interest and … offer[ed] an acceptable solution to the Tamil people.

"Tamil political leaders were equally responsible for this conflict, which could have been avoided had the Tamil leaders refrained from promoting an armed campaign towards secession, acquiescing in the violence and the terrorist methods used by the [Tamil Tigers]."

The commission's report, tabled in Parliament, has called for a national event to commemorate the war and an apology from both sides.

"Seeds of reconciliation can take root only if there is forgiveness and compassion."

Human rights groups have labelled the report a whitewash, designed to shield the army and government figures from prosecution. They have called for an international war crimes probe.

The Sri Lankan government is expected to argue this report makes any international investigation unnecessary.

Sri Lanka's civil war - between Sinhalese-dominated government forces and the separatist Tamil Tiger army, fighting for an autonomous northern homeland for the ethnic minority Tamil population - claimed up to 100,000 lives over 26 years.

It was ended by a fierce government offensive in 2009.

The LLRC report conceded civilians were killed by government troops - in contrast to the government line that the army pursued a "zero civilian casualty policy" and was engaged in a "humanitarian rescue operation" - but said the deaths of non-combatants was accidental.

"On consideration of all facts and circumstances before it, the commission concludes that the security forces had not deliberately targeted the civilians in the no-fire zones, although civilian casualties had in fact occurred in the course of crossfire."

The report said isolated instances of civilian abuses by soldiers could only have resulted from soldiers not following orders. The report stands in contrast to a UN expert report released this year, which found "credible" evidence of war crimes on both sides and that civilians were deliberately targeted by government troops, particularly in the final months of the war, when it estimates up to 40,000 civilians were killed.

The UN report said that the government shelled no-fire zones, where it had encouraged civilians to shelter, as well as intentionally bombing hospitals, food distribution lines and Red Cross ships that were attempting to rescue the wounded.

It also said that the Tamil Tigers, a proscribed terrorist group formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, launched suicide attacks and forcibly recruited Tamils, including children as young as 14, to its dwindling ranks of fighters.

Boyle: Tamils safety possible only under separate state

[TamilNet, Sunday, 18 December 2011, 23:17 GMT]
Asserting that the "Tamils on the Island known as “Sri Lanka” have been the victims of genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," Francis A. Boyle, an expert in International Law, and a professor at the School of Law, University of Illinois, argues using the "remedial sovereignty" doctrine in support, and noting that "[h]istorically the only way a people who have been subjected to genocide like the Tamils on Sri Lanka have been able to protect themselves from further extermination has been the creation of an independent state of their own," and concludes, "[h]ence the need for the Tamils on Sri Lanka to create their own independent state in order to protect themselves from further extermination and total annihilation by Sri Lanka." 

Full text of the article written by Boyle follows:

• Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka

On 8 April 1993 and 13 September 1993 the author single-handedly won two World Court Orders on the basis of the 1948 Genocide Convention that were overwhelmingly in favor of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Yugoslavia to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the Bosnians.

Professor Francis A. Boyle, University of Illinois

The Tamils on the Island known as “Sri Lanka” have been the victims of genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 



 Full story >>