British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia

Exclusive: GCHQ is said to have alerted US agencies after becoming aware of contacts in 2015

It is understood that GCHQ was not carrying out a targeted operation against Trump or his team, but picked up the alleged conversations by chance. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Robert Hannigan delivering a speech at GCHQ in Cheltenham in 2015. Photograph: Ben Birchall/Reuters

Luke Harding, Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Nick Hopkins-Thursday 13 April 2017

Britain’s spy agencies played a crucial role in alerting their counterparts in Washington to contacts between members of Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, the Guardian has been told.

Over the next six months, until summer 2016, a number of western agencies shared further information on contacts between Trump’s inner circle and Russians, sources said.

The European countries that passed on electronic intelligence – known as sigint – included Germany, Estonia and Poland. Australia, a member of the “Five Eyes” spying alliance that also includes the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, also relayed material, one source said.

Another source suggested the Dutch and the French spy agency, the General Directorate for External Security or DGSE, were contributors.

It is understood that GCHQ was at no point carrying out a targeted operation against Trump or his team or proactively seeking information. The alleged conversations were picked up by chance as part of routine surveillance of Russian intelligence assets. Over several months, different agencies targeting the same people began to see a pattern of connections that were flagged to intelligence officials in the US.

The issue of GCHQ’s role in the FBI’s ongoing investigation into possible cooperation between the Trump campaign and Moscow is highly sensitive. In March Trump tweeted that Barack Obama had illegally “wiretapped” him in Trump Tower.

The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, falsely claimed the “British spying agency” GCHQ had carried out the bugging. Spicer cited an unsubstantiated report on Fox News. Fox later distanced itself from the report.

The erroneous claims prompted an extremely unusual rebuke from GCHQ, which generally refrains from commenting on all intelligence matters. The agency described the allegations first made by a former judge turned media commentator, Andrew Napolitano, as “nonsense”.

“They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored,” a spokesperson for GCHQ said.

Instead both US and UK intelligence sources acknowledge that GCHQ played an early, prominent role in kickstarting the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, which began in late July 2016.

One source called the British eavesdropping agency the “principal whistleblower”.

The Guardian has been told the FBI and the CIA were slow to appreciate the extensive nature of contacts between Trump’s team and Moscow ahead of the US election. This was in part due to US law that prohibits US agencies from examining the private communications of American citizens without warrants. “They are trained not to do this,” the source stressed.

“It looks like the [US] agencies were asleep,” the source added. “They [the European agencies] were saying: ‘There are contacts going on between people close to Mr Trump and people we believe are Russian intelligence agents. You should be wary of this.’

“The message was: ‘Watch out. There’s something not right here.’”

According to one account, GCHQ’s then head, Robert Hannigan, passed material in summer 2016 to the CIA chief, John Brennan. The matter was deemed so sensitive it was handled at “director level”. After an initially slow start, Brennan used GCHQ information and intelligence from other partners to launch a major inter-agency investigation.

In late August and September Brennan gave a series of classified briefings to the Gang of Eight, the top-ranking Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate. He told them the agency had evidence the Kremlin might be trying to help Trump to win the presidency, the New York Times reported.

One person familiar with the matter said Brennan did not reveal sources but made reference to the fact that America’s intelligence allies had provided information. Trump subsequently learned of GCHQ’s role, the person said.

The person described US intelligence as being “very late to the game”. The FBI’s director, James Comey, altered his position after the election and Trump’s victory, becoming “more affirmative” and with a “higher level of concern”.

Comey’s apparent shift may have followed a mid-October decision by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) court to approve a secret surveillance order. The order gave permission for the justice department to investigate two banks suspected of being part of the Kremlin’s undercover influence operation.

According to the BBC, the justice department’s request came after a tipoff from an intelligence agency in one of the Baltic states. This is believed to be Estonia.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the same order covered Carter Page, one of Trump’s associates. It allowed the FBI and the justice department to monitor Page’s communications. Page, a former foreign policy aide, was suspected of being an agent of influence working for Russia, the paper said, citing US officials.

The application covered contacts Page allegedly had in 2013 with a Russian foreign intelligence agent, and other undisclosed meetings with Russian operatives, the Post said. Page denies wrongdoing and complained of “unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance”.

Late last year Comey threw more FBI resources into what became a far-reaching counter-intelligence investigation. In March he confirmed before the House intelligence committee that the agency was examining possible cooperation between Moscow and members of the Trump campaign to sway the US election.

Comey and the NSA director, Admiral Michael Rogers, said there was no basis for the president’s claim that he was a victim of Obama “wiretapping”. Trump had likened the unproven allegation to “McCarthyism”.

Britain’s MI6 spy agency played a part in intelligence sharing with the US, one source said. MI6 declined to comment. Its former chief Sir Richard Dearlove described Trump’s wiretapping claim on Thursday as “simply deeply embarrassing for Trump and the administration”.

“The only possible explanation is that Trump started tweeting without understanding how the NSA-GCHQ relationship actually works,” Dearlove told Prospect magazine.

A GCHQ spokesperson said: “It is longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters”.

It is unclear which individuals were picked up by British surveillance.

In a report last month the New York Times, citing three US intelligence officials, said warning signs had been building throughout last summer but were far from clear. As WikiLeaks published emails stolen from the Democratic national committee, US agencies began picking up conversations in which Russians were discussing contacts with Trump associates, the paper said.

European allies were supplying information about people close to Trump meeting with Russians in Britain, the Netherlands and in other countries, the Times said.

There are now multiple investigations going on in Washington into Trump campaign officials and Russia. They include the FBI-led counter-espionage investigation and probes by both the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Adam Schiff, the senior Democrat on the House committee, has expressed an interest in hearing from Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer whose dossieraccuses the president of long-term cooperation with Vladimir Putin’s Moscow. Trump and Putin have both dismissed the dossier as fake.

One source suggested the official investigation was making progress. “They now have specific concrete and corroborative evidence of collusion,” the source said. “This is between people in the Trump campaign and agents of [Russian] influence relating to the use of hacked material.”

How Did America's Wealth Inequality Reach This Level of Toxic?

We are just beginning to understand one further dimension of toxic inequality: a devastating emotional and physiological phenomenon we might call “toxic inequality syndrome.”

Photo Credit: nuvolanevicata / Shutterstock

By Thomas M. Shapiro / Basic Books

April 11, 2017

The following is an adapted excerpt from the new book Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future by Thomas M. Shapiro. Copyright © 2017. Available from Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.:

In recent years, as living standards for many families have declined and productivity, income, and wealth gains have flowed to the very top, a new conversation about inequality has emerged in the United States. 

How Did America's Wealth Inequality Reach This Level of Toxic.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Pleas for Help From Gay Men in Chechnya on Rise, Russian Group Says

by MARY EMILY O'HARA-APR 12 2017

Since news broke nearly two weeks ago of authorities in Chechnya arresting men suspected of being gay and torturing them in a secretive detention center, a Russian emergency hotline said it has received increasing pleas for help from people who have been targeted.

"We have received about 30 unique messages since April 2," said Natalia Poplevskaia, the International Advocacy Officer and Monitoring Program Coordinator with the Russian LGBT Network. She said the messages are "from residents or former residents of Chechnya who have already been evacuated through their channels."

Activists gather outside Russian Embassy in London on April 12, 2017, in protest against the treatment of LGBTQ community in Chechnya. Stephen Chung / London News Pictures via Zuma--Chechnya Head Ramzan Kadyrov (C) attends a meeting of the Russian Government Commission Alexander Astafyev / TASS via Getty Images

Russian riot policemen detain an LGBTQ activist during an unauthorized gay rights rally in central Moscow on May 25, 2013. Andrey Smirnov / AFP/Getty Images

Poplevskaia told NBC News the organization set up the emergency hotline after learning about a law enforcement crackdown on Chechen men who are believed to be gay or bisexual. Police began arresting the men in late February and taking them to what Poplevskaia described as a former military barracks near the Chechen town of Argun, where the men have been severely tortured, with reportedly as many as 20 killed.

Men who were released from detention spoke with the Russian LGBT Network and the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which first reported news of the anti-LGBTQ "honor killings" in Chechnya on April 1.

The men who escaped described rooms in which anywhere from 15 to 30 prisoners were held without food, tortured with electric shocks and beaten — sometimes to death. One source who called the hotline described seeing two well-known Chechen figures detained, including a local TV presenter. Other sources described being forced to give the names and numbers of other LGBTQ men to officers.

Poplevskaia said the Russian LGBT Network has begun helping gay and bisexual men flee Chechnya but did not want to describe details of the evacuation program out of safety concerns.

"People are very intimidated and not eager to talk. They are hesitant to even talk to us," explained Poplevskaia, who said the organization was not connecting victims with reporters for interviews at this time. "The people who have been targeted by the campaign need some time to get back to normal life."

Last Friday, the State Department released a statement that not only addressed the reports but also slammed Chechen officials for making derogatory comments about the situation.

"We are increasingly concerned about the situation in the Republic of Chechnya, where there have been numerous credible reports indicating the detention of at least 100 men on the basis of their sexual orientation," State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said in the April 7 release.

"We are deeply disturbed by recent public statements by Chechen authorities that condone and incite violence against LGBTI persons," Toner continued. "We urge Russian federal authorities to speak out against such practices, take steps to ensure the release of anyone wrongfully detained, conduct an independent and credible investigation into these reports, and hold any perpetrators responsible.

A spokesperson for Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, denied the existence of LGBTQ people in Chechnya, telling the Interfax news agency, "You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic."

And Kheda Saratova, who is on Kadyrov's human rights council, recently appeared on a Russian radio show and encouraged Chechens to "hunt down this kind of person without any help from authorities, and do everything to make sure that this kind of person does not exist in our society," The Guardian reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, responded to the reports of gay men being targeted in Chechnya last week, saying the alleged victims should file an official complaint, according to Interfax.

"We do not have such information and it is not a prerogative of the Kremlin. If any actions have been taken by the law enforcement agencies, which, in the opinion of some citizens, were taken with some irregularities, these citizens can use their rights, file relevant complaints, and go to court," Peskov said.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the Human Rights Campaign, urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to address the crisis in Chechnya as he traveled to Russia on Wednesday.

Chechnya is a federal republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus region, above Georgia, Armenia and Turkey. The government has been criticized by international human rights groups for the torture and executions of separatist activists, for defending "honor killings" and for the oppression of women.

In January 2016, Human Rights Watch issued a report describing patterns of state-sponsored violence and abuses under Ramzan Kadyrov, the current head of the Chechen Republic.

Ukrainian journalist Maxim Eristavi, who is openly gay and frequently comments on LGBTQ and human rights issues across Eastern Europe, told NBC News that Kadyrov's forces have "one of the worst human rights records of all Russian regions."

"What is happening right now with gay men is part of a longtime practice of state violence towards dissenting voices in Chechnya," Eristavi said, adding that reporters from Novaya Gazeta have been killed in the past after reporting on the region.

But Eristavi took issue with some media reports that referred to the Argun detention center as a "gay concentration camp," saying the center has been in use for some time to hold and torture various detainees — not just LGBTQ ones.

"Calling it a concentration camp is actually inaccurate. Creating more misinformation can damage and endanger people on the ground and discredit those who are trying to bring more attention to the issue," Eristavi said.

While reports of a concentration camp may not be accurate, human rights groups have said the Chechen situation is the worst abuse of LGBTQ people seen in years.

Maria Sjodin, Deputy Executive Director at Outright International, told NBC News she's heard reports of 100 or more people being detained on suspicion of homosexuality.

"There's nothing on this scale," Sjodin said. "We've heard of attacks from both state and non-state actors around the world happening on a fairly frequent basis, but based on the information that's available — this is set apart."

Even in Russia, where hate crimes and discrimination have risen since Putin signed a law banning "gay propaganda" in 2013, the level of violence is unusual. Poplevskaia said that while the Russian LGBT Network has documented hundreds of hate crimes per year, they've never seen anything like this.

Outright International, formerly the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, is asking the UN Secretary General to publicly condemn the anti-LGBTQ campaign in Chechnya, Sjodin said. She added that "it's important to have several governments speak out."

Both Sjodin and Eristavi noted that when it comes to human rights abuses in Chechnya, the buck stops with Russia.

"It's not helpful to look at this through just lenses of religion or culture or regionality," Eristavi explained, dismissing the idea that Chechnya's Muslim majority was a factor in its LGBTQ oppression. "It's a state-sponsored campaign of violence supported by the Kremlin."

"Russia is the state that is responsible for responding to this," Sjodin said. "The international community has to put pressure on Russia to intervene."

All Hail Biafra

by Osita Ebiem-Apr 12, 2017

( April 12, 2017, New York City, Sri Lanka Guardian) The above heading is also the title of a song originally composed by Charles O. Okereke. The lyrics of this song which quickly turned into a classic in a few short years were originally conceived in 1970. Okereke 14 at the time was just a child – a Biafran child, that is. As Biafra’s defeat was announced over the radio waves, the words of the song tumbled into his young mind. Ironically, the prophetic declarations started with insistent urgency in Okereke’s head on the very day that Biafra’s recapitulation was announced; January 12, 1970.

All Hail Biafra.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

2 billion people drink contaminated water – WHO

WHO warns that 2 billion people worldwide are drinking water contaminated with faecal matter. Source: Reuters/Feisal Oma

 13th April 2017

HUNDREDS of thousands of people die each year because they are forced to drink water contaminated with faecal matter, the World Health Organisation said Thursday, warning that dramatic improvements are needed in ensuring access to clean water and sanitation worldwide.

“Today, almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio,” Dr Maria Neira, who heads WHO’s Department of Public Health, said in a statement.

“Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases,” she added.

The report warns that countries will not meet global aspirations of universal access to safe drinking-water and sanitation at the current rate of investment, urging countries to use financial resources more efficiently and increase efforts to identify new sources of funding.

According to the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2017 report, countries have increased their budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene at an annual average rate of 4.9 percent over the last three years.

Yet, 80 percent of countries report that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) financing is still insufficient to meet nationally-defined targets for WASH services.

SEE ALSO: Is climate change real? Yes and here’s how the world is fighting it

The national targets are often based on access to basic infrastructure but may not provide continuously safe and reliable services. In order to achieve the far more ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, more investment is badly needed.

In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the SDGs – a series of aspirational targets for eradicating poverty and boosting human well-being, including vowing to ensure universal access to safe and affordable water and sanitation by 2030.

UN Sustainable Development Goals. Source: UN

In order to reach this lofty target, the World Bank estimates investments in infrastructure need to triple to US$ 114 billion per year – a figure which does not include operating and maintenance costs.

While the funding gap is vast, WHO is still hopeful the world will rise to the challenge. 147 countries have previously demonstrated the ability to mobilize the resources required to meet the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people without an improved source of water, and 95 met the corresponding target for sanitation. The SDGs will require “collective, coordinated and innovative efforts” WHO says. Even higher levels of funding will be needed, and from all sources including taxes, tariffs (payments and labour from households), and transfers from donors.

“This is a challenge we have the ability to solve,” says Guy Ryder, Chair of UN-Water and Director-General of the International Labour Organization. “Increased investments in water and sanitation can yield substantial benefits for human health and development, generate employment and make sure that we leave no one behind.”

Nearly 100 migrants missing as boat sinks off Libya

Survivors, all men, were found clinging to a flotation device

Migrants off the coast of Libya, file photo (AFP)

Thursday 13 April 2017

At least 97 migrants were missing after their boat sank on Thursday off the Libyan coast, a navy spokesman said.

Survivors said the missing include 15 women and five children, General Ayoub Qassem told AFP.

He said the Libyan coastguard had rescued a further 23 migrants of various African nationalities just under 10km off the coast of Tripoli.

The boat's hull was completely destroyed and the survivors, all men, were found clinging to a flotation device, he said.

Those who had disappeared were "probably dead", but bad weather had so far prevented the recovery of their bodies, Qassem added.

An AFP photographer said survivors had been given food and medical care at Tripoli port before being transferred to a migrant centre east of the capital.

Six years since the revolution that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has become a key departure point for migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Hailing mainly from sub-Saharan countries, most of the migrants board boats operated by people traffickers in western Libya, and make for the Italian island of Lampedusa 300km away.

Since the beginning of this year, at least 590 migrants have died or gone missing along the Libyan coast, the International Organization for Migration said in late March.

In the absence of an army or regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coastguards but are often themselves accused of complicity or even involvement in the lucrative people-smuggling business.

More than 24,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Libya during the first three months of the year, up from 18,000 during the same period last year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Bird flu redirects trade flow of U.S. chicken, eggs, grains

FILE PHOTO: The Avian influenza virus is harvested from a chicken egg as part of a diagnostic process in this undated U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) handout image. REUTERS/Erica Spackman/USDA/Handout via Reuters

By Tom Polansek | CHICAGO-Thu Apr 13, 2017

Global outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have altered the flow of U.S. chicken meat, eggs and grain around the world, adding to challenges faced by domestic exporters and giving a leg up to Brazil, which has so far escaped the disease.

Different strains of avian flu have been detected across Asia, Europe, Africa and in the United States in recent months, leading to the culling of millions of birds and a flurry of import restrictions on eggs and chicken meat.

U.S. grain traders such as Bunge Ltd and Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] have lost business because poultry deaths have reduced feed demand. Some domestic poultry producers, though, have managed to boost sales by taking advantage of trading bans that hurt rivals.

Sanderson Farms Inc, the third-largest U.S. poultry producer, said it sold more chicken to Iraq when Baghdad backed away from Europe's poultry due to bird flu, or avian influenza (AI), in the bloc.

"They've had more of a problem with AI than we have," Mike Cockrell, Sanderson's chief financial officer, said about Europe.

Iraq imported 185.6 million pounds (84.2 million kg) of U.S. chicken meat last year, about 3 percent of total U.S. chicken meat exports.

Data on chicken exports is not yet available for March, when the United States confirmed its first case of a highly lethal form of bird flu in commercial poultry in more than a year.

After the finding, South Korea, suffering its own worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, blocked U.S. poultry and eggs. That shut off opportunities for U.S. exporters hoping to make sales to cover shortfalls in South Korea, said Keithly Jones, a senior economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Last month, the USDA cut its forecast for 2017 U.S. egg exports by 6 percent to 305 million dozen because of South Korea's ban.

"We were hoping to expand our market share," Jones said, "but we came down with mild forms of avian influenza so that squashed that whole idea."

U.S. grain traders, who were grappling with a global supply glut before flocks in other countries were culled to contain bird flu, have faced lower demand for the corn and soybeans that provide feed for chickens.

Bunge, one of the world's top grain and oilseed traders, told Reuters that shipments to South Korea for February and March declined "on the back of reduced feed productions." Shipments have since been picking up, according to the company.

In March, Cargill said South Korea's outbreak, in which about 35 million birds have been culled, contributed to a decrease in quarterly earnings in its global animal nutrition unit.

'BIG WIN' FOR BRAZIL

The United States has reported only two cases of highly lethal bird flu in poultry so far this year and a handful of less-dangerous cases. U.S. officials have said the risk of the disease spreading to people is low.

Many trading partners have responded by blocking poultry from U.S. counties or states with infected flocks, rather than from the entire country. That localization of bans has kept the impact on Sanderson's chicken exports to a minimum, Cockrell said.

Still, bird flu is a headwind for the poultry sector, along with politics, cheaper oil prices that have reduced the buying power of oil-producing nations that import chicken, and strength in the U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. farm exports less attractive, Cockrell said.

One political challenge, he said, is a ban on U.S. poultry by China, which has halted imports since about 50 million birds died in the worst-ever U.S. outbreak of avian flu in 2015.

China has reported more than 160 human deaths from bird flu since October.

For Brazil, the world's top chicken exporter, recent bird flu outbreaks in other nations have been a "big win" because it is clear of the disease, said Will Sawyer, a vice-president of food and agribusiness research for Rabobank.

    Brazil's chicken exports rose 3.2 percent to 330,200 tonnes in February from a year earlier, according to industry association ABPA. They declined 4 percent in March, it said, mainly because of temporary import bans on Brazilian meat following a police probe of the country's top meatpackers.

(Additional reporting by Ana Mano in Sao Paulo; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Matthew Lewis)

HR ORGS CALL ON SRI LANKA TO ENSURE SAFETY OF TWO HRDS: NIMALKA FERNANDO & SUNANDA DESHAPRIYA

12/04/2017

In a letter address to the Leaders of the Government of Sri Lanka and copied to UNHRC officals number of international human rights organisations have requested to ensure the safety of two Sri Lanka human rights defenders, namely Dr. Nimalka Fernando and Sunanda Deshapriya.

the letter says that “Against this backdrop, we, the undersigned human rights organizations call on your government to: ensure the safety of Ms. Nimalka Fernando and Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya and their families; investigate all alleged attacks against human rights defenders and hold perpetrators accountable; and send a clear message to the public that any attack, intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders are not tolerated.”

Full text of the letter follows:

TO:

H.E. Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka

H.E. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

CC: H.E. Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka

H.E. Mr. Ravinatha Aryasinha, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva

H.E. Mr. Joaquín Alexander Maza Martelli, President of the Human Rights Council

Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mr. Andrew Gilmour, Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights

Mr. Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders

Dear Excellencies,

Subject: Joint civil society letter on reprisals against Sri Lankan human rights defenders

Firstly, we wish to express our appreciation related to the engagement by the Government of Sri Lanka with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to address long drawn issues of human rights, reconciliation and accountability. The participation of the new Government in this process indeed has given victims and human rights defenders working closely with them hopes of strong political leadership which is dedicated to creating an environment of freedom without fear and intimidation.

We regret to note the emergence of a culture of intimidation and reprisals in the recent past against NGOs thereby exposing human rights defenders and NGO leaders to danger of threats and intimidation including in the North.

The increase in attacks against NGOs in general and human rights defenders in particular is worrying. In this respect, we are addressing this communiqué to you to express our deep concerns regarding the recent reprisals against two human rights defenders from Sri Lanka, Ms. Nimalka Fernando and Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya.

Nimalka Fernando

Both of them participated in the UNHRC 34th session in March 2017 where the resolution entitled “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/34/1)” was adopted by consensus with the co-sponsorship of the Government of Sri Lanka. It decided to request the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to continue its assessment on progress on the implementation of the Office’s recommendations and other relevant processes related to truth, justice, accountability, reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka for next two years.

Since the adoption of the resolution on 23rd March, the two human rights defenders have been subject to smear campaigns. After the UNHRC session, a public campaign was launched on Facebook which brands Ms. Fernando and Mr. Deshapriya as traitors. Their pictures were placed next to the image of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s flag with texts calling them “white tigers”. Such stigmatization would pose them to a risk for attack, intimidation and harassment.

Sunanda Deshapriya

On 27th March, a protest was organised by the Women for Justice (WFJ) Organization on the street of Ms. Fernando’s residence (1) . The demonstrators condemned her that she is lying to the United Nations and working for foreign money.

Those personal attacks by alleged non-State actors raise serious concerns on the safety of the human rights defenders who rightfully engaged with the UNHRC. Since 30th March, a number of Sri Lankan human rights defenders including Ms. Fernando and Mr. Deshapriya have been named by certain individuals in Sri Lankan media. They are labelled as “foreign-funded NGOs working against the country” (2) .

The reprisals against the two human rights defenders were reactions to the new UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka. The perpetrators claimed that the two are responsible for the Council’s decision to extend the OHCHR’s monitoring on the country. Yet in fact, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein clearly recommended the UNHRC “to continue its close engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka and to monitor developments in the country” (3), based on his office’s independent and comprehensive assessment of the country’s progress on the transitional justice process. At the same time, he drew attention to the continuing incidents of harassment of human rights defenders, the use of hate speech and aggressive hate campaigns against groups and individuals in Sri Lanka (4).

The recent two attacks are clear examples of reprisals against human rights defenders who cooperate with the UN human rights system. In 2015, the Government of Sri Lanka demonstrated its commitment by co-sponsoring the UNHRC resolution 30/1 to address all attacks against human rights defenders, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent future attacks (5) . However, we regret that the Government failed to investigate the previous incidents n against human rights defenders including Ms. Fernando’s case in 2013 (6) . It left the culture of impunity unaddressed which facilitated the recent attacks against Ms. Fernando and Mr. Deshapriya.

Against this backdrop, we, the undersigned human rights organizations call on your government to: ensure the safety of Ms. Nimalka Fernando and Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya and their families; investigate all alleged attacks against human rights defenders and hold perpetrators accountable; and send a clear message to the public that any attack, intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders are not tolerated.

Sincerely,

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Franciscans International

Human Rights Watch

Indonesian NGOs Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy

(HRWG) International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR)

Minority Rights Group International (MRGI) Sri Lanka Advocacy Think Centre

Foot Notes:

1. Daily Mirror (27 March 2017), Say no to anti-SL proposals: WFJ, available at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Say-no-to-anti-SL-proposals-WFJ-126227.html

2. Sri Lanka Guardian (4 April 2017), Sri Lanka: Diplomacy of Accumulated Projects, available at: https://www.slguardian.org/2017/04/sri-lanka-diplomacy-of-accumulated-projects/

3. Human Rights Council (10 February 2017), Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka (A/HRC/34/20), paragraph 71 (a)

4. Ibid, paragraphs 53 and 58 5 Human Rights Council (29 September 2015), Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights

5. Human Rights Council (29 September 2015), Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, paragraph 11

6. United Nations, LKA 5/2013, available at:

https://spdb.ohchr.org/hrdb/24th/public_-_UA_Sri_Lanka_26.11.13_(5.2013).pdf