• SL independence sanctioned Tamil genocide say Australian Tamils

    Feb 03

    Dismissing Sri Lanka's celebration of Independence day on 4th February an act that sanctioned the state's genocide of Tamils, Australian Tamils came together in condemnation at the 65 years of genocide that has ensued.

    Together with trade union activists, members of the Tamil Coordinating Committee - Australia, raised the Eelam Tamil flag in Geelong, Australia, to protest against what they described as the "international lie of independence in Sri Lanka".

    Speaking to Tamil Guardian, Dominic Santhiapillai of the TCC-Australia said:

    "Since Feb 4th, 1948 successive Sri Lankan governments have attempted to wipe out the Tamil nation through various pogroms and acts of genocide... The citizenship act in 1948, the Sinhala Only Act in 1956, the republican constitution of 1972 and the burning of Jaffna public library in 1981 are just a few key examples of the steps taken by the state towards this genocide."

    "By raising the Tamil Eelam flag on this day, we wish to make clear that to us, Sri Lankan independence is meaningless. It only led to more oppression and only made the state wiping out the Tamil identity even easier. So today we feel it's important to remember the Tamils who died at the hands of the Sri Lankan state, its army and its supporters, and the fact that this oppression of the Tamil nation continues."
  • Rajapaksa rejects Tamil autonomy in Independence Day address

    Addressing the island for Sri Lanka's celebration of Independence Day from Trincomalee, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, rejected the possibility of Tamil autonomy, once again.

    Despite mounting international pressure to ensure a political solution to the conflict is found that respects the rights of Tamils in the North-East centred around mere devolution of powers, Rajapaksa dismissed any notion of Tamil autonomy or devolution.

    "It is not practical for this country to have different administrations based on ethnicity. The solution is to live together in this country with equal rights for all communities."

    Rajapaksa even went on to remind the UN of Sri Lanka's right to sovereignty, ironically, reciting parts of the UN charter that upheld territorial integrity or political independence of a state:

    "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations" 

    After refusing a request by UN officials to send special investigative UN rapporteurs to investigate the progress of redevelopment and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa extended a warm welcome to visit the island.

    "Do not believe something just because it is said, because you have read reports, critics have said it or the media has published it. We tell the people of the world- Come! Come over and see for yourselves!"

    Speaking in Tamil, he added:

    "Religious differences, just as racial differences lead to destruction of the country. Anyone who causes such division supports the division of the country. We will not leave room for that."

    "My friends in the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities all of you have a very high culture. I would urge you to trust your neighbour and not leave the country as done by the Diaspora that has left the country and live aboard."

    See full speech here.

  • Tamil Nadu governor calls for sanctions on Sri Lanka
    Tamil Nadu governor K Rosiah has called on India to place economic sanctions on Sri Lanka, due to continued displacement and subjugation of the Tamil people.

    Addressing the first day of the assembly session, Rosiah stated,
    “I reiterate the resolve expressed by the Tamil Nadu assembly June 8, 2011 to urge the Indian government to initiate action by working with other nations for imposition of an economic embargo on the Sri Lankan government till the Tamils living in camps are resettled in their own places and are allowed to live with dignity, self-respect and equal constitutional rights on par with the Sinhalese.”
    Rosiah went on to address the issue of attacks on Indian fishermen by members of the Sri Lankan Navy, saying the Indian government had showed “utter disregard” for the issue and added,
    "The fishermen of Tamil Nadu, who earn their livelihood in their traditional fishing areas of the Palk Bay region, are victims of repeated harassment and murderous attacks by the Lankan Navy."

  • Look but don’t touch
    The Sri Lankan Army has escorted a group of Internally Displaced Persons back to their villages in Sampur, located in the Eastern Province, for a ‘visit’, according to reports.

    138 families from the Navarathnapuram village were allowed to revisit their homes located in High Security Zones, as they were accompanied by the Army’s 224 brigade.

    The area was captured by the Sri Lankan government in September 2006, with 5 villages still remaining under Army control in the High Security Zone.
  • Sri Lanka turns down UN special rapporteurs team
    The Sri Lankan government has turned down a request by UN officials to assess the progress the country has made in implementing certain recommendations of the contentious Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation report, reported the Daily Mirror.

    Instead, the Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry, called on the Human Rights Commissioner to visit the country herself.

    The United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, recently asserted that she would like to send 10 special rapporteurs to assess the implementation of the recommendations by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
  • Tax free land to China
    The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also acts as the Minister of Finance and Planning, has commissioned the sale of tax free land in the Southern capital Colombo to the Chinese embassy, reported the Sunday Times.

    Any transfer of property ownership to foreign citizens, under usual provisions of the Finance Act, should be taxed according to the value of the property transferred.

    However, using his overarching power as President and Finance Minister, Rajapaksa offered the Chinese embassy exemption from such charges.
  • SL revokes visas of International Bar Assoc mission

    The visas of members of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), who were due to travel to Sri Lanka on a fact finding mission over the recent impeachment of the Chief Justice, had their visas revoked, according to the Institute.

    In a statement, the institute said:

    "A visa had been issued to one member of the delegation on 18th January 2013 and was revoked on 29th January 2013, while approval to enter the country was suspended in the cases of other delegates on 29th and 30th January 2013.”

    The delegation, which was to be led by the former Indian Chief Justice J.S Verma, was due to arrive in Colombo for a 10 day visit on the 1st February.

  • SL fails to take meaningful steps towards accountability - HRW

    In its World Report 2013 published today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) concluded that "the Sri Lankan government in 2012 continued its assault on democratic space and failed to take any meaningful steps towards providing accountability for war crimes."

    See here for the Sri Lanka section. Extracts published below:

    "The government targeted civil society through threats, surveillance, and clampdowns on activities and free speech. Statements by government officials and government-controlled media named and threatened human rights defenders who called for accountability for wartime abuses or criticized other government policies. Local activists expressed deep concern about the security of their staff and the people they assist.

    Overly broad detention powers remained in place under various laws and regulations. Several thousand people continued to be detained without charge or trial. State security forcescommitted arbitrary arrests and torture against ethnic minority Tamils, including repatriated Sri Lankan nationals allegedly linked to the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

    Accountability:

    The government continued to ignore the 2011 report of the panel of experts appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which recommended establishing an independent international mechanism to monitor the government’s implementation of the panel recommendations, conduct an independent investigation, and collect and safeguard evidence.

    Internally Displaced Persons and Militarisation:

    The last of the nearly 300,000 civilians illegally confined in military-controlled detention centers after the war—including Menik Farm near Vavuniya, which was closed in September 2012—moved back into communities, although not necessarily to their home areas. Tens of thousands of persons still live with host families or in temporary accommodation, and several thousand are not able to return home because their home areas have not been de-mined.

    Although the government claimed to have considerably decreased its military presence in the north and east, credible accounts indicate that military personnel still frequently intervene in civilian life. A Defence Ministry video on the north and east showed the military involved in numerous civilian activities, including organizing school cricket competitions and celebrations in temples. Soldiers commit abuses against civilians with impunity. Fishermen and farmers complained about the armed forces continuing to encroach into their coastal areas and onto their land, impacting their livelihoods."

     

  • Sri Lanka sure of India’s support at UNHRC

    Sri Lanka’s Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government is confident that India will support Sri Lanka against the US-sponsored resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva next month.

    “Our position is that India is our greatest friend and closest neighbour and they have been extremely supportive in many issues and they have been a friend indeed. So we believe that stand,” he told reporters.

    “Of course last time they had to opt out, they had given certain reasons, all this we discuss at a diplomatic level.

    “From time to time international relations change for a variety of reasons. But we still believe they are our greatest friend and we have had that cordiality right throughout,”

    The minister also said that Sri Lanka wasn’t concerned about the impact of a resolution on foreign direct investment (FDI).

    “As far as FDI is concerned, I don’t think human rights are the reason because there are people investing in countries with wars. There are other reasons as well like infrastructure, which we are doing...

    “So there are much bigger reasons or more concerns which have to be addressed. Human rights are part of it but it’s not the one and only reason.”

    Rambukwella expressed the government’s belief that they could lobby enough votes to defeat the resolution.

    “There is no guilty conscience... We are very confident. In the event that something happens, we feel it is an (US) agenda they are working on.

    “And these agendas have been there, and we are very mindful of it. We are content with what we have been doing, and we shall continue to meet the challenge as it arises.”

  • Tamil parties and groups on Berlin meet

    Representatives of Tamil political parties and civil society and diaspora groups who met last weekend in Berlin will continue discussions in the coming months, the Global Tamil Forum said this week.

    The full text of the statement on behalf of the participating organisations follows:

    Tamil political and civil society representatives, and Diaspora groups have convened in Berlin on the 26th & 27th January 2013 for progressive discussions on how to end the Sri Lankan State's continued agenda of destruction of Tamil people’s identity (genocidal), the heightened oppressive conditions, the threat to Tamil's claim of the North and East of the island being their area of historic habitation (homeland) and to achieve consensus on addressing the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people through a negotiated political solution.

    This is a continuation of on-going discussions between Tamil groups that first began in November 2012. Representatives from Tamil political parties, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) and Tamil Civil Society from Sri Lanka, joined representatives from Diaspora groups International Councils of Eelam Tamils (ICET), Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and Global Tamil Forum (GTF) in the two rounds of dialogue.

    These discussions will continue and progress with wider participation to bring together more Tamil and Tamil speaking people’s organisations in the months to come.

  • Douglas to stand for Chief Minister

    The Minister for Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda, who is also leader of the paramilitary EPDP, has announced that he would resign from his ministerial position to contest the Northern Provincial Council Elections as a candidate for the Chief Minister position.

    The Island reported that the president Mahinda Rajapakse was not going to allow Douglas to resign from the cabinet, with Kumar Padmanathan also a name making its rounds as a candidate.

    Douglas is one of the most notorious paramilitary figures and has an outstanding arrest warrant from India, for a murder committed in Chennai in 1986.

    The minister and his paramilitary are responsible for murder, rape, forced prostitution, child trafficking and extortion, with the support of the Sri Lankan Government of course.

  • Australian authorities suspect SL govt official of 'smuggling'

    Authorities in Australia suspect a high level Sri Lankan government official of being personally "complicit" in the transfer of asylum seekers to Australia, reports The Australian.

    The newspaper reports that the official, whom the paper has chosen not to identify, is alleged to be responsible for sanctioning asylum seekers boats for the past ten months, during which time several refugees have perished at sea.

    Despite the allegations being known to those within Julia Gillard's government and being unearthed prior to the Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr's visit to Sri Lanka in December, the issue was reportedly not discussed during his visit.

    The allegations have been dismissed by the Sri Lankan government as a smear campaign.

    A spokesperson for Chris Bowen, Australia's minister for immigration, declined to comment, stating:

    "As you know, we do not publicly discuss people-smuggling or national security intelligence,"

    However, according to the newspaper, several Australian officials have expressed concern at the suspected Sri Lankan government official's 'near-total control over the island's marititme domain' that 'the official had the power to "turn on the tap" and unleash untold asylum boats.'

  • Sri Lanka ranks 162nd for press freedom
    Reporters Without Borders has ranked Sri Lanka in 162nd place out of 179 countries in the annual "Press Freedom Index 2013", as media freedom in the island continues to suffer.

    The report, entitled "Dashed Hopes Follow Spring", also placed Sri Lanka in the category of "very serious situation", in the world press freedom map.

     Speaking about the report, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said,
    “The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted,”

    “In dictatorships, news providers and their families are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in democracies news providers have to cope with the media’s economic crises and conflicts of interest. While their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all those who resist pressure whether it is aggressively focused or diffuse”.
    Sri Lanka was ranked 163rd in last year's report.

    See examples of media freedom in the island, in our earlier posts:

    SL military intimidate journalists trying to see IDPs (30 September 2012)

    Military stops journalist from visiting IDPs (28 September 2012)

    Gothabaya threatens newspaper editor ‘will be killed’ (09 July 2012)

    Rajapaksa tells Sri Lankan media to broadcast the truth (30 March 2012)
  • Bicycle company leaves Sri Lanka after GSP+ loss
    Bicycle production company Firefox has decided to shift its plant to Bangladesh, following Sri Lanka's loss of the GSP+ concession, according to reports.

    Bike Europe reoprted that the closure of the Sri Lankan plant has been in the works for a year now, stating the loss of concessions for the island meant they were no longer able to retain 0% import duty for products into the European Union.

    Firefox owner Pradeep Mehrotra was quoted as saying,
    "The advantages Bangladesh had to offer made the move necessary".
    See our earlier posts:

    GSP+ withdrawal has hit Sri Lanka factories - Daily Mirror (26 January 2013)

    GSP+ loss takes its toll on textile industry (22 November 2012)
  • US Senators push for 'independent international investigation' into war crimes
    Two prominent US Senators have renewed calls for an independent international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka, as pressure piles on Sri Lanka ahead of the UN Human Rights Council session in March.

    Senators Patrick Leahy and Bob Casey, both senior Democrats and well established voices on foreign policy, stated that Colombo had failed to implement it's own LLRC which was "mired in bias and delays".

    Writing to outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Senators said,
    "The Sri Lankan people deserve better. In fact, as the government of Sri Lanka fails to implement LLRC recommendations, the outlook for human and political rights in Sri Lanka appears to be getting worse,"
    "Accountability is a necessary precursor to reconciliation and a stable democracy in Sri Lanka,"
    "It is clear to us that the LLRC process is mired in bias and delays, and only an independent, international investigation will achieve real accountability".
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