Peace for the World

Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam

Sunday, May 18, 2014

TNA Shivajilingham, Sritharan mark May 18 at Nallur, defying military ban

Photographs @Uthayarasashali


M.K. Shivajilingham, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Councillor to the Northern Province, and TNA MP, S. Sritharan, defied the military's ban against Mullivaikal commemorative events at temples holding a memorial event at Nallur temple late this afternoon.

Earlier today Nallur temple was surrounded by armed troops, and military vehicles stationed in the roads leading up to the temple entrance.

Together with TNA party members, Mr Shivajingham and Mr Sritharan lit a flame of remembrance and broke coconuts, as is customary.


On Friday, police obstructed attempts by Mr Shivajilingham together with NPC member Ananthy Sasitharan to commemorate the dead outside the NPC office.


அக்கரைப்பற்று - யாழ். பஸ் மீது தாக்குதல் 
news
logonbanner-118 மே 2014, ஞாயிறு
அக்கரைப்பற்றில் இருந்து யாழ்ப்பாணம் நோக்கி வந்துகொண்டிருந்த இலங்கை போக்குவரத்துசபைக்கு சொந்தமான பஸில் பயணம் செய்தவர்கள் மீது மன்னம்பிட்டியில் வைத்து சிங்களவர்களினால் தாக்குதல் நடத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது.

நேற்று சனிக்கிழமை இரவு 9.30மணியளவில் இந்த தாக்குதல் நடத்தப்பட்டுள்ளதாக அப்பகுதி தகவல்கள் தெரிவித்தன.

இது தொடர்பில் தெரியவருவதாவது,

நேற்று இரவு அக்கரைப்பற்றில் இருந்து மட்டக்களப்பு ஊடாக யாழ்ப்பாணம் நோக்கிச் வந்து கொண்டிருந்த இலங்கை போக்குவரத்துச் சபைக்கு சொந்தமான பஸ் மீது மன்னம்பிட்டியில் வைத்து ஒருவர் கற்களினால் தாக்குதல் நடத்தி பஸ்ஸின் கண்ணாடிகளை உடைத்துள்ளார்.

இதன்போது பஸ்ஸின் நடத்துனருடன் பொதுமக்களும் இணைந்து குறித்த நபரை பிடித்து தாக்கியுள்ளனர்.

இந்த வேளையில் அப்பகுதியில் ஒன்றுகூடிய 25க்கும் மேற்பட்ட பெரும்பான்மையினத்தை சேர்ந்தவர்கள் குறித்த பஸ்ஸில் பயணம் செய்த பயணிகள் மீது தாக்குதல் நடத்தியுள்ளனர்.

இதன்போது பயணிகளில் ஒருவர் படுகாயமடைந்துள்ளதாகவும் சிலர் அடிகாயங்களுக்குள்ளாகியுள்ளதாகவும் குறித்த பஸ்சில் பயணம் செய்தவர்கள் தெரிவித்தனர்.
- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=836153016118279208#sthash.vxgG41y5.7044kQVL.dpuf

Memorials, blood donation banned in North-East


Security measures have been stepped up in the Northern and Eastern Provinces after some groups vowed to defy a ban on public commemorative events coinciding with today’s fifth anniversary of the end of the war. Jaffna’s Senior Police Superintendent W. Wimalasena said no public events would be allowed to commemorate those who died as the Government had declared today as Victory Day.
His warning came as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and a defeated UNP provincial council candidate finalised plans to hold separate commemorative events in Jaffna today. The TNA has organised a remembrance event at its party office in Jaffna town.  The defeated UNP PC candidate Thiyagaraja Thuwarakeswaran said he had organised a temple ceremony and almsgiving at Keerimalai, Jaffna to remember the dead in what he called a ‘nonpolitical event’. He said 100 priests had been invited.
Several blood donation campaigns organised in Jaffna today were called off after the Jaffna hospital was instructed by the police not to assist in such campaigns. Other hospitals also have been advised not to accept blood donations. In Vavuniya, TNA MPs had booked the Cooperative Hall to conduct a commemorative meeting, but the booking was cancelled on the instructions of the police. They later tried to organise a pooja in a temple, but were not successful as the trustees wanted them to give the names of the participants.
Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasuriya said no public remembrance events would be allowed, but people would be allowed to have private events in their homes.
Meanwhile on Friday two Northern Provincial Council members made an attempt to light lamps in remembrance of those killed in the final stages of the conflict, but were prevented by the police.
18 May 2014
Armed troops have surrounded the Jaffna office of the Thinakkural newspaper, one of the paper's journalists tweeted within the past hour. 

The incident comes amidst heavy military presence outside the Uthayan newspaper's office earlier today, with over 50 armed soldiers surrounding the building. 

US Wanted To Prevent Impunity Eileen Donahoe

The Sunday LeaderBy Easwaran Rutnam-  Sunday, May 18, 2014
During the past five years the United States has been leading efforts to ensure accountability over the war in Sri Lanka and those efforts have mostly been centered at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. As the US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva till before the 2014 March session, 

The Discontents Of A Racist Peace





By Tisaranee Gunasekara
"Why is it that the Sinhalese, 'the lion race' find themselves confronted till death do them part, by 'the tigers'.

SJ Tambiah (Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy)
(May 18, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)  From Quite apart sense, sensibility, Intelligence and decency, there is a REASON Why should not factual Continue to Celebrate the Victory over Sri Lanka the LTTE.

This Race-War Is More Appalling Than The Dutugamunu-Elalan Conflict


By Kumar David -May 18, 2014
Dr. Kumar David
Dr. Kumar David
Five years after the racial civil-war: This race-war is more appalling than the Dutugamunu-Elalan conflict
The war that ended five years ago was a race-war. I do not say this as a hard, cold fact; I have no patience with euphemisms. Let’s call a spade a spade. In my judgement 99% of Sinhalese longed for the defeat and obliteration of the LTTE and the death of Prabaharan; 90% were convinced that the Tamils had no problem and that an armed struggle was unjustified. That’s plain vanilla Fact-1. I also know that at the height of the LTTE’s popularity two-thirds or more of Tamils empathised with it. Tamils were and are convinced that they were and are an oppressed, discriminated minority, that peaceful attempts and political avenues ended in a blind alley, and that the LTTE, by taking to arms, wisely or unwisely, was at last standing up for them. Face it, that’s Tamil opinion; plain vanilla Fact-2. Whether you are Sinhalese or Tamil face it, most lousy Lankans are racists.
Vigilantes ‘inspect’ Muslim business premises in Colombo
Vigilantes ‘inspect’ Muslim business premises in Colombo
The Dutugamunu-Elalan conflict was not a race-war to anything like this extent, his purported para-demaluremark notwithstanding. My understanding of ancient history is drawn from standard sources and I see nothing akin to today’s racism in the second century BC. Dutugamunu’s campaign was to unify a fragmented country and the war with Elalan was an element in that strategy. His reign, as best as I can work out from standard sources, was one of material prosperity and concord. The period leading up to, and his reign itself (161-137 BC), cannot be likened to the racism of post-independence Lanka. The Mahavamsa, put together in the 5-th Century AD, projected what is now know as the Mahavamsa Ideology, backwards to a time in which it did not belong. Remember the punitive invasion of Raja Raja Cholan was much later in 993AD and an entirely different story.
                          Read More

Mullivaaykaal: A Time of Hope, Anger and Courage

BY R.M.KARTHICK-
18 MAY 2014
“Hope has two beautiful daughters – Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that things do not remain that way.”
-Quote attributed to St. Augustine
Five years after Mullivaaykaal, the worst slaughter in the history of not just the Eelam Tamil nation, but the Tamil civilization as a whole. A few resolutions have been passed at Geneva asking the Sri Lankan state to behave itself without, of course, any mention of genocide. The same applies for several reports by high-profile international NGOs that talked about torture, militarization, sexual abuse, human rights etc. A few popular documentaries have been released by media organizations that have shown their audiences the suffering of the Tamil people in the island during the war and after. But as a nation, where are the Eelam Tamils? As a civilization, where are the Tamils?
A hitherto unheard of student uprising took place in Tamil Nadu last year, opposing the pro-LLRC US resolution in Geneva. This uprising triggered off similar protests in the diaspora, where grassroots organizations and activists united on a principled political platform. More than anything, the protestors were united by Hope, Anger and Courage. It was also obvious by the protest symbols used, that these activists from Tamil Nadu and the diaspora are ensuring the survival of the Tiger legacy of uncompromising resistance to oppression.
Liberal feminists like Radhika Coomaaraswamy claim that Tigers promoted a “culture of death”. However, any genuine revolutionary fighting a brutal state would know that the Tiger’s culture was a celebration of life and all the best elements in one’s culture.
“Words are weapons” said Latin American writer Eduardo Galeano. Let us have a look at some the words that the LTTE used in the course of their struggle. They did not say that the cadres who fell in battle “iranthu poanaar” – “they died”. They said “kaaviyamaanaar” – “they became poetic history”. Those who became poetic history were not “buried in graveyards” - “kallaraiyil pithaikkappattaar”. They were “sown in resting abodes” – “thuyilum illathil vithaippattaar”. Those sown in the resting abodes were not “thyaagi” – “martyrs”. They were “maaveerar” – “heroes”. The Tigers, we must understand, used the martial elements from traditional Tamil culture to give a people resisting genocidal oppression a sense of hope, destiny and faith in the future of an independent Tamil Eelam.
However, after a colossal tragedy like Mullivaaykaal, it is but obvious there would be some sense of loss among the Tamils. But the strong ones and the politically principled recover while the weak and politically vacillating elements become victim to the enemy’s psychological war. Confusion, distrust, loss of faith, cynicism, fear, death wishes, suicidal impulses, “auto-oppression”, reluctance to identify with one’s own people, a perverse comfort in promoting disunity, a contempt for one’s culture – all of these are effects of psy-ops on a victim.
The genocide may have been executed on the Eelam Tamil nation. But it is the Tamil civilization, which constitutes over 80 million Tamils world over, which is at war now. A genocidal state and its international abettors have thrown us a challenge. It is not “submit or perish” – it is “submit and perish”. What happens in Tamil Eelam affects Tamil Nadu. What affects Tamil Nadu affects the diaspora. More and beyond the physical deaths of our brothers and sisters in the Tamil Eelam homeland, it is the death of our souls that the oppressors aim at. They want us to reek in despair, desolation and denial.
We must respond with Hope, Anger and Courage.
We need to have Hope. Hope in ourselves as individuals, hope in our people, hope in our language, hope in our culture, hope in our martial legacy, hope in our destiny, hope in our victory. Above all, hope in our Heroes, and hope in LTTE leader Pirapaharan’s school of thought.
We need to have Anger. Anger against the killers, anger against those who assisted them, anger against those who deny what happened, anger against those who obfuscate the Truth, anger against the sell-outs, anger against those who sow disunity, discord and depression.
We need to have Courage. Courage to stand by our identity and ideals, courage to speak Truth to power, courage to uphold the national flag, courage to celebrate our Heroes, courage to belive in the triumph of our civilization, courage to sacrifice, courage to Love, courage to fight.
And we also need Vision. To end with the words of Maximillien Robespierre, the ideological patriarch of modern day revolutionaries,
“We wish in our country that morality may be substituted for egotism, probity for false honour, principles for usages, duties for good manners, the empire of reason for the tyranny of fashion, a contempt of vice for a contempt of misfortune, pride for insolence, magnanimity for vanity, the love of glory for the love of money, good people for good company, merit for intrigue, genius for wit, truth for tinsel show, the attractions of happiness for the ennui of sensuality, the grandeur of man for the littleness of the great, a people magnanimous, powerful, happy, for a people amiable, frivolous and miserable”
In a word, all the virtues and miracles of a sovereign Tamil Eelam, instead of all the vices and absurdities of unitary Sri Lanka.
© JDS

R.M.Karthick is a research scholar in Political Theory at University of Essex.

Quo vadis Sri Lanka?

Photo Courtesy  Amnesty International

Groundviews



 On   05182014 May 2009 will be always an exclamation Mark in Sri Lanka's History. Many will celebrate the defeat of the Tamil Tigers as a rupture with a brutal past. For others it will mark a period of remembrance as families mourn relatives lost in crossfire or shelling. It was a time of rumour, elation and pain. Supporters of the final offensive against the Tigers danced in the streets of Colombo while survivors emerged from the ruins of war carrying terrifying survival stories. TV footage in the country replayed the government's 'humanitarian rescue operation' to free civilians while children languished in Manik Farm forgotten from public view. Historians will make better sense of the year that ended Sri Lanka's bitter war against the Tamil Tigers. My own reflections here are grounded in my work with victims' families struggling for justice in Sri Lanka.
17 May 2009
Football on one side and genocide on the other
| By Pearl Thevanayagam
(May 18, 2014, Bradford UK, Sri Lanka Guardian)  "If I allowed food, Medicine and Essential Items into the LTTE controlled Areas in Batticaloa, the Children will only GROW fat and join the LTTE," Zaki told Eastern Commander Colonel in 2000 this writer responding to a question why he placed an economic embargo. Then tea was served but remained untouched. No further questions were necessary.

When Memory Lives


By Mahendran Thiruvarangan -May 18, 2014

 Mahendran Thiruvarangan
Mahendran Thiruvarangan
Tamil







Colombo Telegraph
Hushed faces, benumbed and betrayed,
many a wrinkle, many a scar,
many a story must they be mumbling,
spoke my researchy voice in a foreign tongue.

A pair of worn-out feet stumble into a hovel,
a tiny one and a thatched roof atop;
somewhere stood a smoldering lamp,
darkening the dumb gods on the dust-ridden shelf.

Behind the heavenly portraits lurks a framed figure,
stiff and smile-less in a striped uniform;
the valiant neck drops
thousands’ freedom into a single capsule,
and on a shoulder hangs
a gun that foes and friends feared alike.

The ageing fingers grope for an umbilical secret;
behind Shiva’s son,
a hidden son,
a fallen martyr in a freedom-quest,
in a homeland cleansed
of traitors, prostitutes and Allah’s children.

As the proscribed portrait awaits
the mourning cry of motherly memory,
in another land, another world,
where jubilant monks make holy laws,
and famished men are fed in plenty
with the sweet wines of a bubbly nation,
trumpets sound and children sing,
towering flags flutter in the winds,
a beaming King walks in majesty,
and newspapers re-craft a loss-less victory.
SRI LANKA BRIEFMedia Release / National Peace council
PUBLIC INTEREST OR PERSONAL VENDETTA? LET THE READERS DECIDE
What can be said about someone naked who steals the clothes of his opponent and parades them as his own to hide his own nakedness? The Editor of the Daily News has shamelessly misappropriated the statements used by the National Peace Council (NPC) to expose his ignorance and confusion of history and parades them as his own.

A fractured Sri Lankan identity five years on

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka
Sunday, May 18, 2014
This week, the five year anniversary on the 2009 victory of Sri Lankan troops over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is to be held in Matara, located in the deep South and in the perceived Sinhala heartland of this Presidency.
I used the term ‘perceived’ quite deliberately as the assumption that all is well and good in the Southern Sinhala heartland, is certainly not the case. We saw this in the recently concluded Southern provincial council elections. Aptly enough, when questioned in regard to visible road development and boasts of economic growth, a woman selling vegetables in Ambalanthota asked bitterly, ‘so are we supposed to lick these good roads on which luxury vehicles of the rich go, for food?’
Ethnic polarization worse than before
Meanwhile, the University of Jaffna has been ordered to be closed on the instructions of the Registrar. Deaths threats have been posted on the walls against university professors. But as questioned by the Jaffna University Science Teachers Association ‘Why should Tamils speaking of the war be such an explosive issue five years after it ended, a war in which neither side owned a monopoly on terrorism?’ (see statement dated May 17th 2014).
Indisputably, as pointed out by these academics, the answer has to do with the ideological polarization that remains between the communities. Indeed, this polarization is worse than ever before. Five years after active war ended, the dynamic is that of victor and the vanquished, of the oppressed and the oppressors, of Jaffna as the excluded and of Matara as the privileged.
Overall, the democratic indicators are worse than at any given point in history. Sri Lanka’s law remains in tatters and our courts politically compromised, perhaps irreversibly. Against this dismal background, talk of a South African styled Truth Commission seems ludicrous. But when so many ludicrous events take place, what is one more?
Framed by stark national apathy
The point is that no alternative political leadership exists to drag Sri Lanka out of this democratic morass, with whatever remnants of our dignity. Clearly this overriding need cannot be met by a leader of the opposition who takes flight overseas, apparently to learn the finer points of political theory even while innumerable elections are lost and his party members face the ultimate insult of being threatened by (toy?) pistol wielding Southern mayoral thugs.
This stark political lacuna that Sri Lanka faces is framed by an even starker national apathy even when blatant political corruption is brought to light by few enterprising journalists. One can only speculate wistfully on events elsewhere in this region. India’s national election which concluded with few surprises this week showed the strength of a mature democracy. For good or for ill, a ruling party was thrown resoundingly out of office on huge public dissatisfaction over corruption and bad economic management. The election itself was conducted remarkably well under a Commissioner of Elections who wielded a tough stick.
Our stab at an Elections Commission through the 17th Amendment was put paid to when names proposed by a short lived Constitutional Council were rejected by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. This was the first break in a process that was anyway none too steady in its commitment to democratic governance. Inevitably her successor President Mahinda Rajapaksa went one ruinous step further and refused to appoint any member of the Council itself. Going from the proverbial frying pan to the fire has always been Sri Lanka’s unhappy experience. The rapid degeneration of our judicial institutions during 1999 to 2009 and our increasingly politicized Chief Justices constitute yet another good example.
Cerebral political bankruptcy
Just two weeks ago and gladdening the hearts of citizens incensed by the antics of their political representatives, the European Court of Human Rights held that an article referring to a politician as a ‘cerebral bankrupt’ was protected by freedom of speech. This was a case brought by a Slovenian publisher whose magazine had been successfully sued for defamation after it criticized a politician for opposing legal recognition of same-sex partnerships.
Examining the matter on appeal, the Court, observed rather entertainingly to say the least, that there was a sufficient factual basis for the criticism which was held to constitute mere strong disagreement rather than an offensive personal insult.
Accusations of cerebral bankruptcy are perhaps the least offensive when aimed at our national-dress clad elected hypocrites who strut on the local, provincial and national stage. They deserve far worse. Now the stage is being set for heads of local bodies to hold onto their seats even if the budgets in those assemblies are defeated. Even the semblance of democratic rule is being discarded.
Watching without remorse
Assuredly however, the fault lies not only in our politicians but also in us. As must be remembered with distaste, fiendish attacks were made against the 17th Amendment by good citizens who should have known better. Lawyers and retired judges accepted immoral and arguably unconstitutional Presidential appointments and watched without remorse as the system decayed beyond repair. Cerebral bankruptcy, it seems, is not limited to one species here. Perhaps we deserve this condemnation collectively as a nation.
So as grand celebrations are held in Matara, we will go about our tiny little lives regardless as this country fractures, its systems disintegrate and international scrutiny becomes sharply unforgiving. All indications are that India’s new Prime Minister will enforce a more assertive if not demanding foreign policy towards its neighbours. Marking of the end of war in Sri Lanka need therefore to be underlined by sharp notes of caution sounded on several fronts, national, regional and international, if we are wise. But we are not.
From his unmarked and destroyed grave, the LTTE’s onetime Sun God of the Wanni must surely be chortling in glee.

JVP meets Sobitha Thero


sobitha theroA discussion took place yesterday (18) at the JVP headquarters in Battaramula between leader of the leftist party Anura Kumara Dissanayake and representatives of the People’s Movement for a Just Society, led by Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera.

Movement members Krishantha Weliamuna, Nimal Punchihewa, Jayampathy Wickramaratne, all lawyers, as well as JVP politburo member Sunil Handunnetti too, participated.
Focus of the discussion was on possible consensus at a future presidential election, based on the Movement’s proposals for the abolition of the executive presidency and the implementation of the 17th amendment.
The JVP too, has stressed the need to abolish the executive presidency and for a social transformation to resolve socio-political and economic issues.
The two sides have agreed to hold further discussions.

The Judicial Mind And Judicial Matters In Sri Lanka

Colombo Telegraph

By Rajan Philips -May 18, 2014 
Rajan Philips
Rajan Philips
What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind. You might cynically apply this old aphorism to the judicial mind and judicial matters in Sri Lanka. Increasingly, the grey matter of intelligence, erudition, wisdom and independence is becoming too scarce in Sri Lanka’s judicial mind, and what can you do when you hear of judicial matters such as the now customary cavalier appointments to the Supreme Court, except shrug and sigh: Never mind! But for lawyer and popular commentator Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, and co-authors, Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne and Gehan Gunatilleke, shrugging off judicial matters and saying “never mind” has never been an option. So they have brought out a new monograph entitled “The Judicial Mind in Sri Lanka; Responding to the Protection of Minority Rights”, in the midst of questionable and controversial presidential appointments to the superior courts. The book’s focus is narrower and sharper in that it is limited to a critical analysis of court rulings involving minority rights. Yet, the book and its timing bring into broad relief the hugely troubled terrain of the Sri Lankan judiciary. At the same time, by chronicling and critiquing over forty individual court rulings in different areas of the law and in judicially significant historical periods, the book brings to light the surprisingly broad scope of judicial complicity in the undermining of minority rights by the legislature and the executive.
                    Read More

Attack Of The Mutants: ICES (Colombo) And Other Accidents


By Darshanie Ratnawalli -May 18, 2014 
 Darshanie Ratnawalli
Darshanie Ratnawalli
Where the mainstream academics are not very alert, discerning or prolific, the lunatic fringe will soon grow like a cancer and outweigh them in respectability. This happened in Sri Lanka to an unbelievable degree across a wide swath of social sciences including history, linguistics and anthropology. The mainstream was not vigilant enough in watching out for the mutant. Maybe there were just too many mutants. Mutants backed by other mutants, who fronted for yet bigger mutants.
In the 1990s, which was much more the day of the mutants than the 2010s can ever be, International Centre for Ethnic Studies (Colombo) engaged on a project to promote the official languages provisions in the 13th and 16thamendments to the constitution. They organized workshops in collaboration with the Department of Official Languages, made some films and last but not least, commissioned a study[i] by Mr. Theva Rajan, who now enjoys the distinction of being one of the two elected members allocated to New Zealand in the Transnational Constituent Assembly of Tamil Elam. ICES (Colombo) published Mr. Theva Rajan’s study (text) with a foreword by ‘Editor, ICES (Colombo)’, a ghost title[ii].
                            Read More
The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka
A female Judicial Medical Officer this week told a High Court inquiry into the killing of British national Khuram Shaikh, that during the attack in Tangalle, his Russian girl friend (Victoria) had suffered injuries which could have been fatal. The trial was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Rohini Walgama this week.
The incident took place on Christmas Day in 2011 at ‘The Nature’ Hotel in Tangalle where the British national was fatally shot and his fiancé beaten up and sexually assaulted by the suspects in the case. The suspects are Obada Arachchige Lahiru Kelum, U. Saman Deshapriya, Sampath Vidanapathirana (former Chairman (UPFA) of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha), Weerappulige Praneeth Chathuranga, Mohottige Sarath and Sarana arachchi Patabendige Chanuka Chathuranga.
Senior State Counsel Thusith Mudalige was leading the evidence of the witness.
Karapitiya Hospital Assistant JMO Dr. L.S.Dhammi Gunahewa told court that the injury to the skull (injury 1) had been sustained as a result of a severe blow with a blunt weapon, while the injury on the cheek (injury 2) had been received due to an attack with a broken bottle. She said there were other injuries on the forehead which could have occurred due to a fall while there were more injuries near the right eye and near the left ankle.
Dr. Gunahewa noted that there were injuries on the right breast (injury six) caused due to it being bitten hard and an injury on the left breast (injury seven). She also had injuries below the vagina (injury eight) and on the right thigh (injury nine).
Dr. Gunahewa said during examination of the sexual organs Victoria was in pain due to injuries caused by a sexual assault or caused by other injuries.
She said on examination of the injuries it could be inferred that the injuries were caused by a sexual assault.
Senior State Counsel Thusith Mudalige appeared for the prosecution. The first accused Lahiru Kelum was represented by Jayantha Weerasinghe, P.C.
Attorneys Dilan Amarakoon, Ranjith Senanayake and Pradeep Jayakody appeared for W. Arachchige Lahiru Kelum alias Ravindra.
Attorneys Suresh Kariyawasam, Asith Siriwardana and Nalinda Indratissa appeared for Uduwanage Saman Deshapriya.
Kalinga Indatissa, PC., with Hemantha Gamage Chamika Hewapathirana and Niroshan Siriwardana appeared for Sampath Chandra Pushpa Widanapathirana.
Attorneys Suranga Munasinghe and Dhammika Hewapathirana appeared for Weerappulige Praneeth Chathuranga. Attorneys Vikum Panagoda and U.R. De Silva appeared for Mohottige Sarath alias Sahan while Counsel Rohana Deshapriya and Razeek Zarook, P.C., appeared for Sarana Arachchipatabedige Chanuka Chathuranga. The trial continues.