Pizza is one of the widely relished fast food by millions of people world wide. It has everything - from vegetables to meat and can be customized based on the taste of the consumer. The common ingredients are bread base, tomato sauce, cheese, onions, red bell peppers and olives - chicken or Sausage etc.
Well, if I had to relate pizza to federal power sharing systems of some nations across the world:
USA - Pizza with everything except olives.
Switzerland - Pizza that is delicious & complete.
India - Pizza without cheese and olives.
Sri Lanka (13th Amendment) - A Pizza with no bread base, no cheese, no tomato sauce, no onions, no olives, nor chicken; but Just red bell peppers.
United States of America:
The U.S. Constitution establishes a government based on sharing of power between national and state governments. While each of the 50 states have its own constitution, all provisions of state constitutions must comply with the U.S. Constitution. Under this Constitution both the national and state governments are granted certain exclusive powers and share other powers.
Exclusive Powers of the National government include:
* Print money (bills and coins)* Declare and End war* Establish armed forces* Enter into treaties with foreign governments* Regulate commerce between states and international trade* Establish post offices and issue postage stamps* Enact laws necessary to enforce the constitution
Powers reserved for the national and state governments as well as the powers they share are laid out in the U.S. Constitution.
Exclusive Powers of State governments include:
* Establish local governments* Issue licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)* Regulate intrastate (within the state) commerce* Conduct elections* Ratify amendments to the U.S. constitution* Provide for public health and safety* Exercise powers neither delegated to the national government or prohibited from the states by the U.S. constitution (Ex: setting legal drinking and smoking age)
Powers shared by National and State government:
* Setting up courts* Creating and collecting taxes* Building highways* Borrowing money* Enacting and enforcing laws* Chartering banks and corporations* Spending money for the betterment of the general welfare* Taking (condemning) private property with just compensation
Switzerland:
Switzerland is a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-confessional nation shaped by the will of its people. It has been a federal State since 1848. Switzerland has a federal structure of the confederation and the cantons.
Confederation:
The Confederation is the name used in Switzerland for the state. In the Confederation, there are three powers: the executive (the Federal Council), the legislature (the Federal Assembly) and the judiciary (the Federal Supreme Court).
Cantons:
Switzerland is made up of 26 states known as cantons. They are the states that originally united in 1848 to form the Confederation, to which they each relinquished part of their sovereignty. In all the cantons the cantonal governments are elected directly by the people and therefore they hold a strong position in cantonal politics.
Tasks:
The cantonal governments are the highest executive authorities in the cantons. Firstly, they are responsible for the activities of government and are in charge of the cantonal administrations. They are for example responsible for preliminary legislative procedures, and they draw up the financial plan and budget and represent the canton both within the canton itself and at national and international levels.
Important areas of activity in all Cantonal administrations are:
* Finance* Justice* Economics* Education* Social services* Police/Security* Planning and building
India:
India is a federal State with a national government and a government of each constituent state. Although the structure of India is federal in a general way, there are yet certain aspects that are unique to India. The Indian government follows a strong central bias. The states enjoy relative autonomy in India. There is autonomy in the legislative, executive as well as the judicial powers for the states of India. The Union list:
Contains legislations, on which the Union enjoys exclusive control. Of the total 99 subjects that are included in the Union list, some are :* Defense* Banking* Taxes* Coinage* Insurance* Currency* Union Duties* Foreign Affairs
The State list:
There are a total of 69 subjects in this particular list, all of which are exclusive legislative powers of the State. Some of the subjects enlisted in the State list are :* Public order and Police* State Taxes and Duties* Agriculture* Sanitation* Local governments* Forests* Fisheries* Public Health
The Concurrent List:
This list contains 52 items, which are powers vested on the State as well as the Union. Some of the subjects included are:* Economic and Social planning* Criminal law and procedure* Civil procedure* Torts* Trusts* Marriage* Education* Welfare and Labor
Sri Lanka:
Following the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 29, 1987, the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution was introduced in October 1987 providing for an elected provincial council, a provincial board of ministers with a chief minister and a provincial governor.
The governor, though not elected, holds all the power, and the ministers, though elected, virtually have no power. There is in reality no devolution of power to the provinces.
Provincial Governor:
Under the 13th Amendment, the President appoints the provincial governor and can dismiss him/her. The governor holds executive power in the province in relation to those matters, which are within the competence of the provincial council. Since the constitution vests executive power in the president, it follows that the governor is subject to control by the president. The governor can exercise his executive power either directly or through the board of ministers or through the members of the provincial public service. The disciplinary control of officers of the province is vested in the governor. The governor will alsodetermine terms and conditions of their employment. In this circumstance, the board of ministers in effect becomes redundant. The functions of the chief minister and the board of ministers are to aid and advise the governor in the exercise of his functions. The chief minister must communicate all decisions of the board of ministers to the governor. The governor will exercise executive power also in respect of all provincial legislation passed by the provincial council. The governor is empowered to make rules for allocation of business among ministers. The governor can summon the provincial council, including ministers and give instructions.
If the council fails to comply with any instruction, the president can declare that the powers of the council will be exercised by parliament and that the powers of the ministers will be exercised by the president. The governor has the discretion to ignore the advice of the chief minister and board of ministers. Whether any matter requires the advice of the chief minister will be decidedby the governor on the direction of the president and this cannot be called into question in any court.
Finance:
Under the 13th Amendment, a Finance Commission consisting of the Governor of the Central Bank, Secretary to the Treasury and three other members each representing the three major communities (appointed by the president) will recommend the amount to be allocated from the annual budget to meet the needs of the province. The president will decide the amount. The provincial council cannot pass any laws imposing, altering, and abolishing any taxes in the province without the recommendation of the governor. No money can be withdrawn or utilized from the provincial fund (which will include money allocated by the central government, taxes and levies) without the sanction of the governor. The provincial council does not have powers to borrow internally and externally, provide guarantees and indemnities, receive aid directly and engage in or regulate internal and external trade.
Take over of functions:
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution all powers of auditing of accounts in relation to monies received from international sources are vested in the auditor-general appointed by the president.
If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the provincial administration cannot be carried out (for example, if the provincial council does not act in accordance with the recommendation of the governor in the case of taxes), the President can take over the functions of the governor, the chief minister and the ministers and also declare that the powers of the provincial council are vested in the central parliament. This cannot be called intoquestion in any court.
Advice:
Under the 13th Amendment, the chief minister and the board of ministers can advise the governor only in respect of matters on which the provincial council can pass laws. They cannot even advise over other matters such as:
A. Police:
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), who reports directly to the president, will be the head of all provincial police forces. A Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) will head the provincial division of the police force. The DIG will be appointed by the IGP with the concurrence of the chief minister, but if there is no agreement, the President will appoint the DIG after consulting the chief minister. The DIG will be responsible to answer the chief minister and function under his control. But there are no provisions for the exercise of such control other than through the IGP and the president.
Offences against a public officer, prejudicial to national security or maintenance of essential services will not be within the competence of the provincial police force. These offences are under the jurisdiction of the national police division.
B. Land and land settlement:
Although this matter is in the Provincial List under the 13th Amendment, the disposal of land within the province will be under the direct control of the president. State lands will not be vested in the provincial council and therefore it will not be able to distribute land to the people in the province. There is a long- standing complaint of the people in the north-east relating to distribution of state lands to those from outside the north-east and forcible occupation of private lands as a result of government-organized colonization or settlement programs.
Judiciary:
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution, judicial power is exercised by parliament through courts established by law. The President appoints the judges of the Supreme Court. Under the 13th Amendment, a High Court is established for the province. The Chief Justice chooses the High Court judge for a province from among the High Court judges and is appointed by the President.
The three lists:
The 13th Amendment provides three lists: Provincial Council List - The provincial council may make laws applicable to the province in respect of matters in this list. Concurrent List - Both the Sri Lanka Parliament and the provincial council may legislate on matters in this list. Reserved List - Only parliament may make laws in respect of matters in this list.
Despite this, the central parliament will be able to legislate by a simple majority on all subjects on grounds of national policy. This would enable parliament to legislate in respect of any matters in all three lists.
Conclusion:
Based on the above comparison analysis, any one with a fair understanding of what “federalism” represents would conclude that Tamils have literally no control over either the executive or the legislature or the judiciary branch of the proposed Indo-Lankan agreement - 13th Amendments to the Sri Lanka Constitution.
If some countries, organizations or individuals continue to advocate what was offered in the “13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution” was at best, let them first sell this recipe to their respective country and relish the Pizza (of just red bell peppers).
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Ex-UN's Jan Egeland Describes "Horror" In Sri Lanka, Says R2P Has Failed, UN Silent
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- While current UN humanitarian coordinator John Holmes has commended the Sri Lankan government for how they are running the UN-funded camps where they have detained 300,000 Tamil civilians, his predecessor Jan Egeland on Tuesday told the Press that we can "safely assume... horrors" in the treatment of "women in Sri Lanka, Tamils," due to the continuing denial of access not only to humanitarian review but also "witnesses." Video here, from Minute 26:06.
Last week Inner City Press asked for the UN's and Holmes' response to the Sri Lanka government barring even UN workers from bringing cameras into the internment camps. There was no response, nor to the disbanding of the investigation into killings such as that of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers near Kilinochchi.
On June 22 and again on June 24, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about two UN system staffers grabbed up by the government, by plain clothes men in unmarked vehicles. Even though the UN in Colombo belatedly admitted what happened, Ban's spokesperson on June 24 told the Press "we are trying to get information on what happened, got your question yesterday." Video here, from Minute 10:10.
But it happened ten days ago, and was asked about on June 22. To many, it begins to be part of the cover-up.
Egeland was in New York for a UN Colloquium on Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Peace Negotiations. Inner City Press asked for his view of the UN's performance this year in Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka is the latest example of the world community letting a government get away with denying access, to witnesses, humanitarian relief, protection of civilians," Egeland said.
UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- While current UN humanitarian coordinator John Holmes has commended the Sri Lankan government for how they are running the UN-funded camps where they have detained 300,000 Tamil civilians, his predecessor Jan Egeland on Tuesday told the Press that we can "safely assume... horrors" in the treatment of "women in Sri Lanka, Tamils," due to the continuing denial of access not only to humanitarian review but also "witnesses." Video here, from Minute 26:06.
Last week Inner City Press asked for the UN's and Holmes' response to the Sri Lanka government barring even UN workers from bringing cameras into the internment camps. There was no response, nor to the disbanding of the investigation into killings such as that of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers near Kilinochchi.
On June 22 and again on June 24, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about two UN system staffers grabbed up by the government, by plain clothes men in unmarked vehicles. Even though the UN in Colombo belatedly admitted what happened, Ban's spokesperson on June 24 told the Press "we are trying to get information on what happened, got your question yesterday." Video here, from Minute 10:10.
But it happened ten days ago, and was asked about on June 22. To many, it begins to be part of the cover-up.
Egeland was in New York for a UN Colloquium on Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Peace Negotiations. Inner City Press asked for his view of the UN's performance this year in Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka is the latest example of the world community letting a government get away with denying access, to witnesses, humanitarian relief, protection of civilians," Egeland said.
At but no longer of the UN, Jan Egeland says R2P failed in Sri Lanka
He said that the Responsibility to Protest, enacted by the UN in 2005, was "not upheld in Sri Lanka, the heads of state have failed." He predicted that conflict will brew because injustice is occurring. He added, that he was not saying this as a UN official, that he is now with the Norwegian Institute on International Affairs.
In the run up to the Colloquium, two current UN officials came to speak to the Press. Sri Lanka was raised by Inner City Press, and the UN Development Program briefer answered and then said, "that is all off the record."
Why can't the UN speak on the record about Sri Lanka, as staff are disappeared and civilians killed and locked up?
Why is it only an ex-UN official who can admit that on Sri Lanka, the UN emperor has no clothes? Watch this site.
Sri Lankan Government Used Plainclothes Men in Unmarked Cars to Grab UN Staff
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- While the UN in New York still refuses to confirm that Sri Lanka has detained two Tamil staff members, the acting Country Coordinator, UNHCR's Amim Awar, has told local staff that the two men were picked up on June 11 and 12 "by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle."
Many who disappear that way, particularly in the notorious white vans, are subsequently killed. That such tactics have been deployed by the government onto UN staff who are, at least elsewhere, immune signifies the degree of the UN's debasement in Sri Lanka.
Amin Awar's message to staff, obtained by Inner City Press and published below and attached, says that 12 days after the detentions, the UN has
"not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. ... We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent."
Ironically, when UN peacekeepers commit rape or sexual abuse, for example in the Congo, they are not allowed to be arrested by the national authorities. In the US, if the government wants to arrest or even question a UN staff member, the Secretary General has to waive immunity. Not in Sri Lanka, apparently.
On June 22, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas
Inner City Press:it emerged over the weekend that two more UN staff members had been detained by the Government of Sri Lanka. Reportedly, a driver for UNOPS and a driver for UNHCR. Is OCHA aware of that? And what’s being done to find out why they were detained?
Spokesperson Montas: Okay. I’ll try to find out more on that. Very soon.
More more than 30 hours later, no information has been provided by the UN in New York.
UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- While the UN in New York still refuses to confirm that Sri Lanka has detained two Tamil staff members, the acting Country Coordinator, UNHCR's Amim Awar, has told local staff that the two men were picked up on June 11 and 12 "by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle."
Many who disappear that way, particularly in the notorious white vans, are subsequently killed. That such tactics have been deployed by the government onto UN staff who are, at least elsewhere, immune signifies the degree of the UN's debasement in Sri Lanka.
Amin Awar's message to staff, obtained by Inner City Press and published below and attached, says that 12 days after the detentions, the UN has
"not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. ... We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent."
Ironically, when UN peacekeepers commit rape or sexual abuse, for example in the Congo, they are not allowed to be arrested by the national authorities. In the US, if the government wants to arrest or even question a UN staff member, the Secretary General has to waive immunity. Not in Sri Lanka, apparently.
On June 22, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas
Inner City Press:it emerged over the weekend that two more UN staff members had been detained by the Government of Sri Lanka. Reportedly, a driver for UNOPS and a driver for UNHCR. Is OCHA aware of that? And what’s being done to find out why they were detained?
Spokesperson Montas: Okay. I’ll try to find out more on that. Very soon.
More more than 30 hours later, no information has been provided by the UN in New York.
The June 23 noon briefing was canceled, to encourage reporters to go cover a Ban Ki-moon press conference outside of the UN at which questions were limited to climate change.
In the Spokesperson's Office, the previous practice of letting the Press view the Office's compilation for Ban Ki-moon of world news headlines has abruptly been discontinued. The explanation is that now Ban wants analysis along with the headlines and summaries, and it would be inappropriate for the Press to see this "format."
But the UN's internal News Monitoring Unit compiles articles about the Secretary General and allows a search by Positive, Neutral and Negative coverage. Strangely, despite the Economist review and Foreign Policy, on June 22 in the UN data base there were no negative reviews listed or included. Hear no evil, see no evil. We will have more on this.
Inner City Press' June 18 debate on Sri Lanka, click here
Message from Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
Arrest of UN staff members
Dear colleagues,
You may be aware that two UN staff members went missing in Vavuniya on 11 and 12 of June. You may have heard the news from colleagues, or have seen reports in the media.
From the facts as we understand them today, the two staff members in question were taken away by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle. One UNHCR staff member was taken from his home, and the UNOPS staff member was taken the following day from a service station, where he had stopped to refuel his vehicle. The UN was not informed by the authorities, and it was only after conducting inquiries that we were able to learn informally that the staff members had in fact been taken by the Sri Lankan security services. To date, we have not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. Under Sri Lankan Law, Emergency Regulation 20 (9) when a person is taken into custody, a receipt should be issued to family members or accompanying person acknowledging the arrest / detention.
We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent.
We are in constant contact with the government over our concerns, and have issued official communiqués to the government detailing them. We are keeping our respective headquarters closely informed, as well as Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. When UN staff members are detained it is standard practice for the UN to have direct contact with such persons. We will attempt to keep you informed in a timely manner through these bulletins of these matters.
Best regards
Amin Awad
Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian CoordinatorUN's Ban between cameras of Sri Lanka staff, detentions not yet shown
In the Spokesperson's Office, the previous practice of letting the Press view the Office's compilation for Ban Ki-moon of world news headlines has abruptly been discontinued. The explanation is that now Ban wants analysis along with the headlines and summaries, and it would be inappropriate for the Press to see this "format."
But the UN's internal News Monitoring Unit compiles articles about the Secretary General and allows a search by Positive, Neutral and Negative coverage. Strangely, despite the Economist review and Foreign Policy, on June 22 in the UN data base there were no negative reviews listed or included. Hear no evil, see no evil. We will have more on this.
Inner City Press' June 18 debate on Sri Lanka, click here
Message from Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
Arrest of UN staff members
Dear colleagues,
You may be aware that two UN staff members went missing in Vavuniya on 11 and 12 of June. You may have heard the news from colleagues, or have seen reports in the media.
From the facts as we understand them today, the two staff members in question were taken away by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle. One UNHCR staff member was taken from his home, and the UNOPS staff member was taken the following day from a service station, where he had stopped to refuel his vehicle. The UN was not informed by the authorities, and it was only after conducting inquiries that we were able to learn informally that the staff members had in fact been taken by the Sri Lankan security services. To date, we have not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. Under Sri Lankan Law, Emergency Regulation 20 (9) when a person is taken into custody, a receipt should be issued to family members or accompanying person acknowledging the arrest / detention.
We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent.
We are in constant contact with the government over our concerns, and have issued official communiqués to the government detailing them. We are keeping our respective headquarters closely informed, as well as Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. When UN staff members are detained it is standard practice for the UN to have direct contact with such persons. We will attempt to keep you informed in a timely manner through these bulletins of these matters.
Best regards
Amin Awad
Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian CoordinatorUN's Ban between cameras of Sri Lanka staff, detentions not yet shown
Sri Lankan Tamil detainees give eye-witness accounts
It is now more than one month since the Sri Lankan military detained the final batch of Tamil refugees fleeing the northern war zone on May 19. They joined more than a quarter of a million civilians already incarcerated in camps set up near Vavuniya and on the Jaffna Peninsula during the last phase of the war. About 160,000 people are interned in four units in the biggest camp, known as Manik Farm.
In order to brush off criticism of the denial of democratic rights and terrible conditions in the camps, the government falsely claimed that most detainees would be resettled within six months. However, senior military officials have told Mark Cutts, a UN senior coordinator at Manik Farm, that they expect 80 percent of the people to be still detained in a year’s time. Cutts told the BBC that the government was building permanent structures at Manik Farm. Nothing less than a new city had been created, he said, with phone lines, schools, banks and even a cash machine.
The government is treating all the detainees as suspected supporters of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), saying that no-one can be released until the camps have been screened to identify those with LTTE connections. Every day 20 to 30 young people are taken away and their whereabouts are unknown, a human rights organisation, INFORM, reported this week. Interviewed by the BBC Sinhala Service, a spokesperson for the organisation said people wearing hoods were brought into the camps and they indicated by signs whether a detainee had LTTE connections or not.
No register is being kept of such removals, in violation of Sri Lankan and international law, and the media has been excluded from the camps to prevent any reporting of the conditions in the camps or the fate of the nearly 9,000 youth that the government has admitted taking away to separate detention facilities. Their parents do not know what has happened to them.
A report in the right-wing Island newspaper on June 16 provided a glimpse of how the military and police authorities are applying pressure to the Tamil youth to declare support for the government. According to the article, a deputy inspector general of police Nimal Lewke addressed over 2,000 detainees at the Neriyakulam Technical College and told them that President Mahinda Rajapakse was “their only hope”. Lewke told the Island that about 8,729 youth were being held in several detention centres at Vavuniya as LTTE cadres, including about 1,700 young women, and that 283,000 displaced people were in camps at Vavuniya, with 11,000 more on the Jaffna Peninsula.
Because of the government’s exclusion of the media, the only source of information is the testimonies of detainees relayed by relatives. We publish below two interviews given by relatives who visited two Manik Farm camps, in which they report the conditions there, as well as detainees’ accounts of the military’s shelling of civilians in the final stages of the war.
* * *
On the day I visited the camp, Education Minister Susil Premjayantha and Resettlement Minister Rishad Bathiuddeen were meeting with some NGOs [non-government organisations] in the camp. So we had to wait until they left. Police officers were controlling the people, wielding batons.
Speaking about the last days of the war, my relative told me: “The military fired more than a thousand shells an hour. The shells fell on people because there was a smaller chance of falling on the land--people were so crowded into a tiny area. About 1,400 people killed on the day when I was injured. I saw this in the hospital. I do not know how many died on the spot. I was admitted to Mullivaikkal hospital. After few days, they took me by ship to (eastern) Pulmoddai hospital. Again I was transferred to Polonnaruwa hospital. Later they brought me to Vavuniya and finally here. They photographed me each time when they transferred me.
“We are like prisoners here. Why don’t they allow us to go out? The toilets are overflowing. There is a lack of water to use toilets and for other needs. There are some tube wells for drinking water. For that we have to wait in a long queue. We have to bathe in a river running behind the camp. However if we bathe in that river continuously, some skin diseases will spread among us. A doctor visits the camp only once a week. Sometimes essential medicines are not available. We have to obtain a token two days in advance to consult the doctor for any severe illness.
“We are living with fear. We do not know what will happen at anytime. The foreign representatives who visit here do not know the real situation. We are not allowed to speak with them. When the UN secretary general [Ban Ki-moon] visited, the authorities took half the detainees out of Kadirgamar camp and cleaned it up. They showed him each family with a tent. They took him only to that camp.”
An elderly person who was leaving the camp with a relative who was released after nearly a month of requests, said: “I think we were the first people who crossed into the military-controlled area after the government announced that we could do so. But the treatment that the young and middle-aged people got and the words used against us made me think that I should have died starving rather than come here.
“Now of course they have put up tin sheets and thatched roofs. When we came here it was almost like a jungle. Numbers of families had to live in one hut. Because it is hot, people can sleep anywhere but the problems start if it begins to rain. If it rains, you can’t even walk because of the muddy land.
“Since we came here many of the parents with children have never slept at night for fear that their children would be taken away. There were numbers of such incidents. We had no lights, so nobody knew what was going on.”
A 60-year-old person who visited a camp to see his children said: “I went from one camp to another searching for the family of my daughter who was in Kilinochchi. Yesterday I went to a camp at Periyakattu in Vavuniya, which opened soon after the government announced its war victory. But visitors are not allowed there. The military considers those interns to be strong supporters or associates of the LTTE because they were there in the war zone until the last minute.”
* * *
I went to a camp recently to see some of my relatives detained there. We wrote down the name of the detainee we wanted to visit, his block and tent number and handed it over to the officers, who seemed to be intelligence officers or members of paramilitary groups working with the military.
They announced our visit by loud speakers. We were not sure whether the message had gotten to the particular relative. However, we stayed in the queue for checking. Officers checked all our bags and parcels, and our bodies. No shopping bags, betel and areca nut, big bags, boxes or hand phones were allowed.
We had to talk with our relatives through the barbed wire fence. We were allowed just 15 minutes. There were about 60 or 70 visitors talking to their relatives behind the fence, so it was difficult to hear or respond to each other.
My relative, 19, described his experience under the military’s shelling attacks in Mullivaikkal: “There were pieces of shells in the backbone of my mother. We think the shells were fired by the army. Medical staff would only give medicine without removing the shrapnel, because they said she would become paralysed or unconscious if the pieces were removed. After my mother was injured, I carried her and moved secretly during an entire night, without the knowledge of the LTTE, to reach the military-controlled area.
“My brother, who is 13, must study in grade 7 and I in the advanced level. But we have not been able to go to school for more than six months. The officials said they would arrange for us to study in the advanced level.
“They cook meals here for us. This morning it was porridge. For lunch, they gave us rice with soya meat, pumpkin, dhal and dried fish. We may have porridge tonight also. People who were able to find pans were cooking, but when a temporary tent burned down [due to a cooking fire], we were asked to stop cooking.
“We are facing a huge lack of water and there are lots of flies here. They gave us a floor sheet to put inside the tent, but the flies live on those sheets.” As we talked, flies flocked around our faces.
Another relative I wanted to meet did not turn up although I lined up in the queue three times. He may not have received the message about my visit. On my third attempt, I met another detainee I know and managed to send things for my relative through him. That detainee, a government employee told me:
“We are unable to get a good meal. The meals are not tasty—they are just to prevent hunger. I do my job here and they pay me. How many days do we have to suffer this camp life? There is no water here. Smallpox and mumps are spreading.”
In order to brush off criticism of the denial of democratic rights and terrible conditions in the camps, the government falsely claimed that most detainees would be resettled within six months. However, senior military officials have told Mark Cutts, a UN senior coordinator at Manik Farm, that they expect 80 percent of the people to be still detained in a year’s time. Cutts told the BBC that the government was building permanent structures at Manik Farm. Nothing less than a new city had been created, he said, with phone lines, schools, banks and even a cash machine.
The government is treating all the detainees as suspected supporters of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), saying that no-one can be released until the camps have been screened to identify those with LTTE connections. Every day 20 to 30 young people are taken away and their whereabouts are unknown, a human rights organisation, INFORM, reported this week. Interviewed by the BBC Sinhala Service, a spokesperson for the organisation said people wearing hoods were brought into the camps and they indicated by signs whether a detainee had LTTE connections or not.
No register is being kept of such removals, in violation of Sri Lankan and international law, and the media has been excluded from the camps to prevent any reporting of the conditions in the camps or the fate of the nearly 9,000 youth that the government has admitted taking away to separate detention facilities. Their parents do not know what has happened to them.
A report in the right-wing Island newspaper on June 16 provided a glimpse of how the military and police authorities are applying pressure to the Tamil youth to declare support for the government. According to the article, a deputy inspector general of police Nimal Lewke addressed over 2,000 detainees at the Neriyakulam Technical College and told them that President Mahinda Rajapakse was “their only hope”. Lewke told the Island that about 8,729 youth were being held in several detention centres at Vavuniya as LTTE cadres, including about 1,700 young women, and that 283,000 displaced people were in camps at Vavuniya, with 11,000 more on the Jaffna Peninsula.
Because of the government’s exclusion of the media, the only source of information is the testimonies of detainees relayed by relatives. We publish below two interviews given by relatives who visited two Manik Farm camps, in which they report the conditions there, as well as detainees’ accounts of the military’s shelling of civilians in the final stages of the war.
* * *
On the day I visited the camp, Education Minister Susil Premjayantha and Resettlement Minister Rishad Bathiuddeen were meeting with some NGOs [non-government organisations] in the camp. So we had to wait until they left. Police officers were controlling the people, wielding batons.
Speaking about the last days of the war, my relative told me: “The military fired more than a thousand shells an hour. The shells fell on people because there was a smaller chance of falling on the land--people were so crowded into a tiny area. About 1,400 people killed on the day when I was injured. I saw this in the hospital. I do not know how many died on the spot. I was admitted to Mullivaikkal hospital. After few days, they took me by ship to (eastern) Pulmoddai hospital. Again I was transferred to Polonnaruwa hospital. Later they brought me to Vavuniya and finally here. They photographed me each time when they transferred me.
“We are like prisoners here. Why don’t they allow us to go out? The toilets are overflowing. There is a lack of water to use toilets and for other needs. There are some tube wells for drinking water. For that we have to wait in a long queue. We have to bathe in a river running behind the camp. However if we bathe in that river continuously, some skin diseases will spread among us. A doctor visits the camp only once a week. Sometimes essential medicines are not available. We have to obtain a token two days in advance to consult the doctor for any severe illness.
“We are living with fear. We do not know what will happen at anytime. The foreign representatives who visit here do not know the real situation. We are not allowed to speak with them. When the UN secretary general [Ban Ki-moon] visited, the authorities took half the detainees out of Kadirgamar camp and cleaned it up. They showed him each family with a tent. They took him only to that camp.”
An elderly person who was leaving the camp with a relative who was released after nearly a month of requests, said: “I think we were the first people who crossed into the military-controlled area after the government announced that we could do so. But the treatment that the young and middle-aged people got and the words used against us made me think that I should have died starving rather than come here.
“Now of course they have put up tin sheets and thatched roofs. When we came here it was almost like a jungle. Numbers of families had to live in one hut. Because it is hot, people can sleep anywhere but the problems start if it begins to rain. If it rains, you can’t even walk because of the muddy land.
“Since we came here many of the parents with children have never slept at night for fear that their children would be taken away. There were numbers of such incidents. We had no lights, so nobody knew what was going on.”
A 60-year-old person who visited a camp to see his children said: “I went from one camp to another searching for the family of my daughter who was in Kilinochchi. Yesterday I went to a camp at Periyakattu in Vavuniya, which opened soon after the government announced its war victory. But visitors are not allowed there. The military considers those interns to be strong supporters or associates of the LTTE because they were there in the war zone until the last minute.”
* * *
I went to a camp recently to see some of my relatives detained there. We wrote down the name of the detainee we wanted to visit, his block and tent number and handed it over to the officers, who seemed to be intelligence officers or members of paramilitary groups working with the military.
They announced our visit by loud speakers. We were not sure whether the message had gotten to the particular relative. However, we stayed in the queue for checking. Officers checked all our bags and parcels, and our bodies. No shopping bags, betel and areca nut, big bags, boxes or hand phones were allowed.
We had to talk with our relatives through the barbed wire fence. We were allowed just 15 minutes. There were about 60 or 70 visitors talking to their relatives behind the fence, so it was difficult to hear or respond to each other.
My relative, 19, described his experience under the military’s shelling attacks in Mullivaikkal: “There were pieces of shells in the backbone of my mother. We think the shells were fired by the army. Medical staff would only give medicine without removing the shrapnel, because they said she would become paralysed or unconscious if the pieces were removed. After my mother was injured, I carried her and moved secretly during an entire night, without the knowledge of the LTTE, to reach the military-controlled area.
“My brother, who is 13, must study in grade 7 and I in the advanced level. But we have not been able to go to school for more than six months. The officials said they would arrange for us to study in the advanced level.
“They cook meals here for us. This morning it was porridge. For lunch, they gave us rice with soya meat, pumpkin, dhal and dried fish. We may have porridge tonight also. People who were able to find pans were cooking, but when a temporary tent burned down [due to a cooking fire], we were asked to stop cooking.
“We are facing a huge lack of water and there are lots of flies here. They gave us a floor sheet to put inside the tent, but the flies live on those sheets.” As we talked, flies flocked around our faces.
Another relative I wanted to meet did not turn up although I lined up in the queue three times. He may not have received the message about my visit. On my third attempt, I met another detainee I know and managed to send things for my relative through him. That detainee, a government employee told me:
“We are unable to get a good meal. The meals are not tasty—they are just to prevent hunger. I do my job here and they pay me. How many days do we have to suffer this camp life? There is no water here. Smallpox and mumps are spreading.”
US to "carefully assess" Sri Lanka IMF loan: official
June 24, 2009 (LBO) - The United States is not blocking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Sri Lanka but the US Treasury and State Department "will carefully assess" the program, an official has said.
"We are not threatening to block the loan and we will carefully assess any program in light of the conditions in Sri Lanka at the time," state department director public diplomacy in South and Central Asia said in a live webchat Tuesday.
"The Department of Treasury is in the lead for the U.S. Government on IMF issues and we will coordinate closely with them as the Sri Lankan Government-IMF negotiations proceed."
Sri Lankan authorities have insisted that negotiations with the IMF are complete and a staff-level deal has been reached for a 'stand-by arrangement' of at least 1.9 billion US dollars.
The latest US comments imply that negotiations are ongoing.
In late March Sri Lanka also floated the rupee, a prior action to break a peg with the US dollar to allow the island's central bank to regain control of its monetary system and stop foreign reserve losses.
A float is usually a sign that an agreement has been reached.
IMF spokesperson Caroline Atkinson said on June 19 that "whenever there is final agreement, then a program would go to the Executive Board." In May she said a deal would be presented to the IMF board "within weeks".
The US Treasury's international monetary affairs unit advises the US executive director to the IMF. The US has the largest vote share at the executive board level, though not a majority.
John Lipsky, IMF's powerful first deputy managing director, is also from the US.
Gregg said: "As we said in late May, we�re taking a fresh look at the Stand-by Arrangement, and believe the end of the conflict presents a new opportunity to seek reconciliation and build a tolerant and democratic Sri Lanka."
The US has expressed concern at the treatment of civilians in the last stages of a war against Tamil Tigers.
Gregg said the US still considered Tamil Tigers a terrorist organization and did not recognize a government in exile proposed by separatist elements outside Sri Lanka.
Since the float of the Sri Lanka rupee, the urgency for the loan has passed and the Central Bank has been a net buyer in forex markets.
Sri Lanka has also repaid a 125 million US dollar commercial loan, and hedge funds have bought 190 million US dollars in rupee denominated securities, the Central Bank has said.
The rupee is now pegged at 114.95 and the central bank is selling down its stock of domestic assets (government debt securities) in a text book IMF-style program to slowly build up foreign reserves.
"We are not threatening to block the loan and we will carefully assess any program in light of the conditions in Sri Lanka at the time," state department director public diplomacy in South and Central Asia said in a live webchat Tuesday.
"The Department of Treasury is in the lead for the U.S. Government on IMF issues and we will coordinate closely with them as the Sri Lankan Government-IMF negotiations proceed."
Sri Lankan authorities have insisted that negotiations with the IMF are complete and a staff-level deal has been reached for a 'stand-by arrangement' of at least 1.9 billion US dollars.
The latest US comments imply that negotiations are ongoing.
In late March Sri Lanka also floated the rupee, a prior action to break a peg with the US dollar to allow the island's central bank to regain control of its monetary system and stop foreign reserve losses.
A float is usually a sign that an agreement has been reached.
IMF spokesperson Caroline Atkinson said on June 19 that "whenever there is final agreement, then a program would go to the Executive Board." In May she said a deal would be presented to the IMF board "within weeks".
The US Treasury's international monetary affairs unit advises the US executive director to the IMF. The US has the largest vote share at the executive board level, though not a majority.
John Lipsky, IMF's powerful first deputy managing director, is also from the US.
Gregg said: "As we said in late May, we�re taking a fresh look at the Stand-by Arrangement, and believe the end of the conflict presents a new opportunity to seek reconciliation and build a tolerant and democratic Sri Lanka."
The US has expressed concern at the treatment of civilians in the last stages of a war against Tamil Tigers.
Gregg said the US still considered Tamil Tigers a terrorist organization and did not recognize a government in exile proposed by separatist elements outside Sri Lanka.
Since the float of the Sri Lanka rupee, the urgency for the loan has passed and the Central Bank has been a net buyer in forex markets.
Sri Lanka has also repaid a 125 million US dollar commercial loan, and hedge funds have bought 190 million US dollars in rupee denominated securities, the Central Bank has said.
The rupee is now pegged at 114.95 and the central bank is selling down its stock of domestic assets (government debt securities) in a text book IMF-style program to slowly build up foreign reserves.
Sri Lanka: The Elimination Of Torture
Wednesday, 24 June 2009, 1:43 pmPress Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
Sri Lanka: Elimination Of Torture Is A Precondition For Developing Civilised Policing System
From 1971 until the defeat of the LTTE there has been a continuous period of violence where both rebel groups and the state engaged in an attempt to outdo each other in brutality. One of the consequences of this period was the virtual destruction of the system of civilian policing. Now, with the end of this period the nation is faced with the serious problem of recreating a system of civilian policing which could serve the needs of the community.
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The most difficult question to deal with in creating a civilian police which will meet the criterion of civilised policing is how to eliminate the endemic practice of torture that has become a part of routine policing in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this statement is not to illustrate the problem of torture as it has, in fact, been adequately exposed by the enormous amounts of written records now available. Added to the reports based on complaints of persons published by human rights organisations, there is also a body of information available by petitions to and judgements of the Supreme Court. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also has adequate information on this matter.
The question that needs to be resolved in the days to come is how to stop the police from practicing torture. Mere legislative measures cannot achieve this. Already the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment or Punishment Act, (The CAT Act) Act No 22 of 1994 exists and the prescribed punishment is rigorous imprisonment for not less than seven years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/=. To-date in four cases successfully prosecuted under this act five officers have been sentenced to seven year terms; they are IP Karthi Bandara Edrisinghe of the Kirulapana Police Station, M.J. Thilakaratne the OIC of the Wellawatta Police Station, IP Selvin Selah and Constable Warnakusuriya of the Narahenpitiya Police Station and Sergeant Major N. Wimal Chandrasiri of the Panadura Police Station. However, these random convictions have not made any impact on the endemic practice of torture at police stations.
The problem is one of consistent enforcement of the CAT Act, police discipline under the Departmental Orders and unambiguous instructions from the commanding officers. However, for this to happen there are a few other obstacles to overcome.
The most frequent cause of torture is the abuse of power by the police in order to make money by abusing the powers of arrest and detention. The actual use of torture and the potential for the use of torture, as perceived by the people, has created a lucrative business. The beneficiaries are not just those who actually use torture but those who directly or indirectly instigate torture, beginning with the officers of the rank of inspector up to the hierarchy. Among the most direct culprits are the Officers-in-Charge of police stations and their immediate local superiors, such as ASPs and SPs. The Inspector General of Police and his deputies are responsible for the practice of the abuse of police powers and the use of these powers for corrupt money making due to their failures to exercise command responsibility.
However, the higher command of the police uses the excuse that the police system is politicised, meaning that powerful politicians of the ruling regime, both at the national and local levels are virtually giving the orders, ignoring the role of the top ranking officers. This excuse also implies that the higher officers have no capacity to resist such practices as those who are more powerful than they are involved. This excuse is now made even more plausible due to the failure to continue with the National Police Commission in compliance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
Throughout the country outrage is expressed in all parts by citizens who find that the police do not investigate their complaints. In a recent incident from Alpitiya, Divithurugama two young village girls were abducted and molested by some persons. The family and the villagers went to make a report and they were told by the officers of the local police station to catch the culprits and bring them to the police station. In an interview aired in a TV broadcast the villagers simply asked, what are the police for? That is the question that is being asked throughout the country over and over again.
The allegation that criminals are protected and the victims of crime are being punished is a common one. In the case of the journalist, Poddala Jayantha, who was severely injured after an abduction followed by assault, the police filed a report against the journalists who informed them of the incident. Though this incident received public attention there are literally thousands of cases around the country where innocent people are made the accused in cases and the actual criminals are not pursued at all.
Besides, the actual criminals are quite at liberty to kill or otherwise harm witnesses. The killings of Gerard Perera and Sugath Nishanta Fernando are just two incidents which represent many more incidents which are normally not brought to the notice of the public. However, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the human rights organisations constantly receive complaints about such incidents.
While this refers to normal civilian matters, allegations of torture associated with the military and anti terrorism organisations are not investigated at all. There is almost an openly admitted policy that on matters of security, torture or even extrajudicial killings are permitted. Perhaps for a considerable time to come that policy line will remain unaltered.
However, there are very crucial problems about the very survival of the rule of law while the policing system frequently uses torture for the purpose of illegal gain by utilising the powers of arrest and detention. For the citizen this creates a nightmare and for an individual or a family, whatever the social status of this family might be it creates an unacceptable situation from which there is no escape. The possibility of becoming a victim of abuse of power by the police is today a very real threat.
Effective implementation of law for the eradication for the practice of torture by the police is now a basic political question. If the government wants to stop torture it could do so within a very short period of time by giving clear instructions to the top ranks of the police to enforce the CAT Act and police discipline strictly. The continuance of torture is therefore a result of a political policy that allows bad policing. It is up to the government as well as the opposition political parties to judge whether the present policy of keeping a bad policing system is to the advantage of the nation. If the answer is negative then the solution to ending a bad policing system is quite readily available and this is to enforce the CAT Act and the Departmental Orders of the police with simple education of the police hierarchy and the rank and file.
Sri Lanka: Elimination Of Torture Is A Precondition For Developing Civilised Policing System
From 1971 until the defeat of the LTTE there has been a continuous period of violence where both rebel groups and the state engaged in an attempt to outdo each other in brutality. One of the consequences of this period was the virtual destruction of the system of civilian policing. Now, with the end of this period the nation is faced with the serious problem of recreating a system of civilian policing which could serve the needs of the community.
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Win $200 Of French Wine
The World's Healthiest Wines
Search New Zealand Business
30 Day Free XERO Trial
The most difficult question to deal with in creating a civilian police which will meet the criterion of civilised policing is how to eliminate the endemic practice of torture that has become a part of routine policing in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this statement is not to illustrate the problem of torture as it has, in fact, been adequately exposed by the enormous amounts of written records now available. Added to the reports based on complaints of persons published by human rights organisations, there is also a body of information available by petitions to and judgements of the Supreme Court. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also has adequate information on this matter.
The question that needs to be resolved in the days to come is how to stop the police from practicing torture. Mere legislative measures cannot achieve this. Already the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment or Punishment Act, (The CAT Act) Act No 22 of 1994 exists and the prescribed punishment is rigorous imprisonment for not less than seven years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/=. To-date in four cases successfully prosecuted under this act five officers have been sentenced to seven year terms; they are IP Karthi Bandara Edrisinghe of the Kirulapana Police Station, M.J. Thilakaratne the OIC of the Wellawatta Police Station, IP Selvin Selah and Constable Warnakusuriya of the Narahenpitiya Police Station and Sergeant Major N. Wimal Chandrasiri of the Panadura Police Station. However, these random convictions have not made any impact on the endemic practice of torture at police stations.
The problem is one of consistent enforcement of the CAT Act, police discipline under the Departmental Orders and unambiguous instructions from the commanding officers. However, for this to happen there are a few other obstacles to overcome.
The most frequent cause of torture is the abuse of power by the police in order to make money by abusing the powers of arrest and detention. The actual use of torture and the potential for the use of torture, as perceived by the people, has created a lucrative business. The beneficiaries are not just those who actually use torture but those who directly or indirectly instigate torture, beginning with the officers of the rank of inspector up to the hierarchy. Among the most direct culprits are the Officers-in-Charge of police stations and their immediate local superiors, such as ASPs and SPs. The Inspector General of Police and his deputies are responsible for the practice of the abuse of police powers and the use of these powers for corrupt money making due to their failures to exercise command responsibility.
However, the higher command of the police uses the excuse that the police system is politicised, meaning that powerful politicians of the ruling regime, both at the national and local levels are virtually giving the orders, ignoring the role of the top ranking officers. This excuse also implies that the higher officers have no capacity to resist such practices as those who are more powerful than they are involved. This excuse is now made even more plausible due to the failure to continue with the National Police Commission in compliance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
Throughout the country outrage is expressed in all parts by citizens who find that the police do not investigate their complaints. In a recent incident from Alpitiya, Divithurugama two young village girls were abducted and molested by some persons. The family and the villagers went to make a report and they were told by the officers of the local police station to catch the culprits and bring them to the police station. In an interview aired in a TV broadcast the villagers simply asked, what are the police for? That is the question that is being asked throughout the country over and over again.
The allegation that criminals are protected and the victims of crime are being punished is a common one. In the case of the journalist, Poddala Jayantha, who was severely injured after an abduction followed by assault, the police filed a report against the journalists who informed them of the incident. Though this incident received public attention there are literally thousands of cases around the country where innocent people are made the accused in cases and the actual criminals are not pursued at all.
Besides, the actual criminals are quite at liberty to kill or otherwise harm witnesses. The killings of Gerard Perera and Sugath Nishanta Fernando are just two incidents which represent many more incidents which are normally not brought to the notice of the public. However, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the human rights organisations constantly receive complaints about such incidents.
While this refers to normal civilian matters, allegations of torture associated with the military and anti terrorism organisations are not investigated at all. There is almost an openly admitted policy that on matters of security, torture or even extrajudicial killings are permitted. Perhaps for a considerable time to come that policy line will remain unaltered.
However, there are very crucial problems about the very survival of the rule of law while the policing system frequently uses torture for the purpose of illegal gain by utilising the powers of arrest and detention. For the citizen this creates a nightmare and for an individual or a family, whatever the social status of this family might be it creates an unacceptable situation from which there is no escape. The possibility of becoming a victim of abuse of power by the police is today a very real threat.
Effective implementation of law for the eradication for the practice of torture by the police is now a basic political question. If the government wants to stop torture it could do so within a very short period of time by giving clear instructions to the top ranks of the police to enforce the CAT Act and police discipline strictly. The continuance of torture is therefore a result of a political policy that allows bad policing. It is up to the government as well as the opposition political parties to judge whether the present policy of keeping a bad policing system is to the advantage of the nation. If the answer is negative then the solution to ending a bad policing system is quite readily available and this is to enforce the CAT Act and the Departmental Orders of the police with simple education of the police hierarchy and the rank and file.
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