BY

DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

“You serve them well
I’m not surprised
You’re of their kin
You’re of their kind

Never mind
Never mind
The story’s told
With facts and lies
You own the world
So never mind”

–Leonard Cohen, ‘Never Mind’

It is difficult to predict how things will look in the rearview mirror, but it is perfectly possible that when I look back I shall regard October 1st 2015 as the most shameful day in Sri Lankan history in my lifetime. That was the day that Sri Lanka co-sponsored the Geneva resolution.

As the UK Permanent Representative explicitly stated when addressing the Human Rights Council on Oct 1st, the US-UK resolution is firmly founded upon Zeid al Hussein’s report. As Zeid al Hussein made amply clear in his video statement to the Council a day earlier, Sept 30th, his report contains at its core, the conclusion that war crimes, system crimes, of such magnitude and extent, were committed during our war that our judicial mechanism does not have the capacity to deal with them! Thus Zeid’s Report damns our Just War of self-defense, territorial reunification and liberation from terrorism. This Report is the foundation of the US resolution which Sri Lanka embraced. No decent edifice can be erected upon such a warped foundation. Nothing good can come from such poisoned fruit.

The US resolution is based on the need to implement the recommendations of Zeid’s Report and to report back to the council on the progress of implementation. The Government of Sri Lanka has actually joined in welcoming Zeid’s dishonest, dangerous text and has promised to implement it. Sri Lanka has placed a noose around its neck as if it were a garland of flowers!

Continue reading ‘October 1st 2015 is the most Shameful day in Sri Lankan History in my Lifetime’ »

(Following are excerpts from the Political Affairs Column by the Political Editor appearing in the “Sunday Times” of October 4th 2015)

The event at Palais de Naciones in Geneva clearly showed that the opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is sharply divided. Two of its parliamentarians and a Provincial Councillor used the good offices of UNHRC-recognised organisations to make speeches during the debate. M.K. Shivajilingam spoke as a representative of the League of Persons with Disabilities. “The Tamil people,” he said, “are disappointed that the OISL Report did not fully refer the issue to the ICC (International Criminal Court) or a full international mechanism.”

Suresh Kandiah Premachandran who represented the Association des jeurnes pour P’Agriculture au Mali declared that “as long as military occupation and Sinhala settlements remain in the North and East, it is very difficult to work on genuine reconciliation and accountability.”

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam (Tamil National People’s Front) who represented the Alliance Creative Community Project said, “Criminal investigations must make sure that the current ‘distorted and corrupted’ Sri Lankan judicial structures be excluded till such time comprehensive reforms have been undertaken, or at the very least, … kept to a bare minimum in what should be UN controlled and run criminal justice system.”

Ananthi Sashitharan who spoke as a representative of the Association Mauritanienne pour La Promotion du droit declared that the Northern Provincial Council “has demanded an independent international investigation on all crimes including genocide. She claimed that “the unitary state system in the island denies Tamils nationhood, sovereignty and the right to self-determination. Without these being addressed, there can be no political solution, no justice, no security, and no reconciliation for the Tamil people.”

However, there was embarrassment for her after the ‘overarching’ 261 page report of the Human Rights Commissioner, released with the OISL report, made some strong indictments on her late husband Elilan reported missing after the military arrested him. Here is one such reference: “One of the most serious incidents of forced recruitment reported during the last few months of the conflict was the alleged abduction of several hundred adults and children who had sought refuge at Valayarmadam church towards the end of March 2009 by LTTE cadres led by Elilan and Ilamparithy….”

Ananthi is a staunch supporter of Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. The NPC has adopted a string of resolutions including ones alleging “genocide” during the separatist war – an allegation that has not been established even during the OISL probe.

Continue reading ‘UN Turns Down Northern Chief Minister Wigneswaran’s Bid to Appoint Kinsman Nimalan Karthikeyan as Special Adviser at Monthly Salary of US $ 5000 Dollars and Expenses’ »

By

Col R Hariharan

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe consolidated their hold on power by luring some of the senior members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to join the national unity government. This had dissipated the effectiveness of SLFP to function as the main opposition party. As a result, the speaker nominated the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan as the opposition leader in a welcome gesture to the Tamil minority.

The President’s political exercise has created a jumbo cabinet with 47 members of cabinet rank (including the president and the prime minister), 19 state ministers and 23 deputy ministers. Thus out the 225 members of parliament, as many as 88 members are occupying ministerial chairs! Though the Sirisena regime has ensured its stability by accommodating various political and regional interests within the power structure, its adverse effects on the quality of governance remains an open question.

President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and their loyalists are controlling the portfolios like defence, finance, home affairs, external affairs and policy planning. This would enable them to continue with the reform agenda. However, the presence of some of the tainted SLFP members facing corruption allegations in ministerial appointments has clouded the sincerity of the government’s promise to get rid of corruption and take action against the corrupt.

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe Consolidate Power by Creating a Jumbo Cabinet’ »

By

Rasika Jayakody

The grand reception organized to welcome President Maithripala Sirisena at the Bandaranaike International Airport, (BIA) Katunayake, on his arrival from Geneva was certainly a throwback to the Rajapaksa era. For instance, when former President Rajapaksa arrived from an official visit to Jordan, on May 17, 2009 – a day before the end of the final phase of the war – the parliamentarians of his party arranged a grand reception for him at the airport.

Maithripala Sirisena, who was the Acting Minister of Defence in Rajapaksa’s absence, warmly welcomed him at the airport for giving ‘political leadership’ to the military victory over the LTTE ending one of Asia’s longest running insurgencies.

The circumstances leading up to the grand reception at the airport on Friday afternoon, however, tell a story.

It was SLFP Parliamentarians holding ministerial portfolios in the national unity government who organized the reception for President Sirisena and, it was in appreciation of Sri Lanka’s performance at the 30th session of the UNHRC where a consensus resolution was presented on Sri Lanka’s efforts towards reconciliation and accountability.

The Resolution adopted a domestic inquiry instead of the previously western-touted ‘international probe’. The SLFP Ministers and MPs who organized the BIA reception attributed what they termed as a ‘Geneva victory’ solely to President Maithripala Sirisena.

Continue reading ‘Domestic Mechanism Inquiring into War Crimes is an Unsellable Idea to Majority of Sinhala Buddhist Electorate at Grassroots Level’ »

By

C.A.Chandraprema

The passage of the US sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka without a vote in the UNHRC is being hailed in Sri Lanka as a major victory for the government. The prime minister himself went on record as saying that Sri Lanka has now been ‘taken off the UNHRC agenda’. He was also reported in the media as having told the service chiefs that there will be ‘no court hearings’ and there will only be a truth commission.

As this writer has been saying all along, if the government of Sri Lanka chooses to ignore any resolution in Geneva, there is nothing that the UNHRC can do about it. In this case, the main sponsor of the resolutions against Sri Lanka the USA, now considers itself an ally of the present Sri Lankan government and it is unlikely that they will press for anything that has the potential to reduce popular support for this government.

The UN Human Rights Commissioner is supposed to provide an oral update to the UNHRC next year and a comprehensive report on the implementation of this resolution the year after next. By that time the Obama administration in the USA will be no more, along with the officials who were pushing for action against Sri Lanka and most probably a Republican government may be in power. So the present government, if they so wish, can from this very moment simply forget about Geneva and get on with the business of governing. What was always important was not what went on in Geneva but what the government of Sri Lanka intended to do. They could either fight the resolution in Geneva and flatly refuse to implement any of it, or they could allow anything to be passed in the UNHRC and simply ignore it afterwards. Either way, the end result will be the same.

Continue reading ‘If Sri Lankan Govt Chooses to Ignore the Geneva Resolution there is Nothing the UNHRC Can do about it’ »

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been summoned by a special presidential commision again over his alleged failure to pay over Rs. 103 mn to the State-run Independent Television Network (ITN) for carrying his advertisements during the last presidential polls campaign will commence on Oct.15.

Well informed sources told The Island that former President Rajapaksa had been requested to be present at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges at 9 am. Hearings will continue on Oct 16, 29 and 30.

Responding to a query, sources said the former President had placed advertisements through two advertising firms to the tune of Rs.101,773,058 and Rs 2,467,812 respectively though initially the loss was estimated at Rs. 115 million.

Continue reading ‘Ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa to face Public Inquiry by Presidential Commission for Alleged Failure to pay 103 Million to ITN’ »

By

Sulochana Ramiah Mohan, Umesh Moramudali and Ruwan Laknath Jayakody

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday (2) said that the country had achieved a great victory at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by managing to exclude the ‘electric chair’, an international investigation, and a hybrid special court from being included in the United States sponsored resolution.

Addressing the media for the first time since his return from Geneva, the President outlined that the resolution was a suggestion and not an order.

He added that there would only be a domestic mechanism, which would be implemented within the provisions of the Sri Lankan Constitution, without impinging on the sovereignty of the nation, unity and peace.

He added that the previous administration had deliberately squandered goodwill with international powers.

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena Returns to Sri Lanka and Claims the Country Achieved a Great Victory at the United Nations Human Rights Council’ »

(Text of a statement issued by the Tamil National Alliance)

The Tamil National Alliance welcomes the passage of today’s resolution on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council. We welcome, in particular, Sri Lanka’s co-sponsorship of the resolution indicating their willingness to implement it in full.

The TNA has already welcomed the tabling of the draft last week after consensus was reached, and reiterate those sentiments. We hope that the spirit of cooperation that enabled consensus will animate the government’s work in implementing this historic resolution.

Continue reading ‘Tamil National Alliance Welcomes UN Resolution and Urges Govt to Implement it in a Spirit of Honesty and Cooperation’ »

British Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement :

” Today’s resolution is a crucial step towards uncovering the truth about alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, ensuring accountability for the past and respect for human rights now and in the future.

Britain is committed to standing up for those affected by Sri Lanka’s civil war, and has been instrumental in the United Nations (UN) investigation and adoption of this resolution”.

Continue reading ‘Britain was Instrumental in UN Investigation and Adoption of Resolution on Sri Lanka States Prime Minister David Cameron’ »

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila yesterday said that failures and shortcomings on the part of the previous government in handling accountability issues was not the reason for external intervention by way of a hybrid court to inquire into alleged atrocities committed during the conflict.

The military had brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009 and since then, the US had moved three resolutions at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) beginning 2012 finally leading to an external investigation last year, he said.

Parliamentarian Gammanpila claimed that the previous government turned a blind eye to the looming threat though the likes of him repeatedly urged the powers that be to change the direction of the SLFP-led UPFA coalition.

Continue reading ‘Alleged Failures of Rajapaksa Regime to Address Accountability Issues does not Justify External Intervention via Hybrid Courts’ »

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa

The SLFP yesterday stressed that the US resolution on Sri Lanka had been based on opinions of different people who had no knowledge of either the country’s Constitution or the judicial system.

Addressing a press conference at the SLFP Headquarters in Colombo, Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva noted that whatever the decision the government took on the resolution, it should finally be passed by parliament of Sri Lanka if the recommendations therein were to be implemented.

He noted that the SLFP’s official statement on the resolution would be revealed within a few days after a committee appointed to review the resolution had presented their opinions.

Continue reading ‘SLFP Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva Criticises Sri Lanka Co-Sponsored US Resolution at UNHRC in Geneva’ »

By P.K.Balachandran

India told Sri Lanka at the 30th. Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Thursday, that “meaningful devolution of authority” to the provinces under the 13 th. Amendment of the Lankan constitution, and “building on it”, are essential for ethnic reconciliation in the island nation.

Speaking after the consensual adoption of the US-led resolution on Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka, which Lanka had co-sponsored with 36 other members, Indian Ambassador Ajit Kumar said that it is India’s “firm belief” that the way to reconciliation is through devolution of power.

India hopes that given the “sagacity and political will’ of its leadership, Lanka will move towards “genuine” reconciliation and development, he said.

Continue reading ‘Devolution Of Power Essential for Reconciliation, India Tells Lanka at UNHRC In Geneva’ »

Sri Lanka said on Thursday (1) it would heed a UN resolution urging it to establish a credible judicial process, including foreign judges and prosecutors, to investigate alleged war crimes during its conflict with Tamil rebels that ended in 2009.

The United Nations Human Rights Council, composed of 47 member states, adopted the resolution brought by countries led by the United States and Britain by consensus, without a vote.

Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels “most likely” committed war crimes including mass killings of civilians during a 26-year war and these should be prosecuted by a special court with international judges, the UN human rights office said in a landmark report last month.The report, which underpinned the resolution, said that despite pledges by the new Government of President Maithripala Sirisena to pursue perpetrators, the South Asian state’s criminal justice system was not up to the formidable task alone.

The text also calls for reforming Sri Lankan security organs and vetting the military to ensure that no personnel associated with serious crimes are retained or recruited into its ranks.

Continue reading ‘UN Human Rights Council Unanimously Adopts US Initiated Consensus Resolution on Sri Lanka with Co-sponsorship of Colombo.’ »

By P.K.Balachandran

Sri Lanka has agreed to set up a Special Judicial Mechanism with the participation of Commonwealth and foreign judges, defense lawyers, prosecutors and investigators to try cases of war crimes and other human rights violations in the period between 2002 and 2011.

This was implicit when the Lankan government co-sponsored a US-led resolution on Sri Lanka which pressed for foreign participation in the proposed judicial mechanism, at the 30 th.Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Thursday.

The resolution was passed unanimously, with even China and Pakistan, which had reservations initially, supporting it.

The resolution reaffirmed the importance of participation in a Lankan judicial mechanism, including the Special Counsel’s Office, of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators.

Continue reading ‘Lanka Agrees to Judicial Mechanism With Commonwealth and Foreign Judges,Defence Lawyers,Prosecutors and Investigators’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

For two weeks, Sri Lanka has been a hot topic at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, after a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation (OHCHR) found evidence of probable war crimes committed in the island during the last years of the conflict. The report implicates both the LTTE and Government troops in what investigators called “systematic” killings, extra-judicial executions, the recruitment of children as soldiers and enforced disappearances.

The report contained few surprises, after Britain’s Channel 4 television systematically released evidence of alleged war crimes committed during the last phase of the war in Sri Lanka in films released over the past three years. With the exception of evidence gathered about a few more ‘emblematic’ cases that point to atrocities committed during the conflict and extensive information about LTTE crimes of war, the report’s findings differ little from the UN Panel of Experts (PoE) report commissioned by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in 2010. But the OHCHR investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) report has more significance for several reasons. Firstly, it was mandated by the 47 member Human Rights Council, that has been censuring Sri Lanka since 2012 over its human rights record and its failure to own up to brutal crimes allegedly committed during the final phase of the war.

The OHCHR probe also covers a larger timeframe than the PoE report, which only scrutinized the final months of the war in 2009. The OHCHR report covers the same period the LLRC undertook to investigate, between 2002-2011, allowing UN investigators to delve deep into the LTTE misdeeds in war time. In this assessment, the UN probe team said they had received assistance from the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that operated in the North and East while the Ceasefire Agreement was in effect, between 2002-2006. The SLMM, which comprised Scandinavian ceasefire monitors, opened up its records to the OISL team, that contained extensive documentation of LTTE child recruitment, killings and ceasefire violations, that far outnumbered violations of the agreement by the Government forces.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Adopts Bad Strategy of Engaging in Backroom Negotiations While Outwardly Opposing Draft Resolution Text’ »

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has re-iterated his earlier recommendation for setting up an ad hoc hybrid special court for Sri Lanka integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, mandated to try notably war crimes and crimes against humanity, with its own independent investigative and prosecuting organ, defence office and witness and victims protections programme. Emphasising that the Sri Lankan judicial system is not equipped to probe war crimes ,the UN human rights chief renewed his call for a special hybrid court while addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 30th 2015. The full text of his address is as follows –

Mr President, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to present the report of OHCHR on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, including the findings of the comprehensive investigation mandated by Human Rights Council resolution 25/1. As you know, following signals of engagement by the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka in January 2015, the Human Rights Council decided to defer consideration of the report until this thirtieth session.

The context in which this report is presented is very different to the one during which it was mandated. The election of a new President and Government on a platform centred on good governance, human rights and the rule of law presents a historic opportunity to address the grave human rights violations that have wracked Sri Lanka, including through accountability and institutional reform, and to lay the basis for long-term reconciliation and peace.

We are also seeing renewed engagement by the new Government with OHCHR and the UN human rights mechanisms. The previous Government categorically rejected the Human Rights Council-mandated investigation and refused access and cooperation. More worryingly, it resorted to an unrelenting campaign of intimidation and harassment against victims, witnesses and representatives of civil society who might seek to provide information to OHCHR.

The new Government did not alter the stance on cooperation with the investigation, nor did it admit the investigation team into the country. However, it has engaged more constructively with me and my Office on possible options for an accountability and reconciliation process.

Continue reading ‘UN Human Rights Chief says new Sri Lankan Govt did not Cooperate with UN Probe or Allow Investigators into Country’ »

By

Chanaka Chandrasekara

The Mahinda Rajapaksa regime was subject to serious allegations, while slashing attacks were levelled by the media, the politicians, and the civil society organizations against the rule by a single family.

It was gathering momentum as the Presidential Election came round. However, the Presidential Election on January 8 brought the Rajapaksa rule to an end. The people were longing to see the dawn of a new era.

President Maithripala Sirisena said that his victory was the result of a silent revolution of the people. He made several vital decisions after swearing in at a simple ceremony and earned popularity before long. Sri Lankan social organizations highly appreciated his policies and he outwitted his predecessor in the Facebook comments.

However, the steps taken by him to increase Cabinet portfolios, appointing defeated candidates to Parliament on the National List and offering them Ministerial portfolios have been subject to severe criticism.

Continue reading ‘What was President Sirisena’s son Daham Doing with the Sri Lankan Delegation at the UN in New York?’ »

Esmond Wickremesinghe

Text of Keynote speech “Reflections on Media Freedom” made by Mr.N.Ram the Chairman and publisher of the Hindu group of Newspapers in India at the Inaugural Award Ceremony of the Esmond Wickremesinghe Annual Award for Media Freedom held at the Committee Room ‘A’ of the BMICH, Colombo on September 29, 2015

“They are run on a very simple formula: publishing all the news the government wants to hide.”

— Esmond Wickremesinghe at the 24th General Assembly of the
International Press Institute (IPI) in Zurich, 1975

Esmond Wickremesinghe (May 29, 1920-September 29, 1985) is one of the most interesting and significant figures in the two-century-old history of the news media and journalism in South Asia. His engagement with the newspaper world over close to four decades divides cleanly into two chapters.

The first chapter covers his hands-on editorial and business leadership of Sri Lanka’s leading newspaper group, the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon, between 1947 and 1973. The second chapter sees contributions of a different kind, moral and strategic leadership, following nationalization of the Lake House group, of an independent journalism experiment managed by working journalists. During this period, Esmond made forays in the wider realm of politics and foreign policy – a role that brought him to India twice, in 1984-1985, on a peace-building mission as President J.R. Jayawardene’s foreign policy advisor. The media experiment involved three newspapers published, even-handedly, in the three different languages of the country. These papers worked, as he told his IPI audience in 1975, on the simple formula of “publishing all the news the government wants to hide.” It remains a pretty good formula today, in every country where the news media as a relatively independent democratic institution matter.

If I may be allowed to strike a personal note, “Esmond,” as he was always referred to by my father, G. Narasimhan, and my uncle, G. Kasturi, was professionally and personally close to the generation at the helm of The Hindu that preceded me. I recall meeting him, when I was a young man, on a couple of occasions. The two newspaper people from Sri Lanka who were household names in our family, admired for standing up for the independence and freedom of the press, were Esmond and Tarzie Vittachi, editor of The Ceylon Observer and author of Emergency 58, whom I came to know quite well.

Contemporaries, both played important roles in the affairs of the International Press Institute, Esmond, as an IPI stalwart and its chairman between 1966 and 1968, Tarzie as Asian director between 1960 and 1965. Not surprisingly, the award in May 1965 of the “Golden pen of freedom” to Esmond at the Congress of the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers for his “huge five-year battle to maintain Press freedom in Ceylon” (to quote from the citation) was reported in the columns of The Hindu.

So let me say how privileged I am to have this opportunity to share my thoughts at this inaugural award ceremony of the Esmond Wickremesinghe Annual Award for Media Freedom, which marks the 30th anniversary of his death.

N.Ram, being felicitated by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ~ facebook.com/ranil.wickremesinghe.leader

The theme I have been invited to speak on is media freedom – not so much in the abstract or formal sense as in the real world of today, where big business and, in some cases, political heavyweights are increasingly seizing control over ownership and editorial content across all media platforms.
Continue reading ‘Distinction Must Be Drawn and Maintained Between the Fortunes of News Media and the State of Journalism – N.Ram’ »

(Text of Statement by Ravinatha P. Aryasinha Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva)

Mr. President
Mr. High Commissioner,
Deputy High Commissioner,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you all know, an epoch making event took place in my country on the 8th of January this year at the Presidential Election when the people voted decisively for change.

From a culture of impunity where the rights of the individual had been violated for almost a decade, the people sought a change to a New Sri Lanka where ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity is respected, celebrated and valued; and independent democratic institutions, freedom of expression, the rule of law, good governance and the promotion and protection of all human rights – both civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights are upheld.

The President and Prime Minister placed reconciliation as well as development as the top-most priorities of the Government. Efforts were launched immediately to restore and renew Sri Lanka’s relations with the international community as a whole to ensure that the benefits of these partnerships and relationships accrue to the people of my country. Soon after the Parliamentary Election on the 17th of August, the President and the Prime Minister worked to forge a National Unity Government that is essential for the political and policy stability required for reconciliation to succeed.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka will work with the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, his Office, systems and procedures of the Human Rights Council says Ravinatha Aryasinha’ »

(Full Text of the Address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on September 30th 2015)

Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Being a long standing member of the United Nations, it is indeed an honour and a pleasure for me to address the United Nations annual General Assembly as the newly elected President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Your Excellency Mogens Lykketoft, on behalf of the Government and people of Sri Lanka, please accept my heartfelt congratulations on your election as the President of the 70th Session of the General Assembly.
Let me also convey my gratitude to the former President His Excellency Sam Kutesa who contributed immensely to the achievements of the 69th Session of the General Assembly.

The United Nations now has a distinguished track record of seventy years. We in the UN have consistently engaged in the responsible and challenging task of ensuring global peace, security and development during these past seventy years. However, I realize that similar challenges still lie ahead of us.
Mr. Trygve Lie, the first Secretary-General of the United Nations, when leaving office at the height of the Korean crisis in 1953 described the Secretary-General’s position as: “The most impossible job in the world”. It is no secret that all Secretaries-General who have held office contributed substantively to promote the universality of the United Nations and make it an organization that could serve humanity well in to the future.

The incumbent Secretary-General His Excellency Ban Ki-moon has also made an excellent contribution to the Organization. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, please accept my honoured gratitude and that of my people for the service you have rendered.

Continue reading ‘“We Will Follow a Process of Truth seeking, Justice, Reparation and Non-recurrence in Dealing With the Past”-Maithripala Tells UN’ »

By

Rasika Jayakody

Lack of judicial independence and political appointments crippling the judiciary were no alien topic to Sri Lankan media over the past 20 years. When former Attorney General Sarath N. Silva was elevated to the position of the Chief Justice under former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Victor Ivan, Editor of a radical vernacular newspaper at the time, said it was final nail in the judiciary’s coffin. But, the last five years of the Rajapaksa administration took this issue to a whole new level with the Executive President becoming the sole authority when it came to appointments of apex court judges. There was criticism that those who had political and personal affiliations with the former first family were handpicked to hold top offices in the judiciary while sidelining those who safeguarded professional integrity and ethics. The culmination of this process was the appointment of former Attorney General Mohan Pieris as the Chief Justice of the country, after the “flawed” impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake in January, 2013.

Political interference in the Sri Lankan judiciary became a hot topic among key members of the international community who said the country was heading towards “constitutional autocracy”. Certain judicial appointments also came under question as some of the appointees had direct affiliations with the top echelons of the government. Although the 10-year long Rajapaksa rule ended on January 8, this year, the ‘system’ he constructed remained in the absence of necessary remedial measures by the new government. So did the high-ranking judicial figures appointed by the previous rule.

It was against this backdrop that the UNHRC Chief and the OHCHR report called for a “hybrid” judicial mechanism to investigate into alleged war crimes during the final phase of war. While announcing this, they openly raised doubts over the Sri Lankan judiciary’s ability to inquire into mass scale crimes of which members of the Sri Lankan military forces were accused. Some sections of the international community raised concerned that the “protectionist attitude” adopted by the Sri Lankan government on security forces would come into play when the country conducting a completely domestic war crimes inquiry.

Continue reading ‘US will Support “Credible Domestic Investigation”Over the “Hybrid Mechanism” Proposal for Alleged Sri Lankan War Crimes’ »

We release this statement in response to the draft resolution titled ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ tabled under Item 2 and scheduled for debate and adoption on the 30th of September 2015.

1. We reiterate the firm conviction of the victims of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, a majority of whom are Tamils, that accountability and justice can only be truly delivered through an international criminal justice process.

2. We however in deference to the Report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Inquiry on Sri Lanka (the OISL report) were willing to consider the possibility of achieving justice and accountability through a credible hybrid mechanism in the event of the mechanism being led and managed by its international component under the aegis of the UN.

Continue reading ‘JOINT STATEMENT OF TAMIL POLITICAL PARTIES, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS TRADE UNIONS ON THE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON SRI LANKA’ »

By

Prof. G.L.Peiris

The events of the last week demonstrate, with poignant clarity, the folly of naïve expectation and the need for realistic thinking.

This cannot be better illustrated than by reference to the reassuring statement, barely hours before the tabling of the Resolution, by the Cabinet Spokesman: “The (UNHCR) Report proposes establishing a hybrid court with international judges, but I think the U.S. backed Resolution would want that expunged.” Equally confident statements have been made throughout the week by several of his cabinet colleagues.

The sequel, not surprisingly, has been quite different. The text of the U.S. Resolution, submitted to the Council on the last date for submission, advocates the participation of “Commonwealth and other foreign judges” and, no less significantly, calls for the involvement of foreign personnel including “authorised prosecutors and investigators” in the work of the Office of the “Special Counsel” (in effect, the Special Prosecutor).

It is absolutely essential, in the interest of a coherent and nationally beneficial strategy, to insist that, once a co-sponsored Resolution (that is to say, a Resolution brought by the United States, with Sri Lanka joining in the bringing of the Resolution) is placed before the Council, every member of the Cabinet, in terms of the seminal doctrine of collective responsibility, is bound by the text of the Resolution and is compulsorily held to account for the entirety of its consequences and repercussions.

Continue reading ‘Joining the US in Co-sponsoring Resolution at UN Imperils Sri Lanka Beyond Redemption’ »

By The Island News Desk

There was much more to the resolution to be moved on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC shortly than a probe into war crimes allegations, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the media yesterday at Temple Trees. It was also about restoring democracy and bringing about national reconciliation, he stressed.

Addressing newspaper editors and other media representatives, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the resolution was not inimical to Sri Lanka’s interests and it did not intend to prosecute one and all, contrary to claims being made in some quarters to that effect.

“We want to know the truth,” Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said, noting that the proposed Truth Commission was aimed at assisting the country in that endeavour. The Compassionate Council which was part of that mechanism would consist of representatives of religious dignitaries and it had been appreciated by the international community, he said.

Continue reading ‘“If not for Timely Action by this Govt, Sri Lanka would have had to face Sanctions” says Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

The United Nations Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution ensuring a robust international role in Sri Lanka’s justice mechanism for abuses during the country’s brutal civil war, Human Rights Watch said today. The resolution, expected to be adopted on October 1, 2015, contains a number of strong provisions but will need to be thoroughly implemented for victims to obtain genuine justice.

“This resolution makes it clear the time has come for the Sri Lankan government to act,” said John Fisher, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. “The resolution’s endorsement of a judicial mechanism with international participation is an important recognition of the need for an international role to ensure justice for victims.”

Continue reading ‘UN Human Rights Council Resolution Must Ensure Robust International Role in Sri Lanka’s Justice Mechanism – Human Rights Watch’ »

By

Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice

The Governments of Sri Lanka, the United States, the United Kingdom, Montenegro, and Macedonia have published the text of a joint resolution which will form the basis of the follow up to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ “OISL” report.

What happens now?

This resolution can be amended with the consent of all parties at any point until it is presented to the Human Rights Council. This is expected to happen next Thursday, the first of October. At this point states can demand a vote, but it is not expected that they will do so. In the absence of a vote (or after a yes vote) the resolution is considered adopted.

Amendments can also be made, and voted on, without the consent of all parties, but this would require a vote, which all sides seem keen to avoid.

What does the resolution say?

The text does a number of things:

Continue reading ‘The International Community now has a duty to Finish what it Started’ »

By

Nilan Fernando

Earlier this month, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released its long-awaited investigation into alleged crimes during Sri Lanka’s civil war. The conflict, which began in 1983 and lasted nearly three decades, pitted the Sri Lankan government against various ethnic Tamil rebels, most prominent the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which were fighting for the creation of a separate state in the country’s north and east.

The 272-page report makes for grim reading. Focusing on alleged abuses committed by both sides between 2002 and 2011, it documents numerous crimes, including unlawful killings and sexual violence, especially at the hands of the military during the last phase of the war in 2009, under the administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The report contains few factual surprises, after years of drip-by-drip accounts of atrocities from journalists and human rights groups, and a previous United Nations investigation in 2011. But it is arresting for the disconnect between the seriousness of the abuses it documents and the mildness of its recommendations.

The report offers a slew of proposals better designed for strengthening human rights protection in the future than for prosecuting past atrocities. Its most salient proposal is a call to try suspected criminals before a hybrid special court with both international and Sri Lankan prosecutors and judges — but the idea is a nonstarter, as its proponents well know.

Continue reading ‘Western States will not Force Sirisena Administration to Take Action that the Sinhala Majority Cannot Tolerate.’ »

By

D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has outlined the structure of the Sri Lankan armed forces with specific reference to the commanding officers involved in the final phase of the war that occurred in the Northern mainland known as the Wanni.

The OISL report names several senior officers and the military entities they commanded during the final phase of war during which it is alleged that several human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed.

Though no specific charges have not been included in the report it may be inferred that the naming of such commanding officers has been done with a view to “encourage” a detailed inquiry by an envisaged special tribunal into the roles played by these officers and the activities of military personnel under their command during the final phase of the conflict in which large numbers of unarmed civilians have reportedly perished.

Among the military top brass involved in the final phase of the war in the Wanni who have been named in the OISL report are former army commander Gen.Jagath Jayasuriya who served as Security Forces Headquarters commander in overall charge of the Wanni region in the last phase of the conflict. Others so named and the ranks they held during the war’s final phase include Major General Kamal Gunaratne, Brigadier Prasanna Silva, Major General Jagath Dias, Brigadier Shavendra Silva, Brigadier Nandana Udawatta , Brigadier Chagie Gallage, Brigadier Priyantha Napagoda, Colonel Athula Kodippily Brigadier Rohana Bandara , Brigadier Sathyapriya Liyanage , Colonel Nishantha Wanniarachchi and Colonel G.V. Ravipriya

Continue reading ‘UN (OISL) Report Names Several Commanding Officers of the Sri Lankan Army Involved in the Final Phase of War in Wanni.’ »

By Tamara Kunanayakam

A US-sponsored draft resolution against Sri Lanka is back on the Human Rights Council agenda, this time with a vengeance and despite the Ranil – Sirisena government’s conciliatory and obsequious pro-Washington, pro-Western stance!

There is no more Mahinda Rajapaksa to blame, no more pro-Beijing foreign policy, no more Non-Alignment, no more ‘megaphone diplomacy’ or ‘megaphone diplomats’, no more corruption. History dawned in Sri Lanka only on 8 January, before that, there was only darkness, violence and obscurantism. Today, enlightened leaders have flooded the land with newness, goodness, transparency, and unity, along with privileged relations with a much-maligned West.

So, what went wrong? A generous response would be our new, enlightened leaders read all the signs wrong. An accurate response would be they have something to gain from subservience to Washington’s interests.

When post-election triumphalism and declarations by flying US diplomats, even before the formation of a new Government, brought glad tidings that Washington would now support Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Council, I drew attention to the fact that genuine ‘support’ in the UN Human Rights Council generally translates itself into ‘no resolution at all’. In a US-dominated world, ‘country-specific’ resolutions are a ‘soft power’ weapon to promote the strategic interests of its author, not anybody’s human rights.

Why is the US involved in Sri Lanka to the extent of dictating what should be done or not done?

In May 2015, during his visit to Sri Lanka, the top US diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, made no bones about Sri Lanka’s strategic importance to Washington. He said, “Your country sits at the crossroads of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia. … The Indian Ocean is the world’s most important commercial highway… And with its strategic location near deep-water ports in India and Myanmar, Sri Lanka could serve as the fulcrum of a modern and dynamic Indo-Pacific region.” The US could play a leadership role in making this happen “because we have a strong economy and an ability to be able to project.” It saw its role also as convenor, and partner.

Continue reading ‘US draft resolution is a ‘system change’:What the Wickremesinghe – Sirisena Government will not tell you!’ »

(Text of a Statement Issued by US secretary of State John Kerry on September 24th 2015)

Today the United States, Sri Lanka, and our partners tabled a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that representslandmark shared recognition of the critical importance of truth,justice, reparations,and guarantees of non-recurrence in promoting reconciliation and ensuring an enduring peace and prosperity for all Sri Lankans.

The Sri Lankan government’s decision to join as a co-sponsor paves theway for all of us to work together to deliver the commitments reflected in the resolution.

Continue reading ‘“US Will Remain Steadfast in our Commitment to Walk with Sri Lanka” Reiterates John Kerry , US Secretary of State’ »

Dharisha Bastians Reporting from Geneva

Sri Lanka has decided to co-sponsor the US draft resolution to promote reconciliation and accountability in the island, marking a major departure from the rancour that has dominated debate on the country’s human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva since 2012.

The official draft resolution A_HRC_30_L.29 on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka was tabled at the UNHRC in Geneva last evening.

“We can face the future without fear,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said, as he announced consensus with the United States on the draft resolution at the 50th Anniversary celebrations of CIMA Sri Lanka in Colombo last night.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the Government had reached a compromise with sponsors of the resolution on prosecuting allegations of serious human rights violations and potential war crimes under a “Sri Lankan judicial mechanism” that will include local, foreign and Commonwealth judges and lawyers.

“Sri Lanka has decided to co-sponsor a resolution on Sri Lanka in Geneva,” the Prime Minister said.

The Government had also agreed to implement a political solution to the island’s ethnic problem and bring the necessary constitutional measures to address the issue, the Prime Minister announced.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka will Co-sponsor US Initiated Resolution as a “Consensus” Resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.’ »

By Nisthar Cassim

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last night hailed the compromise between the Government and member states sponsoring a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying the world had accepted their commitment to democracy.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe used his address at the 50th Anniversary celebrations of CIMA Sri Lanka as the platform to announce that Sri Lanka had decided to co-sponsor the resolution drafted by the US, UK and other European states.

“We will no longer have to face the pressures we have been facing for the past five or six years, the world has accepted the fact that we are building a democratic society,” said Wickremesinghe, who made the announcement first in Sinhala before switching to English.

He said the Government had agreed to a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, under the country’s own judicial framework that will include the office of a special counsel, which will investigate major violations.

“They will certainly have the help of not only Sri Lankan but also Commonwealth and foreign judges and lawyers. But all that has to be authorised by Sri Lankan law,” the Premier said.

He said that all measures will be taken according to and under the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘“We wont have to face World Pressures as we did for the last 5 or 6 years”says Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’ »

The draft of a consensus resolution on Sri Lanka initiated by the USA was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday September 24th 2015. It is likely to be taken up for voting on September 30th after inclusion of changes proposed by member states . Significantly the resolution draft was finalised after intense discussions between Sri Lanka and members of the core group led by the USA. The final outcome has the concurrence of Sri Lanka and is not likely to be contested.
The US initiated resolution would therefore be a consensus resolution

The highlight of the resolution is the provision urging Sri Lanka to involve foreign and Commonwealth judges, lawyers, investigators and defenders in a judicial mechanism to be set up in Sri Lanka that would be mandated to try international crimes.The particular resolution clause states –

“Welcomes the government’s recognition that accountability is essential to uphold the rule of law and build confidence in the people of all communities of Sri Lanka in the justice system, takes note with appreciation of the Government of Sri Lanka’s proposal to establish a Judicial Mechanism with a Special Counsel to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, as applicable; and affirms that a credible justice process should include independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for integrity and impartiality; and further affirms in this regard the importance of participation in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the Special Counsel’s office, of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorized prosecutors and investigators”

The full text of the draft resolution is as follows;

Continue reading ‘US Initiated “Consensus” Resolution on Sri Lanka Presented to UN Human Rights Council;Colombo Agrees to Commonwealth and Foreign Involvement in Judicial Mechanism’ »

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has in a statement welcomed the draft text of a resolution on Sri Lanka tabled by the co-sponsors led by the USA.

The TNA in particular welcomes the draft resolution’s call on Sri Lanka to involve foreign and Commonwealth judges, lawyers, investigators and defenders in a judicial mechanism to be set up in Sri Lanka that would be mandated to try international crimes.

The TNA says that his constitutes a significant victory for justice in Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘TNA welcomes Involvement of Foreign and Commonwealth Judges, Lawyers , Investigators and Defenders in Judicial Mechanism.’ »

Former Sri Lankan President and current Kurunegala district parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa has called upon the Government of Sri Lanka to reject the recently released report on Sri Lanka by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

PIC: facebook.com/PresidentRajapaksa

In a statement released on September 22nd 2015 , Mr.Rajapaksa has made several critical references to the OHCHR report and cites them as reasons for rejecting it.

Observing that some have described the report as being “watered down”the ex-president says that he does not share that view.

Mr.Rajapaksa says that many of the recommendations in the OHCHR report give cause for concern.

“In my view, establishing a hybrid special court to try war crimes integrating foreign judges, lawyers and investigators, and prosecutors is not feasible. If there are allegations of wrongdoing against any member of the armed forces, I strongly believe that those should be tried under the existing Sri Lankan law, under our present courts system and by our judges and our Attorney-General’s department. Our armed forces risked everything and made enormous sacrifices to save the country from the scourge of terrorism” says Mr.Rajapaksa

The full text of Ex – president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s statement is reproduced below –
Continue reading ‘Ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa Calls Upon Govt to Reject the UN Report which “Gives Cause for Concern”.’ »

The UN Human Rights Commissioner’s Office Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has stated that it has reasons to believe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam news presenter Shobana Dharmaraja alias “Isaipriya” was captured alive by the security forces who then killed her with gunshots to the head execution-style.

Isaipriya

The OISL report says Isaipriya was pulled out of the Nandi Kadal lagoon alive but mistaken by the security forces for being the daughter of Prabhakaran.

It further says that based on the images of Isaipriya’s dead body and those of many other women, OISL believes that Isaipriya’s dead body was desecrated.

Relevant excerpts from the OISL report are stated below –

Continue reading ‘LTTE News Presenter Isaipriya was Captured Alive by Security Forces who Executed and Desecrated her Body – OISL Report’ »

The UN Human Rights Commissioner’s Office Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has documented in detail the sequence of events in which several senior leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) who surrendered with white flags according to pre- arranged terms of surrender were summarily executed.

Nadesan & Pulidevan

It is believed that three top LTTE leaders who surrendered along with 60 other tiger cadres and 40 civilian relatives of LTTE members were killed by the armed forces.All of them were unarmed and walked slowly with white flags in terms of a pre- arranged surrender.

Among the victims of this particular incident of extra-judicial executions were the LTTE Political wing chief Nadesan, the head of the LTTE peace secretariat Pulidevan , the LTTE Police chief Ramesh and Nadesan’s wife Vineetha who was of Sinhala ethnicity.

The OISL report also states that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother Basil Rajapaksa, Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and former Lankan envoy to the UN in New York Palitha Kohona had full knowledge of the envisaged surrender of LTTE leaders, members and civilians.

The report says a number of intermediaries at a national and international level who were involved in facilitating the surrender are fully aware of the Govt officially sanctioning the surrender exercise.

The OISL report also states that though it was guaranteed earlier that the surrender would be undertaken with the Red Cross and/or Religious leaders as witnesses no such arrangement was made on ground subsequently.

The following are relevant excerpts from the UN report relating to the white flag surrender incident involving Nadesan, Pulidevan, Ramesh, Vineetha and other LTTE members and civilians.

Continue reading ‘LTTE Leaders who Surrendered with White Flags were Summarily Executed! Mahinda, Basil, Gota and Kohona were Aware of Envisaged Surrender – OISL Report’ »

Eleven United States Congressmen have in a letter written to US Secretary of State John Kerry Reiterated that the USA remains committed to supporting recommendations made in the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office Investigation Report on Sri Lanka(OISL).

The Congressmen comprising eight Republican and Three Democratic Representatives have in the letter stated that “ As the US concludes its tenure on the Council, we ask that America continue its leadership and present a new resolution on Sri Lankawhich fully addresses and integrates all the recommendations of theOISL report and the undertakings given by Sri Lankan Foreign MinisterSamaraweera in his address to the Council on September 14, 2015”.

The Congressmen have also asked John Kerry to reiterate US support for the recommendation calling for an “ad hoc hybrid specialcourt, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, mandated to try war crimes and crimes against humanity.” We believe this recommendation is central to achieving an impartial accountability process that can be trusted by all parties in Sri Lanka”.

Continue reading ‘Eleven US Congressmen Ask US Secretary of State John Kerry to Endorse OISL Recommendation of “Ad Hoc Hybrid Special Court”’ »

The UN Human Rights Commissioner’s Office Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)Leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran’s 12 year old younger son Balachandran was captured or otherwise taken into custody by the security forces who subsequently extrajudicially executed him.

Balachandran

Excerpts relevant to the Unlawful execution of Balachandran Prabhakaran are as follows –

Balachandran Prabhakaran

OISL is in possession of photographic and video material that show Balachandran Prabhakaran, the 12-year-old son of Villupillai Prabhakaran, sitting in a bunker, alive and in the custody of Sri Lankan troops as well as images of the dead body of Balachandran lying on the ground beside the dead bodies of five semi-naked men.

Continue reading ‘LTTE Supremo Prabhakaran’s 12 year old son Balachandran was Extra-judicially Executed by Security Forces – OISL Report’ »

The Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has documented a number of cases of targeted killings of politicians during the period designated under the UN probe terms of reference.

Among the cases highlighted are the killings of Lakshman Kadirgamar(Foreign minister), D.M. Dassanayake (Minister of Nation Building), Jeyaraj Fernandopulle (Minister of Highways and Road Development), Joseph Pararajasingham (TNA MP)Nadarajah Raviraj (TNA MP) and Thiyagarajah Maheswaran (UNP MP).

Noting that In most cases, the victims were Tamils. The OISL report goes on to sat that – “On the basis of the information obtained by the OISL, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the killings of politicians were committed in some cases by the LTTE, and in others by the security forces, sometimes in collusion with paramilitary groups (or vice-versa)”.

Relevant Excerpts from the OISL report Relating to the killing of Politicians are given below –

Killings of politicians

OISL has documented a number of cases of targeted killings of politicians during the reporting period. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), whose complaints mechanism receives cases relating to threats and killings of parliamentarians, has raised concerns over “the sheer number of cases received between September 2004 and August 2008 and the serious issues involved.” In most cases, the victims were Tamils. On the basis of the information obtained by the OISL, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the killings of politicians were committed in some cases by the LTTE, and in others by the security forces, sometimes in collusion with paramilitary groups (or vice-versa).

Continue reading ‘UN(OISL)Report Documents Killing of Politicians Such as Kadirgamar, Fernandopulle, Dassanayake, Pararajasingham, Maheswaran and Raviraj’ »

The Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has stated that the number of journalists and media workers killed in Sri Lanka also ranks among the highest in the world and placed severe restrictions on freedom of expression.

The OISL report also says that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has documented the killing of 13 journalists in Sri Lanka between 2004 and 2009 and ranks the country among the top ten countries with the highest rate of impunity for killings of journalists.

The OISL report has focused on the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge Editor of “The Sunday Leader”.

Relevant excerpts from the OISL report relating to the killing of journalists are given below –

Killings of journalists

The number of journalists and media workers killed in Sri Lanka also ranks among the highest in the world and placed severe restrictions on freedom of expression. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented the killing of 13 journalists in Sri Lanka between 2004 and 2009 and ranks the country among the top ten countries with the highest rate of impunity for killings of journalists.

In its 2006 global annual Press Freedom Index, the organisation Reporters without Borders has ranked Sri Lanka as one of the worst ranking democratic countries, noting a significantly deteriorating situation since 2005. An increasing number of Sri Lankan journalists left the country out of fear for their own safety and that of their families, having received death threats accusing them of being traitors for raising concerns about human rights violations.

The attacks on journalists resulted in a growing climate of self-censorship which persisted until a new Government took office in January 2015.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Among Highest in the World for Impunity in Killing of Journalists and Media Workers – OISL Report’ »

The Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has stated that “As of 2013, Sri Lanka figured as one of the countries with the highest numbers of humanitarian workers killed worldwide”.

The OISL report observes that the most significant case of humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka is the killing of 17 ACF workers in Muttur.

Excerpts from the OISL report pertaining to Humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka are as follows –

Killings of humanitarian workers

As of 2013, Sri Lanka figured as one of the countries with the highest numbers of humanitarian workers killed worldwide. A Sri Lankan NGO documenting killings and disappearances of humanitarian workers between January 2006 and December 2007 reported that such incidents escalated significantly, with concentration in the North and East of the country. The report noted that there was a killing or enforced disappearance of at least one person engaged in humanitarian service nearly every month and documented over 60 specific incidents. Organisations affected include Action Contre la Faim (ACF), the Sri Lanka Red Cross, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) among others. A global project which records major incidents of violence against aid workers documented 46 separate cases of 51 humanitarian workers being unlawfully killed in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011. OISL met with witnesses who testified to having observed first-hand the hardening climate of fear in 2006 and the explicit threats made by members of the security forces against national humanitarian workers and their relatives.

Continue reading ‘“Sri Lanka Figured as One of the Countries with the Highest numbers of Humanitarian Workers Killed Worldiwide” – OISL Report’ »

The United States of America (USA) has welcomed the proposal by the Government of Sri Lanka to establish a Commission for Truth, Justice, Reconciliation, and Non Recurrence; an Office of Missing Persons; and an Office for Reparations.

The US has however stressed the need for these mechanisms to be independent, impartial, and transparent as well as led by individuals known for professionalism, integrity and impartiality.

The US wants the Government of Sri Lanka, to involve international investigators, prosecutors and judges in the related judicial processes.

The US has also encouraged the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant special procedures mandate holders to provide, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, advice and technical assistance on implementing the above mentioned.

The US has stated so in the draft of a resolution it intends presenting along with a group of concerned countries to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Copies of the fraft resolution are currently being circulated among the 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council.
Continue reading ‘The US Welcomes Sri Lanka’s Proposals but Wants Involvement of International Investigators, Prosecutors and Judges in the Judicial Processes.’ »

Press Conference by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussien Human Rights Commissioner at Geneva after release of OISL Report

GENEVA (16 September 2015) – A UN report published today has identified patterns of grave violations in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011, strongly indicating that war crimes and crimes against humanity were most likely committed by both sides to the conflict. The report recommends the establishment of a hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators, as an essential step towards justice.

Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at a press conference during of the 30th regular Session at the Human Rights Council. 16 September 2015. UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré

“Our investigation has laid bare the horrific level of violations and abuses that occurred in Sri Lanka, including indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, harrowing accounts of torture and sexual violence, recruitment of children and other grave crimes,” High Commissioner Zeid said. “Importantly, the report reveals violations that are among the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.”

“This report is being presented in a new political context in Sri Lanka, which offers grounds for hope,” Zeid said. “It is crucial that this historic opportunity for truly fundamental change is not allowed to slip.”

Among the most serious crimes documented in the report are the following:

Continue reading ‘UN Human Rights Commissioner Zeid urges creation of hybrid special court in Sri Lanka as UN report confirms patterns of grave violations’ »

Summary

This report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 25/1, and includes the principal findings of OHCHR’s comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes during the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. It also reviews human rights related developments in the country since March 2014, in particular the reforms and steps towards accountability and reconciliation by the new President elected in January 2015 and Government in August 2015. The report concludes with the High Commissioner’s recommendations on the way forward, including the establishment of a hybrid special court to try war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by all parties to the armed conflict.

Contents
Page
I. Introduction 3
II. Engagement of OHCHR and Special Procedures 4
III. Human rights and related development 4
IV. Principal findings of OHCHR investigating on Sri Lanka (OISL) 6
V. Steps towards accountability and reconciliation 11
VI. Looking ahead 14
VII. Conclusions and recommendations 15

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 25/1, which requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (a) to monitor the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and to continue to assess progress on relevant national processes; (b) to undertake a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), with assistance from relevant experts and special procedures mandate holders; and (c) to present a comprehensive report at the twenty-eighth session.

Continue reading ‘Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ »

The Tamil National Alliance(TNA) has in a statement undertaken to carry out our responsibility “to lead the Tamil people in reflecting on the past, and use this moment as a moment of introspection into our own community’s failures and the unspeakable crimes committed in our name”.

Following is the full text of a Press Release issued by the Tamil National Alliance

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) welcomes the report of the investigation conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OISL) and its recommendations. The most important recommendation of the report calls on Sri Lanka to establish a special hybrid court to try perpetrators of international crimes during a nine year period with the participation of international judges, prosecutors and investigators; and incorporating into domestic law war crimes and crimes against humanity so that these prosecutions can take place.

The TNA has consistently called for these steps to be taken and welcomes the inclusion of these critical recommendations in the OISL report. We further welcome the entire gamut of recommendations of the OISL report, including those that relate to broader Transitional Justice and human rights concerns.

Continue reading ‘Tamil National Alliance will Lead the Tamil People to Introspect on the “Unspeakable Crimes Commited in our name”’ »

(Geneva, September 17, 2015) – The call by the United Nations’ top human rights officer for a domestic-international hybrid court to address allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka should receive strong endorsement by members of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Human Rights Watch said today.

On September 16, 2015, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, released a report on human rights abuses by Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during Sri Lanka’s civil war. His report calls for the establishment of a special court “integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators” with an independent Sri Lankan investigative and prosecuting body, defense office, and witness and victims’ protection program.

“UN member states should strongly support the UN High Commissioner’s recommendation for a hybrid court as the best way to provide justice for all the victims of Sri Lanka’s long civil war,” said John Fisher, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. “The Sri Lankan government should build on the goodwill of the international community and embrace this important initiative.”

Continue reading ‘UN Human Rights Council Members Must Endorse Call for Domestic- International Hybrid Court on Sri Lanka Says HUman Rights Watch’ »

The Sri Lankans Without Borders(SLWB) Based in Canada has welomed the new UN Human Rights Office Report Investigation Report on Sri Lanka.

The following is the full text of a media communique issued by the SLWB.

Toronto, Canada – Sri Lankans Without Borders (SLWB) welcomes the new report of the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL), presented at the Thirtieth session of the Human Rights Council on September 16, 2015.

The OISL Report is based on a comprehensive investigation into “alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka during the period 2002-11”. The Report identifies “patterns of grave violations” indicating that war crimes and crimes against humanity committed were most likely committed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankans Without Borders Welcomes New UN Human Rights Office Report on Sri Lanka’ »

The Government of Sri Lanka has informed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that it takes note of the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/30/61), and the recommendations made by the High Commissioner.

The full Text of the response sent by the Sri Lankan Government to the UNHRC is as follows:

“The Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organisation in Switzerland presents its compliments to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and with reference to the unedited advance copy of the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/30/61), and the Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL) (A/HRC/30/SRP.2), has the honour to forward herewith a copy of a Note Verbale No. UN/HR/1/30 dated 15th September 2015, received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, containing the comments of the Government.

“The Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Officer at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights the assurance of its highest consideration.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Informs UN that Govt Takes Note of the Report and Recommendations made by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ »

The hierarchy of the Sri Lankan Tamil political party Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi(ITAK) has devised a three – phased strategy to deal with the problem caused by the Northern Province Chief Minister Canagasabapathy Viswalingam Wigneswaran.

A three member delegation comprising Leader of the Opposition and Tamil National Alliance(TNA) leader R.Sampanthan , the ITAK President and Jaffna district MP “Maavai” Senathirajah ITAK secretary and Eastern Provincial council minister Thurairajasingham will meet chief minister Wigneswaran shortly and seek to iron out differences with him. The envisaged meeting is the first stage of the proposed three phased political strategy.

Continue reading ‘ITAK/TNA Hierarchy Devises Three –Phase Strategy to Deal With “Indiscipline”of Northern Chief Minister Wigneswaran’ »

Three more Cabinet Ministers have been sworn in by President Maithripala Sirisena.The new appointments bring the total number of Cabinet Ministers to 46.Two more vacancies in the Cabinet remain to be filled.

19 State and 21 Deputy Ministers have also been appointed to the Good Governance Government of President Maithripala Sirisena. A number of them are loyalists of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa . Some of the new appointees were allegedly involved in criminal activity

Continue reading ‘3 Cabinet Ministers, 19 State Ministers and 21 Deputy Ministers Appointed to “Good Governance” Govt of President Maithripala Sirisena.’ »

Fifty – Seven Parliamentarians from the United Peoples Freedom Alliance(UPFA)Including ex – President Mahinda Rajapaksa, ex – speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and ex – senior ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Dinesh Gunawardena are to appeal directly to the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya that the current leader of the opposition Rajavarothayam Sampanthan be “de – recognized” and that Kumara Welgama be duly recognized in his place as opposition leader.

A memorandum to this effect is being compiled with supporting documents including a number of affidavits to be presented to the speaker. A joint letter of appeal signed by all 57 MP’s including the Speaker aspirant Kumara Welgama will be submitted to Speaker Karu jayasuriya shortly.

A smaller delegation of MP’s representing the larger group of Parliamentarians who are signatories to the letter and memorandum will seek a direct meeting with Mr. Jayasuriya to explain the issue to the speaker.

It would be explained in detail to the speaker that 57 out of 95 elected UPFA Parliamentarians form the majority of both the UPFA as well as its chief constituent the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). This majority group indicated its willingness to President Maithripala Sirisena that it wanted to function in the opposition and proposed that Mr.Kumara Welgama be nominated as leader of the opposition. A letter had been given to President Sirisena and accepted.

It is however alleged that President Sirisena had withheld the letter and instead instructed the UPFA acting secretary Dr. Wiswa Warnapala to send a letter to the speaker that the UPFA was not seeking the leader of the opposition.

Continue reading ‘UPFA “Majority” Group of 57 MP’s will Appeal Directly to Speaker that Sampanthan be “De-Recognized”as Opposition Leader’ »

Forty two Cabinet Ministers Including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were sworn in by President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential secretariat on September 4th 2015. Among these were 21 from the UNP,12 from the SLFP and 9 non –UNP MP’s who contested under the elephant symbol of the UNP led UNFGG.

Premier Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs.Among the three ministers already sworn in Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe and Resettlemt minister D.M.Swaminathan were sworn in again as ministers of Buddha Sasana and Hindu religious affairs respectively. These portfolios are in addition to the ministries they already retain.

Foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera was not given any additional portfolio.Along with Samaraweera the number of ministers in the new cabinet are 43.

Continue reading ‘42 Cabinet Ministers Including Prime Minister Wickremesinghe Sworn in by President Sirisena-Govt will go up to 93.’ »

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentary group leader and veteran Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan has been recognized by the newly elected Sri Lanka parliament as the leader of the opposition.

An announcement to this effect was made by the Speaker Mr. Karu Jayasuriya in Parliament on September 3rd morning.

Rajavarothayam Sampanthan MP – Leader of the Opposition speaking to BBC Sandeshaya after the announcement on Sep 3, 2015

The speaker said that the house was recognizing Mr. Sampanthan as opposition leader in the absence of claims by any other political party or front. Mr.Jayasuriya said that neither the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) nor the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had made staked any claim for the Opposition Leader post.
Continue reading ‘TNA Leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan Becomes new Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka Parliament’ »

Senior United National Party Leader and National List MP Karunananda Jayasuriya has been elected unanmously as Speaker of Parliament. The name of “Karu” as he is popularly known was proposed by Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and seconded by Nimal Siripala de Silva.

Continue reading ‘Karu Jayasuriya of UNP Elected Unanimously as Speaker:SLFP’s Thilanga Sumathipala -Deputy Speaker. Amirtharaj Adaikkalanathan alias “Selvam”of TNA -Deputy Chairman of Committees.’ »

In what is called a dramatic turn of events in the local political arena NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa had tendered an apology to President Maithripala Sirisena when a UPFA delegation met the President yesterday.

Weerawansa had tendered the apology to the President for using abusive language during the Presidential election campaign against him (the President).

According to UPFA sources Weerawansa had tendered an apology to the President, during a discussion at the paget road residence.

Continue reading ‘Wimal Weerawansa Personally Apologises to President Sirisena for Using Abusive Language Against Him During Election Campaign’ »

By P K Balachandran

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, who commanded the Sri Lanka Army during the 2006-2009 Eelam War IV, has refuted the contention of former Tamil Tiger commander “Col” Karuna Amman, that Tiger Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran had shot himself dead and was not killed by Lankan troops as claimed.

“He had a head injury in which a part of the skull had come off. If he had shot himself, the bullet would have come out from the other side of the head. But this had not happened. He might have been hit by shrapnel from a mortar bomb or a shell,” Fonseka told Express here on Monday.

Asked if a post mortem was done on Prabhakaran’s body, Fonseka said that the police did a post mortem as per law, and a DNA test was also conducted to establish his identity.

Continue reading ‘LTTE Supremo Veluppillai Prabhakaran did not Commit Suicide says Ex- Army Chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka’ »

By

Ranga Jayasuriya

Since the end of war, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the ex-President kept a nation; mostly its Sinhalese villagers in the rural hinterland petrified by the simple mention of a bogeyman: an international war crime trial. Of course, his nemesis in the West and the fringe groups of the Tamil diaspora unleashed it on him; and later MR and his acolytes began nurturing it. It provided a smokescreen for all his grotesque abuses. The sheer mention of the word was so terrifying that it dwarfed the real terror unleashed by real white vans.

Of course, he was pushed to the wall by his adversaries in the West and in the State Department, who did not like him for multiple reasons, ranging from his authoritarian tendencies to his cozying up with China. It was he, who had cultivated his cult persona back home and had paeans sung in his name (one of those female singers later got a road named after her as means of the President returning feudal favour), expected a similar reception from foreign Capitals. Instead, he was met with marauding Tamil mobs, who were driven by an equally destructive agenda.

Later on, MR turned his international calumny into advantage. He cried international conspiracies at every turn, and labelled his critics as traitors. A significant portion of people began to view Western embassies and NGOs as dens of conspiracy. Wimal Weerawansa, Mervyn Silva et al had a field day organizing protests in front of the embassies, often financed by the government itself.

Continue reading ‘With Mahinda Rajapaksa Gone the International Investigation Bogey also Goes’ »

BY N SATHIYA MOORTHY

In an interview to N. Ram for ‘The Hindu’ a day after being sworn in as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister – for a second time in eight months and fourth time, overall – Ranil Wickremesinghe referred to India-facilitated Thirteenth Amendment, circa 1987, “build on it…maximise it” for finding a negotiated settlement to the vexatious ethnic issue in the island-nation. On China, another issue of concern for India, he had this to say: “We get back to having the close relations we had with the West and with India while maintaining our relationship with China, which has also been a longstanding one. And looking at our own role in the region and what stand we will take on some of the main international issues.”

Surprisingly for a South Asian, Third World nation’s Prime Minister in his place, Wickremesinghe was less critical of arch-political rival and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Was it a kind bonhomie that had marked the personal disposition of the two leaders towards each other through the past decade and more, or was it also indicative of a kind of broad national consensus’ on key issues about which enough signs and signals where available for long now?

If nothing else, until the ‘people were ready to vote out Rajapaksa’ or even afterward, Ranil and his UNP were less than critical of the former’s regime. It owed to their combined ability to retain and recover much of the ‘traditional’ UNP vote-share/vote-bank on the one hand. On the other, they might have also not wanted to risk targeting the ‘war-victor’, whose image the civil society and the social media had sullied enough.

In the final analysis, Rajapaksa could consolidate the traditional SLFP vote-share as none else before him but could not retain the 10-plus per cent from the ‘swing-votes’, which he had got ever since the LTTE’s military reversals began in 2007. Now, with successor President Maithripala Sirisena trying to take over the party from Rajapaksa, that too with the open blessings of their common predecessor, President Chandrika Kumaratunga, upcoming attempts at anticipated political re-alignment could become as much a burden for PM Ranil as it seems to be a boon, to make up the numbers.

Continue reading ‘Parliamentary Poll Results Show India had Nothing to do with Electoral Defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in Presidential Elections’ »

By The “Sunday Times” Political Editor

When Ranil Wickremesinghe led the United National Party (UNP) to victory at the August 17 general elections, it was not merely the end of a hectic 49-day campaign; it was also the culmination of a 40-year-long political career that had few triumphs and many disasters.

Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country’s Prime Minister for a record fourth time in a simple fifteen minute ceremony four days later. It is a feat matched only by Dudley Senanayake. Senanayake was first appointed as Premier following the sudden death of his father D. S. Senanayake but was elected to office thrice later. Wickremesinghe who was first appointed as PM after the assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993 was elected as Prime Minister in 2001, appointed as Premier earlier this year and elected again last week.

Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe had a privileged entry to politics. His father Esmond Wickremesinghe had been at Lake House since 1950s — when it was later said that “what Lake House said today, the (UNP) Government did tomorrow” — until a few years before it was nationalised. He was a power broker in the UNP. By the mid-1970s, Ranil’s uncle J.R. Jayewardene was leading the UNP. Young Ranil must have imbibed heavily from the heady brew of politics at the dinner table in the Wickremesinghe household and would have found it difficult to say no to being appointed UNP organiser for the Kelaniya electorate, and later shifted to the newly carved neighbouring Biyagama electorate. He has said that he would have been a journalist if he had not entered politics.

Continue reading ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Fourth Stint as Prime Minister Wont be a Walk in the Park’ »

By Namini Wijedasa

The payments were so covertly done that neither Cabinet nor Parliament knew of them. As with many other transactions, the cabal that struck deals for key members of the previous regime played the cards close to its chest.

But in July-August 2014, the Sunday Times exclusively revealed that the Sri Lanka Government had signed up with several lobbyists and public relations consultants in the United States through a go-between named Imaad Zuberi. This newspaper has now obtaind documentary proof of money transfers, not only to a company that Mr. Zuberi claimed to own, but to his personal bank account.

A total of US$ 6.5 million (Rs. 872,806,569, at prevailing rates) was released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka between May 9 and September 10, 2014. None of it went through the prescribed channels —that is, via the Foreign Ministry and Sri Lanka’s diplomatic mission in Washington, DC.

The Central Bank paid out the money on the written instructions of Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, then Monitoring MP to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, then Governor of the Central Bank, and Lalith Weeratunga, then Secretary to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, recommended the disbursements in writing.

The Sunday Times saw emails that validated this. Mr. Vass Gunawardena and Mr. Cabraal used their personal email accounts for the correspondence. The former’s is sajinvg@gmail.com and the latter’s is nivardcabraal3@gmail.com.

Continue reading ‘Investigators Subpoena Lobbyists in Effort to Trace Rajapaksa Assets in the US:8 Rajapaksas with US addresses Including Basil and Gota Named in Document’ »

By Shamindra Ferdinando

President Maithripala Sirisena has called for a meeting with three UPFA constituents today (Aug. 31) to explore the possibility of reaching a consensus regarding their role before Parliament meets tomorrow.

The Presidential Secretariat has requested Ratnapura District MP-elect Vasudeva Nanayakkara (Democratic Left Front), Colombo District MP-elect Dinesh Gunawardena (Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) and Colombo District MP-elect Wimal Weerawansa (National Freedom Front) to meet President Maithripala Sirisena.

Well informed sources told The Island that the fate of the UPFA would largely depend on the outcome of today’s meeting scheduled to take place at the Paget Road residence of President Maithripala Sirisena.

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena Meets Vasudeva Nanayakkara,Dinesh Gunawardena and Wimal Weerawansa to Determine Future of UPFA’ »

– BY

DR. DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

“…of battles won or lost—but waged—against the enemy.”
(Che Guevara: ‘Message to the Tricontinental’)

The Mahinda Movement hoped for, believed in and fought determinedly for a victory at the August 17th election, but beneath the rousing nationalist romanticism there was always a tougher-minded realization that what was being waged was a resistance struggle; a peaceful people’s uprising which could well prove to be a rearguard action.

The main reference point of the Mahinda Movement’s public discourse after January 8th was not the 5.8 lakhs of voters, but rather the marker year 1815, the year of the betrayal of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe who had successfully resisted the colonial incursion of 1810.

1815 was the year of the Kandyan convention which sealed the surrender of the whole island to Western colonialism. This year was the 200th anniversary of that surrender.

1815 will be appropriately marked by the joint resolution being drafted for presentation at the UN in Geneva this September by the US together with what Asst Secretary of State Nisha Biswal calls the “international core group on Sri Lanka” (whatever that is), and which is meant to be endorsed by the Sri Lankan Government. US Asst Secretary for Human Rights and Labour Tom Malinowski says that a domestic inquiry mechanism will have to be “led by persons acceptable to the minorities” and have international presence”, “participation and “monitoring”.

Reuters reports that the proposed US resolution which is expected to obtain Sri Lankan concurrence will include a US-UN “framework for reconciliation” for postwar Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘FROM JAN 8 TO AUG 17 AND AFTER: THE MAHINDA MOVEMENT AND THE FUTURE OF SINHALA NATIONALISM’ »

By

Udaya Gammanpila

There is a specific objective of introducing the National List in the Constitution of 1978. It is to get important people who are reluctant to contest elections involved in the policy formulation and law making process. Professionals, academics and leaders of insignificant communities such as Malays, Burghers, Vedda and disabled people belong to this category. It was never intended to be used as a shortcut or backchannel to bring defeated candidates to Parliament.

In order to meet the objective of the national list, high profile personalities such as Prof G.L. Peiris, Prof. Tissa Vitarana, Prof. Rizvi Sherifdeen, Prof. Colvin Gunaratne, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Prof. Kapila Gunasekara, D.E.W. Gunasekara and Gevindu Kumaranatunga were included in the UPFA National List. The people who voted for the UPFA expected these high profile persons to be in Parliament. Unfortunately, none of them were appointed to Parliament.

The UPFA was able to secure 12 parliamentary slots from the national list. All twelve opportunities were given to political refugees who lost the election or who got themselves included in the national list fearing electoral loss. People voted out a politician at the election with the intention of denying him Parliament. Appointing such a politician to Parliament through the national list is against democratic and good governance principles. In fact, President Sirisena has laughed at the people’s verdict by appointing defeated politicians to Parliament.

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena has Laughed at the Peoples Verdict by Appinting Defeated Candidates to Parliament Through National List’ »

By

P.K.Balachandran

R.Sampanthan, the top most leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), has said that the party can take an official stand on the latest US policy on the mechanism to investigate charges of war crimes in Sri Lanka, only after reading the report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Written by Sandra Beidas under the supervision of Martti Ahtisaari, Asma Jahangir and Sylvia Cartwright, the OHCHR report is to be presented to the Lankan government soon, for its comments. Along with these comments, the report will be submitted to the UNHRC in the second half of September.

If the report is hard hitting, the TNA could press for a full-fledged international investigation or a stricter international monitoring of any domestic Lankan inquiry mechanism. The US itself has said that its resolution on Lanka will take into account the findings and recommendations of the OHCHR report.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Biswal’s declaration in Colombo last week that the US will support a domestic mechanism, did not signify departure from previous policy, Sampanthan said.

“The US has always talked about a domestic investigation and an international investigation,” he pointed out.

Continue reading ‘US has Always Talked of Both Domestic and International Probes on Sri Lanka says TNA Leader Sampanthan’ »

By

Malinda Seneviratne

Maithri’s ‘Miracle’

More than a week has passed since results were released. Parliament has not been convened. There’s no Speaker. No Leader of the Opposition. No Cabinet. Just three ministers have been appointed, all to satisfy the various ‘areas of concern’ of a visiting US civil servant. Now that is the kind of ‘Miracle’ that Mahinda never could deliver.

Maithri-Circus

‘Maithri-Circus’ or the business of using mandate as toilet paper began the moment election results were released. The people can sit back and watch. Don’t be surprised if it is marketed as ‘Mandate’ or even a ‘Revolution’. Here’s a prediction: all those who were blurting out terms such as good governance, democracy, civility, respecting the people’s verdict, sovereignty etc., will go silent.

Rajapaksization

It took Mahinda several decades to become a Rakapakshist. Maithri took less than 8 months.

Continue reading ‘Maithripala Overtakes Mahinda “Miraculously” in Rapid “Sirisenaization”Of Sri Lanka’ »

By

C.A.Chandraprema

We are now nearing the end of the second week after the parliamentary election with no cabinet of ministers. UNP chairman Malik Samarawickrema announced September 2 as the date on which the cabinet may be sworn in and SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake said that September 4 would be the likelier date due to many reasons such as the intervening SLFP anniversary celebrations. These dates are being announced unilaterally by the two sides. If the two sides that are supposed to form a ‘national unity government’ are unable to announce a mutually acceptable date for the swearing in, how are they to divide the portfolios in a manner that will satisfy both sides? Tentative lists of the way the portfolios may be divided have been appearing in the media throughout last week, but they look more like what the UNP would like the cabinet to be rather than how it will be in reality.

So the bottom line is that we still have no idea what the cabinet will be like. If we ask ourselves why the country is in this state of limbo, it is only because of one man’s quest to carve out a political niche for himself. The UNP’s victory at the August 17 parliamentary election was no less convincing than the victories of the winning side in the parliamentary elections of 1994 and 2001, yet a clean change of government is being hampered. In 1994 and 2001 there were clean changes of government with Chandrika Kumaratunga even relinquishing the defence portfolio in 2001. With 106 seats in parliament and the ability to engineer a few crossovers to make up the shortfall, the UNP should be allowed a free hand to form a government; otherwise the whole purpose of effecting governmental change will be vitiated. The preservation of democracy requires changes of government from time to time to relieve the pent up frustration of those blocked from access to power and patronage.

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena is not Allowing Prime Minister Wickremesinghe a Free Hand to Select his Team of Ministers to Run the Country.’ »

By Anura Gunasekera

Notwithstanding his rise to ultimate power, Mahinda Rajapaksa, despite being one of the shrewdest political manipulators in the history of this country, opts to place his faith in necromancy, rather than in the intelligence of his political sense.

Apart from a pathetic belief in the occult and an abject reliance on heavenly interventions, there was also the hubris, nurtured through a decade of successful subjugation of opposition and dissidence. The incarceration of challengers, the assassination and disappearance of journalists and the purchase of political loyalty were standard strategies in his governance.

Rajapaksa believed in continued aggression even in peacetime and when no more enemies were left, he invented them because the apprehension of enemy action permitted him to carry out repressive strategies in peacetime, which would be barely permissible in war.

Whilst strong in withstanding foreign interference in the affairs of the country, he misled the international community and made promises that he had no intention of honouring.

Despite a minimal comprehension of international diplomacy, he believed that he had the statesmanship skills to play one regional power against the other.

He permitted his servitors to steal from the nation with total impunity guaranteed, in return for unquestioning loyalty to him, personally.

When thwarted in a third term presidential bid, he assayed to return to power through a different route. Weerawansa, Gammanpila , Nanayakkara and Dinesh Gunawardana, together created the myth of Rajapaksa’s undiminished allure to the voter, assisted by the pair of discredited Chief Justices, Silva and Pieris, and the erudite but unprincipled Prof. Pieris, indefatigable apologist to successive national leaders. This unscrupulous cabal was supported by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, who appears to have discarded all concern for personal credibility.

Continue reading ‘As Things are at Present, Mahinda Rajapaksa is dead, Politically.’ »

By Rukshana Rizwie

The Central Environment Authority (CEA) has suspended the Environmental Protection License of beverage giant Coca-Cola over an incident which occurred on Monday where ‘diesel’ from an underground fuel pipe had leaked into the Kelani river basin.

“The CEA is concerned over the environmental damage, which is largely evident in this case,” said Ajith Weerasundara, Director of Waste Management at the CEA. “After extensive discussion, we have informed the company in question that their Environmental Protection License would be suspended until adequate and appropriate measures are taken by the company to rectify the damages.”

Weerasundara added that the mandate of the CEA and their objective at this point would be to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future. “In keeping with this, we are now reconsidering giving EPL to companies and factories boarding the Kelani River, we will also be reviewing activities of companies who already have the EPL and operating in close proximity to the river.”

When The Nation inquired from Coca-Cola, the company came clean with a statement acknowledging that such a leak was reported.

The company concurred that they ‘noticed a leak in an underground fuel pipe line on Monday morning’. Although the leak was plugged immediately, oil had “inadvertently seeped into a nearby water body through the drainage system,” their statement read.

Continue reading ‘Water Supply in Greater Colombo Affected as Biyagama Coca Cola Factory Diesel Leak Pollutes Kelani River:EPL Revoked and Production Suspended;Rs One Billion Fine Imposed’ »

By K. Ratnayake

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal announced in Colombo yesterday that Washington will sponsor a resolution in UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions next month supporting a Sri Lankan government inquiry into alleged war crimes.

The announcement is a major shift by the US which last year sponsored a resolution calling for an international investigation into alleged war crimes by the former Rajapakse government in the final months of its military offensives against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.

According to UN estimates, at least 40,000 civilians were killed by the Sri Lankan military’s indiscriminate bombing and shelling.

Biswal’s two-day Sri Lankan visit, which began on Monday, was to express Washington’s support for the victory of the pro-US United National Party-led alliance in last week’s parliamentary election. She was accompanied by US Assistant Secretary for Human and Labour Rights Tom Malinowski.

The US officials met with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera before leaving for India.

Continue reading ‘US Announces Policy Shift From International to Domestic Probe into Sri Lankan War Crimes Investigation’ »

By K. Nesan

In the wake of the August 17 parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, Tamil nationalist parties are serving as key props for President Maithripala Sirisena in his attempt to install a new pro-US regime in Colombo.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has the third-largest faction in parliament, after the United National Party (UNP, 107 seats) and the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP, 96 seats). TNA leader Sampanthan had called on voters to elect at least 20 TNA legislators from the 29 seats in the Tamil-majority North and East of Sri Lanka. In the event, the TNA ended up winning only 16 seats. Fourteen were elected directly, and two were awarded on the basis of the party’s proportion of the national vote.

The TNA is aggressively backing Sirisena—who was installed in a US-backed regime change operation in the January 8 presidential elections—as he attempts to win over a faction of the SLFP to form a “national government” with the UNP.

In one meeting, Sampanthan said: “We will support the National Government which would endorse the silent revolution of January 8th, the people’s mandate for a positive change in the country.”

Continue reading ‘Tamil National Alliance Propping up Sirisena-Wickremesinghe led Pro – US Regime in Sri Lanka.’ »

by Ranil Wijayapala

The pain and anguish of Sandya, the wife of Prageeth Eknaligoda and his two sons over the loss of a loving husband and an affectionate father will never cease.

The investigation over his disappearance brushed under the carpet for over five years was taken up by the CID as a priority with the change of the political set up in the country following the January presidential election. Though the exact information of the investigations is not in public domain yet the involvement of military intelligence in the heinous crime sends shockwaves to the public.

According to Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara seven personnel linked to the Army Intelligence Unit are in custody. A retired Sergeant Major from the Sri Lanka Army and two rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres who had links to Army Intelligence Units were among the three arrested previously by the CID. Later four serving Amy personnel; two Lieutenant Colonels, a Staff Sergeant and Corporal were questioned by the CID over their involvement in the disappearance.

“Four Army personnel are in CID custody on a two-week detention order issued by the Ministry of Defence”, the Police Spokesman said.

Continue reading ‘Army will Assist and Cooperate with Probe on Officers Allegedly Implicated in Abduction and Killing of Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda’ »

by

Rasika Jayakody

Continue reading ‘Excessive SLFP Demand for Minister Posts Results in UNP Young MP’s Wanting Party to Form Solo Govt’ »

By P.K. Balachandran

The United States appears to have fallen in line with India’s consistent position that charges of war crimes and human rights violations relating to Sri Lanka are best investigated by an independent and credible domestic mechanism rather than an intrusive international mechanism, threatening its sovereignty.

The US, which had made the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) pass a resolution calling for an international investigation into the charges in the March 2014, has climbed down to accepting a independent and credible domestic investigation.

It has also said that it will move a resolution in the September session of the UNHRC, which will be drafted in “collaboration” with the Lankan government and other stake holders. It says that it is doing so after taking into account the changed Lankan political landscape and the “tremendous” progress made by the new regime in Colombo, in addressing the reconciliation issue.

Continue reading ‘US Falls in Line with India’s Stance on Do Setting Up Domestic Instead of International Probe on Sri Lankan War Crimes’ »

(TEXT OF PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE MEDIA OFFICE OF THE ILANKAI THAMIL ARASU KADCHI?TAMIL NATIONAL ALLIANCE)

At the General Election held on the 17th of August 2015, the United National Party (UNP) emerged as the party with the largest number of seats in Parliament. The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) obtained the second largest number of seats. It has been announced that a National Government has been formed and that Members of Parliament who contested and were elected under both the UNP and the UPFA have accepted cabinet portfolios. Accordingly, both the UNP and the UPFA bear collective cabinet responsibility.

As political parties in Parliament, they thus must publicly support all Governmental decisions made in Cabinet. This support includes voting with the Government when sitting in Parliament. There is thus no question whatsoever of the UPFA sitting in opposition in Parliament.

Further, all Members of Parliament who contested and were elected under the UPFA are now Members of Parliament of the UPFA. There is thus no question whatsoever of the constituent parties of the UPFA being recognized as political parties in the current Parliament.

Continue reading ‘Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi(ITAK) Wants Its Parliamentary Group Leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan to be made Leader of the Opposition.’ »

By P K Balachandran

Seven months after he was made de jure Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the opposition United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena became its de facto head on Friday.

The group headed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was reduced to a rump when the SLFP Central Committee unanimously decided to give Sirisena full authority to decide on the nature of the party’s participation in the National Government; who all will take ministerial portfolios and who will be the Leader of the Opposition.

In deference to Sirisena‘s wish, the Central Committee warned SLFP MPs that anyone defying its diktat will be liable to disciplinary action.

Continue reading ‘Maithripala Sirisena Takes Over SLFP Reducing Mahinda Rajapaksa Group to A Rump’ »

By

P.K.Balachandran

A senior leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has said that the Tamils will keep pressing for an international probe into charges of war crimes against the Lankan government even though the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Biswal, has made it clear that the US will only seek an independent and credible Lankan domestic probe.

“Just as the Sri Lankan government has an agenda which it will press, we Tamils also have an agenda, which we will press,” said C V K Sivagnanam, Chairman of the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).

Biswal had said that the US proposes to present to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in September, a resolution which will have been drafted in “collaboration” with the Lankan government and other stakeholders “within and outside” Lanka.

Continue reading ‘TNA Run Northern Province Council Chairman CVK Sivagnanam says Tamils Want International and not Domestic War Crimes Investigation.’ »

by

Disna Mudalige

Former Speaker and UPFA MP-elect Chamal Rajapaksa is to join the National Unity Government.

Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, Rajapaksa said he would stand along with the position of the SLFP Party Chairman and President Maithripala Sirisena on forming a Unity Government.

He said he was willing to give the necessary strength required to form a government to carry out the functions of the state uninterruptedly. “Politics is an ideology and a discipline. We have to abide by the Party leader’s decision,” he noted.

Asked whether he would like to assume ministerial portfolios of the Unity Government, he said there had been no such discussion yet.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Brother and Ex-speaker Chamal Ready to Join Sirisena-Wickremesinghe National Unity Govt’ »

By

Piyumi Fonseka

Rejecting reports that her parliamentary seat was being annulled, Geetha Kumarasinghe told Daily Mirror today that despite obstacles, she would definitely take oaths as a Member of Parliament on September 1.

“Losers are in a futile attempt to sling mud at me saying I am a Switzerland citizen. According to the 19th Amendment Sri Lankan politicians with a citizenship in another country are prevented from holding high posts. I obtained the Switzerland citizenship through my husband. But, I cancelled it a long time ago. I do not need to talk about it now,” she said.

Continue reading ‘I am Eligible to Become MP Because I have Cancelled my Switzerland Citizenship a Long Time Ago” says Actress Geetha Kumarasinghe’ »

By

Malinda Seneviratne

This should have been easy. It has been easy all these years. Hold election, release results, count numbers, pick the leader of the party which returned the most candidates to Parliament and appoint him/her as Prime Minister. Then Parliament convenes, the Speaker is elected, the Leader of the Opposition is selected and Cabinet is appointed. Seems pretty straightforward.

It seems easy because not only does the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) have 106 seats, the coalition’s main ally, Maithripala Sirisena has effectively looted the runner-up, the United People’s Freedom Party (UPFA), dragging its main constituent the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) out AND placing in the UPFA’s driving seat, i.e. the post of General Secretary, a loyalist. Adding insult to injury, violating all norms of decency and giving the proverbial finger to the spirit of democracy, Sirisena smuggled into Parliament 7 loyalists who had been rejected at the polls. Those 7 owe him. Add 7 to 106 and you get 113. That’s an absolute majority.

There’s a price to pay though, apparently. The President wants his party to be part of the Government; hence all this talk of a ‘National Government’. Negotiations between the UNP and the SLFP to divide the ministerial cake, and machinations to secure preferred portfolios to divide the goodies are natural outcomes.

Continue reading ‘Ranil Wickremesinghe Suffers from many Political Headaches in his role as Prime Minister of a Coalition Govt Termed as National Govt’ »

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Former UPFA MP Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha yesterday said that the anticipated change in US policy towards Sri Lanka was aimed atstrengthening the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration.

The US policy shift was not at all surprising because the Obama administration had, in no uncertain terms, made known its desire to effect a regime change in Sri Lanka, Prof. Wijesinha said.

He was responding to the US declaration that it would move a joint resolution in Geneva backing a domestic war crimes probe undertaken by the new administration.

The US successfully moved a resolution at the March, 2014 session calling for an external investigation into the alleged atrocities committed during the closing stages of the armed conflict here.

Continue reading ‘US Shift in Policy Towards Sri Lanka Shows Western Nations are Bolstering Sirisena – Wickremesinghe Administration – Rajiva Wijesinha’ »

By

P.K.Balachandran

Former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who has been in the political wilderness since 2005 when the Supreme Court refused to extend her second and last term to November 2006, is now back again at the centre of the Lankan political stage.

It was Kumaratunga who made Maithripala Sirisena the Joint Opposition Candidate in the January 8 Presidential election and helped knit together the grand anti-Mahinda Rajapaksa alliance which put Sirisena in the Presidency.

While keeping out of the power struggle in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Kumaratunga continues to be a link between Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. But most importantly, she is in charge of ethnic reconciliation, seen by other leaders as a poisoned chalice.

Continue reading ‘Chandrika Kumaratunga Returns to Centre Stage of Sri Lankan Politics and will be in Charge of Ethnic Reconciiation’ »

By
Dharisha Bastians

The National Unity Government continued to show teething problems with a further delay expected in the appointment of the new cabinet of ministers as the tussle for portfolios between the SLFP and the UNP continues and the Government navigates a legislative blockade on the number of Ministers allowed by the Constitution.

UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema said on Wednesday that the Cabinet would be sworn in on 2 September, but sources say the swearing-in could be delayed by a few more days.

A more likely date for the oath-taking could be 4 September, the sources said.

Continue reading ‘Swearing in of New National Unity Govt with 30 UNP and 15 SLFP Cabinet Ministers Likely to be on Sep 4’ »

By
P.K.Balachandran

Sri Lanka has told the United States that it is putting together an independent domestic mechanism to investigate charges of war crimes.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said this to the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Biswal, at the bilateral talks held here on Tuesday.

Briefing the media after the talks, Samaraweera said that he outlined to Biswal “measures being taken to address concerns regarding alleged human rights violations, including through independent domestic mechanisms.” He did not specify the mechanisms.

Continue reading ‘Mangala Samaraweera Discloses Outline of Envisaged War Crimes Investigation Domestic Mechanism to Nisha Biswal’ »

(Text of Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture by former UK prime minister the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair)

Thank you very much Mangala,

It is a great pleasure and honour to be giving this Lakshman Kadirgamar lecture at the Institute which bears his name. Before I say anything else I should say one thing at the conclusion of two weeks’ vacation here: I love Sri Lanka. This is truly an amazing country and we have had the best time. I have to say the last two weeks have been bliss because they have been free from speeches but when I was asked to do this, I wanted to, not only as a mark of respect to the country but also as a mark of respect to Lakshman for all that he achieved and accomplished.

He was a brilliant lawyer, and I know a thing about brilliant lawyers as I am married to one. He was a distinguished statesman and he was also renowned internationally. When he died so tragically 10 years ago the outpouring of respect did not only come from Sri Lanka but from his many friends and admirers from around the world, paying tribute for what he achieved for this country but also for the cause of peace. He was a huge believer in equality between people of different faiths. This fascinates me and takes up a large part of what I do today.

He believed in a Sri Lanka where all people were equal under one law, so Mrs. Kadirgamar thank you very much for inviting me to give this speech in honour of your husband. It is genuinely an honour to be here with you and with so many distinguished members of society in Sri Lanka and to offer you my thoughts at this very important moment, almost a junction between the past and future where Sri Lanka finds itself.

Continue reading ‘Former UK Premier Tony Blair Outlines the Seven Principles of Successful Reconciliation in Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture Delivered in Colombo.’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

The small village of Medamulana, nestled deep inside the Hambantota District, is a place of tranquility and scenic beauty. Tiny lakes glisten in the bright sunshine, studded with bright pink lotuses in full bloom. Endlessly green paddy fields extend as far as the eye can see, coconut trees dance and rustle in the wind. It is as idyllic as rural Sri Lanka gets.

Unfortunately, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was not the retiring sort. Not for him the quiet life. Not for him elder statesmanship and precious family time. So instead, seven months after his humiliating defeat to his former health minister and presidential challenger, Mahinda Rajapaksa decided to craft the story of his political comeback.

“Mahinda Rajapaksa is a political animal,” says Jayadeva Uyangoda, Professor of Political Science at Colombo University. “He cannot afford to be out of politics.”

Continue reading ‘SLFP Looks Set for Long and Acrimonious Power Struggle Between Mahinda and Maithripala’ »

By

P.K.Balachandran

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Biswal, has said that the US will be moving a resolution on human rights and war crimes in Sri Lanka at the September session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). But the resolution will be drafted in collaboration with the Lankan government, key stakeholders within and outside Lanka, and the international “core group” on Lanka, she added.

Briefing select media here on Wednesday at the end of a two day visit, Biswal said that the US-led “collaborative” resolution will “reflect” on the way forward for Lanka in its bid to address human rights and governance issues.

Continue reading ‘“TNA will Accept Domestic Investigation if it has International Participation”- M. A. Sumanthiran’ »

by

Chaminda Perera and Disna Mudaliage

Breaking what seemed to be a ‘deadlock’ in the national government formation, UNP Chairman and MP elect Malik Samarawickrema said yesterday that an agreement was reached with the SLFP over its mechanism after extensive discussions.

According to the agreement, the new Cabinet of the national government will be sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena on September 02 after Parliament approves the exact number of members to be in the Cabinet.

Samarawickrema said the SLFP and the UNP have reached a consensus on the portfolios after having a number of discussions with SLFP representatives.

Continue reading ‘“National Govt” to be Sworn in by President Sirisena on Sep 2nd with 30 UNP and 15 SLFP Ministers’ »

By Shamindra Ferdinando

In the wake of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) winning the lion’s share of seats in the Northern and Eastern electoral districts at the recently concluded parliamentary polls, influential South African Tamil Federation (SATF) has reiterated its support to the four-party political grouping.

The TNA comprises Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), TELO, PLOTE and EPRLF.

In a brief statement issued on Aug. 24, Nadas Pillay, on behalf of SATF said: “TNA’s victory sends a very clear message that the people in Sri Lanka want change and that change should take place immediately.”

Continue reading ‘“TNA Gets Overwhelming Mandate From Tamil Speaking People in the North and East” says M. A. Sumanthiran’ »

by

Col R Hariharan

After the din of recently concluded general election in Sri Lanka is over, the United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister. He is poised to work with a national unity government. There are eight takeaways from the election and its aftermath that can help in visualising the future course of events in the island nation.

1. Positive trends:

A number of positive trends have emerged both in the conduct and in the aftermath of elections. People have shown that whipping up of Sinhala nationalist rhetoric or holding up the bogey of revival of Tamil separatism is not enough to win elections. They would rather prefer clean governance than ostentatious of display of power by the rulers. The peaceful conduct of elections holds a lesson for other South Asian nations: if the national leadership is determined it can ensure the government, administration and election commission come together, without working at cross purposes, to conduct peaceful elections. The abhorrent trend of local politicians waving pistols and intimidating the public that had invaded the body politics in recent times. The election has shown they will have to change their act.

Continue reading ‘Eight Takeaways on 2015 Sri Lanka General Election and its Aftermath’ »

by

Mahendran Thiruvarangan

When I learnt about Santasilan Kadirgamar’s demise, I felt I had lost a loyal alumnus of my old school Jaffna College and a friend from whose activism I learnt a lot about the significance of inclusive social movements to our quest for justice. My interactions with Silan happened in these two spheres besides knowing him as the father of my good friend Ahilan.

I had the opportunity to converse with Silan for the first time when both of us were elected to serve the Executive Committee of the Jaffna College Alumni Association (Colombo) in 2009. When I mentioned in my introduction that I was a student in the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya from where Silan had graduated a half century from then, Silan was curious to know what I was studying and what my academic interests were. We had a lengthy conversation on the history of the Department of English at Peradeniya and Silan recalled his friends who studied English when he was an undergraduate. University of Peradeniya, our common interest in the Humanities and our common political beliefs made our friendship within and outside the Alumni Association stronger in the subsequent years.

Continue reading ‘Remembering Santasilan Kadirgamar: Intellectual, Activist and Loyal Alumnus of Jaffna College’ »

By Dharisha Bastians

Sri Lanka looked set to escape a minefield of international action on war crimes allegations with a US Government announcement yesterday that it would sponsor a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next month supporting the Government’s plans for a domestic investigation and reconciliation.

The announcement marks a departure from the previous US position that allegations about atrocities committed in Sri Lanka at the end of the war had to be probed internationally in the absence or failure of domestic processes.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal told reporters at the American Centre yesterday that the US government had decided to offer a resolution at the September session of the UNHRC.

Continue reading ‘US to Sponsor Resolution at UN Supporting Sri Lanka Position of Domestic Investigation into Alleged War Crimes Instead of International Probe.’ »

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda has offered to join the UNP-SLFP coalition.

Political sources told The Island that EPDP leader Douglas Devananda had met President Maithripala Sirisena to explore the possibility of joining the coalition on the side lines of on-going SLFP-UNP deliberations as well as talks among the constituents of the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) regarding cabinet portfolios.

Sources said Devananda has also made representations to the top UNP leadership in this regard. Devananda seeks a cabinet portfolio.

Continue reading ‘EPDP’s Douglas Devananda Meets President Sirisena and UNP leaders Seeking Inclusion in Govt as Cabinet Minister’ »

By

Upul Joseph Fernando

Prior to the public rally by Mahinda Rajapaksa confidantes at Nugegoda where they proudly claimed that they would protect the 5.8 million votes of Mahinda, Ranil Wickremesinghe threw a challenge asking Mahinda to contest the general election stating he would reduce that 5.8 million votes to the range of four odd million votes. In the face of Ranil’s challenge, Mahinda did not attack him, but got his confidantes to attack Ranil.

They said Ranil was going mad fearing that Mahinda would contest Ranil. “Come and face me, don’t run away”, said Ranil on the eve of the dissolution of Parliament. Following that challenge, Mahinda opened his mouth to say, ” Ranil did not contest me twice through fear and ran away. This time he cannot escape and he is well and truly caught in the contest”. Mahinda made that comment to the foreign media and scoffed that a man who lost over twenty elections was challenging him. That was what Mahinda announced in style to the country.

Mahinda decided to contest the general election as Ranil was contesting it. Mahinda who lost the presidential election was resting at Medamulana until Udaya Gammanpila and Gamini Lokuge disturbed him. Later Wimal Weerawansa and Vasudeva joined that team.

They told Mahinda, “Sir you won through the southern Sinhala vote. Ranil will not get Tamil votes at the next general election. Those will go to the TNA. The contest will be based on the Sinhala Buddhist vote. Sinhala Buddhist voters hate Ranil. You can easily win if we protect the 5.8 million votes secured at the presidential election’.

That was how they calculated the figures to convince Mahinda. Taking confidence Mahinda woke up in style and asked the confidantes to organize rallies adding he would assess the progress and join.

Continue reading ‘SLFP Must be Released from Clutches of Mahinda and his Band if the Party Wants to form a Govt’ »

Rasika Jayakody

“Former President Kumaratunga heads the Office for National Unity. She is also now playing a leading role in the SLFP. And she chaired the Committee which drafted the MoU from their side. President Maithripala Sirisena and the former President Kumaratunga have a moderating influence in the SLFP and I think they are spearheading a movement to revive the SLFP brand, as we call it. We, the UNP never gave up identity; we may have alliances but we never gave up identity. The SLFP is suffering the consequence of submerging their identity in the UPFA and having their personality cults.” – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, excerpts from his interview with The Hindu on August 24.

Mahinda Rajapaksa can be dubbed as the longest-standing rival of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

When S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, Kumaratunga’s father, crossed the aisle of Parliament on July 12, 1951 to form a centre-left political party, Beliatta MP D.A. Rajapaksa, father of Mahinda Rajapaksa, also walked beside him. Interestingly, Rajapaksa was not among the MPs with whom Bandaranaike discussed his crossover. Those who discussed the move with Bandaranaike did not follow suit while the MP from Beliatta, much to the surprise of Bandaranaike, crossed the aisle of the House behind him.

There are many anecdotes surrounding D.A. Rajapaksa’s strange and unexpected move. Ironically, despite D. A. Rajapaksa being one of the founding members of the party, he remained in the peripheries when it came to its decision making process. D.A. Rajapaksa was not given a Cabinet portfolio when the SLFP-led coalition came to power in 1956 with an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

Although the Bandaranaike legacy continued in the party from 1951 to 2006, the Rajapaksas were not part of the party’s inner circles until the emergence of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the SLFP leader following his victory at the Presidential election in November, 2005.

Continue reading ‘Return of Chandrika to Active Politics Paves Way for Rise of the “Bandaranaike Brand”in the SLFP.’ »

By

Malinda Seneviratne

It’s easy to offer advice after the fact. Mahinda Rajapaksa had many exit-options. He could have ruled in a way that he could go out, even in defeat, with head held high. He did not. And yet, he had enough popularity and even grudging respect from detractors, to go into quiet retirement, barring of course the possibility that ghosts of wrongs done might return to haunt him.

As the all-powerful executive president everything that happened during his rule either polished his status or took away the gloss. This is why he, more than anyone else, deserves the major share of the kudos for defeating the LTTE. It is also why he, more than anyone else including perpetrators, has to take responsibility for all the wrongdoings during his tenure.

If he wanted to make a come back, then (yes, it’s easy to say), he could he kept away from the circus.

His backers needed him more than he needed them. Even in this election. They used him as pin-up boy in their campaign. They played him for a sucker. He got suckered.

Continue reading ‘It is Imperative that Mahinda Rajapaksa Should Retire with Dignity’ »

By

Disna Mudalige

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the SLFP and the UNP to form a National Unity Government will be amended shortly to include more clauses, SLFP acting General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake told the Daily News yesterday.

He said the revised MoU would be announced when it is endorsed by the two parties. “The existing clauses will remain same. We have proposed some more additions to it to further enhance the cooperation between the two parties. The document will be signed soon after a final agreement is reached,” he observed.

He added that discussions were ongoing between the UNP and the SLFP to come to a final agreement on the allocation of ministries.

Continue reading ‘UNP- SLFP Memorandum of Understanding to form National Govt to be Amended to Include more Clauses’ »

By Dharisha Bastians

A top US diplomat hailed Sri Lanka’s “tremendous progress” towards good governance, reconciliation and democracy during a two-day visit to Colombo, weeks ahead of the release of a UN report on allegations of war crimes committed during the final stages of the war.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal, told reporters, at the conclusion of discussions with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera at his ministry yesterday, that her delegation was in Sri Lanka to reaffirm her Government’s strong support for the Sri Lankan people for their commitment towards the institutions of good governance, peace and prosperity.

“We are incredibly proud of the journey that is being undertaken here. The story that is unfolding in this great country is one that stands as a testament to the rest of the world,” Biswal emphasised during her remarks to the media at the Foreign Ministry.

Continue reading ‘“US Will Stand by Sri Lanka as Long as Govt Continues to make Courageous Decisions”- US asst Secy Tom Malinowski’ »

(Text of Address by Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera On the occasion of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture held at the Kadirgamar Institute)

I have the honour today, as the Chairman of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies, to speak a little about my late cabinet colleague Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar and also introduce our guest speaker, the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair.

On 12th August 2005, 10 years ago, this country lost one of her illustrious sons, the Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar. A fearless critic of terrorism, he courted death from the moment he took over the portfolio of Foreign Affairs in those challenging days for our country. Finally, ten years ago, a sniper’s bullets managed to silence him forever. Ladies and gentlemen Minister Kadirgamar was a much loved and much admired Foreign Minister of our country. He earned the respect and admiration of his counterparts, leaders of foreign countries, those of us who were honoured to be his colleagues in Cabinet at the time, and all those who had the pleasure of meeting him. Bestowed perhaps with a prophetic view of evolving global threats, he warned western democracies well before 9/11 that they were being too passive about the activities of terrorist organisations – especially their fund raising and planning activities.

A firm believer in democracy for both developed and developing countries, he cautioned the democracies of the world that terrorists were taking advantage of the very freedom and space which democracy allows, to destroy those systems. He urged that the democracies of the world must stand together to fight this scourge, lest we would lose the values, principles and freedoms that we cherish the most. It was during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs that the funding for the LTTE in western countries including in the United Kingdom in 2001, when you were Prime Minister sir, was stopped through effective legislation. That, in fact, marked the beginning of the end for the LTTE.

Continue reading ‘Lakshman Kadirgamar was a Realist but at the same time he was an Idealist”-Mangala Samaraweera’ »

By Dharisha Bastians

Three key ministers of the new Cabinet were sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday, ahead of a visit by top US State Department official and high level discussions on the UN war crimes report.

Newly-elected MPs Mangala Samaraweera, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and D.M. Swaminathan were returned as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Resettlement as the new Government gears up for the September sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and a series of high level diplomatic discussions ahead of that meet.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal will be in Colombo today for talks with Minister Samaraweera and other high level officials of the Sri Lankan Government.

Continue reading ‘Mangala,Wijeyadasa and DM Swaminathan Appointed Foreign Affairs,Justice and Re-settlement Ministers Prior to Talks with US Asst Secy Nisha Biswal’ »

By C. A. Chandraprema

In 1994, the day after the August parliamentary election, this writer visited the then president D. B. Wijetunga at President’s House in the Colombo Fort. When I entered the conference room of the president, Mr Dharmadasa Banda, a minister of the then UNP government was having a conversation with DBW. If my memory does not fail me, Mr P. G.Wilson the private secretary to president Wijetunga was also in the room at that moment. Minister Dharmadasa Banda was suggesting to the president that a national government be formed. The SLFP led People’s Alliance had got 105 seats in parliament and the UNP had got 94 seats – a difference of just 11 seats. But in my presence president Wijetunga turned down Minister Banda’s national government proposal, saying, “The whole country wants this lady”. Those were his exact words!

So, bowing to the people’s will, president Wijetunga invited Chandrika Kumaratunga to form a government as her party had got the highest number of seats in parliament. Furthermore, president Wijetunga did not try to force the PA to give ministries to the defeated UNP. President Wijetunga could have done anything he wanted – it was after all he who had the power to appoint the prime minister and ministers. If he appointed some UNP parliamentarians as ministers, the PA could have done nothing. But like a true democrat, president Wijetunga took a step backwards and gave the PA a free hand to select its Cabinet. When Chandrika Kumaratunga’s PA was in turn defeated at the 2001 December parliamentary election President Kumaratunga, too, took a step backwards and gave the UNP a free hand to appoint its Cabinet.

Continue reading ‘President Sirisena Should Allow UNP to Function Independently Without Forcibly Thrusting the SLFP Into a “National” Govt’ »

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The original draft of the 19 Amendment provided for the formation of a national government only once after the recently concluded parliamentary polls and that provision had been done away with as demanded by the SLFP-led UPFA in the last parliament, authoritative sources told The Island yesterday.

Instead, the UPFA wanted the clause that dealt with national government to be a permanent feature, sources said, adding that the original 19 Amendment was aimed at facilitating a national government involving the parties/coalitions that secure the two largest blocks of seats.

Continue reading ‘19th Constitutional Amendment to be Reviewed and Amended to Further Strengthen Parliament’ »

By Dasun Edirisinghe

UPFA constituent parties yesterday said that they were ready to continue their struggle with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as their leader even as a new political force if the SLFP opted out of the alliance.

Addressing the media at Abhayaramaya temple in Narahenpita, former Minister Wimal Weerawansa said President Maithripala Sirisena’s underhand acts in the run-up to the election was reason for the defeat of his own alliance.

The NFF leader said that they would function as the Opposition in Parliament though several UPFA MPs were likely to accept ministerial portfolios in the UNP led government.

Actually, it would not be a national government as all the parties represented in Parliament would not be part of it, Weerawansa said.

Continue reading ‘UPFA Constituent Parties will Function as Opposition along with Mahinda Even if the SLFP Pulls out of Alliance’ »

by

Chaminda Perera

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry yesterday questioned former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa over a series of allegations.

He was questioned for six hours. Rajapaksa arrived at the BMICH premises, where the Commission is housed, with two security personnel.

The former Defence Secretary, when asked by journalists about the charges against him, said it was a trivial matter.

Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has faced an array of charges related to abuse of power and state resources while holding the office as Defence Secretary, Presidential Commission of Inquiry sources said yesterday.

Continue reading ‘Ex-Def Secy Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Questioned by Presidential Commission of Inquiry for Six hours Over Alleged abuse of Power and Misuse of State Resources.’ »