Saturday, June 9, 2012

Warning Disturbing Images: New Footages

Of Alleged War Crimes

June 7, 2012

By Colombo Telegraph -

The Colombo Telegraph received two disturbing video footages form one of our sources. First video shows surrendered LTTE female cadres. The second footage shows hundreds of dead bodies and some of them are naked. Talking to Colombo Telegraph a Human Rights activist, who has seen the footages raised the question that’ how they ended up naked’ .We assume those footages were released by the Media Unit of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam. Below we produce the two video clips.

Posted by Thavam

As its President dines with the Queen, Sri

Lanka's torture of its Tamils is revealed

JEROME TAYLOR THURSDAY 07 JUNE 2012

Footage shows soldiers gloating over naked female corpses in final stages of civil war

Where are They.

Some thoughts on the Buddha and his teaching

Where are They.

War Crimes Evidence

Warning Disturbing Images: New Footages

Of Alleged War Crimes

June 7, 2012

By Colombo Telegraph -

Posted by Thavam

As its President dines with the Queen, Sri

Lanka's torture of its Tamils is revealed

JEROME TAYLOR THURSDAY 07 JUNE 2012

Footage shows soldiers gloating over naked female corpses in final stages of civil war

Brutal Ragging In The Sri Lankan Universities: Video Evidence

Some thoughts on the Buddha and his teaching

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Brutal Ragging In The Sri Lankan Universities:

Video Evidence

More on ragging ;

University killings and five-star gun fights by Ajith Samaranayake

University Crisis: The Minister And The Ragging By Professor Vijaya Kumar

By Darshani Wimalasuriya -

Sri Lankan universities are full of violence and human right violations. Ragging has paralysed the university education structure and discipline. A new video reveals the inhuman nature of ragging that occurred at the University of Ruhuna. This video contains extremely disturbing graphics and victims are forced to physical and mental violence. This is the reality of the Sri Lankan Universities and unfortunately the University Authorities have not taken any preventable steps to eradicate the brutal ragging.

Ragging and Low Quality of Education

The Education quality of the Sri Lankan universities have dropped significantly over the past two decades. According to the World ranking Sri Lankan universities are now lower than most of the Third World Universities.

World University Ranking 2011

Harvard University – According to the World Ranking number 1

Oxford University -World Ranking number 6

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich -World Ranking number 15

University of Hong Kong -World Ranking number 21

University of Tokyo -World Ranking number 26

Pohang University of Science and Technology South Korea -World Ranking number 28

Peking University China -World Ranking number 37

University of Alexandria Egypt -World Ranking number 147

Moscow State University -World Ranking number 155

Indian Institute of Science Bangalore -World Ranking number 559

Makerere University Uganda -World Ranking number 1062

University of Zimbabwe -World Ranking number 2246

University of Colombo Sri Lanka -World Ranking number 2690

University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka -World Ranking number 2324

University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka -World Ranking number 2615

University of Ruhuna Sri Lanka -World Ranking number 2552

Open University Sri Lanka -World Ranking number 4189

(Ranking Web of World Universities : http://www.webometrics.info/ World University Ranking 2011-2012 : http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/top-400.html)

Inhuman nature of Ragging

The senior students of the Sri Lankan universities use physical and sexual harassments to control the newcomers. Among the sexual violence forcefully stripping naked, forced masturbation, forced to perform oral or anal sex, sexual act simulation, urinating on victim, inserting pens and candles to the victim’s anus or vagina, smearing tooth paste or marmite in the victims genitals, forcing to wear clothes without undergarments (without panties or jockstraps ) , bucketing or throwing dirty water with animal and human feces, swearing with utter filth, interrogating the victim with thousands of vulgar questions, forced to repeat filthy words or sing filthy songs in front of a group etc. are quite common. Although rape and sodomy are rare the recent reports indicate that these types of extreme form of violence are slowly emerging in the Sri Lankan Universities.

Sri Lanka may be the only country where ragging is used to murder people, particularly University students and school children. In addition to murder there have been a large number of cases of causing deformities, torture, trauma and untold pain of mind. This wickedness, inhuman behaviour and villainy, resorted to by some psychologically deranged University students, has now spread to schools, armed forces, training colleges, technical institutions, religious institutions and generally everywhere in Sri Lanka. (Stop murder by ragging –S B. Buddhadasa)

Ragging is criminal assault

Ragging is a violation of a basic human right protected by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the supreme law of the country. Any citizen can petition the Supreme Court in terms of Article 126 of the Constitution in case of a human right violation. The Constitution highlights ruthless, brutal or contemptuous treatment to any party by another as a violation of human rights.

Article 126 refers to filing action in the Supreme Court for human rights violations. The Article that also gets transgressed is Article 10 (and others) dealing with fundamental rights.

These Constitutional constraints are equally applicable to those in schools, universities, or elsewhere, irrespective of age. Any civil or criminal offences executed by them are liable to be punished and shall be produced before the relevant court and subject to suitable punishment after a trial and conviction.

It is also a contravention of a specific Act on ragging, passed by the Sri Lanka Parliament, Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act, No. 20 of 1998. The detailed heading specifies that it is an Act to eliminate ragging and other forms of violent and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment from educational institutions:

“Any person who commits or participates in ragging within or outside the educational institution, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and on conviction after summary trial be liable for a term not exceeding two years. The victim shall be paid a compensation of an amount determined by court in respect of the injuries caused to such person.” (Ragging – My Experience Dr Brian Senevirathne)

The University Authorities turn a blind eye to Ragging

The university authorities are turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to brutal ragging in the Sri Lankan Universities and they do not take initiative or leadership to end ragging in their educational institutions. Most of the university professors and lecturers have a past history of ragging and violence in their student days and opposing ragging is morally challenging them. Therefore most of the university authorities do not take effective actions to prevent ragging and violence.

The student political groups use ragging as a weapon to control the new students and to indoctrinate them. There are unspeakable human right violations occurring inside the Sri Lankan universities and many university professors and other authorities maintain silence. Many of the sexual and physical harassments are covered by the university establishment and the general public is unaware of most of the horrible events that occur in these educational institutions. Majority of the university lecturers do not want to get involved in internal politics or to have grudges with the extremist student groups. Sometimes inhuman form of ragging is happening in front of their eyes and still they do nothing to stop it. Many university teachers pretend that they did not see the incident and move away. Only a handful of Western educated academics with their moral upbringing oppose ragging in our universities and they see the ruthless nature and gross human right violation in hazing.

Myths and Facts about Ragging

1) Myth Ragging makes a student bold and prepares us for the difficult circumstances in Life. It makes us strong.

Fact : Boldness as instilled by ragging is a weak acceptance of fate by victims. It teaches us how to be exploited and mutely, non-resistively accept it.

2) Myth Ragging helps in breaking the ice between the seniors and freshers. It helps in their interaction and developing friendship between them.

Fact :Ragging is an archaic method of interaction with several harmful effects. Today with advance psychological science there are many other healthy ways of interaction which are more effective and without any human rights abuse.

3) Myth Ragging generates a feeling of unity and Oneness.

Fact :Ragging divides the students on the lines of caste, region, class etc. It sets mob mentality in the students.

4)Myth Severe Ragging is not prevalent anymore.

Fact: Severe ragging is widely prevalent in most of the University hostels. There have been deaths due to ragging The problem is not yet solved, it is just hidden.

5) Myth After the ban on ragging, colleges have geared up against it.

Fact :Many colleges now try their best to keep the incident under the cover to save themselves from embarrassment and the reputation of the college.

(Ragging in Indian Universities and Colleges Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education)

Sir Ivor Jennings, the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya once said the fundamental task of higher education is to produce men and women who are capable of fulfilling any function in the world that may fall to their lot, citizens of high intelligence, complete moral integrity and possessing energy, initiative, judgement, tact, and qualities of leadership” (Jennings, 1948). The perpetrators who commit serious violence and human right violations in the Sri Lankan Universities do not have the central qualities such as moral integrity, leadership and intelligence that Sir Ivor Jennings mentioned. These are wasted people and they have nothing to offer to the society. These people do not deserve to be called “University Students”.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Some thoughts on the Buddha and his teaching

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Pope Urged To Raise Killings Of Catholic Priests In Sri Lanka

In addition, Sri Lankan security forces have assassinated several Catholic priests. Several priests were also abducted and disappeared. There are concerns that some of the priests may still be alive and the government is holding them in secret detentions.
Some of the Catholic Priests who either disappeared or killed are:
• Father Mary Bastian, shot dead.
• Father Eugene John Herbert SJ, abducted & disappeared.
• Father S.Selvaraja, abducted and killed.
• Father Thiruchelvam Nihal Jimbrown, abducted & disappeared.
• Father Pakiaranjith, assasinated.
• Father Xavier Karunaratnam, assassinated
• Father Francis Joseph, disappeared since 2009. Rev. Fr. Francis Joseph is a former Rector of St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna and he was seen taken by Sri Lankan Security forces.
“While the Sri Lankan President is visiting you to get your blessings, his government is killing and disappearing Catholic priests and threatening the Bishop of Mannar. We urge you to ask for the whereabouts of the abducted Catholic priests and secure a guarantee for the protection of Bishop Dr. Rayappu Joseph” said Rudrakumaran.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa Meets Pope

Pope Benedict XVI poses with Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his wife Shiranthi during a meeting at the Vatican June 8, 2012. REUTERS/ Max Rossi

Pope Urged To Raise Killings Of Catholic Priests In Sri Lanka

June 7, 2012

“While the Sri Lankan President is visiting you to get your blessings, his government is killing and disappearing Catholic priests and threatening the Bishop of Mannar. We urge you to ask for the whereabouts of the abducted Catholic priests and secure a guarantee for the protection of Bishop Dr. Rayappu Joseph, says Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran in a letter to the Pope.

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI was urged by the Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran to raise abduction and killing of Catholic priests and threats against the most reverend Dr. Rayappu Joseph, the Catholic Bishop of Mannar, with the visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Rudrakumaran further said that an influential pro-government Buddhist political party JHU has publically called for the arrest of Bishop Dr. Rayappu Joseph, for a letter Bishop wrote to the United Nations about the mass killing of Tamils. That letter highlighted the fact that 146,679 Tamils were unaccounted for when Sri Lankan forces attacked the Tamil people in 2009. A representative of this Buddhist political party JHU is a senior Cabinet Minister in the Sri Lankan President’s Cabinet.

Recently, another Cabinet Minister publicly threatened the Bishop and intimidated him for his humanitarian work. There are also reports of Buddhist statues being erected in the Mannar district. Mannar district has the largest Catholic population in Sri Lanka. The historic Madu Church, one of the ancient churches in Asia, is located in Mannar.

In addition, Sri Lankan security forces have assassinated several Catholic priests. Several priests were also abducted and disappeared. There are concerns that some of the priests may still be alive and the government is holding them in secret detentions.

Some of the Catholic Priests who either disappeared or killed are:

• Father Mary Bastian, shot dead.
• Father Eugene John Herbert SJ, abducted & disappeared.
• Father S.Selvaraja, abducted and killed.
• Father Thiruchelvam Nihal Jimbrown, abducted & disappeared.
• Father Pakiaranjith, assasinated.
• Father Xavier Karunaratnam, assassinated
• Father Francis Joseph, disappeared since 2009. Rev. Fr. Francis Joseph is a former Rector of St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna and he was seen taken by Sri Lankan Security forces.

“We also appeal to you to raise war crimes and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan President against the Tamil people in 2009. According to the UN, troops under his command killed over 40,000 Tamils in five months and raped Tamil women” said Rudrakumaran. Tamils were singled out to face these abuses simply and solely on account of their nationality.”

War Crimes and Genocide committed by the Sri Lankan Government:

Tamils have faced repeated mass killings since 1958 and the killings in 2009 prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to report on the scale of killings. According to this UN report over 40,000 Tamils were killed in five months in 2009, due to deliberate and intense carpet bombing of areas designated by the government as “no-fire zones”, areas where Tamils assembled for safety.

Hospitals and food distribution centers were also singled out for bombings. The Sri Lankan Government used cluster bombs and restricted food and medicine for Tamils, resulting in large numbers of people dying from starvation and many of the injured bleeding to death. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.

According to the UN, Tamil women were sexually assaulted and raped by Sri Lankan forces. According to a recent UK government report there are over 90,000 Tamil war widows, many facing abuses. There are also reports that detained Tamil women are being used as sex slaves by the Security Forces.

According to Bishop Dr. Rayappu Joseph, 146,679 Tamils were unaccounted for when Sri Lankan forces attacked the Tamil people in 2009. Members of the Sri Lankan Security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community.

In conversation with Bishop Duleep de Chickera

I clearly remember Bishop de Chickera at S. Thomas’ College, from around 25 years years ago. The fact that I hadn’t seen him in person for a quarter of a century hit me as I strode up to the foyer of Young Asia Television’s offices to meet him just before our interview, and for a moment, I was a student of 10 or 12 again. I remembered him walking around College, addressing us occasionally and writing behind his desk in his open office, visible to students who passed it on their way to assembly or class. Off camera, I once referred to him as ‘sabba‘ – our schoolboy term for Sub-Warden, which either he didn’t hear, or didn’t seem to mind. I was for that brief moment however frozen in terror, wondering whether he would pull me up not for a caning, but for that measured, calm questioning more fearful, and effective, than any fear of physical pain or punishment. Of course, our banter about the College of our memory moved on to his tenure, from May 2001 to December 2010, as the head of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. By his own admission, they were long years, spanning three key phases – the Ceasefire Agreement, the tsunami and the end of the war, including the nature of its denouement and the challenge of reconciliation and a political settlement after it.

We began our interview by talking about why he became a Priest, when much younger, he wanted to become a lawyer or join the Army. In an interview published in the Sunday Times a while ago, Bishop de Chickera said that before he joined the ministry, he was a ‘superficial Christian’. I ask him what this means, and how it is different to the Christian he is today. The Bishop’s answer ends by saying that the role of the clergy diminishes the more the laity is able to lead their lives guided by an authentic faith.

We go on to speak about the Bishop’s take on sexual identity and homosexuality in particular, that has rent asunder the Anglican Church. Anchored to his sermon at the Lambeth Conference in 2008 (which around 200 bishops boycotted), where he noted that,

“There can and there must be no uprooting, simply because if we attempt this game of uprooting the unrighteous then, my dear sisters and brothers, none of us will remain. We are all a mix of the wheat and the weeds.”

and went on to speak of the need for an,

“…inclusive communion, where there is space equally for everyone and anyone, regardless of colour, gender, ability, sexual orientation.”

When asked to reflect upon his sermon, the Bishop underscored the need to keep an honest and open conversation about the matter, noting that gay and lesbian people must have the right to define their own sexuality. He said,

“Just as much as men ought not to be defining women, and the rich ought not to be defining the poor, heterosexuals must hold back, to define and then to judge gay and lesbian people. They have a right to say who they are.”

We then talk about his more activist voice, during the 10 years he led the Anglican Church, in going before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), issuing statement over,inter alia, the incarceration of Sarath Fonseka, the singing of the National Anthem in Tamil, 18th Amendment and the arson attack on the Sunday Leader newspaper in 2007. The response the Bishop received to some of these statements ranged from the unfriendly to, particularly in online fora, the downright dismissive and disrespectful. I ask him why he said and wrote what he did, and how he coped with the flak he and the Church received.

Given his submission to the LLRC, we go on to talk about the Bishop’s take on reconciliation in Sri Lanka, after the release of the final report of the LLRC as far back as December 2011, albeit only in English. The Bishop notes that every Sri Lankan, as compulsory reading, should have a copy of the LLRC’s recommendations. Noting that the LLRC’s Commissioners did well and surprised their critics, he said,

“The report of the LLRC was like a breath of fresh air in this country. It was one of the good things that happened over the past so many years. This is why it is imperative that it must come out in Sinhala and Tamil, not tomorrow. It must come out today.”

After speaking in more detail about the Bishop’s take on reconciliation post-war, I ask him about the nature of a God, as referred to by him in a statement over the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, issued in September 2010 to prevent what was a heinous constitutional amendment from coming about. In this statement, after noting that it is “imperative that Parliament rejects this Bill, and that all who value democratic freedom in the country voice their objection to it”, the Bishop ends with a call to “the God of peace and justice” to “hear our cry and bless and nourish our beloved nation.”

Given the passage of the amendment, I noted that there was either a miscommunication with God, or that the cries weren’t loud enough and asked the Bishop why the God he appealed to didn’t intervene. The Bishop gave an interesting response, though noting that there were no easy answers on this score even amongst theologians.

Towards the end of our conversation, we talk about the Bishop’s submissions, in October 2010, to the out-going US Ambassador Patricia Butenis during a bi-lateral meeting they had held. Asreported via Wikileaks, the Bishop is purported to have urged the US Ambassador,

“not to remain silent in Sri Lanka, acknowledging the need to express U.S. views and to promote international human values. He emphasised, however, that the U.S — and the international community – should frame problems as universal learning opportunities, acknowledging their own histories and responsibilities, rather than criticising.”

The Bishop expands this point, and goes on to end our conversation with some vital observations on the state of human rights activism in Sri Lanka, the often vituperative nature of the debate over the protection of rights and reconciliation, and finally, how anyone engaged in reconciliation needs to, ultimately, embrace the enemy.

The full interview can be viewed below, and will be broadcast on TV over the course of the following days in Sri Lanka. The schedule of broadcasts can be downloaded here.

Examiner.com

Tamils stage anti-Rajapaksa protest outside of British Consulate in Toronto

Andrew Moran International Politics Examiner-

Tamils protest

Photo credit:

Andrew Moran

Torontno - The Heathrow airport was raucous Sunday as Eezham Tamils waited for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to arrive in London. The several hundred protesters spontaneously coalesced to urge the British government of not allowing Rajapaksa, who many allege is a war criminal, from entering the country.

Rajapaksa, alongside his wife, Shiranthi, arrived the following day, however. Tamil activists told TamilNet that the Scotland Yard allegedly leaked news that he would be arriving Sunday by a Sri Lankan Airways flight. On Monday morning, the same crowd staged a protest outside London’s Park Lane Hilton hotel for six hours where hundreds held placards urging his arrest.

A small group of Sinhalese arrived on the scene to hold a counterprotest in support of the Sri Lankan president’s attendance to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Throughout the rest of his visit to London, a series of protests have been planned. One demonstration was planned for Wednesday during the Commonwealth Economic Forum where Rajapaksa was scheduled to deliver an address. The second rally was staged a few hours after at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s official lunch with the queen.

Due to concerns of the large demonstrations, Rajapaksa canceled his keynote speech. However, the London Guardian is reporting that he did attend the lunch. Photos show Queen Elizabeth speaking briefly with the Sri Lankan head of state and shaking his hands.

A spokesperson for the Scotland Yard told Times of India that it agreed to guarantee the president’s security, but his aides decided it was in their best interests to not attend the event organized by the Commonwealth Business Council.

Protests have been staged around the world, including France, Norway, the United States and Canada.

Toronto Protests

Outside of the British Consulate on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, dozens carried Canadian and British flags as well as signs insisting on the United Kingdom arresting Rajapaksa. Many carried posteres telling Canada to “boycott Sri Lanka,” demanding justice for the “Tamil Genocide” of 140,000 and “arrest the war criminal.”

Carrying a bullhorn, one girl shouted at the British consulate Rajapaksa is a “war criminal.”

Wednesday’s demonstration, organized by the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT), was established to highlight that Rajapaksa’s attendance to the Jubilee celebrations is “counterproductive” to the reports by the United Nations that show war crimes were committed in the country during the final stages of the war in 2009.

“At the backdrop of a recent UN Human Rights Council resolution which highlighted Sri Lanka’s ongoing violations of human rights and international law – that was spearheaded by the Commonwealth countries – it seems counterproductive that the leadership of the commonwealth would invite the Sri Lankan President to one of their most prestigious celebrations,” said Krisna Saravanamuttu, the NCCT National Spokesperson.

Arul Nalliah, NCCT Chairman of Ontario, reiterated the atrocities that have transpired in Sri Lanka and noted that he believes Rajapaksa will postpone the next general election, which is set for 2016.

When asked if there is any strong opposition in Sri Lanka, Nalliah chuckled and said there is no one in the country that can fight Rajapaksa and the United People’s Freedom Alliance because of his power and the fact he controls two-thirds of parliament.

“Terrible things are going on there,” said Nalliah.

New torture claims

The London Guardian is reporting that a Tamil victim is claiming the Tamils who were deported back to Sri Lanka last week by the British government are being tortured.

One Tamil asylum seeker told the London news outlet that for 17 days, he was tortured by Sri Lankan government forces. During the two-week time span, he received a flogging on his back with electrical wire and he was also suspended upside down by chains around his ankles.

“I came here with a hope," the Tamil accuser said, who did not want to be identified and used the alias Hari. "I believed that the UK authorities would consider my case reasonably but, regardless of all my history and the evidence, they sent me back and I had to suffer again."

Parliament In Sri Lanka Is Increasingly Becoming Irrelevant

June 8, 2012

By M. A. Sumanthiran -

M. A. Sumanthiran MP

Speech by M. A. Sumanthiran – in Parliament on 08^th June 2012.

Thank you sir for providing me some time to speak on this motion moved by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake.

This is a timely motion that’s being brought to the Parliament, reminding us all that private members’ motions that are debated and approved must be taken seriously, since they are approved by Parliament. They cease to be labelled a private member’s motion once it is approved by Parliament because it is something the Parliament agrees with, and therefore from that point onwards there must be a seriousness attached to it. The Hon. Member has suggested that the Cabinet of Ministers must sanction them within 6 months and implement those, so that Members of Parliament contribute constructively to various matters that are brought to this Parliament, and this Parliament itself agrees and approves them as being relevant.

It is not only private members’ motions that are debated and approved and then forgotten about. There is a general tendency for ministers to give various undertakings on the floor of this House. Then matters deteriorate; those assurances are not respected. I’d like to mention two examples of this that is happening right at this moment.

On the 16^th of December last year, the Hon. Leader of the House presented to this House the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and at the time of placing that in this House he made an important statement highlighting the recommendation of demilitarization that is made in the LLRC report. He said action will be taken immediately to ensure that the military engages only in security related matters and not involve themselves in any civilian affairs. Now that was an assurance given by no lesser person than the Leader of the House, not in answer to a question, not prompted by the Opposition, but all on his own accord. Now I can say in this House with responsibility, that contrary to that undertaking, in this week the military in Jaffna particularly, is involved in large scale land grabbing. We have seen this in the newspapers and I am personally aware, that in areas like Nallur, Kondavil, and many other places, the military has been visiting peoples’ private residences, asking for their deeds; telling them to come to the army camp. This happened two days ago, on Wednesday. They summoned people to an Army Camp, took them in their own vehicle to the Divisional Secretary’s office, and told them that the military has decided to take over some of those lands and that they are not to step into their own land. Fortunately the officers of the Divisional Secretary’s office did not go along with that suggestion, and have said that these are private lands and that they can’t survey them and hand them over to the military. But this is happening. This is happening in broad daylight. This is happening in a way that grates the feelings of the people there. This is happening contrary to the undertaking given in this House by the Leader of the House.

The second example that I want to draw is an assurance given in this House on the 21^st of October last year by the Minister of Economic Development with regard to persons who have been displaced from the village of Sampur. At an adjournment debate when this issue was raised by my Party Leader the Hon. Minister rose and gave an undertaking saying that apart from the land that is required for the coal power plant, people will be resettled in the rest of the lands. Now an area has been demarcated and agreed upon as to where the coal power plant will be situated – that’s about 500 acres of land. Not even one house falls within that area – we have examined the maps. And so nobody will be displaced as a result of that Indian coal power plant coming up there. But on the 17^th of May, action has been taken to demarcate another 508 acres as BOI (Board of Investment) land and to exclude people from entering that area. Now this is wholly contrary to that assurance given to this House by a responsible Minister on the 21^st of October last year. Even after that minister gave that undertaking a question was asked of him: Why then are the people being forced to go to alternate places? His reply was: No, they don’t have to go to alternate places, they can remain there. But by December last year, pressure was brought on them. They were told that if they did not go to alternate places their food supply will be cut short, and from December last year no dry rations have been given to them in the various welfare centers that they are located in now. So, enormous pressure is being brought by officials despite assurances to the contrary that are given in this House.

Similar to the private members’ motions being approved by Parliament which are not implemented, I wish to draw the government’s attention to the fact that when Ministers give assurances in this House those must be taken very seriously. There is a general decay. Parliament is increasingly becoming irrelevant. We must stop that tide. We can’t allow that to happen. If ministers who are responsible for subjects stand up and give an assurance we take that assurance. We take their word for it, because those assurances are not just made on public platforms or election platforms, those are given in this House, and there is sanctity attached to that. I would like to urge the Hon. Ministers that when they give those assurances, that they should also follow it up and see that no countermanding orders are given by other persons; that the government must be theirs. If a subject has been assigned to them they must be in full control of that subject. They mustn’t allow brothers and sisters and family members, whoever they may be, to countermand the orders of the ministers, and the assurances that the ministers give in this House.

Thank you very much.

Webcast available at http://www.parliament.lk/webcast/video/ (beginning at 3.25 p.m. on 8th June 2012)