M.I.A.
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200901/20090128_mia.html#
original airdate January 28, 2009
With her politically edgy lyrics, British-born, Sri Lankan-raised M.I.A. has gone from underground artist to commercial success. The songwriter, producer, rapper and graphic designer's debut CD, "Arular," was released to critical acclaim, and Rolling Stone named her sophomore effort, "Kala," best album of '07. Her "Paper Planes" single, featured on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, is nominated for a Grammy, and she received a best song Oscar nod for 'O Saya." She also has her own fashion line and a music label, N.E.E.T.
LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200901/20090128_mia.html#
WATCH
Hip-hop artist shares her feelings about her Oscar-nominated song from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. (1:22)
WATCH
Full interview. (12:21)
M.I.A.
M.I.A.
Tavis: M.I.A. is a talented singer-songwriter and hip-hop artist who has the rare honor of being nominated -- get this -- for an Oscar and a Grammy in the same year. She's featured on the soundtrack of one of the year's biggest films, "Slumdog Millionaire," and is up for record of the year for her song "Paper Planes." Here is some of the video for "Paper Planes.
[Clip]
Tavis: So we'll deal with the obvious first -- somebody's having a baby.
M.I.A.: It's M.I.A. and the baby here. (Laughter.)
Tavis: Somebody's having a -- the baby ain't M.I.A., I can see that.
M.I.A.: I know, it's very there.
Tavis: Yeah, there he is. The funny thing -- maybe funny's the wrong word; I found it interesting -- so you're nominated for a Grammy and I'm told the baby is due on Grammy night?
M.I.A.: Mm-hmm. So if I turn up --
Tavis: How'd you work that out?
M.I.A.: -- I have to turn up in my hospital gown on a stretcher, (laughter) and they already have, like, a helicopter organized for my fast exit plan.
Tavis: So did you plan it this way, to have the baby on the Grammy day?
M.I.A.: No, not at all. I didn't even know I was going to get nominated, and then they nominated me for a Brit as well, in England, and it was just like everything happened in the same week. But yeah, it's just -- it's insane.
Tavis: I asked M.I.A. when she walked out, we were just talking off camera, and I said, "So where's home for you these days? Where do you live?" She says, "I live in New York." So I was asking her when she was headed back to New York. She said, "Oh, no, I can't fly now, I'm stuck in L.A." So we know where the baby's going to be born, because you're not getting on a plane to go back to New York for a few days.
M.I.A.: No, and the Grammys are here anyway, so it just worked out. Like, as soon as I came they were, like, "You can't fly," and then I found out that I was nominated. And that's kind of why they invited me to go on the show to do the Grammys and perform there. They say anything could trigger off labor, so.
Tavis: Not now -- not for the next nine minutes, please.
M.I.A.: I know, I know. But I think, like, singing with Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and Kanye and --
Tavis: Yeah, that could make anything happen.
M.I.A.: -- T.I. could, yeah.
Tavis: Yeah, that could make -- with them Negros, anything could happen.
M.I.A.: Exactly. (Laughter.)
Tavis: So just not for the next nine minutes. What do you make of all of this? This is, like, rare.
M.I.A.: This is a good luck baby for me, and all the events, the way it's been happening, the way I've been sort of seeing it, is that being the only Tamil in the Western media, I have a really great opportunity to sort of bring forward what's going on in Sri Lanka. Like my success, it just seems to parallel the situation in Sri Lanka -- the more successful I'm getting, the dire the situation in Sri Lanka's getting.
And there's a genocide going on, and it's kind of -- it's ironic that I am the only Tamil, and I've turned into the only voice for the Tamil people, the 20 percent minority in my country. And yeah, it's weird that I'm being given the opportunity.
Tavis: This platform.
M.I.A.: Yeah, a platform.
Tavis: Since you've been given the platform, take it for just a second. For those who may not be familiar with Sri Lanka and the Tamil people, tell me the top line of who the Tamil people are, what's happening in Sri Lanka, now that you have this platform to talk about it.
M.I.A.: Well, Sri Lanka is an island off the coast of India. There's two ethnicities there; one the Sinhalese, which is the majority and the government, and the minority, who are the Tamils. That's where I'm from. And my lifetime sort of began there, I spent 10 years, and I was there during when the war started and fled as a refugee to England.
And basically since I fled till now, it's -- there's been a systematic genocide which has quiet thing because no one knows where Sri Lanka is. And now it's just escalated to the point there's 350,000 people who are stuck in a battle zone and can't get out, and aid's banned and humanitarian organizations are banned, journalists are banned from telling the story.
It's just, like, one-sided, 100 percent, and I think it's just escalated because Obama was coming into power, because only under sort of Bush's presidency that you could get away with doing as much as that.
Tavis: When you say there's genocide happening there, what's your sense for why a story of genocide isn't being covered more in the media? Why don't we know more about this?
M.I.A.: You don't know more about it because due to the propaganda -- when you think Tamil, you automatically thing tiger, and that is completely disproportionate. So human beings around the world have to be taught to go Tamil equals Tamil civilians first, and the Tamil Tiger is a separate thing. And both of those groups are different. It's like a square and a circle.
And the thing is there's only 4,000 Tamil Tiger soldiers in Sri Lanka, and if you want, you could just sneeze and wipe them out in a day. They're not that sophisticated with their weaponry and stuff like that -- the Sri Lankan government, which is a million soldiers big, can handle that.
But using those people, we're managing to wipe out the whole Tamil population, the civilians, and that is why you don't hear about it, because the propaganda in the media, because if you're a terrorist organization, you don't have the right to speak, that is passed on to the Tamil civilians. The Tamil civilians don't have the right to speak or right to live, they don't have any liberties.
So that's been the key thing, that when you think al Qaeda, you're not thinking Afghanistan. That if you want to go and fight and kill al Qaeda, then you can, but you can't wipe out Afghanistan. And that's what's happening in Sri Lanka, and I think it's really important for America to understand that, because they set the precedent on how you fight terrorism around the world.
And it's really important that just that sort of throwaway comment, "Oh, Tamil, she must be a Tamil Tiger," actually, the repercussions of that is killing people back home.
Tavis: And offensive, I would assume.
M.I.A.: Yeah, definitely.
Tavis: I'm glad we had a chance to talk about that. I learn something on this show every day, so I thank you for indulging my questions about that. You mentioned -- we were talking about your country you mentioned that you sort of grew up there and you were there for at least 10 years. There were some other years when you weren't there, and I was reading about your background -- you've lived, like, a lot of places. How has that impacted your music, your sound, your style, the fact that you --
M.I.A.: Well, I've lived in India, too, and --
Tavis: Right. And London, and --
M.I.A.: Yeah. I've just always traveled because that's what you do when you're a refugee, and I think it's just impacted me because I'm not judgmental, and I like to hear things from the horse's mouth and I use my own brain to make judgments about what the truth is and what isn't, and I know it from my own experiences what that is.
And I think it's always been that's the thing about my music. Like, I wanted to become a musician and help, like, some sort of change, or stand up for what I believe in, or use music for what it's supposed to be for. And so it wasn't really about getting fame and success and becoming a celebrity and selling records, it was more about bringing together an opinion or a point of view of the other that doesn't usually get heard in the mainstream.
Tavis: You know there are a lot of artists who shy away from that; they don't want to bring their truth, whatever that is, into their music. They just want to entertain people.
M.I.A.: I know, but music was also used for social change. It's not a bad word. And I think we just kind of shy away from it because the pressure of being successful and the pressure of being sexy and standing up for nothing is just so big, you know what I mean? (Laughter.)
Tavis: Yeah, I like that.
M.I.A.: Yeah, so I think that is -- you have to be pretty tough to, like, fight that, and the fact that I kind of had the experiences that I had made me so tough and thick-skinned that it didn't matter what anyone put onto me, but it was more about the people that I was representing.
Tavis: Tell me about the song for which you were nominated for this Academy Award.
M.I.A.: It's kind of stirred up some emotions. I feel like people either love me or hate me, which is good, because that was the point of what I do. The point of M.I.A. is to be -- it's either to be loved or hated. At least you evoke that much of a strong opinion about music.
And "Paper Planes" I think is one of those songs that did that, and people couldn't work it out, and I think it was subversive for some people and it was too obvious for other people. Everyone constantly asks me what it's about, and like, "Are you a terrorist?" And it's like, "No," that has nothing to do with it.
And it could be about gun corporations selling guns and making billions of dollars, or it could be about immigrants coming over and being the scary other that's going to take everyone's jobs. And I kind of want to leave it ambiguous for my fans.
Tavis: Well, you picked the right soundtrack to be on.
M.I.A.: Yes.
Tavis: This movie is huge -- 10 nominations.
M.I.A.: Yeah, Danny emailed me. I was in -- I hadn't -- I wasn't really aware of it, but he went to India and then after he filmed the film he emailed me and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. And I love Danny Boyle. "Trainspotting" is one of my films that I would take to my grave.
And yeah, he basically gave me the opportunity to work on it, and the way I saw it when he showed me "Paper Planes" in the movie, it just looked like the most expensive, well-directed video I could have had for my song. (Laughter.)
So I was, like, "Yeah, great," and it made me cry, actually, when I saw it, because it was just really true and amazing.
Tavis: My time with you is up. Will you indulge me just one time? I want to hear you say your full name. Just say it for me one time, your full name.
M.I.A.: It's Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam.
Tavis: I just wanted to hear that. That's all. (Laughter.) I knew I never could. I'll just call her M.I.A.
M.I.A.: It's a Tamil thing.
Tavis: Yeah, it's a Tamil thing. I'll just call her M.I.A. She's nominated for Grammys, Academy Award, baby due on Grammy night -- what a year it is turning out to be for M.I.A. Congratulations on this and all of this, and I'm glad to have you on.
M.I.A.: Thanks.
Tavis: It's my pleasure.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Brotherly dictatorship in Sri Lanka
Brotherly dictatorship February 2009
By: Anonymous
http://www.himalmag.com/Brotherly-dictatorship_nw2822.html
BILASH RAI
Friend and foe alike will grant that, since his election in November 2005, President Mahinda Rajapakse has proven adroit at strengthening his grip on power, be it by means fair or foul. During that time, his regime has propelled itself on the axes of war and a purging of the political opposition. A variety of approaches are being utilised for both. The military aspect has been a resounding success, starting with the Mavil Aru waterway incident of August 2007, to the captures of Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and the Mullaitivu ‘command hub’ in January 2009. All three of these events took place to the shrill accompaniment of chauvinist street parades and triumphal drums.
Perhaps of more importance than war per se has been the opportunist use of racist rhetoric, against the background of what of course is an ethnic conflict. This has worked essentially to glue the Sinhalese people to the Rajapakse regime, while simultaneously deflecting attention from systematic state-engineered terror, inefficiency of economic policy, unprecedented corruption and grotesque failure of governance. Also executed with remarkable skill has been the engineered breakdown of the main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP); the marginalising of both the Sinhala-chauvinist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the nationalist Tamil National Alliance (TNA); and reduction of the leadership of the three traditional left parties – the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), the Communist Party and the Democratic Left Front – into pliant sycophancy. Nevertheless, there is an eerie unreality in Sri Lanka today, like a castle floating on a seabed of molten lava. Is the regime really as stable as it appears? Will calm turn to chaos when deeper rages eventually surface?
The outer envelope of President Rajapakse’s cabinet includes the largest number of ministers in the world (105), in addition to the military-police establishment, the government-appointed bosses of state corporations, a client class of business beneficiaries, and thousands of ruling-party hangers-on. A widespread agent-client relationship – as in the Philippines of Ferdinand Marcos – marks the Sri Lankan polity today, both within the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the UNP. This is not merely a case of every people ultimately getting the government it deserves; rather, party-aligned individuals ingratiate themselves to the regime and eventually share in the spoils of office – contracts, jobs and privileges. The moral degeneration of the political space could not have gotten this far without this process of collaboration, made all the more lucrative because of the war economy.
At the core of the Colombo regime, however, resides a very small cabal. This consists of Mahinda Rajapakse; his two younger brothers, Basil and Gotabhaya (his elder brother, Chamal, is also a minister, but is not as closely involved in policy matters); the army commander, Sarath Fonseka; and a small coterie of businessmen cronies, with Harry Jayawardena and Sajin Vas Gunawardena being the most notorious. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, who has an important ex-officio role, and the ultra-chauvinist Champika Ranawaka of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) the ‘monk’s party’ (though Ranawaka is not a monk) are also part of this inside track. When it comes to the most vital decisions, however, it is only the ‘brotherhood’, along with the prime minister and Fonseka, who count and who run the country and the war.
President Rajapakse is a personable fellow, and is generally liked by those around him. He likes to eat, drink and experience most of the other things that make life enjoyable. Basil, a Member of Parliament and an incumbent of several presidential advisory positions, is the smart one, the brains behind the entire Operation Sri Lanka. It is Basil, in his various capacities as the president’s point man, who is assigned the toughest challenges, including dealing with the LTTE breakaways Pillayan and Karuna in the Eastern Province, or embarking on sensitive trips to Delhi to soothe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Undoubtedly, he has been very effective.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya, (a Sri Lanka-US dual national) is the one who the Tamil community loves to hate. A hardline militarist, together with the army commander, Fonseka, he is the most determined to wipe out the LTTE and pursue the war to its bitter end. Neither Gotabhaya nor Basil has much compunction regarding human-rights violations, extrajudicial excesses or deporting Tamils from Colombo, and they have been relatively unsympathetic to collateral civilian casualties – if they are Tamil. Sometimes they may act without explicit consultation with the president, but not once has this carte blanche been revoked or rescinded. Fonseka, meanwhile, has not hesitated to overreach his role and make racist remarks during interviews at home and abroad (“Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhalese,” he said in an interview with the Canadian media in 2008. “We will be mindful of the rights of the minorities, but they must understand their place”).
The point to appreciate here is that, with over 100 ministers, the cabinet is almost completely irrelevant. Before he died in 2008, Anura Bandaranaike (former President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s brother and a member of the Lankan cabinet) described it as a “carnival of clowns.” The current cabinet’s impotence is, of course, part of the process of focusing all power in the hands of the inner cabal. A single story tells it all. The chairman of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) and the minister of science and technology, LSSP leader Tissa Vitarana, worked his way through some 90 meetings towards a new draft constitution. In early 2008, President Rajapakse called for an interim report to answer the ‘irritations’ that were being expressed by a visiting international delegation, and Vitarana produced a 30-page missive that summarised the points on which the APRC had reached consensus thus far. The president told him to shorten the document, and then told him to shorten it again. Finally, he gave Vitarana three pages that had nothing to do with the committee’s deliberations, saying, “Sign this and give it back to me.” The ever-pliant Vitarana dutifully complied, supplying weeks of mirth to Sri Lanka’s chattering classes and the press.
Uses and abuses of war
The string of defeats that the LTTE has suffered over the past year has by now forced it into a small area less than 500 square miles in a remote corner in the country’s northeast. Many believe that the LTTE, that formidable military power, has been vanquished, or at least silenced, for years to come – annoyances such as suicide bomb attacks aside. Whether this is truly the case, of course, remains to be seen, but either way the mood in the government, the military and the Sinhalese public has already turned to triumphal and racist gloating. This mood has provided the state with an opening for a rapid acceleration of repression, in terms of direct attacks on the media and in promoting patriotic fervour to create an ‘appropriate’ climate – trends that had been growing more slowly during the previous three years of the war process.
It is no exaggeration to describe the Rajapakse regime’s programme in Sri Lanka as ruthless, with complicity at the very highest levels of the state and military. Three recent incidents can be taken as indicators of a ghastly pattern. In the early hours of 6 January 2009, the office of MTV, the largest independent television station in the country, was ransacked and destroyed by a well-organised group of men armed with grenades and machine guns. MTV’s sin: failing to pour enough glory on the army’s ‘heroic’ capture of Kilinochchi. Since then, the talk on the street has been that the perpetrators were state personnel acting on official instruction. Indeed, in private, government officials do not deny this version, adding the argument that, essentially, MTV deserved the treatment. Two days later, Lasantha Wickrematunga, the courageous editor of the Sunday Leader, a newspaper that has exposed vast financial scams and poured cold water on military heroics, was assassinated, military style, in broad daylight. Last October, President Rajapakse had described Wickrematunga to Reporters without Borders as a “terrorist journalist”.
The third incident threatens to result in a complete breakdown of the relationship between the government’s executive and judicial branches. In response to a complaint that taxes on petrol far in excess of 100 percent constituted a violation of fundamental rights, in mid-December the Supreme Court ordered price reductions. However, the executive branch has baldly refused to comply. Indications are that this refusal, coupled with several other court decisions that are said to have angered the regime, could be leading to a disastrous breakdown of the relationship between the judiciary and executive. The authoritarian determination of the executive in Sri Lanka is no less obstreperous than in Pervez Musharaff’s Pakistan, and the possibility looms of a systemic collapse of the pluralistic state if the regime were to attempt a monopoly power grab. For instance, riding on the charged-up war mood and exploiting the momentary euphoria of victory, the ruling cabal could seize the initiative and land the first punch. The likely initial step would be to continue to contemptuously ignore Supreme Court rulings, bringing the court into public ridicule and showing up its ‘impotency’ when confronted by overarching executive power.
The weakening of the judiciary is only being made worse by the fact that both the cabinet and Parliament have turned themselves into objects of public derision. The cabinet ballooned to its humungous proportions because the government morphed from a minority to a majority by offering dozens of portfolios to a UNP breakaway group and to multiple others in order to make up the required parliamentary number. Parliament, meanwhile, has lost credibility for having abdicated its role of monitoring and controlling the executive. Nearly all government MPs are ministers, and the opposition is fractured and directionless. The UNP has been in shambles since early 2007, when about a third of its membership – crass opportunists all – crossed over to join the government upon promise of portfolios.
The sadder case still is of the Marxist-chauvinist former rebels of the JVP. In 2005, the JVP carried President Rajapakse’s election on its shoulders because it had the cadres, the organisation and the speakers with which to dominate the campaign. It pushed Rajapakse to modify his manifesto in chauvinist directions – commitment to a unitary state, decoupling the north and east, and a total commitment to war – because it had hoped eventually to capitalise on these measures and outflank Rajapakse by becoming even more chauvinist than him. The party also assiduously cultivated the Sinhalese lower orders in the army, bearing in mind that any military engaged in an ethnic war inevitably becomes a crucible of racial hate that can be utilised for its own consolidation. Having never outgrown its infantile insurrectionary adventurism of the early 1970s, this was the JVP’s natural way of thinking. In the event, however, President Rajapakse was the one to outflank the JVP, by making himself the champion of war and the oracle of chauvinism. Outmanoeuvred, frustrated and having lost its mass base, the JVP took to picking fights on trivial issues, and was soon kicked out of the coalition government. The flood of UNP opportunists was able to make up part of the government’s lost numbers in Parliament.
The Tamil National Alliance, a pro-LTTE Tamil nationalist party and the largest Tamil party in Parliament, has likewise been cowed down by the government. Three of its MPs have been murdered since Rajapakse took office, and several more have been hauled up and interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department for having visited the rebel stronghold of the Vanni, meeting LTTE leaders or making statements that allegedly promote secession. The climate of paramilitary intimidation during last year’s Eastern Province Provincial Council elections forced the TNA to back down to the extent that it ultimately did not even put forward a list of candidates. After all, the ban on the LTTE is one sure way of landing anyone in prison for upwards of 20 years on trumped-up charges of being in cahoots with a proscribed organisation.
The analysis seems to have been that the process of building repressive, state-monopolised power structures necessarily required the destruction of political and parliamentary opposition, by means most foul. In all of this, one must keep in mind Mahinda Rajapakse’s pedigree as a left-of-centre SLFP politician. He led human-rights marches across the country during the 1990s, and as labour minister he was known to be sympathetic to the trade unions. The traditional left parties and the JVP endorsed his presidential campaign in 2005 with enthusiasm, and even led from the front. But the rightward drift of President Rajapakse over the last three years has caught most of his erstwhile supporters flat-footed. In the case of the traditional left, the disappointment is just one more example of the perennial illusions that reformists indulge in about populist capitalist leaders. As for the JVP, it was simply tactically outwitted.
Graft galore
The consolidation of power at the top without a clear-cut majority in Parliament (minus JVP or UNP crossovers), made the ruling cabal weak, dependent on political machinations and various ‘operators’. The fallout has been the quid pro quo of permitting powerful ministers, dreaded white-van abductors and paramilitary forces in the Eastern Province their turn to indulge in abuses of power at the ministerial and provincial levels. The exemplar is the regime’s jack-of-all-strong-arm-trades, Mervyn de Silva. This minister is a symbol of notoriety, leading physical attacks of TV stations and journalists, getting into fisticuffs with law-enforcement agents, and with alleged connections to the Colombo drug underworld. Sri Lanka ranks high on the register of failing states because of a generalised, not merely a centralised, failure of law enforcement and governance. Mervyn de Silva’s ways symbolise this failure.
While corruption has undoubtedly been significant over the past several years, the allegations, if proved, would not show the Rajapakses overly enriching themselves. Nor would it have been possible to score such a remarkable victory in the war if generalised sleaze in military contracts was so severe as to erode the warring credibility of the forces themselves. Nevertheless, the matter of graft and kickbacks warrant scrutiny.
The SLR 8 billion MiG-29 scandal was just one of the worst, in which five of the world’s most advanced jet fighters were purchased with which to chase the LTTE’s slow-moving Cesnas around the Vanni airspace. The alleged point man on this: Gotabhaya Rajapakse. A presidential commission investigating ex-navy commander Vice-Admiral Daya Sandagiri found that Sri Lanka also “lost” SLR 400 million on the purchase of dud artillery guns from Israel passed off as new. The whistle blower: his successor, Vice-Admiral Wasantha Karanagoda. In addition, the Sunday Leader (18 May and 22 June 2008) published correspondence from overseas suppliers accusing Karanagoda of being a “liar” and a fixer in a SLR 56 million swindle regarding the purchase of a military sonar system. But we are not done with Sandagiri, either. Another allegation against him pertains to a SLR 3 billion deal for inappropriate ‘high speed’ naval craft.
How does this affect the Rajapakses themselves? While it has not been alleged that the brothers benefit directly from these military-contract scams, there is an inhibition in investigating charges of corruption against senior military officers at a time of war, and how the booty is distributed in the entire state machinery. The proclivity to spread the bounty is only natural.
There is also the ongoing scandal of the so-called government budget airline, Mihin Airways (named after Mahinda, no less), whose only budgetary achievement is swallowing SLR 3 billion from government pension funds and loans from the government-owned Bank of Ceylon. The operators who handle the government’s airline deals are Vaas Gunawardena and Harry Jayawardena; the former of which is an opportunist businessman who latched onto the president and made himself useful, while Jayawardena is a different kettle of fish altogether – a mega-rich tycoon who makes sure he gets on with every government in power. Mihin’s three leased aircraft have been recalled by the owners for non-settlement of dues, and the ‘airline’ has been grounded for months.
In the midst of this multitude of antics, the president directed Piyasena Ranasinghe, the director-general of the Bribery Commission, to resign in February 2008. According to observers, this was done for Ranasinghe’s excessive enthusiasm in probing high-level corruption. When he refused, the very next day the president moved Ranasinghe out of office and into the Presidential Secretariat, for which the chief executive earned himself a sharp rap on the knuckles from Transparency International. As long ago as the mid-1970s, Chief Justice Sarath Silva, exasperated at the futility of his efforts in enforcing the common law, opted for ecclesiastical law, and pronounced that those who abuse public funds “will surely go to hell”. His Lordship forgot to add, “And take the rest of country with them!”
Comments
This fella Brian Senewiratne keeps claiming to be a cousin of Chandrika to get some traction and credibility. That is a falsehood. He may be distantly connected or related distantly and wants to claim his expertise and pro Tamil Eelam rubbish as credible stories because of this claimed relationship. Brian tell us how you are genetically related to Chandrika and ever got into politics with her or associated with her politically. Now come to all the conjecture in the article. Not one person except Ranil's adoring fan Lasantha, ever has said Gotabaya is corrupt. Gotabaya took the fight to the overrated Tigers.. For that Tamil Tigers and their lovers hate him. Tigers started this round of war thinking they will beat a weak unprepared military. Tigers stopped the Tamils from voting for Ranil who by now would have given entire SL to Tigers with his Chamberlain policies of appeasement in gay abandon. Tigers thought by preventing tamils from voting they would elect a foolish southern man who will make their case valid to the world. Boy they miscalculated and their overrated military strategies were finally called. They wanted to go to war after assassinating the best leaders SL had and they almost got it. But their failure is why they are now cornered like prairie dogs in a spot of wilderness in MTivu. Bye Bye Velu you will end up being the biggest joker in the pack and known as the destroyer Shiva of moderate tamils and tamil civilization in Sri Lanka with your suicidal maniacal racial wars.
R.F.Gunasekera
Gampaha
2009-01-31 10:01:13
Any person can confuse with this type of superficial analysis. Nothing is based on facts. All the allegations are based on very popular arguments and unproved claims. Neither media personals nor any intellectuals should try to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka. We know the history of some of commentators and their ulterior motives were in parallel with LTTE aspirations. Majority of Sri Lankans do not agree with so called analysis and writings of media personals and comments of intellectuals as we know the reality with our own experience. The President has attracted overwhelming popularity among common people in Sri Lanka. He is the only leader that we can keep faith. He can save the country and we respect Defence Secretary and Army Commander. You can analyse and you can write whatever you want as it is your right. But we have the right to disagree with you. I believe most of the Sri Lankans will agree with me. If there is similar space in your column it is possible to prove that your analysis and all conclusions are superficial. We know the reality! Faro Portugal
Dissanayake
Faro
2009-01-31 08:01:31
You are absolutely right. One of the best articles I have read What exists is a politico-military fscist dictatorship, a junta, of you like, that has the temerity to call itself a 'Government' The Sinhalese, of which I am one, will learn it to their cost, as the guns, now turned on the Tamils, areturned on the Sinhalese who are critical of this monstrous regime, Lasantha Wickrematunga is the best example. Youll find mt=y comments on this killing in tamilcanadian.org is you type my name in the 'search box' It is article number 38 or 39 There will be another to follow "The Fascist Dictaorship in Sri Kanka" which Ill put together in the next few weeks. The Sinhala poor will have to pay a price for this damnable, corrupt, nepotistic, irresponsible regime that is taking Sri Lanka to a Faiked State. The recently published "Failed State Index" documents this, as was the fact that Sri Lanka was tossed out of the UN Human Rights Council on 21 May 2008, an international condemnation of Rajapakse and his gang of crooks, only marginaly better than that of my cousin, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, whose crooked deals have just been documented in a book published by Victor Ivan in Colombo, titled "The Queen of Deceipt", the Sinhala version has a better title "The Mother of Liars" It is available in Colomboo Rs 500 Brian Senewiratne Brian Senewiratne
Dr Brian Senewiratne
Brisbane
2009-01-31 06:01:33
If the najority thinks that when the war is "over" that they can have a properous country? Keep dreaming. Ever since the independence the sinhala leaders came to power on racial villification and hatred. Was ther one sinhala leader who lokked upon developing the multi racial harmony? In 1969 when Lee Kuan Yeu then S'Pore PM visited SL, he said that he wants to make S'Pore like then Ceylon. Now eher are we and S'Pore in comparism. Except for all the politicians so far have accumulated wealth and invested in RE abroad ans the children of the high military ranking officers children studying in foreign Uni's while the poor sinhala peasant's son is dying at th war front and their bodies being not even returned. This is not democracy but dictatorship at it's best. Once the tamils are finished, then it will be you sinhala peasant's turn, as you will know what economy is about. Good luck.
JP
Australia
2009-01-31 05:01:57
Abesinghe Don't be silly. Sri Lanka is fighting the Indian war against LTTE just as the LTTE fought the Indian war against Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan war against India. Sri Lanka, India and LTTE have been going in circles for many years. India is driving the war against LTTE. If necessary India will use the Tigers to wage a war against Sri Lanka. It is too soon to celebrate the war victories. Now India has helped Sri Lanka to marginalise LTTE, in return what is that India wants from Sri Lanka?
NativeVedda
London
2009-01-30 11:01:26
By: Anonymous
http://www.himalmag.com/Brotherly-dictatorship_nw2822.html
BILASH RAI
Friend and foe alike will grant that, since his election in November 2005, President Mahinda Rajapakse has proven adroit at strengthening his grip on power, be it by means fair or foul. During that time, his regime has propelled itself on the axes of war and a purging of the political opposition. A variety of approaches are being utilised for both. The military aspect has been a resounding success, starting with the Mavil Aru waterway incident of August 2007, to the captures of Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and the Mullaitivu ‘command hub’ in January 2009. All three of these events took place to the shrill accompaniment of chauvinist street parades and triumphal drums.
Perhaps of more importance than war per se has been the opportunist use of racist rhetoric, against the background of what of course is an ethnic conflict. This has worked essentially to glue the Sinhalese people to the Rajapakse regime, while simultaneously deflecting attention from systematic state-engineered terror, inefficiency of economic policy, unprecedented corruption and grotesque failure of governance. Also executed with remarkable skill has been the engineered breakdown of the main opposition party, the United National Party (UNP); the marginalising of both the Sinhala-chauvinist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the nationalist Tamil National Alliance (TNA); and reduction of the leadership of the three traditional left parties – the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), the Communist Party and the Democratic Left Front – into pliant sycophancy. Nevertheless, there is an eerie unreality in Sri Lanka today, like a castle floating on a seabed of molten lava. Is the regime really as stable as it appears? Will calm turn to chaos when deeper rages eventually surface?
The outer envelope of President Rajapakse’s cabinet includes the largest number of ministers in the world (105), in addition to the military-police establishment, the government-appointed bosses of state corporations, a client class of business beneficiaries, and thousands of ruling-party hangers-on. A widespread agent-client relationship – as in the Philippines of Ferdinand Marcos – marks the Sri Lankan polity today, both within the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the UNP. This is not merely a case of every people ultimately getting the government it deserves; rather, party-aligned individuals ingratiate themselves to the regime and eventually share in the spoils of office – contracts, jobs and privileges. The moral degeneration of the political space could not have gotten this far without this process of collaboration, made all the more lucrative because of the war economy.
At the core of the Colombo regime, however, resides a very small cabal. This consists of Mahinda Rajapakse; his two younger brothers, Basil and Gotabhaya (his elder brother, Chamal, is also a minister, but is not as closely involved in policy matters); the army commander, Sarath Fonseka; and a small coterie of businessmen cronies, with Harry Jayawardena and Sajin Vas Gunawardena being the most notorious. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, who has an important ex-officio role, and the ultra-chauvinist Champika Ranawaka of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) the ‘monk’s party’ (though Ranawaka is not a monk) are also part of this inside track. When it comes to the most vital decisions, however, it is only the ‘brotherhood’, along with the prime minister and Fonseka, who count and who run the country and the war.
President Rajapakse is a personable fellow, and is generally liked by those around him. He likes to eat, drink and experience most of the other things that make life enjoyable. Basil, a Member of Parliament and an incumbent of several presidential advisory positions, is the smart one, the brains behind the entire Operation Sri Lanka. It is Basil, in his various capacities as the president’s point man, who is assigned the toughest challenges, including dealing with the LTTE breakaways Pillayan and Karuna in the Eastern Province, or embarking on sensitive trips to Delhi to soothe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Undoubtedly, he has been very effective.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya, (a Sri Lanka-US dual national) is the one who the Tamil community loves to hate. A hardline militarist, together with the army commander, Fonseka, he is the most determined to wipe out the LTTE and pursue the war to its bitter end. Neither Gotabhaya nor Basil has much compunction regarding human-rights violations, extrajudicial excesses or deporting Tamils from Colombo, and they have been relatively unsympathetic to collateral civilian casualties – if they are Tamil. Sometimes they may act without explicit consultation with the president, but not once has this carte blanche been revoked or rescinded. Fonseka, meanwhile, has not hesitated to overreach his role and make racist remarks during interviews at home and abroad (“Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhalese,” he said in an interview with the Canadian media in 2008. “We will be mindful of the rights of the minorities, but they must understand their place”).
The point to appreciate here is that, with over 100 ministers, the cabinet is almost completely irrelevant. Before he died in 2008, Anura Bandaranaike (former President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s brother and a member of the Lankan cabinet) described it as a “carnival of clowns.” The current cabinet’s impotence is, of course, part of the process of focusing all power in the hands of the inner cabal. A single story tells it all. The chairman of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) and the minister of science and technology, LSSP leader Tissa Vitarana, worked his way through some 90 meetings towards a new draft constitution. In early 2008, President Rajapakse called for an interim report to answer the ‘irritations’ that were being expressed by a visiting international delegation, and Vitarana produced a 30-page missive that summarised the points on which the APRC had reached consensus thus far. The president told him to shorten the document, and then told him to shorten it again. Finally, he gave Vitarana three pages that had nothing to do with the committee’s deliberations, saying, “Sign this and give it back to me.” The ever-pliant Vitarana dutifully complied, supplying weeks of mirth to Sri Lanka’s chattering classes and the press.
Uses and abuses of war
The string of defeats that the LTTE has suffered over the past year has by now forced it into a small area less than 500 square miles in a remote corner in the country’s northeast. Many believe that the LTTE, that formidable military power, has been vanquished, or at least silenced, for years to come – annoyances such as suicide bomb attacks aside. Whether this is truly the case, of course, remains to be seen, but either way the mood in the government, the military and the Sinhalese public has already turned to triumphal and racist gloating. This mood has provided the state with an opening for a rapid acceleration of repression, in terms of direct attacks on the media and in promoting patriotic fervour to create an ‘appropriate’ climate – trends that had been growing more slowly during the previous three years of the war process.
It is no exaggeration to describe the Rajapakse regime’s programme in Sri Lanka as ruthless, with complicity at the very highest levels of the state and military. Three recent incidents can be taken as indicators of a ghastly pattern. In the early hours of 6 January 2009, the office of MTV, the largest independent television station in the country, was ransacked and destroyed by a well-organised group of men armed with grenades and machine guns. MTV’s sin: failing to pour enough glory on the army’s ‘heroic’ capture of Kilinochchi. Since then, the talk on the street has been that the perpetrators were state personnel acting on official instruction. Indeed, in private, government officials do not deny this version, adding the argument that, essentially, MTV deserved the treatment. Two days later, Lasantha Wickrematunga, the courageous editor of the Sunday Leader, a newspaper that has exposed vast financial scams and poured cold water on military heroics, was assassinated, military style, in broad daylight. Last October, President Rajapakse had described Wickrematunga to Reporters without Borders as a “terrorist journalist”.
The third incident threatens to result in a complete breakdown of the relationship between the government’s executive and judicial branches. In response to a complaint that taxes on petrol far in excess of 100 percent constituted a violation of fundamental rights, in mid-December the Supreme Court ordered price reductions. However, the executive branch has baldly refused to comply. Indications are that this refusal, coupled with several other court decisions that are said to have angered the regime, could be leading to a disastrous breakdown of the relationship between the judiciary and executive. The authoritarian determination of the executive in Sri Lanka is no less obstreperous than in Pervez Musharaff’s Pakistan, and the possibility looms of a systemic collapse of the pluralistic state if the regime were to attempt a monopoly power grab. For instance, riding on the charged-up war mood and exploiting the momentary euphoria of victory, the ruling cabal could seize the initiative and land the first punch. The likely initial step would be to continue to contemptuously ignore Supreme Court rulings, bringing the court into public ridicule and showing up its ‘impotency’ when confronted by overarching executive power.
The weakening of the judiciary is only being made worse by the fact that both the cabinet and Parliament have turned themselves into objects of public derision. The cabinet ballooned to its humungous proportions because the government morphed from a minority to a majority by offering dozens of portfolios to a UNP breakaway group and to multiple others in order to make up the required parliamentary number. Parliament, meanwhile, has lost credibility for having abdicated its role of monitoring and controlling the executive. Nearly all government MPs are ministers, and the opposition is fractured and directionless. The UNP has been in shambles since early 2007, when about a third of its membership – crass opportunists all – crossed over to join the government upon promise of portfolios.
The sadder case still is of the Marxist-chauvinist former rebels of the JVP. In 2005, the JVP carried President Rajapakse’s election on its shoulders because it had the cadres, the organisation and the speakers with which to dominate the campaign. It pushed Rajapakse to modify his manifesto in chauvinist directions – commitment to a unitary state, decoupling the north and east, and a total commitment to war – because it had hoped eventually to capitalise on these measures and outflank Rajapakse by becoming even more chauvinist than him. The party also assiduously cultivated the Sinhalese lower orders in the army, bearing in mind that any military engaged in an ethnic war inevitably becomes a crucible of racial hate that can be utilised for its own consolidation. Having never outgrown its infantile insurrectionary adventurism of the early 1970s, this was the JVP’s natural way of thinking. In the event, however, President Rajapakse was the one to outflank the JVP, by making himself the champion of war and the oracle of chauvinism. Outmanoeuvred, frustrated and having lost its mass base, the JVP took to picking fights on trivial issues, and was soon kicked out of the coalition government. The flood of UNP opportunists was able to make up part of the government’s lost numbers in Parliament.
The Tamil National Alliance, a pro-LTTE Tamil nationalist party and the largest Tamil party in Parliament, has likewise been cowed down by the government. Three of its MPs have been murdered since Rajapakse took office, and several more have been hauled up and interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department for having visited the rebel stronghold of the Vanni, meeting LTTE leaders or making statements that allegedly promote secession. The climate of paramilitary intimidation during last year’s Eastern Province Provincial Council elections forced the TNA to back down to the extent that it ultimately did not even put forward a list of candidates. After all, the ban on the LTTE is one sure way of landing anyone in prison for upwards of 20 years on trumped-up charges of being in cahoots with a proscribed organisation.
The analysis seems to have been that the process of building repressive, state-monopolised power structures necessarily required the destruction of political and parliamentary opposition, by means most foul. In all of this, one must keep in mind Mahinda Rajapakse’s pedigree as a left-of-centre SLFP politician. He led human-rights marches across the country during the 1990s, and as labour minister he was known to be sympathetic to the trade unions. The traditional left parties and the JVP endorsed his presidential campaign in 2005 with enthusiasm, and even led from the front. But the rightward drift of President Rajapakse over the last three years has caught most of his erstwhile supporters flat-footed. In the case of the traditional left, the disappointment is just one more example of the perennial illusions that reformists indulge in about populist capitalist leaders. As for the JVP, it was simply tactically outwitted.
Graft galore
The consolidation of power at the top without a clear-cut majority in Parliament (minus JVP or UNP crossovers), made the ruling cabal weak, dependent on political machinations and various ‘operators’. The fallout has been the quid pro quo of permitting powerful ministers, dreaded white-van abductors and paramilitary forces in the Eastern Province their turn to indulge in abuses of power at the ministerial and provincial levels. The exemplar is the regime’s jack-of-all-strong-arm-trades, Mervyn de Silva. This minister is a symbol of notoriety, leading physical attacks of TV stations and journalists, getting into fisticuffs with law-enforcement agents, and with alleged connections to the Colombo drug underworld. Sri Lanka ranks high on the register of failing states because of a generalised, not merely a centralised, failure of law enforcement and governance. Mervyn de Silva’s ways symbolise this failure.
While corruption has undoubtedly been significant over the past several years, the allegations, if proved, would not show the Rajapakses overly enriching themselves. Nor would it have been possible to score such a remarkable victory in the war if generalised sleaze in military contracts was so severe as to erode the warring credibility of the forces themselves. Nevertheless, the matter of graft and kickbacks warrant scrutiny.
The SLR 8 billion MiG-29 scandal was just one of the worst, in which five of the world’s most advanced jet fighters were purchased with which to chase the LTTE’s slow-moving Cesnas around the Vanni airspace. The alleged point man on this: Gotabhaya Rajapakse. A presidential commission investigating ex-navy commander Vice-Admiral Daya Sandagiri found that Sri Lanka also “lost” SLR 400 million on the purchase of dud artillery guns from Israel passed off as new. The whistle blower: his successor, Vice-Admiral Wasantha Karanagoda. In addition, the Sunday Leader (18 May and 22 June 2008) published correspondence from overseas suppliers accusing Karanagoda of being a “liar” and a fixer in a SLR 56 million swindle regarding the purchase of a military sonar system. But we are not done with Sandagiri, either. Another allegation against him pertains to a SLR 3 billion deal for inappropriate ‘high speed’ naval craft.
How does this affect the Rajapakses themselves? While it has not been alleged that the brothers benefit directly from these military-contract scams, there is an inhibition in investigating charges of corruption against senior military officers at a time of war, and how the booty is distributed in the entire state machinery. The proclivity to spread the bounty is only natural.
There is also the ongoing scandal of the so-called government budget airline, Mihin Airways (named after Mahinda, no less), whose only budgetary achievement is swallowing SLR 3 billion from government pension funds and loans from the government-owned Bank of Ceylon. The operators who handle the government’s airline deals are Vaas Gunawardena and Harry Jayawardena; the former of which is an opportunist businessman who latched onto the president and made himself useful, while Jayawardena is a different kettle of fish altogether – a mega-rich tycoon who makes sure he gets on with every government in power. Mihin’s three leased aircraft have been recalled by the owners for non-settlement of dues, and the ‘airline’ has been grounded for months.
In the midst of this multitude of antics, the president directed Piyasena Ranasinghe, the director-general of the Bribery Commission, to resign in February 2008. According to observers, this was done for Ranasinghe’s excessive enthusiasm in probing high-level corruption. When he refused, the very next day the president moved Ranasinghe out of office and into the Presidential Secretariat, for which the chief executive earned himself a sharp rap on the knuckles from Transparency International. As long ago as the mid-1970s, Chief Justice Sarath Silva, exasperated at the futility of his efforts in enforcing the common law, opted for ecclesiastical law, and pronounced that those who abuse public funds “will surely go to hell”. His Lordship forgot to add, “And take the rest of country with them!”
Comments
This fella Brian Senewiratne keeps claiming to be a cousin of Chandrika to get some traction and credibility. That is a falsehood. He may be distantly connected or related distantly and wants to claim his expertise and pro Tamil Eelam rubbish as credible stories because of this claimed relationship. Brian tell us how you are genetically related to Chandrika and ever got into politics with her or associated with her politically. Now come to all the conjecture in the article. Not one person except Ranil's adoring fan Lasantha, ever has said Gotabaya is corrupt. Gotabaya took the fight to the overrated Tigers.. For that Tamil Tigers and their lovers hate him. Tigers started this round of war thinking they will beat a weak unprepared military. Tigers stopped the Tamils from voting for Ranil who by now would have given entire SL to Tigers with his Chamberlain policies of appeasement in gay abandon. Tigers thought by preventing tamils from voting they would elect a foolish southern man who will make their case valid to the world. Boy they miscalculated and their overrated military strategies were finally called. They wanted to go to war after assassinating the best leaders SL had and they almost got it. But their failure is why they are now cornered like prairie dogs in a spot of wilderness in MTivu. Bye Bye Velu you will end up being the biggest joker in the pack and known as the destroyer Shiva of moderate tamils and tamil civilization in Sri Lanka with your suicidal maniacal racial wars.
R.F.Gunasekera
Gampaha
2009-01-31 10:01:13
Any person can confuse with this type of superficial analysis. Nothing is based on facts. All the allegations are based on very popular arguments and unproved claims. Neither media personals nor any intellectuals should try to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka. We know the history of some of commentators and their ulterior motives were in parallel with LTTE aspirations. Majority of Sri Lankans do not agree with so called analysis and writings of media personals and comments of intellectuals as we know the reality with our own experience. The President has attracted overwhelming popularity among common people in Sri Lanka. He is the only leader that we can keep faith. He can save the country and we respect Defence Secretary and Army Commander. You can analyse and you can write whatever you want as it is your right. But we have the right to disagree with you. I believe most of the Sri Lankans will agree with me. If there is similar space in your column it is possible to prove that your analysis and all conclusions are superficial. We know the reality! Faro Portugal
Dissanayake
Faro
2009-01-31 08:01:31
You are absolutely right. One of the best articles I have read What exists is a politico-military fscist dictatorship, a junta, of you like, that has the temerity to call itself a 'Government' The Sinhalese, of which I am one, will learn it to their cost, as the guns, now turned on the Tamils, areturned on the Sinhalese who are critical of this monstrous regime, Lasantha Wickrematunga is the best example. Youll find mt=y comments on this killing in tamilcanadian.org is you type my name in the 'search box' It is article number 38 or 39 There will be another to follow "The Fascist Dictaorship in Sri Kanka" which Ill put together in the next few weeks. The Sinhala poor will have to pay a price for this damnable, corrupt, nepotistic, irresponsible regime that is taking Sri Lanka to a Faiked State. The recently published "Failed State Index" documents this, as was the fact that Sri Lanka was tossed out of the UN Human Rights Council on 21 May 2008, an international condemnation of Rajapakse and his gang of crooks, only marginaly better than that of my cousin, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, whose crooked deals have just been documented in a book published by Victor Ivan in Colombo, titled "The Queen of Deceipt", the Sinhala version has a better title "The Mother of Liars" It is available in Colomboo Rs 500 Brian Senewiratne Brian Senewiratne
Dr Brian Senewiratne
Brisbane
2009-01-31 06:01:33
If the najority thinks that when the war is "over" that they can have a properous country? Keep dreaming. Ever since the independence the sinhala leaders came to power on racial villification and hatred. Was ther one sinhala leader who lokked upon developing the multi racial harmony? In 1969 when Lee Kuan Yeu then S'Pore PM visited SL, he said that he wants to make S'Pore like then Ceylon. Now eher are we and S'Pore in comparism. Except for all the politicians so far have accumulated wealth and invested in RE abroad ans the children of the high military ranking officers children studying in foreign Uni's while the poor sinhala peasant's son is dying at th war front and their bodies being not even returned. This is not democracy but dictatorship at it's best. Once the tamils are finished, then it will be you sinhala peasant's turn, as you will know what economy is about. Good luck.
JP
Australia
2009-01-31 05:01:57
Abesinghe Don't be silly. Sri Lanka is fighting the Indian war against LTTE just as the LTTE fought the Indian war against Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan war against India. Sri Lanka, India and LTTE have been going in circles for many years. India is driving the war against LTTE. If necessary India will use the Tigers to wage a war against Sri Lanka. It is too soon to celebrate the war victories. Now India has helped Sri Lanka to marginalise LTTE, in return what is that India wants from Sri Lanka?
NativeVedda
London
2009-01-30 11:01:26
Tamils In Lanka Jews Under Nazis?
Tamils In Lanka Jews Under Nazis?
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne070209tamils_in.asp
A former US diplomat makes serious charges of genocide against Lankan officials, which could go all the way to US courts, reports PC VINOJ KUMAR
Cover Story
Crying out Protests over the assassination of senior Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga
Photo: AFP
THE SRI LANKAN government is claiming an all-out victory in its recent campaign against the insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Even as the United Nations voiced concern over the increasing number of civilian Tamil casualties in the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army, pressure is building on the nation’s hardline Sinhala leadership over its allegedly genocidal acts against the Tamil minority. Former US Deputy Associate Attorney General Bruce Fein has compiled evidence he believes is sufficient to prosecute Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka under the United States Genocide Accountability Act. Gotabaya, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a US citizen and Fonseka is a US Green Card holder.
Fein, associated with a US-based group, Tamils Against Genocide, was on a private visit to Chennai last week. Speaking to TEHELKA, Fein says he has prepared a 1,000-page model indictment against Gotabaya and Fonseka for submission to the US Department of Justice. “Since Gotabaya and Fonseka assumed office (in 2005), there have been virtually one to three extra-judicial killings daily in Sri Lanka,” states Fein. These, he clarifies, do not include LTTE casualties. “My work has nothing to do with the LTTE,” Fein says.
THE CHARGES
‘The national identity cards help identify Tamils easily, so the government knows whom to kill’
‘People are abducted in mysterious white vans, with no license plates. They are never heard of again’
‘The government has complete authority over the perpetrators of genocide: army, police, thugs, army deserters’
The model document, if accepted in the US would make Gotabaya the first US citizen to be tried for genocide
Comparing the present conditions of Tamils in Sri Lanka to the sufferings of the Jews under the Nazis and of the blacks during the apartheid era in South Africa, Fein says: “The national identity cards given to the Tamils are almost like the Star of David badges the Jews had to wear during the Nazi era.” He alleges that the cards are meant to identify Tamils easily so the government knows “whom to kill”.
Conditions have allegedly worsened over the last three years. People are abducted in “mysterious white vans” that have no license plates, Fein says. The abducted are never heard of again and are counted among the thousands of ‘disappeared’ persons. The genocidal intent of the Rajapaksa regime can be established through its various discriminatory policies against the Tamils. “The government has been creating conditions intended to promote their physical destruction,” claims Fein, arguing that many Rajapaksa policies constitute genocidal acts under US law. The blockade on transporting essential commodities to Tamil areas is one example, Fein says, for the starvation it has caused to the north Lankan civilian population.
GOTABAYA RETIRED from the Sri Lankan army in 1992, having served in it for 20 years. He then moved to the US and worked as a computer systems administrator at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2005 to assist Rajapaksa during his presidential campaign. Ever since his brother became President, Gotabaya has been part of his core group and is urging Rajapaksa to pursue a military solution to the 25- year-old ethnic conflict.
Sri Lanka’s Tamils have suffered repression at the hands of the Sinhalese since the 1940s. Soon after achieving independence from British colonialism in 1948, the Lankan government passed the Citizenship Act by which about a million Tamils lost their citizenship and voting rights. Later, Sinhala was made the country’s only official language, placing Tamils at a disadvantage, particularly for government jobs. Moderate Tamil politicians failed to impact the government to change its policies. Finally, in the 1970s, Tamil youths took to an armed struggle.
In 2002, Rajapaksa’s predecessor, Ranil Wickremasinghe, entered into a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE. Rajapaksa withdrew from the ceasefire in January 2008. Since then, the country has been plunged into bloodshed.
Cover Story
Accuser Bruce Fein is concerned about the systemic violence against the Tamils under Rajapaksa
Photo: PRABHU K
In his model indictment document, Fein seeks to establish the motivational context and the processes of the genocide under the Rajapaksa regime. Detailing the charges against Gotabaya and Fonseka, the document notes that “the alleged acts or omissions were committed with specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such, under the pretext of counter-insurgency warfare”. The document describes the victims of the alleged genocide as “Hindu-Christian Northeast Sri Lankan Tamils (HCNSLTs)”. Different forms of genocidal tactics against the HCNSLT have been recorded, among them large-scale abduction, indiscriminate aerial bombardment, artillery shell attacks and systematic deprivation of essential foods, and medicines.
The army’s powers to enforce ad hoc restrictions on “who and what goods can and cannot pass” over arterial roads to reach the HCNSLTs, media censorship on the happenings in Tamil areas, and the ban on petrol are part of Fein’s genocide charges against Fonseka and Gotabaya.
Tamils face “complex bureaucratic procedure” to travel abroad or within the country, especially in government-controlled Jaffna peninsula. “The process takes two to three months, whereby the application may be rejected. The army or government-sponsored paramilitaries are known to have murdered the applicants, the majority of whom were male.”
Fein’s priority now is to satisfy the US Department of Justice that a prima facie case has been made out and get the US Government’s support for forming a grand jury to prosecute Gotabaya and Fonseka. “I hope to have a grand jury set up in about three to four months time,” he says. If the jury indicts the accused, then the stage would be set for bringing Fonseka and Gotabaya to stand trial in the US.
Meanwhile, the situation of journalists in Sri Lanka is turning worse. Media sources in Colombo said at least 10 Sri Lankan journalists have fled the country. Senior journalist Lasantha Wikramatunga was assassinated by unknown persons in Colombo earlier this month — government hit-men are suspected. Senior Sinhalese journalist Sunanda Deshapriya has taken refuge in Chennai, where media persons have formed a forum called Journalists Against War to protest the violence on the Press under the Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka.
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne070209tamils_in.asp
A former US diplomat makes serious charges of genocide against Lankan officials, which could go all the way to US courts, reports PC VINOJ KUMAR
Cover Story
Crying out Protests over the assassination of senior Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga
Photo: AFP
THE SRI LANKAN government is claiming an all-out victory in its recent campaign against the insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Even as the United Nations voiced concern over the increasing number of civilian Tamil casualties in the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army, pressure is building on the nation’s hardline Sinhala leadership over its allegedly genocidal acts against the Tamil minority. Former US Deputy Associate Attorney General Bruce Fein has compiled evidence he believes is sufficient to prosecute Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka under the United States Genocide Accountability Act. Gotabaya, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a US citizen and Fonseka is a US Green Card holder.
Fein, associated with a US-based group, Tamils Against Genocide, was on a private visit to Chennai last week. Speaking to TEHELKA, Fein says he has prepared a 1,000-page model indictment against Gotabaya and Fonseka for submission to the US Department of Justice. “Since Gotabaya and Fonseka assumed office (in 2005), there have been virtually one to three extra-judicial killings daily in Sri Lanka,” states Fein. These, he clarifies, do not include LTTE casualties. “My work has nothing to do with the LTTE,” Fein says.
THE CHARGES
‘The national identity cards help identify Tamils easily, so the government knows whom to kill’
‘People are abducted in mysterious white vans, with no license plates. They are never heard of again’
‘The government has complete authority over the perpetrators of genocide: army, police, thugs, army deserters’
The model document, if accepted in the US would make Gotabaya the first US citizen to be tried for genocide
Comparing the present conditions of Tamils in Sri Lanka to the sufferings of the Jews under the Nazis and of the blacks during the apartheid era in South Africa, Fein says: “The national identity cards given to the Tamils are almost like the Star of David badges the Jews had to wear during the Nazi era.” He alleges that the cards are meant to identify Tamils easily so the government knows “whom to kill”.
Conditions have allegedly worsened over the last three years. People are abducted in “mysterious white vans” that have no license plates, Fein says. The abducted are never heard of again and are counted among the thousands of ‘disappeared’ persons. The genocidal intent of the Rajapaksa regime can be established through its various discriminatory policies against the Tamils. “The government has been creating conditions intended to promote their physical destruction,” claims Fein, arguing that many Rajapaksa policies constitute genocidal acts under US law. The blockade on transporting essential commodities to Tamil areas is one example, Fein says, for the starvation it has caused to the north Lankan civilian population.
GOTABAYA RETIRED from the Sri Lankan army in 1992, having served in it for 20 years. He then moved to the US and worked as a computer systems administrator at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2005 to assist Rajapaksa during his presidential campaign. Ever since his brother became President, Gotabaya has been part of his core group and is urging Rajapaksa to pursue a military solution to the 25- year-old ethnic conflict.
Sri Lanka’s Tamils have suffered repression at the hands of the Sinhalese since the 1940s. Soon after achieving independence from British colonialism in 1948, the Lankan government passed the Citizenship Act by which about a million Tamils lost their citizenship and voting rights. Later, Sinhala was made the country’s only official language, placing Tamils at a disadvantage, particularly for government jobs. Moderate Tamil politicians failed to impact the government to change its policies. Finally, in the 1970s, Tamil youths took to an armed struggle.
In 2002, Rajapaksa’s predecessor, Ranil Wickremasinghe, entered into a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE. Rajapaksa withdrew from the ceasefire in January 2008. Since then, the country has been plunged into bloodshed.
Cover Story
Accuser Bruce Fein is concerned about the systemic violence against the Tamils under Rajapaksa
Photo: PRABHU K
In his model indictment document, Fein seeks to establish the motivational context and the processes of the genocide under the Rajapaksa regime. Detailing the charges against Gotabaya and Fonseka, the document notes that “the alleged acts or omissions were committed with specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such, under the pretext of counter-insurgency warfare”. The document describes the victims of the alleged genocide as “Hindu-Christian Northeast Sri Lankan Tamils (HCNSLTs)”. Different forms of genocidal tactics against the HCNSLT have been recorded, among them large-scale abduction, indiscriminate aerial bombardment, artillery shell attacks and systematic deprivation of essential foods, and medicines.
The army’s powers to enforce ad hoc restrictions on “who and what goods can and cannot pass” over arterial roads to reach the HCNSLTs, media censorship on the happenings in Tamil areas, and the ban on petrol are part of Fein’s genocide charges against Fonseka and Gotabaya.
Tamils face “complex bureaucratic procedure” to travel abroad or within the country, especially in government-controlled Jaffna peninsula. “The process takes two to three months, whereby the application may be rejected. The army or government-sponsored paramilitaries are known to have murdered the applicants, the majority of whom were male.”
Fein’s priority now is to satisfy the US Department of Justice that a prima facie case has been made out and get the US Government’s support for forming a grand jury to prosecute Gotabaya and Fonseka. “I hope to have a grand jury set up in about three to four months time,” he says. If the jury indicts the accused, then the stage would be set for bringing Fonseka and Gotabaya to stand trial in the US.
Meanwhile, the situation of journalists in Sri Lanka is turning worse. Media sources in Colombo said at least 10 Sri Lankan journalists have fled the country. Senior journalist Lasantha Wikramatunga was assassinated by unknown persons in Colombo earlier this month — government hit-men are suspected. Senior Sinhalese journalist Sunanda Deshapriya has taken refuge in Chennai, where media persons have formed a forum called Journalists Against War to protest the violence on the Press under the Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka.
Tamils protest 'genocide' in Toronto:
Tamils protest 'genocide'
VIDEO: Tamils protest genocide
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/579834
Jan 30, 2009 02:14 PM
Comments on this story (41)
Lesley Ciarula Taylor
Immigration Reporter
Thousands of Tamils from across Greater Toronto formed a human chain stretching along Front Street and up University Avenue this afternoon to protest against what they call the genocide of the Tamil people in their homeland, Sri Lanka.
About 45,000 people took part in the protest throughout the day, according to Staff Sgt. Deb Abbott of 52 Division, with about 30,000 on Front St. alone.
Many held up copies of photographs of children maimed and killed in the violence. Others wore armbands or carried banners denouncing the deaths of civilians in this latest bloody phase of a civil war that has gone on for a generation.
The Red Cross in Sri Lanka said today there are 250,000 civilians trapped in an area of jungle and villages in the north, which is dominated by the Tamils, who are a minority in the rest of the country.
The government insists there are fewer than 120,000 civilians in the war zone and has denied reports of 300 civilians killed in fighting.
University of Toronto graduate student Supanki Kalanadan, who helped organize the massive rally, said the only hope now is for a ceasefire.
"People have no access to food or shelter," she said. "Everyone here has someone back there who is affected."
Similar demonstrations were planned for Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.
In Toronto, Tamil Catholics planned a 12-hour night vigil starting tonight at 8 at the Church of St. Joseph and Our Lady of Health, 172 Leslie St.
Toronto is home to the largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka.
Tamil student associations from universities and high schools in Greater Toronto helped mobilize people because, said Kalanadan, "we were lucky to have been educated here and to grow up with Canadian freedoms. We respect the Charter of Rights and we want the rights of Tamil people respected, too."
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said top U.N. officials were "seriously alarmed" about the fate of civilians in the north.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war, which grew out of complaints by Tamils who have suffered decades of marginalization at the heads of successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.
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Bravo for those participated in the protest. BUT, the genocide is happening with the help of India, Pakistan, China, US, UK, etc. How? They are the one in the battle field helping Sri Lankan forces. With out the help from those countries, forget about Sri Lanka forces winning the war with LTTE. Period. Killing innocent people is seems to be OK for those advocate Democracy. Dirty Politics. Well, we will wait and see if Mr. President Barack Obama can change things.
Submitted by Gowri at 6:08 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 15
* |
* Disagree 5
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Protesting in Toronto does nothing
Yet again, the abuses and disgraces of sundry foreign enemies are bravely protested in Toronto, a city which has caused none of these atrocities, can prevent none of them, and is, though sympathetic to them, the WRONG CITY to fight them from. The way to save your people is from within the country where they are being allegedly persecuted.
Submitted by TrueNorthStrongAndFree at 5:38 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 28
* |
* Disagree 35
* |
* Alert a moderator
Genocide in Srilanka
The Srilankan government was the culprit who withdraw the european peace accord and took the path of vilonce to solve the ethnic tamil minorities demand for an autonomy within srilankan state. Now is the perfect time to recoganize the tamil independance and freedom by rest of the world.
Submitted by Gan Nadar at 5:06 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 28
* |
* Disagree 11
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Thank You
Thank you for making this story here and making many good hearted Canadians become aware of what is happenign in Sri Lanka. This is not who is right and who is wrong but the innocent people and chiledren killed daily and it has to be stopped and this is not right.
Submitted by RajK at 5:05 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 34
* |
* Disagree 12
* |
* Alert a moderator
Who cares? Don't spend any of taxpayers' money on it.
The problems that they may or may not be having over there isn't our issue in Canada. One thing is for sure; let's not waste any taxpayers money by getting the government involved in somebody else's problems. We have enough of our own.
Submitted by Marching On at 4:52 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 23
* |
* Disagree 42
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Its time that Canadian Govt Intervened.
Well, The Toronto Tamils have been holding vigils and protest marches for years now to draw attention to the silent genocide occurring in island nation of Sri Lanka. As a person who suffered through out the civil war, its time that the international community intervened. India is the super power in the region which is also aiding this war in a way and should be condemned by the G 7 Nations.
Submitted by tbalasub at 4:51 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 22
* |
* Disagree 24
* |
* Alert a moderator
Where is the outcry for justice here?
These people have suffered not for 3 weeks but for YEARS and there is no outcry for them???
Submitted by BozoTheClown at 4:51 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 21
* |
* Disagree 10
* |
* Alert a Moderator
largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka.
The comment "Toronto is home to the largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka." is factually inaccurate. The largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka will be in India as India has a separate province/state in which the majority of people are Tamils.
Submitted by Einstein2008 at 4:49 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 19
* |
* Disagree 2
* |
* Alert a moderator
Thousands of Tamils protest against genocide
The solidarity shown by the Tamils gathered in Toronto conveys a message loud and clear. They all detest and denounce the genocidal intent of the Sri Lankan Govt and its military. With a country that deals its own citizens with brute force, it's ludicrous to think that the Tamils could live with peace and dignity under the current regime, for that matter the Sinhalese. The country's two major ethnicities namely the Tamils and the Sinhalese shall part and prosper in their own merits. After all, they were two separate nations prior to colonial rule anyway. Good Luck..!
Submitted by Shaft Sinker at 4:49 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 24
* |
* Disagree 4
* |
* Alert a Moderator
I do not think Ottawa should spend any money to help Sri Lanka at this time. With our current troubled financial situation, Ottawa needs to help all the families that have suffered a lost of employment in the last few months,why go help another country when our own country needs just as much help.
Submitted by Random_Toronto_Resident at 4:46 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 21
* |
* Disagree 28
* |
* Alert a moderator
Urge LTTE to release civilians and stop being used them as human sheild
I think the tamil diaspora living here should protest against LTTE to urge them to release civilians they use as a human shield. They use innocent civilians for their protection and sad to see that innocent people are paying the price for LTTE atrocities.
Submitted by Maxa at 4:42 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 11
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* Disagree 23
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* Alert a Moderator
Now THIS is a genocide.
VIDEO: Tamils protest genocide
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/579834
Jan 30, 2009 02:14 PM
Comments on this story (41)
Lesley Ciarula Taylor
Immigration Reporter
Thousands of Tamils from across Greater Toronto formed a human chain stretching along Front Street and up University Avenue this afternoon to protest against what they call the genocide of the Tamil people in their homeland, Sri Lanka.
About 45,000 people took part in the protest throughout the day, according to Staff Sgt. Deb Abbott of 52 Division, with about 30,000 on Front St. alone.
Many held up copies of photographs of children maimed and killed in the violence. Others wore armbands or carried banners denouncing the deaths of civilians in this latest bloody phase of a civil war that has gone on for a generation.
The Red Cross in Sri Lanka said today there are 250,000 civilians trapped in an area of jungle and villages in the north, which is dominated by the Tamils, who are a minority in the rest of the country.
The government insists there are fewer than 120,000 civilians in the war zone and has denied reports of 300 civilians killed in fighting.
University of Toronto graduate student Supanki Kalanadan, who helped organize the massive rally, said the only hope now is for a ceasefire.
"People have no access to food or shelter," she said. "Everyone here has someone back there who is affected."
Similar demonstrations were planned for Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.
In Toronto, Tamil Catholics planned a 12-hour night vigil starting tonight at 8 at the Church of St. Joseph and Our Lady of Health, 172 Leslie St.
Toronto is home to the largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka.
Tamil student associations from universities and high schools in Greater Toronto helped mobilize people because, said Kalanadan, "we were lucky to have been educated here and to grow up with Canadian freedoms. We respect the Charter of Rights and we want the rights of Tamil people respected, too."
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said top U.N. officials were "seriously alarmed" about the fate of civilians in the north.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war, which grew out of complaints by Tamils who have suffered decades of marginalization at the heads of successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.
Comments on this story are now closed
|
Commenting Guidelines
expandContent
Sort By
Guaranteed NO Result
Bravo for those participated in the protest. BUT, the genocide is happening with the help of India, Pakistan, China, US, UK, etc. How? They are the one in the battle field helping Sri Lankan forces. With out the help from those countries, forget about Sri Lanka forces winning the war with LTTE. Period. Killing innocent people is seems to be OK for those advocate Democracy. Dirty Politics. Well, we will wait and see if Mr. President Barack Obama can change things.
Submitted by Gowri at 6:08 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 15
* |
* Disagree 5
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Protesting in Toronto does nothing
Yet again, the abuses and disgraces of sundry foreign enemies are bravely protested in Toronto, a city which has caused none of these atrocities, can prevent none of them, and is, though sympathetic to them, the WRONG CITY to fight them from. The way to save your people is from within the country where they are being allegedly persecuted.
Submitted by TrueNorthStrongAndFree at 5:38 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 28
* |
* Disagree 35
* |
* Alert a moderator
Genocide in Srilanka
The Srilankan government was the culprit who withdraw the european peace accord and took the path of vilonce to solve the ethnic tamil minorities demand for an autonomy within srilankan state. Now is the perfect time to recoganize the tamil independance and freedom by rest of the world.
Submitted by Gan Nadar at 5:06 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 28
* |
* Disagree 11
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Thank You
Thank you for making this story here and making many good hearted Canadians become aware of what is happenign in Sri Lanka. This is not who is right and who is wrong but the innocent people and chiledren killed daily and it has to be stopped and this is not right.
Submitted by RajK at 5:05 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 34
* |
* Disagree 12
* |
* Alert a moderator
Who cares? Don't spend any of taxpayers' money on it.
The problems that they may or may not be having over there isn't our issue in Canada. One thing is for sure; let's not waste any taxpayers money by getting the government involved in somebody else's problems. We have enough of our own.
Submitted by Marching On at 4:52 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 23
* |
* Disagree 42
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Its time that Canadian Govt Intervened.
Well, The Toronto Tamils have been holding vigils and protest marches for years now to draw attention to the silent genocide occurring in island nation of Sri Lanka. As a person who suffered through out the civil war, its time that the international community intervened. India is the super power in the region which is also aiding this war in a way and should be condemned by the G 7 Nations.
Submitted by tbalasub at 4:51 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 22
* |
* Disagree 24
* |
* Alert a moderator
Where is the outcry for justice here?
These people have suffered not for 3 weeks but for YEARS and there is no outcry for them???
Submitted by BozoTheClown at 4:51 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 21
* |
* Disagree 10
* |
* Alert a Moderator
largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka.
The comment "Toronto is home to the largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka." is factually inaccurate. The largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka will be in India as India has a separate province/state in which the majority of people are Tamils.
Submitted by Einstein2008 at 4:49 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 19
* |
* Disagree 2
* |
* Alert a moderator
Thousands of Tamils protest against genocide
The solidarity shown by the Tamils gathered in Toronto conveys a message loud and clear. They all detest and denounce the genocidal intent of the Sri Lankan Govt and its military. With a country that deals its own citizens with brute force, it's ludicrous to think that the Tamils could live with peace and dignity under the current regime, for that matter the Sinhalese. The country's two major ethnicities namely the Tamils and the Sinhalese shall part and prosper in their own merits. After all, they were two separate nations prior to colonial rule anyway. Good Luck..!
Submitted by Shaft Sinker at 4:49 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 24
* |
* Disagree 4
* |
* Alert a Moderator
I do not think Ottawa should spend any money to help Sri Lanka at this time. With our current troubled financial situation, Ottawa needs to help all the families that have suffered a lost of employment in the last few months,why go help another country when our own country needs just as much help.
Submitted by Random_Toronto_Resident at 4:46 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 21
* |
* Disagree 28
* |
* Alert a moderator
Urge LTTE to release civilians and stop being used them as human sheild
I think the tamil diaspora living here should protest against LTTE to urge them to release civilians they use as a human shield. They use innocent civilians for their protection and sad to see that innocent people are paying the price for LTTE atrocities.
Submitted by Maxa at 4:42 PM Friday, January 30 2009
* Agree 11
* |
* Disagree 23
* |
* Alert a Moderator
Now THIS is a genocide.
What a pathetic statement on Sri Lanka from Robert Wood Deputy spokesman for State Dept:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/jan/115617.htm
QUESTION: Yeah, there’s a story in the press this morning sort of quoting Indian diplomats as sort of proudly suggesting that they were able to wrest away the Kashmir issue from the portfolio of Holbrooke. I’m just wondering whether that sort of lines up with your impression of things.
MR. WOOD: Well, as we’ve said before, that Kashmir was not going to be a part of Ambassador Holbrooke’s portfolio. We’ve made that very clear. And I would just say to you that, of course, India has a lot of interests in Afghanistan. Ambassador Holbrooke, other officials will be consulting with India. But you know, that story in The Washington Post is not true. It was never being considered.
QUESTION: Robert, a quick one on Sri Lanka. There is a humanitarian issue in Sri Lanka, and hundreds of thousands of them are now homeless and without any food, shelter, and medicines. If anything – the U.S. is concerned or engaged?
MR. WOOD: You know, of course, we are very concerned about the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka, and we’re working through UN organizations to try to provide whatever help that we can. It’s a very, very sad situation, especially some of the attacks against the media. We’ve been very concerned about that. And it’s a longstanding conflict, you know, going on over 25 years. You know, we’d like to see just a better outcome. And hopefully, at some point, you know, this war will come to an end and, you know, the Sri Lankan people can, you know, begin to think about a better life for themselves and their children.
QUESTION: Robert, can I just go back to your – you said The Washington Post story is not true?
MR. WOOD: I’m saying that – well, that headline specifically is not true.
QUESTION: Well, what are you saying? Are you saying that the Indian people – the Indian officials who are quoted in there are not --
MR. WOOD: What I’m saying to you, Matt, is that in terms of Ambassador Holbrooke’s portfolio, Kashmir was not going to be a part of that portfolio. It’s been focused on Afghanistan, Pakistan. He’s coordinating our entire U.S. Government effort to try to improve the situation on the ground.
QUESTION: Was it, at some point, a broader portfolio?
MR. WOOD: It was always focused on, you know, Afghanistan-Pakistan.
QUESTION: Yeah, there’s a story in the press this morning sort of quoting Indian diplomats as sort of proudly suggesting that they were able to wrest away the Kashmir issue from the portfolio of Holbrooke. I’m just wondering whether that sort of lines up with your impression of things.
MR. WOOD: Well, as we’ve said before, that Kashmir was not going to be a part of Ambassador Holbrooke’s portfolio. We’ve made that very clear. And I would just say to you that, of course, India has a lot of interests in Afghanistan. Ambassador Holbrooke, other officials will be consulting with India. But you know, that story in The Washington Post is not true. It was never being considered.
QUESTION: Robert, a quick one on Sri Lanka. There is a humanitarian issue in Sri Lanka, and hundreds of thousands of them are now homeless and without any food, shelter, and medicines. If anything – the U.S. is concerned or engaged?
MR. WOOD: You know, of course, we are very concerned about the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka, and we’re working through UN organizations to try to provide whatever help that we can. It’s a very, very sad situation, especially some of the attacks against the media. We’ve been very concerned about that. And it’s a longstanding conflict, you know, going on over 25 years. You know, we’d like to see just a better outcome. And hopefully, at some point, you know, this war will come to an end and, you know, the Sri Lankan people can, you know, begin to think about a better life for themselves and their children.
QUESTION: Robert, can I just go back to your – you said The Washington Post story is not true?
MR. WOOD: I’m saying that – well, that headline specifically is not true.
QUESTION: Well, what are you saying? Are you saying that the Indian people – the Indian officials who are quoted in there are not --
MR. WOOD: What I’m saying to you, Matt, is that in terms of Ambassador Holbrooke’s portfolio, Kashmir was not going to be a part of that portfolio. It’s been focused on Afghanistan, Pakistan. He’s coordinating our entire U.S. Government effort to try to improve the situation on the ground.
QUESTION: Was it, at some point, a broader portfolio?
MR. WOOD: It was always focused on, you know, Afghanistan-Pakistan.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tamil Nadu journalist burns himself to death condemning Indian inaction
Tamil Nadu journalist burns himself to death condemning Indian inaction
[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 2009, 07:02 GMT]
A young Tamil activist burnt himself to death in front of the Shastri Bhavan, the Indian Central Government's Chennai Head office Thursday, reports from Chennai said. The activist, Mr. Muthukumar, from Thooththukkudi, who works for Pe'n'nea Nee feminist magazine as typist and also writes articles, doused himself with petrol and set himself afire, condemning the futile visit by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who failed to stop the war in Sri Lanka and save Eezham Tamils.
With 95% burn injuries, the victim was rushed to the Kilpauk Medical College in a critical condition, with slim chances of survival. He succumbed within a short span of time, according to medical sources.
Tension prevails in the capital city of Chennai following the news of the young Tamil activist burning himself to death in front of Shastri Bhavan office.
[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 2009, 07:02 GMT]
A young Tamil activist burnt himself to death in front of the Shastri Bhavan, the Indian Central Government's Chennai Head office Thursday, reports from Chennai said. The activist, Mr. Muthukumar, from Thooththukkudi, who works for Pe'n'nea Nee feminist magazine as typist and also writes articles, doused himself with petrol and set himself afire, condemning the futile visit by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who failed to stop the war in Sri Lanka and save Eezham Tamils.
With 95% burn injuries, the victim was rushed to the Kilpauk Medical College in a critical condition, with slim chances of survival. He succumbed within a short span of time, according to medical sources.
Tension prevails in the capital city of Chennai following the news of the young Tamil activist burning himself to death in front of Shastri Bhavan office.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wounded Tamil Sri Lankans rescued from war zone
Sri Lankans rescued from war zone
Sri Lanka has maintained its push against the LTTE in the face of claims that civilians have been killed [AFP]
Hundreds of people wounded in the crossfire between Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger fighters have been removed from the war zone on a UN convoy, the world body says.
The rescue operation in the north of the country on Thursday came as the Sri Lankan army maintained its assault against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"The convoy just crossed the frontline with hundreds of the civilians wounded by the fighting, including 50 critically wounded children, who are being moved to a ministry of health hospital in Vavuniya," Gordon Weiss, a UN spokesman, said.
Government forces have pushed the Tamil Tigers into a 300sq km pocket of territory in Mullaittivu district.
But humanitarian relief organisations say that about 250,000 civilians are still trapped in the rebel-held area.
UN concerned
Speaking from northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent, said: "The United Nations agency is Sri Lanka is now seriously concerned for the well-being of civilians in the small and ever-shrinking pocket in the north of the country, which is controlled by the Tamil Tigers."
Government forces have the Tigers in a stranglehold, he said.
"The army and air force will use its aerial power and reconnaissance ability when they move into thick jungle around Mullaittivu," Birtley said.
"At the moment, the government forces are fighting on conventional lines, as we understand. We have seen a number of army casualties.
"The army maintains it is inflicting more damage on the LTTE but we only have their word for it."
The LTTE has accused the army of shelling a no-fire zone it set up last week for civilians. TamilNet, a pro-LLT website, on Wednesday said 23 civilians were killed and 121 wounded, quoting unidentified medical sources.
But the Sri Lankan government insists there have been "zero civilian casualties" in its operations, and that the LTTE has moved its artillery into populated areas.
'Civilian tragedy'
Jacques de Maio, the head of Red Cross operations for South Asia, said on Wednesday: "People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded.
"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out."
"It is high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out"
Jacques de Maio, the head of Red Cross operations for South Asia
The military says the LTTE, which claims to be fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka, wants to create a "last-minute civilian tragedy" because the army was about to completely defeat them.
Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said claims of civilian deaths are part of a "cheap propaganda exercise" by the LTTE.
The government has said civilians are being forced to move with the Tigers to act as human shields, but there has been no independent confirmation that is the case.
The Red Cross' De Maio said: "When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances."
Village captured
On the war front, Sri Lankan forces pushed into the northern village of Visuamadu, held by the LTTE, on Wednesday, a defence ministry official said.
He said the Tigers withdrew their long-range artillery guns into an area declared a 35sq km "safe zone" for civilians, and were firing at the military from there.
The military seized Mullaittivu on Sunday, which they said was the LTTE's last urban centre.
A fresh offensive against the LTTE was launched by the government late last year, shrinking the northern territory under its control.
Thousands of people have been killed in Sri Lanka since the LTTE launched its war in 1972.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Sri Lanka has maintained its push against the LTTE in the face of claims that civilians have been killed [AFP]
Hundreds of people wounded in the crossfire between Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger fighters have been removed from the war zone on a UN convoy, the world body says.
The rescue operation in the north of the country on Thursday came as the Sri Lankan army maintained its assault against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"The convoy just crossed the frontline with hundreds of the civilians wounded by the fighting, including 50 critically wounded children, who are being moved to a ministry of health hospital in Vavuniya," Gordon Weiss, a UN spokesman, said.
Government forces have pushed the Tamil Tigers into a 300sq km pocket of territory in Mullaittivu district.
But humanitarian relief organisations say that about 250,000 civilians are still trapped in the rebel-held area.
UN concerned
Speaking from northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent, said: "The United Nations agency is Sri Lanka is now seriously concerned for the well-being of civilians in the small and ever-shrinking pocket in the north of the country, which is controlled by the Tamil Tigers."
Government forces have the Tigers in a stranglehold, he said.
"The army and air force will use its aerial power and reconnaissance ability when they move into thick jungle around Mullaittivu," Birtley said.
"At the moment, the government forces are fighting on conventional lines, as we understand. We have seen a number of army casualties.
"The army maintains it is inflicting more damage on the LTTE but we only have their word for it."
The LTTE has accused the army of shelling a no-fire zone it set up last week for civilians. TamilNet, a pro-LLT website, on Wednesday said 23 civilians were killed and 121 wounded, quoting unidentified medical sources.
But the Sri Lankan government insists there have been "zero civilian casualties" in its operations, and that the LTTE has moved its artillery into populated areas.
'Civilian tragedy'
Jacques de Maio, the head of Red Cross operations for South Asia, said on Wednesday: "People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded.
"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out."
"It is high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out"
Jacques de Maio, the head of Red Cross operations for South Asia
The military says the LTTE, which claims to be fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka, wants to create a "last-minute civilian tragedy" because the army was about to completely defeat them.
Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said claims of civilian deaths are part of a "cheap propaganda exercise" by the LTTE.
The government has said civilians are being forced to move with the Tigers to act as human shields, but there has been no independent confirmation that is the case.
The Red Cross' De Maio said: "When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances."
Village captured
On the war front, Sri Lankan forces pushed into the northern village of Visuamadu, held by the LTTE, on Wednesday, a defence ministry official said.
He said the Tigers withdrew their long-range artillery guns into an area declared a 35sq km "safe zone" for civilians, and were firing at the military from there.
The military seized Mullaittivu on Sunday, which they said was the LTTE's last urban centre.
A fresh offensive against the LTTE was launched by the government late last year, shrinking the northern territory under its control.
Thousands of people have been killed in Sri Lanka since the LTTE launched its war in 1972.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Indian general elections between April 8 and May 15
Indian general elections between April 8 and May 15
2009-01-28 16:31:19
India’s general election will be held between April 8 and May 15, Elections Commissioner S Y Quraishi said.
"We, in the Election Commission, have not yet discussed the final dates, but it will be held between April 8 and May 15," Quraishi said in London yesterday.
2009-01-28 16:31:19
India’s general election will be held between April 8 and May 15, Elections Commissioner S Y Quraishi said.
"We, in the Election Commission, have not yet discussed the final dates, but it will be held between April 8 and May 15," Quraishi said in London yesterday.
The Savaging of Humanitarian Law -Bernard Kouchner the foreign minister of France.
The Savaging of Humanitarian Law
by Bernard Kouchner, International Herald Tribune, January 28, 2009
Far too many armed conflicts ravage other parts of the world, from Sri Lanka to Darfur, from Somalia to Iraq, each with its funeral procession of massacred innocents. In each case the parties commit grave breaches of international humanitarian law, and in some cases mass atrocities punishable by international criminal justice.
Access is impeded to humanitarian aid and aid workers, plunging civilians into total destitution and depriving them of the most basic medical treatment.
'Modern" war disgusts us in the tragic consequences it has for civilians.
How could we not be horrified at the sight of bodies, atrociously maimed or burned; the bodies of women, men and children lying in the smoking ruins of their homes, in hospitals unable to cope that have become simply places to die, absent sufficient drugs and equipment?
Unfortunately, such atrocities are to be seen in many places around the world, usually with relative indifference - the paradoxical outcome of the way in which the media have made violence an everyday event.
Somalia, Congo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Darfur, Gaza: this depressing litany of conflicts with their multitude of innocent civilian victims swept away by the storms of war must not however leave us indifferent.
The international community - and in particular France and the European Union, for which human rights are a core value, the very foundation of their sense of identity - cannot stand silently by in the face of such a situation.
In a period of armed conflict there is in fact a body of rules and principles that all parties to the conflict must obey: international humanitarian law.
That body of law, which has been largely built up since World War II, derives mainly from the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols.
While the International Committee of the Red Cross is the statutory guardian of those standards, all states parties to the conventions must not only obey them but also ensure that they are obeyed by the parties in an armed conflict.
What that means is that the international community has a special responsibility in ensuring compliance with international humanitarian law.
Indeed, one of the essential principles of international humanitarian law is that a distinction must be made at all times and in all circumstances between combatants and non-combatants, along with its corollary: a distinction between military targets and civilian targets, the latter to be protected. There are few conflicts in which that principle is fully respected.
In northeastern Sri Lanka, 230,000 civilians have been caught up in the fighting. The Tamil Tigers are accused by all NGOs of refusing to allow civilians to flee the war zone.
During the Israeli offensive in Gaza, there were several strikes in areas apparently devoid of any identifiable military target, and in particular that of Dec. 27, which hit the Gaza Training College, and the series of bombardments on Jan. 6 aimed at schools run by UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees).
Hamas also is responsible for violations of international humanitarian law, in part by firing rockets which were not aimed at military targets, but clearly intended to terrorize civilians in southern Israel.
Moreover, both Israel and Hamas have used weapons that have indiscriminate effects, since aerial bombing and mortar fire were not used in such a manner as to spare civilians. Yet the prohibition of the use of weapons with indiscriminate effects is another key principle of international humanitarian law.
The tragedy to which we have been witness in recent weeks is unfortunately not an isolated instance. Far too many armed conflicts ravage other parts of the world, from Sri Lanka to Darfur, from Somalia to Iraq, each with its funeral procession of massacred innocents. In each case the parties commit grave breaches of international humanitarian law, and in some cases mass atrocities punishable by international criminal justice.
Access is impeded to humanitarian aid and aid workers, plunging civilians into total destitution and depriving them of the most basic medical treatment. Children, some less than 10 years old, are enlisted as soldiers as well as sex slaves.
In various conflicts, rape is increasingly being used in a systematic, planned and large-scale manner; in short, it is used as a genuine weapon of war, whether in the Kivus or in Sudan, with almost total impunity. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a woman is raped every 30 minutes; 30,000 were raped in the Kivus in the first half of 2007.
In the face of situations in which civilians are deliberately targeted, the maintenance and the restoration of peace are constant challenges.
France is engaged in numerous peacekeeping operations under UN mandates. The purpose of several of them - first and foremost the European Union operation in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic - is to provide protection to innocent civilians.
Such protection must involve first and foremost a guarantee of adherence to the principles of international humanitarian law in armed conflict and the inclusion of the issues surrounding the protection of civilians in mandates for peacekeeping operations.
I am convinced that compliance with international humanitarian law must be made the subject of depoliticized discussions at the United Nations, since such compliance is the duty of all, irrespective of the legitimacy of the military action undertaken by a specific state or armed group.
That is why I have asked France's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York to mobilize our partners on this matter. An initial meeting will be held in the coming days with a view to organizing a debate in the weeks to come.
What is at stake here is the credibility of the United Nations, and of the Security Council in particular, as the guardian of international peace and security.
Bernard Kouchner is the foreign minister of France.
Published: January 28, 2009
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by Bernard Kouchner, International Herald Tribune, January 28, 2009
Far too many armed conflicts ravage other parts of the world, from Sri Lanka to Darfur, from Somalia to Iraq, each with its funeral procession of massacred innocents. In each case the parties commit grave breaches of international humanitarian law, and in some cases mass atrocities punishable by international criminal justice.
Access is impeded to humanitarian aid and aid workers, plunging civilians into total destitution and depriving them of the most basic medical treatment.
'Modern" war disgusts us in the tragic consequences it has for civilians.
How could we not be horrified at the sight of bodies, atrociously maimed or burned; the bodies of women, men and children lying in the smoking ruins of their homes, in hospitals unable to cope that have become simply places to die, absent sufficient drugs and equipment?
Unfortunately, such atrocities are to be seen in many places around the world, usually with relative indifference - the paradoxical outcome of the way in which the media have made violence an everyday event.
Somalia, Congo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Darfur, Gaza: this depressing litany of conflicts with their multitude of innocent civilian victims swept away by the storms of war must not however leave us indifferent.
The international community - and in particular France and the European Union, for which human rights are a core value, the very foundation of their sense of identity - cannot stand silently by in the face of such a situation.
In a period of armed conflict there is in fact a body of rules and principles that all parties to the conflict must obey: international humanitarian law.
That body of law, which has been largely built up since World War II, derives mainly from the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols.
While the International Committee of the Red Cross is the statutory guardian of those standards, all states parties to the conventions must not only obey them but also ensure that they are obeyed by the parties in an armed conflict.
What that means is that the international community has a special responsibility in ensuring compliance with international humanitarian law.
Indeed, one of the essential principles of international humanitarian law is that a distinction must be made at all times and in all circumstances between combatants and non-combatants, along with its corollary: a distinction between military targets and civilian targets, the latter to be protected. There are few conflicts in which that principle is fully respected.
In northeastern Sri Lanka, 230,000 civilians have been caught up in the fighting. The Tamil Tigers are accused by all NGOs of refusing to allow civilians to flee the war zone.
During the Israeli offensive in Gaza, there were several strikes in areas apparently devoid of any identifiable military target, and in particular that of Dec. 27, which hit the Gaza Training College, and the series of bombardments on Jan. 6 aimed at schools run by UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees).
Hamas also is responsible for violations of international humanitarian law, in part by firing rockets which were not aimed at military targets, but clearly intended to terrorize civilians in southern Israel.
Moreover, both Israel and Hamas have used weapons that have indiscriminate effects, since aerial bombing and mortar fire were not used in such a manner as to spare civilians. Yet the prohibition of the use of weapons with indiscriminate effects is another key principle of international humanitarian law.
The tragedy to which we have been witness in recent weeks is unfortunately not an isolated instance. Far too many armed conflicts ravage other parts of the world, from Sri Lanka to Darfur, from Somalia to Iraq, each with its funeral procession of massacred innocents. In each case the parties commit grave breaches of international humanitarian law, and in some cases mass atrocities punishable by international criminal justice.
Access is impeded to humanitarian aid and aid workers, plunging civilians into total destitution and depriving them of the most basic medical treatment. Children, some less than 10 years old, are enlisted as soldiers as well as sex slaves.
In various conflicts, rape is increasingly being used in a systematic, planned and large-scale manner; in short, it is used as a genuine weapon of war, whether in the Kivus or in Sudan, with almost total impunity. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a woman is raped every 30 minutes; 30,000 were raped in the Kivus in the first half of 2007.
In the face of situations in which civilians are deliberately targeted, the maintenance and the restoration of peace are constant challenges.
France is engaged in numerous peacekeeping operations under UN mandates. The purpose of several of them - first and foremost the European Union operation in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic - is to provide protection to innocent civilians.
Such protection must involve first and foremost a guarantee of adherence to the principles of international humanitarian law in armed conflict and the inclusion of the issues surrounding the protection of civilians in mandates for peacekeeping operations.
I am convinced that compliance with international humanitarian law must be made the subject of depoliticized discussions at the United Nations, since such compliance is the duty of all, irrespective of the legitimacy of the military action undertaken by a specific state or armed group.
That is why I have asked France's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York to mobilize our partners on this matter. An initial meeting will be held in the coming days with a view to organizing a debate in the weeks to come.
What is at stake here is the credibility of the United Nations, and of the Security Council in particular, as the guardian of international peace and security.
Bernard Kouchner is the foreign minister of France.
Published: January 28, 2009
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Discuss this article (0 posts)
Hard to Achieve Peace When 'They Just Want the Tamils... Wiped Out'
Hard to Achieve Peace When 'They Just Want the Tamils... Wiped Out'
by Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, Canada, January 28, 2009
"This government says all the right things but they speak with forked tongues," said a Western diplomat who is not authorized to speak on the record. "They just want the Tamils crushed and wiped out."
The diplomat suggested that traditionally Tamil areas would likely continue to be under heavy military occupation, while a few showpiece development initiatives are undertaken.
Mr. Ranmohan said that Tamils are worn down by the fighting and living under both regimes - either Tiger or Sinhalese-majority government - and have little energy left for anything but survival. "Probably we will be like your ... Indians, pushed into a reservation," he said. "It's going to be a terrible ending and the scar will be there for generations."
Reaching a political solution to conflict in Sri Lanka seems next to impossible
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka's National Peace Council has long had two goals: first, a negotiated end to the country's 25-year-old civil war, and second, a political solution based on federalism.
"I suppose the first goal is gone," Jehan Perera, the council chair, remarked with a bit of dry despair a few days ago.
There seems to be little hope for a negotiated settlement, as the Sri Lankan armed forces claim to be within days of taking complete control of the island country, ending the rule in the north of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
So what of the peace council's second goal: a political solution to the conflict that would incorporate both the demands of the Sinhalese majority as well as the minority Tamil population, long the victims of legally sanctioned discrimination?
Dr. Perera is an optimist and hopes the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa - who with his brother Gothabaya, the Defence Secretary, launched this crushing strike at the Tigers 18 months ago - can be magnanimous in victory.
"The hope lies in the fact that the President was in the past a human-rights campaigner, when he was in the opposition," Dr. Perera said.
"Because he has been fighting a war he had to have the Sinhalese extremists with him, but once he wins the war he won't need them. Maybe then the President will surround himself with different advisers. That's what we have to hope, that when the situation on the ground changes that our leaders will change accordingly."
Yet it seems unlikely that President Rajapaksa has any plans to negotiate. His stated goal is to eliminate "any trace" of the Tigers. And two weeks ago, his government "proscribed" the Tigers, making it illegal to talk to them.
Nor is it clear whom the President could have negotiated with, in any case: The Tigers, in their iron reign over the area they called a homeland, moved with cold precision against anyone else who tried to speak for Tamils.
"The Tigers wiped out genuine leaders of the Tamil people - now they have neither guns nor political leaders of any eminence," observed Dr. Perera, who is Sinhalese. "For peace to be just, it has to be negotiated between equals" but such a dialogue is now impossible, he said.
Many Tamils agree that their community is woefully without a representative. "We have never had good leaders," said Ram Ranmohan, a Tamil businessman in the eastern city of Trincomalee who is a respected community elder and advocate of a non-violent resolution to the conflict. "But then, we have had no place for good leaders."
A Norwegian-led peace process that had in the past led to ceasefires and some confidence-building measures has been moribund since President Rajapaksa, seemingly intent on solidifying his own political fortunes, and utterly indifferent to calls for a negotiated settlement, launched his multipronged military offensive in 2006.
Few observers of that peace process believe the Tigers participated in those talks with any sincerity: Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran would seem either to have had a misguided belief his movement could win a military victory or because of his egomaniacal desire to rule even his small fiefdom at the expense of pursuing a greater peace that would erode his power.
President Rajapaksa has promised Tamils their "peace and freedom" will follow the end of the LTTE, a pledge met with considerable skepticism by international observers here. "This government says all the right things but they speak with forked tongues," said a Western diplomat who is not authorized to speak on the record. "They just want the Tamils crushed and wiped out."
The diplomat suggested that traditionally Tamil areas would likely continue to be under heavy military occupation, while a few showpiece development initiatives are undertaken.
Mr. Ranmohan said that Tamils are worn down by the fighting and living under both regimes - either Tiger or Sinhalese-majority government - and have little energy left for anything but survival. "Probably we will be like your ... Indians, pushed into a reservation," he said. "It's going to be a terrible ending and the scar will be there for generations."
Dr. Perera, however, clings to the hope that the country now has, at the very least, the opportunity for change. "Maybe on the positive side, the problem that has blocked progress in Sri Lanka for 30 years - at least that is over and the stalemate is broken and there is possibility of progress. The focus will move from the military and open up space for political issues," he said.
"When war diminishes, people will once again demand freedom and the space to articulate their views."
snolen@globeandmail.com
-------------------------------------
'How Can People Say This is Peace?'
Caught Between the Tigers and the Tanks
by Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail, Canada, January 28, 2009
"This government says all the right things but they speak with forked tongues," said a Western diplomat who is not authorized to speak on the record. "They just want the Tamils crushed and wiped out."
The diplomat suggested that traditionally Tamil areas would likely continue to be under heavy military occupation, while a few showpiece development initiatives are undertaken.
Mr. Ranmohan said that Tamils are worn down by the fighting and living under both regimes - either Tiger or Sinhalese-majority government - and have little energy left for anything but survival. "Probably we will be like your ... Indians, pushed into a reservation," he said. "It's going to be a terrible ending and the scar will be there for generations."
Reaching a political solution to conflict in Sri Lanka seems next to impossible
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka's National Peace Council has long had two goals: first, a negotiated end to the country's 25-year-old civil war, and second, a political solution based on federalism.
"I suppose the first goal is gone," Jehan Perera, the council chair, remarked with a bit of dry despair a few days ago.
There seems to be little hope for a negotiated settlement, as the Sri Lankan armed forces claim to be within days of taking complete control of the island country, ending the rule in the north of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
So what of the peace council's second goal: a political solution to the conflict that would incorporate both the demands of the Sinhalese majority as well as the minority Tamil population, long the victims of legally sanctioned discrimination?
Dr. Perera is an optimist and hopes the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa - who with his brother Gothabaya, the Defence Secretary, launched this crushing strike at the Tigers 18 months ago - can be magnanimous in victory.
"The hope lies in the fact that the President was in the past a human-rights campaigner, when he was in the opposition," Dr. Perera said.
"Because he has been fighting a war he had to have the Sinhalese extremists with him, but once he wins the war he won't need them. Maybe then the President will surround himself with different advisers. That's what we have to hope, that when the situation on the ground changes that our leaders will change accordingly."
Yet it seems unlikely that President Rajapaksa has any plans to negotiate. His stated goal is to eliminate "any trace" of the Tigers. And two weeks ago, his government "proscribed" the Tigers, making it illegal to talk to them.
Nor is it clear whom the President could have negotiated with, in any case: The Tigers, in their iron reign over the area they called a homeland, moved with cold precision against anyone else who tried to speak for Tamils.
"The Tigers wiped out genuine leaders of the Tamil people - now they have neither guns nor political leaders of any eminence," observed Dr. Perera, who is Sinhalese. "For peace to be just, it has to be negotiated between equals" but such a dialogue is now impossible, he said.
Many Tamils agree that their community is woefully without a representative. "We have never had good leaders," said Ram Ranmohan, a Tamil businessman in the eastern city of Trincomalee who is a respected community elder and advocate of a non-violent resolution to the conflict. "But then, we have had no place for good leaders."
A Norwegian-led peace process that had in the past led to ceasefires and some confidence-building measures has been moribund since President Rajapaksa, seemingly intent on solidifying his own political fortunes, and utterly indifferent to calls for a negotiated settlement, launched his multipronged military offensive in 2006.
Few observers of that peace process believe the Tigers participated in those talks with any sincerity: Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran would seem either to have had a misguided belief his movement could win a military victory or because of his egomaniacal desire to rule even his small fiefdom at the expense of pursuing a greater peace that would erode his power.
President Rajapaksa has promised Tamils their "peace and freedom" will follow the end of the LTTE, a pledge met with considerable skepticism by international observers here. "This government says all the right things but they speak with forked tongues," said a Western diplomat who is not authorized to speak on the record. "They just want the Tamils crushed and wiped out."
The diplomat suggested that traditionally Tamil areas would likely continue to be under heavy military occupation, while a few showpiece development initiatives are undertaken.
Mr. Ranmohan said that Tamils are worn down by the fighting and living under both regimes - either Tiger or Sinhalese-majority government - and have little energy left for anything but survival. "Probably we will be like your ... Indians, pushed into a reservation," he said. "It's going to be a terrible ending and the scar will be there for generations."
Dr. Perera, however, clings to the hope that the country now has, at the very least, the opportunity for change. "Maybe on the positive side, the problem that has blocked progress in Sri Lanka for 30 years - at least that is over and the stalemate is broken and there is possibility of progress. The focus will move from the military and open up space for political issues," he said.
"When war diminishes, people will once again demand freedom and the space to articulate their views."
snolen@globeandmail.com
-------------------------------------
'How Can People Say This is Peace?'
Caught Between the Tigers and the Tanks
WITH LEGAL Tamil Tigers boss (Shanthan) was Special Branch informant, in UK.
WITH LEGAL Tamil Tigers boss was Special Branch informant, court hears
The head of the Tamil Tigers in Britain bought bomb-making equipment for the terrorist group in Sri Lanka despite holding regular meetings with Special Branch, a court has heard.
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
Last Updated: 11:58PM GMT 28 Jan 2009
Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar, 52, known as "Shanthan," was allegedly aided by two Tamil electronics experts living in Newport, South Wales, who helped decide what components to acquire.
He was also close to Anton Balasingham, the Tigers' chief political negotiator, who moved to London in 1999 and died three years ago.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC prosecuting, said the men were among 300,000 Tamils living in Britain and added: "As you might expect because of this country's close links with Sri Lanka and the large Tamil community which lives in the UK, the authorities through its agencies such as Special Branch, held regular meetings with [Shanthan]."
The Tamil Tigers were proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001 and police questioned Shanthan in July 2004 when he was caught buying military clothing and equipment at an army surplus store in Southsea, Hamsphire but did not arrest him.
The list included 250 pairs of combat boots, 251 army-type ponchos, 30 machetes, 152 trenching spades and 110 pairs of US military handcuffs, the court heard.
Special Branch continued to meet Shanthan but three years later officers raided his home in Norbury, South London and discovered equipment which could be used in improvised explosive devices along with high powered magnets of the type used to attach limpet mines to Sri Lankan Naval vessels.
Two lists included equipment which could be used to track boats and plans to manufacture 7,500 printed circuit boards in Taiwan with a timing and switching function that could have been used for a "nefarious purpose" the court was told.
Mr Laidlaw told Kingston Crown Court in South West London that the Hindu Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were involved in a "bitter and bloody struggle" in Sri Lanka with the Buddhist Sinhalese that stretched back 30 years.
The court heard that in the last few days the Tigers' stronghold at Kilinochchi, northern Sri Lanka, has fallen and the government has declared victory.
Mr Laidlaw said: "Shanthan as head of the LTTE in London was the co-ordinator of the procurement exercise. He was in contact with senior LTTE figures in Sri Lanka, receiving their orders and requests and, on occasions, buying equipment himself."
His co-accused, Jegatheswaran Muraleetharan, 46, known as Muralee, and his brother, Jeyatheswaran Vythyatharan, 40, known as Vithy, who had well-paid jobs in South Wales, were "both highly skilled electrical engineers and it was they with their expertise who carried out both the research and development," the court was told.
Murugesu Jegatheeswaran, 34, known as Jegan, from Mitcham, south London, allegedly lent his name to the operation and received goods at his job at a printer's firm.
All four men deny conspiracy to receive electrical components for the purposes of terrorism and Shanthan denies further counts of being a member of a proscribed organisation and receiving military equipment, military manuals and money for terrorism.
The trial continues.
The head of the Tamil Tigers in Britain bought bomb-making equipment for the terrorist group in Sri Lanka despite holding regular meetings with Special Branch, a court has heard.
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
Last Updated: 11:58PM GMT 28 Jan 2009
Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar, 52, known as "Shanthan," was allegedly aided by two Tamil electronics experts living in Newport, South Wales, who helped decide what components to acquire.
He was also close to Anton Balasingham, the Tigers' chief political negotiator, who moved to London in 1999 and died three years ago.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC prosecuting, said the men were among 300,000 Tamils living in Britain and added: "As you might expect because of this country's close links with Sri Lanka and the large Tamil community which lives in the UK, the authorities through its agencies such as Special Branch, held regular meetings with [Shanthan]."
The Tamil Tigers were proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001 and police questioned Shanthan in July 2004 when he was caught buying military clothing and equipment at an army surplus store in Southsea, Hamsphire but did not arrest him.
The list included 250 pairs of combat boots, 251 army-type ponchos, 30 machetes, 152 trenching spades and 110 pairs of US military handcuffs, the court heard.
Special Branch continued to meet Shanthan but three years later officers raided his home in Norbury, South London and discovered equipment which could be used in improvised explosive devices along with high powered magnets of the type used to attach limpet mines to Sri Lankan Naval vessels.
Two lists included equipment which could be used to track boats and plans to manufacture 7,500 printed circuit boards in Taiwan with a timing and switching function that could have been used for a "nefarious purpose" the court was told.
Mr Laidlaw told Kingston Crown Court in South West London that the Hindu Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were involved in a "bitter and bloody struggle" in Sri Lanka with the Buddhist Sinhalese that stretched back 30 years.
The court heard that in the last few days the Tigers' stronghold at Kilinochchi, northern Sri Lanka, has fallen and the government has declared victory.
Mr Laidlaw said: "Shanthan as head of the LTTE in London was the co-ordinator of the procurement exercise. He was in contact with senior LTTE figures in Sri Lanka, receiving their orders and requests and, on occasions, buying equipment himself."
His co-accused, Jegatheswaran Muraleetharan, 46, known as Muralee, and his brother, Jeyatheswaran Vythyatharan, 40, known as Vithy, who had well-paid jobs in South Wales, were "both highly skilled electrical engineers and it was they with their expertise who carried out both the research and development," the court was told.
Murugesu Jegatheeswaran, 34, known as Jegan, from Mitcham, south London, allegedly lent his name to the operation and received goods at his job at a printer's firm.
All four men deny conspiracy to receive electrical components for the purposes of terrorism and Shanthan denies further counts of being a member of a proscribed organisation and receiving military equipment, military manuals and money for terrorism.
The trial continues.
Interview with Pranab Mukerjee by Riz Khan -Al Jazeera
Interview with Pranab Mukerjee by Riz Khan -Al Jazeera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZUiX70SeGw&feature=channel_page
The Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukerjee in his interview has stated that India
is insisting that Sri Lanka enforces the India-Lanka accord of 1987, and satisfies the
aspirations of the ethnic minority.
No other official details are available of the message given to President Rajapakse by India via the foreign Minister.
Watch the Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZUiX70SeGw&feature=channel_page
The Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukerjee in his interview has stated that India
is insisting that Sri Lanka enforces the India-Lanka accord of 1987, and satisfies the
aspirations of the ethnic minority.
No other official details are available of the message given to President Rajapakse by India via the foreign Minister.
Watch the Video:
Inside Story : Brink of Civil War in Sri Lanka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY1Nkdpj4bQ&feature=channel
The Sri Lankan government is claiming victory as its army is engaged in last-stand battles with the Tamil Tigers. But is it that simple and straight forward? What is exactly behind this swift devel...
The Sri Lankan government is claiming victory as its army is engaged in last-stand battles with the Tamil Tigers. But is it that simple and straight forward? What is exactly behind this swift devel...
'Civilians dead' in Sri Lanka clash -Al Jazeera/Video from Mullaitheevu.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/01/2009128124118475332.html
'Civilians dead' in Sri Lanka clash
A Sri Lankan soldier poses in front of a defaced LTTE emblem in the captured district of Mullaittivu [AFP]
Up to 300 civilians have been killed and more than 1,100 injured in heavy fighting between government troops and fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in northern Sri Lanka, a senior district health official has said.
"There are a lot of deaths - more than 250 to 300," Thurairajah Varatharajah, the senior government health official in the Mullaittivu district, told the AP news agency on Wednesday.
He said at least 248 of the injured civilians in the district's three hospitals were younger than 15 years old.
"There are dozens of unclaimed bodies lying in the hospital mortuaries because no relatives are coming forward to claim them," he said.
His comments come despite the Sri Lankan government insisting there have been "zero civilian casualties" in its operations.
'Civilian tragedy'
Jacques de Maio, the head of Red Cross operations for South Asia, said: "People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded.
"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out.
"We don't use indirect fire unless we are 100 per cent certain that those are LTTE camps or bases ... This is all LTTE propaganda"
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Sri Lankan defence minister
The Red Cross has appealed to both sides to allow civilians to leave the combat zone.
Sri Lanka's military said the LTTE, who are fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka, wanted to create a "last-minute civilian tragedy" because the army was about to completely defeat them.
Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said claims of civilian deaths were part of a "cheap propaganda exercise" by the LTTE.
Pranab Mukherjee, India's foreign minister, on a surprise visit to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, called for urgent measures to protect civilians caught up in the island's ongoing fighting.
Sri Lanka's minority ethnic Tamils have close cultural and religious links with the 55 million Tamil population in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Last push
Sri Lankan forces pushed into the northern village of Visuamadu, held by the LTTE, on Wednesday, a defence ministry official said.
The ministry claimed that Tamil separatists retreated their long-range artillery guns into an area declared a 35 square km "safe zone" for civilians, and were firing at the military from there.
Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent who visited the district of Mullaitivu under the oversight of the army, said that the LTTE appeared to have fled the town.
He said the town was largely empty, with most civilian residents apparently retreating with the Tamil Tigers.
The government has said civilians are being forced to move with the Tigers to act as human shields, but there has been no independent confirmation that is the case.
The Red Cross' De Maio said: "When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances."
The United Nations has issued similar warnings, with Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, saying he was "deeply concerned" for the safety of civilians caught in the fighting.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan defence minister, said that government forces exercised extreme caution during the offensive and only fired on Tamil Tiger rebels.
The official death toll is unknown as medical officials have said they have been ordered by the health ministry in Colombo not to reveal casualty figures.
A fresh offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was launched by the government late last year, shrinking the northern territory under LTTE control, since heightened operations against the separatists began in mid-2007.
The military seized Mullaittivu on Sunday, which they claim was the LTTE's last urban centre.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/01/2009128124118475332.html
'Civilians dead' in Sri Lanka clash
A Sri Lankan soldier poses in front of a defaced LTTE emblem in the captured district of Mullaittivu [AFP]
Up to 300 civilians have been killed and more than 1,100 injured in heavy fighting between government troops and fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in northern Sri Lanka, a senior district health official has said.
"There are a lot of deaths - more than 250 to 300," Thurairajah Varatharajah, the senior government health official in the Mullaittivu district, told the AP news agency on Wednesday.
He said at least 248 of the injured civilians in the district's three hospitals were younger than 15 years old.
"There are dozens of unclaimed bodies lying in the hospital mortuaries because no relatives are coming forward to claim them," he said.
His comments come despite the Sri Lankan government insisting there have been "zero civilian casualties" in its operations.
'Civilian tragedy'
Jacques de Maio, the head of Red Cross operations for South Asia, said: "People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded.
"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out.
"We don't use indirect fire unless we are 100 per cent certain that those are LTTE camps or bases ... This is all LTTE propaganda"
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Sri Lankan defence minister
The Red Cross has appealed to both sides to allow civilians to leave the combat zone.
Sri Lanka's military said the LTTE, who are fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka, wanted to create a "last-minute civilian tragedy" because the army was about to completely defeat them.
Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said claims of civilian deaths were part of a "cheap propaganda exercise" by the LTTE.
Pranab Mukherjee, India's foreign minister, on a surprise visit to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, called for urgent measures to protect civilians caught up in the island's ongoing fighting.
Sri Lanka's minority ethnic Tamils have close cultural and religious links with the 55 million Tamil population in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Last push
Sri Lankan forces pushed into the northern village of Visuamadu, held by the LTTE, on Wednesday, a defence ministry official said.
The ministry claimed that Tamil separatists retreated their long-range artillery guns into an area declared a 35 square km "safe zone" for civilians, and were firing at the military from there.
Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent who visited the district of Mullaitivu under the oversight of the army, said that the LTTE appeared to have fled the town.
He said the town was largely empty, with most civilian residents apparently retreating with the Tamil Tigers.
The government has said civilians are being forced to move with the Tigers to act as human shields, but there has been no independent confirmation that is the case.
The Red Cross' De Maio said: "When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances."
The United Nations has issued similar warnings, with Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, saying he was "deeply concerned" for the safety of civilians caught in the fighting.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan defence minister, said that government forces exercised extreme caution during the offensive and only fired on Tamil Tiger rebels.
The official death toll is unknown as medical officials have said they have been ordered by the health ministry in Colombo not to reveal casualty figures.
A fresh offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was launched by the government late last year, shrinking the northern territory under LTTE control, since heightened operations against the separatists began in mid-2007.
The military seized Mullaittivu on Sunday, which they claim was the LTTE's last urban centre.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
BBC News coverage on Sri Lanka:
Military tanks in Mullaitivu
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/
Sri Lanka army 'securing coast'
Military says it is trying to secure the north-east coastline to encircle the LTTE as part of a final assault.
Tamil Tiger rebels 'to fight on'
'Civilians killed' in Sri Lanka
BBC Sport Latest Cricket
Andrew Flintoff Flintoff scan gives England boost
Strauss hits century in tour win
England stars get IPL green light
WATCH/LISTEN
AUDIO PROGRAMMES
Sandeshaya
How to listen on the Internet
WEATHER
Weather Forecast
Click here to see weather in different cities.
Ranil Wickramasinghe (photo Elmo Fernando)
Ranil hails government victory
UNP congratulates the security forces for victories in the northern battlefront against the Tamil Tigers.
CJ Sarath Silva
Court annuls hedging orders
The Supreme Court reverts all interim orders related to the hedging deals on controlling fuel prices in Sri Lanka.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/
Sri Lanka army 'securing coast'
Military says it is trying to secure the north-east coastline to encircle the LTTE as part of a final assault.
Tamil Tiger rebels 'to fight on'
'Civilians killed' in Sri Lanka
BBC Sport Latest Cricket
Andrew Flintoff Flintoff scan gives England boost
Strauss hits century in tour win
England stars get IPL green light
WATCH/LISTEN
AUDIO PROGRAMMES
Sandeshaya
How to listen on the Internet
WEATHER
Weather Forecast
Click here to see weather in different cities.
Ranil Wickramasinghe (photo Elmo Fernando)
Ranil hails government victory
UNP congratulates the security forces for victories in the northern battlefront against the Tamil Tigers.
CJ Sarath Silva
Court annuls hedging orders
The Supreme Court reverts all interim orders related to the hedging deals on controlling fuel prices in Sri Lanka.
'Civilians die' in Sri Lanka battle - BBC News and Video:
'Civilians die' in Sri Lanka battle
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7852176.stm
The UN in Sri Lanka says dozens of civilians have been killed or injured in fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east in the past few days.
Chris Morris reports from Colombo.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7852176.stm
The UN in Sri Lanka says dozens of civilians have been killed or injured in fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in the north-east in the past few days.
Chris Morris reports from Colombo.
Sri Lankan troops battle Tigers -BBC - WITH VIDEOS:
Sri Lankan troops battle Tigers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7851530.stmhref="http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7851530.stm">
The Sri Lankan army says it is fighting the Tamil Tigers in their remaining jungle bases after taking the last key rebel town of Mullaitivu on Sunday.
The military says it is advancing into the 300 sq km (115 sq mile) triangle of land in which the Tamil Tigers are still operating.
Emily Buchanan reports.
SEE ALSO
* Tamils 'will continue to fight'(04.00)
* Is Sri Lanka civil war at an end?(04.01
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7851530.stmhref="http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7851530.stm">
The Sri Lankan army says it is fighting the Tamil Tigers in their remaining jungle bases after taking the last key rebel town of Mullaitivu on Sunday.
The military says it is advancing into the 300 sq km (115 sq mile) triangle of land in which the Tamil Tigers are still operating.
Emily Buchanan reports.
SEE ALSO
* Tamils 'will continue to fight'(04.00)
* Is Sri Lanka civil war at an end?(04.01
"Hundreds of dead and scores of wounded" Tamil civilians in Mullaitheevu - Red Cross:
Sri Lanka war 'traps thousands'
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Mullaittivu, the last LTTE base, is under government control following the military's offensive [AFP]
About 250,000 Sri Lankan civilians are trapped and hundreds have been killed in heavy fighting in the country's north, the International Red Cross has said.
The aid organisation said on Tuesday that a major humanitarian crisis was unfolding as Sri Lanka's military continues its offensive against the country's Tamil Tiger rebels.
"Hundreds of dead and scores of wounded" medical facilities in the Vanni region, the Red Cross said in a statement.
"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out," Jacques de Maio, the group's head of operations for South Asia, said.
"People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded."
The Red Cross has urgently appealed to both sides to allow civilians to leave the combat zone.
"When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances," de Maio said.
Neil Buhne, the UN resident co-ordinator in Sri Lanka, earlier said that reports indicated an estimated 150,000 civilians were still trapped in the jungle battle zone and were in serious danger.
'Zero civilian casualties'
Sri Lanka's government insists there have been "zero civilian casualties" in its operation to crush the rebels in their last remaining bastion of Mullaittivu district.
But doctors on the ground say this is far from the case.
"Three dead bodies of civilians were brought in on Tuesday and 15 more admitted injured due to the heavy shelling," T Satyamurthy, the director of Udaiyaarkaddu hospital, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
Most of Mullaittivu district is now under government control following the military's offensive.
Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent who visited Mullaitivu under the oversight of the army, said the the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka, appeared to have fled the town.
"There are no civilians, just stray cows and members of the Sri Lankan army division which took this town.
"Although the Tamil Tigers seem to be retreating, they seem to be putting up some resistance.
"The civilians appear to be retreating with the Tamil Tigers.
"The government is saying they are being forced to - that they are being used as human shields - but we don't know that for certain."
Government denial
In an interview with Birtley, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan defence minister, said that government forces exercised extreme caution during the offensive and only fired on Tamil Tiger rebels.
He dismissed the claims of civilian deaths as LTTE propaganda, insisting that no civilians have died in the recent fighting, and that reports to the contrary should not be believed.
"We don't use indirect fire unless we are 100 per cent certain that those are LTTE camps or bases ... This is all LTTE propaganda," Rajapaksa said.
The official death toll is unknown as medical officials have said they have been ordered by the health ministry in Colombo not to reveal casualty figures. No journalists are allowed into combat zones on their own.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Mullaittivu, the last LTTE base, is under government control following the military's offensive [AFP]
About 250,000 Sri Lankan civilians are trapped and hundreds have been killed in heavy fighting in the country's north, the International Red Cross has said.
The aid organisation said on Tuesday that a major humanitarian crisis was unfolding as Sri Lanka's military continues its offensive against the country's Tamil Tiger rebels.
"Hundreds of dead and scores of wounded" medical facilities in the Vanni region, the Red Cross said in a statement.
"It's high time to take decisive action and stop further bloodshed because time is running out," Jacques de Maio, the group's head of operations for South Asia, said.
"People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded."
The Red Cross has urgently appealed to both sides to allow civilians to leave the combat zone.
"When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation unless civilians are protected and international humanitarian law is respected in all circumstances," de Maio said.
Neil Buhne, the UN resident co-ordinator in Sri Lanka, earlier said that reports indicated an estimated 150,000 civilians were still trapped in the jungle battle zone and were in serious danger.
'Zero civilian casualties'
Sri Lanka's government insists there have been "zero civilian casualties" in its operation to crush the rebels in their last remaining bastion of Mullaittivu district.
But doctors on the ground say this is far from the case.
"Three dead bodies of civilians were brought in on Tuesday and 15 more admitted injured due to the heavy shelling," T Satyamurthy, the director of Udaiyaarkaddu hospital, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
Most of Mullaittivu district is now under government control following the military's offensive.
Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera's correspondent who visited Mullaitivu under the oversight of the army, said the the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka, appeared to have fled the town.
"There are no civilians, just stray cows and members of the Sri Lankan army division which took this town.
"Although the Tamil Tigers seem to be retreating, they seem to be putting up some resistance.
"The civilians appear to be retreating with the Tamil Tigers.
"The government is saying they are being forced to - that they are being used as human shields - but we don't know that for certain."
Government denial
In an interview with Birtley, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan defence minister, said that government forces exercised extreme caution during the offensive and only fired on Tamil Tiger rebels.
He dismissed the claims of civilian deaths as LTTE propaganda, insisting that no civilians have died in the recent fighting, and that reports to the contrary should not be believed.
"We don't use indirect fire unless we are 100 per cent certain that those are LTTE camps or bases ... This is all LTTE propaganda," Rajapaksa said.
The official death toll is unknown as medical officials have said they have been ordered by the health ministry in Colombo not to reveal casualty figures. No journalists are allowed into combat zones on their own.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Saturday, January 24, 2009
This is an evil government, an inefficient one and a corrupt government with racism as its foundation.-Former Foreign Minister -Mangala Samaraweera.
Interviews
'US must act on its citizens violating human rights here'
Mangala Samaraweera - Interview with Sunday Leader.
"This is an evil government, an inefficient one and a corrupt government with racism as its foundation. I am glad not to be part of it.
I think it was providence itself that prevented me from having my name tarnished by the doings of this brutal regime. Perhaps I was pushed out because I did not belong there. It was never meant to be my kind of government.
Like Hitler did, the Rajapakses are now dreaming of a 36-year-old rule. This evil regime will crumble soon and the perpetrators will be brought before the people's court."- Mangala Samaraweera
Convenor SLFP (M) and former SLFP strongman, Mangala Samaraweera calls upon all journalists to shed differences, as they are a group under attack.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Leader, Samaraweera alleged government involvement in the violence unleashed against the media and vowed to do everything in his power to have the perpetrators accountable for their actions.
The MP said a meeting will be sought with the US State Department shortly to urge action against US citizens and Green Card holders who are violating US laws by committing human rights violations in Sri Lanka.
He pledged to write to all embassies urging the imposition of a travel ban on such violators and to have the international community target individuals behind this culture of impunity without penalising the people with sanctions.
He warned it was useless to cry foul after a Robert Mugabe is created in Sri Lanka and called for immediate preventive action against an emerging dictatorship.
He added that a 'Colourless platform for democracy' was in the making to unite all forces willing to rise against the increasing tyranny and said the suppression of dissenting voices was no longer ad hoc but systematic. Excerpts:
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti
Q: In the past, you have made crucial political alliances to secure electoral victory. There were recent moves to create a broad opposition alliance. What's the progress with regard to that?
A: We have been discussing the formation of a broad front to meet the threat of the Rajapakse regime for a while. We have about four parties working together based on our common desire to protect and nurture democracy. We were in the process of broadening discussions to include some left-of-center parties when the recent tragedies occurred - the attack on MTV/MBC and the assassination of your Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge.
In a way, these twin incidents more than all others have crystallised our society's need for such an alliance. It has brought in many other parties who were uninvolved before. The civil rights groups are also keen on a genuine people's movement to prevent this administration from becoming a dictatorship.
Two days ago, civil society representatives met all political parties. We have decided to create a 'colorless platform for democracy.' This platform will avoid party politics and overlook parochial considerations. It will be an inclusive platform that could bring together all the people who wish the democratic traditions of this country to continue.
All those who want freedom of expression and right to life - two rights that are repeatedly violated by the state can be part of this struggle. Together, a genuine people's movement can take on this heinous, dark regime. Without the support of civil society, it will not be possible.
Since leaving this regime, I have repeatedly said this is a government led by extremist forces that are keen on building a police state in a democracy. In fact, it was in the wake of recent killings that the enormity of what is happening had finally hit home. The general public often tends to remain silent in situations like this.
We see the big brother attitude, the doublespeak and the war mongering to the exclusion of civil liberties.
We recently saw a top defence official in a frenzied interview on state television calling journalists all sorts of names and ordering the arrest of one journalist for the sin of giving an interview to CNN.
The evolving situation is such that key journalists are fleeing the country. More than a dozen have already left and others are on the verge of leaving. The moment has come for all of us who cherish democratic values to ask ourselves whether we are going to yield to these threats or willing to shed differences and fight for justice.
In many ways, Lasantha's death may not be in vain, if we manage to crystallise this alliance with more enthusiasm and vigour.
Q: You were one vocal critic of the Premadasa administration and called it a demonic era. In comparison, which era appears to be the darkest?
A: This is undoubtedly the darkest, the most brutal and the most ruthless. I can say this because even in the darkest days of President Premadasa there was never a culture of fear as we experience today. It was during President Premadasa's regime that Richard de Zoysa was killed. But on the other hand, there was a thriving media culture with over 30 odd newspapers of various sizes ranging from leaflets to broadsheets especially published to attack the Premadasa regime relentlessly.
Q: In comparison, could you see there is a general sense of apathy and silence?
A: Certainly, but it is understandable. The slightest criticism they see, either editors are threatened with death by the President himself as in the case of your Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2006 or purportedly threatened personally by a top defence official as in the case of the Daily Mirror Editor.
Most other journalists who will not yield to such pressures are either compelled to leave the country or take the easy way out and write sweet nothings.
This is a well-planned systematic attempt to stifle the media unlike the ad hoc attacks during President Premadasa's time.
I was the media minister for several years under President Kumaratunga. I had a very robust relationship with Lasantha. He as was customary, attacked me with his acid pen time and again for what he thought was wrong. When I felt some of the charges were unfounded, I responded in kind verbally. It never went beyond that which is the hallmark of a dynamic democracy.
When we felt defamed by him, the harshest step we took was to seek redress in court like any other citizen. President Kumaratunga did the same when another Sunday publication wrote of a bachelor's birthday party she supposedly attended at midnight when in actual fact she was sleeping at home. It was a complete fabrication. She did not pick up a telephone and tell the editor, "I will rest only when you are no more" or things to that effect. We never sent white vans or groups to intimidate Lasantha or any other. We merely filed a criminal defamation suit.
We worked within the legal parameters. Some of the government apologists trying to whitewash Lasantha's death refer to a 'Kumaratunga-Samaraweera stewardship' during which human rights violations occurred. We are certainly not going to deny that they happened. But the difference was the absence of this culture of impunity.
When we assumed office in 1994, there were unidentified bodies of Tamil youth floating in the Diyawanna Oya. The government immediately ordered an inquiry, the entire case was cracked by the CID and the culprits were brought to book.
In Krishanthi Coomaraswamy's rape incident, a trial at bar was conducted and the perpetrators were indicted. In Iqbal Athas' case, we gave him protection and also indicted the responsible SLAF officers. There was never a cover up in the face of evidence.
When Lasantha's house was attacked, I telephoned Raine Wickrematunge to make inquiries and offered Lasantha police protection which he refused. The other black mark of our regime is the killing of Rohana Kumara. We appointed a high level team but evidence was scarce.
During the previous eras of Premadasa and Kumaratunga, there was no systematic witch hunt against dissenting voices and particularly journalists. Over 12 top journalists have already fled the country. Over a dozen media workers have been killed and J.S. Tissainayagam is held under the PTA for almost a year now. Manusamy Parameshwari was kept in custody for a year merely to harass the Mawbima newspaper which they thought I had something to do with.
From these things it is apparent that the Rajapakse regime has fast-forwarded its blueprint to create a police state.
The senior SLFP members are now sidelined. The decision makers are brothers Gotabaya and Basil, Sarath Fonseka, Wimal Weerawansa and Champika Ranawaka. All these characters are slightly psychotic. They have a dream of creating a Sinhala Buddhist supremacist dictatorship here. They can only smell blood.
This is why we should not underestimate what is happening. The elected government is threatening media personnel. The government apologists should now speak up if they care about democracy.
In any other country, our top defence official's psychotic and frenzied interview over national television should have raised a hornet's nest. That requires analysis not just by politicians and civil rights groups, but also by psychiatrists.
This is why we need a broad alliance to combat these evil forces at play.
Q: Do you recognise any role for the international community here?
A: Of course yes. I understand the limitations within which the international community operates. The thinking appears to be that little can be done beyond condemnation.
The international community has been exerting pressure on this deaf, blind and mute government to mend its ways. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming one of those African rogue regimes that can simply disregard all legitimate international concerns as international conspiracies. That seems to be the manthram of this government to protect themselves from outside criticism.
The international community should not be deterred by the attitude of the government because the Sri Lankan people have not been a xenophobic nation. Our history bears evidence that Sri Lanka had diplomatic relations with the Imperial House of Rome and China. It is not our nature to be isolated, despite the extremists' attempts to isolate Sri Lanka.
I believe that the international community instead of considering actions against Sri Lanka should target the individuals behind this culture of impunity. The state should not be allowed to come up with excuses. If they cannot punish wrongdoers, then they should be made to take responsibility for these atrocities and for their failure to maintain law and order and to protect precious lives.
My suggestion is to have travel bans issued on individuals suspected of human rights violations. Let not the country suffer. Make them accountable. It is going to hurt them the most because the key suspects are American citizens or US Green Card holders. The United States government can play a more proactive role in trying to control some of their people. These are US citizens undermining one of the oldest democracies in Asia at a time when the US is calling for democracy within and outside.
I know Lasantha was in the process of compiling a dossier on some of these people. Now I will finish what he started and complete the same with some others. Now that President Barack Obama is in office, we will soon seek an appointment with the US State Department and the incoming Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton and offer all our proof relating to Gotabaya and Basil Rajapakse as well as Sarath Fonseka.
The US must deal with these people. They have an obligation to deal with them.
Q: You mentioned sanctions. Do you fear such possibilities in the present backdrop?
A: On principle, I am against sanctions because they impact on a country as a whole. Even the GSP + concessions this government is to lose due to their failure to meet some vital requirements to qualify, would not affect the Rajapakse clan at all. But they would surely impact on the people. The Rajapakses are well cushioned.
Rather than thinking of sanctions against a nation, let's concentrate on targeted sanctions on individuals. Let there be sanctions in no uncertain terms that they would not be tolerated in the respective countries. The international community must also realise that it is useless to cry foul after creating a Robert Mugabe. Action should be taken before that happens.
Q: You made crucial alliances to create the very government you vocally condemn today. If it is a despotic racist regime, shouldn't you be the one to be held accountable for the creation of a 'dark regime' in the first instance?
A: Hearing Lasantha was shot, as I made my way to the Kalubowila Hospital, I was struck by the horrifying thought that I have played a massive role to unleash a beast on this country. It hit me like a claymore bomb. I kept cursing myself repeatedly for my miscalculation for which the price is so high.
I have to take a considerable amount of responsibility for bringing Mahinda Rajapakse to the exalted office. I was his chief campaign coordinator and worked towards his victory at a time when 90% of the SLFP simply washed their hands off this candidate of ours. Some of his newly found monkeys who dance for their supper were silent at that time and most were discouraging others from supporting Mahinda.
I used to daily sit at my desk and telephone co-ordinators to ensure that posters and leaflets that were sent out were actually distributed and did not end up under their own beds or culverts nearby. Most ministers and MPs hid the propaganda material.
I have been an SLFPer all my life, and whatever my reservations about Mahinda were, I overlooked them in order to ensure that the SLFP candidate became the president of this country. Of course we knew who he was and his reputation in Beliatta. We were aware of the allegations raised against him. We believed he would turn a new leaf and work for this country.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be bringing to office a person who will pave the way for the darkest regime in our motherland.
Looking back, I think one factor we did not take into consideration was the role his family members would play in this administration. That was the fatal flaw in our decision.
When I saw this man in rubber slippers aimlessly wondering about at Temple Trees, I asked Basil Rajapakse who it was and he said, 'that is Gota aiya." I thought he must have come back naturally to help his brother during the campaign and would be going back eventually. He was soon appointed a coordinator for Kurunegala. I never thought he would become what he is today.
I never believed that Mahinda would unleash his entire brood, his extended family and more on the country. I thought it would be another SLFP administration, travelling on the same old social democratic path.
With the passage of time, I realised the mistake. In mid 2006, I saw the writing on the wall, especially with the killing of Trincomalee students and the 17 aid workers. I as Foreign Minister pleaded with the President during three meetings, to bring the culprits to book. Sri Lanka was getting embarrassed and I had difficulty in explaining these atrocities to the international community.
I said even the best of armies had some bad eggs. In the case of Krishanthi Coomaraswamy and the floating bodies in Diyawanna, we had the culprits brought to book.
It is incumbent upon the administration to bring perpetrators to book. In one such meeting, the Defence Ministry Secretary vehemently opposed taking action on the grounds that it would demoralise the army. I argued when a few bad eggs go unpunished it would demoralise the disciplined personnel. The entire Sri Lanka Army which is a disciplined army should not have the reputation tarnished due to the actions of a few, I said.
Finally, instead of taking action against the miscreants, within one and a half months since the final meeting, I was removed from the Foreign Affairs portfolio. Two weeks later, I was removed from the government.
Now it is obvious to me that they cannot take any action against anyone and why this impunity continues.
In many ways, and I do not wish to evoke any sympathy for me, I almost feel responsible for Lasantha's death. I curse myself for the efforts I put in to bring this administration into being, for if not for that, Lasantha may have well been among the living. That is a difficult cross to bear.
I apologised to the nation at the Kalubowila Hospital as Lasantha breathed his last. Forgive me all of you, if you can, for bringing this dark and evil regime into power.
Q: Is it possible, according to your argument, for President Mahinda Rajapakse to be under threat from those other than the LTTE?
A: He may well be. But on the other hand, I do know that the brothers don't do anything without consulting each other. This I know very well. Every night they meet. The President need not necessarily approve certain actions but a wink and a nod could go a long way.
In fact I know some of these extremist forces like Wimal Weerawansa and Champika Ranawaka are much more comfortable with Gotabaya than with the President.
If this militaristic attitude continues, the President himself could be at risk - not only from the LTTE but also from other forces he seems to have unleashed. So one never knows.
Q: Given the war hype in the country, does the opposition coalition stand a chance against a popular government at the provincial hustings?
A: I am of course not willing to put down any bets on this one, because the general trend is for the ruling party to carry the provinces and local bodies. We changed that just once, in 1993. That was possible due to Chandrika Kumaratunga's charisma and presence. But that was the odd one out.
The UNP in 2001 even managed to win the Attanagalla Pradeshiya Sabha but lost it two years later by over 30,000 votes. The provincial council polls are not an indicator, but a general election is. With a common symbol, the disgruntled elements within the SLFP and many others could be brought under one umbrella.
We have trod this path of military success before. Pooneryn was re-captured by the army in November 1993. The entire Eastern Province was liberated during the Wijetunga- Wickremesinghe rule. Unlike the recent one, the UNP held local government elections in the entire province, not just in Batticaloa as Mahinda did.
One of the most significant victories in recent times was recorded in 1995 when the Jaffna peninsula was captured within seven months. That was when the LTTE headquarters were located in the Jaffna Kachcheri and Pirapaharan occupied the Government Agent's desk. That's when he fled to the jungles of Mullaithivu. Then we took over Killinochchi and Elephant Pass.
What I wish to stress here is - thanks to our armed forces, their efforts and their sacrifices - we have had very impressive and significant victories. But the war still continues. It has entered its 26th year. What makes you think it will be different this time? We may again hold Killinochchi and Mullaithivu but they might fall again.
My firm belief is that the day we truly defeat terrorism and end this war is the day we address the genuine concerns of the Tamil people.
The SLAF has used more bombs than in Vietnam just in a few months. All these bombs are not going to take away this fact that unless and until we win the hearts and the minds of the Tamil people by a power sharing arrangement, the problem of terrorism would persist. Eve if Pirapaharan is captured and killed as some people like to speculate, we will only be committing another generation to the war perhaps to fight a far more ruthless LTTE than today.
We also must acknowledge that for terrorism to thrive, land is not an issue. Take Bombay. It just took five people to create such anarchy and chaos. The LTTE is also such a group.
The LTTE and the extremist Tamil politics have always thrived on Sinhala chauvinism. In fact the raison de etre of Pirapaharan is that. Every time Sinhala chauvinism raised its ugly head, the LTTE ideology grew stronger and gained the moral high ground as in the case of 1983 and even 1957.
The seeds of separatism appeared when the Sinhala chauvinists forced Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to tear his agreement with Chelvanayagam. Separatism will be further fanned with a government officially following a racist line with an Army Commander who has the audacity to say that the minorities don't have any right to make demands.
Likewise, the US passport holding defence official calls Tamils who have made this their home for centuries as 'outsiders' to justify the registration of Tamils in Colombo while Champika Ranawaka calls this a Sinhala Buddhist country to the exclusion of all others. These attitudes will drive moderate Tamil opinion also into the arms of the LTTE.
And that is why if we are to win this war, we have to come up with a solution acceptable to the Tamils and that may prove more powerful than all the bombs and weapons we have been using against the LTTE. Only then will we find durable peace.
Q: You are the Convener of Defence Watch. Why do you wish to counter the government's war news in the first instance when the war is the most popular thing today?
A: The reason for launching Defence Watch was not to insult the forces but to highlight the discrepancies of government statistics relating to the war.
For example, the Prime Minister reads out statistics in parliament which do not agree with the Defence Ministry figures and at great variance with the army website.
We as parliamentarians have the right to know about war causalities. We wanted to highlight the hardships faced by the military personnel because of the Army Commander's obsession to wage this war at any cost, not just to highlight statistical lying.
We highlighted once that most of the battle causalities are transported to Colombo in CTB buses without seats for the simple reason that they did not want the people to know about the casualty situation by transporting them in ambulances with sirens. It is an ugly fact but the truth.
When the Army Commander buys himself a Benz car for Rs. 45 million as retirement benefit, the soldiers who are battling in the front are only given Rs. 75,000 as compensation. We demanded that this be increased to Rs. 5 million - the amount paid to parliamentarians.
When we try to show these discrepancies, the military top brass have turned against us. I constantly receive threatening calls. I raised a matter of privilege in parliament, complained to the Speaker and the IGP. But I was not given enhanced security. Several weeks later, I have no idea as to what happened to the inquiry promised by the IGP to the Speaker!
Subsequently I learned that a unit named K9 or 'Mahasona Group' is targeting me. Its members have been following my movements. A retired army officer whose name starts with Z is the one who handles the wrecking operations. The designated squad includes one named 'Navy Sampath.' This is the same unit that Gajanayake operated with impunity and abducted many Tamil youths during 2006-7.
I am personally convinced, though I do not have evidence, it was this group that was responsible for the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge.
Now they are after me. What is scary is the same background is now being created for an eventual assassination. On the one hand you find the SLRC and ITN using government mouthpieces like Wimal Weerawansa labeling me as a Tiger sympathiser. It is laughable given the fact that I have been on the LTTE hit list for the past 12 years due to my involvement in rebuilding the Jaffna Library and the Sudu Nelum Movement and finally for successfully campaigning for a ban on the LTTE in the EU. That was a tremendous blow to the LTTE.
The highest in this land have been, post Lasantha's killing, stating all kinds of untruths about my private life to various journalists who visit him. It proves beyond any doubt that the necessary backdrop to divert attention is being so created in the event of my murder.
Several journalists confirmed that they were told the identical story which is of course completely baseless. I do not find it funny but sinister to have the Chief Executive gossiping about my private life.
I have already informed the diplomatic community here about this development just so that they would know who would come for me.
Q: You mentioned discrepancies in statistics and Defence Watch attempting to showcase that. You said parliamentarians have a right to know, but people have a better right to have information. For the past three months, statistics have not been mentioned in parliament which is suppression of vital information in breach of a long-standing tradition. What has the opposition done to oppose this withholding of information?
A: This is indeed a terrible development. Once they realised the statistics were at variance, the Defence Secretary stopped giving any statistics even to the Prime Minister. As you said, it is total suppression of facts. People have the right to know about the war which is supposedly waged for them.
The excuse is that it would demoralise the army. But soldiers would have a better understanding of the conduct of operations and the casualty rate. They must be horrified by what's happening, hence the high desertion rates.
These untruths, the way the personnel are treated, how they get listed as missing in action (MIA) to avoid full payment of compensation are understood by them. This is why this country's highest ever desertion rate was recorded in 2007, nearly 30,000. Hundreds of deserters are languishing in jails everywhere. They would rather languish in jail than fight a war under Sarath Fonseka who is basically using them as canon fodder.
The war today has been synchronised with the suppression in the south. For example the Divaina newspaper carried the headline story on the fall of Elephant Pass on January 6 but the government media was instructed to announce it only on January 9. Why was this kept a secret and published only on January 9?
They knew that with the outcry following Lasantha's murder, the horror would get somewhat diluted if a so-called war victory appeared in the press. Up to some extent, it happened and diverted attention. In the coming weeks, along with so called military gains, how many more dissenting voices will be silenced only time will tell.
Q: Do you have misgivings about your decision to sit in the opposition?
A: Not at all. Had I not crossed over, I could have led a fairly comfortable life, as a minister of this government. But as someone always driven by conscience, I would not have been able to take this for too long.
Even if they did not remove me for my rebellion, I would have had to leave this government anyway. That's why I did not rejoin the government despite repeated requests.
This is an evil government, an inefficient one and a corrupt government with racism as its foundation. I am glad not to be part of it.
I think it was providence itself that prevented me from having my name tarnished by the doings of this brutal regime. Perhaps I was pushed out because I did not belong there. It was never meant to be my kind of government.
Like Hitler did, the Rajapakses are now dreaming of a 36-year-old rule. This evil regime will crumble soon and the perpetrators will be brought before the people's court.
'US must act on its citizens violating human rights here'
Mangala Samaraweera - Interview with Sunday Leader.
"This is an evil government, an inefficient one and a corrupt government with racism as its foundation. I am glad not to be part of it.
I think it was providence itself that prevented me from having my name tarnished by the doings of this brutal regime. Perhaps I was pushed out because I did not belong there. It was never meant to be my kind of government.
Like Hitler did, the Rajapakses are now dreaming of a 36-year-old rule. This evil regime will crumble soon and the perpetrators will be brought before the people's court."- Mangala Samaraweera
Convenor SLFP (M) and former SLFP strongman, Mangala Samaraweera calls upon all journalists to shed differences, as they are a group under attack.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Leader, Samaraweera alleged government involvement in the violence unleashed against the media and vowed to do everything in his power to have the perpetrators accountable for their actions.
The MP said a meeting will be sought with the US State Department shortly to urge action against US citizens and Green Card holders who are violating US laws by committing human rights violations in Sri Lanka.
He pledged to write to all embassies urging the imposition of a travel ban on such violators and to have the international community target individuals behind this culture of impunity without penalising the people with sanctions.
He warned it was useless to cry foul after a Robert Mugabe is created in Sri Lanka and called for immediate preventive action against an emerging dictatorship.
He added that a 'Colourless platform for democracy' was in the making to unite all forces willing to rise against the increasing tyranny and said the suppression of dissenting voices was no longer ad hoc but systematic. Excerpts:
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti
Q: In the past, you have made crucial political alliances to secure electoral victory. There were recent moves to create a broad opposition alliance. What's the progress with regard to that?
A: We have been discussing the formation of a broad front to meet the threat of the Rajapakse regime for a while. We have about four parties working together based on our common desire to protect and nurture democracy. We were in the process of broadening discussions to include some left-of-center parties when the recent tragedies occurred - the attack on MTV/MBC and the assassination of your Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge.
In a way, these twin incidents more than all others have crystallised our society's need for such an alliance. It has brought in many other parties who were uninvolved before. The civil rights groups are also keen on a genuine people's movement to prevent this administration from becoming a dictatorship.
Two days ago, civil society representatives met all political parties. We have decided to create a 'colorless platform for democracy.' This platform will avoid party politics and overlook parochial considerations. It will be an inclusive platform that could bring together all the people who wish the democratic traditions of this country to continue.
All those who want freedom of expression and right to life - two rights that are repeatedly violated by the state can be part of this struggle. Together, a genuine people's movement can take on this heinous, dark regime. Without the support of civil society, it will not be possible.
Since leaving this regime, I have repeatedly said this is a government led by extremist forces that are keen on building a police state in a democracy. In fact, it was in the wake of recent killings that the enormity of what is happening had finally hit home. The general public often tends to remain silent in situations like this.
We see the big brother attitude, the doublespeak and the war mongering to the exclusion of civil liberties.
We recently saw a top defence official in a frenzied interview on state television calling journalists all sorts of names and ordering the arrest of one journalist for the sin of giving an interview to CNN.
The evolving situation is such that key journalists are fleeing the country. More than a dozen have already left and others are on the verge of leaving. The moment has come for all of us who cherish democratic values to ask ourselves whether we are going to yield to these threats or willing to shed differences and fight for justice.
In many ways, Lasantha's death may not be in vain, if we manage to crystallise this alliance with more enthusiasm and vigour.
Q: You were one vocal critic of the Premadasa administration and called it a demonic era. In comparison, which era appears to be the darkest?
A: This is undoubtedly the darkest, the most brutal and the most ruthless. I can say this because even in the darkest days of President Premadasa there was never a culture of fear as we experience today. It was during President Premadasa's regime that Richard de Zoysa was killed. But on the other hand, there was a thriving media culture with over 30 odd newspapers of various sizes ranging from leaflets to broadsheets especially published to attack the Premadasa regime relentlessly.
Q: In comparison, could you see there is a general sense of apathy and silence?
A: Certainly, but it is understandable. The slightest criticism they see, either editors are threatened with death by the President himself as in the case of your Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2006 or purportedly threatened personally by a top defence official as in the case of the Daily Mirror Editor.
Most other journalists who will not yield to such pressures are either compelled to leave the country or take the easy way out and write sweet nothings.
This is a well-planned systematic attempt to stifle the media unlike the ad hoc attacks during President Premadasa's time.
I was the media minister for several years under President Kumaratunga. I had a very robust relationship with Lasantha. He as was customary, attacked me with his acid pen time and again for what he thought was wrong. When I felt some of the charges were unfounded, I responded in kind verbally. It never went beyond that which is the hallmark of a dynamic democracy.
When we felt defamed by him, the harshest step we took was to seek redress in court like any other citizen. President Kumaratunga did the same when another Sunday publication wrote of a bachelor's birthday party she supposedly attended at midnight when in actual fact she was sleeping at home. It was a complete fabrication. She did not pick up a telephone and tell the editor, "I will rest only when you are no more" or things to that effect. We never sent white vans or groups to intimidate Lasantha or any other. We merely filed a criminal defamation suit.
We worked within the legal parameters. Some of the government apologists trying to whitewash Lasantha's death refer to a 'Kumaratunga-Samaraweera stewardship' during which human rights violations occurred. We are certainly not going to deny that they happened. But the difference was the absence of this culture of impunity.
When we assumed office in 1994, there were unidentified bodies of Tamil youth floating in the Diyawanna Oya. The government immediately ordered an inquiry, the entire case was cracked by the CID and the culprits were brought to book.
In Krishanthi Coomaraswamy's rape incident, a trial at bar was conducted and the perpetrators were indicted. In Iqbal Athas' case, we gave him protection and also indicted the responsible SLAF officers. There was never a cover up in the face of evidence.
When Lasantha's house was attacked, I telephoned Raine Wickrematunge to make inquiries and offered Lasantha police protection which he refused. The other black mark of our regime is the killing of Rohana Kumara. We appointed a high level team but evidence was scarce.
During the previous eras of Premadasa and Kumaratunga, there was no systematic witch hunt against dissenting voices and particularly journalists. Over 12 top journalists have already fled the country. Over a dozen media workers have been killed and J.S. Tissainayagam is held under the PTA for almost a year now. Manusamy Parameshwari was kept in custody for a year merely to harass the Mawbima newspaper which they thought I had something to do with.
From these things it is apparent that the Rajapakse regime has fast-forwarded its blueprint to create a police state.
The senior SLFP members are now sidelined. The decision makers are brothers Gotabaya and Basil, Sarath Fonseka, Wimal Weerawansa and Champika Ranawaka. All these characters are slightly psychotic. They have a dream of creating a Sinhala Buddhist supremacist dictatorship here. They can only smell blood.
This is why we should not underestimate what is happening. The elected government is threatening media personnel. The government apologists should now speak up if they care about democracy.
In any other country, our top defence official's psychotic and frenzied interview over national television should have raised a hornet's nest. That requires analysis not just by politicians and civil rights groups, but also by psychiatrists.
This is why we need a broad alliance to combat these evil forces at play.
Q: Do you recognise any role for the international community here?
A: Of course yes. I understand the limitations within which the international community operates. The thinking appears to be that little can be done beyond condemnation.
The international community has been exerting pressure on this deaf, blind and mute government to mend its ways. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming one of those African rogue regimes that can simply disregard all legitimate international concerns as international conspiracies. That seems to be the manthram of this government to protect themselves from outside criticism.
The international community should not be deterred by the attitude of the government because the Sri Lankan people have not been a xenophobic nation. Our history bears evidence that Sri Lanka had diplomatic relations with the Imperial House of Rome and China. It is not our nature to be isolated, despite the extremists' attempts to isolate Sri Lanka.
I believe that the international community instead of considering actions against Sri Lanka should target the individuals behind this culture of impunity. The state should not be allowed to come up with excuses. If they cannot punish wrongdoers, then they should be made to take responsibility for these atrocities and for their failure to maintain law and order and to protect precious lives.
My suggestion is to have travel bans issued on individuals suspected of human rights violations. Let not the country suffer. Make them accountable. It is going to hurt them the most because the key suspects are American citizens or US Green Card holders. The United States government can play a more proactive role in trying to control some of their people. These are US citizens undermining one of the oldest democracies in Asia at a time when the US is calling for democracy within and outside.
I know Lasantha was in the process of compiling a dossier on some of these people. Now I will finish what he started and complete the same with some others. Now that President Barack Obama is in office, we will soon seek an appointment with the US State Department and the incoming Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton and offer all our proof relating to Gotabaya and Basil Rajapakse as well as Sarath Fonseka.
The US must deal with these people. They have an obligation to deal with them.
Q: You mentioned sanctions. Do you fear such possibilities in the present backdrop?
A: On principle, I am against sanctions because they impact on a country as a whole. Even the GSP + concessions this government is to lose due to their failure to meet some vital requirements to qualify, would not affect the Rajapakse clan at all. But they would surely impact on the people. The Rajapakses are well cushioned.
Rather than thinking of sanctions against a nation, let's concentrate on targeted sanctions on individuals. Let there be sanctions in no uncertain terms that they would not be tolerated in the respective countries. The international community must also realise that it is useless to cry foul after creating a Robert Mugabe. Action should be taken before that happens.
Q: You made crucial alliances to create the very government you vocally condemn today. If it is a despotic racist regime, shouldn't you be the one to be held accountable for the creation of a 'dark regime' in the first instance?
A: Hearing Lasantha was shot, as I made my way to the Kalubowila Hospital, I was struck by the horrifying thought that I have played a massive role to unleash a beast on this country. It hit me like a claymore bomb. I kept cursing myself repeatedly for my miscalculation for which the price is so high.
I have to take a considerable amount of responsibility for bringing Mahinda Rajapakse to the exalted office. I was his chief campaign coordinator and worked towards his victory at a time when 90% of the SLFP simply washed their hands off this candidate of ours. Some of his newly found monkeys who dance for their supper were silent at that time and most were discouraging others from supporting Mahinda.
I used to daily sit at my desk and telephone co-ordinators to ensure that posters and leaflets that were sent out were actually distributed and did not end up under their own beds or culverts nearby. Most ministers and MPs hid the propaganda material.
I have been an SLFPer all my life, and whatever my reservations about Mahinda were, I overlooked them in order to ensure that the SLFP candidate became the president of this country. Of course we knew who he was and his reputation in Beliatta. We were aware of the allegations raised against him. We believed he would turn a new leaf and work for this country.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be bringing to office a person who will pave the way for the darkest regime in our motherland.
Looking back, I think one factor we did not take into consideration was the role his family members would play in this administration. That was the fatal flaw in our decision.
When I saw this man in rubber slippers aimlessly wondering about at Temple Trees, I asked Basil Rajapakse who it was and he said, 'that is Gota aiya." I thought he must have come back naturally to help his brother during the campaign and would be going back eventually. He was soon appointed a coordinator for Kurunegala. I never thought he would become what he is today.
I never believed that Mahinda would unleash his entire brood, his extended family and more on the country. I thought it would be another SLFP administration, travelling on the same old social democratic path.
With the passage of time, I realised the mistake. In mid 2006, I saw the writing on the wall, especially with the killing of Trincomalee students and the 17 aid workers. I as Foreign Minister pleaded with the President during three meetings, to bring the culprits to book. Sri Lanka was getting embarrassed and I had difficulty in explaining these atrocities to the international community.
I said even the best of armies had some bad eggs. In the case of Krishanthi Coomaraswamy and the floating bodies in Diyawanna, we had the culprits brought to book.
It is incumbent upon the administration to bring perpetrators to book. In one such meeting, the Defence Ministry Secretary vehemently opposed taking action on the grounds that it would demoralise the army. I argued when a few bad eggs go unpunished it would demoralise the disciplined personnel. The entire Sri Lanka Army which is a disciplined army should not have the reputation tarnished due to the actions of a few, I said.
Finally, instead of taking action against the miscreants, within one and a half months since the final meeting, I was removed from the Foreign Affairs portfolio. Two weeks later, I was removed from the government.
Now it is obvious to me that they cannot take any action against anyone and why this impunity continues.
In many ways, and I do not wish to evoke any sympathy for me, I almost feel responsible for Lasantha's death. I curse myself for the efforts I put in to bring this administration into being, for if not for that, Lasantha may have well been among the living. That is a difficult cross to bear.
I apologised to the nation at the Kalubowila Hospital as Lasantha breathed his last. Forgive me all of you, if you can, for bringing this dark and evil regime into power.
Q: Is it possible, according to your argument, for President Mahinda Rajapakse to be under threat from those other than the LTTE?
A: He may well be. But on the other hand, I do know that the brothers don't do anything without consulting each other. This I know very well. Every night they meet. The President need not necessarily approve certain actions but a wink and a nod could go a long way.
In fact I know some of these extremist forces like Wimal Weerawansa and Champika Ranawaka are much more comfortable with Gotabaya than with the President.
If this militaristic attitude continues, the President himself could be at risk - not only from the LTTE but also from other forces he seems to have unleashed. So one never knows.
Q: Given the war hype in the country, does the opposition coalition stand a chance against a popular government at the provincial hustings?
A: I am of course not willing to put down any bets on this one, because the general trend is for the ruling party to carry the provinces and local bodies. We changed that just once, in 1993. That was possible due to Chandrika Kumaratunga's charisma and presence. But that was the odd one out.
The UNP in 2001 even managed to win the Attanagalla Pradeshiya Sabha but lost it two years later by over 30,000 votes. The provincial council polls are not an indicator, but a general election is. With a common symbol, the disgruntled elements within the SLFP and many others could be brought under one umbrella.
We have trod this path of military success before. Pooneryn was re-captured by the army in November 1993. The entire Eastern Province was liberated during the Wijetunga- Wickremesinghe rule. Unlike the recent one, the UNP held local government elections in the entire province, not just in Batticaloa as Mahinda did.
One of the most significant victories in recent times was recorded in 1995 when the Jaffna peninsula was captured within seven months. That was when the LTTE headquarters were located in the Jaffna Kachcheri and Pirapaharan occupied the Government Agent's desk. That's when he fled to the jungles of Mullaithivu. Then we took over Killinochchi and Elephant Pass.
What I wish to stress here is - thanks to our armed forces, their efforts and their sacrifices - we have had very impressive and significant victories. But the war still continues. It has entered its 26th year. What makes you think it will be different this time? We may again hold Killinochchi and Mullaithivu but they might fall again.
My firm belief is that the day we truly defeat terrorism and end this war is the day we address the genuine concerns of the Tamil people.
The SLAF has used more bombs than in Vietnam just in a few months. All these bombs are not going to take away this fact that unless and until we win the hearts and the minds of the Tamil people by a power sharing arrangement, the problem of terrorism would persist. Eve if Pirapaharan is captured and killed as some people like to speculate, we will only be committing another generation to the war perhaps to fight a far more ruthless LTTE than today.
We also must acknowledge that for terrorism to thrive, land is not an issue. Take Bombay. It just took five people to create such anarchy and chaos. The LTTE is also such a group.
The LTTE and the extremist Tamil politics have always thrived on Sinhala chauvinism. In fact the raison de etre of Pirapaharan is that. Every time Sinhala chauvinism raised its ugly head, the LTTE ideology grew stronger and gained the moral high ground as in the case of 1983 and even 1957.
The seeds of separatism appeared when the Sinhala chauvinists forced Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to tear his agreement with Chelvanayagam. Separatism will be further fanned with a government officially following a racist line with an Army Commander who has the audacity to say that the minorities don't have any right to make demands.
Likewise, the US passport holding defence official calls Tamils who have made this their home for centuries as 'outsiders' to justify the registration of Tamils in Colombo while Champika Ranawaka calls this a Sinhala Buddhist country to the exclusion of all others. These attitudes will drive moderate Tamil opinion also into the arms of the LTTE.
And that is why if we are to win this war, we have to come up with a solution acceptable to the Tamils and that may prove more powerful than all the bombs and weapons we have been using against the LTTE. Only then will we find durable peace.
Q: You are the Convener of Defence Watch. Why do you wish to counter the government's war news in the first instance when the war is the most popular thing today?
A: The reason for launching Defence Watch was not to insult the forces but to highlight the discrepancies of government statistics relating to the war.
For example, the Prime Minister reads out statistics in parliament which do not agree with the Defence Ministry figures and at great variance with the army website.
We as parliamentarians have the right to know about war causalities. We wanted to highlight the hardships faced by the military personnel because of the Army Commander's obsession to wage this war at any cost, not just to highlight statistical lying.
We highlighted once that most of the battle causalities are transported to Colombo in CTB buses without seats for the simple reason that they did not want the people to know about the casualty situation by transporting them in ambulances with sirens. It is an ugly fact but the truth.
When the Army Commander buys himself a Benz car for Rs. 45 million as retirement benefit, the soldiers who are battling in the front are only given Rs. 75,000 as compensation. We demanded that this be increased to Rs. 5 million - the amount paid to parliamentarians.
When we try to show these discrepancies, the military top brass have turned against us. I constantly receive threatening calls. I raised a matter of privilege in parliament, complained to the Speaker and the IGP. But I was not given enhanced security. Several weeks later, I have no idea as to what happened to the inquiry promised by the IGP to the Speaker!
Subsequently I learned that a unit named K9 or 'Mahasona Group' is targeting me. Its members have been following my movements. A retired army officer whose name starts with Z is the one who handles the wrecking operations. The designated squad includes one named 'Navy Sampath.' This is the same unit that Gajanayake operated with impunity and abducted many Tamil youths during 2006-7.
I am personally convinced, though I do not have evidence, it was this group that was responsible for the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge.
Now they are after me. What is scary is the same background is now being created for an eventual assassination. On the one hand you find the SLRC and ITN using government mouthpieces like Wimal Weerawansa labeling me as a Tiger sympathiser. It is laughable given the fact that I have been on the LTTE hit list for the past 12 years due to my involvement in rebuilding the Jaffna Library and the Sudu Nelum Movement and finally for successfully campaigning for a ban on the LTTE in the EU. That was a tremendous blow to the LTTE.
The highest in this land have been, post Lasantha's killing, stating all kinds of untruths about my private life to various journalists who visit him. It proves beyond any doubt that the necessary backdrop to divert attention is being so created in the event of my murder.
Several journalists confirmed that they were told the identical story which is of course completely baseless. I do not find it funny but sinister to have the Chief Executive gossiping about my private life.
I have already informed the diplomatic community here about this development just so that they would know who would come for me.
Q: You mentioned discrepancies in statistics and Defence Watch attempting to showcase that. You said parliamentarians have a right to know, but people have a better right to have information. For the past three months, statistics have not been mentioned in parliament which is suppression of vital information in breach of a long-standing tradition. What has the opposition done to oppose this withholding of information?
A: This is indeed a terrible development. Once they realised the statistics were at variance, the Defence Secretary stopped giving any statistics even to the Prime Minister. As you said, it is total suppression of facts. People have the right to know about the war which is supposedly waged for them.
The excuse is that it would demoralise the army. But soldiers would have a better understanding of the conduct of operations and the casualty rate. They must be horrified by what's happening, hence the high desertion rates.
These untruths, the way the personnel are treated, how they get listed as missing in action (MIA) to avoid full payment of compensation are understood by them. This is why this country's highest ever desertion rate was recorded in 2007, nearly 30,000. Hundreds of deserters are languishing in jails everywhere. They would rather languish in jail than fight a war under Sarath Fonseka who is basically using them as canon fodder.
The war today has been synchronised with the suppression in the south. For example the Divaina newspaper carried the headline story on the fall of Elephant Pass on January 6 but the government media was instructed to announce it only on January 9. Why was this kept a secret and published only on January 9?
They knew that with the outcry following Lasantha's murder, the horror would get somewhat diluted if a so-called war victory appeared in the press. Up to some extent, it happened and diverted attention. In the coming weeks, along with so called military gains, how many more dissenting voices will be silenced only time will tell.
Q: Do you have misgivings about your decision to sit in the opposition?
A: Not at all. Had I not crossed over, I could have led a fairly comfortable life, as a minister of this government. But as someone always driven by conscience, I would not have been able to take this for too long.
Even if they did not remove me for my rebellion, I would have had to leave this government anyway. That's why I did not rejoin the government despite repeated requests.
This is an evil government, an inefficient one and a corrupt government with racism as its foundation. I am glad not to be part of it.
I think it was providence itself that prevented me from having my name tarnished by the doings of this brutal regime. Perhaps I was pushed out because I did not belong there. It was never meant to be my kind of government.
Like Hitler did, the Rajapakses are now dreaming of a 36-year-old rule. This evil regime will crumble soon and the perpetrators will be brought before the people's court.
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