Peace for the World

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

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Army official arrested over drugs in Vavuniya

File photograph
 23 March 2019
A Sri Lankan army official was arrested last Saturday over being in possession of drugs for supply. 
The suspect, who has not been named, was found with 2kg of cannabis when he was stopped whilst travelling on a bus in Kanakarayankulam. 
The bus had been travelling from Jaffna to Trincomalee when it was stopped and searched by police. 
Tamils across the North-East have condemned the rising incidence of drug use across the area since the end of the armed conflict, with many blaming the military for actively or at least passively driving supply. 

Related Articles: 
26 December 2018 : Sri Lanka navy officer arrested with drugs in Jaffna
07 August 2018 : Tamil UNP MP says Southern politicians fueling drugs in North
09 June 2015 : Genocidal agenda behind increase in drugs in North - TNA MP
25 January 2019 : Students rally against increasing drug use in Jaffna

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Sri Lanka: Is The War On Drugs Aggressive Enough?

The manner in which operations are carried out in Sri Lanka can be understood when one looks at how it is being done in the United Kingdom. 
by Mass L. Usuf-Saturday, 22 March 2019
 
The cache of illicit drugs unearthed by the recent spate of raids by the law enforcement is literally mindboggling. If one is to assess the extent of damage that society as a whole would have been subjected to had these seizures not been made is beyond imagination. How many more youth would have got addicted? How many more drug related violence, crimes and death would have been committed? How many more marriages would have ended up in divorce? How many more families destroyed? How many growing up children would have been isolated by society? How many of our sisters and daughters would have been pushed towards illegal sex? The list of evil consequences can go on. Are not the suppliers, distributors and carriers of narcotics aware of the irreparable loss they are causing to the society and the country? They are aware and they know well the consequences of their actions. How then is the society going to respond to this situation when its very existence is being exposed to peril? Ask yourself if it is enough only to be happy that there is a crackdown on illicit drugs or is there much more you can do to save your child, spouse or sibling?
 
 
According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the global cocaine manufacture alone reached its highest level ever in 2016: an estimated 1,410 tons. Based on retail prices, the global illicit drugs trade is valued at an estimated US$320 billion. (UK Drug Policy Commission, Policy Report July 2008). The drug basket includes crack, heroin, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines and ecstasy. According to the above report the market is usually described as having three levels:
 
1. an international trafficking level.
2. a local retail level and,
3. between these two a loosely defined ‘middle market’ operating at national/regional level.
 
However, the lines between these different levels are far from clear and markets tend to be disjointed and fragmented in nature. The UK illicit drug market is extremely lucrative. Its size has been estimated to be £5.3 billion (using 2003/04 figures). There are no numbers that have been made public about the estimated value of the trade in Sri Lanka.
 
Dons of the Society
 
The illicit drugs business in any part of the world has an impact on the political, cultural and economic landscape of the country. Sri Lanka is not going to be an exception to this phenomenon. When the politicians, police and the judiciary are in the pocket of these mafia bosses they become invincible. They are the architects of organized crimes - killings, abductions, torture, threats, intimidation etc. They silence or subdue their opponents using these techniques. With the guaranteed reluctance of the law and the legal system to apprehend and prosecute them, they transform themselves to being the Dons of society. Basically, the entire society is held to ransom. The government and public servants are made helpless. This is what has been seen in certain countries. Sri Lanka has apparently not matured to that extent and that it will certainly come to that stage is not surprising if this menace is not eliminated now.
 
The manner in which operations are carried out in Sri Lanka can be understood when one looks at how it is being done in the United Kingdom. Apart from the importer, there the local/retail distribution chain has been identified as follows.
 
Wholesaler: Buys and sells in one area in bulk.
Buyer: Buys drugs in one area in bulk.
Seller: Sells drugs in one area in bulk.
Transporter: Facilitates local transportation within the UK.
Storer: Holds drugs between purchase and sale.
Retailer: Sells drugs to users (a dealer).
Runner: delivers drugs to users for a retailer/dealer.
 
From Hierarchical to entrepreneurial
 
Another revelation is seen in the findings of the following study. “In relation to heroin trafficking, there is some research which indicates that there has indeed been a shift from historical affiliations and ties with hierarchical structures among some groups, towards more open and entrepreneurial networks of individuals who lack any formal connections with traditional syndicates. In relation to Chinese heroin traffickers: These enterprising agents have no identifiable organisations, no rigid structure, no clearly defined deviant norms or values. They can conceal their criminal activities through their involvement in lawful business activities. Their participation in criminal activities is sporadic rather than continuous. (Zhang and Chin, 2003: 485)”.
 
While there is no single accepted definition of a drug market, the research literature tends to conceptualise two types of distribution system: a pyramidical one and a more fragmented, non-hierarchical and entrepreneurial free market. It is difficult to judge which system is dominant and in which country. There is some research that indicates there has been a shift from historical affiliations and ties with hierarchical structures, towards a network of individuals who lack any formal connections with traditional syndicates.
Government support
 
The drug trade is a highly sophisticated commercial line operated from the top by the ‘drug barons’. There is a lot our authorities have to learn from the researches and experiences of other countries. The government must provide the officials involved sufficient international exposure and networking opportunities to help them in the difficult job they are engaged in. The narcotics trade is a phenomenon that mutates very often to avoid detection. The enforcement officials will be left high and dry if they fail to adapt to these everchanging modus operandi.
 
International research has found out the factors which encourage the growth of dealing and distribution networks. They are the minimal entry barriers to the market, the limited deterrent effect of law enforcement and the sheer scale of the revenues that can be generated. Therefore, the unwary, that innocent poverty-stricken man or woman can be deceptively attracted at the beginning by the ‘masters’ of the game. The unwary and the innocent then in turn become ‘masters’ in their own right.
 
How much has been allocated in our recent budget to fight illicit narcotics? What incentives have been provided to develop research materials on the drug trade in Sri Lanka? To what extent have our professionals, academics, intellectuals and subject experts been made to involve themselves in the fight against this menace? Has there been a study on the amount of government expenditures relating to time, manhours and materials dedicated from the point of commencing a detection operation up to the stage of securing a conviction? Calculate the total breakdown - the allocation of men and material for detection, the days and weeks of intelligence gathering, the time spent on the detection process, the seizure and the arrest. The monies spent by government to keep the suspects in remand custody, the time of the courts and all of its legal machinery, the use of resources of the Attorney General’s department, the Police, rehabilitation and medical services and the list can continue further. All of this has a cost attached to it. The government must proactively initiate legal measures to fast track the process from arrest to conviction without compromising on rights and liberties of the suspects.
 
It is striking to read what researchers say about their work in relation to the illicit drug industry. In the UK where a budget of GBP 1.5 billion has been allocated for their drug strategy, researchers have concluded as follows. According to May and Hough (2004: 558) the “relationship between the supply of illicit drugs, the demand for them and enforcement activities remain somewhat poorly conceptualised, under-researched and little understood in this country”.
 
The above is after allocation of Rupees 350 billion for drug strategy. Where does Sri Lanka stand in comparison to the UK efforts if despite all that they have done researchers are painting an unsatisfactory picture? While appreciating the work that is currently being done, the following questions remain valid. “Are we sincerely doing enough?” Or, is it a case of much more needs to be done?
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Israel kills Gaza protesters as UN body condemns “unlawful” force

A paramedic treats an injured protester during Great March of Return demonstrations east of Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on 22 March.
 Ramez HaboubAPA images

Maureen Clare Murphy -22 March 2019
Israeli forces killed two protesters in the occupied Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Human Rights Council condemned the “apparent intentional use of unlawful lethal and other excessive force” against Great March of Return demonstrators.
The UN body also passed a resolution opposing Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights, one day after President Donald Trump tweeted in support of US recognition of Israel’s claims to the Syrian territory.
Gaza’s health ministry identified the Palestinians slain on Friday as 29-year-old Nidal Abd al-Karim Ahmad Shatat, shot in the chest, and 24-year-old Jihad Munir Khalid Harara, shot in the head.
Israel directly targeted medics and ambulances with gas grenades during Friday’s demonstrations, the ministry stated.
Around 190 Palestinians were injured during Friday’s protests, more than half of them by live fire, according to Al Mezan, a human rights group in Gaza. Two were critically injured, the health ministry said.
Four journalists were hit by tear gas canisters and live fire while covering the protests, according to Al Mezan.
Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed during the Great March of Return mobilizations, including 41 children, two women, two journalists, three paramedics and eight persons with a disability, Al Mezan said.

UN body adopts Gaza inquiry

Meanwhile the UN Human Rights Council adopted the report of a commission of inquiry formed after more than 60 Palestinians were killed during a single day of Great March of Return protests in May last year.
HRC SECRETARIAT ✔@UN_HRC
adopts RES ensuring accountability&justice for int'l law violations in Welcomes rep @mbachelet to strengthen @UNHumanRights field presence to monitor&document int'l law violations in civilian protests
36
4:56 AM - Mar 22, 2019
The commission has found that Israel’s use of lethal force against protesters warrants criminal investigation and prosecution and may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Human Rights Council’s resolution regrets Israel’s lack of cooperation with the commission of inquiry and failure to implement previous recommendations made by the UN, particularly after Israel’s 51-day military offensive in Gaza in 2014.
The resolution also notes the lack of meaningful Israeli investigations into human rights abuses by its forces, as well as the “numerous legal, procedural and practical obstacles in the Israeli civil and criminal legal system contributing to the denial of access to justice for Palestinian victims and of their right to an effective judicial remedy.”
While calling for strengthened UN monitoring in the Gaza Strip, the resolution falls short of recommending specific actions towards accountability, only urging cooperation with an existing preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court.
However, the commission of inquiry report adopted by the Human Rights Council does urge UN member states to consider sanctions, travel bans and asset freezes on those responsible for crimes and to arrest or extradite “persons alleged to have committed, or who ordered to have committed, the international crimes.”
Martin Konecny@MartinKonecny
 · 
1) At yesterday, EU states unanimously supported resolutions promoting for human rights violations in Sri Lanka & Nicaragua. Today they'll do the same for Syria, Myanmar, S Sudan, N Korea. Only on Gaza they'll be split and some vote against.
Martin Konecny@MartinKonecny
2) This after text softened to remove what EU states quietly opposed: so no follow-up mechanism; no call to provide findings to ICC; no call to stop arms transfers. Resolution tabled under item 2 not item 7.

3) This all after c. 200 killed & thousands injured in Gaza protests.
14
4:34 AM - Mar 22, 2019
Twenty-three states voted in favor of the Human Rights Council resolution. Eight countries opposed and 15 abstained, including the UK, which had initially called for an independent UN inquiry into Gaza protest deaths.
Of the 10 European Union countries on the Human Rights Council, four voted against the resolution and five abstained. The fact that Spain was the only EU country to back the resolution underscores the bloc’s ongoing complicity in Israel’s crimes and belies official propaganda that defending human rights is a fundamental EU value.
A group of UK charities accused the UK government of “a dereliction of responsibility” for refusing to endorse the commission of inquiry’s findings.

UK blames Hamas for protest deaths

British officials repeated the Israeli government line that Hamas was to blame for protest deaths even though Palestinians were killed by bullets and tear gas canisters fired by occupation soldiers.
Julian Braithwaite, the UK ambassador to the UN, paid deference to purported Israeli probes into protest deaths and said that “Hamas of course bear principal responsibility as their operatives have cynically exploited the protests. And we are clear that Israel has the right to self-defense.”
The UK had also pledged to vote against four Human Rights Council resolutions raised under a permanent agenda item dedicated to human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights.
The UK, like the US, which under the leadership of former ambassador Nikki Haley quit the body in protest last year, contends that the permanent agenda item singles out Israel for human rights abuses.
Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the Great March of Return, as well as Land Day, the annual commemoration of six Palestinians killed during protests against Israeli land confiscation in the Galilee in 1976.
The UN Human Rights Council resolution passed Friday condemning Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights reflects global opposition to Trump’s declaration of intent to recognize Israel’s claims to the territory.
Last year the US voted for the first time against the annual UN resolution opposing Israel’s occupation of the Syrian territory, and this year the State Department dropped the word “occupied” from its annual human rights report, referring to the Golan Heights as “Israeli-controlled” territory, as it also did in reference to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Senior Republicans have been pushing for US recognition of Israel’s claims of sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
As recognized by international law, the Golan Heights is Syrian territory captured by Israel during the 1967 war along with the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, from which Israel eventually withdrew.
After Israel claimed to annex the Golan Heights in 1981, the UN Security Council declared the move “null and void and without international legal effect.”

Trump boosts Netanyahu’s reelection bid

Trump’s tweet on Thursday that “it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights” comes two weeks before general elections in Israel.
The timing of Trump’s announcement was anticipated by Benjamin Netanyahu’s election rival and is widely viewed as an attempt to boost the prime minister’s campaign to retain his seat.
Trump is reportedly planning to sign an executive order recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights while Netanyahu is in Washington next week.
Syria condemned Trump’s announcement, saying that the Golan “was an ‘indivisible’ part of Syrian territory and recovering it ‘via all means guaranteed by international law is still a priority,’” as the Reuters news agency reported.
Al-Marsad, a human rights group based in the Golan, said Trump’s “proposed policy shift is contradictory and threatens peace in the Middle East”:
Al-Marsad | المرصد@GolanMarsad
We denounce @realDonaldTrump's suggestion that the U.S. should recognize Israel's claimed "sovereignty" over the . This proposed policy shift is contradictory to international law and threatens peace in the Middle East.
85
6:38 PM - Mar 21, 2019
Amnesty International also condemned the move, saying the US “must stop legitimizing Israel’s systematic human rights violations”:
Amnesty International ✔@amnesty
Hey @realDonaldTrump, Israel’s annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights violates int'l law. The USA must stop legitimizing Israel's systematic human rights violations, illegal settlements & is efforts to deprive the occupied population of their protection under IHL.
Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!
514
8:14 AM - Mar 22, 2019
Trump’s announcement in December 2017 that the US would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and move it embassy there, also broke with decades of American foreign policy and was met with worldwide opposition.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza were killed by Israeli occupation forces while protesting Trump’s announcement.
Dozens of protesters in Gaza were slain by Israeli snipers on 14 May 2018 as American officials and Israeli leaders celebrated the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
The systematic slaughter that day led to the Human Rights Council establishing the commission of inquiry into Israel’s use of lethal force against unarmed protesters.
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US must stop threatening ICC over possible war crime probes, UN experts say

US officials have threatened punitive action against anyone seeking to hold US or Israeli citizens accountable at ICC
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued visa restrictions on anyone aiding ICC investigations (Reuters/File photo)

By MEE staff-22 March 2019

Two United Nations experts have urged the United States to stop making threats against the International Criminal Court, saying recent statements by top Trump administration officials may hinder the work of the international body.

In a statement shared by the UN’s human rights body (OHCHR), the experts expressed concern on Friday about specific comments made by the US president's national security adviser, John Bolton, and by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

They pointed to a September statement from Bolton, who said at the time "that ICC judges, prosecutors and staff would face measures if they went ahead with investigating alleged war crimes by the US, Israel or other US allies".

Bolton threatened to institute a "ban on ICC judges and prosecutors entering the United States", and he said that the US would consider "freezing their funds in the US financial system; and ultimately, their prosecution in the US".

"These threats constitute improper interference with the independence of the ICC and could hinder the ability of ICC judges, prosecutors, and staff to carry out their professional duties," the UN experts said in their statement.

Last week, Pompeo said the US was imposing visa restrictions on individuals aiding the ICC initiative or further investigations into American and Israeli citizens.

"I'm announcing a policy of US visa restrictions on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of US personnel," Pompeo said.

"This includes persons who take or have taken action to request or further such an investigation. These visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis, without allies' consent," he added.


Palestinian minister launches ICC case against Israeli "war crimes"
Read More »

The UN experts said they were particularly concerned "in light of recent reports of senior ICC staff resigning from their positions as a consequence of these threats".

In the past several years, Palestinian leaders and human rights groups have said they intend to go to the ICC in order to hold Israel accountable for human rights abuses and possible war crimes.

UN investigators have suggested that Israel may have committed war crimes in its heavy-handed response to the Great March of Return protests in Gaza.

Israeli forces have killed hundreds of Palestinians since the protests began on 30 March last year.
In late February, a UN panel report on the killings of Palestinians was handed over to the ICC for investigation.

"The Israeli security forces killed and maimed Palestinian demonstrators who did not pose an imminent threat of death or serious injury to others when they were shot, nor were they directly participating in hostilities," the panel report said.

Afghanistan and Palestine

Middle East Eye also reported in October that the ICC was on the verge of opening a war crimes probe into American soldiers and CIA officers operating in Afghanistan.

The US has never joined the ICC, but both Afghanistan and Palestine are members.

In a statement in September, shortly after Bolton's comments, Human Rights Watch said his threats could be linked to both cases.

"Afghanistan is an ICC member, which means the court has jurisdiction over alleged war crimes committed there,"  Elizabeth Evenson, the associate director of HRW's international justice programme, said in a statement.

"Palestine is also an ICC member. Bolton used the speech to announce a decision to close down the PLO representative office in Washington over its support for an ICC probe into serious crimes committed in Palestine."

She added that despite his threats, "ICC officials and member countries are unlikely to be cowed by Bolton's disdain for the court".

"But his speech was a stark affront to victims of atrocity crimes seeking justice," she said.
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An angel for Razan’s mother

Medics treat wounded person lying on ground
Razan al-Najjar, center, treats a wounded person during Great March of Return protests on 1 April 2018, two months before she was killed by an Israeli army sniper.
 Ashraf AmraAPA images

Jennifer Bing -21 March 2019
“I wonder if you are interested in why I am buying this angel today,” I asked the elderly woman checking my purchases at the arts and craft store in New Mexico.
“I’m buying it for a friend who I’ve been traveling with over the past few weeks who is from Gaza.”
She looked interested, so I continued.
“My friend Ahmed is someone who inspired people to nonviolently march to the boundary fence in Gaza,” I explained. “He is here on a speaking tour in the US. Do you watch Democracy Now!?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I always seek out alternative media. Amy Goodman is great. Sad what is happening between the Palestinians and Israelis.”
“Well, my friend was interviewed by Amy Goodman in New York last week. He shares the story about why thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are marching to the fence each week. One of his stories is about a young medic named Razan al-Najjar. Have you heard her story?”
“No, I haven’t,” the shopkeeper replied. “I actually don’t think I have heard any stories from people in Gaza.”
I explained that Razan was a 21-year old volunteer medic, who helped tend to the wounded who are often shot by Israeli snipers as they protest weekly at the boundary fence.
She came from a poor family and was devoted to serving others, according to Ahmed, who met her family.
Razan was killed by an Israeli sniper last year as she helped the wounded at the protest.
She was wearing her white medic coat when she was shot. Razan is one of about 260 Palestinians in Gaza who have been killed by the Israeli army over the last year, nearly 200 of them in the context of unarmed protests.
More than 29,000 have been injured during the demonstrations, some 7,000 by live fire.

An angel to take back to Gaza

A heart with a bird painted on it and the words Te Quiero
A gift for Ahmed to let him know that ”Americans like me want him to fly free like the birds.”
Jennifer Bing
Ahmed talks about Razan when he speaks to audiences in the US. He often refers to her as an angel. “I want to give this angel to Ahmed to take back to Gaza to give to Razan’s mother. Just so she knows that people in the US have heard her daughter’s story,” I said.
The shopkeeper replied: “How come we don’t hear these stories. I mean, I didn’t know that Palestinians have been protesting at the fence for a year. I guess conditions there are so difficult. Can you tell me more?”
I gave her an abbreviated version of the messages Ahmed has shared on his speaking tour: the daily lives in Gaza spent coping without electricity, without access to proper medical care, without clean water, without jobs, without the ability to travel. Palestinians want a life of dignity, Ahmed reminds audiences.
The majority of Palestinians in Gaza are refugees and live just miles from their original homes on the other side of Israel’s boundary fence. They want to return. Their year-long protest called the Great March of Return is a cry from a tiny strip of land that has become a prison for two million people due to 12 years of Israeli blockade.

Miracle

“It is really a miracle that Ahmed was able to come to the US,” I said. “It took us six months to plan his trip and until he arrived, I really wasn’t sure he would make it. It is so difficult for people to travel to and from Gaza. If one is lucky to leave, it is sometimes difficult to return home. Ahmed has four small children and a wife that he misses daily. But he is committed to reaching Americans with the story of Palestinians from Gaza.”
“My friend Ahmed often talks about birds,” I said as she wrapped up a folk art bird I bought as a goodbye gift for Ahmed. “He is a lover of nature and often looks at how the birds fly freely in Gaza. He asks audiences in the US, why can’t Palestinians in Gaza be free to move like the birds? I can’t look at birds now without thinking about how they are so meaningful to him.”
The shopkeeper got up from behind her desk. “Well, we have lots of birds in this store. Let me give you a few things to give to Ahmed as a gift from me. I want him to know that Americans like me want him to fly free like the birds.”
We then went through the store, collecting trinkets that Ahmed and his children might like: a box of worry dolls, a heart-shaped bell, a bird with the words Te Quiero – I love you – inscribed, and two small clay birds made at a nearby pueblo.
As she wrapped up the small gifts, I told her she could learn more on our website GazaUnlocked.org and to watch Democracy Now! for a chance to see Ahmed’s interview. I thanked her for her generosity and for taking time to hear about Gaza.
“I am so happy you opened the conversation about the angel,” she said. “I will remember this encounter for years to come.”
“I will too,” I replied.
Jennifer Bing is director of the Palestine-Israel program for the American Friends Service Committee in Chicago and co-leader of the No Way to Treat a Child campaign.
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