S. Africa urged to shun SL, back US resolution

by Shamindra Ferdinando-March 2, 2014, 

An influential South African organization working closely with pro-LTTE groups are stepping up pressure on the African National Congress (ANC) to abandon its role in the post-war national reconciliation process in Sri Lanka and vote for the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Solidarity Group (SGPJ) comprising the South African Tamil Federation, the Tamil Coordinating Committee, the World Saiva Council and several other stakeholders established in 2007 has urged South African government to quit the Sri Lankan reconciliation project. The grouping is widely believed to be close to the UK based Global Tamil Forum (GTF).

The SGPJ recently urged South Africa to join the US-UK led grouping spearheading the move against Sri Lanka at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session scheduled to begin today (March 3). The US is scheduled to move its third resolution against Sri Lana since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009.

South Africa is among the seven countries from the African continent on the 47-member UNHRC. The vote on the US resolution is scheduled to take place later this month.

An authoritative GoSL official told The Island that the Diaspora as well as the SGPJ probably feared that the appointment of Vice President of the ANC Cyril Ramphosa as South Africa’s Special Envoy to spearhead the Sri Lankan project could undermine UNHRC chief Navi Pillay’s efforts to haul Sri Lanka up before an international war crimes tribunal.

The official said that the GTF had distanced itself from the South African initiative though it was originally involved in the effort. Well informed sources said that the GTF appeared to have second thoughts on the project especially after the Tamilnet at the behest of the LTTE rump attacked the South African initiative. The Tamilnet went to the extent of alleging that some corrupt sections of the ANC were involved in the operation.

The announcement of Ramphosa’s appointment was made by no less a person than South African President Jacob Zuma in his 6th State of the Nation address a few weeks ago. The announcement was made ahead of GoSL delegation headed by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva visiting South Africa for a series of meetings.

The SGPJ has strongly urged South African government to shun the Sri Lankan delegation. The grouping reminded the pretoria government that it was set up by the late Minister Roy Padayachie to enhance the Diaspora support for the Tamils’ struggle in Sri Lanka.

A three-page statement issued by Solomon Pillay on behalf of SGPJ, the group reiterated the GTF claims that 23 countries, including India would vote for the US resolution in March.

Although international media said that US Assistant Secretary of State forSouth and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal would visit New Delhi early this week to discuss bilateral relations in the wake of Khobragade episode involving an Indian diplomat whose humiliating treatment at the hands of US authorities angered India, GoSL sources said that the US resolution, too, would definitely figure. Biswal is scheduled to visit Bangalore and New Delhi from March 4-6. In Bangalore, she will meet with government and business leaders to discuss joint efforts to foster innovation, increase high-tech and engineering engagement, and strengthen US-India economic ties.

From Bangalore, she will travel to New Delhi, where she will meet with senior Indian officials to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues, "including shared defense, security, and economic engagement across the Indo-Pacific corridor," according to a State Department announcement. On March 6, she will deliver remarks on the US-India economic relationship at the American Center in New Delhi.

The State Department asserted that during her visit, Assistant Secretary Biswal "will seek to further broaden and deepen the US-India relationship, which President Obama has called one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."

Told off by president Mahinda, Hakeem goes to meet Geneva Mahinda!

 Monday, 03 March 2014 

Soon after being severely reprimanded at the cabinet meeting last Friday (28), justice minister Rauff Hakeem had gone with a very dejected face to the office of plantation industries minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, known among his cabinet colleagues as ‘Geneva Mahinda.’ 

Minister Hakeem has gone there at the invitation of minister Samarasinghe. Soothing the former, who was almost crying, the latter has advised him not to take decisions in a hurry.  “I can understand your situation. What you did was to tell to the world the injustice caused to the people who have voted for you. But, communalistice groups poison the mind of the president. They want to see that you leave the government. But, do not commit the folly of giving into them. Try your utmost and cling on. Wait for the right time to come.” Saying thus, Geneva Mahinda had kept his colleague at his ministry for nearly two hours.

Encouraged by the words of his friend, minister Hakeem has left, saying, “A time will come for all of us to come out. Let’s be patient until then.”

EXPLOSION AT KILINOCHCHI SCRAP YARD INJURES FIVE

March 3, 2014 

An explosion was reported around 4.00 pm at scrap iron collection yard at Thirumurukkandi in Killinochchi District, injuring five civilians - two males aged 52 and 53 and three females aged 25, 26 and 44 who had been in the vicinity.

The injured include several members of the family which collects scrap iron for sale. They have been transferred to the Kilinochchi General Hospital for treatment, says Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya.

Initial investigations have revealed that they had attempted to dismantle a pipe bomb which was an improvised explosive device that the LTTE had used against the security forces. Some more scrap and war-like material were recovered from the site of the explosion and are believed to have been collected by the same people.

Civilians have been advised through regular mine awareness programs not to handle unknown objects. Numerous improvised objects of this nature used against the security forces targets have been buried by the LTTE and in some cases as hidden underground arms/explosive caches for later use that they had thought would be possible.

Over a million explosive devices including scrap/war like objects of this nature have been recovered so far during de-mining. However some deeply buried caches could still 

remain in the north and the east. Civilians are strongly advised to refrain from handling any unidentifiable objects or material that they come across, warns the Military spokesman.

It is in their best interest to inform the nearest security forces camp or police station whenever they detect any scrap/war like material and allow the experts to handle them with adequate safety precautions, adds Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya.

5 Injured in explosion at Killinochchie

Spoilt food and horrible English at grand show

(Lanka-e-News- 03.March.2014, 7.30PM) The Deyata Kirula exhibition which showcases Government’s development activities was not without some minor glitches. Public Health Inspectors were on duty at the Kuliyapitiya exhibition site to check on hygiene at food outlets. One detection was startling. There were 400 kilogrammes of spoilt chicken, rancid boiled chick peas and worse enough, a chilling variety of sherbet. 

The latter had been made after crushing ice that had been used to preserve fish. Six people were rounded up and produced before courts for selling unhygienic food. Three more are evading the authorities. And the English version of the official website of the exhibition had errors that would make even a GCE (OL) student blush. Here are a few:

From ‘entertaitment’, ‘entairtment’ ‘imlemented’, ‘huge bycyle races’, ‘econimical’, ‘exhibiotion’, ‘theams’ , ‘accomedation’, ‘Auditrum’ to ‘Seniour’, the website was full of spelling and grammar errors. Clearly no one has proof read website inputs before or during this grand state exhibition.

Whoever posted articles on the site, was not aware that it is agenda and not agenta, and continued mentioning agenta in several places.

Ministries too were mentioned incorrectly. It said a vast water supply scheme was opened by Deputy Minister of Water Supply and Water Drainage Nirupama Rajapaksa. They were unaware that it is the Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage.

BBS to Burma to look into woes of Rohingyas!

 Monday, 03 March 2014 

A Bodu Bala Sena delegation, led by Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera and comprising both clergy and laity, left for Burma this morning (03) to inquire into the plight of Rohingya Muslims who are being repressed by Burmese Buddhists, and to inquire into as to why the nonviolent Buddhists have been forced to react to the Muslims in such a violent manner.

Speaking to our reporter from Bangkok, Thailand yesterday, BBS Chief Executive Dilanthe Withanage said the delegation intends to meet with Buddhist leaders in Burma, including the monk Wiirathu, who is branded by the western media as the symbol of Buddhist terrorism.

He also said the delegation had arrived in Thailand a week ago at the invitation of several Thai Buddhist organizations to hold talks with parties to the problematic situation in that country.

The main objective of this tour of Thailand and Burma is to discuss arrangements for a world Buddhist convention to be hosted in Sri Lanka by BBS in order to utilize Buddhism to suit the 21st century society, said Mr. Withanage. The touring six-member BBS delegation comprises Ven. Gnanasara and Ven. Vitarandeniye Nanda Theras. From Burma, they are due to once again go to Thailand and return home on March 10.

PRESIDENT LEAVES FOR MYANMAR

March 3, 2014 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa left the island this morning to attend the third BIMSTEC Summit, which will take place tomorrow (March 04) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

BIMSTEC, which stands for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi–Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a regional grouping of seven South and South East Asian countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. 

It was first established in June 1997 in Bangkok with the name BIST–EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).

BIMSTEC aims at maintaining and promoting beneficial cooperation among members, especially in identified priority sectors such as trade and investment, technology, energy, tourism and agriculture. The grouping brings together 1.3 billion people – 22% of the world population and a combined GDP of US $750 billion. 

The first BIMSTEC Summit was held in 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand, and the second was in 2008 in New Delhi, India. President Rajapaksa will address the Summit tomorrow, the Presidential Spokesman said in astatment.

Sri Lanka has been associated with BIMSTEC from its inception and is the lead country for the technology sector. As agreed at the second Summit in New Delhi, Sri Lanka is now working to set up a BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in the country.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also expected to attend the summit, in what could be his last foreign trip as Prime Minister in this tenure.

Singh is likely to use his two-day visit to renew contacts with leaders of the seven-member BIMSTEC and exchange notes with leaders from other Member states, whom he described as ‘close and friendly neighbours of India’.

Mad dog politics

• The prospect of power drives politicians rabid
• Nobody assassinated Rajiv Gandhi

Monday 03rd March 2014

Rabies is an infectious disease of dogs, cats, bats, monkeys, jackals and other animals and man, usually fatal if prophylactic treatment is not administered. It is caused by the virus Formido inexoribilis and usually transmitted to man by the bite of an infected animal. It is also called hydrophobia. Rabid is explained in the dictionary as: irrationally extreme in opinion or practice, furious or raging, violently intense, affected with or pertaining to rabies; mad.

Mad Dog Politics by nelvely

People pay for Malaka’s antics
(Lanka-e-News-03.March.2014, 7.30PM) Weaving through bumper-to-bumper traffic on Park Road, Colombo 5, two agitated men with walkie-talkies struggled to clear the road. They wore black trousers and beige shirts with the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) logo on the pockets. 

The sun blazed overhead. People sweltering in their cars swiveled around to see who this minister was that wanted the traffic shifted for him to pass through. It was no minister! It was Malaka Silva, the son of Public Relations and Public Affairs Minister Mervyn Silva. He was sitting inside a red, unregistered jeep driven by a female friend. He smiled as his MSD minions, paid for by public funds, darted here and there in desperation.

The jeep sped way when his lane cleared. Seconds afterwards, the men were seen running through the streets in its direction. It’s a mystery why MSD officers are assigned to a man whose is merely the progeny of a not-particularly-productive minister. Sources tell us that Malaka regularly uses the services of these personnel. They say that, outside the block of flats where he lives, there is a stream of unregistered posh cars, changed daily. He also reportedly has a clutch of bodyguards who carry walkie-talkies.

You always know when Malaka is coming down from his flat because the bodyguards are in a state of slight commotion with the walkie-talkies being walked furiously. Whenever Malaka gets into the news headlines, policemen are also stationed at the block of flats, sometimes for weeks. Again, who pays? But there haven’t been any policemen for a while. This only means one thing-that Junior has kept himself out of trouble.

TWO COPS HOSPITALISED AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK

March 3, 2014

Two police officers attached to the Kolonna Police Station have been injured and hospitalised after being attacked with a sharp object today.

The attack reportedly took place when the two officers had attempted to apprehend a suspect, who has a warrant issued against him for being drunk and disorderly in public, in the Dapane area.

The injured policemen were admitted to the Kolonna Hospital and later transferred to the Embilipitiya Hospital for further treatment. 

BoC to Harsha, UDA to Anura!

 Monday, 03 March 2014

At the request of Gotabhaya 

Rajapaksa, the president has apointed newly retired Air Force commander Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrema as chairman of the Bank of Ceylon. Incumbent, president’s counsel Razik Sarooq is due to retire after he has reached 70 years of age last year.

Senior DIG Anura Senanayake, a very close friend of the defence secretary, will not get a service extension. Instead, it has been requested that he should be appointed as chairman of the Urban Development Authority, which incidentally comes under Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

The president, who left for the BIMSTEC meeting in Myanmar today (03), signed the two apointment letters yesterday in Kataragama. It is his habit to offer Poojas and make a vow at Katagama Maha Devale before leaving for any foreign tour. This time, he had gone there along with minister Johnston Fernando.

More public funds for Mihin to take over MRIA from SriLankan

Monday, 03 March 2014

Sri Lanka’s cash strapped budget airline, Mihin Lanka is to take over the operations of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) from SriLankan Airlines.

Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne has confirmed this move saying it would mean that Mihin Lanka, now based at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, would shift to Mattala and undertake the operations including ground handling, maintenance and refuelling among other functions.

“The objective of this exercise is to make Mihin Lanka a viable entity so that it will have ways of generating income. It will be able to enter into agreements with different airlines through this system,” Jayaratne has told the media.

The Minister has explained that a separate Board of Directors would be appointed for Mihin Lanka, but under the same Chairman of SriLankan Airlines.
However, the Board of Directors would be responsible for turning the organization into a profit making institution.

An independent committee is to also be appointed to Mihin Lanka to recommend ways of reducing losses.

Mihin Lanka lost more than Rs 2.8 billion in 2012 and last year’s estimated losses increased to a staggering Rs. 1.4 billion.

Reimagining The Relationship Between Development And Religion

By Rasika Sumudhu Jayasinghe -March 3, 2014

Rasika Sumudhu Jayasinghe

For many decades now, the concept of development has been a goal sought after by countries around the globe. Though this concept strives to improve human welfare, quality of life, and social wellbeing in a region or community, development’s first and foremost emphasis in Sri Lanka, appears to be that of economic growth and infrastructural development. While these can certainly add to human welfare, quality of life, and social wellbeing, perhaps it is worth questioning whether they can also be a deterrent to the achieving of these outcomes.

Development as we know it, owing to its roots in the rational scientific method is often at loggerheads with religion. Most Western governments and development agencies, particularly, in the post-World War II era, have seen religion as part of the development problem, rather than as a potential solution. Moreover, according to Haynes (1995), the idea of modernization and development has been greatly associated with urbanization, industrialization and to a rationalization of “irrational” views, such as religious beliefs. Therefore, technological development and the application of science to overcome persistent social problems of poverty, hunger and disease, soon replaced any room for religion in development discourses. In the South Asian region, this leaning towards a ‘material’ and ‘rational’ development idea seems to have been further compounded by concerns over rising levels of religious fundamentalism; whether Buddhist, Evangelical, Hindu, Islamic, or other. However, too much emphasis appears to be placed on the ways in which religion can stymie the process of development (a point which is acknowledged, but not the one focused on, for the purpose of this article), rather than on how, when and why development antagonizes religious thought and beliefs.

Development certainly includes material and tangible outcomes such as the construction of railways and roads, and the raising of buildings and bridges. While such construction serves practical purposes, alongside this comes the aspect of urban beautification; cleaning up of parks, restoration and renovation of structures and among others, erection of sculptures and statues.  The question though is, when the construction of railways results in the displacement of people and houses; when the raising of buildings leads to the relocation of a religious site; and when the erection of statues incites the outrage of communities, at what cost do these ‘advancements’ come?Read More

China’s Xi amasses power to tackle grim challenges

Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves after his speech at parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia. Pic: AP.

By AP News Mar 03, 2014

BEIJING (AP) — Xi Jinping looks more powerful than any Chinese leader in recent decades as his government prepares to deliver its first one-year report card Wednesday, but a deadly weekend slashing spree by alleged separatists was a reminder of the serious challenges facing his administration.

China’s Xi amasses power to tackle grim challenges by nelvely

Putin is as bad as Saddam Hussein and the West MUST take immediate action, says leading MP

By: Owen Bennett - Political Reporter-Mon, March 3, 2014

VLADIMIR Putin's deployment of troops in Ukraine is no different to the actions of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait in 1990, a senior Tory MP said today.

Vladimir Putin (r) has been compared to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein [AP/AP]

His behaviour is no better than Saddam Hussain when he invaded Kuwait.

Brooks Newmark

Brooks Newmark, who is a foreign policy specialist, wants the West to take immediate diplomatic and economic action against Russia in order to show his actions will not go unpunished.

Hussain's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 lead to the Gulf War, in which United States-led troops came to the defence of the Middle Eastern country after Iraq tried to annex it.

Mr Newmark also believes President Putin felt able to send troops into Ukraine after the US and UK balked at enforcing self-imposed "red lines" over the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons against its own people last year.

Russia is reported to have 6,000 troops in the strategic peninsula of Crimea just over a week after pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was deposed in a popular uprising.

Mr Newmark told Express Online this morning: "Putin is testing our resolve.

"His behaviour is no better than Saddam Hussain when he invaded Kuwait.

"At some stage the West has to say enough is enough."

Mr Newmark, who is a friend of Foreign Secretary William Hague, called for Russia to be immediately suspended from the G8.

He also argued for economic sanctions which would target Russian businesses in the West which has close ties to President Putin, as well as freezing bank accounts linked to the Russian leader.

Referring to the West's lack of intervention in the Georgia war in 2008 and the Syria civil war last year, Mr Newmark said: "I think it would be very bad if for a third time we did nothing."

He added: "Putin has been trying to reassert Russia imperial role as a great world power.
Brooks Newmark MP said 'enough is enough' [LNP]
"His military strength really plays well in the region."

Mr Newmark's comments came as the UK's Foreign Secretary warned Russia there will be "consequences" if it does not pull back in its confrontation over Ukraine.

Following talks in Kiev with interim Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Mr Hague said the world could not stand back and ignore the incursion by thousands of Russian troops into the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

"If Russia cannot be persuaded to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, there will have to be other consequences and other costs. I am not going to set out today what all of those are. We will act in a united way with other nations in the world," he said.

"Russia should be in no doubt about this. This is something that we take very seriously, that we have to take very seriously, because if this becomes the normal way of behaving in the world, of intruding upon and violating the sovereignty of neighbours, then clearly that would be an even bigger crisis in international affairs."

His visit came amid intensive discussions among EU leaders over their response to the Russian action, while the G7 group of countries condemned Moscow's "clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine".

A number of Tory MPs have been claiming Labour's vote against military action in Syria last year has emboldened President Putin.

Labour leader Ed Miliband accused Treasury Minister Sajid Javid of "petty point scoring" after he claimed the Labour leader's refusal to back action in Syria had influenced Russia's response to Ukraine.

The Tory tweeted: "Direct link between Miliband's cynical vote against #Syria motion & Russia's actions on #Ukraine. Completely unfit to lead Britain ".

Mr Miliband said: "At this dangerous time for the world, the British people do not expect politicians to be indulging in petty point-scoring.

"What we need is for all parties in Britain to put politics aside so we can find a swift solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

"Labour will support the Government on the issue, and the international community should speak with one voice."

Last week, a leading security analyst told Express Online that President Putin may look to annex Crimea in what he called his “Sudetenland option”.

Dr Jonathan Eyal, International Director of the security think-tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), was referring to the annexation of the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia in 1938 by Hitler.

The Nazi dictator claimed he was merely trying to protect the ethnic German population in the area, a move that led eventually to the Second World War.

Western leaders try to halt Russia's advance into Ukrainian territory

Paul Lewis and Spencer Ackerman in Washington, Jon Swaine in New York and agencies-Monday 3 March 2014

US secretary of state John Kerry heads to Kiev as senior officials attempt to defuse crisis in Ukraine

John Kerry is flying to Kiev to meet Ukraine’s new government and will display support for Ukrainian sovereignty, a state official says. Photograph: Stringer/Germany/Reuters

Western leaders are scrambling to defuse the crisis in Ukraine without shots being fired after the US conceded Moscow had "complete operational control of the Crimean peninsula".

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, was due to fly to Kiev overnight in a further attempt to halt Russia's advance into Ukrainian territory, having conceded that Crimea had fallen to Moscow in a bloodless takeover.

Western Leaders Try to Halt Russia's Advance Into Ukrainian Territory by nelvely

Tensions in Crimea – a question of identity

Monday 03 Mar 2014

They weren’t very friendly when we turned up at the besieged Ukrainian marine base at Feodosiya this morning.

The base was at the end of a road which had been blocked by a Russian armoured vehicle and six well-armed Russian soldiers.

They were not the problem. It was the local people who descended on us – accusing us of being fascists and provocateurs only here to cause trouble. Our Russian guide tried to reason with them but they were having none of it.

Passions are running high in Crimea as Russian forces consolidate their hold over the peninsula.

The Ukrainian troops in the base that we could not reach are in a difficult situation. They come from all over the country. Some of them must surely have sympathy with the new authorities in Kiev while others, especially those who come from Crimea, may well support the idea of Crimea reverting to Russia. Still others will find their loyalties torn between the two.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have always worked together in Crimea as part of the deal worked out when Ukraine got independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

‘Who are we?’

That goes for many ordinary people here too. The pro-Russian mob who stopped us from filming say it is simple. They speak Russian. They identify with Russia. They compare the new authorities in Kiev with the Nazis who invaded Ukraine in 1941.

But other Crimeans I have met say they juggle all their identities. One businessman said to me “I am Crimean, Russian and Ukrainian. These are all our soldiers.”

A young man I met today in Feodosiya said: “Most people here run businesses that depend on tourism. They don’t want all this trouble because they know they will lose money.”

Lindsey Hilsum @lindseyhilsum

Follow

Crowd around base at #Feodossiya #Crimea won't let us film - lots of 'self defence' and angry pro #Russian civilians.

6:14 AM - 3 Mar 2014

All over Crimea people are being forced to choose. In Sevastopol today, Ukrainian naval troops were addressed by two naval commanders – one loyal to Kiev, one to the new authorities in Crimea, which means Russia.

Who would have thought that more than 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union these issues of identity and power would reassert themselves so dangerously?

For President Putin and President Obama it’s a question of geopolitics and big strategy. But for people here on the ground it’s a question of who they are and how they feel. They are being forced to choose, long after they had learned to live with the ambivalence of being in a Russian-dominated region within Ukraine.

One man is reported to have asked the Russian troops: “who are you?” – the troops tend not to answer that question, they are the strong and silent type.

But the question “who are we?” is the one most Crimeans are having to ask themselves today. And the answer isn’t easy.

Follow @lindseyhilsum on Twitter.

- See more at: http://blogs.channel4.com/lindsey-hilsum-on-international-affairs/tensions-crimea-question-identity/3535#sthash.yU69dvZK.dpuf

China and Japan on the brink of Third World War

WHILE vast swathes of the Middle East are embroiled in conflict and Ukraine teeters on the brink, many believe the real flashpoint for war is between China and Japan.

By: Hilary Douglas-Sun, March 2, 201

 Japanese patrols drive off foreign fi shing boats near the disputed Senkaku islands [GETTY]

As China flexes its military might, with huge increases in defence spending and increasingly assertive patrols in disputed territories, Japan has compared the tensions to those between England and Germany before the First World War.

China and Japan on the Brink of Third World War by nelvely

 Let the U.N. Unmask the Criminals of Sri Lanka’s War

Louise Arbour on Sri Lanka and Tamil Eelam (2010)

Lousie Arbour former HC UNHRCBy LOUISE ARBOURFEB.-Sunday, March 2, 2014

BRUSSELS — IN early 2009, as many as 40,000 civilians were killed in the final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war, having been herded into an area about the size of Central Park and subjected to relentless shelling. No one has been held accountable for these crimes, and even now the government in Colombo remains intent on burying the past. Only an international commission of inquiry stands any chance of rectifying this omission. So when the United Nations Human Rights Council meets Monday in Geneva, it should seek an investigation. It would be a decisive step toward justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
The 26-year civil war in Sri Lanka, in which ethnic Tamil rebels rose against a government dominated by the ethnic-majority Sinhalese, was regularly punctuated with massacres and rights abuses by government forces, as well as by suicide bombings and other attacks on civilian targets by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Since the government’s crushing defeat of the rebels, the predominantly Tamil northern province has been under de facto military occupation, with widespread reports of serious rights violations against the civilian population.

As the fifth anniversary of the war’s end approaches this spring, Sri Lankan officials say they need more time for reconciliation initiatives to take root. They argue that an international investigation will only further polarize Sri Lanka. They have reacted angrily to a new report by Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, that advocates an international investigation and heavily criticizes the government.

As the International Crisis Group has documented in a series of reports, the government’s postwar policies have entrenched an increasingly authoritarian regime in Colombo, deepened the rift between Tamils and Sinhalese, and drawn dangerous new lines of ethnic and religious conflict. To date, the government has rejected calls by the Human Rights Council to conduct an independent investigation into war crimes allegations against both sides that have been documented by the United Nations secretary general’s panel of experts and by nongovernmental organizations like ours, and to adopt reforms that could foster postwar reconciliation.

The United States, which has a record of leadership within the Human Rights Council, would be the best sponsor for a resolution seeking an inquiry. The other members of the council should give it their strong support. They should also reject the Sri Lankan government’s endless delaying tactics and its global public-relations counterattack, which includes a half-hour infomercial that has been shown on American television.

Momentum for such an investigation is building. Six United States senators, led by Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, called for an international commission of inquiry in a letter sent this month to Secretary of State John Kerry. Three days later a resolution was introduced in the Senate calling for an independent investigation (not necessarily by a commission). Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, other senior European Union politicians and Indian officials also have taken clear exception to Sri Lanka’s failure to pursue accountability for atrocities. Meanwhile, in response to victims’ pleas for justice, a newly elected northern provincial council in Sri Lanka has joined the calls for an international investigation.

But the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has rejected all such recommendations, even when they came from Sri Lanka’s own reconciliation commission. He has also gravely weakened the independence of the judiciary and the police with the impeachment last year of Sri Lanka’s chief justice, placing the possibility of using Sri Lanka’s courts to achieve accountability further out of reach.

An inquiry mandated by an intergovernmental body like the Human Rights Council would produce a more complete record of the scale of civilian suffering, and would challenge the Sri Lankan government’s denials that government forces were responsible for any significant loss of civilian life.

While agreeing Sri Lanka must act on accountability, we also must realize LTTE terrorists had benefited from funds collected mainly from…

A commission is also likely to uncover evidence of abuses by the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in a form that would be hard for Tamils and Tamil organizations to deny. That would deflate a romanticization of the Tigers among Tamils that keeps alive Sinhalese fears that the Tamil insurgency might resume, and also gives the government an excuse for continued militarization and repression.

By showing survivors of wartime abuses that the international community hasn’t abandoned them, a commission mandated by the council could also undercut growing calls by Tamil diaspora organizations for more radical measures, and encourage victims of rights abuses from all of Sri Lanka’s ethnic and religious communities (the country’s main faiths are Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim) to continue seeking an end to institutionalized impunity.

Such an inquiry won’t solve all of Sri Lanka’s problems; the island’s crisis of accountability and democratic governance runs too deep and is too complex to be resolved quickly. Nonetheless, increased authoritarianism, Sinhalese ethnic triumphalism and simmering Tamil resentment are clearly not the ingredients for a secure future. Both justice and reconciliation are needed for the Sri Lankan body politic to one day be healed.

The Human Rights Council has an opportunity, and should seize it. A number of the council’s current member states — for instance Chile, Costa Rica, Botswana, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Morocco and Macedonia — have led on other human rights issues and should press the council on this one. Sri Lanka’s government is playing a waiting game, hoping the international community will lose interest, while also proffering the crude argument that reconciliation is attainable without justice.

But the costs of doing something now would be very small compared with the years of strife that would be the likely result of letting impunity win in Sri Lanka.

Louise Arbour, a former United Nations high commissioner for human rights, is the president of the International Crisis Group.
NYT