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Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
UNHRC Resolution and the Future of India-Sri Lanka Ties
WikiLeaks: Financial Intelligence Unit Was Forced To Sign The Order Of Freezing Alles’ Accounts
April 5, 2012
“A confidential source within the FIU told us the government was apparently using the FIU to harass and intimidate Alles. The former head of the FIU had declined to sign the order freezing Alles’ accounts, saying there was no legal basis for doing so. He relented, under intense pressure from Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal, and signed the orders just days before his own resignation.” the US Embassy informed Washington.
By Colombo Telegraph –
“A confidential source within the FIU told us the government was apparently using the FIU to harass and intimidate Alles. The former head of the FIU had declined to sign the order freezing Alles’ accounts, saying there was no legal basis for doing so. He relented, under intense pressure from Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal, and signed the orders just days before his own resignation.” the US Embassy informed Washington.- No authority to order the accounts frozen
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked “SECRET” cable from the WikiLeaks database which details the secret agreement with the Tamil Tigers to suppress Tamil votes in the 2005 Presidential election. The cable was written on June 14, 2007 by the US Ambassador to Colombo, Robert O. Blake.
Ambassador Blake wrote “Tiran Alles’ attorney has, in the meantime, racked up some initial victories in his fight for vindication of his client. A three-judge panel of the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense Ministry had no legal authority to order suspension of the license of one of Alles’ several companies to market mobile phone service in Sri Lanka’s northeast. (Note: it was in the course of these legal transactions that Alles originally met Emil Kanthan.) A separate Supreme Court panel also allowed another case filed on behalf of Alles to proceed. This suit would lift the freeze on accounts that the Central Banks’ Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had imposed at the direction of the Defense Ministry. The judges noted that no provision of the Emergency Regulations gave the Defense Secretary authority to order the accounts frozen.”
Related news to this cable;
Below we give the relevant part of the confidential cable;
London for Olympic: Geneva for UN: Visa Racket at the SL External Affairs Ministry
London for Olympic: Geneva for UN: Visa Racket at the SL External Affairs Ministry
(Lanka-e-News-05.April.2012, 6.00AM)Visa racket has been going on in the Ministry of External Affairs during the last few months. Accordingly, it is the Ministry that provides officials notes to the Foreign Embassies in Colombo to obtain visa for VIPs, officials and others who accompany the President, PM and the Ministers and those who visit countries for official purposes. Usually, if an official note from the External Affairs Ministry is given, any Diplomatic Mission in Colombo grants visa. This privilege has been misused very often. Sometimes, official notes for political henchmen and those who expect to enter Europe, UK, Canada, Australia, USA and Japan are given when such requests come from the Presidential Secretariat, Defense Ministry, or PM’s office as the External Affairs Ministry has no choice other than adhering to their order. However, on certain occasions some crooks in these places approach the Ministry in different manner. This is by offering money amounting to many hundred thousand to the high ranking officials in the External Affairs Ministry. The sole authority in issuing such official documents rests on the Director General of the Overseas Administration Division of the External Affairs Ministry. The notes are prepared by a small unit in the Overseas Administration Division named travel division. It was learnt that present Director General involves in a visa racket by providing official notes to the crooks for money. He has also issued such documents especially at the request of the lady additional Secretary of the Ministry who is trying to become the next Secretary. She has influenced in issuing officials documents to her friends in London who are in need of getting down their relatives to the UK.Present Director General of the Overseas Administration Division cooperates with the lady secretary as he worked under her in London and he is longing for an Ambassadorial post very soon. In fact, the lady typist who helped the Director General of the Overseas Administration Division has given a transfer to London for her service although she has only a few months for her retirement. She failed the examinations intended for selecting typists to work in the Missions on a number of times. This visa racket seems to be very easy to operate as many have been visiting London for Olympic preparation and Geneva for various UN meetings. According to the Ministry sources, a large number of people of a youth organization under the synthetic lawyer would be using these facilities to visit London under the pretext of attending meetings related to Olympic.
Human Rights Body Protests Atrocities on Lankan Tamils
Thursday, April 05, 2012 New Delhi, Apr 5 (IANS): Rights group Human Rights Defence International (HRDI) Thursday protested near the Sri Lankan High Commission here against what they termed as the Sri Lankan Army's "war crimes" and "atrocities" on the Sri Lankan Tamil community.The group of protestors, led by M.N. Krishnamani, president of Delhi Tamil Sangam, and HRDI secretary general Rajesh Gogna, carried placards reading "Rajapaksa investigate war crimes", "Boycott Sri Lanka" and "Humanity killed in Sri Lanka". Gogna, a supreme court lawyer, claimed that HRDI was not favouring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "We do not favour any terrorist outfits in our demands. But now that the civil war in Sri Lanka is over, we want the government to stop racial discrimination against the Sri Lankan Tamils who are considered second rate citizens by them," Gogna said. "They shouldn't think that all Sri Lankan Tamils are LTTE supporters," he added. The protestors also called for a strong Indian stand on the situation and shouted slogans. They then marched from Teen Murti Bhawan to the Sri Lankan high commission but were stopped by the police at nearby Chanakyapuri police station for security reasons. While the protestors continued raising slogans at the police barricade, a delegation led by Gogna went to the Sri Lankan high commission where they gave a memorandum demanding investigation of alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government. The protestors further demanded that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) be allowed to help in rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils. |
Christian Council urge to implement LLRC
WEDNESDAY, 04 APRIL 2012
The National Christian Council today urged the Government to fully implement the LLRC recommendations.
The statement issued by the NCC said “The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka calls on those who are in authority, and very specially the Government, to formulate a constructive position on the resolution adopted by the UNHCR in Geneva. Such a position should be aimed at fostering national reconciliation of all people in Sri Lanka and move beyond mere emotional sentiments, and blaming nations or individuals”
”We reiterate our position that the LLRC recommendations provide a platform to address the critical issues confronted by the people of Sri Lanka and build a united harmonious nation. We call upon the Government to formulate a clear strategy for its implementation and ensure the participation of all our people including the civil, political and religious sectors strengthening the democratic space which alone will enable us to live with dignity, ensure our sovereignty and bring about peace and prosperity to our island”.
The statement was signed by Rev. Charles N. Jansz, Chairperson of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka/Moderator, Christian Reformed Churchm , Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel S. Thiagarajah, Bishop of Jaffna Diocese, Church of South India, Rev. Dr. A.W. Jebanesan, President, Methodist Church in Sri Lanka, Rt. Rev. D.R. Canagasabey, Bishop of Colombo, Church of Ceylon Diocese of Colombo, Rt. Rev. Shantha Francis, Bishop of Kurunegala, Church of Ceylon Diocese of Kurunegala, Rev. Saman Perera, Moderator, Presbyterian Church, Rev. Priyantha Wijegoonawardene, President, Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya , Commissioner Malcolm Induruwage, Territorial Commander, The Salvation Army, Rev. W.P. Ebenezer Joseph, General Secretary, National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Student Christian Movement (SCM), Ceylon Bible Society, Christian Literature Society, Back To the Bible Broadcast.
India rejects army movement sparked coup fears
4 April 2012 India does not have a history of military interference in its politics
The Indian government has dismissed a report that two key army units were moved towards the capital in January without the government being informed.
The unexpected movement on the night of 16 January created confusion in the government and sparked fears of a coup, the Indian Express reported.
"It's all bunkum," a spokesman in the prime minister's office told the BBC.
The defence ministry and the army too denied the report. They said the units' movements were a "routine exercise".
The report comes at a time when the government and the army have been involved in a series of disputes.
The Indian Express said the incident took place on the night of 16 January - the day army chief General VK Singh filed a case in the Supreme Court in an acrimonious row with the government over his age.
"Intelligence agencies reported an unexpected movement" by two key military units from Hisar (in Haryana state) and Agra (in Uttar Pradesh state) towards Delhi, the report said.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Back home in Jaffna, after 27 long years
CHENNAI, April 4, 2012 B. KOLAPPAN
Photo: Special ArrangementThe house of Chelvanayagam , father of S.C.Chandrahasan in Colombo.
Sri Lankan Tamil leader prepares for permanent return from Chennai
Ever since he arrived in Chennai in August 1983 after violence broke out against Tamils in Sri Lanka, S.C. Chandrahasan and his family lived with the hope that in three months they would be back in their motherland.
History proved otherwise and his status was reduced to what he called “a person with no permanent address”. His three children received their education in Chennai and got married. Finally, when he landed in his hometown Tellipallai in the Jaffna peninsula in February 2011, 27 years had elapsed.
Son of S.J.V. Chelvanayagam, leader of the Federal Party in Sri Lanka and known to his followers as Thanthai Selva (Father Selva), 69-year-old Chandrahasan is now preparing for permanent return and has started renovating his ancestral house.
The house at Chelvanayagapuram was a nerve centre of political activity between 1947 and 1977, when his father was alive.
“When I first went there, the place was a high security zone. For more than 20 years, no one was allowed inside,” he said. The thick vegetation that had grown around it was difficult to penetrate. After May 2011 the area was cleared for human habitation.
“The house itself had been shelled. There were no doors. The teak windows and doors had been pilfered. Half the roof is not there. I have restored part of the house. I am delaying the process of my return because I have to accompany my people with whom I have been working for the last 28 years,” said Mr. Chandrahasan, founder of the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OFERR).
Mr. Chandrahasan, a lawyer by profession, came to India after there were three attempts on his life. His wife Nirmala Chandrahasan was the head of the Law Faculty in Colombo University.
“Initially, I found it very difficult, though the governments of India and Tamil Nadu were giving a lot of facilities. It was not a comfortable life when you are not able to earn your own income and take care of your children. We managed with the support of families and friends,” he said, recalling his initial early days in Chennai.
“Colombo was economically quite progressive and a lot of facilities were available. You can buy anything you want. And in Chennai there were a lot of restrictions as the economy had not yet opened up. Many things were not available and we had to adjust to what average Indian people were content to live on. Now, the situation is just the opposite,” he said.
Mr. Chandrahasan is now visiting Sri Lanka once or twice a month and has already ventured into organic farming on four acres at Tellipallai.
Asked about his political plans, he said he had the responsibility of walking along with his people and to that extent, he could not do something till he completed the process.
He believed that except for a small group of people who may be extremists, the vast majority of the people in the country wanted to move ahead and that there was scope for reconciliation and meaningful democracy. As long as his father was alive, Tamils were not seen as a people of violence, but the community was now back to a situation where a Gandhian approach was needed.
Dayan responds to allegations
April 2, 2012 | 3:32 pm | by Easwaran Rutnam 
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Paris Dayan Jayatilleka has confirmed reports that there is a threat to charge him under the penal code over some allegations leveled against him.
Ambassador Jayatilleka told The Sunday Leader that the move seemed to take place in the context of a debate on post-Geneva policy perspectives in Sri Lanka.
Journalist D.B.S Jeyaraj had said on his blog that the External ministry’s overseas administration division Acting Director General Mr. W.G.S.Prasanna has sent a lengthy five page letter to Dr.Jayatilleka outlining certain charges relating to alleged “wrongdoing ” by Dr.Jayatilleka in the conduct of the affairs of the Embassy in Paris.
The letter calls for an explanation by the envoy regarding the charges and also asks the ambassador to show cause as to why he should not be charged under the Country’s penal code.
“This seems to take place against the backdrop and in the context of a debate on post-Geneva policy perspectives in Sri Lanka, between three schools of thought: (a) those collaborationists and appeasers who wish to cave in to the US, (b) those neo-conservatives who wish to resist the US resolution by stalling or rolling back local reforms and whipping up xenophobia, and (c) those reform-minded Realists like myself who have consistently urged resistance to external hegemonism and the safeguarding of our national sovereignty against intervention precisely by implementing our own reform programme rapidly,” Ambassador Jayatilleka told The Sunday Leader.
Jeyaraj says the letter sent to Ambassador Jayatilleka is seen as a preliminary strike aimed at paving the way for his removal from Paris and constitutes part of an overall conspiracy targeting Professor G.L Peiris.
Among the charges in the letter is one which queries the ambassador about re-painting and whitewashing the Embassy and Ambassadorial residence buildings prior to the visit of External affairs minister Prof GL Peiris.
Another charge relates to the accommodation of a first secretary who had taken up duties in Paris at a Hotel until he was able to find a suitable house.
SB intervenes to get relief for five prisoners sentenced to death
Wednesday, 04 April 2012 
The five persons have now been transferred to the normal prison wards from the section allocated for prisoners under death row.
The five persons had been found guilty of entering a house where there was a pirith in Hanguranketha in during the 1988-1989 period and shooting the people at the venue killing 11 and injuring 12 persons.
The Divaina newspaper has reported quoting sources from the Bogambara Prison that since the death sentence has been minimized to 20 years in prison and considering the time they have already spent behind bars, the prisoners are likely to be released within a few months.
They have been sentenced to death ion 2007 and an appeal filed before the Court of Appeal has also issued the same sentence.
The five prisoners are David, Basnayake, Sudu Banda, Athula and Wijesekera from Hanguranketha.
Minister Dissanayake had also visited these prisoners on several occasions.
Sri Lanka Takes Baby Steps In War Crimes Probe
HEALING: Reconciliation process must be credible, internationally and locally
THE spotlight is on post-war Sri Lanka’s process of reconciliation and rehabilitation because of a United States-sponsored resolution passed by the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.
By Arjuna Ranawana -
Arjuna Ranawana
THE spotlight is on post-war Sri Lanka’s process of reconciliation and rehabilitation because of a United States-sponsored resolution passed by the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.It calls for the implementation of the recommendations of the Sri Lanka government’s own Lesson Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), for a time-bound road map to bring these into force and “address allegations” of war crimes committed during the conflict. It also asks the UN to provide technical support to the government to implement the recommendations.
Sri Lanka’s 30-year long civil war that pitted the state against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ended in 2009.
The Tigers decimated any groups or leaders within the Tamil community that could challenge their leader, Velupillai Pirubhakaran. The Sri Lankan security forces countered the Tigers with an equal measure of brutality and there were many allegations made against them as well.
What is in sharp focus now is the final phase of the war. Between September 2008 and May 19, 2009, a UN report estimates that around 40,000 non-combatants were killed because of shelling by the Sri Lanka army and by the Tigers using civilians as a human shield.
A panel of experts appointed by the UN found that atrocities committed by both sides could be prosecuted as war crimes and recommended that the UN should set up an international independent mechanism to probe these allegations.
Human rights groups and Sri Lankan Tamil exiles accuse government leaders of ordering the armed forces to kill LTTE leaders who surrendered and also of executing prisoners.
The resolution is certainly only a baby step towards a full-scale war crimes probe. It does not propose any punitive measures on Sri Lanka and will not be legally binding on the administration of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.
There is also no reference to an independent international mechanism to probe violations of international law as recommended by the UN panel. But the US says it hopes this will prompt the government of Sri Lanka to “credibly investigate” alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
Human rights groups inside and outside Sri Lanka will hail this as a victory to protect the human rights of Sri Lankans and aid in the process of reconciliation but may be disappointed by the watered-down nature of the language.
Within Sri Lanka, many Tamil political groups, including some religious leaders, human rights activists and civil society groups, have welcomed the move.
Their main issue with the government is that they have little faith the administration will conduct a fair investigation into the allegations. Sri Lankan administrations throughout the years are not known for probing their own misdeeds, thus the desire for external monitoring of the process.
The Rajapakse government disagrees that the resolution is harmless. A commentator aligned with the administration, Dayan Jayatilleka, writes that it is a “smokescreen for foreign interventionism”.
In Sri Lanka, the response of Rajapakse’s supporters — led by hardline Sinhalese — is less measured. In fact, it has bordered on the hysterical.
The government sponsored demonstrations held before the embassies of the countries supporting the proposal and also helped stage several protests in Geneva.
Effigies of US President Barack Obama were set alight in one demonstration in Colombo.
There is broad consensus that the recommendations of the LLRC should be implemented. Rajapakse has pledged to do so.
Whether this resolution will lead to any kind of international oversight is yet to be seen. Whatever the process, it has to be credible not only in the eyes of the international community but also with the majority of Sri Lankans — for the ultimate purpose of that process should be reconciliation and the restoration of the rule of law.
For now, the UNHRC session has served the Rajapakse administration as a welcome distraction. It has raised the bogey of foreign intervention to get the minds of the people off their hunger, fear of lawlessness, endemic corruption and the culture of impunity.
New Straits Times
Sri Lanka needs further monetary tightening: Treasury Sec
By Shihar Aneez
(Reuters) - Sri Lanka's central bank will have room to raise interest rates by at least another 50 basis points if April trade and inflation data show signs of stabilizing, the treasury secretary said on Wednesday.
COLOMBO |
(Reuters) - Sri Lanka's central bank will have room to raise interest rates by at least another 50 basis points if April trade and inflation data show signs of stabilizing, the treasury secretary said on Wednesday."Since we have already raised policy rates by half a percent (in February), maybe another 50 basis points upward revision could stabilize the whole macroeconomic environment," P.B. Jayasundera told Reuters in a rare media interview a day ahead of the central bank's next policy-setting meeting.
"Right now is not the time. We must wait for the April data and look at the adjustments that have taken place, and then take a policy decision that will maintain the compatibility of the interest rate and the exchange rate."
Preliminary figures for April should be available to policymakers by early May.
Sri Lanka's trade deficit rose to nearly $966 million in January from a year earlier as global demand for Asia's exports weakened and as higher oil prices swelled its oil import bill.
Annual inflation, meanwhile, accelerated to a six-month high of 5.5 percent in March, well above analysts' expectations and amplified by a weak rupee and fuel price increases.
The island nation posted a record trade deficit of $9.7 billion last year, prompting the central bank to abandon increasingly costly attempts to intervene in foreign exchange markets to support the sliding rupee, moves which were heavily depleting the country's official reserves.
The rupee hit a record low of 131.60 to the U.S. dollar on March 19.
To be a Dharmasoka or a Mugabe? Decision up to president – Mangala
Wednesday, 04 April 2012 
The Westphalian notion of sovereignty, based on the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 which articulates the principal of non intervention of one state in internal affairs of another state, is no more absolute in the modern world, the MP told Parliament today (Apr. 04).
Today this notion has been replaced by the notion of responsible sovereignty by which a nation can be held accountable if it abuses the rights of its citizens, he said.
Mr. Samaraweera made a speech while participating in the House debate on the UNHRC-adopted resolution on Sri Lanka.
The UNP MP said,
The UNHRC, on March 22, adopted by majority consent, a resolution on the implementation of recommendations of Sri Lanka’s president appointed LLRC.
Responsible officials of the government and the state media continue to describe the adoption of the resolution as a massive defeat for the country, alleging that pro-LTTE nations jealous of Sri Lanka are behind it and that it is a big challenge and threat to the national sovereignty and an illegal interference of internal affairs by the international community.
The increasing interdependency of states is a key feature of international relations today.Read more...
MaRa sees even a gecko on his ceiling as an Indian crocodile these days
(Lanka-e-News-03.April.2012, 11.55PM) According to reports reaching Lanka e news , because of the Inter state diplomatic conference to be held in India from 8th to 10th next month, MaRa is seeing even a gecko on the ceiling of his Temple trees as an Indian crocodile. This paranoia and panic of MaRa is not without sound reason - former President Chandrika Kumaranatunge , opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mangala Samaraweera had also been invited to attend this conference.MaRa whose regime had earned the displeasure and distrust of the Indian Govt. is in a deep quandary and mental torment after learning of the close ties between Chandrika and the Indian Congress leaders . Besides , the profound respect shown by India to the policy followed by Ranil against the regime on the national issue , has also contributed to the fear psychosis gripping MaRa
Full story >>
WikiLeaks: Alles’ Had Been Providing Free After-School Tutoring To Rajapaksa’s Youngest Son
April 4, 2012
By Colombo Telegraph –
“Pol Chief met family members of Tiran Alles on June .Alles’ parents are well-known and respected educators who have founded several schools in Sri Lanka, and who have educated many of Sri Lanka’s elite. Most recently, one of their schools had been providing free after-school tutoring to President Rajapaksa’s youngest son to help him pass his university entrance exams. This relationship had persisted until late May, they told us.” the US Embassy informed Washington.
The family was bitter about the Rajapaksa's ingratitude
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database which details the secret agreement with the Tamil Tigers to suppress Tamil votes in the 2005 Presidential election. The cable was written on June 14, 2007 by the US Ambassador to Colombo, Robert O. Blake.
Under the subheading “ALLES’ FAMILY DISTRAUGHT OVER HIS ARREST” Blake wrote “The family was bitter about the Rajapaksa’s ingratitude. They pointed out there is little doubt that the arrest of Alles was politically motivated. The investigation of Alles started when former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera began making allegations about a secret deal between Basil Rajapaksa and the Tigers. The investigation stopped while efforts to engineer a rapprochement between Samaraweera and the Rajapaksas continued, and began again just one day after those talks finally broke down. The Alles family had been opposed from the beginning to Tiran’s getting involved in politics, which they considered a dirty and dangerous business. However, they never imagined he would find himself in such serious difficulties. They said Alles’ medical condition was stress-related and serious. Alles’ parents told us that Alles had been trying to downplay the story, hoping to avoid it becoming a cause celebre ) and perhaps hoping to avoid what happened to Sooriyarachchi.”
Related news to this cable; WikiLeaks: Ranil Has Called For The Arrest Of Basil, Lalith And P.B.
Below we give the relevant part of the confidential cable;
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