Archive for March, 2008
from the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo
Easter is the Christian festival that celebrates the Raising of Christ after His death. This historic event known as the Resurrection, declares the defeat of all evil forces of greed, violence and destruction that culminated in the death of Christ, and proclaims a higher plane of life in which there is liberation from these evil tendencies.
Consequently the celebration of Easter in our beloved Sri Lanka today, ravaged, and torn apart by the ruthless greed and violent machinations of evil persons, brings us hope. Because Christ has been raised from the dead, all that degrades, dehumanises and destroys the dignity of human life around us will not last. And because Christ has been raised from the dead, a new more abundant life of peace, justice and integration is available for all. But for this to happen we are called to renounce evil in its many forms and affirm life in its highest God intended form. Renunciation and affirmation are more than words; they comprise a life style that strives in rhythm to create and sustain an alternative pro-life socio-political culture.
So, Easter is an invitation to renounce lawlessness and affirm order,
renounce killings and affirm life,
renounce poverty and affirm justice,
renounce violence and affirm dialogue,
renounce hypocrisy and affirm integrity,
renounce communalism and affirm pluralism,
renounce authoritarianism and affirm dissent,
renounce intimidation and affirm growth,
renounce ridicule and affirm respect,
renounce false propaganda and affirm truth,
renounce arrogance and affirm humility,
renounce terrorism and affirm freedom,
renounce accumulation and affirm distribution,
renounce exploitation and affirm empowerment,
renounce corruption and affirm transparency.
renounce selfishness and affirm sharing,
renounce revenge and affirm forgiveness,
May this Easter hope remind us that the triumph of evil is at the most only temporary.
May this Easter courage reveal to us all that all who deceive, manipulate and terrorise the people and exploit the poor, will not prevail
May this Easter integrity teach us all that the truth will one day set us free,
May this Easter love transform us one and all to embrace our enemies and convert them into brothers and sisters through repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation.
And may this Easter faith lead us all from death to life and darkness to light.
With Easter Greetings, Peace and Blessings to all our people,
The Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera
Bishop of Colombo
Easter 2008
March 22nd, 2008
The overwhelming success of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), a breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), in the 10 March local government elections in the eastern Batticaloa District has prompted the group, backed by the Sri Lankan government, to seek additional victories at provincial level.
Sivasuntharai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, the TMVP leader
The TMVP won majorities in all nine areas up for election and secured 76 of the 101 seats on offer with its coalition partner, the United People’s Freedom Alliance, which holds power in parliament.
“These are very small councils, the power is very small,” Azad Moulana, the party spokesperson said. “This is the first step; we can do more in the provincial councils.”
Two days after the election, the government announced that elections for the Eastern Provincial Council, which includes the districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Amapara in eastern Sri Lanka, would be held on 10 May.
“It [the 10 March election] demonstrated the shape of events to come … the success of the election has paved the way for provincial council elections in May,” Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said.
The poll was held 10 months after the Sri Lankan government gained control of all areas formerly held by the LTTE in Batticaloa District, including Ichchanthivu, an interior village west of the town.
The legitimacy of the election, however, has been disputed, with two of the largest opposition parties, the United National Party (UNP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) boycotting it.
Their absence paved the way for the TMVP landslide. The TMVP has been accused by the UN and other agencies of child recruitment, abductions and other violations.
Election monitors, the People’s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL), stated that despite no violence nor incidents of rigging being reported on polling day, there was a lot of pressure on candidates opposed to the TMVP to not stand.
[Women wade through pools of water to reach the polling station in Ichchanthivu recently-Photo: Amantha Perera/IRIN]
“The entire course of the election, from the time of its announcement, was free of overt violence,” it said in its interim report on the poll. “However, during this period PAFFREL received several reports of intimidation of candidates, which is not acceptable in a democratic process.”
Safety fears
The TMVP, a formerly outright militant group, remains heavily armed, although it has ostensibly entered mainstream politics. On the eve of the election, IRIN witnessed at least a dozen young men bearing T56 machine guns inside the TMVP compound on Lake Drive in Batticaloa town.
“We will disarm once we enter democratic politics,” Sivasuntharai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, the head of the TMVP, said soon after casting his vote.
The presence of armed TMVP cadres proved unnerving to most civilians, despite the peaceful ballot. “We want reassurances that we will not be harmed, that we can live in peace,” said Vellappaddi Sellamma, 56, from Ichchanthivu village in Batticaloa district, 300km from Colombo, the capital. “We want our children to live without fear.”
Sellamma could not remember the last time she cast a vote to elect a public official and like many others was excited to exercise her newly gained franchise. It was the first time in 14 years that she or neighbours had the opportunity to cast their votes.
But even given their enthusiasm for the voting process, few held high hopes that the elected officials would bring much change. “They will not do much …all this will be quickly forgotten,” Irasamani Thangaraja from the same village said. “We don’t want to hope and be disappointed.”
But the government thinks otherwise. Soon after the election, it hailed the vote as an endorsement of its policies in the east.
“They [Batticaloa voters] have shown the world that they want to defeat separatism,” government media minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told the media in Colombo on 11 March. “The government has commenced a giant development drive in the east. Under the Eastern Resurgence Programme, schools, roads, bridges, hospitals and all other facilities will be provided.”
After more than two decades of fighting between government forces and the Tigers, the district has suffered immensely, especially areas such as Ichchanthivu that were under LTTE rule for about 12 years until the Tamil Tigers were swept out by government security forces.
Between 2007 and 2008, some 100,000 people who were displaced have been resettled in the district, according to the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief Services, Rishad Badiudeen, while another 18,000 will be resettled shortly.
Related: Sri Lanka’s Wild East Plans First Vote in Over 10 Years [NY Times]
March 21st, 2008
Flash floods displace thousands in war-torn area
More than 50,000 people have been hit by flooding in northwestern Mannar District in Sri Lanka since 12 March, the government said. The area has witnessed intense clashes between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the last six months, restricting access to relief agencies.
Flooding caused by torrential rains has affected 173,909 people in nine districts of the country, including 120,000 in the eastern Batticaloa District, and left five dead, the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC) said on 19 March.
“Floods have caused immense damage to affected areas, interrupting all economic and social activities,” the NDRSC stated in a situation report. “It is also reported that there is tremendous damage to infrastructure facilities in the areas [of Mannar]. About 14,010 families or 54,323 people have been affected.”
The report also stated that 40 houses had been destroyed and 155 damaged in the eight districts. The NDRSC said the government had allocated three million rupees (US$27,000) as emergency funds for affected districts and Rs2 million ($18,000) for Mannar District.
Crops damaged
Initial assessment reports by the NDRSC said damage to crops could be high as the rains came just before the harvesting season.
“There are 12,000 acres of paddy land that were to be harvested when the floods hit,” A Nicholaspillai, the government agent for Mannar, told IRIN. “We still don’t have exact figures, but damage to the harvest is something we will have to deal with.”
Nicholaspillai also said seed would have to be provided to farmers for the upcoming season.
Officials of the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) said there were indications of damage to crops in at least one other southern district. “The initial reports we have indicate that there have been significant crop losses in the southern district of Badulla,” Merik Peiris, executive director, communications and humanitarian values at the SLRC, told IRIN.
Government officials in Mannar told IRIN they had began distributing relief items and were awaiting assessment reports to decide on additional assistance. “We started distributing meals almost as soon as the first displacements were reported over the weekend,” Nicholaspillai told IRIN. “We have made initial plans to continue the distribution for three days at least.”
Restricted access
Increasing clashes between government forces and the LTTE along the line of control in Mannar District and other security concerns had already restricted access to the district before the latest flooding.
“Since 4 February, access has been restricted to vehicles north of Madawachchiya checkpoint, creating additional challenges for civilian travel across Mannar District,” the Inter-Agency Standing Committee stated in a situation report released on 15 March.
However, Peiris said the SLRC did not foresee the security restrictions limiting the relief effort in Mannar. “We already have a network there and plan to work through government agencies.”
He added that while the immediate needs of the victims, such as cooked food and clothes, would be provided, SLRC would need additional assistance, such as non-food items, as the flood waters receded and the displaced began returning home.
“There will be lot of demand for dry rations and baby food after they return home,” he said. “We also will have to look at health concerns and loss of livelihoods.”
March 21st, 2008
by Nirgunan Tiruchelvam
Sri Lanka’s encounter with the West Indies is that of a rejected lover. For years, Sri Lankan fans have venerated the West Indian legends ranging from Constantine to Lara. In the pre-test years, cameo appearances in Ceylon by the West Indies were an integral part of the folklore. Old-timers such as Berty Wijesinghe spoke in superlatives when describing the six that Sir Frank Worrell hit out of the Colombo Oval during his monumental 285 in 1951. When Sir Gary Sobers was coaxed into coaching Sri Lanka in the early days of test cricket, his arrival was treated as though it was the second arrival of the messiah.
Sadly, the West Indies has treated Sri Lanka with arrogant disdain. In the 26 years of Test cricket, Sri Lanka has played only four Tests in the West Indies. In the same period, New Zealand a team that has consistenty ranked below Sri Lanka in the ICC rankings has played eight tests there. The West Indies have lost five tests in a row in Sri Lanka and can hardly afford such condescension. To add insult to injury, the West Indian board even took the hostile step of withdrawing from the 1996 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka on flimsy security considerations, possibly to curry favour with the Australian board.
Travesty
The two visits that Sri Lanka has made to the Caribbean have been low-key affairs, where Sri Lanka was treated shabbily and subjected to the misnomer of a two-Test series. On both occassions, Sri Lanka were the guinea pigs on debut venues? St. Vincent in 1997 and St. Lucia in 2003. Both these islands are specks in the Atlantic Ocean , with pathetic cricket facilities.
It is a travesty that the World Cup runner-up that has the world?s highest ranked batsman (Sangakkara) and bowler (Muralitharan) has been given just two tests. Perhaps, the attitute of the West Indian board stems from a post-colonial complex, where teams such as New Zealand , South Africa and England are higher in their pecking order.
The callous approach of the Windies board is in contrast to the popularity that the Sri Lankan team enjoys thoughout the islands. With the early exit of the home team in the 07 World Cup, Sri Lanka were without doubt the favored team. Apart from Jayasuriya’s cavalier hitting, Lasith Malinga’s freakish action and his unique feat of four wickets in four balls placed Sri Lanka on a pedestal in the Carribbean.
Aussie Debacle
This series will take place with Sri Lanka struggling to shrug off the indignities of the Australian tour. Mahela Jayawardene, who presided over one of the country’s worst ODI forays in recent years, will be anxious to bury the past. The scoreline of 2 wins, 5 losses and an abandoned game does not do justice to the meek manner in which the batsmen performed. At times, the batting was a throwback to the country’s dark days as a minnow.
Sanath Jayasuriya, the patron saint of opening, failed repeatedly. The rest of the batting, except the ruling duo of Jayawardene and Sangakkara, was inept. The worst offender was Chamara Silva, a dynamic middle-order batsmen who starred in 2007 World Cup campaign. Silva failed to reach fifty in the tournament. While the bowling delivered, the fielding was timid and at times embarassing.
Murali looms Large
But the Test tour of West Indies is not only in another continent, but also the cricket will be far removed from ODIs in Australia. As is the custom, the exalted Muttiah Muralitharan will loom large over his opponents.With 70 wickets against the West Indies at an awesome average of 17 a piece, the home side will fear Murali. They will face him without his nemesis Brian Lara for the first time in the West Indies. Ominously, the matches will be played in Georgetown and Port-of-Spain, venues where test cricket’s highest wicket-taker had robust success in the World Cup.
Muralitharan will be touring the Windies as a geriatric in a youthful side. Mentally and tactically, he is as good a bowler as he has ever been. However, at almost 36 his shoulder is faltering. For the first time in his career, his famed accuracy seems to be deserting him when under pressure. This was apparent in the Australian test series, when he had meagre returns of 4 for 400. Nonetheless, the brittle West Indian batting should be wary of underestimating Murali. None of them have scored centuries against him. Murali will be heartened by the naming of left-armer Rangana Herath as his spin partner. The tiny Herath has a proud record of 555 first-class wickets, which places him head and shoulders above other Sri Lankan spin aspirants.
Injuries to Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando deprieves Sri Lanka of their fastest and most penetrative seamers. However, the reserve strength of Ishara Amerasinghe and Thilan Thurshara Mirando are more than capable of aiding Vaas. Both Amerasinghe and Mirando have a long record of success in domestic cricket and will be anxious to reverse frustration of being neglected.
Gayle’s Inept Leadership
Happily for Sri Lanka, captaincy is one of the many causes for turmoil in the host’s cricket. In the past few seasons, the West Indian administrators have conjured a merry-go-round of the captaincy between Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Gayle and Bravo. Gayle has been named as captain for this series, but he is as indisciplined a captain as he is an attacking batsmen. There are dark rumours of his unpopularity, which may worsen with reports that he will prefer to skip the Australian tour in favour of the IPL.
The feeble West Indian bowlers will find it hard to contain the Sangakkara-Jayawardene duo. The senior pair have outstanding shot selection and reserves of patience. Their form will determine the team’s fate. Above all, they should be aware that nothing short of a series win will erase the humiliation of a two test tour.
Courtesy: Dilmah Cricket Network
March 20th, 2008
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The saying “Always the bride’smaid never the bride” applied appropriately to Anura Priyadarshi Solomon Dias Bandaranaike who passed away on Sunday March 16th at the age of fifty – nine.
Anura as he was popularly known, was always the “Crown Prince” waiting to be crowned. But coronation never came and now he has departed uncrowned as the prince who never became King.
Greatness,was of three types, said the Bard of Avon. Some are “born great” and some “achieve greatness” while there are also some who have “greatness thrust upon” them.
Degrees of greatness
Anura Bandaranaike was an embodiment in different degrees of this greatness as defined by Shakespeare.
He was born great as the only son of Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike and Sirima Ratwatte – hailing from aristocratic Low – Country and Kandyan Sinhala families – who were both prime ministers of this country.
[SWRD Bandaranaike with his children]
Birth enabled Anura to have greatness thrust upon himself to some extent.
Being elected as a twenty – eight year old member of Parliament in an unfamiliar electorate on his maiden effort was more due to his family background rather than his merits.
So too was the leader of the opposition post at the age of thirty – four.
He also achieved limited greatness. He was both cabinet minister and speaker. He was also in Parliament continuously from 1977 till his death.
Yet he never realised his full potential as a political leader or attained his ambition to be premier and/or President.
While his sisters were left of centre in their political beliefs Anura was firmly to the right.
In terms of ideology and political outlook Anura was closer to Junius Richard Jayewardena than many of his party colleagues.
Chip off the old block
He was class conscious and was for class solidarity cutting across party lines.Anura engaged in talks with JR about an anti – left alliance in the seventies.
When a by – election to Kalawewa was held in 1974, JR announced that the United National Party would not field a candidate if Anura was the SLFP choice. This did not happen as Anura was not the SLFP candidate then.
Pedigree played a crucial part in Anura being an MP, opposition leader, speaker and cabinet minister etc at different times. Yet in his own right Anura Bandaranaike was an impressive orator in both Sinhala and English. He extensively researched facts before his Parliamentary speeches.
His address on the occasion of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s visit was a splendid effort. It was pehaps the best indication of Anura being a chip of the old block as his father had been dubbed “silver – tongued orator”.
Above all, Anura was a decent human being ! A gentleman-gentle and genteel-in the old fashioned way. In that sense he was a misfit in today’s hurly-burly world of cut-throat politics.
Anura had two characteristics that were rarities or oddities among most politicians. He was not corrupt and he was not vindictive.
But he was snooty and a “snob”. Due to this snobbishness Anura always looked down upon his brother in law Vijaya Kumaratunga .
[Vijaya & Chandrika Kumaratunga]
Anura Bandaranaike was to the Manor (or Walauwe) born and the tragedy of his life was that he was always conscious of it. He thought that being a Bandaranaike entitled him to the highest offices of the land. That was not to be.
Birthright
Many persons would have been delighted to have gained at least a part of what Anura Bandaranaike had had in terms of political office. But the man had set his sights on something he thought was his birthright.
Being born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth Anura expected everything would be delivered to him on a platter. This never happened and so he was disillusioned and disappointed .
He was the grandson of Maha Mudaliar Bandaranaike and Ratwatte Disawe. The marriage of his father and mother was hailed then as a political union between two prestigious Low Country and Up Country Sinhala families.
The wedding was the beginning of a new political dynasty. With Anura’s demise that dynasty has come to an end.
What a political dynasty that was!
In sixty years of independence there has always been a Bandaranaike in the legislature (Parliament or Senate ) except for 10 months from Sep 1959 to July 1960.Members of the family have been Prime Ministers for 21 years; President for 11 years; leaders of the opposition for 14 years;
Anura was born on Feb 15th 1949. Being the youngest he was the family pet. Unlike his father who studied at St. Thomas’College, Anura went to Royal College and then to University in London where he read for a BA degree.
‘Family-based political succession’
Upon his return to Sri Lanka in 1974 Anura plunged with zest into the family “Vocation” of politics. He was placed in charge of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s youth wing.Anura was then the heir apparent to the crown of party and national leadership.
It was expected that he would have his tryst with destiny in due course. But fate had decreed otherwise.
The phenomenon of “family based political succession” in South Asia began not with the Bandaranaikes but the Senanayakes when Dudley Shelton succeeded his father Don Stephen Senanayake as Prime minister in 1951.
Then came the Bandaranaikes’ turn when the widowed Sirima became Prime minister in July 1960. SWRD was assassinated in 1959.
India’s Jawarhalal Nehru who was prime minister for 17 years died in 1964. His daughter Indira Gandhi became premier in 1966.
The Nehrus and Bandaranaikes were regarded as close both politically and personally.
There is a famous photograph of both families where Nehru, Bandaranaike, Indira and Sirima are seen with their children Rajiv, Sanjay, Sunethra, Chandrika and Anura.There is an interesting story about this.
When the picture was taken only Nehru and Bandaranaike were premiers. But soon Sirima and then Indira also became Prime ministers. Who of the children would become prime minister first? was the question.
The elder Rajiv became a pilot and married Sonia from Italy. He did not evince any interest in a political career. It was the younger Sanjay who got engrossed in politics with his wife Maneka.
But Sanjay died in a plane crash soon after he became an MP in 1980. A reluctant Rajiv was forced to fill in as MP and then after his mother’s assassination in 1984 became Prime Minister.
Chandrika’s entry
As for the Bandaranaike siblings both Sunethra and Chandrika were elder to Anura and were in the political limelight to an extent.
Sunethra who played an important role in the Socialist Study circle was co-ordinating secretary to her mother when she was PM. Chandrika after a stint at Sorbonne was director at the Land Reforms Commission.
Yet it was the younger brother Anura who became an MP first in 1977 when he was just 28 years old. Six years later he became Leader of the opposition at 34.
Since his father was leader of the opposition from 1952 till he became Premier in 1956, Anura also was expected to be PM in the same manner. Indeed he may very well have been PM if his mother had won in 1988 and become President.
But that was not to be.
Anura’s sister Chandrika had broken off from the SLFP with her husband Vijaya Kumaratunga and formed a new party the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya(SLMP). After her husband was assassinated by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in 1988 Chandrika left for London in a state of self – exile.
Chandrika however returned and re – joined the SLFP. This led to tensions between Anura and Chandrika and also between Mother and son. Accusing his mother of favouring the daughter the son walked out of the party and joined the arch – rival UNP.
When the SLFP now heading the Peoples Alliance came to power in 1994 it was Chandrika who became Prime minister in August. In November she contested the Presidency and won in a landslide. Sirima was made Prime minister.
The Bandaranaikes who made history as the first husband – wife prime ministerial duo had made history again as the first father – mother – daughter premier trio and also as the first daughter President – Mother premier combination. Anura with his record – creating ambition was out in the cold.
Rebel
When Anura first contested elections in 1977 he did not do so in Gampaha district where the Bandaranaike family had much political clout. Instead he went to the Central province and contested in the three – member constituency of Maskeliya -Nuwara Eliya.
It was only a few months before elections in Sri Lanka that parliamentary polls were held in India. Angered by the excesses of emergency rule the Indian voters delivered a resounding blow to the Congress which had been in power for 30 years since Independence.
Both Indira Gandhi in Rae Bareilly and Sanjay Gandhi in Amethi lost. The UNP notably JR Jayewardena and Ranasinghe Premadasa sought for a parallel in SWri Lanka.
Just as the cow(Indira) and calf (Sanjay)lost in India the Cow (Sirima) and calf (Anura) will lose their seats here also, thundered the UNP. The SLFP suffered a disastrous defeat in 1977 winning only eight to the UNP”s 141 in a Parliament of 168. But both Sirima and Anura won.
The SLFP suffered a temporary split in the opposition when Anura along with people like Maitripala Senanayake and Haleem Ishak rebelled against Mrs. Bandaranaike’s leadership. President Jayewardena tried to widen the intra – SLFP chasm further. The crisis was ultimately resolved.
In 1983 the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) lost their seats as they refused to take oaths disavowing separatism under the sixth amendment to the Constitution. Mrs. Bandaranaike had been deprived of her civic rights in 1980 and was out of Parliament.
So Anura became leader of the opposition. He succeeded Appapillai Amirthalingam. Perinbanayagam was the opposition leader’s secretary. When Perinbanayagam appealed to Anura that he be retained as secretary to Bandaranaike also the SLFP leader consented despite the political differences. That was Anura the magnanimous.
In 1988 Anura, Kumar Ponnambalam and Dinesh Gunewardena went up to Vavuniya to meet with former tiger political commissar Naren alias Yogi. But that trek came to naught as the tigers refused to play ball.
Rapprochement
It was in the early nineties of the 20th century that Chandrika returned to SLFP folds again. Mrs. Bandaranaike felt that Chandrika was better equipped to lead the SLFP to victory and favoured her .
Anura resented this and instead of resisting such attempts within the party , crossed over to the UNP in 1993
He became minister of higher education and national reconciliation under Dingiri Banda Wijetunge. In 1994 the UNP was out of office after 17 years. Anura was in the opposition again.
Mrs. Bandaranaike’s declining health and consequent death saw an end to sibling enmity.There was rapprochement among both the sisters and brother. After the 2000 October election Anura was elected unanmiously as speaker in Parliament.
As Speaker Anura distinguished himself by upholding the independence and supremacy of the Legislature during a difficult period.
Anura later broke ranks with the UNP and re – joined the SLFP in 2001. The UNP came to pwer but once again Anura was in the opposition.
It was finally in 2004 that Anura came to be on the winning side. He was instrumental in forging an alliance with the JVP.Anura was made Investment Promotion, Enterprise Development and Industries minister.. He became Foreign Affairs minister after Lakshman Kadirgamar’s death.
Mahinda connection
When SWRD Bandaranaike crossed over from the UNP it was President Mahinda Rajapakse’s father who followed him in the house. Thereafter he remained a loyal deputy to the Bandaranaikes.
In 1970 Mahinda entered Parliament as its youngest MP. Though Anura was not an MP , Mahinda used to play second fiddle to him then.
In fact Mahinda and some of his siblings refer to Anura as “lokka”. It was both a term of respect and endearment.
Fluctuating political fortunes saw Mahinda’s stock rise and Anura’s fall. It was Mahinda who became PM in 2004 and also Presidential candidate in 2005 after Chandrika.
Anura was to be a running mate of sorts. He would be Prime Minister if Rajapakse was elected President.
But then Anura was always star – crossed.
He did not cooperate in the presidential campaign as he ought to have. Thus when Rajapakse won due to the tiger enforced boycott , Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was made PM instead of Anura.
Anura was made Tourism minister and later “demoted” to national heritage minister.
A disgruntled Bandaranaike revolted twice.
First with Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathy Sooriaraachi. Within two weeks he was back with Mahinda.
The second was on Budget voting day when he crossed over rashly to the opposition. Realising that he had been taken for a ride Anura walked out of Parliament.
Once again he mended fences with Rajapakse but restoration of ministerial portfolio was delayed due to his deteriorating health.
And then came the final farewell.
Time and tide waits for no man, they say.
Atrocious timing
In the case of Anura his sense of political timing was atrocious. He frequently made the wrong move at the wrong time and so was always in the wrong place.
He regularly missed the” tide in the affairs of men”.
In that sense he was a tragic figure.
For all his follies and faults and foibles few could be “angry” with him or nurse grudges against him. Neither could he be “angry” for long with others. This personality trait was his greatest asset.
He may not have been very lovable but like Billy Bunter of Greyfriars, was not entirely unlikeable either.
With Rajapakse becoming President the spotlight shifted from Horagolla to Medamulana.
With Anura’s death the era of the Bandaranaike dynasty is over. A new dynasty is emerging.
DBS Jeyaraj can be contacted on: djeyaraj@federalidea.com
March 18th, 2008
A Statement by the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo
Recent news reports about the continuing harassment and arrests of media persons are both disturbing and frustrating. Today the focus of the whole Nation is on the brazen and systematic violence against several Rupavahini media persons, and the recent arrest and indefinite detention without access to lawyers of a group of journalists associated with a news web site and printing press.
These media persons and their families, friends and colleagues feel utterly helpless and vulnerable and have no one to turn to for justice. The values of a democratic system that should spontaneously protect them and uphold their rights as citizens of this country, have sadly eroded; and all other democratic institutions including the Opposition seem hopelessly incapable of correcting this very dangerous trend. In reality these persons are thrust at the very mercy of an unyielding and insensitive political culture in their search for protection and rights.
The current trend of attacks against the Rupavahini staff in the absence of any arrests of the perpetrators is an indictment against the entire police force. The IGP must explain why the quality of intelligence leading to prompt arrests and investigations of those considered enemies of the State, is so clearly lacking in instances when certain media personnel are harassed and attacked by supposedly small time criminals. This disparity in the seriousness of the State law enforcement and protection mechanisms raises questions of professional bias and political obstruction and is totally unacceptable.
All peace-loving citizens of this country welcome security measures taken by the Government to investigate and prevent acts of violence perpetrated by the LTTE. However these measures will be most effective if they also counter the violence caused by other groups and individuals. Most importantly these measures should concurrently ensure the safety, dignity and rights of individuals even when they are politically critical of the Government or when arrested on alleged suspicion of terrorist involvement. This is the hallmark of good governance and sound democracy that the Government of Sri Lanka must uphold and work towards.
Consequently all those media persons arrested on suspicion of terrorist involvement and their families must know why they have been taken in. They must also have immediate access to their lawyers and the assurance of a fair judicial investigation. If found guilty, these persons must face the consequences under the law. If innocent, they must be exonerated.
However late in the day these serious lapses can still be rectified and I call upon the Minister of Justice and the IGP to discharge their responsibilities without fear or favour and in fairness to all. In doing so you will be safeguarding what is today perhaps the most valuable democratic institution of a modern State and you will undoubtedly have the backing of the people. May God give you the wisdom to discern and the strength to act.
With Peace and Blessings
The Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera
Bishop of Colombo
17th March 2008
March 17th, 2008
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Fifty-one year old Kiddinan Sivanesan was the latest in the long line of Tamil Parliamentarians and ex – Parliamentarians to suffer death through assassination. Sivanesan, a former co – operative society store manager and trade unionist, was returning home to Mallavi after attending Parliament when a claymore mine exploded . Both theTamil National Alliance MP and his vehicle driver were killed.
It is widely believed that Sivanesan was killed by an assassination squad of the armed forces known as the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) . Defenders of the state have stoutly denied the charge.
The Rajapakse regime, waging war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has a policy of using terror tactics to counter tiger terror.
[T. Sivanesan MP]
It is believed that the Sivanesan killing was in return for the killing of Puttalam district MP and minister DM Dassanayake.
The idea was to target a pro – LTTE Tamil MP in the tiger heartland. Sivanesan though from Karaveddy in the Jaffna peninsula had been living with his wife and children in Mallavi within LTTE controlled territory.
The objective was not merely to kill a Tamil National Alliance MP but to strike deep inside tiger territory. It would be much easier to kill a TNA parliamentarian in Colombo or the South.
But the goal was to do so inside LTTE territory. By doing so a valid point has been proven.
The LRRP has demonstrated that it is capable of striking deep inside LTTE areas; it has been shown that if the LTTE kills government ministers or MP’s outside the Wanni the LRRP will kill TNA parliamentarians inside the Wanni.
Earlier LTTE political commissar Suppiah Paramu Thamilselvan used to dismiss charges about the tigers killing persons in Government controlled areas with the frivolous argument that the Govt has to take responsibility for killings in their areas.
Now the same thing can be said of the LTTE that the tigers have to take responsibility for killings done in their territory.
The funeral held in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) controlled region of the Northern mainland known as Wanni was attended by fifteen TNA Parliamentarians. A grand funeral ceremony was held.
Paying homage
LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakharan who sustained minor injuries in a bombing incident at the Kilinochchi suburb of Jeyanthinagar on Nov 28th 2007 made a rare appearance paying his respects.
The tigers also held a number of meetings at different places to pay homage to Sivanesan.
The LTTE and supporters/propagandists have also utilised the killing to engage in anti – government propaganda as well as whip up emotions among the Tamil Diaspora. Many memorial meetings were held in diverse international locations.
Tiger media organs are continuing to give much prominence to the killing of Sivanesan. The tigers are trying very hard to create mass frenzy among Tamil expatriates over the killing.
Pro – LTTE groups are also lobbying intensively by citing the killing as one more brownie point in support of the argument that separation is necessary.
The LTTE honours its dead cadres as “Maaveerar” or great heroes. Non – combatant supporters are awarded two types of post – humous honours.
The lesser honour is “Naatrupatraalar” or patriot. The greater honour is “Maamanithar” or great person. Sivanesan was given “Maamanithar” status by the tiger supremo.
Prabhakaran’s statement
Here are some excerpts from Prabakharan’s statement about Sivanesan:
“He is a sincere politician who possessed high ideals. He laboured tirelessly for the advancement and welfare of the workers”.
“He yearned for a free and honourable life for the Tamil people in their land without the torments that have afflicted them”.
“He took up the responsibility of representing the people of Jaffna and roamed the world seeking justice for the Tamils”.
“He raised awareness among our people and gathered their support”.
“He exposed the atrocities of the Sinhala state and it’s occupying military to the world”.
“He was courageous even in the midst of repeated harassments and threats of the Sinhala military”.
“His service for the liberation of Tamil Eelam through his hard work and exemplary skills are immeasurable”.
All the above lines refer to Sivanesan but strange as it may seem , they are more applicable to another Tamil political leader who was brutally assassinated more than eighteen years ago.
He was none other than Appapillai Amirthalingam the former secretary – general of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and ex – leader of the opposition.
Indeed Amirthalingam was a man who ” yearned for a free and honorable life for the Tamil people in their land without the torments that have afflicted them” and in his time ” roamed the world seeking justice for the Tamils” and in his own way “exposed the atrocities of the Sinhala state and it’s occupying military to the world”.
Tiger acolyte
More importantly when Amirthalingam made a statement or levelled a charge it carried weight and credibility.It was taken seriously at international levels. His complaints could not be dismissed lightly as tiger propaganda.
This was not the case with Sivanesan a tiger acolyte whose “propaganda” was limited mainly to pro tiger Tamil media .
Against this backdrop the” Sinhala – dominated ” Sri Lankan state had more to fear from a man like Amirthalingam than a man like Sivanesan. But who killed Amirthalingam?
It was not the “Sinhala” state but the self – styled saviours of the Sri Lankan Tamil people. It was the tigers who murdered Amirthalingam in cold blood!
When news of Amirthalingam’s death was conveyed to then opposition leader Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike her immediate reaction was “Who did it?”.
On being told it was the LTTE she spontaneously exclaimed” Thank God , No Sinhalese did it”!
The point behind invoking the Amirthalingam assassination in this context is to illustrate three related points.
Hypocrisy
Firstly the so called “Sinhala” state or government is not the only agency killing Tamil MP’s or ex – MP’s. This has been going on for a long time and Sivanesan was not the first Tamil Parliamentarian victim.
Secondly more Tamil Parliamentarians have been killed by Tamil and not Sinhala assassins . Even in the case of Sivanesan there is reason to believe that the actual LRRP perpetrators were Tamil operatives.
Of course the state bears a moral responsibility in killings done by paramilitary “dogs of war”. Yet the fact remains that Tamil hands have shed more Tamil “parliamentarian” blood than Sinhala hands.
Thirdly many Tamil groups and organizations were involved at various stages and levels in this bloodshed. Yet the LTTE is responsible for killing more Tamil MP’s ex – MP’s and other major Tamil political leaders than any other Tamil organization.
In fact this pattern of assassinating Tamil political leaders was pioneered and developed by the very same LTTE that is hypocritically mourning and condemning Sivanesan’s killing now.
January 1st of this year saw the Colombo district MP from the United National party (UNP) Thiagarajah Maheswaran being killed on the premises of Shree Ponnambalavaneswarar Sivan temple in Kotahena.
Maheswaran was about to return home after worshipping when he was shot dead.
The first assassination
However when the on going saga of Tamil political assassinations first began on July 25th 1975 it was a man on his way to worship at the Varadarajapperumaal Vishu temple at Ponnalai who was shot outside the kovil.
This was Jaffna Mayor Alfred Durayappa who though a christian by birth became a sort of theosophist in later life and used to worship at Hindu temples also.
Durayappa was the independent MP for Jaffna in 1960 March and July. He contested as an SLFP backed independent in 1970 and lost by a tiny margin of 56 to CX Martyn of the Federal party.
Durayappa was the uncrowned king of Jaffna municipal politics and had been Mayor many times or installed his supporters as Mayor.
He disavowed communal politics and steered clear of both the FP and Tamil Congress. These parties called Durayappa a “thurogi” or traitor.
The killing of Durayappa was the first time a Tamil ex – MP or Mayor was assassinated. Seven Tamil youths were charged in courts and later acquitted.
Prabakharan was not one among them but his name transpired during court proceedings.Later in a media interview Prabakharan was to boast of the Durayapaa assassination as his first “military operation”.
Tamil militant mood
The 1970 – 77 period saw many amateurish assassination attempts of Tamil MP’s supportive of Mrs. Bandaranaike’s government. But none of them were successful.
It was the Tamil ultra – nationalist poet Kathamuthu Sivananthan known as Kasi. Ananthan who articulated the Tamil militant mood by declaring publicly “The six traitors who voted for the republican Constitution of 1972 must not have natural deaths”.
The six Tamil MP’s referred to by Kasi Ananthan were C. Arulambalam, A. Thiyagarajah,CX Martyn, C. Kumarasuriar, MC Subramaniam and Rajan Selvanayagam.
The 1977 elections saw 18 TULF members in Parliament. All of them were elected on a mandate for Tamil Eelam.
Of these was M. Canagaretnam the 2nd MP for Pottuvil who had worked in Singapore as a civilian employee of the Indian National Army of “Netaji” Subash Chandrabose.
Much was made of this Netaji connection during the TULF election campaign. But Canagaretnam crossed over to the UNP during the budget period of 1977.
In a heated atmosphere Amirthalingam burst out in parliament that a thunderbolt would fall on Canagaretnam.
On February 4th 1978 Junius Richard Jayewardena became executive president by way of the 2nd amendment to the republican constitution.
On the same day an assassination attempt was made on Canagaretnam in Colombo. He survived but his health deteriorated and died after some months. The LTTE (undivided then) was blamed.
LTTE split
The 1981 elections to the District Development Councils (DDC) saw former Karainagar Hindu College principal Dr. A. Thiayagarajah contesting on the UNP ticket.
He was the Vaddukkoddai MP elected on the Tamil Congress ticket in 1970 who later crossed over to government ranks.
Thiyagarajah was killed at Moolai while addressing an election meeting. The Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) was responsible.
The LTTE had split and a strong tiger contingent had come together as the PLOTE under Umamaheswaran. The PLOTE wanted to disrupt the DDC polls.
The July 1983 anti – Tamil pogrom saw the political situation transformed. The 6th amendment to the Constutution saw secessionism being disavowed. This resulted in many TULF Parliamentarians going abroad.
Among those who remained in Sri Lanka were former MP’s for Manipay, Point Pedro,Udupiddy and Kopay messrs. V. Dharmalingam, K. Thurairatnam. S. Rasalingam and M. Aalaalasundaram in Jaffna and Mannar MP P. Soosaidasan and Vaddukkoddai MP Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam in Colombo.
The India sponsored talks between the Government and Tamil representatives were held at the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu in 1985. The talks broke down.
Subsequently there was some disagreement among Tamil representatives with the TULF supported by PLOTE taking up one stance and the rest another.
Double killing
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) led by Sri Sabaratnam wanted to “teach” a lesson to the TULF. The TELO decided to target the affable, left – leaning Dharmalingam.
“Dharmar” was not only TULF but also the father of current PLOTE chief Siddharthan who was then the PLOTE representative at Thimphu talks
In order to avoid suspicion the TELO also decided to “Dump” ( euphemism for kill) Aalaalasundaram. “Aalaal” as he was called, was a relative of Sri Sabaratnam and regarded as being close to the TELO.
Therefore if Aalaal was killed along with Dharmar suspicion would not fall on the TELO it was believed.
So Aalaal was taken away from his house at gun point and compelled to call out to an unsuspecting Dharmar. Later both were killed.
This double killing indicated the depths to which the Tamil militant movement had sunk. Also the very same TULF that flayed their political rivals as ” treacherous weeds needing to be weeded out “was now at the receiving end of Tamil militant violence.
The Indo – Lanka accord and consequent developments resulted in the political situation transforming again. There was a sharp intra – Tamil divide causing bitter polarisation. The LTTE regarded those being supportive of India as collaborators.
The LTTE used the opportunity provided by the Ranasinghe Premadasa regime which began talks with the tigers in Colombo.The LTTE began spreading its tentacles in Colombo.
[A. Amirthalingam]
Amirthalingam assassination
The tigers identified Amirthalingam who was once again in Parliament as the pivotal force of the TULF and mainstay of Tamil moderate politics.
Initially the LTTE tried to lure Amirthalingam to the Wanni under the guise of peace talks and make him “disappear” there. But Amir would not swallow the bait.
Then the LTTE tricked the lovable but naive former Jaffna MP Vettrivelu Yogeswaran into promoting a TULF – LTTE dialogue in Colombo.
Three tiger operatives went to the TULF Bullers lane residence on July 13th 1989 and met with Amirthalingam,Yogeswaran and TULF President and ex – Nallur MP Murugesu Sivasithamparam.
After eating biscuits and drinking tea the tigers pulled out their guns and fired.
A startled Sivasithamparam rose up suddenly from his seat. The bullets aimed at the head hit the six footer in the chest. Thus the TULF president survived with injuries.
But Amir and Yoges were dead.
The bodyguards at the residence managed to shoot dead all three assassins. Visu and Aloysius were killed upstairs and Arivu downstairs.
Tragically, the bodyguards had been forced to allow the tigers inside with weapons because of a “request” made by Yogeswaran himself.
Apparently Yogeswaran had said that the tigers were feeling “insulted” by being searched and asked the security to refrain from doing so.
This was how LTTE assassins broke all cultural norms of Tamil hospitality (Virunthombal) and assassinated Amir and Yoges.
The very same LTTE is now shedding copious tears over the killing of TNA Parliamentarians.
Spate of killings
In 1990 June the LTTE struck in Madras (now Chennai). The Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) was having a meeting at Zackaria colony in Kodambakkam.
A tiger hit squad invaded and sprayed bullets. Among those killed were EPRLF leader Padmanabha, North – East provincial minister Kirubaharan and Parliamentarian Yogasangari.
Current EPRLF leader and MP Suresh Premachandran had a miraculous escape as he had left the place a few minutes earlier with another to smoke a cigarette outside.
The EPRLF had contested Parliament under the TULF umbrella in 1989. Yogasangari was elected from Jaffna district.
He was the nephew (brothers son) of present TULF president Veerasingham Aanandasangaree.
Some weeks later the LTTE struck again in Colombo. Batticaloa district MP Sam Thambimuttu and wife Kala were on their way to the Canadian High Commission to get a visa when a tiger assassin on a motor cycle fired and killed both.
Sam Tambimuttu was a long standing member of the FP and then the TULF but was now with the EPRLF. His wife Kala was the daughter of former FP senator Manickam.
Their Tamil nationalist credentials were impeccable but were perceived as traitors by the LTTE.
The next TULF MP to be killed by the LTTE was former Trincomalee district MP Arunasalam Thangathurai in 1997. He was killed while returning from a school function.
An explosive device was flung and some teachers and Govt officials were also killed.
Tiruchelvam assassination
Then Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam was assassinated on July 29th 1999 in Colombo while on his way to his office in Kynsey terrace. A suicide killer blew himself up.
Dr. Tiruchelvam had played a key role in maintaining TULF independence and also in attempting to reform the Constitution into accommodating Tamil rights.
After Dr. Tiruchelvam’s death the “soul” went out of the TULF. The bulk of what was left of the TULF, simply prostrated itself before the LTTE and accepted tiger hegemony.
Only Anandasangaree ,elected TULF president after Sivasithamparam’s demise, rebelled against tiger overlordship.. He remains virtually a solitary TULF figure “unbowed and unafraid” against the LTTE.
Another Tamil MP from the PLOTE was also killed by the LTTE during the nineties of the 20th century.
This was Shanmuganathan alias Vasanthan who was elected in 1994 from the Wanni electoral district. The vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a tiger landmine in Vavuniya.
Meanwhile the EPRLF breakaway faction led by Kathiravelu Devananda alias Douglas had formed itself into the Eelam Peoples Democratc Party (EPDP).
Using the “captive” votes of the Islands of Jaffna the EPDP with about 10,000 votes got nine seats from Jaffna distrit. The rest of the voters lived in LTTE controlled areas and were not allowed to vote by the tigers.
One of those elected on the EPDP ticket was Nadarajah Atputharajah alias Ramesh who edited the “Thinamurasu” weekly.
EPDP killing
Serious differences arose between Douglas and Ramesh with the latter gradually following a pro – tiger line in the “Thinamurasu” tabloid. Douglas found it increasingly difficult to control Ramesh.
Then Ramesh and his brother in law were shot dead at Wellawatte. With that killing Douglas re-established control over the paper.
Though the LTTE was blamed by Douglas it was widely suspected that it was an internal EPDP killing.
Ramesh’s death triggered off an exodus of EPDP Parliamentarians to foreign countries.
Today Devananda is the lone EPDP MP in Parliament.
None of those elected as MP’s from the EPDP are in the party today except for Devanandas uncle Sivathasan and Batticaloa’s Rasamanickam.
Most of the EPDP ex – Parliamentarians are abroad and many of them in their refugee claims have blamed the Ramesh killing on Douglas.
This speaks volumes about the inner democracy within the EPDP.
Another MP from the TULF was killed in the east in 2000.
Nimalanayagam Soundaranayagam was elected from Batticaloa district. He was regarded as being close to the LTTE.
He was shot dead near Kiran.Initially, most people including this writer thought the LTTE was not responsible as Nimalan was perceived as pro – tiger.
The story behind the killing came to light gradually.
The LTTE eastern regional commander of the time “Col” Karuna had asked Nimalan to smuggle in two tiger suicide killers to Parliament. This was refused.
This defiance was strongly resented by the LTTE.. Suspecting perhaps that Nimalan may leak out the matter Karuna ordered his killing.
‘Tiger Nominated Agents’
The twenty – first century saw the TULF, Tamil Congress, Sections of the TELO and EPRLF submitting to LTTE authority. The newly formed Tamil National Alliance consisted of all four entities and became a tiger lackey.
As the EPDP’s Devananda is fond of saying the TNA began to mean Tiger nominated Agents.
Surrendering to the LTTE ensured TNA safety at the hands of the tigers but made them vulnerable in another sense.
Also complicating matters was the split in the LTTE where a sizeable section of the eastern tigers revolted under the leadership of Karuna and formed the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP)
During the Parliamentary elections of 2004 the TNA candidate Rajan Sathiyamoorthy and his brother in law were shot dead by the mainstream LTTE at their home.
Sathiyamoorthy was close to Karuna who staged a grand funeral for him and buried him with honours. In the night the LTTE dug his body up and threw it elsewhere in a half – burnt state.
The tigers also forced another elected MP from Batticaloa Kingsley Rajanayagam to resign his seat. Kingsley was perceived as a Karuna loyalist.
After a while the tigers suspected that the Karuna faction would take on a political role with Rajanayagam’s help.So they assassinated him in Batticaloa.
Killing continues
Roles were reversed as the TMVP and EPDP with state backing began to adopt an aggressive approach.However the killing of Tamil Parliamentarians and ex – MP’s continued.
Former Amparai district TNA Parliamentarian Chandranehru Ariyanayagam along with LTTE political commissar for Batticaloa Kausalyan and some others was killed at Welikande on the B’caloa – Polonnaruwa border.
This was done by the Karuna faction led in the field by Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan. The Armed forces were accused of aiding and abetting the killing.
Veteran Eastern Tamil politician and TNA national list MP Joseph Pararajasingham was shot dead at the St. Mary’s Cathedral in Batticaloa.
It was on Christmas eve and Joseph and his wife Sugunam had received holy communion at the hands of B’caloa Catholic Bishop Kingsley Swampillai and were returning to their pews.
The TMVP’s Sitha alias Pradeep and another entered church and shot them.Again security force collaboration was visible.
Later Trincomalee TNA stalwart Vickneswaran was to be appointed in Pararajasingham’s place.
Vickneswaran was assassinated in his office just 24 hours before he was to be nominated. The TMVP was responsible.
Subsequently Chandranehru’s son Chandrakanth was nominated as national list MP.
Raviraj assassination
The TNA Parliamentarian from Jaffna district Nadarajah Raviraj was the next TNA victim. He was shot dead in broad daylight in Colombo just as he left home with his bodyguard.
The EPDP was implicated in this killing. The killers are suspected of having hidden in a place of worship before taking on their target. The slow “progress” of the investigation makes many suspect high level connivance in the killing.
The EPDP also struck in Jaffna when former TULF Jaffna district Parliamentarian Sivamaharajah was killed. Since Sivamaharajah was also running a newspaper his killing was seen as being a media related one.
His political background was overlooked. Incidently Sivamaharajah and Devananda share a common “caste” constituency.
The next Tamil Parliamentarian to be assassinated was the UNP’s Thiyagaraja Maheswaran . He was killed at the Sivan temple premises.
The EPDP was suspected because of business rivalry between Devananda and Maheswaran and also because the Colombo district MP had threatened to expose alleged EPDP killings in Jaffna.
Since the LTTE had tried to kill him in 2004 through an underworld killer the LTTE was also suspected.
The brazen attempt by the Police chief Victor Perera to “influence” investigations and point the finger at the tigers seems to suggest that the state – backed EPDP was responsible. A massive cover – up may be in progress.
Selective amnesia
It is against this backdrop of a very long list of Tamil Parliamentarian assassinations that the killing of Sivanesan has to be viewed. The LRRP deep penetration unit is suspected of being responsible.
If recent history is any indication this certainly will not be the last assassination as far as Tamil Parliamentarians are concerned.
Today the LTTE and its supporters are lamenting loudly about elected Tamil Parliamentarians being assassinated. True!
At the same time the LTTE is being selective in this and does not mention anything about the Tamil parliamentarians and ex – MP’s killed by the tigers theselves.
This article is confined to only the assassinations of Tamil MP’s and Tamil ex – MP’s.
Neertheless it is a fact that many Sinhala political leaders have been killed by the LTTE and the JVP.
Likewise the LTTE has killed at least one Muslim MP and a Muslim ex – MP.
The tigers have also killed a number of Tamil politicians who were not Parliamentarians or ex – Parliamentarians .
Former DDC chairmen S. Nadarajah and R. Sambandamoorthy and mayors like Sarojini Yogeswaran and Pon. Sivapalan are but a few of these
Violence continues
[John F. Kennedy, Thirty-fifth President of the United States]
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated Afro – American radical leader Malcolm X said “the chickens have come home to roost”. Yet within months Malcolm X too was assassinated.
What goes around comes around!
[Malcolm X]
When the LTTE commenced killing Tamil politicians with different views after dubbing them as traitors the moderate Tamil nationalists did not protest.
Soon the guns turned against them. The cancer infected other groups and also breakaway factions.
Surrendering to the LTTE removed one danger for Tamil Parliamentarians but rendered them vulnerable to other assassins.
The violence continues. The cream of Tamil Parliamentarians were wiped out by the LTTE. The flotsam and the jetsam are being eradicated by state – backed Tamil groups.
Tamil Parliamentarians may come and go but the violence against them continues like unceasing waves.
Many Tamils supporting the LTTE are now vociferously condemning the state and its agencies for the Sivanesan killing. Many voices are articulating their resentment and moral indignation about Tamil leaders being killed over LTTE media abroad.
Yet the same voices are also calling for the blood of those Tamils like Aanandasangaree, Devananda, Siddharthan, Sritharan etc. They are depicted as traitors and collaborators deserving death
It was only a few months ago that former TNA parliamentarian MK Eelavendan stated explicitly over the Tamil radio in Canada that “Alutholunoyali ” (rotting leper) Anandasangaree must be “Alikkappadavendum” (Destroyed).
He even quoted the “Thirukkural” in support of his devilish suggestion.
Eelaventhan has now fallen foul of the LTTE and forfeited his MP seat. But if he were still a TNA Parliamentarian I am sure he would have joined his colleagues in condemning the killing of Sivanesan as an undemocratic act without any qualms.
What is sauce for the pro – tiger goose is not so for the anti – tiger gander and vice versa.
What is required now is not selective condemnation of one or the other side but a genuine, wholesale rejection of political violence.
Tamils who thought that violence was the way to redress grievances and achieve aspirations began the armed struggle.
Today the dream has become a nightmare and the very same violence is reducing the community to a sad plight.
The assassinations of Tamil MP’s and Tamil ex – MP’s is but a microcosm of the violent destruction enveloping Tamil society.
Earlier the tigers embarked on a killing spree by targeting Tamil Parliamentarians and ex – parliamentarians dubbed as “traitors” by the LTTE. This resulted in many on – LTTE parties accepting tiger supremacy.
Now Tamil MP’s and ex – MP’s considered to be tiger acolytes are described as “terrorist supporters” and are being killed by agents and operatives of the state. Thus the unceasing killer waves continue.
Referring to the Old Testament’s Mosaic law, Mahatma Gandhi observed “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”.
This is what is happening to the Tamils now.
The cyclic violence undermines and debilitates the Tamil people.
What Tamil society needs today is freedom from the ecology of the gun and liberation from an environment of political violence.
Related: LRRP infiltration demolishes impregnable Tiger terrain myth
March 15th, 2008
by B. Raman
An official statement issued by the headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on March 11, 2008 on the high-profile visit of Lt.Gen.Sarath Fonseka, the chief of the Sri Lankan army and the architect of the successful counter-terrorism operations by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, to India in the first week of March,2008, is an indicator of the desperation of the LTTE and its bitterness against the government of India.
Its desperation arises from its loss of control of the territory administered by it in the Eastern Province during 2006 and 2007, its inability to counter effectively the successful air strikes by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) against positions held by it in the Northern Province and the steady diminition in its operational capabilities due to the successful disruption of its capability for the replenishment of its stocks of arms and ammunition and explosives by the Sri Lankan Air Force and Navy, with the co-operation of the international community, including India, in the form of timely supply of valuable intelligence.
The LTTE is not yet a failed or a failing non-state actor. It still has considerable biting capacity. It still has a large supply of well-trained and well-motivated cadres. In the Northern Province where the battle lines have shifted, it has much greater local support than it had in the Eastern Province. Its morale, capacity for innovation and determination to continue fighting are intact. But in the absence of material replenishments, its capacity for offensive operations has been eroded and it has been forced to fight a defensive battle to save the territory still under its control. Till now, it has been doing well despite the claims to the contrary by the Sri Lankan defence spokesmen.
India’s policy till now has been one of covert assistance to the Sri Lankan intelligence in improving its collection and assessment capabilities, sharing of intelligence collected by the much-better endowed Indian intelligence agencies, strengthening the defence capabilities of Sri Lanka in the matter of anti-aircraft equipment and facilitating the operations of the Sri Lankan Navy for disrupting the overseas supply channels of the LTTE.
Indian public opinion, including public opinion in Tamil Nadu, could not have objected to these measures for co-operation since they remained covert and not brazenly overt and since there was a well-defined Laxman Rekha (dividing line), which our Armed Forces and intelligence agencies were told not to cross. That Laxman Rekha related to co-operation between the two armies, which could have facilitated the Sri Lankan Army’s ground operations against the LTTE in the Northern Province.
Independent analysts and reliable sources are agreed that the Sri Lankan Army’s successes in the Eastern Province were achieved at a tremendous human cost, with large-scale violation of the human rights of the civilian population. Lt.Gen. Fonseka and Mr. Gothbaya Rajpaksa, the brother of President Mahinda Rajapksa, who is the Defence Secretary, are not models of rectitude in matters concerning respect for the human rights of the Sri Lankan Tamils. Sensing what they see as a historic victory in their fight against the LTTE, these two have been contemptuously dismissing all reports regarding the violation of the human rights of the Sri Lankan Tamils. There are some indications of Western re-thinking on their attitude to the Rajapaksa government because of its brazen dismissal of all concerns regarding the human rights situation in the Tamil areas.
Senior officers of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces have been visiting India from time to time for discussions on Indian assistance and military-military relations.
Even Gothbaya Rajapaksa has been visiting New Delhi periodically. But these visits were low profile and the government of India took care not to create an impression of Indian lack of concern over the human rights situation. The high-profile visit of Fonseka and the kind of honours openly accorded to him indicated that the Laxman Rekha, which has so far characterised the co-operation between the armed forces of the two countries, is ceasing to exist and that there is probably a greater readiness–even eagerness– on the part of the Indian Army to co-operate with the Sri Lankan Army in matters which might facilitate its ground operations against the LTTE in the Northern Province. This perception of a disappearing Laxman Rekha is not confined to the LTTE. It is palpable among large sections of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka and in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.
The desperation and the bitterness caused by this perception have triggered off the official statement of the LTTE. In a language reminiscent of the language which it was using with regard to Indian policies before the shocking assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May,1991, it has characterised any possible change in the Indian policy as amounting to a new historical blunder and insinuated that the government of India is putting itself in a position, which could be viewed as complicity in what it sees as the Sri Lankan government’s policy of genocide of the Tamils.
The LTTE, like other international terrorist organisations, follows a policy of coming out with comments, not amounting to official statements, which are disseminated by the media controlled by it and coming out with an official statement only in exceptional circumstances. The fact that the LTTE has now come out with an official statement on the co-operation between the two armies indicates that it might be considering the options available to it to counter this.
It is important to re-examine and revamp our intelligence and operational capabilities to neutralise any plan of the LTTE to mount another terrorist strike in Indian territory or against Indian nationals or interests. It would be unwise to dismiss its statement as a desperate outburst of no or only limited consequence.
In recent months, the Police in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have detected attempts by the LTTE to procure supplies and possibly ships also from India through locals. From the published reports, it would seem that many of the locals, who had helped the LTTE, did so for money and not out of sympathy for its cause. But the likely re-emergence of pockets of sympathy for the LTTE’s cause is an ever-present danger.
Both the governments of India and Sri Lanka want to neutralise the LTTE for different objectives. The Indian objective is to punish it for its assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and to render it incapable of terrorism. The Sri Lankan objective is to crush it as a terrorist organisation and re-impose the will and interests of the Sinhalese majority over the Tamil minority. Despite all the sweet talk from President Rajapaksa and his officers and advisers, their policy towards the Tamils continues to be characterised by their desire for a dictated peace and their modus operandi of divide and rule.
India should not give an impression that there is a convergence of objectives between the two countries. The Laxman Rekha has served us well in the past and should serve us well in future. [SAAG]
B. Raman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.
March 13th, 2008
Extracts from statement by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Disappearances are currently a global problem. Today disappearances are current in countries suffering from internal conflicts such as Colombia, Nepal, the Philippines, the Russian Federation and Sri Lanka.
In the context of internal armed conflict we have received information that opposition forces have perpetrated acts that are analogous to disappearances such as in the case of Colombia, Nepal, the Russian Federation and Sri Lanka. Although our mandate is limited to violations carried out by state agents or other non state actors acting with the consent or acquiescence of the state the Working Group condemns the practice of acts analogous to enforced disappearance irrespective of who the perpetrators may be.
The Working Group is also concerned at the increasing number of reported cases of disappearances in Sri Lanka. As a result the Working Group sent a request in October 2006 for an invitation to be extended for a visit to that country in early 2007. However, the Government responded that it would not be possible for the visit to take place at that time. The Working Group hopes to meet with the delegation of Sri Lanka during this session and invites the government to issue an invitation for a visit by the Working Group as soon as possible.
Extract from statement by Manfred Novak the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
I also undertook a visit to Sri Lanka in October 2007. I have full appreciation for the challenges faced by the Government in relation to the violent and long lasting conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. However since the Government did not allow me to travel to LTTE controlled areas I cannot report on the situation with regard to torture and ill treatment by LTTE in this region of the Island.
The Sri Lankan Government has taken a number of important legal steps in order to prevent and combat torture as well as to hold perpetrators accountable such as the enactment of the Torture Act 1994 and the Corporal Punishment Act of 2005.
Nevertheless I came to the conclusion that the current legal system cannot be regarded as fully effective. The high number of successful fundamental rights cases decided by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the even higher number of complaints received by the national Human Rights Commission indicate that torture is still widely practiced.
While I received only a comparatively low number of torture allegations from detainees suspected of ordinary crimes, in the context of detentions under the Emergency Regulations, in particular with respect to LTTE suspects, the clear majority of detainees complained of having been subject to torture and ill treatment by the police and/or the Army.
I was shocked by the brutality of some of the torture methods which included burning with soldering irons and suspension by the thumbs.
With regard to prisons, I am concerned about the high number of complaints of corporal punishment I received and about conditions of detention in severely over crowed and antiquated institutions. In police stations, detention under the Emergency Regulations for periods of several months up to one year in cells not intended to be used for such prolonged detention amounts to inhuman treatment.
Third I found that under the Emergency Regulations most of the safeguards against torture either do not apply or are simply disregarded. This opens the door for abuse of detainees and lead to a situation in which torture becomes a routine practice in the context of counter terrorism operations.
Finally, I wish to express my concern about the reported collaboration between the Government and the TMVP-Karuna Group which was confirmed by a representative I met during my visit in Trincomalee. This group, whose leader Colonel Karuna is currently detained in the United Kingdom, has been accused of particularly brutal human rights abuses in Sri Lanka such as torture, summary executions and recruitment of children.
Extract from statement by Australia
In particular, Australia is concerned at continued reports of widespread forced disappearances in Sri Lanka, with more than 5,000 outstanding cases reported.
We strongly encourage the Sri Lankan Government to act to ensure the alleged perpetrators of such serious crimes, from all parties to the conflict, are brought to justice swiftly.
We would also encourage the Sri Lankan Government to schedule a visit by the Working Group, which was unable to go ahead during 2007 due to visits by other special rapporteurs.
Extract from the statement by Switzerland
Switzerland is also grateful to you for your mission report on your mission to Sri Lanka and the many recommendations you make in it. Your report which takes into account some positive developments concludes nevertheless that torture is widespread in Sri Lanka and is linked to the conflict and it is practiced both by the Government of Sri Lanka and by non government armed forces, Group/TMVP the LTTE and the Karuna Faction and the LTTE. Switzerland greatly regrets the fact that you were unable to go to the areas controlled by the LTTE which would enabled you to give a better report to the Council on violations perpetrated by the LTTE.
Switzerland believes that the fight against impunity is a priority and we have therefore taken note of your comment in paragraph 16 of your report on Colonel Karuna and the deals that have been made to prosecute him under universal jurisdiction for war crimes including for the recruitment of children, for summary executions and for torture.
Could you perhaps give us additional comments on this particular case. Could you in particular comment on universal jurisdiction when it comes to cases of torture.
(Statements during the interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 10 and 11 March 2008)
March 13th, 2008
Extract of statement by Louise Arbour the High Commissioner for Human Rights:
Since we met last December I have also been concerned by further acts of violence in Sri Lanka. Every effort is required to ensure the protection of civilians as military actions intensify in the north of the country. While the ceasefire agreement has now formally ended all parties are bound to respect human rights and international humanitarian law.
Extract from statement by Sweden
The move towards country engagement has given the UN and increased human rights presence on the ground and a focus on implementation that was lacking before. Today the early results of that policy are apparent-you have reported to us on Office activities in such geographically wide-spread and substantially diverse situations as Colombia and Nepal. Sweden firmly supports your efforts to establish a presence by the Office in the field, where this is necessary. In this context, we hope that your dialogue with the Government of Sri Lanka on the establishment of an office there will be successful.
Extract from statement by Slovenia on behalf of the European Union
These and other successful missions on the ground demonstrate the necessity and usefulness of human rights missions on the ground. In that respect, the EU wishes to reaffirm our belief that this work needs to strengthen and expand further, to provide its appropriate presence in all cases, where this would still be needed, such as in Sri Lanka and Somalia.
Extract from the statement by the Republic of Korea
The Republic of Korea has repeatedly expressed its strong support for a broader field presence as a crucial element for the strengthening of your Office. We believe it will enhance its capacity in terms of strengthening human rights protection on the ground through increased monitoring as well as technical assistance and capacity building. We also fully share your view that the human rights situations around the world call for additional field presences with full mandates, and therefore encourage you to explore the various possibilities.
Extract from the statement by France .
We would also like to reiterate our concern regarding the situation in Sri Lanka and once again support the proposal of the Office to open a field office there. While I understand the Government’s wish to ensure security within its territory, this objective may not be sought through all means indiscriminately and must be done in keeping with international standards
on human rights and in the interests of the population to be protected.
Extract from the statement by Canada
At the fourth regular session of the Council, Canada commended the Government of Sri Lanka for the establishment of both the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations and the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons. Unfortunately, the Group is about to end its work after having identified a number of serious problems with the
Inquiry, which remain unaddressed. This outcome along with the increase in hostilities in Sri Lanka has made independent human rights reporting all the more critical. We urge the Government of Sri Lanka to accept the assistance of your Office, and to allow it a full mandate to report on the human rights situation throughout the country. Following your visit to Sri Lanka, what other steps should the Government of Sri Lanka take to promote and protection the human rights of all its citizens?
Extract from the statement of Pakistan on behalf of the OIC
There are some gaps in the High Commissioner’s statement. We believe that the efforts made by the Governments of Sudan and Sri Lanka to ameliorate human rights situation should have been mentioned.
Extract from the statement by India
The High Commissioner has referred to the situations in countries in our neighbourhood. India is closely monitoring developments in Sri Lanka and is concerned about the recent upsurge in the violence and conflict in that country. We remain convinced that there is no military solution to the conflict. The way forward lies in a peacefully negotiated political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka acceptable to all communities. It is only through such a settlement that a lasting peace can be achieved in the country. In this context India has welcomed, as a first step, the declared intention of the Sri Lankan Government to fully
implement the 13th Amendment.
Extract from the statement by the Netherlands
For us country engagement means where needed enhanced field presences. In our view this could be the case in for instance Eritrea and Sri Lanka.
Extract from the statement of Japan
Given the concern expressed by Madame High Commissioner about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka we believe that it is essential for the Government of Sri Lanka to effectively address the situation itself. In this regard the Government of Japan hopes to see the Commission of inquiries produce tangible results soon.
(Statements during the interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, 7 March 2008)
March 13th, 2008
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