Double murder suspect in accident -the criminal 'son’of Minister ‘Raththaran’ trying to scoot to Singapore

Wednesday 1 of February 2012

-Dastardly police gives ‘lime treatment’ to conceal his drunkenness-

(Lanka-e-News -31.Jan.2012,11.30PM) The police officers of the Paiyagala police station themselves have charged that the OIC of the station IP Chaminda Kulasinghe , instead of enforcing the law on the accused , a nephew of Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena who by reckless drunken driving killed two innocent cyclists and critically injured a motor cyclist , had unlawfully given the double murder suspect ‘lime treatment’ to ‘clear’ his liquor intoxication at the time of accident . The IGP N K Ilangakoon who has lost all his sense of shame and duty consciousness after getting accustomed to descending to worst ignominious levels to serve the MaRa regime for the worst sycophantic reasons, and his media spokesman SP , Ajith Rohana , the attorney at law , who together ought to have performed their police duties duly in public interest and taken action against the nephew of the Minister , have instead conducted themselves most traitorously towards the nation , merely in order to fawn on the Minister most disgracefully and to stoop to the lowest depth possible to give wrongful protection to the accused who due to his ruthless and reckless drunken state killed two innocent individuals and critically injured a motor cyclist. We at Lanka e news are now following up on the truths we revealed yesterday in our report . This chain of accidents involving three victims had been recorded in the Paiyagala police station at 11.55 p.m under ref. 91/139 of the police accident register or ‘accident information book’. The records show that there had been three accidents. The registered number of the car that caused this ghastly accident is W P K O 1214. (photo of this vehicle is given herein) The first accident involves a bicycle – the victim cyclist had died . He is Nuwan Sanjeewa ,28 years old . The second is another Bicycle victim – victim is 31 year old Mahabadhuge Gayan Fernando. The victim has been thrown off to a 23.7 meter high roof house and fallen into it breaking the roof , and died. If such a grave accident is to occur , the accused should have driven the vehicle at least at 110 kms. per hour , according to police officers conducting inquiries. The third is a motor cycle victim – he is receiving intensive care treatment in the Hospital. The brain has been subject to blood clots . He is critical. Prior to this recording in the Police books, the police had received three phone calls complaining of the high speed and reckless driving of the Minister’s nephew. One of the complaints was made by a private bus traveling to Galle which had escaped by a hair’s breadth , and had managed to avert meeting with an accident with this nephew’s vehicle. The other two calls have also reported on this reckless driving to the police. The individual who was in the private bus and who gave the call told Lanka e news, that when he was trying to report on this dangerous and deadly driving , there was nobody at the Paiyagala police station to receive the urgent call. This confirms that the police had not take any action to stop this dangerously driven vehicle even after the first accident had been met. Finally , after this killer vehicle had stopped unable to proceed further, the killer drunken driver , the ‘relation son’ of the Minister had been brought to the police and kept inside the official room of the Paiyagala police OIC Chaminda Kulasinghe and given lime and other medications most solicitously to ‘ clear’ his drunkenness , until the Minister arrived, based on what was revealed by law abiding police officers in the police station sympathetic towards the innocent victims , who were being denied justice by the very law enforcers of the country taking the side of the twin murderer , simply because the murderer is a ‘relation son’ of a Minister . Later the Minister who arrived at the police station has dispatched his nephew , the murderer under full security protection in a land cruiser home , and produced one Benaragama Vidhanalage Shirantha Haripriya , a henchman ,brought along by him to be substituted illegally as the driver of the killer vehicle. Those who aided and abetted in this criminal conspiracy of fake ‘Raththaran’ alias Rohitha Abeygunawardena the Minister and deceiver are , wickedly brutal Kalutara SSP S D Perera the main culprit . The second culprit is the Paiyagala police OIC Colombage IP. The other two are of course , the IGP ILangakoon and his media spokesman Ajith Rohana already referred to in the foregoing paragraphs. This entire atrocious operation and cover up are being carried out at the behest of the MaRa regime. The counterfeit substitute driver is now held in remand custody until the 8th of February , and will be produced for the identification parade. Here are some salient legal points pertaining to the arrest of a suspect , a drunken driver following an accident. There is no law in Sri Lanka to hold an identification parade in such an instance. His intoxication has to be tested by blowing a balloon – a breathalyzer . Before the courts, that test cannot be disproved , and is an irrefutable evidence. All these high ranking and law enforcing scoundrels involved in this are therefore , by having an identification parade followed by an Attorney General advice seeking to camouflage this heinous crime scene wherein a double murder has been committed and critical injuries caused to another by the ‘relation son’ of fake ‘Raththaran’ who was having high fun on the road in drunken state and driving recklessly . Now that there are also judges also in the present climate of raging lawlessness to facilitate these criminal manipulations , the stage is being set to rescue the murderous ‘relation son’ of fake Raththaran. This type of criminal wrongdoers shall not be allowed to escape exploiting political and police patronage after killing two innocent citizens and injuring another who is now in a critical condition in Hospital. There is no conspiracy that the people cannot defeat if they unite. If these evil powers are used today to save and pedestal criminals , let us remind ourselves , tomorrow we shall be facing the same fate as those who suffered in this accident . Whether it is fake ‘Ratharan’ or his relation son or his orang utan of a son , they should not be permitted to escape punishment after committing cold blooded murders while indulging in wild pleasures of ‘wine , women and song’. Is the much hyped ‘mathata thitha’ program of the Govt. meant only for law abiding citizens? Are the Govt. Ministers , their sons and henchmen to follow ‘thiththata matha’ , and in that state kill innocent people for pleasure and get out scot free? The present police spokesman who is wearing the label of ‘Lawyer’ is unfortunately representing not the lawful , but rather the unlawful. This spokesman Ajith Rohana is nicknamed ‘Bathbada’ within the police Force. During the period 1988 -1989 , he joined the force as an SI. He became a Lawyer when the concession was given to police sub Inspectors to become Lawyers without sitting the law entrance exam . Later when he was serving in the Southern zone , he befriended Nirupama Rajapakse , a powerful person in the MaRa regime. Through his close clandestine association with her he shot up in his official position. . When he got married , the DIG of the southern zone had occasion to ask for an explanation from him as to why he was keeping Nirupama in his official residence during the nights. It is a pity that this Ajith Rohana is vilifying the very legal profession even after swearing the solemn professional oath when becoming a Lawyer. Using the label of Lawyer he has proved all along he is an accomplished liar who would stoop to the worst of sordid actions shamelessly instead of seeking to demonstrate he is an accomplished Lawyer who upholds the professional dignity and honor , in accord with the professional ethics. In this atrocious episode too he has played a key role in transforming legal norms into most illegal machinations for the most nefarious reasons unbecoming of a Lawyer . Based on the latest information reaching Lanka e news , the ‘thiththata matha’ drunk ‘relation son’ of this dastardly Minister alias fake’ Raththaran’ is being arranged to be sent to Singapore or South Korea urgently . May be this has already taken place before this news leaked out. It is most significant to note in the present hooligan lawless climate, the ordinary citizens of the country who are most vulnerable should feel that they are under a duty to do everything possible to protect their rights and their lives from the cruelties and inequities of political henchmen ; and murderous and lawless politicians . No matter what bestiality or jungle laws a Govt. may practice , it is for the people to rise against them and defend their rights. The Mahinda Rajapakse regime’s trash and garbage bins shall be kicked out . Towards this raise your voice in unison and unite to rally together to enthrone Democracy and dethrone despotism. It is now or never ! The phone No. of IGP Ilangakoon is 0777 581111 or 0772 106651 The phone No. of Kalutara senior SP S. D. Perera is 0729061829 or office No. 034 2222333 The phone No. of Paiyagala police station OIC Colombage is 0772 922801 or 071 83438300

Get to know Leashan the double murder criminal in Paiyagala fatal accident: funeral houses of victims made into war zones !

(Lanka-e-News -31.Jan.2012,11.30PM) The actual driver of the vehicle in the accident at Paiyagala who killed two and critically injured another owing to reckless driving under the influence of liquor is Leashan De Silva , as confirmed by reports reaching Lanka e news. This criminal is the son of the youngest sister of Deputy Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena. We have included herein a number of photographs of his . In all these photos it is very apparent that this criminal son is a habitual drunkard going by his appearance. His mother too is addicted to liquor. Recently she had driven a vehicle of Abeygunawardena’s Ministry and had met with an accident at Waskaduwa . Fortunately no one had been injured.

In the double murder triple accident , the vehicle involved WP KO 1214 had been registered on 17th March 2011 and the name of the owner under the registration is Rahune Katherine Gomez. Her address is No. 157/3 , Dhuwa Road, Beddegana, Pitakotte, Kotte.

What is most intriguing and frustrating in this deadly double murder triple accident that occurred on the 28th , a statement from the owner of the vehicle has still not been recorded. May be this is in keeping with the raging lawlessness in the country under the MaRa regime where even laws are being improvised to suit politicos, their criminal henchmen and hooligans.

Believe it or not , even as this accident occurred , the first person to give a call to the Paiyagala police and instruct not to abide by the laws as this is a matter involving the Minister Abeygunawardena, is no less a person than the Kalutara division SSP Pathinayake.

Meanwhile, the areas where the homes of the two youths who died under the most tragic circumstances have been beefed up with security deploying the defense forces so much so that they look like battle zones. The Colombo South DIG I. M. Karunaratne had given instructions this morning to obtain a court order to conduct the funeral proceedings of these two youths in much the same way as that of Roshan Chanakage who was brutally killed by the Katunayake police.

It is most pitiful that in this country , even to conduct traditional funeral proceedings and give a decent burial to those who died under most tragic circumstances at the hands of lawless criminal elements and Govt.politicians has become a grave problem .

According to police officers , this DIG Karunaratne is a shameless bootlicker and ardent henchman of Gotabaya Rajapakse who would not demur even to wash clean the stinking hindquarters of Gota.

The phone No. of DIG Karunaratne is 071 4916108 .
More photographs hereunder.

Fake Rajapaksa associates arrested

Two men who posed as close confidants of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa were taken into custody in Galkiriyagama for promising villagers in Uduruwa South that they will be given jobs in state banks and the customs department. They had also asked them for money.

The two men had come to the area in a vehicle which had posters and stickers of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

They had been staying at a house in the area by claiming that they are in the area to make arrangements for the upcoming ‘Deyata Kirula’ exhibition which is to be held in Anuradhapura.

Police said that they failed to produce documents to prove their claim. They even claimed that they are from the Ministry of Economic Development.

They were produced before the Kekirawa Magistrate by the Galkiriyagama police and remanded.

According to the police individuals claiming to be close relatives or confidants of powerful ministers in the government and also posing as members of the Presidential Security Division (PSD) are engaged in illegal activities by cheating the public. (Supun Dias)

Sri Lanka Got Saudi & Nepal to Stand Down, Silva to Now Cede to Kohona?

Ban shakes with Silva, Kohona's back to camera, (c) MRLee

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, January 31 -- Amid growing outrage atSri Lankan General Shavendra Silva, accused of war crimes, becoming a UN Senior Adviser on Peacekeeping Operationsand at Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's refusal to do or say anything about it, Inner City Press has learned more details of how this "travesty" came about.

   Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky on January 30 told Inner City Press to "ask the member states in the Asian Group" -- so Inner City Press did.

  It emerges that there was no vote in the Asian Group.

  Rather, Sri Lanka got candidates Saudi Arabia and Nepal to stand down.

  Some credited Silva's boss and former UN official Palitha Kohona with accomplishing this troubling but in UN-speak "impressive" feat.

  Nepal was previously bested by Qatar to appoint the current President of the General Assembly.

  While Ban and his top two UN Peacekeeping official Herve Ladsous and Susana Malcorra have claimed that they play no role at all in the selection of the Senior Advisers other than the five directly selected by Ban, including Ladsous' predecessor Jean Marie Guehenno, Inner City Press is informed by senior diplomatic sources that Malcorra, on behalf of Ban, met with representatives of member states and advised them how to make their nominations.

  Now, with inaction and buck passing from Ban Ki-moon, certain belated attempts to avoid this scandal for the UN and its Peacekeeping Operations have begun.

 Requests have been made for Kohona to stand in for Silva, with the cover story that Ban's UN prefers Permanent Representatives on this group, rather than less senior Deputy Permanent Representatives like Silva.

  One problem is that Japan went even lower than Deputy, naming "Number Three" Jun Yamazaki as one of the Advisers representing donors.

  More damningly, while Silva is named in the UN Panel of Experts Report for shelling hospitals and killing people trying to surrender, it must be noted that Kohona too reportedly played a role in these so called white flag killings.

Significantly,  so did Ban's own chief of staff Vijay Nambiar. Thus, Silva is not the only person being "bluewashed". Ban wants to keep Nambiar on as an Under Secretary General, covering only Myanmar.

One wag wondered, perhaps Than Shwe could be lured out of "retirement" to further advise Ban Ki-moon? Watch this site.

Rajapaksa does a U-turn on 13th Amendment

R. K. RADHAKRISHNANFebruary 1, 2012
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. File photo
Denies that he ever told India he would go beyond the 13th Amendment

After promising to go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution to find a solution to the Tamil ethnic problem, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has done a U-turn and said the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) would now have to suggest a solution.

At an interaction on Monday with the country's editors at Temple Trees, the President's official residence, Mr. Rajapaksa “denied that he ever told India [this],” The Island newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Asked if his comments, reported in the newspaper, meant that the Indian side lied about his purported promise during his meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “This is not the first time that I am saying it [that I am for implementing the 13th Amendment]. In the beginning I said I have no objection. But Tamil parties should come and give their names to the PSC and decide on it…what they want. So the PSC advises and tells me ‘this is what you must do,' we have no objection. Parliament should do it. This is not my personal issue…I am ready to accept anything that Parliament gives me. Because Parliament consists of all parties...so they have to decide on this…Let all the official parties, the TNA, and all these people get together…”

Mr. Rajapaksa made the comments at an interaction with foreign correspondents stationed in Colombo at his official residence.

As per the 13th Amendment, a product of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord of 1987, Colombo agreed to devolve some powers to the provinces. Largely drawing on the Indian federal set-up, it has three lists which detailed power-sharing between Colombo and the provinces. Broadly, it provided for merger of the Northern and the Eastern provinces, and for certain financial provisions for the provinces. The provinces would have an elected council, and a chief minister and ministers.

After a meeting with Mr. Rajapaksa on January 17, Mr. Krishna said in a statement: “I discussed this matter [political solution for Tamils] with His Excellency the President this morning. The President assured me that he stands by his commitment to pursuing the 13th Amendment [to the Sri Lankan Constitution] plus approach.”

A joint statement issued at the end of the May 2011 meet between the Foreign Ministers in New Delhi too made the same commitment: “A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation.”

‘Lanka Parliament alone will decide devolution’

By P K Balachandran
01 Feb 2012 02:27:00 AM IST

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday said the system of devolution in the island nation should be prescribed only by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to be set up for the purpose, and not by him or the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The President was responding to a query whether he had told Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, that he was “committed” to going beyond the 13th Amendment of the Lankan Constitution to devolve powers to the provinces.
“I had told Krishna that I had no objection to going beyond the 13th Amendment, and that I had said so earlier too. However, I added that I could not take a decision on the matter arbitrarily. The PSC, in which all parties in parliament would be represented, was the best forum to discuss and take a decision on the matter,” Rajapaksa said.
No Details of 13th-Plus
When asked about “13 th Amendment-Plus” he said: “I cannot reveal it. If I say anything on it, people will say, I am biased. Let parliament decide. I’ll accept its recommendations.”
No Special Status for TNA
Asked whether the stalled talks with the TNA would be resumed, Rajapaksa said that he was ready to talk to the TNA, or any other party which wanted to talk on the issue, but decisions on a political solution could be taken only by the PSC. He urged the TNA to join the PSC. Intervening, Sajin Vaas Gunawardene, a presidential aide, blamed the TNA for the stalled talks.
Polls in Tamil North
On when elections to the Tamil-dominated Northern Province Provincial Council would be held, the President said that the elections would be held as soon as the voters’ list was revised.
ICG Curbs Poaching Rajapaksa
Rajapaksa said that the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) had helped reduce the intrusion of TN fishermen into Lankan waters in recent times. He said that the ICG had been patrolling the Indian side of the IMBL in the Palk Straits effectively. But Lanka would like joint Indo-Lankan patrolling and had made a proposal for it.
Attacks on Lankans
Regarding the recent protests against Lankan personalities in TN, Rajapaksa said that he had raised the issue with Krishna, when he was here recently.
No Complaint on China’s Role
Rajapaksa said that neither India nor the US had expressed any concern over China’s increasing economic and strategic role in Sri Lanka. “India has never raised the issue with me. Not even the US has,” Rajapaksa said.
Not to Submit LLRC Report
Rajapaksa has made it clear that Lanka will not present the report of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission  to the UN Human Rights Commission, which is to meet in Geneva in March.

The Fog of an Uncivil War in Sri Lanka

By MARK MCDONALD

 | February 1, 2012,
Gemunu Amarasinghe/Associated PressPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa said the Sri Lankan government would not show a report on alleged civil war atrocities to the United Nations Human Rights Council.pp

It has been nearly three years since Sri Lankan government troops crushed the separatist Tamil Tigers in a gory, scorched-earth campaign that brought an end to three decades of civil war. The final battles — with some 300,000 civilians caught in the crossfire — were fought on the northern beaches and in the impoverished hamlets of the island nation.

But the fog of war still has not lifted in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka said Tuesday that it would not be sending a review of alleged war crimes to the United Nations for discussion. There’s no need, a senior government official said, because its international critics in New York won’t be persuaded anyway.

A United Nations report has already called for an international inquiry into likely atrocities. Investigators found credible claims that a lot of hands had a lot of blood on them. The Tigers, after all, pretty much invented suicide bombing and the use of female suicide bombers. And Sri Lankan artillery batteries unleashed hell, even if civilians were in the way.

Here’s one representative sentence from the U.N. findings: “The Government systematically shelled hospitals on the frontlines.’’ And this sentence, which found that the Tigers “started point-blank shooting of civilians who attempted to escape the conflict zone.’’

It was that kind of war. More like murder.

In December, after the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission had taken testimonies from hundreds of battlefield witnesses, the government completed its review of the war.

Suresh Premachandran of the Tamil National Alliance, the leading political party of the minority Tamils, told The Associated Press that the government’s submersion of the report was meant to deflect a likely storm of criticism over its end-game prosecution of the war.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry secretary told the Daily News in Colombo that government critics could not be persuaded by any explanation or defense. “We know that we can’t make them happy no matter what we do,’’ said Karunatilaka Amunugama.

In a recent commentary in The New York Times, the journalist Namini Wijedasa said the government report was “a valuable document, but regarding the war’s final weeks, it is largely an apologia for the army.’’

Sri Lanka’s Independence Day falls on Saturday, marking the former colony’s break from Britain in 1948. The timing would seem propitious for a reversal of the government’s stance on its refusal to make a break with its more recent past.

Forwarding its report to the U.N. might also elicit some assistance from Washington if the United States and the European Union place further sanctions on Iran. Sri Lanka gets 93 percent of its oil from Iran.

A senior U.S. Treasury official, Luke Bronin, is scheduled to have talks in Sri Lanka on Thursday. Iranian sanctions will certainly be on the agenda.

“We need an alternative. We’ll tell them to give us an alternative,”President Mahinda Rajapaksa told reporters on Tuesday, noting that in the end, U.S. and E.U. sanctions “are not punishing Iran — they are punishing us, small countries.’’

He was asked if he would ask for a waiver of the sanctions, for a way to escape the Washington-Tehran crossfire.

“We might,’’ the president said. “Otherwise, how do we survive?’’

India, Sri Lanka hold defence dialogue

Last Updated: Wednesday, February 01, 2012
New Delhi: Aiming to enhance bilateral defence cooperation and to discuss the regional security situation, India and Sri Lanka have held the inaugural round of Annual Defence Dialogue here. 

The two sides were on Tuesday represented by the Defence Secretaries, officers of the armed forces and those from the Defence Ministry. 

"Regional security situation including issues of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region dominated the inaugural Annual Defence Dialogue. Issues relating to bilateral defence interactions also came up for discussion at the meeting," Defence Ministry officials said here. 

Indian delegation comprising officers of the armed forces and senior officials from the Ministry was led by Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma. Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa co-chaired the meeting alongwith with officials. 

The two officers later also called on Defence Minister AK Antony at his office in the South Block. 

India and Sri Lanka share a close defence relationship with several exchange programmes and exercises. 

While some of the officer cadets of Sri Lankan armed forces are trained in National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Military Academy (IMA), its officers also come to other military institutions on exchange programmes. 
PTI 

Alleged War Criminal as an Advisor to UN Secretary General

AFTA Member Associations:   01.02.2012

The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil
associations in Australia and New Zealand, is appalled by the news that Major General
Shavendra Silva, Sri Lanka's deputy ambassador to the UN, will be part of a group advising
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.  He is one of many military men given top diplomatic posts by
Sri Lanka essentially to offer them Diplomatic Immunity.
Maj. Gen Silva is the subject of a lawsuit in the US accusing him of war crimes.  This private
lawsuit is pending against him in the US, filed on behalf of two Tamils who say his actions killed
their family members and that he was a party to war crimes including the intentional shelling of
civilians. Human rights campaigners have linked him to the shooting of Tamil Tiger leaders
trying to surrender.  Maj. Gen Silva initially proclaimed that he will defend any war crime
charges against him in any courts but is now trying to evade the charges by hiding behind
Diplomatic Immunity.  The US court is yet to decide whether it has jurisdiction over him or
cannot prosecute him in a US court as long as he is functioning as a diplomat in the US soil.
According to BBC, a Sri Lankan newspaper journalist told the BBC that he and other reporters
were telephoned by Maj. Gen Silva, who informed them of his appointment to a Special
Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations set up by the UN Secretary General.  Maj. Gen
Silva says he will represent Asian countries on this body, advising Ban Ki-Moon on issues
including payments to nations for their peacekeeping troops.  Most of the 114 Sri Lankan UN
Peace Keeping soldiers deported back to Sri Lanka from Haiti in 2007 for sexual abuse and rape
in Haiti have not yet been subjected to investigation and punishment.
AFTA considers UN Secretary General accepting an alleged war Criminal, as a member of a
group advising him on UN peace keeping matters, is making a mockery of all the UN stated
principles and International Norms and Laws.  AFTA  considers this move by the Sri Lankan
authorities as another attempt to hide Maj. Gen Silva deeper in the Diplomatic Immunity closet
along with Dr. Palitha Kohonna, another alleged war criminal as their permanent representative
to the UN. Both these officials were allegedly involved in a joint enterprise to extra-judicially kill
3 LTTE hors de combat who surrendered by waving a white flag to the Sri Lankan Army after
having been given assurances for their safety. AFTA understands that its request to the Australian
Federal Minister for Justice to investigate Dr. Kohonna as an Australian citizen allegedly
involved in committing war crimes in another country is being considered seriously at the time of
this release.

AFTA appeals to the UN Secretary General to uphold the UN values and norms by not accepting
his nomination.  AFTA appeals to the leaders of the Asian countries not to let an alleged War
Criminal to represent them in SG’s advisory group on UN Peace Keeping Operations.  AFTA
appeals to the Australian and New Zealand governments to instruct their Permanent
representatives to the UN to raise their concerns in this matter with the UN Secretary General.

AFTA appeals to the media to initiate a campaign to prevent a bad precedent being set in the UN
System.

Last king of Kandy remembered in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2012, 01:48 GMT]
Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe alias Ka’n’nuch-chaami, the last king of Kandy, from whom the British captured the sovereignty of the last remaining kingdom in the island then called Ceylon, was remembered by his heirs and relatives in Tamil Nadu at his memorial in Ve

aloor (Vellore) in Tamil Nadu on his 181st death anniversary on Monday. Those who claim and 

uphold ‘uni

t remaining in the island, just because he was belonging to the Mathurai Naayakka dynasty of Tamil-Telugu origin. This is a small, but revealing example on the attitude of the sovereignty claim of the Sinhala state of Sri Lanka, showing why the sovereignty of genocide-affected Eezham Tamils in the island should never be vested into the hands of this state, commented an academic in Jaffna. tary’ sovereignty over the entire island today never care for the king, who fought against colonialism for native sovereignty las

The paintings of the King and Queen made by a British Army officer before they were take

n to Vellore

In 1815, the invading British captured Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe and his queen after a brutal war. Later, the chieftains of Kandy signed a treaty with the invaders, agreeing for the transfer of sovereignty to the British

Crown.

The Royal family was then taken to India and was imprisoned at the Fort of Vealoor (Vellore) in Tamil Nadu. The Vellore fort was also once belonging to the dynasty of Wikrama Rajasinghe, originating from the Vijayanagara Empire.

The king died on 30 January 1832, at Vellore and was buried at the bed of the river Paalaa’ru, nearby. His queen Saaviththiri Devi and children were also buried at the same place after their death later.

The crown, throne and other royal regalia taken by the British to London were later returned to Ceylon and they are now in the display of Colombo Museum. The personal items used by the imprisoned king, such as his dice-game set etc., could be found in the Tamil Nadu State museum at Vellore.

The birth name of the king was Ka’n’nuch-chaami. Another contender for the throne of Kandy from the same family, by the name Muththuch-chaami, was patronized by the British who kept him in Va’n’naar-pa’n’nai in Jaffna in the locality where the Kilner Building stands now. The British who wanted to appease Wikrama Rajasinghe after their defeat in an earlier war, presented him the head of Muththuch-chaami on a platter.

The story of Wikrama Rajasinghe became folklore in Tamil in the 19th century itself. Early plays by the name of Ka’ndi Raajan Kathai, and in the form of Kooththu theatre, were composed and performed at Mathurai in Tamil Nadu as early as in the late 19th century.

However, in Sinhala historiography, the English version that Wikrama Rajasinghe was a tyrant became easily accepted and the highlight was the king brutally torturing and killing the family of a Sinhala chieftain for treason.

The English historiography found it convenient to justify the transfer of sovereignty, citing tyranny of the Naayakka king on the Kandyans.

But in our times today, the powers of new imperialism contesting for the island and the international system such as the UN, find it convenient to cite at ‘Sri Lankan sovereignty’ in allowing even genocide of a nation.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who never hesitated to commit genocide of Eezham Tamils, justifies all his actions in the name of ‘Sri Lankan sovereignty’ and he is the hero of the ‘Mahavamsa’ he is composing.

The international polity of the New World Order seems to have ‘matured’ enough in making no pretensions over proclaiming shamelessly that ‘sovereignty’ is not a people’s right to protect their nation, the academic in Jaffna commented.