Chilaw murder by unlawful shooting a premeditated killing: Gota–Ravi conspiracy exposed

(Lanka-e-News-20.Feb.2012, 5.30AM) More information has leaked out on the recent killing of the young fisherman Anthony Fernando and injuring three others critically at Chilaw, confirming that it was a result of a premeditated plan and a direct order given by Gotabaya Rajapakse. On the day previous to the day of the murder when the fishermen staged massive demonstrations at the Chilaw Town against the ruthless fuel price hikes, Gotabaya Rajapakse had given orders that the protests shall be quelled even by shooting. To accomplish this task he had chosen the same DIG Ravi Wijegunawardena who orchestrated the murder of Roshan Chanaka at Katunayake on an earlier occasion. It is therefore very clear that Gota chose Ravi who was condemned by one and all for the Katunayake brutal murder, because he wanted Ravi to give another repeat performance . Although Gota learnt a lesson following the ruthless Katunayake killing ,however decided to give a repeat performance on a foolproof murder plot. He had instructed Ravi , ‘we will organize a ‘mixed team’ and attack so that the persons who do the shooting will not be identifiable. Accordingly , his mixed team had comprised of the Police, STF soldiers and Gajaba regiment soldiers . Gota’s favorite regiment being ‘Gajaba’ , it was therefore enlisted. More >>

Karuna Amman had sent Sri Lankans to Togo

Monday, 20 February 2012

The Fraud Investigations Bureau in Colombo has found that Deputy Minister Karuna Amman had sent young Tamil women and men after taking large sums of money to Togo and Mali in Western Africa in an illegal manner. The racket had been carried out through the deputy minister’s personal security officer (PSO) Wasantham’s wife, Geetha.

These details have been revealed after the police had arrested Arunagirinatham alias Ruban, who is the mastermind behind the racket, on the 18th and handed over to the Fraud Investigations Bureau for further interrogation. He was arrested for allegedly trying to re-organize the LTTE by enlisting the support of the people.

He was arrested at 11.15 p.m. on the 18th while he was on the road opposite the Sooriyan Inn at 18/3, Railway Avenue, Wellawatte.

A senior officer from the Fraud Bureau said that the individual has been charged of bringing down about 269 young Tamil men and women to Colombo from Vavuniya and Batticaloa, keeping them in hiding stating that they are being unlawfully detained and harassed by the security forces, sending these persons to Togo and Mali in an illegal manner and making them stay in a stadium in the respective country without any facilities and possessing fake documents indicating he is a sailor.

The suspect is a resident of 45/89C, Pillayar Kovil Path, Kurumankadu, Vavuniya. He was born on August 9, 1984 in Murimute on Paranthan Road and his ID number is 842221234V.

The suspect’s father is a prison official named Sabhapathi Arunagirinathan. His mother’s name is Arunagirinathan Maheswari.

The suspect’s eldest brother, Arunagirinathan Jeyabaran had been a senior member of the LTTE. His statements has revealed that his eldest brother had led the LTTE in battles against the security forces and had dies while battling on the front lines during the Jaya Sikuru operation.

The suspect’s second sibling is A. Jeyanimalan is a resident of Pareithura and is currently a teacher at the Murisamutai Muruganadan School.

The third in the family, A. Jeyaseetharan is currently residing in France and had fled the country during the ceasefire between the LTTE and the security forces.
The fourth in the family, A. Jeyaprakash has managed to flee to Italy with the suspect’s help.

The suspect had been educated at the American Vision School in Thambasetti from grade one till six and had later received his education from the Ramanathan College in Vattikachchi area in Paranthan, which was under LTTE control, and the Dharmapuram College.

The suspect had previously sent Tamil men and women to overseas countries as refugees and he had been supported by Deputy Minister Karuna Amman. The officer who gave us the information said that measures are being taken to arrest the deputy minister’s PSO and his wife.

Women protest 'land grab' by military

'Past experience in other areas demonstrate that women will be unable to move about after nightfall'

Women activists in northern Sri Lanka have strongly protested a move by the military to construct a new army camp in Eluthoor, Mannar.

The protests by Women Rural Development Societies from nine villages comes after a recent discussion during which concerns were raised over the allocation of land along Tharavanlottai road.

The army camp is to be constructed adjacent to a tank constructed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the resettled families from the surrounding villages, especially for washing and bathing.

'Insecure'

In a petition to Sri Lanka government and local parliamentarians, the activists have appealed not to construct the camp in the allocated land and move it to any other part of Mannar.

Women and girls will feel insecure due to proximity of army camp. Likewise schoolgirls going for tuition before dawn will also find it cumbersome   Petition by Women Rural Development Societies

"Most families in these villages are war – affected and living below the poverty line. In many instances the bread winners of the family are women," said the petition signed by over 500 members of the WRDS.

These women, say activists, face many issues related to their security and living conditions.

"When an acute shortage of land for building dwellings is prevalent in this area the decision to allocate land for an army camp is unjust and unfair. Priority should be given to landless people in the vicinity," said the petition adding that the people in the area will be deprived of using the tank if a military camp is constructed nearby.

Obstruct of water flow in the low-lying land areas, women using the shrubs nearby as toilets due to lack of toilets in the villages and the threat to security as well as the privacy of women as a result of the proposed army camp are other reasons cited by the women’s group for their objection.

Copies of the petition, signed by over 500 members of the WRDS, have been sent to the government agents, TNA parliamentarians, justice minister as well as the Human Rights Commission, Land Commissioner and the Governor of North.

A sack-load of trouble

Sunday 19 February 2012

A gitation against fuel price hikes, the falling rupee against the dollar, and the threat of a resolution at the Geneva UN Human Rights Commission at the end of the month – all seemed to be much more than any government could weather easily in a week. Obviously then, it was one of the toughest weeks since the Mahinda Rajapaksa UPFA administration came to power in the November of 2005.
The question largely unasked so far but badly needs an answer, is whether the government would have to cave in on more than one front to the ubiquitous ‘foreign forces?’ In Geneva, it is beyond doubt that the state will give one hell of a fight to whatever challenges are aimed at it – but on a less visible front, did the government have to cave into the diktat of the IMF, to carry out those by now well known fuel price increases that almost represent a kidney punch aimed at ordinary people in terms of a cost-of-living rise?

Spiralling out of control

Whether the IMF prevailed upon it or not, the decision by government was to pass on the costs of fuel to the people, because, it appeared that it did not want to bankrupt the state by granting continuous subsidies to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation CPC), and the Electricity Board which bought fuel from the CPC.
Whatever prompted the government to take this decision, things seemed to spiral out of control almost from the very minute these price hikes were announced.
Bus owners went on strike, and the fishermen in Chilaw went on a march — but the bus owners had previously agreed to accept a government subsidy on fuel, and so had the fishermen, except those in Chilaw.
The government finally caved into the demand by private bus owners to increase ticket fares by 20%.
This was strike one against the government due to the fuel hike.
More was to come. Strike two was when the Chilaw fishermen took to the streets, saying that a subsidy will not do, and fuel prices should be what they were before.
Undoubtedly there seemed to be others fishing in troubled waters; whether there was justification for this or not being an entirely different matter.
The Chilaw protests were the work of the JVP, working on the same lines as in the FTZ worker protests of last year, against the so-called private sector pension scheme.
It seemed the JVP came up with the same result as in those protests, with the armed forces, this time (STF some say), shooting at protesting fishermen with live bullets, resulting in the death of one young fisherman (please see page 3 for the full story on the incident.)

Reaction muted

On all of this however, the reaction of the government seemed to be muted, perhaps because those at the apex level of power had their minds concentrated on something of more crucial importance – the upcoming UNHRC sessions in Geneva where the US has threatened to back a resolution against the Sri Lankan government for non-implementation of the LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) report.
The president was in Pakistan and Singapore, and no doubt among other aspects, there would have been moves through these governments to lobby UNHRC member states to vote in Sri Lanka’s favour at the Geneva deliberations.
The two high-ranking US officials here last week, Assistant Secretary Robert O. Blake and Under Secretary of State Maria Otero virtually told the government that there will be a resolution based on the ‘non-implementation of the LLRC report.’
The government’s retort was that this was totally unfair; all post war demands regarding detainees, refugees, and finally a reconciliation report had been acceded to, and given time, justice will be done on the LLRC report, the president said.
But Blake and his colleague seemed to be stubborn, and so it is going to be showdown time in Geneva, alas.

Govt. must stop ‘prestige projects’ say economists

Sunday 19 February 2012
By Namini Wijedasa

Even as the Central Bank took urgent measures to avert a major balance-of-payments crisis, leading economists warned last week that the government must stop carrying out ‘prestige projects’ that do not bring returns.
One of the ventures they named was the Hambantota Port, but they also mentioned the Katunayake-Colombo luxury train project (suspended) and the Mattala airport (which has one of the longest runways in the world). Although it was not an infrastructure project, they also named the “extremely wasteful” bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 
“Thank god we didn’t win the bid because that would have been just enough for us to boom up to the next election in 2017, and then comes the payoff period,” said one economist, requesting anonymity. 
Also in the pipeline are South Asia’s tallest telecommunication and entertainment tower called the ‘Lotus Tower.’
The economists agreed that government investment in infrastructure is vital in the post-war period since the private sector is hesitant to commit in those areas. They also accepted that, since Sri Lanka is now rated a lower middle income country, they are no longer eligible for the kind of ‘concessional’ aid they used to receive. Therefore, infrastructure development is funded through foreign borrowing. 
“Some of the infrastructure improvements they are doing are necessary,” said another economist, also requesting anonymity.

Douched By Reality

Monday, February 20, 2012  

“It is not the politicians who are suffering, it’s the people”.
A Greek demonstrator (The Guardian  –13.2.2012)

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

This is how braggarts end, with egg on their faces and blood on their hands.
Last week, at a press conference in Colombo, US Under-Secretary of State Maria Otero announced Washington’s decision to support a resolution on Sri Lanka, at the February-March UN Human Rights Council sessions. This stunning pronouncement was greeted with an eerie quiet; there were no outraged shrieks by Buddhist monks, no effigy-burning demonstrations by the JHU and no ‘fasts unto death’ by Minister Weerawansa. The puppet-masters seem to have realised that the usual melodramas would not suffice and that the crisis required a different sort of thespian exercise, even if it meant swallowing one’s pride together with the shibboleths about national sovereignty.
So during the Geneva Season, ‘Outraged Patriots’ is to be replaced with ‘Sincere Reformers’. The Army Commander commenced the new phantasmagoria by announcing the appointment of a ‘court of inquiry’ to investigate the observations made by the LLRC. Whether this ruse will satisfy the West or whether the regime will be compelled to implement a few more deceptive measures remains to be seen. In the meantime rights-violations continue unabated. Even as the Rajapaksas were confabulating with Secretaries Otero and Blake, a Tamil businessman was abducted from his home in Wellawatta and a handcuffed detainee was abducted from the Hulftsdorf courts complex; both crimes were committed in broad daylight by armed groups in white vans. On Tuesday a partially burnt corpse was discovered in a Colombo suburb. On Wednesday night another businessman was abducted from the Dehiwala Railway Station.  
Read More » 

AG, Army probe alleged war wrongdoings

Sunday February 19, 2012

Lanka to circulate HR protection plan at UNHRC sessions

By Chandani Kirinde

With just a week to go for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva, the Government will review charges of wrongdoing levelled by witnesses before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). Attorney General Eva Wanasundera told the Sunday Times that Police had begun recording statements from persons who gave evidence. This is to gather information which could be examined by officials in the AG’s Department, she said. The moves come as Sri Lanka prepared to circulate a National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The plan was formally released in December last year. Copies are to be made available to delegates taking part in the UNHRC sessions. Ms. Wanasundera said the LLRC was a commission intended to bring about reconciliation and that those who appeared before it did not give evidence under oath. Hence the follow-up action after the release of the report was for the police to investigate the charges contained in it and inform the AG’s Department for them to proceed further. She said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had sent the LLRC report to the AG’s Department with instructions to study it and report back. “We did an analysis and sent the President a report. Based on that we were asked to start the process of implementing it,” she said. The implementation process would involve Police and military investigations, she added. “They have to investigate and they can record statements from people who came before the LLRC and based on the findings we will start the process of prosecution,” she said. The two chapters in the LLRC report based on which the AG’s Department will initiate action are the ones dealing with humanitarian law issues and the principal observations and recommendations made by the commission. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the Sri Lanka Army announced that a court appointed by Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya was inquiring into the observations made in the LLRC report on alleged civilian casualties during the final phase of the war and on the contents of the Channel-4 video footage. “A Court of Inquiry is an initial fact-finding inquiry, akin to a non-summary inquiry by a magistrate. If there is a prima facie case against any person from the evidence led before the Court of Inquiry, a General Court Martial is convened to try the alleged offenders,” the Army said. It said a General Court Martial had the jurisdiction of a High Court Trial-at-Bar and could impose any sentence, including the death penalty.

Sri Lanka’s Missing

 Monday, February 20, 2012

Where are they?

What happened to dozens of LTTE members who surrendered to the army together with Rev. Francis Joseph, a Catholic priest, south of the Vadduvaakal bridge on May 18 2009? “Aananthi” (not her real name), the wife of one of the disappeared, told Human Rights Watch that she saw the army load the priest and the LTTE members on to a bus and drive them away.
Human Rights Watch interviews with other witnesses and numerous media reports confirm her account. The wife and two children, aged 3 and 5 years, of an LTTE member were also taken away on the bus. The family members and Fr. Joseph remain missing.  Where and what happened to these people?  Why are these disappearances not investigated by the government which instead continues to stonewall all calls demanding accountability. Read More » 

More price hikes, officials warn economic crisis may explode

Sunday February 19, 2012

By Bandula Sirimanna

Increased taxes on essentials and non essential goods are on the cards as urgent revenue measures while other cost-cutting measures are also planned to reduce the Government’s rising debt, a Finance Ministry official said yesterday. These measures come amidst proposed increases in prices of bread, gas and milk powder with producers awaiting approval from Trade Minister Johnston Fernando. Bakery Owners’ Association President N.K. Jayawardena said bakers had asked for a meeting with the Minister of Trade to decide on a price increase. “We met on Friday and the members suggested an increase of Rs. 3 at least for a loaf of bread. Or in the alternative, the government should remove the import tax on ingredients used in bakery products,” he said. The Sunday Times learns that gas companies are also considering an increase of up to Rs. 200 for a 12.5 kg cylinder of LP gas and had asked for a meeting with Minister Fernando to get approval. Meanwhile, milk powder prices are also likely to be increased with companies seeking approval from the Consumer Affairs Authority to raise the price of a 400 gram packet by Rs. 15.READ MORE...

An Arrogant Government And An Unholy Mess

• Extra Revenue From Price Revision For Subsidy Payments Says PB

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

Dr. P. B. Jayasundera

Treasury Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundera says that the extra revenue earned through the fuel price revision would be earmarked to meet the subsidy cost of the targeted subsidy schemes.
He noted that while general subsidy schemes are not effective solutions, the targeted subsidy scheme currently adopted by the government remains within the overall subsidized pricing policy of fuel operated by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), in order to provide relief to vulnerable groups.
Responding to questions posed by The Sunday Leader via e-mail, Dr. Jayasundera observed that the cost of such subsidy schemes are covered by a space created through the reduction in losses in the two major enterprises and through extra tax revenue earned from petrol and diesel sold by both LIOC and CPC.
He explained that at the prevailing international oil price of around US$ 120 per barrel, the CPC would have incurred a total loss of Rs.188.5 billion over and above a total loss of Rs. 90 billion incurred in 2011 which corresponds to an average price of around US$ 110 per barrel.
The loss reported by the CPC in 2011 was in spite of a moderate price revision of petrol by Rs.15 per litre, diesel by Rs.8 per litre and kerosene by Rs.15 per litre, he said.
However, there was no revision on other fuel prices particularly for power generation and heavy fuel supplied for industrial purposes.
The recent price revision involves the revision of all petroleum prices including the fuel supplied for electricity and industrial purposes.
“As a result the projected losses of CPC is expected to be limited to Rs.64 billion which is substantially lower than the projected loss, in the event that  no revision was made and also reasonably lower than the actual loss in 2011. The fuels supplied for power generation and industrial purposes were still given an average subsidy of Rs. 45 per litre,” Dr. Jayasundera noted.
However, petrol and diesel are no longer loss making items, while kerosene is almost at the breakeven level.
“Hence, the CPC still runs at a loss on account of the subsidy provided on the heavy fuel supplied for electricity generation which keeps the cost of electricity lower than what it should be,” he said.
With the adjustment in fuel prices, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is compelled to reduce its associated losses in order to limit its operating losses to below Rs. 50 billion and a fuel surcharge has been imposed on electricity consumption.
Nevertheless, the Treasury Secretary maintained that out of the total electricity consumers of 4.62 million, there are households consuming electricity below 150 units per month that enjoy subsidies.
The surcharge is effective for general users as well as industrial purposes except education, health and religious services.
Therefore, the overall impact of this revision is expected to keep the losses of CEB below Rs. 50 billion.
While price revisions have been put in place, the government has targeted several categories for relief/subsidies. The government is to provide all households without access to electricity which is estimated at around 355,000 a kerosene stamp worth of Rs. 200 per month at a cost Rs. 850 million per year.
Similarly, the out-board boats and mechanized traditional boats will be given specific quantities of kerosene with a subsidy of Rs. 25 per litre, while multi-day boats and one-day boats will be given specific quantities of diesel with a subsidy of Rs.12 per litre. The total estimated cost of this kerosene and diesel subsidy is around Rs.2,500 million per year.
The government also proposes to implement a targeted subsidy scheme for school van operators and three wheeler operators where the estimated costs of these subsidies are around Rs. 4,000 million per annum.
However, the price revision has also resulted in the petrol sold by Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) in addition to CPC, being subjected to tax of about Rs.12 per litre and diesel of about Rs. 2 per litre, which will give extra revenue of Rs. 9,500 million to the government.
“This extra revenue will be earmarked to meet the subsidy cost of these targeted schemes. At the same time, the reduction in overall losses in CPC and CEB provides a considerable improvement in the operation of two enterprises without burdening the national budget and the banking system,” Dr. Jayasundera pointed out.
The subsidy schemes are implemented through the Government administrative mechanism. The Samurdhi scheme and the Fisheries Ministry have implemented similar schemes.  Private Transport Ministry and National Transport Commission will formulate implementation schemes for three wheeler operators and school van operators with certification from Divisional Secretaries and the National Child Protection Authority as the case may be.

Govt. braces for attack at UNHRC

Sunday February 19, 2012

President shocked by UNP's response to LLRC report ahead of crucial Geneva sessions Top officials confirm US will support resolution though GL thought it was only pressure tactic

By Our Political Editor

The temperature outside the Serena Hotel in Islamabad last Tuesday afternoon was near zero. The main engagements finished the previous day, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and senior members of his entourage were relaxing at the presidential suite. Later that day, two more dignitaries -- the Defence Minister of Pakistan and the Chairman of that country's Board of Investment were to call on Rajapaksa. External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris told the President about the news from Colombo. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had tabled a ten page United National Party (UNP) response to the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). He had also made a statement. In fact Wickremesinghe had written to Rajapaksa enclosing the same report a day earlier. However, he was away in Pakistan and the letter had remained unopened in Colombo. A discussion ensued. Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga telephoned Malik Samarawickrema, former UNP Chairman and close confidant of Wickremesinghe, in Colombo. He spoke briefly about Rajapaksa's concerns over the UNP statement and handed the phone to Minister Peiris. Once a cabinet minister in Wickremesinghe's United National Front government, where he championed the virtues of the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement with Tiger guerrillas, Peiris added his own 'concerns.' He then handed over the telephone to Rajapaksa. The President asked Samarawickrema in Sinhala "why is Wickremesinghe doing this?" Such a response would only 'internationalise the Sri Lanka issue,' he exhorted. Samarawickrema faithfully conveyed the details of the conversation to Wickremesinghe. The opposition UNP leader was happy. His statement in Parliament had had an instant effect. The episode showed that matters at home were of much concern to Rajapaksa though he was on an official visit to Pakistan. He had arrived there last Monday to be greeted at the airport with a 21-gun salute. He went to his hotel for a quick change and was off to the pyramid like Aiwan-e-Sadar, the official residence of the President. There the tri-services presented him a guard of honour ahead of talks with President Asif Ali Zardari. The standoff between Zardari and the military, now on the brink of a serious political crisis, was to cause its own issues. The guard of honour had to be at the official residence since neither President Zardari nor Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani would visit the airport for this purpose. On the other hand, a 21-gun salute to honour the President was not possible at the residency in Islamabad since it was a heavily built up area. Hence it had to be held at the airport. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Robert Blake addressing the media at the Colombo Hilton U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Marie Otero addressing the media at the Colombo Hilton. Pix by Indika Handuwela .read more...

Chilaw Funeral Held Under Tight Security

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Text and Picture By our Puttalam correspondent

 The funeral of the fisherman in Chilaw who was killed by police fire last week, was held yesterday under tight security.

Anthony Warnkulasuriya (35) a father of two, was killed while he took part in a protest against the fuel price hike announced by the government.

Over 10,000 people turned up to witness the funeral which was held at the Catholic burial grounds in Chilaw.

The police, STF and riot squad was on standby in the Chilaw town to ensure that peace was maintained. The funeral however went ahead free of any violence.

Government and opposition politicians, including UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, paid their last respects to the slain fisherman before his funeral yesterday.

The wife of the fisherman, Niluka Sudharshini who was employed in the Middle East as a domestic, arrived in the country on Friday and was taken home to attend the funeral with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau.

Meanwhile, the entire Chilaw town was at a virtual standstill over the last few days with fish stalls also shut as a mark of protest over the death of the fisherman.

Amidst fears of violence breaking out during the funeral, the police obtained a court order from the Chilaw Magistrate for the family to ensure the funeral is conducted peacefully.

Earlier there was an attempt by the police to hold the funeral on Friday with the consent of the family but family members had refused to accede to the request.

UN Will Deny Tamils Justice

Colombo Telegraph FEBRUARY 19, 2012

IN JOURNALISM TRUTH IS A PROCESS

By Ron Ridenour -

Ron Ridenour

Brace yourselves Tamils in and from Sri Lanka! The UN Human Rights Council will not grant you justice at its 19^th session, February 27-March 23, 2012 or, perhaps, in any foreseeable future.

Until the past few weeks it looked as though the “international community” (US, UK-Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan), the east (Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran), the Middle East-Libya/Africa) and the progressive South (Cuba-ALBA+, South Africa)were content with ignoring Sri Lanka’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This tragedy was not even placed on the agenda despite the UN’s “Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka” delivered to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, March 31,2011. The panel determined that both the Sri Lankan government-military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE/Tigers) had most likely committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It called for an independent international investigation into credible allegations levelled at the state. The LTTE was crushed by May 18, 2009 and no longer exists.
Continue reading »

The Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka obtained a short video of 17 frames taken by a Sri Lanka soldier showing eight or nine naked prisoners bound and blindfolded being executed at Kilinochchi. JDS presented the film to UK’s Channel 4. After forensic verification of the film, which was taken January 2, 2009, Channel 4 broadcast it on August 25, 2009. Then in June 2011, Channel 4 broadcast the devastating documentary, “Sri Lanka Killing Fields”.