Sri Lanka

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  • Genocide, independence and international law

    Aug 26

    Until about a month ago, most people paid no attention to the two liberation struggles of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both are de-facto states that, having declared their wish to be independent of Georgia in 1992, have been running their own affairs, with the support of Russia, ever since.

     

    Both regions have their own state structures and governments – self-rule in Abkhazia has been conducted via their own parliament. But despite these two peoples’ demonstrable desire to rule themselves, the West would not accept their claims and instead insists their homelands belong to Georgia.

     

    A month ago, in a major miscalculation, Georgia launched a massive and ruthless military operation with the intention of occupying South Ossetia and dismantling the de-facto state there. The attack was legitimised as “defending Georgia’s territorial integrity”.

     

    Unexpectedly, Russia has intervened militarily, driven back the Georgian forces and now, in response to a clear appeal by the governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, has recognized these states. The Russian decision was unanimously backed by the Parliaments in Moscow.

     

    These developments, coming just months after the people of Kosovo won their liberation struggle – over the strong objections of Russia, but with the enthusiastic support of Western states – demonstrate how international ‘principles’ are manipulated by the world’s most powerful states to suit whatever their interests are at the time.

     

    Of crucial importance for the Tamils, these ‘principles’ include ‘genocide’, ‘territorial integrity’, ‘democracy’ and even ‘self-determination’.

     

    The Tamil people will instantly recognise the sentiments expressed by South Ossetia’s Foreign Minister when Russia’s recognition of their statehood was announced: “In less than 100 years, the Georgian military has three times carried out genocide against the Ossetian people. ... Why are they killing us? Because we simply want to live as equals with all the other nations.”

     

    The language used by various leading states in discussing South Ossetia and Abkhazia – and before that, Kosovo - will also ring a bell with the Tamil people: Russia says it intervened in South Ossetia against Georgia to prevent ‘genocide’. The West intervened in Kosovo against Serbia to prevent ‘ethnic cleansing’.

     

    Democratic Will?

     

    Recognising Kosovo’s independence, the West said, correctly, that “over 90%” of the people there want independence. The Russians have, also correctly, pointed out that the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia want independence.

     

    But notice how Russia was unconcerned about the Kosovars’ views, when they opposed that their independence from Serbia.

     

    And notice how yearning of the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia for independence and freedom aren’t even mentioned by the West in the present crisis.

     

    Instead, the West’s only concern is about the territorial integrity of“little” Georgia – and about the welfare of Georgians in South Ossetia and Abkhazia!

     

    Britain’s Guardian newspaper, for example, has praised Georgia as “an independent state - unstable, immature, chaotic, corrupt, but hopeful.” There is, again, simply no consideration of the views of the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia trying to free themselves from Georgia’s chauvinist rule.

     

    The Western states have condemned Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia – and rejected, without the slightest consideration, the desires of the peoples there.

     

    These desires, it is worth noting, were democratically endorsed.

     

    To begin with, South Ossetians and Abkhazians assert their right to self-determination having voted at referendums at elections to their own parliament.

     

    In 1991, then Russian leader Gorbachev called for an “All Union” referendum on the continuation of the Soviet Union. Although Georgia boycotted the referendum, in Abkhazia, 52.3% of the population (virtually all the non-Georgians) took part in the referendum and voted by 98.6% to stay with Russia.

     

    Within weeks of the referendum, Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union. A power sharing agreement was reached between the Georgians and Abkhazians but this failed in 1992.

     

    In 1992 the Abkhaz contingent in the Supreme Council of Georgia (i.e. the elected representative of their people) declared independence for Abkhazia from Georgia. This resulted in war and the mass migration of ethnic Georgians from Abkhazia (about half left, making Georgians about 21% of Abkhazia’s residents).

     

    Similarly, in South Ossetia, the European Union refused to recognise referendums for secession in 1992 and 2006 - even though the South Ossetians voted by 98% for independence in 2006.

     

    Even before the 2006 vote, the EU had warned that it would consider the referendum meaningless; European Union Special Representative to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, declared “the results of the South Ossetian independence referendum will have no meaning for the European Union.”

     

    In short, the EU had no interest what the South Ossetians themselves wanted.

     

    Abkhazia is a full fledged democracy. Parliamentary elections were held in 2004 - where the Russian-backed candidate lost and a coalition government with 90% of all votes was formed.

     

    Notably, both political parties in  Abkhazia supported secession from Georgia.

     

    And interestingly, Abkhazia is a multi-ethnic country - Abkhaz, Armenians and ethnic Russians in the region all voted for self-rule, and against Georgian rule.

     

    All this puts into context how ‘democracy’ is certainly not a principle the Western states or Russia are actually committed to. Or rather, the results of elections only matter if these suit their interests.

     

    If the views of people matter, then the case for the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, just like those of Kosovo is utterly incontestable.

     

    ‘Special Case’?

     

    When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia –on the principle of self-determination - the various countries of the EU (except Spain, battling Basque demands for self-rule) decreed that Kosovo deserved to be exempt from ‘international law’, on the basis of Serbia’s racist oppression and Serb leaders' rejection of a negotiated final status for the territory.

     

    But Kosovan independence in 2008 is notably the culmination of a decade of unilateral military intervention by NATO in Serbia since 1999.

     

    In 1995, when the Dayton peace accords were being negotiated, the US and EU rejected Kosovo’s pleas for independence because of ethnic persecution by the Serbs.

     

    Four years later, the West invaded, supposedly to defend the Kosovars. The basis? Genocide! The Serbs had launched a major offensive into Kosovo, driving over 250,000 people from their homes.

     

    President Clinton's Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, later declared: "The appalling accounts of mass killing in Kosovo and the pictures of refugees fleeing Serb oppression for their lives makes it clear that this is a fight for justice over genocide."

     

    President Clinton also argued “NATO stopped deliberate, systematic efforts at ethnic cleansing and genocide”. He later compared the Serbian aggression against Kosovo to the Jewish Holocost.

     

    However, this month the US supported a massive Georgian invasion of South Ossetia, which drove almost the entire population from their homes.

     

    Russia’s intervention in South Ossetia and Abkhazia has, however, been condemned by the West as against international law.

     

    It follows that NATO intervened in Kosovo to gain advantage in the geopolitical competition with Russia. Kosovo is effectively a NATO ally.

     

    Russia refused to recognise Kosovo’s independence in February 2008 – citing the “territorial integrity” of Serbia and warned, then, that the West’s recognition would have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

     

    And so it has. Pro-Russian South Ossetia and Abkhazia, similarly, are clearly part of Moscow’s remerging sphere of influence in the region

     

    Thus, although at the time, the European Union was keen to label the secession of Kosovo as an “exception”, it is now difficult to see how this is so.

     

    Russia has always been seen as staunch defender of ‘territorial integrity’ – particularly given the problem of Chechnya. Russia has not traditionally been much interested in promoting democracy or preventing of genocide.

     

    But following the Kosovo secession backed by NATO, Russia has quickly moved to support the self-determination of the Akhbazians and South Ossetians, where it is Russian, not NATO troops, who will “underwrite” the peace.

     

    Historically, the US has backed dictatorships and genocide in other parts of the world. For example, the US strongly supported Indonesia’s invasion and annexation of East Timor in which up to a third of the East Timorese people were wiped out.

     

    Then in the late nineties, when the US saw itself as the sole supervisor, they condemned Indonesia’s occupation and secured East Timor’s independence.

     

    Territorial Integrity?

     

    But the principle of ‘territorial integrity’ arises from a specific need – formalised after World War II - to discourage nations invading each other.

     

    But there is a huge difference when the ‘threat’ to territorial integrity arises from within, from a people wishing to secede from the rule of another. Here ‘territorial integrity’ conflicts directly with the UN convention on civil and political rights, on the UN’s declared right of a people to self-determination, and so on.

     

    The international developments of 2008 have a direct bearing on the Tamil people’s struggle for their self-determination and secession from Sri Lanka.

     

    The Tamil people have a strong case for Eelam. They meet all the requirements to exercise self-determination - they have a distinct ethnic identity, a contiguous, historic geographic territory, a history– i.e. they constitute a ‘nation’. They also have capability of self-governance and the will to self-determination.

     

    Leaving aside international laws of self-determination, even when compared with the ‘special case’ rationales presented by the West in Kosovo and Russia in South Ossetia (and Abkhazia), the Tamils have an ample argument: oppression and popular will.

     

    It is worth briefly revisiting some of the Tamil arguments for self-rule.

     

    For sixty years the Tamils have suffered relentless marginalisation by the Sinhala dominated state. We have suffered bouts of communal violence and pogroms.

     

    In July 1983 three thousand of our community were butchered – while the world stood by and even supported the Sri Lankan state with money (World Bank etc) and arms (US, Britain, etc). It is worth remembering the Tamil guerrillas were denounced as ‘Communists’ – after the Cold War ended, they became ‘terrorists’.

     

    The figures for Kosovars killed by Serbian forces were less than 5,000 (as reported to Human Rights groups), though the actual figures of Kosovan deaths “directly or indirectly” attributed to war are estimated at 12 000.

     

    When comparing the figures of Tamil and Kosovan casualties, it is instructive to note  Kosovo has a population of circa 1.9 million (87% of whom are ethnic Albanians), compared to the Tamil population of 3.2 million in Sri Lanka.

     

    The NorthEast Secretariat for Human Rights (NESOHR) has thus far recorded the killings of 37,000 Tamil civilians (in the North East alone) from 1974 to 2004, and estimates, including deaths of internally displaced Tamils outside the North East, the total at 75 000.

     

    Since 2005, international human rights groups have recorded several thousand more deaths at the hands of the Sinhala-dominated security forces.

     

    (These figures do not, of course, include the 22,000 Tamil Tigers killed in the armed struggle for self-rule)

     

    In 2007 alone, the West-backed Sinhala army drove more Tamils from their homes in just the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka than the number of Kosovar displaced cited as justification for NATO intervention against Serbia in 1999. The total number of Tamils displaced within Sri Lanka or fled abroad is 800,000.

     

    Convenient rules

     

    Given that some genocides are ignored or supported and others invoke intervention, it is clear that the international community's decision to accept genocide is taking place is a politically motivated one; ‘genocide’ then becomes a label of international politics, conveniently applied to justify violations of ‘international law’ by powerful states.

     

    So is ‘territorial integrity’; various countries, including especially, the US and the West, Russia and India, have repeatedly asserted the inviolability of Sri Lanka’s ‘territorial integrity’.

     

    It is worth remembering India helped Bangladesh become independent by attacking Pakistan and hiving off that country. India also intervened in Sri Lanka in the eighties, violating Sri Lanka’s sovereignty with airdrops over Jaffna.

     

    The point here is that sooner or later, just as Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are presently useful to powerful states, sooner or later, intervention of one sort or another against Sri Lanka will at some point become useful.

     

    It is then that it will conveniently be remembered the Tamils are enduring slow genocide – just as the suffering of the East Timorese, the Kosovars, the South Ossetians and Abkharz all became useful at some point.

     

    The ideal route to independence would, of course, be by mutual agreement with the Sinhalese – just like the Eritreans and Ethiopians decided a decade ago. However, the Sinhalese are not going to even treat us as an equal people.

     

    We must survive the slow genocide the West-backed Sinhala state is carrying out, expatriates must continue doing what we can to ensure the suffering of our people in the Northeast is minimised.

     

    We need to repeatedly assert our demand for Eelam – irrespective of the confident assertions of international actors that most of us don’t want independence and actually want to live within the chauvinist Sinhala state.

     

    We can take much heart from the successes of the Kosovars, South Ossetians and Abkhazians in securing their independence from oppressive and racist states.

     

    In short, the lesson for the Tamils is to redouble their efforts and ensure the Tamil nation survives genocide, while building and reiterating their case for independence.

  • Sri Lanka’s clampdown on International NGOs

    Accusing international non-government organisations (INGOs) of disseminating ‘wrong’ information to media on the civil war with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and rights issues, the government has moved to tighten the visa regime for foreign workers in entering the country.

    "The government wants to control the number of people going into sensitive (conflict) areas due to negative stories appearing in the media overseas," said a foreign humanitarian worker who declined to be named. "We are careful not to criticise the government. There is a kind of subtle censorship. We are careful what we say or visas could get cancelled," she said.

    President Mahinda Rajapakse's nationalist government has always frowned on the activities of INGOs, particularly those promoting peace or involved in humanitarian work in war-torn areas where LTTE control territory.

    Since the December 2004 tsunami, which laid waste to a large part of this island country’s coastline, there has been a proliferation of INGOs promising to bring relief to the survivors. Efforts to bring order to these humanitarian agencies have been complicated by intensified fighting between government troops and LTTE over the last two years.

    Both United Nations agencies and NGOs have raised the issue of civilian casualties from the war coming on top of tsunami resettlement issues, especially in the Tamil-dominated north and east, annoying the government.

    In a report released in June, the United Nations Economic and Social Council said that the war was seriously hampering tsunami reconstruction work. "The most significant challenge to the recovery process in Sri Lanka is ongoing civil conflict. Escalating violence over the past few years has set back reconstruction efforts in the north and east of the country, though it continues largely apace in the south," stated the report.

    The ministry of internal administration, responsible for registration and control of NGOs, justifies the ‘streamlining’ of procedures relating to the grant of visas to expatriates working with NGOs, saying that a large influx of expatriates for 'reconstruction and rehabilitation work' has made the issue of visas complicated.

    Gomin Dayasiri, a prominent lawyer, told IPS in an interview that the restrictions on foreign workers are essentially because of a few NGOs. "The new rules on NGO personnel are the consequence of a cause-and-effect syndrome created by a stupid few in the NGO mainstream which has unfortunately discredited the silent and substantial contribution made by many in the NGO community in our society.’’

    Dayasiri, who insists he is not anti-NGO or a nationalist as perceived to be, says a 'visible and vocal' few tend to equate the terrorists with freedom fighters and those who fight terrorism as vultures of human rights.

    "With the war going against the terrorists now, they (some NGOs) are even worse than terrorists. At least the terrorists fought for a cause they believed in for which they were prepared to sacrifice their lives. The NGO vocalists sang for their supper for which they were rewarded and now the entire NGO community has to suffer being regulated. The bottom line is that the nationalists have now set rules for the internationalists for being unbalanced and getting their equation bizarre," he said.

    Recently, Dayasiri appeared for the Sri Lanka army in a court case to defend it against accusations that it was responsible for the massacre of 17 local aid workers attached to an INGO. On Aug. 6, 2007, 17 workers, including four women, were found shot dead in the office of Paris-based humanitarian group, Action Contre la Faim (ACF), in the eastern town of Muttur, soon after the army had captured the town from the LTTE.

    While the government said the LTTE was responsible for the massacre, the LTTE and human rights activists have been pointing fingers at the army.

    The issue came into the international spotlight with several western governments backing the ACF’s call for an independent investigation. In June this year, ACF pulled out of a presidential probe into the killings, saying it was disappointed with the way legal proceedings were going and "the blatant lack of will of the Sri Lankan government to establish the truth."

    "ACF sees the launching of an international inquiry as the only reliable means for identifying the perpetrators,’’ ACF executive director Francois Danel said.

    Earlier to that on March 31, the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), headed by former Indian chief justice P. N. Bhagwati, withdrew from its watchdog role. It charged the presidential probe with failing to investigate 16 high-profile incidents of rights violations in 2006 and 2007 and falling short of international norms and standards. The IIGEP had experts from 11 countries: India, France, Indonesia, the U.S., the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Canada, Cyprus, Britain, Australia and Japan.

    The new rules governing NGOs will not apply to U.N. agencies and accredited foreign organisations that work with the government. Sri Lankan authorities, in addition to tightening rules for expatriate workers, also want to reduce the number of expatriates hired by NGOs.

    The maximum period of visa for an expatriate worker is three years as against earlier when the period could be extended. The rules permit the head and deputy to be expatriate appointments, but organisations have been told they must advertise all other positions locally and only if unavailable, would an expatriate be permitted to fill these positions. "The concept here is that NGOs should recruit locally as far as possible and should only find expertise for the posts which cannot be filled locally due to unavailability of suitable candidates," the regulation says.

    Expatriate workers must be cleared by the defence ministry; their dependants or family members cannot work; and their visa is invalid once they quit the job before the work contract ends. There have been many cases, in the past, of expatriate workers changing jobs and remaining in the country for periods of up to eight to 10 years.

    The head of a peace-promoting INGO says many of these restrictions have been in place over the past year but on an ad hoc basis. "In that sense this is welcome because it brings these together and streamlines them into a formal process," he said, adding that the situation during the tsunami was 'very unruly' and complex for local authorities.

    "There were many problems caused by foreign NGO workers and I believe the concern of government over the large number of expatriate workers, to some extent, is justified," he said. In some cases the number of foreign workers per INGO jumped to 50 from just four after the tsunami. However, he said, the challenge for NGOs is not in the rules but whether officials would make it more difficult for expatriates to operate with all this bureaucracy and procedures. The process of appeals of rejection of visa applications has also not been clearly laid out, he said

    U.N. workers are permitted to stay on four-year visas which may be extended in exceptional cases. But a senior U.N. worker said the rules would affect dozens of foreign volunteers who work for U.N. Volunteers (UNV). She said the government was also making if difficult for expatriates to work in war-devastated areas, particularly sections of the northern Vanni region which are controlled by the LTTE. "There is too much paper-work, time and energy involved in bringing down expatriates and then more rules to get them into conflict areas," she added.

    The proposed new law governing NGOs is the culmination of an exercise last year by a parliamentary committee that has been probing NGOs and their activities. Included in its probe were details from NGOs of journalists, politicians, government and private sector officers who have directly or indirectly benefited through NGOs.

    Last year NGOs operating in conflict areas were accused in the media of funding Tamil rebels. Among these groups were Save the Children, Britain, World Food Programme (WFP) and the Swiss-based ZOA. They have all vigorously denied the allegations and said humanitarian aid was meant for affected people.

    In some cases, the parliamentary committee cancelled or did not extend the visas of 40 foreign workers for security reasons -- implying suspicion of links with the Tigers.

    There are more than 1,000 registered NGOs in Sri Lanka, with at least ten percent of that number being INGOs.

  • Fuel crisis cripples IDP movement in Vanni

    More than 100,000 Internally Displaced People in Vanni, languishing in dark beneath shrubs, bushes and in public buildings throughout Kilinochchi district, and affected by various hardships imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has crippled the ability of the IDPs to move themselves and their belongings, according to the Government Agent of Kilinochchi district. 134,868 IDPs belonging to 35,353 families are heavily affected by the economic blockade in Kiinochchi district. Meanwhile the rainy season has begun in Vanni and more than 75 percent of the families are getting drenched by the torrential rain.

    Since 2006 Colombo had imposed a wide spread economic blockade in Vanni. There was a total ban on transporting many items including fuel, iron rods, cement, spare parts for motor vehicles and bicycles. This precipitated a wave of problems in the region. Construction of various buildings including houses being built for Tsunami victims, stalled. The local transport was crippled.

    The supply of petrol and diesel for Kilinochchi District was completely banned and only 500,000 litres of kerosene oil per month was permitted by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence. The activities including those of the government departments were conducted only in a very limited scale due to various restrictions. The limited amount of kerosene was apportioned among the civilian population on the basis of 5 litres per family. However due to the recent influx of war affected people from the Mannaar district and the bordering areas, the amount of kerosene per family has been drastically reduced and they are being issued only one litre per month.

    When asked about the present situation the Government Agent (GA) of the district said: "We are facing a severe fuel crisis. We understand the hardships faced by the displaced people living under unsafe conditions under the shade of the trees and bushes. With the available, meager supply of fuel we are able to distribute only one liter of kerosene per family."

    One litre of kerosene is sold at 95 rupees in Multi Purpose Cooperative Societies (MPCS). Private traders are selling one litre of petrol at 950 rupees. One litre diesel costs 400 rupees while engine oil is being sold at 1450 Rupees. Kerosene oil is sold at 250 rupees per litre. However, even at these prices they are not available at all business establishments.

    The details of the quantity of fuel (In litres) available in the eight cooperative societies were submitted to the Government Agent on July 04, 2008.

    Karaichchi East – No Stock

    Poonahari - 1,590

    Akkaraayan - 47,455

    Pachchchlaippalli -15,088

    Thiruvaiyaaru - 7,270

    Vadamaraadchi East –3,066



    The stock details of Karaichchi South and Karaichchi North were not available.

    Petrol and diesel were not available in any of these cooperative societies.

    Similarly, the managers of the eight cooperative societies attending the meeting held August 12 at Kilinochchi District Secretariat to discuss the need for essential items told the Government Agent that their stock of fuel has been exhausted.

    Up to August 12 only seven bowsers and two Lorries carrying fuel arrived in the district, according to the GA.

  • Bishop: Help war refugees

    Bishop of Jaffna, Dr. Thomas Savundaranayagam, urged the Sri Lankan government authorities to ensure the safety of the civilians and also appealed to all Catholics in the Jaffna peninsula to contribute to a relief fund to assist the internally displaced in Vanni.

    Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Savundaranayagam described how nearly 200,000 civilians fled their homes because of the fighting between Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in recent weeks.

     

    The refugees, who have been driven to Kilinochchi district by the fighting, face a bleak situation, living rough and taking shelter under the trees.


    “They have no place to stay and little to eat’’ said the Bishop.

     

    “There is no shelter, no water, no toilets, no food, and no medical assistance,”

     

    Tents and other essential items were not being allowed in to the area, even though they were desperately needed to provide shelter for the homeless.

     

    The bishop also accused the Sri Lankan army of blocking the supply of food and medicine into Vanni through the Omanthai check point. He also hit out at the fact that medical aid was not being allowed through the check point to reach the homeless.

     

    “The government is not permitting necessary medicine,” he said.

     

    Although the Sri Lankan military has always adopted indiscriminate bombing and shelling as a tactic, in recent weeks it has stepped targeting civilian population centres including hospitals and schools.

     

    “In this war the civilians are the ones who get hurt. May God preserve them in this on-going war.” the bishop added.

     

    Meanwhilse, the critical situation in Vanni was discussed last Monday in a meeting organized by Jaffna Bishop Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundranayagam where the attendees decided to hold special mass on Sunday in all Catholic churches in the peninsula to pray for the IDPs and organize a relief fund.

     

    Rev. Vasanthaseelan, the director of Caritias of the Social Economic Development Centre (SEDEC) for Vanni, in an interview to Catholic Guardian, said that in 15 days in July 50,000 people belonging to 9,175 families have been displaced from places including Muzhangkaavil, Mallaavi and Naachchikudaa .

    The IDPs have sought refuge in the areas of Akkaraayan, Skanthapuram, Vannearikkulam and Koaddaikaddiyakulam in Kilinochchi district, he said.

    The IDPs are in desperate need of temporary shelters, essential food, and medicine, and the funds raised will help to ease their suffering, he added.

  • India warns Sri Lanka it might not win war

    India warned its neighbour, Sri Lanka, that even if it wins the battle it might not win the war because the Tamils are not on their side.

    The warning came from India’s National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan. Speaking to The Straits Times newspaper, Narayan said: “I know the Sri Lankan government will be unhappy (at this advice) but we are not interested in preaching to them and that is the best advice they could get. India can give this advice better than the Norwegians or any other country. These are people that we know, we understand. Do they want a situation like many countries have faced?”

     

     “What the Sri Lankans are not factoring in is the great deal of sullenness in the Tamil man. There are accusations of profiling even in Colombo.

     

    “Our argument is: unless you give Tamils a feeling they have the right to their own destiny in many matters you will not succeed.”

     

    "I think they haven't got the Tamil population on their side." he added.

     

    Stating that Iraq was a good example, Narayanan said: “What we are telling them is, get the Tamils on your side by greater devolution of power. For them to be part of Sri Lankan state, they need the huge Tamil minority on their side.

     

    Commenting on the progress of the war, Narayan said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ‘have been weakened’ and have ‘met with heavier casualties than previously.’

     

    'The (Sri Lanka Army) has made a lot of progress in the last few weeks. But even if they win the battle I am not sure they will win the war.” Narayan said.

     

    “All signs are that they are having problems. They are also hurting because of the ban in many Western countries, so they have problems in fund collection, movement of arms.

     

    Although Narayan felt that Sri Lanka might be unhappy with his advice, Sri Lanka reacted coolly, interpreting his comments as endorsement of the government’s war effort.

     

    “There is nothing bad against Sri Lanka in what Narayanan has said.. It is significant that he has said   the military is winning. And, he has never said that we should talk to the LTTE. These are very positive things”

     

    Rajapakse further added, “As for Narayanan, I understand him very well. I know his vision.”

     

    However, analysts questioned how well Rajapakse knew Narayan’s vision, considering he had missed out the main point which he clearly summarized by saying: “Our argument is: unless you give Tamils a feeling they have the right to their own destiny in many matters you will not succeed.”

     

    Even on the matter of negotiating with the LTTE, some analysts observe that Rajapakse may have got the wrong end of the stick.

     

    Narayan is said to be of the view that if the Sri Lankan government is to go for peace negotiations with the LTTE , it must first be on a sound footing. Negotiations, if any, must commence after the LTTE is weakened . Today, in Narayan’s own analysis the LTTE is weak.

     

    According to Sri Lankan media Narayanan's comment could be the forerunner of an Indian intervention.

     

    Reinforcing media speculation of an Indian intervention, an online media reported, India, through its high Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Alok Prasad, has requested Sri Lanka to initiate negotiations as per an agreement reached between Indian premier Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Rajapakse during the SAARC summit.

     

    However, some analysts are of the opinion that Narayan’s comments are aimed at soothing TamilNadu leaders. At a time, when anti-Sri Lankan sentiments are running high due regular killings of TamilNadu fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, a poll conducted by an influential magazine earlier this month showed that there is strong support for the LTTE and the Eelam cause in the south Indian state.

     

    The Congress led central government is concerned with the developments. It is keen to show TamilNadu that it shares the concerns of the people of the state on the wellbeing of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Narayan’s comments are seen in this context by these analysts.

     

    As if to validate this argument, Narayanan on Monday August 25 met the Chief Minister of TamilNadu Muthuvel Karunannidhi and assured that there will be no firing by the Sri Lankan Navy on Indian fishermen.

     

    Speaking to journalists, after the meeting Narayan said: “In the event of arrest of the fishermen, they would be released in the ‘shortest possible time.’ They would be given ‘humanitarian treatment as far as possible,’ and there would be no ‘maltreatment” of the Indian fishermen’.”

     

    A personal visit by Narayan to TamilNadu to provide an assurance on behalf of Sri Lanka is seen as an indication of the close ties between the governments of India and Sri Lanka.

     

    Unfotunately for Narayan, at least eight Indian fishermen with five boats were reported missing Sunday (August 24) after alleged attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy.

     

    K. Vishwanathan, a 48-year-old fisherman, said a flotilla of over 450 Indian fishing vessels was attacked by the island’s defence personnel who confiscated their catch, disrobed the fishermen and assaulted them.

  • Pakistan to arm Sri Lanka for final push

    Pakistan has pledged to one shipload of the wherewithal every 10 days in coming months to help the Sri Lankan its final push to wipe out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to Sri Lankan media.

    “Pakistan has promised one ship-load of wherewithal every ten days in the coming months,” the Sunday Leader newspaper said in its edition dated August 17.

    “And all this support is thanks largely to the personal rapport between Army Commander Sarath Fonseka and Pakistan Army’s Chief of Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani who had conceded to the request of Lieutenant General Fonseka at a time Sri Lanka Army was in urgent need of supplies.”

    “The Pakistani General who was formerly Director of Secret Services, the Inter Services Intelligence, in a show of solidarity with General Fonseka agreed at the risk of depleting his own army's stocks to help meet Sri Lanka’s requirements since it would otherwise have taken considerable time for Pakistan's ordnance factories to manufacture the Sri Lankan requirements which were of an urgent nature,” the paper added.

    However, a Taliban bomb attack outside Pakistan's main ordnance complex on Thursday, August 21 has raised concerns within the Sri Lankan defence establishment.


    The attack on Wah factory in Islamabad, a heavily guarded complex, the hub of Pakistan's defence industry where about 25,000 workers produce explosives, ordnance and weapons in about 15 factories, could disrupt Pakistan’s plans to provide military supplies to Sri Lanka.

     

    This is the second time Pakistan is helping Sri Lanka militarily in its hour of need. The last time it did was in 2000 when the 30,000-strong Sri Lankan army contingent in Jaffna was under an LTTE siege. At the time, Pakistan rushed Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs) and ammunition to assist the besieged Sri Lankan Army.

    With military analysts predicting major battles in coming weeks and months, the army needs ammunition in large quantities. Sri Lanka manufactures no arms, though it has been fighting a modern war since 1983-84. The main suppliers have been China, Pakistan, and the East European countries.
  • Rajapkase predicts victory, Army sees challenges ahead

    The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his borhter, the Defence Secretary, Gothabaya Rajapakse predicted imminent victory even as the Army chief predicted great challenges ahead in its campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

     

    Gotabhaya Rajapakse, brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, speaking to the Times newspaper in London declared: “It’s possible by the end of this year,”

    “You have to search for them and completely eradicate them. Only then can peace come.” he added.

     

    Addressing an election rally of his United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at Ruwanwella in Sabaragamuwa province, President Rajapaksa, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, mirrored his brother’s view and declared:” We liberated the eastern province and will liberate the north too very shortly”

     

    “There is no turning back under any circumstances or influence now, until every inch of land is recaptured and each and every terrorist is killed or captured,' the state-run Daily News quoted the president as saying at the rally.”

     

    Whilst the Rajapakse brothers saw imminent victory, the Sri Lankan Army chief saw big battles in the near future.

     

    Last week, Fonseka, warned his soldiers that the future would be more challenging for them as they move forward to capture LTTE administered territory in Vanni.

    “I am very happy with the progress so far made on all Wanni fronts. We are now quite close to Kilinochchi. Though our future targets would be more challenging, I am sure we would be able to face them. Try to maintain the highest degree of morale among soldiers by speaking to all of them” said Fonseka when he addressed troops in Vavuniya on Friday August 22.

    “Let us reach our targets with determination in the near future,” Fonseka told the gathering of Divisional and Brigade Commanders, who briefed him on the current developments in respective areas.

  • The war rhetoric and the numbers game

    When Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake ascended the stage to address an SLFP rally in the Kuruwita area of Ratnapura last week, he roared that the military was in a position to capture Kilinochchi town by yesterday (Saturday).

     

    "We are very, very close. Kilinochchi is not very far from our site," he insisted, emphasising that "Our boys might even take Kilinochchi by August 23." Unfortunately, in a telling sign as to how much enthusiasm the government is received with in Ratnapura, the rally was practically deserted.

    This, of course, the PM attributes to the fact that people were afraid to attend due to terrorist threats, according to the BBC Sandeshaya Service. It appears that as the war draws closer to an end, the level of terrorist threats seems to increase in proportion.

     

    As startling as the Prime Minister's claim was, it was quickly rebuffed by a retired army general with political ambitions. "I am puzzled as to why always these predictions coincide with elections," was the wry comment of Major General Janaka Perera, the UNP's main candidate in yesterday's North Central Provincial Council election.

     

    Not alone

     

    But the Prime Minister wasn't alone in his proclamations; his was simply the most outlandish. The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, was not far behind with his pledge that Kilinochchi will be captured by the army within the next few months.

     

    His was a follow up to a statement by the military that the army had already entered the Kilinochchi District from an undisclosed location. Yet the Army Commander himself admitted, the military' strategy is one that might allow the LTTE insurgency to "last forever."

     

    As many analysts have been saying since the military campaign in the Wanni started, it is one that lacks clarity or direction. At various times officials have made statements so self-contradictory that they lead to fears that - despite the ruthless professionalism emanating from the soldiers on the ground - the top brass do not know whether they are coming or going.

     

    It also begs the question whether overall military strategy is being compromised at the altar of political expediency as was evident with Prime Minister Wickramanayake's desperate claim that Kilinochchi will be captured by election day, August 23.

     

    Main aim

    The Defence Secretary, for example, told the New York Times in a May interview that the government's main aim was "to destroy the leadership" of the LTTE. This has in the past been the work of the army's deep penetration units and air force bombers, coupling their strikes with accurate intelligence information on target positions.

     

    But by last week the Secretary Defence had changed his mind. He told the UK's Times Online that he had to "go after (the Tigers) and completely eradicate them." His brother, President Mahinda Rajapakse has often insisted that the ongoing war was part of a humanitarian campaign to free civilians, or systematic retaliation to LTTE aggression.

     

    Yet in the heat of the elections with opinion polls not favouring the government, the Commander in Chief too came out with his real thinking on the war while he was addressing a rally in Ruwanwella, Sabaragamuwa. "There is no turning back under any circumstances or influence now, until every inch of land is recaptured and each and every terrorist is killed or captured!" he thundered to the crowd.

     

    Given all its contradictions, the government will find it difficult to maintain its facade of impending victory, unless it finds some form of tangible 'victory' to show to the public. Over 14,000 soldiers have deserted the forces in 2008, Military Spokesman, Brigadier General Udaya Nanayakkara told The Sunday Leader. This figure is around 5.4% of the army's total strength over a period of just over half a year.

     

    Heavy expenditure

    Although these soldiers are not from the army's most battle-hardened regiments, they are troops who have seen combat, and whom the military depends on to hold the territory behind its advances. The military spends over Rs. 1 million on the 15 week training periods for each and every one of these soldiers, the Brigadier said.

     

    "That cost includes the cost of their starting salaries, paying their instructors, buying their uniforms, rations, weapons and other equipment, as well as rations and accommodation," he said. Even the lowest ranking soldier serving in an operational area would collect just under Rs 30,000 monthly, according to the military - a figure that even adjusted for inflation, is far higher than that ever paid to soldiers over the last few decades of conflict.

    The general thus doubts that deserters have left the army for economic reasons and instead suggests that 'personal reasons' played a bigger role. Brig. Nanayakkara also said that during the late 1990's, the desertion rate was much higher and over 30,000 would desert the army in a year.

    "Now the figures are far lower," he said. 5.5% however, is an extremely high rate of desertion for any army - enough to cause alarm. At the peak of the US military's Vietnam debacle, when a draft (effectively conscription) policy was in place and tens of thousands of American soldiers were being slaughtered, the desertion rate peaked at 5%.

     

    Too soft

    A senior military officer, who wished to remain anonymous due to a witch hunt against officers who speak with 'traitorous' journalists, felt that the military was taking the desertion issue too softly. "When we are supposed to be in a successful military campaign, 5.5% is a crazy rate. Don't forget, you're saying 5.5% out of the whole strength of the army, but that is including all from engineers to admin officers. If you look at what number of combat troops are deserting, that's a huge and scary number."

     

    It is impossible to independently establish the ground situation faced by soldiers on the Wanni battlefront, since the military does not allow access for journalists to visit the front lines. Yet the threat of insurgency faced by the military, especially in the light of outright retreats by the LTTE, has been significantly downplayed.

     

    Even in the cleared Eastern Province, which is now effectively the domain of Karuna and Pillayan, the military and the STF find signs of LTTE infiltration nearly every day. Barely a day has passed since Pillayan was appointed Chief Minister in May, without the military and STF either encountering an LTTE splinter cell, or discovering a stash of weapons - ranging from automatic weapons, to claymore mines, rocket propelled grenade launchers to light artillery mortars.

     

    If this is the situation in the Eastern Province, whose former LTTE czars are on the government's side, it is easy to imagine the abundance of military hardware stashed in safe-houses and jungle hide-aways, behind the army's advances.

     

    'Clever tricks'

    Karuna himself warned last week that Pirapaharan may have some clever tricks up his sleeve. He told a news briefing in Welikanda - while out campaigning - that the LTTE would use northern civilians as blatant human shields, and use chemical weapons to try to halt the army's advances. He also took the 'credit' for the LTTE's military operations to rout the Jayasikuru campaign, and the operations to capture Elephant Pass and Kilinochchi from the army. Without him, says the Colonel, the Tigers are past their heyday.

     

    The Sunday Leader earlier cited a research paper published by the British Medical Journal, which warned that due to errors inherent in normal casualty reporting methods, the death toll from Sri Lanka's war may be higher than 300,000 - opposed to the earlier estimate of 60 to 70 thousand.

     

    With the government's own figures, nearly 16,000 people - of whom just fewer than 2,000 were civilians - have been killed in the past two years of conflict. This year alone over 600 security forces personnel have laid down their lives, in 'return' for the military claiming to have killed some 6,300 LTTE cadres in the same period.

     

    The month of July has been the bloodiest yet, with the government claiming to have iced 1,017 tigers for the loss of 106 soldiers' lives. These figures were revealed by the Prime Minister to parliament, before the entire government took off on election campaigning work.

     

    The most worrying part of the Prime Minister's statement was that he said 622 - six times the number killed - soldiers were 'injured' in battle. This is not a military that counts a scratch on the arm or a broken toe as an injury. A lot of these soldiers, aged 18 and up, have been hurt so badly that their lives have been effectively shattered.

     

    The stats

    Also, if the government claims that nearly 12,000 Tigers have been killed between 2006 to date, surely at least a similar number must also have been maimed?

     

    The Prime Minister's numbers for those killed last month however did not tally with our own records of news releases from the Defence Ministry.

    The Ministry doles out the odd news story of a soldier who "laid his life for the motherland" or "made the supreme sacrifice" every so often, scattered amongst the banner headlines of all the hundreds of tigers it is killing every week. The total number of soldiers admitted killed by the military itself in the month of July was just 55, almost half the 106 that Ratnasiri Wickremanayake claims were killed.

     

    Similarly, the military's reports only allow that 299 soldiers were injured in the month of July, despite the Prime Minister's figure being double this. Although these figures cannot be verified, time and time again they are found to be untrue and reek of fabrication. The intention is obvious and there in lies the rub.

     

    Rather than fight the war on a strategic basis to corner the Tigers what the government is doing all too obviously is dish out false propaganda simply to achieve political ends as opposed to real military successes. Thus while claiming on a daily basis that only one or two soldiers are killed as opposed to dozens of Tigers in their propaganda handouts, the government is conditioning the minds of the people on a daily basis the war is nearing end at very little human cost to the military.

     

    Monthly statement

    Then comes the monthly statement of the Prime Minister at the emergency debate giving lie to the government's own daily propaganda by stating over 100 soldiers were killed for the month with over 600 injured if July is taken as an example. That figure of course does not spell out the number of missing in action or deserters. What does this mean in real terms ? In July alone for example there were over 725 soldiers either killed or injured in battle. Simply put that is an average of 23 soldiers are killed or injured every day.

     

    Now the purpose of highlighting this fact is not to demoralise the soldiers because they know the ground realities being in the frontlines but to impress upon the government not to fight the war through the news media to achieve narrow political ends since the truth will out and it will not do the government's credibility any good via the very people they are trying to convince.

     

    Thus, over the seven months that we have been recording the Defence Ministry reports, it has been easy to spot certain amusing trends. The number of soldiers announced killed in any report is almost certainly couched towards the end of a story, and it is generally zero, one or two. The number of LTTE cadres killed however, often follows a different pattern. Often the number of Tigers reported killed would match the day of the month or the article's ID number on the Defence Ministry web site.

     

    Propaganda war

    Thus the Ministry is winning its war, but a propaganda war. Around Colombo the Presidential Secretariat has gotten in on the act by replacing the contents of nearly every single Colombo Municipal Council hoarding to advertise President Rajapakse and his Nelum Mal logo.

     

    The government has set yet another target for capturing Kilinochchi, Pirapaharan's headquarters. It is well known that as the military advances, the Tigers will have nowhere to run, as the army is in place north of Elephant Pass along the Muhamalai - Nagarkovil defence line.

     

    Thus, as the President promised, once "every inch" of land has been captured, the government would be hard pressed to explain themselves should the senior LTTE leadership manage to escape and disappear, as did Bin Laden in Afghanistan, or 900 Tigers who simply 'vanished' from a 'surrounded' Thoppigala last year.

     

    [Edited]

     

  • Sri Lanka receives one billion in aid, Iran tops donors list

    Despite its track record on human rights and contempt for international laws and practices, Sri Lanka received USD 1.05 billion in the first five months of the year in foreign aid according to a fiscal report published by Sri Lanka’s treasury.

     

    The report classed USD 959 millions as projects and USD 90 million as grants.

     

    Although western donors have been threatening to cut aid to Sri Lanka because of worsening human rights abuses and escalating violence in the civil war, the report shows Sri Lanka had no problem attracting funds.

    Iran has emerged as Sri Lanka’s biggest donor this year, knocking Japan from the position of being the war-torn island's main benefactor.

     

    The treasury said foreign aid would have almost halved if Iran had not chipped in with USD 450 million to build a hydro power project and upgrade the island's sole oil refinery.

     

    The Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project (UOMDP), to be funded by Iran, will provide 100-150 MW of hydro power and irrigate around 4,000-5,000 hectares of dry land near central Sri Lanka.

    Other key donors included Denmark (USD 155.2 million), India (USD 109.2 million), the Asian Development Bank (USD 90 million), World Bank (USD 43.1 million) and Japan (USD 42.2 million).

    Government of Denmark committed US$ 155 million for Kelani Right Bank Water Treatment Plant Project and Oluvil Port Development Project. Kelani Right Bank Water Treatment Project will improve the water supply around 350,000 people who are presently experience an unsatisfactory supply and provide new water supply connections around 100,000 people.

     

    Danish assistance will be utilised to construct Oluvil Port as a transport and fishery harbour and thereby promoting the development in the Eastern region.

     

    Government of India committed US $ 109 million. Of which US$ 100 million is to finance imports from India and US$ 8.5 million for the construction of a district hospital in Dickoya, Hatton consisting of 150 beds.

     

    The balance US $ 0.5 million is for the improvement of facilities at Rural Vocational Training Centre at Nagawillu, Puttalam.

  • Sri Lanka, sick man of SAARC

    Britain has a moral obligation towards Tamils – as much as Kosovans or the people of Darfur.

     

    The report of the Asian Center for Human Rights (ACHR) dated 2nd August 2008 in which Sri Lanka has been named as the No. 1 Human Rights violator in the whole of the SAARC region, where nearly 2 billion people live, is a serious indictment of Mahinda Rajapakse, his security apparatus and his government.

     

    But these reprehensible abuses are carried out with utter impunity as the police, the government and the judiciary have actively collaborated to protect the abusers who use torture, death and disappearances as instruments of war. 

     

    Usually the Judiciary can be relied on to bring the culprits to book. But in this  case, ACHR has reported that the appointment of Justice Sarath Nanda Silva, the former legal advisor to President Chandrika as the Chief Justice, has resulted in a long legacy of political judgements and not legal judgements, that have interfered with the political processes of the country.

     

    The British legal and political establishment has to recognise this authoritative report on the aberration of government and has to give up its thoughtless stand on supporting the commonwealth government of Sri Lanka.

     

    We appeal to the British Foreign Secretary to take the initiative to suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth as it has done with Zimbabwe and Pakistan at various times. If Foreign Secretary Milliband wants to be seen as a political heavyweight and a prospective future Labour leader, now is the time for him to take his stand for human rights and an independent judiciary in Sri Lanka.

     

    The 200,000 or more  British Tamils, who form a sizeable vote bank in some of the marginal seats in London and the principal cities, look upon their parliamentary representatives to become better acquainted with the causes of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka and the horrendous cruelty visited upon their own relatives and friends remaining in Sri Lanka.

     

    The Sri Lankan government in a calculated campaign of genocide, wants to clear all Tamils from the country by death or expulsion, in order to make Sri Lanka a Sinhala Buddhist country.  The rest of humanity in the world cannot remain indifferent to it, while the expatriate Tamils driven out of Sri Lanka can never close their eyes to the horrific suffering of their own people in Sri Lanka.

     

    The Sri Lankan government has sold a dummy to the West by calling its ruthless war against the Tamils a fight against ' international terrorism' when all that the Tamils are struggling, is for equality and freedom from oppression.

     

    The Sinhalese have chosen war but the liberty of man reposes as much in the heart and the mind as it is in their land. After 60 years of oppression the Tamils have voted and opted for a separate state called Tamil Eelam. The Sinhalese may win a battle of conquest or even a few, but the war can not be won.

     

    The hunger for Tamil Eelam is firmly etched in the hearts and minds of every Sri Lankan Tamil, and ultimately the truth is that freedom will prevail and Tamil Eelam will be born. This is the God-given right of all Tamils and no earthly power however militarily strong shall trample it down forever. Remember that the Jews came back to their home after 2000 years of wandering.

     

    The evil Sri Lankan war machine supplied by China, Pakistan, India, Israel and Eastern Europe is used to slaughter innocent Tamil women, children and elderly men. The West had a conscience during the racist reign of Milosovec and Karadic in the Balkans and assembled a mighty force to bring them down. The whole world rejoiced in this triumph over evil that set the standards of punishment for all racist thugs in power.

     

    Are the Tamils any less human beings than the Muslims of Serbia? If President Bashir of the Sudan can stand indicted as a human rights criminal for atrocities in Darfur, why is Mahinda Rajapakse not indicted for worse human rights crimes against the Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka? In the name of justice and with the cries of over 100,000 innocent dead Tamil souls from beyond the grave, consumed in the flames of an unjust and indefensible war for hegemony, we ask Britain to raise its voice and say that enough is enough.

     

    British Tamils will not forget all those Parliamentarians and human rights activists who supported them to rid this blight upon the fair homeland of the Tamils, when they next elect their representatives.

     

    Ivan Pedropillai is chief editor of the Tamil Writers Guild

  • ‘My Daughter: the terrorist’
    The long awaited showing of ‘My Daughter: The Terrorist’ took place on Monday 11th August to a fully sold out mixed audience at the ‘The Frontline Club’, a media club promoting independent journalism. Following the controversy courted by the film, not least for the Sri Lankan Government’s attempts to block showings globally at numerous film festivals in addition to the reported death threats against the producers, the crowd was in an expectant mood. The film itself was directed by Norwegian Beate Arnestad during the period of the ceasefire between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government.
     
    The crux of the film is centred on the lives of the two protagonists; a pair of female Black Tiger cadres known by their nom de guerres Dharsika and Puhalchudar. The Black Tigers are famed, all be it notoriously, for their use of suicide bombing as a military tactic against the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. However, the stigma associated with suicide bombing, especially since 9/11, has often meant the method itself rather than its cause has been a matter of discussion. With full permission of the LTTE, Arnestad attempts to investigate an example of these causes and discover what it is that drives the Black Tigers into what they do.  
     
    Through a series of conversations with the two soldiers, Arnestad delves into their personal experiences, both as civilians and as cadres during the long running conflict. By visiting various locations which allow them to relive their experiences, the viewer learns about the regular problems endured by the women in particular, and the Tamil population in general, at the hands of the Sri Lankan forces, such as regular aerial bombardment of civilian areas. Additionally, by interviewing Dharsika’s mother, the film tries to explore the impact on the families of LTTE cadres. The interview is very open in content despite the emotions it evokes in her mother and as her mother reveals, Dharsika’s involvement coincides with the death of her father in an aerial bombing. 
     
    The film is extremely powerful and certainly achieves its aim in seeking out the inner feelings of the two women. They are candid in their knowledge of their likely fate yet they unflinchingly describe why they hope to be involved in such a mission. Their words and expressions are heartfelt and reveal their thorough determination and commitment to the cause yet simultaneously demonstrates their indisputable human nature with the revelations of their hurtful memories and tears at occasions. The trust that Arnestad gains with her protagonists is shown through their use of humour at regular intervals as the film progresses. The personal suffering and the genuine retelling of their stories gradually begin to develop an unwitting sympathy in the viewer, who feels their pain, yet is conscious that it contradicts their stand against the use of suicide bombing as a military means.
     
    Amongst the interviews with the soldiers, the producers have made a significant effort to maintain an unbiased standpoint with video clippings of past suicide attacks such as the attempt on President Kumaratunga, and the result of the Colombo Central Bank Bombing.
     
    Following the show, a question and answer session with Arnestad took place in which she was frank about how she went about her project, taking great care to not reveal the help she received and the reasons she picked these two women. Significantly however, whilst not supporting them in their stated missions, a note of the ‘state terror’ taking place was mentioned in tandem with pointing out that the majority of targets were in fact military as oppose to civilian.
     
    The film would be highly recommended for anyone interested in exploring the intentions and beliefs of a Black Tiger, rather than paying sole attention to the interpretation of the mainstream media into such actions. Despite the fact that the film does contain some strong and graphic imagery, one must note that it is with this that the emotions of the women can be put into perspective. 
  • Tamil separatism survives on the strength of Sinhala nationalism

    Reminiscing “Black July” is almost over. There were plenty of articles in most of our print media and in web portals with differing points of view on “Black July”.

     

    Yet what was missing in most of that discussion was a reading about the LTTE psyche, 25 years after the Black July. Does the LTTE work towards achieving any justification or sympathy from the South for their struggle, liberation or separatist war or what ever label one may wish to stick on it in the South? This is the single most important question the South needs to ask itself.  The southern political leadership had from the very beginning of the conflict opposed this Tamil homeland complete.

     

    All governments since 1977, except the Ranil Wickremesinghe government (Dec 2001) have fought a war to defeat this separatist movement. Madam Chandrika Kumaratunga who in 1994 braved a racist campaign  to win both the Parliamentary and the Presidential elections on a platform of conciliatory politics, also went to war within 06 months of assuming power as President.

     

    Under her, the heavily fought and much emphasised “Jaya Sikurui” military campaign that lasted 18 months and drained off billions of rupees to capture some parts of Northern territory, failed to dislodge the LTTE from their Wanni base. Much hyped “Jaya Sikurui” military victory was turned into a national event.  The government’s euphoria over that victory couldn’t last long.

     

    The LTTE launched their most vicious onslaught ever called the “Unceasing Waves III” in 1999 November and within a fortnight had even run over the heavily fortified Elephant Pass military base.

     

    Ever since then, the LTTE assembled their State structures, in areas under their control. To run them as civil systems, the LTTE needed money from society and they have imposed taxes, the percentages and totals not very important right now, except for the fact that they have an Inland Revenue collecting system of their own.

     

    Close upon 10 years for now, all these have evolved into more systematic structures. This is what the LTTE leadership is grappling with, now. Their concern is the ability to guard the area they have now brought under their administration.

     

    What they therefore pursue now is recognition as a State and the opening for such legitimacy. Do they need a Southern approval or a Southern justification for that ?

     

    They simply don’t and they also know they wouldn’t get such Southern accreditation. It has been moulded to think that the majority Sinhala society has a right to offer and the minority Tamils would have to accept what is offered under a unitary system. Any rejection of what is offered gives way for oppression and that had been our history in settling the issue.

     

    With every attempt at negotiating answers to justifiable Tamil aspirations given a dud coin by the Sinhala leaderships, emergence of a Tamil psyche that opted for a separate Tamil State was unavoidable.

     

    The LTTE emerged as the decisive force within Tamil politics from among many others.  More ruthless and fanatical the Southern approach is in forcing a Unitary State, the bigger their space would be in arguing that the Sinhala leadership is not prepared to share power.

     

    If the South needs to live in a united country with a single constitution, that is also possible. But for that the South needs to reach a broad consensus to re-structure its old, inefficient and corrupt State that is exclusively a Sinhala State. A State that has for 60 years since independence not given even the Sinhala people a space to better their lives. A State, against which even the Sinhala youth waged war twice within the past 35 years.

     

    The  nationalistic desire to establish a nation state based on one (Sinhala) language gives way for political coercion over both societies. The logic behind the “Separate Tamil State” is the failure of the Sinhala society to understand this  pluralism in modern day nationalism.

     

    Understanding and accommodating that pluralism within a new democratic State provides the only possible answer in defeating separatism, which the South refuses to accept and thus provides for the LTTE to exist and fight for their ideal separate State.

  • Fragile Fictions
    The sudden outbreak of hostilities between Georgia and Russia took much of the world by surprise - except, of course, the Moscow government, which demonstrably was ready and waiting, and Georgia's staunchest ally, the United States. In what is seen by many as a terrible miscalculation, Georgia launched a military onslaught to end, once and for all, the South Ossetians' independence struggle, but instead triggered a hammer blow from the Russian military. Quite apart from the implications for global power distributions, the events of the past week have important lessons for independence struggles everywhere, not least that of the Tamils. Most importantly, it is a reminder, if one were needed, that notions such as 'sovereignty' and 'territorial integrity' are not cast-iron principles of international politics, but fragile covers for the pursuit of interests by powerful states.
     
    This week's short, sharp war in Georgia is mainly about old-fashioned Great Power rivalry. In short, a resurgent Russia is re-establishing the terms on which other powerful states, notably the United States and the European Bloc, will henceforth have to deal with it. In this context, both Russia's support for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and America's support for Georgia are merely aspects of the Moscow-Washington tussle. Just a few months ago the United States along with Britain, Germany and a host of Western states, embraced the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo from Serbia, over the vehement protests of Russia. The Western states solemnly declared that the will of the majority of Kosovans could not be ignored for the sake of 'sovereignty' or 'territorial integrity' (the same states, in 1999, had launched a military onslaught against Russia-backed Serbia, ostensibly to prevent 'ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo).
     
    This week these roles were laughably reversed. It was the West which backed Georgia's onslaught into South Ossetia to end the rebellion - even though the entire population there, along with that of Abhazia, clearly want to be free of Georgian rule. And, conversely, this time it was Russia's military that intervened - in the interests, naturally, of 'preventing genocide'. The Russian operation not only drove Georgian forces far from South Ossetia's borders, but also from the fragments of Abkhazia they were still holding. Whilst it remains to be seen how the diplomatic machinations play out in the future, it is already clear that these two independence struggles have taken important practical steps forward.
     
    The two contrasting situations have revealed the utter hypocrisy of the United States, Europe and the Russia when it comes to notions of 'sovereignty' or 'territorial integrity'; they have amply illustrated that whether these are important principles or fragile fictions depends wholly on if and how they suit or frustrate the self-interested maneuvers of powerful states. For decades Sri Lanka and its allies have been lecturing the Tamils on the inviolability of a country's 'territorial integrity' - even as state after state has emerged elsewhere, frequently with the active support of many of these nay sayers. In fact, Sri Lanka's sovereignty and territorial integrity, like those of Serbia, Georgia, Ethiopia, and many others, is - and has always been - utterly contingent on these being sufficiently useful to all the relevant Great Powers, at the same time. In other words, the moment the emergence of Tamil Eelam becomes useful to any of the Great Powers, a new game will begin. Can it be said with any certainty that this will never happen?
     
    Meanwhile, in the wake of strong resistance by many Asian states to Western interventions justified in terms of 'human rights' and 'good governance', it is often suggested that Asian countries have some sort of peculiar proclivity for prioritising the notions of 'sovereignty' or 'territorial integrity' - i.e. 'non-interference' - above universal values. In fact, contrary to this orientalist characterization, Asian states have the same commitment - or lack thereof - to so-called universal principles and, indeed, to sovereignty and territorial integrity as Western ones. Since WW2, many Asian states have waged war on each other, sponsored insurgencies and other allies within their enemies' territories and engaged in the other traditional forms of inter-state rivalry. The much claimed Asian principles of tolerance and harmony, for example, have not permitted the withdrawal of the tens of thousands of American soldiers from Asia, nor have they prevented the expansion of the militaries of a number of major states of all politico-economic persuasions. In short, the calculations that underpin respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity are the same the world over. New states will continue to emerge, the world over, in the decades to come.
  • Sri Lanka doesn't have Tamils on its side - India

    Sri Lanka may win the battle against the Tamil Tigers but not the war as 'they haven't got the Tamil population on their side', India's National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said in an interview with the Straits Times newspaper published Tuesday.

     

    Saying India understands the Tamils, Mr. Narayanan asked of Sri Lanka, “Do they want a situation like many countries have faced?”

     

    His comments come after a survey in a leading Tamil Nadu weekly suggested the majority of people there support the LTTE and want Indian intervention in Sri Lanka.

     

    “The (Sri Lanka Army) has made a lot of progress in the last few weeks. But even if they win the battle I am not sure they will win the war. I think they haven't got the Tamil population on their side,” he said.

     

    “I know the Sri Lankan government will be unhappy (at this advice) but we are not interested in preaching to them and that is the best advice they could get. India can give this advice better than the Norwegians or any other country.”

     

    “These are people that we know, we understand. Do they want a situation like many countries have faced?”

     

    “Obviously the Tamil Tigers have been weakened, they have met with heavier casualties than previously.”

     

    “What the Sri Lankans are not factoring in is the great deal of sullenness in the Tamil man. There are accusations of profiling even in Colombo.”

     

    “Our argument is: unless you give Tamils a feeling they have the right to their own destiny in many matters you will not succeed. LTTE's capacity to carry out terrorist attacks is not diminished.”

     

    Mr. Narayanan’s comments come days after a survey in a leading Tamil-language weekly in India’s Tamil Nadu state said the majority of people there support the Tamil Tigers.

     

    The results of the survey published in this week's Ananda Vikadan, which tops the circulation among weeklies in Tamil Nadu said that 54.25 per cent of the respondents said that they have always supported the Tigers and their goal of Tamil Eelam.

     

    About 50 per cent of those convinced of LTTE's hand in the assassination of former Premier Rajiv Gandhi, nonetheless felt that LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran should be condoned, the survey figures said.

     

    Commenting on the results of the survey, the Calcutta-based ‘The Statesman’ said: “Although it is known that support for the Tigers is rising in Tamil Nadu … the amount of support for the banned outfit, revealed in a survey conducted by a media group, which is considered respected for its neutrality is quiet stunning.

     

    Most of the respondents in the Ananda Vikadan survey, over 62 per cent, favoured India's intervention in the conflict in Sri Lanka.

  • NESOHR: 70,000 new IDPs in Vanni in 60 days

    Documenting that during June and July, an additional 70,800 people registered with the Kilinochchi and Mullaitheevu Secretariats as new Internally Displaced People from areas proximity to Mannar, Vavuniyaa, Manalaaru, and Mukamaalai Foward Defence Lines (FDLs), a report released Friday by NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), a Vanni based rights group, said that restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka Government on taking essential items to Vanni have further hampered assistance given by the humanitarian agencies.

     

    The report said a total of 130,123 have been catergorized as IDPs in in different AGA divisions in Vanni from different areas in the North.

    The report also detailed the shortfall in the essential items reaching Vanni due to restrictions imposed by Colombo.

    22% shortfaill in Sugar, 73% in lentils, 89% in milkpowder, and 20% shortfall in kerosine, add to the woes of the IDPs, and general population in Vanni the report said.

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