Sri Lanka going China way?

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao

and Mahinda Rajapakse

Rajapakse government supporters — academics, intellectuals, lawyers and diplomats — have been engaged in bouts of vigorous verbal bashing of the world’s most powerful and influential nations since Sri Lanka’s 30-year-war was drawing to a close. Even after victory, the bashing is being continued with renewed vigour.

Even though, in the long run, the wisdom of taking on such powerful nations is questionable, the ire generated is justified and could be expected of any self-respecting nation that was treated so shabbily.
Many reasons have been adduced to this strongly anti Sri Lanka stand taken by these nations at a crucial phase of this conflict having tried to be fair by both parties throughout it. Even though Mahinda Rajapakse and the West did not see eye-to-eye on the resolution of the ethnic conflict, with Rajapakse rejecting a federalist solution and insisting on a united Sri Lanka, the openly hostile anti Rajapakse attitude of such a magnitude was unexpected.

Humanitarian?

The LTTE is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United States and some of the countries of the European Union. The attitude of these countries towards international terrorist organisations is too well known to be recalled here. Yet, why did these countries insist that Sri Lanka negotiate with this terrorist organisation that was on its last legs?
The West cites humanitarian reasons — protection of civilians trapped between the government forces and the LTTE. But they very well knew of the fate of these people who were caught in the cross-fire of these two forces in conflict for years. Not much concern was expressed when under Operation Riviresa — Pirapaharan fled with the civilian population of Jaffna — or was followed into the Wanni jungles.
While the fate of about 250,000 civilians are a matter of grave concern, the onus of responsibility was laid by Western governments together with their international media at the door of the government, not that of the LTTE who were holding these people hostage. Compared with their policies in fighting terrorism elsewhere such as Iraq and Afghanistan the humanitarian concerns expressed about Tamils ring hollow.

R2P

A plausible reason for this two faced stance could be explained on what has come to be known as the R2P — Right to Protect policy. First announced by Tony Blair, this ‘right’ to intervene is claimed by powerful nations, if necessary with the blessings of the UN, in nations where internal crises have overwhelmed governments of the countries.
They intervened in Serbia even creating the State of Kosovo to which Serbs objected — and are still objecting. Kosovo historically was a part of Serbia but the new emperors of the 21st Century deemed it otherwise.
Was it a new Western strategy to create a separate state of Eelam that went awry when the Indian elections, particularly in Tamil Nadu, which showed that the Indians were not concerned about creating a new Eelam?

China leanings

Another very good reason for the hostile Western attitude against Sri Lanka could be Sri Lanka’s tilt towards China. In an article titled: China crosses the Rubicon by Wen Liao published in the Moscow Times and in The Sunday leader itself (June 21) gives the rise of China’s geopolitical influence in the region. We reproduce excerpts of this article which could well explain Western hostility.
“For two decades Chinese diplomacy has been guided by the concept of the country’s peaceful rise. Today China needs a new strategic doctrine because the most remarkable aspect of Sri Lanka’s recent victory over the Tamil Tigers is not its overwhelming nature but the fact that China provided President Mahinda Rajapakse with both military supplies and diplomatic cover to prosecute the war.
“Wen Liao who is chairwoman of the Longford Advisors, a political economic business consultancy in Hong Kong, states that: ‘Without Chinese backing, Rajapakse’s government would have had neither the wherewithal nor the will to ignore world opinion in its offensive against The Tigers. So not only has China become central to every aspect of global financial and economic system, it has now demonstrated its strategic effectiveness in a region traditionally outside its orbit. On Sri Lanka’s beach front battle fields, China’s peaceful rise was completed’.”

China in Indian Ocean

Chinese influence spreading down to the Indian Ocean was markedly demonstrated recently with the dispatch of a flotilla of naval craft to protect its sea lanes from Somali pirates. The building of the Hambantota Harbour just two to three miles away from the busiest sea routes traversing East-West are considered as indications of the build up of China’s strategic interests in the region.
Is this the new Chinese policy of ‘diplomacy with a smile’? With the multi million dollar long awaited Norochcholai Power Plant now being built by China, Mahinda Rajapakse is certainly smiling.
China’s thrust into the Indian Ocean is no doubt a matter of concern for the United States. The active Indo-US co-operation in defence and trade agreements — particularly with the Civilian Nuclear Agreement, with wide concessions being granted to India, have been viewed as measures taken by the United states to contain China to its sphere of influence. How India reacts to the Chinese built Hambantota Harbour will be much awaited.
Sri Lanka would soon have to decide on which side of the emerging political divide it will be on. There is India backed by America. Sri Lanka also appears to be going along with Iraq and Libya — no friends of America. Our biggest trading partners are the United States and Europe. Meanwhile what of the manthram of friendship with India?

Which way Mahinda Rajapakse?
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Over 100 suspects have been killed in police custody

By R. Wijewardene



Earlier this year the nation was gripped by the horrifying case of Varsha Regi, a six-year old girl kidnapped for ransom and then murdered in Trincomalee.
In the aftermath of the enormous public outcry that followed the case the police moved remarkably swiftly. Just days after the murder two suspects were arrested, however before any formal trial could begin — both suspects were dead. Both died in police custody — one suspect was shot while trying to escape, while the other was reported to have taken cyanide while being escorted to the scene of the crime.
With the main suspects dead the case was essentially closed and slipped out of the public eye.
Where justice in Sri Lanka is concerned this is a familiar pattern. The same series of events — a high profile crime, followed swiftly by the arrest of suspects who are promptly shot/commit suicide while in police custody, is repeated again and again.


Shot while trying to escape


In the high profile Delgoda massacre case a family of five was hacked to death in their home over an apparent land dispute. Weeks later two men suspected of involvement in the killings were arrested by the police and then shot ‘while trying to attack the police and escape from police custody’ — again the case was effectively closed at this point.
These are not isolated incidents, hardly a week goes by without reports of child molesters being shot while trying to escape from police custody, or suspected murderers killed while ‘attacking police officers’ with arms they’ve somehow managed to gather while in police custody.
According to a report by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), over 100 suspects have been killed in police custody over the past year.
In almost every case the police’ version of events is difficult to credit. Typically — bizarre escape attempts and arbitrary attacks by suspects compel the police to resort to lethal force. In other cases suspects are said to have committed suicide. Of course the unspoken reality is that many if not all of these deaths are summary executions.
According to Basil Fernando of the AHRC, “this is a policy sanctioned by the highest levels of the police and government — the former IGP openly admitted that it was necessary for the police to eliminate undesirable elements as the justice system is simply too inefficient.”


Operating outside the law


While many might applaud the killing of murderers, child molesters and other violent criminals, particularly as the country’s formal justice system would in most cases allow them to walk free — the idea that the country’s police are operating completely outside of the law is deeply disturbing.
Extra judicial killings by the police force in a country where the rate of genuine convictions through the courts remains abysmally low are an unambiguous indication of a complete break down of law and order.
The island’s criminal justice system has effectively ceased to function — the overall conviction rate stands at 4% which indicates that in the remaining 96% of cases suspects escape unpunished.
To compensate for the shortcomings of the legal system therefore the police are alleged to be actively pursuing a policy of extra judicial killings — “In order to eliminate undesirable elements and give an impression that something is being done,” claimed Fernando.


Illusion of justice


While many are prepared to applaud the actions of the police when it is reported that suspected murderers, drug dealers etc., have been shot dead, these killings ultimately provide only the shallowest illusion of justice.
Suspects are killed without any trial or hearing and there are no guarantees regarding the guilt of those who die.
In most cases where suspects are reported to have been killed in unusual circumstances magistrates upon receiving a police report declare the police action justifiable homicide, and the case is closed.
According to AHRC this is “a violation of the law. Magistrate’s must investigate any killings that take place in police custody and submit a report to the Attorney General’s office – but this never happens.”
The police version of events is invariably the only one presented and once the magistrate pronounces a verdict of justifiable homicide the case is closed. Only in a few exceptional cases where the families of suspects are suitably wealthy or well connected are appeals made to the courts.


Usual story

Another feature shared by the majority of these killings is that shootings usually take place when the police are leading the suspect to a location outside of the police station — either to gather evidence, or inspect a murder scene.
In the Delgoda case the police reported that the suspects who were already in custody, were being led to the crime scene when they somehow managed to recover hand grenades and threaten the police — at which point they were shot.
By reporting that a suspect’s death took place outside the police station, police are able to explain a lack of witnesses and also justify their actions as necessary to prevent an attempted escape or assault
Ultimately, more than simply a question of human rights, the death of so many un-convicted suspects in police custody is profoundly unjust and extraordinary in a country where there is no political will to officially implement the death penalty.


Extra judicial killings


In Bangladesh and India where extra judicial killings by the police are also commonly reported, courts including the supreme courts of both countries have moved to take action and caution the police, but in Sri Lanka these questionable killings are inevitably left uninvestigated, which implies that they are at least tacitly approved of by the establishment. In the absence of any discernible law the police therefore have quite literally been made judge, jury and executioner.
And no one who has any experience of the country’s notoriously corrupt police force can possibly be comfortable with the nation’s agents of law and order enjoying such broad powers.
The simple reality however is that law and order in the country has broken down and the only solution to the perennial problem of crime now appears to be a sort of vigilante justice but extraordinarily it’s the police who are playing the roll of vigilantes.


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Black July: Tamils vow to rise again

This year while commemorating the victims of Black July ’83, the Tamils are without a leadership and Sri Lanka continues to hold nearly 300,000 Tamils in internment camps while detaining over 10,000 youths in undisclosed locations under severe torture by Sri Lankan State armed forces. The Tamils’ this year vow is to continue the path of LTTE through political means to secure the right to self-determination, urge the global community to bring the Sri Lankan state to book for launching the genocidal war, and to secure the release of all the Tamils held by the Sri Lankan state.

Twenty-six years ago, the Sri Lankan State-sponsored pogrom against Tamils resulted in the deaths of 3000 people and property damages of over $300 million U.S. The days between July 24 and July 30, 1983, were tragic and unforgettable for the Tamils. It is the month the Tamils commemorate as a black day, and it is the month for the Tamils to take an oath as to what actions would they need to take against the perpetuators of the crime.
Although the Tamils have no sovereign state despite that nearly 80 million Tamils are living all over the world, and one can comfortably argue that Tamils are everywhere, they are always working hard to empower their home countries through their hard work.


Tamils have no legal state recognized by the UN. When thousands of Tamils died in broad day light in Sri Lanka, their brethren around the world could not extend a hand other than coming to the streets urging their adopted countries to help. However, almost all these countries supported the oppressive Sri Lankan State rather than helping the oppressed claiming that they could not act against another sovereign State, even though Sri Lanka conducted state-sponsored pogroms and other forms of violence, which killed over 100,000 Tamils on the island, and over 30,000 Tamils were killed within a matter of days in May 2009. Now, all the Tamils are held in Nazi-style camps in Vavuniya and over 10,000 Tamils have been taken to secret locations for further interrogations and their whereabouts are still unknown.


Diaspora Tamils take up the cause


Despite the ground situation as it is now, with the LTTE defeated militarily in May 2009, the Tamils are still victims of state violence. Tamil media outlets are getting constant death threats from the state-sponsored paramilitaries. Tamil MP, doctors, hospital directors, and many more are taken into custody with the allegation that they are Tamils and they would be a serious threat to the national security. Further, Sri Lankan armed forces are shooting and killing Tamils in their controlled areas, even inside the internment camps despite their claim that they crushed the
Tamils’ Eelam ‘dream’ militarily. In this juncture, the Tamils world over have the moral responsibility to continue the path of Tamil liberation from where the LTTE stopped; so, the LTTE has put the weight on the Diaspora Tamils to win the freedom of Eelam Tamils.
This year, the Diaspora Tamils have taken the oath with the slogan “Rise Again”, and they are holding peaceful rallies in their home countries demanding their governments not forget their political demands saying that the world community should help them attain the right to Tamil self-determination, help release all the Tamils held by the Sri Lankan State, and help bring Sri Lankan State to task for the genocidal war against the Tamils.
It is worth discussing what happened to Tamils on the island while they were engaging peacefully demanding right to self-determination before the war broke out between the Tamil militants and the government armed forces. Many people believe that the root cause for the violence in July 1983 was the death of thirteen Sinhalese soldiers in Jaffna, although violence against Tamils has been ongoing since 1956. The tragic events of July 1983 drew international attention to the region, and India’s central government directly intervened in support of Sri Lankan Tamils.


Wounds cannot be healed

On May 11, 1983, two months prior to the July 1983 violence, Sinhalese students in Peradeniya University attacked Tamil students. For three consecutive days, Tamil students experienced the brunt of the Sinhalese community’s hatred. University authorities, intellectuals, and the country’s ruling authorities did very little to stop the violence against the Tamil students.
The old students witnessed the university administration’s and authority’s unprecedented conduct at the time. Tamil students were asked to attend the lecture sessions during these periods even though the Tamil students felt they needed to get away from the University to their homes to reflect on what had happened to them from May 11 to May 13, 1983. The University authority failed to provide the Tamil students with a safe environment to continue their studies.
The motive of the attacks on the Tamil students was to evict them from the university permanently. The unprecedented behaviour of the university administration helped the attackers reach their aims. Almost ninety-five percent of the Tamil students left the university and returned home. Even after this exodus, the university continued to conduct lectures and exams. The university authority had shown little, if any, sympathy towards the Tamil students during this time of crisis.
The death of thirteen Sri Lankan soldiers in Jaffna on July 23, 1983, ignited the hatred of the Sinhalese general public towards the Tamils. Sri Lankan armed forces retaliated with a non-stop attack from July 24 to July 30 on innocent Tamil civilians who had never committed any crime except having been born Tamil. These attacks included the looting and damaging of Tamil-owned properties. GoSL officials refused to step in to control the riots against Tamils claiming that the Sri Lankan State was failing.
On July 25, after the midnight lull, mobs led by people with voter registration lists hand-torched Tamil homes and looted and destroyed Tamil businesses. All traffic was searched, and any Tamils found were killed, maimed, or burned alive. The many policemen deployed throughout the city stood by and watched. Witnesses recall lorry loads of armed troops leisurely waving to looters who waved back.
Tens of thousands of homeless Tamils sought refuge in schools and places of worship. In Welikade prison, thirty-five Tamil political prisoners awaiting trial under the Prevention of Terrorism Act were massacred by Sinhalese prisoners with the complicity of jail guards using spikes, clubs, and iron rods. The violence spread rapidly throughout the country, engulfing towns like Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Matale, Nuwara Eliya, and Trincomalee. The Indian Tamil town of Kandapola, near Nuwara Eliya, was completely wiped out.
On July 26, the GoSL imposed strict censorship on media reports on the anti-Tamil violence. Word spread of Sri Lanka’s state of disorder as eye witness accounts and photographs taken by returning tourists illustrated the scale of violence.
On July 27, seventeen more Tamil prisoners at Welikade Prison were hacked to death just two days after the first prison massacre. The surviving 36 prisoners were transferred to other prisons. Rioting continued and the curfew was extended. Witnesses to the violence reported that charred corpses of Tamil victims lined the streets of Colombo, some mutilated with “X”s.
On July 28, President J.R. Jayewardene addressed the nation for the first time since the anti-Tamil pogrom started, only to fan the flames of anti-Tamil sentiments by stating that anyone who advocated for separatism would lose all “civic rights”. He stated, “...the time has now come to accede to the clamour and natural request of the Sinhala people to prevent the country from being divided.”
On July 29, Tamils in Colombo began evacuating by cargo ship to Jaffna. Hundreds more internally displaced persons waited anxiously for the next cargo ship to transport them to Jaffna.


Tamils no longer trust Sri Lanka

The Tamils no longer trust Sri Lanka. Even the racist statements by the former Sri Lankan leaders show that the Tamils can longer co-exist in peace with their Sinhala counterparts because Sri Lankan leaders failed to embrace the Tamils through fulfilling their political demands. Tamil leadership was not asking for a separate state, but they were asking for federal structure of government by allowing them some powers to govern themselves. However, the Sri Lankan majority met the peaceful demands of Tamils through violent means. The Tamil militants were not born from the sky, but they were created by the Sri Lankan state.
After such a bitter war from 1983 till 2009, over a million Tamils fled the country, half a million as internally displaced persons with the island, and the wound imposed on the Tamils after killing over 130,000 Tamils, left another 30,000 women widowed and tens of thousands of more living as orphans. This is a great tragedy and the Tamils the world over carry the wound inflicted by the Sri Lankan State, and it is pathetic to hear that the Sri Lankan leaders talk of co-existence at this juncture while they refuse to change their unitary form of government even after such a horrible war between the two nations on the island.
So, the question of co-existence is a far distant reality as the Tamils who carry the wounds caused by the Sri Lankan state remain fresh and festering.
It will be a horrendous error to put the pressure on the Tamils to forget and forgive, but the global community should put the pressure on the Sri Lankan State to grant autonomy for Tamils keeping in mind that the Tamils do not want to fall victim of another Black July of 1983. So, Black July is an unforgettable month for Tamils in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. What February is to Black people around the world, July is to Tamils.
Tamils take this month to reflect and remember. Moreover, this year’s commemorations falls just a month after the LTTE was defeated militarily in Vanni while hundreds of thousands of people are held inside the internment camps, and hence, Tamils take this month to hold the rallies in the world with the slogan ‘Rise Again’, to urge the global community to take more political and diplomatic initiatives to exert pressure upon Sri Lanka to grant autonomy for Tamils, so that the Tamils can live in peace with freedom and justice in their homeland.


- By Satheesan Kumaaran
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No rehabilitation till civilians return home from camps: Mano Ganeshan

Real rehabilitation could not take place till the displaced persons in the north are returned to their villages and houses, Democratic People’s Front (DPF) Leader Mano Ganeshan said. He made this statement referring to the discussions that took place at the all party meeting convened to discuss the development and rehabilitation in the country following the end of the war.

DPF secretary and several members attended the meeting. While the party expressed its views at the meeting, it also noted satisfaction at the initiative taken by the President to look at development and rehabilitation in the country by convening an all party meeting.
However, the party states that it did not have a clear idea about the government’s plan to go about this objective.
They say that when the people have expressed their willingness to return to their hometown on their own, the reason to keep them trapped amidst barbwire fences has to be revealed by the government.
While not accepting the claim that most of the land in the Wanni was filled with mines, the party has said the individuals who are willing to go back to their respective villages independently and build their own homes, should be permitted to do so. An independent census has to be conducted to identify the needs of the displaced persons in the camps.
According to the DPF, the development programmes to return the displaced back to their homes should be conducted in a transparent manner and the solution to the ethnic issue based on power devolution should also be implemented simultaneously.
Following the government’s announcement on the end of the war, those arrested from time to time and held in detention camps without being charged should be freed, they have said.
The party also noted that the amnesty given to those who unleashed violence claiming to be for patriotic means in the south should also be given to those who fought for patriotic needs in the north and they should be provided with the necessary rehabilitation programmes as well.


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Mere decentralization of power, via the 13th amendment, surreptitiously flaunted as devolution

The provisions of the 13th Amendment would in no way satisfy Tamil aspirations in respect of autonomy. Its inadequacy had been expressed over and over and no one, including India, seems to be listening. With the de-merging of the North and East, totally unmindful of stipulations by India that the North and East should be treated as a single unit in the context of implementing the13th Amendment, India’s role has been compromised. India has kept mum on this though the Sri Lankan Government unilaterally declared the North and the East as independent Administrative units, on the basis of a contrived judicial ruling.
Legal opinion avers: “that the creation of a Provincial Governor has been sought to be passed off as ‘devolution’ of executive power on the Tamil people! The constitutional reality is that the 13th Amendment does not devolve executive power on the Tamil people. That which the 13th Amendment does is to decentralize administration by creating provincial Governors appointed by the President and responsible to him for the performance of their functions in respect of provincial matters”.
Now, post LTTE, in the absence of any political leverage for the Tamils India seem complacent foisting the 13th Amendment as the solution for the Tamil ethnic problem and that without a word about the North East merger. India thinks that Tamils are in no position to demand anything, however reasonable. That the Sri Lankan Government has never been and never will be keen to concede any measure of autonomy to the Tamils is a foregone conclusion that no Tamil would care to refute. The recent pronouncement after the Sinhala Victory, to the effect that there are no minorities in the country is illuminative of Sinhala Government’s mind set. This comes as no surprise to the Tamils as they seem to have no qualms saying openly that the country belongs to the Singhalese and nobody else.
It would be relevant to quote Dr W.I. Suraweera who had this to say: “the Sinhala consciousness expressed today in the concept that Sri Lanka is the land of the Sinhala people of Aryan descent does not derive from the Island’s history. It is a myth that has developed to legitimize the claim of the Singhalese to sole ownership of this country”
Sinhala Academics and neo-historians are coming up with freshly minted ideas dismissing “Tamil Homeland” as a mythical concept. Of course, when they claim the whole country for themselves how could they accept the existence of a Tamil Homeland?
The question being posed is: Why should the Tamils need a homeland in Sri Lanka whilst there is Tamil Nadu, which is home to 60 million Tamils? Tamil Nadu is home for the Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka who were brought down during colonial days to labour in the Tea and Rubber Estates. The indigenous Tamils of the Island cannot claim Tamil Nadu as their homeland and neither could the Singhalese claim any part of India as their homeland, irrespective of the fact both the Tamils and the Singhalese owe their origin to the Indian sub continent. With respect to such claims there are limits to periods you could go back to. If there aren’t such, the European settlers in America should hand over the whole American Continent to the Native Indians and get back to the countries from which they migrated.
What is and what is not a “homeland” is well illustrated by contemporary events. The Congress Government at the centre totally ignored pleas of the Tamil Nadu State to withdraw Indian support to the Sinhalese Government with its agenda of annihilation of the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka. On the other hand had Tamil Nadu been a sovereign State with its own military etc the Sinhala chauvinists certainly would have had something very different to contend with. So, it should be very clear that a “homeland” is not so defined by the ethnic concentration of the geographic entity alone. If that were to be so, the blacks in the Bronx could claim it as their homeland. The Tamil Nadu Government exists at the pleasure of the Central Government. It is in no position to assert its authority on any matter whatsoever of importance to the region unless it has the blessings and/or approval of the Centre. Therefore, the concept of “homeland” has to go hand in hand with the power for its inhabitants to exercise their collective will.
The Italians in the US, if they want to have their way, in any manner antagonistic to the government of the United States of America they better go back to Italy. And where are the Sri Lankan Tamils to go? To Tamil Nadu which could not even have its legitimate share of Cauvery water, even with central judicial intervention in its favour? It would therefore be stupid to suggest that the Tamils in Sri Lanka could consider Tamil Nadu as their homeland.
In the mean time the JVP appears very keen to cash in, following the Sinhala victory over the LTTE, with its ultra national stance by opposing ‘devolution’ through the implementation of the 13th Amendment. This could very well be a ploy learnt by the present day politicians from D.S Senanayake who would stealthily get one of his Tamil Ministers to propose a soft amendment to an otherwise radical piece of legislation having a far reaching adverse effect on the wellbeing of the Tamils. The bill gets passed with the Amendment incorporated and everybody looks happy while D.S gloats at his success in pulling the rug under the Tamils’ feet. It is quite possible that Mahinda Rajapakse, borrowing a chapter from the D.S era could have prompted the JVP to adopt this stance to hoodwink the Tamils into believing that there is substance in the 13th Amendment to merit acceptance. On the other hand JVP could very well be thinking of piggybacking on the Sinhala victory, hopeful of exploiting Sinhala chauvinism at its peak, decrying the Rajapases and also the UNP for even attempting to listen to India that appears keen on some ‘devolution’ of powers to the Tamils. Vimal Weerawanse’s position appears to be that the Sinhala victory has been at the cost of thousands of Sinhala lives and as such nothing need be conceded to the Tamils. Of course, to him Tamil lives do not matter! True, there will be quite a number even amongst the Sinhala elite to subscribe to this and the JVP or the JNP or whatever they call themselves these days, could very well build hopes of even overtaking the two major parties, a dream they have been stoking since breaking into mainstream politics, shedding its militant past.
It will be preposterous to suggest that Tamils could not claim the North and East as their traditional homeland. Well, could anyone dispute the fact that at the time the British left the Singhalese inhabited the South and West whilst the Tamils inhabited the North and parts of the East? Furthermore, how long will it take for the Sinhala Government to claim that Trincomalee, in view of its current Sinhala population and the number of Bo trees and Buddha statues all over the place, is traditionally a Singhalese homeland? With the contemplated Sinhalisation of the recently captured Vanni that too will be claimed as traditional Sinhala homeland.
It would be relevant here to recall that it was the Hindu New Year, as we knew it when we were boys, half a century ago. It later became Hindu and Sinhala New year and now, of course, it is the Sinhala New year. This ‘metamorphosis’ is most telling and is very illustrative and symptomatic of the progression of all Sinhala claims, past and present.
However much the Sinhala Government tries to distort reality it will be pretty tough to deny the fact that the indigenous Tamils of Sri Lanka held territory all their own in the North and East whilst the enterprising sections of Tamil society, to eke out a living as business people or employees in the Public or the Private sector and as entrepreneurs did come by territory in other parts of the country, paid for with their hard earned money. Yes, there had been no law against possession of property by any citizen in any part of the country. At least not till now!
With power in its hands the government can say anything it wants to but that does not mean that it can take it wherever it wants to be; it is not the way business is conducted in civilized society. The Sri Lankan government cannot be oblivious to reality forever .Its policy of baseless denial, all and sundry, cannot sustain the country for ever. Such, possibly, can only come in handy to tide over an impasse temporarily, like warding off the Human Rights censure at the UN the other day. In the long run truth catches up and even the International community that has grossly let down the Tamils will turn around in support, to free the Tamils from oppression.
India has been primarily responsible for the predicament the Sri Lankan Tamils are facing. Much to their chagrin the Sri Lankan Tamils realize the painful fact that the key to their salvation too is still with India. Like everything else, thinking has to and will change. There will be foreign policy revisions based on changed dynamic in the region. Erroneous value given by India to the Sri Lanka factor in the equation having a bearing on strategic importance to countries bordering the Indian Ocean will prompt such revision in the not too distant future. Somersaults in foreign policy are very much a reality, if one cares for stark examples. The Taliban fought alongside the U.S. during the Afghan war and now the U.S. is hounding the Taliban; During the Iran Iraq war U.S. was on side with Sadam Hussein and we know what it was with Iraq subsequently! We Tamils have to hope that India will side with Eelam Tamils sooner than later to free them from the oppressive Sinhala regime. This, not out of a sudden burst of love for the Tamils, but as a grave necessity to serve its geopolitical interests. An India -friendly entity such as a sovereign Eelam will be an imperative for India’s security with its traditional enemies China and Pakistan, the eternal antagonists, if they are to be held at bay. Though there is every reason for Tamils all over the world to despise India for its recent role in undermining the Tamils’ fight for freedom, the Tamil Diaspora, taking up the fight for Eelam, displays a welcome maturity, in identifying the inescapable fact that India and India alone will be capable of moves to make Eelam a reality.
Tamils have to understand that in the total absence of any devolution of central power there is absolutely no need to get excited about the 13th Amendment, “a constitutional sleight of hand par excellence” with its objective of perpetuating Sinhala rule of the Tamils of Eelam and yet appear not to do so. “The blunt reality is that those who proclaim that the 13th Amendment is intended to share power between the Tamil people and the Sinhala people are “trying to pull a fast one on the Tamil people”.
Implementation of provisions in the 13th Amendment will only translate into a few elected positions, such as a Chief Minister and a board of 3 or 4 Ministers, all of whom will only act in an advisory role to the Provincial Governor, themselves wielding no power at all. Therefore it will not be a surprise if the Tamil quislings espouse the 13th Amendment. It will be the responsibility of Tamil politicians, the untainted ones, to bring it home to the Indian Government that “the king, after all, is not wearing any clothes” and it should persuade the Sri Lankan Government to bring to the table a genuine devolution package by way of a solution to the Tamil ethnic problem, in place of the “13th Amendment plus” and “13th Amendment minus” as some of them have already started talking. The Tamils have been fooled enough and, at least, they should know what they do not need.


--By Sridas Sivasambo

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Arrogant disregard for public opinion

The Indian Home Minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, expressed his displeasure about the steps taken by the Sri Lankan government to rehabilitate the displaced Sri Lankan Tamils. In a recent interview he said:

"I am not happy over the steps taken so far by Sri Lanka to rehabilitate the Tamils who have become refugees in their own country."


"The efforts are not enough," he declared.

Meanwhile, the JVP, a Southern based political party that has about 26 members in parliament, stated that the condition of the internally displaced persons in the camps is unsatisfactory and that the suffering caused in the camps could make the people, who have already suffered under the LTTE, bitter. They also complained that they are given no access to the camps and that even providing assistance collected from people for the use of the IDPs has proved difficult.
The leading opposition party, the UNP, also repeatedly demanded access to the camps and condemned the continued denial by the government. Several Tamil political leaders have also repeatedly criticised the government’s policies regarding the IDPs.
When interviewed by the BBC Sinhala Service, one of the government ministers said that no access is provided for opposition political parties to the camps at the moment and their assistance will be sought when needed.
An application by a family of whom four members are living in separate camps that they be allowed to join them was objected to by the Attorney General on behalf of the government. The family moved the court to allow a 13-year-old girl suffering from injuries to be allowed to be examined by a specialist doctor. Despite of the Attorney General’s claim that she had already been brought to a hospital the court granted the application for her to be produced before a specialist, this is according to a report published today, (3rd July) by the BBC Sinhala Service.
It is not clear as to which grounds of law the Attorney General's Department based itself when objecting to these applications. The AG is the chief legal officer who should advise the government purely on the basis on law.
There seems to be no reasonable grounds to deprive the rights of citizens to the IDPs. If any of them are suspected of any commission of crimes, the law in the country provides adequate powers to the government for dealing with the problem. The real problem is regarding a large population who are admitted to be innocent citizens being deprived of rights they would otherwise enjoy.
In the absence of reasonable grounds for deprivation of the rights of the citizen there is speculation of political purposes that are causing such obstacles and the denial of such right to access. Naturally, a suspicion that these IDPs are the subject of various political schemes builds resentment.
Another real problem is the absence of transparency and accountability regarding all matters relating to IDPs. The Chief Justice who retired last month stated a few days before his retirement that the IDPs do not have protection under the normal laws of the country. That a section of Sri Lankan citizens do not have the protection of the law is a serious concern. This week an international crisis group issued a report pointing out the serious defects of the judicial and legal process in Sri Lanka. It stated that Sri Lanka’s courts have been politicised and the rights of the people are thereby compromised.
Last month the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) issued a report after a visit by the organisation that Sri Lanka’s judiciary, the legal profession and the media are facing peril. In a lengthy report the IBAHRI, the foremost lawyer’s association in the world, analysed in great detail the threats faced by the judicial system over a considerable period of time, attacks and intimidation on lawyers which obstructs their independent functioning as well as the assassination of and attacks on journalists. Even last week, another lady journalist complained of being abducted and threatened to give up her profession.
Despite of local and international criticism the deterioration of the protection that should be available to citizens takes place continuously. The arrogant disregard for public opinion expressed by the local political parties, neighbouring governments, like that of India and all others has created a situation in which almost all avenues for seeking redress for grievances have been closed.


-- By Basil Fernando