• Tamil protesters in Vanni intimidated by SL military

    Sep 20

    Photograph posted on Twitter by @rkguruparan

    Hundreds of Tamil protestors who had gathered outside the district secretariat in Mullaitheevu, demanding resettlement in their village of Keappa-pulavu on Thursday, were faced with intimidation by the Sri Lankan military.

    Protesting for over one and a half hours the demonstrators demanded for the occupying military to leave their homeland.

    Shouting, “We want our homeland, let the military quit our homeland”, the demonstrators held banners reading, "Keappa-pulavu is our village, SL army quite today! Let us go back and resettle."

    As the protest got underway, the civil society activist, Guruparan Kumaravidvel, reported via Twitter, that there was a heavy Sri Lankan Army intelligence presence. Shortly afterwards, he reported that the TNPF's General Secretary's car had been attacked whilst returning from the protest on Ottuchuttan Road, and the vehicle carrying the TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam was also attacked near Theravil on the way back from Mullaitheevu.

    Photograph posted on Twitter by @rkguruparan

    TamilNet reported that the Sri Lankan military was videoing protestors, coordinating gangs of thugs to throw dirt at the protestors, and had arranged for individuals to come to the venue and shout in opposition against the protesters.

    Non-governmental media persons who recorded the event were also attacked later on in the day by unknown gangs, said TamilNet.

    Speaking to media, Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam expressed his concern over the validity of the findings in the upcoming OHCHR report.

  • TNA meet UN Human Rights officials

    The visiting delegation from the UN Office of the Human Rights Commissioner today met with members of the TNA reports Uthayan.

    Discussions were held with reference to high security zones in Valikamam and Sampur, where resettlement has been impeded, and Tamils are restricted from accessing their places of worship due to military land-grabs. Concern was expressed about state sponsored settlement of Sinhalese, under the guise of development schemes, which are in fact changing the demographics of the North-East.

    Concerns were also raised about reaching an acceptable political solution and on whether the recommendations of the LLRC were being implemented, especially with regards to disappearances, political prisoners and accountability.

    Official statements have not yet been released by either party.

  • Buddhist monks protest against human rights team visit

    Buddhist monks led 300 protesters from the office of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) or National Heritage Party to demonstrate opposite a local UN office, reports the Associated Press.

    The demonstrators were protesting against a visit from a delegation of the UN Office of Human Rights, complaining of unfair criticism and allegations of abuse since the end of the war in 2009.

    The protesters voiced fears that the visit was just taking Sri Lanka a step closer to being subjected to an international war crimes investigation.

    Placards showed the JHU’s concern for human rights in other nations, reading slogans such as ‘Your services are needed in Afghanistan and Iraq’.

    Other placards were asking to ‘give peace and reconciliation a chance’, breaking from the usual norm of Buddhist monks demonstrating for the demolition of non-Buddhist places of worship.

    See also:

    UN team briefed on Sri Lanka’s post conflict ‘progress’ (15 Sep 2012)

    Buddhists behaving badly (03 Aug 2012)

  • Sunday Leader editor sacked ‘for criticising Rajapakses’

    The editor of The Sunday Leader Frederica Jansz has been sacked after the new owner of the paper said articles in the paper were too critical of the president and his family.

    The Sunday Leader is one of the few newspapers in Sri Lanka openly critical of the government and has previously been the target of violence, including the assassination of its previous editor, Lasantha Wikramatunge.

    Jansz said that the new owner, Asanga Seneviratne, who is a friend of the Rajapakses, had asked her to stop carrying articles criticising the president.

    "He said our articles were too slanderous of the president and the first family," Frederica Jansz said.

    "He has terminated my contract in an email to me."

    Frederica Jansz was subjected to a torrent of abuse by the defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse earlier this year, who claimed that the ’90% of people’ in Sri Lanka wanted her dead.

  • ‘Dozens’ of Tamil deportees given last-minute reprieve
    At least 12 Tamil asylum seekers due to be deported from the UK on Wednesday were taken off a flight heading to Sri Lanka after a senior judge issued a last minute injunction, reported the Independent.

    The last minute injunction was issued after a judge accepted that Tamil asylum seekers who are deported to Sri Lanka from the UK with allegations against them from the Sri Lankan government of a real or perceived link to the LTTE, face torture. The judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, also accepted that those who have been previously tortured also face torture upon their return to Sri Lanka and should not be deported.

    The ruling was made after lawyers acting for 3 asylum seekers went to the High court seeking a ban on deportations of all Tamils to Sri Lanka, for fear of risk of ill treatment on return. While Mr Justice Wilkie’s did not accept that all Tamils could not return, his decision sparked a flurry of further applications, which have resulted in at least 12 of the reported 60 deportees to have been removed from the flight to Sri Lanka.

    David Mepham of Human Rights Watch commented,
    “It is increasingly clear that the UK needs to urgently reassess its policy on the deportation of failed Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka.”
    An earlier injunction to halt the deportations was also filed by TAG earlier on Wednesday, based on their report “Returnees at Risk”
  • Deportees questioned by CID on arrival in Colombo
    25 failed asylum seekers who were deported from Britain on Wednesday night, were questioned by Sri Lankan CID upon their arrival in Colombo

    The BBC reported that the families of those being deported were anxiously waiting at the airport, whilst the failed asylum seekers were being questioned by CID.

    According to the International Organisation of Migration 25 people were aboard the flight, after a last minute injunction granted some of the original 60 who were set to be deported a reprieve.

    Britain has been criticised for its decision to deport failed Tamil asylum seekers, with many human rights groups showing evidence that Tamils face torture on their return.

    See the report by TAG, entitled “Returnees at Risk” which called for a 'comprehensive re-evaluation of the UK government's current policy towards asylum applicants'.
  • 16 out of 19 army divisions deployed to NE

    Sixteen out of 19 army divisions are deployed within the North-East, reports The Hindu. Quoting the retired Colonel R. Hariharan, the newspaper stated the deployment was more suggestive of "operational readiness" than a post-conflict scenario.

     

    The army deployment, excludes the STF (Special Task Force) in the Eastern province, and the Airforce and the Navy.
  • Vijayaraj's final words

    Speaking on his death bed, T.P. Vijayaraj, the twenty-six year old Indian Tamil auto driver who self-immolated on Monday in Salem in protest against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s visit to India, urged Tamils to protest against the visit.

    Vijayraj, who succumbed to his burns on Tuesday at 11:45 am at the Government Medical College Hospital, spoke to journalists before his death:

    “Rajapake should not come into India. The murderer who killed Eelam Tamils in large number should not come to India. What’s your name? Viyaraj. What organization are you part of? CITU. What time did you do this and was it your decision to do this? Yes I took the decision to do this. What do you wish to say to Tamil people? Rajapakse is a dog and should be chased out of this country. He shouldn’t be able to come to India... I’m proud to give up my life for Tamils. All the Tamils should come together to protest and prevent Rajapakse from coming to India.”

    See here for the full video clip.

    Vijayaraj’s brother, Thevaraj said his brother had a lot of respect for the Tamil people and when he had time he wrote poems and read books about the Eelam Tamil struggle.

    Indian police have recovered a letter that was written by Vijayaraj stating his reasons for self-immolation, where Vijayaraj condemned the Indian government stating, “Indian government, you supplied artillery shells to destroy Tamils, gave radar, and supplied arms.” 

    Leaders from Tamil Political parties paid their last respects on Wednesday.

  • Self-immolation of 70m Tamils brings a smile to SL's face

    As Vijayaraj - the 26-year-old who self-immolated in protest against the visit by Rajapaksa to India - was dying from 95% burns, the Sri Lankan president's spokesperson, Bandula Jayasekara, exemplified Sri Lanka's response to the deaths of Tamils who protest.

    A Twitter conversation that took place on Wednesday between Jayasekara and an opposition supporter who goes by the alias 'Fonseka2010' has been reproduced below:

    Bandula Jayasekara: President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrives in New Delhi

    Fonseka2010: 70 millions Tamils will self immolate, we are told

    Bandula Jayasekara: :)

    In Sri Lanka, when it comes to the deaths of Tamils, there is no opposition.

  • Paramilitary leader appointed presidential advisor

    The leader of the TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal), Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known as Pillayan, has been appointed as Presidential Advisor, reports the Daily Mirror.

    The past few months have seen increasingly brazen attacks by members of the TMVP, including attacks on TNA (Tamil National Alliance) members at pre-election rally, and the intimidation of voters in Batticaloa.

    No doubt Pillayan's got a few tips to pass on.

  • SLFP's Najeeb Majeed sworn in as Eastern CM

    The former SLFP organiser for the Trincomalee district, Najeeb A. Majeed, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province on Tuesday, by President Rajapaksa.

    The appointment is believed to confirm a UPFA (united Peoples Freedom Alliance) and SLMC (Sri Lankan Muslim Congress) coalition agreement.

    According to News.lk, out of the four ministerial positions, two - health and education -  will be held by the UPFA's Pillayan and W. Dissanayake respectively, and two - road development and agriculture - by the SLMC's A.M. Jameel and Hafiz Nazeer Ahamed.

    Majeed is the son of a deputy minister in Sirimavo Bandaranaike's government, the late Abdul Majeed.

  • TAG applies for injunction against deportation

    The rights group, Tamils Against Genocide [TAG] applied on Wednesday morning to the UK Administrative Court for an injunction against the UK government proceeding with the charter flight  of forced returns to Sri Lanka scheduled for 15.30 pm on the same day.

    See here for court order.

    The application was made based on the information contained in recent report released by TAG, entitled 'Returnees at Risk', which detailed egregious torture of 26 students and other persons returning voluntarily to Sri Lanka after spending a short period of time in Britain.

    TAG challenged the UK Border Agency's presumption that forced removals are 'safe'. Although the judge found there is no such policy that it is safe to remove Tamils to Sri Lanka, all challenges must be mounted on an individual basis, which in practice is very cumbersome, and makes it impossible for claimants to pursue without funding.

    However in a further individual appeal by a deportee, Mr Justice Ockleton who earlier this morning refused TAG’s ‘generic’ application accepted  ‘I am concerned in particular by recent reports, including those from  Freedom from Torture and Tamils Against Genocide but the identified risk is to those who have an actual or perceived association (at any level) with the LTTE and are returned from the UK.’

    In a statement, the TAG spokesperson said, ‘we welcome the concerns expressed by the Judges citing our report – we hasten to say however that in view of the Sri Lankan government’s having described UN Commissioner Navi Pillay as a ‘terrorist’  the group of people  perceived by the Rajapaksa government to be supporters of the LTTE is very wide indeed. It includes Freedom From Torture, Channel 4 and many British Parliamentarians. And this is not being taken into account by the British Judges at the moment.’

    TAG's report asserts that the country guidance in leading UK cases is now out of date.

    TAG has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights seeking an urgent injunction of the flight and pursuing its right to have the 'generic issue' of safety of Tamil returnees tested in court.

  • Prostesters halt bus carrying Tamil refugees due to be deported

    Published 14:19 BST

    Photograph of halted bus sent to Tamil Guardian by protester.

    The bus carrying Tamil refugees due to be deported by UK Border Agency at 15:30 today, has been halted by protesters, with one protester under the front of the bus.

    One protester told Tamil Guardian, that around they had been there for the past three hours protesting against the bus. See also: TAG applies for injunction against deportation (19 Sep 2012)

    Britain is returning Tamil refugees to be tortured in Sri Lanka by The Independent (18 Sep 2012)

  • Freedom House report says Sri Lanka worsening
    In their latest report on Sri Lanka, Freedom House has declared that Sri Lanka has slid down their scale for accountability, civil liberties, rule of law and transparency.

    The “Countries at the Crossroads” report by the NGO, found that Sri Lanka fell down their rankings in all four areas from 2010

    Extracts from the report have been reproduced below. See the full report here.

    Accountability and Public Voice

    "In addition, Tamils in both the national and parliamentary elections experienced problems exercising their right to vote. Many internally displaced Tamils did not have national ID cards, could not obtain them, or could not travel to their home village and were therefore unable to vote. During the war, government security forces used the confiscation of national ID cards as a way to control the travel of Tamils."

    "President Rajapakse has increasingly tried to centralize power, especially judicial power in the executive branch, and has refused to obey several related Supreme Court rulings."

    "Basil is believed to be the president’s most trusted advisor, while Gotabaya, who was the chief architect of the defeat of the LTTE, is in charge of the nation’s security and intelligence apparatus. He has been accused of allegedly ordering the murder of opposition politicians and journalists as well as Tamil civilians during the war."

    Civil Liberties

    "The government’s campaign against the LTTE led to a large number of human rights violations. The most serious of these violations ended with the defeat of the LTTE. However, certain kinds of abuse and human rights violations have continued. The Sri Lankan security forces have a long history of torturing and using excessive force against detainees and there has been no decline in the use of torture against LTTE suspects over the last two years. In addition there has been a sharp increase in the “kidnappings” of Tamils.  Human Rights Watch has repeatedly documented the use of torture against Tamil suspects and of Tamils deported from western countries."

    "In addition, the security forces routinely target Tamils for extra scrutiny and restrictions on movement. In 2011, the government expanded the number of military stationed in the Tamil regions, especially the Jaffna peninsula. Tamils traveling to Sinhalese areas are routinely required to register with the police. No such registration requirement exists for Sinhalese citizens. In both Jaffna and Batticaloa, police registration of traveling Tamils began in 2011. As part of this registration process, the security forces have been interviewing Tamils in the north and east about their relatives living outside of the country. This effort has included photo registration as well. In a March, 2012 report, the International Crisis Group outlined the extent of the military control of northern Sri Lanka. The report contends that Tamil civilians are subject to registration by the military, intimidation from government controlled Tamil militia and violent suppression of dissent. The report argues that the Sri Lankan military has “become an army of occupation physically and psychologically.”"

    "Among other things, the regulations, along with the PTA, allowed the unrestricted arrest and detention of terrorist suspects, powers that were applied disproportionately to Tamils."

    "A number of other war era rules and regulations continue to be enforced. For example, some of the strict wartime rules limiting sea fishing along the Jaffna coast have been reinstituted, seriously impacting the income of many Jaffna fishermen. According to some reports, the current restrictions are related to efforts aimed at allowing Sinhalese fishermen to fish in the northern waters. The government has also continued to set up security checkpoints throughout the country. While the number of checkpoints has reduced from wartime levels, Tamils are still harassed at the checkpoints and are sometimes made to pay bribes."


    "In a bizarre episode, Tamil civilians were terrorized by an outbreak of “grease devil” attacks in August and September 2011... Almost all of the attacks occurred in the north and east and targeted Tamils and Muslims. Hundreds of attacks were reported. Many of them involved the attacker slashing the victim and fondling women, although there were also at least five deaths reported and hundreds were seriously injured or raped. In a number of cases, the attackers were chased and found safety in army, navy, or police camps or posts. Very few attackers were ever arrested. Almost all of the grease devil arrests were the result of vigilantes chasing the attackers. Theories abounded about the reason for the attacks. Most villagers accused the army for the attacks and a group composed of members of the Tamil National Alliance and members of parliament met with the president over the attacks on September 8, 2011.The attacks stopped after the meeting with the president."

    "Another religious issue has been the construction of Buddhist shrines throughout the north and east of the country since the end of the war. These shrines have been built in areas where there has been no historical presence of Buddhists. Most of these shrines were built with the assistance of the military forces stationed in the north and east. Coinciding with the construction of the shrines has been an increased effort to “discover” archeological evidence of the Sinhalese Buddhist nature of these areas, despite the fact that most of the north and east have been populated by Tamil Hindus and Muslims for over a millennium."

    Rule of Law

    "Under Sri Lankan law, defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, have the right to counsel, and are guaranteed a public trial in criminal cases. Nevertheless, due process rights are often denied in practice, particularly for displaced Tamils."

    "Another problem has been the seizure, on security grounds, of private land held by Tamils. During the war, large tracts of land in the north and the east were declared “high security zones” (HSZs) and were taken without compensation by the security forces. After the war, the government announced efforts to resolve issues related to wartime seizure of land as HSZs. In September 2011, the government announced that it was going to legally acquire or exchange land it holds in the HSZs. However, in early 2012, the government began an expansion of military bases in the north and, despite the assurances that land would be returned or that owners would be compensated, large tracts of land continue to be held by the security forces."
  • China and Sri Lanka sign sixteen bilateral agreements

    On Monday, Wu Bangguo Chairman of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on his four-day official visit to the country. Wu praised Sri Lanka for its post-war achievements, and asserted that it will continue to support economic growth in the country and provide aid for its development projects.

    Wu said, "China-Sri Lanka relations are now at the best period of development in history." 

    Currently, China is the largest development partner to Sri Lanka, providing development assistance over 5 billion dollars.

    Rajapaksa thanked China for its assistance at the last UNHRC sessions and assured that it will support China’s candidature to UNHRC for 2014-2016.

    Rajapaksa said, “We will continue to support China on every issue that affects her interests at regional and multi-national fora.” That includes maintaining the same policy toward Taiwan and Tibet issues.

    Wu proposed a change in the trading structure between the countries to yield more investment, tourism and import more goods from Sri Lanka. Wu also encouraged for both countries to cooperate on “maritime research.”  

    According to Xinhua, Wu and Rajapaksa signed 16 cooperative agreements between the two countries and enterprises of both countries, but no details were provided on the bilateral agreements.

Subscribe to Tamil Affairs