Sri Lanka

Taxonomy Color
red

  • Disconnect between Delhi and Tamil Nadu

    Jan 23
    Whilst political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the main opposition Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), called for the removal of the ban on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Congress led central government again requested Sri Lanka for the extradition of LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan from Sri Lanka.
     
    According to reports, India has laid down the grounds with Sri Lanka to seek the extradition of Pirpaharan and Colombo is open to the idea.

    The news of a formal request for Prabhakaran's extradition being confirmed by the Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon himself on the eve of his visit to Colombo.

    Menon said, "We have already made the request, several times in fact."
     
    The Sri Lankan High Commissioner for India commenting on the issues said, "We're willing to consider India's request."
     
    LTTE Chief Prabhakaran has been wanted by India for the past 18 years for his alleged role in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.

    Meanwhile, according to local media reports India is keen to assist in the development of Kilinochchi, recently occupied by the Sri Lankan Army.
     
    Analysts point this as further evidence of the disconnect between Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
     
    Whilst the people in Tamil Nadu are disappointed by the occupation of Kilinochchi by Sri Lankan Army, Delhi is delighted with the development and is ready to fund reconstruction of the town abandoned by its residents, they say. 
     
    Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene on Tuesday January 13 said that the development of the recently occupied Kilinochchi would begin soon with the assistance of India.
     
    Discussions had taken place on between Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapakse and Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad on the development of Kilinochchi and the North, Abeywardane said.
     
    More discussions are to take place shortly and the government’s intention is to develop the North faster than the East, according to Abeywardane.
     
    The Indian High Commissioner had also expressed his satisfaction with the manner in which the relief items sent by the Indian government were distributed, Abeywardene said.
  • Traumatised children and a disordered society in Tamil Eelam
    As the fireworks thundered above our heads welcoming 2009 in Sydney, despite the magnificent display, my three year old son was terrified – clutching my shoulders and burying his head – only occasionally having the courage to look up while his older sister looked on gleefully.
     
    I remember him being terrified at the age of one when we had brought him along to watch the fireworks - but he still seemed very fearful of sudden large noises.
     
    Standing under that colourful night sky, I felt sad thinking about the outcomes of traumatised children in war situations.
     
    How many bombs Sri Lanka would have dropped in Tamil territories since I first saw an aerial bombing back in 1986, I wondered.
     
    A day later when the Army entered Kilinochchi, I plunged further into depression and had to remind myself of the power of proactive deeds of individuals and positive visualisation.
     
    One cannot fathom the hardships that the Tamil youth would have endured in fighting a highly equipped army that advanced from many sides, backed by Pakistani and Chinese weaponry and Indian radar operators!
     
    It’s almost like, it is the rest of world vs. Tamil Eelam. If only India had done something.
     
    These kind of “if only” scenarios ache our hearts. One simply cannot eliminate the sick feeling of having Kilinochchi - a prototype of a free and fair Eelam of the future, an infant model of our statehood - crushed before our own eyes.
     
    Anyway, leaving political and military outcomes aside, in this article I have attempted to highlight two long felt concerns of mine – disorder in society and the effects of trauma in children.
     
    While lamenting about the loss of land, we need to focus on the survivability and wellbeing of future generations in Tamil areas.
     
    In this article, I am not talking about the relatively small middle class populations, but the vast majority of poverty stricken people in the war torn Tamil areas - the poor or those who have become poor, keeping in mind the many years of medical and economic embargo and the prolonged war.
     
    What are the future outcomes for a young IDP (Internally Displaced Person or Refugee) child who has been a refugee for most or whole of his/her life? What are the outcomes for children living on hand-outs or in prolonged poverty and insecurity?
     
    What will happen to children with interrupted schooling or no schooling? What about the subset of children who are more timid in nature and have less coping skills? Add to that, the trauma of a physical injury or losing a parent? These are some of the questions that come to mind.
     
    First of all, when looking at trauma in children, one can acknowledge that given the right support systems, many children have good chances of bouncing back to their normal physical, emotional and cognitive developmental milestones.
     
     Many of us have grown up to be well balanced individuals even after experiencing traumatic aspects of the war. But, what about repeated and prolonged exposure to traumatic events? 
     
    The traditional society of Ilankai Tamils has had many support systems or “safety nets” such as: the extended family system; strong religious beliefs, strong spiritual beliefs and de-stressing techniques and rituals; an ecologically friendly way of living or living off the land with a great awareness for environmental conservation and sustainability.
     
    But, prolonged unrelenting war can pound and pound until holes are created in these safety nets! Children are especially prone to the disorders associated with trauma.
     
    Maybe excepting teenagers, many children neither have the cognitive ability to make sense of why the war is happening nor the emotional ability to cope up with family, social break down and disruptions to normal way of living, normal education etc.
     
    The intensified horrific war that we are seeing now in Tamil areas, has reached new levels in the destruction of society.
     
    While Singhalese children wake up to go to schools, the scared, displaced Tamil child rotting away without schooling in a dismal shelter, wakes up to the sound of shells in the middle of night.
     
    Take a young toddler who gets scared by the noise of the thunder or fireworks and put him/her in Vanni war zone, and the child would not cope with the bombs, cluster bombs and shells, let alone the constant running from one place to another, lack of food, lack of family and school routines etc.
     
    Now, if there is the added trauma of injury or death – the child’s sense of security and well being is seriously damaged.
     
    For a child, the parents and caregivers are powerful people. Seeing powerful people rendered powerless, can be very traumatic to the young child.
     
    To compound the issue even further, the surviving parent or family member might be occupied with getting or providing very basic needs, that the emotional needs of the child can easily go unanswered.
     
    Brooks and Siegel (1996), two experienced psychologists who worked with traumatised children talk about different kinds of trauma - death, illness and injury, abuse, natural disasters and trauma by proxy.
     
    They talk about children who had been in car accidents who refuse to go back into the car, children who had seen buildings collapse due to earthquakes refusing to be inside buildings etc.
     
    They talk about how different age groups react differently to trauma (see box for summary).
     
    It’s easy to deny or turn away from the psychological and mental problems that can occur in war situations especially since stigma is attached to such happenings.
     
    We need to be aware of these problems among vulnerable groups especially children, just as we are aware of loss of lives, limbs, property and a way of life, that is taking place in the Tamil homeland.
     
    The Singhalese government is well aware of the benefits of creating a disordered Tamil society. One can clearly see it has an agenda of creating “reserve” like areas or pockets of fragmented IDP populations who are often reduced to living on handouts.
     
    It is effectively waging a psychological warfare. It is aiming for breakdown of family, cultural and social structures. This can be seen in all parts of the Tamil homeland.
     
    Coming to the long term effects of disorder in society, some time ago I wondered about the alcoholism and self destructive behaviours found among Indigenous communities in Australia.
     
    In Canada and US, similar problems were seen in “reserves” for Indigenous people. Though some of you may rightfully argue that the indigenous situation was socio-culturally different to Tamils, I think its worth looking at the cycle of events that has contributed to their present social disorder.  
     
    Theoretically, parallels can be drawn with the forced relocation of indigenous people (who were made refugees in their own land), forced removal of indigenous children and destruction of indigenous languages and culture.
     
    The destruction of indigenous cultures also occurred with the trauma due to forced relocations, European renaming of land, losing access to sacred sites and traditional food sources.
     
    In Tamil areas, refugees who are internally displaced or evicted, are herded from one area to another - often aerial bombings and shellings are used to make people flee, to kill them off or to relocate them to suitable positions for the government.
     
    Internment of refugee families and in worse cases, killings of refugees are taking place. Children are being injured or killed in aerial bombings. Teenagers are vulnerable to detention, torture and death in custody.
     
    These are the aspects of war regardless whether the people are in “liberated areas” or war zones. In all these cases, children are put into situations which are very traumatic.
     
    We can see that in the East, destruction of culture is taking place through a gradual process of colonization and “Singhalisation”.
     
    Young students are particularly vulnerable to government propaganda and their version of history based on Mahavamsa.
     
    Professor Tatz (1999) in his report on youth suicide among indigenous communities, talked about how experiencing extreme forms of racism creates a disordered society for the victims. Initially, feelings of frustration are followed by a sense of alienation, of not belonging, then withdrawal from society, and finally, the threat of, or actual, violence.
     
    Tatz mentions that violence could be ‘coercive violence’ or ‘appealing violence’ - ‘Coercive violence’ is when a person uses violence in a premeditated and controlled manner (this could be directed towards the enemy); ‘Appealing violence’ is about harm to self or to kin such as domestic violence and child abuse.
     
    In the case of Indigenous peoples, a society that was living off the land was made to become heavily dependent on handouts and subsequently State Welfare.
     
    A culture that had strict tribal laws on family duties, incest prohibition etc became a common place for abuse of children.
     
    Petrol sniffing, drug addiction and alcoholism permeate day to day living.
     
    Family gatherings and funerals are often accompanied by extensive drinking through the night where children are left to their own devices. The social decay among the youth is heart wrenching.
     
    Loss of culture and loss of a way of life became almost a social suicide in the case of Indigenous societies.
     
    Some of you may claim that the Tamils are more advanced that that, but one would need to consider the poor and the continuously battered people in low socioeconomic conditions.
     
    John Campbell, a World Food Program official, recently got into trouble for comparing the conditions in Vanni to Somalia.
     
    However, interestingly, the Tamils in North East have not yet shown any serious signs of self destructive behaviour – at least within the family unit. But there are warning signs.
     
    Recently, a relative from Jaffna informed me that one green chilli costs 2 rupees there -One green chilli! A meal of bread and sambol would cost about 200 rupees. How can the poor afford it?
     
    My relative also reported that thefts have become so widespread with poverty stricken people stealing coconuts, mango, chicken and whatever they can get their hands on.
     
    Yet these problems sink into background when compared with what the displaced populations in the East and Vanni are going through.
     
    The increase in thefts, increasing number in orphanages, refugee camps and “rehabilitation centres”, prolonged disruptions to schooling, increasing number of armed groups etc are alarming indicators where the once stable Tamil society is heading towards.
     
    The Singhalese government is getting shrewder and shrewder with this kind of destruction to ways of living. In fact, what we are seeing is not just genocide but a well planned genocide.
     
    The “70 million strong Tamil Diaspora” as been in called upon often. This can be a waste of time and wishful thinking.
     
    The bottom-line is that the Ilankai Tamils living abroad are the ones who can’t go back to their home towns; are the one whose brethren are being massacred; are the ones whose unique ancient culture and language form is being destroyed. They are the stakeholders here.
     
    The estimated 1 million Ilakai Tamils living abroad is the current lifeline to Tamils in Sri Lanka. This is the vital connection that can help prevent a disordered Tamil society in Sri Lanka until peace comes.
     
    Recently I met a 2nd generation Tamil youth who is very involved with humanitarian and political work and whose father went back to Vanni few years ago. There is a small dedicated group of volunteers (local and expatriate Tamils) on the ground in Sri Lanka who is willing to take on aid work and rehabilitation work
     
    The effects of post traumatic stress in children can be reversed with proper support, nurturing and debriefing - which consists of four steps: preparing, having the child tell the story, sharing the child’s reactions, survival and recovery.
     
    Sometimes, debriefing could be simple as telling the child that it is not his fault. For example, Brooks and Siegel talk about a 4 year old child who saw his father being shot to death by intruders. The child told the counselor that he had shouted at the men to stop and if he had shouted louder, they might have left. According to his mother, the child had not shouted at all!
     
    To help the child understand that he was not responsible, the counselor had to tell the child that even a grown up might not have been able to do anything.
     
    In the above case, the child was suffering from guilt. Debriefing takes the child through the stages of sadness, denial, guilt and anger, shame or stigma and finally acceptance. Anger towards the enemy is understandable but it should never be fostered on guilt or shame – that kind of anger would be self destructive.
     
    Getting a child to tell the story through play, role play and drawing, correcting misconceptions about the events, providing explanations, providing realistic reassurances and explaining that time would heal, are all effective. However, debriefing can also be complex depending on the trauma.
     
    Children in Tamil areas of Sri Lanka, whether it is the North and East or Upcounty or other Southern parts stand exposed in this war on Ilankai Tamils.
     
    Now is the time to refocus. Now is the time for more humanitarian help. The children of Tamil Eelam need our support more than ever before.
     
    It is very impotent to carry on rehabilitation and humanitarian work at grass root levels even while the war is raging on: this could mean helping out a relative in the North East or contributing to the Tamil charities that work at the ground level.
     
    For example, we have medical organisations helping hospitals, alumni associations helping schools, TRO projects etc.
     
    This could also mean helping out with political work and rallying politicians, media, NGOs etc.
     
    This could mean professionals (such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, psychologists, historians etc) creating support networks. “Siru thuli, peru vellam” - Every thought, prayer, word and action counts. No defeat is greater than a psychological defeat.
     
    Reaction to trauma in various age groups
    Summary of Brooks, B. & Siegel, P. (1996) The Scared Child – Helping Kids Overcome Traumatic Events US: John Wiley & Sons Inc
     
    Age group – 0 to 2
    • Are unable to articulate how they feel (limited vocabulary). May fuss more.
    • May lose developmental steps already acquired
    • May fail to learn new and expected developmental tasks
     
    Preschoolers : Age group 2 - 5
    • Preschoolers combine reality with fantasy/make belief. The very self centered outlook at this age may cause them to think that they caused the events.
    • May lose developmental steps already acquired
    • May become aggressive in their interactions with others
    • May express non-realistic ideas about an event (“Father was taken away because I was bad”)
    • May become anxious and clingy
    • Playing the same game over and over again maybe a sign of post traumatic stress
    • May get angry, sullen or intense with play
     
    School age children: Age group 6 -12
    • More realistic thinking of this age group, makes the world a very frightening place for them – “Even Mother and Father can’t protect us”. “Mother and Father are just as frightened and vulnerable”.
    • Tends to put a brave face while still traumatised inside
    • Lack of control over trauma may make them feel that the future is unsure. Hence, some children might engage in reckless behaviour
    • Significant change in School performance – may find it difficult to concentrate and to perform
    • May blame themselves
    • Sleep disturbances, difficulty sleeping
    • May show fear of supernatural things
    • This age group believes in rules. When bad things happen even when they have been good and have obeyed rules, children may become oppositional and defiant
     
    Teenagers
    • They feel whatever they are working for or studying for, can be destroyed in a minute - So planning for the future is pointless.
    • May develop a negative self image because they are not able to avoid or alter a situation
    • Engages on revenge fantasies but then feel guilty about their feelings.
    • May experience a shift (either an intensification or withdrawal) in the normal developmental tasks of their age – such as love, friendship, sense of autonomy ie They can become obsessive or withdrawn 
  • Sri Lanka spends over $1 billion defending the Rupee
    The Sri Lankan government which is adamant that the local currency, Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR), will not be devalued continued spending large sums of its already dwindling foreign reserves trying to prop up the Rupee at its current levels against the US Dollar.
     
    Since peg defence began by selling dollars and injecting liquidity to sterilize cash shortages, a total of 1,182 million dollars had been spent, reports Lanka Business Online (LBO).
     
    In December alone, Sri Lanka spent 125 million US dollars defending the rupee in foreign exchange markets, LBO reported citing the latest data.
     
    In early December the peg was loosened and the rupee moved steadily from 110 to over 113 to the US dollar. However in the latter part of December, the central bank spent 160.20 million US dollars in the month and also bought 34.50 million from the market., LBO reported.
     
    The highest amount of 587.7 million US dollars was spent in October when the rupee was tightly pegged to the US dollar at just under 108 rupees, according to Central Bank data, LBO reported.
     
    In the past week however a new dollar peg had started to develop around 113.87 rupees to the US dollar, and reserve losses have again started to pick up, dealers told LBO.
     
    According to LBO, excessive sterilized intervention of a dollar peg usually snowballs into a severe currency crisis, a process which some monetary economists call 'amplification.'
     
    According to official data end-November foreign reserves were 2,029 million dollars.
    Since the end of November to January 16 the central bank's holding of Treasury bills had increased from 92.8 billion rupees to 151.0 billion rupees or 510 million dollars at an average exchange rate of 113.80 rupees.
     
    The monetary base of the country (reserve money) was at 259 billion last week from 253 billion rupees at the end of November indicating an increase of around 50 million US dollars over the same period.
     
    The increase in the central bank Treasury bill holdings, less the increase in the monetary base indicates an approximate level of sterilization of foreign reserve losses and appropriations, reported LBO.
     
    At the 2,029 million dollars level at end-November, the Central Bank said foreign reserves were enough to cover 1.7 months of imports, reported LBO.
  • Sri Lanka denies FX crisis, banks on 'patriotic Diaspora'
    Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to little more than enough for six weeks of imports. And Japan, traditionally the island’s biggest donor, is cutting aid globally.
     
    But while local economists say the situation is critical government will inevitably have devalue the rupee by 20% this year or accept a conditions-laced bailout package from the IMF, the Central Bank is adamant neither is necessary, the Sunday Times reported.
     
    Instead, the government is to launch a campaign on February 4, Independence Day, to attract Sinhalese expatriates to invest in Sri Lankan treasury bills and bonds.
     
    The Sunday Times quoted a top Colombo economist as saying foreign reserves of around 1.5 months worth of imports was precarious and immediate solutions needed to be found.
     
    “Any level below two months is worrying while three months is the acceptable level,” he said, adding that even if tea prices rise and oil prices continue at low levels, petrol bills have to be paid (at least $2 billion a year) while the CB will be compelled to eat into the depleted foreign resources to defend the rupee in the money markets.
     
    Another economist said Japan, Sri Lanka’s largest donor, was cutting aid globally.
     
    Sri Lanka’s overall balance-of-payments was negative, which the CB was hiding from the public by not disclosing the (correct) figure, according to Dr Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, Principal Researcher of the Point Pedro Institute of Development and currently Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar in the US.
     
    He however feels a depreciation of the rupee at this moment is too little too late and says approaching the IMF is the only realistic option.
     
    The last time Sri Lanka got an IMF standby credit facility was in 2001 which was required to buy costly military equipment after the Elephant Pass military camp was taken over by the LTTE, and due to high oil prices. Last week Elephant Pass was re-captured by government troops.
     
    Most economists contend that the government is left with few options – either devalue by 20%, seek an IMF package or enforce import controls similar to the 1970-77 era, the Sunday Times said.
     
    However, currency dealers told Reuters the central bank called a meeting with bank treasuries on Monday to assure them the rupee will not be devalued and to explain plans to build up reserves and meet its external borrowing needs this year.
     
    Economists and exporters say the rupee should be depreciated to about Rs 128-130 in relations to a US dollar.
     
    It is now around Rs 114, after a marginal float of the rupee some weeks back by the CB. The rupee hit an all-time low of 114.15 a dollar on Jan. 5, while it hit a life closing low of 113.85/114.00 on Friday, Reuters said.
     
    However, Nandalal Weerasinghe, chief economist at the central bank, confirming the meeting with bankers, told Reuters the Times’ report was false.
     
    "There is no necessity for central bank to devalue the currency by 20 percent and this is an erroneous, politically-motivated news report," he said.
     
    The current reserves position is similar to 1975-76 during the controlled economy of the Sirima Bandaranaike regime, when however there weren’t much imports, according to a retired World Bank economist.
     
    However, Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said there was no cause for alarm and thus the need for IMF support did not arise. Instead the government would turn to Sri Lankans abroad, he said.
     
    “The general assessment from our envoys is that with interest rates falling and a patriotic feeling amongst [Sinhala] people, there is a lot of interest to invest,” Mr. Cabraal told the Sunday Times.
     
    “The Tamil diaspora also wants to invest in the north and east,” he said.
     
    The campaign to raise up to $500 million this year will be launched on February 4, Independence Day, in North America, Europe, Asia and West Asia, The Sunday Times reported.
     
    Teams led by CB Deputy Governors, Asst’ Governors and other CB officials along with the six lead banks will go on roadshows across the world with the initial phase in February.
     
    The campaign will take teams to the US and Canada; Qatar & Dubai among others in West Asia; Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands and the UK in Europe; Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and Japan in Asia; and Australia and New Zealand.
  • 3,000 troops killed in three months, Army to double
    Three thousand Sri Lankan soldiers were killed fighting the Liberation Tigers in the past three months, the Sunday Island newspaper reported this week, quoting government Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.
     
    He was responding to opposition charges that 15,000 troops had been killed in the battles since October last year.
     
    Asked about opposition claims of heavy SLA casualties in the heavy fighting in the Vanni, Rambukwella told the Sunday Island, that the figure of 15,000 soldiers dead was exaggerated and not correct.
     
    "According to our estimates, around 3,000 soldiers have been killed in action since October 2008."

    Meanwhile SLA commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka wants to eventually double the size of the SLA to 300,000 soldiers to hold areas captured from the LTTE.
     
    The SLA has an official strength of 160,000.

    The Nation newspaper added that Lt. Gen. Fonseka is of the view that at least 300,000 personnel will be needed to ensure security in the areas recaptured by the SLA in the Vanni operations.

    The Sri Lanka Army already has eight divisions deployed to fight the LTTE, The Nation said, adding that another, Task Force V, which was raised as the ninth fighting division was deployed a week ago for holding operations of crucial areas already cleared and the security of A-9 Highway.

    As the SLA commander unveiled plans to expand the numbers of troops, Minister Rambukwelle said that there are only two thousand Tamil Tiger fighters left.

    Asked about the whereabouts of LTTE chief Velupillai Pirapaharan, Rambukwelle told the Sunday Island: "He is in Mullaithivu and being guarded by the 2,000 cadres that the LTTE has left. It is a matter of time before its last bastion is also overrun."

    Asked if he thought the remaining LTTE cadres could regroup and operate as an effective guerilla organization, the minister opinioned: "No, they might be able to cause some damage occasionally, but the LTTE, as an organization, has lost its effectiveness and the morale of their cadres is very low. They can no longer pose a serious threat."
  • And then they came for me
    No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the independent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last.
     
    I have been in the business of journalism a good long time. Indeed, 2009 will be The Sunday Leader's 15th year. Many things have changed in Sri Lanka during that time, and it does not need me to tell you that the greater part of that change has been for the worse. We find ourselves in the midst of a civil war ruthlessly prosecuted by protagonists whose bloodlust knows no bounds. Terror, whether perpetrated by terrorists or the state, has become the order of the day. Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists, tomorrow it will be the judges. For neither group have the risks ever been higher or the stakes lower.
     
    Why then do we do it? I often wonder that. After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children. I too have responsibilities and obligations that transcend my profession, be it the law or journalism. Is it worth the risk? Many people tell me it is not. Friends tell me to revert to the bar, and goodness knows it offers a better and safer livelihood.
     
    Others, including political leaders on both sides, have at various times sought to induce me to take to politics, going so far as to offer me ministries of my choice. Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries. Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice.
     
    But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.
     
    The Sunday Leader has been a controversial newspaper because we say it like we see it: whether it be a spade, a thief or a murderer, we call it by that name. We do not hide behind euphemism. The investigative articles we print are supported by documentary evidence thanks to the public-spiritedness of citizens who at great risk to themselves pass on this material to us. We have exposed scandal after scandal, and never once in these 15 years has anyone proved us wrong or successfully prosecuted us.
     
    The free media serve as a mirror in which the public can see itself sans mascara and styling gel. From us you learn the state of your nation, and especially its management by the people you elected to give your children a better future. Sometimes the image you see in that mirror is not a pleasant one. But while you may grumble in the privacy of your armchair, the journalists who hold the mirror up to you do so publicly and at great risk to themselves. That is our calling, and we do not shirk it.
     
    Every newspaper has its angle, and we do not hide the fact that we have ours. Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy. Think about those words, for they each has profound meaning. Transparent because government must be openly accountable to the people and never abuse their trust. Secular because in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society such as ours, secularism offers the only common ground by which we might all be united. Liberal because we recognise that all human beings are created different, and we need to accept others for what they are and not what we would like them to be. And democratic... well, if you need me to explain why that is important, you'd best stop buying this paper.
     
    The Sunday Leader has never sought safety by unquestioningly articulating the majority view. Let's face it, that is the way to sell newspapers. On the contrary, as our opinion pieces over the years amply demonstrate, we often voice ideas that many people find distasteful. For example,  we have consistently espoused the view that while separatist terrorism must be eradicated, it is more important to address the root causes of terrorism, and urged government to view Sri Lanka's ethnic strife in the context of history and not through the telescope of terrorism. We have also agitated against state terrorism in the so-called war against terror, and made no secret of our horror that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its own citizens. For these views we have been labelled traitors, and if this be treachery, we wear that label proudly.
     
    Many people suspect that The Sunday Leader has a political agenda: it does not. If we appear more critical of the government than of the opposition it is only because we believe that - pray excuse cricketing argot - there is no point in bowling to the fielding side. Remember that for the few years of our existence in which the UNP was in office, we proved to be the biggest thorn in its flesh, exposing excess and corruption wherever it occurred. Indeed, the steady stream of embarrassing exposes we published may well have served to precipitate the downfall of that government.
     
    Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we support the Tigers. The LTTE are among the most ruthless and bloodthirsty organisations ever to have infested the planet. There is no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting them mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the dhamma is forever called into question by this savagery, much of which is unknown to the public because of censorship.
     
    What is more, a military occupation of the country's north and east will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as second-class citizens, deprived of all self respect. Do not imagine that you can placate them by showering "development" and "reconstruction" on them in the post-war era. The wounds of war will scar them forever, and you will also have an even more bitter and hateful Diaspora to contend with. A problem amenable to a political solution will thus become a festering wound that will yield strife for all eternity. If I seem angry and frustrated, it is only because most of my countrymen - and all of the government - cannot see this writing so plainly on the wall.
     
    It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended. In all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.
     
    The irony in this is that, unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and I have been friends for more than a quarter century. Indeed, I suspect that I am one of the few people remaining who routinely addresses him by his first name and uses the familiar Sinhala address oya when talking to him. Although I do not attend the meetings he periodically holds for newspaper editors, hardly a month passes when we do not meet, privately or with a few close friends present, late at night at President's House.
     
    There we swap yarns, discuss politics and joke about the good old days. A few remarks to him would therefore be in order here.
     
    Mahinda, when you finally fought your way to the SLFP presidential nomination in 2005, nowhere were you welcomed more warmly than in this column. Indeed, we broke with a decade of tradition by referring to you throughout by your first name. So well known were your commitments to human rights and liberal values that we ushered you in like a breath of fresh air. Then, through an act of folly, you got yourself involved in the Helping Hambantota scandal. It was after a lot of soul-searching that we broke the story, at the same time urging you to return the money. By the time you did so several weeks later, a great blow had been struck to your reputation. It is one you are still trying to live down.
     
    You have told me yourself that you were not greedy for the presidency.
    You did not have to hanker after it: it fell into your lap. You have told me that your sons are your greatest joy, and that you love spending time with them, leaving your brothers to operate the machinery of state. Now, it is clear to all who will see that that machinery has operated so well that my sons and daughter do not themselves have a father.
     
    In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but yours too, depends on it.
     
    Sadly, for all the dreams you had for our country in your younger days, in just three years you have reduced it to rubble. In the name of patriotism you have trampled on human rights, nurtured unbridled corruption and squandered public money like no other President before you. Indeed, your conduct has been like a small child suddenly let loose in a toyshop. That analogy is perhaps inapt because no child could have caused so much blood to be spilled on this land as you have, or trampled on the rights of its citizens as you do. Although you are now so drunk with power that you cannot see it, you will come to regret your sons having so rich an inheritance of blood. It can only bring tragedy. As for me, it is with a clear conscience that I go to meet my Maker. I wish, when your time finally comes, you could do the same. I wish.
     
    As for me, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and bowed to no man. And I have not travelled this journey alone. Fellow journalists in other branches of the media walked with me: most of them are now dead, imprisoned without trial or exiled in far-off lands. Others walk in the shadow of death that your Presidency has cast on the freedoms for which you once fought so hard. You will never be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch. As anguished as I know you will be, I also know that you will have no choice but to protect my killers: you will see to it that the guilty one is never convicted. You have no choice. I feel sorry for you, and Shiranthi will have a long time to spend on her knees when next she goes for Confession for it is not just her owns sins which she must confess, but those of her extended family that keeps you in office.
     
    As for the readers of The Sunday Leader, what can I say but Thank You for supporting our mission. We have espoused unpopular causes, stood up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with the high and mighty so swollen with power that they have forgotten their roots, exposed corruption and the waste of your hard-earned tax rupees, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you were allowed to hear a contrary view. For this I - and my family - have now paid the price that I have long known I will one day have to pay. I am - and have always been - ready for that. I have done nothing to prevent this outcome: no security, no precautions. I want my murderer to know that I am not a coward like he is, hiding behind human shields while condemning thousands of innocents to death. What am I among so many? It has long been written that my life would be taken, and by whom. All that remains to be written is when.
     
    That The Sunday Leader will continue fighting the good fight, too, is written. For I did not fight this fight alone. Many more of us have to be - and will be - killed before The Leader is laid to rest. I hope my assassination will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an inspiration for those who survive to step up their efforts. Indeed, I hope that it will help galvanise forces that will usher in a new era of human liberty in our beloved motherland. I also hope it will open the eyes of your President to the fact that however many are slaughtered in the name of patriotism, the human spirit will endure and flourish. Not all the Rajapakses combined can kill that.
     
    People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niem”ller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of  Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niem”ller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niem”ller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind:
     
    First they came for the Jews
                and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
    Then they came for the Communists
                and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
    Then they came for the trade unionists
                and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
    Then they came for me
                and there was no one left to speak out for me.
     
    If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that commitment for granted.  Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.
  • Civilians fleeing fighting have no safe passage: ICRC
    Tens of thousands of people, on the run because of fighting between Sri Lankan government troops and the LTTE, have no safe passage, the Red Cross said Friday.
     
    Aid workers and diplomats have expressed growing concern over the fate of the civilians trapped in LTTE-controlled territory in the northeast after months of fighting, especially with increasing reports of civilian casualties.
     
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was "extremely concerned" that the warring parties had not agreed on a safe route for civilians since January 9.
     
    "For the last five days for example, there has been no aid that has reached this population at all because of the fighting," Paul Castella, the ICRC's head of delegation, told Al Jazeera.
     
    "And its not just about aid or assistance, but also about healthcare for the sick and the wounded," Castella said. "As you know, a number of hospitals had to be evacuated because of the moving frontline."
     
    "This has put at risk the lives of patients who cannot receive suitable treatment on the spot and therefore need to be transferred to Vavuniya Hospital, in government-controlled territory," the ICRC said in a statement.
     
    It did not say what type of treatment the patients needed and if they had been hurt in the fighting.
     
    The ICRC said there had been a "massive displacement" of civilians - many of them having already been forced to move numerous times - who were increasingly seeking safety away from the war zone.
     
    "Repeated displacements, often involving the loss of their personal belongings, have taken a toll," Castella was quoted by AFP as saying.
     
    Castella said fighting had prevented relief supplies from reaching the refugees.
     
    "Tens of thousands of displaced civilians are concentrated in an area so small that there are serious concerns for their physical safety and living conditions, in particular in terms of hygiene," ICRC said.
     
    "Families heading westward in search of safety are encountering other families moving eastward with the same aim," Castella said.
     
    The ICRC is among the few international relief agencies allowed to operate in LTTE-held areas. The Sri Lankan government ordered most of the others out, citing security concerns.
     
    Aid groups say about 230,000 people are trapped in an area of no more than 330 square km (127 square miles), and that they are under increasing attack from air strikes and shelling.
     
    Foreign journalists are prevented from entering the conflict zone, but Al Jazeera said it had exclusive pictures showing civilians fleeing the fighting as buildings burn and craters from heavy shelling pockmark the earth.
     
    "We lost everything, our property and all," one fleeing civilian told Al Jazeera. "It was the same at the last place we were staying, we lost everything there too."
     
    "We don't have any property now, we have lost everything. We are now worse than before, we don't have anything to eat."
     
    Aid agencies say at least 30 people are being either killed or wounded daily in the violence, and getting food and emergency medical supplies to the area is also becoming impossible.
     
    But the Sri Lankan military denies shelling civilians. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said he had ordered the army to avoid all civilian casualties - even if it means slowing down the offensive.
     
    The Sri Lankan government and rights groups have accused the LTTE of forcing Tamil civilians to stay in the war zone to be conscripts or labourers. The LTTE denies that and even the military admits that in the past civilians have largely ignored government appeals for them to cross into military-held areas.
     
    Selvamalar Ayadurai, who runs an aid organisation helping civilians in Sri Lanka's north, says the term genocide may be justified.
     
    "They use the term genocide - it may be right because the definition for genocide is a systematic and planned destruction of a social, racial or political group. So this is the destruction of a racial group, which are the Tamils of northern Sri Lanka," she told Al Jazeera.
  • Vanni humanitarian tragedy getting deadlier
    Indiscriminate fire by the Sri Lanka Army from all corners of a shrinking territory already overcrowded with civilians has worsened the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the Vanni.
     
    Deaths and injuries to civilians fleeing the Sri Lankan military onslaught are daily occurrences, while hospitals to treat the injured are also coming under attack.
     
    The civilians are trapped in territory centering on Puthukkudiyiruppu town, its suburbs and adjoining jungles in the Mullaiththeevu district. This is the same area that the Sri Lankan military is targeting with its shelling, air strikes and multi-barrel rockets.
     
    There are deaths and injuries caused to the civilians fleeing the onslaught of the SLA.
     
    Medical authorities have said the situation was beyond control and that hospitals have come under attack.
     
    Ambulances are also not operating as access route from Vadamaraadchi East have been cut off by the SLA, while the Mullaiththeevu Puthukkudiyiruppu land route has also been blocked by the indiscriminate mortar attacks.
     
    The entire area with civilians has come under artillery range. Gunfire was heard in all the directions.
     
    Unless the shelling is stopped, every shell being fired into the overcrowded area would cause civilian casualties, local reports said.
     
    The access route for civilians to cross over into Vanni mainland from Vadamaraadchi East has been blocked by the SLA, according to initial reports.
     
    Medical personnel at the hospital in Visuvamadu said the situation was pathetic as SLA-fired shells were exploding in the close vicinity.
     
    The hospital at Tharmapuram has been displaced and the streets were full of vehicles with displaced civilians trying to move further away from the attacks.
     
    The adjoining areas of makeshift hospitals in Visuvamadu and Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital have also come under artillery fire by the SLA, which is driving civilians away from Tharmapuram and Vaddakkachchi by intensifying bombardment.
     
    Meanwhile, hospital authorities in an urgent appeal issued Tuesday afternoon have urged the ICRC to at least take efforts to safeguard the hospital premises from the Sri Lankan shelling.
     
    28 civilians have been killed from within the 13 days from 01 January and 185 wounded. Blood was not available at Puthukkudiyiruppu and makeshift hospitals, TamilNet reported.
     
    As hospitals were displacing to relatively safer areas, there are more wounded from all corners being rushed to the makeshift hospitals functioning in schools and under trees.
     
    There are reports of civilian deaths and casualties in Visuvamadu town being vacated by the civilians. Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) attacks targeted Athisaya Vinayakar temple area in Visuvamadu, causing panic among the fleeing civilians.
     
    Detailed reporting and verification of casualties have become difficult under the prevailing circumstances.
     
    If Tamil Nadu fails to exert pressure on New Delhi to stop the Sri Lankan offensive in Vanni, there will be no hope left for civilians who fear being subjugated by the Sri Lankan military, say displaced peoples representatives in Vanni.
     
    There have been no reports of fighting in densely populated areas. However, the SLA has been continuing artillery attacks and gunfire.
     
    There have also been reports of civilians moving towards Vadamaraadchi East, recently occupied by the Sri Lanka Army.
  • “International norms have become a joke”
    The LTTE doesn't obstruct the civilians of Vanni or instruct them on what direction they have to take in fleeing the current phase of war, but people want to stay in LTTE areas for security reasons argues the head of a Vanni welfare organisation.
     
    "Allowing the war to continue, leaving Tamil civilians in the hands of the preying Sinhala army, which we dread, demonstrates only the cruelty of the few minds that determine the course of the war from outside of the island and how international norms evolved through civilisation have become a joke," said P. Kanakalingam, the president of Vanni People's Welfare Organisation, last Thursday.
     
    Describing the civilian movement as the second exodus of Eezham struggle, Mr. Kanakalingam said around 100,000 civilians were on the move.

    But, a large section of the civilians have considered that their security, even now, lies in the LTTE held areas in the eye of war, and are spontaneously moving towards that direction, he said.
     
    The movement has continued for days as Tamils from Vadamaraadchi East, Chundikkulam and Vaddakkachchi, and from Tharmapuram, where the civil administration was centred after the displacement from the Kilinochchi town, all move further into LTTE controlled territory.
     
    This is in contrast to the 1000 civilians the Sri Lankan military claims have moved into military controlled territory.

    A driver, who was returning in his vehicle to Tharmapuram from Kaiveali, said it took 10 hours to pass one kilometre.
     
    "The Establishment of the International Community by assenting to Colombo's conspiracy of sending away the U.N. Agencies and the International Non Governmental Organisations from Vanni and by remaining silent when it has to act, has become a party to be indicted in the genocide of Eezham Tamils," said Kanakalingam.

    "Which norms of liberal democracy preached by the International Community accord with not attending to expulsions of civilians, exodus and genocide?" he asks.

    People were struggling to take cover from the artillery shells that were exploding continuously. Very few volunteered to help the wounded. It was difficult to get an overview of the casualties, TamilNet reported.

    Shells exploded in refugee settlements in Puththadi, Thoddiyadi and Vinaayakar koayiladi near the hospital.
     
    The makeshift hospital at Visuvamadu Maha Viththiyaalayam (school) was struggling to function as shells were exploding at a one kilometer distance in both the directions.

    Vehicles were piled up throughout the road from Tharmapuram to Kaiveali, a suburb of Puthukkudiyiruppu.

    It takes two days and two nights to pass through the whole stretch of around 16 km road distance, locals estimated.

    Last Wednesday heavy rainfall added to the woes of the people on the move with their belongings in tractors and other vehicles.

    The following day the road was dusty as hundreds of vehicles were moving on both the directions. The rugged road caused vehicle breakdowns, which added to the misery.

    There were no government officials from the district or divisional secretariats to help the civilians. Most of them had gone to Vavuniya, Tamil Net reported, adding that it was not known whether they had been instructed by the government to do so.

    The TRO and civil personnel of the Tamileelam Administrative Service were engaged in helping the civilians at some locations, where the volunteers were seen providing cooked food.

    Civilians were seen in all the jungles areas from Thearaavil towards Kaiveali and on both sides of the road.
     
    Many complained that they had no cloths to change after the rain and that they had no meal for more than 60 hours. They were living under the trees with their belongings.

    "These are IDPs in Vanni. They wish to remain in Vanni in an area without Sri Lankan military and its bombardment," said the president of the Vanni welfare organisation.
     
    Kanakalingam argues that it is unfair of the International Community to refer to them as IDPs of Sri Lanka. Such a reference, in his argument, technically implies that they could be displaced further to any part of the island.

    "We should be treated as IDPs of Tamil territories resisting capture from the Colombo government," he argues.

    Only a few thousands of civilians, mostly trapped in the peninsular part captured from the LTTE, were taken by the SLA.
     
    To discourage civilians of the peninsula moving towards the LTTE held areas in Vanni, the Sri Lankan forces attacked them while crossing the land bridge by artillery and aerial bombardment. At least 40 civilians were wounded in these attacks, press reports said.
     
    The whereabouts and the fate of nearly 200 civilians reportedly captured by the Sri Lanka Navy in the seas off Vadmaraadchi East, are still not known.

    "Look at the plight of the civilians who live in Sri Lanka Army occupied Jaffna, where more than 800 have been reportedly killed within the last 3 years, another 800 disappeared and more than 250 languishing in prisons after seeking humanitarian protection with the Human Rights Commission," said Kanakalingam.

    "We are also reminded of hundreds of those who were killed and buried in Chemmani in Jaffna after the Sri Lankan occupation of Jaffna in 1995," he says.
  • Vanni civilians under deadly siege
    "There are no words to describe the plight of the civilians who say that they prefer to face death on the spot rather than succumbing to serious injuries or ending up in the hands of the invading Sri Lankan forces, which many of them regard as genocidal military and fear that their young men and women would be 'filtered' away, tortured or killed by it," reported a TamilNet correspondent from an outskirt of Puthukkudiyiruppu last Sunday evening amid artillery fire.
     
    The indiscriminate fire was targeting areas where there were no hostile military activities. The fighting was going on in a few corners, but the artillery barrage by the Sri Lankan forces was targeting all the areas, threatening to cause civilian carnage, completely ignored by the International Community.
     
    As nearly all of the civilians are displaced, they are unable to conduct proper funeral with rites. There are dead bodies un-attended due to artillery siege, only some of those killed are buried hurriedly before the remaining have to choose fleeing onwards from the onslaught of the indiscriminate shelling.
     
    Ambulance drivers said they spotted at least 10 dead bodies on Sunday. Six of the bodies were transported to hospital mortuary until 3:00 p.m. But, there were reports of more bodies lying in areas un-accessible by the ambulances. The casualties were reported in Va'l'luvarpuram (Redd Barna settlement), Mayilvaakanapuram (2 dead bodies recovered), Thearaavil and Maa'nikkapuram. 12th Mile Post in Visvuvamadu, Punnaineeraavi and areas close to Chu'ndikku'lam, which have come under continuous artillery barrage.
     
    At least 18 civilians were killed within the last 24 hours and 42, including many children, women and elderly, wounded in the indiscriminate artillery barrage by the SLA, according to available data from the medical sources, as reported earlier.
     
    But, many more are feared dead, wounded and trapped in areas not accessible for medical assistance.
     
    On Saturday, the premises of Punnaineeraavi school, one of the few remaining localities where Ki'linochchi hospital is functioning, came under artillery barrage. All treatment at the hospital stalled and there was no medical transport available to approach the injured. Civilians were screaming and running in all directions, confused and shocked by the indiscriminate bombardment.
     
    Medical authorities said they had repeatedly urged protection for medical installations and provided coordinates through the ICRC.
     
    Two civilians were killed and six wounded while they were fleeing from their house in Punnaineeraavi, while the hospital was under artillery barrage on Saturday. Three of the wounded, with serious injuries, had to wait for hours for medical assistance.
     
    Many of the wounded civilians were only managing with the first aid knowledge that they now possess.
     
    At Piramanthanaaru, at least two civilians were killed when their tractor, hit by artillery shelling got fire and burnt down on the spot on Saturday. Also on previous day, the shelling by the SLA killed 3 civilians who were fleeing with their belongings on Piramanthanaaru - Visuvamadu Road.
     
    "Deaths by artillery shells have become all too common."
  • Only 1,000 Tigers left, war almost over – Fonseka
    Sri Lanka Army (SLA) commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka on Sunday January 18 said that as there were only a thousand Tamil Tigers left and they were “boxed” into a small jungle area in Mullaitivu, the war would soon be won.
     
    The Tigers could not resist the 50,000 SLA soldiers surrounding them, he said.
     
    Lt. Gen. Fonseka, who spoke at an annual dinner he hosts for defence correspondents at his residence, joked that he expected most of them "to be out of work by this time next year." He wore a black shirt, adorned with a dragon strangling a tiger, Reuters reported.

    "It would be extremely tough for the 1000-odd LTTE cadres to take on Sri Lankan army of 50,000 personnel, deployed in areas around Mullaitheeivu," Fonseka said.

    At least 200,000 people who fled towards Mullaiththeevu from Sri Lankan Army advances in recent months, along with almost a similar number of residents are enduring relentless and indiscriminate shelling from the SLA’s heavy guns and rocket artillery and the Air Force’s bombing.

    Fonseka said the LTTE now only hold an area of 30 km (18 miles) by 15 km (9 miles). The LTTE controls 40km of coastline, the military says.

    "When the war started, I used 50 map sheets to plan it. Now I only need one sheet to plan it," he boasted.

    Lt. Gen. Fonseka suggested LTTE leader Vellupillai Pirapaharan may even have fled the island, unable to face the advancing Sri Lankan army.
  • Sri Lanka reinstitutes ban on Tamil Tigers - govt
    The Sri Lankan government says it has formally outlawed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
     
    The move was announced Wednesday evening by the Cabinet and was seen as a formality that ruled out the possibility of new peace talks between the bitter enemies who are fighting a brutal civil war, Associated Press reported.
     
    Speaking at a special press briefing in Colombo, Minister Maithripala Sirisena said the cabinet unanimously approved the proposal by the President Mahinda Rajapakse to ban the LTTE.
     
    The cabinet’s decision redesignates the LTTE as a terrorist group, Sri Lanka's defence spokesman said.
     
    "The cabinet has decided to ban the LTTE as they are not allowing civilians to leave the war zone," Reuters quoted defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella, also a minister, as telling a press conference.
     
    The move was viewed as a symbolic action with little concrete repercussions, Associated Press reported.
     
    Government officials had already vowed to destroy the group, the agency said.
     
    Though largely symbolic since the LTTE are already on U.S., E.U. and Indian terrorist lists and the government routinely calls them that, the cabinet vote is just one more sign Sri Lanka has no plans to negotiate, reiterated Reuters.
     
    This was the second time the Sri Lankan government has banned the LTTE.
     
    The original ban was imposed on the Tigers in January 1998, and lifted as part of a Norway-brokered truce four years later.
     
    Rajapakse scrapped the poorly observed truce a year ago, accusing the LTTE of using it to re-arm and vowing to wipe them out.
     
    But the main opposition United National Party has just recently defended the truce, saying that current victories are a result of assistance provided to the Sri Lankan military by the US and other countries during the ceasefire.
     
    The move comes as the UK and US released statements calling for a political solution to resolve the conflict.
  • Government takes over private bank; Depositors in limbo
    The Sri Lankan government took control of a private bank saddled with bad debt declaring that the action was required to ‘maintain the stability of the financial system’.
     
    Seylan Bank, part owned by Ceylinco Consolidated, faced a liquidity crunch as depositors started withdrawing their money following the revelation of a credit card scandal at non-listed Golden Key Credit Card Company also owned by Ceylinco Consolidated.
     
    Analysts estimate the amount involved to be around 26 billion rupees ($228.8 million).
     
    The Central Bank of Sri Lanka exercised its regulatory powers to dissolve Seylan Bank's board of directors with immediate effect and appointed the government-owned Bank of Ceylon to continue business operations at the troubled Bank.
     
    "The difficulties of Seylan Bank PLC presented a potential danger to the stability of the financial system," a statement released by the Central Bank said.
     
    Commenting on the bank bail-out, President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday assured the nation that the Government would take all possible steps to stabilise the nation’s economy whenever there occurred a financial crisis.
     
    “That was a step we have already proved by intervening in the crisis faced by the Seylan Bank,” the Rajapakse said speaking at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB).
     
    Although the Sri Lankan Monetary Board has assured the safety of the deposits with Seylan Bank, according to latest reports, the troubled bank has stopped all withdrawals and is advising customers who have small and medium scale deposits as fixed savings that they could withdraw their deposits, only if they had matured and not otherwise.
     
    One customer who has two fixed deposits with a suburban Seylan Bank branch worth over Rs. 2 million and wanted one deposit withdrawn was told he could not, as it does not mature till June 2009, reported Lanka Everything website.
     
    "I am not a Golden Key depositor. I have my EPF money in the bank." said this customer who had retired as a Management level employee from a private company, 3 years ago.
     
    "I had two fixed deposits with one to be broken up when I needed money." he said in anonymity.
     
    He said it is totally illegal and an injustice to deny people like him to withdraw their own money, when they most needed them.
     
    "I was not asking a loan. I went to have my own money." he said with a tinge of dejection and anger.
     
    "I wish I could sue them for this. Its defaulting." he said, adding there were many like him who were turned back in desperation.
     
    Another customer said he was offered only a fraction of his deposit, "as a personal help" by a Seylan bank staffer, reported Lanka Everything.
     
    "This is stupid" he said, adding that he doesn't need personal help to withdraw his own money.
     
    Seylan bank customers who spoke to media said they have not been given any guarantee or a time frame as to when they could withdraw their monies in deposit with Seylan bank, added Lanka Everything.
     
    Lalith Kotelawala, chairman of Ceylinco Group has announced that he would sell his shares to repay investors in failed Golden Key Credit Card Company.
     
    Kotalawela did not say how much shares he would divest or what amount he is expecting to raise from selling his shares.
     
    But the bank's CEO Ajitha Pasqual was quoted in a newspaper saying "it could be 23-25 percent or even more."
     
    The collapse of the Golden Key Company and the run on Seylan deposits is seen as the first sign of international financial woes hitting economy of Sri Lanka.
  • TNA accuses Colombo of war crimes
    Describing several recent escalation in incidents where Sri Lanka Armed Forces have targetted Tamil civilian during festive days between Christmas and Thaipongal, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), in a press release issued Sunday, said that the "stringent economic, food and medical embargos on the war affected areas, ... are not only War Crimes in contravention of the Geneva Conventions but are also a part of a policy of Genocide that the Sri Lankan State has been carrying out against the Tamil people."
     
    The release, issued by the Parliamentary Group of the TNA, also noted, with disappointment, the silence of the international community "whilst the Genocide of the Tamil people is taking place," and continuing military assistance of the international states to the Sri Lankan State "using various pretexts."
     
    Full text of the press release follows:
     
    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) notes the deliberate and systematic targeting of Tamil civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly hospitals, in the LTTE administered areas by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The escalation in such targeting has taken place during the current Christmas/New year/Thai Pongal festive season, when civilian activity is at a high. Such targeted attacks have included the following:
     
    ·         On Wednesday, 17 December 2008 a 5-month-old child and a 25-year-old male were killed and 13 other refugees including three children were wounded when Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) jets bombed refugee settlements in Vaddakkachchi four times.
     
    ·         On Friday, 19 December 2008, the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked civilian settlements in Mullivaikaal village in the morning and at noon causing injuries to 11 civilians, including 6 children. On the same day the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had also fired artillery shells on the Mullaitivu General Hospital injuring two members of the medical staff and causing extensive damage to the hospital complex.
     
    ·         On Saturday, 20 December 2008 the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shelling killed 2 civilians in Vaddakkachchi in Kilinochchi. From morning the SLA artillery fire had targeted civilian settlements in Vaddakkachchi and Kilinochchi destroying several houses. On the same day the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers had also attacked a coastal area in Mullaitivu where thousands of recently displaced civilians had established temporary shelters. The bombers dropped eight bombs on fishing huts and boats.
     
    ·         On Thursday, 25 December 2008, Christmas Day, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells targeting the Kilinochchi General Hospital causing damage to the hospital buildings and narrowly missing several hospital staff, including the Medical Superintendent of Kilinochchi.
     
    ·         On Saturday, 27 December 2008 the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) jets bombed the Iyakkachchi, Iranamadu and Vaddakkachchi areas targeting three civilian settlements killing a 24-year-old woman and seriously injuring ten persons, including an 18-year-old girl who lost both her legs.
     
    ·         On Tuesday, 30 December 2008, the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells hitting the Kilinochchi hospital causing damage to the building.
     
    ·         On Wednesday, 31 December 2008 Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers attacked a civilian settlement in Murasumoaddai on Paranthan - Mullaitivu Road killing two females of a family and a male on the spot. Another man, who was seriously wounded, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 16 civilians, including a couple, were wounded. The Sri Lanka Armed Forces also targeted fleeing civilians, Internally Displaced Person's huts in Karaichchi, a school, temple and agricultural lands on the same day.
     
    ·         On Thursday, 01 January 2009, New Years Day, the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers again attacked Murasumoaddai on Paranthan-Mullaitivu Road thrice and bombed the next junction at Kandaavalai, while hundreds of civilians were fleeing due to the previous day attacks at Murasumoaddai. Two civilians, a 60-year-old mother and a 20-year-old male were injured in the attack on the densely populated junction. Three shops were fully destroyed and six shops damaged.
     
    ·         On Friday, 02 January 2009 two persons who accompanied a convoy of ambulances from Puthukkudiruppu to Vavuniya were wounded when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) fired artillery shells at Mannaakandal. The two ambulances with 13 civilians with serious injuries, being transferred from Tharmapuram and Puthukkudiyiruppu hospitals to Vavuniya hospital, were targeted after clearance had been obtained through the ICRC. On the same day Artillery shelling by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) killed a civilian and wounded at least 10 civilians at 3rd Mile Post in Murasumoaddai. Another civilian was wounded at Pannangkandi due to SLA shelling. The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers also attacked a petrol station and a bus depot killing four civilians and causing injuries to 8 close to Mullaitivu hospital. 8 buses were destroyed and the depot building was damaged and the petrol station completely destroyed.
     
    ·         On Saturday, 03 January 2009 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) shelling continued to target densely populated civilian area in Puliaympokkanai in Vanni where a 61-year-old civilian was wounded when at least 6 shells hit the settlement.
     
    ·         The abovementioned targeting of Tamil civilians and civilian infrastructure by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces is taking place whilst over 330,000 Tamil civilians are internally displaced in the Vanni. The Sri Lankan State has also imposed stringent economic, food and medical embargos on the war affected areas in the Vanni where there is a total population of nearly 500,000.
     
    These measures that collectively target the Tamil population cannot be justified under any circumstances. They are not only War Crimes in contravention of the Geneva Conventions but are also a part of a policy of Genocide that the Sri Lankan State has been carrying out against the Tamil people.
     
    The TNA notes with disappointment that the international community has not only been, by and large, silent whilst the Genocide of the Tamil people is taking place, but also that key international States are continuing to provide military assistance to the Sri Lankan State using various pretexts.
     
    It is whilst these crimes are taking place in the Tamil Homeland that the Sinhala political parties and the Sri Lankan State have been celebrating what they consider to be military successes. It is this approach of subjugation of the Tamil people by the Sri Lankan State that is at the root of the conflict. There can be little doubt that the continued desire to subjugate the Tamil people without addressing the long held legitimate political aspiration of the Tamil people, as overwhelmingly mandated at the 1977 General Elections to the TULF and thereafter to the TNA, will not produce any positive results. These events only further demonstrate the complete polarization between the Sinhalese and the Tamil peoples in the island.
     
    The aforementioned are a reminder to the 70 million strong world Tamil population that the success of the Tamil peoples struggle to live as a free people with dignity on this island depends on our unity, strength and determination.
     
    Parliamentary Group
    Tamil National Alliance
  • Tamil Nadu recognises genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka
    Politicians and activists across Tamil Nadu have expressed their opinion that the Sri Lankan state is engaged in genocide against the Tamils on the island.
     
    Calling the Sri Lankan regime a ‘genocidal’ one, Vaiko appealed to the Indian Prime Minister to stop military assistance to the island’s government.
     
    “I am registering my view that the present action, approach, attitude of the Indian Government amounting to assist the genocidal Sri Lanka regime is sowing the seeds of sorrow and despair, loss of confidence in the minds of the Tamils” the leader of the MDMK wrote in his letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dated 18 March 2008.
     
    Similarly, Paatali Makkal Kadchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss wondered whether the Indian government was silent only because those at the receiving end of "genocidal frenzy" were voiceless Tamils.
     
    In a letter to the Indian Prime Minister, he assailed “New Delhi's mindless and callous attitude”, reported the Times of India.
     
    Ramadoss said if India could do nothing directly, it could have acted through the UN Security Council, the paper reported.
     
    "This has not even been attempted despite the fact that Sri Lanka has been listed among the eight red alert' countries where genocide or mass atrocities were either underway or were in the risk of breaking out," he is quoted as saying.
     
    "For the scheming bureaucrats and unconcerned decision-makers in New Delhi, are the war-and-genocide-mongers in Colombo more important than the millions of law-abiding Tamilians? Is the honour and self-respect of these millions are of no concern to them?" the PMK leader allegedly asked.
     
    The poet and central government parliamentarian Kanimozhi has also expressed similar sentiment.
     
    Tamils were gradually being wiped out in the island nation, she said in a report in The Hindu on January 2 this year.
     
    Citing a few lines from Mr. Vairamuthu's poem, she said, "There was no point in living on the past glory without raising our voice against the genocide of Tamils."
     
    The strongest Tamil Nadu voice against the genocide has been from the Communist Party of India, which has been consistently at the forefront of the latest protests on behalf of Sri Lankan Tamils.
     
    A press release from the National Executive in September 2008 expressed alarm at the “worsening situation” in Sri Lanka, calling the actions of the Sri Lankan government ‘genocide’.
     
    “Instead of finding a political solution to the four decade old ethnic problem and take steps for a just, viable political settlement to solve the ethnic conflict the Sri Lankan government has unleashed an undeclared war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka, using indiscriminate aerial bombings on civilian habitats including schools and hospitals, which had resulted in the killing of hundreds of innocent children and women and had displaced hundreds of people,” the press release said.
     
    “The Sri Lankan government is neither providing them any relief or allowing voluntary groups to extend humanitarian help to them,” it noted.
     
    “While this genocide is on across the Palk Straits, and the Indian fishermen are often getting killed by the Sri Lankan army, the Indian government remains a dumb witness to these tragic events,” the National Executive chastised the Indian government.
     
    In the lead up to the hunger strikes organised by many organisations across Tamil Nadu in support of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the notion that the events in Sri Lankan were genocidal gained popular credence in Tamil Nadu.
     
    “Unlike in many other conflicts, in Sri Lanka, a group has taken up arms to defend its people from genocide,” noted a news report of the time.
     
    “Sri Lankan state has embarked on a focused effort to crush the struggle and to erase the Tamil people from the map of Sri Lanka. The Indian Government should recognize this and work towards saving the Tamil people. It should not be seen as collaborating in Sri Lanka's genocide of Tamils,” was an oft heard cry from the speakers at the various hunger strikes, including Tamil film director Seeman.
     
    The Tamil Protection Movement (TPM), an umbrella organization consisting of pro-Eelam political parties, NGOs, members of the film fraternity and Tamil associations also condemned the Indian state for extending military support to the ‘genocidal’ Sri Lankan Government.
     
    Politicians and activists across Tamil Nadu have expressed their opinion that the Sri Lankan state is engaged in genocide against the Tamils on the island.
     
    Calling the Sri Lankan regime a ‘genocidal’ one, Vaiko appealed to the Indian Prime Minister to stop military assistance to the island’s government.
     
    “I am registering my view that the present action, approach, attitude of the Indian Government amounting to assist the genocidal Sri Lanka regime is sowing the seeds of sorrow and despair, loss of confidence in the minds of the Tamils” the leader of the MDMK wrote in his letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dated 18 March 2008.
     
    Similarly, Paatali Makkal Kadchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss wondered whether the Indian government was silent only because those at the receiving end of "genocidal frenzy" were voiceless Tamils.
     
    In a letter to the Indian Prime Minister, he assailed “New Delhi's mindless and callous attitude”, reported the Times of India.
     
    Ramadoss said if India could do nothing directly, it could have acted through the UN Security Council, the paper reported.
     
    "This has not even been attempted despite the fact that Sri Lanka has been listed among the eight red alert' countries where genocide or mass atrocities were either underway or were in the risk of breaking out," he is quoted as saying.
     
    "For the scheming bureaucrats and unconcerned decision-makers in New Delhi, are the war-and-genocide-mongers in Colombo more important than the millions of law-abiding Tamilians? Is the honour and self-respect of these millions are of no concern to them?" the PMK leader allegedly asked.
     
    The poet and central government parliamentarian Kanimozhi has also expressed similar sentiment.
     
    Tamils were gradually being wiped out in the island nation, she said in a report in The Hindu on January 2 this year.
     
    Citing a few lines from Mr. Vairamuthu's poem, she said, "There was no point in living on the past glory without raising our voice against the genocide of Tamils."
     
    The strongest Tamil Nadu voice against the genocide has been from the Communist Party of India, which has been consistently at the forefront of the latest protests on behalf of Sri Lankan Tamils.
     
    A press release from the National Executive in September 2008 expressed alarm at the “worsening situation” in Sri Lanka, calling the actions of the Sri Lankan government ‘genocide’.
     
    “Instead of finding a political solution to the four decade old ethnic problem and take steps for a just, viable political settlement to solve the ethnic conflict the Sri Lankan government has unleashed an undeclared war against the Tamils in Sri Lanka, using indiscriminate aerial bombings on civilian habitats including schools and hospitals, which had resulted in the killing of hundreds of innocent children and women and had displaced hundreds of people,” the press release said.
     
    “The Sri Lankan government is neither providing them any relief or allowing voluntary groups to extend humanitarian help to them,” it noted.
     
    “While this genocide is on across the Palk Straits, and the Indian fishermen are often getting killed by the Sri Lankan army, the Indian government remains a dumb witness to these tragic events,” the National Executive chastised the Indian government.
     
    In the lead up to the hunger strikes organised by many organisations across Tamil Nadu in support of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the notion that the events in Sri Lankan were genocidal gained popular credence in Tamil Nadu.
     
    “Unlike in many other conflicts, in Sri Lanka, a group has taken up arms to defend its people from genocide,” noted a news report of the time.
     
    “Sri Lankan state has embarked on a focused effort to crush the struggle and to erase the Tamil people from the map of Sri Lanka. The Indian Government should recognize this and work towards saving the Tamil people. It should not be seen as collaborating in Sri Lanka's genocide of Tamils,” was an oft heard cry from the speakers at the various hunger strikes, including Tamil film director Seeman.
     
    The Tamil Protection Movement (TPM), an umbrella organization consisting of pro-Eelam political parties, NGOs, members of the film fraternity and Tamil associations also condemned the Indian state for extending military support to the ‘genocidal’ Sri Lankan Government.
     
    In a statement in March 2008, Ramadoss and Thol Thirumavalavan, President of the Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Kadchi (VCK or Liberation Panthers Party) demanded the "Indian Government to radically change its approach and actions in the Sri Lankan Tamils issue" and warned the union government not to be seen as collaborating in Sri Lanka's genocide of Tamils.
Subscribe to Sri Lanka