The Sinhala Buddhist extreme nationalist organisation, Patriotic National Centre (PNC) led by Buddhist Monk Venerable Dhambara Amila Thero, on Thursday December 24, announced that it has decided to support General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, contesting in the forthcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections.

Dhambara Amila Thero has been opposed to outside influence, both the Western and the Indian, since the Norwegian brokered Ceasefire Agreement in 2002 and his movement has been a key opinion maker of the Sinhala nationalism, exercising the pressure on the Sri Lankan state to nullify the Norwegian brokered P-TOMS in 2005 and to unilaterally withdrew from the Ceasefire Agreement in 2008. Ven. Dhambara Amila Thero was formerly the leader of the National Bhikku Front (NBF), an ultra Sinhala nationalist organisation of Buddhist monks.

The PNC leader Dhambara Amila Thero at a media briefing held Thursday at Colombo National Library Auditorium said that his organization supported General Sarath Fonseka who achieved the country’s 'main goal', by 'defeating terrorism.'

The extremist monk who preferred Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2005 has commented that Fonseka, whom he met recently, knew more about politics than the individuals who had succeeded in politics in recent times.

Rajapaksa's dependency on certain powers and his family-centered politics has caused certain sections of extreme Sinhala Buddhists to prefer Sarath Fonseka, said a newspaper editor in Colombo commenting that the move by the Sinhala nationalist monk also demonstrated that the Sinhala nationalists were confident in taking forward their agenda facing any eventuality at the elections.

Guards dealt out cruel punishments, while many suspected of links to the LTTE were taken away and have not been seen since

Tamil women interned after escaping the horrors of the civil war in Sri Lanka were sexually abused by their guards who traded sex for food, a British medic has revealed.

Vany Kumar, who was locked up behind barbed wire in the Menik Farm refugee camp for four months, also claims prisoners were punished by being made to kneel for hours in the hot sun, and those suspected of links to the defeated Tamil Tigers were taken away and not seen again by their families.

Kumar, 25, from Essex, was released from internment in September, but has waited until now to reveal the full scale of her ordeal in the hope of avoiding reprisals against friends and family held with her.

They have now been released after the Sri Lankan government bowed to international pressure and opened the camps.

The Sri Lankan government confirmed to the Observer that it had received reports from United Nations agencies of physical and sexual abuse within the camps, but maintained that it had not been possible to substantiate the allegations. It denied that prisoners had disappeared.

In response, a UN spokesman accused Colombo of "doing everything it could" to obstruct attempts to monitor the welfare of the hundreds of thousands interned in the camps.

Kumar, a biomedical graduate, was incarcerated in May in what she describes as a "concentration camp", along with nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians who managed to escape the slaughter which accompanied the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, who had been fighting for 25 years for a separate state on the island.

Working amid heavy shelling in an improvised field hospital, she had spent months helping save the lives of hundreds of civilians wounded as they were caught between advancing government soldiers and the cornered Tigers.

Sri Lanka has consistently denied mistreating the detainees, but Kumar's damning new evidence will bolster the claims of human rights organisations which have repeatedly criticised the government in Colombo.

Speaking at the family home in Chingford, she accused the Sri Lankan government of persecuting Tamils as it sought to round up rebels who had escaped the fighting.

"It was a concentration camp, where people were not even allowed to talk, not even allowed to go near the fences," she said.

"They were kept from the outside world. The government didn't want people to tell what happened to them, about the missing or the disappearances or the sexual abuse. They didn't want anyone to know.

"Sexual abuse is something that was a common thing that I personally saw. In the visitor area relatives would be the other side of the fence and we would be in the camp. Girls came to wait for their relatives and military officers would come and touch them, and that's something I saw.

"The girls usually didn't talk back to them, because they knew that in the camp if they talked anything could happen to them. It was quite open, everyone could see the military officers touching the girls," she said.

"Tamil girls usually don't talk about sexual abuse, they won't open their mouths about it, but I heard the officers were giving the women money or food in return for sex. These people were desperate for everything."

She said prisoners who complained about their treatment were singled out by the guards.

"One time I saw an old man was waiting to visit the next camp and this military officer hit the old man. I don't know what the argument was, but the officer just hit him in the back.

"In the same area people were made to kneel down in the hot weather for arguing with the officers. Sometimes it lasted for hours."

Sometimes white vans appeared in the camp and took people away. White vans hold a particular terror in Sri Lanka, where they are associated with the abduction of thousands of people by death squads.

"They were asking people to come in and take their names down if they had any sort of contact [with the Tamil Tigers]. They did an investigation and then a van would come in and they would take them away and nobody would know after that. I know people still searching for family members."

Kumar said that on arrival at the camp, near the northern town of Vavuniya, she was put in a large tent with several people she did not know. The camp was guarded by armed soldiers and ringed with high fences and rolls of razor wire.

"The first two or three days I was alone there still scare me. When I arrived at the camp I put my bag down and just cried. That feeling still won't go. I just don't want to think about those two or three days in the camp, the fear about what was going to happen to me.

"For the first few days I didn't eat anything. We didn't know where to go to get food. I thought, 'Am I dreaming or is this really happening?' I never thought I would end up in a camp."

Tens of thousands of people were crammed into flimsy tents which provided little respite from the intense heat. Toilets and washing facilities could not cope with the demands and food and water were in short supply.

"You have to bathe in an open area in front of others, which I find very uneasy. I stayed next to the police station, so every day I had a bath with the police officers looking at me, men and women. Everyone can see you when you are having a bath. So I would get up early in the morning about 3.30am, so it was dark," she said.

Kumar was held in the best-equipped part of the camp, but even there conditions were dire.

"It is not a standard a human being can live in. The basic needs like water and food [were] always a problem. Most of the time you were queuing for water.

"The toilets were terrible, and there was not enough water, so we could not clean them. There were insects and flies everywhere. After two or three days of continuous rain, the sewage was floating on the water and going into the tents and everyone [was] walking through it, up to knee height."

She was finally released into the custody of the British High Commission in early September.

The Sri Lankan government says it is aware of allegations of sexual abuse and punishment of prisoners, but denied large-scale abuse.

Rajiva Wijesinha, the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, said "there was a lot of sex going on" inside the camp, but he claimed that most reports involved abuse by fellow detainees.

"I can't tell you nothing happened, because I wasn't there," he said. "Individual aberrations could have happened, but our position is 'Please tell us and they will be looked into'."

He said he was aware of one report from a UN agency, but claimed that establishing the facts was very difficult.

"We received a report that a soldier went into a tent at 11pm and came out at 3am. It could have been sex for pleasure, it could have been sex for favours, or it could have been a discussion on Ancient Greek philosophy, we don't know." 

A pro-LTTE parliamentarian has underlined his party’s resolve for an “autonomous rule” for Tamils in Sri Lanka, claiming that TNA’s support for opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was extended only after getting him to agree to those conditions.

K. Thurairetnasingam, a senior leader of the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance, said his party had “no confidence” in the devolution of powers in the North based on the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.

He said his party will not deviate from its demand for an autonomous rule for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

“We do not want the 13th Amendment. We have no confidence in the 13th Amendment,” Thurairetnasingam said, adding the party wanted an autonomous regime with all powers.

He said TNA was extending its support to the opposition Presidential candidate Fonseka for the January 26 polls only after getting him to agree those conditions, according to the state-run Daily News

.

Thurairetnasingam told the state-owned Vasanthan FM, a Tamil Radio channel, that Fonseka had agreed to comply with all their conditions and the party signed an agreement with him covering these issues.

Thurairetnasingam claimed Fonseka and opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had signed this agreement and their copies were sent to foreign representatives too, the state-run daily reported.

“We have already informed about this agreement to diplomats and the foreign governments,” he was quoted as saying by the radio channel.

“The President did not comply with our conditions and therefore this government should be overthrown,” the TNA leader said.

The Sri Lankan lawmaker said TNA had asked the president to halt the military operations during the last phase of the civil war, but he had refused to do so.

[Edited]

Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance, has announced that it will support former army general Sarath Fonseka in forthcoming presidential elections.

TNA Parliamentary group leader and Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan on Wednesday January 6 said majority of 18 members of the alliance who were present at lengthy deliberations were of the view that the "only meaningful way" to thwart the desire of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to seek a mandate to hold office for a further term would be urging the Tamils to vote for the joint opposition candidate General (retd.)

Sarath Fonseka.

Sambanthan further added Sarath Fonseka had given "satisfactory" assurances about finding a political resolution to Sri Lanka's ethnic question and promised to consider Tamil demands for a meaningful devolution of power to the provinces, according to the BBC.

"The Tamil people have been itching for a change of regime and the Tamil National Alliance decision is reflective of that desire," Sambanthan told BBC Tamil.

Following TNA’s announcement of support for Fonseka, the Sri Lankan government accused Fonseka of signing a secret pact with the Tamil political party in return for its backing in the upcoming election.

Sri Lanka’s Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene said according to the information they received that agreement contains several conditions such as releasing hardcore LTTE terrorists in the custody, removing all high security zones in North & East, reducing the number of military camps and Police Stations in both provinces, re-merging of North and East provinces and closing of State Intelligence Unit.

Abeywardene said those conditions are very harmful to country’s national security and therefore it is the utmost duty of the Gen. Fonseka to make public that agreement completely, if he is a “clean man” as described by his own camp.

Reinforcing government accusations, one TNA Member of Parliament acknowledged the existence of an agreement in an interview with the state media, claiming that TNA’s support for opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka was extended only after getting him to agree to those conditions.

K. Thurairetnasingam told the state-owned Vasanthan FM, a Tamil Radio channel, that Fonseka had agreed to comply with all their conditions and the party signed an agreement with him covering these issues.

However, speaking to reporters, Sambandan said that neither he nor anyone else from their alliance signed any agreement with General Fonseka or with any of his representative.

Whether a secret pact exist or not, neither candidate has detailed their approach to resolving the decades long Tamil national question in their manifesto.

Mahinda Rajapakse’s manifesto promises an undivided state with honorable peace. Rajapaksa’s promise of a honorable peace in his 2006 manifesto led to death of tens of thousands Tamils.

According to his allies, devolution of powers under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution would be Rajapaksa’s political solution to the national problem.

Like Rajapakse, Fonseka also has stayed away from offering political solution and focused normalization, which he labels as “process of national reconciliation”

“I will help all Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese affected by the war. A program of immediate relief measures for war affected persons and areas will be implemented which will also address the burning problems of Tamil speaking persons. All remaining IDPs will be immediately re-settled and the grant for resettlement will be increased to a minimum of Rs. 100,000 per family and assessed upwards based on need.”

“Within the first month I will take steps to register all other persons displaced due to the war and see that they are re-settled without further delay. All detainees in relation to terrorism will be prosecuted, rehabilitated or released. I will promote and foster our Sri Lankan identity based on our ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. I will ensure the freedom of worship without any hindrance or discrimination" states Fonseka’s manifesto.

Although Fonseka’s manifesto details concretes steps to return the war ravaged North-East to some semblance of normalcy, it also proposes continued investment in the Sinhala security the apparatus.

On national security, despite the LTTE being defeated as a conventional fighting force, Fonseka’s manifesto  promises to create a state of the art, highly disciplined professional and committed Tri forces, Police and Civil Defence Force capable of safe-guarding the country and its citizens from external and internal threats and boost naval and coast guard capabilities to thwart smuggling of humans, weapons, drugs and all other illegal activities that compromises national security.

An interview by TNA MP Suresh Premachandran shows that such contradictions have not escaped the TNA.

Speaking to Dialy Mirror newspaper Premachandran said: “We’re not mad to believe that Sarath Fonseka will deliver everything- We believe the parties supporting him will send him in the right path.”

It should not be forgotten, not long ago Fonseka in an interview with Canada’s National Post newspaper said: “I strongly believe that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese, but there are minority-communities and we treat them like our people ... They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things.”

The United Nations has turned down a request from Sri Lanka to send observers to monitor the country's presidential election later this month because of lack of time, a UN spokesman said.

Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa is standing against 21 challengers in the January 26 vote, the first since the government crushed a 25-year rebellion by Tamil Tigers in May.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Sri Lanka's election commissioner and government had asked the world body to consider observing the election.

"In light of the limited lead time available" and because U.N. election observation requires a mandate from the General Assembly or Security Council, "the U.N. informed the commissioner and the government of Sri Lanka that it could not provide observers," Nesirky said.

The United Nations has not sent observers to monitor an election in any country for at least 10 years, Nesirky said, although it has provided technical assistance for votes in several nations, most recently Afghanistan.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Sri Lanka days after the end of the war against the Tigers. Some critics said his visit could be seen as endorsing the government's military victory.

Tamil activists in America have been rapidly stepping up a boycott campaign, urging consumers to make an ethical choice and refuse to purchase goods made in Sri Lanka.

The latest in this movement was a viral video released by “Boycott Sri Lanka” as part of their “No Blood for Panties” video series.  

Less than 10 days since the release of the video it has attracted the attention of many people in the textile industry of Sri Lanka and even US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Patricia Butenis.

“We have seen reports of the boycott. Private citizens have organized the action,” said the ambassador.

“In the United States, citizens have the right to organise such campaigns and to decide what they buy.”

The light-hearted video has already had nearly 10,000 views and is aimed at persuading consumers to boycott Sri Lankan made lingerie, a major industry for the country which supplies major brands such as Victoria’s Secret.

Sri Lanka’s textile industry netted a record $3.47 billion from EU markets last year, making it the country’s top source of foreign exchange, followed by remittances of $3 billion and tea exports of $1.2 billion.

The USA was Sri Lanka’s single most important trading partner, receiving 23% of Sri Lankan exports, and 40% of Sri Lanka’s garment exports, amounting to $1.9 billion in 2008.

"Sri Lanka uses tax revenue from the textile industry to oppress Tamil civilians and detain them in IDP internment camps," explained Anjali Manivannan from Boycott Sri Lanka.

"No Blood For Panties sends the powerful message that buying 'Made in Sri Lanka' items and supporting state-sponsored human rights violations is unsexy. It sends the message that being a conscious consumer is where true sexiness is."

Michael O’Rourke of Dimension7, directed the series of videos.

"The story narrative of No Blood For Panties takes on the idea of how events in the far corners of the world impact our very personal lives," said O'Rourke.

"This video series turns the popular axiom of 'sex sells' on its head by using the same approach to actually promote activism."

The release of the video coincides with a series of protests being held across the USA.

Four protests have been held in Atlanta since September at North Point Mall, a super-regional shopping mall serving the affluent part of the metropolitan Atlanta.

Protestors held placards and distributed leaflets as protestors across the country united. Similar rallies were held in Florida and San Francisco with brands such as Gap and Victoria’s Secret.

"The response from the public was very encouraging. There were about ten thousand cars cross that junction in those four hours, and we had a big "BOYCOTT SRILANKA" sign in the centre, which drew attention of the drivers; we were able to see most of the passengers in all lanes looking at the signs. Some of the drivers crossed lanes to get the information about the Boycott and picked the flyers," a Florida protest organizer said.

Activists in Washington DC and Delaware targeted Banana Republic stores, while in New York a large mobile billboard was used. A truck with a large billboard showing images of Tamil refugee suffering drove along popular shopping clusters in New York city, including 34th Street and Broadway. Lighting arrangements in the truck enabled the campaign to extend until early evening 7:00 p.m.

Organizers for the campaign said that the campaign will continue on a regular basis. "If sufficient donors show interest we are prepared to activate this campaign frequently to have maximum impact," an organizing member said.

The campaign places even more pressure on the Sri Lankan garment industry, with the recent suspension of the GSP Plus program. Campaigners have urged consumers across the globe to boycott Sri Lankan goods and encourage others to do follow.

Over two hundred internally displaced people (IDPs) had been relocated to a camp in Killinochchi instead of resettling in their homes, says one of the refugees who spoke to the BBC.

He told the BBC Sinhala Service, that they were taken from Vavunia to Killinochchi to be put in another camp.

"We were brought here from the Arunachalam camp in Vavunia. They told us that we would be permanently resettled in our own homes," he told the BBC.

Tamil inmates from Vavunia say that they are frustrated about the situation.

"We had been here in this camp for over a month now. We were promised that we would be going home within days. Latest we heard is that it will happen in a month".

The refugee who spoke to the BBC from Killinochchi, said there are fifty two families in this camp situated at Killinochchi Central School.

"Once we arrived, we were given dry rations, now we get cooked food like any other camp. The perimeter of the school is guarded by the Army,"he said.

"My house is only 800 metres away from this camp. We are kept in the school while there is an army camp where my house was. This is a new camp established since the end of the war".

The refugees are not allowed out by the authorities, he says.

"After days of protest, they took us in a bus for a hair cut. The barber was only one hundred metres down the road. We were taken back to the camp immediately after the haircut".

The IDPs in Kilinochchi are waiting to go back to their homes says the refugee who spoke to BBC Sandeshaya. 

Hours after announcing the Party’s decision to support the common Opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka, Tamil National Alliance front liner Suresh Premachandran speaks to Hard Talk about the rationale behind the decision. He opines that although the Tamil people will not entirely be comfortable with the Opposition Candidate, and they have their reservations about how the orders were carried out by Gen. Fonseka, they support him on the grounds that ‘he is the only one who can today challenge the President on how the war was won.

‘Our point is if he is correcting himself then why not? We feel he is going in the correct path. We believe the parties supporting him will send him in the right path,’ he stresses.

Q: What is the rationale behind the decision of the TNA to extend support for the Common Opposition candidate, Gen. Sarath Fonseka?

A: We decided to support the retired General because of the attitude of the present government towards the plight of the Tamil people over the last four years, as well as towards the elected representatives of the Tamil people in the North and the East. There are 22 members of Parliament in the TNA, but we have never been invited for the development meetings or any discussion on the displaced in the North and the East during the last four years. None of the MPs have been consulted on anything to do with our people. Our people have been in the displaced camps for over six months after the war ended but this government  never let us visit the people despite many requests to do so . This was the attitude of the government towards us. There are many, many examples like this. In fact we couldn’t think of a single reason why we should support the candidature of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
That is why we decided that there was no point in allowing this regime to go for a second term, because we fear the suffering of the Tamil people will continue, if we do that. The Tamil people lost a lot more than their lives to the war; they lost their land, endured much pain of mind and the damaging effects of the demerger of the North and the East. These are all reasons behind our decision. And the effects of this regime are not only affecting the Tamil people but the entire nation as a whole. The whole country needs a change, because the government failed to put the country in the right path after the end of the war. And we realize that this government doesn’t want to work with the international community, which is affecting funding to the country. So even the Sinhala people are having their reservations about this regime; they are also suffering. This is why we had to decide in this manner.

Q: But the question remains how comfortable the Tamil people would be with a person who could be argued to have been in the forefront of the plight of the Tamil people you speak of?

A: I won’t say the Tamil people will be comfortable with the opposition candidate as such, given that situation, but it was the President as the Commander in Chief who gave the orders during the war. So as the Army Commander Gen. Fonseka merely followed his orders. We certainly have our reservations about how the orders were carried out, but he is the only one who can today challenge the President on how the war was won. But he is no longer the Army Commander and as a civilian he now says that Tamil people must enjoy equal rights. In fact at a recent meeting in Anuradapura he spoke about how the need for opportunities that allowed for a black President in the USA in Sri Lanka as well. Our point is if he is correcting himself then why not? We feel he is going in the correct path. We believe the parties supporting him will send him in the right path.

Q: Would you say your confidence extends towards the JVP as well, in directing the General in the right path, given their own declared approach towards the Tamil cause that you remain committed to?

A: Yes, we have our reservations with the JVP. They need to understand the Tamil people and their problems, and there must be greater understanding in the JVP about the need to allow the Tamil people their right to progress economically. They must also understand the need to allow for all communities to come together as a nation.
We don’t accept either Sarath Fonseka’s or the JVPs policies  completely. But we think we can work out a plan and allow for a change of government to take place. And the Tamil vote in the North and the East can certainly play a role in that. It is because of that aspect that we decided on supporting the General.

Q: It is unlikely that there will be a significant voter turnout in the North, at least not in a way to influence the vote at the national level, while the Eastern Tamil vote will also prove bleak. How serious a situation is this in your opinion?

A: Definitely the people are very frustrated. It is mainly people from the Wanni that need a change. We are very concerned about how we can make room for the people to vote. We have to discuss with the Election’s Commissioner who has mentioned that he will make all arrangements for the displaced to cast their vote. We will be discussing this with the Opposition parties as well. The Election’s Commissioner has plans to put polling booths in the camps and the resettled areas. The problem is the thousands of people from the Wanni resettled in Jaffna and those from Vavuniya in Kilinochchi. We don’t know what the logistics are in their voting and if many of them will be willing on the other hand in going  such a distance to vote.

Q: How concerned are you of this number that will not vote which is expected to be considerable?

A: Many of these people are badly affected and want a change. The people feel that this government is responsible for their pain and hope that the incoming President will change their plight. We feel that these people are in that mindset to vote. But because of these logistical issues I don’t how many will go to the polls. And what happens to those votes?

Q: How influential would you say India was in your decision?

A: India had nothing to do with our decision at all. There has been no influence or interference at all. We took our decision by ourselves. There was absolutely no pressure from anyone. This is the decision of the TNA alone.

Q: So is this how the TNA would be taking its decisions in the future as well, completely outside of the influence of the Indian political regime?

A: Well, we have strong doubts about the attitude of this government towards the plight of the Tamil people. If they continue with this attitude we might have to look at support from the third Party.

Q: What in your opinion would ensure the Tamil people through voting for Gen Sarath Fonseka as opposed to President Rajapaksa, given that neither candidate have approached some of the more crucial issues of the Tamil people, such as the IDPs, the HSZs revoke emergency or devolution of powers?

A: We had discussions with President Rajapaksa as well as Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe and Gen. Sarath Fonseka. But the President couldn’t offer us any hope in even the immediate concerns of the Tamil people. We feel our concerns are not rightfully looked at by this government. He couldn’t offer any change in the resettlement plans and allow for freedom of movement even after the LTTE being defeated. However, Gen. Fonseka agreed that there was no longer a reason for the HSZs to continue now that the war is over and has promised that these will be changed after the elections. If he fails to do so however there will be another problem, with non violent methods adopted by the Tamil people. He has promised to look in to all these issues.

Q: Given that both candidates fear making any concrete promises to the Tamil community that would be termed as a betrayal of the Sinhala people, how is the Tamil leadership planning to ensure that there is active engagement of the community in national politics?

A: The issue is that if they try to speak on the issue, they face the problem of losing votes. Everyone wants to win the election. This is the tragic history of the last 60 years in this country. It is because of the abrogated pacts like the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam etc, that the Tamil youth were forced to take up arms. Even the present government is reluctant to come out with a political proposal because of this situation. What happened with the APRC? We don’t know what the Opposition candidate’s attitude is to the Tamil problem, but we’re not such fools to believe that a President Fonseka will even grant all our solutions. But at least there is space to discuss with Mr. Fonseka and Ranil Wickremesinghe. During the last 4 years we were not even in a position to discuss these issues. This is why we felt a need for a change. We’re not mad to believe that Sarath Fonseka will deliver everything but if he’s a disciplined Army General and understands the problem then there is space for that.

Q: Certainly Fonseka has promised a political package that ‘goes beyond’ the 13th amendment as has the President. How convinced is the TNA that this will ensure that the grievances of the community will be met given that nothing has been said about your demands like land or police powers or the merger of the North and East?

A: One reality that must be accepted by everyone is that in the North and the East the Tamil speaking people are in the majority. This is why their problems must be accepted. If this doesn’t happen we will get together with the Muslim people and seek all avenues available to us to win these rights that will create serious problems.

Q: There is a criticism against the TNA that it refuses to engage with the Sri Lankan political entities, instead relying unrealistically with the Tamil Diaspora, despite the limitation in obtaining any solutions in this manner?

With the Presidential elections less than a month away, campaigning by the two leading candidates, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gen. Sarath Fonseka (retd.) has gone into top gear with both making numerous promises to entice voters.

When Rajapakse announced his plan to hold the presidential election two years before his current term expires, he was hoping to capitalise on defeating the LTTE for his re-election. With the opposition not being able to counter Rajapaksa’s claiming of credit for the war victory, a landslide win for him was a forgone conclusion.

Unfortunately for Rajapaksa, the emergence of the Fonseka, his former military chief, as the rallying point for most of the opposition parties has made the election a tough fight for Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa and his Fonseka, who as the army commander also claims credit for defeating the LTTE, have been at loggerheads since the end of the conflict.

Late last year, accusing the government of sidelining him and falsely suspecting him of trying to stage a coup, Fonseka quit his military post and threw his lot into the presidential election.

As hard-line Sinhala nationalists both Fonseka and Rajapaksa claim credit for defeating the LTTE in May and appeal largely to their own ethnic group.

True to their Sinhala nationalist leanings Fonseka and Rajapaksa chose cities holy to the Sinhalese majority to kick off their campaigns with religious blessings and rallies. Whilst Fonseka kicked off his campaign in the hill city of Kandy, home to a sacred relic of Buddha, Rajapaksa kicked off his campaign in Anuradhapura, a seat of ancient Sinhala kings.

Whilst Rajapksa is standing on an openly Sinhala nationalist platform,  focusing on the Sinhala votes, Fonseka has cobbled together an anti-Mahinda coalition comprising of opposition parties who have come together despite having little commonality in their policies.

Rajapaksa, as commander-in-chief of security forces and Fonseka as overall commander of security forces are accused of crimes against humanity for the brutal way in which they conducted the war in which tens of thousands Tamils were massacred.

Chris Patten chairman of International Crisis Group and former Governor of Hong Kong writing in the International Herald Tribune wrote: “[P]ut yourself in a Tamil's shoes, and decide whom to vote for in the presidential election: Choose either the head of the government that ordered the attacks against you and your family, or the head of the army that carried it all out.”

For Tamils, this presidential election is no different to the previous ones - an exercise for the Sinhala nation to choose their leader. Tamils do not expect either candidate to take any meaningful steps to address their legitimate political aspirations.

Interestingly neither does the international community, based on Patten’s comments.

“What counts more than campaign promises, though, is what the winner actually does in office, and based on past performance, it is hard to imagine either candidate making the necessary constitutional reforms to end the marginalization of Tamils and other minorities - the roots of the decades-long conflict. Left unaddressed, Tamil humiliation and frustration could well lead to militancy again.” wrote Patten.

“While Sri Lankan voters face a difficult decision, for the international community, the choice is clear. Whoever wins, the outside world should use all its tools to convince the government to deal properly with those underlying issues to avoid a resurgence of mass violence. In the interest of lasting peace and stability, donor governments and international institutions - India, Japan, Western donors, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank - should use their assistance to support reforms designed to protect democratic rights, tie aid to proper resettlement of the displaced, and a consultative planning process for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged, overly militarized north. U.N. agencies and nongovernment organizations should have full access to monitor the programs to ensure international money is spent properly and people receiving aid are not denied their fundamental freedoms.”. Patten added

“In short, this means not giving Colombo any money for reconstruction and development until we know how it will be spent. And if we see funds not being used as promised, it means not being afraid to cut them off.” Patten concluded.

Unfortunately, Rajapaksa’s manifesto had no evidence of a real effort by the Sri Lankan President to address the Tamil national question.

In his 14-point programme manifesto titled `A brighter future’ Rajapaksa promises “a unitary state, not to be divided” indicating no meaningful power devolution and no changes to the existing constitution.

According to the manifesto, Rajapakse will put Sri Lanka in a prominent position in Asia and the world and focus on developing the country in the next decade which he declared as the "Development Decade" of Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the launch of the manifesto, President Rajapaksa conceded that having to spend most of the four years of his first in term in fighting terrorism, and also the many international forces that sought to obstruct the efforts to defeat the most ruthless organisation in the world, he had barely six months left to address other important issues, according to Hindu newspaper published in India.

He promised that his next term would be wholly devoted to addressing these issues that would take the country to development and progress, giving priority to the battle against corruption with the same determination with which he had fought the underworld and terrorism, the newspaper further reported.

Rajapaksa is trying to portray himself the leader who stood against international pressure to protect the nation whilst portraying the opposition parties as trying to give into terrorism by forming alliance with the Tamil National Alliance.

"These groups are trying to make way for another Eelam struggle in this country", Rajapaksa told the gathering on the occasion.

Copies of the manifesto were first presented to the Maha Sangha and all religious dignitaries present on the occasion.

A few days earlier, Fonseka launched his common minimum programme, titled "Vishvasaneeya Venasak" (Believable Change), setting out 10 points he will accomplish if he is elected.

Presenting his plan Fonseka told reporters he is not a politician but a government servant by profession and does not belong to any party but is a Sri Lankan who is acceptable to all.

In his programme, Fonseka pledged to maintain cordial and friendly ties with all countries world over and requested for an opportunity to be granted to establish democracy, wipe out corruption, and ease the burden the people are faced with.

"Life is harder under the Rajapaksas. Corruption, bribery, nepotism and ego-boosting extravagance are holding back the development of our country and hurting families," Fonseka told reporters at the launch of his manifesto.

In keeping with a Sri Lankan election tradition of populist subsidies, he promised higher public sector salaries and welfare payments, both of which are supported by one of his backers, the Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party, but contradictory to the open market policies including privatisation and reduction in government expenses of another one his backers, the main opposition, United National Party.

Similarly, JVP and the Tamil National Alliance which announced its decision to back Fonseka have opposing views on the Tamil national question.

Political Analysts say whilst Fonseka may have not taken openly Sinhala nationalistic position, by trying to be everything to everyone, he may turn out to be nothing to anyone.

On Thursday (January 7), UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Philip Alston called for "an independent inquiry to be established to carry out an impartial investigation into war crimes" in Sri Lanka. In particular, Alston has given the UN's imprimatur to the authenticity of video footage apparently showing summary executions of prisoners in January 2009 in the final stages of the civil war.

The Sri Lankan government has, unsurprisingly, rejected the video as "fabricated", despite the UN's reliance on three independent experts in assessing it, accusing Alston of bias and a personal crusade. Any investigation would have to involve both main presidential candidates: sitting president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been the commander-in-chief of the defence forces, and General Sarath Fonseka, who was in charge of the army.

Exactly a year ago today, Lasantha Wickrematunge, a newspaper editor, was gunned down in broad daylight for being critical of Rajapaksha's government. No one has been charged to this day but allegations of a government hand in the killing are widely made. General Fonseka has referred to the Tamil Nadu politicians as "jokers" and in an interview with Canada's National Post he made comments widely seen as ultra-nationalistic or racist in nature: I strongly believe that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese, but there are minority-communities and we treat them like our people ... They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things.

These two men with others share the responsibility for deaths and destruction in a war that killed more than 80,000 combatants and civilians in the three years prior to May 2009 alone.

On this current president's watch, Sri Lanka has been stripped of a lucrative tariff concession from the EU on the grounds of poor governance and human rights violations, at least three Tamil elected parliamentarians have been killed, extrajudicial killings and abductions are common, at least eight journalists have been killed and many armed paramilitary groups have been created with government sponsorship.

With this background the majority Sinhala vote is expected to be split almost in half at the presidential election on 26 January. Ironically, Tamils are presumed to be the kingmakers.

However, Tamils have no appetite for an election at a time when they haven't even begun to rebuild their own lives and livelihood destroyed during many years of war that only ended just seven months ago. They live generally in fear under military and armed paramilitary occupation with human rights abuses accepted as part of life.

Tamils voted overwhelmingly in a general election in 1977 for separation, prior to the introduction of the sixth amendment to Sri Lanka's constitution, which disallows the espousal of separation. Despite this limited freedom of speech, Tamils have engaged in many such elections since 1977 and before.

Tamil leaders have in good faith signed agreements with many Sinhala leaders to resolve their differences. Successive governments have withdrawn unilaterally from these agreements complaining that the party that signed the agreement has given in too much to Tamils' demands. The latest such casualty in a long list of agreements since independence was the ceasefire agreement signed by one of the main parties with international sponsorship, which was abrogated unilaterally by the Rajapaksha regime.

Now Fonseka, who is the joint candidate of two main opposition parties, has signed another "agreement" with the main Tamil party. One of the points in the "agreement" and also in one of the previous agreements (Indo-Sri Lanka accord) is the merger of northern and eastern provinces, which together make up the Tamil homeland. Not a day went by before the president played to the Sinhala nationalists by saying he would never agree to a merger if re-elected.

Is history repeating itself? One wonders.

Just as with the previous agreements, this may have been signed by the Tamil leaders in good faith to generate some short-term benefits. But if the then ANC leaders had succumbed to international pressure and accrued short-term benefits that compromised their long-term goals, black South Africans would still be second-class citizens in their own land.

Further suspicions are raised by the fact that this "agreement" is with a presidential candidate who is claiming to relinquish executive powers – meaning he wouldn't have the powers to implement it. Furthermore, agreed points are not listed in his formal manifesto, so he will not have the Sinhala masses mandate. And JVP, one of the main coalition partners, hasn't signed the "agreement".

One hopes that history doesn't judge the current Tamil leadership as betrayers of Tamil nationalism for which the party was originated in the first place.

As Max Lerner said: "When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil". 

Thousands gathered on Saturday, November 28, to commemorate Heroes Day 2009 in an outpouring of grief in Sydney.

A series of artistic and visual tributes, including a spectacular centre piece display carrying the symbols of Tamil Eelam set behind commemorative tombstones, illuminated Parramatta Park amid an atmosphere of reflection and resolve as over 2000 members of the Diaspora paid tribute to the fallen soldiers of the liberation movement and reaffirmed their commitment to the establishment of Tamil Eelam.

The sister of LTTE Political head B. Nadesan, along with family of Colonel Amuthap lit the flame of sacrifice to mark the event, which featured songs, poetry and a series of provocative dramas portraying the horrors of Mullivaiykal and the sacrifices made by the fallen soldiers throughout the struggle.

Organized by the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC), the event began at 6:30 with a minutes silence before an hour long anjali commenced as members of the public offered flowers and prayer to the fighters who have laid down their lives for the pursuit of freedom.

Tamil author and academic Murugar Gunasingham called upon global powers to recognize their complicity in the carnage and immense civilian casualties that took place during the final phases of the military onslaught, citing Pakistan, China, India and Iran as collaborators who "hastened the mechanisms of genocide upon the entire Tamil nation".

Bringing the Tamil liberation struggle into historical context, Gunasingham cited the redemption of Nelson Mandela in the eyes of the world from political antagonist to national hero, suggesting a similar reprieve awaited LTTE leader as the continued suffering of thousands of Tamil civilians detained by Sri Lankan armed forces becomes apparent.

Citing the formation of Israel and the role of the global Jewish Diaspora as the “building blocks of the nation’s success”, he reaffirmed the need for continued vigilance and commitment by the global Tamil community in the face of immense adversity.

An emotional 4 part drama portraying the level of sacrifice and bravery displayed by the liberation fighters amid the suffering and carnage was punctuated by large scale choreography and outdoor lighting that transformed the park into a living prop used to depict the Vanni landscape during the latter stages of the conflict.

Notable Tamil Nadu politician and president of the Tamil Nationalist Movement Nedumaran was scheduled to address the audience, however was denied a visa by the Australian Government at the last moment.

Our beloved Tamil people,

Today is Heroes Day. This day we commemorate those who sacrificed their precious lives in our struggle to liberate our homeland. This day we pay tribute to those who selflessly fought for the welfare of Tamil people and the creation of an independent state. Today is the sacred day we remember those who fought valiantly to thwart the strategies of our enemies.

Let us pay tribute to the great heroes who made the supreme sacrifice, demonstrating their incomparable love for their homeland. These Heroes faced an enemy, superior in numbers and backed by super powers, with conviction and fought to the end for the principles they stood for. These Heroes, who placed their homeland and their people above their lives, are the embodiment of sacrifice itself.

In the island of Sri Lanka, the historical and unique state structures of our people were destroyed by external forces gradually over time. When the British left Ceylon, they handed over the whole island to the Sinhala people. Since that day, Sinhala hegemony has focused on destroying the rights of the Tamil people. The oppressive policies of the Sinhala state, such as the Sinhala Only Act and the racial discrimination in education, forced the Tamils to agitate for their rights.

The non-violent struggle of our people was met with state violence and those agreements the state made with Tamil leaders were subsequently torn up by the Sinhala leaders. As a last resort, the Tamils were forced to take up arms to fight for their inalienable rights.

Over the years the oppressive of Sinhala hegemony against the Eelam Tamils intensified. Today this oppression has reached a zenith, exposing the true nature of Sinhala hegemony.

From the outset the Sinhala state breached the Ceasefire Agreement that was signed between our organisation and the Government of Sri Lanka.  The situation further deteriorated after Mahinda Rajapakse become President; the Sri Lankan state unleashed a new war upon the Tamils with the intent of invading and occupying Tamil homeland.

The fighting that started at Maavilaaru in southern Tamil Eelam, spread to engulf the whole of the Tamil homeland, imposing immense suffering on the Tamil people. From the outset, our organisation engaged in defensive war, whilst the Sinhala state waged a duplicitous offensive war.

The international community, which had a moral obligation to stop the Sri Lankan state from breaching the ceasefire agreement, and launching an offensive war, limited itself to merely issuing statements.

The offensive war by the Sri Lankan state caused unspeakable suffering to Tamil People. From Sampoor, Kathiraveli and Vaakari, territory belonging to Tamils since time immemorial were invaded by Sri Lankan forces. Trapped in small space by continuous displacement Tamil people were killed in large numbers by the Sinhala army. Hospitals treating injured civilians and schools providing refuge to the displaced were bombed.

Taking advantage of the facts that our organisation had restricted itself to defensive warfare and the international community had turned a blind eye to its unilateral military onslaught, the Sri Lankan government continued its aggression. Following the capture of traditional Tamil territories in southern Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka commenced the invasion of northern Tamil Eelam. The military campaign that began in the western flank of Vanni gradually spread to the whole of Vanni.

Our people were displaced in great numbers. After announcing that it was unilaterally withdrawing from the internationally-backed ceasefire agreement it signed in 2002, the Sri Lankan government intensified its war efforts. Even at this stage our organisation tried to re-establish a ceasefire and revive the peace process. However, ignoring our overtures, the Sri Lankan state focused single-mindedly on the war effort.

A brutal war was unleashed upon our people who were recovering from the destruction of the 2004 Tsunami. The economic embargo imposed by the government on our people shattered their day to day lives. By expelling the international NGOs working in Vanni, Sri Lanka removed witnesses to its oppression and slaughter. Even at this stage our organisation continued to fight a defensive war and continued its calls to the international community to revive the peace process. We also warned the international community of the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

However, attacks on civilians living in Vanni intensified by the day. Hundreds of civilians were killed and injured every day by Sri Lanka’s attacks. Due to Sri Lanka’s embargo on food and medicine, everyone, from infants to the elderly, faced death by starvation. Through its actions Sri Lanka made it clear that the only option the people in Vanni had to save their lives was to surrender to them.

Hospitals treating injured civilians were attacked repeatedly. Safe Zones announced by the Sri Lankan government became part of its genocidal designs, as Sri Lankan forces bombed and shelled the areas declared as refuge for civilians. Safe Zones became killing fields. People ran desperately from one so-called Safe Zone to another without even being able to bury the loved ones they had lost in the Sri Lankan military’s attacks. Hospitals, schools, public premises, civilian houses, all came under the murderous attacks by Sri Lankan forces resulting in thousands of deaths.

The people who stood shoulder to shoulder and helped build and protect our long liberation struggle were mowed down in the cruellest way. With the support of the international community, Sri Lanka breached all rules of war and rained cluster bombs and chemical weapons such as white phosphorous bombs on our people from land, sea and air. In the final phase of the war, despite its pledge to the international community not to use heavy weapons, Sri Lankan forces rained heavy weapons fire on the people trapped in Mulliyavaikkal.

In view of the peoples’ losses and suffering, we unilaterally declared numerous ceasefires. We pleaded with the international community to protect our people and offered our full cooperation.

The Diaspora Tamils also agitated for this. In an unprecedented show of solidarity with their brethren back home, tens of thousands of Tamils took to the streets, staged demonstrations, protests and hunger strikes.

Meanwhile, Tamils in South India rose against the genocide of their brethren in Sri Lanka. Some made the ultimate sacrifice and self immolated themselves. The mass protests staged around the world for the international community to stop the annihilation and suffering of Eelam Tamils were futile.

The world ignored the pleas and protests of world’s Tamils, even as the mass killing of our people in Vanni was reaching a climax. Sri Lanka was directing heavy weapons targeting civilians. Trapped in their own homeland, without food and medicine our people were tormented.

Knowing the cruel treatment they will experience at the hands of the Sinhala forces, our people were hoping for and prepared to leave only in the presence of a safe third party. We fought to keep the Sri Lanka forces away from our people until then. When Sri Lankan war machine, superior in numbers and armaments, advanced invading our homeland, we fought relentlessly, exemplifying the Tamils’ warrior tradition.

Encouraged by the support of the Diaspora Tamils and the sacrifice of those who gave their lives themselves, we fought with ferocity. However, Sri Lanka military, backed by international powers, was strengthened beyond our means to fight them.

Even the United Nations also limited itself to statements and no action. Instead of stopping the genocidal war unleashed on the Tamils in guise of a ‘War on Terror’, it sought to appease the Sri Lankan state. Some countries even despatched their political and military experts to advice and support the Sri Lankan government.

At this time, we strove in many ways to save our people from the unfolding humanitarian crisis.  The Sri Lankan state and those acting as peace facilitator made unacceptable demands. Without understanding the fundamental nature of our liberation struggle and our peoples’ aspirations, they acted with their self-interests in mind.  This conduct deeply hurt and disappointed us. However we continued to reason and explain our position.

At the final stages, efforts we made through the internal community to save our people and the injured fighters were also sabotaged by the Sri Lankan state. Large numbers of trapped Tamils were massacred. Sri Lanka unleashed unprecedented atrocities on our people. Over twenty thousand people were killed in the space of just two days.

Those of our people who crossed over to Sri Lanka controlled territory, trusting the pledges made by the Sri Lankan government and the international community, were inflicted with immense suffering. Over three hundred thousand people were imprisoned in concentration camps without even drinking water. Six months on, this suffering is continuing. People who stood with us in our fight against oppression were taken to secret camps. There has been no information made available on these people to date. Our fighters who are held by Sri Lankan forces are not being treated in accordance with international laws and norms on prisoners of war and are subject to immense suffering. The treatment of women fighters is terrible.

Relief agencies and human rights organisation are disappointingly silent on this matter. We urge the international community and rights organisations to take immediate action on this matter.

Sri Lanka’s portrayal of its genocidal war as a ‘humanitarian war’ to liberate Tamils from the Tamil Tigers is ridiculous. The Sri Lankan President’s claim of winning the war without loss of Tamil lives is laughable. This war has caused massive destruction of life, property, habitat and dignity for the Tamil people. The economic loss of Eelam Tamils is immeasurable. With our people held behind barbed wires, the resources of Tamils are being plundered.

Our dear people,

Following the humanitarian tragedy that unfolded in Vanni, we have expanded our diplomatic activities in the international arena with the objective of bringing an end to the suffering of our people and ensuring their security. We are working on building a political structure across the globe. Sri Lanka is working hard to sabotage even these activities. It has been engaged in abducting and demanding the arrests of our organisers who are working according to international norms. Sinhala hegemony reached the stage where it targets even democratic expressions and activities of people.

From the day Sri Lanka is said to have gained independence, the successive Sinhala governments have vowed to, and worked towards, erasing the Tamil identity from the island and destroying the Tamil nation. Sri Lanka has continued to silence the voice of our people making it impossible for them to express their aspirations. Sinhala rulers have never been willing to offer a just and dignified solution to our people.

The violent and oppressive activities that commenced against the Tamils in 1956 reached a peak in with genocide in 2009. The actions of the Sinhala state and Sinhala forces, and especially the actions of Sinhala hegemony in the aftermath of the humanitarian tragedy inflicted on the Tamil people, has created a permanent rupture between the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

By unleashing a humanitarian tragedy on Tamils to break their will power, the Sri Lankan state is hoping to force their designs on the Tamil people, and bring the whole island under their dominance.

As part of this strategy it hoped to conduct municipality elections in Jaffna and Vavuniya to declare the fall of Tamil nationalism to the world. However, contrary to Sri Lanka’s hope and desire our people demonstrated their support for Tamil nationalism and nationhood again at the polls.

As urged by those nations who are sympathetic to the Tamils’ plight, it is necessary to build in those nations that respect democracy, the political structures to spearhead the liberation of our homeland. Selecting the representatives of these political structures through an electoral process in Diaspora nations is a step to international recognition. Through these political structures we should secure the support of the international community against our oppression and strengthen our liberation struggle internationally. We are confident that our people will never accept these political structures or the representatives elected to deviate from the goal of an independent Tamil Eelam.

Taking a long term perspective, it is our duty to take into consideration the prevailing internal and international environments and continue our struggle in the most appropriate form.

At the same, it is also the duty of the global Tamils to rebuild the social infrastructure of our homeland destroyed by Sri Lanka over a long period of time and to rehabilitate the displaced Tamil people. It is the need of the hour for the global Tamils to be united in their activities to gain the support of the international community for our struggle against Sinhala oppression. We ask the global Tamil community to embrace all and make new friends to win our freedom.

At the same time, we ask all Tamil and Muslim political parties in our homeland to continue to work selflessly and cohesively towards winning our rights as they have done in the past.

We remember with appreciation the efforts of the Diaspora Tamils in raising awareness of our struggle in the international arena, especially the organised contributions and demonstrations of the Diaspora youth. We also thank the people of Tamil Nadu who rose against the genocide of our people.

Tamils in Eelam, in the Diaspora, in Tamil Nadu and spread around the World! Let us continue our struggle until the dreams of our Heroes become reality. We can no longer live with Sinhalese; still hoping for justice from the Sinhalese is naïve. We are no longer prepared to trust and be betrayed by the Sinhala state.

The Tamils are a unique and strong nation. We are a nation with a rich culture and a long history. Let us face the challenges, overcome the obstacles, defeat opposition and continue our struggle until we reach our goal.

We call upon the global Tamils to come together to support all activities that strengthen our freedom struggle. The willing sacrifice of life by more than thirty thousand Heroes for the liberation of our motherland and the killing of more than a hundred thousand of our people in the struggle have kindled the fire of liberation in every Tamil mind.

On this day, let us pledge to continue our struggle, as per the guidance of our honourable National leader Velupillai Pirapaharan and as per the principles of those who gave up their precious lives fighting to the end for our rights, and work towards the formation of an independent, sovereign state of Tamil Eelam.

It was cold, misty, and miserably wet the day we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, but no one wished for better weather. My companions -- mostly midlevel diplomats from more than a dozen countries around the world -- all seemed to agree that sunshine would have been almost offensive. We had come to this corner of Poland as part of a weeklong seminar on preventing genocide, which included such outings so that the participants could learn more about the details of the Holocaust. And yet, I wondered if this field trip was having its desired effect.

There is probably no more appropriate single location than Auschwitz-Birkenau for grasping the scope of the Nazi horror. But the unprecedented and unequaled nature of that horror makes it somewhat inappropriate as a useful lesson for preventing genocide today. When you're waiting for something that looks like Birkenau, it's almost too easy to say, "never again."

From March 1942 to late 1944, Birkenau was the largest factory of mass murder in wartime Europe. Every day, trains arrived carrying thousands of people -- mostly Jews, but also Poles, Roma, and others -- and apart from a limited number deemed fit for slave labor, they were sent immediately to their deaths in massive, purpose-built gas chambers. At its peak, Birkenau could kill as many as 20,000 people a day, and in the end, this place was the worst of the extermination camps: The Nazis are estimated to have murdered over a million people here.

It was the mechanization of murder on a scale never before seen, and it stretched far beyond the grounds of this camp. With victims shipped in from all across Europe, this was an integrated system of collection, transport, and execution that covered a continent. It was precisely that sort of industrialization that I feared might inhibit an understanding of mass atrocity among the participants. Walking around Birkenau with these diplomats, some of whom represent states on the edge -- a few perhaps even over the edge -- of mass atrocities right now, I got the feeling some might have missed the point.

The Holocaust was a minutely organized and completely structured -- not to mention disturbingly well-documented -- genocide, miles away from the messy realities of their countries. They could look at the camp and the gas chambers and recognize nothing familiar. In fact, the visit may have only confirmed their belief that their countries were incapable of mass atrocities, when all they are really incapable of is the industrialized method.

The passage of time and the different cultural context of mid-20th-century Central Europe only added to the distance, making the events of that era seem even less familiar to African, Latin American, and Asian participants living in 2009. It is harder to identify parallels with one's own culture, harder to see the signs and harder to admit any similarities. It allows a psychological distance from anything that might occur in their countries.

Of course, this is not the intention of the seminar organizers, the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation's Raphael Lemkin Center for Genocide Prevention and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The goals of this unique and admirable project were, first, to train government policymakers in the latest genocide and conflict prevention and intervention strategies. Second, the organizers are seeking to help these participants build an international network of diplomats and others who understand the warning signs and can act to help halt disaster before it strikes.

Seminar instructors, like me, deliberately pointed out the universal potentials, stressing the similarities between the Holocaust and later genocides and other mass atrocities. Still, I sensed both organizers and speakers had a bit of a tough time reaching some participants. Perhaps it is simply too hard to compete with the place-specific impressions one gets upon visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau. I did naturally talk to some participants about this -- about how what they saw resonated with them and their own countries' situations and potentials -- but it was rather unsatisfying.

This issue goes far beyond a couple dozen participants in a seminar in Poland. I suspect too many people in the wider international community still only recognize genocide in this one most specific sense. They are always looking for Birkenau -- expecting industrialized killing rather than seeing genocide the way it unfolds today. They ignore the evidence that in the right environment, simple machetes can be just as effective as rail networks and gas chambers.

"Genocide" is too limiting a term in any case. In recent years, governments have not necessarily been exterminating entire subgroups en masse with crystal-clear intent. Yet some governments show no qualms about shelling huge numbers of ethnic minority civilians trapped in confined war zones, as we saw in Sri Lanka earlier this year. More common still are governments that kick one ethnic group off its land and force the people into displacement camps where they become permanent wards of international humanitarian agencies -- think Darfur, for example, to mention just one place commonly labeled a "slow-motion genocide."

To get hung up on definitions of "genocide" -- or "war crimes," "crimes against humanity," or "ethnic cleansing" for that matter -- is to miss the point entirely, and the possibility of prevention, almost certainly. Arguing over the fulfillment of categories wastes valuable time better spent saving lives.

Some have suggested separating the legal definitions of these atrocities, which are needed by lawyers arguing the case long after the fact, from the political definitions, which would require a simpler burden of proof to encourage swift, preventive action by the international community. But even if you could get beyond fears of a "hair-trigger" approach, you are still more or less where you started: Definition is held to be paramount, when the real issue is political will.

Washington's stance toward Rwanda and Darfur illustrate this perfectly. In the former, the Clinton administration went through various contortions to avoid calling it a genocide, while in the latter, the Bush administration took a long look and declared it a genocide. But whether or not the G-word was used, the result was the same: The White House did exactly what it wanted to do or thought it could do to stop the killing -- conscience-salving quick fixes and half-measures with little or no effect.

Expanding the focus from strictly genocide to "atrocity crimes" may seem an improvement, but it still sets up definitions that have to be evaluated and can anyway be ignored whether the definitions are fulfilled or not. In other words, it all comes down to politics anyway, so fooling around with definitions seems pointless at best, and deliberate and deadly delay at worst.

If generating political will is the only issue, then the organizers of this seminar have the right idea to establish a network of career diplomats who have some knowledge of genocide and the techniques employed to try to prevent it. And they do see the importance of cultural context in expanding sympathy for the victims and the need to stress that atrocity crimes can emerge anywhere: The next seminar will be in Latin America.

Theirs is long-term work, to be sure, but if they can get enough diplomats and government officials through a program that stresses the universal potential of atrocity crimes and the possible steps for their prevention, then it might just have some positive effect on establishing political will in future cases of mass murder, when nothing will look remotely like Birkenau.