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

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Architects Plan to Turn Brazil’s Empty Stadiums Into Housing For Homeless

http://themindunleashed.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/football.jpg

18 July, 2014
An estimated 250,000 people were evicted from their homes to make way for the World Cup games.  After the games were over, there were a dozen large stadiums left behind that will mostly lay vacant and unused, after hundreds of thousands of people were forced from their homes.
Two French architects named Axel de Stampa and Sylvain Macaux have proposed a possible solution to this problem in their new “1 Week 1 Project” plan.
The project “Casa Futebol” proposes a reappropriation of the stadiums renovated or built for the World Cup using modules of housing of a surface of 105 m ². It is not a question of denying the interest of Brazilians people for the soccer, otherwise of proposing an alternative in the deficit of housing.  Stadiums will continue to be used, receiving soccer matches, a part of the ganancies of which can finance the construction and the maintenance of the houses.
With homelessness being such a problem all over the world, people who want to make a difference are starting to think outside of the box to develop creative and peaceful ideas to solve this problem without relying on the force of government.  It is interesting in this case that events will continue to happen in the stadium, and that the revenue from those events will be used to fund the housing.
This is similar to a plan that has recently been developed in Europe, where advertisers and activists are joining together to create billboard housing, that will allow homeless people to live in luxurious roadside apartments that have billboards on the side of them.  The advertising revenue from the billboards fund the property and utilities, and everyone ends up in a better situation than they were before.
In Brazil and in the rest of the world, poverty is not going to be solved by the government.  Average people with unique skills and ideas are going to need to come together peacefully to create solutions to this very complex problem.  This story and others like it show that this effort is actually already taking place all over the world.
Credits: trueactivist.com

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

An Open Letter To YPLF On Reconciliation


| by Laksiri Fernando
To: Vasantha Senanayake MP, Raghu Balachandran MP, Shehan Semasinghe MP, Hunais Farook MP, Niroshan Perera MP, Harin Fernando MP, and others.

( July 23, 2014, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) I write this letter to appreciate your statement on behalf of the Young Political Leaders Forum (YPLF) in remembrance of the dreadful events of July 1983 and to mark your determination not to allow or prevent another July 83 in the future. You are quite right in calling for ‘active social engagement of youth both in Sri Lanka and within the Diaspora in the reconciliation process.’ I also appreciate your bipartisan approach on this matter. However, the main task before all of us is to walk the talk.
It is my view that the long term reconciliation in the country should begin in schools and in this context that you may have a role to play in intervening or lobbying in reforming the school curricular, teacher training and allocation of resources for ‘reconciliation education’ that should include multiculturalism, plurality, language training and most importantly human rights. Human rights education in schools is a neglected area in the recent past and you may pay attention to resurrect or rescue it.

Both from a long term and a present-day perspective, universities are equally or more important. As young MPs, you may have a direct rapport with the university students. However, the reconciliation efforts or activities might not be workable without a sympathetic eye for the students’ grievances in other areas. The teachers/academics are also important. The universities did have an admirable reconciliation program sometime back but unfortunately this has become neglected in the ensuing euphoria of war victory. It might be very easy for you to encourage resurrecting this effort with the association, for example, of FUTA. More interactions between universities in the North, South and the East are important.

While your determination to prevent the recurrence of July 83 is laudable we all have to admit that similar events did happen this June at Aluthgama against a different minority community. Most unfortunately many of the rioters were youth. Perhaps the awareness about minority rights or religious tolerance is abysmal among at least some of the youth. How to correct this? You may have to take a stand against the perpetrators.

Let me relate some experiences in respect of general education and building awareness. The Peace Building Project (under the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs) conducted a popular Subharathi (Sinhala and Tamil) radio program and the results were extremely positive. There were many simply written publications. The PBP staff traversed the country to educate the youth and conduct programs, of course within certain financial limitations. These and many more effective programs might be necessary to educate the youth today.

Let me delve on a broader matter. It is my view that the question of reconciliation cannot be divorced from other matters of social justice, human rights and democratization. Unless we voice the grievances of the poor and deal with them, they are the most vulnerable for antagonistic politics on ethnic/religious or other lines. Instigators are usually the opportunistic leaders. Dealing with reconciliation in isolation will fail. There should be a holistic view. Therefore, I would like to encourage you to deal with broader justice issues including fighting against corruption.

At last but not least. You have correctly identified the Diaspora as an important arena where reconciliation is necessary and important. I am now part of Diaspora. I belonged to the Sri Lanka Reconciliation Forum, NSW, and the SLRF is giving much emphasis on encouraging youth for reconciliation. Although I cannot speak formerly on behalf of the SLRF, I am sure that any of you intend to visit this part of the world, down under, the SLRF would be most happy to accord an opportunity to address the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims living here who are in essence not that antagonistic like back home in my view and experience.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Laksiri Fernando

PS. I have also noticed that among your Young Leaders there are no Young women. I won’t ask you why, but wish you to pay attention to this matter as well.

Changing course!


Is the sudden announcement of a local war crimes inquiry including expertise from top foreign prosecutors intended to mount a legal defence for the Government against the UN investigation or will it be a parallel process against international moves unfolding in Geneva over the next few years?

 July 24, 2014 
The Presidential proclamation came like a bolt from the blue. For one endlessly-suspended moment, the world according to the Rajapaksa administration had turned topsy-turvy.
After five years of stringent denials and rejections, zero casualty claims, military courts of inquiry and war censuses, President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a proclamation last Thursday announcing the launch of a domestic investigation into alleged war crimes and the conduct of his armed forces in the waning days of the war.


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By Shamindra Ferdinando-July 22, 2014

Had the Sri Lankan government fulfilled its commitments and addressed contentious issues it wouldn't have been in crisis today and, therefore, the ruling coalition should accept the responsibility for the current situation, TNA leader, R. Sampanthan told The Island yesterday.

The TNA leader said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had repeatedly assured India of his commitment to 13 Amendment and in some instances even talked of 13 Amendment Plus. Indian Premier Narendra Modi raised the devolution issue at his first meeting with President Rajapaksa following his swearing in ceremony in New Delhi.

The Trincomalee District MP was responding to Chairman of the ruling Bharatiya Janatha Party's Committee on Strategic Action Dr. Subramanian Swamy's advice to Sri Lanka's Tamil leadership to tackle contentious issues through negotiations.

Declaring that Sri Lanka had never had an ethnic problem, the former Union Minister Swamy declared that the ethnic issue here was nothing but a figment of British imagination.

Swamy said that India couldn't compel Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment though New Delhi took it up on numerous occasions. The BJP official referred to the reluctance on the part the Sri Lankan government to implement some provisions.

Swamy also referred to recent media reports that the TNA had agreed to submit an affidavit to the Supreme Court, accepting the country's unitary status. Dismissing war crimes allegations propagated by a section of the international community targeting Sri Lanka, Swamy said that people of India didn't care for the LTTE or its supporters. He explained the the post-war projects undertaken by the LTTE rump with money made available through illegal transactions, including drugs.

Swamy also dismissed accusations that the Sri Lankan Army engaged in genocide.

Asked why he and MP M. A. Sumanthiran, remained silent when they had an opportunity to challenge the BJP delegation, MP Sampanthan said: Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Swamy is free to express his views. Although, the former Union Minister seems overtly inclined towards the government of Sri Lanka, I didn't want to quarrel with him. Whatever, the visiting delegation said, Indian Premier Modi is on record having taken up our issue with President Rajapaksa."

Commenting on Swamy's harsh criticism of the US, UK and Norway, the TNA leader said that Norway had to tackle a very difficult task. Persuading the LTTE back to the negotiating table was a herculean task, he said, adding that Norwegian efforts should be appreciated, though their role was terminated at a certain point.

Norwegian ambassador Grete Løchen was also present at the event. She was visibly surprised when Swamy urged the Sri Lankan government to go on the offensive on the human rights front and not to give visas to Norwegians.

VIDEO: IUSF protest in Fort

VIDEO: IUSF protest in Fort

logoJuly 23, 2014
Some 1,000 university students today staged a protest in Fort demanding the authorities to revoke the decision of the university administrations to suspend the studentship of 28 undergraduates.

The students initially staged the protest near the Fort Railway Station and later marched towards the University Grant Commission (UGC) in Ward Place, Colombo 07, creating heavy traffic jams in and around Town-hall and Fort. 

Undergraduates from universities island-wide participated in the protest which was organized by the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF). 

The students chanted slogans and demanded the UGC to revoke the decision to of the Rajarata University administrations to suspend studentship of undergraduates.

Pricking The Conscience On Reminiscences Of ‘Black July’


By Austin Fernando -July 23, 2014
Austin Fernando
Austin Fernando
Colombo TelegraphSix years back I wrote the article below.  The polarization I mentioned then remains more the same between Tamils and Sinhalese, though a little reconciled, even after eliminating the worst adversary- the Tigers.
Instead of the Tamils, Muslims are at the receiving end now, in a miniature size. The complaint by some is that Muslims fault by creating problems. Muslims complain of Sinhala extremist provocations. The venom against Tamils then has been diverted towards Muslims. One Muslim political authority has exceeded the limits by inferring to the internationals of a Muslim genocide. There was suspicion that business interests were behindanti-Tamil riots then, in addition to politicians’ engagement. The same objective is alleged now by Muslims- i.e. to kill Muslim economic prowess.
Black July 83 -  Boralla | Photo - Chandraguptha Amarasingha
Black July 83 – Boralla | Photo – Chandraguptha Amarasingha
In turn, instead of domestic terror supported by the Tamil Diaspora then, focus has allegedly shifted now to domesticated international Muslim terror. As in 1983, extremists of both groups exchange allegations of fanning trouble. The government tries pacification, but it is suspected as much as the 1983 government had been for 1983 mayhem. Police were blamed for inaction then and it is repeated this time too. Instead of ethnic violence alone then, now the interpretations are communal plus religious, which is a deviation.
                    Read More
Statement by the Leader of the Official Opposition regarding the Black July Pogrom
The Leader of the Official Opposition, Tom Mulcair made the following statement regarding the Black July pogrom:
“Today, New Democrats’ thoughts are with the Tamil community in Canada and around the world as we commemorate Black July.
We remember the hundreds of Tamils who were killed and the thousands who were displaced when their homes and businesses were destroyed in Sri Lanka from the violence that ensued from the pogroms targeting Tamils that began on July 23, 1983. The perpetrators and organizers of the violence have never been held accountable for their actions.
As we remember, New Democrats renew our commitment to defend the human rights of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka and press for accountability. Canada and the world have a responsibility to ensure to ensure that basic human rights principles are upheld by all countries. We also strongly condemn the Sri Lankan government’s ban on diaspora groups in Canada and around the world.
Lest we forget.”

Black July 1983 remembered



23 July 2014
Black July 1983Today Eelam Tamils around the world mark thirty-one years from the horrors of the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, when Tamils were killed by Sinhala mobs backed by the then UNP government and state forces.

Armed with electoral rolls, Sinhala mobs targeted Tamil homes and businesses looting and ransacking property. Driven from their homes, particularly in Colombo, over 3000 Tamils were massacred, whilst thousands more were effectively deported by the state to the North-East. 


Active Engagement Of Youth Imperative For Reconciliation: YPLF


July 23, 2014
1983 July | pic by Chandraguptha Amarasingha - A Tamil boy stripped naked and later beaten to death by Sinhala youth in Boralla bustation
1983 July | pic by Chandraguptha Amarasingha – A Tamil boy stripped naked and later beaten to death by Sinhala youth in Boralla bustation
Colombo Telegraph

Young Political Leaders Forum of Sri Lanka (YPLF) issuing a media statement in remembrance of the ‘July 1983‘ events has called for active social engagement of youth both in Sri Lanka and within the Diaspora in the reconciliation process.

The young politicians of YPLF to which includes UPFA MP Vasantha Senanayake, SLFP MP Shehan Semasinghe, UNP MPs Niroshan Perera and Harin Fernando, ACMC MP Hunais Farook and TNA representative Raghu Balachandran in their statement have pointed out that it is the responsibility of the youth and youth-led groups to ensure that another July 83 does not recur.
They have highlighted that roles played by youth in reconciliation is imperative in promoting peace through dialogue and understanding as they are often seen as positive agents for change.
“They need to constructively engage – both individually and collectively – in encouraging values of respect and acceptance between and within communities,” the young MPs have pointed out adding it would ultimately help create an atmosphere that encourages civic engagement and positive feelings of belongingness among youth in Sri Lanka.
Furthermore in the statement, the YPLF members have reiterated the importance of accepting and respecting difference among people and of believing that diversity is the strength and the beauty of our society.
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The Need To Remember


Colombo TelegraphBy Rajiva Wijesinha -July 23, 2014 
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP
In July 2008, when I was head of the Peace Secretariat, I published a volume entitled ‘Lest We Forget’, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ethnic violence of July 1983. I had wanted the President to preside over a meeting to express regrets, but he did not think this appropriate at the time. However I had no doubt that, as a member in 1983 of the opposition that also suffered from the authoritarianism of the Jayewardene government, he understood the enormity of what had happened in 1983.
Now I am not so sure. Though he has reacted much better to the events atAluthgama than Jayewardene did, he has not been firm enough in ensuring zero tolerance for racism. And though he recognizes that the activities of theBBS and its leader are destructive, he seems to think that they have emerged through an international conspiracy. The pronouncements of close associates in government who have encouraged the attitudes propounded by the BBS (or, on a charitable view, fallen headlong into the trap laid by the supposed international conspirators) is ignored.
Worse the President also seems to believe in the danger presented by Muslim extremists. It is unfortunate that he does not see that a more irrational version of such fears is the purported raison d’etre of the conspirators he criticizes. What is then an essential ambiguity suggests that, unless he assesses the situation more carefully, we are in danger of descending into the mess caused by the Jayewardene government in 1983.
                                                                   Read More  

Wigneswaran gets ‘UN Lesson’ on Sri Lankan ‘Unitary State’

TamilNet[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 July 2014, 23:19 GMT]
The UN Resident Coordinator in the island, who also assumes the role of Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN System, has recently neglected the request by Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran to partner with the Northern Provincial Council ‘Government’ to conduct a comprehensive Need Assessment Report on the requirements of the war-affected population in North and instead entered into an agreement with the Colombo Government Ministry to conduct the same project. This was revealed to the public by Mr CV Wigneswaran himself, at a public address delivered by him on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Chavakachcheari Town Hall on Saturday. 



English translation of the Tamil transcript of what Mr Wigneswaran told the gathering on his interaction with the UN Representative in Colombo follows:

“Recently, I requested the United Nation's Resident Coordinator to work with the Northern Provincial Council to conduct and submit a comprehensive Need Assessment Report to identify the special requirements of the war-affected population here and to propose appropriate measures through their research in order to properly address the needs of the affected population. The immediate response was very positive and it looked like a full cooperation was going to be extended by the UN Resident Coordinator on the effort.

“But, what happened in practice? 

“Neglecting us, an agreement was signed with a [Sri Lankan] Government Minister on the same project. 

“It was the same [SL] minister who was earlier issuing reports to media that I should come and see him. This SL minister had interfered without our knowledge and entered into an agreement with the UN Resident Coordinator. 

“When we questioned the UN Resident Representative, the response was that the UN could enter into agreements only with the [Colombo] Government and not with the Provincial Council. 

“There was no responsible answer from the UN Resident Representative to the question that why they had entered into this agreement without informing us. 

“Not only that. When we questioned the UN Resident Representative, why the NPC was not even included in the Steering committee, the UN representative was telling us that we would be ‘consulted’ before proceeding with the project.”

“Things are taking place like the brood parasitism of laying eggs in the nests of crows

“The conduct of [SL] Government and its collaborators throughout the country reminds us as if their interpretation of politics is committing injustice,” Wigneswaran said.

* * *

Wigneswaran in his speech was also referring to habitual lies coming from Mahinda Rajapaksa. 

The CM was referring to Rajapaksa ditching a promise on the transfer of the Chief Secretary, who is not committed to the work of the province but engages in sabotages.

The Colombo minister involved in the UN project hijack and was accused of ‘brood parasitism’ by Wigneswaran was Basil Rajapaksa, news sources in Jaffna said.

Mahinda Before Fire In The North


| by Upul Joseph Fernando 

( July 23, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) When former President D.B. Wijetunga met people at his retirement home in Kandy, he used to say that his engagement with the Southern Provincial Council was a folly. UNP was never strong in the South. The UNP strategy at the Southern Provincial Council election finally paved way for Chandrika to come to power. But Wijetunga did not understand it at that moment. In warfare also it is advised to lure the enemy into a field in which you are strong. It is always foolish to engage with the enemy on the ground where he is strong.
EU expresses ‘concern’ over NGOs as restrictions are placed on receiving foreign funds
23 July 2014
The European Union, Switzerland and Norway on Wednesday expressed concern about the recent restrictions placed on non-governmental organisations by Sri Lanka, a day after the government published a notice, banning NGOs from receiving foreign funds without prior approval from the finance ministry.
The notice, published in most national newspapers, was addressed to “All government agencies, local institutions, civil society organizations, and the general public” and demanded that “due diligence be observed on the utilisation of funds received from foreign funding agencies, INGOs and any other source”.
The joint statement by the Heads of Missions of the EU and the ambassadors of Switzerland and Norway, said that they “are very concerned about the recent efforts to restrict legitimate public activities of civil society and non-governmental organisations in Sri Lanka.”
“We urge the Sri Lankan authorities to respect the right of every individual to exercise their freedom of expression, opinion, association and assembly and to take part in the public affairs without undue interference,
“We call upon the Sri Lankan authorities to create a safe and enabling environment in which civil society can operate free from hindrance and insecurity,” the statement said.
The government recently announced severe restrictions on the activity of NGOs warning them against running press conferences, workshops or releasing press releases, and accusing many of working to topple the government.


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July 22, 2014
The importance of an independent judiciary will dawn only when you are in the Opposition. Mr. Sirisena Corray became free and was able to walk free as there was an independent judiciary. People sometimes gets affected, when, with the enormous powers it has, the Supreme Court tries to arrest the sand mining activities in Deduru Oya, usurp the original jurisdiction of a Magistrate, conduct inquiries and sentence people to jail.

Events Flow On, Politicians Rejoice And A Nation Weeps…


Ranil-and-Mahinda - colombo telegraphColombo Telegraph
By Vishwamithra1984 -July 23, 2014
“Through me you go into a city of weeping; through me you go into eternal pain; through me you go amongst the lost people” ~Dante Alighieri, The Inferno
All indications of certain societal decay are present; the symptoms of a terminal sickness are frighteningly manifest in the body politic of the country. Yet no one, no physician, no surgeon, no psychiatrist or any other medical practitioner or a social scientist has diagnosed the illness. Every signal is pointing towards a cancerous malady in the making, the progressive indices of which have been evident for quite some time but has evaded studied investigations by any expert. I have been telling this for quite some time and written extensively on the subject but there does not seem to be any slowing down of the trend. While I am not pretending to be listened to or taken notice of, the natural progression of the process has been signifying every possible signal that the country is heading in the wrong direction, not only in the sphere of economics and politics but more so in the moral and societal degeneration aspects. Dante’s Inferno seems to have entrapped Sri Lanka as one whole entity, leaving the most gruesome punishments to politicians and those who consume national treasures and collective coffers of the country as if they are their personal bequest.
The evident acts of undiluted corruption, nepotism at every level of political administration and especially in spheres in which intelligence, brain power and education should supersede family connections, crime advancing at alarmingly exponential rates which seem to have broken every measurable scale, religious and racial hatred increasing between communities and religions with no conceivable check and balance neither on the part of the Government nor on any civil or legal organization, are all pointing towards a cliff of social disarray and moral chaos. To quote Dante Alighieri himself, “the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”                                     Read More     

South Africa Taken For A Ride By President Rajapaksa


| by S. V. Kirubaharan

( July 23, 2014, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) The present desperate situation of Rajapaksa’s regime has compelled it to seek the friendship of some popular and powerful countries. They have tried everywhere from NEWS – North, East, West and South, but are unable to find the right ones. They have found China, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Venezuela, etc., but these are in the same boat as the Rajapaksa regime, on human rights, war crimes or crimes against humanity.


BBS attacks in Aluthgama


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by Zacki Jabbar-

The Attorney General Palitha Fernando has assured the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) that he will not hesitate to prosecute anyone against whom there was evidence in connection with the violent attacks that were perpetrated against the Alutgama and Beruwela Muslims last month, which led to loss of lives and massive destruction to mosques, houses and business premises of both committees.

The AG was responding to the BASL’s call for the prosecution of BBS General Secretary Ven. Galabodaaththe Gnanasara Thera as there was sufficient prima facie evidence that he had played a leading role in the violent attacks against the Muslims of Alutgama and Beruwela on June 15 and 16, 2014.

BASL President Upul Jayasuriya had said in his communication to the AG: "The speech that Gnanasara Thera made in Alutgama on June 15, contains offensive material inciting racial hatred against the Muslims. Sufficient prima facie evidence exists to prosecute the Thera under the PTA, ICCPR Act and the Penal Code. We, are of the view that no meaningful steps have been taken in this respect."

The AG, replying Jayasuriya, has said that the matters referred to by him are being investigated by the law enforcement authorities according to the information furnished to him. "On completion of the investigations, I shall independently and objectively consider the material, as required to be undertaken by the Attorney General in order to decide upon the possible charges. Hence, it would be both incorrect and inappropriate for me to hold anyone responsible at this stage. I assure you that I shall not hesitate to prosecute any offenders against whom evidence is available and to discharge any person against whom there is no evidence, once the investigations are complete and the notes of investigation are duly submitted to me."

He has also informed the BASL that if there are any shortcomings in the Police investigation, they should be brought to the notice of the Inspector General of Police.

Meanwhile, the AG has forwarded the leaflet and BASL complaint containing material relevant to the Alutgama and Beruwela violence, which was submitted to him, to the IGP for necessary action.

Jayasuriya, while setting out the attacks that took place against the Alutgama Muslims on June 15 and 16, some of which had occurred while the curfew was in force, also drew the attention of the AG to the failure of the Police and the STF to act immediately in preventing the killings  and destruction of property. "The elected body of the unofficial bar is  expected to perform a broader role in the due enforcement of the rule of law in our country and not merely as lawyers representing aggrieved parties to which you had adverted. You are fully aware that the lack of due diligence by most stakeholders has caused untold hardship and suffering to a large number of persons affected by the violence. In addition, indifference to the responsibilities vested in the law enforcement agencies has resulted in serious international concern as well. We believe that all of us have a duty to ensure high standards in the enforcement of the rule of law without fear or favour".

The BASL has, inter alia, raised objections to the Police clearing the debris of the burnt down mosques, houses and the business establishments without calling the Government Analyst to inquire.

The Police have claimed that the widespread violence that occurred in different areas in the Kalutara district on June 15 and 16 June, had arisen from a clash between the Sinhalese and Muslim communities. But, the BASL has said: "We, in the BASL have visited most of the affected areas and met a large number of people. The Police reports of a clash are absolutely misleading. In almost all cases it was a case of mobs attacking, looting and setting fire to Muslim businesses and houses. Over 95 percent of the damage had been caused to Muslims and Muslim owned properties, while a few Sinhala houses and shops had also come under attack. The attacks on the Muslim community had come mostly from unidentified persons who seemed to have been brought from outside and not the surrounding Sinhala villages. We have also gathered first hand eye witness accounts that the attacks took place in a number of instances in the presence of the Police and the STF, who took no action in certain instances to either tear gas, disperse or arrest any one of the attackers on the night of June 15.In a few instances they had facilitated the attacks that had taken place after curfew had been imposed".