A Sri Lankan Army Court of Inquiry, appointed by the Commander of the Army - Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, has concluded that any shelling of the civilians were not caused by the army.

Of course not.

The Sri Lankan government is demanding more time and space for its reconciliation process and said it is against the “internationalising” of the issue.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN Palitha Kohona is reported by Xinhua to have said that “tremendous progress” had already been made.

"Sri Lanka will continue to take all necessary measures to heal the wounds of conflict on its own, as the internationalization of the reconciliation process, would only result in stymying the progress, particularly since it is a domestically developed process," he said.

Kohona claimed that the government has already taken firm action against perpetrators of sexual violence from 2007 till 2012.

In those 5 years, a total of 17 security forces personnel “had been involved” in incidents of sexual violence in the north, said Kohona.

Thousands of women have been raped and sexually assaulted by the military during the armed conflict and in subsequent years, including in government-run internment camps after the war's end.

In a statement released at a press conference held in Jaffna on Tuesday, The Tamil National People's Front criticised the failure of the international community "complete failure of the UN and the international community in its obligations under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to have intervened on behalf of the Tamil Nation," and called on the members of the UN Human Rights Council to "to resolve to invoke the doctrine of R2P to the Tamil Nation and to set up a transitional administration in the Tamil homeland comprising of the North East provinces in Sri Lanka, as a matter of urgency."

See statement in English and Tamil. An extract is reproduced below:

It is under these circumstances that the TNPF also wishes to draw the attention of the members to 1) the Report by the Panel of Experts appointed by the UN Secretary General to look into accountability issues in Sri Lanka, 2) the recently leaked internal UN Petrie Report 3) the Report by the OHCHR to the 22nd session of the UNHRC, specifically the reiterated call for international independent investigations.

What is now public knowledge of credible allegations of what transpired during the last stages of the war, amply points to the complete failure of the UN and the international community in its obligations under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to have intervened on behalf of the Tamil Nation. Political expediency on the part of the UN and the international community in wanting to see the defeat of the LTTE in the name of eradicating “terrorism” resulted in the Tamil Nation having to pay the ultimate price of a genocidal war. However, three and a half years since the end of the war, the Tamil people continue to face the onslaught in the form of structural genocide of their Nation.
 
Accordingly, the TNPF reiterates its call for an independent and credible international investigation regarding the breach of international law, including the crime of genocide; Further, the TNPF calls upon the members of the UNHRC to resolve to invoke the doctrine of R2P to the Tamil Nation and to set up a transitional administration in the Tamil homeland comprising of the North East provinces in Sri Lanka, as a matter of urgency. The said transitional administration will have to necessarily lie outside the present constitutional apparatus. Such a step is vital to not only stop the further dismantling of the existence of the Tamil Nation, but also to safeguard any future prospects of finding a negotiated solution to the Tamil National question. It is also our view that the establishment of a transitional administration will also be the only realistic way for not only evidence collection for a credible accountability process to succeed, but also to safeguard the available evidence.

Whilst the Swiss government has expressed support for what has been dubbed the 'South African initiative' - an effort to promote negotiations towards peace and reconciliation between the the Sri Lankan government and the TNA, led by the South African government and civil society groups - Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group has cast doubt on the whole affair, stating that it was "hard to be optimistic".

Speaking to Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, Keenan said:

“If it has any value, it is only as a long-term channel for eventual trust-building between the parties. But the onus is on the Sri Lankan government to show a willingness to match the many compromises that the main Tamil party has made recently … I don't see this happening any time soon.”

“It is very important that both the Swiss government and the South African government make this lack of progress clear to the world and not allow the Sri Lankan government to mislead the world on this point. Both the Swiss and the South African governments should support a strong resolution at next month's session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva,”

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation reported:

'He [Keenan] accused the Sri Lankan government of having no interest in fair negotiations with Tamil political parties, no intention to devolve meaningful power to the Tamil-majority northern province or the Tamil-speaking majority eastern province, and of going back on its many promises.
 
Current policies towards Tamils, especially in the northern province, were undermining their rights and damaging the prospects of a lasting political settlement, he added.'

His comments echoed that of the TNA's, who in a statement released during their visit to South Africa earlier this month said:

"In this context we are acutely aware that the GOSL will seek to show the world that some progress has been made, by pointing to the current visit by the TNA to South Africa. 

Therefore, we wish to make it clear that our engagement with the South African initiative is NOT a process that we have commenced with the GOSL and that appropriate action at the UNHRC is absolutely necessary to persuade the GOSL to comply with the said resolution and to discontinue with its harmful agenda against the Tamil People of Sri Lanka."

The US embassy has opened two new hospitals at a cost of over $1 million in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.

Deputy Chief of Mission William Weinstein opened the Mulankavil Base Hospital (Kilinochchi) and the Oddusuddan Divisional Hospital ( Mullaitivu) on Tuesday.

“These two civilian hospitals will provide easier access to better and higher quality medical care to the people of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts,” he said, 

“The US government is helping to improve the lives and health of some of the most vulnerable people in the North,” he added.

See details on the US embassy website.

A Sri Lankan Army Officer and 4 soldiers have been arrested for stealing gold, desperately hidden in the ground by fleeing civilians during the last stages of the armed conflict in 2009.

The soldiers and the Lieutenant Colonel were digging through the ground and scavaging for the jewellery, before attempting to flee the area in a cab, according to reports.

See our earlier post: Floods wash up bodies from the killing fields (08 February 2013)

See here a comment in the Financial Times on Sri Lanka’s row with the IMF over another loan.

See also our recent post for background:
IMF hesitant to fund Sri Lanka spending (13 Jan 2013)

Full text of joint statement:

The British Tamils Forum, the Canadian Tamil Congress, and United States Tamil Political Action Council acknowledge the Report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which emanates from United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 19/2.

While welcoming High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay’s continuous commitment to human rights in Sri Lanka, the use of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) as a framework against which to measure progress is a grave mistake. The LLRC’s fundamental and well-documented flaws preclude its position as the authoritative institution regarding accountability in Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay reaffirmed: “her long-standing call for an independent and credible international investigation into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, which could also monitor any domestic accountability process.” The strength of the High Commissioner’s recommendations underscores the seriousness of the human rights situation, and adds to the volume of credible reports undertaken by the United Nations, including the Secretary Generals Panel of Experts Report and the UN Internal Review on the failings of the UN in Sri Lanka.

“The evidence is mounting, and the reports are repetitive: Sri Lanka cannot evade international scrutiny by seeking more time and space. The Human Rights Council should therefore implement the recommendations of the High Commissioner, by resolving to establish a Commission of Inquiry at the forthcoming session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva,” stated Dr. Yaso Natkunam, spokesperson for the United States Tamil Political Action Council.

“The High Commissioner’s report contextualizes the failure of the Sri Lankan government to meaningfully address its breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law,” concluded Dr. Natkunam.

“This report is a strong step forward, and demands stronger, more progressive action on Sri Lanka. It can, and must be used as an opportunity to bring about a more constructive resolution on Sri Lanka based on the principles of accountability, reconciliation, and human rights.”

The British Tamils Forum, the Canadian Tamil Congress, and United States Tamil Political Action Council are Tamil organizations operating in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States respectively.

The Sri Lankan government has earmarked $150 million for an investment project in Uganda, in order to provide safe water.

See here.

The pledge follows a visit by the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, last year.

Fiften asylum seekers who were deported from the UK have alleged torture and rape by Sri Lankan security forces on return, reports The Guardian newspaper.

In a Freedom of Information request of Home Office data showed that the 15 who were deported between 2009 and September 2012, had managed to escape once again to Britain where they alleged torture and rape.

One of the 15 said he was gang raped and tortured by Sri Lankan security forces, following deportation on a specially chartered UKBA flight in 2011. Another, a lady in her late 40s, said that she too had been raped and tortured after security forces interrogated her regarding the whereabouts of her two sons who had been affiliated to the LTTE. After bribing officials, she managed to escape again, and was finally granted asylum in the summer of 2012.

Contrary to the findings of the Freedom of Information request, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt has said that the UK had no direct evidence that returned asylum seekers were being tortured by Sri Lankan security forces.

The Guardian reports that BUrt still stands by his statement, however said:

"I'm well aware of claims of abuse having been made … We are also aware of claims [of torture] being made more widely – that is why some asylum claims from Sri Lanka are accepted. But what I'm not aware of is evidence that those who've returned have substantiated [their] claims in relation to torture."

The Foreign Office has told The Guardian that it was "urgently seeking further information from the Home Office about any allegations".

See full story on The Guardian here.

On a visit to Jaffna, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has ordered the release of the Jaffna University students who were arrested late last year, for remembering those who had died in the struggle on 27th November.

According to the Government Information Department, Rajapaksa came to this decision after 'having taken into consideration the appeals made by the parents of these students'.

In a statement published on the Commonwealth Secretariat's website yesterday, the organisation refuted Sri Lankan media reports that the Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma had made public statements confirming Sri Lanka as the venue of CHOGM 2013.

Statement is reproduced in full below:

Contrary to some media reports, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has not made any statements today with regard to Sri Lanka as host venue of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2013.

The only public statement issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat thus far is a press release issued by the Secretariat's Official Spokesperson, Richard Uku, on 10 February 2013 announcing the Secretary-General's current visit to Sri Lanka.

The Spokesperson's statement indicated that Mr Sharma will be in Colombo to discuss matters of shared interest between Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth, including November's Heads of Government Meeting. It indicated that he will review organisational preparations for CHOGM and discuss possible outcomes that Sri Lanka and Commonwealth leaders will want to achieve at the summit.

The Spokesperson's 10 February statement also indicated that Mr Sharma is expected to discuss, among other issues, options for advancing Commonwealth values and principles, including the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers.

There will be a statement at the end of the Secretary-General's visit to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, 13 February.

The Sri Lankan government is in the process of introducing new laws that will ban the sale of land to any foreigners, according to Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, reported the state-run Daily News.

The Minister stated that,

“The new land laws are aimed at safeguarding the land rights of Sri Lankans”. 

A Canadian Tamil who went to Vanni to reaffirm his ownership of land, which was occupied by the Sri Lankan Army was murdered last year.

Meanwhile...

Tax free land to China (03 February 2013)