Sunday, June 2, 2013

Global Overview 2012: People internally displaced by conflict and violence - Sri Lanka

REFWORLD | The Leader in Refugee Decision Support

29 April 2013

Hundreds of thousands of current and former IDPs in Sri Lanka remained in need of protection and assistance as of the end of 2012, more than three and a half years after government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009. More than 93,000 people were still living in camps, with host communities or in transit situations. Of more than 480,000 people who had returned to Northern and Eastern provinces, many are still to achieve durable solutions.

At the end of September 2012, the Menik Farm displacement camp, where around 225,000 Tamil IDPs were interned in June 2009, was closed. Of more than 1,300 IDPs still living in the camp in September, 560 were unable to return to their home areas because they were occupied by the Mullaitivu Security Force headquarters. Instead they were relocated, many of them against their will.

Military occupation of land is preventing around 26,000 people from returning across the north and east of Sri Lanka, and it is estimated that more than 3,000 people have been relocated, in many cases involuntarily.

Many returnees faced challenges in accessing their basic humanitarian needs such as shelter, water and sanitation during 2012. Displaced and returning communities also required livelihood assistance, social support, legal assistance and psycho-social care in recovering from the effects of the conflict. The assistance provided was inadequate to meet the needs. The presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance also continued to complicate the recovery of livelihoods. As of the end of the year, clearance operations were ongoing in both livelihood and residential areas, with 108 km2 of land still in need of demining.

In December 2011 the government's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission recommended a reduction of the military presence and the demilitarisation of the administration. A year later, however, the number of troops in Northern province was still high, and the military continued to compete economically with small businesses run by conflict-affected people who were trying to become independent of aid. It also reportedly cultivated crops on land which IDPs had been told they could not return to.

The military continued to engage in activities that fall within the remit of a civil administration, including the authorisation of community meetings or events, and the registration of civilian families in many northern villages, whether they had been displaced or not. Female-headed households reported feeling particularly insecure as a result of military visits. Protracted Tamil IDPs in the Northern Province and in Trincomalee have been unable to return to land that the military is occupying, and to date they have received no support towards a durable solution.

Land issues, which were at the core of the conflict, remained unresolved as of the end of 2012. No policy had been established to address the many and complex housing, land and property issues caused by multiple and protracted displacement. This has prevented many IDPs from achieving durable solutions.

Although they have registered as having returned to the north, many Northern Muslim IDPs continued to live in their places of displacement in Puttalam or between the two locations, the result on the one hand of there being no assistance to support returns and on the other of obstacles to local integration.

Sri Lanka still has no legislation governing IDPs' protection. A bill drafted by the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in 2008 had not been taken forward as of December 2012. The development of a policy and/or legislation on displacement is part of the government's action plan on the protection and promotion of human rights for 2011 to 2016, but the timeframe for its completion had not been met and no information as to progress was available.

The national budget prioritised defence over the ministries responsible for dealing with recovery from the war, and large-scale infrastructure projects were favoured over measures that might address the assistance needs of IDPs and returnees.

The military leadership continued to control the approval of humanitarian projects in the north through its membership in the Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development and Security in the Northern Province (PTF). The PTF places particular restrictions on the provision of mental health care and psycho-social activities. Because of government restrictions, no comprehensive assessment has been conducted in conflict-affected areas, and there is no comprehensive data on the needs of the most vulnerable groups. No IDP profiling has been done since 2007. The government, UNHCR and the UN Office for Project Services launched a survey of protracted IDPs in 2011, but the project was abandoned in December 2012 due to obstacles placed on it by the PTF.

At the end of the year, the UN cluster system was phased out as the international response shifted from humanitarian to development interventions, despite continuing humanitarian needs on the ground. International funding for both areas of activity was significantly reduced.

Sri Lanka Emphasizes Need For Regulation, Transparency And Accountability In Funding To NGOs And NPOs

June 2, 2013 |

Following Media Release has been issued by the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN/Geneva today.

Sri Lanka notes the Report (A/HRC/23/39) of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Mr. Maina Kiai containing information on the activities undertaken during the period under review as well as a thematic elaboration of his mandate.

Ravinatha Aryasinha

We note the reference made by the Special Rapporteur to the desirability of permitting the flow of unhindered funds to associations. Mr. Kiai refers to the transparency and accountability argument being often used by Governments to place limitations on funding of NGOs. While we agree that access to resources is important for the vibrant functioning of civil society, we observe that Mr. Kiai does not seem to adequately take into account the negative impact of lack of or insufficient regulation of funding of associations on national security and counter-terrorism.

While Mr. Kiai expresses the view that civil society organizations play a significant role in combatting terrorism, it has beenSri Lanka’s experience as a country that defeated one of the most ruthless terrorist organisations in the world, that certain NGOs and associations can also play a fundamental role in feeding terrorism and conflict. For example, front organisations of the LTTE posing as legitimate civil society organisations and charities based overseas formed part of a complex international terrorist network which through various means injected the funding and resources needed to nurture the thirty-year terrorist conflict in Sri Lanka. These are actual situations and experiences which the Rapporteur should take cognizance of in order to provide a balanced and pragmatic assessment on the subject of funding of associations and counter-terrorism.

Sri Lanka therefore notes that in actuality, regulation, transparency and accountability of funding to NGOs and NPOs is a pre-requisite in the interest of national security and counter-terrorism as recognized by states. In this regard, we highlight the obligation placed on states to adhere to the regulatory framework all countries are expected to put in place in compliance with 40 Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which makes it mandatory to monitor fund transfers of all financial institutions inclusive of NPOs and INGOs (associations) and other financial institutions, in countering financing of terrorism, money laundering or other related trans-national crimes.

We agree with the Special Rapporteur that the ability to hold peaceful assemblies is a fundamental and integral component of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. In this context we note that the enjoyment of rights pertaining to the freedom of expression, of peaceful assembly and of association, are fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all citizens of Sri Lanka, subject only to strictly defined restrictions set out in the Constitution which the Supreme Court has vigorously applied. While peaceful assembly including demonstrations is permitted under the law, law enforcement authorities retain the right to disperse such assembly in the event it ceases to be peaceful and impinges on the rights of others, particularly in instances where such demonstrations lead to disturbance of public tranquillity. Any person who alleges violation of these rights is entitled to seek redress through the highest court of Sri Lanka or to seek relief through the National Human Rights Commission.

Sri Lanka further notes that with regard to the content of the Special Rapporteur’s report (A/HRC/22/39/Add.2) titled ‘Observations on communications transmitted to Governments and replies received’ our letter dated 15^thFebruary 2013 in response to a joint urgent appeal by four special procedures mandate holders including Mr. Kiai, pointed to the erroneous nature of the information contained in the appeal which therefore did not warrant an urgent appeal under any circumstances, as per resolution 5/2 on the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures mandate holders of the Council.

In conclusion, Mr. President, we thank Mr. Kiai for his work and continued engagement.

Electricity tariff hike hikes inflation

SUNDAY, 02 JUNE 2013

Government’s official data indicates that inflation that was 6.4% in April rose to 7.3% in May.

Inflation that rose in mid 2012 decreased gradually and the Central Bank took measures to bring down its interest ratios that influence decisions of interest rates in commercial banks.

However, IMF advised Sri Lanka not to bring down interest rates as it would increase inflation.

Karaoke owner becomes Chairman of Bank of Ceylon

Sunday, 02 June 2013

Minister Basil Rajapaksa is trying to get well known banker and karaoke owner, Janaka Ratnayake appointed to the post of Bank of Ceylon Chairman after the current Chairman, President’s Counsel Razik Zarook retires from the post this October.

Janaka Ratnayake was a former chairman of the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka affiliated to Bank of Ceylon. Ratnayake was a key witness for the government when the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake was being inquired. At the time, Ratnayake was hopeful of being appointed as the People’s Bank Chairman. However, due to the clash between Ratnayake and Ajith Panditharatne, the President appointed his chief of staff, Gamini Senarath to the post of People’s Bank Chairman.

Ratnayake is the owner of the well known karaoke club in Slave Island called, ICE. He is operating this club through a Russian lady named, Zelana. Janaka Ratnayake opened this karaoke bar with the intention of getting pretty Russian girls to secure deals for him from powerful government members.

After Ratnayake was appointed as the Chairman of Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, the karaoke club’s management was assigned to Nuwara Eliye Wasantha.

Ratnayake first built his link with the Rajapaksa family in 2005 through Dr. Sunimal Fernando. He had then volunteered to carry out the President’s telephone campaign and had later charged for the voluntary campaign. The campaign was carried out from Computer Island (Pvt) Limited in Kirulapone and the police had later taken action against the company for illegally tapping electricity. However, Ratnayake had managed to save himself from being arrested using Basil Rajapaksa’s influence and after getting the police to arrest a driver of the company.

Later, the building that belonged to Computer Island (Pvt) Limited was sold to the National Saving Bank and Rs. 120 lakhs taken as VAT payments during the transaction has not yet been handed over to the Inland Revenue Department.

This person has even been mentioned parliament hansards as some one unsuitable to hold any office in the state sector. Questions have therefore been raised as to how such a person could be suitable to hold the post of Bank of Ceylon Chairman.

Supreme Court Judge Shirani Bhuran Thilekwardena who maintained a strong stance against this corrupt person had recently summoned him to her chamber and said, “Janaka, you helped us a lot during the impeachment. We have therefore decided to help Janaka. All you cases will end soon. So don’t be afraid.”

President brought parcels of credit for white elephant projects, not gifts, from China – Daya
Sunday, 02 June 2013

What the president brought with him from his recent visit to China are parcels of credit for white elephant projects in the country, and not gift parcels as thought by some, said UNP national organizer and eastern provincial councilor Daya Gamage.

He was addressing local government and provincial council members of the UNP in Matara district at a meeting at Hemali Hotel in Walgama today.

UNP MP Dr. Anoma Gamage, former MP Sagala Ratnayake, Devinuwara organizer Wimalasiri and several others also participated.

Mr. Gamage went onto say that the UNP had repeatedly warned that even the future generations would have to repay the massive loans being obtained, purportedly for development projects, but in actual fact to pocket big commissions by those in power.

According to the 2012 report of the Central Bank, Sri Lanka’s foreign debt stood at Rs. 6,000 billion, but the real figure is Rs. 7,500 billion, he said.

Mr. Gamage said that when he had inquired from a top official of a lending institution as to why such massive loans are being granted to Sri Lanka, that official had replied that although the island was without a good economy at present, they believed the loans would be repaid to them once the UNP formed a government and the economy became stable.

Even government ministers accept the fact that it is Ranil Wickremesinghe, not Mahinda Rajapaksa, who could revive the economy of the country, he noted.

Speaking furthter, Mr. Gamage said all should commit themselves to form a UNP regime despite attempts by present rulers to divide the party, just like they did to the JVP.

A beseeching of God Vishnu, the custodian of Sri Lanka according to Mahawamsa, to create leaders capable of ensuring good governance will begin from Dondra on June 09 and held countrywide with the support of all, he added.

Also speaking here, UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera said the present regime had earned the wrath of the masses in an unprecedented level.

Their hopes for economic and social development after the end of the war have been dashed to the ground, and it is not the UNP suporters, but the ruling UPFA supporters, who had become the most disillusioned with this government, he added.

Mr. Samaraweera said an environment has established itself under which the UNP can win the next election, and asked the suproters to work with commitment and determination to achieve that objective

DIG Vaas Gunawardena had taken Rs. 30 lakhs to murder businessman Shyam: DIG’s hired assassins confess to 9 such murders(Lanka-e-News-01.June.2013.11.55PM) Two suspects who had been taken into custody in connection with the murder of a businessman M H H M Shyam of Bambalapitiya who was abducted on the 22nd and murdered had made confessions during the investigations by the CCD that they are hired assassins of DIG Vaas Gunawardena who after taking many lakhs of rupees carries out these abduction and murder contracts .

It has come to light that Vaas Gunawardena the contract murderer is responsible for 9 such gruesome murders. According to information gathered by the Lanka e news inside information division , it is as follows :

On the 22nd of May , the millionaire footwear businessman went missing. The victim who went out of the house that night had not returned home. On the following day (23) , his body was found by the police with gunshot injuries to his head and chest in a place in the Dompe police division. On the same day , the Mirihana police had taken into custody his vehicle that was left abandoned in the Mirihana police division . Intriguingly , though Shyam’s family had reported this disappearance to the police , despite Shyam’s body being found by the police on the 23rd , his family had not been informed until day before yesterday , 30th . In other words, for a week the police had not intimated that the body had been found. The body of Shyam had been in the Gampaha mortuary for 7 long days !

30th , the relatives have identified the body. The police had also made an egregious blunder deliberately or otherwise , because , when reporting to the media daily on several occasions had not mentioned therein about the murder or that an unidentified body had been found in Dompe or about the abandoned vehicle in Mirihana. This is a wicked wonder ! Should n’t the police in such an abduction (and murder) inform the public via the media immediately and invite the public assistance to identify the deceased? Wasn’t it because the police had the need to suppress the crime that it did not take this action ?

Meanwhile the relatives of Shyam had been searching for Shyam most frantically . They had also spent large sums of money towards the search.

Following their search they had discovered that Shyam was last seen going with a business friend of his, based on a CCTV camera recording of a neighboring shop. After this information was passed to the police , the latter was unable to neglect or suppress the investigation. Though the friend who was associated with Shyam for 8 years also joined in the search, the relatives began to harbor suspicions on him. After the friend was arrested, two more suspects were taken into custody. These two suspects are underworld criminal murderers , and they were taken into custody by a CCD officer.

When the two underworld criminals and Shyam’s friend made confessions , the CCD officer was shocked beyond belief.

Shyam’s friend had confessed that he had given Rs. 30 lakhs to DIG Vaas Gunawardena to murder Shyam. The other two suspects had confessed that they are hired assassins of Vaas Gunawardena, and he had paid Rs. Three lakhs to each of them to abduct and kill Shyam . In the confession these two underworld criminals had stated that they have done 9 murders on such contracts. One such contract is the Majestic Praba murder . Another contract murder was when Vaas Gunawardena was the SSP Galle : a Galle businessman was killed in public on the main road by amputating his both hands. Thereafter , the four individuals suspected in that murder were killed while blindfolded near the Poddala Mahason culvert .

The two contract murderers of Vaas Gunawardena had admitted in the confession that it is they had who killed those four individuals. The weapons they used to commit these murders had been supplied by Vaas Gunawardena. These are weapons that are used by the police, and for every murder they had been paid Rs. Two to three lakhs each.

Even as these confessions were made there had been intense pressures brought to bear on the investigating officers so much so that this investigation is in the process of being suppressed.

Vaas Gunawaradena was a former Director of the CCD. It is the notorious DIG Anura Senanayake who is in charge of it now. In the circumstances attempts are being made to conceal the confessions , and orders had gone out not to make any record of these confessions.

The police chiefs who did not even give publicity via the media that Shyam’s body was found are now through their own media coolies seeking to conceal the hired assassins of Vaas Gunawardena from the ghastly murder , while only revealing Shyam’s friend .

Vaas Gunawardena who was responsible for the murder of the four suspects near the Galle Mahason culvert and earned plus points from Gotabaya came to Kahawatte to trail the suspects in the Kahawatte women murder. After planning the release of the suspects in this murder who were in remand custody , he abducted and murdered them.. Vaas who got promotions over and above others thereby , and became a DIG is now employing hired assassins to abduct and kill wealthy businessmen with impunity after taking huge sums of monies as kickbacks from the enemies of the businessmen.

In the face of these stark revelations , Vaas Gunawardena ought to be taken into custody immediately on the confessions made by the businessman’s friend and the two hired assassins of Vaas Gunawardena. This whole truth behind this murder after huge cash payments collected by Vaas is now known to the IGP and a number of high rung police officers. When a high ranking police officer who was a Director of the CCD is himself involved in contract murders , surely the defense secretary of a country cannot claim that he is not aware, unless he is a party to it or he is so stupid and inefficient as not to know.

It is now learnt that those involved are moving heaven and earth to suppress this heinous crime . Lanka e news which has always been in the vanguard of championing the cause of the law abiding citizens and seeking to enthrone law and justice by its stark exposures is once again exposing another episode of brutal lawlessness of the higher ups with a view to defeating the concerted attempts to suppress this ruthless crime.

The Spirit Of Vesak 2013?

By Emil van der Poorten -June 2, 2013

Emil van der Poorten

Vesak this year has proven more eventful than any I’ve experienced in many years past, unfortunately, for the wrong reasons.

Being a long week-end and with another more personal occasion to celebrate, we had a house full of visitors, close family mostly.

After the usual pre-lunch libations and a typical celebratory Sri Lankan meal, most retired for the post-lunch siesta typical of the tropics, waking refreshed for tea. Not so long after this we were jolted by two strangers running into our garage/car port and I ended up with an urgent summons from those nearest to the parked vehicles to come deal with what seemed like a potentially violent conflict.

The two individuals, Sinhalese by the sounds of it, claimed that there was a mob in pursuit of them and they were seeking our protection. Given the fact that we live in anything but urban circumstances, with the closest house about half a kilometer away, it was hard to envisage a “mob” in pursuit of two “victims.”

A quick question or two elicited the information that the “victims” had arrived with some potential buyers to show them land that they (the “victims”) claimed to own adjacent to mine. This was land on which squatters had, over probably twenty years plus, constructed very basic housing and in which they were continuing to raise their families, some of the children now in their teens.

Given the pandemonium that seemed to come from outside our gate which is about 75 metres away from the garage, I decided to see what was going on.

What first met my eyes was a small truck and what seemed like some of its passengers surrounded by a very angry mob, many seemingly the worse for wear in terms of alcohol (ab)use! Several of the locals were people I knew quite well, so I inquired what the hullabaloo was all about. Out of the sometimes-incoherent babble, emerged a tale of intruders led by those claiming to own the land (one at least of whom had sought our protection) entering the land on which the residents now lived, loudly proclaiming that they would chase the current occupants away, torch their homes and give the potential new owners (who were with them) uncontested occupancy of that turf. The potential buyers were Muslims. To provide a potentially volatile ethnic cocktail, the ENTIRE mob that had the intruders surrounded was TAMIL! To add to the volatility of the situation, the Tamils claimed that the intruders had already assaulted their young children in an effort to terrorise the families and drive them off the land.

In any event, I thought we had succeeded in defusing the situation when we persuaded the resident “colonists” to return to their homes which were about a kilometer away and persuaded the vehicle and its occupants to return whence they’d come, something they did with significant haste, destroying the shrubs and flowering plants we’d raised with great difficulty near our gate! By the time I returned to our garage/car port, one of the two men who had sought our protection had disappeared. In any event, I was able to get more information from the man who still looked to us for protection.

He said he had bought 18 acres of land from a man who claimed to have title to it from the Land Reform Commission. I was relatively familiar with the history of this land because it constituted part of the “ancestral” plantation of my grandfather which, to cut a long story short, had been through an uncle’s ownership to a state plantation corporation under the Land Reform Act. That entity had collapsed under the weight of massive incompetence and corruption and the resident workers who were, without any prior warning, left with no employment and, literally, without a roof over their heads, simply squatted on the land and built shacks in which to live, abodes which assumed a more permanent form as the years went by. A separate dissertation would be required to do justice to the history of those latter-day refugee camps for the internally displaced workers of this part of the Central Province, but time and space do not permit an exploration of that time!

Some of the land, pretty much all of it, if one were to believe the oral history that prevails in this neighbourhood, was given to/appropriated by a couple of UNP MPs and their friends at the time that the collapse occurred. After they had divested the land of its valuable timber, very few, if any, of these chose to do anything with what had fallen into their laps, and abandoned it to the dispossessed workers and neighbouring villagers who moved in and seemed to have acquired prescriptive right to it by virtue of their period of occupation. In fact, many of them had acquired rudimentary recognition of their ownership of the land by the Land Reform Commission if local anecdote was to be believed. Except for one individual, however, it appeared that none of the group who were invaded on that particular day had anything resembling a deed of ownership, resting their claims on the receipts they had obtained from the local government for payment of acreage or land taxes over a a period of close to 20 years. Also, what differentiated this from other groups on this land was the fact that every single one of them belonged to the group sometimes referred to as “Tamils of Indian Origin.” You’d have to be particularly insensitive not to realize that there was some connection between their ethnicity and their plight on that day!

To return to the narrative, after we thought we’d successfully dispersed the protagonists, we felt it was safe enough to let the man who had sought refuge with us return to his motor bike which he’d parked close to where the melee had occurred and which we had, by dint of bellowing at the local mob, saved from being smashed up. He rode away and we thought we’d seen the last of this Vesak diversion.

That, unfortunately, was not to be.

Some of our visitors chose to take a hike down the approach road and, before they’d gone very far, came upon a group of “foot soldiers” travelling up the hill, armed with wooden staves and similar weaponry. Three vehicles packed with several dozen passengers, one a police 4-WD with two policemen in it, were immediately behind the “infantry.” It was obvious that another bout of warfare on our doorstep lay in store for us. Thanks to cellphone technology, those of us still at home were warned immediately. We could do little but ensure that our gate was secured to the extent possible.

What we pieced together subsequently was that the group had disembarked from their vehicles at our gate and proceeded up to the colony and wrought havoc on the residents, their houses, one’s motor bike etc. until the two policemen had prevailed upon them to stop.

I was informed that half a dozen of the Tamils were arrested by the two policemen for drunk and disorderly conduct and locked up in police cells overnight and will be charged later in the week in the local magistrate’s court. Given my observation of the state of inebriation of several of that group, this appeared justified. However, it does not appear that the long arm of the law had reached any of the invading force – both the initial group and those that followed shortly thereafter. Shades of what happens when the Bodu Bala Sena launches one of its “actions!”

I cannot but remark on the alacrity with which the local constabulary responded to the summons from those who provoked the entire brouhaha in the first place. It was impressive, to say the least, particularly since it was Vesak day and most of the personnel were on leave. As a resident of the area, I hope I am not being overly optimistic in the expectation that this heralds a new era in the matter of police response times and that some of us might expect our local custodians of law and order to respond as swiftly when we have cause to seek their intervention! However, our over-riding concern is the level of violence that seems to be the rule rather than the exception and the fact that it seems to be driven by a belief that such conduct is acceptable if one can get away with it which, in this instance, seemed to be the case with not one of the “invaders” being charged with any offence!

‘Indrarathana Thero Not A True Monk’, Says Clergy

By Raisa Wickrematunge-Sunday, June 02, 2013

Friday, May 24th people watched in horror as Bowatte Indrarathana Thero self-immolated to protest against cattle slaughter.

When people decided to intervene, it was too late – the monk suffered third degree burns on his body and succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
Indrarathana Thero is being hailed by many as a saint for self-sacrificing to a cause. But others, including members of the clergy, disagree.
Ven. Baddegama Samitha Thero said that Indrarathana Thero’s death was not only a sin, but that he was no longer considered a monk after committing suicide.

Ven. Samitha Thero said there were certain transgressions, which, when committed, would cause a monk to lose his robes. These included stealing a certain amount of money, sexual intercourse and killing another human being. Within this category, suicide was also a sin, Ven. Samitha Thero explained. The monk said he could not endorse Indrarathana Thero’s act, which had disgraced not only himself and the Dalada Maligawa as well. “You cannot call him a monk,” Samitha Thero added.

Funeral rites of the Ven. Bowatte Indrarathana Thero being performed

The venerable monk added that Indrarathana Thero had become desperate during his spiritual campaign against cattle slaughter. Buddhists should always take the middle path of moderation, he added, but the monk had been driven to desperate measures. The monk also blamed the media, several of whom had been told in advance about Indrarathana Thero’s self-immolation. “There was plenty of time and opportunities to save him,” Samitha Thero said.

In addition, he said that a small number of extremist groups were now being given political backing, with elements of the state encouraging these groups’ violent nature, including those within the Government.

Upon being asked to identify these state elements however, Samitha Thero said he did not want to comment on that for the moment. But added the notion that; “The country knows that certain individuals are promoting these vile extremists”.

Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero also said that as a member of the clergy he could not condone someone committing suicide. Sobitha Thero pointed out that in the past there had been many protests and petitions signed on this issue. After this suicide, the Government would hopefully take note and implement measures to ensure cattle were protected to some extent. In this sense it would be good to see the Government take action but it was not a good thing to commit suicide, Sobitha Thero reiterated.

The Sinhala Ravaya speaks

In the meantime, members of the Sinhala Ravaya are hailing Indrarathana Thero as a martyr who sacrificed his life for a cause.
Chairman of the Sinhala Ravaya organization and former JHU Parliamentarian Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathna Thero said that Indrarathana Thero had held a prolonged campaign against cattle slaughter, even calling on the authorities to take some action, but no one had taken any interest in the matter. Akmeemana Thero added that as soon as a child stops depending on its mother for milk, he or she depends on the cow, and thus killing cattle should be frowned upon.

However in a new twist Dayarathna Thero also said that Indrarathana Thero had also campaigned against unethical conversions.

Dayarathna Thero claimed that there was a programme by Muslim and Christian fundamentalist groups to convert Buddhists to their religion, and that Indrarathana Thero had spoken up against this as well, with churches springing up everywhere. Dayarathna Thero added that they had carried out protests in different parts of the country but the authorities had not stopped illegal conversions or cattle slaughter.

Dayarathna Thero said that illegal conversions led to disharmony and misunderstandings about mainstream Christianity and Buddhism.
As such, the Thero said that when Indrarathana Thero sat in front of the iconic Temple of the Tooth and meditated that day, he had made a sacrifice in order to open the eyes of religious leaders on both issues. “Normally, suicide takes place when people are troubled and can’t escape from their problems. But he did it for everybody, so we don’t see it as a suicide, but a sacrifice,” Dayarathna Thero said.

Speaking further, he said that buying the freedom of cattle was not enough – the whole practice should be banned entirely. Saying that the population of Sri Lanka was 80% Buddhist, he added that if the practice of other religions was detrimental to the wellbeing of the majority then the Government should take steps to correct that.

The Thero said that this issue was not connected to an earlier campaign to ban Halal products. “This is not about Muslims, we have nothing against them. If they want to import meat into the country, then we have nothing against that,” Dayarathna Thero said.

Meanwhile, JHU Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero denied that there was any split of opinion within the party over Indrarathana Thero’s death. He added that Minister of Environment Champika Ranawaka and he both wanted the same thing, which was to ban cattle slaughter. “It was not suicide, but an act of sacrifice,” Rathana Thero said.

Drama At the funeral

There was some drama in the wake of Indrarathana’s Thero’s death – with members of the Sinhala Ravaya violently protesting that the monk’s body should be kept at the Jayaratne Funeral Parlour in Borella, where his remains were being prepared for last rites.
However, the monk’s body was transferred to Kahawatte in the Ratnapura district.

At the last moment, the funeral was also shifted forward from Wednesday (May 22) to Tuesday (May 21) and was held in the Kahawatte Porunuwa grounds.

A monk speaking from the Porunuwa-Sugathaarama temple in Kahawatte said that there had been a ‘firm request’ by the Pelmadulla Pradeshiya Sabha to bring Indrarathana Thero’s body to his village, and it was in response to that that the body was brought to Kahawatte, so that funeral rites could be held as quickly as possible.

Indrarathana Thero had also been elected a member of the Pelmadulla Pradeshiya Sabha but had lost his seat, as he was unable to attend meetings due to his social work commitments, it was earlier reported.

Minister of Public Administration John Seneviratne was loudly booed when he tried to address the crowds gathered at the funeral, and a tense situation quickly developed. Seneviratne said he did not want to comment on the incident due to the tension following the funeral, which had led to some misunderstanding.
An investigation is going on into the cause of death, police spokesman Buddhika Siriwardena said, the Kandy police is conducting the investigation, while the CID is currently collecting facts on the incident. Several witnesses who had been at the Temple of the Tooth had been interviewed and statements given, following Ministry of Mass Media and Information Charitha Herath’s lambasting of certain media organizations who had prior knowledge of Indrarathana Thero’s intentions but did nothing to stop him or warn anyone beforehand.

On banning cattle slaughter

Several members of civil society came forward to comment on the issue of cattle slaughter.
Managing Director of Young Asia Television, Hilmy Ahamed said that the Buddhist community alone refraining from eating beef would spare thousands of cattle. However, a huge financial loss would be incurred by those low-income farmers who rear cattle and even other animals like goats to supplement their income level. The people who reared cattle were mostly Buddhists themselves, and a ban would hit them hard, Ahamed said. In addition, he added that if looking at the numbers of cattle slaughtered, those consumed by Muslims would only amount to 2-5% of the total. Therefore it was not only the Muslims who would lose out by such a ban but Buddhists too, Ahamed said.

N. M Ameen, the President of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said that the issue of cattle slaughter has suddenly emerged as a Buddhist concern. The Muslims and most other Sri Lankans have had access to Cattle meat for centuries, he said. If there is a religious restriction for Buddhists to consume beef, the Muslim community would certainly respect them, Ameen said, adding that Buddhists did have the choice to refrain from consuming meats. However he also said that the suppliers of cattle to the slaughter houses were often Sinhalese farmers. For example, a large number of cattle are slaughtered everyday in the Eastern province which is a source of high revenue for the farmers of Maha-Oya and Ampara districts. Any restriction will affect these Sinhalese cattle farmers greatly, Ameen said. He added that while it was true that most of the meat stalls in the markets are owned by Muslim traders, there is a large non-Muslim population who patronize the beef stalls, Ameen pointed out. Further, Sri Lanka has become a major tourist destination for Arab and Middle Eastern tourism. This too would be affected. Ameen reiterated that religious, cultural and social freedom of all communities should be respected.

Meanwhile, an online campaign circulating on Facebook is claiming that there is a Christian and Muslim conspiracy to blame the TV station who stood by and took video footage of the monk setting himself on fire. The Facebook photo claims this is because Christians and Muslims support cattle slaughter while the TV news station is against it.

While the sudden death is tragic, it is important to remember what Indrarathana Thero stood for. Dayarathna Thero while speaking at Indrarathana Thero’s funeral reportedly said that the monk was a strong activist within the Sinhala Ravaya. This group has indeed been active against what they term are illegal conversions.
(Funeral pictures courtesy
Gossip Lanka)

The Asymmetric Relationship of Buddhist-Muslim Bond in Sri Lanka

Photo via IBN Live, taken by Reuters

Riza Yehiya-1 Jun, 2013

The Buddhist –Muslim relationship in Sri Lanka is centuries old.

It grew from the pre-Islamic Arab relationship with Sri Lanka and continued beyond the advent of Islam. Principally, the Arabs who built vibrant trade relation with Sri Lanka put their roots here and made Sri Lanka a second home. With the advent of Islam in the 7th Century, the Arabs became Muslims; hence the Arab-Muslim relationship with Sri Lanka became ever stronger and prominent with the ascendency of Islam as a global power. As a result, the relationship that originated as commercial links extended beyond to other areas like internal and external trade, defense, diplomatic relationship and Arab-Muslim settlements and domicile etc.

The Asymmetric Relationship of Buddhist-Muslim Bond in Sri Lanka by nelvely

Video: ‘Bismillah, Allāhu Akbar’ – Mercy Halal Islamic Slaughter

June 2, 2013

Given the context of the recent hate campaign against Muslims in Sri Lanka over Halal and cattle slaughtering, we have republished the presentation below with the permission of the Mercy Slaughter LLC, as it resurfaces some interesting points of view.

Certain parts of this presentation may be inappropriate for younger viewers or may be upsetting or offensive to some viewers based on their particular views on or sensitivity to the slaughtering of animals for food purposes.

“This presentation is intended to give guidance and support to persons who are engaged in the preparation, sale, and consumption of halal meat. Mercy Slaughter LLC has been diligent in its efforts to make the content of this presentation accurate. The philosophy and opinions expressed herein are those of Mercy Slaughter LLC and do not necessarily reflect the philosophy and opinions of all persons engaged in the halal meat industry.” says the Mercy Slaughter LLC.

“This presentation is intended to be educational and thought provoking. Mercy Slaughter LLC’s goal is to motivate the viewer to examine and review the teachings and other authoritative materials on which the viewer’s opinions, practices, and procedures regarding halal meat are based and, where appropriate, to implement changes to his opinions, practices, or procedures.” they further say.

These presentations are filmed at mercy slaughter 2755 porter road Katy Texas 77493 tel 281-391-0021 CEL 281-650-0300.