Only A Homeland For A Toothless Paper Tiger

By Meena Kandasamy -March 24, 2013 

Meena Kandasamy

Marx begins his Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, modifying Hegel’s assertion that history always happens twice, by adding that it occurs “once as tragedy, and again as farce”. First, the tragedy.

On April 27, 2009, in the absurd theatre of parliamentary electoral politics, M. Karunanidhi mercilessly wagered the lives of more than a hundred thousandEelam Tamils facing imminent genocide by embarking on what must have been a historic act of protest—an ‘indefinite’ hunger strike, strategically timed between breakfast and lunch. And then he declared, just as dramatically, that he was giving up his fast having received an assurance from P. Chidambaram that Colombo had decla­red a cessation of hostilities. Even as this ready­made propaganda was being disseminated, bombs continued to rain in the Vanni. Mulli­vaiykkaal, the tiny sliver of beach that became the last refuge of the Eelam Tamil people, turned into a mass grave. In the ensuing days, Karunanidhi kept himself occupied by exercising his literary talents in letters to the prime minister. While the Sri Lankan state went about its action plan of wiping out Tamils, India went about its business as usual. The general elections were held. Parties, waving their manifestos, partied. Anywhere between 40,000 and 1,00,000 Eelam Tamils were killed, but the Congress-led UPA combine was back in power. Even the DMK did not suffer a major setback. Karunanidhi proved his mettle as playwright, co-authoring a tragedy with the Rajapakse Brothers & Imperialist Powers, becoming an accomplice to the genocide of Eelam Tamils.

Now, the farce. After nine years of mollycoddling the Congress, Karunanidhi seizes an opportune moment to demand that New Delhi act on the Eelam Tamils issue, cites his problems with the diluted draft of the UN resolution on Sri Lanka, talks of being let down, and after the necessary formalities, pulls out. Perhaps, he believes this withdrawal will whitewash his culpability and redeem him for the next round of elections.

Notwithstanding the fact that the DMK drama lacks credibility, there can be no doubt that every subsequent draft of the US-backed resolution at the UNHRC has been a shadow of its former self. Documents are seldom known to have undertaken self-destruct and suicide missions, yet such a mystery shrouds the various versions of the Sri Lanka resolution and suggests an Indian hand. There is no mention of “an independent and credible international investigation” as mandated by the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressions of concern over the “failure” of devolution of powers have disappeared, “encourages” has become the new polite form for “urges”, and the dumbing down has ensured that “unfettered access” to special rapporteurs becomes “extending invitations”. G-for-Genocide is never mentioned.

Sri Lanka’s spectacular record at the UN owes much to the island’s practice of giving alleged war criminals the additional charge of diplomacy and deliberate distortion so that truth does not see the light of day. Look at the line-up and the concomitant celebration of ruthless slau­ghter: Major General Jagath Dias has been appointed vice-ambassador to Germany for humanitarian service rendered in bombing hospitals in the Vanni. Major General Shavendra Silva became Sri Lanka’s deputy permanent representative to the UN for his gallant act of having shot dead Tamil Tigers surrendering with white flags. Admiral Thisara Samara­singhe has been appointed ambassador to Australia for shelling into No Fire Zones.

In May 2009, when Switzerland and the European Union member states sought to table a resolution at an emergency meeting of the UNHRC to take stock of human rights violations in the final days of the war, Colombo’s envoy ranted against “western colonisers” and reminded everybody that “the only enemy of Sri Lanka was the one within its borders”. The Sri Lankan state pre-empted that move by introducing a self-congratulatory resolution praising the government for its promotion of human rights.

When India voted against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC last year, Manmohan Singh patched up what looked like a lover’s quarrel by reminding Rajapakse, “Your Excellency would be aware that we spared no effort and were successful in introducing an element of balance in the language of the resolution.” Adept in this art, Manmohan bowed, knelt and grovelled until His Excellency was pleased with such instant apology. As if to atone for the past trespass, India’s external affairs minister suggested this March that the US and Sri Lanka should “directly engage on the draft resolution and aim for a mutually acceptable outcome”. The watered-down version of the draft resolution suggests that the dialogue has been fruitful and a deal has been struck. We can wait to see the outcome; perhaps the US is sitting with a map and tossing a coin to decide if it wants a breezy port or an airbase in the projected paradise of Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, India is glad with the tourists, the trade in tea and the house-building tenders coming its way, and its only complaint is that its enemies too are the ones within its borders—enemies who speak Tamil, enemies who remind New Delhi of its complicity in the genocide, enemies who take to the streets, enemies who threaten the sovereignty of the Indian nation at the drop of a dhoti. Mother India is ashamed of Tamil antics, she consoles herself that curfews and closure of colleges are the only cures, and hopes that no one in the meanwhile discusses the Kashmiri skeletons in her closet. She is unwilling to accept that the North and East of the island of Sri Lanka is a Tamil homeland, she refuses to look upon Eelam Tamils as a nation with its own territory, she does not dare to change her foreign policy decision on self-determination of the Eelam Tamils and she doesn’t have the patience to expect a political settlement from both the Tamil and Sinhala sides. She lacks political conviction, she sheds no tears for the dead, she seeks no justice for the aggrieved. Instead, she leans on Uncle Sam’s shoulder and watches the proceedings with wide-eyed wonder. Her people, like people around the world, know that it is not easy to humiliate power.Justice in this unipolar world revolves around the UN and the imperialist powers that it serves. Even though the Eelam Tamils have historical sovereignty and earned sovereignty, if they believe that separation alone can guarantee them safety, their last recourse to save themselves from complete extermination is to stake a claim to remedial sovereignty before the UN.

Contrary to their expectations of justice and a permanent political settlement, both last year’s resolution and this year’s draft push for an implementation of the recommendations suggested by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) Report. Eelam Tamils have responded to the LLRC with caution–some term it a mockery of justice where Rajapakse is both the culprit and the judge, while others have pointed out that the LLRC report provides a dangerous blueprint for structural and cultural genocide of Eelam Tamils. Such alarm is not unjustified: the LLRC report calls for a trilingual nation by 2020, it insists that no district or province be categorised on the basis of language, and it categorically denies the existence of a historical Tamil homeland in the North and East of the island. Carrying out the diktats of such a document will only annihilate the genuine aspirations and right to self-determination of the Eelam Tamils.

There is enough evidence to suggest that the UN has erred in its treatment of this issue. In the post-2009 scenario, the UN has admitted its failure in three of its own reports. The Dublin War Crimes Tribunal Report and Norway’s own report examining the role it played in the peace process should also be taken into consideration to evaluate the UN position. When elected politicians and foreign policy diplomats are satisfied with toothless paper tigers like the present UN resolution, and their prejudice makes them unwilling to explore the possibility of bringing this issue before the UN Security Council, only people’s power could bring about an attitudinal change. The massive protests in Tamil Nadu signal a new chapter in this radical struggle.

Courtesy Out Look India

We will not be shaken by resolutions passed in Geneva: Wimal

SUNDAY, 24 MARCH 2013 

Sri Lanka will not be shaken by resolutions that are passed in Geneva, and the dramas created by New York and Chennai, Minister of Construction Wimal Weerawansa said.

Speaking at Deyata Kirula exhibition in Ampara on Saturday (23) Mr. Weerawansa said that the Sri Lankan community which was nourished by Buddhism is more powerful than the imperialists. He said the UNHRC had forgotten how the LTTE separatists violated human rights during the war killing scores of people by bombing busses using suicide bombers. “No resolutions were passed when the LTTE was killing pregnant mothers in a brutal manner,” he said adding, these imperialists see the construction of ports, airports, and highways in Sri Lanka as a threat to themselves and cannot understand the development that is taking place in Sri Lanka because they are jealous of us,” the minister said.

The minister said that Sri Lanka was one of the few countries that the imperialists such as the US could not defeat through conspiracies.

3000 complaints submitted to Geneva concerning missing persons.

Sunday , 24 March 2013

Five thousand persons disappearance is registered in our center and out of this complaints, three thousand complaints are submitted in Geneva.

Action is taken to process the balance complaints said Mr. T.Mahendram, Secretary of the panel handling in finding persons of those got disappeared.

He said, the name and other details of disappearance of 37 persons were published yesterday in "Udayan" press, and the relatives contacted, and acquired additional information.

He said, at the final war in Vanni, before and after war, thousands of people in Sri Lanka got disappeared.

The panel handling the disappearance of persons received complaints. So far complaints of five thousand person’s disappearance are lodged at the center.

Out of this 95 percent complains are from Tamil people, and the rest are from Muslim and Sinhalese community.

Three thousand complaints registered in our movement had been submitted to Geneva, and activities are processed to dispatch the balance complaints.

We gave information yesterday concerning the legal action taken by the Sri Lanka government for 37 persons disappeared which was said.

Out of the 37 persons, 35 person’s relatives contacted us. We have notified them where their relatives are facing legal action by the Sri Lanka government.

Hundreds of persons contacted us to get registered of disappeared persons who are not still registered with us, hence if any desire they could contact on0776400478, was said by the Secretary.

Indian college girl’s suicide given Lanka angle, father denies

[ Sunday, 24 March 2013, 06:23.46 AM GMT +05:30 ]

Mystery shrouded the suicide committed by a Chennai college student in Vyasarpadi on Friday evening. While her grandfather attributed it to mental distress because of the ’sufferings of Sri Lankan Tamils’, her parents said she took the extreme step because of severe stomach cramps.

As news of the suicide spread, some Tamil nationalist groups arrived to pay respects to the girl’s body. Sources said Gowthami alias Rasathi (18), a first year student at a city college, was at her grandfather Selvaraj’s house in C Kalyanapuram I street in Vyasarpadi when she hanged herself. Selvaraj said that the girl had been keenly tracking the news coverage of State-wide protests on the Lankan issue over the past week. On Friday evening, Gowthami reportedly locked herself in a room and hanged herself with her dupatta, according to Selvaraj, who found her body and alerted police and other relatives. Vyasarpadi inspector L Shankar rushed to the spot and lowered the body, which was moved to the Government Hospital for post-mortem. Shankar said that no suicide note was found at the scene. Her friend Jane told Express that Gowthami had been saddened by the recent developments in the State over the situation in Sri Lanka and its global implications. However, inspector Shankar said that Ravikumar, the girl’s father, a government employee, had stated in a complaint that Gowthami ended her life as she was suffering from acute stomach cramps. “Based on his complaint, we questioned her mother Devi and her brother Vignesh separately. They confirmed Ravikumar’s statement, saying Gowthami suffered from stomach pain once in a while. Therefore, we registered the complaint as reported by her father,” said Shankar. Meanwhile, leaders of pro-Tamil groups hailed Gowthami for being one more Tamil youth who gave up her life for the cause of Lankan Tamils. However, they hoped it was the last life lost for the cause and called for meaningful protests instead.

TN politicians creating problems in SL: Daya Master

MARCH 24, 2013

Daya Master’s somersault

Valautham Dayanidhi, alias Daya Master, the former spokesperson for the LTTE says during the war between the security forces and the LTTE both parties committed crimes and there was no point in conducting post-mortems on them now.

In an exclusive interview with Padma Rao Sundarji  of Hindustan Times in Jaffna,  he said what was happening in Tamil Nadu was a competition among the politicians to prove who did the most for Sri Lankan Tamils.

“Tamil Nadu politicians are now creating problems between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. These self-immolations, attacks on Sinhala Buddhists, etc. should stop immediately” he said.

He added that the Tamil Nadu politicians were doing absolutely nothing for the Sri Lankan Tamils. Delhi, on the other hand, was doing a lot of developmental work like building houses and laying railway lines. “Maybe your law doesn’t permit states to get involved directly. But all Tamil Nadu parties are doing now is fomenting trouble between us and the Sinhalese.”

The former LTTE spokesman said no media focused on the brutality of the LTTE and the entire focus was on the SLA (Sri Lanka Army).  “Stop these dissections, these post-mortems. The LTTE war was utterly futile. More than 200,000 people—100,000 LTTE cadres alone—were killed” Daya Master said.

Commenting on the agitations by the Tamil Diaspora, he said they had no constructive plans to offer and  he knew through friends and family settled in Europe that influential Tamils were still collecting money in the name of some vague ‘cause’. Further, many of them were using former LTTE property here for their own purpose, not for rehabilitating the needy among us, he stated.

Dayanidhi also said the international community was going over the top and making far too much noise. “It should restrict itself to developmental work — which it is already doing — and leave our political future to us and our elected governments. The past is past. Both sides committed crimes, but what is the purpose of a post-mortem? For heaven’s sake - there were 30 years of war. It ended barely three years ago. Development is in full swing. More needs to be done but give the government some time” he stated.

Full Interview

Politicians in Tamil Nadu are creating “problems” between Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. The race to prove who among Tamil Nadu parties helped Sri Lankan Tamils most is motivated, says ValauthamDayanidhi, alias Daya Master, the former spokesperson for the LTTE. Dayanidhi spoke to Padma RaoSundarji in an exclusive interview for Hindustan Times in Jaffna.

 QUESTION: Why did you surrender to the Sri Lankan army, one month before the war ended in May 2009?

ANSWER: By April 2009, the LTTE had lost control. Yet, they wanted to persist with their notion of heroism. No Tamil was to surrender. There was no chance of living in peace anywhere. All one could do was either die, or escape. Many cadres committed suicide by swallowing cyanide. As you know, I was a former teacher who was ordered to be the LTTE’s media spokesman. I had no intention of taking up arms. So people—like I and my family—began taking their own decisions. It was risky, but I covered myself under a sarong like an ordinary farmer and we escaped.

QUESTION: Sections of the international community insist that the Sri Lankan authorities tortured captured Tamils.

ANSWER: I spent three months in jail, a case was filed against me—as against all former LTTE—and I was released on bail. I am telling you the truth when I say that up to this day, I have faced absolutely no harassment at all. If I did, I wouldn’t be here chatting with you. The Sri Lankan authorities have treated me well.

QUESTION: Tamil Nadu politicians are agitating on a daily basis for India to take stern action against the Sri Lankan government over its alleged human rights abuses of the Sri Lankan Tamils. The DMK has pulled out of the central government. Students are protesting in Tamil Nadu on your behalf. Comment?

ANSWER: I don’t know how much your government in Delhi heeds their voice, but Tamil Nadu politicians are now creating problems between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. These self-immolations, attacks on Sinhala Buddhists,etc.: they should stop immediately. They are crying loudly in our interest but the race to prove who did most for Sri Lankan Tamils is really motivated by political competition among themselves.

QUESTION: Did any political party in Tamil Nadu ever do anything for you at all ?

ANSWER: Absolutely nothing. Delhi, on the other hand, is doing a lot of developmental work like building houses and laying railway lines. Maybe your law doesn’t permit states to get involved directly. But all Tamil Nadu parties are doing now is fomenting trouble between us and the Sinhalas.

QUESTION: The influential Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, too, is mobilising the world to condemn the Sri Lankan government. To what extent do the Tamils in Sri Lanka support them?

ANSWER: The international Tamil diaspora is all blah-blah. They have no constructive plans to offer. I know through friends and family settled in Europe that influential Tamils are still collecting money in the name of some vague ‘cause’. Further, many of them are using former LTTE property here for their own purpose, not for rehabilitating the needy among us.

QUESTION: The US is introducing a resolution to make Sri Lanka culpable of war crimes at the UNHCR in Geneva today. What will be the repercussions for your country?

ANSWER: The international community is going over the top and making far too much noise. It should restrict itself to developmental work—which it already does—and leave our political future to us and our elected governments. The past is past. Both sides committed crimes, but what is the purpose of a post-mortem ?

For heaven’s sake: there were 30 years of war. It ended barely three years ago. Development is in full swing. More needs to be done but give the government some time. The LTTE war was utterly futile. More than 200,000 people—100,000 LTTE cadres alone—were killed.  No media focuses on the brutality of the LTTE, the entire focus is on the SLA (Sri Lanka Army).  Stop these dissections, these postmortems. Let us concentrate on the future. For Sri Lankan Tamils, that is the bottom line.

ABOUT VELAUTHAM DAYANIDHI:
Velautham Dayanidhi, 58, was the former spokesman for the LTTE’s ‘peace secretariat’. It was his job to coordinate with the media on the heels of the February 2002 peace accord between the LTTE and Colombo. He remained in that position as media spokesman till he surrendered, along with his wife and young daughter, in April 2009, a month before the 30-year civil war ended.


Valautham Dayanidhi, alias Daya Master, the former spokesperson for the LTTE says that during the war between the security forces and the LTTE both parties committed crimes and no point of conducting postmortems on them now.

In an exclusive interview with Padma RaoSundarji  of Hindustan Times in Jaffna he has said that what is happening in Tamil Nadu is a competition among the politicians to prove who did most for Sri Lankan Tamils.

“Tamil Nadu politicians are now creating problems between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. These self-immolations, attacks on Sinhala Buddhists,etc. should stop immediately” he had said.

He added that the Tamil Nadu politicians were doing absolutely nothing for the Sri Lankan Tamils. Delhi, on the other hand, he said, is doing a lot of developmental work like building houses and laying railway lines. Maybe your law doesn’t permit states to get involved directly. But all Tamil Nadu parties are doing now is fomenting trouble between us and the Sinhalese.

Former LTTE spokesman said that no media focuses on the brutality of the LTTE and the entire focus is on the SLA (Sri Lanka Army).  Stop these dissections, these postmortems. “The LTTE war was utterly futile. More than 200,000 people—100,000 LTTE cadres alone—were killed” Daya Master said.

Commenting on the agitations by the Tamil diaspora, he said thatthey have no constructive plans to offer and he knew through friends and family settled in Europe that influential Tamils are still collecting money in the name of some vague ‘cause’. Further, many of them are using former LTTE property here for their own purpose, not for rehabilitating the needy among us, he had stated.

Dayanidhi also said that the international community was going over the top and making far too much noise. “It should restrict itself to developmental work—which it already does—and leave our political future to us and our elected governments. The past is past. Both sides committed crimes, but what is the purpose of a post-mortem ? For heaven’s sake: there were 30 years of war. It ended barely three years ago. Development is in full swing. More needs to be done but give the government some time” he stated.

Rajapakse business mafia leaves no stone unturned –even granite not spared

(Lanka-e-News-23.March.2013, 11.55PM) The country is being overrun by a Rajapakse business mafia that even on the breaking of stones in a quarry , their mafia operates, according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

In the Uva province , all the quarries and granites are under the control of Uva chief Minister Sashindra Rajapakse. All quarries and granite crushing in the Uva Badulla district Uva Paranagama, Wellawaya, Welimada, Sooriya wewa of the Uva Badulla district are completely taken over by Sashindra and he has employed workers for these quarries to crush the granites . When a businessman makes an application duly to the Pradeshiya secretariat for permission to quarry the granite pits , without granting permission , and after a few days Sashindra employs his own men and begins quarrying that pit, instead..

The quarried granites of Sashindra are crushed using the crushers of his Baapa (Gotabaya uncle). The crushing of granites using the heavy crushing machineries are being carried out by this ‘Baapa’ with the help of the army in the granite pits in Karimurukkan ground district in Kilinochchi and Mankulam police divisions. Not only an ordinary person , but even the police cannot get close to that area where the quarrying and crushing are being done. The whole area is ‘cut off’ and are done by a team of army personnel deployed by Sashindra.

These granites are used only in small quantities for development in SL. But large quantities are shipped to Maldives. It is Dickson Delabandara ,the SL High Commissioner to Maldives who facilitates these operations and assists the Rajapakses in their shady deals. Delabandara was a classmate of Mahinda Rajapakse .

All the expenses towards the quarrying and granite crushing are met by Public funds , but the profits flow into the ever open filthy pockets of Rajapakses whose whole gaze is fixed only on filthy lucre..

The country has now been plunged into such a sorry state that no business can be done, leave alone quarries, by anyone without lining the pockets of Rajapakses. Recently , a businessman who commenced eco friendly tourism had to hand over his business to Basil Rajapakse, and the businessman had to wash his hands off it. A businessman who started a Hotel in the south had to abandon his business because Namal Rajapakse who came to have a meal at that Hotel took a fancy to it and compelled the Hotelier to sell it to him. 

We are in possession of every minute detail of these aforementioned deplorable and traitorous activities of the Rajapakses. This Rajapakse mafia that is swindling the country of its resources and finances in billions of dollars , is also in the process of plundering the middle level businessmen. 

Towards International Isolation, Old Myanmar Style

By Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena -March 23, 2013 |

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

When the world loses respect for Sri Lanka, certain consequences follow. Some may be minute and some graver but all are relatively unprecedented when assessed against the manner in which this country was once viewed in the community of nations.

We invite contempt from outside

This week, a visiting Canadian Member of Parliament’s insouciant remark during a guest lecture in Colombo that Canada’s courts have often rapped the Canadian government over its knuckles but that the Chief Justice of that country has not been arbitrarily impeached, had evidently touched his host, External Affairs Minister GL Peiris on the raw. Referring to this observation as ‘unwarranted and inappropriate’ during his closing remarks at the session, the Minister had stated moreover that ‘I would not have dreamt of making such a remark if I was visiting your country’ (Daily Mirror, March 23, 2013).

Certainly such a comment by a visiting parliamentarian would have raised eyebrows in the days when Sri Lanka had a sustainable foreign policy, a functional democratic system and able diplomats representing it not merely with empty defensive rhetoric but substantive skill. Demonstrably Sri Lanka is now lacking in all these respects.

Consequently government representatives must now learn to, as colloquially put, ‘grin and bear it’ when such comments are made by visitors. And while the Minister’s dreams are, of course, his own business, his assurance that he would refrain from making such a blithely carefree remark about the Canadian government if he had been visiting that country, is a classic non-sequitur. Simply put, it is beyond the bounds of conceivable possibility that any Canadian government would humiliate and insult its own Chief Justice, throw him or her out of office using military power and attack the judicial system so savagely leaving it to die, bleeding in the gutter as it were, so as to attract that same type of remark by any visitors there.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka has done precisely that, without remorse and without compunction. Consequently as offensive as such comments made by a visitor may be from a host country’s point of view, they remain unfortunately but irrefutably true. Aggrieved protests full of sound and fury but signifying nothing, do not detract from that fact.

Solidarity for ‘principled’ countries

These are minor issues though they indicate very well the negative manner in which Sri Lanka is increasingly come to be perceived by the world. The hardening of attitude by members of the United Nations Human Rights Council at this week’s passing of the 2nd United States led resolution on Sri Lanka and India’s extraordinary reference to local mechanisms of justice needing to ‘satisfy the international community’ says volumes for the dangerous path of isolation and eventual international rejection that the current present political leadership is taking the country heedlessly on.

Amidst the dramas, there were exquisitely funny moments as well as for example, when Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva thanked nations who voted against the US Resolution as taking part in a ‘rare moment of solidarity for principled countries.’ Granted, there is nothing principled about superpowers raking smaller countries over the coals for international crimes while escaping unscathed themselves. As observed by the inimitable documentary film maker Michael Moore who has distinguished himself in conducting scathing exposes of successive US governments from arms lobbies to the gun lobbies, US policy makers such as Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney who oversaw multifarious abuses being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan may well be termed as the world’s foremost war criminals. The impunity with which they acted, as Moore terms, only encouraged tinpot dictators in other countries to think that they too can follow suit.

Granted therefore, the wheels of international justice grind discriminatorily. But such realpolitik which determines that powerful countries are not held accountable for their actions has always been the way of the world. The political leadership of smaller countries who behave in that same abusive manner towards its own citizens cannot bleat constantly that it is unfair for them to be held to account. The ebb and flow of international politics makes those arguments extremely flimsy as any first year student of international relations would know.

Is this government ‘principled’?

That being said, when the country’s Geneva representative lauds those who went against the US resolution as being ‘principled’, this same argument can be turned dexterously around towards the Sri Lankan government itself.
What is principled pray, about using the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission as blatant cover for the government’s own excesses and then after an unexpectedly critical report emerges, try to bluff its way out in respect of implementation of even that minimum? Where is the report of the 2006 Udalagama Commission of Inquiry which the LLRC recommended, should be released to the public? Has the government lost it among its files? And after more than six years of feet dragging, are we supposed to applaud when we are told that the killings of hapless Tamil students in Trincomalee is before a non-summary hearing, clearly indicating the lack of priority accorded to it?

Then again, what is principled about treating a country’s Chief Justice worse than a common criminal? What is principled about the militant Bodhu Bala Sena whipping up the flames of religious hatred against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka? This extremism is as equally deadly as the pro-LTTE extremism that has resulted in the beating up of pilgrims and Buddhist priests in Tamil Nadu.

Following in the wake of old Myanmar style isolation

But over and above, general chaos in government predominates. The striking absence of a coherent voice on matters as important as the UNHRC vote was seen when on the day after the vote was passed, we had one Cabinet Minister thanking India for (presumably) diluting the US resolution. At the same time, Sri LankaSecretary to the Ministry of Defence who is indisputably far more powerful than any Cabinet Minister, declared his deep disappointment with India for voting for the resolution, quite apart from insensibly announcing in the full throated roar of his fury that every Tamil visitor from Tamil Nadu stands the risk of being arrested at the Katunayake International Airport (see LankaTruth, 21 March 2013).

The comparisons with the old Myanmar are almost irresistible. At one point, Myanmar or former Burma was the foremost rice producing country in that region. Now as it emerges shamefacedly into the modern world from the ruins of international rejection and economic disasters at the hands of a military leadership, we seem to be treading down that same path. While the majority of the Sinhalese populace mingle around, sheep like in their slavishly mindless adoration of fripperies such as a second international airport, parks, roads and luxury hotels built in the main, on borrowed overseas money and as state banks shake beneath the massive weight of loans given to the government on unsustainable projects, it is not the Rajapaksas who are at fault.

Veritably, it is ourselves who are to blame for failing to recognise the truly calamitous consequences of these choices that are being made in our name.

Tamils issue rocks Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI, March 22, 2013

AIADMK members throw papers in the air

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Friday amid unruly scenes of AIADMK members breaking mikes and throwing papers in the air, even as the DMK protested against the Chair proceeding with conducting private members’ business.

The House also witnessed acrimonious exchanges between DMK members and Congress member Renuka Chowdhury soon after she left the Chair while adjourning the House to meet again on April 22 after recess.

Both, the DMK and the AIADMK members, repeatedly entered the well of the House on the Sri Lanka Tamils issue, forcing frequent adjournments. “We want justice,” some shouted.

However, in the post-lunch session, when Ms. Chowdhury asked BJP member P.K. Rupala to introduce his private member bill, DMK leader T. Siva shouted: “this is not correct. This was not the understanding.”

Ms. Chowdhury earlier asked Mr. Siva if he wanted to move his private member bill and he apparently declined as he was protesting India’s position on the human rights resolution on Sri Lanka.

At the same time, AIADMK leader V. Maitreyan, who carried a placard showing posters of slain LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s son, went up to Mr. Rupala and in a bid to stop him from introducing his bill, snatched the papers from his hand.

When Ms. Chowdhury, who was surrounded by the agitating members, continued running the House, Mr. Maitreyan reached her Chair and began twisting the microphones and ultimately pulled out two even as marshals tried to restrain him.

“This is not acceptable,’’ said Ms. Chowdhury and adjourned the House for the day.

Apparently as she stepped down from the Chair, Ms. Chowdhury made a remark which infuriated the DMK members. “What are you saying’’ asked Vasanthi Stanley. “Are we animals?’’ shouted Selvaganapathi (DMK) adding that they would not allow Ms. Chowdhury to occupy the Chair.

As tempers rose, several members from the Congress, including Jairam Ramesh, Ambika Soni, R.P.N. Singh and BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad intervened and tried to placate the agitated DMK and AIADMK members.

Ms. Chowdhury, who left the House, later returned and apologised.

Mr. Siva was so agitated that he first asked for water and as he felt uneasy he had to be shifted to hospital for observation. An ambulance was called in and the in-house doctor rushed to his aid.

On Wednesday, while protesting on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Ms. Stanley fainted in the Well and had to be rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

Earlier, soon after Chairman Hamid Ansari made a reference to World Water Day being observed on Friday, DMK and the AIADMK members rushed to the well of the House. Mr. Siva said he had given notice for the suspension of question hour to raise the issue of the resolution on Sri Lanka. He alleged that India made no attempt to ensure a stronger censure of the Sri Lankan government on the allegations against it.

CPI’s D. Raja also rose to make a point but was not audible in the din.

Asking members not to disrupt proceedings and not to show placards, Mr. Ansari tried to bring order, but when the pandemonium continued, he adjourned the House till noon.

As the members continued their protest in the post-lunch session, the House was adjourned again.

Resolution not ‘against’ Sri Lanka says US

By Dharisha Bastians- March 23, 2013 
The US Government yesterday emphasised its successful resolution at the UNHRC was not against Sri Lanka but aimed at helping the country to achieve lasting peace, justice and equality through an inclusive, constructive and expeditious process.

“I want to stress that this is a resolution on Sri Lanka and not against Sri Lanka,” US Ambassador Michele Sison told a press roundtable at the American Centre.
She said that Sri Lanka had been given ample time and space to address allegations of violations of human rights abuses and international humanitarian law.
“Three years and 10 months since the conclusion of the war might be considered ample ‘time and space’ provided to Colombo to make progress on investigating human rights allegations. We acknowledge that there are allegations of violations by both sides of the conflict,” Washington’s envoy said the day after the UN Human Rights Council adopted a second US-backed resolution urging reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka.
Responding to a question about taking the accountability process forward following the second resolution in Geneva, the US envoy said the next step would be continued dialogue with Sri Lanka, other international partners and friends of Sri Lanka about a practical way to ensure a thorough investigation into alleged humanitarian law violations. Calling the second UNHRC resolution to promote reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka “balanced and constructive,” Sison reiterated that the US-backed initiative was not a move against Colombo.
The US envoy hailed the broad consensus the resolution had received in the council and outside the 47-member UN body, with 41 co-sponsors and an overwhelming majority voting in support of the draft.
The broad support the UNHRC resolution had received sent a strong clear message to Sri Lanka that the international community was interested in working with the Government on reconciliation and accountability issues, the US Ambassador said.
“Sri Lanka must deal with outstanding issues in these areas,” Ambassador Sison said, reiterating that the US was saying this as a long-standing friend of the country. “The 2013 resolution notes that considerable work lies ahead in the area of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods.”
The US envoy stressed that the resolution was a result of the international community coming together to ask Sri Lanka to do more “to fulfil its own obligations to its people and to take meaningful, concrete steps on reconciliation and accountability”.
The US Ambassador said that nearly four years since the end of the conflict, questions remained about democracy, rule of law and human rights in Sri Lanka. Despite the criticism levelled against the report by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, the fact that the Council had supported a resolution that welcomed the report of the High Commissioner and notes her call for an international investigation into alleged abuses sends a strong message to Sri Lanka about Pillay’s report and offer of assistance, Ambassador Sison said.
The US envoy said her office looked forward to continued vigorous engagement and a robust exchange of views with senior Sri Lankan officials going forward from the UNHRC’s 22nd session. Ambassador Sison said the US remained ready to assist Sri Lanka and was committed to taking a constructive approach going forward.
“Life does not stop on 21 March,” she quipped.

Gamage Somapala, Sri Lankan Ingenuity And The 2013 US Resolution

By Nethra Goonewardena -March 23, 2013 

One of my friends, resident overseas sent me this story- which I found useful reading especially in the context of the 2013 US Resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday.

The story goes that Bill Gates wanted to recruit a new CEO for his Microsoft subsidiary in Europe. He called for applications and invited all aspiring candidates to present themselves at his headquarters in the US. On the appointed day, no less than 5,000 hopefuls assembled in a large room.

One candidate was Gamage Somapala, a Sri Lankan domiciled in the USA. Bill Gates courteously thanked all the candidates for coming and, wanting to narrow down the numbers, asked all those who did not know JAVA programming to leave the room. Somapala thought to himself, “I do not know JAVA programming, but I can always pick it up. I have nothing to lose it I say, so I’ll remain and give it a try”.

Next, Bill Gates asked all those candidates who had never had the experience of managing a team of more than one hundred people to leave the room. With a groan of disappointment, another two thousand people got up and left the room. Somapala quietly said to himself, “I have never managed anybody by myself, but I have nothing to lose if I stay and I can always give it a try, so I’ll stay”.

Minister G.L Peiris and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the statements attributed to them in today’s English dailies, sound exactly like the above-referenced Gamage Somapala. | File Photo

Then Bill Gates asked all the candidates who did not have tertiary qualifications in Management to leave – and five hundred of those who were left got up and walked out. Somapala reassured himself, “I left school at 15 and never stepped into a university. But what have I got to lose?” So he stayed in the room.

Finally, with only 500 of the original five thousand left, Bill Gates decided to shorten the list of candidates even further. He addressed the five hundred and said “ I would like all those who do not speak Albanian fluently to leave the room”. At this point 498 people sadly got up and left the room. Somapala said to himself, “ I do not speak one word of this Albanian language, but what do I have to lose?” So he stayed put and found himself with just one other candidate. Everyone else had gone.

Bill Gates came down from the podium and joined the two of them. “Good,” he said, smiling “you two appear to be the only two candidates who have all the required qualifications and experience that I am looking for, and you speak Albanian as well. I’d now like to hear you have a conversation with each other in that language”.

Calmly, without batting an eyelid, Somapala turned to the other candidate and confidently said “Kohomada Machang?”
The other candidate’s eyes opened as wide as saucers and he answered, “Ammatasiri . . . umbath Lankavenda?”
It just goes to show the ingenuity and resourcefulness of us Sri Lankans!

This is the kind of ingenuity we seem to be renowned for these days in every sphere of our national activity. Judging by the reactions to the 2013 US Resolution in Geneva which was adopted on the 21st of March by the United Nations Human Rights council (UNHRC), no Sri Lankan yet seems able to rise above the ingenuity of the kind elaborated upon in this anecdote. Minister G.L Peiris and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksain the statements attributed to them in today’s (22 March, 2013) English dailies, sound exactly like the above-referenced Gamage Somapala.

Rajapaksa has expressed his “deep disappointment with the Indian government’s position articulated by its envoy to the UNHRC during the Council’s sessions in Geneva yesterday. He goes on to say that “those asking Sri Lanka to satisfy the global community should realize that they were adopting double- standards”. This idea of “double standards” is the mantra that the Rajapaksas and their acolytes appear to use to defend their own indefensible double and treble standards back at home. Rajapaksa should look at the “standards” used by the government of which he is a crucial part, to remove a Chief Justice from her post, to bring suspected rapists, murderers and thugs like Duminda Silva and Mervin Silva (members of the current government) to justice, to place in jail a war hero turned political opponent, General Sarath Fonseka, to appoint a political stooge like Mohan Pieris as Chief Justice, to appoint family members, immediate and extended, to high posts in the land with no qualifications to hold them, and so on and so forth. The list is endless. Is Rajapaksa aware that he must look at the beam in his eye before he seeks to identify the mote in that of others? What standards have he and his brothers employed in their governance of Sri Lanka? Can he afford to cast the first stone? Could we Sri Lankans hold up our heads high and say that we have conducted ourselves with dignity observing the standards we have adhered to in the past, the standards that we ought to reflect to the world given our rich heritage? The answer certainly has to be a resounding no.

In the ultimate reckoning, it truly matters little what India or the United States does or does not do with regard to standards. In a world not governed by moral and spiritual standards preached by our religious leaders and philosophers, all too often, might becomes right. There appears very little or nothing that Sri Lanka could do to reverse this trend no matter how hard it may strive to do so. That we should place this unfairness on record is but fair. But what will definitely be fairer and far more worthwhile and rewarding is for us to adhere, unilaterally if need be, to those standards we accuse others of failing to abide by. Example, it is wisely said, is far better than precept. So go for it Sri Lanka. Let’s do it. Not because some others are coercing us to do it, not because our immediate neighbours are putting pressure on us as they have been doing for eons, not because a majority of the members of the UNHRC want us to, BUT because it is the right and proper thing to do.

Let us seek a Sri Lanka where the Constitution of our country does not shackle and strangulate the citizenry, where the Rule of Law prevails, where we ensure that no citizen of ours suffers because of his or her ethnicity or religion, where we give responsibility and authority to those who are qualified and competent to bear these burdens, where fair play is the norm and not the plaything of those holding political office, where systems are in place and national institutions are protected, and where the majority of Sri Lankans can confidently say they are content with their lot. When we get at least half way to such a destination, we could then justly and proudly cock a snook at our detractors and say, “do as we do, if you can”.

The less said about External Affairs Minister Peiris, the kinder and less time wasted it would be. He is characteristically able to see and speak of the “evil side of the US resolution” but unable to see the evil side of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy based on deceit and falsehood, in the manner of Gamage Somapala, our hero in the anecdote quoted above. Peiris too, like his colleague Rajapaksa, searches for the mote in the eye of others while ignoring the beam in his own!
On Tuesday 19 March, the UPA chair, Sonia Gandhi took a remarkably unusual step at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting when she expressed her party’s concern for the Sri Lankan Tamils:

The plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka is close to our hearts. Our support for equal rights and equal protection of the laws to them has been unwavering since the days of Indiraji and Rajivji.

We are most pained at the manner in which their legitimate political rights continue to be denied them. We are anguished by reports of unspeakable atrocities on innocent civilians and children, especially during the last days of the conflict in 2009.

Of course Sonia Gandhi must know well India’s duplicitous policy towards Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 80s when Indiraji trained and armed Tamil separatist groups of our island home. Perhaps it is Sonia Gandhi’s mindfulness of this grievous error which also led to her late husband Rajivji’s death at the hands of an LTTEassassin that has mellowed and tempered India’s and her attitude to Sri Lanka. Wisdom often comes with suffering and we feel that this is the case with Sonia Gandhi.

The above statement of Sonia Gandhi is the strongest that has emerged from an Indian political leader in a long time. One hopes she means these sentiments sincerely and is not playing to that crazy Tamilnadu gallery to save her party from losing support in that state run by individuals who seem prone to greater lunacy than the quantum of it we usually associate with politicians in general from anywhere in the world.

It is about time that countries like India and others concerned about Sri Lanka shed their flip flop approach and focused on a principled, confident and non-reactive policy towards Sri Lanka. Whether or not China is fishing in troubled waters and poaching its way into Sri Lanka should not come in the way of India engaging Sri Lanka steadfastly. This engagement must be a partnership worthy of two neighbours with a common civilizational bond. Perhaps India should also seek to get the support of China and Japan (two countries with whom Sri Lanka has decent relations) for its good neighbourly role in Sri Lanka so that narrow political impediments may not mar an otherwise worthy enterprise.

All of us know that India wishes to be a global as well as regional power. Well, then, India has to measure up, take a few kicks in its teeth if it has to, and initiate a serious dialogue with Sri Lanka on the lines suggested above. Not as a hegemonic power or big brother, but as a long-standing friend and neighbour.