Conceivable Flaws & Drawbacks in

The Interim Report of the Steering Committee

Kanthar Balanathan, Australia

While being silent on the interim report of the steering committee, as a mark of respect the author gives to the members of the committee, it is a time dilated event, and request people of SL come forward to make comments, so that repeated slipups and bungles does not happen in the life of the republic called, SriLanka.

First of all, in the 40s, the UNP was formed. Ie United National Party. එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය. The meaning of race is ජාතියයි. Nation is ජාතිය. National is ජාතික. Nation is built into the words. So, who is uniting with who? Does the party reflect that there are many nations united? Possible fundamental flaw in naming the party. While SWRDB named his party as SLFP. SriLanka Freedom Party. The concept of one nation, one country, is built into the party’s name, SLFP.

SL’s constitution is like cheap third world edition, repeatedly drafted, amended many times. What is the possible cause?

SL is driven now to draft another constitution. Is the interim report drafted by ROBOTS, who are being programmed by some superpower? Are these members patriots of the “one nation”, SriLankan Nationals?

It is driving readers to presume that the report is drafted in a frenzy to satisfy some power. With due respect to the committee members and readers, some questions the author wants to raise.

[Quotation from the interim report:

Issues:

The President whilst speaking on the Resolution to set up the Constitutional Assembly stated that whilst people in the south were fearful of the word “federal”, people in the north were fearful of the word “unitary.” A constitution is not a document that people should fear.

The classical definition of the English term “unitary state” has undergone change. In the United Kingdom, it is now possible to Northern Ireland and Scotland to move away from the union. Therefore, the English term “Unitary State” will not be appropriate for Sri Lanka.

The Sinhala term “aekiya raajyaya” best describes an undivided and indivisible country. The Tamil language equivalent of this is “orumiththa Nadu”.

In these circumstances, the following formulation may be considered:

Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is a free, sovereign and independent Republic which is an aekiya rajyaya / orumiththa Nadu, consisting of the institutions of the Centre and of the Provinces which shall exercise power as laid down in the Constitution.

In this Article aekiya rajyaya / orumiththa Nadu means a State which is undivided and indivisible, and in which the power to amend the Constitution, or to repeal and replace the Constitution, shall remain with the Parliament and the People of Sri Lanka as provided in this Constitution]

If we observe, in one place, aekiya raajyaya, is placed in the report, and below, aekiya rajyaya is placed, which is misspelled. Hope in an international court of law this is adequate to be thrown out.

The word Orumiththa Nadu is not the Tamil equivalent of aekiya rajyaya. It could be construed as එක්සත් රටක්, which is “United Country” and NOT “Unitary State”. The question is, which country is uniting with which another country? Does this direct to Tamil politician’s Two Nation theory. The Sinhale politicians are giving the Two Nation theory accepted in a golden tray.

Even the Unitary State is not acceptable as the United Kingdom was a United State consisting of Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales. Scotland went for a referendum and was defeated. What is the guarantee that the North and East will not go for an irresistible, inevitable referendum? Therefore, the definitions should be redefined and come up with the correct words.

[Article.154A (3)] should be readdressed.

The existing provisions of the Constitution [Article. 154 A (3)] relating to the possibility of two or more Provinces forming a single unit, should be retained, with the additional requirement that a referendum of the people of each of the Provinces concerned should also be required.

The Constitution should not provide for the merger.

The Constitution recognized the Northern and Eastern Provinces as a single Province.

The above are contradicting.

“No Provincial Council or other authority may declare any part of the territory of Sri Lanka to be a separate State or advocate or take steps towards the secession of any Province or part thereof, from Sri Lanka.”

The report does not suggest that any Province shall not make any effort to go for a referendum for secession like Catalonia.

The report does not state or identify that the Provincial Councils are not a government, but has been created to perform administrative function. The Chief Minister is not the Chief Executive of the Province.

The words and meaning as follows:

unitary government - ஒற்றை அரசாங்கம் - One government - එක්ආණ්ඩුවක්

unitary state - ஒற்றுமை நிலை (incorrect in Tamil) -ඒකීයරාජ්යයකි -

One nation - ஒரு நாடு -එක්ජාතියක්

Single government - ஒற்றை அரசாங்கம் -තනිරජයක්

One country - ஒரு நாடு -එක්රටකි

Unity - ஒற்றுமை -සමගිය

Well, the interim report clearly indicates that the job has been done under direction and not by patriots. It is good not to act like robots when it comes to patriotism and National minded living. The Tamil Diaspora should not have any inputs to this report, as this is purely a patriotic effort to maintain the sovereignty and democracy through a sound constitution.

It will be appropriate if all have some input to this report, that is comments.

How many died & who shot whom in the Final phase of the conflict in Sri Lanka

There is no denying that people died in the final phase of the conflict. That both LTTE and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces were both armed is also true. They were both not sending each other roses. That there were a significant number of people were also true. They were the LTTE, the Sri Lankan Troops, the ICRC, embedded journalists who were the armed forces and civilians who the LTTE had carted to be used as hostages and human shields. Whoever is supposed to have died has to be from these categories of people. We know that no ICRC or foreign journalists died. We know the figures of dead given by the army but what we do not know is who were the LTTE who died and number of civilians who died. There too there is an issue because LTTE had a civilian army trained in armed combat so we need to establish civilian deaths who did not take part in any hostilities on behalf of the LTTE. So far no one has come up with this demarcation. However, to accuse the Sri Lankan Army of being killers and murderers going so far as to accuse them of genocide, those making the accusations must be able to give at least estimate numbers of the dead by category.

Issues in determining the LTTE dead

LTTE cadres fought in uniform as well as in civilian clothing. There are also accusations that they removed dead soldier uniforms and fought wearing these. Taking these facts to consideration we need to know

· How many LTTE cadres died in combat wearing LTTE uniforms?

· How many LTTE cadres died in combat wearing civilian clothing?

· How many LTTE cadres died in combat wearing uniforms of Sri Lankan soldiers?

· How many LTTE cadres especially the injured were shot dead by LTTE on orders of LTTE hierarchy as they did not wish to have them interrogated once caught.

Let’s also not forget that 12,000 LTTE cadres surrendered and they were ALL in civilian clothing. How come they remained alive and were not killed by the Sri Lankan Army?

In the case of civilian deaths the questions that need to be asked are

· How many civilians died without engaging in any hostilities (how ‘civilian’ were the civilians)?

· How many civilians died while voluntarily engaged in hostilities (LTTE had a trained civilian armed force)

· How many civilians died involuntarily forced to engage in hostilities (LTTE had during the last days forced civilians to shoot giving them basic training)

· How many civilians died due to LTTE shooting them (enough of accounts even by UN/US State Dept report/ NGO reports prevail of LTTE shooting fleeing civilians. So how many died from LTTE fire?)

· How many civilians died due to fatigue / old age / natural causes?

· How many civilians died in cross-fire (which cannot determine who fired)

· How many civilians died from LTTE gun fire

· How many civilians died because the Sri Lankan Army shot at them by accident or intentionally.

THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ASCERTAIN ANY WAR CRIMES AGAINST THE SRI LANKAN ARMY.

Do these ‘civilians’ exist to be claimed dead

· What are the names and details of the dead, has any relations come forward to provide ID details (at least to show evidence that the people supposed to be dead were even born – birth certificate, school records, employment records etc)

· Have families filed entries with the police?

· An opportunity was afforded to present missing to the Presidential Missing Persons Commission (mandated to investigate between 1983-2009) but upto 9 April 2015 there were only 16,179 cases filed of which 5000 were missing Sri Lankan Army soldiers. If the 5000 missing soldiers details can be logged in both the Commission and with the UNHRC why cannot the names of the supposed missing or dead be filed too!

Where are the dead?

The next question is to be qualified as dead there has to be a dead body at least a skeleton(s). The military operations ended on 18^th May 2009. The UN Secretary General arrived 3 days later and made a helicopter tour of the war terrain accompanied by UN officials and foreign media. They did not report any graves or seeing newly dug areas where bodies could have been dumped. To dump 40,000 or even 200,000 dead bodies the Sri Lankan soldiers needed to dig massive graves and stuff them. Lets not forget that any graves had to be dug while in the thick of fighting. It is impossible for bodies to decompose to skeleton status in 3 days! When buried six feet down, without a coffin, in ordinary soil, an unembalmed adult normally takes eight to twelve years to decompose to a skeleton. Even if all 40,000 or 200,000 were thrown into the sea or the lagoon, these bodies would have to emerge!

The next question is how or why should the Sri Lankan soldiers kill 40,000 or 200,000 people while sacrificing soldier lives to save 295,000 people? What is the rationale?

The other interesting question is Channel 4 that is screening edited videos all over the world have not captured any witness screening Sri Lankan soldiers digging graves and dumping these supposed dead bodies. Why is there no footage of this as surely it takes quite a while to be digging 4ft deep graves and dumping minimum 40,000 dead bodies! Digging graves to dump such a number of bodies is no joke and cannot be done in a few minutes especially while fighting. A standard grave is 2 ½ ft wide and 8ft in length and 4ft deep.

While everybody is accusing the Sri Lankan Army of killing ‘civilians’ they seem to be forgetting that the LTTE had a trained civilian armed unit. This then raises the most important question of who qualifies to be a ‘civilian’ and also needs to question how many among the 295,000 that the Sri Lankan Army saved were also ‘civilians’. How many among this 295,000 civilians that the Sri Lankan soldiers saved were civilians who had training in armed combat by the LTTE at some or the other or how many LTTE cadres were posing as civilians? If so they don’t qualify as refugees or IDPs & spouses of LTTE cadres cannot be called war widows either and women whose husbands are ‘missing’ cannot be called war widows either without ascertaining whether their husbands were LTTE cadres or not. No one has answered these questions.

When LTTE had a trained civilian armed force it is impossible to tell how many of the dead were part-time LTTE civilian cadres even among the 7000 figure that the Government quoted as dead.

The UN, US, UK, Canada, EU or any other foreign government has yet to come clean on

· How many civilians took part in hostilities (voluntarily or by force) and died (how many died from LTTE fire or Sri Lankan Army fire or natural causes)

· If civilians took part in hostilities and died as a result that makes distinction complicated and the fault cannot lie with the Sri Lankan soldier

· How many of the ‘civilians’ even among the 295,000 saved will ever admit to taking part at some time or the other in hostilities – if so they too don’t qualify as ‘civilians’ and it is unfair to be referring to them as IDPs, refugees, ‘war widows’ without ascertaining their true status. This should also question giving them ‘witness protection status’ or even other handouts too.

Rule 1/Rule 6 of the ICRC distinguishes between civilian and combatant.

Parties to the conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants.

LTTE had a civilian force, trained to kill – therefore these LTTE trained ‘civilians’ do not qualify as civilian under ICRC Rule 1.

Rule 6 declares civilians are protected against attack unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities. So the question is how many LTTE trained civilians took part in combat and how many LTTE cadres in civilian clothing took part in combat and died. Both are not entitled to protection under both Rule 1 and Rule 6.

Principle of Distinction

Distinction is blurred when LTTE has a civilian combatant force and LTTE attacks in civilian clothing. How can you expect Sri Lankan soldiers to differentiate? They are not clairvoyants.

Attacks must not be directed against civilians. However, LTTE was shooting among civilians.

Sri Lanka Army has every right to return fire because LTTE should not have been keeping civilians and firing from among them. The Army didn’t fire keeping civilians among them so LTTE are expected to do the same.

Customary International law in Non-International Armed Conflicts

LTTE are armed fighters and as such do not enjoy protection against attack accorded to civilians.

Moreover, LTTE is a designated terrorist outfit and as such is denied right to combatant status or prisoner of war status.

The numbers game

· Darusman Panel in its 2011 report 40,000 ‘may have been killed’

· US former envoy Robert Blake quoted 40,000 dead to the US Congressional Hearing

· LTTE supporter Siobhain McDonagh (UK Labor MP for Mitcham and Morden) declared 100,000 dead and 40,000 as civilians. (she must have counted the dead from England!)

· Amnesty International in 2011 quoted 10,000 civilian deaths

· Gordon Weiss former UN official originally quoted 7000 dead, then when he found money was to be made selling books he adjusted the dead figure to 40,000

· Tamilnet the LTTE propaganda channel reported 7398 deaths

· UN country team in Sri Lanka placed the dead as 7721

· A Survey by the Government in the North at the end of the conflict done by Tamils placed the number of dead and missing at 7400 dead (included LTTE killed in combat)

· In July 2011 Tamil teachers of the North did a population survey of the North covering migration, deaths, untraceable persons from 2005 to 2009 – their report revealed 7896 dead including LTTE

· The University Teachers for Human Rights-Jaffna placed the dead between 20,000-40,000

· Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph – claims 147,000 as missing

· The Institute of Conflict Management, Delhi – 11,111

http://www.sinhalanet.net/framing-bogus-war-crime-charges-who-are-the-civilians-who-died-in-sri-lankas-final-war

Additionally, what needs to be highlighted is that the UN, US, UK, Canada, EU and other foreign countries are going behind ‘civilian’ deaths in the last 3 months completely ignoring 30 years (since 1980s) wherein LTTE pointed their guns on innocent villages, killing innocent villagers, women and children in slumber, bombing passenger buses and trains, attacking unarmed civilians who were nowhere near any combat zones. Is it not strange that these same entities now screaming their heads over civilian deaths did absolutely nothing when LTTE was on a killing spree? Why were these civilians treated differently? Where’s the equal treatment? Why didn’t they go after LTTE for war crimes and killings? Why are they only going after the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and that too without being able to satisfactorily answer any of the above questions.

We have every right to demand answers for to press for any war crimes tribunals against Sri Lankan Armed Forces those accusing must be able to answer who killed whom and how and numbers with at least the basic evidence to prove the people they claim as being killed existed or were born!

Shenali D Waduge

The relevance of R. Sampanthan’s speech at the ITAK Convention to present constitutional demands

Leaving aside arguments of ITAK/TNA links to LTTE the fact remains is that both Tamil racist leaders & LTTE fought for a separate Tamil state. Whether it is called eelam, self-autonomy, self-determination etc it all boils down to the same thing. If so it questions on what logical premise that any government would deem it necessary to weaken the country by bringing in a new constitution that not only removes the unitary character of the constitution but also sets up a confederal form of governance giving virtual asymmetrical federation to some provinces over others. Going by the aims and objectives outlined by Sampanthan in his address to the Tamil people, what is clear is that the real objective of a Tamil nation is to be sought cunningly, patiently, manipulating and aligning to the global agendas of the West and India. While all this is being spelt out clearly in black and white the Governments in Sri Lanka and their super advisors and inner circles are happy to play pied piper and virtually facilitate the hidden aims and objectives of both the Tamil separatists and the Foreign Agendas.

R. Sampanthan speaking at the 14^th ITAK Convention in Batticoloa, in May 2012 made the following speech excerpts from which are being quoted with commentary to understand the relevance of it to the demands being made to the new constitution.

http://www.sangam.org/2012/06/Sampanthan_Speech.php

“Our understanding and relationship with members of the international community including India and the United States that has come about by slow degrees, little by little, as a result of methodical, measured action and thinking, is becoming a source of strength for our community”

(the power of diaspora influence and using LTTE money generated illegally & legally)

“We remember the Tamil youth who sacrificed their lives in armed struggle”

(Is he implying LTTE and other militant groups? If not who are these Tamil youth?)

He mentions Tamil Nation 6

“We gather here following our victory in the passage of the recent Resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, a condemnation against the Sri Lankan government by the international community”

For ITAK and all who share sentiments of this statement it seriously questions their citizenship. Can a citizen of this country be happy when the country is condemned internationally, for whatever reason?

“Sri Lankan government has committed the crime of extermination against our people”

The reason for this ‘victory’ is given – as far as we know the Sri Lankan Army exterminated LTTE Terrorists not Tamils.

“Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi was created by S.J.V. Chelvanayagam, the father of Tamil Nation, for the purpose of establishing self determination of the Tamil people on this island. This objective is evident in both the name of the party and in the manner in which it operates.”

Here Sampanthan is plainly telling why ITAK has been created.

“Tamil United Liberation Front, of which our party was a member, took the historical decision to establish the separate government of Tamil Eelam in 1976. Based on this decision of our party, and the need to place ourselves in a position of strength, Tamil youth decided to oppose violence with violence and began to rise up as armed rebel groups.”

Plain and simple the quest for a separate state began officially & publicly with the Vaddukoddai Resolution in 1976 and is linked to armed militancy and given India trained these youths clandestinely it indirectly involves India in this separatist game.

“Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which became a great force within the Tamil community”

We have been asking the question who sides with the LTTE and obviously here is the answer!

“The intervention of India has clearly taught us the lesson that whatever our aspirations may be, India will never welcome a political solution in Sri Lanka that does not accord with the interests of India.”

Clearly it is a ‘you scratch my back, I will scratch yours’ deal that India & Tamils have with each other. The rape of 3000 Tamil women by the IPKF must have been just collateral damage and part of that ‘worthy cause’. It would be interesting to know if all these women were Dalits (low caste) which is why no Tamil is interested in seeking justice for the crime!

“achieving Tamil Eelam was becoming an increasingly unrealistic goal. Thus, instead of sacrificing more lives to this cause, our party, with the help of India, began supporting a solution that allowed the Tamil people to live within a united Sri Lanka”

What is being said is that without claiming the political solution to be Tamil Eelam in so many words the same objective should be sought. Who is the gullible who cannot understand this?

“A most important lesson we have learnt from the past 60 years… is that we should act strategically, with the awareness that global powers will act based on their domestic interests.”

In other words the separatists have strategized their demands to align to the global agendas of those they are seeking for assistance to arm-twist the Sri Lankan Government. How come our mavericks in government & their smart alecs have not been able to come up with a similar strategy?

“Further, a struggle that runs counter to the values of the international community, built only on military might, will not prevail. It is for this reason, that in the new environment created by various global influences, we have, together with the support and assistance of the international community, found new ways of continuing with our struggle”.

It is without a doubt that the armed struggle by LTTE had the silent nod of approval by the Tamil leaders who have now realized that the quest can still be achieved through aligning with global political agenda & partnering with the international community.

“Our expectation for a solution to the ethnic problem of the sovereignty of the Tamil people is based on a political structure outside that of a unitary government, in a united Sri Lanka in which Tamil people have all the powers of government needed to live with self-respect and self-sufficiency.”

Why ITAK wants removal of the unitary status of Sri Lanka is simply because a constitution that is unitary cannot allow self-autonomy.

“The position that the North and East of Sri Lanka are the areas of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people cannot be compromised in this structure of government.”

It has been the fault of the UNP Govt that agreed to the insertion of this mythical clause and the inability of successive governments to negate this lie officially that has led to this lie being repeated enough to be accepted by all without challenge.

“We must have unrestricted authority to govern our own land, protect our own people, and develop our own economy, culture and tradition.”

In other words what is being sought is a separate Sri Lanka (asymmetrical federalism until secession is sought)

“meaningful devolution should go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution passed in 1987”

What exactly is devolution beyond 13a?

“The above solution is also one that is likely to be acceptable to members of the international community including India and the United States”

There’s a revelation, so now we know how and why things have come this far!

“Any solution to the ethnic problem concerning the sovereignty of the Tamil people must also be acceptable to the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.”

This part clearly establishes how India is twisting its agenda because Trinco is in the East and the only way that the North East can be merged is to get the Muslims on to their side, thus the continuous reference to ‘Tamil speaking people’ so that it includes both Tamils and Muslims.

“Our priority now is to expose the Sri Lankan government that for so many years in the past attempted to describe the ethnic problem and a ‘terrorist problem’.”

So what is Sampanthan trying to say – that LTTE are not terrorists? Who killed Kadiragamar and so many other Tamils?

“The international practice prevalent during the mid eighties, when the intervention of India occurred, has now changed. Although the issue at hand is the same, the prevailing conditions are different. The struggle is the same, but the approaches we employ are different. Our aim is the same, but our strategies are different. The players are the same, but the alliances are different. That is the nature of the Tamil people. Although we still have the same aim, the methods we use are now different.”

This part is important to gage the psyche of the Tamil leaders and to understand how they have cunningly manipulated their strategies to suit the times.

“United States and India are to a great extent supporting our position. The Sri Lankan government continues to maintain friendships with those standing against them.”

We will agree wholeheartedly with this – the previous Government did not know who their friends were from the enemies and foolishly played into the hands of the enemy at the cost of jeopardizing their friends. Sampanthan says the outcome of the UNHRC Resolutions with US and India supporting ‘their cause’ is the indication of ‘future developments’.

“The current practices of the international community may give us an opportunity to achieve, without the loss of life, the soaring aspirations we were unable to achieve by armed force.”

This again reiterates the connection with the Tamil leadership & the LTTE armed struggle.

“if the world begins to perceive us to be extremist, or too rigid, or if they

believe that we have a hidden agenda to reignite violence, we will soon be ostracized from the diplomatic exercises in progress. We must show great care in our words and actions”

In other words what Sambanthan is asking all Tamils to do is not to reveal the connections, not to reveal the real plan but to play the ‘innocent’ card and fool the world.

“We thus strongly urge the Sri Lankan government to act sincerely in this regard and take steps to release all Tamil political prisoners’

LTTE cadres are NOT political prisoners but we also want justice for every person LTTE killed since 1980s. We are still waiting for the GOSL to put LTTE cadres on trial for these deaths and others who have been indirectly and covertly supporting LTTE must also face the court and be punished for aiding and abetting terror.

“Sinhalization that takes place both secretly and openly”

How dare Sambanthan complain about Sinhalese living in the North when every day there are Tamils coming to reside in Colombo and elsewhere. If North is the habitat of the Tamils why are they coming to live in the South? Just count the many flats and apartments Tamils now own and the numbers of Tamils that have increased in Colombo since 2009. Citizens have the fundamental right to live anywhere and it cannot be claimed as colonization as Sambanthan and Tamils are presently doing. The fault of the governments in power has been not to nip this lie in the butt too.

See how well the Tamil leadership has manipulated their objectives into the international agenda of others!

Evidendly, the problem is not the problem what we are told is the problem. The answer is not the answer we believe is the answer. We are all being taken for a ride and where will this all end is anyone’s guess.

After reading the excerpts of Sampanthan the present Opposition Leader what is your own opinion of the goals and objectives of the Tamil Leaders and their co-partners the LTTE?

Shenali D Waduge

Main elements of New Constitution drafted by British Solicitors in 1994

"A Framework for the Constitution of the Union of Ceylon"prepared in 1994 by a firm of British solicitors (Bates, Wells and Braithwaite) for the Sri Lanka Peace Support Group an entity within the Centre of Policy Alternatives. What is interesting about this proposal is that it lays out the nuts and bolts of a confederate structure; a concept that many are unfamiliar with but elements which are being peddled through the present constitution giving rise to the reality that this new constitution is certainly not drafted in Sri Lanka by the people whom the government claims to have appointed and none of the proposals that were requested by the public have been taken into consideration. A careful reading of the 1994 proposal compared with the clauses being presently promoted and the slogans used will clearly reveal that these documents have been kept ready until their ‘men’ have been brought into power by regime change. For these reasons and more the citizens of Sri Lanka must reject this new constitution.

The letter sent by the British solicitors to both President Kumaratunga & Prabakaran is enclosed

http://www.sangam.org/FB_HIST_DOCS/UKLetters.htm

Cover letter http://www.sangam.org/FB_HIST_DOCS/UKMessage.htm

The full text of the proposal

http://www.sangam.org/FB_HIST_DOCS/UKProposal.htm

The proposal by the British firm was on the request of an entity known as Sri Lanka Peace Support Group formed within the Centre for Policy Alternatives. Guess who members of this group consisted

· Radhika Coomaraswamy

· Sunila Abeysekera

· Sunil Bastian

· Sunanda Deshapriya

· Rohan Edrisinha

· Kethesh Loganathan

· Jehan Perera

· Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu

· Jeevan Thiagarajah

· Joe William

· Javed Yusuf

http://www.uthr.org/Peace/PSG_on%20_peace_talks.htm

Their statements from 2000 to 2006 are available on the CPA website - http://www.cpalanka.org/peace-support-group-psg-statements-2000-to-2006/

The Group issued an open letter for the 2001 elections http://www.island.lk/2001/11/04/featur09.htmland the proposals they make clearly indicate where their allegiance lies.

In 2002 Daily News featured an article by Centre of Policy Alternatives Director Rohan Edrisinha titled “Meeting Tamil aspirations within a united Lanka”. http://archives.dailynews.lk/2002/06/24/fea01.html

Salient points covered in his article is important to understanding who is peddling the new constitution and what the real gameplan is.

Edirsinha makes reference to the banned LTTE front leader of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, Rudrakumaran who was also the lawyer for LTTE referring to the need for Tamil self-determination as part of a political solution. Edirisinha agrees to that right.

Interesting is the quote “maximum devolution within a united country seemed to be the philosophy behind a proposal submitted to President Kumaratunga and Prabakaran” on 20 December 1995 prepared by a British law firm Bates, Wells & Braithwaite on request of Sri Lanka Peace Support Group.

Don’t know what era Edirisinha was living in as he claims the ‘proposal basically provided for a confederation the Union of Ceylonconsisting of two internally autonomous states, one for the Tamil area (north east of the country) and the other for the mainly Sinhalese areas’.

The other areas that the proposal covered were

“Apart from foreign affairs, external defence and security monetary policy and currency, maintenance of relations between the states and a few other matters, each state would have the power to adopt its own constitution which would have to endorse certain core principles set out in the Preamble to the Constitution and entrenched clauses on human rights, while setting out its own structure of government, have its own Prime Minister and exercise complete autonomy in all other areas.”

“It provided for a Central Council of the Union to exercise power with respect to the reserved subjects and to provide a channel of communication and co-ordination between the two states consisting of an equal number of representatives from the states. The Council would appoint a President and Deputy President of the Union from amongst its members for a specified time with agreed alternation between representatives of each state.”

“The citizens of the union would share a common nationality and have the freedom of movement and the right to reside and work in any part of the union.”

“The proposal provided for a Constitutional Court consisting of an equal number of judges from each state and a suggestion that one or more non-Ceylonese judges of international repute be included as well. The main function of the Court would be to interpret the Constitution and to ensure state compliance with the provisions of the preamble and the human rights provisions of the Constitution.”

Under a provision titled ‘Referendum & Guarantees’ the proposal provides each state to conduct a referendum to ‘modify the powers of the Union affecting that State’. Is this not another means for UDI?

What is bizarre is that it also included provision in implementing the Constitution and maintenance of peace between the 2 States guaranteed by the United Nations!

This law firm was suggesting to create two independent & sovereign entities confirmed in the Preamble that relations between the 2 States would be governed according to the ‘applicable principles of international law & justice’.

It is shocking that a British law firm would continue to refer to Sri Lanka as ‘Ceylon’ and questions which era they are living in. However, the elements proposed clearly tally with the present elements of the new constitution putting those who come before us as being the persons drafting the constitution to ridicule!

Shenali D Waduge

Lord Naseby exposes the lies & hypocrisies of UN-US-UK & EU Governments

On 12^th October 2017 addressing the UK Parliament, Lord Naseby brought to light some shocking news. Using the Freedom of Information Act Lord Naseby ventured to find the truth about the civilian deaths attributed against Sri Lankan Army during the final phase of the conflict from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. His application had first been rejected, even 2 appeals to the Foreign Office had been rejected and thereafter not giving up Lord Naseby had appealed to the Information Commissioner and a heavily redacted with many pages missing, document was made available to him. Why would figures and information need to be kept hidden by the British Government? What other lies are being kept under wraps & who else is involved & why are questions we need to now ask & have answered.

Lord Naseby has been a friend of Sri Lanka and has been associated with Sri Lanka for over 50 years. He formed the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sri Lanka in 1975.

He brings to light some facts that not many non-Sri Lankans have wanted to do while most non-Sri Lankans have fallen prey to lies while others have been happy to fall prey for money & other incentives.

Lord Naseby has correctly understood repercussions of the incursions from South India following the occupations of the 3 European rulers – Portuguese, Dutch and the British who brought lakhs of South Indian Tamils to work on plantations while divide and rule legacy meant affording opportunities for the minorities to dominate the majority thus giving them a feeling of being superior to the majority community and as such making demands that would with time result in animosity.

Lord Naseby has correctly surmised that it was to rectify historical injustices and discrimination to the majority Sinhalese that the Official Language Act was introduced to give the Sinhala language its due place. What needs to be reiterated here is that the introduction of the Official Language Act was never to target Tamils as is being alleged but to return to the Sinhala language its due place that was usurped after foreign occupation in 1505. Let it be reminded to all that Tamil was never a language of administration before colonial invasions in 1505 or after colonial occupation. Nevertheless, the Official Language Act was magnanimous enough to give reasonable use of Tamil, a status that Tamil language had not enjoyed ever.

The importance of Lord Naseby’s address to the UK Parliament is the manner someone is finally questioning the lies & hype surrounding ‘civilian’ deaths.

Lord Naseby has rightfully identified that everyone who has been bandying the figure of 40,000 dead have all been and continue to be LTTE Tamil Tigers supporters.

Lord Naseby makes reference to the UNPUBLISHED report by the UN Country Team whose death toll figure is 7721 covering August 2008 to 13 May 2009. He quite rightly says that from 13 May to 19^th May 2009, it is impossible for 40,000 to have been killed.

Lord Naseby also mentions Gordon Weiss the former UN spokesman who initially claimed 7000 civilian deaths in 2009 while also reiterating that it made no sense for the Sri Lankan Army to kill civilians a sentiment echoed by the University Teachers for Human Rights who say that the ground troops took great trouble not to harm civilians.

Lord Naseby also quotes

· Sri Lankan Census Department – 7000 to 8000 missing

· US Ambassador Robert Blake – 4164 deaths from 20 January to 6 April 2009

· Maj. Gen. Holmes – 7000 to 8000 deaths (report in March 2015)

Another important point Lord Naseby highlighted is that all those whom he quoted casualty figures had also stated that there was ‘no policy to kill civilians’.

Lt. Col. Anton Gash had informed Lord Naseby in January 2009 that he was surprised at the ‘controlled discipline and success of the Sri Lankan Army and in particular the care that it was taking to encourage civilians to escape and how well they were looked after’.

The information he discovered from the dispatches to the UK Government reveal much

· 20 January 2009 – “no cluster munitions were used”(remember the lies that were concocted on cluster weapons)

· 28 January 2009 – “It is not possible to distinguish civilians from LTTE cadres as few are in uniform”. (The 12,000 LTTE cadres that surrendered were all in civilian clothing)

· 16 February 2009 – “IDPs being cared for in Trincomalee – welfare appears to be overriding security considerations”(who knows how many of the 295,000 people that the Sri Lankan Army saved were LTTE cadres?)

· 26 April 2009 – “civilians killed from 1 February to 26 April 2009 – 6432”

Lord Naseby appeals to the UK Government which we commend with much appreciation

1. “UK must now get the UN and the UNHRC in Geneva to accept a civilian casualty level of 7000 to 8000 not 40,000”

2. “UK must recognize that this was a war against terrorism, so the rules of engagement are based on international humanitarian law (IHL) not the European Convention on Human Rights”.

3. “The West in particular the US & UK, must remove the threat of war crimes and foreign judges that overhangs and overshadows all Sri Lankans, especially their leaders. We in the UK should reflect on the sacrifices of thousands of young Sri Lankan soldiers who died to create peace in that country”

“Sri Lanka came to our need in two world wars and had casualties, and it was one of just a handful of countries who supported the UK over the Falklands. Now it is time to offer the hand of friendship and act to lead the international community to recognize what the truth really was”.

What is Lord Naseby’s wish “I hope and pray that, as a result of this debate the UK will recognize the truth that no one in the Sri Lankan Government ever wanted to kill Tamil civilians”. This is the truth that we want to also convey to the world. We thank you Lord Naseby for taking the initiative.

What is shocking is that even by 24^th October 2017 the Sri Lankan Cabinet had not taken up the remarks made by Lord Naseby. It is shocking that the present Yahapalana Government is not interested in even appreciating the effort taken by Lord Naseby, an effort that the present Sri Lankan Government has not even wanted to do. It is no exaggeration to say that this present government is not in the least interested in exonerating the good name and reputation of the Sri Lankan Armed forces as was evident when it co-sponsored a legally questionable UNHRC Resolution. Violations and interferences by the UN/UNHRC and foreign diplomats has been such that they have unabashedly advocated a new constitution, changes to Sri Lanka’s internal administrative structures and have even agreed to fund and pay salaries of those being tasked to do the changes. All these are violations of Westphalian sovereignty.

Shamindra Ferdinando writing to the Island newspaper highlights that the former government lacked a strategy to overcome the lies propagated by the West, which may well be true but when the Western lies were based on a larger overall agenda and plan, no amount of countering would have changed the status quo. Nonetheless, ample counter facts are available for anyone seeking the truth to weigh the lies and figure out the truth. However, the previous Government should have continued to demand the UN to release the report that placed the number of dead at 7721 and injured as 18479 from August 2008 to May 13, 2009.

To the list of liars and lies have to be included – Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and its reports/statements, foreign mainstream media, human rights organizations, foreign envoys, foreign governments, UN officials. Lets also not forget the scores of UK parliamentarians who had been supportive of LTTE separatism. Siobhain McDonagh Labor MP claimed 100,000 were killed in Sri Lanka. These claims should have been diplomatically challenged through the Sri Lankan Foreign Mission.

Even after the previous Government banned 16 LTTE fronts under UNSC Resolution 1373 it did not persist in demanding that the foreign governments where the LTTE fronts & leaders were operating initiate investigations on them for terror links and material support.

Another opportunity came following the HRW report “Funding the final war – LTTE intimidation and extortion in the Tamil Diaspora, a case study of UK and Canada” which also highlighted the British Hindu kovils that provided revenue for the LTTE. There were ample LTTE events that had been organized openly in the UK inspite of UK Government banning the LTTE and pressure by the Sri Lankan Foreign Office would have gone a long way to curbing the menace. The Foreign Office could have easily alerted to British authorities to take action against the many illegal acts that LTTE fronts were upto in the UK like credit card scams, abuse of charity programs, money laundering, illegal acts all of which were affecting the purses of the British tax payers. The Sri Lankan Foreign Office should have insisted that the Government be kept updated on investigations against these and should have even sought action against Adele Balasingham for training children as child soldiers and teaching them to commit suicide when caught.

A nation’s Government must defend its territory, its people and the Armed Forces that defend both the Nation & its People. When Lord Naseby took it upon himself to question the guestimates that had been falling from the sky quoting all types of dead numbers, he went out of his way to seek clarifications from his own government and despite many obstacles & having his applications rejected, his persistence led to a conclusion that should have had the Sri Lankan Government IMMEDIATELY thanking him and issuing a statement officially through the Foreign Ministry to UNHRC with the findings of Lord Naseby. However that the present government chose not to goes to show that it does not stand by the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka and this is a very shocking but a fact that we must all now come to terms with.

A Government that does not defend its own troops will never defend the nation or its people.

Shenali D Waduge

https://video.buffer.com/v/59f978c79363929e043c5661

Transitional justice relevant to Sri Lanka?

By Neville Ladduwahetty

UN Special Rapporteur, Pablo de Greiff, at a media briefing following his 14-day visit to Sri Lanka stated: "Sri Lanka continues to deprive itself of the benefits of Transitional Justice". Before addressing the benefits of Transitional Justice, certain fundamentals need to be clarified. Some of these fundamentals are, for instance: What is Transitional Justice? Is it relevant to Sri Lanka? From what to what is Sri Lanka supposed to transition? Is Justice to be restorative or retributive?

Answers could be found in a publication by the "International Center for TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE".

Addressing the question of "What is Transitional Justice"? the publication states as follows:

"Transitional justice is a response to systematic or widespread violations of human rights. It seeks recognition of victims and promotion of possibilities of peace, reconciliation and democracy. Transitional justice is not a special form of justice but justice adapted to societies transforming themselves after a period of pervasive human rights abuses…"

"This approach emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mainly in response to political changes in Latin America and Eastern Europe – and to demands in these regions for justice. At the time, human rights activists and others wanted to address systematic abuses by former regimes but without endangering the political transformations that were underway. Since these changes were popularly called "transitions to democracy", people began calling this new multidisciplinary field "transitional justice".

RELEVANCE of TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

If Transitional Justice is an attempt by a country to transition from systematic and widespread violations of human rights, or societies transforming themselves after a period of pervasive human rights abuses as in Latin America and Eastern Europe to one of "peace, reconciliation and democracy", how relevant is it to a country such as Sri Lanka that has experienced uninterrupted representative democracy even before it became a sovereign independent state? Furthermore, during the time frame referred to in the UNHRC Resolution 30/1, which was February 22, 2002 to May 19, 2009, the conduct of the parties to the conflict, i.e., the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, should be judged on the basis of International Humanitarian Law and NOT International Human Rights Law, since the conflict was a Non-International Armed Conflict applicable to Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions; a fact acknowledged in the OISL report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights paragraphs 182 and 183, cited below.

Paragraph 182: "Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions relating to conflicts not of an international character is applicable to the situation in Sri Lanka, with all parties to the conflict being bound to respect the guarantees pertaining to the treatment of civilians and persons hors de combat contained therein. Common Article 3 binds all parties to the conflict to respect, as a minimum, that persons taking no direct part in hostilities as well as those placed hors de combat shall be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction".

Paragraph 183: "In addition the Government and armed groups that are parties to the conflict are bound alike by the relevant rules of customary international law applicable in non-international armed conflict"

If the "benefits" of Transitional Justice are peace and reconciliation, on what basis does Mr. Pablo de Grieff infer that such benefits do not already prevail since standards, parameters and guidelines do not exist to measure either or both benefits? He cannot deny that the derogation of civil liberties in Sri Lanka is currently far less than what exists in countries such as the US, UK and France in their efforts to deal with threats from terrorism, judging from comments made by none other than the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the derogation of civil liberties in those countries. Therefore, how relevant is Transitional Justice to Sri Lanka?

The whole premise for recommending Transitional Justice is because of a belief that human rights were violated during and after the armed conflict. As far as the armed conflict is concerned there is agreement between the UN High Commissioner’s Office for Human Rights and the Panel of Experts headed by Darusman, appointed by the UN Secretary General, that the conflict was an armed conflict, and that the applicable law is International Humanitarian Law and NOT Human Rights Law. The Executive Summary of the latter’s report states thus: "…the Panel proceeded from long settled premise of international law that during an armed conflict such as that in Sri Lanka, both international humanitarian law and international human rights law are applicable". Despite this "long settled premise" the summary states: "There is no doubt that an internal armed conflict was being waged in Sri Lanka with the requisite intensity during the period that the Panel examined. As a result, international humanitarian law is the law against which to measure the conduct in the conflict of both the Government and the LTTE" . Therefore, it could justifiably be concluded that Transitional Justice, the basis of which is pervasive human rights violations, is not applicable to the period February 22, 2002 to May 19, 2009.

Furthermore, there is opinion that International Humanitarian Law applies even after hostilities cease. Such an opinion was conveyed during the case of the Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic, when the Security Council appointed the Appeals Court of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Protection of Persons responsible for serious violations of International Humanitarian Law committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991. The Tribunal stated: "…we find that an armed conflict exists whenever there is a resort to armed force between States or protracted armed violence between government authorities and organized groups or between such groups within a State. International humanitarian law applies from the initiation of such armed conflict and extends beyond the cessation of hostilities until a general conclusion of peace is reached, in the case of internal conflicts, a peaceful settlement is achieved. Until that moment, international humanitarian law continues to apply in the whole territory of the warring State or, in the case of internal conflicts the whole territory under the control of a party, whether or not combat takes place there".

The President of this Tribunal was a highly respected and internationally recognized jurist, Antonio Cassese. The opinion of the Tribunal was that only International Humanitarian Law applies, not only during an armed conflict but also beyond the "cessation of hostilities", and that it applies throughout the entire territory of the State. This opinion rejects the notion held by some that international humanitarian law and international human rights law apply concurrently. In view of the opinion of the Tribunal, Transnational Justice has no relevance to Sri Lanka.

APPLICABLE LAW

The UNHRC resolution 30/1 requires Sri Lanka "…to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of humanitarian law, as applicable". The notion that Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law are applicable concurrently during an armed conflict is a commonly held false premise because the tendency is to assume that the full scope of human rights law that applies at peace time is applicable along with humanitarian law during an armed conflict. This assumption ignores that certain provisions of human rights could justifiably be derogated provided certain provisions of Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are retained. Thus, for human rights and humanitarian laws to apply concurrently, it is absolutely necessary for human rights to be derogated to the limits stated in Article 4 (2) of the Covenant. However, since human rights in its derogated form are incorporated in provisions of Additional Protocol II of 1977, the applicable law during an armed conflict should be humanitarian law.

The principle of derogation is also recognized by Article 15 (7) of the Sri Lanka’s Constitution in the interest of national security. Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s Emergency Regulations were also in operation during and after the conflict. Therefore, the determination by the Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia that humanitarian law is applicable during an armed conflict and beyond is valid. Thus, Transitional Justice is arguably irrelevant to Sri Lanka.

GOVERNMENT"S POSITION

A statement by the Foreign Ministry reported in The Island of October 27, 2017 stated: "Since Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the Rome Statute regarding international jurisdiction with regard to war crimes, ensuring justice with regard to such matters will be the business of national independent judicial mechanisms". This statement is an exact reproduction of "point 93" of the President’s 100 Day work programme. Having committed to a national judicial mechanism in January 2015, how did the Foreign Ministry co-sponsor the UNHRC resolution in September 2015 – nine months later - that calls for a judicial mechanism that includes a "special counsel’s office, Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers and authorized prosecutors and investigators", in violation of the President’s commitment to the People?

The Foreign Ministry statement commits "to present its own set of national proposals for a transitional justice process, involving truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence". Is the government aware that by committing to base its national proposals on transitional justice it has agreed to establish truth, justice, reparation etc. on the basis of human rights, whereas both the Panel of Experts report and the OISL report accept humanitarian law as the applicable law?

Is the Foreign Ministry serious when it claims that it could establish the truth and administer justice, when access to the very evidence that could have a bearing to address alleged violations is denied not only by the UN but also by US and UK who are the chief initiators of the UNHRC 30/1 resolution.? This is a disgrace and a violation of rules of natural justice for which the Ministry is accountable. Furthermore, how could issues relating to reparation be addressed without establishing the number of persons affected as a consequence of alleged humanitarian law violations, bearing in mind that to arrive at this number, one has to know how many were affected by violations committed by the LTTE as well? This is not a realistic undertaking regardless of whether the judicial mechanism is national or not.

A recent statement by the Foreign Ministry stated that engaging in debates over the number of civilians dead is a meaningless exercise except for a "feel good factor" for the individuals concerned. Those engaged in this so called "meaningless exercise" of challenging contrived numbers such as 40,000 dead suggested in the Darusman report did not do it to win debates or feel good. They did it because they saw the injustice of spuriously concocted numbers. Had the Foreign Ministry been effective in challenging these numbers picked out of thin air, there would not have been the need for members of civil society to step up to the plate and fill the void.

Also, the Foreign Ministry did not present the conflict as an armed conflict nor that the conduct of the security forces and the LTTE should be judged on the basis of international humanitarian law as stated in the Darusman and OISL reports.

Furthermore, thus far no attempt has been made to challenge the ability of anyone to distinguish civilians from combatants in claims to the number of civilians who died, since it is a well established fact that the LTTE shed their uniforms, thus violating one of the two key principles of humanitarian law, namely, distinction and proportionality. Additionally, was the issue of civilians losing their right of protection when they provided material support to the combatants ever raised? Was the issue that the respective parties to an armed conflict are responsible for the protection of civilians in their charge ever taken up by the Foreign Ministry or any other? Was the issue of supplying humanitarian aid NOT being an obligation of the government as a party to the armed conflict under rules of humanitarian law, ever raised? Were such issues not raised to stay "engaged" and/or to "feel good" in the eyes of the UNHRC and the international community? Clearly, the current attitude towards Sri Lanka is due to the failure of the government led by the Foreign Ministry to develop an effective strategy as far as Geneva is concerned; a failure that continues to persist.

Since the first UNHRC resolution on accountability in 2012, Sri Lanka has been taking a defensive strategy - always explaining its actions during and after the conflict. This is a flawed strategy. Instead, Sri Lanka needs to change course and adopt a proactive approach and present the conduct of the armed conflict in the context of what it really was, that it was an armed conflict in which humanitarian law applied and human rights law applied ONLY in its derogated form both during and after the conflict until the transit camps were dismantled.. Such an approach amounts to Sri Lanka using the provisions of internationally accepted law and its approaches, to counter issues relating to accountability. Since the Foreign Ministry is unlikely to transform itself to fulfill such a role, the task of presenting issues relating to accountability should be undertaken by a representative of the Defense Ministry to present the segment on accountability. Since a national mechanism or any other would not be in a position to establish the truth as to who was a victim of government action or LTTE action, the remit should be to identify the victims and arrange for reparations, justified on the basis that no post conflict mechanism anywhere has established the "truth", and that without the "truth" there is no "justice". Therefore, transitional justice boils down only to reparations.

CONCLUSION

Special Rapporteur Pablo de Grieff was an emissary representing Geneva and sent to Sri Lanka to promote transitional justice. The concept of transitional justice evolved to help countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe that had experienced pervasive human rights violations under repressive regimes and to assist their transition into democracies. Such concepts have NO relevance to a country such as Sri Lanka that has experienced representative democracy even before it became a sovereign independent State, and has continued to be so without interruption even during the conflict that is recognized internationally as an armed conflict, wherein humanitarian law applies and NOT human rights law. Therefore, violations if any should be judged on the basis of the norms of humanitarian law. This makes transitional justice irrelevant to Sri Lanka.

Notwithstanding this, the government co-sponsored resolution UNHRC 30/1 that calls for the establishment of a judicial mechanism to address issues relating to accountability with the participation of foreign judges etc. (para. 6 of UNHRC Resolution 30/1), completely ignoring a commitment by the President in his 100 Day Programme for a "national independent judicial mechanism". Despite its commitment to Geneva, a recent statement by the Foreign Ministry confirms that the President’s commitment for a national independent judicial mechanism would prevail. However, the Foreign Ministry statement did not specify what the remit to a national judicial mechanism would be.

Whatever the mechanism, what is of relevance is that starting from the first Resolution in 2012, Sri Lanka has taken a defensive approach explaining its conduct during the armed conflict without taking a proactive approach to justify that its conduct should be judged on the basis of humanitarian law as an entitlement. Perhaps the strategy adopted thus far is based on the notion that all issues relating to Geneva are political. Since this approach has not helped Sri Lanka get off first base, it is time a different track is used, that being the legal approach.

Those who represent Sri Lanka in Geneva are not likely to change course because they lack the needed understanding and conviction to make a credible case to justify its conduct based on humanitarian law as an entitlement. Therefore, the team representing Sri Lanka should consist of a member from the Defense Ministry to address accountability issues in a credible manner to convince some members of the Human Rights Council of the need to revisit the position taken by the UN High Commissioner. While the legitimacy of such an approach is unquestionable, the question is whether the Government led by the Foreign Ministry or any other that represents Sri Lanka has the chutzpah chutzpah chutzpah chutzpah to be up to the task.

How many Tamils PAID to be TORTURED to get asylum in the UK?

We are talking about sterling pounds 5000-6000 being paid to be burnt with cigarette butt ends and face other tortures to enable British doctors to verify health records and endorse the torture as being ‘recent’ and to imply the tortures/rape were committed by the Sri Lankan forces. The monetary aspect fattens the purses of those making a business out of torture-asylum and enables foreign governments to use these examples to politically target countries like Sri Lanka to facilitate interventionist roles. Is the UK authorities silent because they are well aware of their role in this? Does the UK authorities not mind UK tax payers having to eventually finance these ‘economic cum terrorist-linked’ refugees/asylum seekers who end up not only manipulating the UK social welfare systems but playing out the British public via notorious international rackets the LTTE and Diaspora elements are linked to?
The international tarnishing campaigns against Sri Lanka takes the form of reports, documentaries, films, panel discussions which are all funded by Foreign Governments through NGOs established for interventionist purposes.
The best example is the released report by Yasmin Soosa who was selected by Ban Ki Moon to be a member of his (not UN) Panel of Experts.
Yasmin Sooka’s report ‘An unfinished war: Torture and Sexual violence in Sri Lanka 2009-2014’ was a politically motivated report. In her own words she says “we released the report in time before the Geneva Resolution because we wanted to influence the Geneva resolution”.
Yasmin Sooka’s report is politically and denies her any status as ‘independent’ because the ‘Unfinished war: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka 2009-2014’ report is funded by the British Foreign Office through the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales while Sooka’s other project partner ‘International Trust and Justice Project Sri Lanka’ is impossible to locate!
www.interventionism.info
Sooka’s report takes a sample of 40 ‘selected’ asylum seekers majority of whom the report says were ‘involved in active combat’ a feeble way to admit they were associated with the LTTE. The mystery remains with the non-disclosure of the witnesses, how they contacted the lawyers, no one knows who the lawyers are, no one knows who the medical experts are or even who the translators are – there is much always lost in translation given that these ‘victims’ in view of them seeking to remain in the UK have all the motives to invent stories and they make an excellent couple for those wanting to politically and diplomatically influence Sri Lanka!
When Sooka herself is an EU employee how can her report have any credibility?
Therefore, the Sooka report and its 40 ‘selected’ asylum seekers involved in ‘active combat’ leaves much to the imagination.
So does the BBC documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s unfinished war’. Notice how these same coterie of people are united in their usage of nomenclatures.
The story of the asylum seeker the BBC documentary presented by Frances Harrison introduced as ‘Nandani’ won her asylum in the UK.
The story has helped to uncover a sinister racket taking place in the UK and possibly elsewhere in all of the western destinations that Sri Lanka’s Tamils are seeking economic migrant status riding on the asylum ticket.
In the case of the UK the system for asylum/refugee is lax.
To apply as a refugee/asylum seek a person needs to leave their country and be unable to go back because of fear. Even a student or visitor arriving in the UK can apply if they think they are at risk of persecution when returning to their country. Asylum seekers are screened, they go through an asylum interview and a decision is given within 6 months.
With this process clear the avenues to manipulate the system are many and UK Tamil Diaspora have found ways to penetrate the system thus creating a profit making establishment for themselves which has worked well for the Western Governments ready to use these systems for their
Just like the Sooka report was released to influence the Geneva Resolution, the BBC documentary was released in November 2013 ahead of the Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth Summit. Sooka presented 40 cases, Frances Harrison presented 12 cases. Both reports were funded to focus on ‘Torture and rape’ as a new subject for intervention. Both reports aimed to show systematic and widespread rape existing in Sri Lanka and Nandani’s case was highlighted as the 1st post-conflict rape to come into public.
www.eyesrilanka.com
The lies of Nandani became exposed through an interview with Nandani’s mother. BBC’s and Frances Harrison’s heroine was in fact married to Uhan Padmarasa a pro-LTTE activist who had been sent by LTTE to the UK in 1995 and had been living there since. Nandani and Uhan had married in India in mid 2000 and her desire was to join him in the UK.
Thus she joins so many other women unable to join their spouses because either the spouse has a dubious record or there are fears that the true nature of who they are would get exposed at the asylum interview.
The next recourse is to seek legal counsel and there are agents and solicitors to provide ever ready services at a fee.
The question is how many Tamils spent sterling pounds 5000-6000 with additional sterling pounds 1500 as processing fees to gain asylum in the UK?
How many Tamils have sought assistance from the below featured solicitors?
·        How many Tamils have enduring physical scarring /tortures for a fee in order to foolishly think they can get asylum in the UK?
·        How many Tamils have been foolish to get their bodies burnt with cigarette butts, beaten with hot metal rods or cut and scarred to show physical torture?
·        How many Tamils have visited a location at 53 South End Lane, Brombley, SE6 3AB supposedly belonging to a Pirakash Gobalasingham who has close ties to internationally banned Tamil Rehabilitation Organization an LTTE front?
·        How many Tamils have been medically checked by British medical doctors and what is the guarantee that they are not involved in this scam and how many Tamils are willing to come forward and expose these crimes and expose these people making profits by physically scarring people who would do anything to get asylum in a Western country?
* How many Tamils as a result of these tortures are suffering adversely as a result inspite of actually gaining asylum. As for those who inspite of paying for their wounds could not secure asylum, how are they suffering with these wounds which will never leave them physically or mentally with the realization that they actually paid to get the wounds inflicted.
Does this not look like a ‘patterened’ and paid wound? How many other such ‘wounds’ have been paid for and used by NGOs/INGOs for their reports and by Foreign Governments to embarrass Sri Lanka???
The BBC Documentary shows a Dr. Allison Callaway who says she has examined over 200 cases of alleged torture from Sri Lanka in the past 5 years (after 2009). What is interesting is that she has examined Nandani and Dr. Callaway says she has 30 cigarette butt burns on her body including genital areas. When we now know that Nandani has been telling lies, matched with the realization that there is a paid racket on charging to inflict wounds on asylum seekers we need to seriously place Dr. Allison’s claim with the all-important question of how many other Tamil asylum seekers have gone through this torture.
This is the first in a new case study of asylum seekers actually paying to get wounds inflicted on them so as to facilitate their application for asylum.
This is a very dangerous scenario. If asylum seekers from across the globe also pays to get themselves tortured and thus NGOs take up their ‘cause’ and demand asylum from foreign governments what will this result in especially when the BBC report says that some rape cases had been given asylum even without verifying authenticity?
These cases that Sooka, BBC and Frances Harrison gives as examples are certainly not fake because there are bruises but these bruises are as a result of paying to get bruised and have no association with the party they accuse of committing the crime.
Thus Sooka, BBC and Frances Harrison have no right to accuse the Sri Lanka Armed Forces when there are places in the UK where asylum seekers have paid to get their wounds and thereafter apply for asylum on the claim that these ‘wounds’ and ‘tortures’ were recent and committed by the armed forces.
This case has to be legally taken up in the UK by honest lawyers and citizen-interest lobbies to insist that the solicitors, agents and any official in the UK party to this racket are exposed and legal action is taken against them.
What needs to be highlighted is
·        There is an international new racket that is charging asylum seekers for physical wounds that would secure them asylum. The likelihood of this racket extending and existing in other countries and by other nationalities cannot be ruled out.
·        Reports/Documentaries/Panel Discussions/Books are being released close to international events and UN country-assessment sessions in order to influence countries against targeted countries. These reports/documentaries/panel discussions, books etc are all funded by foreign governments who fund NGOs and people in their payroll to compile the reports using as sources the very parties that the targeted nations are in conflict with.
This is a violation of ethics and morals and totally against how Governments, NGOs and even the legal fraternity are meant to function.
The systems need to be cleaned up and the UN Panel investigating Sri Lanka needs to clearly put all these lies and distortions into its report.
Shenali D Waduge

Yahapalana is going to turn Sri Lankans to landless citizens like Hawaii

Shenali D Waduge

When Ranil Wickremasinghe Government took power in 2001 they allowed foreigners to purchase land and even coastal graveyards were bought. Returning to power again the Wickremasinghe Government has decided to continue to again facilitate sale of land to foreigners. What are the repercussions and consequences that the citizens will have to face in the future by governments with shortsighted gains? Greedy businessmen took Hawaii from Hawaiians – it can happen to Sri Lanka too.

Hawaii is made of 132 islands of which only 8 islands are livable. The eight major islands are Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, and Hawaii. Honolulu, the capital, is located on Oahu. Total population is 1.4million with a total 10,931 sq.miles. The state owns only 39% of land. In 1778, English explorer Captain James Cook arrived in Hawaii and its population declined by 80%. In 1794 George Vancouver, a British navigator, drafted an agreement with island chiefs to transfer ownership of the islands to Great Britain.

By 1878, the native population had dropped to an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people. There are fewer than 8,000 pure Hawaiians living today. Most Native Hawaiians today have less than 50% pure Hawaiian blood. Fewer than 2,500 people speak Hawaiian as their mother tongue.

Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Hawaii has been invaded thrice – in 1941 by the Japanese, in 1920s by tourists and in 1893 by American businessmen who overthrew Queen Liliuokalani illegally annexing Hawaii to the US. Christian missionaries arrived in 1820. With time tourists didn’t care about Hawaii culture except to enjoy in a luxury hotel.

In 1877, some 400 American businessmen forming the ‘Hawaiian League’ planned to overthrow the monarchy forcing King Kalakaua to sign the revised Hawaiian constitution which meant cutting his powers (Bayonet Constitution) which never went for a vote because people opposed it. No different to the present sentiments by the public against Sri Lanka’s constitution. Queen Liliuokalani, his sister took over in 1891 after the King’s death and planned to rescind the Bayonet Constitution and replace with one restoring power to herself & the natives. What is interesting is that Queen Liliuokalani was a follower of Buddhism & Buddhist philosophy and followed the teachings of Buddha in her rule. She imposed restrictions on foreign immigrants and decreased reliance on imports and foreign trade. She rejected American businessmen’s requests for immigration reform and reestablishment of trade-routes. American missionaries helped plot her overthrow and annexation to US in January 1893 with the help of 163 strategically placed American troops. The Queens ‘non-violence’ attitude proved her downfall. The Queen was arrested in 1895 charged with treason forced to abdicate and give up her throne. The US was quick to change things to their advantage – even Chinese immigrants were denied entry. Act 24 vested power in corporations. Even the Hawaiian language was banned. English replaced Hawaiian as the official language of government, business and education. Children were punished in school for speaking Hawaiian.

We must wonder how many such are already stationed in Sri Lanka and look at the subtle manner Buddhism and the Buddhist ethos of Sri Lanka is currently being targeted to elimination – education, social, cultural, political, religious, constitution etc.

Native Hawaiians launched a massive petition drive to stop the formal annexation of Hawai’i to the U.S. Of the known population of 39,000 Native Hawaiians, 21,269 signed the petition. This was an incredible majority. But, Hawai’i was illegally annexed as a U.S. territory in 1898, along with 1.2 million acres of Hawaiian crown lands that had belonged to the monarchy and to the nation of Hawai’i. No compensation was paid to anyone.

Hawaii was administered as a U.S. territory until 1959, when it became the 50th state in August, 1959, following a referendum in Hawaii in which more than 93% of the voters approved the proposition that the territory should be admitted as a state. What was sold to the people was that America was working in the best interest of the Hawaiians & their economy. No different to the story sold in Sri Lanka. Hawaii’s natural resources became her downfall. Sri Lanka’s geopolitical position must its unknown & unappreciated resources will become Sri Lanka’s downfall too.

In 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5030 granting US full control over all living and non-living resources within 200miles of US coastlines.

In 1993, Congress (President Clinton) issued an apology to the people of Hawaii for the U.S. government’s role in the overthrow and acknowledged that “the native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty.”

Apologies however does not return land to its rightful owners.

Hawaiʻi has one of the largest United States military populations in the world – 11 bases. More than 100,000 US service members and dependents live in Hawaii. A 2011 study by the RAND Corporation showed that military spending in Hawaiʻi was linked to 18 percent of the state’s economy, and direct military and civilian jobs made up 16 percent of the state’s workers (about 101,000 jobs).

An interesting article by Nate Gaddis in 2014 titled “How much of Hawaii is concrete” a question most of us are now raising in Colombo viewing the massive structures coming up. Before tourism and U.S. military on the islands, agriculture was the biggest industry in Hawaii. Sugar, coconut, and pineapple formed the core of the plantation system. When the large plantations were established in the 1820s and 1830s, native Hawaiian men were employed as farm workers while Hawaiian women worked in the houses of white immigrants as maids and washerwomen. This is going to be the eventual outcome for Sri Lankans too.

With native Hawaiian population decreasing, importing of Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese took place and around 400,000 came between 1850 and 1880. This is no different to the importing of Tamils from South India by the European colonials to Sri Lanka.

Over the past century, 70 % of beaches on the islands of Kaua'i, O'ahu, and Maui have experienced long-term erosion. Everything and anything is now private owned and people are taxed. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/23/mark-zuckerberg-hawaii-land-lawsuits-kauai-estate

By privatizing water and sewer systems, local government officials abdicate control.

Privatizing local water and sewer systems usually does far more harm than good for our communities. In Hawaii, a privately owned water utility service costs 59% more than the public water service. After privatization, water rates increased at about three times the rate of inflation, with an average increase of 18 percent every other year. The situation is no different in other areas where privatization has taken place too.

What can be more humiliating than the thought of indigenous Hawaiians having to take a blood test to prove their land right! Will this not be the future of the Sinhalese too!

Origin of Self-determination for Tamils is Tamil Nadu: Homeland for World Tamils is Tamil Nadu

We must first understand the premise that the same ethnic group cannot evolve in 2 different countries and both cannot seek self-determination separately in the two different countries. If we agree to this fundamental theory, we can move forward to see which country Tamils first birthed in for it is that country that must have the right to seek self-determination. Were Tamils born in Tamil Nadu FIRST or in Sri Lanka is a question no one has asked or even cared to answer. The answer is crucial to the solution. In terms of timeline the original demand for self-determination for Tamils was in 1938 in Tamil Nadu and not Sri Lanka.

Madras Province consisted of Tamil Nadu (Tamil speakers) parts of Andhra Pradesh (Telugu speakers), Karnataka (Kannada speakers), Kerala (Malayalam speakers) and ruled by British. Other parts of Andhra, Karnataka & Kerala were ruled by kings who were ‘subservient’ to the British. In 1947 with Indian independence, Madras Province was renamed Madras State.

It is important to note that the independence of Tamil Nadu movement started FIRST before it drew the interests of non-Tamil but Dravida language speaking others who wanted independence for states of Dravida Nadu. The Tamil Nadu Independence movement is very clear that its independence from Indian rule began far before the Dravida Munneta Kazagam in 1949 (DMK) or Dravidar Kazahagam (DK) were formed.

In the mid 1950s India divided itself along linguistic states and with that ended the Dravida Nadu demand. 17 September 1949 was celebrated as ‘Dravida Nadu Liberation Day”.

Dravidar Kazahagam (DK) became an offshoot of the Self-Respect Movement / Justice Party formed by Periyar E V Ramaswamy in 1925.

Dravida Munnertra Kazhagam (DMK) founded on 17 September 1949 by C N Annadurai after splitting from Dravidar Kazhagam (DK).

Justice party members Periyar E V Ramaswamy and C N Annadurai initially called for Tamil Nadu independence in 1938. Periyar also headed the Self-Respect Movement. Periyar went on to head the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and Annadurai the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)

Addressing a meeting in October 1938, Periyar declared

“The best way to preserve the liberty of Tamils is to agitate for separation from the rest of India and the proposed All-India Federation”.

Periyar went on to become elected President of the Justice Party in December 1938 declaring its aim was the separation of Tamil Nadu from the rest of India. A few months before T P Vedachalam of the Justice Party founded Tamil Nation Liberation Association in August 1938.

The Justice Party was renamed Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) in 1944.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was formed in 1949 by C N Annadurai. The same year Chelvanayagam formed the Tamil Nation party ITAK in Sri Lanka.

T M Parthasarathy on the DMK History says “Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra should each SEPARATELY become independent countries and THEN the four should join to form a ‘Dravidian Federation”.

Again what needs to be understood is that the terminologies of self-determination

Tamil Nadu’s bid for self-determination follows these argument:-

· “British India” was formed putting together independent princely kingdoms and territories.

· Tamils lost their sovereignty with the fall of the 3 major kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandya around 1311 by Sultans, Nayaks, Maharaashtrians & Nawabs followed thereafter by arrival of Europeans – all of Tamil Nadu was ruled by colonial Britain while Pondycherry was ruled by the French.

· 1947 - At independence Muslims in northwest and northeast objected to the creation of one country and so Britain created 2 countries - Pakistan & India. Tamil Nadu objected to this though Britain ignored this.

· 1938 August - Formation of Tamil National Liberation Association (Tamil Desa Viduthalai Sangam) by T P Vedachalam of the Justice Party became the 1^st Tamil Nadu independence movement.

· 1938 October - E V Ramaswamy (Self-Respect Movement & later leader of Justice Party which became DK in 1944) declared “the best way to preserve the liberty of Tamils is to agitate for separation from the rest of India and the proposed All-India Federation”.

· 10 December 1939 C N Annadurai (founder of DMK) demanded independence - ‘Tamil Nadu for Tamils’

· 17 December 1939 Periyar of DK raised slogan “Dravida Nadu for Dravidians” changing his earlier “Tamil Nadu for Tamils’ but changed again to “Tamil Nadu for Tamils’ in 1960s evidenced in the Viduthalai magazine. Periyar died in 1973.

· 27 December 1939 - Provincial Tamil Conference in Vellore discussed Tamil Nadu independence.

· 24 August 1940 - Justice Party State Conference in Thiruvarur passed a resolution that to protect Dravidian culture, arts and economy Dravidian homeland of Madras Province needed. Thus the Tamil Nadu Independence Movement transgressed into Dravida Nadu Independence Movement. (refer article on “DMK & the Tamil Nadu Independence Movement”) From 1940 – 1962 calls for Dravida Nadu by DMK. The reason for this is said to be due to Telugu leaders A C Parthasarathy Naidu, Ragavaiah Naidu, K V Reddy Naidu all striving for Dravida Nadu independence.

· The British delegation (Cripps Mission) that came in 1942 refused the request for a separate Tamil state upon Indian independence.

· 1944 - C N Annadurai at DK Conference in Trichi “India is a continent and it should be divided into separate nations(countries).” “There is no need for it to be under a single government”. “India should be divided according to racial lines to prevent future bloodsheds”. “Aryan dominance grows under a single Indian country. Other races are destroyed”. “Dividing India into separate countries would allow for each to develop its economy according to its circumstances and prevent one region taking the wealth of another”.

· 14 October 1947 - Dravida Nadu Separation Conference held in Cuddalore, Tamil scholar V Kalyana Sundaram speaking about Aryan-Dravidian problem. Resolution calling for Dravida Nadu independence passed.

· V Kalyana Sundaram unveiled a map of Dravida Nadu at Dravidar Kazhagam Conference in Erode.

· 8 November 1950 - Madras State DMK Students Conference passed resolution for the independence of Dravida Nadu.

· 12-16 December 1951 - DMK State Conference called for ‘Dravida Nadu for Dravidians’

· DMK leaders demanded independent Dravida Nadu during 1952, 1957 and 1962 election campaigns.

· 13-16 July 1961 - DMK General Conference in Madurai called for ‘Dravida Nadu for Dravidians’

· 16-17 December 1961 - DMK Special Election Conference in Coimbatore ahead of February 1962 General Elections called for ‘Dravida Nadu for Dravidians’. DMK won 50 seats at the State Legislative Assembly & 7 seats in the Indian Parliament. DMK founder C N Annadurai was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1962 and in his May 1^st maiden speech he reiterated demand for ‘Dravidians demand the right of self-determination….we want a separate country for Southern India’ His response to Indian President Dr. Radhakrishnan who said India was one country because Rama & Krishna are worshipped from Kanyakumari to Himalayas was “Jesus is worshipped throughout Europe, yet there are many countries in Europe”.

· 11 August 1962 - What is noteworthy is that when a by-election was held in Thiruchengodu following the resignation of Dr. Subarayan of Congress Party, Congress leaders campaigned asking people not to vote for DMK as it was a separatist party but the DMK candidate won leading to DMK leaders claiming it was a victory for ‘independence’.

· 22 September 1962 - DMK celebrated ‘Dravida Nadu Independence Festival’ in Chennai with over 200,000 participating.

· 1963 – Bids for separate independent Dravida Nadu & Tamil Nadu had to be abandoned when Indian Centre passed 16^th amendment prohibiting anyone to advocate separatism.

· 13 November 1963 - DMK abandoned independence for Dravida Nadu after Indian Centre threatened to ban it from contesting elections if it continued with the independence demand.

· However, the 1967 election manifesto of DMK included the demand for increasing the devolution of powers of state governments. It won them a landslide victory no different to how TULF in SL won following the racist/separatist Vaddukoddai Resolution in 1976.

· 1994 - Poet Pavalareru carried sentiment of freedom for Tamil Nadu till his death in 1994.

· However, Thamizaharasan formed the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA) in the mid-1980s though he was killed by the Indian Army though the group remains active.

What is noteworthy is that both Tamil Nadu and later Sri Lankan Tamils changed tactics – when the direct attempts to cede looked bleak they adopted the next strategy of asking for more devolutions without interference by the Centre to build the grounds to prepare to eventually cede. The present constitutional demands being made by racist Tamil leaders connected to the LTTE are very much aligned to this tactic & strategy. Even the call for a referendum in the North & East Sri Lanka is a copied version of the same call asked by Tamil Nadu far earlier.

However the quest for a separate Tamil state undeniably began in Tamil Nadu and not Sri Lanka. Open advocacy for it began in Sri Lanka only in 1976 with the Vaddukoddai Resolution

Some answers are certainly needed

· Did Tamils seek self-determination when British was decolonizing? Yes & Tamil Nadu made this request before India was given independence but was rejected. It must be remembered that there was never a nation called India until 1947 when the British cobbled independent territories and kingdoms to declare independence as India. This means that every state that artificially turned into an Indian state has the right to argue for self-determination and this is what will lead to the eventual balkanization of India by the West as they did to the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. There was no such demand for self-determination by Tamils at the time of independence in Sri Lanka– the Tamil elite were only worried about losing what they were disproportionately enjoying under British rule.

· Where did the ethnic group Tamils originate? Where did the Tamil culture, language originate – it is where all these originated that can seek right to self-determination. The golden rule is – the same ethnic group cannot use the same arguments for self-determination in two separate and independent countries. In short it means - One & the same ethnic group cannot demand several mono-ethnic-homelands in different continents and countries – this is likely to create an ugly precedence globally, the UN and the West must NOT ignore this fact.

· Isn’t it because Tamils in Sri Lanka descend from Tamil Nadu that both Tamil Nadu leaders & even the Indian Government are eternally interfering in Sri Lanka’s internal affairsto look into the ‘grievances of the Tamil people’. How do we differentiate Tamils who were either brought from Tamil Nadu or came as illegal immigrants from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka over the past centuries?

· If the Tamils in Sri Lanka has no link to Tamils in Tamil Nadu why would they call themselves Tamils and why would India and/or Tamil Nadu keep interfering in Sri Lanka claiming the Sri Lankan Tamils to be their brothers/sisters?! Similarly, Sri Lankan Tamil leaders have themselves like Ponnambalam etc openly claimed they are proud Dravidians than Sri Lankans (Ceylonese). Again showing where the root allegiance lies.

So the place where the first calls initiated for self-determination is where the real Homeland of the Tamils is and that place is nowhere else but Tamil Nadu as can be seen from the examples and demands given above.

Therefore, it is very clear that the real Eelam or Homeland of Tamils is and should be in Tamil Nadu and nowhere else. Those claiming homeland in Sri Lanka must argue their case not as Tamils but in another name. The moment calls for a Tamil Homeland emerges it automatically rests in Tamil Nadu not Sri Lanka where all the ingredients for self-determination prevails.

It is possible that even Tamils in Sri Lanka and even Tamils in Tamil Nadu may not be aware of these ground realities. But its about time they did as should the Sinhalese leaders and citizens as well.

Independence for Tamil Nadu is our Birthright!  We will ask for it!  We will fight for it!  We will achieve it!!

TamilTribune

http://www.tamiltribune.com

Shenali D Waduge

Further reading : https://www.spur.asn.au/2012/10/22/shouldnt-tamil-eelaam-be-in-tamil-nadu/

Former Colonial Powers have no moral right to speak on Accountability without atoning for their colonial crimes

Today, proudly promoting themselves as the international community, the Western nations who have become first world nations as a result of the plunder & murder of the third world are preaching accountability. No country with soiled hands has a right to speak without atoning for their crimes & apologizing for them first. What moral right do they have when none of their crimes have been allowed to be taken to any court (locally or globally)? When none of the present day crimes nears the level of crimes committed by all European Christian/Catholic countries as a policy, none of these nations has any moral right to be pointing fingers accusing other nations of crimes they committed without any qualms. The West suffers collective amnesia or convenient amnesia for their crimes.

Today, the West is promoting multiculturalism, multi-faith and many other liberal nomenclatures all of which have a bigger insidious motive and revolves round their overall aim to dislodge the history, heritage of non-Christian religions except Islam, making it easier for them to use the puppet UN & its associate bodies to introduce systems that are all planned to create a neocolonial system where these nations will become serfs of Western domination. The mentality of criminality originating from colonial rule prevailed even after 2 major world wars & the supposed formation of the UN. Post 1945 it is now clear that most of the conflicts that took place globally were all a result of problems created during colonial rule or using the local traitors they had nurtured to plant further troubles for which the West funded & armed both sides to ensure these conflicts continued unabated allowing them to re-enter as peace champions. Shrouding their ulterior motives using humanitarian charities, peace builders & conflict resolutionists, the West is doing what it knows best – create & thrive on people’s misery and destroy people, property & environment.

The West has no right to speak on GENOCIDE

European colonial invaders ordered by the Church used Doctrine of Discovery, Tera Nullius (Nobody’s Land) giving them right to take over any land/territory that was not-Christian. It gave these European rulers the right to dispossess Natives of their land & commit gruesome murders and acts of genocide, depopulation destruction of historical heritage sites, religious worship & en masse convert natives to their faiths or murder those that refused.

The aborigines lived in Australia over 50,000 years before Europeans arrived in 1788 but Terra Nullius confiscated their lands & set out to ‘civilize the uncivilized inhabitants’ which later became infamously known as the ‘white man’s burden’. Court cases in 1977, 1979 & 1982 challenged Terra Nullius but naturally the cases were rejected. Using the same term Norway occupied & claimed parts of Eastern Greenland in 1931.

Not only was land confiscated but native production was replaced with crops grown to be sent overseas to feed the white races. Artificial borders were created using just a pen and every nation in Africa all came about from these artificial demarcations. Many of the present day border disputes are as a result of these artificial borders.

King Leopald II of Belgium is said to have killed 10million Africans in the Congo & the West is silent about accountability!

According to Ward Churchill 2.5 million indigenous peoples who had lived in the region which now comprises Brazil, less than 10 per cent survived to the 1600s. Over eighty indigenous tribes were destroyed between 1900 and 1957 by the Portuguese in Brazil. Even World Bank has come under flak for relocating indigenous people & causing environmental destruction/deforestation.

The ancient empires of Incas, Mayas & Aztecs have all been virtually eliminated from history because of these European countries & their greed & thirst for blood.

How many even know the extent of the murders committed by the Church during the Inquisitions & most of these murderers have been declared Saints!

Given that the new UN Secretary General is from Portugal the onus is on him to do right by the victims of the Portuguese. The Portuguese were the first to establish a colony in Africa in 1415 and was the last to leave Africa too.

The Dutch must have forgotten the 4,000 Indonesians killed over Christmas in 1946 with the direct knowledge of the Hague (in all 150,000 Indonesians were killed) – but the Hague is going after Serbia & African leaders only – WHY?!

Uva-Wellassa massacre in 1818 resulted in Governor Brownrigg ordering the murder of 10,000 Sinhalese including babies & burning the entire area.

The West has no right to speak on Cultural Genocide

The doctrine of discovery was used to confiscate land of indigenous people, murder them, depopulate them, infect them with diseases, ruin their crops & livelihoods in what was known as the Scorched Earth Policy.

The West is brandishing and boasting about cultural genocide with Treaties & what not but cultural genocide began by them & specifically targeting the elimination of non-Christian cultures. We cannot forget these crimes.

Civilization meant setting up missionary schools introducing textbooks that would promote western values and make natives look down on their history & heroes and replace with western ones. The quest continues still.

West is speaking about multiculturalism today but they indulged in forced assimilation whereby natives had no other choice but to give up their culture, traditions and customs & adopt western values & become ‘civilized’. Children were plucked from parents put for adoption and all records erased and these countries are preaching child rights today! The Europeans not only infected the Native people with physical and psychological diseases, but also forced them to accept intellectual, cultural and religious inferiority (Czerny, Swift and Clarke, 1994).

Canada loves to issue diplomatic demarches on human rights but little gets said about Canada denying rights to indigenous Canadians even upto 1960! The real land owners of Canada were not allowed to run businesses, borrow money, own property while aboriginal children were ceased from parents, put into state custody and subjected to forced labor in the residential ‘schools’ which closed only in 1996 after over 150,000 children were subject of much torture even brain experiments!

Today, the West has state and NGOs lobbying activists with plenty of slogans and placards, shedding crocodile tears on human rights but none of them want to champion the cause of demanding apology & reparation from their own nations for the crimes committed simply saying ‘oh that happened centuries ago’! Is there any point in using the UN as an instrument to peddle western hegemony and drafting all types of fancy Conventions & Treaties, defining what genocide and war crimes are when these very nations have not accounted for the terms they insist other countries ratify?

Many non-Christian sacred sites have been purposely destroyed and on top of them Churches & Cathedrals have been built. In Sri Lanka there is no Buddhist place of worship because colonials ensured all these magnificent structures were destroyed erasing whatever traces of the national heritage and history the natives were fighting to protect.

The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara is just one of the thousands of Buddhist sites that the 3 colonial rulers destroyed with cruel intent in Sri Lanka. None of these countries have any moral right to speak on religious freedom as even presently after just one incident half of all mosques in the UK were attacked!

The West has no right to speak on Human Rights

It was the West that divided & discriminated people. They declared indigenous people as non-human simply because they were non-Christians.

When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 the Americas had a 100m indigenous people. How many were killed no one has bothered to count! Present day western authors are counting on the dead of those that are strategically important to them and framing bogus figures to advance their agenda. Sri Lanka’s LTTE is an excellent case in point.

The West speaks of rights & freedoms but were they not responsible for subordinating natives, creating harsh social conditions, introducing poverty & elitism, dividing people as black, whites, browns & yellow, creating ethnic & racial profiling of people, Let’s not forget the manner colonial British treated the Boers in South Africa where the world’s first concentration camps emerged, the apartheid periods & the horrific discrimination against Blacks in America, UK and Europe. Blacks had to stand in different queues, drink water from different taps, sit on one side of the bus and the white race was not shy about putting posters that openly & proudly displayed their racism and all this continues still yet these countries are championing efforts against racism and that is hilarious.

In 1884 following the Berlin Conference the White Nations took a pen & divided Africa among themselves to plunder. Riches of Africa were stolen by these nations making Africans poor & handing power to local greedy stooges who would be willing to allow them to fleece Africa even after independence.

Britain’s response to quelling a rebellion in Kenya was to round up 1.5 million people and place them in concentration camps.

Speaking as if they are saints the British write about internment camps!

On April 13, 1919, thousands of peaceful protesters defied a government order and demonstrated against British rule in Amritsar, India. These unarmed civilians were shot dead.

What else is said when Colonial British rule for railways in 1843 was "Dogs and Indians are not allowed."!

Britain’s hero Churchill is said to be responsible for the Bengal Famine in 1943 refusing to send supplies & claimed 4m lives (not that long ago)

Human rights boasting Britain is said to have killed 150million people during their colonial rule!

Even the UN has done nothing beyond denouncing the Discovery Doctrine as ‘shameful’ & root of all discrimination & marginalization faced by indigenous people today.

The West has no right to speak on Truth & Reconciliation

Let it be said that every land the European invaders took over, dominated, administered & plundered and thereafter gave ‘independence’ to is morally questionable. All laws they made was after declaring Terra Nullius – a term non-existent until it was coined by the very invaders.

These illegal European occupiers created laws that natives were forced to adhere to. Illegal invaders mean illegal laws & every system created since their occupation has to be legally questioned. Moreso because every international law existent today has been drafted by them not incorporating any of the laws & systems that the civilizations before the Europeans came into the scene were following and had a history far greater, longer and prouder than what the Europeans had.

Therefore, where is the Truth about these ground realities? If at all a Truth Commission must take stock of all the illegalities committed by these European invaders upon the indigenous people of the Americas, Africa, Asia & Australasia.

How can these countries who have not come clean on their crimes covering over 500 years of illegalities, murder & plunder be allowed to preach like virgin Marys?

Shenali D Waduge

If anyone is commemorating LTTE dead, they are celebrating every person killed by LTTE

LTTE remains a banned terrorist organization both in Sri Lanka & in 32 countries. Ever since the present government came to power through a well-planned regime change bizarre events have taken place going so far as to bring a new constitution that was mooted as an agreement with sections of present Govt & LTTE/TNA leaders in 2013 (Singapore Principles). With just 16 seats in a 225 seat Parliament the LTTE created TNA is next made the Opposition Leader, its leader even storms a military base demanding access to confidential information, many of the demands TNA has made has been accommodated while the biggest yet not unexpected shock comes in the Governments silence and inaction on a TNA MP using Rs.4m of the decentralized budget to make a museum for LTTE dead. When the West is still hounding former Nazi’s in their 90s and imprisoning them would the West allow Nazi’s to be commemorated & a museum built for Nazi’s to set up? Would West allow a museum for Al Qaeda & ISIS?

Sri Lanka’s armed militancy was created overseas when India clandestinely trained LTTE & other militant groups in the mid 1970s. India trained, armed & even financially funded these groups to destabilize Sri Lanka. Biographies of Dixit, former IPKF, Indian Army heads confirm this. That India paid Rs.50m monthly to LTTE in lieu of signing the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987 is also no secret.

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/wikileaks1988-indian-payoff-to-ltte-revealed-520-million-indian-rupees-to-tigers/

Former Indian Foreign Secretary’s Book ‘Choices’ reveal that the loss to Sri Lanka throughout the 26year conflict was $200billion – if so India owes this much to Sri Lanka for creating the menace.

With this Indian training & arms Tamil militants began attacking innocent villages – Dollar & Kent Farms becoming first victims and we can but wonder if cadres were on narcotics in the shocking manner these villagers were killed. When people want to build museums & commemorate dead LTTE it only means they are celebrating the killing of thousands of innocent villagers – men, women, children & babies. Pathetic.

When segments of Tamil polity surprising inclusive of the Jaffna University academia & students hold vigils for dead LTTE cadres & protest to release LTTE cadres in prison, it should shock everyone and raise them to ask some not so nice questions to answer.

All those who demand vigils for LTTE, museums for LTTE, burial grounds for dead LTTE, commemorations for LTTE (dead or alive) are actually clapping their hands and celebrating every man, woman, child irrespective of being Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim or even foreigner put to death by LTTE.

Not only is this news shocking but the manner they are openly advocating this and a weak and spineless government is allowing it while the humanitarian angels the West, UN & the bandwagon of NGOs are happily watching is just disgusting.

Everyone – TNA MPs, Northern Provincial Council PMs, Jaffna University, elements of the bogus ‘civil society’ of Sri Lanka, dollar-paid local stooges all demanding the commemoration of LTTE means that they are actually clapping their hands and jubilant over the pre-meditated murder, ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese & Muslims chased out of the North, stealing of their land & belongings,

Jaffna University academia & students should be ashamed of their conduct – knowing LTTE kidnapped thousands of Tamil children and turned them into LTTE cadres violating Article 26 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (right to education) the university is siding with LTTE and not the families of these innocent children turned into killers. The silence by the elite Tamils is because these Tamil children came from low caste & poor homes and so they were just rejects of their own Tamil society – good only to serve their purpose & die.

Jaffna University academia & students should also be ashamed that it is siding with LTTE who violated Article 4 & 5 of the Geneva Convention – forced servitude treating Tamils as slaves. It is an absolute disgrace that the university was allowed to be used to hold vigils for dead LTTE!

What is shocking is that Jaffna University has not held a single vigil for any Tamil killed by LTTE including many academics, politicians, clergy, public servants, Mayors, principals/teachers but the University only wants to mourn for and engage in protests on behalf of dead LTTE. Shouldn’t the Vice Chancellor be questioned and action taken against the University?

LTTE remains banned. Even if Tamil academia did not wish to mourn non-Tamil victims of LTTE surely they should be mourning all the Tamils that the LTTE killed – including LTTE’s own cadres? Doesn’t look like it by the manner the Jaffna University is behaving & it does not display anything to be proud about. In fact, it will smear the reputation of the University for demanding vigils and mourning of a terrorist movement. Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge nor any other university in any part of the world WOULD NOT entertain such nonsense.

This is at the university level. Only a few days back the Northern Province Education Minister (a doctorate holder too!) and brother of EPRLF another armed group leader Suresh Premachandran who at a ceremony refused to hoist the National Flag. What is the message he is trying to convey by the theatrics & on behalf of whom is this drama?

http://www.hirunews.lk/176231/state-ministers-protest-to-npc-education-minister-who-said-no-for-hoisting-national-flag

To make matters worse what was the response of the Northern Chief Minister – not surprisingly since he is the ring leader of the troubles & anti-national sentiments, his response is “I have the same political reservations” (Wigneswaran) and now a TNA MP has allocated Rs.4m from the decentralized budget to build a LTTE museum and the Central Government is simply watching tax payers money being stolen to erect a monument for a banned terrorist movement. Disgusting.

http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20170401CT20170630.php?id=34634

But what can be worse when the country’s Prime Minister is happily talking away when the country’s national anthem is playinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHiOj5ZHiNY

Where is the end to this – all of these separatist elements are making demands they have no moral right to given that their links to terror remains uninvestigated & that behind every demand is a larger motive with aims in keeping with the Vaddukoddai Resolution of 1976 which can be deduced even by an idiot. The issue is why is the present Government giving in to these demands. After singing the national anthem in Tamil what is the peace that has come from the very groups who claimed that that would be a solution. If a government cedes everything on a futile argument of reconciliation where do these compromises stop & what is the eventual outcome?

Let us also remind those demanding to celebrate LTTE that more Tamils have died by LTTE than they can falsely accuse the Sri Lanka Army of – Tamils were killed when fleeing from LTTE, Tamils were used as human shields & hostages, these are violations of 3^rd& 4^th Geneva Conventions & Additional Protocol 1. LTTE did not have qualms about killing its own cadres – the injured cadres had been put into buses & set fire. Enough of Tamils overseas have been threatened & attacked if they did not regularly contribute to the LTTE kitty. Many a Tamil have lived in fear of the LTTE too scared to voice their fear & silenced by the fact that the West, NGOs & diplomatic community unabashedly side with the LTTE & their networks locally & overseas instead of doing justice by the victims. We are shocked with disbelief at the hypocrisy & bias that prevails with all of LTTE’s crimes well documented by them & reports their own governments & intelligence have compiled these countries are very happy to allow the entities that funded LTTE to continue & not stopping there, their events are even attended by foreign MPs.

Everyone demanding the right of the LTTE to be commemorating with museums & vigils are celebrating the agony and sorrow brought to families of every person killed by LTTE since 1980s.

No one asked LTTE to take up arms and kill people. It was their choice and it was their choice not to lay down arms & surrender too. Eventually they were defeated in May 2016 after countless failed peace talks, ceasefires & even third party negotiations. Had LTTE not hounded civilians with them to be used as hostages, human shields & temporary cadres there would be no civilian deaths! It was LTTE that put civilians in harm’s way by firing from among them and shot at fleeing civilians. No one will even provide estimates for how many civilians LTTE killed when they fled. The other question never answered is how many were actually civilians. LTTE had its own trained civilian armed force – these dead do not qualify as civilians. All of the false allegations have been legally dealt with by the team of eminent international legal experts led by Sir Desmond de Silva who have establish that the military did not commit war crimes as was being alleged and that the death figures per proportionality was not excesses. Sir Desmond is on record to say that the Sri Lankan Military has been ‘unjustifiably vilified with accusations of war crimes’.

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/07/05/did-sri-lanka-commit-war-crimes-international-legal-luminary-sir-desmond-de-silva-says-no/

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/07/01/did-sri-lanka-commit-war-crimes-international-legal-luminaries-prof-crane-and-sir-desmond-de-silva-say-no/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C3uYsnHIkw Anna Niesat of Human Rights Watch

Look at the situation now

TNA MP funds construction of LTTE Mausoleum reported by Daily Mirror on 24^th November 2017

http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/TNA-MP-funds-construction-of-LTTE-Mausoleum-140975.html

Social Media posted massive cutouts in Jaffna of Prabakaran – LTTE remains banned and the Yahapalana Government is doing nothing about it. What is the message it is giving by inaction?

In September 2017deproscribed (on flimsy ground of reconciliation) GTF leader Father Emmanuel arrives in Sri Lanka & visits Jaffna and even holds talks with US envoy Keshap. http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2017/09/24/father-emmanuel-visits-sri-lanka/

There are makeshift tents set up in front of select military bases with Tamils taking roster turns to protest 24x7 and regular visits by diplomats clicking photos for their framed reports!

October 2016– 3 naval ratings attacked by 300 Tamils in Mannar

September 2016– Chief Minister Norther Province heads protests demanding removal of Buddhist sites, stopping Sinhala ‘colonization’, Buddhisization & removal of military (note: citizens of a country cannot colonize its own country)

August 2016 – Buddhist temples & Head Priests regularly threatened by TNA & supporters scaring them to leave area. Chief incumbent of Sambodhi Viharaya Mullaitivu threatened by TNA Provincial MP. Several Buddhist sites and Buddhist statues vandalized. Damaging historical monuments is a war crime.

July 2016 – Jaffna University unashamedly commemorates LTTE dead

April 2016 – TNA leader & Opposition Leader Sambanthan with 50 others storms army camp in Paravipachchan, Kilinochchi (Note EU Election Observer Head John Cushnahan in his 2004 report said TNA & LTTE were one and the same – Canadian Federal Court too recently upheld a report that LTTE & TNA were one & the same)

February 2015 – Immediately after Yahapalana comes into power it gives into pressure from TNA to reduce military camps, remove high security zones, give lands without asserting whether those demanding lands had title deeds to claim so or asserting whether some IDPs were of Indian origin & thus not entitled to any lands.

January 2015 – Immediately after Yahapalana comes into power the Jaffna court complex is stoned. The first time Tamils have become unruly since May 2009.

What needs to be clearly accepted is that

· LTTE are not political prisoners.

· LTTE are not prisoners of war (as Sri Lanka’s conflict is a Non-International Armed Conflict)

· In Non-International Armed Conflict terms COMBATANT and PRISONER OF WAR does not apply.

· LTTE are Unlawful Combatant/ Illegal Combatant /belligerent

In terms of commemorating the dead. No one is denying a mother or parents of LTTE cadres do mourn their LTTE sons/daughters but they cannot make a public spectacle of the mourning. In fact they don’t need to have a public gathering to mourn their child. When non-family inclusive of foreigners & dollar-earning entities want to make a public spectacle of LTTE dead, the real objective is political and nothing more. It is against this that we are drawing everyone’s attention.

The TNA including Wigneswaran did not supply a bag of rice to any Tamil affected from LTTE nor did they ask LTTE to release any of the 300,000 Tamils that the Army saved, so what is this big talk of working for the interests of Tamils? All humbug and empty rhetoric to satisfy bigger agendas paid for and funded with bigger objectives in mind.

It is unfortunate that we are plagued with a weak & spineless government that can only watch as extremism and separatism is drummed primarily because they came to power on their support.

While you must know your friends from your enemies, you must learn to wisely choose who you partner with too.

Shenali D Waduge

Jaffna University–TNA commemorate LTTE ‘TAMIL HEROES’ – Did Diplomats & UN attend too?

Shenali D Waduge

In a shocking turn of events unabashed commemoration of terrorists & mass murderers are taking place – dead silence by the Government & nod of approval by the very countries who are still hounding senile men in their 90s accusing them of being former Nazi’s and locking them up in prison. There is nothing really to be surprised by these events unfolding but it does make a laughing stock out of their own statements issued on peaceful coexistence, reconciliation & accountability. Such wrong signals are doing nothing to achieve anything but return us to square one following the discovery of arms & ammunition while trial runs with new gangsters roaming the country is now scaring people who fear a return to part two of another 30 years of terror. So in the eyes of this Govt & the West & UN, LTTE terrorists are the heroes while National Army & the innocent unarmed civilians who were killed are the Terrorists.

LTTE are heroes in the eyes of those who are commemorating them & those who are allowing the commemorations. The spineless government is not taking action because it thinks that this is what the West wants! While the West & India are happy because it serves as the perfect background to again divide people further. For the LTTE diaspora funding these stunts it is a perfect way to hide their illegal businesses and fool the world once more.

Take a look at the handiwork of those who are being commemorated and ask yourselves how right is this? When the world will not tolerate Nazi’s being commemorated why are they allowing mass murderers LTTE to be mourned? Name any country who has suffered over 300 attacks by LTTE in 3 decades and after militarily defeating LTTE, a state university is mourning the dead terrorists and not the victims? Where in the world would such absurdities happen?

Were there people to count these innocent civilian dead? There are however plenty of people counting LTTE dead and even mourning the mass murderers son – just look at the many babies and children LTTE have killed. Why have there been no tears or posters for them by the big shot diplomatic community and bogus human rights organizations.

All that needs to be said is that if any international entity project themselves as serving the good of the world then they must be fair but they cannot be fair and unbiased when it comes to a terrorist movement. They simply cannot put terrorist deaths on par with innocent unarmed civilian deaths. These terrorists and mass murderers had a choice and they chose to take the gun and kill people. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.

LTTE’s 1^st victim – a Tamil mayor, Alfred Duraiappah killed in July 1975

1983 – 13 Sri Lankan soldiers ambushed and killed.

1984 – January Hilton Hotel bombed killing civilians

1984 – November Kent & Dollar Farms 127 Sinhalese villagers killed by LTTE ‘heroes’.

1985 – January bombing Yaal Devi Train

1985 – May, killing of 146 Sinhala Buddhists including Seelawansa Thero worshipping in sacred Anuradhapura city by LTTE ‘war heroes’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNmq_04ZeQ

1986 – May – Air Lanka plane bombed killing 16 people

1987 – Central Bus Stand bombed in Colombo by LTTE ‘war heroes’.

1987 July – LTTE ‘war heroes’ stop bus carrying student Buddhist monks & murder one after the other, just because these small Buddhist monks needed to be taught a lesson!

1988 November – LTTE ‘war heroes’ kill 27 Sinhalese in attack on bus in Trincomalee (Jaffna University must be so proud)1988 May 1 – LTTE ‘war heroes’ landmine blows up bus, killing 22 passengers in eastern Trincomalee (Jaffna university must have been elated by the news)

1989 February – 34 Sinhalese killed in shootings at Duluwewa in northeast (Jaffna university should next light crackers in celebration for every attack by their LTTE ‘war heroes’)

1990 – Another ‘achievement’ by Jaffna University & TNA’s ‘War Heroes’ – over 600 policemen who surrendered killed one after the other

1990 – 140 Muslims praying inside mosque in Kattankudy killed by LTTE ‘war heroes’ & these ‘heroes’ go on to kill another 120 Muslims in Eravur, Batticoloa a week later.

1992 –bicycle bomb in eastern Batticaloa kills 22 Moslems

1992 – October – 166 Muslim men, women and children were brutally hacked to death in their sleep by women and child cadres of the LTTE in northeastern Palliyagodella (How great these LTTE ‘war heroes’ are killing innocent people)

Jaffna university/TNA/LTTE Diaspora headed by Catholic fathers & their Indian/Western support base must all be delighted by the assassinations of Sri Lanka’s political leaders

1991 – March – Gen. Ranjan Wijeratne

1993 – April – Lalith Athulathmudali

1993 – May – President R Premadasa

1994 – Nov – Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake

2005 – Aug – Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadiragamar

1995 – August – Suicide bomber explodes bomb hidden in coconut cart in Colombo, killing 24 and wounding 40

1995 – October – LTTE cadres blow up two oil depots in capital Colombo, killing more than 20 security personnel (more handiwork by the LTTE ‘war heroes’)

1996 – Jan – Tigers ram a truck loaded with explosives into the central Bank building in Colombo, killing 91 people with over 1400 injured https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asrtn5xTDdE&t=10s

1996 – July – Two bomb blasts on a rush-hour commuter train kill 57 people and injure at least 157.

1997 – October – The LTTE attacks The World Trade Centre in central Colombo killing 18 injuring over 110

1998 – January – The LTTE bombs Sri Lanka’s holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth, in the central town of Kandy, killing 17 (the Jaffna University / TNA & all those holding vigils for LTTE must be delighted at this & Wigneswaran unabashedly visits the Maligawa recently too)

1998 – March Bus bomb explosion in Maradana, Colombo claims over 36 civilians injuring 270 more – (everyone mourning LTTE dead must be mourning the men who did this!)

1999 – LTTE suicide blast kills Tamil MP Neelan Tiruchelvam

(Jaffna University wants to mourn dead LTTE but not a single candle do they want to light for Tamils killed by LTTE)

1999 – LTTE women cadres attack three villages, kills 50 people (these are the people who are being now publicly mourned not the dead victims)

2000 – Jan – A suicide bomber stages attack outside Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike’s office, killing 13 civilians

2001 – 20 LTTE suicide cadres attack main airbase and the only international airport in Sri Lanka, destroying 13 aircraft and leaving at least 12 people dead.

2005 – August – Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadiragamar (a Tamil) assassinated during the ceasefire. Not a single candle was lit for Mr. Kadirgamar by the Jaffna University but they are ever ready to mourn the murderers.

2006 – June – crowded passenger bus was hit in Kebethigollawa killing 66 civilians.

2006 – LTTE suicide bomber launches an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse

2007 – December – Kebethigollawa – 16 civilians were killed and 25 sustained serious injuries when a bus plying from Anuradhapura to Jankapura was hit by an LTTE claymore mine

2008 – Jan – Suicide bomber on civilian bus in Buttala kills 27 and injures 60 ”…LTTE also shoot at civilians

2008 – Feb – Suicide attack at Fort Railway stations kills 12 and injures over 100.

2008 – Apr – 24 killed in bus blast in suburb of Piliyandala

2008 – May – Suicide bomb explosion near Sambuddhaloka temple ; 9 killed, over 95 wounded – Fort

2008 – Jun – 20 killed in bomb attack on bus in suburb of Moratuwa

2009 – Mar – LTTE suicide bomber attacks Milad Festival – Akurassa 10 civilians were killed and at least 35 others , including a government minister

Now that you have had a glimpse of the murders committed by LTTE over the years the below pictures should shock you. This is a state university situated in the Northern Province (Jaffna University) commemorating dead LTTE cadres. They do not want to light a candle for any of the above people killed by LTTE or even Tamils killed by LTTE, these academics and students the supposed literate of society want to only commemorate and mourn the death of LTTE killers. Unbelievable.

Tamilnet’s website posting of 23 November 2017 on ‘Heroes Remembrance’.

https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=38878

This is what ‘Tamilnet’ published on its website of 25 Nov 2016

https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=38494

Headlines University of Jaffna commemorates Tamil Eelam Heroes”

the entire University on Friday confluenced at Kailaasapathy Hall commemorating Tamil Eelam Heroes Day”

Photos celebrating the life of LTTE Leader Veluppillai Pirapaharan and posters paying tribute to fallen Tamil Eelam Heroes were put up at several places”

The entire University community in Jaffna wanted to pass a strong message to the world”

The invincible heroes of the independent struggle of Tamil Eelam, were not prepared to surrender the sovereignty of Eezham Tamils and they sacrificed their lives with dignity. None of them militarily surrendered the struggle. The sovereignty and independence of Eezham Tamils are not negotiable and would brook no compromise, as the doyen of Eelam Tamil sovereignty movement proclaimed it 47 years ago in 1969,” a student leader of Jaffna University Student Union said.”

Heroes Day poster at a temple site within the premiss of Jaffna University

We now understand how the terrorists in our eyes are freedom fighters in others!

While Jaffna University, TNA, Foreign envoys, UN, media, NGOs & their local lackeys along with the government mourn LTTE, we shed a tear for all of the innocent people killed by LTTE since 1980s in villages, while going to work, school and on buses & trains and to the thousands of soldiers who laid down their life in sacrifice to the nation to deliver us peace from the LTTE bombs and suicide missions. Our mourning will not gain public attention by media who only has time and space to mourn terrorists and their fronts but we believe in karma and Newton’s law – every action, has an equal and opposite reaction.

Shenali D Waduge

SriLanka and Its Economy

As you know, Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. That was 69 years ago.

Since independence except for two years;1954 and 1955, Sri Lanka has always had a budget deficit. These deficits were mostly bridged through local and foreign borrowings.

When Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa became the 5th executive president of the country in 2005, the total national debt stood at Rs 2,222 billion. But when he left the presidency after 9 years the national debt had grown to Rs 7,391.

Rs 5,169 billion had been added to the national debt within those 9 years. That is an average of Rs 575 Bn per year.

Where did that money go ? To understand this let us look at the accomplishments of the government during this period.

The 30 year long internal conflict ended in 2009 with the complete elimination of LTTE

A large number of development projects were completed while many others were already in progress.

Colombo city was rated the fasted growing city in Asia at a survey conducted by Master Card

Colombo Stock market was rated the most sustainable stock market in Asia by Capital Finance International of UK.

The Sri Lankan Economy had grown 4 times from USD 20 Bn to USD 80 Bn

The unemployment had reduced from 8.3% to 4.3%

Poverty had reduced from 15% to 8%

The total National Debt as a percentage of Economy had reduced from 102.3% to 70.3%

The inflation had reduced from 9 % to 3.3%

The household electricity availability had increased from 73% to 98%
Availability of clean drinking water had increased from 72% to 90%

Budget deficit had narrowed from 7.5% to 5.7%

The economy was growing at an average of 7% for three consecutive years.

But then the government changed in January 2015. A new set of rulers assumed duties.

Almost 3 years later where do we stand now?

The National debt had been rising at an alarming rate.

By June 2017 the National Debt stood at 10,163 Billion.

That is a 37.5% increase in 2 ½ years.

Debts amounting to Rs 2,772 billion has been added in just 2 ½ years.

It is like increasing the national debt by Rs 3 billion every day

The previous government had borrowed Rs 5,169 billion over 9 years

The current government has borrowed 54% of that in just 2 ½ years.

Today the per capita debt burden of a citizen stands at Rs 462,000

Rs 126,000 of this per capita debt has been added by the current government over 2 ½ years.

Previous administrations borrowed money and built national assets for the future generations

Harbours, Airports, Roads, Highways, Irrigation projects, Power plants,

What has this government done with all the money that they borrowed?

Think for your self…… where have we gone wrong? How are we going to rectify the situation?

By Nalaka Godahewa

Sri Lanka Civilian Casualties – why is UNHRC refusing to accept 7721 figure?

Hot on the heels of Lord Naseby questioning the British Government & exposing the duplicity & bias of the UNHRC, it is time for the UN to come clean and explain why they have been selective in picking civilian casualty estimates. Why are they shy from releasing the UN Country Team report giving 7721 deaths? Anyone alleging war crimes must explain why the Sri Lankan Military would allegedly kill ’40,000’ but physically save 300,000 of which 12,000 were LTTE cadres surrendering in civilian clothing! All of the guestimates it must be pointed out come from third party sources with invisible or possibly non-existent ‘witness’ accounts. However, a war crimes tribunal cannot be established based on these flimsy lies & media stunts & a country’s national army cannot be taken to the gallows on such lies & hyped allegations sans proof.

Sources quoting less than 10,000 deaths

· UN country team in Sri Lanka placed dead at 7721(Ban Ki Moon’s personally appointed a 3 member panel however declared the figure ‘too low to accept’

· Survey by the GOSL in the North at the end of the conflict done by Tamils placed the dead and missing at 7400 including LTTE killed in combat & 2600 missing of this 1600 had been with LTTE whereas only 438 had disappeared in areas under military control

· Population survey by Tamil Teachers of the North in July 2011 covering migration, deaths, untraceable persons from 2005 to 2009 revealed 7896 dead including LTTE. The dead from natural illness & sickness was 1102.

· UNICEF-sponsored Family Tracing & Verification Unit 2011 listed 2564 untraceable persons of which 676 were children (64% had been kidnapped by LTTE)

· Amnesty International (2011 report) quotes 10,000 civilian deaths. Thereafter Amnesty quoted figure of 40,000 dead.

· Gordon Weiss– former UN official originally quoted 7000 dead, at his book launch he inflated the figure to 40,000 and changed it to 10,000 at his book launch & when cornered by a member of the audience he placed the error on the printer! Quoting dead has become a lucrative venture.

· Tamilnet – the LTTE propaganda channel reported 7398 deaths

· Data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, data “primarily based on figures released by the pro-LTTE Website Tamil Net”, put the casualty figure for civilians inside Mullaithivu at 2,972 until 5 April 2009.

Above 10,000 deaths quoted from third party sources

· Darusman Panel selected to be members of the UNSG’s personally commissioned Panel immediately after producing their report co-authored an article claiming the Sri Lankan Government committed war crimes. Furthermore, Darusman report refers to LTTE as a ‘disciplined group’ – if so why has 32 countries proscribed it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization?

· 13 March 2009 – UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay’s press release said that ‘as many as 2800 civilians ‘may have been killed’.

· US former envoy Robert Blake – quotes 40,000 dead (US Congressional Hearing)

· Siobhain McDonagh (UK Labor MP) declared 100,000 dead (did she count from UK)

· Satellite report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science identified 3 graves – one had bodies of 1346, another a LTTE graveyard with 960 bodies. Report did not detect 40,000 or more dead.

· The Times of London – 20,000

· The Guardian editorial (Sri Lanka: Evidence that won’t be buried (June 15, 2011),) – 40,000

· Editorials by The Times and The Sunday Times in late May 2009 related investigations the papers had conducted that revealed more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final phase.

· Alan Keenan the Project Director of International Crisis Group Sri Lanka placed civilians killed in the Vanni between 40,000 – 147,000

· The Institute of Conflict Management, Delhi – 11,111

· The University Teachers for Human Rights-Jaffna in a Special Report no. 32 of 10 June 2009 and Special Report No 34 of 13 December 2009 placed the dead between 20,000-40,000

· Dr. V. Shanmugarajah – says the death toll is closer to 1000 (thousand)

· Charles Petrie reviewing UNSG’s report in 2012 gave 70,000 figure completely ignoring the UN Representative office figure of 7721.

· Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph – claims 147,000 as missing (It is strange that he has not placed one single name of the missing with the Commission though he can rally numerous priests to sign letters and sent to the UNHRC calling for international investigations against Sri Lanka.

· Independent Diaspora Analysis Group-Sri Lanka – 15,000-18,000

· Rajasingham Narendran - ‘My estimate is that the deaths — cadres, forced labour and civilians — were very likely around 10,000 and did not exceed 15,000 at most’

· Muttukrishna Sarvananthan of the Point Pedro Institute said “[approximately] 12,000 [without counting armed Tiger personnel] “.

· Dr. Noel Nadesan: “”roughly 16,000 including LTTE, natural, and civilians”.

· Publication titled “Genocidio: (Primera entrega) – La masacre de los Tamils en Sri Lanka,” [Genocide: (First Delivery) The Slaughter of Tamils in Sri Lanka], the Argentinean periodical La Tarde (diario) in a Spanish language article – 146,679 Tamils disappeared or killed between 2008 and 2009, of which 40,000 deaths occurred in the 48 hours of the final assault

· Arundhati Roy, Indian commentator -”Government of Sri Lanka is on the verge of committing what could end up being genocide” and described the Sri Lankan IDP camps where Tamil civilians are being held as concentration camps. April 2009

· Prof. Michael Roberts based his estimates between 10,000 and 18,000

· ICRC press statement of 21 April 2009 declared that their estimates of Tamil civilians inside the no fire zone was 50,000 (In other words upto 21st April 2009, the ICRC did not know that LTTE had 300,000 people with them. www.dailynews.lk

· The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in November 2008 claimed there were 230,000 IDPs in the Vanni (Sri Lankan forces saved close to 300,000 – this continues to raise the question of how can we differentiate civilians and LTTE)

· The International Crisis Group quoting ICRC says 150,000 were in the NFZ in early March 2009.

· UN estimated on 13 May 2009 that about 50,000 civilians were trapped by the conflict, in a 300sq.km strip of land www.dailynews.lk

· Indian embedded journalist Murali Reddy reported that from 13 May 2009 there were no civilians in the 1.5sq.km strip LTTE was restricted to.

As Lord Naseby has rightly pointed out NONE of those quoting dead have been on the ground. They are simply quoting from either LTTE support groups or parties linked to LTTE. Lord Naseby makes reference to the UNPUBLISHED report by the UN Country Team whose death toll figure is 7721 covering August 2008 to 13 May 2009. He quite rightly says that from 13 May to 19^th May 2009, it is impossible for 40,000 to have been killed. Why has this UN report not been published? Why is it kept hidden from public domain?

The Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report tabled in Sri Lanka’s Parliament in 2011 concluded that the Sri Lanka military did not target civilians.

http://www.ft.lk/front-page/llrc-says-military-didnt-target-civilians-report-tabled-in-pment/44-61066

The Missing Persons Commission, also known as the ‘Paranagama Commission’ says the figure of 40,000 civilians killed during the final weeks of the war is a myth. http://colombogazette.com/2016/01/27/paranagama-commission-says-40000-figure-a-myth/

In fact no one speaks about the 5600 complaints received by families of missing soldiers and these are with name. The missing soldier families had even logged the details with the Parangama Commission as well as the UNHRC and to date no statement or effort has been made by any UN envoy to account for their lives and do justice by them. Instead the UN & UNHRC are going behind figures and guestimates which have no names, no details and whose details have not been logged by any family members. The Paranagama Commission had less than 20,000 names logged as missing of which 5600 complaints by soldier families.

In terms of ‘civilians’ voluntarily or involuntarily remaining with the LTTE or taking part in hostilities the international legal luminaries headed by Sir Desmond de Silva declared that it is extremely unlikely that some 20,000 cadres of LTTE, at that stage, could have taken up to 330,000 hostages against their will”. The implication is that civilians went voluntarily with the LTTE – how many went voluntarily is a question no one has answered. In the eyes of these legal luminaries LTTE had committed the act of perfidy an- act of feigning civilian status with the intent of gaining an advantage amounts to unlawful perfidious conduct.” LTTE is guilty of blurring distinction between combatants & civilians and therefore LTTE stands guilty of not complying with the principle of distinction. LTTE is guilty for unlawful use of human shields. The Sri Lankan Army complied with a no fire zone to which LTTE did not comply and if both sides are not in agreement there is no official No Fire Zone.

Some factors need to be repeated

· Sri Lanka’s conflict categorized as a Non-International Armed Conflict denies LTTE any legal status as combatant or POW & requires LTTE inspite of its terrorist designation abide by international humanitarian laws. http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2015/06/19/chargesheet-against-ltte-we-demand-accountability-of-30-years-of-ltte-war-crimes/ http://www.sinhalanet.net/ltte-cadres-are-not-prisoners-of-war-file-charges-against-them-for-war-crimes-in-sri-lanka

· That LTTE was designated as a terrorist organization & banned by 32 countries clearly destroys the myth that Sri Lanka suffered an ethnic conflict. Sri Lanka suffered a terrorist conflict as LTTE killed even Tamils.

· The decision to militarily defeat the LTTE came after the country suffered 30 years of terrorism and after failed peace talks, ceasefires & third party negotiations. One incident (9/11) was enough for US & Allies to bomb Afghanistan, invade the country & remain occupying it since 2001!

· LTTE & Prabakaran could not have become an internationally feared terrorist organization capable of even assassinating a foreign Prime Minister if it did not have ‘friends’ in higher places. All those calling for investigations nicely omit to mention the need to investigate who were the players that helped LTTE directly/indirectly, provided material support, financial support, training, propaganda & PR support, technical expertise, arms training, NGOs, foreigners, international organizations involved with & co-partnering with the LTTE to advance their own geopolitical objectives. When will these people & organizations be held accountable?

· What is beyond belief is the manner foreign forces in the form of foreign governments, foreign organizations, UN & associate bodies, foreign MPs, foreign media are all congregating to demand answers from the Sri Lankan Government on the last 3 months that ended 30 years of terror but did NOTHING throughout 30 years to save innocent citizens from being blown to pieces by the LTTE. Let us not forget that that the Sri Lankan Armed forces inspite of its military offensive brought to safety 300,000 Tamils which included 12,000 LTTE cadres who surrendered in civilian clothing. If the intent was to kill as is being alleged how is that that these LTTE cadres in civilian clothing remained alive?

· It is also puzzling why the UNSG chose only Sri Lanka to appoint a personal panel to appraise him of the last 3 months and we are stupefied how that personal report became the basis of successive resolutions by the UNHRC against a sovereign state when the report was never tabled in the UNGA or sanctioned by the UNSC. This questions the legality of the resolutions having being derived from an illegal & questionable process where the Ban Ki Moon panel has openly shown bias. Yasmin Sooka a member of the panel who is paid to be working in the interest of South Africa is 24x7 more interested in LTTE than her native South Africans! She is a frequent visitor to pro-LTTE stages and they address her as ‘comrade’ such alliance is a direct conflict of interest. Her fantastical reports are released close to some international session no different to the dramas by C4. The legality of the Ban Ki Moon report used for the UNHRC resolutions need to be investigated as well as the links of all those making allegations against the Sri Lanka Armed Forces for their financial involvements with LTTE fronts.

All these linked and taken together shows a large nexus of people riding on the LTTE using it as a cash cow for various purposes.

Why does UNHRC and foreign governments not want to accept the 7721 dead figure?

Shenali D Waduge

Media Freedom under UNP

The Prime Minister loves to take pot shots at opponent’s every time he lands himself in a quandary. It is his tactic to divert attention from his misdemeanors. The Bond Scam being a prime example has seriously damaged his clean record that has been his saving grace among UNP voters to argue in favor of his leadership. Now UNP support base finds themselves in a soup given that the vision has delivered nothing but a sell-out of or privatization of national assets to foreign countries & foreign firms with nothing delivered to the general masses. A favored subject of the UNP election campaigns has been to claim itself the beacon of media freedom & democracy. Actions speak volumes and to highlight and leave it for readers to judge, the speech made by Information & Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera made on the adjournment Debate on the demise of late journalist Sivaram Dharmaratnam (Taraki) on 6 May 2005 is extensively quoted.

“No Government brought pressure to bear upon the media in this country prior to 1977, as a matter of principle. The UNP regimes since coming in to power in 1977 considered influencing the media as a matter of state policy.”

“As soon as the UNP gained power in 1977, state owned media institutions, Lake House and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation were brought under the control of the Sirikotha”

“The staunch UNP member Ranapala Bodhinagoda was appointed as the Chairman of the Lake House. Ranjan Wijeratne, who subsequently became a strong Minister was appointed as a Working Director.”

“They started their control over the Lake House by harassing the SLFP and other leftist employees in various ways. Senior journalists such as Silumina Chief Editor Wimalasiri Perera, Dinamina Chief Editor Peramunethileka, Daily News Chief Editor S. Pathiravithana, Silumina Deputy Editor Nimal Horana, Dinamina Deputy Editor Poojitha Wijetunga, Dinamina News Editor Dayananda Kumaradasa, Dinamina Sub-editor Wimalaweera Perera, Daily News News Editor Nihal Ratnayaka and Dinamina Staff Reporters Upali Rupasinghe, Yapa Karunaratne and Kulatunga Somaratne were dismissed by way of political victimization.”

“SLBC leading media person, Sinhala services Director H. M. Gunasekera, Amarabandu Rupasinghe, Premakeerthi de Alwis, and Newton Gunaratne were interdicted.”

“The "Times" Company which published the leading newspaper "Lankadeepa" continuously over decades was taken over by the Government and was closed down.”

“When Lankadeepa reappeared in circulation under the Vijaya newspaper group, President Premadasa pressurised it at length and at a certain stage, being annoyed by a news item appeared in the Lankadeepa, went to the extent of threatening its owner Ranjith Wijewardena in public saying "Ranjith, be aware of what is going to happen to you".”

“He (Premadasa) held out threats of murder in Parliament against Upali Group newspaper owner Upali Wijayawardena who defied UNP commands.”

“By and large the private media were totally denied the media right of criticising the Government.” (UNDER UNP)

“The newspapers "Attha", "Janadina", and "Sirilaka" were sealed over and over again.”

“They were subjected to many harassments and the transport of their newspapers by bus was prohibited. Government advertisements were denied to them.”

“Private institutions which gave advertisements to these papers were influenced. Such influence was exerted not only to political papers but also to independent newspapers.”

“The raid of "Attha" press and taking its editor to the 4th floor became a daily routine.”

“As far as the Lake House papers were concerned, not only the lead news, but also the headlines, pictures, captions and even page settings were the decisions taken by the Presidential Secretariat.”

“Taking the pages of the Lake House papers to the President or their approval by the Information Officer was the general order of the day during that period.”

“There was a habit of the President's Information Officer visiting the News Unit of the SLBC at 3.30 a.m. everyday during that time. Ignoring all other important information, the News Broadcast had to begin with some news to bolster the President's image. Each media institution had a Special Presidential Unit.”

“The UNP, soon after coming into power in 1977 completely prohibited publication of Cabinet secrets in violation of the people's right to be aware of information.”

“The first action was filed in court under the State Secrets Act by former Minister Ronie de Mel against journalist Prasad Gunawardena of the "Island" newspaper.”

“For the first time in history, newspaper editors were summoned to Parliament and tried under Parliamentary Privileges Act and were punished.”

“On one occasion the "Observer" editor was summoned to Parliament for inadvertently inter-changing captions of two pictures.”

“The Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act was passed in Parliament within three days on January 30, 1978 as an act of urgent national importance.”

“On February 02 (1978), the two media men Philip Cooray and Herald Peiris were summoned to Parliament functioning as a Court of Law and they were punished.”

“On that occasion Prime Minister J. R. Jayewardene in his address threatened that "In future offenders will not escape this place with a punishment of this leniency".”

“Journalistic activities of veteran journalist Dayasena Gunasinghe were subjected to injunctions for the sin of writing an editorial in the "Divaina" criticising President J. R. Jayawardene's public announcement that "each person must look after his own security".”

“The then Justice Minister Nissanka Wijeratne misused the law in an attempt to control the media. An attempt was made in 1984 to amend the Press Council Act to prohibit writing articles in newspapers under pseudonyms.”

“The UNP influenced not only the media institutions. They harassed media men endlessly.”

“Richard de Soyza, the mediaman of international repute was abducted in the night of February 18, 1990, and was brutally killed and his body was thrown into the sea.”

“All media personalities and civil organizations clamoured in chorus demanding a fair inquiry into this murder. UNP regime only lingered on a mild form of investigation while ignoring our cry as the Opposition in Parliament for a parliamentary debate on this murder.”

“Following Richard de Soyza's assassination, his contemporary colleagues Amal Jayasinghe, Arjuna Ranawana, Varuna Karunatilleke and Aruna Kulatunga fled away from the country to save their lives.”

“The "Divaina" newspaper photographer Wimal S. Surendra who took a photograph of a powerful UNP female activist in 1983 was mysteriously murdered on the road right opposite the house of former Minister John Amaratunga.”

That was a death that remains a mystery to date.

“H. E. Dayananda who serialized "Wame Kathawa" in the Wednesday supplement of "Divaina" newspaper was murdered.”

“The script writer of "Kavuda Me, Monawada Karanne" drama, Dehiwala MMC of the UNP itself disappeared mysteriously.”

“Kithsiri Samaranayaka, the Lankadeepa journalist who at times criticised the Government severely, was stabbed to death at the bus halt opposite the mosque of eye hospital junction.”

“The Dickwella area correspondent Gunasena Kasturiarachchi was murdered mysteriously.”

“Apart from this, the Government never bothered to hold a formal inquiry in respect of the murders of veteran journalists of high esteem like Premakeerthi de Alwis, Thevis Guruge and Kulasiri Amaratunga.”

“The Bomiriya residence of the "Divaina" newspaper was attacked with bombs.”

“"Attha" cartoonist Yoonus' mouth was cut by employing thugs.”

“The doors of the SLBC were closed to artistes of the highest national fame like Premasiri Khemadasa, Pandit W. D. Amaradeva, Nanda Malani, Vijaya Kumaranatunga, Sugathapala de Silva, Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra and R. R. Samarakone because they demanded the withdrawal of a proposal to abolish former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike's civil rights.”

“Piyadasa Malalgoda who wrote and published the poem "Devadattha of the modern era" was taken to the dubious 4th floor on 12 occasions for interrogation and he was prosecuted.”

“…private electronic media had no chance to announce news”

“Announcement of news was a Government monopoly.”

“The resignation of Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayaka from their portfolios over the impeachment issue was prohibited to be published.“

“The UNP which did not tolerate workers' agitations over their 17 year rule completely banned publication of news relating to workers' strikes through the State media.”

“The State radio and television left no room for publication of news pertaining to the opposition and completely banned showing opposition members on the television.”

“The UNP who toppled the Freedom Alliance and regained power in 2001 resumed their usual media policy which they pursued throughout their 17 year rule since 1977.”

“They dissolved the Information Department. A separate media unit was established under the Prime Minister's Office.”

“All the State media institutions were brought under the control of UNP henchmen within that unit.”

“The decisive posts of private media institutions were filled by appointing their henchmen. It was these henchmen who were necessarily participated in the foreign tours and discussions abroad attended by the Prime Minister.”

“The international sojourns by these groups at the expense of public funds became the order of the day. The selected crowd of journalists obedient to Government received highest perks. An invisible mechanism of horror was in motion against independent journalists.”

“The victims of this mechanism included not only the local journalists but also the foreign journalists. The deportation of the internationally renowned journalist Paul Harris is the best example in this regard.”

“While Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister, the doors of State media institutions were completely closed to the opposition.”

“The journalists who were deemed not loyal to the Government were deprived of their employment. Some were transferred.

Some were intimidated. Opponents were tortured mentally and physically.”

“Live political debates participated by politicians of the opposition were completely barred from telecast.”

“Even in case of dialogues among the ruling party members, if a listener were to express opinion, it had to be approved in advance before the programme is telecast.”

“The State media was used perennially to slander and unease organisations and individuals not supportive of the Government.”

‘A number of North East journalists came to be brutally murdered even while a ceasefire was in force. "Dinamurusu" newspaper Editor Ramesh Nadarajah belonging to the EPDP was murdered.Aiyadurei Nadesan, the "Weerakesari" reporter was killed on May 31, 2004.

Kandasamy Aiyar Balanadarajah (Sinnabala), another journalist was murdered on August 16, 2004. On July 26, 2004, "Dinamurusu" newspaper free lance reporter S. Kamaladasan was shot at on his legs. On March 06,2005, "Dinamurusu" reporter Sathasivam Kamalanathan was shot at causing him fatal injuries. This murder was clearly a result of the power struggle among armed groups in the North East. We have to severely condemn these killings, whoever the perpetrators were.”

What is poignant about the above quotes is that it is being said by the same minister now holding the post of Media & Finance under a UNP government that he alleged.

In all the number of deaths attributed against UNP is over 10

The number of persons killed or intimidated is no less than 40.

Since 1977, this is the third stint of UNP rule – have policies towards media changed?

Shenali D Waduge

If India had not helped Prabakaran escape in June 1987…there would be no May 2009

How many are aware that Prabakaran was cornered in Vadamarachchi in June 1987? How many are aware that India actually threatened Sri Lankan Government to order its troops to set him free? How many are aware that India helicoptered Prabakaran out of Sri Lanka to India? The order came from the very man that LTTE eventually blew to pieces in India itself. Why would India want to save a terrorist leader? If India had not threatened Sri Lanka to release cornered Prabakaran in 1987 thousands of lives would have been saved. There would have been no 30year conflict. India therefore, has much to account for and not a single apology has been made for what India did to a friendly neighbor.

In 1987 JRJ was President. Lalith Athulathmudali was Minister of National Security. The Overall Operations Commander was Brig. G H de Silva while troops were led by Brig Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Col. Vijaya Wimalaratne. The offensive was launched on 26 May 1987 with 8000 troops from the Gemunu Watch, Gajaba Regiment, Sri Lanka Light Infantry. Lt. Col. Vipul Boteju, Lt. Col. Wasantha Perera, Lt. Col. Sathis Jayasundara, Maj. Gotabaya Rajapakse, Maj. Sarath Handapangoda, Lt. Col. Narada Wickramaratne & Maj. Sarath Fonseka were noteable figures in charge of the troops.

LTTE had blown up the Thondamanaru bridge to delay troops reaching Valvettithurai and area was heavily mined resulting in many soldier deaths. But troop morale was high. By early June the troops had gained control over entire zone but offensive had to be abandoned following the Indian threat and the forced dropping of food supplies on 3 June 1987 (just 25 tons of food from a country where their own citizens die daily of no food).

The importance of this revelation is that the parippu drop (Operation Poomalai) was on 3 June 1987 giving just 30 minutes notice to the Sri Lankan Government with threats not to react leading to the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord on 29 July 1987 with IPKF landing on 30^th July 1987.

Many of the key personnel who took on the first biggest military operation are sadly not alive today. Many of them killed by the very terrorists they were forced to let loose. Had Prabakaran been caught they would all be alive today.

The takeaway from this is that in 1987 our troops cornered Prabakaran and was about to capture him alive when India threatened to attack Sri Lanka unless it stopped its military onslaught against LTTE. There ended Operation Liberation that commenced on 26 May 1987. The combined troop action with several regiments joining for the offensive & use of diversionary troops was repeated and led to the final defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. Intelligence was also in place helping the Armed Forces pinpoint exactly where Prabakaran was located. Ironically, Operation Liberation mirrored the ‘hearts & minds campaign’ to win over the Tamil people repeated in the military cum humanitarian offensive that ended LTTE leader & ground cadres in May 2009. By 3 June 1987 entire Vadamarachchi area came under the Sri Lankan Security Forces including the main town Velvettithurai the birthplace of Prabakaran.

It was on 21 July 1987 that India sent 6 helicopters to Sri Lanka from India to transport Prabakaran, his wife & family to Delhi. They were kept at the Ashok Hotel in Delhi. He was flown back to Jaffna from Delhi after Rajiv returned to Delhi on 2 August 1987. Close to two weeks in Delhi, Prabakaran would have been biting his nails at his fate if India did not allow him to return! This showed that India kept its cards close to chest making sure Prabakaran had no access to his men until India got what it wanted the Indo-Lanka Accord & the 13^th amendment creating the provincial council system.

However, the country that saved Prabakaran attempted to kill him according to Maj. Gen. Harkirat Singh commander of IPKF who says he was ordered to eliminate Prabakaran twice in September 1987. The order came after India & RAW had begun to train & arm ENDLF (Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front) to replace Prabakaran. ENDLF comprised splinter groups from EPRLF, PLOTE, TELO. If India assured Sri Lankan Government it would disarm militants in 72 hours what was India doing training and arming ENDLF?

India that threatened Sri Lanka not to capture Prabakaran and whisked him off to Delhi using the IPKF declares war on LTTE on 8 October 1987 exactly 70 days after landing in Sri Lanka. IPKF left Sri Lanka in March 1990 and on 21^st May 1991 Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Tamil Nadu. If Gen. Harikat had carried out orders then Prabakaran would be dead & Rajiv Gandhi would be alive too!

There are some puzzling points – India saves Prabakaran from capture by Sri Lankan troops & is transported to Delhi where Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi presents his own bullet proof vest and then India tries to bump Prabakaran off after signing the Indo-Lanka Accord & placing Indian troops in Sri Lanka! But Prabakaran beats Rajiv Gandhi at his own game and Rajiv ends up in smithereens. What does this all add upto?

It could only mean that the Tamil militancy was used as a means to justify Indian presence in Sri Lanka & the Tamil grievance issue is also being used to justify Indian interference in Sri Lanka. That Tamils are aware of this but is using it to advance their own agendas is good to take note of. Let’s all realize that the Tamils that died who were victims of LTTE were all low caste, poor or promising future leaders. Against this 1m Tamils because of LTTE terrorism found their way to live in foreign shores & have helped their families prosper from foreign remittances. Naturally, Tamils are silently thankful for the windfall. 1m Tamils would not be living overseas if not for LTTE terrorism.

If India could exert this much influence over a neighbor it would have been peanuts to influence the 1983 riots thus creating the necessary environment to bring out the LTTE into the open & use the attacks on Tamils as a global propaganda to justify LTTE existence. The Indian role in creating ground work for the 1983 riots was nicely brushed into the background & instead the propaganda channels ensured the Sinhalese were branded as murderers ignoring that the attacks were systematically done with government involvement. Many rumours still remain that Indian intelligence were also heavily involved from the background while the cream of the Tamil society were kept safe & protected.

The Indian roleplay is confusing in the light of certain discrepancies questioning who was ordering whom & who were deciding what cards to play. If Indian intelligence trained Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups clandestinely referring to them as ‘our boys’ it explains why the IPKF were not given proper maps & ill-prepared for the task that Indian Government committed to under the Indo-Lanka Accord. What was the real purpose in Indian troop presence – they did not speak Tamil, they did not know to identify Tamils, Sinhalese or Muslims or even LTTE. Therefore, when Dixit wrote to Delhi on 19 September 1987 that IPKF was totally unprepared for the task at hand we want to know what that ‘task’ actually was.

India is notorious for its poor relations with all of its South Asian neighbors. Destabalizing tactics by Indian governments has been a strategy to keep all of these neighbors under Indian rule of law & influence. India maintains its self-appointed status quo as big-brother by creating influencers for which India demands a role in its solutions. It means India is no neighbor to trust and is not a reliable friend or partner. Sri Lanka’s governments have lacked a diplomatic strategy for India, to maintain cordial relations while not allowing India to bully or bulldoze Sri Lanka or Sri Lankans. Our diplomats & advisors have failed to formulate a plan to counter act / balance & defend Sri Lanka against Indian tirades, instead all have opted to take the appeasing India formula. To deal with countries playing double games, one must also have a double game.

Be that as it may, the brave commanders & troops that led Operation Liberation cornering Prabakaran in his own birthtown and minutes away from capture was stopped by India in 1987. Working on ‘what ifs’ he Prabakaran been captured in 1987 every single person that died by LTTE suicide bomber, LTTE claymore mines, LTTE bombs and assassinations would all be living today including Rajiv Gandhi, R Premadasa, cream of the UNP leadership, Lakshman Kadiragamar, scores of Tamil children would not have been kidnapped and turned into child soldiers, scores of cadres could have done something more than taking to a gun & killing, there would have been no LTTE diaspora giving everyone a headache, there would have been no LTTE illegal international network from which they are drawing millions to buy people, Sri Lanka would not have had to spend trillions on a war budget or repairing infrastructure bombed, the country would have developed and the people would be living in better conditions than they are now. The inability to do all this was because India stopped the capture of Prabakaran in 1987 and India should not only apologize but should compensate for all of the losses.

Instead India wants to take over Trinco turn it into a naval base, take Mattala and turn it into an Indian airforce base to spy on China, force Sri Lanka to sign ETCA and flood Indians into Sri Lanka to turn it into a virtual Indian colony, take Sampur, grab our energy & food security and we have a bunch of fools in Parliament who are clueless to even imagine the consequences and dangers of India’s manoevres.

Shenali D Waduge

Colonialism is the root cause for the majority of present global issues

The World Bank says 1.4 billion people in developing countries are living under extreme poverty. All of these are former colonies drained off their wealth. Not many know or are informed of the legacy of colonial crimes committed by European colonial explorers together with the Church. Invasion, occupation, plunder, murder, elimination of everything traditional was their objective. Every Christian/Catholic in Americas, Asia, Africa & Australiasia came to be so as a result of forced/coercive conversions. While all these crimes are still unaccounted, the same perpetrators are using UN and international legal systems & nomenclatures like R2P to militarily invade and occupy, economically entrap to debt & plunder resources while using various insidious methods to depopulate these same third world countries in what is today known as neocolonialism. The world should not turn a blind eye to the perpetrators continuing their corrupt ways while pointing fingers at others. They have no moral authority to do so.

Church-European Explorers use Terra Nullius (Nobody’s Land) to confiscate lands that were non–Christian

The Papal Bull orders of Pope Nicolas V on January 8, 1455 to European explorers to grab lands was clear.

…–invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies ofChrist where so ever placed…” and to …reduce their persons to perpetual slavery”. Papal Bull Inter caetera divided the Non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal.

How can you ‘discover’ land that was already occupied? Columbus never discovered America – people werealready living in America.

That was not all that the European invaders ended up doing – they murdered, plundered, destroyed traditional tribes, cultures, value systems, introducing English education to create Western-worshipping locals, forced conversions, replaceable traditional administrative and legal systems with western, non-Christian places of religious sites and on top of these sites erected Churches, they destroyed traditional agriculture and replaced with cash crops thus ruining the soil and these countries are suffering as a result. The virtual same is being done through transnational corporations and privatization and present use of UN’s R2P military interventions and illegal occupations.

Until Canada gives Indigenous people their land back, there can never be reconciliation” so said Arthur Manuel.

Canada is just one of many settler states created by Great Britain having usurped the lands from the indigenous natives. Settler immigrants have taken over all lands that once belonged to the indigenous natives. Modern Canada loves to preach and dictate completely ignoring the racial discrimination, constitutional and legal discrimination, human rights & child rights violations, The name Canada sprang into being only in 16^th century with the question ‘are indigenous people Canadians’. What good is Canada ratifying all of the UN’s Conventions when it is denying fundamental rights of the indigenous.

Up until the 15^th century North America belonged to indigenous Native Indians. Christopher Columbus voyaged to the Americas in 1492. Americans have been declaring a holiday as Columbus Day completely ignoring the murderous history of this European explorer. The name America derives from Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

Then came the British headed by Sir Walter Raleigh in search of land and gold. Virginia was named in honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen and English immigrants began settling in Jamestown in 1607. The Great Migration (of 50,000 British convicts) between 1620-1640 led to the 13 colonies. By 1800s there were 2m English migrants. By 1910, Eastern & Southern Europeans made up 70% of the immigrants to US.

According to the 1775 Phips Proclamation in Massachusetts, King George II of Britain called for subjects to embrace all opportunities of pursuing, captivating, killing and destroying all and every of the aforesaid Indians.”

An interactive map shows how the white migrants took 1.5billion acres of land belonging to Native Indians in America http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2014/06/17/interactive_map_loss_of_indian_land.html

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3040647/watch-how-the-us-stole-land-from-native-americans

500 years of genocide has yet to be accounted for http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2014/04/29/500-years-of-britishamerican-genocide-of-native-americans/

12million Native Americans before arrival of Europeans came down to 237,000 Native Americans by 1900. The British purposely gave smallpox contaminated blankets to kill people. The Mandan tribe was virtually exterminated through smallpox. The British convicts lived like cannibals – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10031678/British-settlers-in-Jamestown-resorted-to-cannibalism.html

In 1493 Pope Alexander VI issued the bull Inter Cetera giving Spain rights to conquer lands that Columbus had already ‘discovered’.

On the island of Espanola, on orders of Columbus 50,000 native people died within months following the establishment of the first Spanish colony. It took just 50 years to exterminate 95% of natives in Honduras. According to Pedro de Cieza de Leon, the Spanish chronicler of the Inca conquest, Roque Martin kept “the quarters of Indians hanging on his porch to feed his dogs with, as if they were wild beasts.”

European conquests of South America virtually destroyed civilizations of Incas, Mayas & Aztecs.

South America was forcefully evangelized in the 16^th century but even after 500years the Church is dependent on US/European support.

The Tupi people inhabited almost all of Brazil’s coast when the Portuguese first arrived and virtually disappeared because of European diseases.

Spanish and Portuguese empires stole from Bolivia, Mexico and Peru the natural riches of silver and gold that became the economic base of all modern industrial economies. United States has sent more than 180 military operations to Latin America since 1890 to protect private American business interests but at the US taxpayers cost.

European exploration of Africa began with the Greeks and Romans, who explored and settled in North Africa. Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the Navigator, was the first European to methodically explore Africa. The Scramble for Africa began in 1880s. Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain began competing for power and to address the issue German chancellor Otto von Bismarck convened a diplomatic summit of European powers infamously known as the Berlin Conference from November 1884 to February 1885.

Using a PEN and WITHOUT African participation 14 countries drew territory as they liked and divided Africa amongst themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTjBNppdk-M

Major colonial holdings included:

· Great Britain desired a Cape-to-Cairo collection of colonies and almost succeeded through their control of Egypt, Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), Uganda, Kenya (British East Africa), South Africa, and Zambia, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), and Botswana. The British also controlled Nigeria and Ghana (Gold Coast).

· France took much of western Africa, from Mauritania to Chad (French West Africa) and Gabon and the Republic of Congo (French Equatorial Africa).

· Belgium and King Leopold II controlled the Democratic Republic of Congo (Belgian Congo).

· Portugal took Mozambique in the east and Angola in the west.

· Italy’s holdings were Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.

· Germany took Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East Africa).

· Spain claimed the smallest territory – Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).

By 1914, 90% of Africa had been divided between seven European countries with only Liberia and Ethiopia remaining independent nations.

How valid were these ‘treaties’ signed? Moreover on what legal basis could illegal occupiers grant ‘independence’ to colonies artificially divided for exploitation & plunder?

Germany ruled South West Africa, now the Republic of Namibia, between 1904 and 1907. Germany also controlled all or part of modern Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Togo and Cameroon.

King Leopold II of Belgium is said to have ordered the deaths of half of the Congo’s population, or up to 10 million people. http://www.walkingbutterfly.com/2010/12/22/when-you-kill-ten-million-africans-you-arent-called-hitler/

Europeans had now created artificial states. The PEN divided families and tribes. Europeans then began establishing colonial administrative systems to facilitate their exploitation. If we were to redraw Africa’s borders to have each ethnic group in their own country, we would have at least 2,000 countries” said Christina Mungal. She goes on to say Nearly half (44%) of Africa’s borders are straight lines or follow lines of latitude or longitude, splitting at least 177 ethnic groups in two or more countries.” Four in ten Africans today belong to an ethnic group that has kin across borders. A study showed that length of a conflict and its casualty rate is 25% higher in areas where an ethnicity is divided by a national border as opposed to areas where ethnicities have a united homeland. Somali are split between five different countries – northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. The Malinke of West Africa are split into six different countries – Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire and The Gambia. http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-01-09-africas-real-borders-are-not-where-you-think

· Similarly, Tarek Osman too says the border lines DRAWN WITH A RULER in World War 1 still rocks the Middle East. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25299553

· https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-curse-of-sykes-picot-still-haunts-the-middle-east

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxEpSqz57Vc (Sykes-Picot Agreement)

When the Africans after realizing the fraud began resisting the response of the Europeans was to mercilessly murder them. These are the nations today preaching about ‘mutually agreeable solutions’ and drafting conventions against genocide! It was the British that created concentration camps for Boers not Hitler!

The Kingdom of Congo was converted to Christianity in 1495. These are the countries today preaching religious rights & freedoms! Portuguese began the transatlantic slave trade when they exported 235 Africans from present day Senegal in 1444. The British joined the trade with John Hawkins’ expeditions from 1564. It is said that 12 million Africans were forcibly transported from their homes across the Atlantic.

Africa’s kingdoms were powerful & sophisticated with rich cultures but Europeans described them as ‘savages’ ‘uncivilized’ and ‘subhuman’. They called it the ‘white man’s burden’.

The East India Company controlled much of the Indian subcontinent by 1818. Francis Drake, one of the most notorious pirates in history, and Robert Clive, pillaged Bengal. William Dalrymple’s review of The Tears of the Rajas by Ferdinand Mount declares the British empire was erected on the dead bodies of hundreds of thousands of its Indian subjects. However, a YouGov 2014 poll declared almost 60% of Britons were proud of the British Empire and almost 50 % thought it had made the colonies better off. Government of India Act of 1858 led the British crown to assume direct control. By 1890 about 6,000 British officials ruled 250 million Indians. Up to 35 million died unnecessarily in famines. In 1943 nearly four million Bengalis died Churchill said ‘It was their own fault, … for breeding like rabbits”.

Sri Lanka too suffered from not only Indian invaders but 3 colonial European invaders – Portuguese, Dutch & British. None were better than the other. Murder, pilferage, plunder, destruction of non-Christian places of worship, killing of children and women, scorched earth policy, killing elephants as a sport, enjoying breakfast while natives were being hung, stealing lands and growing cash crops, importing labor who are today demanding separate states, creating ethnic and racial tensions and disharmony through administrative systems are just some of the policies adopted by these colonial rulers who have the audacity to preach on subjects that they violated as a policy and which they refuse to account for.

All of the colonial rulers and present day Big Powers have blood on their hands which have not been accounted for. None of these countries can speak of human rights, quote the law or introduce conventions without atoning for their sins.

Their invasions & occupied rule dehumanized people who were living peacefully in their lands. The indigenous natives were forced to adapt foreign cultures, racist ideologies that divided people, they were suppressed & subjugated. These powerful nations have no moral right to speak on any subject having invaded nations and stolen their raw materials and used locals as cheap labor while importing people from other nations and creating migrants now demanding piece of land & autonomy.

There are now more than 150 disputes that involve territory, mostly in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region, but also in Europe and the Americas – all due to colonial European rulers and their artificial demarcations.

Industrialization in Europe created unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas etc as not all could be absorbed into the new capitalist industries. To resolve this Europeans began exporting populations and white settler colonies were created in Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Central Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The colonial rulers through education and indoctrination created sub-groups of locals who would continue to foster the culture of privatization, inequality, racism, divisionary politics birthed by colonials and handed over to elite locals to follow. Any local leader not following norm was quickly removed by assassination – Aung San of Mynmar & Patrice Lumumba of Congo or removed by regime change in lieu of installing puppet leaders – present Sri Lanka.

Colonized nations had to suffer agro-export economies, access to land came under privileged few, income and poverty inequality divided people, natural resources became exploited, environment became destroyed, people became source of cheap labor transported under various incentive schemes,

The worst war crimes & genocide against humanity has been committed by Britain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, US, Ottoman Empire.

None of these countries can raise a voice or point fingers at any country. None of these countries can speak on human rights when they ignore even compensating for the violations they committed on every nation they illegally invaded & people they murdered.

None of these countries can come forward as conflict resolutionists as every issue the world suffers today has emerged from the seed colonials planted as a policy of divide and rule.

None of these countries have any moral right to demand tribunals against other countries for none of their crimes have been allowed to be brought to a tribunal while it is these very countries that determine the laws & who gets indicted and punished.

None of these countries can point fingers at any nation accusing them of being dictators or murderers when these Christian European nations AS A POLICY and WITH CLEAR ORDERS from the superiors put to death MILLIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE who were only defending their land.

Shenali D Waduge

Sources:

British historian Thomas Packenham, in his comprehensive 1991 book The Scramble for Africa, White Man’s Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912

Imperfections, & Drawbacks in the practice

in Politics by the SriLankan Politicians

Kanthar Balanathan

DipEE(UK), GradCert(Rel Eng-Monash), DipBus&Adm(Finance-Massey), CEng., MIEE

Fundamental

SriLanka received independence on the 4^th February 1948. The country was still under the British throne up to the 22^nd May 1972, when the country achieved full independence. However, we still celebrate the 4^th of February as the day of independence. SL spends millions of dollars all over the world to celebrate 4^th February as the Independence Day. However, GOSL does not believe when the country received full sovereignty. This has been a fundamental flaw of our people and the politicians. Let’s see how Britannica defines Sovereignty: Quote; -

“Sovereignty, in political theory, the ultimate overseer, or authority, in the decision-making process of the state and in the maintenance of order”.

To quote the compromising state of sovereignty: Ref https://www.lawnet.gov.lk/1977/12/31/c-kodeeswaran-appellant-and-the-attorney-general-respondent/

In 1969, Kodeeswaran appealed to the Privy Council and won the case. This is a simple example of the absence of autonomy and authority of the SL state.

The question is: Are we still a sovereign state, making our own decisions?

Voters elect a wider cross-section of the candidates with lack or no education. Most SriLankan see attorneys are the best choice for governance. Attorneys have a tapered understanding and vision of economics, technology, and social sciences. In the North and Eastern sector, it's worse. People have a mindset that only Attorneys can be politicians. Since the 4^th February 1948, Tamil politicians have made the N&E, a racial, xenophobic, infantile, immature province. Who are these politicians? Mostly or all of them are Attorneys from the Tamil sector. Remember, we are in the 21^st century with popular multi-skilling functions.

The only ideology for these Law qualified politicians is to propagate Tamil Eelam racial slogan along with the caste oppressive motto. They were not interested in developing the North or East. They knew that propagating the Tamil Eelam and the caste differential equation will keep them in politics. In the recent times, the Tamil politicians are said to be following Tamil Nadu politics.

In the Southern sector, people’s mindset was that only naiks, wardenes, and Singhes, with the exception of Premadasa and Sirisena, are fit to govern.

G. G. Ponnambalam (GGP) created the chaos by demanding 50/50, with lack of perception of how he will apportion the balance 50% between, Tamils, Burgers, and Muslims. SJVC started his motto of Federalism. At Least GGP was responsible for the Cement, Chemical, and Paper mill in the North and the East. That was all. The rest of the period our famous Tamil politicians were claiming for Federalism and Separatism, to hold onto power. That is the only manifesto that will keep them elected. The big question is: What have they done to the region? Any development?

It is the fault of the imbecilic people who voted for them. Finally, every SriLankan should accept that most of the people who vote in the N&E are half-baked illiterates and imbecile.

How about now? With the NPC created, stooges elected, and with former CJ in the chair. What have they done? Any development? Now their dreams and roar are for police and land power. Apart from enjoying their three courses of meals per day, free travel, etc., what has the Chief Minister done so far? CVW would dare to know where Amban, Sangarathai is. It is of the opinion that CVW should retire and go into age care than in politics, as he is one who is messing up with his two fingers shown vertically up in the air most of the times calling for either Federalism or Tamilealam.

Every self-centered selfish Tamil politician has a deep-rooted gluttony of being elected and their kith and kin being in politics. One Tamil politician was quite adamant demanding a Minister post for his brother within NPC. Do these politicians come to serve the people in their electorate or look after their kith and kin? Once elected there objective and mission is to earn and collect adequate funds for the next election. Current financial politics is their political parties have branches opened in foreign countries for fund buildups.

Government allocates funds to each of the MPs to be spent in their electorates. Where does the money go? If so, has any NPC Councilor spent any money on development to the people of Araly North & Kulani? With an exception of NPC Councilor Sinnathurai Thavarajah.

Let’s consider each of the Tamil political party:

1. TNA- Tamilealam National Army in the name of Tamil National Alliance, fooling people. Most in the Tamil populace do not understand TNA’s deceitfulness and unscrupulousness. What has Sambanthar achieved as a Leader of Opposition, apart him having the Luxury of Cars, house, servants, expensive three-course meals a day? Once a while he gets up from sleep and shouts HR violation, war crimes, missing persons etc. Its recommended that the elderly politicians retire and hand over to politicians with expertise like MA Sumanthiran etc.

2. The wife of a former terrorist Ananthi is now silent after overloading her with a complicated portfolio which confused her and does not understand what her responsibilities are.

3. Some politicians in the PLOTE sector are like Mr. Bean, the comedian, and characteristics like a crane. (ஓடு மீன் ஓட உறுமீன் வருமளவும் வாடி இருக்குமாம் கொக்கு. Meaning a crane waiting all full day to peck on the right fish). They reveal a weak muscle in politics with lack of understanding in political science. Their families, maybe, from the elite group, based on caste status pushed them into politics. Suddenly people appeared to be the PLOTE politicians, demanding for three sabas. The military has found weapons belonging to the house of PLOTE. Ref; http://www.jvpnews.com/srilanka/04/154120

4. EPRLF is considered the confused party, with an ulterior motive to be holding portfolios and fund collection. EPRLF has two factions. Both are extreme terrorist fronts in the past, who committed murders.

5. TELO is another terrorist front imitating to be on the democratic front.

6. TULF is another group with an old leader struggling to come to the front, however, they can never come up.

7. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam is a character who has a law degree, however, we can ask a question: What have you offered to the people in the N&E. With due respect, Mr. GGP, have you any knowledge of social sciences, history, and economics, apart from owning a multi-million-dollar business? What is the answer to a question put forward by people? What is the root cause of the Tamil problem?

On the whole, if we analyze, most or all of the Tamil political parties are former terrorist fronts pretending to be democratic leaders. Can we believe them? NO. All still propagate separatism.

Current politics in the North and East is demanding seats for the individual arms of the TNA. A discarded party called TULF is trying to emerge into politics. However, from past knowledge and experience of the TULF and the leader, people do not recognize them as a viable political party. Formation of new Congress, Council, Alliance etc. is the trend in Tamil Politics. It reflects the intelligence of the people who portray their political inability.

Government servants and employees have a ceiling on their working life. They can go on extension till they are 60 years. However, the government regulation does not place a ceiling for politicians. In the 21^st century, dementia is more common over the age of 65, but it can also affect younger people. The illness can begin when people are in their 40s or 50s. However, SriLanka allows politicians over the age of 65 to enter politics. This may pose a threat to the citizens and economy of the country. Any new entrant to the public service has to undergo a medical examination. What about the politicians? Does the government feel that any politician is fit to enter politics? Do not they need a medical examination? Some of the candidates are mentally unstable and may not be fit. Should be the government proscribe for medical examination of political candidates, especially for mental stability.

Recently one candidate assaulted another candidate in Jaffna.

It is recommended that government bring in the ceiling on age for politicians. The 21^st century has generated people with Neurodegenerative disorders. This causes problems with how people move, feel, behave or think. Sickness like Alzheimer’s disease – a form of dementia, Motor neuron disease, and Huntington’s disease. Recent information is that MPs go for medical treatment overseas spending public funds. Hence retired MPs could go into an aged care rather going to parliament. Their pension could be supplemented with additional funds for them to go into aged care after 65. That will save the country’s economic status, social condition, technology etc. from these politicians.

The politicians are polluting the minds of the youngsters and congenitally imbecilic people to fight for separatism. They do not preach economics, development, technological advancement, sole trading technical business (microenterprises) etc.

The recent trend is warfare with swords. This project the mental state of youngsters in the North. Talking to any Tamil, they reply that it is the Army that is organizing the sword gang in the North. That’s the biggest foolish statement of those Tamils. Knowing the North for practicing terrorism, theft, smuggling and killing in the past for 39 years, the trend for Tamil youth for easy fund generation is organizing a sword gang. Why are the Tamil politicians silent on this? Has CVW made any statement?

We Tamils do not believe in interaction, diplomacy, and negotiation, but only embrace violence & physical fights. All Tamil political parties have a deep-rooted racism and xenophobic belief in their mind.

Vellupillai Prabhakaran is the symbol of violence, racism, and terrorism.

It could be said that Sinnadurai Thavarajah Hon Leader of Opposition (LOP), Douglas Devananda and some youth are helping the people in the North. Hon LOP-NPC is seen to be engaged with a significant amount of help to the people in need. Who is the NPC councilor for Araly North and Kulani? What has the person done so far?

SriLanka is a small country with limited resources and struggling to survive with massive corruption at every level. SriLanka, economically cannot be a Federal State or Two States. It is one Nation, One State and all are Sri Lankans.

“It seems the Frogs are unable to come out of the well with old maniacs in politics”.

December 2017

Racism & Separatist mentality of Tamil leaders with evidence

Even to dance the tango the two have to dance to not only the same tune but to the same steps. What is clear from the very statements by Tamil leaders and their representative parties over the years is that their demands remain fixated while they expect the other party to be compromising and virtually giving in to their demands. What is equally shocking is that the so-called international community & the UN system well aware of these racist & separatist demands of the Tamil political players are very happy to play along as they see opportunities for their agendas in the demands made by these Tamils.

On 20th November 1947 the President of the ACTC sent a telegram through the Governor’s Office to the Secretary of State for the Colonies:

“The Tamil people of Ceylon have rejected the Soulbury Constitution in as much as at the general elections not one Tamil candidate of the U. N. P. was elected to Parliament and all but one of the Tamil Representatives who voted for the acceptance of the White Paper of 1945 in the defunct State Council were (sic) defeated. The All Ceylon Tamil Congress demands a free constitution for Ceylon conferring sovereignty on its people with equal freedom for all communities and calls for a constituent assembly to frame a constitution acceptable to all sections of the people. An Unitary Government with present composition of legislature and structure of executive totally unacceptable to the Tamils. In the absence of a satisfactory alternative we demand the right of self-determination for the Tamil people.”

It was only in 1951 that, for the first time, Tamil politicians defined the Tamils as a distinct nation. The first annual convention of the Tamil Federal Party(ITAK) declared:

"the Tamil speaking people in Ceylon constitute a nation distinct from that of the Sinhalese by every fundamental test of nationhood"

The Federal Party summoned its national convention in the naval port of Trincomalee in the eastern province. That convention, held on 19 August 1956 immediately after the passing of the June 1956 Official Language Act, passed the following resolutions:

1. the replacement of the present pernicious constitution by a rational and democratic constitution based on the federal principle and the establishment of one or more Tamil linguistic state or states incorporating all geographically contiguous areas in which the Tamil speaking people are numerically in a majority as federating unit or units enjoying the widest autonomous and residuary powers consistent with the unity and external security of Ceylon;

2. The restoration of the Tamil language to its rightful place enjoying the absolute parity of status with Sinhalese as an official language of the country;

3. The repeal of the present citizenship laws and the enactment in their place of laws recognizing the right to full citizenship on the basis of a simple test of residence for all persons who have made this country their home;

4. The immediate cessation of colonization of the traditional Tamil speaking areas with Sinhalese people.

Professor C. Suntharalingam - The man who fathered the Tamil Eelam concept and introduced the word EELAM into the Ceylonese political vocabulary. He created the Eela Thamil Ottrumai Munnani (Unity Front of Eelam Tamils) in 1959.

"We have made up our minds, come what may, that we shall constitute a separate state of Eelam"

Statement by S. J. Chelvanayagam after winning the by-election for the Kankesanturai Parliamentary seat, held belatedly on 7 February 1975

"I wish to announce to my people and to the country that I consider the verdict at this election as a mandate that the Tamil Eelam nation should exercise the sovereignty already vested in the Tamil people and become free."

In 1975 its leader Chelvanayakam declared secession to be the goal of the Tamil people. In 1977, the Tamil United Front (TUF) was Reformed as the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), and in the subsequent general election asked the Tamil people for a mandate to secede as the separate State of Tamil Eelam. The TULF stated in its election manifesto

“The Tamil nation must take the decision to establish its sovereignty in its homeland on the basis of its right to self determination. The only way to announce this decision to the Sinhalese government and to the world is to vote for the Tamil United Liberation Front.”

In 1972 combining the ACTC and ITAK (Federal Party) Tamil United Front was formed which later became TULF in 1976. Vaddukoddai Resolution emerged from the first National Convention of the Tamil United Liberation Front meeting at Pannakam (Vaddukoddai Constituency) on the 14th day of May, 1976 by Chairman S.J.V. Chelvanayakam. www.sangam.org

5 objectives were declared

1. State of Tamil Eelam to consist of North & Eastern provinces to all Tamil speaking people

2. Constitution of Tamil Eelam based on principles of decentralization. No foremost place to any religion or territorial community.

3. Tamil Eelam will assure equal status to all

4. Tamil Eelam will be a secular state with equal protection to all religions

5. Tamil will be language of the State but Sinhala speaking minority can educate and transact in Sinhala subject to reciprocity of Tamil speaking minority in Sinhala state. (didn’t they demand equal language rights – if so why make only Tamil language of the state?)

26 March 1977 Chelvanayagam said ,

“My advice to the Sinhalese leaders is to allow us to go our way .. Let us avoid bitterness and agree to part peacefully. This will pave the way for greater cooperation between the two nations on a footing of equality. The Tamils are not with any other alternatives. Bitterness is growing in the midst of the younger generations. Without allowing it to grow any further, which may lead to inevitable confrontation leading to foreign intervention, therefore a method of peacefully working out this entanglement is necessary. We are confident that the truth will ultimately triumph and we will win in the war of endurance.”

Tamil United Liberation Front  General Election Manifesto, July 1977

www.sangam.org

· "to establish an independent sovereign, secular, socialist State of Tamil Eelam...".

· “Even before the Christian era, the entire Island of Ceylon was ruled by Tamil Kings, Senan, Kuddikan and Elara (Ellalan)” (These are all Indian – Tamil Nadu kings and Elara was not a Tamil)

· “The Tamil nation must take the decision to establish its sovereignty in its homeland on the basis of its right to self determination. The only way to announce this decision to the Sinhalese government and to the world is to vote for the Tamil United Liberation Front”

· “either by peaceful means or by direct action or struggle.”

When the UNP government put forward its conventional policy statement in August 1977, Amirthalingam, the leader of the opposition, proposed an amendment to it:

“It [the policy statement] studiedly refrains from referring to the mandate given by the people of Tamil Eelam to the TULF for the restoration and reconstitution of a free, sovereign, socialist, secular state of Tamil Eelam . . . Government policy has failed to take note of the fact that the Tamils are a separate nation by all internationally accepted standards . . . and are therefore entitled to exercise their inalienable right of self determination”

President Jayewardene in October 1982

"They can't separate, and what we give them can't be different from any other part of the country."

Yogaratnam Yogi, on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam speaking at a public meeting to commemorate the 15th death anniversary of Thanthai Chelva on April 26 1992 at Nallur, Jaffna

"Thanthai Chelva was the elder statesman who opened the path for the present struggle of the Tamils. He had to carry the struggle forward under great difficulties. We of the LTTE accord Thanthai Chelva and his sincere followers a respected position in the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle.”

In 2001 when Tamil National Alliance was formed comprising the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) and the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) their immediate demands were: -

· The immediate lifting of the economic embargo currently in force in parts of the northeast province

· The withdrawal of the residential and travel restrictions foisted on the Tamil nationality

· The immediate cessation of the war being currently waged in the northeast

· The immediate commencement of the process of negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) with international third party involvement.

TNA 2001 election manifesto

www.tamilnet.com

1. Recognition of the Tamils of Sri Lanka as a distinct nationality.

2. Recognition of an identified Tamil homeland and guarantee of its territorial integrity.

3. Based on the above, recognition of the inalienable right of self-determination of the Tamil nation.

4. Recognition of the right to full citizenship and other fundamental democratic rights of all Tamils who look upon the island as their country.’

R. Sambathan leader of TNA & present Opposition Leader (2003)

"The ISGA proposal submitted by the LTTE to the UNF government bears historical importance in the political history of Tamils in the island. The ISGA provides a base to find a permanent political solution to the Tamil national question,"

TNA 2004 election manifesto key areas www.tamilnet.com / www.thesundayleader.lk

· The high security zones and armed forces camps…. should be removed

· The political prisoners ……should be released (LTTE cadres are not political prisoners)

· …. removing the restrictions put in place by certain countries on the LTTE

2009 Tamil Diaspora global referendum conducted by TGTE.

"I aspire for the formation of the independent and sovereign state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east territory of the island of Sri Lanka on the basis that the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka make a distinct nation, have a traditional homeland and have the right to self-determination."

TNA 2010 election manifestotranscurrents.com

· Tamil people a distinct nationality

· Tamil speaking Northern & Eastern provinces are historical habitation of the Tamil people peoples.

· Tamil people are entitled to right of self-determination

· Power sharing arrangement must be established in a unit merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a federal structure

· Devolution of power over land, law and order, socioeconomic development including health, education, resources and fiscal powers

· Direct foreign investment in the North & East

· Tertiary education

· Demilitarization return to pre-war 1983

· Resettlement of Tamil people in their original places, housing and livelihood to be restored.

· Compensation paid to loss of lives, maimed as a result of military campaign

· Releasing persons detained without charges

· Tamils who fled country must be allowed to return

· Creation of employment opportunities for youth with participation of International Community & Tamil Diaspora

· No displaced persons

· Special commission to uplift socially and economically disadvantaged sections of society

· TNA will raise standard of living of fishing communities providing them access to modern technologies

· Increasing salaries of government servants and private sector employees

· Equal status to women,

· TNA assures to secure employment opportunities to unemployed graduates

Sampanthan’s speech at the 14th Annual ITAK convention in 2012 Batticoloa covered the following points : www.tamilcanadian.com a must read to understand what the demands are

“Our expectation for a solution to the ethnic problem of the sovereignty of the Tamil people is based on a political structure OUTSIDE that of a UNITARY GOVERNMENT, in a UNITED SRI LANKA in which Tamil people have all the powers of government needed to live with self-respect and self sufficiency’. (this is echoing the 1947 demands by ACTC to the British)

“The struggle is the same, but the approaches we employ are different. Our aim is the same, but our strategies are different. The players are the same, but the alliances are different. That is the nature of the Tamil people. Although we still have the same aim, the methods we use are now different.”

TNA 2013 election manifesto (Northern Provincial Council election)

www.colombotelegraph.com

· The Tamils are a distinct People and from time immemorial have inhabited this island together with the Sinhalese People and others

· The contiguous preponderantly Tamil Speaking Northern and Eastern provinces is the historical habitation of the Tamil Speaking Peoples

· The Tamil People are entitled to the right to self-determination

· Power sharing arrangements must be established in a unit of a merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a Federal structure, in a manner also acceptable to the Tamil Speaking Muslim people

· Devolution of power on the basis of shared sovereignty shall necessarily be over land, law and order, socio-economic development including health and education, resources and fiscal powers.

TNA 2015 Parliamentary Election Manifesto - issued by the TNA comprising of ITAK, TELO, EPRLF and PLOTE.

www.colombotelegraph.com

· The Tamils are a distinct People with their own culture, civilization, language and heritage and from time immemorial have inhabited this island together with the Sinhalese People and others (slight change to their earlier stand)

· The contiguous preponderantly Tamil Speaking Northern and Eastern provinces is the historical habitation of the Tamil People and the Tamil Speaking Peoples

· The Tamil People are entitled to the right to self-determination in keeping with United Nations International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which Sri Lanka has accepted and acceded to

· Power sharing arrangements must continue to be established as it existed earlier in a unit of a merged Northern and Eastern Provinces based on a Federal structure. The Tamil speaking Muslim historical inhabitants shall be entitled to be beneficiaries of all power-sharing arrangements in the North-East. This will no way inflict any disability on any People.

· Devolution of power on the basis of shared sovereignty shall be over land, law and order, enforcement of the law so as to ensure the safety and security of the Tamil People, socio-economic development including inter-alia health, education, higher and vocational education, agriculture, fisheries, industries, livestock development, cultural affairs, mustering of resources, both domestic and foreign and fiscal powers.

· Direct foreign investment in the North-East should be facilitated resulting in new industries and employment opportunities being created for youth

· Avenues for tertiary education should also be set-up so that those who cannot enter universities can pursue higher education in relevant fields

V Rudrakumaran, LTTE lawyer and present ‘President’ of TGTE

"...a social group characterized by distinct objective elements such as a common language and a common struggle, acquire subjective elements such as a sense of solidarity, of sameness or oneness and has a relationship to a defined territory," such a group clearly constitutes a "people" and-is entitled to self-determination... the Tamils of Sri Lanka, who are united on the basis of such objective factors as a distinct language etc., and by such subjective factors as a passionate yearning for freedom, and who have a long-established relationship to the Northern and Eastern provinces constitute a people, and are therefore entitled to self-determination in the form of secession, in the face of denial of effective representation in Sri Lanka's existing constitutional and political situation...."

Feb. 10, 2015 Northern Provincial Council headed by C V Wigneswaran tabled a resolution alleging genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils, since 1948 (he cannot however explain how Tamil population is increasing after genocide)

Racism of Chief Minister Wigneswaran is exposed through these examples http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/04/04/racism-of-chief-minister-wigneswaran/

There are plenty more racist and hateful statements made by these so-called Tamil leaders most of these comments for want of space is not included. What is shocking is that no one seems to be bothered with their racism & separatist objectives.

Take all of the Tamil organizations/associations overseas and study their aims, objectives – every event they organize uses LTTE colours, LTTE flags, LTTE memorabilia, LTTE maps etc.

If the demands have not changed why should the other side only be the one to have to compromise, virtually give into demands that have no historical basis, factually incorrect, strenghtened by blood-money & illegal and illicit profits.

Shenali D Waduge

Sri Lanka’s Peril: Attempting to go beyond a Federal constitution as a solution to an unknown problem

We seem to love to go round the mulberry bush and in circles. Why do we need a new constitution? Who is asking for a new constitution? What in the present constitution needs to change, why and who wants it changed and are all these changes aligned to what the common & ordinary public wants? Is there a list of hands-off, cannot be touched, no-compromise areas in the present constitution that cannot be changed in any new constitution? Will these new changes have any adverse effects and have remedial actions & solutions been considered? Have these basic fundamental questions being answered before turning the present constitution upside down and drafting a new one? We certainly doubt so. Without such we should not proceed any further. As a citizen you are bound to ask these questions and seek answers. Don’t just live in a nation, be a valuable stakeholder and contributor.

What we see by the statements from both government & foreign envoys is that a new constitution is a must to meet the aspirations of the Tamil minority. Do these foreign nations change their constitutions to meet the aspirations of the minorities in their countries?

If discrimination is the benchmark why has everyone ignored and neglected to reverse the 443 years of discrimination Sinhalese suffered when invaders confiscated their rule that had lasted over 2600 years!

What is this new constitution promising the Sinhalese for the discrimination they have suffered? If the Government & foreign envoys are hailing the new constitution as catering to the Tamils what are the majority Sinhalese getting in return? Can the MPs that come from the Sinhala vote please respond.

No constitution can take stock of only the demands of one community totally disregarding the views of all others.

No community can make demands if by its implementation it affects the rights of other communities.

These are fundamentals that the government cannot ignore.

Irrespective of what political party you belong to think about these questions & seek the answers yourself.

It is the TNA that is making the demands on behalf of the Tamils. But, how representative of the Tamils is the TNA? The 2015 General Election only 515,963 voted for TNA which means that only ¼ of Tamils support the TNA.

So why is the Government taking the views of a party that is yet to be investigated for links with the LTTE given that every election manifesto of the TNA has openly canvassed for the Eelam demands of the LTTE.

The TNA leader, who is also the Opposition Leader is now demanding the merger of the de-merged North East provinces. What the TNA is presently demanding is exactly what the LTTE fought with the gun to achieve. Are we then insane to be legally setting the stage for its realization? Does the MPs in the present government have no brains to realize the danger of appeasing to these demands?

No constitution can be allowed to create exclusive ethno-religious ghetto areas or provinces while that ethnic group reserves the right to live, own land and work in all other parts of the island.

Aren’t these questions important? Don’t you want to know the answers?

This does not align whatsoever with the peace doves who are preaching reconciliation and peaceful coexistence though they also happen to be also promoting these ethno-religious ghettos conclaves!

No constitution can be drafted with petty objectives in mind given that it is a document that is relevant to the country and its citizenry. Nonetheless, some clauses appear to be targeting only one family and meant to prevent or obstruct them from standing for elections.

No constitution should be drafted if it is being promoted and funded by vested interests and external forces for enough of such newly drafted constitutions and newly formed ‘independent’ countries now facing chaos should suffice for us to not fall into the same soup. Anyone in doubt please refer the chaos in Kosovo and South Sudan.

The simple logic should be – how can you unite a country by dividing it?!

Have you seriously given thought to these questions?

As Mr. C Wijeyawickrema says ordinary Tamils are not asking for police or land powers or even the merger of the north & east and they certainly do not care whether King Devanampiyatissa is Tamil or Greek.

What they do want now is to be able to live in peace, to educate their children, to earn a living, save some money and live in harmony with others. These are the same wants that the ordinary Sinhalese & Muslims too share but these are not the same wants of elite Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims & the politicians they move with.

No constitution can be prepared to cater to the demands of controversial characters. There is little to hide that this government is in power as a result of a well-planned and executed regime change. The statements issued by leaders of Western governments and India suffice to confirm this. No foreign force helps a government to come to power without expecting them to carry out a list of promises they have committed to implement once in power. Voters should not be naïve to these realities in particular the supporters of the parties that campaigned to bring this government in power.

There are some political pundits clamouring to promote a ‘middle path’ believing they can fool the Buddhist majority who continues to question why TNA demands should be entertained when it has not been investigated for LTTE links & when TNA is basically making the same demands as the LTTE terrorists. But this is the path that some political pundits are schemingly advising. Negotiating the concurrent list is taking the LTTE/TNA path. The 13a should be scrapped because it is taking the path of division and destability and it is on account of this that both India & West wants its continuance.

Why leaders are shy to declare abolishing of the 13a is not because the people want it but because external parties influencing the people want to keep it. However, if a political party genuinely sees the dangers in maintaining the 13a and decides to revoke it, having appraised the public of its dangers the voters will overwhelmingly accept it. Sinhalese or Muslim voters see no advantage in the 13a and only Tamils can be externally influenced to object. If a honest strategy is adopted 13a can be revoked without much trouble. Why are politicians shy to do so?

Let’s also not forget that the ITAK constitution of 1949 was amended in 2008 removing its objective to a confederal from a federal replacing Samashthi with Innaipachchi. Legal fraternity should also seek court clarification on the Vaddukoddai Resolution of 1976.

ITAK’s calls do not align to a federal option it claims to demand. ITAK calls for referendums when only the Central Government can seek referendums & not provincial states. The calls for a ‘united’ Sri Lanka ‘collaboration’ ‘coexistence are all aligned to confederate model of governance as states are held together only by a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ which can easily be broken. The demands and clauses that provide the state with powers that makes it impossible for the Centre to reach the citizens of the provinces is also confederal elements and not federal.

Our governments have made mistakes. Our leaders have been influenced. We have gone through much turmoil & chaos. If we do not learn lessons we deserve what we are getting. When external forces forced an incursive agreement (Indo-Lanka Accord) in 1987, when external forces forced us to tweak our constitution (13^th amendment), when external forces created terrorism that lasted 30 years and cost us not only loss of lives, tears and reversed our development, surely we need to ensure our territory is kept safe from these external forces!

We need to identify the enemies from the friends whether they are local or foreign. We need to seriously address the needs of the nation and not a handful of selfish and destructive people. Why should external forces and people who only live in Sri Lanka because it serves their personal interest dictate what type of constitution we should have. As far as we know no one in the general public want or have even asked for a new constitution. So why are we wasting time drafting one! What is ridiculous is that those drafting the constitution are those dying to divide the nation.

We have made plenty of mistakes. Some are now irreversible. However, we cannot make another major faux pas by allowing a new constitution that is being drafted for the wrong reasons by the wrong people.

Give some serious thought to this.

Shenali D Waduge

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· Kethesh Loganathan

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Transitional justice relevant to Sri Lanka?

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How many Tamils PAID to be TORTURED to get asylum in the UK?

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Shenali D Waduge

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