Factory farming in Asia creating global health risks, report warns

Growth of intensive units has potential to increase antibiotic resistance and could result in spread of bird flu beyond region

 Asian food companies have rapidly expanded their meat production in response to growing populations. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images


 The growth of Asian meat production in intensive units is producing a rise in greenhouse gas emissions Photograph: China Photos/Getty Images

Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent-Monday 14 August 2017 

The use of antibiotics in factory farms in Asia is set to more than double in just over a decade, with potentially damaging effects on antibiotic resistance around the world.

Factory farming of poultry in Asia is also increasing the threat of bird fluspreading beyond the region, with more deadly strains taking hold, according to a new report from a network of financial investors.

Use of antibiotics in poultry and pig farms will increase by more than 120% in Asiaby 2030, based on current trends. Half of all antibiotics globally are now consumed in China alone. The Chinese meat and animal feed producers New Hope Group and Wen’s Group are now among the 10 biggest animal feed manufacturers in the world.

The growth of Asian meat production in intensive units is also producing a rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the food chain, with emissions likely to rise by more than 360m tonnes, the equivalent of running 100 coal-fired power plants for a year. There are knock-on impacts such as deforestation, as China’s need for animal feed is responsible for more than a third of Brazil’s soybean production.

The report, Factory Farming in Asia: Assessing Investment Risks, comes three years after a meat scandal in China, in which suppliers to McDonalds, KFC and others were found to be using dirty meat and products past their sell-by date. It also comes in the midst of a growing food scandal in Europe, which has required the recall of millions of eggs tainted with harmful chemicals, and as concerns have been aired over the impact of Brexit on imports of farm products to the UK.

Asian food companies have rapidly expanded their meat production in response to growing populations and the tastes of the rising middle class, but this expansion has come to the detriment of food safety.

Jeremy Coller, of Coller Capital, said: “Investors have a big appetite for the animal protein sector in Asia. But the growth is driven by a boom in factory farming that creates problems like emissions and epidemics, abuse of antibiotics and abuse of labour. Investors must improve the management of sustainability issues in the Asian meat and dairy industries if they want to avoid a nasty bout of financial food poisoning.”

However, the report also found that deploying modern techniques could assist in reducing the impact of factory farming – for instance, by using barcodes to enable consumers to check the provenance of eggs, by reducing greenhouse gases and improving the health of livestock.

Avian flu is an increasing threat, with the latest strain to take hold in China, H7N9, proving more deadly than previous strains. It has already killed 84% more people in the four years since its emergence than the H5N1 strain that came to public attention in 2006. Affected industries in China include suppliers to McDonalds and Walmart. An outbreak of bird flu in South Korea in 2016-17 resulted in the cull of a fifth of the country’s flock.

The authors of the study recommended that investors assess the risks of food production in the assets they hold, as financial firms can persuade the companies they fund to make improvements in their supply chain. But they said awareness among investors was currently too low and should be raised.
Previous food scandals have damaged the finances of multinational companiessuch as McDonalds and KFC. Jaideep Panwar, sustainability and governance manager at APG Asset Management Asia, said: “[This] reminds investors to keep a close eye on the long-term risks of food assets in Asia.

“The evolution of what are now early stage regulatory moves in Asia, supplier conditions introduced by international brands and import restrictions can have an impact on the productivity of Asian producers and their access to markets. Investors will assess the ability of companies in the meat supply chain to position themselves ahead of these risks.”

Melissa Brown, partner at Daobridge Capital in Hong Kong, added: “Few issues are as politically sensitive in Asia as food safety. Yet far too many food sector equities have been priced as if [these] risks don’t matter and that good risk management won’t be recognised in the market.”


The report was published on Monday by the international investment network FAIRR and the Asia Research and Engagement consultancy.

Mullaitivu - Kaiveli villagers still not allowed to resettle

18Sep 2017

Villagers from Kaiveli in Mullaitivu have complained that they have still not been allowed to resettle in their homes, over eight years after the end of the war.

When Kaiveli villagers attempted to return to their homes after the war ended, they were blocked by the Sri Lankan Army which erected signs prohibiting entry to the lands.

Mullaitivu - Kaiveli villagers still not allowed to resettle.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Rhetoric Aside, Sirisena Cannot Shield Army Generals Accused Of War Crimes For Long

By Veluppillai Thangavelu –SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Veluppillai Thangavelu

On 29 August, 2017 Al Jazeera broke the news that Brazuluan lawyers seek to expel Jagath Jayasuriya, Ambassador to Brazil, over abuses in the final phase of the war against LTTE in May, 2009. The lawsuits against Jagath Jayasuriya allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, abducted, disappeared and tortured thousands of civilians in the final phase of the civil war. The army is also accused of killing hundreds of LTTE cadres who surrendered to the army on the evening of May 18, 2009 or thereabouts.

Jagath Jayasuriya who has diplomatic immunity was the Ambassador for Brazil as well as five other countries Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Suriname. Human rights groups in South America have filed war crimes lawsuits against him who served as a general in Vanni from 2007 -2009. 

Although, as a diplomat Jagath Jayasuriya  enjoyed diplomatic immunity, the International Truth and Justice Project, which brought the case, wants him expelled and his conduct investigated.

“In the pivotal period between 2007-2009 he was really in charge of what was happening in the Vanni area,” lawyer Yasmin Sooka of the International Truth and Justice Project told the BBC’s News hour programme.

“The UN inquiry found that the army certainly didn’t maintain the distinction between civilians and combatants, and they also violated the law on the question of proportionality.”What was really awful was the perfidious conduct in putting people into no-fire zones and then shelling and bombarding them, which is why you have such a huge loss of life,” Ms Sooka said.

The UN estimates between 40,000 and 70,000 died in the final phase alone when Sri Lanka’s military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

According to the suits, Jayasuriya oversaw an offensive from Joseph Camp in the northern town of Vavuniya. 

Lawyers for the Human Rights groups alleged Jagath Jayasuriya oversaw military units that attacked hospitals, schools and tortured and killed thousands of thousands of Tamil people. Allegations persist to this day that the army killed rebel leaders and others after they surrendered or were captured – and the UN admitted in 2012 that it could and should have done more to protect civilians.

Though Jagath Jayasuriya enjoyed diplomatic immunity, the Human Rights groups pursuing the suits hope they will compel regional governments to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his immunity and expel him.

Carlos Castresana Fernandez, the lawyer coordinating the effort, told the Associated Press news agency that suits have been filed on 28 August (Monday), 2017 in Brazil and Colombia. “This is one genocide that has been forgotten, but this will force democratic countries to do something,” Fernandez said. “This is just the beginning of the fight and while confessing that   international lawsuits across jurisdictions are complicated.

The criminal suits were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), an evidence-gathering organisation based in South Africa.

Gen Pinochet spent 18 months under arrest in London fighting extradition to Spain. He was a Chilean general, politician and the military ruler of Chile between 1973 and 1990. He remained the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until 1998.

Some or other the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry got wind of the moves by the Human Rights groups to file cases in the courts against Jagath Jayasuriya, The Foreign Ministry promptly advised him to return to Sri Lanka to pre-empt any embarrassing situation.  Jagath Jayasuriya returned to Sri Lanka on 27 August, 2017 after completing just two years. It was the Yahapalanaya government that appointed General Jayasuriya as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil on 05th August 2015 thus continuing the practice of appointing former military bigwigs who had command responsibility during the last phase of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war. However, officially the government claimed that Jagath Jayasuriya has completed his tour of duty and that is the reason for his return. The usual period of appointment under a contract is normally for four years later reduced to three years. Two years is an abnormal number. 

Before leaving for Sri Lanka, the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil hosted a farewell reception in honour of General Jagath Jayasuriya on 24th August at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia. The reception was attended by diplomats from Asian and Latin American countries and representatives from Brazilian Government agencies. In reply, Ambassador Jayasuriya thanked officials at the Ministry of External Relations and all other Government authorities both in Central and State Governments for the excellent support given to him during his tenure of service in Brazil. He also said that during the last two years, the Embassy had organized many programmes in and out of the Capital- Brasilia.

The news about Jagath Jayasuriya’ s return to Sri Lanka would have faded away if not for the  bombshell dropped by no other than Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka, former Army Commander and later Defence Chief and now the Minister for Regional Development  in the cabinet. 

Sarath Fonseka told reporters summoned to his office at Rajagiriya on September 01, 2017 that he was aware of “crimes committed on suspects” by Jayasuriya when he was placed in charge of logistics and supplies during the final phase of the war. He went on to say that he received complaints that Jayasuriya was “committing crimes on suspects arrested and held in detention.”I know he committed crimes. I have details and I am ready to come forward and testify before a proper investigation,” Fonseka said.

Read More

The best option for reconciliation is moderation and dialogue 

By Jehan Perera-September 18, 2017, 12:00 pm

The humanitarian catastrophes taking place in other parts of the world such as in Myanmar, and events that have the potential to become catastrophes, such as North Korea firing its second rocket over Japan, have taken Sri Lanka away from the centre of attention at the ongoing sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. The tragic events unfolding in Myanmar are attracting international humanitarian attention. The flight of tens of thousands of Rohingya from Myanmar on a daily basis has aroused international sympathy for them and condemnation for the Myanmar government. There is even a move among advocates of human rights to persuade the Nobel Peace Prize awards committee to revoke the award that was given to Myanmar government leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi in 1991 for her work to bring democracy to her country.

The virtual ethnic cleansing that is taking place in Rakhine state in Myanmar, which borders Bangladesh, is an outcome of deep seated ethnic fears and resentments that have pitted the Buddhist population of Rakhine against the Muslims who have Bengali origins. The Rakhine Buddhists see themselves as vulnerable to being swamped by Muslim migrants from across the border. The generality of the people of Myanmar see the Rohingya as being relatively recent migrants into their country who have come to enjoy a better standard of living and access to more land than is available in densely populated Bangladesh. This is contested by the Rohingyas who say that they have lived in the Rakhine region from time immemorial and are also sons and daughters of that soil.

Similar debates have taken place in Sri Lanka in the past. But today Sri Lanka will be an oasis of peace and stability to an international community that is seeing increasing disintegration and polarization in the world. It is not only countries such as Myanmar and North Korea that present a fearsome picture of polarization that has consequences that could lead to a wider and larger conflict. There are civic protests in Muslim countries against the outrages taking place in Myanmar, and it is to be expected that extremist groups will also seek to get involved there. UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein’s opening speech listed a large number of countries from all continents which were engaged in appalling violations of human rights. He said, "In the first three years of my current term, the world has grown darker and dangerous."

REAL IMPROVEMENTS

The slow progress of Sri Lanka’s internationally mandated reconciliation process has come in for adverse international commentary and criticism. The UN Human Rights Commissioner recently made known his concerns with Sri Lanka’s slow implementation of the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council to which it had committed itself two years ago in 2015. He warned that if Sri Lanka did not proceed along its promised path the international community might want to invoke the principle of universal jurisdiction. This would mean that any Sri Lanka accused of human rights violations could be arrested in foreign countries. He said, "The absence of credible action in Sri Lanka to ensure accountability for alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law makes the exercise of universal jurisdiction even more necessary."

The strong words of the UN Human Rights Commissioner have been echoed by human rights organizations both within and outside the country. The Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappeared in Kilinochchi who have been engaging in non-stop protests for many months have said that they "vehemently refuse to be deceived again" by government promises and half hearted actions. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that United Nations member countries at the Human Rights Council in Geneva should press Sri Lanka to promptly meet the targets of the October 2015 resolution for transitional justice and that "Sri Lanka should put forward a time-bound and specific implementation plan on the four transitional justice mechanisms it agreed to establish as pledged in the resolution."

However, it is also notable that foreign embassies representing the international community in Sri Lanka have been more appreciative of the government’s performance in regard to human rights and good governance in general. An EU monitoring mission was in Sri Lanka recently to assess how the government was complying with the requirements to obtain the GSP Plus tariff concessions. A team of senior officials from Brussels were in Sri Lanka for 10 days on a fact-finding mission regarding the government’s implementation of 27 international covenants. The EU Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Tung-Lai Margue said after a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that "The excellent cooperation by the Government is a reminder of how much the situation has changed in the country over the last two and a half years, including real advances in human rights."

CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT

Those who prioritise the implementation of the UNHRC resolution by the government as the way forward to reconciliation and justice have anticipated a strong role for the international community in Sri Lanka and the pressure they might exert on the government with regard to human rights issues. The importance of the international community is due to the fact that it is a source of pressure that the government will feel compelled to heed. The denial of visas to military personnel who were in combat units associated with the last phase of the war has been one form of pressure. In addition, the war crimes cases filed against former army commander General Jagath Jayasuriya in five South American countries show the dangers of international involvement that could go even beyond the diplomacy of foreign governments to the realm of their independent judicial systems.

However, when looking at the international community for support, it is important to make an assessment of the international context. In comparison to Myanmar and North Korea, or to Philippines where thousands of alleged drug dealers are being killed with impunity, or to South Sudan where one million people have become refugees, Sri Lanka would be a less urgent priority. International human rights organizations stand for the full implementation of human rights protections, and by those standards Sri Lanka falls short. But foreign governments tend to look at relative standards, and not absolute standards of human rights, and Sri Lanka loses its priority status in comparison with other humanitarian crises in the world.

In comparison to other hotspot countries, Sri Lanka has a government that is generally perceived as being responsive to human rights concerns. There is a shift in attitude and a manifest improvement over the past government. Even though the government is slow in correcting the wrongs of the past, it is doing so in a number of areas, whether it is the release of land taken over by the military, release of prisoners or provision of housing to war victims. It is also not creating new victims on a large scale as in the past. In this context, the course of action by the international community is likely to be to engage in dialogue rather than to confront the government. This is also the approach of the TNA, which is the main political party representing the Tamil people.

TIME TO BRING CULTURAL RIGHTS IN TO THE CENTRE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IN SRI LANKA – DHARMASIRI BANDARANAYAKE

Image: Dharmasiri Bandaranayake. ( Nation.lk)

18/09/2017

Reaffirm the power of culture over the culture of power – Edward Said.
It is a great honour to be invited to participate and speak at the Asian Human Rights Charter Workshop here at Gwangju, South Korea.

A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Basil Fernando & Mr. Bijo Francis of AHRC, Hong Kong and Mr. Kim Yang-rae, and Mrs. Inrae You of the May 18th Memorial Foundation.

TIME TO BRING CULTURAL RIGHTS IN TO THE CENTRE OF HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IN SRI LANKA.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Tamils to Protest Against Sri Lankan President’s Visit to UN in New York: TGTE

Sep 18, 2017

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) announced today that it will hold a protest against Sri Lankan President Mr. Maithripala Sirisens’s visit to the UN on September 19th, to speak at the UN General Assembly.

The protesters will highlight Sri Lankan President Sirisena’s role in the killing of Tamils and rape of Tamil women by Sri Lankan Security forces under his command, when he was serving as the acting defense minister during the final weeks of the war.

It was during his time that Sri Lanka rejected appeals by world leaders to stop shelling and bombing an area called “No Fire Zone”, which was created by the Sri Lankan Government, where thousands of Tamil civilians assembled for safety.

President Sirisena in his own words: "I was the Minister in Charge of Defence during the last two weeks of the war in which most of the leaders of the LTTE were killed with General Fonseka at the helm of the Army. Prior to that I have acted as the Minister of Defence five times during the height of the war." Maithripala Sirisena's Interview to Daily Mirror, January 2, 2015.
Source: http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/36931

Here is what Economist wrote: "Sirisena is hardly a beacon of hope for the Tamils: he was acting as defence minister in the nightmarish final fortnight of the war"
Source: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21637389-encouragingly-mahinda-rajapaksa-faces-real-battle-win-re-election-president-better

Recently, the war time Commander of Sri Lankan Security forces confimed that Sri Lankan Security Forces committed war crimes during the war: http://world.einnews.com/pr_news/402141874/tgte-welcomes-ex-army-chief-s-confirmation-that-sri-lankan-forces-committed-war-crimes-against-tamils-un-urged-to-act

HERE ARE SOME FACTS:

• Around 70,000 Tamils were killed in six months and women were sexually assaulted and raped by Sri Lankan Security Forces in 2009. (Source: UN Internal Review Report on Sri Lanka). Tamils were killed due to deliberate and intense shelling and bombing of areas designated by the government as "no-fire zones", where Tamil civilians had assembled for safety. Sri Lankan Government also restricted food and medicine for Tamils, resulting in large numbers dying from starvation and many of the injured bleeding to death.

• A recent report by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) published details of Sri Lankan Military run "rape Camps", where Tamil women are being held as sex slaves. This is one of the rare documented “Rape Camps”, since Japanese Imperial Army held mostly Korean and Chinese women as “Comfort Women” during the Second World War.

• There are 90,000 Tamil war widows, living among the same Security forces who killed their loved ones. (Source: May 2012 report by British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Human Rights and Democracy).

• No one was held accountable for the repeated mass killings of Tamils since 1958. Members of the Sri Lankan Security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community

http://world.einnews.com

Backtracking on accountability measures will harm all Sri Lankans: Tamil leader

• The whole purpose of the Disappearances Act will be defeated if the past is left out of its ambit
• In the North, protests by victims indicate their growing frustration over the slow pace of reforms
• The very reason for the legislation is to inquire into the disappearances during the conflict
• The Convention will be useful to all except those who had indulged in abductions

2017-09-19

Media reports state that, at the suggestion of President Maithripala Sirisena, the parliamentary debate on the Bill to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (CPAPED) will not held as scheduled on September 21.   

The media also quoted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as saying that the “Disappearances Bill” pertains only to future cases and not those of the past (including disappearances which had occurred during the war).

  
These two claims have pleased the Joint Opposition (JO) led by former President Mahinda Rajapakse and Sinhala nationalists outside the JO framework, because they imply that personnel of the tri-forces will be let off the hook. But the minority Tamils are extremely disappointed, if not livid. Of the two claims, the one made by the Prime Minister has hurt the Tamils a great deal.   

“The whole purpose of the Disappearances Act will be defeated if the past is left out of its ambit,” said Mano Ganeshan, Minister for National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages and leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA).  

 
“The very reason for the legislation is to inquire into the disappearances during the conflict, especially the last few years of the war. And most cases pertain to the Tamils,” he pointed out.   

“We condemn the reported move to postpone the debate on the Disappearances Bill and the Prime Minister’s interpretation of the Bill’s applicability,” said M.A.Sumanthiran MP and top leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).   

“If the disappearance of the Tamils during the conflict and war can’t be inquired into, it means that the Tamils are not just second class citizens, but are fourth class citizens,” he asserted.   

The Government deciding not to have the  debate on the Disappearances Bill has angered the minority Tamils in the island 

Sumanthiran said that the Government had been dragging its feet on the introduction of the Disappearances Bill and making the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) operational because of a “lack of courage and political will” in the face of opposition from the Rajapakse group.   

“The reported decision not to hold a debate on the Disappearances Bill on Thursday (after having postponed it once earlier) only shows the Government’s pusillanimity,” the Tamil leader said.   

According to Sumanthiran, if the Government issued a notification making the OMP operational from September 15 and declared its intention to re-introduce the Disappearances Bill on September 21, it was because President Sirisena was going to be in the UN to address the General Assembly on September 19.   

Another reason was the recent speech made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad bin Hussein, castigating Sri Lanka for tardy and inadequate implementation of the resolution on accountability and reconciliation which it had co-sponsored at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in September 2015.   

This was what Zeid said about Sri Lanka on the opening day of the 36 th. Session of the UNHRC last week: “I urge the Government to swiftly operationalize the Office of Missing Persons and to move faster on other essential confidence building measures, such as release of land occupied by the military, and resolving long-pending cases registered under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. I repeat my request for that Act to be replaced with a new law in line with international human rights standards.”

“In the North, protests by victims indicate their growing frustration over the slow pace of reforms. I encourage the Government to act on its commitment in Resolution 30/1 to establish transitional justice mechanisms and to establish a clear timeline and benchmarks for the implementation of these and other commitments.”   

“This shouldn’t be viewed by the Government as a box-ticking exercise to placate the Council, but as an essential undertaking to address the rights of all its people.”   
“The absence of credible action in Sri Lanka to ensure accountability for alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law makes the exercise of universal jurisdiction even more necessary.”   

According to Sumanthiran, the Sri Lankan Government hopes that making the OMP operational and fixing a date for a debate on the Disappearances Bill will silence critics in the UN at New York and Geneva at least during President Sirisena’s sojourn in New York.   

But unfortunately for the Government, JO leader G.L.Peiris let the cat out of the bag by claiming publicly, that the President had assured his group that the debate on the Disappearances Bill will not be held on September 21.   

Postponement isn’t going to go down well with the powers-that-be in the UN and the international community, Sumanthiran warned.   

He recalled what Zeid said about window-dressing for appearances’ sake. Zeid said that the accountability and reconciliation measures taken so far “should not be viewed by the Government as a box-ticking exercise to placate the Council, but as an essential undertaking to address the rights of all its people.”   

Flawed OMP Gazette   

Soon after the gazette making the OMP operational from September 15 was issued, the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) pointed out that it wasn’t constitutional, implying that it could be challenged in court.   

Translating the legalese in CPA’s statement into common language, Sumanthiran said: “As per 19A, the President can hold only two ministerial portfolios – those of Defense and Environment. He cannot be Minister of any other subject. But in violation of this constitutional provision, he had made himself the Minister of National Integration and Reconciliation. And then, now, in a further violation of the constitution, he has issued an important notification setting up the OMP as Minister National Integration and Reconciliation, a post he is constitutionally barred from occupying. Anybody can challenge this notification in the Supreme Court.”

  
“On this ground, the OMP may be scuttled,” Sumanthiran warned.   

Disappearances Convention   

Article 2 of the International Convention Against Enforced Disappearances says that for the purposes of the Convention, “enforced disappearance” is considered to be the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.”   

This definition gives the impression that the Convention and the Bill to follow, will be targeting the Sri Lankan Security Forces and not the LTTE which is a non-State entity. This is a major worry among millions of Sri Lankans who are grateful to the armed forces of ridding the country of the scourge of terrorism.

  
But, as moderate Tamil leaders and even serving military commanders have said, enforced disappearances outside the framework of the law, can’t be permitted or condoned even if the perpetrator is a man in uniform. This basic principle is for the good of the forces and the people of Sri Lanka at large.   

“If the Convention becomes part of domestic law ,then there will be no reason for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to complain and go on to say that it may be necessary to use the principle of Universal Jurisdiction in Sri Lanka’s case,” Sumanthiran argued.   

The Tamil MP added that incidents of the kind which happened in Brazil against former Army Commander Gen.Jagath Jayasuriya (when he was threatened with arrest fo alleged war crimes) would not happen if Sri Lanka had a law banning enforced disappearances and trials were held.   

The Convention will be useful to all except those who had indulged in abductions which the world considers heinous.   

As regards the fear that the LTTE, which had abducted and executed countless Sri Lankans, including Tamils, will be allowed to go scot-free, Sumanthiran said that once the Convention is ratified, the spirit of a universal legal principle gets embedded in domestic law and cases against the LTTE can be filed and conducted.   

Sumanthiran said that the TNA isn’t against LTTE cadres being proceeded against for abduction, so long as the due process is followed in letter and spirit and the application of the law is even handed.  

Destroyed LTTE cemeteries in Jaffna district to be restored

Fragments of tombstones in the destroyed Thuyilum Illam at Chatty Beach. Photograph: Tamil Guardian, May 2017

18 Sep  2017

LTTE cemeteries in the Jaffna district and the Nallur monument to Thileepan will be restored and maintained by local authorities, the Jaffna coordinating committee has decided.

The committee met on Monday at the Jaffna District Secretariat, with the meeting co-chaired by the Northern Province Chief Minister, C. V. Wigneswaran, the TNA MPs, Mavai Senathirajah and Ankajan Ramanathan, and Jaffna’s Government Agent, N. Vethanayagam.

It was decided that divisional secretariats would take responsibility for the Thuyilum Illams that fall within their division, and maintain and additionally protect the cemeteries as green spaces.

Specific Thuyilum Illams pegged for restoration include the destroyed cemeteries at Chatty Beach, Koppay and Uduththurai.

An understanding with the Nallur Kandasamy Kovil administration is to be reached so that the Nallur monument to Thileepan can be restored and maintained by the Jaffna Municipal Council.

2 lakhs rupees have been allocated by TNA MP Sritharan to fund the restorations.

Related Articles: 

14 September 2017 : LTTE cemetery can be restored, Kilinochchi court rules

17 August 2017 : Nallur monument to Thileepan to be restored by NPC

18 August 2017 : Sri Lankan police prevent community clear-up of destroyed LTTE cemetery in Mannar

06 January 2017 : No prohibition from LTTE cemeteries, court rules

OMP: Accountability of a State

BY Sugeeswara Senadhira-2017-09-18

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) will enable thousands of families to discover the fate of their loved ones and the circumstances of their disappearance. Two months ago, when the Cabinet decided to set up the OMP, President Maithripala Sirisena remarked, "this marks another step forward in Sri Lanka's path to sustained peace."

Human attachment is such that when someone goes missing, the loved ones consciously or otherwise go into denial mode about the possibility of death and hope that the person will return some day. It is a tragic situation that the parents are searching for their children and wives are waiting for their husbands. They have no remains to bury and no death certificate.

The Office on Missing Persons was established in accordance with the election promises in November 2014 to usher in good governance, rule of law, democracy and reconciliation, as a transitional justice mechanism to deliver truth, justice, reparations, and ensure non-recurrence.
UNHRC Convention

The Government initiated the process in May 2016 when the Cabinet ratified the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance - which criminalizes enforced disappearance by stating that "no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearances." It is an important and necessary step forward for civil rights and human rights in Sri Lanka, to acknowledge the torment of its past, clear the climate of fear and ensure the safety and security of its citizens in the future.

The setting up of the OMP is consistent with the continuing policy position of Sri Lanka to plan for a peaceful country, to fulfil promises made by the State, and to ensure the rule of law and justice. This is a positive step for the future of national democracy, a significant milestone which allows us to stand on the world stage with dignity and respect.

The nation acknowledges the fact that many people went missing or were killed during the three-decade long civil war. The situation became particularly bad towards the end of the war. Countless troops and Tamil citizens disappeared without a trace.

Good Intentions

The OMP has been set up with good intentions and the government should ensure that it is not used by the Diaspora to spread propaganda. During a recent meeting with the President, some family members of alleged missing persons aired their grievances.

When a mother of a missing person alleged that her son was being detained at a military camp, the President immediately ordered his security officers to accompany her to that camp and investigate. However, much to the surprise of everybody, she was reluctant to go to the camp and verify. It is a clear case of baseless allegations.

The Maxwell Paranagama Commission also listed such false allegations and the correct position with regard to allegations of disappearances. After the war ended, people demanded that the government should look into the issue of alleged disappearances.

The Maxwell Paranagama Commission was the first step. The Commission concluded that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were responsible for the death and disappearances of Tamil civilians. "This Commission is satisfied that the LTTE went to extraordinary lengths to blur the distinction between combatants and civilians so as to achieve a military advantage for themselves and in the process they exposed civilians to additional danger."

"This Commission agrees with the conclusion of the Darusman Report that many civilians were sacrificed on the altar of the LTTE cause and its efforts to preserve its senior leadership."
Maxwell Paranagama Commission

It is no secret that some of the alleged missing people are living in different parts of the world. The Maxwell Paranagama Commission noted in its report that, "Whilst the Commission does not suggest that any of the disappeared referred to in the evidence are living elsewhere and are in hiding from their loved ones, the possibility of phantom disappearances cannot be completely excluded. The case of Kathiravel Thayapararajah is a classic example. The LTTE claimed that Kathiravel Thayapararajah was executed by the security forces. A respected Jaffna based non-governmental organization (NGO) claimed that Kathiravel Thayapararajah died of gunshot injuries and was cremated. The truth was that he had gone underground, surfacing in May 2014 in Tamil Nadu with his wife and 4 children. He was arrested for illegally entering India. The Commission does not speculate as to how many such phantom disappearances there may have been. However, it is alert to the observations of the former British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) journalist who wrote about the detention camps to which those who surrendered were taken." (Paranagama Report).

Fate of Loved Ones

Although a few allegations like this have been made, the fact remains that a large number of families across the country are unaware of the fate of their loved ones. Now, the OMP can take up those cases of missing persons. The OMP will look into missing persons in the course of, consequent to, or in connection with the conflict which took place in the Northern and Eastern Provinces or its aftermath, or is a member of the Armed Forces or police who is identified as "missing in action" or "in connection with political unrest or civil disturbance (such as the youth insurrections of 1972 or 1989)' and as an enforced disappearance as defined in the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The OMP has the authority to help the families of those members of the Armed Forces also affected by this issue, for example those declared as 'missing in action."

To be honest, we cannot call Sri Lanka a complete democracy until we deal with these issues. Today, we can be content that the government has understood the responsibility of the state and has set up the OMP to resolve the 'missing persons' issue.

GL And JO Mislead Public: Extradition Clause In Enforced Disappearance Bill And Torture Act Is A Copy-Paste

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

Amidst increasing confusion about the much hyped Enforced Disappearance Bill, it appears that the extradition clause in both the Enforced Disappearance Bill and the Torture Act of 1994 is identical. The Torture Act was passed when Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was President and Prof. G. L. Peiris was Minister of Justice.

Peiris

Extradition involves the transfer of a person accused or convicted of a crime from one state to another state on the request of the latter state for the purpose of prosecution or punishment. Extradition is only permitted if a law specifically provides for it.

Section 8 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance Bill states: “Where a request is made to the Government of Sri Lanka, by or on behalf of the Government of a Convention State for the extradition of any person accused or convicted of an offence under sections 3 or 4, the Minister shall, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, forthwith notify the Government of the requesting State of the measures which the Government of Sri Lanka has taken, or proposes to take, for the prosecution or extradition of that person for that offence.”

The above clause is almost identical to Section 7(2) of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994: “Where a request is made to the Government of Sri Lanka, by or on behalf of the Government of any State for the extradition of any person accused or convicted of the offence of torture, the Minister in charge of the subject of Foreign Affairs shall, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, forthwith inform the Government of the requesting State, of the measures which the Government of Sri Lanka has taken, or proposes to take, for the prosecution or extradition of that person, for that offence.”

The Joint Opposition has mounted a campaign stating that section 8 of the Bill has changed the law on extradition. Yet it appears that the section only replicates what is already part of Sri Lankan law, which Peiris would have played a part in formulating back in 1994.

Prof. Peiris also claimed that section 13 of the proposed Bill will reduce the protection available to citizens under the Extradition Law of 1977. The 1977 law provides that extradition for “political offences” will not be permitted. Section 13 of the proposed Enforced Disappearance Bill meanwhile states that the offence of enforced disappearance does not constitute a “political offence”. However, Peiris’s argument is misleading, as an amendment to the law of 1977 was introduced in 1999 during his tenure as Justice Minister. Section 2 of the Extradition (Amendment) Act No. 48 of 1999 contained the following amendment to section 7(4) of the original Extradition Law: “an offence of a political character does not include (c) an offence within the scope of an international convention relating to the suppression of international crime to which Sri Lanka and the requesting designated commonwealth country or treaty state are contracting parties and which obliges contracting parties to prosecute or grant extradition for such offence.”

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