Who Is Kshenuka ? : Tigress Or Lioness

The real culprit in the Sri Lankan Diplomacy

Fowling story was originally published by the Sri Lanka Guardian in 2012.

| by Our Special Correspondents in Colombo and New Delhi

( January 17, 2014, Colombo/New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) 1. In November 2009, after her arrival as the new Permanent Representative to the UN, replacing Dr Dayan Jayatilleke, Kshenuka Senewiratne contracted an LTTE company Shelvazug to renovate the Official Residence for more than 150,000 Swiss Francs (i.e., more than 20 million Rupees). Her husband did part of the renovation work and received payment from the Mission via the LTTE company.

2. Why did Kshenuka Senewiratne select Shelva Zug to carry out construction works from cellar to roof top? Shelva Zug is NOT a construction company, but a financial and credit institution also dealing with real estate, life insurance, health insurance, housing and car insurances. Its activities are oriented solely towards the Tamil community. Whatsmore, Shelva Zug is NOT located in Geneva where there are numerous construction companies, but in Zurich, a city 300 kilometers away from Geneva !

3. Every Government regulation relating to finance, procurement and administration was grossly violated. There were no quotations, no BOQ, no letter heads, no contract, and a large sum of money was paid in advance to the company!

4. Shelva Zug owner, P.T. Thurairajah, was among 9 LTTEers arrested by Swiss police in January 2011 for money laundering, extortion, and membership in a criminal organization. Following their arrest, the Swiss Attorney Generalí’s office said in a statement that, “During the course of investigations, the suspicion that, for many years, the accused persons had forced their fellow countrymen of the Tamil diaspora to financially support the LTTE, was substantiated.”

5. Thurairajah’s credit company made its money by forcing Tamils to take huge loans. The Swiss Attorney Generalís office found that those arrested had forced their fellow countrymen to draw out large loans, and hand over the funds. Those who refused were threatened with reprisals. In order to disguise the true origin of the funds, they were invested in companies with connections to the LTTE conducting legal business.î .

6. The money thus raised by Thurairajah was sent to Sri Lanka to finance the terrorist war in Sri Lanka. The statement issued by the Attorney General’s office said, “Several million Swiss francs were raised and transferred to Sri Lanka where they were used to finance Tamil Tiger activities, in particular, in the purchase of ” war materials.”

7. At the time the contract was given to Thurairajah, which was only a few months after the defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, it was already known by the Swiss police that Thurairajah was an LTTE activist.

8. An audit by the Finance Ministry has produced a devastating report, but its release has been blocked by Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, who effectively runs the Foreign Ministry and whose complicity with Kshenuka Senewiratne is well-known. This is perhaps why Kshenuka is said to have paid such tribute to the role played by Sajin de Vass in Geneva despite his ignorance of the activities of the United Nations and of international humanitarian and human rights law, and despite his being an unknown quantity among the diplomatic corps in Geneva.

Who Is Kshenuka  Tigress Or Lioness by nelvely

KSHENUKA SENEWIRATNE ASSUMES DUTIES...

January 17, 2014 

Kshenuka Senewiratne assumed her duties as the Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs today (January 17) after previous Secretary Karunathilake Amunugama retired from his post. Senewiratne became the first woman to assume the role of Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs in Sri Lanka. (Pics by D. Banduwardena)

JUSTA Faults Selection Procedure For Academic Positions On Campus

January 17, 2014 

The Executive Committee of the Jaffna University Science Teachers’ Association (JUSTA) has issued an appeal to the University’s Vice Chancellor and Members of the Council with regard to selections to Academic Positions in the University.

JUSTA claims it is troubled by decisions of senior academics holding administrative responsibilities to overlook candidates with superior certified academic performances in favour of those with inferior records.

“The major criterion for selection to an academic post is academic excellence. This is because University is the highest seat for learning and its teachers do not teach from text books alone,” JUSTA said in its appeal.

JUSTA warns that selection on subjective criteria such as interview and performance easily becomes the means of abuse to favour those with superior connections and influence at the expense of persons from humbler backgrounds who have shown superior ability.

“Once this abuse takes root, the character of the University suffers, as those selected become increasingly beholden to those in authority,” the appeal said.

The Appeal to the Vice Chancellor has the support of 86 persons of the Jaffna University, including 69 members of the academic staff.

We publish below the letter in full;

University of Jaffna,

4^th December 2013.

To:

The Vice Chancellor, Members of the Council and Well–wishers of the University,

Selection to Academic Positions in the University

Selection to academic positions is the task of mainly senior academics holding administrative responsibilities: the university community and the public rightly expect that this obligation is discharged conscientiously. Regrettably, we are more and more troubled by justifications from these same senior academics for overlooking candidates with superior certified academic performances, in favour of those with inferior records. The reasons frequently given – the selected candidate performed “superbly” in the interview or the candidate’s presentation was “superb” – point to the selectors trying to cover up something seriously amiss that troubles them. Current selections will determine the academic standing of the University, and its intellectual environment, for many years to come. It is now time to refresh our minds on the criteria for selection to academic positions.

Read More

U.S. Government Support for Bar Association of Sri Lanka

January 16, 2014

• Read this Press Release in Sinhala
• Read this Press Release in Tamil

Today the United States Embassy in Colombo, through its development arm, the U.S. Agency for International Development, announced its new program to support the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.  With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, USAID will sponsor a Bar Association program entitled “Civil Society Initiatives to Support the Rule of Law.”  This three-year program will enable the U.S. to foster further linkages between the Sri Lanka Bar and U.S. state bar association.  This program will also support continuing professional legal and judicial level education, strengthen legal aid services, and bolster the research and advocacy role of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.

“I am so pleased to support important stakeholders in the Sri Lankan legal system, such as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka,” said Ambassador Michele Sison at the signing ceremony.  “We are proud to continue our longstanding partnership with civil society in ways that strengthen democratic institutions, support the rule of law, and promote an independent judicial system.  In this regard we can help further Sri Lanka’s efficacy of the legal system and the administration of justice.”  This grant will also assist with a law library renovation, the refurbishment of the Bar Association auditorium, and the organization of a Labor Law Conference in February 2014.

சம்பந்தன் காலத்திலேயே தீர்வு வேண்டும் பிளவு தமிழருக்கு ஆரோக்கியமானதல்ல : இ.தொ.கா.

Fri, 01/17/2014

வடக்கில் தமிழ்த்­தே­சியக் கூட்­ட­மைப்­புக்கு எதி­ராக ஓர் அமைப்பு உரு­வா­வது பாரா­ளு­மன்றத் தெரி­வுக்­கு­ழுவை இலக்கு வைத்தே ஆகும். எனவே பிளவு என்ற அபா­யத்­துக்கு இடம் கொடுக்­காது சம்­பந்தன் காலத்­தி­லேயே தமிழ் மக்­க­ளுக்­கான தீர்­வினைப் பெற்றுக் கொடுப்­ப­தற்கு முயல வேண்டும். மாறாக பிள­வுகள் ஏற்­ப­டு­மானால் அது தமி­ழ­ருக்கு ஆரோக்­கி­ய­மா­ன­தாக அமை­யாது என்று இலங்கைத் தொழி­லாளர் காங்­கி­ரஸின் ஆலோ­ச­கரும் முன்னாள் பாரா­ளு­மன்ற உறுப்­பி­ன­ரு­மான ரி.வி. சென்னன் தெரி­வித்தார்.

பதுளை பணி­ம­னையில் நடை­பெற்ற கூட்­ட­மொன்றில் பேசு­கை­யி­லேயே அவர் இவ்­வாறு தெரி­வித்தார்.

சென்னன் இங்கு தொடர்ந்து பேசு­கையில்,

தமிழ் மக்­க­ளுக்­கான மேம்­பா­டுகள் சர்­வ­தேசம் மூல­மா­கத்தான் பெற்றுக் கொடுக்க முடி­யு­மென்ற நிலைப்­பாட்டில் தமிழ்த்­தே­சிய கூட்­ட­மைப்பு இருந்து வரு­கின்­றது. தற்­போ­தைய அர­சையோ ஜனா­தி­ப­தி­யையோ நம்ப முடி­யா­தென்றும் தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்­ட­மைப்பு கூறி வரு­கின்­றது. பாரா­ளு­மன்ற தெரிவுக் குழு விட­யத்­திலும் அக்­க­றை­யற்ற நிலை­யி­னையே கூட்­ட­மைப்பு கொண்­டி­ருக்­கின்­றது. 

தமிழ் மக்கள் மீது கூட்­ட­மைப்­பிற்கு கருணை இருக்­கு­மே­யாகில் ஜனா­தி­ப­தியின் கரங்­க­ளைப்­பற்றி அவ­ருடன் பேச்­சு­வார்த்­தை­களை மேற்­கொ­ளண்டு தமிழ் மக்­க­ளுக்­கான தீர்­வினைப் பெற்றுக் கொடுக்­கலாம். அதை­வி­டுத்து சர்­வ­தே­சமே எம்­மக்­க­ளுக்கு தீர்­வினைப் பெற்றுக் கொடுக்க வேண்­டு­மென்று ஒப்­பாரி வைத்துக் கொண்­டி­ருப்­பதில் பயன் ஏதும் கிடைத்து விடப்­போ­வ­தில்லை.

நாடும் ஏடும் போற்றும் வகையில் பெற்­றி­ருந்த அபார வெற்­றியை தமிழன் என்ற ரீதியில் நாம் பாராட்­டு­கின்றோம். ஆனால் அன்­றி­ருந்த ஒற்­றுமை ஐக்­கியம் தற்­போது சிதைந்து கொண்டு போவதைப் பார்க்கும் போது தலை குனிய வேண்­டி­யுள்­ளது.

பாரா­ளு­மன்ற உறுப்­பினர் ஸ்ரீத­ர­னுக்கும் வட மாகாண முத­ல­மைச்­ச­ருக்­கு­மி­டையே இருந்து வரும் நீர்ப்­பிர்ச்­சினை, அத்­துடன் வட மாகா­ணத்தில் உரு­வாக்­கப்­பட்டு வரும் பிறி­தொரு தமிழ் கூட்­ட­மைப்பு மேலும் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்­ட­மைப்­பி­ன­ரி­டையே இருந்து வரும் பனிப்போர் இத்­த­கைய நிலைகள் தமிழ் தேசி­யக்­கூட்­ட­மைப்­பி­லி­ருந்த ஒற்­றுமை ஐக்­கியம் சிதைந்து பிளவு ஏற்படும் அபாயம் எதிர்நோக்கப்பட்டிருக்கின்றது.

தமிழ் தேசி­யக்­கூட்­ட­மைப்பின் தலைவர் சம்­பந்தன் காலத்­தி­லேயே தமிழர் பிரச்­சி­னைகள் அனைத்தும் தீர்க்­கப்­பட்டு விடல் வேண்டும். தவறின் தமிழர் பிரச்­சி­னைகள் தொடர் கதை­யா­கவே தான் இருக்கும். ஆகவே சம்­பந்தன் உள்­ளிட்ட முக்­கிய தலை­வர்கள் ஒன்­று­கூடி ஏற்­ப­டப்­போகும் பிள­வினை தடுத்து நிறுத்த வேண்டும். பிரிந்­த­வர்­களை ஒன்­றி­ணைக்கும் விவே­கத்தை முன்­னெ­டுக்க வேண்­டி­யது அவ­சி­ய­மாகும்.

பாரா­ளு­மன்ற தெரி­வுக்­கு­ழுவில் இணை­வ­தற்கே புதிய தமிழ் கூட்­ட­மைப்பு ஏற்­ப­டுத்­தப்­பட்டு வரு­கின்­ற­தென்­ப­தையும் தமிழ் தேசி­யக்­கூட்­ட­மைப்பு உணர வேண்டும். ஆகை­யினால் தமிழ்த்­தே­சியக் கூட்­ட­மைப்பு ஜனா­தி­ப­தியின் நேசக்­க­ரங்­களைப் பற்றி பேச்­சு­வார்த்­தை­க­ளுக்கு முதலில் சென்று பார்க்க வேண்டும். அதன் பிறகு மாற்று செயற்­பா­டு­களை முன்­னெ­டுக்­கலாம்.

இந்­திய வம்­சா­வ­ளி­யி­ன­ருக்­கான

பிர­ஜா­வு­ரிமை

தென்­னிந்­தி­யா­வி­லி­ருந்து இந்­நாட்­டிற்கு வந்த எம்­மக்­க­ளுக்கு இலங்கைப் பிர­ஜா­வு­ரி­மை­யற்ற நிலையே இருந்து வந்­தது. அதனைப் பெற்றுக் கொள்ள பாரிய பிர­யத்­த­னங்­களை மேற்­கொண்டும் பயன் கிடைக்­க­வில்லை. இது விட­யத்தில் இ.தொ.கா தலைமை வெகு விவே­க­மாக செயற்­பட ஆரம்­பித்­தது. தமிழ்­தே­சி­யக்­கூட்­ட­மைப்பு போன்று இ.தொ.கா. தலைமை செயற்­பட விரும்­ப­வில்லை. எமது மக்களின் பிரஜாவுரிமை தொடர்பாக சர்வதேசத்திற்கு சென்று நாம் மண்டியிடவோ ஒப்பாரிவைக்கவோ இல்லை. எமது நாட்டு பிரச்சினையை நாமே பேச்சுவார்த்தைகளை மேற்கொண்டு நிவர்த்தி செய்து கொள்ள வேண்டுமென்ற நிலைப்பாட்டில் பல்வேறு வகையில் சாத்வீகப் போராட்டங்களை இ.தொ.கா. மேற்கொண்டது அதற்கென ஆயுதப் போராட்டங்களில் நாம் ஈடுபடவில்லை என்றார்.

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HRC’s Dr. Prathiba Mahanama gets caught threatening Anula Principal (female) within locked doors

(Lanka-e-News-17.Jan.2014, 5.30PM) In much the same way as the chairman of the Bribery and corruption Commission got caught on bribery charges , Dr. Sri Varna Prathiba Mahanama of the Human rights Commission has got caught violating human rights most inhumanly by threatening a Principal (female) of a school within locked doors of his room for not appointing his daughter as the head prefect, thereby violating human rights taking advantage of the lawless climate in the country ,despite being a Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka (SL) under the regime of Medamulana MaRa who by now has earned a name as a great dreamer whose one dream is to make SL the ‘Asia’s miracle in the making’. 

As is always with all great dreamers so with our great dreamer of a President , getting to grips with reality is beyond his reach. Consequently , all his favorites appointed to high places are shattering his dream in reality , and fast making SL ‘ a debacle in the making’ , having come to know fully well their ‘lokka’ prefers day dreaming to reality .

The HRC which received a complaint that when selecting students for Anula Vidyalaya there had allegedly been a human rights violation had summoned the Principal of the school on that account to the HRC for an inquiry. When the Principal arrived at the Commission for the inquiry ,Dr. Prathiba Mahanama of the HRC had locked the Principal in his room and warned and threatened that if his daughter is not appointed as the head prefect , no selection shall be made to the post of head prefect from the board of prefects , and that if the Principal does not act in accord with his wishes , he will not allow her to be in the post of Principal for long. The Principal being a female was naturally shocked beyond belief. She had then under grave apprehension and anxiety made an entry in the log book regarding the blatant , unlawful and grave threat made by a Commissioner of the HRC.

Perhaps as was pointed out in the foregoing paragraphs , this kind of behavior by a Commissioner of the HRC who is appointed to that lofty position to hear petitions filed against human rights violations , taking the law into his hands shamelessly , disgracefully and degradingly , and threatening a female Principal of a school even without a petition having been filed against her , and holding out the gravest threats and intimidation only goes to prove that , no matter what the President of SL’s dream is , these scoundrels appointed to these lofty positions by him and none other are rejoicing making ‘SL a debacle in the making’ while their Medamulana MaRa the great dreamer is enjoying his pipe dream of making ‘SL the Asia’s miracle in the making.’

The Lanka teachers union addressing a letter in this regard to the former supreme court judge and chairman of the HRC , Priyantha Fernando states thus :

The SL HRC had intervened in connection with the selection of a head prefect for the year 2014 at Anula College , Nugegoda. Based on reports received by Lanka teachers union , the HRC had through this intervention given notice that when a head prefect is being appointed , a member of the board of head prefects shall not be appointed.

We understand that when the Principal of Anula Vidyalaya was summoned to the HRC on 2013-1-03 pertaining to a different complaint , a Commissioner of the HRC , had inquired about appointment of head prefects at Anula Vidyalaya and held out threats to her. It is reported that the Principal who faced this embarrassment and intimidation had made an entry in this regard in the school log book.

Hence , we hereby request that an investigation is conducted into this issue involving the HRC where the latter had inquired without a distinct complaint being lodged with it in relation to the alleged irregular appointment of head prefect at Anula Vidyalaya . Moreover , we urge that a transparent inquiry is made into this allegation , and if there is any irregularity occurring in fact , measures be taken to remedy it.

Rights Now challenges the Human Rights Commission’s lame excuses on postponing National Torture Inquiry

Jan 16th, 2014 | By Ramanathan Ahilan

Rights Now-Collective for Democracy challenged the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to be transparent about real reasons as to why the previously announced National Inquiry on Torture has been postponed, through a letter to the Chairman of the HRCSL from the Executive Director of Rights Now, Attorney-at-Law Sudarshana Gunawardena.

In the light of the HRCSL Chair’s assertion that the term of Commissioners ending in February 2014 was one of the reasons to postpone the Inquiry, Rights Now questioned whether the dates of the end of term was not known when the initial announcement about the Inquiry was made, and discussions were held with the Commonwealth Secretariat to obtain technical assistance for the same. Rights Now also questioned why an Inquiry done by permanent staff of the HRCSL should be completed before the end of term of the present Commissioners, citing a media report quoting one of the Commissioners telling in November 2013 that the Inquiry would take 18 months.

Responding to the HRCSL’s response that “certain civil society organizations” had advised the HRCSL that this is not the time to hold such an Inquiry on Torture when the HRCSL is taking steps towards reconciliation, Rights Now questioned how a National Inquiry on Torture can negatively affect reconciliation. Rights Now asserted that protection of human rights of all citizens of Sri Lanka is an essential component of an effective and meaningful reconciliation process and that any independent and transparent mechanism which holds perpetrators of human rights violations to account would only serve to further the cause of national reconciliation.

The question of why other civil society organizations have not been consulted before the decision to postpone the Inquiry was also raised by Rights Now.

The letters to the HRCSL and the letter from HRCSL Chairman is available here.

Letter to HRCSL by Rights Now on 11th December 2013 Click here

Reply by HRCSL to Rights Now Click here

Letter to HRCSL by Rights Now on 13the January 2014 Click here

Britain allowed ex-SAS officers to train Sri Lankans as Tamil Tigers rebelled

British former soldiers assisted country's security forces soon after Golden Temple massacre in India, documents reveal

Sri Lankan soldiers searching for Tamil Tiger rebel positions in northern Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 2001. The new disclosures relate to the 1980s. Photograph: AP

Phil Miller and Rajeev Syal-Thursday 16 January 2014

Former SAS officers were allowed by the British government to train security forces in Sri Lanka around the time of the 1980s Golden Temple massacre, recently released government documents show.

The disclosure comes days after documents emerged appearing to show that SAS officers were involved in training Indian troops in the months leading up to the raid on the Amritsar temple, the Sikh religion's holiest site, in June 1984.

It will intensify the diplomatic tensions over Britain's role in the raid in Amritsar and add to evidence suggesting the government was happy to let former and serving special forces soldiers operate in India.

The new documents show that in September 1984 foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe's private secretary, Peter Ricketts, wrote to David Barclay, private secretary to prime minister Margaret Thatcher about a request to allow a British company with SAS connections to work in Sri Lanka.

At the time the Sri Lankan government was trying to put down an insurgency by the Tamil Tigers and other groups in the north and east of the island.

Ricketts wrote: "The Sri Lankan government have engaged another British company [name removed] to provide training in counter-terrorist techniques … The presence of [the company's] employees, including some ex-SAS personnel, in Sri Lanka, has aroused controversy and the Indian government have expressed concern to us about the firm's involvement.

"We have made it clear that this is a purely commercial matter and that HMG are not involved." The firm was allowed to continue working in Sri Lanka.

The papers will be part of an investigation begun by the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, on the orders of David Cameron to determine Britain's actions in relation to the Amritsar raid.

The Indian government says that about 400 people were killed when its premier, Indira Gandhi, sent troops into the temple complex in June 1984 in the six-day operation called Blue Star.

Sikh groups, which have called for an inquiry into the British role in "one of the darkest episodes in Sikh history", put the death toll in the thousands, including many pilgrims.

Another document, relating to Sri Lanka, shows that days after the killings Thatcher was asked by Gandhi to stop helping the Sri Lankan government with military advice.

She told Thatcher: "We hope that you will use your influence to persuade [Sri Lanka's] President Jayewardene to give a positive lead by making constructive suggestions at the All Parties Conference.

"Military aid and anti-insurgency assistance are not enough to overcome a political crisis which has to be faced and resolved."

This appears to be a reference to the Indian government's suspicion in 1984 that the SAS was training the Sri Lankan military.

The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that Thatcher gave Gandhi Britain's full support in the immediate aftermath of the 1984 Golden Temple raid.

Other documents in the file reveal Whitehall's interest in lucrative arms sales to India at this time.

A secret Foreign Office briefing, of 22 June 1984, sent to Downing Street, stressed that British commercial interests in India were "very substantial, it is a large and growing market for both commercial and defence sales".

The document claimed: "British exports in 1983 exceeded £800m and since 1975 India has bought British defence equipment worth over £1.25bn."

Cameron on Wednesday appeared to downplay the likelihood of an inquiry finding evidence that Britain was to blame for the raid.

Labour's former deputy chairman, Tom Watson, has suggested Britain might have had a role in the assault on Amritsar in exchange for India agreeing to purchase a fleet of helicopters in a £65m deal

Call for crowd funding: Support CPA’s work in Sri Lanka

by CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES on Jan 17, 2014 

17 January 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: At the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), we change the way citizens perceive and engage with governance. Established in 1996, CPA has over 17 years set the bar for how cutting-edge research and advocacy can address the deficit in democracy and governance through constructive dialogue, bold and innovative content, otherwise marginalized or forgotten.

We need your help.

Call for crowd funding Support CPA’s work in Sri Lanka by nelvely

The Irrelevancy Of The 13A In Finding A Solution To The National Question

By Kumaravadivel Guruparan –January 17, 2014 

Kumaravadivel Guruparan

The Irrelevancy of the 13th Amendment in Finding a Solution to the National Question: A Critical Note on Sri Lanka’s Post-War Constitutional Discourse

The 13th amendment to the Second Republican Constitution that established the Provincial Council system has become the centerpiece of the discourse on constitutional reforms in post-war Sri Lanka. For two decades between 1989 and 2009, the provincial council system was rarely mentioned in the constitutional reform debate, except when it found mention in the President Mahinda Rajapaksha- appointed All Party Representative Conference (APRC)’s Interim Proposals in 2008. But since the end of the war in May 2009 the 13th amendment has made a definitive come back to the constitutional reform debate. Today the solution to the ethnic conflict in some way or the other is proposed by way of reference to the 13th amendment. President Rajapaksha’s Government would like to water down as much as possible the 13th amendment (‘13-‘), whereas the Tamil National Alliance’s stated position (derived from the Indian position) is for the full implementation of the 13th amendment and moving beyond the 13th amendment towards ‘meaningful devolution’. This main purpose of this article would be to demonstrate that a solution to the National Question, based on the 13th amendment would not be possible. It will seek to problematize the minimalistic argument for ‘full implementation of the 13th amendment’, demonstrate the impossibility of ‘13+’ and ‘meaningful devolution’ within a unitary state, seek to locate the role of the Supreme Court as an arbitrator of devolution disputes and as to why a solution within the unitary state will not be possible and more importantly why its unlikely that the majority community will agree to a solution beyond the unitary state. There is sufficient literature on the law of the 13th amendment and hence this article will primarily seek to reflect critically on the politics and constitutional praxis of the 13th amendment.

Read the full article here

*Kumaravadivel Guruparan –PhD Candidate, University College London and Lecturer, Department of Law – University of Jaffna. This article published by the Junior Bar Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka

A month into digging, 36 skeletons recovered from mass-grave in Mannar

17 JANUARY 2014   -A group of construction workers who were laying water pipes stumbled across and unmarked mass grave in the North-Western town of Mannar. This is what has happened so far, and a bit of background.

• A group of road workers digging the road to lay pipes stumble upon a six skeletal remains on December 20, 2013. Four more skulls are discovered the next day.
• Formal investigation begins during the third week of December. Police say they suspect the site was a mass grave for combatants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), during the period in which the area was under rebel control. CID says the skeletons are over ten years old, placing the period of burial in the 2004 era.
• The Anuradhapura Judicial Medical Officer is brought into investigate and monitor the excavation.
• Northern Provincail Fisheries Minister B. Deniswaran points the finger at the Sri Lankan Military,stating that the area was under the control of GoSL forces at the time.
• Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph calls for international inquiry into the grave. Army denies having any camps in the area, and claim that the skeletons were about 15 years old.
• The number of skeletons found at the site rises to fifteen by the first week of January, and reports say that the remains of a child were among the bones recovered. Police expect more remains to be dug out from the site. Investigations are carried out to check for gunshot wounds on the bones, todetermine cause of death.
• Police say that no skeletons of children were found at the dig, despite media reports stating otherwise.
• By January 15, the number of skeletons that were discovered from the excavation rises to 36. Police says that investigations are being carried out to see if the deaths were at the hands of the LTTE.
• Mannar is a main town in the North-Western coast of Sri Lanka, and was the scene of the Mannar Massacre of 1984, where over 150 civilians were killed by a group of security forces personnel as retaliation for a landmine attack. In 2006, four family members were killed by the LTTE for refusing to support a claymore attack against Military targets. The town has been a key point of violence and bloodshed during the northern war theater, and a key point of smuggling between India and Sri Lanka by the LTTE.
• Civilians in the area say that the region was controlled mainly by the military since the 1990′s, but HRW says that either party could be responsible, adding that it would be hard to ascertain without proper investigations.
• Mannar was fully brought under Government control on August 2, 2008, with the army capturing Vellankulam in a battle led by Sri Lanka Army’s 58 Division, commanded by Brigadier Shavendra Silva.

Note: An earlier edition of this article stated HRW believed that the LTTE is likely to be responsible for the mass grave. Following a clarification with its Asia Desk, the post has been changed to reflect a more accurate representation on HRW’s view on the matter.

Several layers found in Sri Lanka mass grave: Experts

PTI | Jan 17, 2014

COLOMBO: A mass grave found in northeastern Sri Lanka, the scene of pitched battles between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, is said to contain several layers of bodies, forensic experts have said. 

A team of forensic experts led by Judicial Medical Officer Dhananjaya Waidyaratne has so far found skeletal remains of at least 36 individuals in the grave. 

"The bodies have been buried in several layers," Waidyaratne told BBC's Sinhala Service in Mannar's Thirukatheeswaram area. 

"It is difficult to place a time of death or a cause of death without further scientific tests," he said. 

Workers of a state water entity stumbled on the grave while digging the ground to lay water supply pipes late in December. 

Digging at the site of the mass grave took place in the presence of magisterial and judicial medical officials upon the discovery of first 4 skeletal remains on December 21. 

Police said in an initial reaction that the site had been under LTTE control for well over 15 years. 

"It was possible that the victims might be those abducted and killed by the LTTE during their violent separatist campaign," police spokesman Ajith Rohana said. 

Tamil rights groups, however, said the remains were those of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the conflict. 

This was the first mass grave found in the former conflict zone since the war ended over four years ago. 

Since the end of the military battles, Sri Lanka has faced international accusations of rights abuses by its troops. 

The UN Human Rights Council has passed two resolutions against Sri Lanka and a third one is expected in March.