Sikh resolution passes, Tamil resolution not tabled at NDP national convention

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 April 2013, 11:24 GMT]
The biannual national convention of the New Democratic Party held in Montreal, Canada from April 12-14 passed a resolution recognizing Jaswant Singh Khalra, a Sikh activist who was allegedly abducted and killed by the police in the Indian state of Punjab in 1995, as a human rights defender. However, a resolution submitted from Scarborough-Rouge River calling for, among others, an independent, international and impartial mechanism in Sri Lanka to ensure justice for the Tamils and a UN conducted referendum to determine their political future, failed to make it to the tables of the convention. While Tamil activists who attended the convention argue that the resolution could have been passed had it been pushed by the Tamil NDP MP from Scarborough-Rouge River, Ms Sitsabaiesan, a NDP source claims that the resolution was brought in late but the MP made sure that it was in the policy book. 

The resolution on Mr Jaswant Singh Khalra, the Sikh human rights activist, was strongly pushed for by the NDP MPP for Bramalea-Gore-Malton Mr Jagmeet Singh at the convention, and was passed with overwhelming support. 

However, the resolution on Sri Lanka, which included calls for the recognition of the right to self-determination of the Tamils and a UN monitored referendum, was not taken up as it was not pushed as a prioritized one by Ms Rathika Sitsabaiesan, the MP representing Scarborough-Rouge River and as a result, it was not tabled at the national convention, said a community activist from the Tamil Worker’s Alliance (TWA) from that constituency who participated in the convention.

The resolution on Sri Lanka, which was passed in the Scarborough-Rouge River riding, through a democratic process on February 28, was mentioned in a NDP booklet of regular resolutions from ridings across the country and was sent to the organizers of the convention well in advance and was submitted as an emergency resolution, the activist from TWA further said. 

While there were other resolutions too that were not tabled, grassroots activists from Scarborough claim that given the gravity of the situation facing the Eezham Tamils both in the homeland and in the international scenario, and given the history of NDP’s position on the Tamil question, the resolution on Sri Lanka could have been tabled at the national convention.

However, a NDP source speaking to TamilNet said that the resolution was brought to the convention late but Ms Sitsabaiesan made sure that it was in the policy book. Adding that Ms Sitsabaiesan worked in the background very strongly to make sure that issues on Sri Lanka are addressed both in the party and the parliament, he further said that Ms Sitsabaiesan also supported the Sikh resolution because she is building solidarity with the Sikh community so that the two communities can work closely and be stronger allies. 

An official response to TamilNet from Ms Sitsabaiesan’s office said “NDP conventions have passed resolutions, giving our Leader and Caucus the mandate to fight for Tamil rights. That's what we're doing and we're very proud of our Leader and Caucus taking the strongest and most principled positions toward Sri Lanka. At this convention we also saw Neethan Shan, a Tamil activist and friend, elected to represent Ontario at Federal Council.”

“Thanks to Rathika, Canada's Official Opposition has taken the strongest, most principled stance on Sri Lanka in support of Tamil rights. New Democrats have been standing up in the House of Commons to demand that Conservatives refuse to send any delegation to the Commonwealth meeting in Sri Lanka. The Conservatives have refused. Rathika and Tom Mulcair will continue to increase the pressure on Conservatives on this.”

Full text of the resolution passed at the Scarborough-Rouge River riding submitted to the NDP National Convention follows:

Resolution on Human Rights in Sri Lanka

Submitted by Scarborough-Rouge River

WHEREAS the NDP has consistently supported the Tamil community’s call for justice, fairness, and human rights while being a strong voice for peace on the global stage; and 

WHEREAS Noting while Tamil homes, schools, hospitals, and places of worship remain destroyed by the war in our home land, the Government of Sri Lanka is building symbols of Sinhala hegemony in the occupied lands to destroy any evidence of Tamil existence,

BE IT RESOLVED that New Democrats again reiterate the call on the United Nations to immediately establish an independent, international and impartial mechanism to ensure truth, accountability, and justice in Sri Lanka; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that New Democrats call on the government of Canada to state unconditionally, and without reservation that it will not be participating in the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Sri Lanka; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that New Democrats call the United Nations to recognize the Tamils’ right to Self-Determination; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that United Nations to conduct a referendum among the Tamils originally from North and East of Sri Lanka to decide their political future.

External Links:

NDP Resolutions 2013:

Resolutions (PDF)

LCA holds back on Sri Lanka suspension

19 April, 2013 Stephanie Quine

The Law Council of Australia (LCA) will consider a resolution to suspend Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth, but has not yet shown support for the move adopted by the Law Society of England and Wales this week.

The LCA said in a statement that it will make contact with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka for a brief in relation to the current status of the resolution and put the matter on the agenda of its board for further consideration “taking into account the views of the profession in Sri Lanka”.  

The resolution, which was ratified this week by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA), calls for resolute action against Sri Lanka following reports of serious breaches of the rule of law and judicial independence.

It calls for Sri Lanka to be placed on the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting on 26 April 2013 and for the country to be suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth.

It also urges members to reconsider holding the next Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOG) meeting in Sri Lanka, as planned, from 15-17 November 2013.

The Law Society of England and Wales announced its support for the high-level international resolution at the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference, which concluded yesterday (18 April) in Cape Town, South Africa.

"When our shared values, including those respecting human rights and the rule of law, are under threat, we must act resolutely and hold firm,” said Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president of the Law Society of England and Wales.

Separation of powers

The resolution follows the controversial impeachment and removal from office of Sri Lanka’s first female chief justice, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake, in January.

The government brought charges against Bandaranayake after she failed to grant the president's younger brother, Basil Rajapaksa, who is the economic development minister, greater financial and political power. 

LCA president Joe Catanzariti said that, while the LCA does not comment on the politics of another country, it has written to the Government requesting they encourage the Sri Lankan government to respect the important roles that an independent legal profession and the rule of law play in democratic societies.

“It does not appear that the process that the Sri Lankan government has relied on to date to impeach the chief justice has involved strict observance [of the rule of law],” said Catanzariti.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs’ principal adviser responded to the LCA’s letter on 14 February and said that the Australian High Commissioner in Colombo had raised the Government’s concerns and would closely monitor developments.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka appears to oppose the impeachment, stating on its website that it “unequivocally and with no reservations whatsoever condemns the decision to take up for debate the impeachment motion against … Chief Justice Bandaranayake based on the findings of the Parliamentary Select Committee, which was quashed by the Court of Appeal.”

The association called for its members in 78 branch associations to refrain from attending to their professional duties in protest on 10 and 11 January.

Sri Lanka's Lawyers Collective, which represents most of the 11,000 lawyers in the country, said it plans to challenge Bandaranayake’s dismissal by filing a fundamental rights violation case in the Supreme Court.

"It has hurt the very foundation of democracy in Sri Lanka," the organisation said in a statement.

Scott-Moncrieff said the Law Society of England and Wales remains committed to supporting those who do uphold the rule of law in Sri Lanka but cannot sit back and watch as politicians fail to abide by court orders.

Youth action

President Rajapakse has tightened his hold on power since defeating Tamil rebels in 2009 in a large-scale military offensive that has ignited numerous allegations of human rights abuses on both sides.

The NSW Young Lawyers (NSWYL) assisted the International Commission of Jurists Australia (ICJA) with an evidence-gathering project to bring to light events of the closing stages of the civil war, including accusations that tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed by army shelling and denied humanitarian aid

In 2011, the NSWYL and ICJA urged the Federal Government to support calls for Sri Lanka to be suspended from the Commonwealth at the CHOG meeting in 2011 in Perth, to no avail.

Former NSWYL president Daniel Petrushnko said then that he was hopeful the country would not be allowed to host the event in 2013.

"[Suspension from the Commonwealth] has happened before for much less, in terms of what a country has done," he said.

Bar Association To Monitor The Breaches Of Rule Of Law

April 19, 2013

Lawyers Collective welcomes the decision of the executive committee of the Bar Association to appoint a standing committee of the Bar Association on Rule of Law under the chairmanship of Senior Attorney at LawLal Wijenayake to monitor the breaches of Rule of Law, to enable the Bar Association to go into such cases and take appropriate action to see that Rule of Law prevails.

Lal Wijenayaka

We call upon the members of the Bar to monitor breaches of Rule of Law in their areas and to report to the committee on Rule of Law without delay so that effective action can be taken by the Bar Association.

We also call upon the Bar Association to look into the serious recent breaches of Rule of Law that has being reported and to see that those responsible are accountable to such actions as it is our view that such actions which blatantly violate the Rule of Law should not pass unchecked and unchallenged.

We of the Lawyers’ Collective will make all efforts to work closely with the committee and help the committee in this task.

Lawyers’ Collective

Commonwealth lawyers, judges want Sri Lanka suspended

By AP News Apr 18, 2013 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Three legal associations of the Commonwealth have called for Sri Lanka’s suspension from the body of former British colonies and to reconsider holding a heads of government meeting in the country later this year citing an erosion of judicial independence and repression.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II , right, shakes hands with Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, left, at a Commonwealth meeting in London last year. Pic: AP.

Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association, Commonwealth Legal Education Association and Commonwealth Magistrates ‘and Judges’ Association said in a resolution dated Wednesday that Sri Lanka’s continued presence in the Commonwealth and allowing its President Mahinda Rajapaksa to chair the Commonwealth during a heads of governments meeting scheduled in November would tarnish its reputation and be seen as condoning governments violating its principles, the groups said.

They cited a controversial impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake earlier this year and Parliament’s non-compliance with court orders on the process.

(READ MORE: Commonwealth struggles for unity amid Sri Lanka HR concerns)

Rajapaksa sacked Bandaranayake after a Parliament committee found her guilty of misuse of power and possessing undeclared bank accounts. He appointed a close aide as the new chief justice.

Judges and lawyers criticized the move as flawed and Bandaranayake said she was not given a fair trial.

Two years ago Parliament abolished provisions for an independent judicial services commission and vested powers of appointing and sacking judges on the president.

Attacks Choke Sri Lanka’s Press

By Margherita Stancati

Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Sri Lankan journalists and media activists staged a protest demanding investigations into the killings of journalists, Colombo, Jan. 29.

With its palm-lined beaches, colonial tea estates, and plenty of world heritage sites, Sri Lanka is a tourist paradise. The Lonely Planet guide ranked the island the number one travel destination in the world for 2013.

But four years after the end of a bloody civil war that pitted the Sri Lankan army against Tamil separatists, there are periodic reminders of threats to democratic liberties.

One came last weekend, when armed men stormed the press of Uthayan, a Tamil newspaper that had recently been critical of the army taking over land in the country’s Tamil-majority north. It’s unclear who was behind the attack. The military has denied any role.

“We condemn the attack. It’s the latest in a series of attacks against Uthayan and against the media in general,” a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Colombo told India Real Time, “We remain concerned about threats to freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.”

Mohan Samaranayake, a spokesman for Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the attack is being investigated. “The government is committed to press freedom and freedom of expression,” he said.

Uthayan has been targeted as many as 37 times, according to Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, including a brutal assault on an editor two years ago.

Uthayan isn’t alone.

In 2009, leading Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge was ambushed by four masked gunmen and shot dead. Mr. Wickrematunge, the former editor of the weekly Sunday Leader, was one of the most vocal critics of restrictions on press freedom in Sri Lanka.

“Much of the media has been bought, or cajoled and bullied into silence. Dozens of journalists are dead and others have been incarcerated without trial for months,” said Mr. Wickrematunge, who was also a freelance reporter for TIME magazine.

More recently, in February, Sunday Leader reporter Faraz Shauketaly was shot by unidentified men near his home in Colombo, the BBC reported. He survived.

The attack on Mr. Shauketaly, who holds dual Sri Lankan-British citizenship, prompted strong reactions from London.

“There has been a range of attacks in Sri Lanka on journalists, civil society organizations and others in recent years. To date, too many incidents have had little investigation and no resolution,” U.K. Foreign Office Minister Alastair Burt said in a statement.

The attacks and the failure to bring perpetrators to justice has over time bred self-censorship, say observers in Sri Lanka and abroad.

“If you attack a journalist, you are likely going to get away with it – that’s the message,” said Fred Carver, director of Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, a London-based rights group.

“While there is little outright censorship, there’s a real climate of fear that makes it very difficult to be critical of the government,” added Mr. Carver, who says the Tamil press has been especially targeted.

Since the Sri Lankan army defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, there’s been slow progress toward reconciliation between the country’s Sinhalese majority and its Tamil minority.

Last month, the U.S. backed a harsh United Nations resolution on Sri Lanka that called on the government “to conduct an independent and credible investigation” of alleged crimes that have targeted Tamils. The resolution singled out recurring reports of media intimidation.

In March, the BBC’s World Service suspended BBC broadcasts on the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation, alleging “targeted interferences” in their Tamil-language programming.

For some, press intimidation is part of a broader erosion of democratic freedoms. “There is a feeling that our liberties have been reduced these days,” a Sri Lanka-based lawyer said. “There is a lot of fear here,” he added.

Sri Lanka consistently ranks close to the bottom of the press freedom index, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit group.

In 2013, Sri Lanka was 162^nd out of 179 countries on the index, one place above Saudi Arabia and significantly lower than any other country in South Asia, including Afghanistan (128), India (140), Bangladesh (144) and Pakistan (159.)

Electricity Tariff Revision Is UNJUST, It Is kW Wise But MW Foolish

By Harsha de Silva and the United National Party -April 19, 2013 |

Dr Harsha de Silva MP

Summary

The CEB Tariff Proposal (CEBTP) is an unjust attempt to extract LKR 34.2 billion mainly from the poorest 3.6 million of the total 5.0 million domestic consumers of the CEB and LECO.[1] The proposed tariff increases on low income households will be detrimental to their economic welfare given that over 40 percent of the existing consumers are not able to afford even the minimum household electricity requirement.[2]    Even though the expected revenue would cut the losses of CEB in the short term the long term adverse socio-economic impact on the segment of people of Sri Lanka that need to increase their use of electricity, not reduce its use, will be significant.  It will also create negative externalities in the entire economy.  Therefore, PUCSL should come up with a more equitable tariff mix that shifts more of the burden from the low income households to the richer households. The adjustment can theoretically be effected without reducing the expected revenue from domestic customers for 2013.

1. Demand for electricity and benefits accrued to the household

1. Demand for electricity is derived

a. That means, electricity does not yield any utility but rather is an input into appliances that do yield utility; lighting, television, radio, fan etc.

2. In the short-term, electricity demand generally arises from utilization of such appliances while in the long-term demand is influenced by the stock of these appliances

3. The economic benefits of electricity at the household have been documented extensively based on improved consumer surplus

a. These include short term benefits such as increased efficiency in the daily routine to long term benefits such as improved adult earning capacity due to longer study hours during childhood

b.These benefits are larger for lower income households; for instance having electricity and low cost lighting for the first time (electrification) will certainly have a much larger impact than having an additional light bulb in a fairly well lit household and a larger impact than an additional air conditioner in an already fully lit and air conditioned household

4. Therefore, any tariff adjustment must consider the economic impact beyond the simple short term revenue increase to the utility, here CEB and LECO

2. Our focus is on the LOW INCOME CONSUMER

1. The proposed tariff structure is understandably based on multiple considerations both on the supply side and the demand side

a. But for this submission we assume the supply side as given; that is, the cost of generation, transmission and distribution[3] albeit to note the following:

i.      The cost of mismanagement in the process of electricity supply must not be recovered and sustained by increasing tariffs

ii.      There are numerous allegations of rampant corruption, waste and misuse of resources and any attempt to recover such costs from consumers is unacceptable

2. Our comments and suggestions are therefore strictly focused on the domestic demand (and consumption)

3. Assessment of the demand side

1. In justifying the proposed tariff revision to domestic consumers CEB uses its internal billing data along with a 2,500 sample nationwide study by the University of Colombo[4]

a. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the proposed tariff adjustments have taken in to consideration the salient findings of that study on demand, affordability and consumption data

2. The study finds that a household of 4 persons needs a bare minimum of 48kWh of electricity per month for a ‘decent life standard’

a. The sample study further finds that 42 percent of the CEB and LECO customers are unable to afford even the minimum 48 units per month; they are referred to as ‘electricity-poor’.  If the un-electrified households are also included, this figure gets close to 50 percent

3. Separately, CEB data suggests that around 1.1m domestic consumers (of 5m total) use less than 30 units per month while a further 1.3 million use less than 60 units.  The sum total of these two poorest groups is 2.4 million customers or 48 percent of all domestic customers.

4. The significant tariff increases prosed for these low income consumers who are even under the present tariffs are unable to afford even the bare minimum essentially electricity-poor consumersusing up to 60 units are as follows:

a. 0-30 units per month; increase is 53 percent

b. 0-60 units per month; increase is 47 percent.  The graph below indicates the increases up to 510 units per month

5. Proposed tariff revision is kW-wise but MW-foolish

1. Given the price inelastic nature of electricity use it is not likely that these low income households would reduce use by any significant amount than what they are currently using; albeit less than the even the bare minimum level

2. This But PUCSL must consider if it is possible to

a. Shift more of the burden to higher income groups that use more units per month.

b. Then if possible to reduce peak load demand due to greater elasticity (either lower demand or shifting of demand to non-peak time), can reduce the total cost of production.

3. The proposed tariff increase mix will certainly push low income uses in to further electricity-poverty

a. Given that electricity is derived demand electricity poverty means that these consumers will not be able to use appliances that would help improve their household economy and contribute to national development

4. This strategy is not in the best long-term interest of the nation as a whole and certainly not in the short-term or long-term interest of the respective low income households

5. Can more of the burden be shifted to higher-income groups

1. It is understood that CEB wishes to increase the tariffs for the low users so that it is guaranteed of the revenue increase as they are ‘captive’ as explained earlier

2. But PUCSL must consider if it is possible to

a. Shift some of the burden to higher income groups that use more units per month.  But given the higher elasticity the revenue increase may not be as guaranteed as proposed

3. Create an additional user group; 0-45 and thereafter keep to a minimum the increase in the 0-30 category and the 0-45 category

a. Any loss of revenue could either be cross-subsidized by high income consumers by revising the tariff adjustment mix or directly subsidized by the Treasury

6. Could PUCSL propose a targeted subsidy for the electricity poor to the Treasury?

1. If it is not possible to adjust the tariffs and the PUCSL is to propose a direct subsidy from the Treasury it should

a. Be transparent; in that the subsidy must be targeted only to the electricity poor CEB

i. The proposed LKR 1.7 billion by CEB is non-transparent and could very well be subsidizing high-income consumers[5]

b. Be funded via specific electricity vouchers.  If so, the electricity-poor can use these vouchers to offset the invoice prepared using the proposed tariff revision

2. The CEB net-metering program could in fact turnout to be a mechanism for the higher income groups to pay less per unit given the expected time-of-day generation and sale to CEB

---

[1] CEB estimated revenue from domestic customers for 2013 under the proposed new tariff structure is LKR 84.9 billion while it is LKR 50.7 billion under the current tariff. This is in page 9 of the Consultation Document on Proposed Electricity Tariff Revision 2013  http://www.pucsl.gov.lk/english/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/consultation-document-12-03-2013.pdf

[2] Study on Requirements of Prospective Electricity Consumers and Fuel (electricity) Poverty and Affordability, SPARC, University of Colombo, 2011

[3] This assumption does not mean that we agree that the generation, transmission and distribution costs are the most efficient but only that others have already proposed technical arguments for lowering such costs.

[4] Section 3.1: Study on Requirements of Prospective Electricity Consumers and Fuel (Electricity) Poverty and Affordability; April 2011

[5] PUCSL Consultation Document on Proposed Electricity Tariff Revision 2013

Sri Lanka kan takke seg selv

Dagsavisen

Khamshajiny Gunaratnam

Mitt engasjement i 
poli­­­­­­­­tikken begynte med 
et brennende hjerte mot borgerkrigen i hjemlandet mitt.

Fra våpenhvileavtalen i 2002 - framforhandlet av Norge, gjennom en giverlandsgruppe (Co-chairs) bestående av USA, Japan, EU og ja; Norge, og til slutt en forferdelig blodig avslutningsrunde i mai 2009 - har jeg fulgt med på en rekke viktige hendelser på Sri Lanka. Deretter har det bare vært demotiverende å følge med som politiker. For hva kan man egentlig gjøre?

LTTE (Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam) er borte og derfor er «problemet» borte, mente noen. Tidligere medlemmer ble brutalt myrdet, og man mistenkte (uten bekreftelse) at det fantes såkalte «assimileringsleire». Full hjernevasking, som det også heter. Sri Lankas president Mahinda Rajapaksa hadde en unik mulighet til å bygge bru etter krigen, men i stedet har han spilt på singalesisk nasjonalisme. Regjeringen har ikke engang forsøkt å imøtegå kravene om desentralisering av makten.

Mitt reelle mål har alltid vært at tamilene må få anerkjent retten til selvbestemmelse. Enkelte aktører, eksempelvis International Crisis Group (ICG), har vært veldig opptatt av at tamilene ikke kan dele det samme målet eller den samme ideologien som LTTE, altså «tamiltigrene». Men retten til selvbestemmelse handler om å bestemme selv, ikke hvorvidt en eventuell tidligere opprørsgruppe mente det samme eller ei. «Vaddukkoddai-resolusjonen» fra flere tiår tilbake ble formet av tamiler. Mange år senere ble det avholdt folkeavstemning blant tamiler i eksil i 10 land om den samme resolusjonen. De aller, aller fleste stemte for. Den tamilske diasporaen kan snakke om dette, men på Sri Lanka finnes det en lov fra 1983 som sier at det er straffbart i det hele tatt å uttale seg om å dele en stat i to.

Tre forskjellige FN-rapporter er blitt utformet de siste par årene. Resultatene i dem varierer, men én ting er sikkert: Det er stor tvil om hvorvidt justissystemet fungerer i dette landet. Selvfølgelig har Sri Lanka gjennomført noen «granskinger» rundt sin egen rolle i krigens avsluttende fase, men det sier seg selv: En slik undersøkelse må gjennomføres av en ekstern part.

Dublinrapporten fra 2010 konkluderte med at det ikke bare er krigsforbrytelser og forbrytelser mot menneskeheten som bør granskes, men også påstanden om folkemord mot tamiler. Hvorfor kan ikke verdenssamfunnet anerkjenne at det muligens har skjedd et folkemord her? Jo - da må de også anerkjenne tamilenes selvbestemmelsesrett som følge av dette. Og en separat stat er fortsatt ikke ønsket av store mektige krefter.

Allerede nå drives det en boligbyggings- og bosettingspolitikk som skal sørge for at ingen etniske folkegrupper skal dominere i noen områder. Javel? Høres ut som det egentlig bare er en mer sofistikert versjon av «Sinhala only act» fra 1956, som feide alt av engelsk og tamilsk språk og kultur ut av det offentlige.

Tidligere i år vedtok FNs menneskerettighetsråd en ny resolusjon mot Sri Lanka. Denne resolusjonen har igjen plassert ansvaret hos den srilankiske staten og ikke egentlig tatt høyde for internasjonale granskinger. Dette, sammen med nye bevis på krigsforbrytelser og folkemord, har ført til massive opprør. For eksempel i delstaten Tamil Nadu i India, hvor mer enn 65 millioner tamiler bor, har studentenes demonstrasjoner akselerert. Dette, sammen med diasporaens standpunkt, vil være drivkrefter bak den demokratiske kampen framover. Igjen - hvordan vil verdenssamfunnet forholde seg til dette?

Etter at Sri Lanka ble et selvstendig land, oppsto det mistillit mellom tamilene og singaleserne. At myndighetene gjennomgående har lent seg på singaleserne, det etniske flertallet, og ført en populistisk politikk som bevisst har ekskludert en folkegruppe, har skapt enorm urettferdighet, og ikke minst provosert mange. Grunnlaget for at konflikten og borgerkrigen oppsto, er ikke løst - den ligger fortsatt der.

Så dersom en ny opprørsgruppe vokser fram nå, Sri Lanka, kan dere egentlig bare takke dere selv.

Publisert på Dagsavisens debattsider samme dag.

Norway Tamil politician questions continued ICE bias against democratic mandate of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 April 2013, 10:16 GMT]
Khamshajiny Gunaratnam, an Eezham Tamil youth politician of the ruling Labour Party in Norway, who states that her political engagement began with the agony of witnessing civil war in her homeland, questions the conduct of the world powers and the policy groups of the international community, for their continued bias against the democratically proven political mandate of Eezham Tamils, both in the island of Sri Lanka and in the diaspora. In a political column of the newspaper Dagsavisen, Ms Khamshajiny, a survivor of the brutal Utøya massacre carried out by the Norwegian killer Anders Breivik in 2011, also questions the conduct of the international community in leaving the responsibility of investigating the crimes committed by the Sri Lankan State to the very hands of that State, as seen in the recent resolution of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2013. 

Khamsajini Gunaratnam

Hinting that the recent student upsurge in Tamil Nadu was a response to the continued bias exercised by the international community, Ms Khamshajiny questions why the hesitation in calling for international investigations on the alleged crime of genocide against Eezham Tamils.

The Sri Lankan State has adopted an assimilation process after the end of war, the Labour politician writes, citing the beginning from the SL State-run IDP camps after the war. 

She observes that the Sri Lankan policy is also depriving ethnic identity to even the districts [as expressed in LLRC] and the SL State is again adopting the ‘Sinhala Only’ policy in a different way [Tri-lingual Sri Lanka in 2020 as the LLRC states]. 

The International Crisis Group has been biased against the formation of independent State, Khamshajiny writes the column, questioning whether the hesitation by the powerful States and the policy groups in calling for international investigations on genocide is because they don’t want to admit that the natural remedy outcome would be the formation of an independent State based on the Tamils Right to Self-Determination.

Sampanthan And Sumanthiran Exposed Muslim MPs Political Bankruptcy

By Latheef Farook -April 19, 2013 

Latheef Farook

Political bankruptcy of Muslim parliamentarians was exposed by the Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan and the TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran when they raised the issue of growing disastrous hate Muslim campaign in the parliament.

As it is well known that there has been a wave of well planned attacks on the political, religious, cultural, economic life of Muslims in Sri Lanka. This campaign which started early last year with the destruction of a more than 400 year old Muslim shrine in Anuradhapura continues unabated with growing intensity.

Then came the attack on Dambulla Mosque followed by attacks on other mosques, threat to Muslim owned business establishments, calling Sinhalese to boycott Muslim business establishments, doctor trying to sterilize Muslim women in government hospital ,principal at Sinhalese school forcing Muslim children to kneel down and worship  teachers,   demonstrations carrying   photos of pigs with Allah’s name   in Arabic  on it, arson attack  led by monks on the Muslim owned textile  outlet Fashion Bug and many more.

The shameful state of affairs is such that racist hooligans even attacked Muslim women wearing traditional hijab.

This disastrous and disgraceful ethno religious fascism has been unleashed by a handful of people who call themselves Buddhist monks and claim to preach Buddha’s message of peace and harmony. They also claim that these atrocities against Muslims have been done to save Buddhism and the Sinhalese community.

In many public meetings including the one at Kandy these monks openly incited Sinhalese against Muslims and even went to the extent of asking Sinhalese to boycott Muslim businesses .In Kurunegala those who purchased from Muslims shops were attacked with rotten eggs.

Growing senseless hate Muslim campaign and the failure of law enforcement authorities to take them to task have driven terror into the minds of Muslims who, living scattered in small groups amidst Sinhalese, spend sleepless nights.

All this vandalism had taken place under the watchful eyes of the police which is suppose to bring   culprits to book and protect victims to ensure law and order. However in the case of these racist groups’ hooliganism police remained spectators while victims’ suffered humiliation with no one to turn to. The situation continues to deteriorate day by day with hooliganism riding high to the embarrassment of mainstream peace loving Buddhists whose minds have been being poisoned against the Muslims.

The situation is so precarious that Ven. Galkande Dhammananda Thero, a lecturer, Department of history, University of Kelaniya, told the website Colombo Telegraph that;“I think as a monk that the social/political problems that we are facing in our country has to be solved amicably through dialogues which we have repeatedly failed from the independence. Now we are again on the eve of another round of violence. I fear any time a ‘black July’ will repeat and this time it is against Muslims”

The failure on the part of the government to contain these  fascist elements,  suppose to have been trained by Israel’s intelligence agent Mossad known for killing Muslims worldwide and funded by Israel , Norway and America to  carry out  their global agenda against Islam and Muslim, had sent shivers into the spine of the island’s peaceful Muslim community.

Under such circumstance the island’s Muslim community naturally expects their representatives in the parliament to raise their problem .However they have turned blind eye. They fear that by raising the life and death issue of the Muslim community they would antagonize the power that be and would jeopardize their positions and perks.

So between the community’s interest and their position they opt for the latter. Some even go to the extent of saying that they all have skeletons in their cupboards and thus prefer not to antagonize the government by speaking against these BBS racist elements.

As a result these Muslim parliamentarians remain some of the most discredit lot and it is highly unlikely that they could face the community. In fact some are even talking in terms of ostracizing them from the community.

In the midst the Muslim community appreciates with great sense of gratitude TNA parliamentarians R Sampanthan and Sumanthiran for raising the agony the community has been undergoing for almost a year and half

Raising the issue in the parliament TNA parliamentary group leader R Sampanthan had this to state on 9 April 2013;

I wish to make a statement on a most grave issue of national concern, relating to the safety, security and wellbeing of   Muslims of this island. The Muslims   have been historical inhabitants of this island, and have contributed immensely to its development for many centuries. They have their own unique customs and traditions; food and dress; and are devout adherents of a very great religion. As the cultural benefactors of the Islamic Golden Age which spanned the 8^th to the 13^th centuries, the Muslims  of Sri Lanka have scaled the heights of the whole range of human endeavor – from art and music, to medicine and law, and science, enterprise, academics and so on.

Today however, the purveyors of hate are unleashing a bitter and spiteful campaign against the Muslims. I do not need to recount the many acts of mob violence that have taken place in the last few months. Muslim women who choose to wear conservative religious dress have been molested and abused by strangers in broad daylight.

Today Muslims live in fear; anxious and hurt by the invective surrounding them. As fellow minorities, the Tamil people feel the pain, the insecurity, the fear and the anxiety of our Muslim brothers and sisters. The relationship between the Tamils and Muslims has always been close – sometimes strained and to our perpetual shame, though very rarely, even violent and cruel – but always close. Our people are too closely intertwined for one to think that it can survive the fate of the other. We are connected to each other just as we are connected to the Sinhalese, the Malays and the Burghers; but the bonds of a common language and home cannot be broken easily. And so, when our Muslim brothers and sisters are harmed on the street; or attacked by mobs; or have their Mosques vandalized; we cannot unconcerned spectators.

Mr. Speaker, as Leader of the Tamil National Alliance, I demand that the violence against the Muslims cease now. I demand an end to the repulsive hate speech that we hear every day. I demand an end to the collusion of the state in this campaign of hate. We are conscious that the vast majority of the Sinhalese Buddhist people do not condone such actions and that they would very much wish to live in peace and harmony paying due respect to the rights of other Peoples. As victims of the worst atrocities, we the Tamils have demanded that the country and the world heed our call for accountability, justice and the guarantee of non-recurrence.

We wish to emphasize that the enforcement of law and order, and ensuring the safety and security of all Peoples including Muslims is primarily the responsibility of the State. Recent events have shown that the State has not discharged this responsibility in a manner beyond reproach.

We therefore call upon the government to refrain from acts of partisanship and discharge its constitutional duty be ensuring that equal protection of the law be afforded to all Peoples in this country including the Muslim People.

Earlier parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran, who is also prominent Sri Lankan Tamil human rights lawyer, raised this very same issue citing various incidents in the parliament

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which came with the slogan of Islam, Shariah and unity, but divided into more than half a dozen when they were individually and collectively lured to join the government abandoned the very community they came to protect and promote. By their silence they are helping racists to attack the island’s   impoverished and helpless Muslim community.

However displaying absolute treachery a Muslim parliamentarian  who, perhaps living in another planet, had stated that the island’s Muslims are living in peace. Another Muslim parliamentarian, according to many in the Muslim community, was used to threaten Fashion Bug owner to withdraw his case against the mob who, including monks, attacked his store at Pepiliyana in the presence of police and caused millions of rupees worth of damage besides mental agony. In doing so these parliamentarians not only betray their community but also encourage racist elements to continue their hate campaign against Muslims.

The lowest level to which the Muslim parliamentarians could descend to sell their community to safeguard their position was explained in an article by well known columnist Dharisha Bastians in an article on Dafther Jailani April 10 2013;

Last Friday 5 April 2013 while the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Jalil Abbas Jilani was in Colombo for bilateral consultations, the Pakistani mission in Colombo arranged a special meeting for the official with key Muslim politicians and the community’s representatives to discuss the recent developments. Interestingly, the meeting was scheduled prior to Secretary Jailani’s meeting with Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

For several hours at the residence of Western Province Governor Alawi Moulana, Muslim representatives, including Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem and A.H.M. Azwer and other non-politicians briefed the Pakistani Foreign Secretary about the ground situation relating to Muslims in Sri Lanka. Minister Hakeem, who spoke first chose to be measured in his statements, but nonetheless highlighted the threats that Muslims were facing in the country due to the meteoric rise of Sinhala Buddhist hardline groups.

Soon afterwards, Azwer who rose to speak rubbished the claims that Muslims were facing harassment. He said all communities were living peacefully in the country and said the incidents being reported were merely rumors.

The visiting Pakistani official was briefed on the various incidents of Muslim harassment being reported, including the damage to the Korans in several mosques, the man-handling and verbal abuse directed at Muslim women wearing Hijab and campaigns calling on the Sinhalese to refrain from renting office or house space to Muslims. While appreciating the role Pakistan played in getting Sri Lanka the support of several Islamic nations at the UNHRC in Geneva last month, the Muslim representatives urged the visiting official that Islamabad also had a responsibility to remind the Government of Sri Lanka that the rights of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka must be protected.

President of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Friendship Association Ifthikhar Aziz who commented on the situation at the meeting warned that Muslims were facing a grave situation in the country but had shown tremendous patience and conducted themselves as a mature minority in the face of threats from hard-line groups. Aziz warned however that it takes only one fool to react to the situation and make it spiral out of control. He explained that while the LTTE only represented the views of a small percentage of Tamils in their separatist claim, in the case of the Muslims, because it involved damaging insults to their religion, the entire community would get involved if matters reached boiling point and this situation had to be avoided at all costs.

Betrayed

By Saturday morning, President Rajapaksa had gotten wind of the meeting. He was aware of all those who had spoken at the meeting with the Pakistani Foreign Secretary and all the information that had been relayed. A fuming President questioned Governor Moulana as to why police entries had not been made regarding these incidents against Muslims. He said the National Intelligence Bureau was keen to investigate the issue. Although it was not certain how the information had been relayed to the President so swiftly, many members present believe that MP Azwer, who had stoically maintained there was no anti-Muslim campaign in the country, may have played Judas and repeated the proceedings of the meeting verbatim, thus concluded Dharisha Bastians