Colombo's motive of using China for forensic examinations on Mannaar mass grave questioned

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 December 2013, 08:42 GMT]
Occupying Colombo's police officials in Mannaar have said that the skeletons recovered at the mass grave at Thirukkeatheesvaram were being dispatched to China for forensic examinations. Responding, legal sources in Mannaar asked the motive of Colombo using China for DNA testing of the skeletons discovered at the mass grave and questioned the fate of similar cases earlier sent to China for ‘forensic examinations’. In 2009, China had allegedly provided Colombo with ‘movable crematory vehicles’ to get rid of the dead bodies of the genocidal victims in Vanni. Tamil activists urged the alternative world to assist the nation of Eezham Tamils to undertake forensic examinations in future in a credible and independent manner. 

None of the forensic examinations, supposed to be carried out by Colombo with foreign assistance since the discovery of Chemma'ni mass graves in Jaffna since 1998, has been helpful in the investigations. 

Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, the catholic bishop of Mannaar, has also called for international investigations to be conducted on the mass grave located in Thirukkeatheesvaram as Sri Lanka has systematically failed to carry out any investigations on similar findings in the past. 

In 2001, a number of civilians from Paappaa-moaddai were been reported missing when SL military deployed in Rana Gosha military operation advanced into Mannaar. At least 40 people from Paappaa-moaddai were reported missing in May-June 2001. 

At the same time, civilians trying to reach Mannaar from Vanni were also captured by the SL military and a lot of them are still reported missing.

Five UPFA Councilors Missing

( December 30, 2013 -Colombo , Sri Lanka Guardian) Five UPFA Members of Damana Pradeshiya Sabha in Ampara District have disappeared say reports. The budget of the UPFA ruled Pradeshiya Sabha was defeated.

All five Members who have disappeared are UPFA Members who voted against the budget held on the 26th. Member Lalith Lanka too has disappeared from the 26th say reports.

Minister ignores the President, uses the Premier’s Office

 Monday, 30 December 2013 

A government Minister has ignored accepted protocol and has sued the Prime Minister’s Office to make a request from a foreign country without requesting assistance from the Finance Ministry.

Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen has reportedly used the Prime Minister’s Office to make a direct request from Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a housing scheme for the Muslims.

Bathiudeen has received help from Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne to forward an appeal to Premier Sharif through the Pakistan High Commissioner Qasim Quereshi.
However, External Affairs Ministry sources have said that Bathiudeen has by-passed the Finance Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry when making the request from the Pakistan government.

The External Affairs Ministry states that whenever a Minister or Ministry wanted to make a request for foreign assistance, it must go through the Department of External Resources of the Finance Ministry which comes under President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the External Affairs Ministry was usually kept informed.

Bathiudeen has however been quoted in the media as saying that he had briefed the Pakistan High Commissioner in Sri Lanka about the issue after receiving Premier Jayaratne’s consent.

Bandula to use students to achieve his goals

 Monday, 30 December 2013

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena is trying to get students and teachers to collect monies to fund his goals.

Gunawardena it is learnt wants to renovate and re-name the Elephant Pass railway station as Senahasaka Thotupola. He is reportedly trying to get the renovation and re-naming completed when train services are restored between Kilinochchi and Jaffna.
In order to achieve this goal, the Education Minister has said he wants to spend Rs. 15.5 million collected from teachers and pupils island wide.
 The Education Ministry has accepted Gunawardena’s proposal and the ministry has consulted the Sri Lanka Army to see if its engineering troops could undertake the construction of the new railway station.

Should A Credibility Restoration Exercise Be Launched For Sri Lanka’s Statistics Agency?

By W.A Wijewardena -December 30, 2013 

Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

Alleged massaging of growth numbers: Should a credibility restoration exercise be launched for Sri Lanka’s statistics agency?

Allegation of massaging GDP numbers

A recent newspaper report has alleged that the top-most official in the country’s official Statistics Bureau, the Department of Census and Statistics or DCS, has instructed the officer handling the GDP numbers to increase the growth rate in Quarter I of 2013 from 5.5% to 6% when there were no ground conditions warranting the issue of such instructions (available here ).

The top-most official concerned has denied any wrong-doing but declined to give details of his side of the story expecting the problem to die away ‘just like the bubbles forming instantly in an opened bottle of soda will die away on their own accord’. He has good reason to rely on this bubble-dying theory since the media do not follow up these stories and the civil society is somewhat apathetic to them.

However, in this digital world, there is already a digital footprint of this allegation in the clouds and therefore it cannot die off naturally as things would have happened a few decades ago. To add to the digital footprint, previously, at the Committee Stage of the Budget 2014 debate, the opposition Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake too had made the same allegation in Parliament quoting a statement reported to have been made by the officer concerned at an initial disciplinary inquiry.

It is a serious allegation since the country’s credibility is at stake

Nothing has been proved or disproved as yet. But, this allegation is serious enough to deserve the attention of top politicians on both sides of the House, top policy makers, academia, international watchdogs of the country’s economic data such as IMF and World Bank and civil society activists.Read More

Mandela is dead: Why hide the truth about Apartheid?

Posted: 2013-12-29

By Fidel Castro-

In this commentary by Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, he reveals facts which were hitherto not known to many Maybe the empire thought that we would not honor our word when, during days of uncertainty in the past century, we affirmed that even if the USSR were to disappear Cuba would continue struggling. World War II broke out on September 1, 1939 when Nazi-fascist troops invaded Poland and struck like a lightning over the heroic people of the USSR, who contributed 27 million lives to preserve mankind from that brutal massacre that ended the lives of 50 million persons.

Mandela is Dead Why Hide the Truth About Apartheid by nelvely

Deported Journalist Claims Torture in SL

By Express News Service - CHENNAI/COLOMBO

Published: 29th December 2013 07:59 AM

Last Updated: 29th December 2013 07:59 AM

Tamil Nadu journalist Tamil Prabhakaran arrived in Chennai on Saturday after the Sri Lankan Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) handed him over to the Immigration Department for deportation.

The TID had apparently concluded after interrogation that he had no terrorist links and had not indulged in terrorist activity, and that the only fault was that he had violated visa regulations.

Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, Prabhakaran claimed he was psychologically tortured and subjected to probe like a ‘criminal or terrorist’.

“I was subjected to psychological torture and repeatedly subjected to investigations like a criminal or a terrorist when I had done nothing wrong,” Prabhakaran said.

Prabhakaran, who had gone to Sri Lanka on a tourist visa, was detained on December 25 in Kilinochchi district in the former war zone of North Lanka by the local police. After overnight interrogation, they handed him over to the Terrorist Investigation Division, which took him to Colombo to find out why he was taking pictures of military installations and interviewing Tamil politicians when he was on a tourist visa.

While Lankan authorities asserted that he was doing journalistic work while being on a tourist visa and taking pictures of army camps and troops, Prabhakaran categorically denied taking pictures of any military area and said he had only captured a few photographs of certain civil functions.

“Even they were taken in the presence and knowledge of Lankan authorities and the arrest came much later,” the journalist said.

Officials of the Indian High Commission in Colombo were given consular access to the detainee and they had found him to be quite alright. After investigations, TID told the High Commission that Tamil Prabhakaran had no terror links but had violated visa regulations and, therefore, he would be handed over to the Immigration Department for deportation.

In Chennai, he said: “I was repeatedly interrogated and they kept me in handcuffs throughout my detention period, even when I was sleeping. I was subjected to emotional and psychological torture.”

Claiming that the Lankan authorities treatment of him was a violation of human rights, Prabhakaran said, “I was given petrol when I asked for water and was subjected to several more types of torture that are a clear violation of human rights. I will release proof for this shortly,” he added.

Egypt crisis: Al-Jazeera journalists arrested in Cairo

Former BBC correspondent Peter Greste is one of the journalists arrested

Egyptian police have arrested four journalists working for the broadcaster Al-Jazeera in the capital, Cairo..

They include the TV network's Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and former BBC correspondent Peter Greste.

The interior ministry said the journalists had held illegal meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood, which was declared a terrorist group last week.

There has been a crackdown on the Islamist movement since the army ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July.

Since then, more than 1,000 pro-Morsi protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces, and thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested, including the majority of its leadership.

A court will hear a case to disband the Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), on 15 February.

'Damaging'

The journalists, who work for Al-Jazeera English, are understood to have been detained late on Sunday night.

They are Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, who holds Canadian nationality, Peter Greste, an Australian, producer Baher Mohamed and Egyptian cameraman Mohamed Fawzy, who is said to have been arrested at home.

Al-Jazeera journalist Abdullah al-Shami and cameraman Mohammad Badr have been detained in Cairo since the summer

Al-Jazeera, which is based in Qatar, has demanded their immediate release.

The interior ministry said in a statement that cameras, recordings and other material had been seized from rooms at a hotel in Cairo.

It accused the journalists of broadcasting news that were "damaging to national security".

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo says Egypt's military backed government has long accused Al-Jazeera of bias, because Qatar gave financial support to the government of Mr Morsi.

Observers say Egypt's media environment has been highly charged since Mr Morsi's overthrow.

Several Islamist channels were closed down immediately after the military intervention in the summer. Al-Jazeera's Egyptian station Mubashir Misr was shut down in September.

The channel previously had its Cairo offices raided, equipment seized, and staff detained. Two of its staff - journalist Abdullah al-Shami and cameraman Mohammad Badr - arrested in July and August remain in detention, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The latest arrests come after deadly clashes between police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters across Egypt.

On Friday, three people were killed - in Cairo, southern Minya province and the Nile Delta - during the violence.

Security forces detained some 265 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, officials said.

The Brotherhood was formally designated a terrorist group after the 24 December suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Nile Delta.

The government accused the movement of being behind the attack - a charge it strongly denied.

US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier called his Egyptian counterpart to express concern about the recent waves of arrests and called for an "inclusive political process".

Sri Lanka Faces New Year Pressure Over Rights

Written by: Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Dec 29 2013 (IPS) – When the American Centre in Colombo held a memorial event honouring the late South African President Nelson Mandela, the first few questions at the question and answer session had nothing to do with the great freedom fighter.

The questions raised at the meeting Dec. 20 were about how South Africa could assist Sri Lanka set up its own national healing process. During the Commonwealth Heads of State summit (CHOGM) in Colombo in November, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government had approached the African state to explore the possibility of assistance in setting up something akin to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

According to the South African envoy in Colombo, Geoff Doidge, the request was made to South African President Jacob Zuma at the summit. “The past will haunt you as a country, even if you go forward, without a TRC-like process in Sri Lanka,” Zuma had told the meeting.

The questions on the TRC were symbolic of the kind of focus Sri Lanka’s rights record, and government efforts to correct it, have received since a bloody civil war ended almost five years back.

The Commonwealth meeting turned the spotlight on that rights record yet again. While attending the summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the former war zone in the north with a retinue of reporters and journalists. During his whistle-stop tour, Cameron was quick to stress that Sri Lanka lagged behind in its efforts to address international concerns over rights violations.

Cameron said that the UK would back stricter international strictures against the Rajapaksa government if it does not redress the situation.

“The spotlight will be on Sri Lanka to demonstrate it is committed to Commonwealth (values),” British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka John Rankin said before the Commonwealth meet.

Cameron’s comments resulted in a barrage of criticism against him locally, but international advocates pushing for a credible investigation into rights violations welcomed it.

“It has reinforced the need for an international inquiry,” Steve Crashaw, director for the Office of the Secretary General at Amnesty International who was in Sri Lanka during the Commonwealth meeting told IPS.

Crashaw said Cameron’s actions should be followed by other international players. “It should not be limited to a one-off media event.”

It is unlikely to be. The U.S. has expressed similar sentiments that Colombo needs to do more to investigate wartime allegations, especially about the thousands of civilians who have gone missing. The New Year is now likely to see more pressure on the Sri Lankan government.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal is expected in Sri Lanka in mid-January. During her first visit to the island Biswal is expected to discuss issue pertaining to investigations into disappearances and deaths.

Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa set up a new commission in late November to tabulate wartime deaths. The new census is being conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics.

A similar effort by the same department in 2011 found after looking at vital events in the North and East that 4,156 persons were untraceable in the two provinces since 2005. International organisations including an advisory panel to the UN Secretary General have put figures of civilian disappearances close to ten times that.

The newly formed Northern Provincial Council, controlled by the opposition Tamil National Alliance, has already said it would launch its own census of the disappeared since it did not trust the numbers produced by government surveys.

National rights activists told IPS that pressure by the likes of the UK, the U.S. and next-door neighbour India, whose prime minister stayed away from the Commonwealth confab, is leading the government at least to take note of uncomfortable issues.

“At the very least, it strengthens the determination and courage of victims, their families, a few journalists, lawyers, the clergy and activists who continue to struggle for truth and justice,” Rukshan Fernando, board member of the national advocacy group Rights Now told IPS.

Fernando observed that if the government continues to drag its heels, it could face a tough reception at the upcoming March sessions of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council. Over the past two years the council has adopted resolutions calling on the Sri Lankan government to address lingering allegations of rights violations.

However, neither resolution has included any mention of the possibility of an international rights inquiry.

“The members of the Council have toughened the position on Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2012 and 2013, and the Indian PM’s boycott of CHOGM indicates that India is ready to be tougher on Sri Lanka,” Fernando said.

India’s role has changed considerably in the last five years. In mid-2009 when the war was in its final stages, India was instrumental in stalling a resolution brought on by European nations condemning Sri Lankan government actions.

In 2014, domestic political exigencies may push New Delhi to come full circle, according to Ramani Hariharan, a political commentator from India who served as intelligence officer with the Indian Peace Keeping Force that was stationed in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990.

“The UNHCR meet will be held in March 2014 when the Indian parliamentary poll campaign will be in full steam. The Congress (government’s) fortunes are at stake and it is likely to oblige the Dravida Munnetra K’azhagam [DMK] party’s demand to keep it in the coalition.” The DMK is a dominant party in India’s Tamil Nadu.

It was due to pressure from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with its Tamil majority population, that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stayed away from Colombo in November.

“The UN Human Rights Council sessions can create significant pressure on Sri Lanka,” Amnesty International’s Crashaw said.

R. Sampanthan And The Sinhala Black-Whites

By C. Wijeyawickrema -December 30, 2013 |

A parliament full of idiots

“…Two of the tallest leaders, Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Mr. Dudley Senanayake     who served this country, signed these Pacts (7/26/1957, 3/24/1965) and along with the undisputed leader of the Tamil people, the late Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, in their capacity as Prime Ministers of this country. Their idea was that the territorial identity of minority peoples, who preponderantly occupied the Northern and Eastern Provinces, must    be preserved…” Parliamentary speech by TNA Leader, R.  Sampanthan on December 14, 2013).

           After talking about the infamous B-C & D-C pacts and on the Mrs. Chandrika drama of Neelan-GL package deals, TNA leader Mr. Sampanthanthanked the members of parliament for not interrupting him during his speech which is a good sign of learning self-discipline by a pack of rowdy MPs. But was there a single Sinhala MP who could reply to Sampanthan with facts & figures (plus history) so that the Hansard has the whole story recorded? This is pathetic and I am glad that the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has finally realized the urgent need to consider sending BBS MPs to the parliament, learning from the mistakes made by the JHU. This Sampanthan speech and others by Sumanthiran and Co. will be used as evidence at UN-HR forums to trap MahindaR on his own words and to transform him from a Sinhala Vessantara to a failed Siri Sangabo.

There was a time in Sri Lanka that people like Gamini Irriyagolla, W.S. Karunaratne and K.N. Jayatileka who told the world (embassies in Colombo) the other side of Chelvanayagam’s bogus story now repeated by the Sampanthan crowd. Fortunately, on the false story that land colonization was a project against the Tamils, the geography professor G. H. Peiris has gifted us with well-researched wealth of data and documentary evidence that so far no Tamil separatist academic was able to dispute or dare to touch. If one wants to think of an episode that was a very pro-Sinhala settlement scheme (Sinhalization?) it was the dedicated service rendered by the late R. G. Senanayake, son of F. R. Senanayake, in getting Sinhala people to settle down in the Trinco area. This was a private effort and not a government project linked with the Monsoon season-based migratory work habit of Sinhala fishermen in the South.

Humiliated black-whites                                                       Read More   

NP: Chief Minister Vs Governor

Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Wigneswaran received his Chief Ministerial appointment letter from the Northern Province Governor G.A.Chandrasiri (file photo)

By J. Yogaraj-December 29, 2013

Three months have almost gone after the historically important northern provincial election. The election has been a landmark victory for democracy. Sri Lanka clearly showed a message to the world that the tamils - populated northern province was ready for an election and to elect their representatives to administer the province. The Tamil National Alliance won the election on 21st September 2013 overwhelmingly. But they made a blunder here stating that winning the Northern Election means that they have got all important powers to rule the region. This gives a wrong picture. We should understand that the people of the northern province understood the Sri Lankan constitution better than TNA. They voted for the TNA not to waste time on talking about the weak points of the 13th amendment and other constitutional changes, but to work for the people, within limitation.

If the TNA is genuine in finding lasting solution to the ethnic problem, they should learn how to work within the limited frame structure. Also, they should show willingness to cooporate with the central government.

The Governor of the Province has provided all necessary facilities and created a friendly atmosphere for the TNA-backed provincial administration to serve the people. But the TNA has other ideas of finding fault with the Central Government and the Governor of the Province. As Prof Rohan Gunaratne correctly mentioned, that the TNA is not trying to bring joy to the Tamil people, but distress and worries to all of them. This is the concept adopted by a segment of Tamil Diaspora for a long time. The relations of the Tamil diaspora, who are domiciled in Sri Lanka, should realize that the so-called TAMIL diaspora is not trying to bring joy to the Sri Lankan tamils. Instead, they seem to be creating unnecessary problems in Sri Lanka, to fill their pockets (for their survival) and to survive in those countries.

The Tamils have a rich history in Sri Lanka; they are one of the most intelligent hard working community, or man power force, in the world. Unfortunately, this image has been torn into parts due to the attitudes of the the Diaspora. The majority of Tamil Diaspora does not do any tangible, effective work in those countries. They get relief assistances, including dole money, and live like a "LAZY DUCK". There initiatives and activities show that they want to continue to live like this, which will create a bad example for their future generation.

If the TNA wants to do something good for the Tamils , first they should try to change the confrontational attitudes. They should realize that the LTTE has lost the WAR against the government forces. Therefore, they should also understand in any competition , the team which loses the game should also face some consequences. They cannot expect the winning team to give you all that the LTTE wanted. If the TNA says that they follow the concepts of LTTE and they campaign that LTTE represents the majority of Tamils, then they should also accept the defeat of LTTE in front of the government forces as well. Thereby, they should accept the verdict of the nature.

Having gone through this, the TNA has now passed resolution demanding the removal of the Governor of the Northern Province stating that the governor is an ex-Military man. They wanted a civil servant to be appointed as the governor. Any lament will understand this as completely un-ethical and an unfair demand. If the present Governor is a military person, what is wrong with that? He has served the country at the highest level, and based on the capability and competency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has appointed G. A. Chandrasiri as the governor. The governor also in return, has performed his duties in a more professional and effective manner for the last 4 and ½ years. During this time, the province has seen many, rapid developments in almost every public sector. The reconciliation activities also took place on a high note. Governor, G. A. Chandrasiri, is no more in military services. He retired from the services long ago. It should be noted that many ex-military personnel have been appointed in various capacities of the state sector including secretary to the ministries, chairman and other high level positions. If you take Mr. Suresh Premachandran and Selvam Adaikalanathan, they are members of parliament. If LTTE, TELO, EPRLF are considered as a Military outfits, then Premachandran and Adaikalanathan were ex-military leaders of EPRLF and TELO respectively. Further, we cannot understand one argument here is that, if ex-senior members of a terrorist military outfit which fought the government forces are allowed to become members of parliament, but a senior military officer who served the Sri Lanka army and served the country to protect the sovereignty is not allowed to take up a position of Governor. This is not fair. Any rational person will understand this clearly. But it is a pity that highly educated TNA members do not understand this simple theory. This clearly shows the TNA has a different agenda. They have been harassing the governor from the time they took office. This is a clear violation of the fundamental rights and privileges of the Governor who act as the sole representative of HE in a province. Further. According to the constitution, There is no restriction in the appointment of the Governor. Also, if theeastern province can move smoothly without any hindrance with a ex-Navy personnel as the governor, why cannot the northern people?

The Governor has categorically stated that we cannot allow the Tamil National Alliance members to make other dance according to their tune.

(The writer is a journalist from Jaffna)

2014 Can Be Year Of New Departure

By Jehan Perera -December 30, 2013 |

Jehan Perera

This New Year will be a year of change as the government faces a make or break situation internationally.   The next session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March is positioned to deliver a resolution that calls for an international probe into Sri Lanka’s conduct of its war.  The weeks and months to come are therefore going to be crucial. The international community is watching whatever steps Sri Lanka takes in the direction of greater human rights, national reconciliation and accountability. Unless change happens, the government and the country too will be at the receiving end of UN-sanctioned scrutiny that will leave it little room to manoeuver.  International sanctions of one kind or another will be a step away.

In this context, the government will necessarily have to change course in the New Year.  It can no longer go down the old path that lay down a policy of centralization and uniformity, in which the government’s top leaders sought to control society and make it uniform.  It may be recalled that shortly after the war’s end, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that henceforth there will be no majority or minority but only patriots and traitors.  The government’s vision of centralization and uniformity was encapsulated in its post-war slogan of “one country, one people.”  It also meant singing the national anthem in only one language, and not two, unlike the national anthem of South Africa which is sung in five languages and from whence the government hopes to get support to counter the international demands being placed on it.

The essential feature of the government’s post-war policy has been the centralization and concentration of power, which even its cabinet ministers do not like as it marginalizes them too.  Belying the general expectation that the end of the war would lead to a reduction in the role of the military there has been a continuing spurt in the growth of the military budget and the role of the military in civil society.  This has been accompanied by a concurrent undermining of the institutional autonomy that might have protected pluralism and diversity in society.  The independence of the public service and judiciary amongst others has been laid low.  The 18th Amendment concentrated the powers of appointment of all top state bodies in the hands of the President.

Great Man                                                          Read More

The year that was 

  December 30, 2013 

The clock’s ticking away and we have but a few hours left to savour the year that is 2013.  The end note, bringing in its wake a host of unpalatable incidents, the most indigestible being the alleged involvement of the Prime Minister’s office to smuggle in 261 kg of heroin and the Rathupaswala shooting incident, where a peaceful agitation for drinking water resulted in wanton bloodshed, does not make for happy reflections of the year that was.

The past 12 months have been a long roller coaster ride, with very few ups and whole host of lows. The shrill concerns articulated by the international community on accountability, following the 2009 victory over the Tamil Tigers, continued to reverberate throughout the year, cranked up by the visit of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, and the international media frenzy over the decision to let Sri Lanka host the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  The concerns will once again be reflected at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2014, with perhaps additional strictures on religious and racial intolerance and the denudation of the rule of law.

Sri Lanka’s post-war endeavours towards reconciliation, or rather the lack of it,  have also been on the agenda of the international community this past year, despite the much touted Northern Provincial Council elections in September, which saw the Tamil National Alliance being given a massive mandate by the Northern populace. The plight of the resettled is something that should engage our focus in the year ahead, as should the failure of the much anticipated peace dividend. After nearly 30 years of war, after all the hardships and the loss of lives the nation as a whole endured, we need to move forward, taking meaningful step to transform the hard fought war victory into sustainable peace. However, there can be no moving ahead, if we do not look back and make amends for past mistakes.

It is in this context that political and ethnic reconciliation becomes significant milestones for the year ahead. The leaders of all hues need to put their differences aside and sit down for some honest discussions. Compromises will be needed from all sides, as would the renewal of acceptance that Sri Lanka is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic society and that all communities are equal stakeholders of the peace dividend.

Another issue of serious concern that needs political commitment for a resolution in the year ahead is the breakdown in the law and order situation. The year is littered with reports of murder, rape, robbery, abductions, extra judicial killings and all kinds of atrocities from every corner of the country. Not many are likely to forget the gruesome murder of the police constable and his wife in Kamburupitiya and the subsequent deaths of all the main suspects while in police custody, a frighteningly graphic depiction of just how serious the law and order situation has become in this country.

Many are not likely to forget the serious human rights and media rights violations either. Threats against the media still prevail with the government intensifying its repressive actions by blocking access to several independent online news websites in the recent months. The year also saw a champion of media rights and democracy become a shameless turncoat, vowing vengeance on those that were critical of him.

The year 2013 has also been an year of protest, with many of the government’s short sighted moves instigating the masses to get onto the streets and remonstrate for their rights, not always successfully.  Over the past twelve months there have been numerous protests against various actions and inactions of the government, government orchestrated protests against visiting foreign dignitaries, media personnel, and those perceived as being anti-government, and protests that were simply unsavoury from the perspective of ethnic harmony and national unity. However, the protest that would be etched indelibly in the minds of many would be the Rathupaswala incident, where indiscriminate firing by the security forces saw the deaths of a number of villagers who were involved in a sit in protest over government inaction to their demand for drinking water.

TIME Magazine in 2011 declared ‘The Protestor’ as its Person of the Year. Given the turmoil the country has been facing, it is up to the government to ensure, ‘The Protestor’ doesn’t become the Sri Lankan of the Year in 2013. A New Year gives one the opportunity, to reflect, reassess and start anew. We hope the year ahead will not turn out to be a re-enactment of the same old, same old.

Indo-Lanka ties in 2013 affected by Tamil issue

December 29, 2013

Colombo: India-Sri Lanka ties in 2013 were affected by differences over alleged rights abuses in the war against the LTTE and giving political rights to Tamils, even as Colombo held provincial polls after 25 years in the Tamil-dominated north as part of reconciliation. 

Hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November brought Sri Lanka back in international spotlight with some leaders boycotting the summit over the country's human rights record. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh skipped the summit due to stiff opposition from political parties in Tamil Nadu, demanding a "total boycott" over the Tamil issue and their political rights, four years after the Sri Lankan troops crushed Tamil rebels fighting for a separate homeland. 

However, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid attended the summit and said India was committed to the welfare of Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamils and would remain engaged with the country in the "enlightened national interest". 

UK Prime Minister David Cameron's historic visit to war-ravaged Jaffna, the first by a foreign head of government since Sri Lanka's independence from Britain in 1948, took the spotlight away from the summit of the 53-member grouping. 

He gave an ultimatum to Sri Lanka to conduct a credible inquiry into the war crimes by March, failing which he would seek an international investigation. 

A defiant President Mahinda Rajapaksa, however, rebuffed Cameron and said Lanka must be trusted to conduct its own probe. 

Throughout the year, Sri Lanka battled international pressure over a credible inquiry into the alleged rights abuses in the closing days of the quarter century civil war. 

In March, UN's Human Rights Council passed a US-sponsored resolution, which was backed by India, on 'Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka'. 

India's support for the resolution stoked anger in Sri Lanka, with the media calling it a "let down" and the Heritage Party, part of the ruling alliance, demanding a "drastic change" in the country's foreign policy towards New Delhi. 

In September, Sri Lanka held provincial council polls in the war-ravaged north as part of the reconciliation process with the Tamil minority community. 

Newly-elected Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran, whose TNA swept the polls in the Northern Province, underlined the key role India played in ensuring the holding of the election. He called on India to help rebuild the war-ravaged region. 

Expeditious implementation of the 13th Amendment, Indian fishermen languishing in Sri Lankan jails and implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission remained some of the major issues in India-Sri Lanka ties this year. 

PTI-First Published: Sunday, December 29, 2013, 16:36

Changing Face Of Tamil Nadu

By S. Sivathasan -December 30, 2013 

S. Sivathasan

In Praise of Tamil

In the eye of a Tamil poet how does Tamil Nadu appear? To Prof. Sundarampillai scholar and poet; “The sea girt globe is a damsel draped in blue. Bharat is her face ever beaming with beauty. Therein shining in all radiance is her crescent like forehead, the Dravidian State. As central attraction is the tilakam that is Tamil Nadu and Tamil is the fragrance emanating therefrom. Perched in this setting is the Tamil Maiden full of perennial charm, spreading mirth all around with glory effusing in every direction”.

Change and Renewal

This is Tamil Nadu, the land of Tamil and of the Tamils into whose serenity modernity is entering at an incredible yet welcome pace. A blend of the old and the new has made for a harmonious balance at all times and in many spheres. Literary evidence accessible to all who inquire makes it clear that continuity is a hallmark in the history of the Tamils. They have displayed a resilience to retain the valued of the past while absorbing the best of the modern. A line from an ancient grammatical treatise conveys succinctly their attitude and approach: “There is no inconsistency in the exit of the old and the entry of the new. They are but an index of the time”. The ancient, the medieval and the modern thriving coterminously in Tamil Nadu show both telescoping and supersession. This induces the erroneous notion among some that if Tamils change perpetually, they cannot remain the same. Herein lies their uniqueness in retention, absorption, adaptation and transformation.

Golden Times

Ramanujan City on the right with Conference Hall and Residential Complex under construction in the foreground. On the left is Tidel Park. Both are at Tharamani in the heart of the city.

In the vibrancy of the language and in exquisite literature is portrayed the genius of the people. Two millennia of assimilation, growth and continuity have made Tamil both classical and modern, conferring the prestige of the oldest living language. The land, her people their language and literature have seen many a vicissitude. Sangam Age – circa 1 to 3 AD – and Chola Period – 9 to 12 AD, were golden times. The third, wished for with independence is set to be reached in less than half a century. A composite range of attributes have now begun to seep into the people’s consciousness, their values, outlook, attitude and lifestyle. They have now begun to factor them into their present and for their future.                                          Read More