SRI LANKA HAS BECOME A DRUG HUB - TISSA

January 3, 2014

Sri Lanka has become the drug hub of Asia and the country that consumes the most amount of alcohol, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayaka said today. He added that even the New Delhi police had termed Sri Lanka as a drug hub. 

Politicians, policemen have become involved in the drug trafficking business which has become the bane of the younger generation in Sri Lanka. There is no mention of the ethanol container which was illegally brought to Sri Lanka as the country has moved into a drunken economy, Attanayaka claimed. 

He added that a great Buddhist nation has become a drug hub and a consolidated union action should be organized to bring all those who are against the current regime together. 

CAPTAIN DID NOT LOSE CONTROL OF FLIGHT – SRILANKAN CLARIFIES

January 3, 2014 

SriLankan Airlines today issued a media release clarifying a recent media report on a SriLankan flight allegedly making a nosedive. In the release SriLankan Airlines states that at no point did the captain of the flight lose control of the flight or it experienced a nosedive.

Excerpt of statement;

On 1st of January at 1435hrs SriLankan flight UL 503 departed Colombo, for London Heathrow Airport. Approximately 45 minutes after the take-off, the cockpit crew observed a crack in the windshield.  The windshield of the aircraft has three layers of glass and it was the centre-layer which had developed the crack.

 As per the manufacturers’ recommended procedure the pilots descended the aircraft to 10,000ft as a precautionary measure to minimize the differential pressure on the windshield. Therefore, in the interest of the passengers’ safety and the aircraft, the pilots decided to return to Colombo for the replacement of the windshield.

Accordingly, the flight UL 503 returned to Bandaranaike International Airport at 1630hrs without incident.  SriLankan wishes to emphasise that it is the standard procedure for any airline to descend to 10, 000 ft to prevent the differential pressure on the windshield and at no stage the aircraft or the passengers’ safety was compromised.

Currently the investigations are underway to identify the exact reasons in order to prevent incidents of similar nature. SriLankan wishes to reiterate that the Airline always maintains the highest safety standards the industry requires, and considers the well-being of the passengers its foremost priority which under no circumstance will be compromised.

Mahinda Rajapaksa through the newspaper’s editor.

 Friday, 03 January 2014 

It has now been established that last Sunday’s ‘Mawbima’ lead story, which claimed former president Chandrika Kumaratunga will be the opposition’s common candidate at the next presidential polls, had been a ‘plant’ by incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa through the newspaper’s editor. 

The newspaper asserted that the decision to field Mrs. Kumaratunga was taken at a yearend party at Matara district MP Mangala Samaraweera’s Bolgoda, Panadura home, also attended by Ranil Wickremesinghe, Karu Jayasuriya, Chandrika Kumaratunga and other leaders.

By ‘planting’ this, president Rajapaksa hopes to find out the SLFP and other government party MPs and ministers who are maintaining links with his predecessor. A special team of the state intelligence service, on his orders, is investigating to find out such persons and is recording their telephone conversations.

The most serious issue here is that the president has ordered the SIS to investigate whether his brother, economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa, was having links with opposition leaders. This follows a claim by MP Namal Rajapaksa that minister Basil was having connections with opposition leaders as well as Indian 

Dudley’s hotel leaves president in jealousy!

 Friday, 03 January 2014 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week went to Nuwara Eliya to open ‘Araliya Green Hill Hotel’, owned by Dudley Sirisena, the brother of SLFP general secretary Maithripala Sirisena. Seeing the glamour of Dudley’s luxury star hotel, located near Grand Hotel, the president’s face darkened and he has told those close to him, “Younger brother has not wasted what the elder swindles from multi national companies.”

 Later, upon inquiring from the Sirisena brothers, the president has got to know that the hotel’s first owner was Weerabahu, who had owned Hingurana Sugar factory. Following his death in England, Vanik Incorporation had bought the hotel and as it had become bankrupt, a Maldivian businessman by the name Malik had come to own it. Dudley had bought it from him for eight million USD and spent a further four million USD to modernize it. In the end, a smiling president has said, “Now, there are USD millionaires in Polonnaruwa too.”
 

Soon after returning to Colombo, the president had spoken to a top official in the state intelligence service and ordered him to submit an immediate report regarding everything about Dudley’s hotel in Nuwara Eliya, and based on that report, to lodge a complaint to the Bribery Commission in order to tame the Sirisena brothers.

PM admits to having lunch with drug smuggler 


By Gihan Nicholas-  January 3, 2014 

Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne, who came under severe attack over his alleged involvement in a shipment of heroin, detected by the Customs in what was the largest seizure of the narcotic in South-East Asia, admitted that he had lunch with the suspect – the foreigner – who had ordered the shipment to Sri Lanka.

The Premier recently said he had been introduced to the suspect by Gampola Urban Council member, Tharanga Wittachchi, when they had arrived at his home in Gampola.

"Wittachchi once came to see me. I told him 'let's have some food.' Then a bit reluctantly Wittachchi said a friend had accompanied him. I told him to ask the friend to join us. Seeing the friend was not a Sri Lankan, I asked Wittachchi who he was. He said he had met the person when he travelled to Dubai. I said good, let's have some food..." Following the lunch, Wittachchi had approached the Prime Minister's son, Anuradha Lanka Jayaratne. According to the Prime Minister, Wittachchi had requested his son for a waiver on taxes and surcharges on a consignment of goods, which his friend had imported. Anuradha had thereby referred the matter to Keerthi Sri Weerasinghe, who was a Coordinating Secretary to the Prime Minister.

"Wittachchi had told my son that the foreigner, who was accompanying him, was a friend who had a stock of goods at the harbour, which had been slammed with demurrage and VAT. He had said the charges were enormous. So, Wittachchi had asked my son if it was possible to help him release the cargo with a waiver on taxes and surcharges. My son had then told Keerthi 'I'll just have a look into this,' that's it. I don't know whether Keerthi was aware or not but a letter was written. That is true. That is all we know," he said.

The Prime Minister said he was bewildered when he had come to know that heroin was concealed and imported to the country in the containers which were cleared. Jayaratne also said the Leader of the JHU, Ven. Omalpe Sobhitha Thera, was in no manner a judge, but a capricious individual for having levelled baseless allegations against him.

"A priest named Sobhitha, an individual in a robe, has charged that letters were sent to clear containers of heroin and drugs. He is saying that the Premier should be remanded. He is demanding for the resignation of the Prime Minister. Just look at this. Can a man in a robe speak like this? Does he have police powers? Only a Judge can say so," the Premier added.

3 dead after Cambodian police fire on protesters

Cambodian riot police with guns prepare to confront with garment workers throwing stones and bricks near a factory on the Stung Meanchey complex on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday. Pic: AP.By AP News Jan 03, 2014 

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — At least three people were killed Friday when police in Cambodia opened fire to break up a protest by striking garment workers demanding a doubling of the minimum wage, police and human rights workers said.

Chuon Narin, deputy chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, said the three were killed and two others were wounded in a southern suburb of the capital when police fired AK-47 rifles after several hundred workers blocking a road south of the capital Phnom Penh began burning tires and throwing objects at them. The incident followed another clash overnight.

Chuon Narin described the protesters as anarchists who were destroying public and private property. They were cleared from the street, at least temporarily, by early afternoon.

Chan Saveth, an observer from the human rights group Adhoc, said his group had tallied three dead and 10 hurt, seven apparently with gunshot wounds.

The violence comes at a time of political stress in the country, as the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party has protested daily for Prime Minister Hun Sen to step down and call elections. Hun Sen won elections last July that extended his 28-year rule in the poor Southeast Asia nation, but opposition protesters accuse him of rigging the vote. Hun Sen has rejected their demand.

Workers at most of the country’s more than 500 garment factories are on strike, demanding an increase in the minimum wage to $160 a month, double the current rate. The government has offered $100 a month.

Although the wage and election issues are not directly linked, the opposition has close ties with the country’s labor movement. On Sunday, many workers joined a massive political rally organized by the opposition.

The workers represent a potent political force, because the garment industry is Cambodia’s biggest export earner, employing about 500,000 people in garment and shoe factories. In 2012, the Southeast Asian country shipped more $4 billion worth of products to the United States and Europe.

Friday’s confrontation followed a similar violent one a day earlier at a different location, in which elite troops broke up a demonstration outside a factory, beating demonstrators and arresting 10 people, including Buddhist monks, according to witnesses from human rights groups.

In that case, according to the local human rights group LICADHO, “The soldiers were seen brandishing metal pipes, knives, AK-47 rifles, slingshots and batons.”

The standoff over wages presents Hun Sen with a dilemma, as increasing violence could drive the workers into a tighter alliance with the opposition, providing a vast pool of people for their increasingly confident street demonstrations. But the government is also close to the factory owners, whose export products are the locomotive for the economy.

The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia last week called for factory owners to close their plants, ostensibly for fear of damage by protesters. The situation puts pressure both on the workers, who go without pay, and the government, which relies on garment exports to power the economy.

In an evident effort to increase the pressure on Hun Sen, the association on Thursday sent a letter to the government asking that their members be allowed to export capital equipment to other countries because they were unable to operate in Cambodia. There was no immediate response from the government.

Catalan president calls on EU leaders to support push for independence

MADRID Thu Jan 2, 2014

(Reuters) - Catalonia's president has called on European Union prime ministers for support as the region seeks a vote on independence in November this year, the source of an increasingly bitter fight with Spain's central government.

In letters dating from December and made public on Thursday, Artur Mas urged European powers to encourage a referendum that the center-right government of Mariano Rajoy says is unconstitutional and it will not allow.

The Catalan struggle is likely to dominate the political agenda this year in Spain, which is slowly emerging from a recession and heading towards a general election in 2015.

"Contrary to some reports, there are a number of legal and constitutional options which allow this referendum to take place in Catalonia," Mas wrote in a December 20 letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which was reproduced on his official website and is one of 27 sent to European leaders.

"I am confident I can rely on you to encourage the peaceful, democratic, transparent, and European process to which I and a vast majority of the Catalan people are fully committed," he wrote.

Scotland is due to vote on independence this year, though Mas made no mention of the British parallel in his note.

Other than embarrassing Spain's central government, the international campaign also has a tactical aim, with Catalan's ruling party and citizens groups eyeing an end-game possibly played out in an international tribunal.

With Rajoy and Mas showing no signs of reaching a political negotiation, Rajoy is expected to use the national parliament and Supreme Court to block any move to hold a referendum.

In that case, Mas may well have to call early elections, likely to be won by the more radical independence party the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), opinion polls show. ERC leaders say they will take their battle for a referendum to an international court if need be.

Separately from the letters to EU leaders, the regional government also sent 45 memorandums to foreign countries in December listing its attractions as an export-led economy at the heart of the EU - of which it wants to remain a member.

Opinion polls have shown mixed support for Catalan independence within the region, with some recently showing only 35 percent would vote for a full break-away from Spain while others have shown support of close to 50 percent.

But polls have shown overwhelmingly that Catalans want the right to decide and believe that Rajoy should authorize a vote.

(Reporting by Sarah White and Teresa Larraz Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Louise Ireland)

The Story of Gaza | David Swanson The Story of Gaza By davidswanson - Posted on 02 January 2014 Young authors of fiction from Gaza, some of whom say they are finding Palestine on the internet while unable to see it exist in reality, have just published a collection of stories, written in English, marking the five-year anniversary of the 23 days from December 27, 2008, until Obama's inauguration, during which Israel bombed the people of Gaza far more heavily than usual.  They're publishing a new excerpt of the book each of these 23 days on their FaceBook page. You can talk with them in an upcoming Google Hangout.

The Story of Gaza David Swanson by nelvely

Indian Air Force: Is it an Expeditionary Force?

VERY SAD....

Indian Air Force: Is it an Expeditionary Force?

Special Commentary by Gp Capt (Retd) PI Muralidharan
Indian Air Force Su-30MKI is an air superiority fighter i.e. intended to defeat enemy aircraft in the air and seize control of enemy airspace. bangaloreaviation.com

After its experience with four recent Expeditionary Air Missions, considerable debate exists in US military circles on the viability of an expeditionary force in today’s context.

(NEW DELHI) - Reporting on the recent assumption of office by the new Chief of the Indian Air Force, The Times of Indiaon 31 December 2013 carried a piece by Rajat Pandit stating  that  the new Chief would have to focus on faster induction of planned air assets if his force has to eventually become a truly ‘expeditionary aerospace power’ (sic). Whilst this may just be   misplaced reportage and not an official policy declaration by the IAF or the government, it   needs gainsaying that as per the IAP 2000 IAF Air Power Manual, the IAF does not have an expeditionary role.

Indian Air Force is It an Expeditionary Force by nelvely

South Sudan rebels 'forcibly recruiting civilians' amid humanitarian crisis

South Sudanese soldiers patrol the streets of Juba. The government claims the rebels are arming reluctant civilians as they focus on the capital. Photograph: Samir Bol/AFP/Getty Images

Mark Tran, and David Smith in Cape Town-Thursday 2 January 2014 

Government accuses rebels as fighting overshadows peace talks in Ethiopia and aid agencies warn of looming catastrophe

Aid agencies have warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe inSouth Sudan, where fighting continues in spite of the crisis talks currently under way in neighbouring Ethiopia.

South Sudan Rebels 'Forcibly Recruiting Civilians' Amid Humanitarian Crisis by nelvely

2013: A year of religious intolerance in Burma

By Mark Inkey-By Asian Correspondent Jan 01, 2014

The past year has seen a rise in religious intolerance against Muslim people in Burma fanned by radical Buddhists whose most vocal spokesperson has been the monk Wirathu.

2013 a Year of Religious Intolerance in Burma by nelvely

BNP's Nick Griffin declares bankruptcy

Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, has declared bankruptcy but says that it will not prevent him serving as an MEP

By Peter Dominiczak, Assistant Political Editor-03 Jan 2014

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, has been declared bankrupt.

The MEP appeared at Welshpool County Court this week and declared himself bankrupt.

BNP's Nick Griffin Declares Bankruptcy by nelvely

Sri Lanka One Island Two Nations

History of Sri Lanka part 1 .(Tamil)

Published on Dec 29, 2013

History of Sri Lanka part 2 .(Tamil)

8 years on and still no justice for ‘Trinco 5’

Tamil Guardian 02 January 2014

Photograph Tamilnet Today marks the 8 years since the murder of five Tamil students, committed by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force, whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee.  Photograph: TamilNet The five slain students, who were all 21-years-old when killed, are: Manoharan Ragihar (22.09.1985) Yogarajah Hemachchandra(04.03.1985) Logitharajah Rohan (07.04.1985) Thangathurai Sivanantha (06.04.1985) Shanmugarajah Gajendran(16.09.1985) To this day, no-one has been brought to justice for the murders. Earlier this year 12 people, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police, were remandedover the killings. To date, none have been brought to trial. Instead, 2013 saw Kapila Jayasekara, who reportedly spearheaded the executions, promoted to DIG in the Amparai district. See a report by Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) into the murders, which indicates Jayasekara was present during the incident, with 6-7 armed masked soldiers, here. 'We know the STF did it' Photograph: TamilNet  Shortly after the murders, journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan was shot deadafter publishing photos showing the bodies of the 5 students with point-blank gunshot injuries, disproving government claims that they were killed by a grenade explosion. In a leaked US Embassy cable from Colombo in Octber 2006, the then US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert O. Blake met with Sri Lankan Presidential Sdvisor Basil Rajapaksa.   The cable stated, "Speaking with surprising candor, Rajapaksa explained the GSL's efforts to prove that members of the Security Task Force (STF) murdered five students in Trincomalee in January: "We know the STF did it, but the bullet and gun evidence shows that they did not.  They must have separate guns when they want to kill some one. We need forensic experts. We know who did it, but we can't proceed in prosecuting them." 'Unable or unwilling' The killings drew condemnation from various human rights organisations, with Jim McDonald, Sri Lanka Country Specialist of Amnesty International USA telling the Sunday Leader in 2013, “The failure to properly investigate this case despite a recommendation by a Presidential Commission of Inquiry established in 2006 and repeated in the 2011 report of the LLRC, clearly shows that Sri Lanka is either unable or unwilling to ensure accountability for human rights violations, leading victims and their families to seek justice at the international level”. Brad Adams, the Asia Pacific Director of Human Rights Watch, also said last year, "The government has claimed this case is a priority, including it in the now forgotten presidential commission of inquiry and in its response to the UN Human Rights Council, but actual progress in this case is sadly nonexistent". 'They killed my son' The case became a rallying point for protestors, with over 700 activists in New York demanding justice for the killings, in 2012. Also in 2012, Amnesty International launched a “Write-for-Rights” campaign, highlighting the case of the “Trinco 5” and called for genuine investigations into this and the countless other human rights violations on the island. See the video below to hear Dr Manoharan, the father of one of the victims, speak about the campaign.       Also see Amnesty International’s film on the murders entitled “Sri Lanka – Tell the Truth”below.

Chandrika, Mahinda, Rats, And Our Future

By Jagath Asoka -January 2, 2014 

Dr. Jagath Asoka

It is possible to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa in the next presidential elections by appointing Chandrika Bandaranaike—Sri Lanka’s only female president, the daughter of two former prime ministers, the former leader of the SLFP—as the common candidate. There is another possibility: Chandrika can split not only the SLFP but also the other parties in the current UPFA and all the parties in the opposition and walk away with the members who are not happy with the current regime and with the current leaders of their parties and form a formidable opposition by making a new alliance; of course, she needs the help of the UNP, JVP, TNA, Sarath Fonseka, and everyone else who wants to defeat Mahinda; but she does not need total consensus, just  the support of the most influential members, because the others will follow them. I am sure even Sajith will join Chandrika if he can be the next prime minister. Ranil can be the next speaker, but I prefer a Muslim candidate. Wigneswaran can be our Chief Justice.

We all know that this regime is not going to last forever; sooner or later, it is going to collapse—that is the nature of everything, including Mahinda. Those who are currently in power will not only regurgitate what they have been eating and have taken by force, power, or conceit but also face severe punishments and imprisonments; some will even lose their civil rights and be expelled from parliament, and possibly lose their lives, lives of their spouses, children, siblings, and their zealous supporters. We are on a path to perdition, but we have the power to avoid this catastrophic deluge of blood, lost due to unimaginable violence, based on personal vendetta, and resolve this mess peacefully. The nature of politics, like everything else in life, is that nothing lasts forever: change is ineluctable, necessary, and often unpredictable. We need a strong leader, as well as a strong, disciplined, peace-loving, non-violent, incorruptible coalition to counterbalance the powers of Mahinda and avoid the bloodbath in the future due to this regime’s ineluctable death: it is just a matter of time.

It seems to me that the UNP—neither Ranil nor Sajith nor any other clown who thinks that he or she can defeat Mahinda—is not the party that is going to change this regime; the counterbalancing formidable force to Rajapaksa clan is going to emerge by splitting the current UPFA by Chandrika, or it can happen spontaneously, but not by Ranil or Sajith. Here is a statement that Chandrika made in September 2009, during her visit to Kerala, India: “I too care for my life. Even though the current government is a government of my party, I don’t feel safe. There is an overall lack of freedom and an atmosphere of fear prevails in the country. The basic rights of the people and media freedom are restricted in Sri Lanka.”

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Polluting Governance

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The Nazi leaders….treated Germany like a conquered land, a colony to be used and abused without consideration, to be exploited to the full, and its national spirit, happiness and wellbeing to be sedulously ignored”.

Sebastian Haffner (Germany: Jekyll & Hyde)

( January 2, 2013- Colombo –Sri Lanka Guardian) Every year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) releases a chart with the sulphur content in the fuel used by different countries. Until 2012, the sulphur content in the diesel used in Sri Lanka was a constant 500ppm (parts per million) . In 2013, the sulphur content in Lankan diesel shot up astronomically, beyond 2000ppm. Thanks to his colossal increase (more than 300%) in just one year, our island-home has joined the category of global-worsts - countries with highest levels of sulphur in their fuel .

Polluting Governance by nelvely

Suspected War Criminal Jagath Dias Returns To Mullaitivu

January 2, 2014 

The Sri Lanka Army’s Adjutant General Major General Jagath Dias who is strongly implicated in the war crimes allegations against Government forces during the final phase of the war in 2009, was ordered to return to Ground Zero last week.

Jagath Dias

A spate of high profile military transfers that came into effect last week also saw Major General Dias’ transfer to the former LTTE stronghold of Mullaitivu as Security Forces Commander of the District. Mullaitivu was also the final theatre of battle where the UN estimates some 40,000 civilians perished and some of the worst allegations of war crimes against the military have surfaced.

Dias has been transferred to the Wanni amidst continued claims of heavy militarisation in the North and oppressive surveillance of residents in the area by military personnel. Jaffna Security forces Commander Mahinda Hathurusinghe who has been on a collision course with the recently elected Chief Minister of the Northern Province on several occasions was transferred out of the district.

Dias was also controversially put in charge of the army inquiry into a violent military crackdown against civilian demonstrators in Weliweriya on August 1. Late last year Dias was rejected for military training programmes on account of his role in alleged violations of humanitarian law as Commanding Officer of the 57 division that was instrumental in eliminating the LTTE in the last months of the war.

Dias who was rejected by the United States for training programme on account of his implication in alleged war crimes in August last year was also denied a visa by the Government of Australia – firm friend of the Rajapaksa Administration –  to attend a ICRC workshop due to the allegations against him. Dias was initially asked to withdraw his application for the programme by the Australian High Commission in Colombo, the Island newspaper quoted a senior official as saying.

Trincomalee students killing - 8th Anniversary

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 January 2014, 00:31 GMT]
Parents and relatives of five Trincomalee students who were extra-judicially executed at a seafront in Trincomalee by Sri Lanka armed forces on the 2nd of January 2006 will be commemorating the eight anniversary of the death of their sons today, Thursday. Despite a determined and relentless pursuit for justice by Dr Kasippillai Manoharan, the father of Ragijar, one of the students killed, including campaigns by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, justice has eluded the families of the students killed. "Until the perpetrators of the crime, and the at Sri Lanka's helm who issued the order to kill my son, are brought to justice, I will keep on fighting," Dr Manoharan told TamilNet, adding, "I remain grateful for the Rights groups and the organizations that campaigned and highlighted the need for international involvement to bring justice to us." 

Post-Trinco-massacre photo album

The names and the dates of birth of the five students killed at the big harbor town under the control of and heavily garrisoned by the Sri Lanka security forces are: (i) Manoharan Ragihar, DoB 22.09.1985, (ii) Yogarajah Hemachchandra, DoB 04.03.1985, (iii) Logitharajah Rohan, DoB 07.04.1985, (iv) Thangathurai Sivanantha, DoB 06.04.1985, and (v) Shanmugarajah Gajendran, DoB 16.09.1985.

• TAG Report: Trincomalee executions

• HRW demands witness protection in Trinco-5 killings

• Witess drops bombshell on Trinco-5 killing

"[T]he murder of the five young boys in Trincomalee became an early symbol of the legacy of impunity that would plague the Sri Lankan Government, both in its execution of the final war to defeat the LTTE and the continued suppression of legitimate dissent both during and after the war," Financial Times (FT) wrote on the murder.

Trinco executions crime scene

Culpability chart

2013 was a watershed year for the parents as the two UN Human Rights Council resolutions and mention of the Trinco-5 murder in the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s Report on Sri Lanka in March 2013, finally forced the Sri Lanka Government to move on the prosecutions. With CHOGM approaching in November 2013, the case that has been languishing in Trincomalee court for the last 7 years appeared to gain some urgency.

"12 Special Task Force personnel have been arrested and remanded. Among them is an Assistant Superintendent of Police. The senior Police official, witnesses and informants have indicated commandeered the operation, remains a free man, now promoted in the ranks of the Police force," according to Financial Times.

The official referred to by the FT is H.D.K.S. Kapila Jeyasekera. He rose in ranks as the Superintendent of Police (SP) from the Special Task Force (STF), and was also alleged to have been responsible for other killings in Trincomalee during 2006, including the ACF-17 killings, and has been appointed as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) to the Ki'linochchi and Mullaiththeevu district.

"I have no doubt that Mr Kapila Jeyasekera is responsible for killing my son. Jeyasekera was the key Police operative receiving orders from the higher political positions in targeting key Tamil activists and witnesses, and once Jeyasekera was transferred from Trincomalee, the killings of Tamil civilians suddenly decreased remarkably," Dr Manoharan said.

Another Navy official who was implicated in Dr Manoharan's affidavit, Udawatte Weerakody was promoted by Sri Lanka's political hierarchy, from low-level lieutenant to Trincomalee town deputy commander, to currently the Town Commander, Dr Manoharan said.

Sri Lanka observers said that the March Geneva meeting of the UNHCR may add further urgency to Sri Lanka to make progress in the Trinco-5 case. However, Dr Manoharan and other families are not hopeful that Sri Lanka will seek punitive action against the responsible military personnel. "Only independent international inquiry and legal action will bring us justice," Manoharan said.