Exclusive: UN's Sri Lanka Report Cites Syria & Rwanda, Despite Haiti Claims Accountability

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Must Credit

UNITED NATIONS, October 11 -- Since August Inner City Press has asked the UN to release its internal report on its failure in Sri Lanka in 2009 as 40,000 civilians were killed.

  First Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky said that Ban would have something to say on it in September. This was a brief reference in his General Assembly speech.

  Then yesterday Inner City Press asked Ban's associate spokesperson Farhan Haq, who said "we will have, I think, more to say in, I believe, the days and weeks to come."Story here video here.

  Since a lesson supposedly learned by the UN from its inaction was to have the courage to speak, withholding the report seemed and seems contradictory.

  Today Inner City Press exclusively publishes here the UN's "Follow-up to the report of the Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on UN Action in Sri Lanka," dated July 9, 2013 and marked on each of its mere six pages, "Internal."

Exclusive UN's Sri Lanka Report Cites Syria & Rwanda, Despite Haiti Claims Accountability by nelvely

The introduction says

"In 2009 the Sri Lanka crisis was a test. We failed it. It was - as characterized by the Internal Review Panel report that I commissioned - a 'systemic failure.' The challenges that plagued us in Sri Lanka were not new: they have been with us for many years and in diverse situations. They include failure to communicate evidence of impending crisis and lack of strategies to address serious violations drawing upon the full range of our diplomatic, legal and operational capacities. We do not always deploy and empower colleagues swiftly to address often rapidly changing circumstances, and back them up when they take risks. Lack of clear leadership at headquarters has resulted in mixed messages, reduced operational clarity and lost opportunities. Above all, we have not always been effective at getting Member States to reach agreement on concerted action."

  Even while admitting "systemic failure," this underplays the degree to which the UN was complicit in what happened: it pulled out of Kilinochchi, an envoy was sent who was perceived (we'll leave it at that) to just want the LTTE Tamil Tigers wiped out, so much that a ceasefire was never even called for.

  Since the slaughter, the UN has accepted one of the most involved military figures, Shavendra Silva, on the UN Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations; this month, Silva's putative boss Palitha Kohona, also involved, took over the chair of the UN General Assembly's Sixth (Legal) Committee.

  So what was learned from the cited 1999 Independent Inquiry on UN Action in Rwanda and the 1999 review on the fall of Srebrenica?

  Syria is cited in, and explains, this "Plan of Action to strengthen the UN’s role in protecting people in crises." The report says: "Today we are witnessing the agony of the Syrian people. That conflict is a test - not just of Member States’ will to fulfil their responsibilities, but of the UN’s ability to use all the tools at its disposal to make sure that people are protected."

  This may explain the report: while the Western P3 members of the Security Council, the US, France and UK, did not much or at all push Ban Ki-moon to "do something" about the slaughter in Sri Lanka -- the UK is holding its Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting there -- they are pushing, and hard, on the issue of Syria and ousting Bashar al Assad. 

  So, now a UN report and plan for "Rights Up Front."

  The plan claims that Ban's UN "will also adopt an ‘Article 99 attitude’, and tell Member States what they need to hear (action 2). We must assert the UN’s moral authority and put Member States in front of their responsibilities." But Ban so often takes his cue from the Western P3.

  What will be the next text of the UN needed to act without prodding from the US, France or UK?

The plan says the UN will "hold accountable staff, particularly at senior levels." But if the UN can't even admit and apologize for bringing cholera to Haiti, what does accountability mean?

  If Ban's UN allows its head of peacekeeping Herve Ladsous to openly refuse to answer Press questions about mass rape by his partners in the Congolese Army, where is the accountability? Now that farce has been reported this week in the UK New Statesman, here.

 This comes after the UN's Censorship Alliance tried to oust Inner City Press for its Sri Lanka reporting, then spied against it to the UN, click here for that; it is the new Free UN Coalition for Access, despite threats from the UN, now working to further open the UN.

  The report says "when situations of serious violations are not on the Security Council’s agenda, the Deputy Secretary-General to brief Member States."

  While DSG Jan Eliasson brings more credibility, why wouldn't Ban Ki-moon himself do such a briefing, as he does on chemical weapons? 

  And what does Eliasson think, for example, of the refusal by Herve Ladsous given his history to answer questions on mass rape by his partners? Or is UN Peacekeeping so much run by France -- sixteen years and four USGs in a row -- that no one can or does say anything? We'll see. Watch this site.

Audio: TNA against Commonwealth

MONDAY, 14 OCTOBER 2013

TNA national list parliamentarian M.A Sumanthiran said that the coalition is against the staging of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka.

“The Sri Lankan government has violated the norms of the Commonwealth and that is why we are against it. The ousting of the country’s Chief Justice is one of the instances where the government had violated the basic foundations of the Commonwealth” he said speaking to reporters in Jaffna.

Hailing the decision of the Canadian government to not participate in the summit, Sumanthiran said that the Indian government should follow the example.

“The Indian government should look into the reasons as to why Canada decided against participating and make a decision accordingly” he said.

Another C-4 problem

Editorial-October 13, 2013, 8:33 pm 

It has been reported that state intelligence agencies are looking for a Channel Four journalist believed to have come here with his partner. The purpose of their visit is said to be unclear, but it is said they could be on a campaign to discredit Sri Lanka or on some private business.

Channel Four propaganda against Sri Lanka is blatantly lopsided and obviously aimed at ruining its tourism industry besides backing the LTTE’s war crimes campaign. Therefore, the government’s concern about well organised vilification campaigns carried out by a section of the international media is understandable. But, restrictions or bans on foreign journalists are ill-conceived and unacceptable. Such draconian measures are also counterproductive, especially in the run-up to the forthcoming CHOGM.

The government policy, in our book, should be to allow foreign journalists to come and see for themselves regardless of the media organisations they represent. The North has now been opened up and a provincial council elected, and anyone should be able to visit that part of the country or any other area for that matter and meet people freely. Now that UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has been here as part of an assignment to prepare a report widely expected to be adverse to Sri Lanka’s interests, there is no reason why the government should try to prevent foreign journalists from entering the country.

The Information Super Highway has effectively rendered a person’s physical presence in a particular geographical location unnecessary for him or her to ascertain information. Neither a journalist nor anyone else has to travel to faraway countries to conduct interviews or gather propaganda material needed to prepare reports or make propaganda movies; he or she could do so without venturing out of his or her office or home. Even the UNHRC chief need not have come here all the way from Geneva to collect information for her report; she did so to assert herself and make the government feel small.

Sri Lanka ought to be different from Jayalalithaa’s Tamil Nadu, which is on a witch hunt against anti-LTTE Sri Lankans. What the elusive Channel Four journalist who is said to be here has up his sleeve, we really don’t know. But, searches for journalists in any country, their harassment and deportation cannot be countenanced unless it could be proved beyond any doubt that they are involved in criminal activity.

The problem Sri Lanka is faced with is not that Channel Four is producing films against it, based on mere hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations derived from handout material from vested interests. Its propaganda cannot be stopped and people dissuaded from watching its programmes by preventing its journalists from entering this country or throwing out those who succeed in gaining entry by way of deception. The real problem is that Sri Lanka has failed to get its message across effectively.

People of the North have been able to exercise their franchise freely and elect their own provincial council; the democratic northern political parties are no longer under the gun and they don’t have to take orders from the LTTE; children are back in school without being abducted, brainwashed and turned into cannon fodder; more than 12, 000 ex-LTTE combatants including child soldiers and female cadres have been rehabilitated and reunited with their families, ex-combatants and family members of LTTE leaders have taken to mainstream politics and the government’s development drive in the North has been praised by even visiting foreign dignitaries. The best way to counter anti-Sri Lankan propaganda is to make these irrefutable facts known to the international community.

Anyone who has taken a principled stand to pledge solidarity with WikiLeaks chief Assange, who has had to take refuge in a foreign embassy in London and former National Security Agency worker Snowden, trapped in a Russian airport as they have antagonised the US, cannot approve of ‘manhunts’ for journalists anywhere in the world.

Supplementary estimates of over Rs. 1 billion allocated

By Chandani Kirinde-Sunday, October 13, 2013

Rs.100 million has been allocated from funds of the President’s Secretariat as a supplementary allocation to renovate the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre ahead of November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The opening ceremony of CHOGM will be held at the Theatre which was opened last September.

A supplementary allocation of Rs. 100 million has also been made to improve the facilities at the BMICH for CHOGM, according to documents tabled in Parliament last week. The supplementary allocations have been made from the Budgetary Support Services and Contingency Liabilities Project from the Department of National Budget.

Meanwhile a supplementary allocation of Rs. 193 million has been made to the Police Department to purchase water cannon equipment under the Indian Line of Credit while the Department of National Budget has allocated Rs. 650 million pay the interest for leasing vehicles.

All the supplementary estimates had been made in June and July this year.

The Desire To Engage By Those Who Cannot Sing National Anthem

By Jehan Perera -October 14, 2013 

Jehan Perera

There is an invigoration of civil society in the North after the holding of the Northern Provincial Council elections.  For the first time ever since the end of the colonial period there is the sense of having a government that is their own.  There are doubts expressed by some sections in the rest of the country that this political empowerment could lead to the strengthening of separatist sentiment.  Sections within the government itself have expressed their concerns.  However, when I visited Mannar in the North last week, the impression I received was of a people who celebrate being part of the larger national polity.

It so happened that the day selected by the government for the conduct of the last round of provincial council elections, and that of the first ever election to the Northern Provincial Council, was September 21.  This coincidentally was International Day of Peace declared by the UN, which is celebrated worldwide and also within Sri Lanka by those who work for peace and reconciliation.  Resources for Peace (RPR), an NGO based in Mannar had to postpone their plans to celebrate peace day on

September 21 due to the elections.  They held it on October 11 instead.

As one of the invitees to the celebration of peace day in Mannar, this was an opportunity to see whether there was progress towards normalcy in the North and a progressive reintegration into the national polity.  The day’s event began with the hoisting of the national flag by the Government Agent of Mannar who had been invited to the occasion as the Chief Guest.  This was followed by the playing of the national anthem.  Unfortunately, it could not also be sung by the Tamil-speaking people of Mannar who are not conversant in the Sinhala language.  But they all stood to attention while the all three verses of the national anthem were played.

It is strange but true that although both Sinhala and Tamil are official languages, and this is stated in the Constitution, the national anthem is currently not being sung in Tamil at official functions or events at which there are government officials.  This is because the after the victory in the war, the government is balking at permitting the national anthem to be sung in Tamil.  Some of the less well educated members of the government have gone on record saying that no national anthem in the world is sung in more than one language.  But in fact, in some countries, the national anthem is sung in as many as five languages, as in South Africa.

Wise Actions                                        Read More

Why we’re boycotting the Sri Lanka summit

In this undated file photo released by the Sri Lanka Army on May 17, 2009, Sri Lankan soldiers stand next to an anti-aircraft gun they said they recovered from Tamil Tiger rebels in Putumattalan, Sri Lanka. (AP Photo/Sri Lanka Army, File)

By John Baird | Oct 11, 2013

Canada takes its membership in the Commonwealth very seriously. It is for this simple reason that we believe in upholding the basic principles it stands for: freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Without them, what does the Commonwealth stand for?

Why we’re boycotting the Sri Lanka summit by nelvely

PM under pressure to give Lanka visit a miss

Shekhar Iyer, Hindustan Times  New Delhi, October 14, 2013

The pressure from major political parties in Tamil Nadu is likely to cast a shadow on the decision to be taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on participating in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka next month.

Not just chief minister Jayalalithaa or DMK chief M Karunanidhi, even local Congress leaders - including some Union ministers from Tamil Nadu - have urged the PM to exercise his options carefully lest India’s participation snowballs into a major political row in the state ahead of the 2014 polls.

With the Congress keen on cobbling a winning alliance, the issue of attacks on Indian fishermen and resettlement of Sri Lankan Tamils are seen as “sensitive” subjects that can be played up by rivals to corner the UPA government, according to local party leaders.

Union ministers GK Vasan and V Narayanasamy, are known have to appealed to the PM to avoid participating in the CHOGM from November 15 to 17.

They do not think that the successful completion of provincial elections in the north, which saw the victory of the Tamil National Alliance, has softened the stand of the TN parties. Therefore, they do not want the UPA government to annoy any of its potential allies.

Last week, when external affairs minister Salman Khurshid visited Colombo, he refrained from giving any commitment on the question of the PM’s participation.  Khurshid, however, said he would attend the CHOGM Foreign Ministers’ meet, held ahead of the summit.

The preparations for CHOGM, which is a matter of prestige for Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse, has seen active campaign by bodies, including the Amnesty International calling for not holding the summit until an investigation is carried out into alleged human rights abuses in the 2009 civil war.

Even as Britain is facing pressure to lead a boycott, and with Canada indicating that it will not attend unless specific criteria are met, India’s Sri Lanka experts have warned that New Delhi would have to weigh pros and cons of the PM’s non-participation.

The dangers of pushing Sri Lanka into a corner, especially in a situation where China is establishing a big presence in the island, cannot be ignored.

Not Just Two Communities: Response To Wigneswaran

 By Ameer M. Faaiz -October 15, 2013

Ameer M. Faaiz

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) secured a landslide victory in the Northern Provincial Council Elections with over 78% of the popular vote. Following this momentous win, retired Supreme Court Justice, C. V. Wigneswaran took his oaths as Chief Minister before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Monday 7^th October 2013. Elected officials only need to take oaths before a Justice of the Peace. Thus the TNA’s decision to take oaths before President Rajapaksa was a symbolic and accommodative gesture, a public demonstration of a willingness to engage with the centre; a move that the government would do well to reciprocate.

In a statement released after his oaths, the Chief Minister expressed his hope that Sri Lankans would learn from past experiences and struggles, and that misunderstandings and mistrust between communities should be eliminated. It was in this spirit that the decision to be sworn in before the President was made. The Chief Minister went on to say that he sincerely hoped that the Sinhalese people would empathise with the Tamil-speaking people’s love of their own language and culture.

Finally, in a rather curious closing statement, he expressed his wish that the TNA’s symbolic gesture would‘pave the way for the unity of the people of the two communities in our Island.’

This statement and his references to “Tamil Speaking People”, in the singular rather than the plural, as “Peoples”, appears to indicate a sentiment that only two linguistically and ethnically distinct communities, one Sinhalese-speaking and the other Tamil-speaking, inhabit the island of Sri Lanka. He hopes these two communities will mutually respect each other and forge ahead towards reconciliation. While there is no doubt that reconciliation may be particularly challenging between the Sinhalese and Tamils, a pertinent question can be raised regarding this particular conception of ‘our Island’. Where in this land of two communities does Justice Wigneswaran believe the Muslims belong? Isn’t Sri Lanka made of multiple ethnic communities?

The Muslim community of Sri Lanka, which currently constitutes 9.7% of the country’s population, is scattered across the island. Tamil is the native language of a majority of Muslims. However, Muslims are adept at being multilingual and they generally function well in any linguistic surroundings, whether they inhabit a Tamil majority or Sinhalese majority area. The tendency (perhaps a unique one) of the Sri Lankan Muslims has been to identify themselves as a distinct community based on religious and cultural identity rather than on language.  Attempts to assimilate the Muslim community into the wider Tamil community have been vehemently objected to in the past; Sir Razeek Fareed once even referred to such moves as ‘political genocide’.[1] Confrontations during the conflict between the two communities (including the cleansing of the Muslims from the Northern Province in October 1990 and targeted attacks on Muslims, by the LTTE) have led to serious ethnic tensions despite a shared linguistic identity. The challenges of reconciliation, therefore, is certainly not a matter to be addressed only between Tamils and Sinhalese. Meanwhile, the Muslim political leadership while supporting demands for regional autonomy has remained circumspect. This is because the threat of assimilation looms as long as demands are made from within a Tamil nationalist frame.                Read More

Burning of the Jaffna Library: Tears and toil of a district secretariat

By Ranga Chandrarathne-Sunday, October 13, 2013

                                                                                         Yogendra Duraiswamy

With retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran taking oaths as the Chief Minister and as the Northern Provincial Council becomes operational, it is fitting that we also remember Yogendra Duraiswamy on his 90th birth anniversary this October as one who relentlessly worked for the economic development of the pre-war Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts.

Burning of the Jaffna Library Tears and Toil of a District Secretariat by nelvely

Dear Friend, What Do You Intend Doing?

                  

By CV Wigneswarwn -October 15, 2013

C.V Wigneswaran

Guru Thothiram, in silent mode

Chairman, fellow members of the Northern Provincial Council, persons of learning and of standing seated on the dais, my dear brothers and sisters,

Some of us gathered here, were earlier candidates. Today we are meeting as members of the Council. A majority of the candidates changed into members. Yet a few are left out. But it does not imply that in the service of the people they are not wanted. On this occasion I only want to say that their services are needed.

Those of us who are selected are today entering an important phase.

All of us who have taken the oath today, will perform our duties and do our work with commitment. We cannot forget our pledge to the people that we will faithfully execute them. Now we have to redeem that pledge and confirm our obligations. Our duties and our services should have the people at the core of our thinking. For more than 25 years the people were suffering, unable to express what they desired and what they rejected. At the recent elections they have made their likes and dislikes very clear for the village and town, country and the world to become aware of. On account of that, we have taken our oath today. Our obligations are towards the people. They cannot lean towards anybody else. Recently Narendra Modi made an important statement “Good governance alone is not sufficient. That governance should be people oriented. All measures have to advance their cause.“

Good governance should be people centered when development activities are promoted.

This statement by a leader who had won the hearts of Gujarat many years ago is appropriate to us too. On this occasion I wish to declare that we have to discharge our duties with a full knowledge of the people’s needs and their wishes. We have to do them with partiality to none.

All this while, politicians performed their work with selfishness at the core of their lives. I want to  recount an anecdote which will reflect their frame of mind. There was a Sinhalese friend of mine. Both of us studied together at the Law College. At the parliamentary elections of 1977,he was elected. He was appointed a Deputy Minister by JR Jayewardena. Soon after, I got in touch with him over the phone, conveyed my felicitations and inquired, dear friend, what do you intend doing? Oh! why, how much money have I spent to win at the elections. Should I not recover all that money? He said his objective was to amass wealth. It’s a different story, that later he was killed by the JVP. Therefore the philosophy of entering politics to make money and for a display of power and pelf has to change.                                                       Read More

NPC crisis: Some rebels ready to take oaths – TNA

Senathirajah

By Shamindra Ferdinando-October 13, 2013, 12:00 pm 

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) yesterday said that some of those newly elected members of the Northern Provincial Council who had boycotted last Friday’s swearing in ceremony in Jaffna subsequent to a dispute over allocation of ministries were now ready to take oaths.

ITAK General Secretary Mavai S. Senathirajah said that of the 28 elected members of the first NPC, nine belonging to the TELO, the PLOTE and the EPRLF shunned the swearing in ceremony.

The veteran politician declined to state the exact number of rebels likely to take oaths before Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan or Chief Minister of the NPC Justice C.V. Wigneswaran during the next few days.

The ITAK is the dominant member of the five-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which comprises the ITAK, TELO, PLOTE, TELO and TULF.

ITAK MP M.A. Sumanthiran yesterday expressed confidence that the dispute could be resolved soon. Asked whether it could cause a split in the 13-member TNA parliamentary group, attorney-at-law Sumanthiran emphasized that the grouping remained intact in spite of the recent tiff over ministerial appointments.

Sumanthiran said he, too, heard of some rebels expressing desire to take oaths though he couldn’t confirm it.

The TNA parliamentary group comprises 13 members, with the ITAK having nine and the TELO and the EPRLF two each.Sumanthiran said that the TNA gave CM Justice Wigneswaran the prerogative to choose his board of ministers. Sumanthiran said: "The decision was made after having consulted all constituent members. Finally, Justice Wigneswaran picked four most suitable persons representing ITAK (2) and one each from the TELO and the EPRLF. The PLOTE and the TULF couldn’t be accommodated."

Asked whether the ITAK interfered with Justice Wigneswaran in choosing members for ministerial appointments, MP Sumanthiran said that all constituents had an opportunity to make representations. The ITAK too, told Justice Wigneswaran of its position, though no undue pressure was brought on the CM.

The MP said that of the 28 elected persons of the 38-member NPC, the ITAG group comprised 14 whereas the EPRLF (6), TELO (5) and PLOTE (2). The SLFP-led UPFA and the SLMC secured seven and one seats, respectively. The TNA also received two bonus seats thereby increasing the strength of its group in the NPC to 30.

Responding to a query, Sumanthiran said that CM Wigneswaran picked four ministers representing Kilinochchi (ITAK), Vavuniya (ITAK), Jaffna (EPRLF) and Mannar (TELO). Unfortunately a member from Mullaitivu couldn’t be accommodated in the board of ministers as Provincial Council couldn’t have more than four ministers in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

TNA leader Sampanthan wasn’t available for comment.

According to Sumanthiran, PLOTE leader Dharmalingham Siddarthan declined to accept the post of Chairman of the NPC though Justice Wigneswaran offered him the post.

Tamil sources told The Island that the ongoing dispute over ministerial portfolios had embarrassed those who had thrown their weight behind the TNA at the Sept. 21 Provincial Council polls. Sources said that it could cause a major setback to the alliance and pave the way for the government to undermine the NPC.

13 STF PERSONNEL ARRESTED OVER TRINCOMALEE MASSACRE RELEASED ON BAIL

October 14, 2013

The thirteen police Special Task Force (STF) personnel, arrested over their alleged involvement in the killing of five students in Trincomalee in 2006, have been released on bail by the Trincomalee High Court today.

The suspects, an ASP and 12 Constables, were produced at the Trincomalee Magistrate Court today, Ada Derana reporter said.

They were arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on July 04 and produced before the Trincomalee Chief Magistrate U.L.M. Azhar, who ordered that they be held in remand custody at the Anuradhapura Prison.

The arrested Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) was an Inspector serving in the Trincomalee area when five students were shot and killed in the beach near the Trincomalee Naval Dockyard and Fort Fredrick on January 2, 2006.

Four of the students were vying for university entrance while the other had already been selected to the University of Moratuwa.

De Facto CJ Exposed Himself In The Worst Possible Manner In Courts

October 14, 2013

The de facto Chief Justice exposed himself in the worst possible manner in courts today in the Fundamental Rights case filed by the parents of Ganesan Nimalaruban a prisoner in Vavuniya who died in custody following a riot.

De facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris

When counsel for the petitioner Saliya Pieriscommenced his submissions CJ Mohan Pieris said that the case must be concluded within the day as the victim Nimalaruban was a terrorist who had started the Vavuniya prison riot.

When Counsel for the petitioner pointed out that there was no material before court  to prove the victim’s connection to the riot, de facto CJ Pieris indicated he had personal knowledge about the incident.

During the Vavuniya prison riots in June 2012, Mohan Pieris was an advisor to the Ministry of Defence, a position that has repeatedly called into question his right to hold high judicial office given his proximity to powerful members of the ruling regime.

CJ Peiris told court that people have a larger and more important fundamental right to be free from terrorism. Commenting on the United States of America Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice said the US was setting standards on counter terrorism and recently US forces killed a woman driving into White House.

Dismissing the case, Mohan Pieris told the counsel for Petitioner: “Your client will seek asylum after filing this case. “Terrorism must be dealt with strongest possible way just like in Chechnya. Nimalarauban is a terrorist and how else should he be treated? “

On being contacted a Senior Counsel who did not want to be identified states that according to Commonwealth legal traditions, it is unethical for  a judge to use his personal knowledge in determining a case since a case must be heard on its merits as set before the courts. If he had personal knowledge of the case Pieris should have recused himself from hearing the petition, the senior lawyer said.

The forgotten side to Sri Lanka

NICOLA BRENNAN-TUPARA- 14/10/2013

Amnesty International

CRY FOR HELP: Refugee Pathma can't understand why no one is fighting for the rights of the Tamil people

Darkness descends and the fighting stops - it's stifling hot down in the bunker.

The group huddle together, breathing the same stagnant air for hours, days, weeks on end. The fighting in these final stages of Sri Lanka's bloody civil war is brutal.

The Forgotten Side to Sri Lanka by nelvely

Interview with J.C. Weliamuna: What ails Sri Lanka today, and how to address it

Image courtesy Colombo Telegraph

• by Groundviews 
• - on 10/14/2013

J.C. Weliamuna is a well-known Attorney-at-Law, human rights activist and is this year’s recipient of the Citizens Peace Award. His acceptance speechflagged the degree to which democratic governance had eroded in Sri Lanka, in full view of citizenry, and the importance of protecting civil liberties by speaking out, despite the risk of doing so.

Interview With J.C. Weliamuna What Ails Sri Lanka Today, And How to Address It by nelvely