Sunday, February 3, 2013

Of Great Betrayals And Other Paradoxes

By Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena -February 2, 2013

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

If an objective perspective is brought to the calamitous events of the past few months precipitating Sri Lanka even deeper into a yawning abyss of disorder and non-governance, there is much to marvel at.

A difficult history to forget or forgive

For example, even though a new found activism on the part of lawyers in this country was, to borrow Hobbes’s injunction in a different context, ‘nasty, brutish and short’, the very fact that such activism was evidenced at all, was a pleasantly welcome surprise. Such cynicism is natural. During the past decade, it was the Bar which genuflected most unbecomingly before the executive and equally unforgivably, reneged on its duty in the public interest to raise warning signals over the obnoxious 18th Amendment to the Constitution among other pieces of legislation.

Lawyers and retired judges were jostling for positions, perks and privileges when the President made direct appointments to important constitutional commissions disregarding the 17th Amendment This is a history that is difficult to forget or to forgive.

So given such abysmally low expectations, we applaud even that limited extent of conscience that was displayed by members of the Bar. And in such a spirit of weary tolerance, we can also only be gently remonstrative at the sight of counsel who at one stage, protested vociferously against the impeachment but a mere month later, meekly attended the ceremonial sitting to welcome the 44th Chief Justice. Even more ludicrous were those who protested in public but surreptitiously extended their wishes to the incumbent in private.

The phenomenon of pseudo resistance

Quite apart from the sorry spectacle reflected in such duplicity, this was the great betrayal of others from the legal community who had genuinely committed to the fight as well as those judges who, shaking off all timidity and recognising that the basic survival of the judicial institution was at stake, boldly gave their signature to challenging judgments. Let it be said very clearly that when this lunacy is past and these events are recorded for posterity, the country will be grateful to the judges in particular who refused to let an unjust impeachment and gross humiliation of the head of the judiciary by parliamentarians, go by without challenge.

The hasty withdrawal of the leadership of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka from even the momentary courage that it displayed in regard to the impeachment of the 43rd Chief Justice was the other great betrayal. As a friend remarked aptly enough last week, this is what is termed as ‘pseudo resistance’.

In stark contrast, the Pakistani Bar went all out in its defiance of the now ousted President Pervez Musharraf and brought him down from an even loftier pedestal than his Sri Lankan counterpart. And therein emerges the two contrasting stories of true resistance and pseudo resistance. Certainly, President Mahinda Rajapaksa may well be excused for guffawing boisterously and uncontrollably at the manner in which the legal profession was brought to heel.

Unexpected emergence of sudden squalls

But even given these great betrayals, as much as a sudden squall leaves the sea uneasily motionless, the seeming somnolence that now lies over the functioning of all courts in Sri Lanka does not detract from the fact that it is on the boil underneath the surface.

At what point these tensions may surface again is anybody’s guess. Certainly there is no longer any need for us to enact a law codifying and modernising the law of contempt. If Sri Lanka’s Parliament refuses to follow two superior court judgments in regard to the impeachment of the Chief Justice, what else remains to be said? In any event, throughout the past months, abusive parliamentarians and their uncouth propaganda hounds made a mockery of the very notion of contempt. Yet they were given complete state protection.

Equally importantly, the issue of contempt is attracted by criticism of judgments as well as scrutiny of the administration of justice. But this need to criticise arises in the contest of a functional juridical system. Sri Lanka has now removed itself from the ranks of civilised nations possessing such systems. So what is left to criticise further? Hereafter jurisprudential analysis will be an empty exercise, worthy only of those who have nothing better to do.

A blindly adoring citizenry

Aside from these reflections on the state of the country’s law and legal systems, certain home truths need to be articulated. True, the misfortunes now visiting Sri Lanka were brought about by a political leadership drunk with power. However, one cannot ignore the responsibilities borne in this regard by a blindly adoring citizenry who believed that the keys to the kingdom could be handed over without fear to the leader who had decimated terrorism.

The plight that the Sinhala citizenry is facing, and what generations yet unborn will inevitably face, is perhaps poetic justice for such a colossal mistake. Forced to cope with massive corruption in almost every aspect of government, (let it be education or the basic supply of water), we will learn the terrible consequences of what we acquiesced in. We will put up with increased madness in authority at our own cost. Extended lengths of detention, almost epidemic gang rapes which go undetected, the quite avoidable execution of a helpless young housemaid in Saudi Arabia and the summary refusal to grant visas to a high level delegation of the International Bar Association are all symptoms of this same disease. We will learn to suffer and to revolt when the madness has run its course.

The foremost task before us

The Anglican Church last week was both honest and brave in issuing a Pastoral Letter calling for a Day of Lament as the nation approaches its independence day. It acknowledged that these were ‘terrible’ times where the rule of law has ‘completely collapsed’ and we do not seem to be a constitutional democracy any longer.

Recognising our collective mistakes in this manner takes courage. Yet this can be the only starting point for the abolition of this monolithically dictatorial Executive Presidency and reversal of the ravages brought about by the 1978 Constitution. This is the foremost task now before the Sri Lankan citizenry. The hour may well be the darkest before the dawn.

Sri Lanka's STF commandos on sexual spree harass people of Peasaalai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 February 2013, 22:26 GMT]
Armed squads of the occupying Sri Lanka’s Sinhala commandos of the notorious Special Task Force (STF) in Mannaar have been sexually harassing the coastal people of Peasaalai in the country of Eezham Tamils, on a daily basis for more than a week now, residents complain. The STF has virtually banned the movement of men of all ages after 6:00 p.m. in Peasaalai so that its abuses would go unnoticed.

Three STF squads, each comprising around 10 personnel, come to Peasaalai from their camp located at 2nd Mile Post within Mannaar Urban Council boundary, 15 km away from Peasaalai and seek certain houses with the intent of sexual abuse. The STF personnel ‘explain’ that their night occupation of key junctions of Peasaalai was to maintain their ‘law and order’ and that peace in the coastal village has been disturbed by ‘drunk men’ who return home from taverns.

Tamil women have complained to Rev Awithappar, the parish priest of Peasaalai, that they are frightened due to the presence of the STF commandos wandering around their houses. Many fishermen use to go fishing in the seas during the nights and the peace in the village is disturbed by the STF squads.

The STF squads were increasingly seen deployed at Murukan Temple Junction along Peasaalai Thalai-mannaar Road and near Victory Housing Scheme.

While there is a SL Police station in Peasaalai to take care of the ‘law and order’ issues, why the armed STF commandos need to put the entire village under war footing, the villagers ask.

Peasaalai is a large village, situated 15 km north west of Mannaar city in the island of Mannaar, with a population of 8,000 Eezham Tamils and 90% of the population are Catholic fisher folk while the remaining are Hindu and Muslim fisher folk.

The Sri Lankan military is alleged of scheming Sinhalicisation of Thalaimannaar Pier, which is the closest point in Mannaar to the coast of Tamil Nadu in India.

It’s Not Only About Army Camps In Tamil Areas »

By N. SathiyaMoorthy-Sunday, February 03, 2013

In its working plan on the LLRC Report, the Army’s Board of Officers has said that there could be no question of shifting military camps out of the North and the East. Defending the Government’s ‘absolute right’ to maintain its armed forces ‘anywhere in the Island, according to the country’s strategic and security needs,’ the Board has also noted that ‘military bases are located causing minimum inconvenience to the public’ in the regions impacted by the ‘Humanitarian Operation,’ which others however call the ‘ethnic war.’
The Sri Lankan State and Government do not require any defence of its ‘absolute right’ on locating military bases, least of all from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) itself. It could at times be deemed to be precluding all future discussions on the subject, within the government, as much as without. It is another matter internal discussion between the armed forces and civilian authorities could still lead to decisions that are acceptable to all sides. Ultimately, it would still have to be a governmental decision, over which the government alone has the ‘right’ to defend itself in public – now, or later.
On the issue of High Security Zones (HSZ), the observations in the SLA report, handed over by Army Chief, General Jagath Jayasuriya, to Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, may have to be accepted at face-value. More however may need to be done. On this, the government, the armed forces and civilian groups in the North and the East could discuss and decide upon the issues flagged by the local population without compromising on the ‘security concerns’ aired by the armed forces.
The civilian demands are based on expediency, the military positions, on experience. A balance needs to be struck if one were not to run into the other, thus creating ground situations that had contributed to war and violence in the past. The report does not seem to have considered any via media, other than the sweeping claims of the armed forces that all is well on the HSZ front. The government, in its wisdom, may have to revisit the situation on the ground, without of course compromising on the real and realistic concerns of the armed forces.

Having it the Tamils’ way?

What is not mentioned in the report of the Army’s Board of Officers, but concerns the local population, is what the Sri Lankan Tamil polity describes as the excessive, intruding and at times intimidating presence of the armed forces in the midst of civilians, who want to slice away the nightmares from the past, open a new leaf and begin a new life without guns and uniforms in their midst. A noble thought this, but it is not without consequences and cannot be without compromises.
The Tamil polity and the population have had their arguments their way far too long for them to make sense of the counters offered either by the Sri Lankan State and/or the majority Sinhala polity and society. They seem to have developed an integral knack for rejecting government offers when made, but reviving the same as their acceptable position after much water – and human blood – had flowed through. This has given them an image of being duplicitous – the same charge that they have also been throwing at the government and the Sinhala polity, equally from the start. The 13-A is a pointer.
In the post-war era, too, and on the role of the armed forces, too, the Tamil political position, as represented by the majority Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has not been any different. They have been throwing up one issue after another, be it the continued existence of army camps, the ‘intimidating’ presence of soldiers on the streets, or the HSZ, once there is some satisfactory, if not wholly satisfying response, from the other side. Whether purposeful or otherwise, the end result is to choke the officialdom, civil or military, under a heap of piled-up demands, and frustrating the most well-intentioned of governments and Sinhala political and governmental leadership(s).
It was thus after some silence the TNA, for instance, clarified that the party was not opposed to the continued existence of army camps in the North and the East, but only to the ‘excessive and intrusive’ presence of the soldiers on the streets. Yet, it is unclear if the Tamil political demands, one after the other, are aimed at resolving one issue after another – or, to throw one issue over the other, to keep the government in general, and the armed forces in this particular case, eternally on the defensive, and more so in the eyes of the international community.

Home-made laws on HR

Secretary Gota R has almost simultaneously said how the ‘civilian deaths’ in the last days of ‘Eelam War IV’ could possibly be accounted for by the LTTE fighters. This need not be far from the truth, considering the ways and means of the LTTE war-machine. Coming as it does long after earlier government claims to a ‘zero-casualty war’ on the civilian front, it is unclear as to how many member-states at Geneva’s UNHCR will be prepared to buy the argument, when the latter reopens the Sri Lanka HR discourse in March.
Yet, there is purchase in the SLA submission that Sri Lanka may have to frame domestic laws to address human rights concerns, going beyond what is implied as the responsibility and accountability solely of the State actor. It may also be time the international community took note of the same, and initiated amendments to existing global conventions, which were mainly derived from the European experience in and from the Second World War era. There are other nations bracketed likewise, near and afar, as Sri Lanka has been.
The international community (read: West) however cannot itself escape the charge either, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Vietnam – and atomising Japanese civilians, not very long ago. In Sri Lanka, in between, the armed forces could not have escaped the cold-blooded massacre of the JVP cadres, boys and girls in the reproductive age-group, in their tens of thousands. One wrong cannot right another, and any avoidable loss of human lives cannot be allowed to repeat itself.
As Secretary Gota has pointed out, the bodies of 3,000 officers and soldiers declared dead in war are yet to be traced. Again, a valid argument, not forcefully presented to the global community, either when the war ended or when HR-related charges began to be thrown at the government, almost thereafter. It seems as if the government won the strategic war against the LTTE on the military front, but could not win the tactical battle in the global political arena. It had the stomach for the former, not the will for the latter, or so it seems.
It could well possibly be a case of mixed and missed priorities. The international community should also ask itself if they could be happy with winning a tactical political war at Geneva or elsewhere, and conclude that they have won the war for the hearts and minds of the larger Sri Lankan population, if ever that is their goal – whatever the reason. It does not add up, if one were also to consider that most nations, and their leaders, charging Sri Lanka on the ‘accountability’ front are doing so, not only because they have the goodness of the heart, or kindness for the hapless Tamil civilian people in Sri Lanka, but they also have Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora constituencies that are both vociferous and numerous, back home.

Policing the people

The recommendation in the army report that the police should continue to remain under the Defence Ministry also needs to be reconsidered on larger merits. The argument that small and troubled nations have been successful where the police are under the Defence Ministry may be supported by circumstantial performance, and unsupported by realistic assessment of individual nations and their performances under given circumstances.
‘police’ in the hands of the provincial administration is a part of the solution to the ‘ethnic issue,’ was not ever a part of the problem. And most small nations of the description given by the Army Board do not have armies as large as Sri Lanka, that too for a nation of its size. While continuing with the effective coordination of the kind that existed at the time of war might help, it does not behove well for a proclaimed democracy to say that it has policemen reporting to the Defence Ministry, when the State does not see any war or violence looming large even in the distant horizon.
It is not just about individuals who are effective at the top. It is about institutions that have to function, as such. In situations that are unfathomable, such an arrangement could also become a burden in more ways than one. For starters and for the present, delineation would help in recapturing the imagination of the police as a civilian force, easily approachable by, and comforting to the civilian population. Not just the Tamil minorities, but even the Sinhala population in the run-up to the JVP insurgencies had felt alienated from and by the police, for possibly no fault of theirs.

Tamils in uniform

What’s of consequence should be Army Chief, General Jayasuriya’s reiteration that more Tamils would be recruited into the armed forces. The question would remain if the strength of the numerically-large military should be increased even more, for accommodating new entrants. A media report has said that over 32,000 soldiers have been discharged as ‘deserters’ after the mandatory one-year period, and that they were less than half of the total number of deserters, who too would be discharged if they did not desire to continue – but after being put through appropriate rehabilitation courses.
The government has refused to come out with figures, while sought in Parliament. If true, the international community should be happy for it – and also acknowledge the same. When ‘Eelam War IV’ was nearing conclusion, there were those who had begun comparing post-war Sri Lanka with Pakistan, and would quip, “Now the nation has an armed force, but soon the armed forces could well have a nation to itself.” For that acknowledgement to come, Sri Lanka too should come up with facts and figures.
The kind of rehabilitation course being offered to the ‘army deserters’ may be closer to what is being offered to ex-LTTE cadres and convicts, before they are set free, to begin a new life. It may also be the kind of rehabilitation programme that the army unilaterally seems to have decided that Tamil students arrested from the Jaffna University campus on the LTTE’s ‘Heroes’ Day,’ on November 27, should be put through. The issue thus may be the unilateral decision, and not necessarily the rehabilitation programme, per se.
For their part, the Tamils need to come up with an explanation or clarification as to what they now have to say about the 103 girls recruited to the armed forces not very long ago. No sooner did the girls join the forces, rumours began doing the round – followed by media reports – that some, if not all, those girls had either been raped, or otherwise humiliated. If true, they should still proceed with the matter. It is a shame on those that had made those charges, otherwise. ‘Accountability,’ even in making charges of the kind, cannot be one-sided. Deniability cannot be a convenient excuse – for either side, that is.
(The writer is Director and Senior Fellow at the Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, the multi-disciplinary Indian public-policy think-tank, headquartered in New Delhi. email:
sathiyam54@gmail.com

It is two years since LeN was put to the torch: ‘gentlemen’ who gave orders free – ‘black January’ arrives

(Lanka-e-News-02.Feb.2013, 4.30PM) That is two years ago 31-Jan-2011 the Lanka e news was set on fire and reduced to ashes. At midnight on that day , the office which was situated at Malabe was put to the torch. All the computers and office equipments therein were totally destroyed. The premises that housed the office belonging to a friend of Lanka e news too was completely devastated ruthlessly .

When we inquired from the superior police officer regarding the investigation that is being conducted into this crime of arson and wanton destruction , he said , two suspects addicted to drugs were taken into custody in this connection and a case is ongoing. However they are right now free having been enlarged on bail, he noted. When we asked this officer whether there is evidence to incriminate them in this crime , he replied, one of the suspects had made a confession to the police that he committed the crime on a payment of Rs. 10000/- paid to him for it, and he does not know the person who paid him the money. In the confession of the suspect it is revealed he acted in pursuance of a contract of Negombo Feroz , an underworld criminal whom he came to know in the remand prison, the police officer explained.

The police officer further stated that in the confession to the police it is stated by the suspect that he carried out this contract for a Mahathaya ( gentleman) and the latter had been instructed by somebody abroad.

Intriguingly , so far Negombo Feroz had not been questioned despite this incriminating confession. Moreover , the person (mahathaya) who gave the Rs. 10000/- to the kudu addict suspect or the person abroad who instructed had not been searched for or apprehended.

It is crystal clear to any one unless one is an idiot , from what is revealed in the foregoing paragraphs that a wayside drug addict had been arrested and a bogus tale concocted in order to suppress the true picture. In any event , following the arson committed on Lanka e news and the subsequent ban of the website some months later in SL , the Headquarters that was functioning in SL was completely closed down.

However , the Lanka e news quarters in the Temple Trees, defense ministry police headquarters, CID, Govt. offices , Ministries and MP offices could not be closed . A number of Lanka e news information centers were opened. They cannot be put to the torch nor can they be banned, because they cannot be searched and found by the marauders and murderers .

Since the Lanka e news office was destroyed in January 2011 ,and our journalist Prageeth Ekneliyagoda was also abducted in January , we have declared the month of January as ‘black January’, and a protest was staged in Colombo on the 20th of January against the series of suppressive actions taken to destroy media freedom.

This demonstration that was held at the Lipton circus culminated in a meeting at the Public library. A large number of media Organizations jointly , along with civil Organizations, Lawyers and opposition MPs participated .

Photographs depicting the demonstration and the subsequent meeting are hereunder.

May 31-June 4 1981: Five Days Of State Terror In Jaffna

By Santasilan Kadirgamar -February 3, 2013

Santasilan Kadirgamar

Two years after the end of the war in Lanka*, without a political solution in sight, it may be appropriate to look back at events that occurred 30 years ago. 31 May to 4 June 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of days of violence and arson in Jaffna that aggravated relations between the Tamils and Sinhalese majoritarian state and eventually led to prolonged warfare.

Although mercifully loss of lives was minimal, the extensive damage to houses, shops and institutions was unprecedented sending shock waves within the Tamil community.

This led to a total loss of confidence in the state and its law enforcement agencies.

Jaffna Public Library

The events of May/June 1981 hardened attitudes on both sides and propelled the drift towards extreme Tamil nationalism and the emergence of Tamil youth militancy and a ruthless response by the state and its security forces. In remembering what happened in 1981 one recalls Benedette Croce, the Italian historian’s dictum that, “all history is contemporary
history”.

Little appears to have changed in 30 years. The ultra-nationalist mental make-up that went into these horrendous happenings has changed little since then.

Documenting and reporting these events at that time was the Movement for Inter- Racial Justice and Equality (MIRJE) which was formed in 1979. It was a coalition of trade unions, secular and religious organisations and people’s movements in the country. The Jaffna branch, of which the author was the founding president, organised meetings, documented the violation of human rights and sent information to key members of the movement in Colombo and Kandy.

The membership of MIRJE was multi-ethnic and multi-religious reflecting the diversity of Lankan society. The leadership came from outstanding professionals, many of them from the majority Sinhalese community.

MIRJE published three major reports: “Emergency” (1979), “What Happened in Jaffna: Days of Terror” (1981) and “Torture and Tension in Vavuniya” (1982). The second report came after Regi Siriwardene, distinguished writer and intellectual with impeccable credentials, had spent several days in Jaffna and did an in- depth study of what happened.

Jaffna is the primary city of the Lankan Tamils and their cultural centre. Both the city and the larger Jaffna peninsula did experience, in the context of deteriorating relations between Tamils and the state, occasional acts of violence in 1961, 1974, 1977 and 1979. Jaffna, known for its quiet ways of life and non-violent forms of dissent and struggle, was never the same again after the days of terror in 1981.

By April 1981, there had been sporadic acts of violence on individual Tamil policeman and politicians who were pro-government. The Neerveli Bank robbery had taken place in April by a group of armed Tamil youth constituting the largest haul at that point in time. The District Development Council (DDC) election had been announced and nominations had been accepted.

The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) had swept the parliamentary polls in 1977 in the Tamil areas on the secessionist Tamil Eelam demand. But its popularity was on the wane. Having made that extremist and adventurist demand, departing from what was a realisable federal or regional councils programme, the TULF had no credible programme. While indulging in the rhetoric of liberation in actual practice the party had made compromises in accepting a diluted devolution package hoping to make step by step progress towards greater autonomy.

In the process, defections took place from the TULF and it lost several of its firebrand platform speakers. The editor of the party’s paper the Suthanthiran and some leading lights of the party had formed the short-lived Tamil Eelam Liberation Front. Meanwhile, the TULF’s hegemony was challenged by a gradually growing and highly secretive underground movement committed to armed struggle. Read More

Who Burnt The Jaffna Library?

By Carlo Fonseka -February 3, 2013

Prof. Carlo Fonseka

Preliminaries

The striking front cover of the Memoirs of Edward Gunawardena proclaims that among the “tidbits” of his memorable, eventful life of some 78 years, is the story of the Jaffna Library Fire. To call the story of the Jaffna Library Fire a “tidbit” is a bit like calling Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II “Liz”, but let that go. TheJaffna Library Fire is surely the major public event documented in this book. EG was our man on the spot and he was an eye-witness to the event. Chapter XI titled: Who burnt the Jaffna library? gives a clear, authoritative and comprehensive account of the Jaffna Library Fire. It riveted my attention. It disabused my mind of an illusion, or rather I should say, a delusion. In psychiatry, a delusion is defined as a false belief persisted in despite evidence to the contrary. I now think that the period in question was one in which “the time was out of joint” in our country and EG was born to set the historical record right. Owing to my delusion that it was Minister Gamini Dissanayake who burnt the Jaffna Library, I became guilty of an act which will remain a permanent source of regret in my life. Allow me to use the privilege of appearing on this platform to try and make amends for the injustice I inflicted on Minister Gamini Dissanayake. But before doing so, let me say a few words about other matters in the Memoirs of EG.

Biographgy

The facts of the life and work of my distinguished, scholarly, policeman friend are engagingly narrated as part of the social history of our country in his extremely readable Memoirs. Edward is, I should say, an out and out Josephian, having entered the “baby class” of St. Joseph’s College in January 1939 and left it in December 1952 to enter the Arts Faculty of the University of Ceylon Peradeniya during the period when Sir Ivor Jenningswas its Vice Chancellor. I joined St. Joseph’s College in 1947 and got to know Edward in secondary school. At University Edward read Geography and excelled in it and graduated with honors in 1957. After a brilliant interview which he recounts modestly, he was chosen to the Police Department and he entered the Police Training School in 1958. After a very fruitful, eventful, and distinguished career he took early retirement from the Police as Senior DIG in 1987. Along the way he went on a Fulbright Scholarship to Michigan State University and earned a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. As most of us here know, Edward is a very literate man with a straightforward, graphic English style. In 2001 he published a sprawling novel called “Blood & Cyanide” on the theme of life and love and strife in our upper-class, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural society. The novel deserves to be much better known than it is. In my judgment EG is the most literate IGP Sri Lanka never had!

Changing World Read More

Permanent Sinhala settlements constructed in the Jaffna town periphery. Government prepared to distribute lands.

Sunday , 03 February 2013

Activities are processed speedily to originate Sinhala colonization permanently in Nawatkuly border area adjoining the Jaffna town.

With the support of Sri Lanka government's associate party, Jathika Hela Urumaya, and with military security, these inhabiting assignments are expedited.

Minister Douglas Devananda has given assurances to those got settled in this permanent Sinhala settlement, that he would take immediate action to provide them to own lands.

In year 2010, 5th of October, 54 Sinhala families in the aim of settling in Jaffna suddenly arrived to the Jaffna railway station and were sheltered. They stated that they were residing here before year 1980, and attempted to get settle; however they did not submit any proof for their residing to the officials. Hence assistance given to them was rejected by the officials.

For one month, this situation continued, but suddenly they got inhabited in the Nawatkuli locality. They crept inside the land belonging to National Housing Directive Board and constructed huts and lived.

Regarding this illegal settlements, the officials of the Housing Directive Board Jaffna district notified to the Colombo head office, by many memorandums. But action was not taken to remove this sudden occupation.

But now activities are processed to make this colonization of Sinhala people permanently living in Nawatkuli, where they illegally intruded.

Jathika Hela Uruma, the government's associate party and Singaravaya the Bhikku movement are funding and providing necessary assistance towards this was mentioned by them.

Walls are raised up for 20 houses, and activities are expedited in this settlement. Further foundations are laid for 40 houses. Cement mixing machines are working day and night is according to the information from the neighborhood.

"Officials here did not give us any assistance. But Singaravaya movement from Dehiwela,and the Bhikkus gave us cash assistance of five lacks of rupees to each house owner. We are helped only by Hela Urumaya party and Bhikkus" Such statement was made to the Media by one of the inhabitant Sooriyakanthi.

Bhikkus are unable to collect all the funds immediately to construct all the houses which we require. Hence stage by stage they are funding us was further mentioned by her.

In the aim of strengthening the permanent Sinhala colonization, decision had been taken to construct a general-purpose hall adjoining the Vihara.

The lands which are forcibly kept by them, activities will process to given them the ownership was the assurance given by Minister Douglas Devananda some days back was said by the people to "Udayan" print media.

Currently 135 families are living here. This land is not enough for us. Minister Douglas Devananda visited to this locality last 28th and gave us assurance that he would make the necessary arrangements to distribute the lands and to provide us with valid documents was said by Malkanthi.

According to Malkanthi, 135 families have got settled, but none are permanently residing.

To introduce a Sinhala colony at the entrance of Jaffna and to instigate the Tamil people in the entire peninsula, such systemized attempts are done, is alleged by the Tamil politicians.

“All of us do not live here at the same time. We go to our native places of Anuradhapuram and Mihinthala. We do not have jobs here. Children do not have schools here. Hence we are not permanently occupying here. This is the reason we are constructing permanent homes” was said by Malkanthi.

The local councils did not give any sanctions to construct permanent houses,. Chavakachcheri divisional council Treasurer K.Thurairasa said, request for permission for the construction of permanent buildings to the Sinhala people was not forwarded. “They are illegally carrying out these activities” was alleged by him.

“ I am responsible for the Sinhala colony “was said by identifying himself as the officer in charge of a nearby Military camp, who was in uniform mentioned” to the "Udayan" news reporter.

A military soldier warned the reporter if any attempt to meet the Sinhala people who are living here, or to take photographs of the area they are living, the permission should be obtained from the military camp.

A name board is displaced at the land periphery where the Sinhala people are forcibly occupying states “Nawatkuli housing project land belongs to National Housing Directive Board".

Meanwhile in the same area where the Sinhala people have forcibly confiscated lands, 125 Tamil families are also occupying. But those families are living in huts, without any facilities.

Sunday , 03 February 2013

A land like no other: 5 rapes a day, but does anyone care

= Women activists decry public apathy to curb increase in incidents
= More police posts to be set up in tourist areas

By Nadia Fazlulhaq-Sunday, February 03, 2013

Last week’s alleged rape of a 47-year old woman in Wijerama and an attempted rape of a 25-year old German tourist in Chilaw, have once again raised the question, how safe are women in our country—both local and foreign.�According to statistics, five rapes are reported daily while the unreported cases could make the figure higher.

Among the women’s’ group workers and activists who spoke to the SundayTimes, Lak Vanitha Front president Shanthini Kongahage voicing concern said many women relied on three-wheeler drivers to ask for road directions. She said many of them also opted to take three wheelers for short distances especially if they were too exhausted to travel home after work in over crowded buses. “ It is unfortunate for a woman to be a victim of rape at around 7.30 p.m. near a place close to the Colombo city,” she said commenting on the incident in Wijerama.

“There were a number of rape and murder cases in Kahawatte last year and a female foreigner was raped by a gang that included the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman. Though investigations were conducted with regard to the rape there was no final report,” she said.

Tourists enjoying the sun and the sand on a beach in the South. Incidents of sexual harassmnt of foreigners have been on the rise. Pic by S. Siriwardhana

Sherine Samarasooriya of Voice of Women said it was important to join and actively get involved in a public outcry against rapists.

“When we travel to villages, women plead with us to open up shelters where they can spend the night when they are chased away by their drunken husbands at night. Similarly these shelters should be put up for women who travel long distances. The state should support organisations to initiate such programmes,” she said.

Women and Media Collective’s Dr. Sepali Kottegoda said since the gang rape of Rita John in the late 90’s there have been thousands of reported rapes and murders but unfortunately there hasn’t been enough public reaction and activism.
“Politicians are often ignorant of the fact that rape cases are increasing in the country and most often local politicians or their goons are involved. There is a tendency of justifying the crime stating that the victim is a sex worker. Nobody, not even a sex worker should be subject to rape,” she charged.

This increasing trend could drive away female tourists, especially Europeans who choose the country as a getaway holiday destination.�On Wednesday, a 25 year-old German national who was holidaying in Iranawila, Chilaw narrowly escaped being raped by a local while she was sunbathing on the beach.

According to Chilaw police the foreigner was part of a group who had come to the country a couple of days before and who had chosen a beach front motel in Chilaw. On Wednesday (30) evening she had been lying on the beach enjoying the sunset, when the 28-year-old suspect had jumped on her body and attempted to allegedly rape her. However the woman had managed to kick the suspect and run to the motel. The suspect was arrested and produced in courts.

A European national who works as a gender consultant in Sri Lanka told the Sunday Times that a number of European women who come as tourists complain of being harassed but most do not go to the extent of complaining to police fearing it would ruin their holiday.

“A white girlfriend was really shocked and angered after a man on a motorbike grabbed her breasts outside her apartment and a lot of my friends get routinely stopped on the street and accused of prostitution for merely being a white female,” she charged.

She said while the increasing incidents of rape were horrendous and sickening, the incidents were examples of how the country ignores and accepts violence against women and girls across the country. “This would be the same with foreign women as most men here assume that white women are there solely for their pleasure,” she said.

In recent years there have been many cases of foreign women being raped. On Christmas Eve, 2011, a British national was killed and his foreign companion allegedly gang raped by a group led by Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman.
Similarly, the same year, another five men were arrested while attempting to molest a 23-year-old Swedish national who was walking on the beach in Negombo. Another woman from New Zealand reported being harassed in Mihintale where two men had tried to drag her to a public toilet while her husband was not in sight.

A South African tourist was allegedly raped by hotel employee in Kalptiya, while another incident was reported from Odiha, Matara where the motel owner had attempted to rape a 25 year-old Dutch tourist.

According to statistics from the Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority, tourists from Western Europe top the list of tourists in 2011 and 2012. Last year, 373,063 had arrived in the country with the vast majority from Britain, Germany and France followed by South Asian tourists.

Meanwhile Tourist Police Director SSP Maxi Proctor said it was important to take harassment related complaints seriously and implement new measures to curb the rising menace. �“We are in the process of establishing Tourist Police posts in all tourist-oriented destinations from coastal areas to inland areas like Nuwara-Eliya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa,” he said.

At present there are only two police posts, in Hikkaduwa and Negombo. According to him, new posts will be established in Mount Lavinia and Arugam Bay too. �SSP Proctor said new emergency hotline numbers would be introduced and given to tourists at the airport enabling them to report any harassment or attempted rape during their stay.

“There have been complaints with regard to harassment especially by beach boys and masseurs,” he said. �Yuveraj Athukorale, director (media) of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (formerly Tourist Board) said there have been complaints of harassment especially from groups of men in three-wheelers and men who pose as masseurs.

“Tourists who lodge in cheap motels are often victims of such violence. It is important to stay in Tourist Board-approved resorts and motels. We have requested the police to raid massage parlours especially in tourist destinations. Tourists can also call our hotline 1912,” he said.

Meanwhile Tourist Hotels Association Past President Srilal Miththapala said there have been reports of attempted rapes in the recently declared tourist destinations.

“Places like Tangalle, Chilaw and Matara are among the newly declared tourist zones and there are many inland tourist zones as well. There are huge cultural differences and people in the areas still believe that white skin means promiscuity, especially because of their independence, attire and body language,” he added.

He said tourist hotels were willing to support the police in educating the public in these areas. �National Mental Health Institute Director Dr. Jayan Mendis said the country failed to provide therapy to rapists apart from the prison sentence or bail. “Rape is not about uncontrolled lust. It’s about control over another person and an opportunistic act of violence,” he said adding that rapists are those with personality disorders and even after being released to the society after serving prison sentence, they tend to commit the same crime unless the person goes through intense therapy.
According to United States’ Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 50–90 percent of rapes go unreported and about six percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail.

The Asian Human Rights Commission said in a statement that in Sri Lanka while there is a public acknowledgement of the existence of widespread lawlessness involving particularly shocking offences against women, the public itself reacts to these events apathetically.

“There is no energetic pursuit of justice or demands for accountability from the government. While the rest of the south Asian countries are rising to demand better performance from their governments and the creation of efficiently functioning law enforcement agencies to protect all citizens with particular emphasis on the more vulnerable groups such as women, in Sri Lanka crimes continue to take place with impunity,” the report said.

Southern Sri Lanka fishermen entry is an attempt to instigate conflict. Mullaitheevu fishermen movements allege.

Sunday , 03 February 2013

Sri Lanka government and the forces sector are engaged in the attempts of instigating ethnic riots once again in the midst of Tamil people. Due to this, the Southern Sri Lankan fishermen are permitted to do fishing trade in Mullaitheevu.

Fishermen movements which were engaged in fishing trade in Mathalan locality have made these allegations.

Sinhala fishing families from the Morawela locality are permitted for inhabiting with military security in the Mathalan area, Mullaitheevu despite oppose from the fishermen of that area.

Last Wednesday some Sinhala fishermen families came to Mathalan locality with adequate arrangements of beginning their fishing trade and to get colonized. However due to the strong oppose by the area fishing federations, they were sent back without getting inhabited.

Mullaitheevu district fishermen association representatives and Sinhala fishing families had discussions with Karaithuraipattu Divisional Secretariat and Mullaitheevu fishing trade department high officials.

At the meeting it was decided that concerning this a decision would be met, at the scheduled visit of fisheries, hydraulic resources Minister on the forthcoming 8th

Further it was decided that the equipment which were carried by them, will be kept in a secured place. However Sinhala fishermen with the assistance of military were settled in the area.

If they reside here, approximately 625 families living in Mathalan, Pokkanai, Puthukudiyiruppu, Ananthapuram, Iranaipalai, Mullivaaikaal and Valaignar Madam depend on fishing trade and their living conditions will get affected was pointed out.

The fishermen, who had come from the southern area, will erect their enclosures next to the Tamil fishermen and this would create unnecessary conflicts was pointed out.

Sinhala fishermen will damage their enclosures and will put the blame on to the Mullaitheeuv fishermen. Tamil Sinhala crisis emerged similarly in the past period, hence attempts are advanced to create such situation was the allegation made by the Mullaitheevu fishermen groups.

Sunday , 03 February 2013