Thursday, February 13, 2014

Refugees form a successful cricket team, on and off the field
Having a lash: One of the Ocean 12 batsmen in action.

Having a lash: One of the Ocean 12 batsmen in action.

Peter FitzSimons

Support from the general public has helped a group of asylum seekers pave their way in Australian society.

Yes, yes, I know, it is a guaranteed vote winner and a potentially huge boost in talkback ratings if you can demonise asylum seekers as filthy queue jumpers who just might be terrorists.

But, inspiringly, there are still many Australians who treat them the way the vast majority are – you know, like fellow humans, as if they're seriously desperate people who have fled for their lives, and deserve sympathy and support.

A case in point is the mighty Blue Mountains Refugee Support group, who late last year came to the aid of a group of Tamil refugees. The young men had fled Sri Lanka for their very lives, arriving by boat, only to go via Villawood Detention Centre and end up in a dreadful legal limbo, unwanted by two countries and – afloat on a sea of boredom, with barely a paddle to get moving with, let alone be able to work – unable to get on with their lives.

The good folk of the Blue Mountains decided to help them form a cricket team to give their week a focal point, and the refugees instantly embraced the idea.

And when your humble correspondent put a tiny item in my Saturday column saying they needed a cricket kit and a kitty for membership fees etc – as they had neither hide nor hair of either – the organiser, Noeline Nagle, was flooded with offers from Fairfax Media readers who very kindly contributed both. The mighty Wentworth Leagues Club also agreed to sponsor the team, and Ocean 12, as they called themselves, hence took their place in the Last Man Standing T20 cricket comp, from November 19 last year. And the story gets better still.

For despite the viciousness you often hear from shock jocks and their callers – not to mention the floor of parliament – from the beginning the team has been treated with nothing but respect by opposing teams and supporters.

And after a very shaky start where Ocean 12 couldn't buy a win, some of their confidence returned and from mid-December they began to triumph – and haven't lost a match this year!

The benefit of playing cricket to them has been a wonder to behold and Ms Nagle, pressed, informs me the standout was a young fellow who had only barely escaped with his life from his home country, and then nearly lost it again on the voyage here, and was consequently the most psychologically fragile of the lot of them.

In one of the early games, as he walked out to bat, Ms Nagle says, "my heart was thumping. I really didn't know if he would drop his bundle or go with it. Well, he went with it and scored a total of 61 runs. His fellow team members supported him as only Tamils can (loudly). His smile when he returned to base was one I will never forget. No amount of psychological help could have worked better. He is now a great little player and gaining in confidence every week."

Because of the delicacy of their situation, and the situation back in Sri Lanka, the names of the asylum seekers must not be published, but a wonderful thing happened earlier this month.

The Primary Club of Australia held a day at the SCG where a Multicultural Team took on an Indigenous Australian side, and their captain, “Stephen” – a qualified mechanical engineer, with a horrifying story behind him – was invited to attend as a volunteer.

Cue the sun:

As game time approaches, the Multicultural side is one short, and Stephen is asked if he'd like to play.

And that, my friends, is the photo you can see there. From a civil war, to "six months in a leaky boat" to Villawood Detention Centre, to Villification to kindness, to cricket, to hitting a six at the SCG!

Bravo, Blue Mountains Refugee Support, Wenty Leagues Club, Fairfax Media readers, Primary Club of Australia and, most particularly, Ocean 12!

Canadian convicted in Tamil Tiger arms smuggling ring apologizes, seeks to avoid prison sentence

A group of Tamil Tiger rebels return fire at Akkarayan, a village in Kilinochchi during a confrontation with the Sri Lankan army circa 2008.

Stewart Bell | February 12, 2014

TORONTO — A Canadian awaiting sentencing in New York for his role in an arms smuggling ring that sought missiles and assault rifles for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels has apologized and asked to be released with time served.

“This was my fault, my mistake,” Piratheepan “Peter” Nadarajah of Brampton, Ont., acknowledged in a brief letter to the U.S. federal judge who will sentence him next month.

“Remorse has been carved in the depth of my heart.”

The 37-year-old former Rogers wireless technician is the last of six Canadians to appear for sentencing over a Toronto-based network that conspired to help the Tamil rebels acquire, among others things, surface-to-air missiles.

Acting under the direction of senior rebel leaders in Sri Lanka, the group traveled to New York from Toronto to buy $1-million of SAM missiles that were to be shipped to the island and used to shoot down fighter planes.

But the conspirators ended up negotiating with an undercover informant, who recorded their conversations. Nadarajah was arrested in Toronto in August 2006 after an investigation by the Royal Mounted Canadian Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Project O-Needle.

After losing an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, he was extradited to the United States in 2012 and pleaded guilty to two terrorism-related counts. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, although a pre-sentence report has recommended 10 years.

His lawyer, Sam Schmidt, is asking for 16 months, the equivalent of the time he has already spent behind bars in Canada and the U.S. While Nadarajah helped acquire equipment for the rebels, he was not part of the more serious missile plot, the lawyer argued.

He said Nadarajah bought cellphones for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2005. The following year, after viewing “grisly and disturbing” photos of civilians killed by Sri Lankan forces, he helped buy night vision goggles.

“He does not dispute that he assisted others who were long-time activists and supporters of LTTE to obtain night vision goggles and other such material for delivery to the LTTE,” Mr. Schmidt wrote in his sentencing submission.

‘I killed my brother. No form of punishment is as great as this’

But the lawyer said Nadarajah would never knowingly buy missiles to shoot down planes, partly because his brother had been a partner in the domestic airline Lion Air, which flew between Colombo and northern Sri Lanka.

Nadarajah, the son of a convenience store owner whose shop was repeatedly burned down during the island’s ethnic unrest, was sent to Canada to live with his brother in 1990 after a rebel group threatened to kidnap him to extort money from his parents.

He opened a Tamil movie rental store in Toronto in 1997. He also worked at IBM and Bell Canada before joining Rogers in 2001, working as head of fraud prevention and then as a sales manager until leaving in 2010.

“He has been a dynamic and energetic social worker promoting peace and social welfare among communities in Toronto,” Karunarathna Paranawithana, the Sri Lankan consul general in Toronto, wrote in one of the many letters of support filed in court.

In his two-page apology, Nadarajah said after his arrest in 2006, his brother had attempted to travel to Canada to help him. He was lining up to buy a ticket on the ferry from northern Sri Lanka when he was shot dead in an attack.

“My choice to help my friends and the LTTE killed my brother,” he wrote from the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I killed my brother. No form of punishment is as great as this. I live with this punishment every day.”

Nadarajah is to be sentenced March 20.

Iranian poet executed for 'waging war on God'

human rights groups says more than 300 people have been executed since Rouhani came to power [EPA]

Iran Executes Man For Being 'Enemy Of God'

10 Feb 2014

Death sentence carried out on ethnic Arab Hashem Shaabani, accused of being an "enemy of God" and a threat to security.

An Arab-Iranian poet and human rights activist, Hashem Shaabani, has been executed for being an "enemy of God" and threatening national security, according to local human rights groups.
Shaabani and a man named Hadi Rashedi were hanged in unidentified prison on January 27, rights groupshave said.

Shaabani, who spoke out against the treatment of ethnic Arabs in the province of Khuzestan, had been in prison since February or March 2011 after being arrested for being a Mohareb, or "enemy of God".

Last July, the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal found Shaabani and 13 other people guilty of "waging war on God" and spreading "corruption on earth".

The 32-year-old was the founder of Dialogue Institute and was popular for his Arabic and Persian poems. In 2012, he appeared on Iran's state-owned Press TV, where human rights groups say he was forced to confess to "separatist terrorism".

According to BBC Persian, officials from the Ministry of Information informed the condemned men's families that they had been hanged, and they would be subsequently informed on the location of the men's burial site.

Shaabani was moved from the area to an unspecified prison before his death, it was reported.

Iran executed 40 people over two weeks of that month, according to Amnesty International. According to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre (IHRDC) more than 300 people have been executed since Hasan Rouhani became president in August.

In the past, Tehran has said the death penalty was essential to maintain law and order, and that it was applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings. Most of the executions in January were for drug related offences, according to Amnesty.

Death By Metadata: Jeremy Scahill & Glenn Greenwald RevealNSA Role in Assassinations Overseas

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014

In the first exposé for their new venture, First Look Media’s digital journal The Intercept, investigative journalists Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald reveal the National Security Agency is using complex analysis of electronic surveillance, rather than human intelligence, as the primary method to locate targets for lethal drone strikes. The NSA identifies targets based on controversial metadata analysis and cellphone tracking technologies, an unreliable tactic that has resulted in the deaths of innocent and unidentified people. The United States has reportedly carried out drone strikes without knowing whether the individual in possession of a tracked cellphone orSIMcard is in fact the intended target of the strike. Scahill and Greenwald join us in this exclusive interview to discuss their report and the launch of their media project.

Death By Metadata Jeremy Scahill & Glenn Greenwald RevealNSA Role in Assassinations Overseas by nelvely

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

காணாமற்போனோர் ஆணைக்குழு அரசின் கண் துடைப்பு நடவடிக்கைஜப்பான் அதிகாரியிடம் கூறினார் மாகாண சபை உறுப்பினர்

11 பெப்ரவரி 2014, செவ்வாய்

போரின்போது சரணடைந்தவர்கள், காணாமல்போனவர்களின் விபரங்கள் இதுவரை தெரியப்படுத்தப்படவில்லை. காணாமற் போனோர் தொடர்பில் அரசினால் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள ஆணைக்குழு அரசின் வெறும் கண்துடைப்பு என்று வடக்கு மாகாண சபை பிரதி அவைத் தலைவர் ம.அன்ரனி ஜெகநாதன் ஜப்பானியத் தூத ராலயத்தின் அரசியல் பிரிவு அதிகாரியிடம் சுட்டிக்காட்டினார்.

ஜப்பானியத் தூதரகத்தின் அரசியல் பிரிவு அதிகாரி நவொகொ குராமொச்சி அண்மையில் முல்லைத்தீவுக்குப் பயணம் செய்தார். இதன்போது அவர் வடக்கு மாகாண சபைப் பிரதி அவைத் தலைவர் ம.அன்ரனி ஜெக நாதனைச் சந்தித்து கலந்துரை யாடினார்.

இதன்போது அவர் ஜப்பான் அதிகாரியிடம் தெரிவித்ததாவது:
2009ஆம் ஆண்டு மே மாதம் முள்ளிவாய்க்காலில் இடம் பெற்ற போர் அரசினால் திட்டமிட்டு மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்ட தமி ழின அழிப்பின் செயற்பாடாகும்.

வன்னியில் இறுதிக்கட்டப் போர் இடம்பெற்றவேளை பாதுகாப்பு வலயம் என்ற ஒன்றை ஏற்படுத்தி அதற்குள் வலுக்கட்டாயமாகத் தமிழ்மக்களை இழுத்து எந்தவித பாராபட்சமும் காட்டாது குண்டு போட்டு அழித்தது அரசு.

காயப்பட்டவர்களைக் கொண்டு செல்வதற்குக்குக் கூடப் போக்குவரத்து வசதிகள் செய்துகொடுக்கப்படவில்லை.இதனால் எத்தனையோ தமிழ் மக்கள் தங்கள் உயிர்களை மாய்த்துக் கொண்டார்கள்.

இதனைத்தான் இந்த அரசு மனிதாபிமான நடவடிக்கை என்று உலக நாடுகளுக்குப் பறை சாற்றுகின்றது. போர்ச்சூழலில் அகப்பட்ட மக்களுக்கு உணவு கொடுக்காமல் வெறுமனே 1000 பேருக்கு உணவு கொடுத்துவிட்டு அனைவருக்கும் போதியளவு உணவு கொடுத்திருக்கின்றோம் என்று சர்வதேசத்தை முழுக்கமுழுக்க ஏமாற்றியது அரசு.இப்போதும் இதனைத்தான் செய்கிறது.

போரின்போது சரணடைந்தவர்கள், காணாமற்போனவர்கள் பற்றிய விவரங்கள் இதுவரை தெரியப்படுத்தப்படவில்லை. கண்துடைப்புக்காக அரசால் நிறுவப்பட்ட காணாமற்போனோர் தொடர்பான ஆணைக் குழு இதுவரை செய்தது என்ன?

இந்த நாட்டிலே ஊடக சுதந்திரம் மறுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. உண்மையை வெளிப்படுத்தும் ஊடகவியலாளர்கள் பல வழிகளில் அச்சுறுத்தப்பட்டும் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டும் தண்டிக்கப்பட்டும் வருகின்றார்கள்.

மக்களால் ஏகமனதாகத் தெரிவு செய்யப்பட்ட தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பை எந்தவொரு செயற்பாடுகளையும் செய்ய விடாமல் முடக்குகிறது அரசு என்று கூறினார்.

‘Government commission is a fake’ NPC Deputy Chairman tells Japan

12 February 2014

Antony Jeganathan, Deputy Chairman of the Northern Provincial Council and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Councillor, has slammed the Sri Lankan government’s commission on disappearances as a fake, set up only to fool the international community, in a meeting with officials from the Japanese embassy.

According to a report in the Uthayan, Jeganathan met with the embassy’s political affairs officer who was on a recent visit to Mullaithivu, and told him that no information on the thousands of people who remain missing or disappeared has been released.

The Deputy Chairman also told the Japanese of the brutality of the ‘No Fire Zones’, set up as the Sri Lankan Army shelled the Vanni 5 years ago. He stated that Tamils were deliberately shelled once moved into the ‘No Fire Zones’ and that this massacre was planned by the Sri Lankan government.

Also see our earlier posts:

Another commission... (26 July 2013)

TNA rejects presidential commission to probe disappearances (29 July 2013)

Rajapaksa appoints disappearance commission (14 August 2013)

Disappearance investigation commission a farce - Ananthy Sasitharan (02 January 2014)

RSF releases 2014 Press Freedom Index. Sri Lanka is ranked 165th out of 180

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Sri Lanka is ranked 165th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index in 2014 released by the Reporters Without Borders. RSF says 'In Sri Lanka (165th, - 2), the army shapes the news by suppressing accounts that stray too far from the official vision of “pacification” in the former Tamil separatist strongholds'

The full statement of RSF regarding Press Freedom Index 2014 as follows

The 2014 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index spotlights major declines in media freedom in such varied countries as the United States, Central African Republic and Guatemala and, on the other hand, marked improvements in Ecuador, Bolivia and South Africa.

The same trio of Finland, Netherlands and Norway heads the index again, while Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea continue to be the biggest information black holes, again occupying the last three positions.

“The World Press Freedom Index is a reference tool that is based on seven criteria: the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and infrastructure,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

“It makes governments face their responsibilities by providing civil society with an objective measure, and provides international bodies with a good governance indicator to guide their decisions.”

Reporters Without Borders head of research Lucie Morillon said: “This year, the ranking of some countries, including democracies, has been impacted by an overly broad and abusive interpretation of the concept of national security protection.

“The index also reflects the negative impact of armed conflicts on freedom of information and its actors. The world’s most dangerous country for journalists, Syria, is ranked 177th out of 180 countries.”

The index’s annual global indicator, which measures the overall level of violations of freedom of information in 180 countries year by year, has risen slightly. The indicator has gone from 3395 to 3456 points, a 1.8% rise. The level of violations is unchanged in the Asia-Pacific region, but has increased in Africa.

The index is available in print for the first time. An enhanced version is being published (in French) by the French publishing house Flammarion in its Librio collection. The index, together with regional and thematic analyses, continues to be available in English, French and other languages on the Reporters Without Borders website (rsf.org). Reporters Without Borders has also introduced a three-dimensional visualization of the performances of the 180 ranked countries.

This year’s index covers 180 countries, one more than the 179 countries covered in last year’s index. The newcomer is Belize, which has been ranked in the enviable position of 29th.

See the 2014 World Press Freedom Index on rsf.org

Armed conflicts, political instability and national securityThe 2014 index emphasizes the negative correlation between armed conflicts and freedom of information. In an unstable environment, the media become strategic goals or targets for groups or individuals trying to control news and information in violation of the guarantees enshrined in international conventions.

Syria (177th) is rubbing shoulders with the last three countries in the index. Around 130 professional and citizen-journalists were killed in connection with the provision of news and information from March 2011 to December 2013. They are being targeted by both the Assad government and extremist rebel militias. The Syrian crisis has also had dramatic repercussions throughout the region.

In Africa, Mali continued its fall and is now ranked 122nd. Progress in the conflict in north of the country has stalled, preventing any real revival in media activity. Central African Republic (109th) has followed suit, falling 43 places. In Egypt (159th), President Morsi’s ouster by the army led by Al-Sisi freed those media that the Muslim Brotherhood had gagged ever since coming to power, but it marked the start of a witchhunt against journalists suspected of supporting the Brotherhood.

Far from these conflicts, in countries where the rule of law prevails, security arguments are misused as grounds for restricting freedom of information. Invoked too readily, the protection of national security is encroaching on hard-won democratic rights.

In the United States (46th, -13), the hunt for leaks and whistleblowers serves as a warning to those thinking of satisfying a public interest need for information about the imperial prerogatives assumed by the world’s leading power. The United Kingdom (33rd, -3) has followed in the US wake, distinguishing itself by its harassment of The Guardian.

There are many examples of governments abusing the “fight against terrorism.” In Turkey (154th), dozens of journalists have been detained on this pretext, above all those who cover the Kurdish issue.

In Israel (96th), which regained some of the places it lost in the previous index because of Operation Pillar of Defence’s impact on freedom of information, the territorial integrity imperative often suppresses freedom of information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Sri Lanka (165th, - 2), the army shapes the news by suppressing accounts that stray too far from the official vision of “pacification” in the former Tamil separatist strongholds.

A few noteworthy developmentsCentral Africa Republic, currently the site of a violent conflict, suffered the biggest fall, losing 43 places after a year marked by extreme violence and repeated attacks and threats against journalists.

Aside from the 13-place fall by the United States (46th, -13), Guatemala’s dizzying plunge (125th, -29) was due to a sharp decline in the safety of journalists, with four murders and twice as many attacks as the previous year.

In Kenya (90th, -18), the government’s much criticized authoritarian response to the media’s coverage of the Westgate Mall attack was compounded by dangerous parliamentary initiatives. Chad (139th) fell 17 places after distinguishing itself by abusive arrests and prosecutions in 2013.

Suffering from the effects of the economic crisis and a surge in populism, Greece (99th) fell 14 places.

Violence against journalists, direct censorship and misuse of judicial proceedings fell in Panama (87th, +25), Dominican Republic (68th, +13), Bolivia (94th, +16) and Ecuador (94th, +25), although in Ecuador the level of media polarization is still high and often detrimental to public debate.

The past year was marked by laudable legislative developments in some countries such as South Africa (42nd, +11), where the president refused to sign a law that would have threatened media freedom.

Contrasting with South Africa’s improvement, other countries regarded as regional models registered no progress or even significant declines.

Diaspora money has deleterious effect on society – Wigneswaran ‘No one can escape karma’

By Shamindra Ferdinando-February 11, 2014

Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran has lamented that money sent by Tamil Diaspora has had a devastating impact on the lifestyles of Tamils here.

The retired Supreme Court judge is of the view that foreign funds have caused irreparable damage to society, especially the student community.

CM Wigneswaran was addressing a gathering at the annual Prize Giving and 60th Anniversary of Varani Central College last week.

Those who had received political asylum overseas during the conflict had started sending money to their relatives living here, the CM said. Years back those striving for a good life had no option but to work hard but today money from abroad made things easier; it was spent on mobile phones, computers and Internet.

Wigneswaran stressed the need for addressing social issues caused by the Diaspora money.

Instead of studying hard, Tamil girls and boys had taken to watching movies, particularly those with sexual themes as well as violence and exchanging love messages via mobile phones, the Chief Minister said.

The retired judge lashed out at those who had abandoned traditional value systems and embraced a new culture where the youth smoked, consumed alcohol, narcotics and even engaged in street fights. Those receiving easy money from abroad were of the opinion that they could achieve anything by throwing around money, CM Wigneswaran said, adding that the youth, both male and female, tended to offer money to law enforcement officers when they were nabbed for road accidents.

Referring to Sinhalese boys and girls worshiping their parents and elders on auspicious days, Wigneswaran lamented that some Tamil youth abused their parents and teachers. The Chief Minister said that Tamils had worked extremely hard during those difficult days, primarily depending on education to secure a better life. But, today, the vast majority of Tamils were of the opinion that money from Diaspora would be enough to achieve whatever they desired, the Chief Minister said.

Commenting on welfare measures implemented by successive governments, the Chief Minister emphasised that people should keep in mind that free books, uniforms as well as free meals might not be available in the future. He said the student community should be told what the country expected of them and the days when such facilities hadn’t been available.

The Chief Minister said that people should realise that bad deeds would result in punishment in one’s lifetime and one would benefit from good deeds. Warning that no one could escape karma, the Chief Minister went on to recollect the fate of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and Pakistan’s Musharaff.

He said: "Our pupils must pause to think of lives led by our elders in the past; what has happened in politics; changes that have occurred in our lives and what will happen in the future if this continues."

The Chief Minister said that despite numerous difficulties, the NPC was working hard to improve the economy through self employment projects as well as cooperative activities and there was no point in the NPC’s work if the younger generation was only interested in migrating abroad or living on Diaspora money.

Why Did Biswal Add Corruption To War Crimes Charge Sheet?

| by Upul Joseph Fernando

(February 12, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the United States Department of State, Nisha Desai, had wanted to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa during her recent visit to the country. Diplomatic sources revealed that she was carrying a strong message from America to be given to President Rajapaksa. However, Mahinda, who had already got wind of what was coming, had cleverly avoided seeing her.

Though she was unable to deliver the message to Mahinda, there were crucial pointers to what it could have been in the contents of the press conference she held in Colombo on the eve of her departure. She reiterated to senior government officials during the visit about the ‘insufficient progress’ to address reconciliation and accountability five years after the war. “We are concerned about the worsening situation with respect to human rights, including continued attacks against religious minorities, as well as the weakening of the rule of law and an increase in the levels of corruption and impunity,” Biswal told journalists.

US Government representatives, who visited the country before her always talked about human rights, reconciliation, media freedom and the rule of law. Corruption was included among the contentious issues by Biswal for the first time when she addressed the media. Hence, it deserves to be carefully assessed to find out its underlying ramifications. In orchestrating the events leading to the downfall of Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Gadaffi in Libya, America used their corruption as its main weapon for attacking their dictatorial regimes.

The Arab Spring factor

During Arab Spring in the Middle East, corruption of despotic rulers of those countries was effectively used as a weapon to bring about their downfall. When America used human rights violations and lack of democratic governance, countries under attack used to mobilize their people to protest against America and take refuge under the shield of nationalism. However, since of late America has learnt that the best way to counter nationalistic fervour stirred up by recalcitrant political leaders in such countries is to use their corruption as a weapon to attack and suppress them. When the common masses in such countries become aware that the leaders they have vowed to protect from American attacks are in reality plunderers and squanderers of their country’s wealth, they feel the Americans are justified in trying to expel them from power for the greater good of the people. In such a scenario, people will give their seal of approval for the American actions to get rid of such leaders. In recent times, several media reports revealed details about secret bank accounts of Sri Lankans maintained in Swiss banks. Investments by Sri Lankan individuals, companies, or the Sri Lankan Government in secret Swiss accounts totalled more than 85 million Swiss Francs in 2011. While liabilities listed against Sri Lanka were 44 million Swiss Francs in the same year, official data from the Swiss National Bank show.

Quoted below is a newspaper report describing regulations Swiss Bank Union is contemplating to introduce for restitution of dictators’ assets stashed away in their banks to the rightful owners.

"Switzerland has been one of the favourite hiding places for the ill-gotten gains of the world’s dictators. The Swiss Government now wants to facilitate the freezing and restitution of this money with a law that will pioneer new standards internationally.

Yet, even new standards will not resolve all the problems, as has become apparent in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Asset freezing

"In 2011, Switzerland was the first country to freeze the assets of Ben Ali and Mubarak after their fall in Tunisia and Egypt. But instead of plaudits, there was criticism because they had their money in Switzerland in the first place," notes Rebecca Garcia, spokesperson for the Swiss Bankers’ Association.

In spite of efforts made by the Swiss Government since the 1980 to freeze what have become known as ‘dictators’ assets’ and return them to the countries they were stolen from, international public opinion still has a rather negative perception of Switzerland in this regard because of the long list of despots who have hidden money in Swiss Banks. Following the Arab Spring, it emerged that about a billion francs had been deposited in recent decades in Switzerland by the rulers of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria.

The Swiss Government is aware of this problem. In May this year it put forward for consultation a draft Bill on the ‘Freezing and Restitution and Assets of Politically Exposed Persons obtained by Unlawful Means,’ which aims to strengthen the current provisions. The political parties and relevant organizations have until mid-September to discuss the Bill, which could become a model internationally, as experts from the World Bank and other institutions have noted.”

Recently, UNP Parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella declared in Parliament that about 400 powerful government henchmen have stashed away plundered money in Swiss Bank accounts.

Biswal had included corruption charge against the government, presumably being fully armed with extensive and reliable information about the widespread corruption for which the present government is responsible. If America will intervene for the restitution of wealth plundered by a corrupt government to the rightful owners of such wealth, the people will accept them with open arms and the plundering government and its cohorts will be labelled as traitors.

UN Chief visits Northern Districts

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

On February 11, 2014, Mr. Haoliang Xu, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator & Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific undertook a visit to the Northern Districts, as part of his four-day visit to Sri Lanka.

The visit to the North, which saw Mr. Xu travelling to Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, was aimed at gaining a first-hand understanding of UN and UNDP’s work on the ground, the development priorities in the districts and further support needs. During the visit, Mr. Xu met and engaged in discussions with the Governor as well as the Chief Minister of the Northern Province.

UN Chief Visits Northern Districts by nelvely

New report details torture and abuse in SL's rehabilitation camps

12 February 2014

A programme of physical and psychological torture in Sri Lanka’s “rehabilitation” camps for former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, has been revealed in a report by an NGO.

Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) has gathered evidence from former detainees, who detailed systematic torture, beatings, humiliation and sexual abuse in the camps, and concluded that rehabilitation in Sri Lanka is a“physical and mental pacification programme that forms a cornerstone of the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist state-building project”.

"I was beaten and kicked. They hit me on my face and head with a rifle butt that resulted in breaking my teeth and upper lip," one witness told TAG.
“On arrival in Rambaikulam, I was taken aside and interrogated. I was beaten with wire and batons, with plastic pipes filled with sand. I was beaten on my back and the soles of my feet.I, and the others, registered basic details with the Sri Lankan officers, and gave details of our LTTE units. From that moment on the aim of the Sri Lankan military and civilian personnel was to torture us, to treat us inhumanely."

Another witness said to TAG that the government operated secret camps, in which it held former Tamil fighters.

“The Sri Lankan authorities permitted the ICRC and the NGOs to visit few of the detention centres just for the purpose of satisfying the international world.Although they claimed that they were sending all the LTTE members to rehabilitant centre, they did not actually send all of the LTTE members. Many of them are still kept in secret camps,”

The report also detailed continuing harassment by armed forces after the release of detainees.

”After my release various divisions of the armed forces continuously visited my home in Killinochi for interrogation and to ensure that I was not in contact with anyone outside my village in Killinoch” another witness told TAG.
“Due to the continuous visit of security forces to my house after my release my neighbours prevented their interactions with me. [...]While we had been in detention in the rehabilitation centers security forces frequently visited inmate’s houses and sexually harassed female members of the family.”

The author of the report, Henrietta Briscoe, said that the government restricted access to the camps in order to continue with its rehabilitation programme.

"The GoSL proudly holds up its Rehabilitation Programme to the world as the epitome of all things benevolent and magnanimous.It has been free to do so, relatively unchallenged - a consequence of the restrictions on access to the camps, of repression of a free press, and international dullness.

"In this report, we enable the 'rehabilitated' to speak out. Their testimonies tell of great cruelty, of systematic violations against the most fundamental of human rights, of a programme of physical and mental pacification."

TAG Director Jan Jananayagam said that the bravery of the witnesses in coming forward "is an inspiration."

"TAG is determined that their bravery should not be put to waste. The passivity of the international community has bolstered the Government of Sri Lanka's confidence that it can continue these abuses with impunity.Only by sending a clear message in a concerted effort can we ensure that these violations of human rights stop."

TAG Rehabilitation Report January 2014-Sri! Lanka’s! ‘Rehabilitation’! of! the! by nelvely

EU to back war crimes probe

By admin on February 11, 2014

The European Union (EU) has decided to back moves at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to actively support efforts to enhance accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, including a credible and independent investigation into the alleged severe crimes during the civil war, as well as to address the current human rights situation in the country.

The decision was taken by the EU Foreign Affairs Council which met in Brussels to discuss its stand on various issues expected to be discussed at the March session on the UNHRC.

“The EU is, and will remain, a vocal advocate of human rights, and lends its full support to the multilateral human rights system, which plays a critical role in the promotion and protection of universal human rights norms and standards and in the monitoring of compliance. This commitment, affirmed in the EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy, guides EU action in this area,” the EU Foreign Affairs Council said.

It said that through close cooperation with all countries, institutions and stakeholders, the EU will be an active and determined participant in the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly sessions of 2014. The EU says it is committed to working at the UN to promote and protect the universality of human rights, to prevent and respond to serious human rights violations, and to express its concerns and positions, contributing to debates and pursuing thematic and country-specific initiatives.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council said the EU will also continue to promote full cooperation with and support to the UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures, upholding the independence of the mandate holders and supporting their free and unhindered contact and cooperation with individuals and civil society. The EU also reaffirms its commitment to the Universal Period Review and calls upon all countries to effectively cooperate with this mechanism.

“The EU reaffirms its unwavering support for the UN Human Rights Treaty Body system. Maintaining their independence remains a key objective for the EU, and the EU will seek to improve their capacity to fulfil their mandate effectively and efficiently, while ensuring their independence. The EU will encourage steps by all stakeholders in this regard,” the EU Foreign Affairs Council said.(Colombo Gazette)

140973EU to Call for War Crimes Investigation at UNHRC by nelvely

The heat is on Colombo in the run up to Geneva

By Archana Arul-Posted:Feb 10, 2014

The setting in the run up to the Geneva meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council is getting increasingly clear, not just with Washington letting Colombo know that a third successive resolution against the island nation for alleged war crimes and accountability is very much on the cards. If US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal has made known the Obama administration’s patent displeasure with the goings on, Sri Lanka has responded not with substantive proposals but upping the ante by denying a senior State Department official a visa.

The Heat is on Colombo in the Run Up to Geneva by nelvely