Thursday, June 14, 2012

Major General Kamal Gunaratne had murdered Balachandran on Gotabhaya’s order

Karuna Amman had told the Defence Secretary that Balachandran should be killed

Major General Kamal Gunaratne had murdered Balachandran on Gotabhaya’s order

Thursday, 14 June 2012

LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s 14 year old son Balachnadran Prabhakaran had been killed after surrendering to the army on a direct order of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Lanka News Web learns that Balachandran had been killed under the supervision of the Commander of the 53rd Brigade Brigadier Kamal Gunaratne.

Balachandran had surrendered to the army near the Nadikadal Lagoon at 7.30 a.m. on May 19, 2009. He had surrendered to a group of eight soldiers led Sergeant Mutubanda from the 4th Vijayaba Infantry Regiment.

Balachandran had said his father, Velupillai Prabhakaran had been shot dead the previous night and that his body was hidden in a shrub near the Nandikadal Lagoon. Mutubanda had then informed the detail to Lieutenant Nalaka from the C Group of the 4th Vijayaba Infantry Regiment.

Nalaka together with another officer named Kirinda and Sergeant Wijesinghe were engaged in a search operation in the Nandikadal Lagoon at the time.

Nalaka had informed the Commanding Officer of the 4th Vijayaba Infantry Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Rohitha Aluvihare that a boy claiming to be Prabhakaran’s son along with two security personnel had surrendered to the army. He had then informed the head of the 53rd Brigade, Brigadier Kamal Gunaratne about the matter through head of the 681 platoon, Lieutenant Colonel Lalntha Gamage.

Following orders, Brigadier Gunaratne together with Lieutenant Nalaka and Balachnadran had gone to the shrub in the Nandikadal Lagoon and shown Prabhakaran’s body to the army.

Lalantha Gamage had then personally taken charge of Balachandran and taken him to Gunaratne.

Gunaratne had then personally interrogated Balachandran.

During the interrogation Balachandran had said his father was killed the previous night when he was caught in the crossfire between the LTTE and security forces.

He had said that his father’s body was hidden and two of his security personnel who had survived the battle the previous night had then surrendered to the army with him.

Balachandran had said that he was with his father in one boat trying to escape the gunfire while his mother and sister were in another. However, he had said his father was shot during the battle and that he was unaware of what had become of his mother and sister.

Balachandran had also revealed that his father and his few remaining security personnel had fought back, but excluding two members of the security detail, everyone had been killed in the gun battle.

Gunaratne had informed all the details he had learnt from Balachandran to the Defence Secretary on his mobile phone. The Defence Secretary had informed all the details to Karuna Amman.

Karuna Amman had told the Defence Secretary that Balachandran should be killed since there was a possibility that he would become the next LTTE leader if he survived and because he would be released from courts since he was under age.

The Defence Secretary had then ordered Gunaratne to personally supervise Balachandran’s killing and to destroy his body.

These details have been revealed by an army officer to a foreign government since he is now being accused over the telecast of footage of Balachandran’s murder in a Channel 4 film. The army officer had said that he did not want to be held accountable for sins committed by others.

LTTE groups posed a threat to President’s life in London – Lalith W Queen’s Diamond Jubilee:

June 13, 2012
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By Shamindra Ferdinando

The government believes that President Mahinda Rajapaksa ran the risk of being physically attacked by the UK-based LTTE activists during his recent visit to London to attend the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and have talks with British government leaders. There could even have been an attempt on the President’s life while he was being driven to the venues where he met the Royal family and other British dignitaries.

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, External Affairs Ministry’s monitoring MP, Sajin Vass Gunawardene, and Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in London, Dr. Chris Nonis told the media yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat that the extraordinary security provided to President Rajapaksa was indicative of the British government’s concern over threats the LTTE groups in London posed to the Sri Lankan leader.

In spite of tight security provided to President Rajapaksa, two suspicious-looking strangers, believed to be members of protesting LTTE groups, had been sighted in the hotel, where the President and his entourage were staying Weeratunga said.

"The British were alerted after our security contingent detected them."

In response to claims being made in some quarters that the President should not have visited London and exposed himself to humiliation and indignities at the hands of LTTE activists, the presidential secretary said that as the hosts of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2013) scheduled to be held in Colombo, the government couldn’t have turned down an invitation to attend the Queen’s Diamond jubilee. Claiming that the President’s London visit was a huge success, he accused a section of the media of covering the President’s London visit in a manner which was favourable to the LTTE.

Dr. Nonis said that in spite of a major LTTE effort targeting the presidential visit on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, the UK had made excellent security arrangements. The British government had also provided a separate bullet proof vehicle to President Rajapaksa in view of security threats.

The Queen hosted a lunch for Commonwealth leaders, including Prime Minister David Cameron at the conclusion of last week’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. She was joined by more than 70 guests, including President Rajapaksa.

MP Gunawardena alleged as the Sri Lankan leader was driven in over 3,000 Diaspora protesters had surrounded the Marlborough House. He said that except the LTTE activists, all others had suspended their protests in compliance with a request by the British police. Gunawardena said that action by the LTTE groups should serve as a warning to the British that they were a threat not only to the visiting Sri Lankan head of State but also to British democracy. "The British authorities are amazed at their ability to bring large crowds at short notice," he said.

HC Nonis said the morning session of the Commonwealth Economic Forum organized by the Commonwealth Business Council was one of the seven events on the president’s agenda. He said the LTTE activists, having failed to thwart the President’s London visit by resorting to methods such as an e-mail and post-card campaign and lobbying of British politicians, had been compelled to settle for disrupting the Commonwealth Economic Forum. The President had attended every other scheduled event, including a private meeting with British Prime Minister, David Cameroon, at the Marlborough House before meeting the Queen also at the same venue. In spite of large scale protests at all venues, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, where a thanksgiving mass was held, the President has successfully completed his tour, Dr. Nonis said.

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Lalith and Sajin

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT

AI index: ASA 37/009/2012
13 June 2012

A statement for the June Human Rights Council Session

Sri Lanka is not fulfilling many of its international human rights obligations. Impunity remains the norm for gross violations of human rights, including alleged war crimes. Gross and systematic human rights violations continue to take place. Sri Lanka’s armed conflict ended in 2009, but its legacy of unlawful detention practices continues; arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment and custodial killings remain hallmarks of Sri Lankan policing.

The number of reports of enforced disappearances in the past six months is alarming; political activists critical of the state continue to be victims. Intimidation and smear campaigns against human rights defenders and journalists in government-owned newspapers have included attacks on individuals advocating for human rights accountability before this Council.

Sri Lankan authorities circumvent or ignore protections built into the ordinary criminal justice system. Sometimes they act outside the law, more often they invoke security legislation to arrest suspects without evidence or warrants and to hold them without charge for extended periods. On 30 August 2011, the government lifted the state of emergency that had been in place almost continuously since 1971. However, the repressive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which permits extended administrative detention, was retained. The authorities also introduced new regulations under the PTA to continue detention of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspects without charge or trial. The PTA reverses the burden of proof where torture or other ill-treatment is alleged, and restricts freedom of expression and association.

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Jaffna Challenge(r)s

June 14, 2012

By Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu -

Dr.Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu

Two contrasting insights into reconciliation were on display in the last ten days – one in the field of sports and the other in the field of politics. The former relates to the Carlton Super Seven Rugby Tournament and the latter to the ITAK or Federal Party convention in Batticaloa. The significance of the latter is of course beyond dispute given that it was the party convention of the major party in the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the speech made by its leader R.Sampanthan has been the subject of columns, editorials and dire conclusions on what it portends for the fate of the nation-state ofSri Lanka. The former may seem trivial by contrast – a sporting event, even tamasha, that attracted the attention of few. Sporting events though have their role to play in reconciliation and are replete with political significance and purpose. The Carlton Super Seven Rugby Tournament was no exception. Joint winners of the tournament was a team called the Jaffna Challengers captained by a young naval officer who also happens to be a son of the president of the republic.

One assumes that the choice of name for the team had some reconciliatory purpose – there were others with regional and provincial titles. This columnist is not clear as to whether any of the other teams had any connection to the parts of the country they were named after. By all accounts the winning team did not – rugby not being a sport to have taken hold in the Jaffna peninsula to date. It would seem to be the case that the choice of team name was either prompted by a desire to introduce the sport to the peninsula and integrate the peninsula into this sporting loop of increasing prominence and profit and/or an act very much in the spirit of the captain of the team’s uncle’s remarks about all parts of the country being accessible to all the peoples of the country, the north being no exception. Yet another victory lap by the winning team before the bewildered population of Jaffna, may well be on the cards. And someone may wave a Tiger flag on this occasion too!

Talking of flags, the highly respected TNA leader Mr Sampanthan is in effect being accused of irresponsible and even dangerous “flag waiving” – by some Tamil nationalists with regard to the Lion flag at the beginning of the month at the joint opposition rally in Jaffna and with regard to the Tiger flag at the end of the month by all – Island patriots, on account of sentiments expressed in his speech at the ITAK convention in Batticaloa. The truth of the matter, as this columnist sees it, is that Mr Sampanthan has to speak to both constituencies and the international community beyond, if he is to lead and hold together his party and his people within a unitedSri Lanka. Once can disagree about language and tone, but should not lose the wood for the trees. Yes he did talk about a future outside ofSri Lanka, about external self-determination and about what could follow from this government not addressing the aspirations of the Tamil people. He did not talk about this, though, as the first option or the preferred one.

In any and every event, is not the point to pull the political rug from under the secessionists’ feet? How irresponsible, dangerous and unreasonable have Mr Sampanthan and his party been in the pursuit of a political settlement of the ethnic conflict since the defeat of the LTTE as evinced by their behavior in the direct talks between them and this government or is it the SLFP – as they are now being told, contrary to the evidence of the letter inviting them to talks which was published in a week end newspaper? Have they not demonstrated commitment and good faith, forwarded proposals – stretching from the Mangala Moonesinghe proposals to the PA 95 and 97 proposals, the August 2000 draft constitution and the APRC Experts Committee report- and made clear that they will participate in a select committee once a consensus is reached between them and the government which can be forwarded to that select committee for discussion with the wider group of stakeholders?

The real tragedy is that Mr Sampanthan had to make the speech at all and in the tone and language he did. It is a measure of the state of reconciliation and unity in the country. To this columnist the speech was about consolidating the TNA position within the Sri Lankan and Tamil polity and the ITAK position within the TNA as primus inter pares rather than as sole representative of the Tamil – speaking peoples mapping out a strategy for secession. In narrow political terms it is about holding the TNA and the Tamil polity together, lest as times goes by and is deliberately allowed to through procrastination and deceit, the Tamil polity fragments into a combination of pitiful incoherence on the one hand and obdurate extremism on the other. It probably and sadly is the case that there are two polities in this context, each delineated by ethnicity and each the mirror image of the other. Mr Sampanthan may well have a similar problem, if not the same, with his hard- core nationalists as President Rajapaksha with his!

The overarching question as always is as to whether the politics of hurt and harm and hate should be allowed to hold the country to ransom?

It should not. Mahinda Rajapaksha has a pivotal role to play in this. Quite frankly, his inability and/or unwillingness to do so, is far more damaging to unity and reconciliation than any interpretation of any speech Mr Samapanthan may make; his willingness and ability to do so immeasurably greater a contribution to unity and reconciliation than any contribution the Jaffna Challengers can make!

TNA leader blames it on translation

R. K. RADHAKRISHNAN COLOMBO, June 14, 2012

A deliberate false translation of its constitution is the reason the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) — the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) — is being portrayed as a party that stood for secession of the Tamil parts from Sri Lanka, said TNA leader and MP M.A.Sumanthiran on Wednesday.

In a conversation with The Hindu, he said the sworn affidavit filed in the Supreme Court — the constitution of the party — which is in Tamil, was translated into English wrongly by a certified translator. This could only be done with motive, he said and added that the ITAK did not stand for a separate Tamil and a separate Muslim State in Sri Lanka. (A May 18 story in The Hinduhad relied on the translated version of the ITAK constitution and sought the TNA's comments).

The Sixth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution (enacted in August 1983) prohibits political parties from having as one of their aims establishment of a separate State. The petition was filed in the Supreme Court by a little known advocateJayantha Liyanage, the general secretary of Sinhala Jathika Peramuna (an unrecognised political party). He named the TNA, ITAK, Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) as parties having constitutions aimed at creating a separate state. His plea was to declare that the parties be automatically disqualified .

None of the Tamil parties, barring those that are part of the government now, ever made a secret of their love for a separate Tamil nation.

In the latest instance, at the ITAK convention in Batticaloa, TNA leader R.Sampanthan detailed the issues confronting the Tamils and ways to solve them. One relevant part went like this: “The struggle for the political rights of the Tamil nation has now entered an entirely new chapter…We must clearly prove to the international community that the Sri Lankan government, which has delayed for so long in giving the Tamil people their rights, has never made any genuine effort to do so. In other words — we must prove to the international community that we will never be able to realize our rights within a united Sri Lanka. We must be patient until the international community realises for itself that the effort we are involved in is doomed to fail. To put it more strongly, the international community must realize through its own experience, without us having to tell them, that the racist Sri Lankan government will never come forward and give political power to the Tamil people in a united Sri Lanka.”

Rajapkasa’s Charter Flights Trips Losses Over Rs. 24 billion

June 14, 2012

Sri Lankan Airlines and its subsidiary Mihin Air are making huge losses due to the President and his ministers chartering its flights at the tax payers’ expense to travel the world. General Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake told a news conference in Colombo on Tuesday, that that the two airlines had jointly run up losses totalling over Rs. 24 billion due to the government policy of chartering flights to ensure that President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Ministers, including Prof. G. L. Peiris, travelled in comfort to more than 35 countries since 2010.

Rajapaksa at BIA

SriLankan Airlines made an operating loss of 19.1 billion rupees in 2011. Its debts have kept mounting since 2008 when Emirates Airlines ended a management contract in protest against SriLankan offloading passengers to accommodate a government delegation. The Treasury had pumped 2.7 billion rupees in tax payers’ money to SriLankan in 2010, while providing guarantees for it to obtain loans from State banks totalling over Rs. 3,500 million in the last few years, Attanayaka said.

Mihin Air had lost nearly 6 billion rupees since in capital in 2007, despite the Treasury doling out subsidies at regular intervals, he said.

Attanayake said that most of the foreign visits undertaken by the President and his ministers had yielded minimal or no benefits, at maximum cost to the country and its people.

The last visit of the External Affairs Minister, G. L. Peiris and his delegation to the UN has been a dead loss as they were unable to defeat the HRC Resolution on Sri Lanka, Attanayaka said.

Attanayake said that Mihin Air should be sold and whatever assets that were left, used to ease the burdens that were being mounted on the poor, even three years after the war had ended.

OVER 19,000 SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH DRUGS - POLICE

June 14, 2012

The police have seized 51,451 kilograms of marijuana, over 12kg of heroin, over 4kg of cocaine and have arrested 19,057 suspects in connection with drugs since January 1 this year, the Police Media Spokesman’s office revealed.

Official police records indicate that apart from the marijuana that has been seized, 12.265kg of heroin, 4.44kg of cocaine, 1.38 grams of opium, 280mg of hashish and 3kg of meth had been seized by the police.

Police stated that the death penalty is given to any suspect who is convicted of possessing more than 2 grams of heroin or cocaine, more than 3 grams of morphine or more than 500g of opium.

Sri Lanka's former army commander vows to topple government
Xinhua | 2012-6-14 By Agencies

Sri Lanka's former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka on Thursday said that toppling the government and creating a new political culture was his aim, ruling out any possibility of working with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Speaking at the first press conference since his conditional release from jail on May 12, Fonseka was upbeat of his role and insisted that he would work with a common opposition to defeat the government.

"There is a corrupt government and a corrupt political culture so we have to first get rid of the corrupt government. If we want to benefit from the new political culture, I am talking about we will have to topple the government and then we have to come into power and implement this new political culture," he said.

Talking to the media, he also categorically ruled out joining the government or working with President Mahinda Rajapaksa as he said the president "could not be trusted."

Reiterating the need to change what he called a "corrupt political culture with a complete breakdown of law and order," Fonseka said his service would be to "free the people from a suppressive regime."

Pledging his life to this cause, he called on the opposition to unite and accept a leader that will be picked by the people.

Under the conditions of his release, Fonseka cannot contest in an election for seven years but he insisted that with people's support he would be able to overcome this hurdle.

Are Government Directors Personally Liable For HDL Debts Of Around Rs. 7 b?

June 14, 2012

Public interest activist Nihal Sri Ameresekere has filed papers in the District Court of Colombo asserting that the Government Directors of HDL, who managed and controlled HDL had breached mandatory provisions of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, and that as a consequence they are personally liable for the debts of HDL, which are in excess of its assets. The Companies Act mandates the winding-up of a company, where the liabilities exposed the assets.

Nihal Sri Ameresekere

he Land had vested with the Government in July 1999, and HDL’s only asset was its building valued at around Rs. 5,000 m to Rs. 6,000 m, whereas the debts claimed from HDL by the Government is well over Rs. 12,000 m Ameresekere has asserted that these are public funds.
Legal circles opined that as per the new Companies Act the definition of Director could include the Secretary to the Treasury, as well as the Competent Authority as persons according to whose directions and instructions the Board of Directors act.

1. The following are excerpts from Objections filed by Ameresekere seeking relieves as prayed for:

2. These Objections, as per direction of Your Honour’s Court, are to the two Motions submitted on 15.3.2012 by the Senior State Counsel.

3. The said two Motions do not constitute and cannot be recognised, as lawful applications made to obtain an Order from Your Honour’s Court and therefore ought be rejected in-limine.

4. The said two Motions have suppressed pertinent facts and transgressions stated herein, since the commencement of these Winding-up Proceedings on 17.11.2006.

5. A lawful application has to be by Petition, supported by an Affidavit, in seeking an Order from Your Honour’s Court.

Nithyananda's Karnataka 'sex scandal centre' is sealed

12 June 2012 Swami Nithyananda denies charges of sexual misconduct

Officials in India's Karnataka state are sealing the sprawling centre of a controversial Hindu holy man who is facing charges of sexual misconduct.

A large number of policemen have been deployed outside the complex of Swami Nithyananda near the city of Bangalore.

On Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda ordered the police to arrest the guru and seal his ashram.

Nithyananda has been absconding since last week when his men allegedly forced a reporter to leave a press conference.

Reports said his devotees were angry when the journalist asked him some "uncomfortable" questions.

The reporter later filed a complaint with the police that he had been intimidated and threatened with life by the swami's devotees.

Nithyananda has denied all the allegations made against him.

At the weekend, Nithyananda's supporters also clashed with activists who say the swami has maligned the reputation of Hindu seers and the state by indulging in alleged illegal activities.

Nithyananda has reportedly fled to neighbouring Tamil Nadu state fearing arrest.

In April 2010, Nithyananda was arrested after a video apparently showed him engaging in a sexual act with a film actress. He said he was innocent and the video was a fake. He was freed on bail two months later.

Nithyananda has a huge following in southern India and his mission has branches in several countries, including the US and Europe.

He is also facing a summons from a US court in connection with a sexual harassment case.