Sri Lanka: Prominent Muslim politician and government critic arrested

2 May 2013

A prominent Muslim politician and government critic arrested today in Sri Lanka must be immediately released or charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence, Amnesty International said.

Azad Sally, the leader of Sri Lanka’s newly formed Muslim Tamil National Alliance, was reportedly taken into custody on Thursday morning by the intelligence services for unknown reasons.

Sally has been an outspoken critic of a Buddhist organization, Bodu Bala Sena, which has since February 2013 allegedly attacked Muslim and Christian religious establishments and agitated against certain religious practices.  On 29 April he told journalists he was in hiding because he feared for his safety after receiving threats in state-run media.  

“Azad Sally’s arrest, and the harassment he has faced over the past weeks, is indicative of the climate of fear government critics in Sri Lanka are forced to live under. He must be released immediately or charged with an internationally recognisable criminal offence,” said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

“He has been campaigning to end oppressive practices against minorities in Sri Lanka, in particular Muslims and Tamils, for which he has faced the ire of the Sri Lankan government.

“Sally appears to be the latest victim in the intensifying crackdown on dissenting views we have seen in recent years, motivated by the government’s desire to tighten its grip on power. Journalists, the judiciary, human rights workers and opposition politicians like Sally are among those who have been targeted through threats, harassment and vicious violent attacks.”

The Sri Lankan government remains set to host the Commonwealth Summit in November despite calls by Amnesty International and others for it to be relocated. 

“Commonwealth leaders must take a stronger stand against the government’s violent repression of dissent and its persistent failure to bring to justice those responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Truscott.

Background

“Sri Lanka’s assault on dissent”, Amnesty International Report, 30 April 2013.

AI Index: PRE01/217/2013

Sritharan MP called for inquiry

Friday , 03 May 2013

Tamil National Alliance parliament member C.Sritharan has been called by Terrorism Prevention unit for an inquiry for catering information to Medias concerning forces land confiscation.

It was said, that the Tamil National Alliance parliament member C.Sritharan has given details of land confiscation in the Kilinochchi district by the forces to the Medias and to hold investigation concerning this, the Terrorism Prevention unit had visited parliament member's residence yesterday.

However,   parliament member was not available in his home, hence he was contacted to his mobile phone, and the Terrorism Prevention unit informed the parliament member that they need to carry out investigations.

 However, parliament member had notified about his inability to attend the inquiry today (yesterday), and the investigation personnel had informed that they would notify another date.  

Meanwhile reports said, Tamil National Alliance parliament member Suresh Piremachandran was under investigation last month of catering information to a Indian media concerning forces.

Implementation Progress of the UN Resolution On Sri Lanka, A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.13

Implementation Progress of the UN Resolution On Sri Lanka, A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.13

Sri Lanka Monthly Briefing Note | Issue No 01 – 1 May 2013
Period covered:  22 March 2013 – 31 April 2013 
Summary: 
On 21st March Human Rights Council adopted resolution A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.13 on Sri Lanka.
In short it calls for the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to implement a policy framework (constructive recommendations of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission, LLRC) that will ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans. 
The Human Rights High Commissioner is entrusted to report back to the Council on the progress of the implementation of the resolution at the 24th    (Sep 2013) and 25th (March 2014) sessions of the Council. 

GoSL has not accepted the resolution and claims that it is not obliged to implement it. In their responses, various arms of the GoSL has called for dismantling the Office of the Human Rights High Commissioner (OHCHR), named the resolution a dangerous move  and  countries who voted for the resolution hypocrites.  Further, GoSL has made contradictory statements on the Implementation of LLRC recommendations: Minister of Human Rights saying that 99% of them have been implemented and the Cabinet spokesperson saying that 50% has been implemented. 

All coalition partners of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party opposed the resolution, branding it an anti-Sri Lankan, Western Imperialist plot. The major opposition political party, the United National Party (UNP), neither opposed, nor supported the resolution, but offered to join hands with the government in fully implementing the LLRC recommendations to evade international interferences. It criticized the GoSL for not implementing the LLRC recommendations and thereby creating space for UN intervention. The main Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), supported the resolution and exclaimed that it was a victory for all Sri Lankans. Defeated presidential candidate and former army commander, leader of the Democratic party Sarath Fonseka, proposed that a proper domestic mechanism should be in place to address accountability issues to ward off pressure for an international investigation. Sinhala Nationalist Marxist parties also described the resolution as an Imperialist manoeuvre but did not actively oppose it. 

The notable exception came from the  groups belonging to Tamil Diaspora. None of the groups openly supported the resolution:  Tamil Net web site, which propagate the demand for separate Tamil Eelam as a only viable solution for the   Tamils in Sri Lanka criticized the resolution saying it is responsible for the ongoing 'genocide' of Tamils: The US based Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TATE) said that 'Geneva Resolution is not a victory for Tamils, but a defeat for Sri Lanka’. It seems that Tamil Diaspora has in general, or at least its dominant segments have, moved towards a pre 2009 demand of Tamil Eelam.

GoSL continues to proceed with its own military tribunals to investigate human rights issues raised by the LLRC report. Issuing a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that inquiries into any allegations will be conducted only through the judiciary and military tribunals. Just 3 days after the said statement, the Military tribunal made their findings (not the report) known. The Court of Inquiry had concluded that the instances of shelling referred to in the LLRC Report were not caused by the Sri Lanka Army. Within a week, responding to a US report on Human Rights in Sri Lanka, the police spokesperson stated that the police rejected the allegations of torture of detainees raised in a US human rights report released by the State Department.  Denial has become an entrenched policy which emboldens the widespread impunity. 

Freedom of expression including the right to peaceful assembly faced most number of attacks during the period monitored.  Jaffna based Uthayan Tamil daily and TNA were targeted repeatedly by criminals allegedly backed by the military. Popular vernacular language broadcasts of the BBC were disrupted by GoSL agents and BBC suspended its broadcasts on GoSL controlled the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). On several occasions the police sided with the Buddhist extremist violence against peaceful demonstrators and Muslim establishments.   

On two occasions Sri Lanka Bar Association expressed their concern over the Independence of Judiciary: The first instance was when several district court Judges and magistrates who had not even completed their tenure of three years in their courts were transferred. Those Judges had opposed the impeachment of 43rd CJ Shirani Bandaranayake. The transfers were overseen by 44th CJ Mohan Peiris, who is a known supporter of the Rajapakse regime.  The second instance was the promotion of Appeal Court Judge Justice Rohini Perera Marasinghe to the Supreme Court by the President Rajapakse, ignoring the two most senior Appeal Court Judges. Harassments against the 43rd CJ Shirani Bandaranayake continued, as Bribery Commission impounded her passport acting on rumors that she intended to leave the country. 

Rule of Law and Democratic Governance too suffered a few blows. President Rajapakse rejected the call for constituting the Elections Commission on the ground that it is not necessary, although it is a constitutional requirement. The Democracy Index ranked Sri Lanka at 89 and placed in the category of “hybrid regimes” where elections have substantial irregularities that often prevent them from being both free and fair. The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012 said that government is dominated by the president’s family and elections were fraught with violations of the election law by all major parties and were influenced by the governing coalition’s use of state resources.

Religious freedom of minority communities were constantly threatened by extremist Buddhist groups who seem to be having the backing of the influential sections of the government, including the Police.

For the full report please visit here

Foreign interference in  SL Muslim problem

May 2, 2013, 

From the very moment that the BBS became prominent in Sri Lanka, there has been speculation about sinister foreign forces operating behind it. There is certainly a Norwegian connection, about which no clarification has been forthcoming. Now the BBS leaders are in the US on a month-long visit, which is reportedly part of a programme to make their movement international. There seems to be big money and power behind the BBS. Most curious of all are the coincidences between what is happening here and in Burma.

By Izeth Hussain

I concluded my article, Sri Lankan Muslims in the racist paradigm (The Island of March 18) with the following paragraph: "Were the Bodu Bala Sena and the JHU unaware of what was going on in Geneva, and that the anti-halal campaign could have very adverse consequences there? Commonsense should have dictated that the anti-halal campaign be postponed until the conclusion of the UNHRC meeting. Some who are over-fond of conspiracy theories would say that they are secretly serving the purposes of the US and of India. Others would say that they have been manipulated by the CIA and RAW without being aware of it. I cannot subscribe to such notions. I have the strong conviction that the explanation for the horrendous mistiming of the anti-halal campaign is to be found in the irrationality that goes with racism. The usual paradigm of racism does not include a recognition of the fact that racism and irrationality go together."

Let me make my position absolutely clear before proceeding further. Both the BBS and the JHU are very widely regarded as extreme racist organizations, and therefore both have to be regarded as having a proneness to extreme irrationality. It was that extreme irrationality – and not their being traitors – that made them blind to what was going on in Geneva. But, of course that extreme irrationality would also make it very easy for the CIA, RAW etc to manipulate them without their being aware of it. Assuming that they were indeed manipulated, we have to ask what were the presumed objectives of the CIA, RAW etc. The objectives could have been along the following lines: the anti-Muslim hate campaign, which clearly had the acquiescence if not the positive support of the government behind it, could lead to genocide and, therefore, it was impossible for any self-respecting Muslim state to vote against the anti Sri Lanka US Resolution. Without the Muslim vote for Sri Lanka, the US Resolution would have won overwhelmingly, and Sri Lanka would have been seen internationally as a virtual pariah state. That may be precisely what certain sinister forces want for Sri Lanka. Fortunately, the indefatigable campaigning of the Pakistani Foreign Minister and her officials prevented that outcome. Anyway, there is no getting over the fact that objectively – whatever might be the subjective intentions of the BBS and the JHU – their allowing the anti-halal campaign to mount to a crescendo precisely at that time served the purposes of the enemies of Sri Lanka. They should be more alert to the international implications of their actions in the future.

From the very moment that the BBS became prominent in Sri Lanka, there has been speculation about sinister foreign forces operating behind it. There is certainly a Norwegian connection, about which no clarification has been forthcoming. Now the BBS leaders are in the US on a month-long visit, which is reportedly part of a programme to make their movement international. There seems to be big money and power behind the BBS. Most curious of all are the coincidences between what is happening here and in Burma. The T-shirts worn by the demonstrators in both countries look identical except that the logos are different, suggesting that they were produced by the same manufacturer. A new wave of anti-Muslim violence broke out last month, this time in central Burma against Muslims regarded as indigenous Burmans unlike the Rohingyas who were targeted last year. Apparently the rhetoric used by the Buddhist monk leader there is very similar to the rhetoric used here.

Consider this for example: "When the profit goes to the enemy’s hand, our nationality, language and religion are all harmed. They will take girls with this money. They will force them to convert religion. All children born to them will be a danger to the country. They will destroy the language as well as the religion." It seems to be the same unholy brew as in Sri Lanka, with a nexus drawn between money, sex, and conversion. This could be standard fare in racist hate speech, or it could be that the same sinister forces are operating behind the campaigns in Sri Lanka and Burma.

I have no hard evidence to cite in support of my position that the same sinister forces could be at work behind the campaigns in Sri Lanka and Burma. Even so, I concluded my article Clarifications on Genocide in The Island of April 22 with the following: "I must also say that I have come to suspect more and more strongly that behind the nonsense about halal and the anti-Muslim programme sinister foreign forces have been at work." Though lacking the hard evidence I can however set out the rationale for that position. But, before doing that I must refer to important material about secret service activity in Sri Lanka that I came across while in the process of writing this article. The material is given in Upul Joseph Fernando’s article Paving the way for US intervention in Sri Lanka? (Ceylon Today of April 24). According to the American website World Net Daily a source within the Iranian Intelligence Services told it (WND), even before the identities of the Boston bombing suspects became known, that the Islamic regime was behind them and to look for trails through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Earlier when the German bakery bomb explosion took place in Pune (India), the chief suspect had in his confession revealed that the final operational plan had been drawn up in Colombo. Various details were given in that connection. Another interesting detail is that President Bush had stated that a Sri Lankan Tamil speaking Muslim was the chief financial officer and money launderer behind the clandestine operations of A. Q. Khan (the reputed father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb). A further detail worth mentioning is that a few months ago the New York based Open Society Foundation had in their report mentioned that Sri Lanka permitted use of its air space and airports for flights associated with the CIA’s extraordinary renditions operations in 2003.

There is further interesting material in the article but I will not go into all that as my purpose is merely to point to material indicating that several secret services have been active in Sri Lanka. But I must quote the following from UJF’s interesting speculations in his concluding paragraphs: "In essence, all these revelations and disclosures amount to an alarming trend in Indian and American strategy – vis-à-vis Sri Lanka. Both countries are committed to proving Sri Lanka as a hot-bed of Islamic terrorism targeting Europe, America and India."

I will now set out the rationale for believing that the same sinister forces could be behind the anti-Muslim campaigns in Sri Lanka and Burma. It all goes back to the 1972 Arab-Israel war, in the aftermath of which there was a phenomenal increase in oil prices. One of the main beneficiaries was Saudi Arabia, which chose to spend part of that wealth in spreading its Wahabi version of Islam. Its main instrument for that purpose was the madrasa, which provided free education since under Islam it is forbidden to make money out of religion. The main beneficiaries of madrasa education were members of the poor and the lower middle classes, precisely the classes from which violent revolutionaries are bred. The result was seen in the Eastern Province in the form of violent incidents after the death of a Sufi mystic, who caked himself Pailuwan (wrestler). Later there was violence in Beruwela, the result of what orthodox Muslims would regard as sacrilegious behaviour on the part of Wahabi Muslims. At the time of the conclusion of the war in 2009 there were several Jihad groups in the Eastern Province, and it took some time to make them give up their weapons. Not much more is known to the general public about the impact of Wahabism in the Eastern Province. But as UJF’s article brings out the EP and the rest of Sri Lanka have for years been a hotbed of international secret service activity.

The madrasa education has everywhere led to what is called political Islam, militant Islam, and fundamentalist Islam, which has bred hatred of the West and terrorism. The US and India, as well as Pakistan, Iran, and Israel had to be concerned about what was going on in Sri Lanka on the religious front and we can expect that all their secret services have been active here. In connection with the anti-Muslim campaign we have to be concerned mainly about the possible interests of the US and India. The US could want to alert our government to the dangers that could flow from Wahabism. As I have argued in earlier articles, halal is really a non-problem, something that could have been easily solved. But, the halal problem was a way of targeting the ACJU, which significantly is regarded as the spear-head for Wahabism in Sri Lanka.

But, I don’t believe that the US will pursue its own interests in Sri Lanka at the expense of India’s interests. If the US did promote the anti-Muslim hate campaign, it would have been to serve India’s interests. How have those interests been served? The hate campaign leads to one resounding question: if the Muslim minority which has been so much on the side of the Sinhalese against the Tamils can be treated in this way, how can we expect the Sinhalese to ever give fair and equal treatment to the Tamils? The question leads to the idea that a political solution for the Tamils has to go beyond 13A or even 13A+. Was that what the TNA President Suresh Premachandran had in mind when he told a visiting delegation of Indian MPs, "We need an interim administration overseen by India or the United Nations until there is a final settlement for the Tamils."

Izethhussain@gmail.com

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner UK Tells BBC That IBAHRI Is ‘Absolutely Welcome To Come In’

May 3, 2013 |-The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) welcomes the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom’s recent public statement that IBAHRI representatives will be granted visas to enter Sri Lanka.

Chris Nonis

Made during a live interview, broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on 30 April 2013, the comment follows the Sri Lankan authorities’ refusals on two occasions to accord individuals of high-level IBAHRI delegations entry to Sri Lanka to investigate the independence of the legal profession and the impeachment proceedings against Chief Chief Justice Bandaranayake.

In response to a direct question asking whether IBAHRI would be let in to Sri Lanka Dr Chris Nonis replied:

‘Yes, if they come in the official manner in which we or any institution of ours would apply to come to Britain.’  He added, ‘What we look forward to and what we invite is all of you, everyone, to come to Sri Lanka…and make an objective and impartial analysis of the reality of contemporary Sri Lanka.’

During the interview the Today programme’s journalist, Justin Webb, said:

‘Just on that point, because it’s such an important one isn’t it, because this is the association that represents lawyers right around the world, the International Bar Association – if their Human Rights Institute comes back to you and says, “This is what we would like to do, these are some top lawyers who would like to come to Sri Lanka…”They are obviously not visa risks, they are not going to engage in some abuse of the process…if they say what they want to do, will you let them in?’

Dr Nonis replied:

‘Naturally, if any institution is formally invited and has reciprocity with an institution there, as is done [in the UK], naturally of course we would’.

Dr Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association commented,

‘The International Bar Association has long-established links with Sri Lanka’s legal community and is taking a close interest in the independence of its legal profession. We welcome Dr Chris Nonis’ commitment to allow the IBA’s Human Rights Institute entry to Sri Lanka, paving the way for constructive conversations to facility what he describes as “impartial analysis of the reality of contemporary Sri Lanka’.

The full interview is available on the BBC website until 6 May. Click here to listen or read the transcript below;

Copper plates tell on charities of Jaffna and Vanni at Chithamparam

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 May 2013, 06:46 GMT]
A copper plate grant issued by the chieftains of Vanni in the Dutch times, refers to an earlier charity; a mutt built by the King of Jaffna, Pararaja Sekaran at Chithamparam in Tamil Nadu, and on the charities made by chieftains of different parts of Vanni to another mutt built by a Vanni chieftain, Kayilaaya Vanniyan, at Chithamparam. The present conditions of the royal mutt of the Kingdom of Jaffna, called Iraasaakka’l Thampiraan Madam and the Vanni Chieftain’s mutt called Kayilaaya Vanniyan Madam at Chithamparam are not known today. The copper plates in the custody of a family at Ka’l’liyang-kaadu in Nalloor, Jaffna, were deciphered and published earlier by Dr S. Gunasingham of Trincomalee and by Prof S. Pathmanathan. A mutt at Chithamparam, in the name of the Ka’l’liyang-kaadu village is in completely ruined conditions today. 

The Ka'l'liyang-kaadu Copper Plates, issued by the chieftains of Vanni on a grant made by them to the Kayilai-vanniyanaar madam at Chithamparam. The copper plates also note the existence of an earlier mutt at Chithamparam built by a King of Jaffna, Pararaja Sekaran. [Image courtesy: Pathmanathan. S., Vanniyar, 1972]
Tamil Nadu Government should initiate a survey of the various charities of Eezham Tamils at Chithamparam, bring in a legislation in the State Assembly to protect them and declare the enclave as a heritage site of Eezham Tamils, in order to make them meaningful to the present context, is a request coming from Eezham Tamil circles connected to the charities living in the island and in the diaspora.

The mutts could be renovated or rebuilt in their traditional form of architecture, for various purposes such as a heritage museum of Eezham Tamils, archives and library of Eezham Tamil literary contributions, a publishing house to bring out standard reprints, and heritage tourism facilities for visitors coming from the island and from the diaspora, the sources connected to the charities told TamilNet, adding that such facilities would especially be useful to the next generation in the Eezham Tamil diaspora in knowing about its heritage.

Cultural institutions of the Eezham Tamil diaspora across the world should make the claim and negotiate with the Tamil Nadu Government for a collaborative programme, the sources further said, adding that credible forces in Tamil Nadu should come forward to help the Eezham Tamils in materialising the project.

Vanni chieftains of the principalities of Panang-kaamam, Karikkaddu-moolai, Thennamaravadi, Meal-pattu, Mu’l’liyava’lai, Mayilaaththai and Pachchilaip-pa’l’li, as well as the villagers of these chieftaincies had collectively made the charity mentioned in the copper plates. 

• Exact decipherment of the copper plates (courtesy, Pathmanathan. S., Vanniyar, 1972)

The charity was made on the 22 day of the month Chiththirai in the Subhakritu year of the Salivahana Era 1644, which was a Thursday and a full-moon day, while the moon was transiting the constellation Swathi. It corresponds to April-May 1722 CE.

The charity was in the form of paddy-field lands and the grant uses the Eezham Tamil word Kamam to mean a unit of cultivable land. Stipulated part of the produce (3 Marakkaal measures of paddy per unit of Kamam) was given to the mutt of the Vanni chieftains at Chithamparam, which was called Kayilaip-pi’l’lai Vanniyanaar Madam. 

• Text in readable Tamil of today (courtesy, Pathmanathan. S., Vanniyar, 1972)

The caretaker of the charity of Vanni chieftains was Chooriyamoorthi Thampiraan who was at that time the pontiff of a mutt built earlier by King Pararaja Sekaran.

Those who help the charity would get the merit of having the dharshan of the dancing Siva at the second quarter of the night (which is considered very auspicious) and those who harm it commit the sin of arson on the temple, the copper plates say, adding that more than those who make charities, the ones who urge for them and the ones who protect them get the merit ten-fold.

US Blasts Sri Lankan Government On Press Freedom, Human Rights

ARTICLE | MAY 1, 2013 - 2:27PM | BY TEJINDER SINGH

Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields/Credit: Amnesty International

Washington, DC - The United States on Tuesday lambasted the Sri Lankan government for its assault on freedom of the press and for serious human rights violations, after a spate of attacks on the country’s media organizations.

In one of the toughest statements in recent years to any country, the Acting Deputy Spokesperson at the US State Department, Patrick Ventrell, said, "The United States calls on Sri Lankan authorities to demonstrate their commitment to the rule of law and freedom of expression by conducting thorough investigations into all attacks and killings of journalists and bringing perpetrators to justice."

Urging Sri Lankan authorities to protect freedom of expression, Ventrell said, "The necessity of upholding this fundamental right was not only a component of the UN Human Rights Council resolution in Geneva this March, but it was a central recommendation of the Sri Lankan Government’s own Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission."

Asked whether the US government is willing to take further action beyond the statement issued today, Ventrell told reporters, "We’re going to continue to work with the Sri Lankans bilaterally. We’re going to continue to work with interested parties that include a number of people quite frankly in the international community who are deeply concerned."

Reiterating the determination to "press our concerns very directly," Ventrell said, "We’ll continue to do so bilaterally, but we’ll also continue to do so with other members of the international community and that’s certainly been the case with the – at the UN Human Rights Council and in other fora."

Included in the statement, the US noted its continuous "Free the Press campaign," and highlighted, "the case of Uthayan, a Tamil-language newspaper in Sri Lanka."

"Uthayan has seen its personnel beaten, its newspaper shipments burned, its equipment destroyed, and its offices set ablaze in this last month alone," said Ventrell. "The assault on a free press in Sri Lanka extends beyond Uthayan. The BBC Tamil language service has had its programs about Sri Lanka and the Human Rights Council censored. Reporters have been physically assaulted and murdered in years past, and a prominent political cartoonist has been missing for three years."

The US has seen the latest Amnesty International report, Ventrell noted, and, "It echoes many of the concerns we raised in our own Human Rights Report." The report documents the systematic abuse, abduction, imprisonment, and murder of members of the press and reveals a pattern of violent repression of all dissent by authorities in Sri Lanka. Led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan government has adopted an official position that criticism is equivalent to treason, in an attempt by the country to maintain its grip on power.

The statement read by Ventrell at the State Department briefing on Tuesday concluded, "So as we have said many times, we remain extremely concerned about threats to freedom of expression in Sri Lanka and continue to support the need for justice and accountability for serious human rights abuses in Sri Lanka."

About the Author

Tejinder Singh

Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent

Current situation in Sri Lanka

Let me start by quoting some facts.-Friday, 03 May 2013 

According to the Sri Lankan government sources, Australia has deported 928 Sri Lankans since February last year up to April this year. Of them, 201 were Tamils, 23 Muslims and 704 Sinhalese. Most of these deportations had been carried out involuntarily.

According to the statistics of the Sri Lankan Navy, 3,286 people had been arrested by its patrols between January 6, 2012 and April 24, 2013. Of them, 2,403 were Tamils, 455 Sinhalese and 142 Muslims.

The Sri Lankan government says that Tamil Diaspora tries to win political asylum for more of their community on grounds of security in post-war Sri Lanka.

However, the data above shows a different picture. Most of those deported from Australia were Sinhalese.

Minister Brendan O’Connor says that the Australian government is committed to deterring people from making the dangerous journey by boat and saving lives at sea.

First of all, why do thousands of people from diverse ethnic and religious groups try to leave Sri Lanka, despite the perils inherent in such a hazardous exercise?

Amnesty International says that the Sri Lankan government is intensifying its crackdown on critics by sanctioning abuses often committed by security forces or their proxies.

Journalists, the judiciary, human rights activists and opposition politicians are among those subjected to threats, harassment, imprisonment and violent attacks.

Violent suppression of dissent, the creation of a culture of fear, and consolidation of political power have been the political agenda since the military defeat of the separatist struggle led by the LTTE.

The regime in Sri Lanka attempts to equate opposition with treason and its critics have been harassed, attacked and sometimes killed.

Even after more than four years since the defeat of the separatist struggle any strike action by the workers, any agitation by the working people are branded as championing separatism.

A constitutional amendment rubber stamped by the parliament eliminated presidential term limits and expanded the president's control over the judiciary, police and elections officials.

The most recent experience in this regard seems to be the undermining of independence of the judiciary.

There have been instances where threats had been made against judges who rule in favour of victims of human rights violations.

Recently, the Parliament impeached the then Chief Justice.

Intimidation against journalists forced some to flee the country. At least 15 have been killed since 2006.

Even the remaining independent media outlets critical of the government policies in Sri Lanka such as the Uthayan newspaper in Jaffna have been attacked and burnt down.

The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks Sri Lanka as the fourth most dangerous place for journalists in the world.

Reporters without Borders ranks it almost at the very bottom in terms of press freedom.

Sri Lanka has appointed many commissions of inquiry in the past to look into many disappearances that occurred since 1971.

None has ever produced a public report or led to prosecutions.

The most recent political phenomenon is the escalation of attacks and anti-Muslim rhetoric that has caused fears of a new wave of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka.

The anti-Muslim campaign seems aimed at distracting Sri Lankans from the rising cost of living and other contentious issues.

Sinhalese traders have also seen an opportunity to "grab the market" dominated by Muslim businesses.

There has been escalation of the situation through outrageous speeches and conspiracy theories.

Recently, there have been several attacks on Muslim places of worship and businesses. There have been many incidents where Muslims have been intimidated.

The campaign has frightened Muslims, who suspect the government is not just refusing to protect them, but is actively fomenting tension, a charge the government denies.

The root causes of the conflict, economic, social and cultural, remain unaddressed.

Civilians seem to be subjected to many forms of “collective punishment”.

The focus of the regime has been to put on economic development in the former conflict areas over a proper truth and reconciliation process.

However, the experiences of South Africa, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and the former Yugoslavia have shown, there can be no lasting peace without justice.

Accountability for past crimes is necessary for sustainable peace and reconciliation.

Whilst there has been an end to open conflict, the humanitarian situation remains grim and human rights abuses continue to abound.

The culture of impunity sadly is still thriving on the island.

The situation is compounded by the attitude of powerful nations such as China and India who have allied themselves with Sri Lanka.

If things are allowed to continue as they are, there is no real hope for progress.

That is why spirit of internationalism that May Day engenders in terms of international solidarity of the working people is vital for the people of Sri Lanka, if progress is to be made on key issues like reconciliation, and social and economic justice.

Thank you.

The violence unleashed again on the media in the Northern part of Sri Lanka

Jaffna Press Club

World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2013-     

The violence unleashed again on the media in the Northern part of Sri Lanka has questioned the level of press freedom in the island. During the first quarter of this year alone, murder attempts have taken place against two journalists, five media personnel were violently assaulted on three separate occasions and the printing machinery of a media establishment was set alight by unidentified persons. Furthermore, on at least three occasions copies of daily newspapers were intercepted during transportation and burned.

When the Sri Lankan Government announced in 2009 that the war had ended, there were fresh hopes among media personnel of the North that targeted violence against the media by the Sri Lankan State would decrease.

On the contrary journalists and media establishments have been repeatedly targeted throughout the recent past.

Pressure on media has increased in intensity throughout Sri Lanka, with unprecedented levels in the North.

In the Vanni, a region claimed by the Sri Lankan Government to be now more free and unhindered, journalists are still denied freedom of movement.

Foreign journalists too are highly restricted.

Despite four years since the Sri Lankan government’s declaration of the war being over, the restriction on media in Sri Lanka has remained unchanged.

The perpetrators of the violence against journalists, media personnel and media establishments have neither been apprehended nor punished. The prime factor behind the continuing violence against the free media is that no attempts by Sri Lanka’s authorities have been made to bring the perpetrators to be accountable.

The media oppression spanning two decades has claimed the lives of many journalists. Several have been disappeared. Scores have fled Sri Lanka, and many more have had to leave the field of journalism altogether.

Families of disappeared journalists continue their long vigil for the return of their loved ones.

The Jaffna Press Club, a consortium of journalists serving amidst untold crisis submit the following requests on this Free Media Day.

The Jaffna Press Club calls on the International Community and the Government of Sri Lanka:

1) To create an environment conducive to journalists and media personnel;

2) For perpetrators of violence against journalists, media personnel and media  establishments to be brought to justice;

3) For the fate of the all disappeared journalists to be made public;

4) Appropriate compensations to be granted to the next-of- kin of killed and injured journalists, and families of missing journalists be sustained and protected; and

5) For journalists who had opted to migrate out of Sri Lanka due to threats against their safety and security to be protected by the respective countries where they have sought asylum.