"I think this is the right priority since soldiers have made sacrifices to save the unity of the country".

A new book by Frances Harrison detailing the horrific end to Sri Lanka’s armed conflict in which tens of thousands of Tamil people perished in five months in 2009 was released Thursday by publisher Portobello Books.

The book, available via Amazon, will be launched in London on Friday (see event details here).

Harrison was the resident BBC Correspondent in Sri Lanka from 2000-4. She has worked at Amnesty International as Head of News and while writing this book was a visiting research fellow at Oxford University. She was educated at Cambridge, the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), and Imperial College in London.

Buddhist monks threw stones and damaged windows of the Bangladeshi embassy in Sri Lanka on Thursday, as they protested against attacks on Buddhist temples and businesses in Bangladesh.

A police officer and a monk inspect the damage (Daily Mirror)

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sulfur Rahman, said about 900 protesters, mostly Buddhists monks, threw water bottles and brickbats at the high commission, causing damage to the windows and property. 

Buddhist monk Gakagoda Gnenesaara said in the statement that,

“We were tolerant, but day by day we notice great injustice caused to Buddhists by Islamic extremists, we can no longer be patient.”

The protest was organised by a Buddhist organisation called Bodu Bala Sena.

A leaflet was distributed some days before the protest, which called on protestors to “strike down extremists as they flee”.

The gist of the leaflet, written entirely in Sinhalese, says, according to a writer on The Platform:

“It is time to show that this (Sri Lanka) is a Buddhist country by word and deed; many have forgotten that this is a Buddhist country, this notion should be reawakened.

“When cruel Islamic extremists prey on other innocent Buddhists, and when the entire world remains silent in the wake of it, it is time that we reawaken our race (Sinhala Buddhists) to respond to this.”

The contents of this leaflet may explain Sri Lanka’s Muslim’s hasty condemnation of the attacks on Buddhists in Bangladesh.

However Muslims in Sri Lanka are waiting in vain for a similar condemnation by the Sri Lankan government of the recent attacks by Buddhist extremists on Muslims in Burma.

Violence in Bangladesh began on Saturday night and is thought to have been caused by a picture of a burned Quran on Facebook, which, according to some claims, had been posted by a Buddhist.

Several Buddhist temples and businesses were torched and dozens of Buddhists were forced to flee.

Click here for more pictures and a video of the attack on the embassy in Colombo.

Writing on the online site OpenDemocracy.net, Frances Harrison argues that the government's treatment of witness is "short-sighted" and "will hamper any kind of reconciliation or understanding between the different ethnic groups".

See here for full article. Extracts reproduced below:

At first Dr Niron assumed the attacks on his makeshift hospitals were a terrible accident. He had red crosses painted on the roofs of his buildings so they’d be clearly visible from the air. He sent the GPS coordinates of each new hospital to the International Red Cross so they could share the information with the Sri Lankan military. Every time he did this the makeshift hospitals were hit within days, if not hours. Eventually he learned his lesson. There were five smaller hospitals, with no red crosses, whose locations he never passed on. Not a single one of those five buildings was ever hit. Dr Niron concluded that the military were deliberately targeting hospitals. ‘They were attacking purposefully; they wanted to kill as many as possible,’ he says.

His conclusion is borne out by a United Nations report that found that all civilian hospitals on the frontline were systematically shelled by the Sri Lankan government during those months, some even “hit repeatedly, despite the fact that their locations were well-known to the Government”. The authors of the report said that in early February one of the two remaining hospitals in rebel territory was attacked with multi-barreled rocket launchers and artillery for five days in a row while up to 800 patients were inside. Human Rights Watch also documented more than thirty attacks on hospitals in those months. One incoming rocket was even captured on video. International staff from the ICRC were present during an attack on a hospital and called the army six times to warn them their shells were falling dangerously close to the hospital building. They were not given proper access to the war zone again. When the war ended, the ICRC said it had seen a lot of wars, but rarely one where civilians had been so badly affected. It was, they said, an ‘unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe’.

Dr Niron is the only one of his colleagues who managed to evade arrest at the end of the war.  Strangely this brave man feels he failed because he abandoned 150 patients under a tree to die on the last day of the war as he ran for his life. He can’t stand the sight of blood anyone and no longer wants to be a doctor. There have even been times when he’s contemplated suicide.

There are other medics and volunteers from the hospitals still emerging from Sri Lanka with testimony that supports the doctor’s account and the findings of lawyers and human rights researchers. But the Sri Lankan government and many of its supporters in the south of the island simply deny any of this happened and blame everything on the Tamil Tiger rebels. It’s a short sighted policy that will hamper any kind of reconciliation or understanding between the different ethnic groups. The trauma for Tamil survivors like Dr Niron is so deep that it’s simply not possible to forgive and forget and move on. At the very least their suffering - unprecedented even by the bloody standards of Sri Lanka’s civil war - needs acknowledging.

See also: Frances Harrison's book, 'Still Counting the Dead', is out (04 Oct 2012)

The "operational role of the UNHCR in Sri Lanka would be phased down" said the UN Hugh Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, despite the ongoing displacement of 'resettled' Tamil IDPs.

Guterres added:

"UNHCR will continue to be committed to supporting voluntary repatriation of some of the refugees of Sri Lanka from India, as well as with the resettlement of the remainder of the internally displaced in their places of origin".

Guterres cited "many of the reasons that were elaborated upon in the Ambassador's [Ravinatha Aryasinha] statement" as to why the operations were being wound down.

Addressing the Executive Committee of the UNHCR, Aryasinha had claimed:

"In contrast to the considerable difficulty and gloom in the humanitarian crises that continue to engulf many parts of the world today, Sri Lanka’s recent achievements provides confidence and hope".

"It lends credence to the position that even the most severe and insurmountable of challenges could be overcome with the political commitment and dedication of the concerned country, and the requisite support provided by the international community. He said Sri Lanka remains ready to share its experience and best practices in post-conflict resettlement and rehabilitation with the international community, and looked forward to strengthening the ongoing cooperation between the UNHCR and member states".

The premises of an online journalist were ransacked in broad daylight today, reported the Sri Lanka Mirror.  The board room of the editor of yukthiya.com, Krishantha Rajapakse, was stormed by three persons claiming to be the police.

The journalist was forced to answer questions by the intruders, who brandished a letter that had the police logo and the words Anti-Terrorism Act clearly written on the heading.

Whilst vandalising the journalist’s room, the intruders asked if the journalist had any connections with the Northern Province, Tamil Nadu or Meena Kandasamy.

The intruders forced Krishantha to unlock his laptop and commenced to go through the computer.

The intruders eventually left, when the owner of the building arrived.

Mr Rajapaksa has complained to the police regarding the incident.

The intimidation of journalists comes after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, called for more regulation of the internet to ‘create tolerance and harmony’.

Meena Kandasamy is a writer and prominent activist who recently wrote critically of the Sri Lankan government.

The Minister for Economic Development, Basil Rajapakse, has reiterated Sri Lanka’s commitment to continue training its personnel in India.

Talking to Indian reporters, the president’s brother conceded that recent protests against Sri Lankans had “hurt” their feelings, reported the DailyMirror.

When questioned whether Sri Lanka was reconsidering the training programmes in India and maybe move to other countries like China or Pakistan, he dismissed the thought.

"No. We have never (thought about it) because in our long history since the days when we moved from British shoulders all training (to army personnel) were done in India or in Pakistan," he said.

"There can be various opinions, but we can't (shift the programme). We are very firm on that and we have confidence (that it will continue). We have not even thought about.

"Everyone go [sic] to India first and only then they are sent to other countries like USA (for training),"

During a meeting with External Affairs Minister GL Peiris, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed that a political solution must be found “without further delay”.

Talking to Peiris on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary General “noted the Government’s latest efforts to implement the recommendations of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) as well as the steady progress and remaining tasks on resettlement efforts in the North,” according to a UN statement.

See here for Sri Lanka’s “steady progress” on resettlement.

Peiris meanwhile criticised the UN for "selective intervention” in certain countries’ internal affairs.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister, GL Peiris explained what Sri Lanka had been doing over the past three years... 

See here for full address, extract produced below. Emphasis TG's.

"Three years ago, our Government ended the terrorist challenge largely through its own efforts. Sri Lanka is firmly committed to redressing the grievances of all parties affected by the internal conflict.

Sri Lanka exemplifies the challenges faced by a society emerging from the shadow of a sustained conflict which spanned three decades, and entering upon an era of peace and stability. The gradual diminution of these challenges and the brevity of the period which has elapsed since the end of the conflict, leave no room for doubt as to the degree of success achieved by the Government of Sri Lanka in respect of a wide range of issues relating to development and reconciliation. It is only about three years since the conflict ended.
 
Prioritisation was a central feature of the government's plan of action. The progress on the ground during the last three years with regard to the resettlement of internally displaced persons, (all internally displaced persons have been resettled), the re-integration into society of thousands of ex-combatants after exposure to programmes of livelihood skills training which equipped them to earn their living with dignity and independence, the rapid completion of the demining process, and the unprecedented focus on infrastructure development leading to very visible invigoration of the economy of the Island as a whole, and the Northern Province in particular, is quite apparent.

The experience of Sri Lanka demonstrates that, given the quality of dynamic leadership and unwavering commitment which His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa provided, an effective political and military strategy and strong rapport with all sections of the public, it is possible to prevail against the most ruthless forces of terror. No one has greater commitment to reconciliation in an all-inclusive spirit than the government.

Unhelpful external pressures that support narrow partisan interests could easily derail the initiatives which have produced substantial results and peace on the ground, as we begin a new and exciting chapter in our country's history.

Our accomplishments are quite remarkable, considering that many developing countries continue to struggle for equitable social development, together with economic advancement. We are always ready to share our experiences with other countries. What we have achieved is not only for us but for all of humanity.

In the international community's quest to bring some semblance of equity in economic development across the continents, we must maintain increased focus on Africa, especially through South- South cooperation. Sri Lanka is expanding its engagement vigorously with the region, especially in matters relating to trade, investment, tourism and technical assistance.