Six dead, two missing as floods hit Indian-ruled Kashmir

People try to stop water flowing through the gate of a flood channel after incessant rains in Srinagar April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail--A man carries a woman as he wades through a flooded street after incessant rains in Srinagar April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

People wade through a flooded street after incessant rains in Srinagar April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail--A man stands amidst the rubble of a house which was damaged by incessant rains in Srinagar, April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

 Fri Apr 7, 2017

Six people were killed and two were reported missing in India's northern region of Kashmir on Friday, after heavy rain and snowfall swept the region, setting off avalanches and turning mountain rivers into raging torrents.

Helicopters were deployed to rescue people cut off by flash floods that revived memories of 2014, when the Jhelum River flowing through the region's main city, Srinagar, burst its banks, swamping homes and killing 200 people.

Snowfalls triggered multiple avalanches, defense spokesman Rajesh Kalia told Reuters.

"A post in Batalik sector was buried," he added. "Two out of five soldiers have been rescued. A rescue operation for three soldiers was in progress and three bodies have been recovered."

In the Poonch region, an Indian Air Force helicopter was guided by a soldier holding a flare toward a group of villagers stranded on the far bank of a river. They climbed a rope ladder into the craft, which then flew them to safety.

Rajiv Pandey, senior superintendent of police in Poonch, said 17 people were evacuated from the area.

In Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, some low-lying districts along the Jhelum were swamped but residents said the river was starting to recede.

"We are relieved as the water level is receding and the rains are reducing," said one resident. "We are praying that rain should stop."

(Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari and Reuters Television; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

More than 1 in 5 U.S. adults are infected with cancer-causing HPV, CDC report says

Vaccination during preteen or early adolescence protects against the human papillomavirus, which can cause certain cancers later in life in both men and women. (Matthew Busch for The Washington Post)

This post has been updated.

By Jia Naqvi April 6 at 3:44 PM

During a recent two-year period, almost 23 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 to 59 had a type of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) that put them at high risk of certain cancers, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Thursday.

That percentage jumped to more than 42 percent during 2013 to 2014 if any type of genital HPV was included, the CDC found. In both groups, prevalence was higher in men than in women.

“We tend to overlook the fact that 20 percent of us are carrying the virus that can cause cancer,” said Geraldine McQuillan, lead author of the report and a senior infectious-disease epidemiologist in the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. “People really need to realize that this is a serious concern.”

This is the first data CDC has compiled on HPV rates among men. Its previous research among teen girls and women looked at far fewer strains of the virus and included a younger, narrower age range — and, perhaps because of that, found a lower prevalence of high-risk HPV.

“What we know is that cervical cancer rates have remained relatively stable, but that being said, HPV-related cancer rates have been increasing,” said Lois Ramondetta, a professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. HPV has been linked to throat, tonsil, anal, vaginal and penile cancers as well as cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine can protect people from infection.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. The CDC estimates that nearly 80 million people are infected and that about 14 million new infections occur annually among teenagers and adults. Most of these go away on their own, typically without even causing symptoms, but some HPV strains can lead to genital warts and cancer. Each year, 31,000 men and women are diagnosed with cancers caused by HPV — which, in most cases, would have been preventable with the HPV vaccine, according to the CDC.

The CDC recommends HPV vaccinations for youths ages 11 to 12 so that they are protected before potential exposure to the virus through sexual contact. Vaccination rates have been increasing, but they still lag for boys and girls.

Lingering misconceptions and fears are among the reasons for the lower use of HPV vaccination, said Electra Paskett, a cancer control researcher at Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center. Some people still think vaccination encourages youth to become promiscuous. “The way [the vaccine] was introduced in Australia and the United Kingdom was as a cancer vaccine, which is truly what it is. It is a cancer vaccine,” Paskett said.

The CDC report also addresses oral HPV infections. From 2011 to 2014, their prevalence was 7 percent among those aged 18 to 69, it found. As with genital HPV, rates were higher for men than women overall and in all racial and ethnic groups. The same disparities also were found among those groups: Asians had the lowest rates and blacks had the highest rates.

Mullikulam – Renewed struggle to regain Navy occupied village

Pic 1 and 2: Mullikulam villagers living in temporary shelters – Malankaadu, 2013

Featured image courtesy the authors

 MARISA DE SILVA NILSHAN FONSEKA AND RUKI FERNANDO on 04/06/2017

My father, my father’s father and my father’s grand-father have lived here. Mullikulam has been our home for generations now. Our church was made during my great-grand-father’s time, way before I was even born. There were four streams running through our village. We even had one river just for bathing. When we couldn’t fish in the sea, we would fish in our streams. We had plenty of everything – paddy, cows, chickens and buffaloes, so we always had enough to eat and drink. We would gather together in the evenings and host drama and dance programmes. Everyone had a good time… We lived peacefully alongside our Muslim neighbours. Whenever there were troubles here during the war, we would go stay with them until it was safe for us to return home. I strongly believe that something good will happen for us this time around. Every day I pray that we will all live together peacefully. At least when I leave this earth I pray that we should all be united,” reminisces 88-year-old village elder from Mullikulam, M. Francis Vaz, who hasn’t been home since 2007.

On the 8th of September, 2007 the entire village of Mullikulam was unceremoniously evacuated by the Military with the promise of enabling their return within 3 days. Ten years later, these villagers are yet to be allowed to return to their homes and engage in their traditional livelihoods. Since their eviction from Mullikulam in 2007, the Navy North-Western Command Headquarters has been established there, occupying the entirety of their village. A decade-long relentless struggle comprising of multiple protests, petitions[1], discussions and false promises[2], have brought the villagers back to the streets.

Mullikulam villagers forced to set up in jungle – Malankaadu – June 2012 – pictures via NAFSO

Currently there are approximately 120 families temporarily resettled in Malankaadu[3], and 150 families in Kayakuli. About 100 families (including extended family) left for India due to war and displacement, but are waiting to return if their village is returned to them.

“We (about 50 villagers from both Malankaadu and Kayakuli), re-commenced our protest for the return of our lands, on Thursday (23 March) morning around 8am. The Navy came outside and asked us ‘why are you protesting here? Why not in front of the District Secretariat (DS) office? We will provide you with buses to go and protest there. You’re protesting against us even though we’ve helped you so much,’” said villagers. “They (the Navy) wouldn’t need to provide us with “help” if they just give us back our lands,” added the villagers.

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Thousands protest Musali land-grab gazette

06 Apr  2017

Residents of Marichchukatti, a Muslim village have been protesting calling for the repeal of the gazette notification.

Last week, a protest march in support of the villagers was organised by community leaders at Marichchukatti mosque and attended by thousands.

Anandasangari and Premachandran take on Sambanthan 

 

By Harim Peiris-April 5, 2017, 9:35 pm

In Sri Lanka’s ethnically polarized political society, the political discourse of both the Sinhala and Tamil polity is sadly limited and largely restricted to being within their own respective communities, with occasional broadsides against each other. There is insufficient dialogue and engagement between the different political views, especially on the issues of reconciliation. Within that context, it was interesting to note recently the call by two former Members of Parliament for the Jaffna District, V. Anandasangaree and Suresh Premachandra, for TNA and Opposition Leader R. Sambanthan resign as Leader of the Opposition. They accused him of using the Opposition Leader’s position to defend the government and the reconciliation process, which they claim has not addressed the needs of the Tamil community.

1. The call echoes that of the Joint Opposition (JO)

The call by the two former Jaffna District MPs from the TULF and the EPRLF, both now leading their respective minor parties, the former without Parliamentary representation and the latter with a single member in Vanni District MP, Shivashakthi Anandan elected on the TNA / ITAK ticket, are, no doubt, aware that their call echoes that of various Joint Opposition(JO) leaders, who have at various times been repeatedly calling upon Mr. Sambanthan to resign and hand over the opposition leader position to the JO. When Tamil leaders find that their tactical moves are converging with that of the JO, who have diametrically opposite views regarding the reconciliation process, it should make them pause and reflect on the wisdom of their tactics.

2. Sambanthan’s leadership post the end of the war

It is worth noting the significant leadership which Mr. Sambanthan, has given the Tamil community and consequently made them partners in a reconciliation process after the end of the war. The destruction of the LTTE in 2009, created a political power vacuum in the Tamil community, which the veteran democratic leader quickly and adroitly filled, bringing the traditional leaders of the Tamil community back into control of the community, through the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) led TNA. This was no small feat, since there were many "wanna be" successors to Prabhakaran from the now surrendered KP, to the Diaspora based Nediyavan or Rudrakumara of TGTE and the ITAK’s old bete noire and historic opponents, the Ponnambalam family scion Gajendrakumar led All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC). Even the war era, "sole alternative to the sole representative" as Douglas Devananda of the EPDP liked to style himself, tried to fill the power vacuum from the other side of the spectrum aligning himself with the Rajapakse regime and trying to get the UPFA / EPDP to power in the North and East. However, in election after election, beginning from the local government elections in 2010, the Eastern Provincial Council elections thereafter, which the TNA came quite close to winning, the Northern Provincial Council election which it did win and the General Elections of both 2010 and 2015, the TNA swept the polls in the North and baring Ampara District even the East, capturing way over eight five percent (85%) of the Tamil vote and delivering a consistent and stunning political rebuke to its internal critics and challengers. While the situations are not comparable, Mr. Sambanthan and the TNA has had a lock and monopoly on Tamil support at over 85%, which even President Rajapaksa at the zenith of his power, in the 2010 elections never had on the Sinhala electorate. The TNA’s high levels of support by their constituency has held steady from post the end of the war in 2009 through the present.

3. Removing the LTTE from Tamil electoral politics and the TNA

Under Mr. Sambanthan’s leadership the TNA post war made some significant moves, all the time carrying the support of the Tamil people. Firstly, the TNA, eschewed inducting former LTTE leaders and members into its ranks. There was a temptation for the TNA, to glorify and seek to run on a platform of sympathy for and empathy from the defeated LTTE. From Daya Master to KP, to various other LTTE political and military wing survivors, there were many who wished to get into active politics. However, the TNA eschewed this temptation and harked back to a former prewar era, drawing inspiration from the non-violent struggle and political life of SJV Chelvanayagam, rather than encouraging a nostalgia for the LTTE. While doing so, Sampathan pulled off the near impossible, in deftly moving away from the famous Vaddukodai resolution on separatism, by repeatedly, publicly and categorically committing to seeking power sharing within a united, indivisible and undivided Sri Lanka. That all this was done, in the ashes of the LTTE’s defeat and in the context of significant nostalgia for the LTTE within the Tamil community, especially in the Vanni, speaks volumes for Mr. Sambanthan’s political sagacity and skills.

4. Engaging the South as a partner in reconciliation

It is however in the engagement with the South, that Mr. Sambanthan has played his best game yet. Within a space of a few years, he turned Tamil politics from a near three decades long armed confrontation with the Sri Lankan State, to becoming a political ally and partner in the rainbow coalition which swept the seemingly undefeatable Mahinda Rajapaksa from power. Mr. Sambanthan’s logic was simple enough. Everybody’s rights, including that of the Tamil community is best secured by a robust liberal democratic society and not in a populist authoritarian one.

Furthermore, while progress on reconciliation has been slow, at times even painfully so, the direction has changed post the Sirisena / Wickramasinghe Administration. Some private land and houses occupied by the military in the North was released to their owners, NGOs and the volunteer sector were given the space to meet the needs of the vulnerable, some PTA detainees were released, the TNA were included in a coalition Administration in the Eastern Province together with the national parties and the SLMC to complement its provincial administration in the North, Governors for the North and East, who were partners in peace and development replaced the former military background appointees and a process of constitutional reform was begun. While none of these outcomes may have met all needs at the present time and the processes may not have proceeded as fast as Mr. Anandasangaree and Mr. Premachandran desires, to ignore the change of direction and the real gains made, albeit at a slow pace, is to miss significant and noteworthy progress and movement in the right direction, which did not happen by accident, but largely due to the quiet and dignified political leadership of Rajavarothian Sambanthan. The TNA may have its faults, but Sri Lanka as a whole is blessed that the leadership of the Tamil community moved away from Prabhakaran to Sambanthan.

Sri Lanka: Nature of State Repression in the Seventies

by Lionel Bopage- Apr 6, 2017

( April 6, 2017, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) At the outset let me express my gratitude to the comrades of the 71 Fraternity, for having invited me to express a few ideas on the Nature of State Repression in the Seventies, at the 46thCommemoration of the 1971 April Uprising.

Sri Lanka Nature of State Repression in the Seventies.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Has there been genuine national reconciliation in Sri Lanka?

By Dr. Archana Arul-:Apr 4, 2017

 

If there is considerable consternation in political circles in India over what took place at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva recently over a two-year extension for Sri Lanka to come to terms with issues of the post-conflict era, it is only understandable. 

 

Once again the international community, led by the United States and Britain, have given one more chance to the powers that be in Colombo to put in motion a judicial and political process that squarely comes to term with the national reconciliation process.

 

That there has been constant huffing and puffing on how to go about the procedural aspects of substantive issues in the island nation has been conveniently glossed over -- for now, there is another extension and in the name of a Consensus Resolution on which there was no vote. 

 

In the event of a division, member-nations would have been forced to spell out their views leading to embarrassing moments in the fashion they were going to characterise their versions of the goings on in Sri Lanka.

 

Colombo got the two-year extension to fully implement the commitments made under the 2015 Resolution but not before the top Human Rights official Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein made it known that Sri Lanka had registered only “slow progress” of reforms. 

 

Consistently, since the end of the ethnic conflict in 2009, the governments in Sri Lanka have been accused of war crimes especially during the final weeks of the war. The issue is not only the alleged killing of Tamil civilians but also of those families who have been demanding a closure on those who have disappeared during the course of the 26-year-long brutal war.

 

The regime of President Mahinda Rajapakse scoffed at a United Nations probe into the alleged crimes of the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and even going to the extent of denying entry of United Nations officials into the country. 

 

The coming of President Maithiripala Sirisena signalled a positive change in Colombo's attitude, but two years down the line there is a perception that the new scheme of things have not come to terms with war crimes, torture, unlawful killings and forced disappearances. And adding to all this is the persistent objection to formal internationalisation of any probe on war crimes.

 

Statistics vary but it is generally believed that more than 100,000 persons -- mostly Tamil civilians -- perished during the conflict and perhaps an equal number that have not been accounted for. Even at the recent Geneva meeting, Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harsha de Silva maintained that his government was striving to establish law of the land and end impunity under “Sri Lankan-government-led processes”. 

  

But Human Rights Watch echoed the views expressed by the Rights High Commissioner, especially in the rather slow implementation of the Council’s Resolution 30/1. 

 

“The promised office on enforced disappearances has yet to be established, although enabling legislation was passed in June 2016. Legislation to establish three other transitional justice mechanisms pledged under the 30/1 resolution remain in draft form. We are also concerned about other undertakings in the resolution that have not been implemented” HRW said in a statement a few days before the latest Geneva session.

 

Even more telling was the observation on security sector reforms. “... barring a handful of prosecutions in high profile cases, has simply not occurred. Torture by the security forces remains endemic, a fact underscored by the recent report of the Special Rapporteur on torture as well as by Human Rights Watch and other groups." 

 

The government talks about a “zero tolerance” policy against torture while in Geneva, "but takes no action back home”, the HRW said, a view that is endorsed by independent observers and Tamil Groups, including the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. To a very large extent, all these have been brushed aside by official Colombo in the past, especially by the Rajapakse regime, as having vested interests or pro-LTTE leaning sympathisers. 

 

“Sri Lanka took a strong step in co-sponsoring resolution 30/1, raising hopes and the promise of reconciliation, reform and justice  but the pace of progress, combined with contradictory government statements back home, risk undermining the confidence and trust so important to a successful outcome,” the HRW observed. In fact, one point that has been emphasised in the current debate is that the international body must have established benchmarks and time-lines for Sri Lanka as a way of ensuring its commitments to the international community. 

 

In the absence of this, there is a nagging fear that the two-year extension is nothing more than extending a process that has not even been firmly established. 

 

Further, one would have to bear in mind that the latest Consensus Resolution on giving Colombo another two years runs the risk of becoming embroiled in the election process of 2020. With Rajapakse hardliners keen on staging a comeback and the Sirisena group not wanting to abandon power, the net loser will be the national reconciliation process. 

 

And heading the list of losing propositions will be a genuine probe into the civilian killings and disappearances -- under the guise of national sovereignty. The world is already a witness to an “interesting” verbal duel between former Defence Secretary Mahinda Gotabaya and Army Chief Sarath Fonseka on who was responsible for the “top secret death squads” responsible for the killing of journalists and dissidents.  

 

That there has been a change in the political environment in Sri Lanka over the last two years is there for all to see. But the question to be asked is if Colombo has used this change of atmospherics and perceptions to put in place a genuine national reconciliation process. This is going to take time as seen from other societies that have been ravaged by a civil war that took its toll in human and material terms. 

 

To a country like India, the goings on in a friendly neighbour state have ramifications that are much beyond political, economic and strategic dimensions. It is also firmly entrenched in protecting the lives and livelihood of Tamils in that island nation who yearn to continue living there and with dignity.

 

(The author, an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Journalism and Mass Communication of the Faculty of Science and Humanities, SRM University, Chennai, specialises on issues of Identity, Assimilation and Alienation of Indian Diaspora. Comments and suggestions on this article can be sent to editor@spsindia.in) 

First Appreciation Of Thomas Paine & His ‘Common Sense’

By Laksiri Fernando –April 6, 2017

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” – Thomas Paine

There were few in history who were genuinely internationalist. Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was one whose Sri Lankan admirer, living currently in Germany, is our Amarasiri. This is written on his request in Colombo Telegraph. By saying so, I have broken the first principle of Thomas Paine who said “In the following sheets, the author hath studiously avoided everything which is personal among ourselves. Compliments as well as censure to individuals make no part thereof.” But our Sri Lankan ‘common sense’ is different. From the beginning, we gratify ourselves or friends and ‘censure’ the real or imagined enemies. We have lot of them in our baggage.

Paine was a cosmopolitan in a true sense of the word and believed in ‘multiple citizenships’ to himself. He played a major role in the American and French revolutions and tried his best to emulating them in Britain and Ireland, unfortunately without much success. In today’s parlance, he could have been branded as an international NGO dude or conspirator.

He was born in England (Norfolk) to an artisan family and his father was a tailor, making corsets to the nobility. That was also Paine’s occupation for a while. He had only a basic education, nevertheless with excellent writing skills from the beginning, and an open mind to the world of politics. Fighting for justice apparently was ingrained in his blood. When he emigrated to America in 1774, he was 37. That is where he blossomed into a radical and a popular philosopher. Otherwise he was considered a conservative. He apparently had some contacts with Benjamin Franklin by the time of his migration to America. His later acquaintance was mainly with Thomas Jefferson. What attracted him there perhaps was the simmering revolutionary firmament against the British crown. He was an outright republican.

Role in the American Revolution

Thomas Paine

Paine obtained employment as an assistant editor in the ‘Pennsylvania Magazine’ based in Philadelphia. Most of the other time, he was in Kopi-Kade (coffee-houses), associating with revolutionaries there. In January 1776, he published his ‘Common Sense’ pamphlet, the most powerful and widely read manifesto for independence from Britain. This was after the battles in Lexington and Concord in 1775 where many souls had to be sacrificed. Within a year, it sold over 150,000 copies and that is how he became a major figure in the American revolution.
There were series of writings even thereafter during the revolution. His pen became more powerful when there were set backs, than victories. All what he wrote were inspirational. When Washington’s troops had to withdraw in December 1776, facing the advancing brutal British troops, he wrote:

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Even in supporting the revolution, he was not ready to compromise what he believed to be justice and truth. When he was serving the Continental Congress, he had some quarrels with other ‘comrades’ or colleagues on matters of principle. The dispute with Silas Deane was one. He faced other odds with many as he was a newcomer to the scene. Some wanted to keep their authority or seniority. Therefore, his association with the Continental Congress also was short lived. But finally, he was proved to be correct. Silas Deane almost became a betrayer to the revolution by 1981. Even before, Paine was vindicated and appointed to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1779. He could be considered as a founding father of the United States. ‘The American Crisis’ was a pamphlet series that he wrote during 1776 and 1783 to earn his commitment to the revolution. In recent times both Presidents Reagan and Obama quoted him in their inaugural addresses.
His commitment to the revolution and America was unconditional. But he couldn’t become a blind patriot. Even Quincy Adams was discourteous to him on this matter. He said Paine had “no country and no affections that constitute pillars of patriotism.” What had to be admitted or admired was that Paine’s commitment was not to the country per se, but to the principles; what he believed to be justice or more correctly as ‘liberty and equality.’ Throughout Europe he stood for representative government instead of hereditary politics or monarchy.

Why Common Sense?

Paine was not an abstract theorist. That is why he appealed to the common sense. Liberty or equality was not abstract principles to him; they were closer to reason, nature and human sentiments. That is what he believed. However, he was a visionary. He believed and said, “We have it in our power to begin the world all over again.” Perhaps here he was little ‘utopian.’ He had to learn from bitter experiences that it is not so easy. He had his own disillusionments on these counts, especially after his role in the French revolution.

What is admirable about Paine particularly was he was a self-made man. He was wholly self-taught in political theory. He admitted that he had never read John Locke. Then what produced his political ‘philosophy’ was the circumstances and his thoughtful or often polemical reactions to them. Maybe he had a high IQ or something similar to that. Therefore, many reviewers (i.e. J. G. A. Pocock) found it difficult to fit him into any kind of category. He had benefitted immensely from coffee-house political arguments. He was reacting to them in a more thoughtful manner. It is said that he had an amazing memory. He also had a lot of travel baggage in terms of experiences and ideas. That is the best explanation that we can give for the roots of his ideas. Those were not definitely located in previous books.

He was also an innovative man, though not always practical. After the American revolution, he slowly left behind politics for a while, until he was inspired again to go to France in 1787. Not that he gave up or disillusioned about changing the world. But he wanted to experiment something else. He was involved in a series of innovations. He was experimenting a ‘smokeless candle’ and I think he succeeded. Now these are common. More importantly, he was designing a single-arched iron bridge. The rationale was that the concrete bridges stood on piers were unstable when ice floated during the spring. He designed a bridge of thirteen sections to represent thirteen states of new America. But the Pennsylvania Assembly was undecided whether to fund such a bridge, until he lost his patients and left the country. He did build such bridge in London (at Lisson Green), more as a show piece, but became dismantled after a while.

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Now, AI says credible investigation needed to ascertain numbers-Alleged killings and disappearances during war

 

By Shamindra Ferdinando-April 5, 2017, 12:00 pm 

The Amnesty International (AI) yesterday admitted that a credible investigation was required to ascertain the number of civilians killed as well as enforced disappearances during the conflict in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan military brought the war against the LTTE to a successful conclusion in May 2009.

A credible inquiry was necessary due to varying unsubstantiated estimates in respect of dead and the disappeared, the London headquartered AI acknowledged.

Having met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and toured the northern region, the AI briefed the media at the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) regarding post-January 2015 presidential polls situation and accountability issues.

AI’s Secretary General Salil Shetty accepted the need to properly investigate major allegations against Sri Lanka in the wake of government reiterating its commitment to Geneva Resolution 30/1 adopted on Oct 1, 2015.

Jeannine Guthrie,Researcher for Sri Lanka said a thorough and credible investigation was needed.

The resolution called for the setting up of a judicial mechanism inclusive of foreign judges, defence lawyers, prosecutors and authorized investigators.

The AI team admitted the requirement for credible investigation when The Island pointed out the sharp differences between the AI estimate that10,000 civilians perished during the final phase, whereas the UN placed the figure at over 40,000.

Guthrie emphasized that as the AI had asserted that at least 10,000 civilians had been killed the actual figure could be higher and it was followed by the UN report. The Island pointed out that the UN report had been released months before the AI report titled ‘When will they get justice?: Failures of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’ was launched in Sep 2011.

Shetty acknowledged that the report had been launched after he succeeded Irena Khan in mid 2010..

The Island raised Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan recently declaring in New Delhi that over 150,000 Tamils had been killed during three decades long conflict and the UK parliament told in Sept 2011 that 100,000 Tamils were killed during the period January-May 2009.

Asked whether it wouldn’t be better if those who had been propagating varying figures to reach a consensus among themselves regarding the number of dead the enforced disappearances, the AI again called for a credible investigation to reach consensus on the issue.The statement regarding 100,000 Tamil, both LTTE and civilians killed was made by a Labour Party MP.

Shetty at the onset of the briefing claimed that the number of enforced disappearances could be as many as 100,000.

Asked whether the AI would take up with New Delhi killings, disappearances and other atrocities that had occurred during the Indian Army deployment in Sri Lanka (July 1987-March 1990) and also the military intervention in the Maldives (Nov 1988), Shetty said that the AI was ready to raise accountability issues on the availability of evidence.

The AI Chief stressed that nobody was above the law and his organization steadfastly stood for investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity et al committed by all parties to the conflict.

The AI refrained from commenting on The Island observation that there hadn’t been any reference to Indian intervention in Sri Lanka in the 80s and alleged atrocities committed by the Indian Army and intelligence services.