A Statement: Commission For Justice And Peace Of The Catholic Diocese Of Jaffna

By Director, Commission for Justice and Peace of the Diocese of Jaffna, Sri Lanka  August 7, 2012

The widely advertised ‘war for peace’ came to an end more than three years ago. Yet the fruits of this peace are yet to be enjoyed by the people in the North, who were most affected mentally, physically and economically. This reality is verified by the day to day events which are taking place here. The hop for a real peace is declining day by day. The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna feels that it is its historic duty to point out this in order that a way may open to establish a just, democratic and peaceful community in Sri Lanka.

Widening of streets, laying carpet roads, construction of new bridges, initiating the railway-track works, starting new banks, shopping complexes, hotel facilities, renovation and modernization of parks, etc. give an appearance to a visitor or a foreign dignitary that the North is developing at a rapid speed after the prolonged ‘war’. But all these factors cannot substitute a fearless, free, just and free society here.

According to the reports given by the Sri Lankan Government to the outside world and the international leaders and their representatives only a few thousands of displaced persons who are still in the camps have yet to be resettled of the 300,000 people who were evacuated from the war-ravaged Wanni area and the resettled people have been given the facilities of decent housing and means to restart their lives. The balance three to five thousands of people still in the camps will be resettled in a matter of two to three months and will be provided with all the facilities according to the Government sources. The Government says that 95% of the displaced persons have been resettled already. But the UN reports say that in the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Mannar 117,888 persons are yet to be resettled permanently. Of these there are 18,589 persons are in Vavuniya, 4,928 are in Mannar and 94,371 are in Jaffna. A substantial number of these people are living with their friends and relatives. In short the real picture is substantially different what is reported officially by the Government. It is also reported that the people on the whole are living with full freedom and are able to do whatever work they had been doing before the war without any restriction. But the ground reality is far from it.

We would like to point out certain developments to show how the day to day free and fearless life of the ordinary people has been affected. We can cite certain concrete instances to give credibility to our observations. Though this is neither an exhaustive report nor the instances cited give full details, this sufficient to indicate to reasonable level that the peace the people hoped for is a reality which is very far away.

The Plight of the Resettled People                    Read More

Namal owes money to the CMC

Tuesday, 07 August 2012

MP Namal Rajapaksa’s Tharunyata Hetak Organization has taken on a monthly rent of Rs. 115,000 the basketball courts at the Henry Pedris Park in Colombo 5, which is under the purview of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). However, the organization has avoided making the monthly rental for several months.

Former CMC Commissioner Omar Kamil had assigned the basketball court to the Organization according to letter LGD/06/B/02/M02/2011 from the Western Province Commissioner on the approval of the President and the Provincial Council Minister.

Therefore, the lease agreement is valid from December 31, 2001 till December 31, 2031. However, this agreement is in violation of a Supreme Court directive issued earlier. The President has ignored Supreme Court case number 218/2008 when permitting this agreement.

The Supreme Court directive was against an agreement entered by the CMC with Abans Pvt Limited over an agreement signed 25 years ago. The court has stated that it was not feasible for the CMC to enter into agreements as long as 25 years since the tenure of a Mayor was only five years.

The Friday Forum On Crisis In The Education Sector

By  Jayantha Dhanapala and Savitri Goonesekere -August 7, 2012

Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala and Prof. Savitri Goonesekere

The recent trade union action by university academics and other staff, and the current critique of educational policies and interventions by students, parents, teachers and members of the public are a response to multiple crises in the education sector. These problems have not emerged overnight. They reflect progressive decline including many decades of mismanagement and politicized and ad hoc decision making.

Education has always been considered a public good in this country and providing equitable access to education continues to be one of the important pillars of public policy. Our educational system built over decades of social and state investment, and commitment to provide free and accessible education, has helped Sri Lanka achieve impressive social indicators in education, health, life expectancy and equal opportunities for women and girls. The priority given to education is recognized as having contributed significantly to Sri Lanka’s high ranking in human development. Sustaining these achievements and working towards greater progress in the education sector is the responsibility of the State. However, approprate policy planning and implementation requires the active engagement and interest of many other actors such as students, parents, teachers, trade unions, the private sector and all citizens.  There is a collective responsibility to revitalize the education sector as an important public good and a necessary dimension of democratic and accountable governance.

The recent trade union action by the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) and public protests over the recent Z score fiasco, school admissions to grade I, closure of rural schools, paucity of competent principals and teachers, politicization of appointments in the education sector etc. have  raised important issues and created an opportunity for a public debate and citizen participation in regard to reforms in education. The Friday Forum, in a spirit of democratic engagement wishes to draw attention to what our group considers priority concerns that  must be addressed and resolved to prevent further deterioration and a possible collapse of the state education system.

Lack of Priority for Consultative Policy Planning     Read More

Kotte electorate to Gota – Bogollagama to be appointed as an ambassador

Tuesday, 07 August 2012

The President has asked the editor of a leading national newspaper to publish a lead story saying that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would be appointed as SLFP’s organizer for Kotte and its current organizer, former Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama would be given a post of ambassador.

The President has told the editor that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has agreed to the post of SLFP’s Kotte organizer.

The President has explained that the UNP’s Kotte organizer Dr. Harsha de Silva was building his strength in the area and that Bogollagama is unable to fight back.

He has noted that although Mayor of the Kotte Municipal Council Janaka Ranawaka and Deputy Mayor Madhura Vithanage have requested for the post, they were not strong enough for the posts.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has worked with keen interest to develop the Kotte area, especially around parliament.

After concluding the telephone conversation, the editor has told a senior journalist of the newspaper that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was definitely going to be appointed as Prime Minister at the next Cabinet reshuffle.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has carried out many development projects in the Kotte electorate and around parliament without the participation of the Kotte organizer, Bogollagama.

Although Bogollagama has arrived at the opening of the jogging track near parliament recently, he had arrived after hearing about the event and had not received any official invitation.

There is now a rumor that Bogollagama was looking at re-joining the UNP and re-entering politics from the Kurunegala District.

Bogollagama had organized a massive religious ceremony in Nikaweratiya for his birthday yesterday (6).

Federation of Tamil Sangams of North 

America (FeTNA) 

FeTNA celebrates Silver Jubilee in grand style

Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA) celebrated its 25th Annual Convention in grand style at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Maryland at a two day gala event on July 6th and 7th.

FeTNA is a non-profit umbrella organisation of 40 Tamil Sangams across North America which celebrates a mega event each year in different parts of the country in recognising Tamil cultural values through music, dance, literature and drama performances, including those from Tamil Nadu and Eelam Tamils.

Dance depicting the genocide of Eelam Tamils

The event was inaugurated by the President of FeTNA, Dr Dhanpani Kuppuswamy, who welcomed the events first act - a dance routine by the Washington Tamil Sangam.

Other notable acts included the comedian Mudurai Muthu, Pandi Silambam by Charlotte Tamil Sangam, a veena music recital by Greater Atlanta Tamil Sangam, a drama piece by New England Tamil Sangam, a speech on Tamils' rights by Deputy Chief Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Ramasamy, and a dance on humanity by the Canadian Tamil Congress.

Tim King from Salem-News

Key note speaker of the night was Tim King from Salem–News who has been writing about Tamil struggle in the island of Sri Lanka. King vowed to continue to fight for Tamils' rights and freedom.

The first day was brought to an end with dance and drama performance entitled “Velu Naachiyar” by Sri Ram Sarma dance group from Tamil Nadu. The group stole the show by depicting the bravery that was displayed by Queen “Velu Naachiyar,” who fought off invading British troops in 1780.

The second day included a spectacular performance from New Jersey Tamil Sangam, a dance performance from Carolina Tamil Sangam, and a drama act from New Jersey Tamil Sangam. A public debate also took place involving three generations of Tamils. The debate was moderated by Mr. Siva Karthikeyan and included a special address by honorable R. Nallakannu, a politician from Tamil Nadu.

A dance performance called 'Veeram" by New Jersey Tamil Sangam

The second day drew to a close with a captivating music performance from 'Aingaran Troup' featuring 'Chinnakuyil’ Chithra and Anitha Krishna. The last song of the night - Ovvoru Pookalume from Tamil movie Autograph - was sung by “Chinnakuyil” Chithra, who improvised and included English phrases into the original song by Bharathwaj. One such improvisation - “If Tamils come together then our goals can be attained" - received large cheers from the crowd.
Tamil Cinema celebrities including, Mr Bharath, actress Ms Amala Paul and Mr Sivakarthikeyan were also in attendance.
Overall more than 50 events were presented to a crowd of over 2500. Over 50 retailers and activist groups such as USTPAC, CTC and TGTE were also present.
Next year's FeTNA will be held at the Sony Centre in Toronto, Canada by the Canadian Tamil Congress. 
The event was also attended by TNA MP Sritharan. Addressing the audience he urged Tamils to work together to achieve a solution to the struggle in the island of Sri Lanka, and emphasised the need for strong support from Tamil Nadu Tamils in order to achieve this goal.

“Regime Change” Or Just A “Changing Of The Guard?”

The danger of ‘Regime change’ seems to be the constant lament of those seeking to create the ‘Miracle of Asia.’ They drag out the term whenever there appears to be anything resembling critical mass building against the most corrupt government in the history of modern Sri Lanka. They apply to the term the most pejorative hue that one can imagine.

The corruption and violence has soaked down to the bone of the Sri Lankan body politic

On the other side of that particular fence are those claiming that ‘Regime Change’ would return Sri Lanka to a more humane, democratic model guided by such concepts as the rule of law, government commitment to human rights, and equity throughout society irrespective of race, creed or gender. Each time they invoke the term, they seek to imbue it with a magical quality, which suggests it would usher in some kind of ‘Sri Lankan Spring.’ However, particularly since what has followed the ‘Arab Spring’ in the matter of reactionary and Islamist fundamentalist tendencies in Libya and Egypt despite both of those countries throwing off decades-long repressive and corrupt regimes, there has been some re-thinking of what might follow similar change in Sri Lanka if the family hegemony that passes for constitutional government is, by some miracle, replaced by a type of representative democracy more like that which prevails in the established democracies of the West and which was to a great extent the norm in Sri Lanka in its first thirty years of independence.
The question, therefore, is whether what can peacefully replace the present maelstrom of corruption and violence is, in fact, going to be close in structure and practice to those of Western Europe and North America. Contrary to the blatherings of the Wimal Weerawansas, Patali Champika Ranawakas and others of their ilk who are clearly dictating political and philosophical direction in this country right now, China, Russia, Cuba and the rest of those alleged socialist or communist countries are not communist, socialist or even close to anything resembling egalitarian in the manner of their governance and certainly not models to follow. Not to put a fine point on it, we are faced with Hobson’s Choice in this regard in that ‘the West’s’ is the only model available to us if we don’t want the kind of despotism of which the Rajapaksas have already given us a first taste.
As unpleasant as that reality might be, that is the plain unadulterated truth. And for those who constantly tell me to ‘burgher-off’ (and I use an euphemistic equivalent in order to avoid the censor’s wrath here!) to some geographical point due north or south of here, may I suggest that, if they believe that Putin’s Russia or China or Zimbabwe are the ‘in’ places to spend the rest of one’s life, they should be organizing legal or illegal means of migration to those destinations for themselves and/or their families?  Let’s start putting our money where our mouths are, chaps!
On a more realistic level, can we emerge from the mire into which every level of national endeavour has sunk – both in the government and private sectors – to establish a modicum of financial honesty and non-violent administration after the most reprehensible elements of a dictatorship have seemingly taken over the Sri Lankan body politic?
There are isolated examples of developing democratic miracles in some parts of Africa and South and Central America that suggest that such mind-boggling sea change just might be possible. One would be optimistic in the extreme, though, if they were to expect such change to occur swiftly where pillage of the public purse and venality without equal is now, literally, accepted as ‘the reality’ and one that is likely to prevail for the foreseeable future.  If it ever happens, it is going to be nothing short of miraculous. It will, realistically speaking, be extremely slow and will require Job’s patience on the part of the citizenry to wait out the process that needs to unfold.
The change will have to begin with that most difficult of processes: change in the national mindset which has accepted without question the corrupted, twisted and nightmarish scenario that prevails across the land. The required change needs to be initiated through the establishment of a structure that returns democratic process and practice to the realm of national governance. The establishment of that framework is a sine qua non for even the hope of a democratic future for us and our progeny and our progeny’s progeny.
The corruption and violence has soaked down to the bone of the Sri Lankan body politic and what makes its removal most difficult is the fact that those wielding the most power and influence at the moment will, of necessity, have the largest part to play in that monumental change. While they might not be those who have initiated and drive the corruption, they are, more often than not, the beneficiaries of the venality of which this land has to be cleansed. The Colonel Sanders Chicken Run analogy comes to mind here!
A complex conundrum? You bet! One beyond solution?  Perhaps not, if enough people of goodwill put their shoulders to the wheel, and let me, in that context invoke a most appropriate quotation from Margaret Mead at this point:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
If that sounds like unrealistic “pie in the sky” speculation address your mind to the fact that the Bolsheviks (Majority) who succeeded in overthrowing the Czarist government were, in fact, Mensheviks (the minority) and it was certainly a minority – the middle class – who brought about revolutionary change in France in the late 18th Century.  In fact, every event that effected sweeping change in man’s modern history was initiated by a few, a small minority of the population.
What is lacking in Sri Lanka in the matter of dealing with massive corruption and dictatorship at the moment appear to be a few good people with a determination to effect the change that the entire nation is crying out for. They have to be prepared to undergo some inconvenience and, perhaps, worse, in order to bring about the change that a whole nation is crying out for.
I do not buy the theory that the approval rating for a group of people who got rid of what was basically a rag-tag band of fascist brigands is going to persist forever and continue to shield rapists, murderers and thieves and, most tragically, destroy the very soul of an ancient civilization which its people are justifiably proud of.
I will repeat what I have said more times than I care to remember recently and which I will continue to repeat ad nauseam:  those of you who DO have significant protection by virtue of the class or economic group you belong to, whose ‘connections’ with those who are pillaging our nation precludes your being terminated ‘with extreme prejudice’ have a DUTY to step out from behind your protective barricades and speak power to truth or whatever term is to the matter of leading the national cleansing process.
The ripples of change have to begin somewhere and I am stating the obvious with regard to where that can and should be. This breast-beating by all and sundry, wailing the ‘woe is me’ refrains of “The opposition parties are ineffectual, Ranil Wickremesinghe is Mahinda Rajapaksa’s best friend, Sarath Fonseka has given evidence of Fascist tendencies” and similar gibberish which serves no purpose, are doing one thing and one thing only: they are presenting excuses for inaction. That must end.
In any event, if you are looking for change in the current Sri Lankan context, the last thing you need is a mirror image of those who constitute the problem and whom you are seeking to get rid of! You need the alternative. People of goodwill and determination must man the barricades.  Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will Sri Lankan democracy be re-built in a similar time span. But it CAN be done because it MUST be done. For ALL of us to survive in what can, once again, become the Pearl of the Orient.

3,500 Tamil families remain uprooted from 40 villages in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 August 2012, 23:48 GMT]
More than 3,500 Tamil families still remain uprooted from fifteen DS divisions in Ampaa'rai, civil officials in the district said. 6,500 acres of paddy fields, 3,500 acres of coconut lands and about 2,000 acres of lands, used for sugar cane cultivation, have also been appropriated from the Tamils since 13 April 1967. Since 2007, new Buddhist stupas have mushroomed with the backing of the occupying Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) commandos, the sources further said adding that more than 20 Saiva shrines have been destroyed. Tamil people who fled from their traditional villages in Ampaa'rai district now ask whether they would also get their lands according to the assurances given by the SL Minister Rauf Hakeem, the civil sources said. 

Tamils have been driven out from the villages in fifteen DS divisions such as Chammaathu'rai, Addaa'laich-cheanai, Akkaraip-pattu, Poththuvil, Kalmunai, Chaaynthamaruthu, I'rakkaamam, Ampaa'rai, Aalaiyadivempu, Kaaraitheevu, Naavithanve'li, Thirukkoayil, Uhana, and Lahugala in Ampaa'rai district. 

Tamils were chased away during the 1983 pogroms by the Sinhala thugs. 

There have been riots between the Tamils and Muslims in 1985 and in 1990. 

The Eastern Province was brought under the control of the genocidal Sri Lanka Army in 2007. 

Due to fear and pressure, some Tamil families have sold their lands.

The Sinhala army has appropriated Tamil areas and build new Buddhist Viharas.

In the meantime, Rauf Hakeem, the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), who currently holds the portfolio of Minister of Justice in Mahinda Rajapaksa's UPFA government, has recently told a foreign envoy in Colombo that steps would be taken to return the lands and properties illegally appropriated from the people during the conflict.

Destabilising The East To Stabilise Familial-Rule

“This accursed, shortsighted statecraft!” – Heinrich von Kleist (Prinz Friedrich)

By Tisaranee Gunasekara      Monday, August 06, 2012

Mahinda Rajapaksa and Rishard Bathiudeen

The Eastern province, multi-ethnic and multi-religious, is Sri Lanka’s Achilles Heel. Mishandle the East and the outcome will not be a cleanly bifurcated separatist war. Mishandle the East and the outcome will be a ‘war of all against all’, involving every ethnic/religious group in Sri Lanka (plus several foreign powers in supportive roles), and infecting every nook and cranny of the island.
That is why attention must be paid, when three constituent parties of the UPFA warn publicly that Rajapaksa policies are endangering civil-peace in the East. According to Minister D. E. W. Gunasekera, “the UPFA’s election strategy would only contribute to the strengthening of separatist and fundamentalist sentiments not only in the multi-ethnic Eastern Province, but also in the entire country…” (The Island – 27.7.2012).
The Eastern provincial election was not due till 2014; North-Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial elections were not due till 2015. All three provinces face pressing problems which urgently require state aid and government intervention. Thanks to untimely and unnecessary elections, these problems are being relegated onto the backburner.
Instead, there is heedless talk about of the rights and the wrongs of the Sinhalese/Tamils/Muslims/Christians, as politicians with no real interest in popular concerns jockey for easy votes.
The government is not only holding unnecessary elections with a divisive potential in a volatile province, it is also trying to set the minorities at loggerheads in order to enhance its power and save its favourites.
The far from subtle attempt to recast Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’s alleged attack on the judiciary as a Tamil-Muslim conflict is an excellent case in point. A long standing dispute between two groups of fishermen – Tamil and Muslim – led to the Mannar incident. The Magistrate is Tamil while the Minister who allegedly threatened him is a Muslim. The regime is using these facts to prevent the judiciary from comprehending the danger to its independence – by interpreting the attack on the judiciary by a cabinet minister as a private conflict between a Tamil man and a Muslim man.
Courts are fallible entities; even the fairest, most unbiased judgement can have its detractors. If one is unhappy with a judicial decision, the proper response is not to threaten the judge, accuse him of being a Tiger-supporter, try to get him transferred or demonstrate outside the courthouse but to seek redress in a higher court. Threatening a Magistrate or holding violent protests against judicial decisions is wrong, irrespective of the ethno-religious (or any other) identity of the parties concerned.
The day we accept threats/violent protests against the judiciary as right and proper is the day Sri Lanka will take that irretrievable step into anarchy.
In Sri Lanka the cancer of impunity is spreading rapidly. The practice of covering up a crime, if it is committed by one’s own side, is being established. The habit of allowing wrongdoers with the right connections to get away scot-free is being created. The Mannar incident is an important step on this road to the abyss. Those who try to defend Minister Bathiudeen, either because he is a Muslim or a Rajapaksa-acolyte, are feeding this monster of impunity, advertently or inadvertently. If Minister Bathiudeen manages to escape justice by playing the Muslim card, it will encourage every other Rajapaksa favourite to abuse power, safe in the knowledge that they too can use the Sinhala/Buddhist/Tamil/Catholic card to escape justice. Such an outcome will cause an exponential increase in abuse and impunity and endanger the rights and the safety of Lankans of all ethnicities, religions and political persuasions.

Divide and Rule

From a Lankan perspective, the post-war years have been a time lost. There was no real attempt to resolve the ethnic problem. The regime thinks that minority grievances are about the absence of highways, bridges and high-end sports facilities. Reconciliation has been reduced to platitudes plus cultural shows. Economic woes are on the rise while the Lankan economy is more indebted and more fragile than ever before. Crime, including murder, rape and child-abuse, is becoming the norm from Point Pedro to Point Dondra.
But from a Rajapaksa perspective, the post-war years have been good years. The strength and longevity of familial rule have been ensured via the 18th Amendment. The Lankan state, economy and society are being compelled into a trajectory suited to Rajapaksa interests, needs, whims and fancies. For instance, motor racing and rugby are being prioritised and promoted (often at public expense/inconvenience) because they are the favourite indulgences of Presidential offspring. According to media reports, Sri Lanka’s first Space Academy is to be constructed in Koggala at a cost of US$ 20 million (this in a country with a 20 percent child-malnutrition rate).
Is Sri Lanka beggaring herself still further to ‘join an elite band’ of 44 satellite-owning countries because the Presidential père wants a satellite named after him? Or because the youngest Presidential fils wants to become “the youngest astronaut in the world and the first in Sri Lanka” (http://magazine.lankahelp.com/2012/02/27/rohitha-rajapaksa-a-model-a-doctor-to-be-and-soon-to-be-an-astronaut/)?
A stable state needs a broad base of stakeholders. Under Rajapaksa rule, the stakeholders are becoming less and less representative not just of the intensely pluralist Lankan society but even of the SLFP/UPFA. The Familial state is also proving to be remarkably inept in governance. For instance, substandard fuel sold by the state, for the second time, caused at least 10 trains and around 100 buses to malfunction last week.
A Familial-state is bad enough; a Familial-state which cannot even perform the most routine task without making dangerous blunders is immeasurably worse. To prevent the public from noticing this reality and reacting to it, potent diversions are necessary.
The Tiger-bogey is helpful but inadequate; to fill the gap it may be necessary to keep various ethno-religious groups in a state of eternal suspicion and fear of each other. If Sinhalese fear Tamils, Tamils are suspicious of Muslims, Muslims fear Buddhists and Buddhists are suspicious of Christians, public attention will zoom not on economic or governance issues but on each other’s (real or imagined) iniquities. Keeping the country in the throes of such a destructive-ferment can help the Familial state to hide its own crimes and mistakes; and bolster its strength by playing the role of independent-arbiter of conflicting communities.
The Ruling Siblings do not want to share power even with fellow Sinhalese or SLFPers, let alone minorities. Perhaps the Rajapaksas think that setting Tamils and Muslims at loggerheads would be the best way to evade a political solution. After all, if the Tamils and Muslims are at war, the Rajapaksas have an ideal excuse to delay a political solution, endlessly. Plus any whiff of Islamic fundamentalism of the political variety in the East can be used to get India and the West off Rajapaksa’s back.
Lankan history teaches us that ethno-religious conflicts cannot be stage-managed. Once ignited, they assume a life of their own, uncontrolled by those who fathered them for political gain. Given its demographic realities, an Eastern conflict will be a labyrinthine one, involving both ethnicity and religion. Given the depths of brutality, irrationality and degradation religious fanaticism can make men plummet, an Eastern conflict will make the long Eelam War seem rather mild by comparison.

Concessions To Human Rights Pressures And A Political Solution

By Jehan Perera -August 6, 2012

Jehan Perera

The government’s decision to respond positively to a request by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay to have an advisory and technical team visit Sri Lanka represents an important shift in government policy.  The government’s previous position was that that the international human rights community had no role to play in investigating allegations of human rights violations within Sri Lanka, as that was a matter for the Sri Lankan government itself in conformity with the principle of national sovereignty.  It was on this basis that the government opposed the UN Human Rights Council resolution in Geneva in March of this year which, amongst other things, mandated Commissioner Pillay to send an advisory and technical assistance team to Sri Lanka.

The invitation extended to the UN Human Rights Commissioner has not yet been officially announced by the government. It would undoubtedly have been a difficult decision for the government to make, especially as the government has also decided to hold provincial elections in three provinces to reconfirm that it continues to be popular amongst the general public.  The government has been consistently critical of the international human rights community and mobilized internal political support for itself on the grounds of patriotism.  The present concession would be the second one in recent times. Less than a fortnight ago the government made another concession when it came up with an Action Plan on implementing the report of the Lessons Learn and Reconciliation Commission.  This was the main requirement of the UN Human Rights Council resolution in March.

Human rights organizations have been critical of the action plan.  They have pointed to weaknesses and gaps within it. These include getting the military to investigate accusations against itself and postponing much needed political reforms to an indefinite future by the strategy of referring them to a still non-existent Parliamentary Select Committee on constitutional reform.  However, those with a more pragmatic approach on these matters, such as the US government, have welcomed the government’s action plan as a step in the right direction.  The US statement welcoming the action plan said it believed that full implementation of the action plan would benefit all citizens of Sri Lanka by furthering long-term reconciliation and lasting peace.  It was the United States that moved the resolution at the UN Human Rights Council against Sri Lanka in March, asking for the expeditious implementation of the LLRC proposals as a means to achieve reconciliation within the country.

GOVERNMENT’S CONFIDENCE

Human rights organizations that have critiqued the government’s LLRC action plan are more likely to be supportive of its positive response to the proposed UN advisory and technical team.  The visit of such an UN team will provide an opportunity for them to meet with a diverse range of parties within the country, including local human rights groups and victims themselves, in addition to making on-the-spot visit to the battlefields in which the violations are alleged to have occurred.  They will be able to gain an in-depth perspective of the situation in the country, its positive and negative features and the challenges it faces.  This benefit was denied to the panel of experts appointed by the UN Secretary General in 2010, which was denied such access, and therefore came up with a report that was deficient in local perspectives.

The government may also be confident that it can show the international community that there have been more positive developments over the past three years than it is currently aware of.  These would include the resettlement of war-displaced persons which is nearing completion in terms of the percentage of people who are no longer living in displacement centres.  Roads have been opened and in general there is access to all parts of the country.  In addition, the figures for abductions, disappearances and similar flagrant violations of human rights have been steadily dropping.  The government may believe that the visiting UN team will be impressed by these developments on the ground which would compare well with other countries in similar post-war conditions.

In this context that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has asserted that more than 50 percent of what the LLRC has recommended has been implemented by the government. The government has often taken the position that its regular programmes of resettlement, compensation, livelihood assistance, infrastructure development and humanitarian problem solving are more than adequate to satisfy the relevant targets set by the LLRC.  The government may be having a similar confidence where it concerns human rights issues that the international community is interested in.  In particular the government may feel that the circumstances concerning human rights violations in the last phase of the war have been adequately put aside in the three years that have elapsed since the end of the war.

TWO ISSUES

In post-war Sri Lanka there have been two major issues that have attracted the attention of the international community. One is the need for the government to go into questions of accountability for human rights violations in the past, specifically with regard to the last phase of the war.  This has been the issue put forward most strongly by the Western countries and international human rights organizations.  The resolution of the UN Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka in March 2012 in Geneva was sponsored by the United States and dealt with these issues.  This has been a particularly important issue to the government as these are issues that can potentially target even the top leadership of the country.

The second major expectation of the international community is that there should be a political solution to the ethnic conflict in the aftermath of the three decade long war.  While fighting the war, the Sri Lankan government repeatedly reassured the Tamil people and the international community that it was seeking the removal of the LTTE as an obstacle to such a political solution.  The government also made various promises on this score, including improving the present system of devolved government and enhancing the powers granted under the 13^th Amendment to the constitution to the unspecified level of 13 plus one.   The basic requirement of a political solution is that there should be a fairer distribution of powers between the centre and the provinces, and between the ethnic communities, rather than overconcentration of power at the centre and total domination by the ethnic majority leadership.

The pressure on the government after the war with regard to a political solution that meets with the concurrence of the Tamil people has come mainly from the Indian government.  By and large, India has not emphasized human rights and accountability issues to the extent that the Western countries have.  This is why India’s support to the US-sponsored resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in March of this year came as such a bitter shock to the Sri Lankan government.  After the vote there was speculation that India’s vote was to express displeasure at the lack of progress on a political solution. The question is whether the government will follow its accommodative stance on the issue of human rights with a similar accommodation on this issue.  The matters at stake with regard to a political solution have greater political implications as they concern the sharing of political power.

Patriots, Traitors, Opportunists Or Helpless?

By Faraz Shauketaly  Monday, August 06, 2012

Asylum seekers wave signs (Picture Courtesy: smh.com.au)

Thousands of Sri Lankans reportedly try to flee the island, illegally. In recent weeks we have had quite a spectacle of ‘boat people’ who have tried and failed, tried and got most of the way and some who have reached Australia or other destinations.
What we do not know of course is how many perished at sea. Still others leave for not so exotic places like the Middle East and to a lesser extent to countries in the region.
Then of course there are the ‘wannabe students’ who merely use the expediency of a student visa to enter the Olympic nation Britain.
Once they land, there is hardly a day that they attend these schools and instead employment is sought in a variety of places fuelling the black economy of the Olympian land.
It also causes the mandarins and boffins at the Home Office to be on their toes and to keep devising more ways in which to keep ‘illegals’ out of the country.
Some of those who remain on the island – indeed a large majority – do so quite possibly because they have no other viable option.
Hopping on a boat that is Australia or Canada bound or even hopping on an aeroplane to the UK via Nairobi and Johannesburg costs more money than the average Sri Lankan can hope to collect ever: some accounts have it at over Rs. 2 Million (and that they assure me is cheap) and that is simply beyond the reach of the average Lankan.
Remember per capita GDP is USD 2830 making Sri Lanka’s ranking anything between 107 and 117 in world GDP ratings depending on whose report one looks at.
The World Bank is most sympathetic ranking us at 107.
Yet, not quite enough for an average worker to fork out the illegal Rs. 2 Million plus needed to get on that boat or plane.
This majority who have no option can but carry on with life, complain within the safety of their homes and friends about how difficult conditions are and secretly resolve to vote whoever is in power out in the first opportunity.
The cycle starts all over again when the next lot of elections come round.
Many voters get carried away by the ‘heat of the moment’ and often vote the same lot in all over again – suckers some would call these voters.
Or that the politicians who canvas their vote are far better at persuasion than ever before. Indeed with the number of elections Sri Lanka has had, these men – and women – are absolute “pro’s” at the art of persuading the voter their way.
Most of this majority will fear to be outspoken about their grouse: be it the colossal sums that the governments of the day spend on maintaining the politicians and their associates or the fact that many politicians simply do not deliver what they promised.
President Jayawardena tweaked the constitution to suit his party and himself and President Rajapaksa has strengthened the powers of the Executive. Both used the mandate that the people gave them.
A smaller minority of people will choose to live in Sri Lanka by choice.
They will have the means and the opportunity to leave these shores but consciously make a decision to stay.
They are neither blind nor immune from the same fears and concerns of the majority in the country but perhaps make their decision based on economics and little else.
Many indeed stay for their own reasons. They may be too old to start all over in another land, their family ties to the country would preclude them from leaving. In essence they too have no choice.
However,  there are some who choose to remain in Sri Lanka and whilst here some will gamble with their quality of life by being outspoken on matters of conscience and flirting with the real possibility that the authorities will not take  too kindly of their opinions and interpretation of various matters – usually related to freedom of speech, movement, good governance and equality for all.
Some of these people will labour point after point to the point of being so boring they are unlikely to be invited to your home again.
I heard an interesting argument the other day amongst a mixed bunch of Sri Lankans all of whom are living abroad.
It went a bit like this: the government they said can name the 6,352 persons they list as missing from the former conflict areas.
The Diaspora and their allies in the ‘West’ claim that over 30,000 lost their lives during the final push for supremacy in the area.
Can the Diaspora provide a list of names? After all say the pro-Lanka groups, there is nothing to stop the Diaspora from making their own enquiries as they all live within the cocoon of so-called safety in the West.
Why can’t they do that? That was the most contentious question this group argued about – until the final bell was rung at the Rose & Crown.
The fact is this. That those who seek to use illegal methods of exit from Sri Lanka do so by and large for economic reasons. They find it conducive to blame it on repression and being hounded by the government.
I mean it makes sense does it not? If they were leaving Utopia then the Border Force in Australia may well send them right back but talk of repression and being hounded and about personal freedom and safety being at stake and it is almost like pulling the emergency cord on a train.
Much of this ambiance of suspicion has been entirely the creation of this government.
No it is not let’s blame the government (Again!).
Time but facts as they say are stubborn. The government – and they will have to admit it – have been singularly poorly advised when it comes to being media savvy.
The General who was hailed as the “world’s best Army Commander” was then incarcerated; the “zero civilian casualties” became something of a pain: it took months and reams of columns of newsprint and hours of footage globally for the government to realise the error of their ways and clarify it by saying that “collateral damage” was kept to a minimum – implying to the world that the Sri Lankan forces were no more prone to error than their American, British, French or any other counterparts.
A statement that would have had immediate acceptance from most. Instead by making statements such as these the government scored an own goal.
Not unlike the United National Party and their infamous remarks on “Alimankada and Pamankada”.
The simple and expedient method of assuaging the Western fears that heinous war crimes took place in the final weeks of the war was ignored until very recently when our President announced to the world that investigations would be conducted and that “no one would be protected”.
An important statement like that was hardly given any coverage by the spin doctors employed by His Excellency.
We will not talk of the millions of dollars spent on a firm called Chime to do exactly that.
And it is another own goal: the government in spite of and despite the millions of American dollars expended on firms of repute on ‘reputation management’ has failed to ever capitalize on drawing attention to the horrors that engulfed this country for 30 long years – not fall prey to the ploys of the Diaspora who have succeeded in drawing attention to the final few weeks and thereby letting the world almost forget the carnage and fear psychosis the general public endured for over 30 years.
And perversely it is these own goals from the government that the illegal emigrants from Sri Lanka use as their principal reason in claiming bogus refuge in a variety of countries.  Some of these nations of course have cottoned on to these claims but are forced to expend millions of dollars on processing claims in order to establish the authenticity of these claims.
The point of course is this: the majority of Sri Lanka cannot just pack up and leave when the going gets tough.
Instead that is when the tough need to get going. Some will walk the talk whilst quite a few will merely talk the walk!
Utopia is a very long way off for Sri Lanka – as much as it is for the Americans, the Australians and whoever else one cares to name.
Until the government – yes them again – come up with at least a semblance of at least a near-perfect socio-legal-political ambiance on this unfortunately called “serendib” people will continue to try to be opportunistic and migrate using whatever means they can.
Until then Patriots, Opportunists and the Helpless will continue to live as they have, with Traitors too – all harbouring hopes of leaving for any Utopia they can find.

Who Will Suffer If FUTA Loses?

August 6, 2012

By Dileni Gunewardena -August 6, 2012

Dr.Dileni Gunewardena

There is trouble in the universities and trouble in the schools. While frustrated students and academics have taken to the streets, there has been much posturing among those responsible for the state of education and higher education in this country. This article attempts to counter prevalent misconceptions about the nature, motivation and demands of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and the academics they represent.

FUTA comprises over 40 member unions of university teachers of the Universities of Colombo, Peradeniya, Moratuwa, Kelaniya, Sri Jayawardenapura, Ruhuna, Jaffna, Visual and Performing Arts, as well as of Wayamba, Rajarata, Eastern, South Eastern, and Open Universities with a total strength of approximately four thousand members. FUTA has been in existence since 1983. Among its current opponents are former leaders of FUTA. However, I believe that there is a significant difference between the current FUTA leadership and its forebears that explains why the current TU action has garnered widespread support among academics, students, intellectuals and leading lights in the country, as well as the general public.

Clever, young and committed                         Read More

Post War – The Cries Of The Desperate And Destitute

Monday, August 06, 2012

By Dinouk Colombage

Overcrowded and often unsea worthy vessels are the only options for the hundreds looking to flee the poverty in Sri Lanka

Mathusha Sivajalingham, a 36-year-old mother of two boys (aged 5 and 8), is a victim of the three decade long war. The conflict saw her husband killed, her shop and home destroyed and for two years she and her children lived in several different IDP camps.
In the face of abject poverty and a bleak future, Sivajalingham took her children and attempted to migrate to Australia aboard one of the growing number of illegal boats. Her attempt was a failure and she is now working in Colombo as a street cleaner.
“Since 2006, when my husband was killed by a landmine, I have been forced to raise my children on my own. I ran a small tea shop in the main town in Kilinochchi. However, when the fighting became fierce in 2009 I took my children and fled. From then onwards, until last year, we were forced to stay in several different IDP camps in the North”, she said.
Sivajalingham explained that her joyous return home from the IDP camp early this year was ruined when she found her shop had been destroyed. “In the space of two years I had lost everything I had rebuilt after my husband’s death. The fighting not only cost me my shop, but also the land. In all the chaos I lost the deeds to the land. There is no way of proving ownership and so I could not obtain a bank loan to rebuild.”
In February Sivajalingham was contacted by her cousin who was then living in the UK. “He told me that he was moving to Australia and that I must bring my children and come to live with him that he would provide for us as he did not have a family of his own. The Australian authorities refused my application for a visa even though I fulfilled the required criteria. I was becoming desperate as I could not earn enough money to even feed the family. For the last six months I have been forced to live with friends relying on their charity. I could not go on doing that.”
In May Sivajalingham’s desperation had reached tipping point. “I approached a friend in Trincomalee and asked him how I could get in touch with the boat people. I knew it was illegal but I had no choice, we had to leave. If we did not, my children would have no future. I could not even afford proper clothes for them to attend school. I had been told that those who get to Australia would remain in a camp for two weeks before being released. A year after being released I would then be granted citizenship, which would mean I would be able to get a job and send my children to school”, she explained.
Sivajalingham was introduced to a fisherman by her friend who said he could organise her trip, provided she could raise Rs. 200,000 per person. “I contacted my cousin and explained to him how I was planning to travel across. He tried to convince me not to, saying it was too dangerous. He could not fully understand the situation I was faced with. After much convincing on my part he agreed to transfer whatever money he could to help fund the trip”, she said.
By June Sivajalingham had sold off most of her belongings to raise the necessary money for her and her children to leave. “When I fled the fighting I took all my jewellery with me, those pieces now belong to a pawn shop owner including my wedding ring.  We were told to come to Trincomalee where we would wait till the boat was ready. We spent a week with my friend. On June 2, I was told that we would be leaving that night and that the smugglers would come to collect us. When they arrived they told us to leave most of our belongings and take only a few clothing items. They asked for the money up front. I was scared. They could have robbed us and maybe even killed us and there would be nothing I could do”, she explained.
Sivajalingham said that she and her children were put into a van and driven away. “It was very dark and they had covered the windows so we could not see where we were going. When we finally stopped we found we were at the beach. They told us to board a fishing boat which took us out to a larger boat far out at sea.”
Sivajalingham said that there were over a hundred other asylum seekers on board, along with several people who made up the crew of the vessel. “We had very little room. For the duration of the trip we took turns sleeping. Half of us would remain above deck, while the rest would sleep below. I was worried about the safety of my children, with that many people in a confined space anything could have happened. The crew avoided us for most of the journey, only giving us food and instructing us when to sleep and when to come up on to the deck”, she said.
“The food was horrible, dry bread and gravy. They had water but that was sparingly distributed amongst us. My youngest son became very sick and could not retain any of his food. I was worried that he would not survive the journey,” Sivajalingham explained.
During day time the people had nothing to do; many of them chose to keep to themselves while others tried to pass the day sleeping. “It was hardest on the children; they were scared but also restless. They wanted to run around, but there was very little room”, she said.
The journey took over 12 days, with the crew telling their passengers that they would need to travel slowly so as not to attract the attention of the naval patrols. “One day we were all pushed below deck and told not to come out until summoned. Half an hour later a man came below deck and ordered us to come up. We found navy sailors standing around with a naval boat beside ours. Most of the others looked scared, but I was secretly relieved. If we went on much longer I was worried my child would have died. He had not eaten in two days”, she said.
According to Sivajalingham the boat was ordered to return to the Trincomalee port under the watch of the navy vessel. On arrival members of the police had come to arrest everyone. “We were told that the crew was robbing us and that when we arrive in Australia we would not be allowed to leave the camp.”
Sivajalingham spent three days in police custody, before her friend was able to post bail for her and her children. “The police questioned us about how we contacted the smugglers, and how we raised the money. They told us that we had been lied to and that the Australian government would never give us citizenship or allow my children to go to school there”, she said.
Sivajalingham has now sent her children back to Trincomalee where they are living with her friend and schooling there. “I am staying in Colombo looking for work, it is hard to leave my children but I must if they are to have a future.”
Mahani Seevanan, an elderly resident of the Vanni, has not seen her son Rajitha Seevanan in several months since he left to Australia with the human smugglers. “He had no work back home. He used to be a fisherman but his boat was stolen when we fled the fighting in the war”, she said.
According to Seevanan in April her son came home one night explaining that he had met people who had promised him a job in Australia. “He came home one night and told me to pack some clothes and come with him to Colombo. We arrived at my sister’s house; he wanted me to stay there while he went to Australia. He told me he had met some people who promised they could take him to Australia.”
She explained that despite her concerns he left. “It was nearly three weeks before I heard from him. I was devastated in that time because we had heard a story that a boat attempting to reach Australia had sunk. He told me he was in a detention centre and said that when he is released he would send money across so that I could join him.”
She explained that despite contacting the Australian embassy, she has not been able to track her son on Christmas Island. “I do not know if he has been released or if he is still in the detention centre. He has not called or sent any money. I now just fear for his safety”, she said.
Despite the growing poverty and unemployment in the former war zones which has been encouraging the ‘migration’ of these people, they have been no moves by the government to alleviate the burden faced by them.
The majority of those fleeing to Australia do so in the face of unemployment. In Sri Lanka they have received little or no financial support from the state.
Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya, Sri Lanka Navy spokesperson, explained that they had requested that the Australian authorities deport all Sri Lankans in the detention centres back to Sri Lanka. “It is dangerous for them to turn back the boats as most of those vessels are not seaworthy, however, those on Christmas Island must be sent back”, he said.