SriLankans for Peace

The Next War in Sri Lanka: Law, Order, Justice and Law Enforcement

2011-12-07T12:50:00.003-05:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

Law, order, justice and law enforcement are pillars of a strong society. If they break, the fabric of the society shatters, resulting immense sufferings to its members. Recently, two incidents took place in two different countries across the globe—one is trying to be a developed nation; one is already a developed nation. These two incidents showcase how this basic norm of the society operates in these two countries.

In 2002, Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant in Penn State, USA, saw its assistant coach for 30 years, Jerry Sandusky sodomizing a 11-year-old boy in a shower in a campus locker room. He immediately reported the incident to Penn State’s legendary coach, Joe Paterno who reported it to its athletic director. The matter ultimately reached Penn State’s vice president and president who decided to put it to rest.
In November 2011, a grand jury charged Jerry Sandusky for sexually abusing 8 young boys over a period of 15 years; and he was arrested. It also charged Penn State’s athletic director and vice president for failure to report the 2002 incident. They were also arrested. Based on this incident, Penn State fired its head coach for 46 years, Joe Paterno; its president for 16 years, Graham Spanier, vice president and athletic director.

Joe Paterno, the head coach of Penn State with the highest number of wins (409) in college football history, is one of the best and most powerful coaches in USA. He is the most influential figure in Penn State for the last four decades. One can hardly find a single building or a program on campus that did not bear his name. Jerry Sandusky, his assistant coach for 30 years and his heir apparent, who is also the founder of “The Second Mile”—a charity designed to help disadvantaged kids—were the uncrowned kings in Penn State. Their football program brought over 70 million dollars annually to the university. Nevertheless, their money, power and stature did not deter the university to take the right step.

In sharp contrast, in Sri Lanka, a member of parliament who was involved and engaged in a shooting incident, where his bodyguards or he killed a presidential advisor and four others, was permitted to leave the country.

In my brief legal career in Sri Lanka, I particularly remember one case where a person was involved in a fist fight, resulting another person being hit in the face several times and losing four teeth. The victim was immediately admitted to the government hospital in Homagama. The suspect was promptly arrested at his home and was charged with committing serious injury. The police and state attorney opposed bailing out the suspect as long as the victim was in the hospital with injuries and the magistrate agreed. That is the law for the ordinary citizens in Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, MP Duminda Silva, according to eye witness accounts, who was at the crime scene; exchanged heated arguments with the victim; hit him and gave verbal orders; and whose bodyguards were charged for killing the presidential advisor was permitted, not only to leave the hospital but also to leave the country.
The government says, it is because no charges were filed against him—a very convenient loophole.

In a capital murder case like this, the police investigates and provides the list of suspects and evidence against them to the Attorney General who files the charges. First, the suspect must be produced before a magistrate who would allow or deny bail. If the suspect was admitted to a hospital, the magistrate visits the hospital. That procedure had not been taken place in this case because, simply, MP Silva was not a suspect.

Interestingly, the Assistant Superintendent of Policy (ASP) who was in-charge of the investigation has been transferred to another police station and was relieved of the investigation responsibilities. The entire management at the Sri Jayawardenapura General Hospital, where MP Silva was treated, had been replaced immediately after MP Silva was admitted there. The doctors at the hospital neither allowed police to record a statement from MP Silva nor allowed them to observe him, citing his unstable condition. Did the doctors, at least, take steps to obtain tissue samples from MP Silva’s hand to test for gunpowder residue which is a critical piece of evidence in a shooting case?

After the war with the LTTE was successfully over, it is imperative for the Government of Sri Lanka to assure its citizenry and the international community that law, order, justice and law enforcement is maintained. The ramifications of failure to do so are grave. Frustrated citizens would take law into their hands (e.g., burning vehicles after a fatal accident); incite civil unrest (e.g., JVP, LTTE) which may lead to civil uprisings and wars. It would hinder reconciliation efforts; cultivate insecurity and anxiety among citizens, especially minorities; tarnish human rights record of the country and fuel war crimes investigations. It would deter investors and foreign governments from conducting business in Sri Lanka. It may also negatively impact Sri Lanka’s efforts to stimulate economic growth (e.g., failure to host 2018 Common Wealth Games.)

The Penn State incident is a classic example of what it takes to be a developed nation. Until and unless Sri Lanka comes closer to that level, real progress would evade it.

Link: http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/11/14/next-war-sri-lanka-law-order-justice-and-law-enforcement

Australian MP, Don Randall's Speech about Sri Lanka

2011-03-11T22:13:00.004-05:00

Mr RANDALL (Canning) (12.02 pm)—I am pleased to speak on this motion on humanitarian issues during the war in Sri Lanka. At the outset, I congratulate the member for Werriwa on bringing this motion to the parliament and for the measured way that he addressed it. I have always had high regard for the member for Werriwa’s interest in human rights issues and migration issues. On this occasion he is quite passionate about his views as the issue stands now.

I come to this debate from a number of perspectives. One of them is the fact that I am the deputy chair of the Sri Lanka friendship group in this parliament and I have a keen interest in the issues. Like the member for Werriwa and others, I have had contact and lobbying from both sides of the Sri Lankan debate. This debate has been generated because for more than the past 26 years there has been a civil war in Sri Lanka. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, fought a strong war under their leader, Prabhakaran, to have a separate state in the north of Sri Lanka for the largely Tamil population. It was a brutal war with many atrocities—by both sides, might I say. The collateral damage of any war is the civilians. I do not for one moment absolve anyone on either side of blame. As I said, in a brutal war like this there will be casualties.

‘Are you concerned about this and that?’ I say, ‘I am very concerned about the human rights and the issues with people in Sri Lanka, but if you are a supporter of the LTTE please do not try to raise that issue with me, because I think that when you come to Australia you’ve got to leave that behind. You come to Australia for a better life for you and your family, and we don’t want any ethnic wars in Australia or continued hostilities. People from the Balkans—the Serbs, the Croatians, et cetera—come to Australia and, yes, there are passionate issues. But you move on and start a new life, and please don’t have your children that you bring to Australia or that are born in Australia continue these hostilities from now to eternity. We are one of the most successful migration destinations in the world.’

The Sri Lankan Civil War finished in May 2009, when finally the remnants of the LTTE were cornered in the jungle and Prabhakaran and his remaining lieutenants were killed. Once that happened, something like 280,000 innocent civilians, who had been held captive largely because they were in the area under LTTE control, were liberated. Many of them were taken to camps. I sat in parliament here and listened to a number of speakers from the Tamil organisations who described these camps as concentration camps. That is in dispute; the fact is that most of these people—some 263,000 of those 280,000 people—have now been returned to their home areas. One of the reasons that some have not done so is that much of their land is still heavily mined. With the help of international groups, including some from Australia, they are gradually clearing the mines from the fields and the villages in those areas. When I went to Sri Lanka sometime ago, we went to the elephant orphanage, where there was an elephant which had had its leg blown off because it had trod on one of the mines. So the place is infested with mines still.

There is an argument that persecution has been a push factor for migration to Australia. An article in the Canadian newspaper the Toronto Sun by Brian Lilley from the parliamentary press bureau says:
To become a refugee, a claimant must prove they are in danger of torture, there is a risk to their life or meet other criteria showing they will face persecution in their home country.

That is the definition of a refugee. Migration by Tamils fleeing Sri Lanka ceased more than 12 months ago. The Australian ambassador to Sri Lanka, Kathy Klugman, congratulated the Sri Lankan navy for its success in stopping any further departures. But they continue to monitor this, because the latest successful apprehension was as recently as 19 February this year—the odd boat is still trying to leave. It is interesting that an article from Monday, 28 February 2011 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 138 CHAMBER the Australian, similar to the one I referred to before from the Toronto Sun, says that something like 70 per cent of those who came to this country, once they got their protection visa—surprise, surprise!—returned Sri Lanka within 12 months. That says to me that there is quite an issue here. I have a letter sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs on 2 February this year. In it are the names of Mr Libasudeen Ibralebbe, who was after a renewal visa, Mrs Sivaanujah Sivaharan, who wanted a new passport, and Mrs Rageswary Somasundaram, who wanted a renewal of her passport. The letter also says, ‘These people, who have received protection visas, want to return to Sri Lanka.’ So much for their fleeing from persecution in fear for their lives!

This is where we have a problem in this country: we have to be very careful because there is evidence of people being arrested for trying to collect money here on behalf of the LTTE diaspora. Even though they have been defeated on their own shores, they continue offshore with this program of an independent homeland. Australia must not be allowed to support it. This is also happening in Canada and Europe. There was a request that the contents of the letter that I have here be made available to the foreign minister, the Hon. Kevin Rudd, and to the immigration minister, Chris Bowen. I hope it has been made available, because at the next estimates there will certainly be questions about their response to these people who claimed protection visas and who then, quite clearly within 12 months of receiving a protection visa, sought to renew their Sri Lankan passports to go home. That says to me that there could be a bit of a rort going on here.

Putting it again into context, the member opposite said that we need the UN involved. The UN is involved. Professor GL Peris has been at the United Nations over the last few weeks, seeking meetings with Ban Ki Moon on this issue. He has been explaining the government’s involvement in seeking the truth on this matter. In fact, inMay 2010 the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission was established in Sri Lanka, and it has already had over 200 sittings. If Desmond Tutu is asking for this to happen—and it is no different from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held in South Africa after the apartheid regime—all I can say to him is that he is correct: this should happen and it is happening. But we cannot in some patronising way say, ‘Well, you’d better send in the UN to take over the monitoring.’ That would be like us agreeing to the UN to come here to monitor our issues with Aboriginals following international criticism. If Mr Tutu is so passionate about that, why isn’t he insisting that Mr Mugabe in Zimbabwe has the same treatment? Do not go for the easy targets. This is a democratically elected country. They had a recent election where Mr Rajapaksa was re-elected. I had some issues, like the member for Werriwa, with the fact that General Fonseka ended up on a sticky wicket after the elections. But a bad democracy is better than any other choice. It is about time that we moved on. Australia is a great friend of Sri Lanka, and we want to see Sri Lanka re-establish itself in the world from a human rights and also an economic point of view because they have the opportunity to do so.

I seek leave to table my documents.

H. L. D. Mahindapala's Letter to Australian MP, Laurie Ferguson

2011-03-11T22:03:00.004-05:00

Sent: 04 March 2011 17:14
To: 'Laurie.Ferguson.MP@aph.gov.au'
Subject: Greetings!

Dear Laurie,

Thank you for the time you spent with us listening and arguing which was very helpful for us to gauge the opinion of a Labour MP most concerned with Sri Lankan affairs.

As I told you I was pleased to learn from you that there has been a 75% improvement in the Sri Lankan situation since the end of the futile war on May 18, 2009. I believe (and I told this to you too) our task is to improve the balance 25%. You will no doubt agree that 75% improvement within the short span (from May 18, 2009 to March 4, 2011) is a remarkable achievement by any standards. If we are genuinely concerned about improving the welfare of all communities our actions should be directed at healing and not exacerbating by scratching old wounds.

However, I must mention that I was taken aback by the rating you gave Sri Lanka . You said that Sri Lanka ranks below Bangladesh . In addition to being the Editor of the Observer – the oldest English newspaper in South Asia – I was also the Secretary-General of South Asia Media Association and I had the chance of traveling quite a bit in the region. No analyst that I know would rate Sri Lanka below that of Bangladesh .

Please consider the following facts:

• Sri Lanka is the oldest democracy in Asia-Pacific rim. If you consider the fact that universal franchise came to Australia in 1967 (after to Aborigines were given the right to vote) then it is fair to say that Sri Lanka was in the democratic circle exercising universal franchise from 1931.
• Sri Lanka faced right-wing military coups, two uprisings – one in the south from the JVP, the lumpen Marxists, and the longest running war in Asia initiated by the Jaffna Tamils when they officially passed the Vadukoddai Resolution seeking a military solution – and yet did not go under a military dictatorship.
• Other developing countries in the Afro-Asian region have been taken over by military dictators rising out pressures far less than that in Sri Lanka .
• Bangladesh has been under military dictatorship from time to time as you know. Sri Lanka always maintained its democratic institutions – however flawed they may have been.
• Sri Lanka is smaller than Tasmania with the entire population of Australia packed into it. Without the abundant resources of Australia Sri Lanka runs a free education system from kinder to uni, free health services, subsidized transport, food, medicine etc to all communities. Please ask the Tamil doctors, lawyers, academics who come crying about “discrimination” whether they did not enjoy the same facilities of the other communities who benefited from free education, free health, and other social benefits distributed without any discrimination.
• To quote you, we don’t live in a perfect world. But Sri Lankans, despite all infirmities, have a free press, free elections, free institutions like any other democracy.
• Bangladesh, being a Muslim country, is noted for the persecution of minorities – particularly Christians. Sri Lanka ’s tolerance of other religions is legendary. At the time when France and the West are banning the head gear for Muslims Sri Lanka is offering free textile for the Muslims to wear it freely.
• The poverty level of Bangladesh is below that of Sri Lanka .
• Bangladesh is a quasi-religious state whereas Sri Lanka is essentially secular.
• The Sri Lankan flag carries two stripes – one for the Tamils and the other for the Muslim – as a means of granting the highest respect and status to the minorities. How much space in given to the minorities in he Bangladesh flag or for that matter the minorities in the so-called modeled democracies of the West. Incidentally, there are over 70 million Tamils in the world including the 60 million in Tamil Nadu. The only flag that respects the identity of Tamils among the 192 flags flying at the UN is that of the Sri Lankan flag. Is this discrimination? The Tamil language is also given the highest place by being inscribed in currencies, stamps and all official documents.
• The space open for all communities to be treated equally is exemplified by the presence of Murali in the cricket team. If he was with the Tamil separatists he would have been throwing hand grenades instead of his fascinating “dooshra” and in the process even lost his flexible arm.

I shall stop at this as I do not want to appear as a Bangladeshi-basher. But before I end I wish to raise another point with you. You were quite sympathetic to the “imperfections” of the others except Sri Lanka . I gathered from our discussion that you were demanding perfection from Sri Lanka while dismissing the “imperfections” of others as a part of the unavoidable world order. Could this be a case of Biblical proportions where one prefers to see the mote in the eyes of Sri Lanka and not the beam in the eyes of one’s fellow-travelers?

Example: An independent inquiry into the way Sri Lanka ended the 33-year-old war is demanded by you and your fellow-travelers. By the same yardstick which human rights activist has ever initiated inquiries into the way the Americans ended the World War II by dropping atom bomb in Hiroshima (140,000 civilians dead) and Nagasaki (80,000 dead)? Or on Churchill for his calculated plan to bring the boys back home early by bombing the hell out of Dresden (300,000 dead)? If you think it’s far away, why not ask for an inquiry on the ethnic cleansing of Diego Garcia by the British to clear the place for the American to build a base in the Indian Ocean ? The thousands of Chargosssians evicted by force by the British from their only homeland only recently are wandering like nomads. They are without jobs, without homes and without a future. How come Sri Lanka is on the radar of concerned Australians and not the Chargossians?

Isn’t there something rotten in the state of morality dispensed by the human rights activists who cry from roof tops only for the agents of the Tamils Tigers?
If you happen to be in Melbourne I would delighted to have dinner or lunch to carry on the dialogue. Please be in touch.

Best
Mahinda

H. L. D. Mahindapala
Editor, Observer (1990- 1994)
President, Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association (1991- 1993)
General Secretary, South Asia Media Association (1993 - 1994)
PS: By the way when we told the Foreign Office that Labour MPs have to get their resolutions tabled in Parliament vetted by the censors at DFAT they denied it totally. They said that they do not influence MPs in any way on the text of the resolution.

US Fox News Hails Sri Lanka

2011-03-06T00:59:00.003-05:00

US Fox News story about Sri Lanka: 1. Best global market 2. # 1 tourist destination, NY Times 3. # 2 Tourist destination, National Geographic 4. Only country to defeat terrorism and much more...

LTTE threat to disrupt Havard discussion on Lanka turns into damp squib

2011-03-06T00:28:00.002-05:00

Tha Nation

An LTTE threat to disrupt a panel discussion on Sri Lanka at the Kennedy School, Harvard on Tuesday if it was attended by Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr Palitha Kohana ended up being a bluff due to effective counter action taken by the organizers and the Lankan envoy accepting the challenge and attending the event.

Sources said the planned disruption was led by a former Sri Lankan Tamil journalist who was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail for terrorist related activities here in September 2009, but was pardoned by President Rajapaksa in May last year and has since been living in America. Now a Neiman Fellow at the Harvard Journalism School, he had tried to arrange a boycott, failing that, had threatened to stage a “hartal”.

Prof Nicholas Burns, former Assistant Secretary, State Department who chaired the panel discussion on “Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Sri Lanka” had given Dr Kohona the option of pulling out at the last moment, but the latter had insisted that “ it was not in his nature to cow down to thuggery”. The other panelists were Dr Vasukhi Nesiah of the New York University and Ahilan Kadirgamar of the Democracy Forum.

Sources said the planned protests failed to materialise due to the presence of half a dozen police cars and a large number of burly policemen deterring any protesters. But the LTTE had packed the audience occupying most of the seats in advance.

As a precaution the University had not allowed anyone to stand within the room after the rump LTTE bombarded the Kennedy School with more than 500 emails and phone calls threatening public disturbances.

Prof Burns had also taken exceptional pains to give the floor to a number of Tamil interest groups and to even paraphrase their comments and convert them into questions. In the process he effectively curtailed available response time. The LTTE had been well represented and had even included Subha Suntheralingam, a pretend Deputy Minister of the Transitional Government of Tamil Eelam, who had repeatedly referred to her position. She had read a statement and had been reminded by the Chair that Dr Kohona could not be referred to as a war criminal.

The journalist live wire behind the protest had complained about being tortured in Welikada prison. He was reminded that he was convicted on the basis of evidence provided to a court, of terrorism related activity and sentenced to twenty years, but subsequently pardoned. Torture, in Sri Lanka, can be dealt with under the torture legislation, but he had pressed no such charges.. It was pointed out that Dr Mrs Siddiqui, a Pakistani doctor, was brought to the US in a military plane, and convicted on the basis of a confession made to a military officer and sentenced to 86 years in prison!

New York's Asia Society Reverberates to the Rhythms of Kandyan Drums

2011-02-15T12:48:00.004-05:00

By Pushpi Weerakoon

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations hosted a well attended Concert and Reception at the prestigious Asia Society for the diplomatic community, senior UN personnel and members of the business and social elite of New York to mark the 63rd anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence. Over 120 Permanent Missions were represented at the event. The guests were treated to a memorable evening of classical music, jazz and traditional Sri Lankan dance by Sri Lanka’s own artistes. Maestro Rohan de Silva was at the piano with Ms. Sujeeva Hapugalle, Paul Metzke enthralled the audience with the guitar and Ms. Yolande Bavan, the perennial jazz favorite, kept their toes tapping. The Chitrasena dance group enraptured the audience with throbbing Kandyan drums and Kohomba Kankari for the first time.

While the Asia Society audience was regaled to an incomparable treat in music and dance, a confident nation itself is reaching forward to a period of expanded freedom and expedited growth following the end of the conflict in 2009. As President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in his Independence Day message “We must set right the errors of both past and present in this march towards greater freedom, won through divisions, which leads to the loss of freedom for us all. Therefore, building a united Sri Lanka is the best means by which freedom can be secured and given more meaning. We must have the same commitment to building a united nation as we had in defending our country.” Foreign Minister Professor G.L. Peiris said “With the advent of a durable peace after the successful elimination of terrorism in Sri Lanka, our principal focus has been on steering the nation on the right course to achieve accelerated social and economic development across the country, which would benefit people from all parts of the country.” Dr. Palitha Kohona, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations stated in his message that “Those Sri Lankans who live overseas have a seminal contribution to make as the nation forges ahead. We must continue to convey the best possible image of Sri Lanka internationally and help to build bridges and foster understanding – Bridges among ourselves and to the international community. United, we must embrace the world.”

The occasion was graced by the presence of Permanent Representatives and Deputy Permanent Representatives of over 120 countries, including, India, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, The Ireland, Serbia, Spain, Syria, Cuba, Fiji, Australia, Mongolia, Rumania, Hungary, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Israel, Bosnia, Slovania, Qatar and Brazil.

New York Sri Lankan expatriates celebrate the National Independence Day

2011-02-15T12:46:00.002-05:00

By Pushpi Weerakoon

The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations hosted a Concert and Reception at the Forest Hills High school New York to mark the 63rd anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence. Over 1200 Sri Lankan expatriates and well wishers were present at the event, the largest gathering in the history of Independence celebrations in New York. The guests were treated to a memorable evening by the renowned Chithrasena Vajira dance ensemble, in addition to the music and drama performed by the Sri Lankan community, representing all five boroughs in New York, the state of New Jersey and Boston.

The occasion was graced by H.E. Ambassador Dr Palitha Kohona along with Major General Shavendra Silva Deputy Permanent Representative who inaugurated the event by lighting the traditional oil lamp along with a group of children representing the multiethnic Sri Lankan community. The official event consisted of hoisting of the national flag, singing of the national anthem and jayamangala gatha. Addressing the gathering Dr. Palitha Kohona, stated that “Those Sri Lankans who live overseas have a seminal contribution to make as the nation forges ahead. We must continue to convey the best possible image of Sri Lanka internationally and help to build bridges and foster understanding – Bridges among ourselves and with the international community.”

Following blessings by the Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu and Islamic religious dignitaries, the cultural event which lasted the rest of the evening began with a serene pooja dance to pay obeisance to mother Lanka. The other items included patriotic songs and dramas in Sinhala, Tamil and English. The Chitrasena dance group enchanted the audience with throbbing Kandyan drums and excerpts from the Kohomba Kankariya.

The traditional Sri Lankan buffet dinner added spice to the rekindled patriotism and unity among the participants. The event as a whole was highly acclaimed and praised by the attendees as the best National Day celebration to date.

Floods in Sri Lanka: Hope in Disguise?

2011-01-23T11:07:00.002-05:00

January 22, Sri Lanka Guardia
By Sri Lankans for Peace

Even though more than forty-three people have perished, more than one million have been affected, about a fifth of the rice cultivation has been destroyed, the recent floods in Sri Lanka have presented the country with an opportunity for unity, friendship and reconciliation at a time of sorrow.

The major damage has occurred in the Eastern provinces where the majority is Muslim and Tamil communities; substantially mixed communities in Trincomalee and Amparai have also been affected. If the government and Sri Lankans step in, irrespective of their differences, to help the affected communities, it would greatly strengthen the solidarity of the nation when it is crucially needed.

When the country was torn apart by the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 the story was completely different. Neither the government nor any other organization knew with any reliable certainty how predominantly Tamil communities in the Eastern and Northern provinces were affected by the Tsunami. The information was so untrustworthy that it was circulated late Mr. Prabakaran and his top deputies were perished in it. The aid and assistance were distributed, for reasons beyond anyone’s control, unfortunately, in the racial lines—the government is taking care of the South and the LTTE, together with the UN and NGO’s, is taking care of North and East.

Within a span of six years, the situation has reversed.

Today, the government is in a position to look after its citizenry within its boundaries, and Sri Lankans are not bound by any racial barrier to help each other unconditionally. This is an opportunity for the Sinhalese to extend their support to Tamils and Muslims. This is an opportunity for the Sri Lankan government to prove to the world and, especially, to its people that it stands by equality in a “one country, one nation.” This is an opportunity for the government to show that they would not let the affected minority populations stay wet, hungry, helpless, homeless and hopeless.

At the Thai Pongal festival in Jaffna President Rajapaksha stressed that everyone is a child of mother lanka irrespective of their race or ethnicity. In these difficult times, we are optimistic that President Rajapaksha would be true to his words.

UN’s effort to preserve the Rights of the Child

2010-10-24T16:31:00.003-04:00

By Pushpi Weerakoon

On a global basis almost 11 million children die annually because of child poverty. Over the last ten years, two million children have been killed in conflict, a million have been orphaned, over six million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled, and over ten million have been left with serious psychological trauma. Despite international legislation, child trafficking, prostitution, and abuse are still widespread. 75 million children of primary school age in South Asia alone go without education. And an estimated 158 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 – one in six children in the world – are forced into child labour.

In the light of these harrowing statistics, the opening session of the sixty-fifth UN General Assembly was focused on the Rights of the Child. Anthony Lake, Head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told the Assembly that in order to “truly universalize child rights,” the world community must reach the neediest children in their early years, with nutrition, education and protection. It is this early investment that leads to the best long-term outcomes, and ensures a more equitable world. Moreover, an “integrated approach” is required, focusing on preserving the spectrum of child rights, and engaging directly at a community level.

In countries engaged in armed conflict, Millennium Goals indicators reveal that children are particularly vulnerable, according to Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children. With over 70 countries in the world currently engaged in some form of conflict, a concerted response is required by the international community to identify and protect these children. The United Nations is currently campaigning to achieve universal ratification of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child by 2012, in recognition of the indelible scars that violence and conflict can have – arresting a child’s development and education, in addition to provoking low self-esteem, emotional distress and aggressive behaviour. This call was echoed by Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, who argued for “Zero under Eighteen” involvement of children in armed conflict, whether as soldiers, or as innocent victims of conflict.

Whilst the scale of the task cannot be under-estimated, the international community can take heart from examples of good practice that exist. Though subjected to a bitter 30 year conflict, which resulted in more than 100,000 deaths, Sri Lanka has demonstrated the benefits of comprehensive and long term investment in children, enshrined in legislation and embedded in local communities. Dr Palitha Kohona, UN Ambassador to Sri Lanka, explained how sustained investment in education – from kindergarten to university – had resulted in a primary school attendance rate of 97.5%, and a literacy rate of 95%, with equality of access to education regardless of gender. A similar investment in state-funded healthcare has resulted in a reduction of the child mortality rate to 11.3 per 1,000 births. And whilst the government were powerless to prevent the forcible recruitment of child soldiers by the LTTE during the decades of conflict, the recent end of the war has seen the initiation of a rehabilitation programme entitled “Bring Back the Child”, that focuses on educating former child soldiers, and reintegrating them back into society.

The Sri Lankan example shows what can be done to protect child rights in the developing world – even in the midst of violent conflict – through a concerted effort and long term investment. It is the same determination which must be shown by governments around the world, supported globally by local communities, in order to ensure child rights are universally protected, and that children are nurtured with dignity and respect, so that they can realise their potential without suffering or fear.

Sri Lanka among the top

2010-10-24T12:40:00.002-04:00

Sri Lanka is among the top 20 in the world for gender equality according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2010 compiled by the World Economic Forum.

Ranking at 16th place, it is above all South Asian nations and second only to Philippines from the Asian region. Sri Lanka stands above developed countries such as United States, Netherlands, Canada, Australia and many other European countries.

Sri Lanka is ranked first in the world in the Health and Survival indicator, and sixth in the Political Empowerment indicator beating European countries such as UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium as well as the entire Asian region.

In the sub category of regions, Sri Lanka is distinctive for being the only South Asian country in the top 20 for the fourth consecutive year, the report states. Sri Lanka is ranked third in the Asia Pacific region with New Zealand at the top, Philippines at two and Australia at four.

“Sri Lanka’s performance remains steady as it maintains the same rank as 2009. In addition to higher-than-average performance in education and health, Sri Lanka continues to hold a privileged position regarding political empowerment,” the report said.

The Global Gender Gap Index introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education- and health based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time, the report said.

“It’s very encouraging that more countries are becoming aware of why it’s important to reduce the gender gap and are starting to explore policies that may be needed,” the Forum’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity program Head Saadia Zahidi said.

The report assesses life expectancy, salaries, access to high-skilled jobs, access to basic and higher level education, and whether women were represented in government and decision- making structures. The review, begun in 2006, looks at how countries divide resources and opportunities for men and women, regardless of the level of resources available. The report was the result of collaboration between Zahidi; Harvard University Centre for International Development Director Ricardo Hausmann, and California University Business administration and Economic Professor Laura Tyson.

Sri Lanka records strong post-war growth

2010-06-27T19:29:00.001-04:00

(AFP) – 3 hours ago

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's economy expanded 7.1 percent during the first quarter of this year, the statistics office said Friday, as the island picks itself up after a long civil war.

The growth for the January-March period, up from 1.6 percent at the same point last year, was boosted by expansion in farm produce and services.
"This promising growth was mainly backed by prevailing peace across the country and also easing of the global economic recession to a certain extent," the department said in a statement.

The economy has continued to benefit from stability after the 37-year conflict against separatist Tamils ended in May last year.
Agriculture, which includes rice, tea, rubber and fishing, expanded 9.0 percent, compared with 3.0 percent a year earlier, lifted by a 47.2 percent growth in tea production.

Makers of Sri Lanka's "Pure Ceylon Tea," the island's chief cash crop, enjoyed good weather and increased global demand.

The country's central bank this month projected the 41-billion-dollar economy would expand 7.0 percent this year compared with 3.5 percent in 2009, due to post-war expansion in reconstruction and farming.

Some 100,000 people perished during the conflict, according to UN estimates.

HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL, et al. v . HUMANITARIAN LAW PROJECT et al.

2010-06-25T08:55:00.002-04:00

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL, et al. v . HUMANITARIAN LAW PROJECT et al.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Argued February 23, 2010—Decided June 21, 2010 No. 08–1498. *
________________________________________

It is a federal crime to “knowingly provid[e] material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” 18 U. S. C. §2339B(a)(1). The authority to designate an entity a “foreign terrorist organization” rests with the Secretary of State, and is subject to judicial review. “[T]he term ‘material support or resources’ means any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who may be or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.” §2339A(b)(1). Over the years, §2339B and the definition of “material support or resources” have been amended, inter alia, to clarify that a violation requires knowledge of the foreign group’s designation as a terrorist organization or its commission of terrorist acts, §2339B(a)(1); and to define the terms “training,” §2339A(b)(2), “expert advice or assistance,” §2339A(b)(3), and “personnel,” §2339B(h).

Among the entities the Secretary of State has designated “foreign terrorist organization[s]” are the Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan (PKK) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which aim to establish independent states for, respectively, Kurds in Turkey and Tamils in Sri Lanka. Although both groups engage in political and humanitarian activities, each has also committed numerous terrorist attacks, some of which have harmed American citizens. Claiming they wish to support those groups’ lawful, nonviolent activities, two U. S. citizens and six domestic organizations (hereinafter plaintiffs) initiated this constitutional challenge to the material-support statute. The litigation has had a complicated 12-year history. Ultimately, the District Court partially enjoined the enforcement of the material-support statute against plaintiffs. After the Ninth Circuit affirmed, plaintiffs and the Government cross-petitioned for certiorari. The Court granted both petitions.

As the litigation now stands, plaintiffs challenge §2339B’s prohibition on providing four types of material support—“training,” “expert advice or assistance,” “service,” and “personnel”—asserting violations of the Fifth Amendment ’s Due Process Clause on the ground that the statutory terms are impermissibly vague, and violations of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. They claim that §2339B is invalid to the extent it prohibits them from engaging in certain specified activities, including training PKK members to use international law to resolve disputes peacefully; teaching PKK members to petition the United Nations and other representative bodies for relief; and engaging in political advocacy on behalf of Kurds living in Turkey and Tamils living in Sri Lanka.
Held: The material-support statute, §2339B, is constitutional as applied to the particular forms of support that plaintiffs seek to provide to foreign terrorist organizations. Pp. 8–36.

(a) This preenforcement challenge to §2339B is a justiciable Article III case or controversy. Plaintiffs face “a credible threat of prosecution” and “should not be required to await and undergo a criminal prosecution as the sole means of seeking relief.” Babbitt v. Farm Workers , 442 U. S. 289 . P. 10.

(b) The Court cannot avoid the constitutional issues in this litigation by accepting plaintiffs’ argument that the material-support statute, when applied to speech, should be interpreted to require proof that a defendant intended to further a foreign terrorist organization’s illegal activities. That reading is inconsistent with §2339B’s text, which prohibits “knowingly” providing material support and demonstrates that Congress chose knowledge about the organization’s connection to terrorism, not specific intent to further its terrorist activities, as the necessary mental state for a violation. Plaintiffs’ reading is also untenable in light of the sections immediately surrounding §2339B, which—unlike §2339B—do refer to intent to further terrorist activity. See §§2339A(a), 2339C(a)(1). Finally, there is no textual basis for plaintiffs’ argument that the same language in §2339B should be read to require specific intent with regard to speech, but not with regard to other forms of material support. Pp. 10–12.

(c) As applied to plaintiffs, the material-support statute is not unconstitutionally vague. The Ninth Circuit improperly merged plaintiffs’ vagueness challenge with their First Amendment claims, holding that “training,” “service,” and a portion of “expert advice or assistance” were impermissibly vague because they applied to protected speech—regardless of whether those applications were clear. The Court of Appeals also contravened the rule that “[a] plaintiff who engages in some conduct that is clearly proscribed cannot complain of the vagueness of the law as applied to the conduct of others.” Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. , 455 U. S. 489 .

The material-support statute, in its application to plaintiffs, “provide[s] a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited.” United States v. Williams , 553 U. S. 285 . The statutory terms at issue here—“training,” “expert advice or assistance,” “service,” and “personnel”—are quite different from the sorts of terms, like “ ‘annoying’ ” and “ ‘indecent,’ ” that the Court has struck down for requiring “wholly subjective judgments without statutory definitions, narrowing context, or settled legal meanings.” Id., at 306. Congress has increased the clarity of §2339B’s terms by adding narrowing definitions, and §2339B’s knowledge requirement further reduces any potential for vagueness, see Hill v. Colorado , 530 U. S. 703 .

Although the statute may not be clear in every application, the dispositive point is that its terms are clear in their application to plaintiffs’ proposed conduct. Most of the activities in which plaintiffs seek to engage readily fall within the scope of “training” and “expert advice or assistance.” In fact, plaintiffs themselves have repeatedly used those terms to describe their own proposed activities. Plaintiffs’ resort to hypothetical situations testing the limits of “training” and “expert advice or assistance” is beside the point because this litigation does not concern such situations. See Scales v. United States , 367 U. S. 203 . Gentile v. State Bar of Nev. , 501 U. S. 1030 , distinguished. Plaintiffs’ further contention, that the statute is vague in its application to the political advocacy they wish to undertake, runs afoul of §2339B(h), which makes clear that “personnel” does not cover advocacy by those acting entirely independently of a foreign terrorist organization, and the ordinary meaning of “service,” which refers to concerted activity, not independent advocacy. Context confirms that meaning: Independently advocating for a cause is different from the prohibited act of providing a service “to a foreign terrorist organization.” §2339B(a)(1).

Thus, any independent advocacy in which plaintiffs wish to engage is not prohibited by §2339B. On the other hand, a person of ordinary intelligence would understand the term “service” to cover advocacy performed in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization. Plaintiffs argue that this construction of the statute poses difficult questions of exactly how much direction or coordination is necessary for an activity to constitute a “service.” Because plaintiffs have not provided any specific articulation of the degree to which they seek to coordinate their advocacy with the PKK and the LTTE, however, they cannot prevail in their preenforcement challenge. See Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party , 552 U. S. 442 . Pp. 13–20.

(d) As applied to plaintiffs, the material-support statute does not violate the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment . Pp. 20–34.

(1) Both plaintiffs and the Government take extreme positions on this question. Plaintiffs claim that Congress has banned their pure political speech. That claim is unfounded because, under the material-support statute, they may say anything they wish on any topic. Section 2339B does not prohibit independent advocacy or membership in the PKK and LTTE. Rather, Congress has prohibited “material support,” which most often does not take the form of speech. And when it does, the statute is carefully drawn to cover only a narrow category of speech to, under the direction of, or in coordination with foreign groups that the speaker knows to be terrorist organizations. On the other hand, the Government errs in arguing that the only thing actually at issue here is conduct, not speech, and that the correct standard of review is intermediate scrutiny, as set out in United States v. O’Brien , 391 U. S. 367 . That standard is not used to review a content-based regulation of speech, and §2339B regulates plaintiffs’ speech to the PKK and the LTTE on the basis of its content. Even if the material-support statute generally functions as a regulation of conduct, as applied to plaintiffs the conduct triggering coverage under the statute consists of communicating a message. Thus, the Court “must [apply] a more demanding standard” than the one described in O’Brien . Texas v. Johnson , 491 U. S. 397 . Pp. 20–23.

(2) The parties agree that the Government’s interest in combating terrorism is an urgent objective of the highest order, but plaintiffs argue that this objective does not justify prohibiting their speech, which they say will advance only the legitimate activities of the PKK and LTTE. Whether foreign terrorist organizations meaningfully segregate support of their legitimate activities from support of terrorism is an empirical question. Congress rejected plaintiffs’ position on that question when it enacted §2339B, finding that “foreign organizations that engage in terrorist activity are so tainted by their criminal conduct that any contribution to such an organization facilitates that conduct.” §301(a), 110 Stat. 1247, note following §2339B. The record confirms that Congress was justified in rejecting plaintiffs’ view. The PKK and the LTTE are deadly groups. It is not difficult to conclude, as Congress did, that the taint of their violent activities is so great that working in coordination with them or at their command legitimizes and furthers their terrorist means. Moreover, material support meant to promote peaceable, lawful conduct can be diverted to advance terrorism in multiple ways. The record shows that designated foreign terrorist organizations do not maintain organizational firewalls between social, political, and terrorist operations, or financial firewalls between funds raised for humanitarian activities and those used to carry out terrorist attacks. Providing material support in any form would also undermine cooperative international efforts to prevent terrorism and strain the United States’ relationships with its allies, including those that are defending themselves against violent insurgencies waged by foreign terrorist groups. Pp. 23–28.

(3) The Court does not rely exclusively on its own factual inferences drawn from the record evidence, but considers the Executive Branch’s stated view that the experience and analysis of Government agencies charged with combating terrorism strongly support Congress’s finding that all contributions to foreign terrorist organizations—even those for seemingly benign purposes—further those groups’ terrorist activities. That evaluation of the facts, like Congress’s assessment, is entitled to deference, given the sensitive national security and foreign relations interests at stake. The Court does not defer to the Government’s reading of the First Amendment . But respect for the Government’s factual conclusions is appropriate in light of the courts’ lack of expertise with respect to national security and foreign affairs, and the reality that efforts to confront terrorist threats occur in an area where information can be difficult to obtain, the impact of certain conduct can be difficult to assess, and conclusions must often be based on informed judgment rather than concrete evidence. The Court also finds it significant that Congress has been conscious of its own responsibility to consider how its actions may implicate constitutional concerns. Most importantly, Congress has avoided any restriction on independent advocacy, or indeed any activities not directed to, coordinated with, or controlled by foreign terrorist groups. Given the sensitive interests in national security and foreign affairs at stake, the political branches have adequately substantiated their determination that prohibiting material support in the form of training, expert advice, personnel, and services to foreign terrorist groups serves the Government’s interest in preventing terrorism, even if those providing the support mean to promote only the groups’ nonviolent ends.

As to the particular speech plaintiffs propose to undertake, it is wholly foreseeable that directly training the PKK on how to use international law to resolve disputes would provide that group with information and techniques that it could use as part of a broader strategy to promote terrorism, and to threaten, manipulate, and disrupt. Teaching the PKK to petition international bodies for relief also could help the PKK obtain funding it would redirect to its violent activities. Plaintiffs’ proposals to engage in political advocacy on behalf of Kurds and Tamils, in turn, are phrased so generally that they cannot prevail in this preenforcement challenge. The Court does not decide whether any future applications of the material-support statute to speech or advocacy will survive First Amendment scrutiny. It simply holds that §2339B does not violate the freedom of speech as applied to the particular types of support these plaintiffs seek to provide. Pp. 28–34.

(e) Nor does the material-support statute violate plaintiffs’ First Amendment freedom of association. Plaintiffs argue that the statute criminalizes the mere fact of their associating with the PKK and the LTTE, and thereby runs afoul of this Court’s precedents. The Ninth Circuit correctly rejected this claim because §2339B does not penalize mere association, but prohibits the act of giving foreign terrorist groups material support. Any burden on plaintiffs’ freedom of association caused by preventing them from supporting designated foreign terrorist organizations, but not other groups, is justified for the same reasons the Court rejects their free speech challenge. Pp. 34–35.

552 F. 3d 916, affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, JJ., joined. Breyer, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Ginsburg and Sotomayor, JJ., joined.
________________________________________
Notes
* Together with No. 09–89, Humanitarian Law Project et al. v. Holder, Attorney General, et al., also on certiorari to the same court.

PULLING SRI LANKA TOGETHER CONSTITUTIONALLY

2010-06-22T17:14:00.000-04:00

Dr A.C.Visvalingam
President, CIMOGG
www.cimogg-srilanka.org
June 22, 2010

Most of our politicians, intellectuals and other opinion-makers continue to give prominence to the issues that divide us and offer myriad solutions to deal with the fragmented society that we have become. What is really needed is to look at what we are (a motley collection of Veddahs, Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Burghers, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, other groups and random mixes of all of these) and find ways and means of creating a common Sri Lankan identity, so fashioned that every member of these groups would accept it without reservation in order that it is only mutual respect and shared interests, and not compulsion, that will help to unite the Nation.

As long as we keep trying to make separate provisions in the Constitution and our laws to cater to the demands or perceived needs of the various ethnic and religious components of our population, majority or minority, there will always be a sense that too much or too little of the cake is being given to one or the other of these components. Instead, all laws should be directed, without any bias whatever, to the needs of Sri Lankans as a whole so that those who belong to each and every group will benefit equally. If the new Constitution that is being proposed were to stipulate that every Sri Lankan shall have equal rights and responsibilities, there would be no need to add the words "irrespective of race, religion, caste or occupation". In general, there would be no room for differentiation on the basis of any criterion other than merit. Provided that the Constitution and subordinate laws are framed so as to safeguard the interests of the individual citizen and if its provisions are honestly and systematically implemented, the problems of both the majority and so-called minorities will become virtually identical and there would be a positive incentive to work together to go forward as a united nation.

Our Constitutions have generally been framed in such a way as to meet narrow political agendas and not to safeguard the interests of the country or the people as a whole. We emphatically need to put a stop to this type of politically-motivated lawmaking. Hence, the new Constitution should be formatted so as to include features that would encourage citizens to adopt a common Sri Lankan identity and discard features that would tend to accentuate ethnic, religious and other differences. Parliament should pass comprehensive laws to bring the provisions of all international covenants, protocols etc that Sri Lanka has ratified (including a comprehensive Bill of Rights) into legal effect and also improve the procedures for appointing and funding Independent Commissions or Authorities, free of political and administrative interference, to reassure the People that good governance and the Rule of Law will be fostered, and no Sri Lankan’s rights could be violated with impunity. Furthermore, we must have a Right to Information Law which is an imperative for good governance.

Obviously, the mere changing of the Constitution will not have a positive impact if those who have sworn to safeguard and uphold it do quite the opposite. Therefore, the new Constitution, should incorporate simplified procedures for taking action against those who hold responsible positions but are guilty of violations of the Constitution considering that the currently available procedures are, for all practical purposes, quite useless.

The detailed ground work required to re-write the Constitution is definitely not a task to be entrusted to Members of Parliament, most of whom do not have the necessary expertise and most of whom, in any case, just sign the attendance register on the days when Parliament is in session and promptly disappear from the House. Indeed, we have grave reservations as to how many of them have even glanced at the present Constitution. Moreover, the political agendas of powerful political parties will contain inherent contradictions and, if given too much weight, will result in the new Constitution joining the earlier ones under the classification of "periodicals". In the light of this reality, the Citizens’ Movement for Good Governance (CIMOGG) has always urged that the foremost requirement for drafting a good Constitution is a well-balanced team of academics, constitutional lawyers, other professionals, administrators and civil society activists to work together on this vital exercise, and that this team must be given sufficient time to do its job properly.

If there is one single development after independence that has overwhelmingly destroyed the unity of the Sri Lankan people, it was the streaming of children into monolingual schools, frequently accompanied by a mono-religious instruction. It is more than obvious that, when the youth of the several disparate groups of people in this small land of ours have little or no opportunity to mingle and communicate with each other, there could be no question of asking them to shed their group identities and adopt an ill-defined universal identity. Only an optimist verging on lunacy could expect a united nation to develop in these circumstances.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has very correctly identified English and Information Technology as the keys to economic development in a globalized world. These subjects have, at the same time, the potential to become a powerful combined tool for creating a common Sri Lankan identity because Sinhala-speaking, Tamil-speaking and English-speaking children and grown-ups throughout the country will be able to communicate easily with each other - which they have not done for decades, particularly from 1956 onwards.

Another crucial step that needs to be taken is to introduce graded lessons in school, from the earliest classes to the Advanced Level, to teach ethics, good citizenship, transparency, accountability, social responsibility, national unity and so on. There must be a wealth of educational material in countries such as Canada, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries on the teaching of such subjects. All that needs to be done is to have them translated, but with adjustments to suit the local situation.

All State documentation should be in all three languages and there should be an independent and powerful Official Languages Commission which would proactively send out its officers to government offices and all public places to monitor whether the provisions of the Official Languages Act are being observed in letter and spirit, without waiting for individual members of the public to make formal complaints. State employees who work in predominantly Sinhala-speaking or Tamil-speaking areas must necessarily be fluent in these languages or, at the very least, have a sufficient number of language-competent colleagues to interact with all citizens in their areas of authority and responsibility, whatever their mother tongue.

The media have a very big part to play in building national unity and it is a pity that excessive space is given to those who dwell too often and too much on the divisive aspects of race and religion. Merely stating editorially, for the record, that national unity is very important is not enough. Constructive opinion should be given more backing than ill-informed, prejudiced or extremist views.

The Sinhala people and their language are only to be found in Sri Lanka. Besides, the nature of Buddhist beliefs and practices in Sri Lanka is rather different from those of other Buddhist countries. In this background, most Sinhala Buddhists have been conditioned to believe that their race and Sri Lankan Buddhism will disappear unless the State continues to give Buddhism special protection, ignoring the inescapable corollary that the adherents of other religions will be compelled to accept a measure of step-motherly treatment. The feeling of discrimination that such special provisions would tend to engender in non-Buddhists will affect their commitment to building national unity. This is just a matter of psychology and emotional reactions and does not imply any antagonism on the part of those belonging to other religions or non-religions towards Buddhism or Buddhists per se. However, taking the history of this issue into account, it is probably quite unrealistic to expect anyone to stick his neck out to tinker with the current constitutional provisions in this regard.

Government-sponsored colonization is a controversial issue even where race and religion are not in contention. For example, when the first few tracts in the Walawe Project had been ready for allocation to landless farmers, the government decided to give the initial allotments to landless Sinhalese from the Kotmale area. When these poor families were trucked in to Walawe, with all their worldly possessions, they were attacked with cutlasses and other weapons and chased out by their southern Sinhalese brethren on the grounds that the local landless should be given priority over outsiders. It was a conflict between the interests of the local Sinhalese versus Sinhalese from outside. The lesson here is that, when citizens of whatever origin are given land by the State, it should be locals first and outsiders thereafter, if friction is to be avoided. On the other hand, it would be unfair for Tamils to be able to buy land anywhere in the Island if, at the same time, they want the land in the North to be reserved, by Thesavalamai or otherwise, only for Tamils.

Ideally all national symbols should not be those solely associated with any particular group. The question continues to be asked as to whether the present Sri Lanka flag has the same emotional attraction for the minorities as it does for the Sinhalese. The two coloured vertical bands to represent the Tamils and the Muslims and the lion to represent the Sinhalese are constant reminders of our separate identities. In contrast, in the Indian flag, the saffron colour of the top stripe was meant to signify sacrifice, the central white stripe signifies truth and purity, and the bottom green stripe represents prosperity. The blue wheel at the centre is said to reflect movement and progress. There are no racial or religious connotations in any of these components. However, given the background to the design of the Sri Lankan flag, it is to be expected that no politician will want to get involved in even studying this matter.

The new Constitution should target national unity as one of its primary objects. CIMOGG urges our people and our leaders to support and implement those elements of our culture and education which will tend to unify the diverse components of our society and try to do away with those elements which will tend to highlight the differences between the groups to which we belong by accident of birth or by upbringing.

Former Head of LTTE Fund Raising Helps Arrange Talks between Pro-LTTE and Govt.

2010-06-21T21:49:00.005-04:00

P K Balachandran
Express News Service
21 Jun 2010

COLOMBO: Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, the former head of the LTTE's fund gathering and arms procurement operations abroad, who is now in detention in Sri Lanka, had helped bring top overseas leaders of the militant organisation for talks with the Sri Lankan government in Colombo last week.

Prof Rohan Gunaratna, Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Studies at Nanyang University in Singapore told Express on Sunday that a ninemember delegation comprising "countryhead level" leaders of the LTTE had flown into the island for a fiveday tour and talks with high government and military officials, particularly, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. "All key leaders, barring the USbased Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, who heads the rival Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), were here," Gunaratna said.

The Sri Lankan terrorism expert said he was also in Colombo when the LTTE delegation met. The LTTE leaders visited Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna and saw for themselves the rehabilitation efforts of the government. They were briefed by the local service commanders and district officials.

In Chavakkacheri, they saw the houses that the army was building for the war refugees and were reportedly impressed. However, on return to Colombo, the delegation told the government that there were some shortcomings in the resettlement process. The government promised to look into those complaints.

One of the significant outcomes of the visit was an agreement to form an international NGO called 'North East Development Programme', which would secure and channelise funds from the Tamil Diaspora for development programmes in the Tamilspeaking North and East.

KP told the stateowned Sunday Observer that the visiting exmilitant leaders had promised to give the LTTE's funds held by them for the development of the North and East.

RUDRAKUMARAN ISOLATED?

Asked if all this meant that Rudrakumaran was getting isolated in the proLTTE Tamil Diaspora, Gunaratna said that the people around Rudrakumaran in the TGTE now were "not significant."

Asked why the LTTE's leaders overseas had acceeded to KP's suggestion for talks with the Sri Lankan government, he said that they had seen sense in his argument that the TGTE was a "farce and a mirage." "This view of the TGTE is shared by the key leaders of the LTTE who are presently in cusody in Sri Lanka. While Rudrakumaran and the TGTE are pursing Prabhakaran's ghost, KP is helping the Sri Lankan government make the life of Tamils of the war ravaged North better."

"The Diaspora delegation went back on Saturday convinced that working for the betterment of the Tamils of the North in cooperation with the Sri Lankan government was the only sensible thing to do," Gunaratna said.

Ex-LTTE members get training and jobs in textile industry

2010-06-17T16:08:00.000-04:00

EX-FEMALE cadres currently undergoing rehabilitation are to undergo garment industry related “On the Job” training and are to join the Garment sector work force at Tri-Star Apparels chain of garment factories on successful completion.

As the first step, Tri-Star apparel whilst giving training opportunities for 150 ex-female combatants at the Ratmalana garment factory will absorb them as permanent employees on completion of the training. They will get hostel accommodation at the factory along with food and other basic needs.

The inaugural ceremony of this significant event was held at Ratmalana Tri-Star Apparel factory on 31st May 2010. Hon Minister Dew Gunanasekara graced the occasion as a Chief Guest with Hon Minister Gamini Lokuge, Hon Deputy Ministers Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan and C.W. Vijayamuni Zoysa, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, Chairman of Tri-Star Apparel Mr Kumar Devapura attending the ceremony as Guests of Honour.

The Tri-Star group has agreed to continue providing training and employment to female rehabilitees in the future as well and was gracious to give an undertaking to employ 1500 such female beneficiaries within the next 6 months.

In the meantime, one hundred and twenty ex-LTTE combatants also completed vocational training successfully at “Hand Work” vocational training centre at Kalutara, Payagala.

The certificate awarding ceremony was held at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management Auditorium on 1st June 2010.

The function was graced by the Army Chief of Staff Major General R.M.D. Rathnayake, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, Mr Bernad Savage, Head of Delegation EU, Mr Kosala Wickramanayake, President of FCCISL, Ms Dieneke van der wijk, Oxfarm GB, Country Director. Several other military and civil officers attended the ceremony as Guests of Honour.

The Visit of a Life Time

2010-06-17T08:36:00.000-04:00

Ms Sharlene De Chickera, Manager Career Services of EDEX

“A child more than all other gifts that Earth can offer to declining man, brings hope with it and forward looking thoughts”…George Eliot

The day was June 2nd 2010. Our mission was to receive 86 school boys from Trincomalee District and host them at Royal College, for a day!

The trip was planned by the Army, in terms of organizing an educational trip to Colombo for a group of students from three schools in the Echchalampattu area in the Tricomalee district.

The main objective of the trip was to enable these students to visit Colombo schools, and gain exposure to the lifestyle and day-to-day activities of their peers, thereby enjoying the peace and harmony established after a 30 year war.

What transpired was building of friendships that would last a life-time and memories that would linger in the heart and mind forever, on both sides.

Our ‘Royal Troops’ were ready at the main gate sharp at 8.30 a.m. on the appointed day! The Oriental band was dressed in their finery and the prefects smartly lined-up. The staff of RCU was also part of the colorful parade.

The much awaited day was about to begin…

The battalion of faces came forward…in rows of two’s and three’s…our hearts sank a little…their shy smiles showed courage, but we observed instantly that they were in need of more than friendship. They were in need of material things that our sons of Royal took for granted. Every day!

The band struck up their music and started their dance, and set off the parade to the main hall. We all followed, behind the Army personnel, teachers, prefects and invitees. Once in the hall the customary speeches were made. The Principal of Royal College embraced the invitees like his own brood at Royal College. Mr. Rizan Nazeer, the Secretary of the Royal College Union, bonded with the boys from Trinco, addressing them in their spoken language, Tamil.

The visitors felt welcome and were inspired and awed to be in such a grand hall.

Next was bonding time. Our boys and their boys, exchanged names, and colored bands. And with genuine intention, ingenuity and friendship, used the fantastic layout of Royal College, to create events, games and fun for the rest of the day.

The first session included games. These brought out the ‘child’ and competitive spirit in everyone. Some won, some lost, but what was more important was how the game was played. The spirit of Royal College was burning a flame in the hearts of our visitors. Did they dream of studying here? I am sure they did. For I also dream that dream…

Next they created a banner. A token that was unique, a symbol of friendship and creativity. Something to remember their presence and foot-prints at Royal College. This creative task was captured by the cameras of ‘YA-TV’, and while the electronic eye captured the details, the experience was already embedded in the hearts and minds.

Having wor up a healthy appetite with all the fun and games, it was time for lunch. And the hostel Warden had done justice to the request by serving a truly delicious Royal banquet. We enjoyed the lunch and dessert to the maximum, and we also appreciated the hospitality very much.

The next session in the water at the pool-side was a treat for our guests. It was a sheer delight to observe their fun and frolic in the Royal College swimming pool. The boys from Trinco took the plunge like Ducks taking to water, and really enjoyed the time spent in the pool.

The evening witnessed plays which were symbolic in terms of social themes, and also health themes such as Dengue, which were enacted in Tamil, but were understood by all in terms of gesture and nuance. Special mention should be made of the skit which had elaborate costumes such as wigs, and the boys dressed up as girls were an added laugh.

They memorable day came to an end with more speeches, this time ‘teary’ and giving of gifts. But what was given and received was life, laughter and the exuberance of youth which would be crystallized in the memories of those who participated in the events of June 4th.

Well done Prefects, you have upheld your badge of honor and rallied round the College flag with your seniors, to layout the carpet of warm friendship and dish out the best treat to your young friends. We thank Mr. Rizan for creating an opportunity like this out of the blue for all of us to show our hospitality and learn gratitude and be humble for all the blessings we have received at Royal College.

Let us remember the smiles and cheer. Who says that hopes, dreams and wishes of youth have several languages? We are one brotherhood and we live under the aegis of the Lion Flag.

Sri Lanka mass wedding for former Tamil rebels

2010-06-17T08:27:00.000-04:00

By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Vavuniya

Monday, 14 June 2010

"Tell Vivek to come over here!" the young girls begged us.

They were former Tamil Tiger members and fighters seated in the guest enclosure at a mass wedding of their friends and comrades.

But their main focus was Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, who had come along with the son of the Sri Lankan president after touring northern Sri Lanka.

"We've seen Vivek in films," said one of the couples getting married.

"We're happy to see him here. We love everyone who's come."

For about half an hour the presence of Oberoi and of Namal Rajapaksa seemed set to upstage the actual weddings.

Like a swarm of bees, photographers and journalists clustered around the VIP guests.
Dust swirled as the winds picked up on this cloudy day. A thousand Sri Lankan flags fluttered.

Soldiers stood guard outside; others, armed, including special forces and commandos, patrolled inside.

In Tamil and Sinhala, through a very loud loudspeaker, two young hosts read out a roll-call of top military men and government politicians who were present.

This was... a wedding?

But it was.

Under a canopy a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Mannar, backed up by a youth with a crucifix, moved along with a prayer book in the beautiful Tamil script.
Most of the 53 couples who married were Hindus, decked in garlands. About a dozen were Catholics - the young men in immaculate cream shirts and sashes, the women in crisp, brightly coloured saris. They looked expensive.

One by one, the couples took their vows.

Coconuts were broken open and the Hindu couples pairs encircled a holy flame, guided by priests, the scent of burning oil in the air.

The legal documents were signed, the top military men looking on.
Those marrying seemed delighted.

"We are very happy today," one pair of newly-weds, Anbu and Vili, told the BBC.

They had been boyfriend and girlfriend before being forcibly recruited to the Tamil Tigers or LTTE in 2007.

Like many of their fellows, they had suffered severe injuries in the war zone - Vili in her forehead and Anbu in his neck.

The conditions back then were "difficult even to think about", Anbu said.
'Peace village' They said they would like to have children "but only when we go out - overall it's not a good situation here to have a family", they said.
For they, like the other 52 couples, are still detained and in what the authorities call "rehabilitation".

Now they are married they will move from their current camps to a new one built specially for ex-LTTE families and known as the Peace Village. The couples will move to the Peace Village Anbu has been studying for his A-levels while Vili said that, unlike many of her fellows, she has had no vocational training because of her injury.

They want to leave the camps and rejoin wider society but have not been given a date.

Many of the couples marrying had family present, though seated rather far away with a security cordon in front of them.

"We're so happy to be here for this occasion," said the mother of a young groom. He and his new wife had been sweethearts but had been separated in the rehabilitation camps.

She has travelled every month from Jaffna to visit her son.

Her main wish is that the couple will now be freed as soon as possible - or at least "for 15 days" so they can meet the wider family.

The military official in charge of rehabilitation, Brig Sudantha Ranasinghe, said they would be released "slowly, slowly and when the time is ripe".

He didn't believe the heavy military presence here was negative for the former LTTE members getting married, as it was the army that had arranged the wedding and that "as long as they are with us they are safe".

He said military officials had been helping the young men and women, who were already sweethearts, to meet at certain times as the single-sex camps had segregated them.

"They had been holding hands and talking so we felt they should be given in marriages, it should be legalized.

"I'm more excited today than my own day of marriage!" he said delightedly.
After a couple of hours, all 53 marital knots had been tied.

A dance troupe of "rehabilitated" former LTTE members - we were told - took to the arena.

The newly-weds headed for their new homes in the Peace Village.
And, to wild cheers, Vivek Oberoi led the crowds in a roaring Bollywood dance routine.

Walking Down Memory Lane

2010-05-25T07:39:00.000-04:00

I remember the day we finally ended the battle against terrorism. It was May 19th mid afternoon when my father got the call saying that the war is finally over and they have found the body of the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, near the lagoons.

I remember my father first calling the Defense Secretary and letting him know. Then he called the President to convey the good news. He then left for office to give the good news to all Sri Lankans. At once we could hear fire crackers all around the city. Everyone was celebrating victory in their own way with their own reasons. To me, it was a relief that at least my father's life won't be endangered anymore. For once, the whole country was together. This was a good feeling and I was glad I was in
Sri Lanka to enjoy it and feel the glory of peace.

Although my memories of the victory days are clear, there are some memories that stay clearer than others. Like the day after LTTE leader's body was found, I told my father, "you know, now that the job is done, they will not let you rehabilitate the army. They will kick you out of this position." His answer was, "these people are not like that. I asked them for a year and I think they will keep their word. They know there is much to be done after a war." I talked back by saying, "believe me, they do not care. At the most, they will give you 4 months." Undoubtedly, two months after the war ended, the Presidential Secretary asked my father to give up his position within three days. Three days? Really? How can a person settle all job duties done for the past four years within three days? However, the minute I heard the news, my first words to my father was, "I told you, they don't care about rehabilitation or life after war for that matter." And for the first time after a long time, he and I, we both agreed.

Life has not been easy for us. I'm sure some people will say that we brought it on our selves. They are right. We did bring it on our selves. We brought it on because my father wanted to make a difference. Wanted to bring justice to the country and its people and wanted to stop corruption.

So, they're correct, it is our fault for having an honest, patriotic father who does not bend against corruption. But, honestly, does he or my family deserve any of this? The biggest mistake he did was standing up for what he believed in. Is that wrong for a person to do so? Would you not want to stand up for what you believe? I get many e-mails asking me to apologies to the President. I think to myself, alright, what am I supposed to apologies for? For standing up for what we believed in? If I knew that running for presidency was even much riskier than fighting a war, then yes, I might have told my father to think twice. At least the terrorist did not
come after family members. But, my father stood up for justice when a lot people wanted to but didn't. And although it does bring us much pain than you can ever imagine, at least I'm able to be proud of my father for standing up for what he believes in.

I agree, ending the war was not a one man job. It is group effort. However, in any group, there are people who fund the necessities, people who architect the plan, people who work hard to achieve the goal and people who suffer and sacrifice for it.

Planning strategies to end a 30 year war is not easy. I've seen it being done night and day. And I've lived through it. It definitely has a lot to it. It is hard for a person who has been out of the army, say 15 to 20 years, to actually all of a sudden come to a position and be an architect. To be able to do this, you need to have experience, dedication, familiarity of the situation, the will power to never give up or let go of the vision. You need to be able to believe and never let go of what you believe in. There is no doubt in my mind that the government gave the backing to end the war. But, backing by itself is no use if there is no one actually to plan the job and do it. Face it, we've had the backing for many years, but we were lacking the tactical and strategic capabilities to do so.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with Maj. General Shavindra Silva at a dinner just after the victory. My sister and I were in the midst of thanking and congratulating the higher ranking officers for their efforts and hard work. As a daughter of an army officer, I was tremendously proud and felt blessed to be able to talk to each and every one of the war hardened heroes. They all had their own regrets and happiness to share.

While some regretted the fact that they have not been able to spend enough time with their families, the others were proud of their achievements and was enjoying their hard work. The thing I remembered most about Maj. General Shavindra Silva and my conversation is, when I congratulated him and said that we were proud of everything he has done, He said, "We just listened to your father and did the needful so no need to be thanking us." In my mind, I thought that was very humble and honest of him to say so. I had much respect towards his words. Although most of them afterwards went on national television to disgrace my father and to give a bad impression about him at the presidential elections, a part of me still has some respect towards them as they did have a hand in bringing peace. And I would also always make the excuse for them and say, they had no other choice.

Like I said before, ending the war does not go to just one person. Like the Defense Secretary said in his letter to the media, he always gave the forces what was asked from him. This is definitely something to be thankful of. And I believe he did. But, by any means this does not mean that he was the mastermind behind the strategies. This does not mean that he was asked to be the architect. If by any chance he could have done it, why then change the Ex-Army commander Maj. Gen. Kottegoda when he clearly had two more years in the position? Why then bring my father to finish this war? With all this said, I whole heartedly believe that Defense Secretary knew to pick the right man, for the right job at the right time. He knew he wanted to end the war and he knew that my father would be the best man to achieve that goal. At the same token he also knew after the war Maj. Gen. Jagath Jayasooriya would be the best commander to politicize the army and get it ready for elections. So, yes, I do believe that he did do the right thing by choosing the right man at the right time and it is because of this, that we are able to celebrate this war victory.

I spoke to my father in the morning today. He has a tendency to ask how I am although he is the one illegally detained. I said I'm alright and told him that I was listening to a person talk about her relationship problems and was thinking to myself that these things are not problems anymore compared to what we have gone through. His answer amazed me. He said, at least we are alive, we all have each other. Think about the people who have lost their sons, brothers and fathers? We have not lost anything compared to them. Although these words embarrassed me as to my way of thinking, It showed me how blessed I am to have an honorable father as him.
It showed me that this week, it's not about politics. It's not about the glory of the parades with thousands of soldiers. It's not about talking bad about people and making someone's life miserable.

It's about remembering the fallen and respecting the living hero's. Remembering how brave they fought for the country and how proudly they let go of their future for the sake of ours. It's about honoring the heroes and doing what is right for their families. Although it is evident that my father, my family, several other brave officers and their families (who were sent on retirement) and many more patriots, who
very well deserves to enjoy this glory may not get the opportunity and the pleasure of doing so, let us all remember our brave soldiers and their families who deserves our respect. Let us remember our true war heroes among the glory of parades and glamour. Let us remember the ones who "actually" did the job and sacrificed their tomorrow for ours.

Remembering all our heroes who fought for a better future,

On behalf of my family,

Sincerely,

Apsara Fonseka
05-20-2010

WINNING THE INVISIBLE CONFLICT: Is Sri Lanka headed for sustainable peace?

2010-05-20T22:16:00.000-04:00

By Pushpi Weerakoon - MA in Conflict Transformation

Background

On Tuesday 19th May 2009 – the day after the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) – Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka, declared victory over the Tamil Tigers, bringing to a close 26 years of conflict. With the routing of the LTTE, and the reclamation of all occupied territory, it was announced that the conflict in Sri Lanka had come to an end.

The cost of this declared victory was immense. At least 90,000 people were estimated to have been killed, the majority of those innocent civilians; hundreds of thousands were internally displaced, and interned, having lost everything they owned; tens of thousands of families were left without an adult who could earn a livelihood; and over 10 percent of the population were estimated to be suffering from trauma – many of them orphans, widows, and ex-combatants. The cost of conflict was not merely human. For decades Government spending has been ploughed into the military machine rather than servicing economic and social growth; 60% of homes in the north have been seriously damaged by fighting, whilst infrastructure has been devastated; uncertainty and lack of opportunity have led to Sri Lankan ‘brain drain’, with many highly educated and skilled people of every ethnicity leaving these shores; and investment potential has not been realized.

Creating Order from Chaos

In the chaotic immediate aftermath of the conflict, over 250,000 people were detained in holding centers; the army grew, the defense budget increased, and the newly liberated Northern Province became a security zone, raising international concern. Since then, however – though it has taken its time – a degree of order has been restored. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 216,000 IDPs have returned home, with 73,000 remaining in camps; the land is being demined; investment is returning to the North; and a number of government and INGO schemes have been launched to create sustainable livelihoods and develop much needed infrastructure.

Despite world recession, the economy has picked up; share prices have risen; and Sri Lanka has been touted as one of the most favorable investment opportunities in South Asia. Significant trade deals have been secured with China and other Asian neighbors; tourism is up 50% on last year; and an IMF loan has been secured to support the country’s restoration.

The recently concluded Presidential elections reelected president Mahinda Rajapaksa, achieving just shy of a two-thirds majority; emergency powers have been partially relaxed; and the President has declared his commitment to national unity through the appointment of an eight member ‘Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’.

In Search of the Truth

In constituting the Commission on 15th May 2010, the President stated that ‘having regard to the common aspirations of all we have collectively resolved that our people are assured an era of peace, harmony and prosperity’. The Commission is charged with conducting inquiries and producing a report which will – amongst other objectives – propose measures ‘to promote further national unity and reconciliation among all communities’.

This is a bold statement of intent, and one which has been viewed with some skepticism within, and particularly beyond, Sri Lanka. Critics point to a general absence of concrete measures of restitution and reconciliation over the preceding 12 months. Stability and security have undoubtedly been reestablished, but at the expense of human rights, and the Convention to which Sri Lanka is a signatory. Concern has been repeatedly expressed about the detention and treatment of civilians, the harassment of the media, the lack of an independent judicial system, and the opaqueness of the democratic system which saw the leading presidential opponent to Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sarath Fonseka, forcibly incarcerated and awaiting trial. International concern has resulted in punitive measures, including the loss of the GSP+ trade preferential status, valued at an estimated $135million, and arguably contributing to a drought in international aid – with the UN reporting that the country is only receiving 24% of the donor monies it requires to support the necessary development activity.

The Commission is a late but welcome initiative to counter international accusation. Yet some suggest that the Commission itself has only been established in an attempt to deflect interest from the findings of the UN ‘Panel of Experts’ tasked with looking into human rights issues in Sri Lanka, announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in March 2010, and that its report will be valueless. The proof of its worth will be in the recommendations that the Commission makes, and in the degree to which those recommendations are implemented.

Origins of the Conflict

Before looking towards the future, it is necessary to look to the past. The root causes of the Sri Lankan conflict pre-date the country’s independence. In 1948, at the handover of power, the position and influence of Tamils over many institutions within the country was disproportionate to the size of the Tamil community itself. Moreover, the Sinhala – though a sizable majority within Sri Lanka – recognized a potential threat in the greater Tamil majority across the shallow waters in India. Ethnic differences were exacerbated by different religious, social and cultural practices, and though these were partially integrated, both ethnicities were proud of their identity, and perceived it to be at threat from the other. Almost the only constant through time from any ethnic group in Sri Lanka – for the Muslim community should not be overlooked – has been a reluctance to concede sufficient ground to forge a truly plural society. Discontent has always threatened to flare up into conflict on a local, regional or national level, as the desire to assert identity and self-hood overwhelmed a desire for coexistence.

The formation of the LTTE was initially an embodiment of Tamil disillusionment and loss of identity (to counter the strong identity of state, which assumed a predominantly Sinhala guise), though it went on to assume a grotesque identity of its own which bore little resemblance to the aspirations of most Tamils. Few people, of any allegiance, would argue against the need to break the LTTE because of what it was (though not for what it purported to represent ideologically.) Through time, the LTTE demonstrated that it harmed all communities and represented none. It was arguably more interested in its own struggle and survival than in the creation of a state of Eelam, instinctively recognizing that a peaceful solution of any kind would not have suited it, since neither Prabhakaran nor the organization itself would have had a place within a united state. The LTTE was led by a despot, with no real intention to deliver anything other than instability; and its means was a corps of exploited individuals, indoctrinated within a fanatical culture, too young to have known anything other than war. The continuance of the LTTE lay in the continuance of the conflict, and the LTTE’s behavior demonstrated such – proving more extreme the more their power-base was eroded.

On the 18th of May 2009 I was up early to join the walking meditation conducted by my professor John Paul Lederach before his ‘Moral Imagination’ class began. It was at this moment I heard about the historical victory. I have never wished that I was home as much as I did that day! But all I could do was to send a message from the ‘Father of Conflict Transformation’ to my people back home:

As he states, the mistake to be made is in supposing that eliminating the LTTE equates to eliminating the conflict. Though the conflict with the LTTE is over, the root causes which in part were responsible for giving that entity its birth have yet to be addressed. Underlying ethnic divisions remain, fueled by a sense of inequality and discrimination, and manifested by lingering suspicion and fear. The purely military solution that the Government of Sri Lanka both promised and delivered on has merely eradicated extremist opposition. It has not – in itself – reunited the people of Sri Lanka. Necessary as it may have been, a military solution alone can never do more than contain or prevent the appearance of discontent. It cannot address the root causes of conflict. Nor can it convert a culture of suspicion and fear into one of mutual trust and respect, which is needed to forge national unity.

A Process for Reconciliation

In scope, the Commission’s mandate encompasses a broad range of investigation – from ‘whether any person, group, or institution directly or indirectly bears responsibility’ for the failure of the 2002 ceasefire and the sequence of subsequent events, to lessons learnt, restitution and reconciliation. The wording implies a desire to seek both accountability and justice. These are both virtuous aspirations. However, if the Commission is truly to support the process of national unity, these terms require some definition. Accountability needs to range across all stakeholders who were engaged in the conflict – not merely the defeated party – and should embrace the accountability of the commissioning agent to act upon the recommendations received. Justice may follow judicial system, particularly in relation to criminal law, but it should also be restorative.

Almost exactly three years ago, an article in the Daily Mirror, entitled A Need for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sri Lanka, argued strongly that ‘a wrong committed against a person or against a collection of persons is tantamount to a wrong against an entire nation’, and that ‘a consensus of the whole of society that… justice must be rendered to the nation as a whole’ – enabled by a determined leadership – was needed to bring about unity. All people are equal in a democracy; and people need to participate for democracy to survive. These are fundamental truths which need to be asserted most when the state needs healing and making whole. Under such circumstances, the most appropriate form of justice is restorative not criminal.

So what exactly is restorative justice? According to Dr Howard Zehr, my Professor of Restorative Justice at the Center for Justice & Peace-building at the Eastern Mennonite University, restorative justice ‘involves those who have a stake in a specific offense collectively identifying and addressing harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things right’. It requires recognition of the people who have been hurt, and what they need (in order to alleviate that hurt). Similarly, it recognizes who has an obligation for causing that hurt, and what process can be put in place to make things right. It brings two parties together in the understanding that unless and until the truth has been told, however unpalatable it might be, in the open and forgiveness sought, there can never be any reconciliation. This is true whether it be two individuals, two factions, two communities, two ethnicities/cultures or two countries. Restorative justice is about healing, not judgment; about recognizing the uniqueness of a situation and individuals, not blindly following the rule-based system of law; it is about compassion not control; about dialogue not advocacy; about recognition of the harm, and not apportionment of guilt. Restorative justice empowers people who are typically silenced or marginalized; it deals with people, not process and system; it builds rather than fragments communities; and it is cathartic – a legitimate end in itself.

Restorative, participative and transparent justice is not new to Sri Lanka. The Gamsabhawa (or village council) had a mandate to maintain local peace and harmony by facilitating the amicable settlement of disputes, which dates back to 425BC. Similarly, the head priest of the village temple took an active role in dispute resolution. Both processes were traditionally conducted in the open air – in a shed without walls, or under a tree – where any member of the village could come and observe, or give testimony that would be taken into account in the matter heard. Both offender and victim were given a chance to relate their side of the story, to explain what had happened and how they felt. When all had been heard, the community as a whole decided what recompense was due the victim, what justice should befall the offender, and what action was needed to ensure that the incident would not ever happen again. There, in the open, before so many witnesses, there could be no deception or manipulation – either in the telling, or in the process that followed – and the strength of the community was such that all were keen to keep it together, rather than fragmenting, punishing and bringing shame.

What We Should be Mindful of for the Future

With the passing of the first anniversary of the end of the conflict, the government and the civil society must be mindful of the dangers of suppressing the needs of victims to express themselves and find their own individual and collective peace, whether through excessive security, undue force or exploitation of their vulnerability. We should take care not to create space for further discontent or the potential uprising, destroying yet more innocent lives and valuable infrastructure as has been witnessed in Angola, Bosnia and former Yugoslavia. Instead, we should draw on the examples of building sustainable peace, as has been achieved in Mozambique, Northern Ireland and Nepal, as articulated by Dr Brubaker in my interview with him:

Victory breeds hatred in the conquered. The defeated live in sorrow.
Giving up both victory and defeat, the appeased live in peace.
Dhamma Pada – 201.

A Journey through Two Forms of English

2010-05-02T10:53:00.000-04:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne, Asian Tribune

Prior to my last visit to Sri Lanka, I exchanged a few emails with my bank manager with regard to the transfer of some funds. When I met him he asked, “How long have you been in the U.S.?” I said, “10 years.” He replied, “Well, you still don’t know how to spell cheque!”

I don’t blame him, no Sri Lankan in their right state of mind would believe that, somewhere in the world, a cheque is spelled as a check. Of course, the manager must have had a good laugh when I emailed him, “Please check whether my check has reached the bank.”

When I fly across the Indian Ocean, I switch to the British form of English. My neighbor becomes the neighbour with whom I should go to pick up a crate which contains some artefacts (American: artifacts) from the Colombo harbour (American: harbor). Then, we should find a labourer, (American: laborer), and ask him to take it to my vehicle.

While speaking in Sri Lanka, I must remember to give up the American long “a” in favor (British: favour) of Sri Lankan short “a”—“Al-aaa-din” become just “Al-a-din”— as soon as I arrive at the Bandaranaike International Airport, or I would be labeled (British: labelled) as a “Yankee” who had forgotten his roots.

When I started my graduate studies in Public Policy, as the only international student in a class of twenty, our office administrator had a hard time finding my class schedule (pronounced: “shed-youl” in British English). After struggling for a few minutes, she understood what I meant when I wrote it down. However, it took a while for me to change my nearly three decades old pronunciation to fit the American form. Yet, I must remember never to pronounce schedule as “sked-youl” in Sri Lanka in fear of humiliation! Same with the word “often”—if I pronounce it with a “t,” no one would send their children to my elocution teacher. Yes, as children, we often took elocution classes to learn how to pronounce words in British English.

I learned the difference in the date format the hard way when my brother’s passport application which I filled out was rejected two days before his trip to Dubai. His birth date was, in the Sri Lankan format, 12-06-1978 (June 12), not 06-12-1978 as in the American format which is December 06 in Sri Lanka. Undoubtedly, his birth certificate had contradicted the passport application.

My journey doesn’t end there. Towards the end of it, I obtained American Express Travelers checks. At that time, I spelled out my name because my last name is usually written in Sri Lanka as Karunarathna, but in the U.S., it is Karunaratne. I went to Bank of America to cash the checks and found out my first name was misspelled as “sanjee-uu-a.” Well, I realized (British: realised) it was my mistake: in Sri Lanka, W is not pronounced as “double u.” The bank was so flexible that they understood my problem. I am fortunate I do not have to spell out wizard in Sri Lanka using the American pronunciation which may probably be written as “uu-i-sea-ard.”

In addition to “o” changes to “ou,” “ze” changes to “se” as in analyse and organise and one “l” is dropped as in enrol and fulfil in Sri Lanka, there are hundreds of other subtle spelling differences between British and American forms of English. Astonishingly, there are even slight grammatical deviations. No wonder the overwhelming majority of international students from former British colonies stick to science and engineering in the U.S.

On the other end of the spectrum, my American friend, who moved to England a couple of years ago, disagreed with my statement that the grammatical deviations are slight. She gave me an example of a run-on sentence in which an opposite grammatical rule has applied. Ironically, while my grade was once reduced from an “A” to “A-“ specifically because of writing, my friend who received “As” for her writings in the U.S. only received a “C” in England.

On my return, I got a final laugh and a reality check at the Connecticut Limo counter in the Bradley International Airport. In order to help the clerk write down my name correctly, I gave her my passport. After staring at it for a while, she asked, “Sir, is lankan your last name”? Well, in my passport there is no last name, only a surname.

Did I remember to put two spaces after each period (or a full stop)?

Arrest and Detention of Gen. Fonseka - A Legal Perspective

2010-03-16T08:13:00.000-04:00

by Sarath N. Silva LLM. PC. Retired Chief Justice

Every living being by nature cherishes liberty, security and freedom of movement. Law evolved as an instrument of regulation of human conduct and recognized from the earliest times that certain rights pertain by nature to all members of the human family. This body of rights that stem from Natural Law is appropriately designated Human Rights. The United Nations being the foremost international organization, established in the aftermath of the holocaust - the 2nd World War, as its first official act in December 1948 adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its Preamble specifically states that the Declaration is a "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family (and) is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the World".

The Preamble further states that the "disregard and contempt for Human Rights resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind", alluding thereby to the repressive fascist regimes being the cause of the War and that, "it is essential if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that Human Rights should be protected by the Rule of Law".

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration states that everyone has a right to life, liberty and security of person and Article 9 provides that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. The Human Rights stated in broad terms in the Universal Declaration were legally defined in two Covenants adopted by the United Nations in December 1966. Sri Lanka being an original State party to the Universal Declaration acceded to the two Covenants in June 1980. The Covenant relevant to the
issues addressed in this article is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Article 9 of the ICCPR provides that;
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person and no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention and the deprivation of liberty shall be only on grounds and that in accordance with the procedure established by law;
2. Anyone arrested shall be informed at the time of arrest the reasons for his arrest and promptly informed of any charges against him and be brought before a judge or an officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power who will decide on the question of release or continued detention of such person.

Human Rights which assure liberty and freedom from arbitrary and illegal arrest stem from the Magna Carta (Ch 39) decreed in England in the year 1215; Declaration of the Rights of Man (paragraph VII) made by the National Assembly of France in 1792 in the aftermath of the French Revolution and the Fifth (1791) and the Fourteenth (1868) Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America.

Our Constitution of 1978 has substantially incorporated the content of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration and the ICCPR and guaranteed by Article 13 the freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. It is pertinent to note here that Sri Lanka having acceded to the ICCPR in 1980 is obliged in terms of Article 40 to report on the measures taken to give effect to the rights recognized in the Covenant. Since there were complaints of non compliance, the ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007 was enacted by Parliament to give effect to certain Articles of the ICCPR. Thereafter, an opinion was sought by the President from the Supreme Court as to compliance by Sri Lanka and
the positive opinion given by the bench of 5 Judges presided by me was submitted to the European Union to avert a suspension of the GSP+ facility in 2008. It appears that this position has now reversed and the GSP+ facility is being suspended by the EU. Be that as it may the Fundamental Rights as contained in Article 13 (l) and (2) of our Constitution which guarantee freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention read as follows;

1. "No person shall be arrested except according to procedure established by law. Any person arrested shall be informed of the reason for his arrest."
2. "Every person held in custody, detained or otherwise deprived of personal liberty shall be brought before the judge of the nearest competent court according to procedure established by law, and shall not be further held in custody, detained or deprived of personal liberty except upon and in terms of the order of such judge made in accordance with procedure established by law."

The procedure established by our law for the arrest and detention of a person reasonably suspected of having committed any offence is contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure Code Act No. 15 of 1979. The very clear sequence of provisions in Section 109 of the Code lay down the procedure for the investigation of an offence leading to the arrest of the suspected offender. Section 32 states the manner of making an arrest and Section 37 provides that any person arrested and held in custody shall be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours.

The purported arrest and detention of General Sarath Fonseka, the unsuccessful candidate at the Presidential Election, who has challenged in Court the validity of the result of the elections and the manner in which the counting of votes was done, within a period of 12 days of the Election, has been done manifestly contrary to the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 13 (l) and 13 (2) of the Constitution and the Human Rights recognized and agreed to by the Government of Sri Lanka as contained in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration and the ICCPR. The procedure followed in the purported arrest and continued detention is contrary to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. The person who purported to make the arrest is not an officer authorized to do so under the Code and the General has now been continuously held in custody for a period of over one month without being produced before a Judge or a competent Court as required by Article 13 (2) of the Constitution, Article 9 (3) of the ICCPR and Section 37 of the Code.

It is claimed that the arrest of the retired 4 star General was done and he is detained in terms of the Army Act (Cap. 625). The Army Act was enacted by Parliament in 1949 soon after gaining independence for the purpose of raising and maintaining an Army for Ceylon as the country was then known.

The only explicit provision in the Army Act which authorizes an arrest is contained in Section 150 which relates to deserters and absentees without leave. A police officer or in the absence of a police officer, an officer or soldier of the Army is authorized to arrest a deserter or absentee without leave and to forthwith produce such person before a Magistrates Court. Then there is provision for the hearing of evidence by the Magistrates Court and further orders being made. It is clear that the retired 4 star General has not had the benefit of procedural safeguards applicable in relation to a deserter or absentee without leave.

A broad provision as to persons liable to be taken to military custody is contained in Section 35 of the Army Act which provides that "a person subject to Military Law who commits any military or civil offence may be taken into military custody".

Section 57 extends the application of Section 35 to a period even after the person ceases to be subject to military law but in respect of offences committed whilst he was subject to military law. Hence the principal issue to be considered before one gets into the realm of offences, charges and so on, is whether General Sarath Fonseka was 'a person subject to military law' when he functioned as the Commander of the Army and later as the Chief of Defense Staff.

There is no complexity in deciding this issue since Part VII of the Act is itself titled "Persons subject to Military Law". Section 34 of this Part states that for the purposes of the Act, 'a person subject to military law' means a person who belongs to any of the following classes of persons:
(a) "All officers and soldiers of the Regular Force";
(b) "All such officers and soldiers of the Regular Reserve, Volunteer
Force...."
The term 'officer' is defined in Section 162 to mean 'an officer commissioned as an officer of the army" Part 11 of the Act is titled "Officers" and contains provisions commencing from Section 9 which deals with the commissioning officers to Section 12 as to the promotion and transfer of officers.

Part III of the Act is titled "Soldiers" and has provisions regarding their
enlistment. It is manifestly clear that the Commander of the Army is neither a
commissioned officer nor an enlisted soldier. The appointment of the Commander is provided for in Part I of the Act titled "Organisation of the Army". Section 8 of Part I of the Act provides that the President shall appoint "a fit and proper person to command the army" and when so appointed that person shall be designated Commander of the Army. Hence one need not even be a commissioned officer to be appointed to command the army. Even after appointment the Act does not describe him as an officer. But, specifically states that the person appointed shall be designated Commander of the Army. Hence the Commander of the Army is not a person subject to
military law in terms of the Army Act.

Military offences are set out in Part XII of the Act. Every offence defined in Section 95 to 130 is specifically worded to state that it applies only to a 'person subject to military law'. Therefore none of these offences apply to the Commander of the Army.

There are three types of Courts Martial provided for in the Act viz. a general court martial; a field general court martial and a district court martial. It is specifically stated in Sections 46 (2), 49 (1) and 51 (1) that any of these Courts Martial may try only a 'person subject to military law'. Hence there would be no question of the Commander of the Army being brought up before any of the Courts Martial for trial of any military offence.

Even the two sections referred to above that authorize the taking into custody of any person viz. Section 35 (whist in service) and Section 57 (1) (after ceasing to be in service) specifically state that they apply to situations in which a person subject to military law commits an offence. General Sarath Fonseka relinquished the position of the Commander of the Army in July 2009 and was appointed Chief of Defense Staff in terms of Act No 35 of 2009. Section 2 (3) of the Act provides that when the Commander of any force relinquishes his position to assume the post of CDS during the period he holds such post he shall deemed to continue as a member of the
regular force to which he belongs. This deeming provision does not go so far as to state that during such period this person would be subject to the Army Act or be subject to military law. The Commander of the Army who was not subject to military law when he held office cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as being so liable after he relinquished such office.

The conclusion to be drawn that the Commander of the Army is not a person subject to military law and as such cannot be taken into custody, detained or tried by a Court Martial under the Army Act is consistent with the scheme of the Act itself. Sections 35 and 57 referred to above state that a person subject to military law who commits any offence may be taken into military custody. However, these sections do not provide for the procedure by which such person may be taken into custody. Such procedure is laid down in Section 36 (1) which states that "a senior officer may order into military custody a junior officer". The only instance where a junior officer may order into custody a senior officer is where such officer is engaged in a
quarrel, affray or disorder. The Commander is the highest ranking officer and as such there would be no officer senior to him who could order that the Commander be taken into custody. Similarly after a person subject to military law is taken into custody in terms of Section 40 only the 'commanding officer of that person' is empowered to investigate the charge against him and to take steps for a trial by Court Martial. There is no officer who could be "commanding", the Commander himself. As such it is inconceivable and, inconsistent with scheme of the Act to assume that the Commander of the Army is a person subject to military law as defined in the
Act who may be taken into military custody, detained, charged, tried and sentenced at a Court Martial. It would be preposterous to suggest that the Commander who is thus not liable whist in service becomes a person subject to military law and thereby becomes liable to be taken into military custody, detained, tried and sentenced by a Court Martial after he relinquished office. In any event the present Commander has never been a senior officer to the General and as such he cannot in terms of Section 36 (1) "order into military custody" the General considering the latter as a 'junior officer'. Furthermore the present Commander has never been the 'commanding officer' of the General, as such he is not empowered in terms of Section 40 (l) of the Act to cause an investigation against the General or to 'take steps for the trial of that person (the General) by a Court Martial' as provided in Section 40 (1) (b) (i) of the Act.

The position under the CDS Act No 35 of 2009 is no different. As noted before although the Act deems the General to be a member of the regular force of the Army whilst serving as CDS, he is not deemed to be 'a person subject to military law' under the Army Act. In any event the present Commander cannot be considered a 'senior officer' or the 'commanding officer" of Sarath Fonseka in the period the latter functioned as CDS since in terms of Section 2 (4) of the Act whilst serving as CDS he held the rank of General.

Viewed from a different perspective, the Army Act was existing law when the present Constitution was promulgated in 1978. It continued in force in terms of Article 168 (1) of the Constitution. However such continuation in force is subject to any express provision in the Constitution. In brief, it is a basic principle of interpretation that the Constitution being the superior law should prevail over ordinary laws. Therefore the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 13 (based on the Universal Declaration and the ICCPR as noted above) which relate to arrest, detention trial and punishment, will prevail over the Army Act. These Fundamental Rights may be restricted in their operation to the members of the Armed Force only in the manner
provided by Article 15 (8) of the Constitution which reads as follows;

15 (8). "The exercise and operation of the fundamental rights declared and recognized by Article 12 (1), 13 and 14 shall, in their application to the members of the Armed Forces, Police Force and other Forces charged with the maintenance of public order, be subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed by law in the interest of the proper discharge of their duties and the maintenance of discipline among them."

It is clear from this provision that if General Sarath Fonseka's Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 13 of the Constitution assuring him the freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, punishment, etc. is to be restricted upon any purported exercise of power under the Army Act, at the time of such 'arrest' he should have been;
1. A member of the Army
2. He should have been charged with the maintenance of public order;
3. The arrest should have been necessary to assure the proper discharge of
his duties as a member of the Army and
4. Necessary to maintain discipline in the Army.

I do not wish to labour the point but none of the conditions as laid down in Article 15 (8) to warrant a restriction of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 13 are met in relation to the purported arrest and detention of General Sarath Fonseka.
In conclusion I wish to state that from whatever perspective one may look at the matter - the Constitution; the Universal Declaration; the ICCPR; the Code of Criminal Procedure Act; the Army Act or the CDS Act; the purported arrest and continued detention of General Sarath Fonseka who is now a candidate nominated for the Parliamentary Elections is entirely contrary to law and justice. I do not state so in derogation of the lawful authority of any person or institution empowered to decide on the matter, but only to kindle the compassionate reflection of right thinking people on an issue of humanitarian concern.

Sri Lanka Garners Support Against U.N. Probe

2010-03-12T10:58:00.000-05:00

By Thalif Deen, ipsnews.net

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 11 (IPS) - Sri Lanka, which won a grueling decades-long battle against one of the world's most ferocious terrorist organizations last May, has scored a diplomatic victory in its ongoing war of words with the United Nations.

The largest single political coalition has, in a rare rebuke, lambasted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his decision to appoint a panel of experts to advise him on "accountability issues" relating to post-conflict Sri Lanka, where the country's military has been accused of human rights violations and alleged war crimes.

The 118-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), currently chaired by Egypt, has expressed "deep concern" over Ban's unilateral decision to create the proposed panel, and accused him of two serious charges: attempting to violate the U.N. charter and trying to interfere in the domestic affairs of a member state.

The decision to establish a panel of experts was made over the strong objections of the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which claimed a decisive victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) battling for a separate nation state in northern Sri Lanka.

"The Non-Aligned Movement strongly condemns selective targeting of individual countries, which it deems contrary to the founding principles of the Movement and the United Nations Charter," said Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz of Egypt, in a letter to Ban.

The letter followed a NAM meeting which unanimously agreed to protest the secretary-general's action.

"As you are surely aware, the president of Sri Lanka has already confirmed in public his intention to appoint a domestic mechanism to address accountability issues, voluntarily," the NAM chair said.

The letter also points out that neither the Security Council, nor the General Assembly, or its subsidiary Human Rights Council, have made any pronouncements on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka or mandated any particular course of action.

"The situation in Sri Lanka is not on the agenda of any of these bodies, and there is nothing in the U.N. charter that authorises intervention in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state, without prejudice of course to the application of enforcement measures under chapter VII," the letter argues.

Under that chapter, only the Security Council has the authority to intervene - if and when it determines the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of peace, or act of aggression - primarily to maintain or restore international peace and security.

The NAM letter implicitly accuses the secretary-general of playing politics when it says that the non-aligned countries "are of the conviction" that the proposal to appoint a panel of experts on the eve of parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka "could do more harm than good to the country's ongoing and relentless efforts aimed at reinforcing reconciliation and national unity."

Based on the principles of national ownership and leadership, the Non-Aligned countries says they wish "to underscore the need to allow enough space and time for the government of Sri Lanka to complete its own domestic processes, without interference or unsolicited assistance" from the United Nations.

Asked for an official reaction, a U.N. spokesman told IPS: "We are considering responding by letter. I cannot confirm it yet, but I hope that by tomorrow, we'll have something specific to say."

The decision to appoint a panel of experts may have been prompted primarily by a call, by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, for an international investigation on human rights violations committed both by Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE.

Both warring parties have been accused of killing civilians - intentionally or unintentionally.

The government has denied the charges, even though the armed forces have also been accused of killing insurgents while in the act of surrendering - which if proved, amounts to war crimes.

Rajapaksa has called the proposed investigation "both unprecedented and unwarranted as no such action had been taken about other (member) states with continuing armed conflicts on a large scale, involving major humanitarian catastrophes and causing the deaths of large numbers of civilians due to military action."

In a statement Saturday, Rajapaksa said that allegations of human rights violations were motivated by "misrepresentations by apologists of the LTTE" and "by some non-governmental organisations" with a "misguided" agenda directed against Sri Lanka.

Last Thursday, the secretary-general spoke to Rajapaksa on the phone and informed him about the proposed panel.

At a press conference Friday, Ban said: "I had a frank and honest exchange of views with President [Mahinda] Rajapaksa, over issues that were of concern to both of us."

This included moving forward on political reconciliation, further movement on the condition of internally displaced persons, and the establishment of an accountability process, he said.

"I am concerned with the lack of progress of the joint statement which both I and President Rajapaksa had agreed during my visit (to Sri Lanka) last year," he said.

"I raised this issue and discussed [it]. I made clear to President Rajapaksa that I intend to move forward on a Group of Experts which will advise me on setting the broad parameters and standards on the way ahead on establishing accountability concerning Sri Lanka," Ban said.

For that purpose, he said, "we have agreed that I dispatch [Under-Secretary-General of Political Affairs] Lynn Pascoe in the very near future."

But that visit has also been put on hold.

The government is also unlikely to permit any members of the panel to visit Sri Lanka to investigate charges of human rights violations.

Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50637

Sri Lanka tourism reaches dizzying heights last months

2010-03-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

By Srilal Miththapala, eTN | Mar 11, 2010

Tourist arrivals for February 2010 reached a high of 57,300, surpassing February 2009 arrivals by a resounding 67.7 percent. While certainly February has always been the peak month of the Sri Lankan Tourism calendar, this year it is not only the increase in numbers but also the relative increase in yields that is noteworthy. For many years during the conflict, hoteliers had to resort to discounting to fill their rooms, but not so this year. Hence earnings from tourism should also show a healthy increase (these figures are only available quarterly).

Several hotels reported 100 percent occupancy levels for the month, no mean feat under any circumstances. Resorts in the Negombo area had the highest overall occupancies of close to 90 percent occupancy, while most of the other areas also recorded a very high occupancy levels. In fact, there was a considerable overbooking in resort areas, and many hotels have now suspended forward sales for the next few months in an effort to manage the situation.

All markets show healthy increases for the month, with western Europe (71.7 percent YOY increase), Middle East (127.4 percent), east Asia (93.7 percent), and south Asia (66.6 percent) leading the growth.

Hence, as expected, 2010 has got off to a flying start with the first two months having 108,057 arrivals compared to 72,637 last year for the same period, a 49 percent increase.

In preparation for the next winter season (which is expected to be very good), several hotels have already planned refurbishing activities during the forthcoming summer months from May to October 2010. Information collected by the Tourist Hotels Association indicates that close to 1,000 rooms will be temporarily "out of stock" due to refurbishing/upgrading activities in several leading resort hotels. In the Negombo region alone, there will be refurbishing activities in Club Hotel Dolphin, Blue Oceanic Hotel, Sea Shells Hotel, and Goldi Sands Hotel. Other hotels undergoing various forms of upgrading/refurbishing are Airport Garden, Taj exotica, The Blue Water, Cinnamon Grand, Mt. Lavania, Club Oceanic, Palm Garden, Riverina, Coral Sands, Hotel Sigiriya, Cinnamon Lodge, Berjaya, and Saman Villas. It is estimated that close upon Rs 3.0 Bn will be spent on refurbishing and upgrading the product according to the survey.

This is indeed a very good sign. The Sri Lankan Hotel product has over the years lost out to its regional competition, because everyone was in a survival mode, not having surplus cash to plow back for refurbishing/upgrading activities. With price revisions in the offing, it is imperative, therefore, that the product offering is improved to guard against the destination losing its "value for money" proposition.

However, it also noteworthy that it is mostly the larger hotels that are taking this initiative. With much larger stakes in the industry and more "corporate muscle," they have better access to capital than most of the SME sector. The SME sector comprises almost 60 percent or more of the THASL membership, and it is this sector that needs urgent support right now. The government needs to come out with an urgent short-term plan to help refurbishing of hotels by way of incentives, including duty-free imports of capital items for refurbishing and also some form of preferential interest bearing loans for the SME sector.

Link: http://www.eturbonews.com/14848/sri-lanka-tourism-reaches-dizzying-heights-last-months

Boston Lanka News February 22, 2010

2010-02-25T12:50:00.000-05:00

Who will save Sri Lanka?

2010-02-10T03:19:00.000-05:00

I have watched Sri Lanka, the days leading up to her presidential election of January 26, and now sit in disbelief in its aftermath, eerily reminiscent of the post election days in Iran several months ago.

I write a friend to inquire about the reports I am hearing. She writes back to say that she is not comfortable discussing politics; she is not certain if her internet postings are being monitored; Sri Lanka’s present state feels to her, more like that of Myanmar and she does not want trouble for herself and her family.

Today she leaves this comfort behind in her shock and fear resulting from the events of these last few days: the arrest of General Fonseka and of many of his associates, the forced retirements of other high ranking army officials, the dissolution of the parliament. She worries that anyone who identified with the opposition will now be a target, and this, then, will include her:

"I know I said I will not meddle in politics anymore but things have gone from bad to worse. They arrested the independent presidential candidate of the opposition and are holding him in military custody. He was the general who fought the thirty year long war; now all his contemporaries are arrested too. He's a man who risked his life three times for his country, but yet they're depriving him of his medicine and holding him captive, violating all human right laws in the whole world. In time to come they may just annihilate the members of the opposition, us, as they did to the Jews in Germany. I'm very upset Katarina, this country need not be like this, I cannot stand to watch all this.
Twelve top army officers including three Major Generals have been asked to retire from the service with immediate effect over a ‘political conspiracy’ while serving. Among these officers, there were two Brigadiers and Colonels, Lt. Colonels and Captains.

Last Friday the CID arrested Brigadier Duminda Keppetiwalana, a serving officer who is the Commandant of the Army Training School in Ampara. He held the position of Military Assistant when General Fonseka was Commander of the Army.

Accordingly, more than twenty other retired officers and soldiers are now in custody and more are due to be arrested. Another source said that a large number of senior and junior officers, who have been transferred to the office of the Chief of Defense Staff are to face inquiries in connection with the alleged ‘political conspiracy.”

I do not know what to say, what to write to my friend. How do I reassure her? There is no one – no entity stepping forward to prevent the M. Rajapaksa administration from proceeding to take what ever action they wish: arrest, detention, perhaps execution? With no clear mandate, the international community sits by and watches yet again as another potential tragedy unfolds, hands tied from taking any meaningful action.

Now, I read an Amnesty International report on the arrest of General Fonseka. It claims the General was preparing to offer testimony of war crimes against this current administration. This has been reported only following the General’s violent arrest yesterday. (http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/arrest-sri-lankan-opposition-leader-escalates-post-election-repression-20100209 )

Other reports indicate the arrest is to prevent a coup d’etat. This has been generally reported leading up to the arrests - but one man’s coup d’etat may be another’s assumption of his legitimate position had it not been for a rigged election. One cannot know what to believe.

I opt to believe the words of my friend. The question now is – what does one do? What action can I possibly take that will any impact at all? I cannot think of anything; all I can do is write.

Writing and publishing – exposure of humanitarian crimes – can sometimes create the line which is drawn between outrageous action taken by a desperate dictator and heinous crimes against humanity committed when despotism is left entirely unchecked.

And so today I write and hope that others will join me.

Boston Lanka News February 8, 2010

2010-02-09T20:09:00.000-05:00

Boston Lanka News February 2, 2010

2010-02-02T23:16:00.002-05:00

A response to the response by Sanjeewa Karunaratne: Are Buddhism and Its Clergy, the Root Cause of Sri Lanka’s Problems?

2010-02-01T07:24:00.000-05:00

By Prasad Mapatuna

Are Buddhism and Its Clergy, the Root Cause of Sri Lanka’s Problems? I don’t think so!

Anyway, I am thankful to Sanjeewa for reading the long essay on religion and governance. Although it is doubtful whether Sanjeewa read it in its entirety, it is understandable not having the time or frame of mind to read all of the rants.

Few things need to be corrected quickly. You have chosen a discursive heading that says “Are Buddhism and Its Clergy, the Root Cause of Sri Lanka’s Problems?” I have to point out that it is not a question answered in my essay. I wasn’t interested in finding root causes. Any one thing cannot be the root cause of all the issues. IMO the causes are multifactorial and trying to find “root causes” is a futile effort. In my essay I am not trying to blame anyone or anything for the problems that we face. It is rather a suggestion about way-forward regarding one aspect (one out of many) -the connection between religion and governance.

Also you have purposely or unwittingly distorted a few claims in my bigger essay posted at http://worldview.icloneable.com. I will come to that point little later.

On the outset let me re-emphasize that I do not have strong convictions regarding any of these topics that I cannot let go of. Trying not to cling hard on to anything (ideologies in particular) is perhaps a value that I borrowed from Buddhism. I do understand that people who are more educated and knowledgeable than me hold different opinions to that of mine regarding these topics. If those more enlightened people read my rants and if they care, they are bound to respond, convince me, and free me of my wrong opinions. Even during the short period between starting the essay and publishing it, I changed some of my opinions slightly. However, at the moment I am ready to passionately argue this opinion, as I have not seen anything convincing yet to change.

When someone challenges the opinions stated, they can take many approaches. (a) Some will take each point carefully and dissect the point logically. (b) Some will come to the table with a hardcore conviction that they will not change no matter what. They will argue passionately to convince themselves of their own opinion with less regard to the actual points discussed. This may include deliberate distortion of facts presented; in order to prime them for attack (c) Some will try to find ways to personally attack the authors, if they are not agreeable to what is being said.

I thank Sanjeewa for not taking the approach (c) but staying somewhere between (a) and (b) which is a very good start. In any case, reading the essay and caring enough to respond is something I am grateful of.

Seeing “mud slinging” exercise everywhere in Sri Lankan political arena, I am not surprised that you used the word “mud slinging” in your response to describe the purpose of my article. There is a not so obvious difference between mud-slinging and critical analysis. I hope you can take a step back, and define this difference yourself.

You also have committed the sin of distorting the claims made in my essay in order to make them an easy target for attack. I am not saying that you did this intentionally; it could be an oversight in your hurry to respond. You have quoted from the essay “socio-economic status of a country improves when the religiosity drops”. Where did you find that in my essay? I have written “It seems to tell us that when the socio-economic status of a country improves, the religiosity drops!”. So you have quoted exactly the opposite of what I said. My claim was that religiosity of a country seem to drop when the socio-economic conditions improve. That is a simple analysis of the available data. I have not argued, and in fact it will be silly to argue that dropping religion will improve the socio-economical status. This is simple logic stuff. A -> B (A implies B) does not mean B -> A.

In order to prevent any future readers from mixing up the logic, I have reworded that part of the article so that it is crystal clear.

You bring in an interesting point regarding relative nature of the claim that “democracy being perceived as the best form of governance”. I cannot agree with you more! In fact I myself am not convinced that democracy (“majority opinion rules”) is the best form of governance. I need to underscore again that my article is not about finding ultimate truths. It is about doing practical improvements to what we have today.

The “happiness of life” argument is also an important one. In fact, that is the single most important yardstick that I like to use for measuring quality of life. However, I would vehemently argue against your claim that if we use “happiness” as the yardstick for “development” then the most religious countries will top the list (if that is what you meant. It is not very clear what you mean by “lists would have been reversed.”). For example do you see Sri Lankans as a “happy” bunch of people?

If you want to argue that “happiness” can be achieved not by materialistic means, but by letting go of desire to cling on to materials; then that would be a whole new topic, and a one that I am very supportive of. In fact, I would also like to remind that just like material things, clinging on to opinions is also not good for “happiness”. I would like to take a Buddhist stance here (in bit of a lighter vein) and point out that you seem to be clinging on to current implementation of the Buddhist institution in Sri Lanka so dearly, that it can affect your happiness. What is the possibility of ‘letting go’ that dearly held opinion, and look more openly at available options?

Again I hope you will not misread my request for letting go of the passionate clinging to the institution to be synonymous with dismantling the actual institution. When you are deeply embedded in something, it is difficult to see the light outside. So my request is a very Buddhistic one of "letting go"; One that Lord Buddha himself advised.

Lastly you have gathered some interesting data points that correlate 'religiosity of a country' with 'the duration of independence'. However, I am not clear enough of your conclusion. Perhaps you need to expand on that idea. Having said that, thanks Sanjeewa for engaging in this dialog. Although it may seem that I am coming down hard on your opinions, I am certainly glad that you are interested in dialog.

A Response to Understanding the Change of Value Systems: Are Buddhism and Its Clergy, the Root Cause of Sri Lanka’s Problems?

2010-01-31T10:58:00.001-05:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

It is interesting to observe an attempt to sling mud at a religion using catchy phrases and the results of an opinion poll. The foundation of the article is an international survey conducted by the Gallup Organization about religion. Based on the survey results, the article finds, “Almost all the topmost religious countries belong to “developing/underdeveloped” category of nations in the world” and “the least religious countries studied include several with the world's highest living standards.” Thus, authors argue, “socio-economic status of a country improves when the religiosity drops.” It relates these results to Sri Lanka and suggests Buddhism and its clergy are the root cause of socio-economic and ethic problems in Sri Lanka. Does this claim resonate with world history?

Though we like democracy, because it is perceived as an invention of the west, the acclaim it is the best form of governance is contextual. Had Russia won the cold war, we would be arguing communism is the best form of governance which, by the way, prohibits the practice of religion. Today, the communist China literally funds U.S. debt and produces over 90% of U.S.’s retail items. The living conditions in the U.S. during its great depression (1930’s) were worse than in most of the countries today; and no one knows where its current recession is heading.

If the Gallup poll had followed-up with a question about “happiness in life” the lists would have been reversed. There are studies that had found the most religious people are the happiest and least religious people are the unhappiest. So what is our yardstick?

The problems of the world are results of unequal distribution of resources based on the location. It is mere luck that 10,000 or so years ago world’s best crops, animals, weather, soil, minerals (e.g. steel and, later, oil) etc. were concentrated on Europe and western Asia where 8 out of top 10 least religious, developed nations in the Gallup list are located. These nations with their protein rich diet, iron, guns, germs and animals greedily and ruthlessly conquered other parts of the world and disrupted their natural progression. Countries these nations spread their faith, race and way of life (e.g., America) later developed and countries they did not because of patriotic, resistive and equally intelligent indigenous populations, they screwed up (e.g., Sri Lanka)—squeezed up its resources; created chaos and left. The root cause of socio-economic and ethnic problems in Sri Lanka is not Buddhism but the occupation of British colonial rulers for 150 years. Translate Iraq to 1815 Sri Lanka, add 150 years and imagine that period!

In conclusion, I would like to draw attention to the 10 most religious and less developed countries in the Gallup list. In the parentheses are its last colonial ruler and the year it gained technical “independence”. Egypt (Britain; 1922); Bangladesh (Britain; 1947); Sri Lanka (Britain; 1948); Indonesia (Netherlands; 1945); Congo (Belgium; 1960); Sierra Leon (Britain; 1961); Malawi (Britain; 1964); Senegal (France; 1960); Djibouti (France; 1977); and Morocco (France; 1955). In contrast, 9 of the 10 least religious and most developed nations were never under any colonial rule. In fact, 7 of those are the colonial rulers themselves. So Buddhism and its clergy are the root cause of SL problems is a baseless claim.

Understanding the change of value systems

2010-01-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

By Prasad Mapatuna

I've been hearing these post election speeches by Buddhist clergy in TV and it is apparent that they need a value system upgrade!

The starting point of the new wisdom should be the realization we are not governed by a monarch anymore. We should stop living in the past and look forward for positive changes fitting to the new governance model of parliamentary democracy. Even after living more than half a century in a parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage, most of our self-proclaimed moral leaders and self-styled guardians of the heritage seem to think that we are still ruled by a king and are fond of dolling out governance advices fitting only to a medieval kingdom.

However, if you are one of those individuals who believe that moving from current democratic setup to 13th century Sri Lankan Monarchy is actually an upgrade, then of course I will be surprised you got this far in to the this post. There are many pundits and politicians in Sri Lanka that promote this ideology. Some of them have named this ideology as “Maha sammatha Wadaya”. This however is commonly knows as “Feudal System” (“Weda wasam kramaya”)

One of the key issues that I see in Sri Lankan Buddhist institutions is that the traditions around those institutions are still aligned with a non-existent feudal system. The head of state is still assumed to be a “King” by the clergy who were trained within these institutions. The advices of the clergy to the lay followers are mostly based on a 13th centenary value system designed to keep the peasantry in their place. We often hear clergy and other conservative scholars bringing examples from the time of ancient kings to draw parallels between contemporary situations. Their basic assumption is that something ‘good’ from that era is unquestionably good and fitting in current times as well. This is very wrong! The value systems changed drastically. The value system the majority of Sri Lankans subscribe today is very different from value systems prevailed at the times of Devanampiyatissa or Dutugemunu or Prarakramabahu. For example, if we are to go by those ancient value systems, we will not see anything wrong with nepotism or use of government property for image building purposes of the ruler. However, these days those deeds are viewed as crimes.

Buddhist clergy often refers to ‘Dhasaraja Dharma’ as a set of timeless advices for governance. The ‘Dhasaraja Dharma’ could well be timeless due to the abstract nature of it. Those abstract concepts should be mapped to concrete concepts using contemporary value system to make any use of it. The problem with the clergy is that they go by some book written hundreds of years ago which actually documents the interpretation of ‘Dhasaraja Dharma’ as applicable to a kingdom that existed thousands of years ago.

To better understand abstract nature of Buddhist values and the need to map them to contemporary value system is aptly demonstrated in the third precept “Kāmesu micchācāra veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi” (I undertake the training rule to abstain from sexual misconduct.). The term “sexual misconduct” is such an abstract concept, any interpretation could be given, starting from one of the basic sexual ethics “Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal” (Satanism) to “I refrain from having any other forms of sex other than sex in missionary position with my legally wedded wife/husband” (Conservative Catholic).

The full article available at:
http://worldview.icloneable.com

The Leadership required for successful Reconciliation and Development in post conflict Sri Lanka

2010-01-28T12:53:00.001-05:00

By Pushpi Weerakoon (MA Conflict Transformation)

It has been argued that there are six phases in the evolution of conflict situations – malaise, incipient crisis, denied conflict, open conflict, war, and reconciliation and reconstruction. Of these, arguably the most challenging and complex are the last. Tensions easily arise between reconciliation needs, development ambitions and politics in a post-conflict state. Hence managing a post-conflict environment in a state requires exceptional leadership.

Therefore, in the immediate aftermath of an election – with a clear mandate from the people, and a manifesto which emphasised the need for reconciliation and engagement of all communities – the time is right for his Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa to articulate and deliver on a new style of leadership.

There is the delicate task of finding a way to balance issues such as truth and justice so that the slow transformation of behaviour, attitudes and emotions between victims and perpetrators can take place. The pragmatic work of building relationships and confidence needs to work in tandem with the restoration of communities, infrastructure and livelihoods.

From the outset, a clearly articulated vision is needed – one which acknowledges the past, depicts the future, and both recognises and responds to the needs of all communities. And this vision needs to be both appropriate and achievable. As seen in Eritrea in the 1990s, reintegration was only successful when planned and implemented within the broader context of rehabilitation, which in turn is seen as part of a long-term development concept. The leadership needs to demonstrate, and deliver on, a relevant and well-planned strategy. Moreover, that strategy needs to be integrated, recognising how development can be used as a vehicle to enable reconciliation. Another example would be the Municipal and Economic Development Initiative (MEDI) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. MEDI was designed to create democratic, non-profit associations serving a variety of community needs – including small business development, and improvements in quality of life and financial services – and in so doing, it increased tolerance and cooperation between people who had been polarized around ethnicity and brutalised by war through a programme of economic development. Not dissimilarly the setting up of the Commission for the Management of Strategic Resources, National Reconstruction and Development (CMRRD) in Sierra Leone was predicated on formally coupling the proceeds of economic gain with reparation for victims – establishing a special Treasury account for proceeds from transactions involving diamonds and other natural resources to be reinvested back into society, such as by providing compensation to those incapacitated by war – so progressing the mutual goals of development and reconciliation.

Leadership in a post-conflict environment needs to be not merely well-planned and integrated, but unprejudiced too. It needs to acknowledge all communities and their needs, and to demonstrate empathy and benefit for each of these communities – and for the state as a whole. Not just the powerful or the majority. There are countless examples of how leadership can be abused. Among them the land occupations in Zimbabwe stands out.

Sri Lankan leadership style is traditionally authoritarian, posing the danger that – if translated through to the post-conflict leadership map of Sri Lanka – development might be purely macro in nature, and any reconciliation initiatives imposed on the country. The leadership must draw on other facets of Sri Lankan culture – such as a collectivist and participative approach to reaching consensus. Such a style would naturally tend to be a more participative developmental approach and would suggest that all elements of society have the same underlying desire for stability.
Whilst Sri Lanka has a history of authoritarian leadership, it has also set precedents of participative approaches, with leadership delegated to, or at least shared at, a micro level. Vidler’s (2000, The Rise and Fall of Government – Community Partnerships for Urban Development: Grassroots Testimony from Colombo) account of community partnerships for urban development, for example, tells of a radical break from conventional, top-down approaches within the government’s Million Houses Programme during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ‘Community development councils and a participatory methodology known as community action planning meant that residents and community leaders worked with government officers to identify problems, set priorities and develop solutions’. Such a precedent, applied in a different context, is perhaps precisely what Sri Lanka needs in driving forward its ambitions for both development and reconciliation.
In this regard, the international community has an important role to play in helping to establish a post-conflict environment which is conducive to effective reconciliation and development, and supportive of responsible leadership. This requirement is highlighted by Vesna Bojicic-Dzelilovic in his article World Bank, NGOs and the Private Sector in Post-War Reconstruction (Newman, E & Schnabel, A 2002, Recovering from Civil Conflict: Reconciliation, Peace, and Development) in which he argues that the international community’s engagement in economic reconstruction and development cannot be viewed in isolation, and that greater appreciation of broader factors are required if entities driving economic development are to engage effectively. Foremost of these is a greater understanding of socio-political change underlying contemporary conflicts and the effect this may have on both the roles and the rules of engagement of developmental and private sector bodies.

In order to establish these off-shore relationships and to enable reconciliation and post-conflict development an effective leadership which could not only be be trusted by the local but also the international community is undoubtedly essential in Sri Lanka. Certainly, this applies at the macro level; for as Funabashi (2003, Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific) states, ‘whatever vision is pursued, the process of reconciliation over the past will not move forward without appropriate political leadership of a high intellectual and moral calibre’ Yet it also applies at a micro level; since it is up to the local communities the individuals to rise up to make the most profound democratic transformation of the social order which would bring about lasting peace. The fact that a ‘silent nation, silence the nation’ should not be forgotten by us Sri Lankans.

May the blessing of the almighty triple gems and god guide our president, his Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa in the right direction to lead our country through a successful reconciliation and development process as he did the military war!

Pushpi Weerakoon

Bureau for Crisis Prevention & Recovery UNDP- New York
MA Conflict Transformation - www.emu.edu/cjp
Rotary Peace '07 & Ambassadorial '09 scholar

An email from Sri Lanka

2010-01-28T04:51:00.001-05:00

Hey buddies, now the competition is over. So be neutral and do your own findings without depending on ‘controlled’ media. The serious allegation on polls rig is yet to be isolated. No matter whom we support we must stand against if the win is 'artificial' . Until this allegation is rejected ‘transparently’, this country remains in a dire state. Everybody over here is scared to talk against the decision. What do you think?

Update from Sri Lanka Part II

2010-01-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

By Ru Freeman
Jan. 27, 2010

Meanwhile, after a long drawn out drama that involved Sarath Fonseka refusing to leave the hotel and making a public statement saying he was afraid for his life and requesting security, he has finally left the hotel without fuss. (This was one of those moments when I wished we had the American tradition of the losing candidate conceding victory). Wickramasinghe has thanked the government in the press for fair polling and in the aftermath appealed to the people to preserve the quiet and peace. There were rumors about SF punching Mangala and arrests of this or that person, but they remain rumors. No such thing is evident from the news I'm getting from the inside. The whole debacle over the occupation of the hotel by Sarath Fonseka appears to have been restricted to a few officials and to high level negotiations. Most people were actually unaware that any such thing was even happening. Celebrations in the streets have gone on all day - in terms of noise, firecrackers. Lots of posters came out congratulating the President.

Curfew has been declared in Gampola due to an incidence of a Buddhist priest being shot. I don't know more about the story than that right now, but will let you know if I do.

I would like to add that this morning during his interview, Malinda Seneviratne spoke pursuasively about the nature of victory and loss, and about the role that each of us must play in changing the country for the better. It was a perfect example of moving beyond the election to what still remains to be done and doing so in a manner which ensures some amount of dignity for all parties. In other analysis, the point was made that Mahinda was given the Presidency by the people the first time because they wanted him to end the war. He delivered on that promise. This second win is therefore one where the people are now expecting even more of him and it is up to him to see that he does what they have asked him to do.

Update from Sri Lanka Part I

2010-01-27T22:12:00.000-05:00

By Ru Freema
Jan. 27, 2010

It is 3.20pm now and we are awaiting the announcement by the Commissioner of Elections confirming results. There are rumors being spread by SMS within Sri Lanka - and, I'm sure, abroad - that Sarath Fonseka is being threatened. He is at the Trans Asia hotel. I went there and had no trouble getting through - the streets are not closed off, although there is questioning of drivers and searching of vehicles coming into the hotel parking lot. Sources close to the President say that they have posted the STF to protect him and the hotel, a justifiable concern since there are some elements abroad and here who would like there to be some kind of ruckus here. It is by no means some kind of blockade and there is media presence there complete with cameras - hardly the kind of thing that would be happening if this was state mandated terror!

The promised violence and voter fraud etc. did not happen. In fact, Ranil Wickramasinghe is reported in today's paper as having made a public statement thanking the government and security forces for ensuring fair polling. We should do our part not to spread rumors and stir up trouble. The streets are quiet - it is also Poya today - but very calm. There is no tension apparent anywhere that I have been and I drove around quite a bit and was never stopped by the forces anywhere, not even when driving past the Trans Asia twice within a few minutes with my camera quite visible as I took photographs. Breaking news this minute says that Ranil W. is about to speak however state media is banned from the session. The government has announced that they will crack down on any people trying to disrupt the peace.

Mahinda Rajapaksa has won by a clear and definite margin. This is by no means a close election. It is an election in which the opposition miscalculated the extent to which they could manipulate the rural voter who, in defiance, came out to support the President instead. It is obvious now that Mahinda has a mandate to continue his work for a second term. Our work is cut out for us: help in the reconstruction of the country, engage each of our communities in discussion (within the Diaspora), and support the President in fixing the things that are wrong or broken within Sri Lanka.

The Morning After

2010-01-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

By Ru Freeman

It is now 2 a.m. on the 27th of January, 2010 in Sri Lanka and the election results are 68.32% for President Mahinda Rajapakse and 31.32% for Sarath Fonseka. Maybe it is no big deal to win against someone who did not take the trouble to register himself to vote in the elections in which he was asking the country to vote for him. But it is a big deal to win against a candidate backed by major Western and European powers, and by native nay-sayers who would rather have a candidate who couldn’t find himself a party and was subsequently backed by two who had been responsible for much brutality in Sri Lanka throughout the 1980s than support the President who brought them peace.

This is the first time I’ve been home for an election since I left for the United States, and it is absolutely thrilling to be here. Sri Lankans are deeply and

passionately engaged in the process and in campaigning and if you want a beautiful description of what a country means to someone who loves it, read ‘Reflections on my Country’ by my brother, Malinda Seneviratne. It doesn’t hurt to have a household divided between the two candidates, my father taking up the solitary stand on behalf of the Opposition. I accompanied my journalist brother, Malinda, on travels around the city and down the Southern Coast and observed a process that had none of the problems that were being threatened us by those supporting the opposition candidate. The term “blood bath” has been tossed about, but I’m hoping to avoid that as well. It is a clear victory, and there is no doubt as to why the President remains popular among the people even if some of the Colombo elite despise his status as an outsider. Here are a few of those reasons:

1. He put an end to a war that has blighted the country for 30 years, something none of the leaders of other parties including those contesting him in this election were able to do.

2. While conducting the war, he did not compromise the welfare of ordinary Sri Lankans, or sell any of the country’s assets.

3. While pushing on with both a war and the post-tsunami reconstruction, he engaged in massive development projects throughout the country, including in the North and East; highways, ports, telecommunications and web access were all

part of this effort.
4. He has subsequently repatriated most of the Internally Displaced Persons, the North and East have vast areas that have been demined and are being inhabited by people native to the land and there’s a sense of breathing freely in the entire country.

5. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, he put Sri Lankans in charge of Sri Lanka. As my sister in law put it, “In the past foreigners came in as consultants to us, now they consult us before they try to do anything in the country. He has given Sri Lankans the space to insist that the slogan “api wenuwen api” (i.e. us for ourselves), is the national standard.

Many foreign governments have attempted to push Sri Lanka in one direction or the other without the good sense to understand the context in which they were here or, worse, the damage they could cause to thousands of people including the loss of life. To have a President who is willing to stand firm against such pressure, including tremendous pressure from the United States, is simply fantastic.

Which brings me to the letter I received - it was addressed to all of us who are participating in the Galle Literary Festival - from the director of The Campaign for Peace & Justice, asking us to make all sorts of noise about the allegations he puts forth regarding abuses he has not substantiated. I’d like to say go fly a blooming kite. Instead I’ll say this: “In Sri Lanka the average voter turn out is 80%, education and health care is free, women are liberated and smart, and we have a President able to end a war and rebuild his country (while fending off ignorant individuals who want to keep enjoying their NGO junkets on our beautiful island and triviliazing our tragedies by turning our complexity into sound bites for your rabid 24/7 news media). I don’t need you to tell me what to say at a festival being held in my country. I don’t need your talking points. I don’t need your advice. I don’t need your cautionary tales of doom and gloom, mister. I’m too busy celebrating our good.” Outside in the streets I can hear firecrackers. Salut!

Cast your vote, defeat violence in 2010 presidential election

2010-01-25T16:23:00.000-05:00

Sunday, January 24, 2010

"The best way to defeat heinous objectives of those who orchestrate violence and impunity is to go and cast your vote on 26th January, and bring true victory to democracy and then to whoever the candidate you wish to elect."

By Thrishantha Nanayakkara

On 26th January, 2010 Sri Lankans vote in the first presidential election after a 30 year war comes to an end. The decision they take will decide the future of the peaceful society in which their children and grandchildren live.

Whatever the outcome, the majority view will help the next president to win widespread support if the election outcome is a true reflection of the people’s judgment. However, if ballot rigging and violence augment the true sentiments of the people, the country will start to develop tensions with the rule of the president, giving rise to sabotage and extremism.

If we carefully look at past presidential elections, we notice that peaceful election environments were followed by high polling percentages and violent environments have done the opposite as shown in the following table.
Violent environments therefore deliver a double blow to the people. First it reduces the effect of moderate floating voters who vote based on principles from the political equation, distorting the political picture. Then it increases the impact of ballot rigging on the final outcome. Therefore, those who promote violence expect to achieve the above two heinous objectives.

This time, it is reported that there are 14,088,500 registered voters. It is a massive force if we want to show where the country should head in the next six years. However, this is the most violent election I have seen with four election related deaths so far, after 1988 presidential election. Therefore, if we assume the worse case scenario of 55% polling percentage as in 1988, a moderate expectation of 65%, and most optimistic estimate of 80%, we will be able to reduce the effect of 1,000,000 rigged votes from 11% in the worse case to 8% in the most optimistic case, and that of 500,000 rigged votes from 6% to 4% as shown in the following table. Therefore, if our polling rate is way high (~80%), the effect of the heinous efforts to rig ballots will dwindle more than proportionally.

Therefore, the best way to defeat heinous objectives of those who orchestrate violence and impunity is to go and cast your vote on 26th January, and bring true victory to democracy and then to whoever the candidate you wish to elect.

Boston Lanka News January 25, 2010

2010-01-25T15:53:00.000-05:00

SRI LANKA: Elections - What Can We Expect on 26 January?

2010-01-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

By Pushpi Weerakoon

As presidential elections draw closer, the race between incumbent President Rajapaksa and opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka continues to be a neck-to-neck one. However, at this juncture, Rajapaksa may be marginally better positioned to deliver on promises, given that the political parties backing Fonseka have differing ideologies.

KEY POINTS

Presidential elections scheduled for 26 January — The first elections since the domestic conflict ended in May 2009 (held two years ahead of schedule) are likely to be a closely-contested event between the incumbent President Rajapaksa of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Sarath Fonseka – the country’s former army chief who is the opposition common candidate, backed largely by United National Party, the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). With the vote of the Sinhalese majority likely to be somewhat evenly split, both candidates are fighting for a slice of Tamil and Muslim minority votes, which comprise ~20% of the electorate (Tamils account for 12.5%).

Rajapaksa’s pledges centre on infrastructure development — In his election manifesto released earlier this month, President Rajapaksa focused specifically on growth and employment via massive infrastructure development across sectors – ports, aviation, energy resources, roads, and electricity and housing for all. Apart from the continuation of provincial development, the President has also pledged to hold free elections in the North and conform to the devolution of power to the provinces under the 13th Amendment.

Fonseka aims to resolve governance and corruption issues — The focal point of Fonseka’s manifesto is a pledge to reactivate the 17th Amendment and thus dilute some of the powers of the President (this is a section of the constitution that grants powers of appointment and control of public authorities to a Constitutional Council rather than to the President). Both candidates promise higher public sector salaries and larger subsidies, although this may be difficult to implement given the fiscal deficit stipulations required by the IMF’s Stand-By Arrangement.

Macro Implications: Pros and Cons — A victory for President Rajapaksa would in their view bring two key benefits: (1) policy continuity, and (2) infrastructure development. On the other hand, Fonseka’s pledges suggest he would: (1) help weed out the causes of profligacy in public finances through improved governance and an independent audit commission, and (2) take more conciliatory measures towards appeasement and resettlement of the Tamil minority, which would go down well with the international community. Finally, a point to note is that while allies are likely to change by the hour, at this juncture it appears that Rajapaksa may be marginally better positioned to deliver on promises. This is because Fonseka’s coalition government has varying ideologies (the JVP is generally know to have leftist leanings while UNP is more pro-market), which could make implementing reforms more difficult.

Time to strengthen CWW Kannangara vision

2010-01-21T14:17:00.000-05:00

The liberation from the iron fist of Government financial regulations will serve another vital purpose. That is none other than the urgent need to revitalize the research culture in Sri Lankan universities.
.................................................................................
By Thrishantha Nanayakkara, PhD

(November 18, Washington, Sri Lanka Guardian) Every human baby born to this world has the right to obtain an education. The article 26 of the Universal declaration of human rights clearly identifies education as a human right in itself as well as being an indispensable means of realizing other human rights.

Article 26 of the universal declaration of human rights 1948

* (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
* (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
* (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The great visionary, Dr. C.W.W Kannangara identified this need way back in 1944. Thanks to the current practice of free education in Sri Lanka, a vast majority of Sri Lankan children can obtain an education up to the GCE (A/L) examination free of charge. His vision has also enabled about 3% of the students who sit for the GCE (A/L) examination to obtain a university education free of charge. However, successive Governments have neglected the right to higher education of the rest of the 97% of the student population by not allowing alternative institutes (other than state universities) to supplement the demand. Successive Governments blamed the JVP for this practice. However, as a result, a vast majority among this neglected citizens end up joining the low skilled labor force while a handful manage to obtain that education from foreign universities at a cost many folds larger than what they could have enjoyed inside their mother country had the Government been liberal to respect the right to higher education.

Therefore I am proposing a new model to the higher education in Sri Lanka that could be debated among the interested parties.

I propose the Government to elevate the recognition given to the present quota of students recruited to the universities based on merit by offering them a Fulbright scholar status. Therefore, all university students at present will not only be able to enjoy the university education free of charge, but also claim in their curriculum vitas that they have won a Fulbright scholarship. The Fulbright scholarship exempts one from paying any tuition fees. On top of that, the Mahapola scholarship can continue to provide a monthly stipend. However, the universities should be made open to other students who are willing to enter at a fee. The universities may offer part scholarships depending on their merit, subject to the limitations of the financial resources of the institute. This will allow the universities to earn an extra income from foreign students and those local students who can afford to pay. However, the Government must pledge that it will continue to provide funding to offer Fulbright scholarships to the existing quota for free education. For instance, at present 700 students enter the University of Moratuwa each year. The Government must continue to offer annual Fulbright scholarships to at least 700 students in the University of Moratuwa. In addition, the Government should continue to provide other funding to improve the infrastructure facilities. It should be an irrevocable pledge. This will alleviate any fears among the staff and the students. However, the university should be released from Government’s central control structure to enable them to recruit as many paid students as their resources permit.

The liberation from the iron fist of Government financial regulations will serve another vital purpose. That is none other than the urgent need to revitalize the research culture in Sri Lankan universities. For instance, at Harvard University, we can keep our research funding in a laboratory account. When we wish to purchase an item for a research project, the researchers have the complete freedom to decide which item they should buy from where. Researchers do not waste their own research funds because they have to compete with other laboratories to achieve higher performance standards (higher citation rates for their publications for instance). While I was in Sri Lanka, even to buy a computer, I had to call for three quotations, get the approval of the Head of the Department, then the Dean, and then the Vice Chancellor. The purchasing department strictly goes by the recommendations given in this line of command. Sometimes this process takes six months. I have never heard of anybody who has purchased a computer within a month. At Harvard, the process takes as long as I take to click on an internet site of a computer manufacturer, and I get to buy the brand I like. I pay using the laboratory credit card. The insane process in Sri Lanka kills the passion to do research. The process to obtain permission to leave the country to attend a research meeting is even worse. The request letter should go through the above process that does not end at the Vice Chancellor but goes through the ministry of higher education all the way upto the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka!!! Apparently, Sri Lankan researchers can not cope up with the fast phased track of other research colleagues. Therefore, the above liberation from central Government financial regulations will enable local universities to be as dynamic as the most effective universities in the rest of the world.

The expansion of the percentage of citizens who can obtain a higher education will in turn stimulate healthy cultures in many cross sections in the society that includes the parliament, the military, the private sector, and the Government service.

Boston Lanka News January 11, 2010

2010-01-21T13:56:00.000-05:00

Boston Lanka News January 18, 2010

2010-01-21T12:42:00.000-05:00

The Evolving Role of the Sri Lankan Diaspora

2009-07-21T14:12:00.000-04:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

The task of putting our mother nation up-right has just begun. When the eyes of the world are glued to the country for the second phase of the “war,” while some Western countries are trying to block aid in order to feed on our miseries— as they have done so successfully for hundreds of years— an enormous responsibly lies with the Sri Lankan Diaspora.
The intelligent and wealthy diaspora can save our nation from being prey to modern-day imperialism. While this article focuses on the work of Srilankans for Peace, based in Boston, U.S.A. there are others such as Sri Lankans for Unity, which are spearheading the effort to address the needs of the country through their influence with the diaspora.

The effort to spread misinformation about Sri Lanka in the Boston area was begun in early 1970s, a few years before the LTTE was born, by forming an Embassy of Eelam. It flourished for three decades as LTTE propagandists gradually pocketed lawmakers and media in the area. Among hundreds of articles published in Boston Globe about Sri Lanka, none were in support of the war or the government, until recently. For a long time Boston was plagued by uncontested misinformation which may have influenced the foreign relations policy of the Obama Administration.

Srilankans for Peace strived to bridge Sinhala and Tamil communities in the Boston area by engaging in dialogue about the conflict. An initial attempt was to commence this dialogue by screening the movie “No More Tears Sister.” In countering propaganda, group members wrote letters to the Winchester High School Administration when a Tamil student began a hunger strike; Travis Smiley when he hosted a controversial talk with a LTTE propagandist, M.I.A, Oprah Winfrey when M.I.A. attempted to get on her talk show and the Boston Globe and other newspapers whenever controversial articles were published. The group is aggressively following up its discussions with Senators John Kerry, Robert Casey and other member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Group members also participated in peaceful demonstrations condemning the LTTE.

Because of the proactive and aggressive role of the Sri Lankan Diaspora in the Boston area, the spread of misinformation has ceased. The Boston Globe started to publish favorable articles about Sri Lanka. There is a Sri Lankan Temple, Sri Lankan Association, traditional Sri Lankan Drum and Dance Group and, finally, a “Sri Lankan Day” will be held by the Town of Acton in August.

Once the tide was turned, the focus of the group was shifted to helping Sri Lanka stand up on its own feet. A fundraising campaign was unveiled in last June to raise money for the veterans and their families. The first portion of the proceeds, $6100 will be distributed among Project Gratitude, Ranaviru Fund and the National Defence Fund. On another front, a T-shirt campaign has been initiated to help displaced Sri Lankans in the welfare centers as well as the veterans. Twenty percent of all the financial donations to the temple will go to the children of the veterans and displaced Sri Lankans. Group members are also encouraged to invest in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lank had a great civilization which built massive reservoirs, castles and stupas when two-thirds of the world was covered in thick jungles. In recent history, when Sri Lanka gained independence, it had the second best economy in Asia.

Over one million Sri Lankan Diaspora living in almost every country in the world today,—the biggest asset of our nation—have the means to lift the status of our nation once again. The alternative is to witness the way in which rich nations, who feed on poor nations, rewrap the country in their clutches and continue their domination and marginalization to ensure that Sri Lanka will be a “poor”, “developing” or “third world” nation for the next hundred years.

In 2005, almost fifty years after he left Oxford, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar’s portrait was unveiled at the Oxford Union where he served as the president. This was what our former foreign minister, who was instrumental in countering LTTE’s propaganda, famously said in the event,

”….I would like to, if I may, to assume that I could share the honor with the people of my country, Sri Lanka. I had my schooling there, my first university was there, I went to Law College there and by the time I came to Oxford as a postgraduate student, well, I was relatively a matured person. Oxford was the icing on the cake, but the cake was baked at home …”

Let us do what we know is right.

The Real Roots of Sri Lanka's Crisis

2009-05-05T20:12:00.000-04:00

LETTERS MAY 6, 2009
From today's Wall Street Journal Asia.

Regarding "The Economic Key to Sri Lankan Peace" (op-ed, May 4): The British who ruled Sri Lanka for nearly 150 years applied a "divide and rule," method to control the rebellious majority by providing a disproportionate share of political power to the submissive minority. This is the root cause of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

In 1885, out of 819 schools in the country, 300 schools were in Jaffna where Tamils were the majority (99%). This was a strategic move by the colonial rulers to breed the necessary intellect to rule the majority. By the time Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, the major civil service bureaus and military were dominated by the educated Tamils. For instance, the first native commander of the Sri Lanka army and the first native commander of the Sri Lanka navy were Tamils. Consequently, the majority Sinhalese (80% of the population at that time) introduced affirmative action to remedy this injustice -- an attempt the elite Tamil minority construed and propagated as "discrimination."

Open economic reforms in 1978 sealed the fate of the Jaffna Tamils, especially the youth, who witnessed the collapse of their agricultural economy by sagging demand as markets were flooded with foreign products. Tamil nationalistic leaders, fantasizing a homeland for 100 million Tamils in the world, exploited this situation.

The West has clearly identified the potential of Sri Lanka, and I hope it also realizes the true nature of the problem in Sri Lanka and will help it eradicate terrorism.

Sanjeewa Karunaratne
Vernon, Conn.Vernon, Conn.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124154921967788351.html

Write to Hillary Campaign

2009-04-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

This is Mrs. Clinton's Fax # and her office phone#s.

Fax-(202)-647-2283
Phone#-(202)647-9572 or (202)-647-5291

Here is one letter:

Dear Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton:

I am a resident in the U.S.A. and I am appalled by your recent statement about the war in Sri Lanka.

LTTE’s Remote-controlled suicide boat that can carry about 2000 kilos of ammunition, captured by the Sri Lankan Army on 27th of April, had two very powerful petroleum engines in the world, which are manufactured by Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S.A. How these powerful engines got into the hands of a designated foreign terrorist organization is a mystery.

Soosai, the Commander of the Sea Tigers, the marine armed wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told BBC’s Frances Harrison on December 12, 2002 that the terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda had copied LTTE’s tactics, “They are using our tactics. I think in Yemen they used our strategy of suicide attack to blow up an American ship. That is exactly what we used to do.” Soosai was referring to the October 2000 attack by Al-Qaeda on the destroyer USS Cole that killed 17 US soldiers. The modus operandi was startlingly similar: hitting against the hull of a ship using an explosive laden fiberglass boat which was hiding among other fishing boats.

Sri Lanka is the best ally for the U.S. in South East Asia.

Pakistan is increasingly becoming a safe haven for Taliban and Islamic extremists. A 95% Muslim country with 75% Sunni Muslims among them, it will be extremely difficult for the U.S.A. to maintain its influence. Pakistan’s Islamic extremism is penetrating to India—which also neighbors predominantly Muslim Bangladesh (83%)—in an alarming rate. Given these circumstances the only potential ally for the U.S. in the South East Asia is Sri Lanka: a country with over 70% Buddhists. Once the LTTE is defeated, Sri Lanka will be free of terrorism and democracy will flourish providing an example to the region. Therefore, it is the best interest of the U.S., as the watchdog of the modern day democracy, to assist Sri Lanka to defeat the LTTE, not otherwise.

The other option is to let the LTTE, who has strong ties with Somali pirates, Taliban, Lashkar-e-taiba, PLO, FARC, Al-Qaeda, Maoists and other terrorist organizations, to survive and make LTTE-operated areas another safe haven and R&D base for terrorism.

Having said this, I do appreciate your efforts to improve the conditions in this great country.

Thank you,

Sanjeewa Karunaratne

LTTE’s Era of Sea Piracy Has Ended

2009-04-21T15:34:00.000-04:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

Operating the most comprehensive naval networks among the designated foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S., the LTTE’s Sea Tigers were considered, until recently, as "untouchable" pirates who feared no nation. They were one of the leading pirates in the world, though little known, because of their unfortunate targets were often Malaysian, Jordanian, Philippine, Maldivian, Chinese and Sri Lankan ships and the crew often disappeared. At the LTTE’s final hour, let’s look into what could have been a "Nightmare in the Indian Ocean."

Indian Ocean is a hunting ground for two of the world’s notorious sea criminals: LTTE and Somali pirates. Both these groups are operating in lawless, semi-autonomous pieces of land conducive to their unlawful acts. However, Somali pirates usually take crew members hostage to obtain ransom, but the LTTE, more interested in the goods—to feed its cadres—and the ship—to use for smuggling— than ransom, often got rid of them to cover up its trails.

On May 23, 1997, Greek registered freighter "Stillus Limassul" left Mozambique port of Beria for Sri Lanka carrying 32,400 81mm mortar bombs intended for Sri Lanka's army. The Sri Lankan armed forces never received this U.S. $ 3 million consignment of arms. The LTTE off-loaded the military supplies from this ship and transported it by small speed boats to LTTE jungle bases off Mullaitivu coast. These weapons, a month later, were used by the LTTE with a devastating effect to control the A9 Highway.

When the LTTE captured MV Cordiality near the port of Trincomalee, they killed all five Chinese crew members on board. On May 25, 1999, LTTE hijacked the MV Sik Yang, a 2818-ton Malaysian cargo ship with a cargo of bagged salt, which was sailing from Tuticorin, India and used it as a phantom vessel (Salt, sodium chloride can be changed to sodium chlorate easily, which when mixed with aluminum can make very powerful explosive powder). The fate of its 63-member crew is still unknown.

In December 2006, LTTE forced a Jordanian ship, MV Farah III carrying 14,000 tons of Indian rice to run aground. LTTE robbed the rice and removed all radio communication equipment, radar, lights and generators from the vessel. Asian Tribune reports on December 24, "Jordan Transport Ministry told the Jordanian news Agency, Petra that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) seized one of the Jordanian ships off Sri Lanka North East coast and burgled it."

In March 2007, LTTE hijacked an Indian fishing trawler “Sri Krishna” off the Moldavian waters and kept its crew hostage in Vanni. The Maldivian Coast Guard intercepted the vessel, reported missing since March 4, with a large consignment of artillery shells after LTTE cadres commandeered it and fired at the Maldivians. An Indian captain and four LTTE operatives were taken into custody by the Maldivian Coast Guard.

According to the Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from October 1994 to January 2007, ships LTTE attacked also include MV Ocean Trader, MV Sea Dancer, MV Lanka Muditha, MV Irish Mona, MV Princess Wave, MV Athena, MV Mission, MV Morang Bong, MV Princess Kash, MV Newco Endurance, MV Julia, MV Mercs Uhana, MV Pride, MV Dunhinda, MV Fu-Yuan and MV Liverpool.

In the EU-US International Seminar on LTTE held in December 2008, Mr. Ravinatha Ariyasinha, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to EU, Belgium and Luxembourg, while acknowledging the above crimes, stated, "The LTTE has engaged in acts of sea piracy. Vessels flying Philippine, Greek, Indonesian, Panamanian, Belize, Chinese, Jordanian, Cambodian and Indian flags have been at the receiving end of the LTTE’s terror."

Like Federal Agent Elliot Ness took out Chicago’s crime lord, Al Capone in the movie "The Untouchables," Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) dealt a devastating blow to the LTTE’s maritime supremacy. Had it not been for the valiant and innovative tactics of the SLN—which traveled as farther as 1620 nautical miles southeast, close to the Cocos Islands off the coasts of Australia and Indonesia, to destroy three phantom ships—sea trade in one of the busiest parts in the Indian Ocean could have been gravely compromised.

The U.S., facing a challenge from Somali pirates, should study the approach of the SLN, which tackled a much powerful adversary with approximately 25 vessels, some of which are armed with the latest weapons and packed with explosives. At a time when the LTTE is breathing its last breath, the world must take a serious note of a secessionist movement evolving out-of-bound to pose a threat to legitimate nations in the world in land, sea and air, and how the Sri Lanka’s military successfully beat it.

Power devolution and good Governance

2009-04-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

“People who value democracy, equality and equity, needs to pressure the Sri Lankan state to take immediate action towards a meaningful and just power sharing arrangement. That is the only way to ensure security and the dignity of the peoples of Sri Lanka.
If peaceful coexistence through power sharing is not achievable, the only other solution that would be available will be secession” so said Mr. Lionel Bopage, former Secretary of the original JVP.
There is a vast difference in the policy of the ORIGINAL JVP to which Mr.Lionel Bopage belongs and the policy of the present JVP.
A new concept that moves “towards a meaningful and just power-sharing arrangement” is given below for the comments of everyone.
The concept outlined is a very great deviation from normal thinking of the word “devolution” and might well fit in with his (Mr.Lionel Bopage) thinking of a meaningful and just power-sharing arranements for sustainable peace, Good Governance and a pleasant living to ALL inhabitants.
Many, who call themselves as ‘moderates’, are not willing to consider this concept which gives a certain degree of ‘power’ with ‘responsibility’ to everyone including the poor and voiceless silent majority in the country and not excluding the so-called “minorities”.
Now, one word, for those who are actually and sincerely interested in fostering a united country by supporting “devolution” as a means to achieve sustainable peace, please avoid thinking in terms of “devolution” and instead please try to think in terms of “sharing” of powers, rights, duties and responsibilities that cannot be taken back at any time by any government or individual by any method.
The best political solution would be to DILUTE the powers of all elected representatives by separating the various powers of the Parliament and empowering different sets of people’s representatives elected on different area basis to administer the different sets of separated powers. It has to be devolution HORIZONTALLY where every set of representatives would be equal and in par and NOT VERTICALLY where one set of representatives would be above the other, which is the normal adopted practice when talking of devolution, in this power-hungry world. It is because of “devolution” being evolved “vertically”, we have all the trouble in this power-hungry world. So, for sustainable peace it should not be the present form of “devolution” but “dilution of powers” or “sharing of powers” in such a way that no single or set of peoples representatives - other than the common people themselves - is superior to another. This system would eradicate injustice, discrimination, bribery and corruption - the four pillars of an evil society - and establish the “Rule of Law” and “Rule by ALL” for sustainable peace, tranquility and prosperity and a pleasant living with dignity and respect for all inhabitants in the country. Everyone must have “equal” powers, rights, duties and responsibilities and most importantly everyone should be deemed “equal” before the law not only on paper but also practically – be it the Head of State, The Chief Justice or the voiceless poor of the poorest.
A detailed version of the concept, which is quite long is given below for discussion by interested individuals with an aim to change the hearts not just a change of mind of the citizens of this country with the aim of preserving a UNITARY form of Government with every section of people from every part of the country PARTICIPATING in the GOVERNANCE OF THE COUNTRY in a practical and meaningful way. In a way it may be termed “participatory democracy”. In this system the country is NOT DIVIDED but the “powers of governance’ of the Parliament is separated and administered COLLECTIVELY by different sets of peoples representatives.

As a person with a great passion for peace and good governance, a new concept of a truly democratic system of governance with transparency has been devised that would not only contribute towards a lasting and positive peace in this country but also towards the much needed real progressive development of the entire country through good governance. This new concept is people-friendly and development oriented – the need of the day to this country as well as to all developing countries – the so-called Third World countries that intent to tap the doors of the First World
This alternative democratic system provides for the continuous participation of the people and that too in very large numbers, by expanding the present one segment parliament into a seven segment parliament functioning through a set of ‘councils’ at six different levels – as different links of a chain – sharing the different and distinct functions of the present parliament.
The members to these councils would be elected on the UN principle of one member for one country or as in the US electing two members per state irrespective of its size or population. In this new system it is, ‘an equal number of members from similar administrative areas to the same or similar council’ to provide an opportunity for representation of the people on the basis of gender, age group, trade, political ideologies and ethnicity – in the true spirit of democracy.
This new concept of representation is a refined and practical form of true democracy – true to the correct meaning of the word.
The basic salient features of the suggestions are:
1. The expansion of the present parliament of one chamber to one of seven chambers through a set of councils at six different administrative levels each with a different set of members elected from different defined and distinct areas of administration
2. Each of these Groups (Councils) would deal with one or more distinct and defined functions of the present parliament but are connected to achieve the desired aim in operation as a distinct and different links of a chain.
3. The 3rd Group (known as Regional Council) would, in addition to other functions, act as the 2nd chamber found in most countries that have a two-chamber parliament.

4. The members to these chambers (councils) would be elected on the accepted UN principle of one member for one country or as in the USA, two Senators for a State irrespective of the size or population of the country or State (administrative area). In this proposal it is an equal number of members from similar administrative areas to the same or similar chamber (council) so to provide an opportunity for representation on the basis of gender, age, trade, political ideologies and ethnicity – in the spirit of true democracy..
People must be made to realize that the installation of a truly democratic system of good governance with transparency would strengthen the economy, preserve nature and discourage fraud and mismanagement and thus benefit everybody and the whole country in the long run.
It is accepted that an ideal state of good governance cannot be achieved because there is no perfect world but to achieve an adequate level of good governance we must aim for the ideal situation. \\
This alternative democratic system provides for the continuous participation of the people through a set of ‘councils’ at six different levels – as different links of a chain – sharing the different functions of the present parliament on area basis. That is, the present parliament is expanded to accommodate seven chambers, of which the 1st and 2nd Groups have one unit each at National Level, 4th and 6th Groups have thousands of units at Village level, the 7th Group has 325 units at Divisional Level, the 5th has 25 units at District Level and the 3rd Group known as Regional Council has four units. These four units would also act like the upper chambers functioning in most countries.
The members to all these councils would be elected on the UN principle of one member for one country irrespective of its size or population. In this new system it is ‘an equal number of members from similar administrative areas to the same or similar council’ to provide an opportunity for representation of the people on the basis of gender, age group, trade, political ideologies and ethnicity – in the true spirit of democracy – with the expectation that the elected representatives would serve the people with devotion, thus ensuring the much needed peace, prosperity and happiness.
This new concept of democracy is a great deviation from the prevailing and accepted form of democracy that is in practice. Though it is difficult to change old habits, people could be persuaded to see the benefits of the new system through proper awareness programs conducted effectively and efficiently since a wide consensus of opinion is necessary to give the final touches to the envisaged new concept of a truly democratic parliament. This new concept does not encourage dictatorial attitudes of any single or group of persons, but is people-friendly and development oriented, which is the need of the day to this country as well as to all developing countries – the so-called Third world countries that intent to tap the doors of the First world.
PEACE – Some Suggestions for Discussion

SOME WAYS AND MEANS TO HELP THE PREVALENCE OF PEACE
AND
GOOD GOVERNANCE IN SRI LANKA

Current wars have to be ended and new wars have to be prevented. To achieve this goal the present system of Democratic Governance has to be changed to one that is really democratic in its true sense.
The present so-called ‘democratic system’ is a fertile ground for corruption in various forms wherein only the powerful persons with – a flair for inflammatory speech, money and muscle power – can aspire to join the “ruling class” to suppress or convert all others as their “subjects”.
In my opinion "Corruption" includes any kind of waste, neglect and every form of malpractice, dishonesty, abuse, misuse, unreasonable exercise of power, failure or refusal to exercise power, anything and everything left undone which results in the right of the people being denied or impaired.
Without a "just society" in existence much talked about "terrorism" cannot be eradicated. For the creation of a "just society" there should be "good governance" in the country. For the creation of "good governance" in the country "corruption" in ALL its forms must be eradicated. And to eradicate "corruption" of any form the present democratic system of governance, where full power to make the final decisions ultimately rests in the hands of one person, must be changed.
So the only way to salvage the country is to change the present system of governance to one that is truly democratic where the final decision-making power will NOT be in the hands of ONE person BUT shared by as many people as possible and thus restricting any hasty decisions of an individual or of one group, that might lead to trouble everywhere.
In my humble opinion to achieve peace and good governance with transparency and accountability in any country, the system of governance must be made truly democratic. The powers of the Parliament (the decision making supreme body of a country) should be split and separated and each of the separated powers must be handled by different groups of persons specifically elected and empowered by the people for the purpose of handling each set of the separated powers or duties as the case may be, so that no single group has the full power. All the groups together will make the whole. The country is not divided but the powers of parliament are divided or separated.
Different groups have to be elected for such purposes as administration, fiscal management, planning, implementing, policy and law making, auditing and for any other function that may be deemed necessary.
The group that is entrusted with the power to make laws and regulations shall not be given the duty/power of implementing/administering the laws and regulations..
Particular care should be taken to see that all powers and particularly important powers are not concentrated in one place and that they do not overlap and there must not be a secret budget to be handled by a single person bye-passing the Parliament.
All transactions should be transparent including Diplomacy which has to be diplomatically transparent.
One set of powers dealing with the development of the country should be given to the set of representatives at the village level since they know best about their requirements. The people of each and every village must be empowered to determine their way of life (lifestyle). The life-style of a village with its lands and resources is sacred to them.
All plans of development of a village or that remotely/indirectly affects the village must have the concurrence of the people of the village concerned.
It has to be ensured that people are treated equitably regardless of their gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origins, age, difference in ability, socio-economic background, religious or political beliefs and affiliations, marital status, family responsibilities, or other inappropriate distinction;
The decision-making powers with regard to as many subjects as possible must be spread through-out the country.
With such system in practice discrimination, injustice, bribery and corruption, the four pillars of an Evil society can be eradicated. When the above four pillars of Evil are eradicated, the people would be living under a system that would guarantee sustainable peace, prosperity and a pleasant living with respect and dignity to every individual in the country.
Since all political and other powers flow from the sovereignty of the people, it is proposed herein that these powers be not given to any one set of representatives but distributed among different sets of representatives (groups) of the people elected on different area basis (village and villages grouped) to perform the different, defined and distinct functions of one and the same institution - the Parliament – like the organs of our body – heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, nose, ear etc. – performing different and distinct functions to enable us to sustain normal life.
In these suggestions the powers of Parliament have been so separated and distributed among different sets of people’s representatives in different areas so as to dilute the powers of an individual representative or that of a set of representatives in any area. (Dilution is better than Devolution)

The set of representatives elected and empowered to perform a function in an area by the people of that area must be restricted to that function only and in that area only and must be forbidden from interfering with the functions entrusted to another set of representatives similarly elected and empowered.

Say a set of representatives elected and empowered to enact laws for the smooth administration of the country must be forbidden from interfering in the functions of the set of representatives elected and empowered to administer a region within those laws or in the functions of the set of representatives elected and empowered to implement approved development projects in an area, or with the functions of the set of representatives elected and empowered for the fiscal management of the country or with the functions of the representatives elected and empowered to plan the development of an area and so on and so forth in respect of other functions of the parliament.

Through this system of representation and empowerment - different sets of representatives in different areas elected and empowered by different groups of people to implement different ‘distinct and defined’ functions of one and the same parliament - "corruption" in any form and at any level cannot easily arise. If there is no "corruption" then the Rule of Law will prevail making way for peace and good governance in the country, which is the need of the inhabitants of a country.
In my humble opinion this new concept of democracy while delivering good governance would preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and guarantee the due respect and dignity of the people – both collectively and individually, who are, under the present system, treated as their “subjects” by the “ruling class”.
To be more explicit the concept is explained below:
1. A group elected and empowered or entrusted to enact laws for good governance, taxation and connected affairs (One Group functioning at National level and elected on district basis).
2. A group elected and empowered or entrusted to generally manage the finances of the country including collection and disbursement of revenue on the basis of the laws enacted by another group, national planning and connected affairs in consultation with other groups. (One Group functioning at National level and elected on regional basis).
3. Groups elected and empowered or entrusted to administer different regions of the country and approve project proposals submitted (Groups functioning at Regional level and elected on divisional basis).
4. Groups elected and empowered or entrusted with the functions to prepare and submit project proposals for confirmation (Groups functioning at Village level and elected on village basis).
5. Groups elected and empowered or entrusted to implement approved project proposals (Groups functioning at District level and elected on sub-divisional basis).
6. Groups elected and empowered or entrusted to coordinate and confirm project proposals submitted (Groups functioning at Sub-divisional level and elected on village basis).
7. Groups elected and empowered or entrusted to monitor the functions of all groups for transparency, accountability and irregularities with an eye on the elimination of corruption. (Groups functioning at Divisional level and elected on village basis).
All the above groups and individuals in the Groups enjoy parity of status as they are part and parcel of one and the same institution – the Parliament.
There is a line of thought that there are too many elections in this concept, forgetting the fact that even in the present system we have many elections. We have elections to elect an Executive President, a Parliament, nine Provincial Councils and a large number of local government institutions.
But there is a difference between the elections that are being held now and the elections proposed. In the existing system, elections are being held for four different institutions or four different establishments with the functions overlapping and connected vertically with one above or below the other – Executive President, Parliament, Provincial Councils and Pradeshiya Sabahs – and while one institution controls another, it is dependent and/or is a competitor to the institution next or all others. But in the new concept it is entirely different –different groups are elected on different area basis to perform different functions – of the same institution, the Parliament – that do not overlap and all these groups enjoy parity of status since they are connected horizontally and are part and parcel of one and the same institution – the Parliament.
There would be only one institution – the Parliament – that would satisfactorily govern the entire country and thus reduce the financial burden and cumbersome bureaucracy while increasing all round efficiency coupled with streamlined speedy development, resulting in the thunderous prosperity of the country with a pleasant and happy living to all its inhabitants
Election and Composition: Every area would be a multi-member electorate electing a minimum of two members. Members of the various Councils would be elected from among those residing within that area on “first passed the post” basis subject to gender and age group conditions being fulfilled and where necessary and possible trade, political ideologies and ethnicity being considered. The number of members of any one gender or age group shall be a minimum of 20% of the total to be elected from an area to a Council and at least one member from other ethnic minorities if they form more than 10% of the eligible voters. The members so elected would be considered as independents.. The number of elected members in a given Council – other than Groups 1, 2 & 4 – would vary from Region to Region depending on the number of sub-administrative areas in that region, governed by the principle of equal number of members to the same or similar councils from similar areas – irrespective of the size and population of the area concerned. (Same as the principle applied in the election to the Senate in the US – two members per State and in the UN one member per country).
Eligibility: No person shall be eligible to contest or to become a member of a Council if he/she had been a member of that council within the last two years immediately preceding the date of election. He/she shall be eligible to contest to any other Council. This clause shall apply to all members of his/her immediate family and only one member of a family can seek election to any of the councils at any one time. A person cannot serve for more than two terms and in more than two councils during his/her life-time.
A person while holding a ‘post’ in the government or government controlled institutions or public limited liability companies quoted in the Stock Exchange shall not be eligible to seek election to any Council.
The term: (period) of all councils shall be four years and elections should be held only once in every four years and dates to be fixed in the constitution itself as in the U.S.A. with a succession clause to fill any vacancy that might occur in between election dates.
Responsibility: Any person or group or groups of persons violating the constitution shall be personally held responsible for same and dealt with suitably.
Independent Commissions: shall be appointed for the proper administration and control of the various services that have to function independently according to laid down procedures. These commissions are accountable and answerable to the Head of State. Interference in the functions of any Commission in any way by anyone including the Head of State, Heads of Councils or any member of any Council shall be considered as a violation of the Constitution and be dealt with suitably.
Composition of Independent Commissions: Every commission shall consist of one member from each of the Regions elected jointly by the members of the Regional and other Councils of each Region. The members of both National Councils (Groups 1& 2) shall jointly elect a member of any Commission, who shall be the Chairman.
The Head of State: The Head of one Region will act as the Head of State along with the Deputy Head of another Region as the Deputy Head of State for a period one year with the Heads and Deputy Heads/Assistant Heads of the other Regions taking their turns in rotation. If the Deputy Head of one Region happens to belong to the same ethnic group as that of the Head of Region who is acting as the Head of State then the Assistant Head of that Region would act as the Deputy Head of State. The Head of State and his/her Deputy would be guided by the Executive Council in their actions and would have the powers and responsibilities similar to that of a Head of State of a country where the Parliament is supreme. (India and Malaysia might be quoted as examples.). The Head of State is accountable to the Executive Council (Group 2). In any Region, the Head of Region and the Deputy Head of Region shall not belong to the same ethnicity IF that region has a population of more than 10% belonging to other ethnicities. (This provision is slightly different from the provisions in the South African Constitution for the members of the Cabinet).
The constitution has to be amended to include the above suggestions as modified.
Please feel free to comment or request for any clarifications. Many suggestions that need consideration have been left out herein but would be included as the discussion proceeds.
Comments, objections, constructive criticisms of any short comings or defects in the above suggestions and suggesting suitable remedies to end present wars and prevent future wars are most welcome and may pleas be addressed to sie.kathieravelu@gmail.com
* * * *
The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership....a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures." - William Fulbright
* * * *
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something,
And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do,
What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the Grace of God I will do.
-- Edward Everett Hale (1822 -1909)

Letter to Mr. Richard Boucher

2009-04-17T17:45:00.000-04:00

April 17th, 2009

Phone: 202.736-4325
Fax: 202. 736.4333

Richard Boucher
Assistant Secretary Bureau of South & Central Asian Affairs
SCA/FO 6254
Harry S. Truman Building
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Sir,

We are writing as members of Sri Lankans for Peace, a US-based organization which was formed to coordinate the work of the Sri Lankan diaspora in America to advance the cause of justice in Sri Lanka.

We read the press release from your office regarding your meeting, along with Ambassador Bake, with members of the American Tamil community. We were heartened to learn that you share our own interest in the humanitarian efforts being undertaken within Sri Lanka and our concern for the plight of civilians still trapped in the 20 square mile no-fire zone established by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), and which is currently occupied by the LTTE.

We were very disturbed, therefore, by the hard stance taken by the US state department in the statement issued on 16th April 2009 on Sri Lanka, that called for an immediate cessation to the rescue operations conducted by the SL Army. It is puzzling as to why the US State Department believes that the LTTE will allow the civilians to move out of the safe zone if the Government halts operations. It was clear during the 48 hour ceasefire that there was a remarkable drop in the number of civilians who could flee the no-fire zone. This is a fact verified in a statement issued by John Holmes, the United Nations’ Emergency Relief Coordinator in Sri Lanka, and included in today’s report in the NYT. It has also been discovered that the LTTE subjected civilians to immense hardships by
forcing them to build military fortifications during this ceasefire.

As the longest serving Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs within the State Department, we are certain that you have seen, first-hand, the way in which information can be mishandled and misused by people who are invested in the proliferation of conflict. As Spokesman for the State Department under both Secretary Albright and Secretaries Powell and Rice, you must have been intimately familiar with the way inadequate, incorrect and, sadly, deliberately skewed, information lead to one of the most devastating foreign wars of our time which continues to wreak destruction in American and Iraqi families to this date. While the administration was predominantly at fault, we also place the blame on the shoulders of those members of the Iraqi diaspora here whose own self-interest and malicious propaganda added fuel to the conflagration.

As distinguished members of our own professional, academic and civic communities here, we are well aware of the power we have to shape the opinions of people who have never visited Sri Lanka. Rather than abuse that privilege, we consider it a sacred trust that we treat our fellow American citizens as well as our government as partners who deserve to hear the truth, even when that truth may not reflect well upon the government or the citizens of the country of our birth. We also take our responsibility as individuals who have the ability to assist Sri Lanka, both through our moral and financial support, very seriously. As such, we strive to obtain the most accurate, verifiable information from a variety of personal and non-governmental sources on the ground including information from former colleagues, family members and professionals deeply involved in relief efforts within the camps that are holding IDPs.

We are committed to being full participants in the ongoing discussions regarding Sri Lanka, and we humbly request that you meet with us at your earliest convenience to discuss the ways in which we might best assist you in your endeavor to participate as a positive force in the current crisis within Sri Lanka. We rest assured that you will be interested in offering parity of status to all foreign-born ethnic groups within the United States. Our own group consists of Sinhalese and Tamil citizens and guests of this country, a feature that speaks to our effort to be inclusive in our work here even as we seek to foster inclusive political solutions within Sri Lanka.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Sri Lankans for Peace

How the Tamil Tigers have become involved in piracy

2009-04-16T11:40:00.000-04:00

By Pam Uher

The Tamil Tigers are not a species of endangered cats; instead they are a notorious band of violent terrorists (acknowledged as such by over 30 countries in the world) that are based in northern Sri Lanka. They originally founded their organization in 1976, as a secessionist movement that seeks to create an independent Tamil state in the north of Sri Lanka [PBS Frontline, 2002]. Today they are commonly referred to as the LTTE or "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam".

The LTTE are a very well organized militant group known for extremely violent attacks on civilians as well as carrying out assassinations of Sri Lankan and Indian officials. This group is also associated with the recruiting of young children as soldiers and is given credit for being the first to use the "suicide belt" bomb. They are also known to use women frequently as suicide bombers in their terrorist attacks. It has been reported by the media (PBS among others) that LTTE has delivered actual more suicide bombings than many other terrorist groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda.

What does this militant terrorist group have to do with piracy? The structure of this organization has 3 divisions: military, political and monetary. It is a branch of the military division called the "SEA TIGERS", which was started in 1984, that has a piracy connection. This naval branch of the LTTE is said to have over 2,000 troops and is a force to be reckoned with on the high seas near and around Sri Lanka. The Woodrow Wilson School of Politics and International Studies has reported that this elite terrorist naval unit has "destroyed 35- 50 percent of the Sri Lankan Navy. But they also are reported to be engaged in piracy on the open international seas; hijacking various ships or diverse origin since 1995 to the present day.

They especially like to target freighters carrying goods they can make high profit selling on the world "black market". Once they take over these vessels, cargo and crew disappear, often without a trace. Chinese, Malaysian, Jordanian and Indian ships have been the target of the Tamil Sea Tigers during the past 20 years. The LTTE Sea Tigers fear no nation on the high seas, it seems and they have made a grave impact upon trade routes with their acts of piracy.

Once a ship is hijacked this vicious group of terrorists kill the crew, take the goods and sometimes sink the vessel or make it a so called "phantom vessel", incorporating it into their fleet. In the 1990's nations tried to negotiate with the LTTE pirates, but usually to no avail. They are clever and violent using aircraft and speed boats loaded with explosives to pirate vessels of their choice. The Indian press reports new alarming information about their activities that has the American authorities very tight mouthed: reports that within marine wing of the LTTE, they are trying to develop homemade submarines, in order to expand their activities of smuggling and piracy. It is also known several submarine type ships were caught carrying large cocaine shipments from Columbia and Costa Rica to the U.S. mainland in the past several years were manned by LTTE Sea Tigers (2006, 3 tons of cocaine confiscated in international water off the coast of Coast Rica.)

The Sri Lankan military has been actively carrying out operations to shut down the LTTE Pirates and sea bases in northern Sri Lanka. Their success with naval blockages and land attacks on Sea Tiger Base Camps has been documented in the International News Media in February and March of 2009. These military surges, by the Sri Lankan military have captured many Sea Tiger speed boats (used as bomb craft when attacking on the open seas) and submersibles used by the terrorists during the water raids. On February 8, 2009, the SLAF (Sri Lankan Air Force) reported to the Press that the Sea Tiger leader had been killed and the terrorist main sea command post destroyed.
Piracy supports the terrorist agenda for the LTTE through the expansive network of the Sea Tigers military division. No nation is safe from their high seas piracy and terror, for they do not have boundaries on their violent actions. Their mission is clear: pillage, plunder, kill, destroy and create havoc, until they are in control of Sri Lanka. If they ever get control of Sri Lanka territories will their piracy stop then? Probably not, as it has been a very profitable venture over the past 25 years that has funded their terrorism and allowed the leaders to grow rich.

Dr. Upasiri Silva's Personal Account of Discrimination in Sri Lanka

2009-03-11T23:15:00.000-04:00

Posted by Sanjeewa Karunaratne

I joined the Public Works Department of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon ) in 1956 September 15th. The intake had more Tamils, but only 7 Sinhalese and one Muslim. The then PWD was full of Tamils and Sinhalese comprised not more than 10%. Not only PWD, Irrigation Department, Police Department and Health Department were the other major government departments where Tamils dominated. According to the statistics, the University of Colombo, Peradeniya and the Medical College were completely dominated by Tamils.

Referring to the 1956 Sinhala Only Act, it is a mistaken belief that Tamils got discriminated from that Bill.

1956 Sinhala Only Act was suspended indefinitely, the same day it was passed in the Parliament by PM (late) SWRD Bandaranayke by a special Gazette notification and the use of Sinhala was not systematically used till I left Sri Lanka in 1973. Because the use of Sinhala was suspended indefinitely Tamil Public servants never had any trouble in working in English. 1958 riots were not due to the Sinhala only Act, but due to introduction of Sinhala "SRI" by the Minister of Transport, Hon. Marickkar (a.k.a Sinhala Marickkar). Introduction of "SRI" was never accepted by the Tamils for Vehicle registration.

All Sinhalese Officers were supposed to sit for a Tamil Examination and be proficient in Tamil to get their next promotion and those who refused to sit but got qualified in Tamil got full pension under the Official Language Act. Vice versa, it was compulsory for Tamils also to sit for the Sinhala proficiency examination to continue in the service. Every one who passed these examination were paid Rs. 500 a princely sum at that time. Most Burger Officers refused to sit for these examinations and they got the full pension and migrated to other countries especially to Australia. Most Sinhalese and Tamils also took the full pension and joined the private sector.

Till I left Sri Lanka in 1973, in the Department of Buildings and the Department of Highways (PWD was separated in 1968) most Engineers and Technical officers were Tamils. In the District Hospital at Balapitiya and Pollwatte in Ambalangoda, where I come from, I never came across a Sinhalese Doctor till my departure. My promotion in the PWD was delayed by a Tamil Director for 4 years as he placed Tamils on top of the list as Seniority played a major role in the promotions.

The statement that Sinhalese discriminated against Tamils never happened in SL in 1956, but after 1973 when the Sinhalese people became the majority position holders in the government. But the private sector was still dominated by the Tamils. Even today Tamils have a fair share of the positions in the government sector but their share in the Private sector is more than in the government sector. I am well aware of this as I worked in Sri Lanka from 2005 up to 2007 as a Consultant. Now, in Colombo we have more Tamils than Sinhalese. Sinhalese are the third majority in the Western Province.

Special Forces and Navy Turning the Tide

2009-03-09T00:33:00.001-04:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

If you want to defeat a terrorist organization, talk in a language they understand as done by the Sri Lankan government. In civility, it is difficult and seems “war time excess” or even as a violation of “human rights,” of course, scores of innocents daily killed by suicide attacks may not come within the purview of “human rights,” according to some experts. But desperate times call for desperate measures. It is ludicrous for countries harnessing terrorist’s supports to advocate peaceful settlements with single-minded terrorists, who would neither settle nor compromise. SL Government with over twenty five years of experience in warfare understood this simple fact and met eye-to-eye with the LTTE. This is a story about two innovative military tactics that changed the course of the civil war in Sri Lanka.

The deployment of special forces (SF) units by the SL Army to attack the enemy within its territory created chaos in the insurgency. Confronted by an enemy adept at using terrain to mask movement thereby leaving conventional forces blind to their intentions, it was only natural that the military should create a capability to monitor and disrupt deep within the enemy-held territory. From saturation patrols along the de-facto LTTE-held border to near-suicide missions and compromised positions in the always dangerous LTTE heartland, these units unflinchingly “walk the razor’s edge” every day and has became one of the most respected and most feared illusive battalion in the history of the of the separatist war.

Infamously called the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU)—later reformed as the Mahasohon brigade, following a politically motivated exposure—mirrored terrorist’s strategies. When, in the other parts of the country, LTTE was freely eliminating Tamil and Sinhalese leadership, these small, highly-trained, heavily-armed squads took the war to terrorist’s backyard. LTTE leaders such as Charles (head of military intelligence), Amaran (deputy head of sea tigers), Shaker (head of air tigers), Nizaam (head of the LTTE’s Batticaloa-Amparai political wing) and Mano (eastern zone communications chief) were killed, while Balraj (deputy military commander of the LTTE who later died of a heart attack), S.P. Thamilchelvan (political wing chief who was later killed by a precision air strike) and Susai (head of sea tigers) escaped miraculously.

Success of the special forces was the single most reason LTTE resumed peace talks in 2002.

Change is taking place in the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) as well. Two new units were created: the SBS (Special Boats Squadron) and the RABS (Rapid Action Boat Squadron). Theses are SLN’s elite forces, possessing high levels of physical fitness and advanced training in both land and sea warfare tactics.

New and improved SLN was no match for the LTTE’s sea tigers. In 2006, the SLN had 21 encounters with the Sea Tigers, with up to 30 craft on each side engaged in battles lasting up to 14 hours. A year later, number of encounters had fallen to 11; in 2008 just four encounters with the Sea Tigers were registered by the SLN.

The Small Boats Concept effectively copied the Sea Tigers’ asymmetric tactics (swarm tactics of overwhelming Dvoras by a fleet of smaller suicide boats), but on a much larger scale. The SLN started to use large numbers of small high-speed, heavily-armed inshore patrol craft (IPC) to outnumber the LTTE suicide boats and overwhelm them during battle. Hundreds of indigenously produced armed fiberglass IPCs have been built by the SLN within months to apply this strategy.

Although the Small Boats Concept proved essential in beating the Sea Tiger battle units along the coast of Sri Lanka, a significant quantity of military hardware was supplied to the LTTE by its floating warehouses—ships which had no name, national flag or port of registry. These ships loiter about 1,500–2,000 km from Sri Lanka and then advance to within 300–400 km of the coast to transfer armaments to LTTE-operated fishing trawlers, which were escorted by the Sea Tiger fighting cadres and suicide boats.

Using human and tactical intelligence, the SLN uncovered the locations of eight warehouse ships and engaged them using OPVs (Offshore Patrol Vessels) with improvised weapons. SLN destroyed the first warehouse ship on 17 September 2006, 120 nautical miles east of Sri Lanka. A further three warehouse ships were sunk in early 2007. Operations against the warehouse fleet culminated in a mission that saw an SLN force steam 1,620 nautical miles southeast, close to the Cocos Islands off the coasts of Australia and Indonesia, to destroy three ships on 10–11 September 2007 and a fourth ship, which had escaped the initial action, three weeks later on 7 October. SLN finally got rid of eight floating warehouses and eleven logistic trawler fleet maintained by the LTTE.

With the Small Boats Concept finding success in sea battles against the Sea Tigers, use of Dvora FAC (Fast Attack Crafts) squadrons to gain sea control and deployment of OPVs to attack warehouse ships, the SLN successfully outperformed the LTTE. Says Vice-Adm Karannagoda, “It was one of the major turning points of the war that has been going on for the last 30 years.”

We, as a nation, are grateful to the valiant soldiers of the Army Commando Regiments, Army Special Forces Regiments, the Navy Special Squadrons, the Air Force Special Force and the Police Special Task Force, who went on near-suicide missions to bring peace to the country. All of these are small organizations, full of carefully selected strong, well-trained and resilient men (and a few women) that delivered a serious blow to the LTTE.

Source: Jane’s Navy International

The forwarded mail-Myth of Tamil Eelam

2009-02-25T23:33:00.000-05:00

> I had lunch with a certain Mr Arunachalam, an Indian Tamil from Madras .
> The conversation that took place prompted me to write this.
> >
> > Sri Lanka is a place for all of us to live in harmony. If anyone,
> >especially the Tamil diaspora thinks that Sri Lanka should be ethnically
> >divided, then, the following is food for though for you. This is also good
> >for those LTTE sympathisers in our country as well as around the world:
> >
> >Your claim: Sri Lanka is the only place for Tamil Ealam
> >
> >Fact: Sri Lanka is the ONLY place in the world for the Sinhala race and
> >the Veddahs. Whether you like it or not, they have the right to this land
> >before anyone else. Tamils, on the other hand, have the historical right
> >to Tamil Nadu – and that is where the only Ealam Dreamland should be. Or
> >you may consider Singapore , Malaysia , Canada , Germany , England or
> > Australia – they have been pampering you well, haven't they?
> >
> >Claim: North and East are the historical Tamil Homeland
> >
> >Fact: If you think the North and East belonged to the Tamils historically,
> >think twice. Read the history of Sri Lanka – the truth, not the rubbish
> >you teach in Tamil schools in Germany . Visit Anuradhapura and look at the
> >moonstones: Lankan civilisation began in the North (not in the South) and
> >the Buddhists were there before the Tamils. Many places of worship of
> >significant importance for Buddhists still lie in the North and East,
> >including places such as Nagadveepa and
> >Thiriyaya – which is said to have
> >been built containing relics of the lord Buddha.
> >
> >Only during the Polonnaruwa regime that the cow was removed from the
> >moonstone as a result of the Hindu influence. That's the first time ever
> >the Cholas set foot in our island – so how dare you claim that the North
> >and East are the "traditional" land of the Tamils?
> >
> >Claim: Sinhala Buddhists are committing a Genocide in Sri Lanka
> >(Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in
> >part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.)
> >
> >Fact: There were Sinhala and Muslim communities living in the North and
> >East – not so long ago. Where are they now? Who has systematically
> >eliminated them, chased them out of their own homes? Who has chopped the
> >heads off the infants, split opened pregnant mothers, stamped their wombs,
> >killed every Sinhala person in sight and torched their villages?
> >
> >Starting from the Kent Farm and Model Farm, the Tamil extremists have
> >eliminated the Sinhala and Muslim communities from the North (and tried in
> >the East too); they attacked temples and mosques, brutally executing
> >monks, priests and innocent people while they were praying. From
> >Aranthalawa, Dimbulagala and Sri Maha Bodhiya to Kandy , the barbaric LTTE
> >terrorists didn't even spare a temple or a mosque. It's the Tamil
> >terrorists committing genocide in Sri Lanka , not anyone else!
> >
> >Claim: Tamils are discriminated in Sri Lanka
> >
> >Fact: A person from the majority Sinhalese cannot buy a piece of land in
> >the North (prevented by a pact), but the Tamils can buy land anywhere in
> >the country. Statistically speaking, Tamils are occupying more than their
> >share in universities, in the civil service, the government and even in
> >the private sector. From Sea Street to 4th Cross Street , there are
> certain
> >trades and industries that "belong" to the Tamils, and no Sinhala or
> >Muslim merchant can penetrate that. A closer look at the transformation of
> > Colombo and its suburbs will make any pea-brain understand who is having
> a better life and who is being pushed aside from the capital city. From
> >Paskaralingam to Kadirgamar to Muralitharan, there are millions of Tamils
> >who have flourished in this country. It is the Sinhala students who cannot
> >attend the Jaffna University or the Eastern University , while the Tamil
> >students enjoy their rights all over the country, including the Peradeniya
> >University in the heartland of the Sinhala Buddhists. Even in Colombo , a
> >Sinhala student is not admitted to any Tamil school, while all the Sinhala
> >schools accept Tamil students.
> >
> > From education, to civil service, to businesses and private sector, to
> > land-ownership in Colombo – Tamils are enjoying more than their fair
> > share. How would it be possible if there is so-called discrimination
> > against Tamils in Sri Lanka ?
> >
> >Claim: Sri Lankan regime has failed to take care of the North and the East
> >
> >Fact: Jaffna had been almost on par with Colombo at one time, a thriving
> >cosmopolitan – the second capital of Sri Lanka – before the troubles
> >began. There are many provinces and districts that have been forgotten by
> >the ruling parties – North and East aren't at the top of that list. Uva,
> >for example did not even have a university until 2 or 3 years ago;
> >Moneragala district is the most deprived in the entire country. The
> >governments have always favoured the Tamils – in order to keep their
> >votes, and as a result, they have been enjoying better benefits than the
> >others in Sri Lanka .
> >
> >Claim: Tamils get hassled and harassed by the security checks
> >
> >Fact: The Sinhalese, the Muslims, the Burghers – we all get woken up in
> >the wee hours of the morning, during search operations; we all get our
> >bags, baggage and vehicles checked, we all get harassed – that's the price
> >the innocent people pay for the environment the stupid LTTE has created.
> >Anyone who fails to produce valid identification or reasonable evidence
> >for whereabouts would get into trouble – unless you are a foreigner (they
> >are the privileged ones in paradise). There are Sinhala and Muslim
> >informants on the LTTE payroll too, so everyone is a 'suspect' at a
> >checkpoint. We all go through the same hassle, same agony. But then again,
> >you hardly visit Sri Lanka , so what would you know?
> >
> >Claim: Sinhalese Buddhists are at War with the Tamils
> >
> >Fact: Nope, we aren't. If we did, there wouldn't have been any Tamils
> >living outside LTTE-controlled areas. Majority of the Tamil population is
> >living outside the LTTE grip; living amongst the other ethnicities in
> >harmony. Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is at war with the terrorists,
> >just like some other democracies around the world. Some LTTE propaganda
> >agents substitute GoSL with Sinhalese Buddhists and LTTE with the Tamils,
> >to leverage certain situations in their favour.
> >
> >Claim: Some Sinhala Extremist Parties are spreading Sinhala-only
> ideologies
> >
> >Fact: Yes, there are extremist elements such as Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU
> >trans. National Sinhala Heritage) – which came to being to counter the
> >extremists such as the LTTE under a political mandate. Tamil extremism is
> >over 50 years old in Sri Lanka while JHU isn't even 10 years old. JHU,
> >being an extremist, has almost zero influence on the average civil
> >society. Tamils, on the other hand, have "erased" Sinhala from their areas
> >(only Tamil and English exist on the sign boards from the North – out of
> >sight, out of mind?) while the rest of the country treats Tamil as one of
> >the official languages.
> >
> >Now, who is being extreme and who is breeding extremism in this country?
> >
> >Claim: Sri Lankan Government has no option but to negotiate with the LTTE
> >
> >Fact: Sri Lankan Government did not negotiate with the Sinhala Buddhist
> >uprisings in the early 70's and the late 80's. The Sinhala terrorists were
> >captured, tortured and killed – and their heads decorated the roadside
> >fences. Their burning bodies were seen in almost every street corner every
> >morning, and over 50,000 youth are still missing to date. That was the
> >Sinhala Buddhist government taking care of the Sinhala Buddhist youth who
> >terrorised the country. The government does NOT have to negotiate with
> >terrorists. The Sri Lankan governments have been too nice, and tolerant,
> >to the Tamil terrorists all these years.
> >
> >Claim: The international community has a right to involve in the Sri
> >Lankan situation
> >
> >Fact: The international community has already banned the LTTE – a terror
> >outfit and its sister-concerns. Not even India can ecourage terrorism or
> >division anymore; they too have Mumbai and Kashmir on their agenda. Sadly,
> >it is only a few misguided Tamil businessmen and individuals who support
> >the LTTE around the world trying to lobby a voice for lost cause – they
> >hardly quantify or qualify as the "international community." BBC and the
> >gullible British elements don't qualify either.. You too will soon see the
> >truth and realise that the Ealam dream was nothing but a painful
> nightmare.
> >
> >Claim: LTTE is the only and true voice of the Tamil people
> >
> >Fact: LTTE does not represent the true Tamils of this country. If they
> >did, why would they eliminate EPRLF, EPDP, EROS and TULF? Weren't they
> >representing Tamils too? Why would they kill any Tamil voice that was
> >against the LTTE agenda – no matter how big or small the person was? From
> >innocent villagers who were labelled as "traitors" to great statesmen like
> >Lakshaman Kadirgamar, LTTE has killed thousands of its own kith and kin
> >that they were "supposedly" protecting. In fact, the LTTE has killed more
> >innocent Tamils than the number of LTTE militants killed by the Sri Lankan
> >Security Forces. LTTE is not the true voice or the protector of the Tamils
> >in Sri Lanka . It's just the opposite.
> >
> >Claim: LTTE is protecting the civilians in their area, if they get out,
> >they would be killed by the Sri Lankan Security Forces. (Also according to
> >LTTE and the BBC)
> >
> >Fact: Almost all the Tamils in Sri Lanka – except for the ones who are
> >trapped in the current War Zone – live outside the LTTE influence. How
> >come they are not killed? If over 90% of the Tamils are living outside the
> >LTTE held areas, in harmony with the rest of the Sri Lankans, protected
> >and freely, what are they talking about? They would be killed by the
> >military advance if they DON'T leave the LTTE-held areas soon enough.
> >
> >Claim: Sri Lanka failed to recognise the demands of the Tamils and never
> >offered a political solution
> >
> >Fact: Sri Lanka did, but sadly the Tamils didn't recognise the power they
> >had in their hands. The country switched from a 225-seater parliament that
> >represented an MP per electorate to the Provincial Council System to
> >satisfy the demands of the Tamils. This may not have been perfect, but it
> >was a very good beginning. North and East were combined and offered in a
> >silver platter to the terrorist leader twice, but he refused to enter the
> >political stream. LTTE rejected democracy and took up arms, not once, not
> >twice, but many a times. Every "Cease-Fire" ended in LTTE regrouping,
> >re-arming and murdering hundreds of Sinhalese – the Tamil Diaspora that
> >has never set foot in the island should use their brains to understand why
> >the LTTE were NOT acting for the benefit of the ordinary Tamils.
> >
> > Sri Lanka would have been better off without the high-maintenance
> >Provincial Council System – with a leaner, meaner, accountable and more
> >responsible Parliament. Today we have a white elephant – created for the
> >Tamils, but fed by the rest of the Sri Lankans.
> >
> >We were a resourceful nation in South Asia, ahead of Singapore on the
> >development curve, once upon a time. Thanks to the idiotic ideologies and
> >stupidities of LTTE, the whole country has gone back in time – in to the
> >stone ages. The roads are still the same width as it were 30 years ago,
> >the currency has depreciated from Rs 16.00 to a US Dollar in 1978 to
> >almost Rs 114.00 to a US Dollar today – a whopping 712% in just 30 years!
> >The country is filled with the maimed and the war-victims – a huge burden
> >on the welfare system for the next few generations to come. Emotional
> >scars would take another zillion years to heal; and I could write another
> >million ways the war has crippled our Paradise .

Self-immolation, LTTE and contradictions…

2009-02-23T00:06:00.000-05:00

Using materials with courtesy and approval of the “Death by Fire” author, Rover
By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

Several hardcore LTTE supporters recently self-immolated: one person in Switzerland and two in Tamil Nadu died, and one man in London was injured. Evidence is not available as to whether these self-immolators were former LTTE suicide cadres. Anyway, these acts were in support of the LTTE who is now facing an imminent military annihilation at the hands of the Sri Lanka defense forces.

There is enormous and constant social pressure from the LTTE leadership toward its members to support the LTTE, and this includes facilitating (or forcing) self-immolation. This too has been prevalent throughout its history. One of the main reasons for the west to ban this organization was the harassment of the Diaspora by the LTTE like this.

One of the most famous acts of recorded self-immolation was when Thich Quan Duc, a Mahayana Vietnamese Buddhist monk burned himself in protest of the mal-treatment that was inflicted upon the clergy by the Ngo Dinh Deim’s government and renouncing the occupation of the U.S. troops in Vietnam. In another case, a University of California (at San Diego) student burned himself in protest of the active presence of US troops in Vietnam. There are numerous cases of self-immolation to express renouncement.

Self-immolation is a very popular Hindu practice of devotion or Sati, where a new widow jumps into the burning pier of her dead husband. This practice has now been banned in India and was never condoned by Mahabarata (a prominent Hindu religious text). In another case of devotion, with the schism of the Russian church, entire villages of the orthodoxy (Russian Orthodox Church) burned themselves and termed it “Baptism Fire.” This is just one example out of many, especially by fundamentalist religious sects, for who practiced mass self- immolation to express devotion.

Self-immolation is also prevalent in India for hard to believe more mundane reasons to do with public figures. For example, a man burned himself when Tamil movie superstar Rajinikanth’s marriage was not doing well in the 1980s. In another instance when Muthuvel Karunanidhi the present chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was arrested by his rival M.G. Ramachandran in 1981, eleven Tamil people burned themselves to express devotion to Karunanidhi. Though these men burned themselves predominantly in devotion to the leader, they were also renouncing his arrest - so both devotion and renouncement. Though primitive in nature, the South Indian practice of elevating political leaders, movie stars and cricketers to the level of gods equates self- immolation to blind devotion and makes it a psychological possibility. LTTE exploits the tendency of self-immolation for the leader: the reason Black Tigers get to dine with Prabhakaran as a graduation gift or before an attack.

Curiously, some Hindus and some sects of Christians practice localized immolation to show devotion to their respective gods. A sect of French Jesuits burns parts of their bodies (thigh, foot, palms ect.) in devotion for the pain that Jesus felt when he was crucified. Similarly, devotees of Hindu God, Skanda Kumar walk across burning charcoal to express devotion.

Self-immolation to curse someone: This is little known, but at least two groups of people in India, the Charans and Rajputs self-immolate to bring a curse upon someone who had perpetrated a foul deed upon them (or their people). Both these groups are North Indian Aryan (not South Indian Dravidian) sects that are renowned for their martial abilities. Interestingly, they perform self-immolation only against a closely-related entity faced with a distantly related foe. This character is important in relation to the LTTE. Because unlike the Charnas and Rajputs of India, who are North Indian Aryans, it seems this is the first time that Dravidians have indulged in the practice of cursing through immolation to a significant level. So LTTE is yet again innovative in an unenviable way, in giving the Dravidians a foul name.

The contradictions continue. LTTE supporters self-immolate to a) show devotion to its leader V. Prabhakaran, who has killed more Tamils than the Sri Lankan government b) renounce the government, which has more Tamils under its umbrella than the LTTE c) curse the Sinhalese, who have suffered immensely at the hands of the LTTE and have nothing against the Tamil people.

LTTE pioneered the death by fire by unleashing their trademark suicide attacks; therefore, fire is part and parcel of its modus operandi. Rumors are circulating that the rest of the leaders of the LTTE may self-immolate before being captured by the government forces. As primitive as themselves, as contradictory as their deeds, as cruel as their acts, it is not a surprise if they opt to do so, and it may do some justice to the thousands of innocent civilians who have fried in the fires of the LTTE suicide bombers.

M.I.A. in the USA: An Oscar for a bin Laden Next?

2009-02-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

by Ru Freeman

A few hours ago, two aircraft flown by a terrorist group, LTTE, recognized as such by the US, were foiled in their attempt to attack the Sri Lankan capitol of Colombo. Thought both planes were shot down, two civilians were killed and forty-six others injured.

In an article in the New Yorker, (Jane Mayer, ‘The Hard Cases,' New Yorker, 2/23/09), argues that the Obama administration faces the tough choice of closing Guantanamo Bay and other detention centers holding so-called enemy combatants who have never been charged with a crime, and being accused of going easy on future terrorists. There is the old argument that it is entirely possible to take an ordinary civilian and transform them into a terrorist simply by treating them as such, for what else but revenge might occupy the mind of an innocent human in solitary confinement for five years. But that is hindsight. The task now is to proceed with cautious speed toward justice and that requires the reassessment of definitions of "enemy combatants" and the multiple layers of incarceration, torture and prosecution that defined the Bush era.

But as Neal Katyal, the new Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Justice Department (i.e. the person authorized to represent the government before the Supreme Court), and the President find their way toward the surprisingly broad line that separates the terrorist from the person or group with a justifiable grievance, there is another issue that Americans as a whole, particularly American liberals, need to confront: their relationship to minorities, particularly as it pertains to the classification of terrorists.

America's checkered past viz-a-viz its own minorities has made it both capable of massive collective goodness (i.e. two and a half years of working toward the election of a man with solid foreign-resident credentials and a name that echoes America's chosen anti-Christ, bin Laden), and equally all-encompassing myopia. Liberal Americans have, for decades, made the usually, but regrettably not reliably, flawless argument that minority status confers upon that minority the right to unquestioned support and a corner on the market on truth. President Obama, himself fairly and squarely a minority, owes his success not merely to the fact that he has done what most minorities have to do in order to achieve the kind of respect he enjoys, i.e. be above reproach in terms of his integrity and intellect, but also to the fact that he has had the courage to disassociate and even condemn those aspects or arguments of a minority group which he finds to be untruthful.

But the rest of America is still catching up, and none slower than its mainstream media, which has been awash with a new found enthusiasm for throwing the word "genocide" at the Sri Lankan government. Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, comprises of a Sinhalese majority, and Tamil, Moslem and mixed-race (of European descent), minorities. Sri Lankan schools are required, by law, to teach each child his/her own religion no matter the denomination of the school, and Sri Lankans live, study, work and exist in harmony in the entire island (about the size of Maine), except in a small area controlled by the Tamil Tigers, a separatist terrorist organization. To be absolutely clear, the Tigers (LTTE), are a group of Tamils, but all Tamils are not members nor supporters of the LTTE and 95% of all Tamils live among Sinhalese and Moslems away from the LTTE.

But none of these facts were part of a series of articles in the Boston Globe. Not in the one calling for the Obama Administration to ask for a UN Council Resolution to call for a cease-fire and for Asian powers to stop funding the Sri Lankan government. Nor the one it ran an about an expatriate kid fasting American style (with the help of Gatorade and vitamins), to bring attention to the "plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka." Nor the opinion piece salaciously titled ‘Genocide in Sri Lanka,' by Bruce Fein, a former deputy attorney-general, who claimed that the state department lists Sri Lanka as a "potential as an investigatory target in the Office of War Crimes," but forgot to mention that the same State Department lists the LTTE as a terrorist organization, moved to freeze the assets of LTTE operatives here in the United States, imposed that decision as recently as last week on yet another American front for the LTTE, and, by the way, shut down all funding from Americans and Canadians to the LTTE, all moves which forced the LTTE to suddenly begin peace talks in 2002.

Swift on the heels of all this was a PBS Tavis Smiley segment (he for whom Obama was just not black enough), dedicated to Mathangi Arulpragasam, the niece of Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the LTTE, and daughter of Arula, the leader of a secondary LTTE organization, both criminals and terrorists condemned by the international community. Tavis Smiley ought to have known what was coming, but that would have entailed actually doing some research, and not make the assumptions, as most liberals do, that a person speaking from a minority perspective must automatically be right.

Mathangi Arulpragasam, who goes by the name M.I.A., has been denied a visa to the enter the United States in the past due to her terrorist connections, but is now a resident of Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. MIA was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar for her song on the current flavor of the month, Slumdog Millionaire which is traveling at breakneck speed toward an Oscar flush. She used her segment on Tavis Smiley to make the statement that she is the spokesperson, the only one!, for the Tamils of Sri Lanka, discrediting the thousands of articulate and frankly more informed and far less dubious Tamils who can speak both for Tamils and Sri Lanka, and, with the connivance of Smiley, continued to accuse the Sri Lankan government of engaging in genocide, that it was "trying to make Tamils extinct," that it had "an army of millions" and that Tamils weren't being "allowed to live" in Sri Lanka. Suffice to say that anybody with a computer and internet access - both of which, I'm positive, aren't denied to Mr. Smiley - could have confirmed the ludicrousness of these pronouncements. The UN, UNHCR and the Red Cross, let alone the Sri Lankan government, have released statements regarding the continued terrorism of the LTTE and its murdering of Tamil civilians before they can cross into the safety zones being maintained by the Sri Lankan government and the Red Cross. UN Human Rights reports regarding its forced recruitment of child soldiers and women as well as international aid workers, are also easily accessed.

Why then did the Tavis Smiley show leave it to Michael Getler, the ombudsman of NPR to make a public apology regarding the conduct of this interview? Why was there no public apology from Tavis Smiley himself but for a forced follow-up segment, thanks to the flood of protests, with the Sri Lankan government? Before the Oscar board decides to take the path of inanity displayed by Tavis Smiley on his show, it might do well to replay the album Piracy Funds Terrorism to which MIA refused to add a disclaimer (regarding her overt support of terrorism), which also contains the song ‘Sunshowers' which refers to suicide bombs ("and some showers I'll be aiming at you") Unless, of course, there's a super-talented rapper niece of Osama bin Laden's singing about killing 2,000 Americans in NYC that they are willing to embrace into the fold.

MIA's music is catchy and should win whatever it deserves. And America is certainly a place where the underdog story, however fictional, guarantees sales. Witness the number of music artists who "authenticate" themselves with borrowed street-creds in order to sell the music they write in nice upper class suburbs. But the idea that the same Hollywood that helped Barack Obama into office is offering M.I.A. the second national platform she said, on the Smiley show, she wants, is to wonder if the America that elected Obama is truly ready for the kind of discernment, self-correction and intelligence that characterizes the man himself.

(Ru Freeman is an author and activist. Her political journalism and cultural criticism has appeared internationally. Her novel, A Disobedient Girl, will be published in English and in translation in July, 2009.)

Genocide in Sri Lanka? Reply to Bruce Fein

2009-02-19T23:37:00.000-05:00

Several recent articles in the Boston Globe have loudly and authoritatively alleged that a systematic genocide of Tamil civilians is currently taking place in Sri Lanka. Most notable of these is a recent op-ed piece published in the Globe on February 15th by Mr. Bruce Fein. Given the magnitude and gravity of such accusations –primarily leveled against two central figures of the Sri Lankan regime – it is highly problematic that these damaging claims have been backed with little substance and instead littered with factual inaccuracies and inflammatory language.
The term genocide is remarkably evocative and arouses in people extraordinarily powerful emotions. It is a word that is forever associated with the horrors of Hitler, the unfathomable brutality of Pol Pot and the systematic extermination of the Rwandan Tutsis. As such, the term genocide tends to be used liberally in an effort to indelibly stain an opponent’s reputation and credibility. We believe that the Sri Lankan Government has fallen foul of such a calculated and slanderous campaign of misinformation; hence, we seek to address some of these charges here.
Mr. Fein accuses successive Sinhalese regimes of attempting to make Sri Lanka ‘Tamil Free’. We challenge Mr. Fein to provide evidence of a single case where a mainstream Sri Lankan politician has uttered such despicable claims. We also find such a claim absurdly delusional given that almost half of all Tamils in Sri Lanka reside in areas outside of the region claimed by the separatist LTTE as its ‘homeland’. We can’t help but wonder why so many Tamils would continue to remain in Colombo and other southern cities right in the midst of their alleged exterminators?
Further, Mr. Fein’s article is couched in an ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’ discourse that essentially dichotomizes ethnic relations in Sri Lanka to Buddhist Sinhalese and Hindu/Christian Tamils. But, as any knowledgeable observer of the country would attest, the ethnic landscape of the country is far more complex. For instance, most Christians in the country are Sinhalese. Moreover, there are myriad differences within each community- be they Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim or Burgher- based on caste, occupation and so on.
Mr. Fein claims to have compiled 1000 pages of evidence designed to implicate Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Army Chief Sarath Fonseka on charges of violating the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007. It is also noted that this massive document is based on affidavits and ‘contemporaneous media reporting’. It would be useful for readers to make up their own minds if Mr. Fein were to disclose specific media sources that he has used. To our knowledge, neither any reputable media organization nor any of the countless non-governmental organizations in the country has accused the government of the crime of genocide. As has been documented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has certainly been guilty of war-time excesses. However, genocide is not amongst those and we wish to point out that reports churned out by the well-oiled Tamil Tiger propaganda apparatus active in New England and Canada do not constitute credible sources of ‘contemporaneous media reporting’.
We do not seek to dispute the fact that civilian casualties have mounted in recent times. However, what we do seek to dispute is that such casualties are the result of a deliberate and systematic campaign of extermination of the Tamils based on their ethnicity. We wonder if Mr. Fein is aware that most accepted international definitions of the term genocide hinge critically on the ability to demonstrate intent. Thus, it is incumbent on Mr. Fein to prove that the government willfully and intentionally killed unarmed Tamil civilians. What Mr. Fein does not mention- presumably because it does not fit his version of reality- is that most Tamil civilians in LTTE held areas are forcibly held as human shields and forbidden to leave. A report by Human Rights Watch on December 15th amply demonstrates the reign of terror imposed by the LTTE on Tamil civilians and chronicles sharp rises in extortion and forcible recruitment of both children and adults within the last few months. Further, several analysts believe that over the last two decades far more Tamils have been killed by the LTTE than by the government.
Mr. Fein rightly highlights the shelling of hospitals and other civilian establishments in recent times. However, he fails to point out that culpability for these crimes has not been verified with both the GoSL and the LTTE fiercely contesting conflicting claims. Thus, in the absence of reasonable evidence, to impute responsibility for these crimes on the GoSL is irresponsible and mischievous, at best.
In conclusion, we also find it interesting that these charges of genocide are being labeled at a time when the conflict between the GoSL and the separatist LTTE has entered a decisive phase with the LTTE on the verge of outright military defeat. The loud protestations of genocide have to be evaluated with that in mind. Further, we would like to end by pointing out that the term genocide tends to be bandied around too casually these days without a profound understanding of its real meaning. We believe such unabashed prostitution of the word genocide is not only damaging to accused parties but massively unhelpful in fostering inter-group dialogue and consultation in troubled times such as these.

What the Government has to say about civilian plight

2009-02-09T00:19:00.000-05:00

The interview done by CNN with the Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona: Click here

The interview done by CNN with the Sri Lankan ambassador to UN, Mr. H.M.G.S. Palihakkara: Click here

Conflict Levels and Dynamics

2009-02-08T23:29:00.000-05:00

By Asoka Kumara

Defining Conflict“A struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources” (Lewise Coser )

“Any situation in which two or more social entities or ‘parties’……perceive that they possess mutually incompatible goals.” (Mitchell)

Conflict is always not a negative thing. Most people associate negative words or ideas with conflict

War, violence, anger or hurt feelings but, Peace building assumes that conflict is a natural part of human existence and that the goal is to transform the destructive ways we deal with conflict to lead to more constructive outcomes.

Conflict levels
 Intra - personal conflict: this refers to conflict occurring with in a person. Usually people need to work on their own inner struggles and issues in order to be constructive in social conflict
Ex.Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
 Interpersonal conflict: Conflict occurring between individuals or small groups of people
 Intra-group conflict: Conflicts that happen in a particular group, whether it is a religious, ethnic, political or other type of identity group.
 Inter-group conflict: occurring between large organized social or identity groups

Challenges in working at conflict
1. Communicating with “the enemy" without being viewed of a spy or traitor
2. To change national structures. Social, political and economic systems often need to change in order to achieve peace that is grounded in justice
3. Influenced by global economic and political systems national institutions and structures do not operate in a vacuums. They are influenced by other countries and actors (EU,ASEAN,IMF,WB)

Stages and Dynamics of Conflict
Conflicts are not static, they change over time sometimes increasing in intensity and some times decreasing. Conflict like fire, goes through a number of stages that have particular elements that make it unique

Stage one - Gathering materials/potential conflict
In the early stage, materials for the fire are collected. Some of these materials are drier than others, but there is no fire yet. However, three is movement towards fire and the materials are readily available
Ex.Donoughmore Reforms – 1931
Soulbury Reforms -1947
Official Language act no 33 of 1956
Citizenship Act

Stage two - Fire begins burning/Confrontation
In this stage, a match is lit and the fire begins to burn
Ex. Killed 13 solders in July 1983
Black July incidents

Conflict stage three- Bonfire/Crisis
The fire burn as far and fast as it can, burning wildly out of control. This stage, the conflict reaches a crisis and, just like the fire conflict consumes the materials fuelling it.
People purposefully do harm, maim of kill others and usually, both sides end up losing something.

EX. Killing and destruction occurred during 1983 – 2001

Conflict stage Four- Coals/Potential conflict
At some point, the fire abates, the flames largely vanish and just the coals continue to glow as most of the fuel is burn up. At this stage, conflict can either continue to burn them out or, if new fuel is added, can re-ignite. If peace accords are signed, then the violence usually decreases
Ex.CFA between GOSL and LTTE (22nd Feb 2002)

Conflict stage Five- Fire out/Regeneration
The fire is finally out and even the embers are cool. At this stage, it is time to focus on other things besides the fire and to re build and help regenerate what was lost.

Peace building Activities
Each stage of conflict has a unique element therefore peace building activities need to design carefully some activities for each stage are
Stage one & two: Transforming Material and preventing Fire
 Prejudice reduction
 Conflict resolution training
 Non-violent advocacy
 HR education
 Economic and agricultural development
Stage three: Limiting What Ignites and Preventing the Flames from Spreading
 Non violent advocacy & training
 HR education and training
 Encouraging local capacities for peace
 Economic & agricultural development
 Use media & communication
Stage four: Cooling the Coals
 Economic & agricultural development
 Trauma counseling
 Media and communication
 Demobilizing soldiers
 Peace education, mediation, interfaith dialogue
Stage Five: Regeneration
 Trauma healing
 Reintegrating IDPs
 Reconstruction
 Micro-finance and agriculture projects
 Reconciliation

Reference : Caritas Peace Building Manual

Tamil People have Rejected Tamil Self-Determination in Favour of Ethic Integration

2009-02-01T11:22:00.000-05:00

Source: Sri Lanka Guardian

“The Tamil Elam struggle failed to achieve anything politically; even what they called “Ghandian” ways failed. Peace talks also failed and the war is also failing them. By going to war and supporting it, Tamil separatists essentially accepted the outcome of the war, victory or defeat. It is not possible to back down from it now when things don’t go in their favour. They may still try it, but, the war will seal the fate of Tamil Elam, the state that was never to be.”
---------------------------
“The Tamil Elam struggle failed to achieve anything politically; even what they called “Ghandian” ways failed. Peace talks also failed and the war is also failing them. By going to war and supporting it, Tamil separatists essentially accepted the outcome of the war, victory or defeat. It is not possible to back down from it now when things don’t go in their favour. They may still try it, but, the war will seal the fate of Tamil Elam, the state that was never to be.” Full article at: http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2008/12/tamil-people-have-rejected-tamil-self.html

Sri Lanka’s Path to Victory: A Story of Leadership, Tactic and Sacrifice.

2009-01-25T23:54:00.000-05:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

No one would have believed in their wildest dreams that the Sri Lankan military had the capability of defeating the number one terrorist organization in the world, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A well-organized, heavily-funded and deadly terrorist outfit that ran a mini state in the northern parts of Sri Lanka has lost its last stronghold: Mullaitivu. The only terrorist organization to have an infantry, a naval force and an air wing was responsible for the largest number of suicide attacks in the world, has used state-of-the-art weaponry, including surface to air (SAM) missiles. Nevertheless, President Rajapaksha and his government have taken its “war against terrorism” to the very end as the LTTE is fighting an existential battle.

Strong military and political leadership and focus underlined this accomplishment, something, Sri Lanka lacked for many years. Not in a slightest moment did the political or military leadership shy away from its objective of defeating the LTTE, which boosted the morale of the forces to the highest level in 25 years. The creation of an independent office of the Defense Secretary, headed by a retired army colonel, Gotabaya Rajapaksha, a U.S. citizen, was a key factor in the concerted war efforts. An army officer, who almost captured LTTE’s supremo twenty years ago, took a hard-line stand against the terrorists, and together with his one-time classmate, Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, provided a stanch leadership for this humanitarian mission. (They also shared rare fortunes of surviving suicide attacks.)

This focus and momentum propelled recruitment in the Armed Forces—3000 or more in every month since 2006 (The Army recruited 4,000 in December 2008 alone). Consequently, the Army increased its roaster from 115,000 to 180,000. Over 50% hike in troop numbers gave Army Commander a free hand to dispatch its military. He directed attacks in multiple, wider fronts as the LTTE showed a considerable lack of fighting power in the absence of its former commander, Colonel Karuna Amman, and his eastern cadres.

The defection of the LTTE’s, then, second-in-command, Karuna Amman, who is a member of the parliament now, was not an isolated event or a coincidence, but the result of years of intelligence work involving Sri Lankan military and regional intelligence agencies. It was a turning point in the quarter-century war. This defection weakened the LTTE, enabling forces to quickly recapture the eastern province and march toward their de facto capital, Killinochchi.

The contribution of the intelligence community, highlighted by the breakaway of “Karuna faction,” was a key feature in this counter-insurgency measure. Sri Lanka Police spearheaded the spying efforts by thoroughly investigating leads and previous attacks to uncover terror cells. Explosive laden trucks, cashes of C-4 plastic explosives that are used in suicide vests were discovered. Revitalized Civilian Protection Force—government more than doubled its numbers from 19,000 to 42,000—with the help of vigilant civilians apprehended key LTTE operatives and spotted time-bombs, some within minutes of its trigger.

Military tactics have changed too. Small commando units were established to engage in rapid raids behind enemy lines to support the advancing troops. However, the real shock came from the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) units viz., the “Deep Penetration Unit” and “Mahasohon Brigade,” which were deployed to conduct covert operations inside the enemy territory. These highly trained and well-equipped detachments proceed deep into the terrorists’ held area and attack. They were responsible for eliminating top-brass LTTEers such as Charles (head of military intelligence), Shankar (head of the air tigers) and Amaran (deputy head of sea tigers), and targeting, though unsuccessfully, Soosai (head of sea tigers). These units have taken the war to the terrorists’ backyard delivering chaos within the insurgency.

The coordination between Army, Air Force and Navy was impeccable.

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) supported the ground troops while maintaining the “Zero Civilian Casualty Policy” by skillful maneuvering and using advanced equipment. Shouldering a mammoth task of targeting terrorists like a needle in a haystack, who used civilians as a shield, Air Force provided an example to the world and bolstered the confidence of the internally displaced persons (IDP) in the government for their protection.

The efforts of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) were phenomenon in restricting LTTE’s weapon supplies pouring through the 30-mile Polk Strait, which separates Sri Lanka from India. To block this vital supply route and spot LTTE’s “floating armories,” unmanned surveillance drones were deployed and powerful radar stations were installed. By this time, Navy had broaden its capabilities to go after these vessels as farther as 1800 nautical miles into the deep sea —one by one Navy destroyed all ten cargo vessels operated by the LTTE to smuggle weapons into the country.

Navy had to overcome another hurdle—LTTE had been inflicting heavy damages on naval ships and transport vessels by using suicide boats. To counter this threat, Navy locally developed smaller fast attack crafts (FAC) to intercept LTTE suicide boats and shield larger vessels. A fleet of FACs cordons the ship making it impossible for suicide boats to penetrate. This strategy proved to be very effective: since the new phase of the war started in 2006, LTTE could not sink a single naval ship using suicide boats.

Realization of this unprecedented success is mainly attributable to the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces. Marching many miles in unfamiliar thick jungles infested with snakes and disease carrying mosquitoes; withstanding stiff resistance and booby traps from the enemy; bearing heavy monsoon rain that filled boots with water and created knee high puddles, government forces showed a remarkable dedication and commitment. And many of them paid the ultimate sacrifice—since the new offensive began, forces lost over 3700 of its valiant soldiers.

At present, eyes of the world are glued to Sri Lanka to witness the unfolding of a historic victory of humanity over insanity. A country, plagued by decades of war had found a cure in the form of a military campaign after a number of attempts for a negotiated settlement failed. LTTE’s imminent defeat opens up the most fertile land with the largest limestone and mineral sand deposits and the best beaches in the country. The government has already started to rebuild Sri Lanka’s only cement factory, chemical, paper factories and infrastructure that had been destroyed by the terrorists. Government’s efforts have been noticed: when security exchanges around the globe are declining, Colombo Stock Exchange is recording considerable gains. Future looks bright for Sri Lanka as it prepares for a journey of unity, understanding and nation building.

Congratulations President Barack Obama

2009-01-20T19:13:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama, Sri Lankans for peace congratulate your assumption of the president’s office of the United States of America. We are happy and hopeful because you are a man of judgment. You gave a new meaning to the power and importance of the democratic values to change the world towards better directions. And we are thankful for saying that violence is not the way to achieve political aspirations, and that the unity among Americans is derived from the will for freedom and justice for all, not by their blood, religion, or race. We need people like you to help us to counter violent means taken by the LTTE in Sri Lanka to win a mono-ethnic state that occupies 2/3 of the coast and 1/3 of the landmass of Sri Lanka for 6% of the population (Tamils living in the North and the East of Sri Lanka). Moreoever we are looking forward to collaborate with American people to empower and protect the lives of moderate minority representatives so that they can come to power and serve the legitimate aspirations of all communities through democratic traditions.

Sri Lankans for Peace Blog team

Corruption, Governance and Judiciary, A Case Study Based on Sri Lanka

2009-01-19T09:44:00.000-05:00

By Dr. S.W.S.B. Dasanayaka
E-mail: sarath.iba07@gmail.com

Abstract

There are very many strong evidences available for corruption and bad governance in Sri Lankan society. Today this endemic issue is so widespread and it renders many consequences for whole society especially it very much harms the poor and in most cases powerful rich and ruling elites and their supporters and regime loyal bureaucrats are main beneficiaries of this. Sri Lanka is generally considered as the world’s largest inefficient government with over hundred cabinet, non-cabinet and Provincial Council ministers and highest number of per-capita government employees. Some of these become very corruptive within a very short period. The Transparency International always ranks Sri Lanka as the bottom level country where the corruption is tolerated and informally legalized. Especially from authorities no visible actions are taken to control it. The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) revealed that the country had lost colossal amount of wealth due to financial malpractices of many state institutions and departments. According to the latest (2008) corruption ranking, education, police, health, defense and judiciary are the most corruptive institutions in the country. In this context, this paper assesses the corruption and governance aspects of Sri Lankan society with special emphasis on judiciary. Many strong evidences exist regarding the abuse of entrusted power for private gain by undermining justice by the judiciary of Sri Lanka. On the one hand it denies victims and the accused the basic human right of a fair and impartial trial and on the other, it has a far reaching negative implication for whole Sri Lankan society and its main socio-economic and political fabric. These implications can be erosion of the ability of the international community to tackle transnational crime and terrorism, diminish of trade, economic growth and human development and finally it denies citizens impartial settlement of disputes with neighbors or the authorities by loosing confidence of the law of the land. Especially, if judicial system dishonored by bribery and corruption undermine confidence in good governance across all sectors of government by giving a blunt message: corruption is tolerated and legalized in this society and people must find alternative ways of justice. It has many negative impacts for sound less poor people in Sri Lankan society. The bad governance in Sri Lankan judiciary starts from political interference in judicial processes by the executive or legislative branches of government to bribery and nepotism, etc. The Sri Lankan judiciary has very many provisions to improve its checks and balances, transparency and accountability aspects. But practical implementations of these are not happening due to very many reasons explained in this paper. Therefore most institutions related to judiciary are out of the equation of good governance and personnel and political agendas are the day of reality. This paper concludes that Sri Lankan Judiciary need full reforms with decentralization of courts system with introduction of very tight good governance framework by empowering independence with high quality human resources in apex and auditing bodies. Furthermore, the judiciary should be more open to civil society and international norms to improve its governance, transparency, accountability and quality aspects.

Key words: Corruption, Governance, Judiciary, Sri Lanka.
JEL Classification: K4, H11.

1) Introduction

The legal system of Sri Lanka is a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch law, Muslim law and customary laws. The basis of criminal law and procedure is the English common law. After Sri Lanka was colonized by the British Empire, British laws were gradually applied throughout the nation. Sri Lanka has an adversarial system of justice. The Attorney-General is the principal law officer of the state. The District Attorney and state counsels in his department conduct prosecutions. However, the bulk of prosecutions in minor cases are instituted in the Magistrates' Courts by the officer in charge of a police station. This may be the start of bad governance and corruption in all judiciary. However, due to the unsatisfactory nature of the existing criminal laws, which led to a state of uncertainty, the Penal Code of Sri Lanka was first enacted in 1883. It was based on the corresponding Indian law. The Criminal Procedure Code of 1898 was established and then replaced by the Administration of Justice Law of 1973. This was later replaced by the Code of Criminal Procedure Act of 1979 and the Judicature Act of 1978 as amended by the Judicature (Amendment) Act of 1979. The hierarchy of the judicial system is as follows: the Supreme Court in three courts in session, the Court of Appeal six or seven courts in session, 25 High Courts, 77 District Courts, 92 Magistrates' Courts and 18 Primary Courts. All these courts have around 220 judges and over 3000 court employees. The criminal courts of first instance are the Primary Courts, Magistrates' Courts, Combined Courts, and the High Court. Cases may be appealed to the Court of Appeal and further review may be sought in the Supreme Court. The High Court is the court of first instance for all prosecutions initiated with an indictment. The court of second instance is the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court exercises final appellate jurisdiction as well as special jurisdiction for alleged violations of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. The Judicial Service Commission has responsibility for the appointment, promotion, discipline, transfer and dismissal of all judges except those in Court of Appeal and supreme court. During the last few decades the integrity of the whole judiciary was been questioned by very many researchers (Marga Institute, 2001, Ivon.V, 2002) and openly debated by many international bodies. Most of the reported stories regarding the integrity and bad governance of the Sri Lankan judiciary start with political interference in judicial processes by either the executive or legislative branches of government and various forms bribery and other human evils due to very many reasons. In this context this paper ascertains the corruption and governance aspects of the Sri Lanka with special emphasis on the judicial system by using questionnaire survey supplemented by the literature survey and interviews with various stakeholders in the judicial system.

2) Objective

The main objective of this paper ascertains the corruption and governance aspects of Sri Lankan society with special emphasis on the Judiciary.

3) Methodology

A comprehensive literature survey was carried-out to find the situation of other countries and the works done in this field of Sri Lanka. A structured questionnaire was administered to conduct interviews with various stakeholders in the whole judiciary system. This structured questionnaire was carried-out at lower and upper level courts in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. But most of the times judges and senior lawyers declined to respond to the questions due the fear of contempt and defame of court and very many other excuses. In addition to this series of interviews were undertaken with key lawyers, legal sector managers, and important officers in the court system and justice Ministry decision makers.

4) Key Issues in Sri Lankan Judiciary

Many recorded and un-recorded strong evidences are existed regarding the abuse of entrusted power for private gain undermining justice by the judiciary in Sri Lanka. This is happening in lower level to high courts in various forms (Ivon.V, 2003; Marga Institute, 2002).
On the one hand it denies victims and the accused the basic human rights of a fair and impartial trial and on the other, it has a far reaching negative implication for whole Sri Lankan society and its main socio-economic and political fabric.
Sri Lankan judiciary mainly understands their duty as to settle disputes between different citizens and their organizations. Judiciary is very weak in settling disputes between state and the citizens.
This can lead to erosion of the ability of the international community to tackle transnational crime and terrorism, diminish of trade, economic growth and human development and finally it denies citizens impartial settlement of disputes with neighbors or the authorities by loosing confidence of the law of the land.
Dishonored judicial system undermine confidence in good governance across all sectors of government by giving a dull message: corruption is tolerated and legalized in this society and people must find alternative ways of justice or get used to live with corruption. It has many negative impacts for sound less poor people in Sri Lankan society.
The main forms of bad governance in Sri Lankan judiciary starts from political interference in judicial processes by the executive or legislative branches of government to bribery and nepotism, etc.
The Sri Lankan judiciary has very many provisions to improve its checks and balances, transparency and accountability aspects. But practical implementations of these are not happening due to very many reasons.
Judges form only one part of the ‘judicial system’ in Sri Lanka. They only operate after the police, prosecutors, lawyers and other court personnel have entered to the scene. Therefore, judges alone can not be achieved so called good governance without proper stakeholder integration in the whole chains of Judiciary.

5) Reasons for the corruption and bad governance in Sri Lankan Judiciary

The failure to appoint judges on merit, which can lead to the selection of corruption-oriented judges.
Appointing judges with a bad record and misconduct for senior judicial position gives a bad example for the whole Sri Lankan society.
Poor salaries, bad working conditions and lack of training makes judiciary personals vulnerable to bribery.
Unfair processes for the removal of corrupt judges, which can lead to the politicization of judge transfers and removals.
Complex and outdated court procedures that can make it difficult for the media and civil society to monitor court activities.
Insufficient resources and backlogs of cases.

6) Concluding Remarks

The Sri Lankan Judiciary needs full reforms with decentralization of courts system with introduction of very tight good governance framework by empowering independence with high quality human resources in apex and auditing bodies.
Special attention should be given to improve governance in lower level courts system.
Furthermore, the judiciary should be more open to civil society and international norms to improve its governance, transparency, accountability and quality aspects.
Delayering also may be good. It involves a radical redesign of an organization’s structure to take account of late 20th-century developments in information technology, education and consumer demand, and other socio-economic and politico changes.
Among the benefits claimed for the delayered organizations are the following: it needs fewer managers, it is less bureaucratic, it can take decisions more quickly, it encourages innovation, it brings judicial managers into closer contacts with the organization’s customers and it produces cross-functional employees.
Very recently the country’s highest court improved its credibility by giving very controversial judgments regarding high powered politicians and senior bureaucrats. Removal of Country’s powerful Finance Ministry Secretary and Chairmen and Minister of Oil Corporation, interrogation of powerful former President and many more…..These judgments improved Chief Justice’s past bad image and improved people’s trust and respect to upper level Judiciary.

7) Policy Remarks

Non-existence of a good mechanism with proper checks and balances to improve transparency and accountability of whole judicial system is the main factor responsible for lower level of governance with corruption in Sri Lankan judiciary.
Actually there should be some promotional campaign to get the best talented people into this legal profession. At the moment in many countries good quality talents are not in the door-steps of law colleges.
Formulation and implementation of good Information and Communication Technology (ICT) framework may improve the efficiency in whole judiciary in a very transparent and accountable manner.
Introduction of many ethics and value based soft sciences into law curricula may be a good way to start the inculcation of these good practices into the legal professional’s minds at early stages.
There is no magic set of guidelines, formula or mechanism to completely eradicate the judicial corruption in Sri Lanka. Case by case approach necessary taking into consideration of each and every court system’s special operational circumstances.
It can start with formulation of the minimum standards for developing and maintaining integrity, accountability and transparency in whole judicial system.
The critical question is that in a country where each and every sector is highly corruptive how only the judiciary can be expected to be non corruptive.
Actually the extent of corruption and bad governance in judiciary is a reflection of the society which it operates. It is less likely in societies where there is board adherence to the rule of law, transparency, trust, good codes, good perks and job security and independence for all legal workers and accountability measures are in place.

References

Cooray.A (1984), Court and Legal System in Sri Lanka – Historical Analysis.

Ivon.V (2003) An unfinished struggle, An investigative exposure of Sri Lanka judiciary and the chief justice, Rayvaya publishers.

Karunaratne, N.H.A., "Dispositional Decisions in the Criminal Justice Process in Sri Lanka," UNAFEI Resource Material Series, No.16, pp. 234-241, Tokyo, Japan: UNAFEI (1978).

Law and Society Trust, personal communication of unpublished research data dated October 13, 1993, Kynsey Terrace, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka.

Marga Institute (2002), A system under siege, An inquiry into the judicial system of Sri Lanka.
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) (2008), Corruption on Government Depts and Institutions, Sri Lankan Parliament.

Singh. A and Zahid A (eds.2008), Strengthening governance through access to justice, PHI Publishers, New Delhi, India.

Singh.A, Kapoor.K and Bhattacharyya.R (eds.2008), Governance and poverty reduction, Beyond the cages of best practices, PHI Publishers, New Delhi, India.

Transparency International (2008), Annual Report - 2007.

The price of the failure to decolonize

2009-01-14T23:10:00.000-05:00

The world is condemning the assasination of the journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga in Sri Lanka. The government should certainly take action to catch the culprits. It is also worth noting how and why the Sri Lankan Government investigators missed the LTTE's art of recruiting female suicide cadres by double victimizing them, but somebody from a far away country could reveal these sensitive information as shown in the following book. This revelation is a good proof to say that unnecessary delays and lack of focus in the Government bureacracy is Sri Lanka's best enemy. These delays are direct results of Sri Lanka's lack of interest in clearing colonial practices of running the Government.

The book "Dying To Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror (Hardcover)" says:

"Three Tamil women were raped by perpetrators who spoke Sinhalese.The attacks were not reported, other than to the int'l aidorganization, and yet they were not long after approached byrepresentatives of the LTTE and recruited as ultimately 'BlackTigresses.' to save the honor of their family after their rape. Thesame int'l org reported that the original 'Sinhalese' rapists werereally Tamils, (and that this was a 'set up.')

Two of the three women were executed after arranging to speak with theauthor of the book."

Title of the book: Dying To Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror (Ch 3, page 164)by Mia BloomPublisher: Columbia University Press, 2005

Attacks against the media must stop

2009-01-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

The past week has seen two attacks against the media the first, an armed attack and destruction of the MTV/MBC studios and second, the killing of The Sunday Leader Editor. We condemn these attacks unreservedly, because they strike at the very foundations of a free society. Any society worth living in must be one where we can "speak truth to power." As university academics we are committed to the pursuit of truth. Our academic freedom consists in the ability to conduct free inquiry and the space for free expression of ideas it is a tradition that goes back to Socrates and beyond.The government itself, inclusive of the highest in the land, has called for a full inquiry into these incidents. While we welcome this, we wish to assert that the mere calling for inquiries will not be enough. If a speedy and credible conclusion to such inquiries is not forthcoming, the government must appreciate that its own credibility is at stake, since both the recent attacks have been directed at entities that were critical of the status quo. The silencing of dissent is not a hallmark of a democratic society.

Professor Priyan Dias (Moratuwa)
Dr. Ranil Abayasekara (Peradeniya)
Dr. Sarath Dasanayaka (Moratuwa)
Dr. Suresh de Mel (Peradeniya)
Shantha Fernando (Moratuwa)
Dr. Hans Gray (Moratuwa)
Dr. Dileni Gunewardena (Peradeniya)
Dr. Romaine Jayewardene (Colombo)
Dr. T.S.S. Jayawardene (Moratuwa)
Dr. Chulantha Kulasekere (Moratuwa)
Rushira Kulasingham (Colombo)
Professor Amal Kumarage (Moratuwa)
S.N. Niles (Moratuwa)
Dr. Asoka Perera (Moratuwa)
Dr. Ranjan Perera (Moratuwa)
Dinesha Samararatne (Colombo)
Professor Vasanthi Thevanesam (Peradeniya)
Dr. Ruvan Weerasinghe (Colombo)
Professor Sunil Wickramasuriya (Moratuwa)
Dr. Suren Wijeyekoon (Moratuwa)
Dr. Shehan Williams (Kelaniya)

Others who wish to sign, please submit a comment.

TULF CALLS UPON THE TNA TO SAVE THE INNOCENT TAMILS TRAPPED IN VANNI OR TO QUIT PARLIAMENT.

2009-01-11T08:28:00.000-05:00

I call upon the 22 Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarians to do their duty or to honourably vacate their seats in Parliament. They have fooled enough, the people whom they claim to represent in Parliament, but never championed their cause. Instead they always defended the LTTE at whose mercy they got elected fraudulently to Parliament. They have mis-led the International Community, the people of Tamil Nadu in particular. Tamil Nadu if left alone or properly briefed would have contributed their best towards a workable solution, without earning the dis-pleasure of the people of Sri Lanka and without causing embarrassment to their own Central Government, with un-fair and un-implementable demands. Unfortunately the people of Tamil Nadu got mis-led by the advice given by the TNA Parliamentarians. Without demanding the war to stop, if they had, in a friendly way, agitated for a reasonable settlement of the ethnic problem, they might have succeeded. I extended my invitation to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Hon. Dr. M. Karunanithy four years back to pay a visit to Sri Lanka. Let us not forget that the President His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse himself invited the Chief Minister Hon. Dr. M. Karunanithy, a couple of months back when a mass scale agitation was going on in Tamil Nadu, to visit Sri Lanka and would have been very happy, if the Chief Minister had accepted the invitation, came to Sri Lanka and offered to mediate. This is yet another lost opportunity for which the TNA should bear the blame for not making use of this opportunity.

“What sin have we committed to undergo this agony all these long years, extending to a period of quarter of a century and how long are we to endure this?”, ask the people of Kilinochchi, who are all now displaced and living at Dharmapuram, a small village in the district of Kilinochchi. I know most of them because I lived with them and represented them in Parliament for many years. Apart from this more than a hundred thousand people men, women and children, including the sick and the toddlers, deprived of their normal life, had been mercilessly driven like cattle into Kilinochchi by the LTTE from the areas under their control in the neighboring districts of Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitheevu. They were pushed into Kilinochchi by the withdrawing LTTE cadre, unable to confront the advancing Government Forces. Left alone most of them would have stayed in their homes or could have gone to their respective homes and saved whatever left over after being looted or robbed. Instead they are brought from far off places and squeezed into small villages already over crowded with the locally displaced persons from the Kilinochchi district itself. The LTTE holds these people to ransom for no fault of theirs, but only for the sole purpose of using them as human shield for their own protection. The distress call of these unfortunate people is not heard in Tamil Nadu.

The International Community which is much concerned of the Human Rights Violations in the LTTE held areas also, is compelled to keep silent, perhaps due to their reluctance to go against the demand of Tamil Nadu for a Cease Fire although it is very obvious that, the demand is more in support of the LTTE, than in the interest of the Tamils trapped in the LTTE areas. It is very unfortunate that Tamil Nadu is refusing and the TNA is ignoring to respond to the distress call of these two hundred and fifty thousand people who are caught up between the LTTE which is compulsorily recruiting men and women only to sacrifice them at the battle front and the deadly snakes that are multiplying in their thousands. Hundreds had been stung by snake and many have died. Leave aside the TNA, even nature is against them. The down pour of rain is so heavy that all areas are flooded and people have to move from place to place in search of highland to camp and to cook their food. Apart from the snake menace the other one is the mosquitoes with the threat of an out-brake of malaria or dengue. I dare say that all these sufferings of the people do not seem to be of any concern for the TNA Members of Parliament in Sri Lanka and some leaders of Tamil Nadu, who were in the fore-front of the recent uprising in Tamil Nadu, most of whom take pride in boasting of “umbilicus code relationship”, between the Tamils of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. They least know of the same relationship the Sinhalese have with the Tamils of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Their only concern seem to be saving the LTTE under the pretext of stopping the war. A TNA Parliamentarian had said in Parliament recently that 55000 children from 190 schools are not attending school. He did not have the guts to tell the world as to why this has happened?, because of whom? and where? To add to what he said, in the Eastern Province more than 6000 children do not know their alphabet. The MP did not tell how teachers on the Government’s pay roll are fighting in the war front for the LTTE. These MP’s children are quite safe in foreign countries having good education. The irony is a TNA Member of Parliament whose entire family is in Australia, recently referred to me in Parliament as a traitor.

The people in Vanni want the war to continue, because they want the war to end with the LTTE defeated. The forces that had marched forward about 200 miles liberating the people all along, has only a few more miles to go. The people only plead that the forces should avoid civilian targets and night time aerial bombings.

Everyday a few dead bodies of the LTTE fighters are handed over to the ICRC to be delivered to the LTTE. They are young boys and girls, children of poor parents compulsorily recruited by the LTTE and sent to the battle front with hardly any or very little training. One can understand the TNA Members of Parliament remaining silent on this type of matters merely to please the LTTE and to save their seats in Parliament. But one cannot understand as to why Tamil Nadu, which is rich in culture and civilization, God fearing and pious, always sympathetic towards the Sri Lankan Tamils and proudly boast of its “umbilicus code relationship” with them, should remain silent without raising one word of protest against the cruel and uncivilized manner in which the brutal LTTE is treating the innocent Tamils whom they are keeping under compulsion in a pre-dominantly jungle area, infested with snakes and mosquitoes, in chilly weather and pouring rain, without timely food and proper shelter, shifting their temporary abode from place to place off and on like nomads. It is traditional for the LTTE to take away first, all what they need and only what is remaining is distributed to the people. This is happening even today. The TNA Members did not protest when the LTTE ordered all those 8000 students who sat for the G.C.E(O/L) examination held recently, to under-go trainings while the Catholic Church protested against the attempt of the LTTE to take away some orphans from an orphanage run by the church.

All what is mentioned here is only a minor fraction of the sufferings of our people. Why can’t Tamil Nadu, which is partly responsible for the present situation, wake up from its deep slumber and persuade them or, if unyielding, warn them to release the people to go anywhere they want.

If Tamil Nadu, adamantly keeps silent or out of fear for a handful of pro-LTTE leaders of Tamil Nadu and also if the TNA Members of Parliament who misled Tamil Nadu and roused the feelings of the people there, fail to move them inspite of all these pleadings, I have to look upon the expatriate Tamils who had largely helped the LTTE to grow, with substantial financial assistance, to intervene and bring pressure on them to free the people detained. The LTTE has lost the war and it is ridiculous for anyone to still believe that they will regain all what they have lost.

If the LTTE is willing to lay down their arms they can do so and negotiate with the Government for a solution within a united Sri Lanka, wherein all ethnic groups can live as equals, enjoying all rights without any form of discrimination what so ever. Failure to do so, will only pave the way for some unscrupulous elements to takeover, like snakes taking up residence in the anthills built by the labour of infinite number of white-ants. The Government of Sri Lanka and the International Community has a morel duty to see that the Tamils are not allowed to jump from the frying pan into the fire. I assure the TNA Members of Parliament that I sincerely feel that they have failed in their mission and therefore to quit their seats in Parliament. As for me I am not interested in any office but my whole interest is only on the people who are suffering for the last quarter of a century.

V. Anandasangaree,
President – TULF.

Sri Lankan People Have Made History

2009-01-09T15:21:00.000-05:00

By Sanjeewa Karunaratne

As a result of years of struggle by Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists, President Johnson drafted the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ensured equal treatment to women, minorities and other under-represented groups. The 60’s in the U.S. was hallmarked with civil rights and feminist movements. On the other side of the globe, in Sri Lanka, Sirimavo Bandaranayke became the world’s first female prime minister in 1960. She was elected in three different terms—a world record. Her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranayke Kumaratunga, is one of the longest-served presidents in the country. Women and minorities were predominant in universities, government, education and private sectors in Sri Lanka ever since it’s independence.

Current, 1978 constitution is, by far, the most minority-friendly constitution in Sri Lanka, and its inventor, Junius Richard Jayewardene, was a converted Buddhist. His ancestral name was “Thambi Mudiyanselage”; “Thambi” means Muslim, but it didn’t deter him from securing five-sixths majority in the parliament in which Tamil United Liberation Front became the main opposition in 1978, security 18 seats (11% representation in the parliament). Until 1988, Sri Lanka’s leader of the opposition was a Tamil. Minority parties, Thondaman’s Workers Congress and Ashroff’s Muslim Congress, became “king makers” in Sri Lanka as proportional representation system, established by the 1978 constitution, did not ensure a clear mandate for a single political party—they had to form coalitions with minority parties to secure the majority in the parliament.

Present parliament has 32 Tamils (14%) and 24 Muslims (11%)—altogether 25% minorities. It is well-represented based on demographic proportions.

Two well-respected Tamils were in the verge of becoming prime ministers in Sri Lanka, Neelan Tiruchelvam, a Harvard lawyer, and Laxshman Kadirgamar, an Oxford lawyer, both were assassinated by the LTTE. Another Tamil, who represented a Sinhalese electorate, and had promising hopes to succeed Mahinda Rajapaksha as the leader of SLFP, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, was also assassinated by the LTTE. Out of 30 parliamentarians killed by the LTTE, the majority (18) were Tamils. Will Sri Lankans ever get a chance to elect a Tamil president if LTTE keep eliminating Tamil intellectuals?

Culturally, religiously and in physical appearance, Sinhalese and Tamils are the most similar ethnic groups in the world. They share a number of traditions including the New Year. Hinduism and Buddhism originated in India and have many parallel features. Those are the only religions in the world that preach rebirth. Buddhism acquired many practices from Hinduism including the “worship of Gods.” Consequently, all the Gods Buddhists’ worship are Hindu Gods. Similarly, Lord Buddha, being one of the appearances (avathara) of Vishnu, is a God in Hinduism.

One of the most famous Hindu Gods pertaining to business transactions is Skadakumar, who has a popular temple in Katharagama, down-south. My father, a Sinhalese, who is a strong devotee of the God Skandakumar used to drive over 300 miles (a very long distance in the context of Sri Lanka) every three months to pay homage.

Unlike Blacks and Whites in the U.S., Tamils and Sinhalese are look alike. One cannot distinguish a Tamil from a Sinhalese by physical appearance, which brings an interesting question of how the alleged marginalization is possible in such circumstances.

Comparison of Sri Lankan separatism and American civil rights struggle is comparing apples to oranges. Sri Lanka hadn’t had a segregated school system; separate restaurants, bars, theaters or restrooms for Tamils and Sinhalese; it wasn’t the law of the country that Sinhalese sit on the bus, while Tamils stand; a Tamil was not considered as three-fifths of a Sinhalese. In order to curb this inhuman discrimination, U.S. had to draft stiff legislation such as the Civil Rights Act.

The most recent population statistics in Sri Lanka and the U.S. reveal:
Sinhalese 73%
Northern Tamils 13%
Muslim 7%
Hill Country Tamils 6%
Other 1%
Source: Department of Statistics, Sri Lanka
White 66%
Hispanic 15%
Black 12%
Asian 4%
Other 3%
Source: 2007 ACS (U.S. Census Bureau)

It is unjust to play a numbers game, while thousands of our people Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims alike are suffering. Having said that, statistically, there are significantly more Sinhalese in Sri Lanka than Whites in the U.S. Nevertheless, a more plausible comparison of ethnicities could be drawn between Hispanics and Tamils. Like Northern Tamils, Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S. and are immigrants, but Blacks were brought to the U.S. for forced labor by the British, who brought Hill Country Tamils for tea plantation. Hill Country Tamils, who are different from Northern Tamils, have had a very strong political presence in the parliament through their venerated leader, Savumiamoorthy Thondaman, one of the most influential politicians in Sri Lankan history, who held powerful ministerial portfolios. Hill Country Tamils have never complained about mistreatment. Therefore, Northern Tamils are more comparable to Hispanics than Blacks.

There is no language division among ethnicities in Sri Lanka, which has two official languages: Tamil and Sinhala. Muslims, original Arabic speakers, speak Tamil for convenience because they are concentrated in areas populated by Tamils. My wife and her sister spoke Tamil when they were young because they were raised in hill country, where their farther was a headmaster. I spoke a little bit of Tamil, when I shared a room with two Muslim students from Batticaloa.

Like any other democracy, there are many problems in our political system, yet, those do not warrant a war. The claim that Tamils are marginalized in Sri Lanka is unfounded propaganda. Tamils and Sinhalese have a lot in common than otherwise; therefore, let’s stop this numbers game and build consensus to eliminate extremism to develop our nation together—“united we stand, divide we fall.”

Sanjeewa Karunaratne can be reached at sanjeewack@yahoo.com.

American People Make History, Can We Sri Lankans Ever?

2009-01-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

By Muttukrishna Sarvananthan

In April 2008 I met an American national in Colombo who works for the World Bank in Washington, DC. At that time both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were contesting for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination and John McCain was already the sole contender for the Republican Party Presidential nomination. When we conversed about the upcoming American Presidential election he told me that, although in his opinion John McCain was too old for the office of the President, he believed American people are still not “ready” for a woman or non-white person to become the President of the United States.

His prognosis was proved wrong on November 04th when the American people made history by electing their first African American President. I was fortunate to be just a couple of blocks away from the White House to witness this historic moment of the American people; minority communities in particular who overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama. My thoughts went back home; can we Sri Lankans ever make the same epic history? I remembered the pronunciations by heads of two pillars of the Sri Lankan state, viz. the chief executive and the head of the armed forces. In 1994, the then President of Sri Lanka claimed that the minority communities are mere branches of the majority Sinhalese community. Just a couple of months ago, in September 2008, the chief of the Sri Lanka Army said that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese (majority community) and therefore minority communities should not demand “too much”.

It is not that this kind of racial supremacy exists in Sri Lanka alone; it is all over the world, but America has crossed this supremacist disposition on November 04th 2008. United Kingdom is an example of the supremacism of the majority community, viz. the English. I still vividly remember the national elections of 1992 when John Major of the Conservative Party (incumbent Prime Minister) and Neil Kinnock of the Labour Party (Opposition Leader) were contending for Premiership, while I was a postgraduate student in the UK. Whilst most opinion polls showed a very close run between the two parties, on the day of the election (April 09th) The Sun newspaper (the most popular tabloid at that time) had a banner headline and lead story that was widely believed to have contributed to the loss of the Labour Party and its leader Neil Kinnock at that election. The Sun asked the British people to switch off their lights in order to mark dark times ahead if a “Welshman”, Neil Kinnock, was elected. Despite moving his Labour Party away from leftwing politics, Neil Kinnock lost to John Major largely due to his ethnicity, I believe. Even now, there are undercurrents of racism whipped up by certain media (and perhaps by certain sections of the Conservative Party as well) against the incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is a Scotsman. These experiences indicate that it is a Herculean task for a person other than English to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In this respect, American people have proved to be above the rest in the World.

The case of Sri Lanka is different from the United States or the United Kingdom at least in one important respect. In the case of African Americans, Scottish or the Welsh, they by and large speak the language of the majority community and their religion is by and large the same as that of the majority community (different denominations of Christianity notwithstanding). Whereas in the case of Sri Lanka, Tamil and Muslim minority communities by and large speak a different language and follow different religions than the majority community. Thus, whilst the majority community speaks Sinhalese and is largely Buddhist, Tamils and Moors speak Tamil and are largely Hindu and Muslim respectively.

Nevertheless, the demographic composition of the United States is almost the same as in Sri Lanka; in the former the majority community accounts for 73% of the total population (minority communities account for 27%) and in the latter it is 74% (minority communities account for 26%). In spite of the differences in ethnicity, a common language binds the people of America (religious sectarianisms notwithstanding), which is not the case in Sri Lanka. Having said that, the differences between the United States and Sri Lanka go beyond the differences in languages or religions of the peoples of these two countries. It is more to do with the fundamental differences in the governance structures of the two countries: for example, America is a federal state while Sri Lanka is a unitary state; America does not have a state religion whereas Sri Lanka does. Moreover, affirmative action programmes have made America an inclusive society (notwithstanding enduring discrimination in many respects even now), whereas in Sri Lanka lukewarm implementation of the dual official language policy, advertent and inadvertent discrimination in education and employment opportunities and very limited implementation of devolution of powers enshrined in the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution have alienated the minority communities. These are some of the fundamental differences between the two countries.

Nonetheless, Barack Obama’s election as the President of the United States has given a glimmer of hope to minority communities around the world, including in Sri Lanka, that they too could become rulers of their respective country by peaceful democratic means. It is a powerful, peaceful message against separatist nationalism and armed violence of marginalised communities around the world for equality, justice and freedom. In order to emulate the American historical feat of November 04, 2008, States that are confronting separatist nationalist struggles (by peaceful means – ala Scotland and Quebec – as well as by armed rebellion – ala Palestine and Sri Lanka) should reform its governance structures to be inclusive based on equality of opportunities irrespective of gender, race, religion, etc, and decentralisation and devolution of economic, political, administrative and cultural powers.

Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, Ph.D. (Wales) M.Sc. (Bristol) M.Sc. (Salford) B.A. (Hons) (Delhi), is the Principal Researcher of the Point Pedro Institute of Development, Point Pedro, Northern Sri Lanka and a Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, DC, U.S.A. Corrections, comments and suggestions are welcome to sarvi@gwu.edu

Peace with Dignity

2009-01-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

As Sri Lankans sometimes we wonder whether the Peace in Sri Lanka is an illusion but some rare moment there are rays of hope that peace can become a reality in Sri Lanka.

As peace loving people, most of us would love to see peace comes back to our beautiful island nation. There is a saying that “The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war” In other words no matter how noble the cause of fighting/war, at every possible chance we should strive to reach for peace.

What is peace? How can we achieve peace? Especially given the long history of violence that we experience in Sri Lanka. If for instance we believe peace as an absence of violence and war, can we ever achieve peace?

We can attribute many reasons for destroying the peace in Sri Lanka. We can analyze the history of Sri Lanka from the very beginning to the recent past and there have been many dark and unfortunate phases that many are ashamed and cannot be defended. There are many perpetrators as well as victims in this whole saga of events.

Without living in the past, we need to move forward. Not by forgetting the past but by learning from the past and with sheer determination not to let some of the gross injustice happened to our fellow Sri Lankans ever happen again.

We understand that there is a tension between the national security and human rights. Maintaining that delicate balance knowing that all citizens of Sri Lanka have a right to expect equal treatment is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan government. As an elected government, the Sri Lankan government has to stay above an organization like LTTE. It is not a valid argument to say that LTTE is violating the human rights hence the Sri Lankan government selectively can trample the rights of some members of the Tamil community. Sri Lankan government should at all times, while making every effort to eradicate terrorism has to respect the Geneva Convention on Human Rights.

As peace loving Sri Lankans we all should urge, all parties concerned to put an end to this senseless violence and resume negotiations now to reach a peaceful resolution in conformity with international law and respect of human dignity.
Peace Lover

Peace in the new context

2009-01-05T20:15:00.000-05:00

According to the census in 1921, the total population in Sri Lanka was 4.5 million whereas the population today is just over 20 million people. Therefore, migration from densely populated areas to more suburban areas has become a mandatory phenomenon. Though 54% of the Tamils live among the Sinhalese in the South, Sinhalese migration to North and the East of Sri Lanka has been felt as a threat by the LTTE. Tragically, entire Sinhalese villages have been annihilated by LTTE in certain parts of the North and the East as a hostile gesture. Despite such ethnic tensions, the need for a distributed development of infrastructure and freedom for migration within Sri Lanka is felt with more vigor than ever before. Furthermore, the demand for a traditional homeland of 2/3 of the coast and 1/3 of the total landmass of Sri Lanka for 46% of the Tamils who live in the North and the East (6% of the total population) is increasingly felt as an unfair demand in a country with so much pressure for internal migration and co-existence of multiple ethnic groups.Therefore, the historical arguments based on conditions prevailed a quarter century ago are no longer relevant to a dialog for peace today. The war itself has transformed both ethnic communities from who they were in 1983 to who they are today with dramatic changes in the fundamentals in their thinking. For instance, soon after the Government captured Kilinochchi, two bomb blasts took place in Colombo targeting civilians. However, the celebrating communities did not use their unity and upbeat mood to harm a single Tamil civilian in Colombo. However, it would have been different in 1983. Therefore, the process of dialog should provide room for all Tamil and Sinhalese views and concerns to interact among each other without threats from LTTE or the Government armed forces.

It is my personal belief that the emergence of greater National goals centered around respect for human life will be the basis for a solution. A healthy dialog among different communities could evolve that if they speak out their hearts. At least during the 2004 Tsunami disaster, it was seen that such powerful National goals have helped to bring peace to Aceh province in Indonesia, whereas the LTTE's hard stand on the petty political objective for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) shattered all hopes of a collective effort to serve the Tsunami affected communities in the East. A National dream that transcends such rudimentary political goals should emerge providing room for all ethnic groups to find opportunities to achieve their individual religious, cultural, economic, philosophical, and ethnic aspirations with dignity. Therefore, this dialog should happen with wider participation of the general public free from political pressure from armed groups. Ideally, new political leaders should emerge whose vision transcend tribalism and racism.

More specifically, my personal suggestion is to decentralize power to local authorities to set regional development priorities, collect Taxes, and law enforcement to uphold basic human rights such as language rights, religious belief rights, etc. Full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the constitution could be an immediate step towards this direction. Moreover, private sector leadership should be allowed to serve community aspirations. This can be accommodated if the Government monopolies are dissolved in areas such as aviation, ports and shipping, energy, etc. Instead, the central Government should give high priority to improve access to education. Nearly 97% of the Sri Lankans today can not have a university education even if they have financial resources to secure a paid education, due to Government restrictions on private sector involvement in University education. Youth should get wider opportunities for higher education either through state universities or private universities, for any sensible distributed economic growth. This would also help eliminate some of the root causes of this conflict. Furthermore, the central Government should allocate more resources to strengthen the legal bodies and law enforcement infrastructure to uphold human rights. It is my belief that an important part of sustained peace is the perception of the people of a country that the Government has enough regulations and mechanisms to protect their human rights as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All Sri Lankan police officers should be trained to genuinely appreciate the importance of upholding human rights of people regardless of their social status, ethnic or religious background, or Nationality. Finally, Democratic institutions and traditions should be strengthened to make sure a healthy political dialog will continue to shape up the Sri Lankan Government to serve the aspirations of all its c itizens.

However, if Sri Lankan Tamils continue to be victims of world Tamil Movements to create a Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka, no Government will be able to quench their thirst for they will never be allowed to settle down for anything less than a Tamil state. They will be forced to find some fault in the system and interpret it as a deliberate discrimination against the minority Tamils, when the truth is they are just a victimized tip of the 100 million Tamils in the iceberg. This dimension of the problem can not be addressed without effective regional cooperation. Therefore, the Government of Sri Lanka should always pay due care to maintain healthy regional cooperation and a dialog with our own Tamils to prevent them from becoming prey to Global predators.

Thrishantha Nanayakkara

Thrishantha is a Radclifffe Fellow at Harvard University, USA.
Email: thrishantha@gmail.com

What is peace?

2009-01-04T20:55:00.000-05:00

This forum will discuss matters related to peace in Sri Lanka. First of all lets open the floor for a discussion on the fundamental question "what is peace, and how can it be maintained in a world of conflicting human endeavors, aspirations, and rituals?" Even in a family, there are daily instances where peace is broken. But peace is re-built through various natural mechanisms like sitting down together for dinner, breakfast, or lunch, shopping together, etc. Can these simple forces that re-builds peace be extended to large scale confilicts that are new and old? Can the mechanisms that are applicable to relatively new conflicts be applicable to relatively old conflicts?A discussion on these fundamentals would help us to bring and maintain peace in Sri Lanka.