12 STF officers arrested over the killing of 5 youth in Eastern Sri Lanka remanded further
Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 01:02 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Aug 13, Trincomalee: A Sri Lankan court today further remanded the 12 Special Task Force (STF) personnel arrested for the high profile killing of five Tamil students in Trincomalee of eastern Sri Lanka in 2006.
Trincomalee Magistrate, A.L. Ashra remanded the 12 STF officers until 26 August when the suspects including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the Trincaomalee Police were produced in Trincomalee Magistrate court today.
The counsel for one of the suspects appealed to the court to allow his client bail to attend a family event and the Magistrate advised the suspect to obtain necessary advice from the Commissioner of Prisons as the state did not object to the appeal.
The killing of the 5 Tamil students took place on January 02, 2006 when they were playing in the beach. The 5 students were detained briefly and then shot to death.
The authorities claimed the students were LTTE terrorists and they were ready to lob a grenade. However, further investigations have revealed that the students were shot in the execution style.
The murders and subsequent efforts to cover up the involvement of security forces have drawn a huge outcry from international Human Rights groups as well as the local groups and the families of the victims.
Dr. Kasipillai Manoharan, the father of one of the students killed, appealed to international rights groups including the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate the crime and to provide justice to his son and other victims.

Human Rights Watch recently criticized Sri Lanka's lack of progress in meeting out justice in serious human right violations such as the killing of the five students and called for concerted international action.

Ampaa'rai GA, DS officials step up Sinhalicisation of Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 August 2013, 02:53 GMT]
Deputy Elections Commissioner of Batticaloa District, RMAL Ratnayaka, has recently instructed Paddippazhai divisional secretariat to register the Sinhalese, who have recently encroached into the public lands in Kevu’liyaa-madu, on the voters' registry of the district, civil sources in Batticaloa said adding that Sinhalicisation of Batticaloa district is being accelerated while the Sri Lankan Government Agent of Batticaloa Ms PSM Charles, who is a Tamil, is on vacation and the SLGA of Ampaa’rai district, Mr Neel de Alwis, is tasked by Colombo as the acting SLGA of Batticaloa district. The Deputy Elections Commissioner has recently visited the Sinhala encroachers and handed over forms to register in voters’ registry for 25 families. 

Earlier, a stay order was issued by the courts against the encroachment into public graze land. The court had named the encroachers. Some of them had returned. But, those who stayed have been given brand new houses in the housing scheme by Colombo through a Sinhala Buddhist extremist NGO named Helabima with the active participation of a former SL military officer now in charge of ‘development’ in the district and the Buddhist prelate of Batticaloa Mangalarama Vihara. 

Following the opposition by civil officials in the district against the systematic encroachment of public lands, construction of new houses has been suspended till further notice in Kevu’liyaa-madu.

The SL Governor of Eastern Province who is a former military commander, Rear Admiral (retd.) Mohan Wijewickrama, has been encouraging Sinhala officials in the East to carry on Sinhalicisation, Tamil civil officials in Batticaloa further said. 

Also, the divisional secretary of Uhana in Ampaa’rai district with GS officials under him, is interfering in the affairs of Batticaloa district. 

The Sinhala officials have been arguing that 2% of the lands that were under Ampaa’rai in 1981 had been provided to Sinhala settlers. 

There were only a few Sinhala families in Kevu’liyaa-madu before the war. 

Now, the Sinhala officials claim that there were 89 Sinhala families, Tamil officials in Paddippazhai say.

UPFA candidates clash in Nuwara Eliya

 Monday, 19 August 2013 

Digambaran and Thondaman clash in Kotagala

Supporters of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) clashed with those supporting National Workers Union (NWU,) both constituent parties of United Peoples Freedom Alliance at Commercial Junction, Kotagala today (August 19.) 14 vehicles have been damaged and several individuals have been injured.
MPs P Digambaram and P Rajadurei (NWU) were traveling to Hatton from Nuwara Eliya in a convoy of vehicles when supporters Minister Arumugam Thondaman attacked them. Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) observes that this is the most serious election related instance of violence in Nuwara Eliya.

Rajadurei, who recently resigned from the CWC, joined the NWU yesterday. With this, instances of election related violence rises to nine.

Experiences Of Reconciliation: Burma, Cambodia, El Salvador And South Africa

By Laksiri Fernando -August 19, 2013 

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

[The following is a presentation on the subject delivered at a workshop titled “Beyond Conflict” organized by the Sri Lanka Reconciliation Forum, Sydney, at the University of Sydney on 17 August 2013.)

The concept or the mechanism of reconciliation has a special origin in Australia. In 1991, the Federal Parliament unanimously voted to form the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and it functioned until 2001. That is the first known mechanism for reconciliation. The experiment was emulated in New Zealand and Canada thereafter. The Council had three main objectives: (1) to educate all Australians about indigenous issues (2) to improve economic and living standards of indigenous people and (3) to acknowledge the unfair and often inhuman treatment of indigenous people throughout history. The third objective was about the truth and accountability which became the corner stone of reconciliation processes in many other countries thereafter.

A parallel development was at the UN. In the same year, in 1991, the UN Security Council asked the Secretary General to work on preventive diplomacy, peace-making and peace keeping and the SC came out with what was called An Agenda for Peace in 1992. There he said, “I have added a closely related concept, post-conflict peace-building.” The two concepts became merged very easily thereafter, and we alternatively call almost the same thing/s as ‘Reconciliation’ and/or ‘Post-Conflict Peace-Building.’       Read More

Lessons From China, Myanmar And Africa To Sri Lankan Policymakers

By Charitha Ratwatte -August 20, 2013 

Charitha Ratwatte

A recent 10-day tour of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), covering four cities – Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and Guiyang, gave a group of Sri Lankan professionals a glimpse of the potent might of the Dragon Kingdom.

It contrasted with a tour one of the touring party had made in 1982 of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the People’s Republic, which showed the same Chinese descendants of Confucius and the Emperor of the Middle Kingdom, once resplendent in the Forbidden City in Beijing, thriving under four diverse systems of government.

The PRC is well on its way to dominate the world, as it did before the Europeans colonised huge parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America and fought the Opium War to force China to open up its markets.

But the visitors also realised that China has to learn some hard lessons before this can happen, peacefully. The choking smog and the formidable Forbidden City in Beijing, the awesome Terra Cotta warriors and the entrepreneurial Muslim street of Xian, the mercantilist might of Shanghai and the awesome Huangguoshu water fall near Guiyang are all mind boggling, but the lessons to be learnt are something else, entirely.

Lessons from Myanmar                          Read More

Ananthi to brief Pillay about the disappeared

by Our Jaffna Correspondent-Monday, 19 Aug 2013

 

Ananthi Sasitharan, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidate for the forthcoming Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls, described the newly set up Presidential Commission to look into disappearances during the final stages of the war in 2009, as unreliable, and said she would meet the visiting UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navaneetham Pillay.

Sasitharan said she would explain to the UN Human Rights Chief  in detail, the surrender by civilians to the Security Forces at the final stage of the war in May 2009, and the subsequent disappearance of those civilians, including her husband, Elilan, who had been taken into custody by the security forces.

Ananthi, the wife of the LTTE’s former Trincomalee political wing leader, Sasitharan alias Elilan, was speaking at a press briefing held at the Jaffna Press Club on Friday (16).
She further said the Presidential Commission that was set up last week, to ascertain the number of persons who had  disappeared during the final phase of the war, was meant to deceive the international community as well as the people of the North who had wanted justice. 

“The President has set up a commission to look into the disappearances of people during the final phase of the war in a bid to pacify Navaneetham Pillay who is due in Sri Lanka soon. We have seen enough commissions of this nature, and none of them have produced any tangible results. The reports of those commissions are probably on a shelf without any action being taken on their findings. I am looking forward to meeting the UN Human Rights Commissioner, who will be visiting the island shortly, and explain the plight of the families of the disappeared persons. I am also one of the victims and a witness who had seen first- hand, the persons who surrendered to the Security Forces, including my husband, Elilan,” Ananthi said.

She emphasized that political prisoners who have been kept behind bars for years without any legal action being taken against them, should be released, and information on the thousands of innocent civilians who disappeared even before the final lap of the war, should be revealed.
“I have come forward to contest as a TNA candidate at the NPC polls, to strengthen the struggle of the civilians to find their loved ones who had disappeared,” she further said.
She added, irrespective of winning or losing at the NPC polls, she would continue to work for the civilians affected by the war.

‘Cremation’ of vital CMC documents under probe

By Lal Gunasekera and Dilanthi Jayamanne-August 18, 2013

Councillors of the ruling UNP and Opposition joined hands in attempts to save over 1,000 confidential documents of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) from being reduced to ash at the Buddhist section of the General Cemetery, Kanatte on Saturday (17) evening. The files were set ablaze by a senior SLAS official and a senior Vice Squad officer.

Roy Bogahawatte, MMC representing the Democratic Unity Alliance (DUA). told The Island yesterday (18) that together with Dharshan Silva (UNP) and Eric Chandrasena (UPFA), he had visited Kanatte on Saturday around 5.30 p.m. on information received that documents belonging to the CMC were being burnt. He said that they had managed to save about 50 files and handed over half of the burnt documents to Colombo Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil. They requested the Mayor to hold an immediate inquiry and take action against the two offenders.

Bogahawatte said that both Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam (Director of CMC’s Public Health Department) and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mahinda Balasuriya in charge of cemeteries in Colombo were unaware of the illegal act.

He said that the files containing official CMC documents, some pertaining to illegal and unqualified security personnel in the CMC, had been taken to the cemetery for burning in two cars (KA 9959, DC 2347) and a van (253 – 7986) belonging to the Secretary’s Department. He said the correspondence of the illegal and unqualified personnel, also included drivers recruited in 2011 and 2012.

Bogahawatte said that an inquiry was being held into the incident by the Chief Internal Auditor L. H. Hettiarachchi and Chief Security Officer D. B. S. Sirinaka instructed by Mayor Muzammil to hand over the report today (19) for necessary action to be taken.The Island learns that the CMC at their monthly meeting in June passed a motion to remove two illegally recruited security guards.

Colombo Mayor Muzammil said that only corpses could be cremated at Kanatte and it could not be utilized to burn documents. He said that the burning of official CMC documents was an illegal act and once the inquiry was completed and perpetrators identified, he would take the necessary steps and even complain to the Police and inform the Minister of Local Government A. L. M. Athaullah, too.

Exclusive Bench Fixing Expose: Documentary Proof Of Mohan Pieris Interfering With Case Challenging His Own De Facto CJ Appointment

de facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris

August 19, 2013 

The Colombo Telegraph is able to reveal today through this exclusive report, documentary proof that de facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris has interfered in fundamental rights case SC (FR) 23/2013, challenging his own appointment. He is a party to the case as the 6th respondent and stands to benefit or lose personally depending on the outcome of the case.       Read More

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Release The Buried Reports, Be Transparent – Bar Association SL Tells Commonwealth Sharma

August 19, 2013 

Senior Lawyers at the Sri Lankan Bar will take issue directly with the Commonwealth Secretariat over a decision by Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma to refrain from disclosing the content of two major legal opinions he sought regarding the Sri Lankan Government’s impeachment of its Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

BASL President, Upul Jayasuriya

As exclusively revealed in the Colombo Telegraph, Commonwealth SG Sharma may have covered up two key independent legal opinions by South African and British jurists on the legality of Sri Lanka’s impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, withholding the content of those opinions even from the powerful Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG).

Bar Association of Sri Lanka President, Upul Jayasuriya said he would be writing directly to the Commonwealth Secretariat, calling for transparency and a release of these two legal opinions. “We are interested in this matter ourselves, these are opinions sought about the Sri Lankan judicial system. We are stakeholders in this issue so whether the impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake was wrong or right, we have every right to know,” Jayasuriya told Colombo Telegraph.

JC Weliamuna

He added that in the name of transparency, the Secretary General had an obligation to reveal the content of the opinions he had sought about the Sri Lankan impeachment.

“Kamalesh Sharma did not pay for these independent opinions with his personal silver – he paid for it with Commonwealth funds,” he charged.

Jayasuriya explained that as a citizen of the Commonwealth and as a member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association which was responsible for conceptualising the Latimer House principles governing the independence of the judiciary in Commonwealth Member States. “We are entitled to know if there has been a violation of these principles or not,” he explained.Read More

John Abraham-starrer Madras Cafe in trouble as pro-Tamil outfits refuse to allow screening

PTI  Chennai, August 18, 2013 

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/will-not-allow-screening-of-john-abraham-madras-cafe-pro-tamil-groups/1/300132.html

After watching a special screening of John Abraham-starrer 'Madras Cafe' in Chennai on Sunday, volunteers of pro-Tamil outfits denounced the film as 'anti-Tamil' and vowed to not allow its screening.

Even as promos of the film started flooding the media by early this month, pro-Tamil outfits like the Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) besides Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) alleged that the film was anti-Tamil.

While PMK chief Ramadoss wanted the state and central governments to ban the movie, others warned of agitations. Actor-turned-politician Seeman-led NTK alleged that the movie portrayed the LTTE and its leader V Prabhakaran in bad light.

Although John Abraham later denied labelling anyone or group as terrorist in the film, it failed to cut ice with the groups. Subsequently, the producers came forward to arrange a special screening for those who had apprehensions about it.

After watching the movie, Seeman said, "The aim of the movie is to portray Prabhakaran as a villain. We cannot accept the movie in any form. The heart of the film is anti-Tamil." He has urged the film exhibitors not to screen the film.

Film director R K Selvamani said the film featured Malayalees as patriotic persons attempting to save a former Prime Minister. "Everyone shown as good is a Malayalee and almost all Tamils are characterised as villains," he alleged.

Sources in the Tamil film industry said the movie's pivot was the killing of Rajiv Gandhi and the events that culminated in his assassination.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/will-not-allow-screening-of-john-abraham-madras-cafe-pro-tamil-groups/1/300132.html

SRI LANKA: Shifting the burden of proof on the people

August 19, 2013

The killings at Rathupaswela, Weliweriya have brought into sharp focus the crisis of the rule of law in Sri Lanka. The burden of proving the allegation of being killed or otherwise seriously injured by the actions of the military has now been shifted to the people. Meanwhile the people live in fear of reprisals due to being witnesses to these assaults by the military.

It is one of the basic principles that all crimes are crimes against the state. Whether these are crimes by civilians against civilians or state agents such as the police or military against civilians the burden of investigating and prosecuting the offenders lies with the state.

When the allegation is that the offenders are state agents then there is a greater burden on the state to have the allegations properly investigated and to bring the culprits before the courts as soon as possible. Regarding this basic obligation Sri Lanka seems to be the exception. The people themselves are left to prove the crimes committed by the state agents and at the same time they are being harassed and intimidated.

When the allegation is that the state agents engaged in killings and other crimes the state has its own agencies to investigate these matters. The methodologies of such investigations are well prescribed in both the military and police manuals.

Evidence of crimes committed in a military operation can easily be traced by following the prescribed procedures. Those who led the operation know what it was supposed to be about and the rules under which those who participated in the operation had to act. If there were violations it is the duty of those who led the operation to state what the violations were and thereafter to inquire from those who participated in the operation as to how these violations occurred.

It is one of the expectations from those who are state agents that they will reveal to their superiors whatever took place. If even this is not possible the very nature of the relationship between the state and those who conducted the operation and those who participated in it comes into question.

If the state cannot ensure that degree of discipline then it is the government leadership that must hold itself responsible to ensure that the state agents carry out their obligations.

However, what the above cartoon shows is that everything has been turned on its head in Sri Lanka and the people who were victimised are also being pushed to be their own investigators and the prosecutors of their cause.

Bandula On The Rampage Against Tamil Journos

August 19, 2013 

Sri Lanka’s Consul General to Sydney and former Presidential Media Director Bandula Jayasekera on Saturday launched a Twitter invective against a Tamil journalist, threatening to call up his publisher and expose his LTTE links.

Bandula Jayasekara

The indefatigable Jayasekera who revels in Twitter wars against all journalists and users holding dissenting views regularly calls rights activists and foreign journalists disparaging names, often linking them to the “LTTE Rump” and accusing them of being paid large sums of dollars to discredit the Sri Lankan state.

His latest Twitter tirade was launched against a journalist from Veerakesari, a widely read Tamil newspaper. Jayasekera accused the journalist of having a hidden agenda against Sri Lanka. Referring to the newspaper’s publisher, Jayasekera told the journalist on Twitter: “I will ask Kumar Nadesan about you if you are a member of LTTE terrorists and what your links are.”

Later Jayasekera threatened: “Your agenda and campaign  is very clear and it is no secret. I will check with Mr Nadesan from now on. That is it. I will expose what you are up to.”   Read More

Matale Mass Grave Inquiry: Matale Magistrate Orders CID To Explain Failure To Implement Court Order

August 19, 2013 |

The Magistrate’s Court inquiry into the mass grave discovered in Matale was taken up in the  Magistrate Court of Matale today (19th August 2013).

The court accepted several affidavits of family members who believe the remains of their loved one are amongst the bodies unearthed. The affidavits contained information of disappearances and some disclosed names of army officials who were responsible for taking into custody individuals who thereafter disappeared. Those who had tendered affidavits to court are to present themselves at the police headquarters in Matale on 27th, 28th and 29th August 2013 to enable the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police (CID) to obtain statements and further information.

The Magistrate also ordered the CID to submit a written explanation as to why a previous court order requiring public notices to be issued had not yet been implemented.

The case is to be called up again on the 4th of November 2013.      Read More

Sri Lanka hand-delivers invite to PM amid tension over fishermen arrests

Agence France-Presse

Written by Nitin Gokhale |  August 19, 2013 

New Delhi: Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister GL Peiris arrived in the capital on Sunday to hand-deliver a personal invitation to Dr Manmohan Singh to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November.

Mr Peiris said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse deputed him to Delhi to convey the hope that India will be represented "at the highest level" for the summit.

Just days ago, tension with Colombo peaked over its arrests of more than 100 fishermen, many of them from Tamil Nadu. Mr Peiris said that the detainees will be tried in his country for entering Sri Lankan waters.

So the Prime Minister will have to weigh the potential fallout of a trip to Colombo among political parties in Tamil Nadu, who accuse his government of not doing enough to hold Sri Lanka accountable for alleged war crimes and human rights atrocities during the final phase of the island's civil war which ended in May 2009, with the army defeating the rebel Tamil Tigers or LTTE.

In March, the regional powerhouse DMK quit Dr Singh's coalition. Leaders of the Tamil Nadu party said that at a session of the UN on human rights in Geneva, India had failed to indict Sri Lanka of "genocide."

Human rights organisations and sections of the Tamil diaspora across the world have accused the Sri Lankan army of indiscriminately killing over 40,000 unarmed civilians, a charge Colombo has vehemently denied.

The Foreign Minister, however, made known his government's resentment against what he called "excessive interest and intervention from outside" in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. "The Tamil diaspora  has not given up on its dream of  'Eelam' ( a separate state) and despite the LTTE's military defeat, the diaspora is using its financial clout to try and isolate Sri Lanka," Mr Peiris charged.

Canada Slams Commonwealth SG Sharma Over Burying Legal Reports On Sri Lanka

August 20, 2013 

It is hard to understand why legal opinions sought on the Sri Lankan impeachment of CJ Shirani Bandaranayake by the Commonwealth Secretariat was not shared with the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) before their most recent meeting, Canada’s Commonwealth Envoy, Senator Hugh Segal told Colombo Telegraph.

Senator Hugh Segal

It was understandable that the Secretary General should have commissioned independent legal and constitutional opinions about the impeachment of the Sri Lankan Chief Justice since he had formally expressed deep and public concern about the impeachment some weeks earlier, Segal said.

“That any such opinions,once received,were not shared with the members of the CMAG, before their most recent discussions which included a long engagement on Sri Lanka and CHOGM is, however, much harder to understand,” the Canadian Envoy to the Commonwealth said in response to questions posed by Colombo Telegraph.

“CMAG,under the distinguished leadership of the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh,had the right to those opinions before they met,” Segal observed.

He added that transparency within the Commonwealth has experienced a setback of substance.  Read Mor

Tamil parties may cast shadow on India's participation CHOGM summit in Colombo

Indrani Bagchi, TNN | Aug 18, 2013

NEW DELHI: Even as GL Peiris, Sri Lanka foreign minister, formally delivered an invitation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to theCHOGM summit in Colombo in November, the cacophony by Tamil parties may cast a shadow on India's participation at the event.

"India is the largest democracy in the world andCHOGM is being held in South Asia for the first time in 24 years. India's presence is crucial, we hope the PM will be there," Peiris said, though he refused to be drawn into the possible effects of a no-show by Singh.

In an election year, the government is unusually sensitive to regional allies. Peiris said Sri Lanka would be hosting Navi Pillay, UN high commissioner for human rights towards the end of August in the run up to a review of Sri Lanka's human rights situation in September. this will be followed by a comprehensive report by the high commissioner in March 2014. The issue of Indian fishermen straying into Lankan waters, he said, was increasing everyday and now acquiring a political dimension.

Peiris said they would now keep the Indian fishermen in custody and penalise them for crossing the border. Indian fishermen also use bottom trawling which is wreaking havoc for the marine life in those waters. "There are 400-500 boats a day coming into Lankan waters," he said.

With the northern provinces going for elections in September, all eyes will be on the conduct of the elections and whether the TNA will be allowed to form a government if they do win. Peiris dismissed these concerns saying they had invited international observers including the chief election commissioner of India to oversee the elections. "Of course they will be allowed to form a government." But he was very critical of what he calls attempts by the Tamil diaspora to ensure Sri Lanka's economic isolation.

"There is no chance of another war, so their methods have changed," he said, explaining that the "campaign" by overseas Tamils was intended to hurt tourism and investments into Sri Lanka. end