[ Inner City Press ][ Jun 12 22:01 GMT ]
The UN at all levels demonstrates blindness with respect to Sri Lanka, from the use of prison labor in the now emptied out north to even recognizing the name of the country. Incoming General Assembly president Ali Abdussalam Treki of Libya on Friday took questions from the Press. Inner City Press asked him about two countries, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. To the latter, Libya agreed to a $500 million loan, to make up for the $1.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund delayed by reports of mistreatment of civilians. Inner City Press asked Treki, since Libya was among those blocking Security Council action, if he could imagine Sri Lanka being taken up in the General Assembly, as Myanmar has been. [ full story]
Friday, June 12, 2009
UN's Ban Questioned on Record, on Sri Lanka, Half Time Pep Talk
[ Inner City Press ][ Jun 12 12:13 GMT ]
Half way into the five year term as UN Secretary General he was awarded in 2006, Ban Ki-moon on June11 tried to defend low grades he has received for his management of the UN and not "speaking truth to power." At Mr. Ban's press conference for June, his spokesperson Michele Montas pointedly did not call on Inner City Press. Only a week before she had said the UN should be able to regulate the Press, after a memo revealed her attendance at a May 8 meeting at which legal threats and "complaining to Google News" about Inner City Press was discussed. On June 11, she looked elsewhere to award the right to question. But CNN's longtime correspondent, characteristically classy, yielded his question to Inner City Press. [ full story
Half way into the five year term as UN Secretary General he was awarded in 2006, Ban Ki-moon on June11 tried to defend low grades he has received for his management of the UN and not "speaking truth to power." At Mr. Ban's press conference for June, his spokesperson Michele Montas pointedly did not call on Inner City Press. Only a week before she had said the UN should be able to regulate the Press, after a memo revealed her attendance at a May 8 meeting at which legal threats and "complaining to Google News" about Inner City Press was discussed. On June 11, she looked elsewhere to award the right to question. But CNN's longtime correspondent, characteristically classy, yielded his question to Inner City Press. [ full story
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Amnesty says Sri Lanka fails to probe war abuses
Fri, 12 Jun 2009 1:51p.m.
The Sri Lankan government never seriously investigated reports of human rights abuses during 25 years of civil war and needs to rapidly overhaul its justice system to bring peace to the country, Amnesty International said.
The London-based rights group said the problem is even more urgent in the wake of the government's defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last month in a bloody offensive that the United Nations says left more than 7,000 civilians dead.
Human rights groups and diplomats accused the government of shelling heavily populated civilian areas and said the rebels held thousands of civilians as human shields, shooting those who tried to flee. Both sides denied the accusations.
"If communities that have been torn apart by decades of violence and impunity are to be reconciled, the Sri Lankan government should initiate internal reforms and seek international assistance to prevent ongoing violations and ensure real accountability for past abuses," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director.
In a report, the group called for the establishment of an international commission to investigate those allegations because past government probes into abuses have gone nowhere.
The government has repeatedly brushed off such calls, saying an international probe would interfere with the country's sovereignty.
Rajiva Wijesinha, secretary at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, said the government's own commission of inquiry into a series of recent allegations of human rights abuses was proceeding, albeit slowly.
"These things take time, and we can't allow any possibility of injustice to happen," he said.
Last March, an international panel of experts established to advise the latest commission of inquiry resigned, saying the government lacked the political will to properly investigate alleged abuses, including the 2006 execution-style slaying of 17 aid workers for the French organisation Action Against Hunger.
The Amnesty International report accuses the government of interfering with past investigations, by using bribes, threats and even murder to eliminate witnesses.
It said the vast majority of human rights violations are never investigated and those that are rarely end in convictions because hearings drag on, witnesses refuse to testify and in some cases even the prosecution does not show up.
At the same time, the country's human rights commission has been stripped of its authority, local rights activists have been threatened, the UN has been obstructed and the press has been stifled, the group said.
Meanwhile, a Japanese mediator said President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised to work for political and democratic reform in the country following the victory over the separatist rebels.
Yasushi Akashi said the president also told him Thursday that he would push for a political compromise with the country's Tamil minority to resolve the ethnic conflict.
Diplomats and aid workers have pushed for the government, dominated by the Sinhalese majority, to be magnanimous in victory or risk re-igniting the conflict. They have also called for the swift resettling of nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamil civilians displaced by the fighting who are living in military-run camps in the north.
The aid group World Vision warned that the camps do not have adequate sanitation and the impending monsoon season could put tens of thousands at risk of diarrhoea, cholera and mosquito-borne illnesses. The group said at least 11,500 more latrines were needed to bring the camps up to international standards.
"When the rains come in two weeks or so, I can't imagine what conditions will be like due to the lack of any proper drainage and toilet system," said Suresh Bartlett, World Vision's country director.
Akashi said the camps were badly congested, had urgent sanitation problems and needed international assistance.
The Sri Lankan government never seriously investigated reports of human rights abuses during 25 years of civil war and needs to rapidly overhaul its justice system to bring peace to the country, Amnesty International said.
The London-based rights group said the problem is even more urgent in the wake of the government's defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels last month in a bloody offensive that the United Nations says left more than 7,000 civilians dead.
Human rights groups and diplomats accused the government of shelling heavily populated civilian areas and said the rebels held thousands of civilians as human shields, shooting those who tried to flee. Both sides denied the accusations.
"If communities that have been torn apart by decades of violence and impunity are to be reconciled, the Sri Lankan government should initiate internal reforms and seek international assistance to prevent ongoing violations and ensure real accountability for past abuses," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director.
In a report, the group called for the establishment of an international commission to investigate those allegations because past government probes into abuses have gone nowhere.
The government has repeatedly brushed off such calls, saying an international probe would interfere with the country's sovereignty.
Rajiva Wijesinha, secretary at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, said the government's own commission of inquiry into a series of recent allegations of human rights abuses was proceeding, albeit slowly.
"These things take time, and we can't allow any possibility of injustice to happen," he said.
Last March, an international panel of experts established to advise the latest commission of inquiry resigned, saying the government lacked the political will to properly investigate alleged abuses, including the 2006 execution-style slaying of 17 aid workers for the French organisation Action Against Hunger.
The Amnesty International report accuses the government of interfering with past investigations, by using bribes, threats and even murder to eliminate witnesses.
It said the vast majority of human rights violations are never investigated and those that are rarely end in convictions because hearings drag on, witnesses refuse to testify and in some cases even the prosecution does not show up.
At the same time, the country's human rights commission has been stripped of its authority, local rights activists have been threatened, the UN has been obstructed and the press has been stifled, the group said.
Meanwhile, a Japanese mediator said President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised to work for political and democratic reform in the country following the victory over the separatist rebels.
Yasushi Akashi said the president also told him Thursday that he would push for a political compromise with the country's Tamil minority to resolve the ethnic conflict.
Diplomats and aid workers have pushed for the government, dominated by the Sinhalese majority, to be magnanimous in victory or risk re-igniting the conflict. They have also called for the swift resettling of nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamil civilians displaced by the fighting who are living in military-run camps in the north.
The aid group World Vision warned that the camps do not have adequate sanitation and the impending monsoon season could put tens of thousands at risk of diarrhoea, cholera and mosquito-borne illnesses. The group said at least 11,500 more latrines were needed to bring the camps up to international standards.
"When the rains come in two weeks or so, I can't imagine what conditions will be like due to the lack of any proper drainage and toilet system," said Suresh Bartlett, World Vision's country director.
Akashi said the camps were badly congested, had urgent sanitation problems and needed international assistance.
Sri Lanka: End illegal detention of displaced population
Source: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Date: 11 Jun 2009
Nearly 300,000 Tamils Enduring Poor Conditions in Camps
(New York) - The Sri Lankan government should end the illegal detention of nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamils displaced by the recently ended conflict in Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said today.
For more than a year, the Sri Lankan government has detained virtually everyone - including entire families - displaced by the fighting in the north in military-run camps, in violation of international law. While the government has said that most would be able to return home by the end of the year, past government practice and the absence of any concrete plans for their release raises serious concerns about indefinite confinement, said Human Rights Watch.
"Treating all these men, women, and children as if they were Tamil Tiger fighters is a national disgrace," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Displaced Tamil civilians have the same rights to liberty and freedom of movement as other Sri Lankans."
While the Sri Lankan authorities are expected to screen persons leaving the war zone to identify Tamil Tiger combatants, international law prohibits arbitrary detention and unnecessary restrictions on freedom of movement. This means that anyone taken into custody must be promptly brought before a judge and charged with a criminal offense or released. Although human rights law permits restrictions on freedom of movement for security reasons, the restrictions must have a clear legal basis, be limited to what is necessary, and be proportionate to the threat.
Since March 2008, the government of Sri Lanka has detained virtually all civilians fleeing areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at so-called "welfare centers" and "transitional relief villages." A small number of camp residents, mainly the elderly, have been released to host families and institutions for the elderly. The vast majority, however, remain in detention. As of June 5, the United Nations reported that the authorities were keeping 278,263 people in detention in 40 camps in the four northern districts of Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna, and Trincomalee.
A significant number of the detainees have close relatives in the region, with whom they could stay if they were allowed to leave.
"Many people are in the camps not because they have no other place to go," said Adams. "They are in the camps because the government does not allow them to leave."
Before the recent massive influx of displaced persons, the government proposed holding the displaced in camps for up to three years. According to the plan, those with relatives inside would be allowed to come and go after initial screening, but young or single people would not be allowed to leave. After international protests, the government said that it would resettle 80 percent of the displaced by the end of 2009. But the government's history of restricting the rights of displaced persons through rigid pass systems and strict restrictions on leaving the camps heightens concerns that they will be confined in camps much longer, possibly for years.
More than 2,000 people displaced from their homes in northwestern Mannar district by the fighting two years ago were released from the camps only in May, when the government said they could return to their homes.
Conditions in the camps are inadequate. Virtually all camps are overcrowded, some holding twice the number recommended by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Food distribution is chaotic, there are shortages of water, and sanitation facilities are inadequate. Camp residents do not have access to proper medical services and communicable diseases have broken out in the camps.
Since May 16, the military camp administration has imposed numerous restrictions on humanitarian organizations working in the camps, such as limiting the number of vehicles and staff members that can enter the camps, which has delayed the provision of much-needed aid. The military does not allow organizations into the camps to conduct protection activities, and a ban on talking to the camp residents leaves them further isolated. The military has also barred journalists from entering the camps except on organized and supervised tours.
"The poor conditions in the camps may worsen with the monsoon rains," said Adams. "Holding civilians who wish to move in with relatives and friends is irresponsible as well as unlawful."
© Copyright, Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Date: 11 Jun 2009
Nearly 300,000 Tamils Enduring Poor Conditions in Camps
(New York) - The Sri Lankan government should end the illegal detention of nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamils displaced by the recently ended conflict in Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said today.
For more than a year, the Sri Lankan government has detained virtually everyone - including entire families - displaced by the fighting in the north in military-run camps, in violation of international law. While the government has said that most would be able to return home by the end of the year, past government practice and the absence of any concrete plans for their release raises serious concerns about indefinite confinement, said Human Rights Watch.
"Treating all these men, women, and children as if they were Tamil Tiger fighters is a national disgrace," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Displaced Tamil civilians have the same rights to liberty and freedom of movement as other Sri Lankans."
While the Sri Lankan authorities are expected to screen persons leaving the war zone to identify Tamil Tiger combatants, international law prohibits arbitrary detention and unnecessary restrictions on freedom of movement. This means that anyone taken into custody must be promptly brought before a judge and charged with a criminal offense or released. Although human rights law permits restrictions on freedom of movement for security reasons, the restrictions must have a clear legal basis, be limited to what is necessary, and be proportionate to the threat.
Since March 2008, the government of Sri Lanka has detained virtually all civilians fleeing areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at so-called "welfare centers" and "transitional relief villages." A small number of camp residents, mainly the elderly, have been released to host families and institutions for the elderly. The vast majority, however, remain in detention. As of June 5, the United Nations reported that the authorities were keeping 278,263 people in detention in 40 camps in the four northern districts of Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna, and Trincomalee.
A significant number of the detainees have close relatives in the region, with whom they could stay if they were allowed to leave.
"Many people are in the camps not because they have no other place to go," said Adams. "They are in the camps because the government does not allow them to leave."
Before the recent massive influx of displaced persons, the government proposed holding the displaced in camps for up to three years. According to the plan, those with relatives inside would be allowed to come and go after initial screening, but young or single people would not be allowed to leave. After international protests, the government said that it would resettle 80 percent of the displaced by the end of 2009. But the government's history of restricting the rights of displaced persons through rigid pass systems and strict restrictions on leaving the camps heightens concerns that they will be confined in camps much longer, possibly for years.
More than 2,000 people displaced from their homes in northwestern Mannar district by the fighting two years ago were released from the camps only in May, when the government said they could return to their homes.
Conditions in the camps are inadequate. Virtually all camps are overcrowded, some holding twice the number recommended by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Food distribution is chaotic, there are shortages of water, and sanitation facilities are inadequate. Camp residents do not have access to proper medical services and communicable diseases have broken out in the camps.
Since May 16, the military camp administration has imposed numerous restrictions on humanitarian organizations working in the camps, such as limiting the number of vehicles and staff members that can enter the camps, which has delayed the provision of much-needed aid. The military does not allow organizations into the camps to conduct protection activities, and a ban on talking to the camp residents leaves them further isolated. The military has also barred journalists from entering the camps except on organized and supervised tours.
"The poor conditions in the camps may worsen with the monsoon rains," said Adams. "Holding civilians who wish to move in with relatives and friends is irresponsible as well as unlawful."
© Copyright, Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
New Amnesty report reveals inability of Sri Lankan government to deliver justice
[ Amnesty International ][ Jun 11 11:51 GMT ]
The Sri Lankan government's failure to deliver justice for serious human rights violations over the past 20 years has trapped the country in a vicious cycle of abuse and impunity, according to a new report published by Amnesty International today. The report, 'Twenty Years of Make-Believe: Sri Lanka's Commissions of Inquiry', documents the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to provide accountability for serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, killings, and torture. [ full story ]
The Sri Lankan government's failure to deliver justice for serious human rights violations over the past 20 years has trapped the country in a vicious cycle of abuse and impunity, according to a new report published by Amnesty International today. The report, 'Twenty Years of Make-Believe: Sri Lanka's Commissions of Inquiry', documents the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to provide accountability for serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, killings, and torture. [ full story ]
The trouble with guns: Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ireland
[ Australia ][ Jun 11 02:47 GMT ]
Sri Lanka's Tamils are only one group that continues to suffer as a result of this embrace of violence as a tool of radical change. In South Africa, Jacob Zuma's celebration of the "machine-gun" may be symbolic, but points to a residual problem in the political and social culture. Northern Ireland's season of armed killings and sectarian murder expose another unresolved legacy. There is a lesson here too for elements of the global left that still romanticise or indulge the "armed struggle" of (usually) far-away others. The politics of violence are a path to failure and regression. The trouble with guns is that they make the road to real progress so much longer and more painful. [ full story]
Sri Lanka's Tamils are only one group that continues to suffer as a result of this embrace of violence as a tool of radical change. In South Africa, Jacob Zuma's celebration of the "machine-gun" may be symbolic, but points to a residual problem in the political and social culture. Northern Ireland's season of armed killings and sectarian murder expose another unresolved legacy. There is a lesson here too for elements of the global left that still romanticise or indulge the "armed struggle" of (usually) far-away others. The politics of violence are a path to failure and regression. The trouble with guns is that they make the road to real progress so much longer and more painful. [ full story]
Crimes, dengue fever, attacks on journalists, problems of toilets and food and euphoric celebrations
[ AHRC ][ Jun 11 02:58 GMT ]
The constitution of Sri Lanka is based on the premise of the sovereignty of the people. All state authority is derived from the sovereignty of the people. But the sovereign people have no right to have the crimes done to them investigated or have journalists inform them of what is happening or even for people to complain about their toilet facilities and conditions of their food and clothing. All that the sovereign people are allowed to do is to stay in a state of euphoria and when the next elections come to not participate in it in any meaningful manner. [ full story
The constitution of Sri Lanka is based on the premise of the sovereignty of the people. All state authority is derived from the sovereignty of the people. But the sovereign people have no right to have the crimes done to them investigated or have journalists inform them of what is happening or even for people to complain about their toilet facilities and conditions of their food and clothing. All that the sovereign people are allowed to do is to stay in a state of euphoria and when the next elections come to not participate in it in any meaningful manner. [ full story
SRI LANKA: "Too many people" at huge IDP camp - UN
[ IRIN ][ Jun 11 15:07 GMT ]
Conditions at a huge government-run camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka are still unsatisfactory, the UN’s top official in the country told IRIN, despite some improvements. “The fundamental issue is that there are too many people in too small a place,” said Neil Buhne, the UN resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, adding: “We think it is the largest IDP camp in the world.” [ full story
Conditions at a huge government-run camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka are still unsatisfactory, the UN’s top official in the country told IRIN, despite some improvements. “The fundamental issue is that there are too many people in too small a place,” said Neil Buhne, the UN resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, adding: “We think it is the largest IDP camp in the world.” [ full story
On Sri Lanka, UN's Holmes Contradicts His Colleague's Caution, Sudan Double Standard?
[ InnerCity Press ][ Jun 11 17:00 GMT ]
During the bloody conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka this year, most often UN Headquarters, personified by humanitarian chief John Holmes, has sounded more cautionary notes about government conduct than has UN staff in Colombo, who face deportation or denial of visa renewals. On Thursday, however, Holmes was decidedly more pro-government than the UN's local spokespeople, at least Mark Cutts, who expressed concern that now people will be kept in the UN-funded internment camps for up to a year. [ full story
During the bloody conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka this year, most often UN Headquarters, personified by humanitarian chief John Holmes, has sounded more cautionary notes about government conduct than has UN staff in Colombo, who face deportation or denial of visa renewals. On Thursday, however, Holmes was decidedly more pro-government than the UN's local spokespeople, at least Mark Cutts, who expressed concern that now people will be kept in the UN-funded internment camps for up to a year. [ full story
Sri Lanka urged to allow international probe of human rights abuses
CBC ][ Jun 11 17:09 GMT ]
The Sri Lankan government's failure to seriously address reports of human rights abuses during 25 years of civil war is even more glaring in the aftermath of its victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels last month, Amnesty International said Thursday. "If communities that have been torn apart by decades of violence and impunity are to be reconciled, the Sri Lankan government should initiate internal reforms and seek international assistance to prevent ongoing violations and ensure real accountability for past abuses," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director. [ full story
The Sri Lankan government's failure to seriously address reports of human rights abuses during 25 years of civil war is even more glaring in the aftermath of its victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels last month, Amnesty International said Thursday. "If communities that have been torn apart by decades of violence and impunity are to be reconciled, the Sri Lankan government should initiate internal reforms and seek international assistance to prevent ongoing violations and ensure real accountability for past abuses," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director. [ full story
Japan urges Sri Lanka to engage international community
AFP ][ Jun 11 17:11 GMT ]
Japan on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to develop closer ties with the international community as Colombo tries to rebuild the war-battered north of the island after decades of bloody ethnic conflict. Yasushi Akashi, a peace envoy for Tokyo, Sri Lanka's largest aid donor, said the government in Colombo needed to engage in a "continuous dialogue with the international community". "Sri Lanka needs and deserves more fruitful two-way dialogue with the international community with as many countries as possible as well as with the UN and other organisations," he said. [ full story
Japan on Thursday urged Sri Lanka to develop closer ties with the international community as Colombo tries to rebuild the war-battered north of the island after decades of bloody ethnic conflict. Yasushi Akashi, a peace envoy for Tokyo, Sri Lanka's largest aid donor, said the government in Colombo needed to engage in a "continuous dialogue with the international community". "Sri Lanka needs and deserves more fruitful two-way dialogue with the international community with as many countries as possible as well as with the UN and other organisations," he said. [ full story
A Letter from German Professor Dr.John P.Neelsen to Kumar Rupesinghe on Aid
Dear Mr.Rupesinghe,
Allow me to reply to your appeal for financial contributions for the construction of 1000 latrins, and (earlier for) educational materials for Tamil youngsters in the camps in the Vanni. To state my position clearly at the outset: I am totally opposed to your proposal and hope to convince at least some of the other recipients of your appeal!
Only in passing, I like to remind you of the high sounding speeches, including yours, on peace, negotiations, and reconciliation at the April 2006 conference in Zurich/Switzerland ("Envisioning New Trajectories for Peace in SL") or your similarly titled volumes. With the armed resistance defeated, the LTTE decapitated, today these sentiments and arguments appear light-years away. I wonder how you (and the other, particularly Singhalese, participants) read -and defend - your respective contributions now...
Anyhow, today you are seemingly assuming a purely humanitarian viewpoint and, indeed, the door has been thrown wide open for all manifestly similarly minded people in NGOs and governments all over the world.
But, the plight of the Tamils is not due to a natural disaster, not another tsunami, but the result of the conscious policy of a government that had no calms of bombarding people that it claims as its own citizens with heavy artillery, according to some reports even illegal chemical weapons.
When even the then supporters of the GoSL in Berlin, Paris or London have demanded an enquiry into war crimes and violations of human and humanitarian law in view of the estimated 20.000 mostly dead civilians during the last few weeks, when even the established media question the internment of 300.000 Tamil IDP, there is no way for any self-respecting intellectual or the critical public in general in the country concerned to pretend that the only problem left to be tackled is "humanitarian".
Just the contrary! You speak -echoing the official government line - of '300.000 temporarily displaced Tamils being 'sheltered in welfare centres'. This is but typical Orwellian language trying to turn reality upside down in light of the razor sharp barbed wires surrounding these camps, of the military controlling all access to and exits from them, of the prevention of independent outside observers, journalists and NGOs from entering them, of official announcements that a new prolonged phase of "counter-insurgency".
The'welfare centres' are but internment camps, the 'rehabilitation in the camps' is but a racist policy of collective suspicion, intimidation, witchhunt, and impoverishment. When you talk of the "fear and anxiety of the people undoubtedly brainwashed by the LTTE" you seem to forget Bindunuwewa or Chemmani or the numerous reports by UN agencies and Human Rights organizations that have castigated the massive human rights violations, such as disappearances, extra-judicial killings, and torture committed for decades by the security forces especially against the SLT.
Apart from their own experiences, these terrified people may also have heard of the situation on the ground following the 'liberation' of the Eastern province in mid-July 2007. What the government euphemistically describes as a "Nagenahira Navodaya or Eastern Awakening" programme, has nothing to do with "post-conflict reconstruction" but is a nightmare of violence, political instability, repression, and land expropiration according to the International Crisis Group (Asia report No 165 of April 16, 2009 entitled "Development Assistance and Conflict in Sri Lanka - Lessons from the Eastern Province").
And this is only the tip of the iceberg when viewed against the appropriation of the state by the majority coupled with the systemic oppression, including pogroms, of the Tamil people and the minorities in language, education, public employment or land colonisation.
Against this background, your appeal is anything but well-minded and humanitarian, it is highly political, in fact legitimizing the racist policies of the GoSL. Instead of rising against the root causes, mobilizing the Singhalese public to fight against chauvinism, the security state, the dictatorship maskerading as democracy, for the rule of law and against the "culture of impunity", for a democratic, inclusive, participatory polity and society, you call for hand-outs, for charity implicitely justifying the present state of affairs.
As a former Dy.Director of SIPRI, Oslo and coordinator of the UN Programme on Conflict Resolution, you know that in a conflict each and every action can not be viewed in isolation, but has to be seen in its socio-political context. In the concrete situation: A camp is a camp, to put a whole people behind barbed wire is racism.
The unambigous struggle for the immediate dissolution of the camps and the return of the IDP to their homes must be the absolute priority, and not to make life somewhat easier for the inmates...
Such a political commitment is, by the way, also in the best long-term interest of the Singhalese and all the other people living on the island.
Sincerely,Prof. Dr.John P.NeelsenInstitute of SociologyTuebingen UniversityD - 72074 Tuebingen/Germany
Allow me to reply to your appeal for financial contributions for the construction of 1000 latrins, and (earlier for) educational materials for Tamil youngsters in the camps in the Vanni. To state my position clearly at the outset: I am totally opposed to your proposal and hope to convince at least some of the other recipients of your appeal!
Only in passing, I like to remind you of the high sounding speeches, including yours, on peace, negotiations, and reconciliation at the April 2006 conference in Zurich/Switzerland ("Envisioning New Trajectories for Peace in SL") or your similarly titled volumes. With the armed resistance defeated, the LTTE decapitated, today these sentiments and arguments appear light-years away. I wonder how you (and the other, particularly Singhalese, participants) read -and defend - your respective contributions now...
Anyhow, today you are seemingly assuming a purely humanitarian viewpoint and, indeed, the door has been thrown wide open for all manifestly similarly minded people in NGOs and governments all over the world.
But, the plight of the Tamils is not due to a natural disaster, not another tsunami, but the result of the conscious policy of a government that had no calms of bombarding people that it claims as its own citizens with heavy artillery, according to some reports even illegal chemical weapons.
When even the then supporters of the GoSL in Berlin, Paris or London have demanded an enquiry into war crimes and violations of human and humanitarian law in view of the estimated 20.000 mostly dead civilians during the last few weeks, when even the established media question the internment of 300.000 Tamil IDP, there is no way for any self-respecting intellectual or the critical public in general in the country concerned to pretend that the only problem left to be tackled is "humanitarian".
Just the contrary! You speak -echoing the official government line - of '300.000 temporarily displaced Tamils being 'sheltered in welfare centres'. This is but typical Orwellian language trying to turn reality upside down in light of the razor sharp barbed wires surrounding these camps, of the military controlling all access to and exits from them, of the prevention of independent outside observers, journalists and NGOs from entering them, of official announcements that a new prolonged phase of "counter-insurgency".
The'welfare centres' are but internment camps, the 'rehabilitation in the camps' is but a racist policy of collective suspicion, intimidation, witchhunt, and impoverishment. When you talk of the "fear and anxiety of the people undoubtedly brainwashed by the LTTE" you seem to forget Bindunuwewa or Chemmani or the numerous reports by UN agencies and Human Rights organizations that have castigated the massive human rights violations, such as disappearances, extra-judicial killings, and torture committed for decades by the security forces especially against the SLT.
Apart from their own experiences, these terrified people may also have heard of the situation on the ground following the 'liberation' of the Eastern province in mid-July 2007. What the government euphemistically describes as a "Nagenahira Navodaya or Eastern Awakening" programme, has nothing to do with "post-conflict reconstruction" but is a nightmare of violence, political instability, repression, and land expropiration according to the International Crisis Group (Asia report No 165 of April 16, 2009 entitled "Development Assistance and Conflict in Sri Lanka - Lessons from the Eastern Province").
And this is only the tip of the iceberg when viewed against the appropriation of the state by the majority coupled with the systemic oppression, including pogroms, of the Tamil people and the minorities in language, education, public employment or land colonisation.
Against this background, your appeal is anything but well-minded and humanitarian, it is highly political, in fact legitimizing the racist policies of the GoSL. Instead of rising against the root causes, mobilizing the Singhalese public to fight against chauvinism, the security state, the dictatorship maskerading as democracy, for the rule of law and against the "culture of impunity", for a democratic, inclusive, participatory polity and society, you call for hand-outs, for charity implicitely justifying the present state of affairs.
As a former Dy.Director of SIPRI, Oslo and coordinator of the UN Programme on Conflict Resolution, you know that in a conflict each and every action can not be viewed in isolation, but has to be seen in its socio-political context. In the concrete situation: A camp is a camp, to put a whole people behind barbed wire is racism.
The unambigous struggle for the immediate dissolution of the camps and the return of the IDP to their homes must be the absolute priority, and not to make life somewhat easier for the inmates...
Such a political commitment is, by the way, also in the best long-term interest of the Singhalese and all the other people living on the island.
Sincerely,Prof. Dr.John P.NeelsenInstitute of SociologyTuebingen UniversityD - 72074 Tuebingen/Germany
UN concern over Sri Lanka camps
[ BBC ][ Jun 11 11:49 GMT ]
Most of Sri Lanka's displaced people could still be kept in government-run camps in one year's time, a UN official has told the BBC quoting army sources. But the government rejected the suggestion, saying that it aimed to resettle most by the end of this year. About 250,000 people fled the final bloody phase of the civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. Meanwhile, a human rights group accused the government of failing to probe rights abuses during the conflict. [ full story
Most of Sri Lanka's displaced people could still be kept in government-run camps in one year's time, a UN official has told the BBC quoting army sources. But the government rejected the suggestion, saying that it aimed to resettle most by the end of this year. About 250,000 people fled the final bloody phase of the civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. Meanwhile, a human rights group accused the government of failing to probe rights abuses during the conflict. [ full story
UN concern over Sri Lanka camps
Most of Sri Lanka's displaced people could still be kept in government-run camps in one year's time, a UN official has told the BBC quoting army sources. But the government rejected the suggestion, saying that it aimed to resettle most by the end of this year. About 250,000 people fled the final bloody phase of the civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. Meanwhile, a human rights group accused the government of failing to probe rights abuses during the conflict. [ full story
New Amnesty report reveals inability of Sri Lankan government to deliver justice
The Sri Lankan government's failure to deliver justice for serious human rights violations over the past 20 years has trapped the country in a vicious cycle of abuse and impunity, according to a new report published by Amnesty International today. The report, 'Twenty Years of Make-Believe: Sri Lanka's Commissions of Inquiry', documents the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to provide accountability for serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, killings, and torture. [ full story
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
22 elderly IDPs die in Cheddikul’am internment camp
Twenty-two elderly internally displaced persons from Vanni detained in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Vavuniyaa and Cheddikul'am died in two days. Fourteen died on Sunday and eight on Monday and all those dead were above seventy years of age, medical sources said. Magisterial inquests into the deaths were held in Vavuniyaa general hospital and verdicts of natural death were recorded. However, medical sources in the hospital said they died due to lack of proper care and attention in the camps.
57,293 children held in Vavuniyaa SLA internment camps
57,293 children from Vanni are presently detained in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Vavuniyaa, U. L. M. Haldeen, Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Relief said to the media. 1,034 children among the above are orphans or separated from their parents while there are 7,894 widows and 3,100 pregnant mothers in Vavuniyaa internment camps.There are 11,873 detainees injured in the war and 3,968 maimed persons held in the above camps.Meanwhile, there are 3,689 government officers among those detained, the Secretary said.
SLA refuses to release 6 Catholic priests detained in Vavuniyaa SLA camps
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) High Command rejected a request made by Jaffna Bishop, Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam, to release the six Catholic priests from Vanni held in one of the SLA detention centres in Vavuniyaa as they are suffering from illness, Jaffna Bishop House sources said. The Bishop had made the request to Defence Secretary to allow the six priests to get back to their parishes, the sources added. Rev. Fr. Francis Gnanarasa Cruz from Mannaar district and Rev. Frs. Edward Selvarajah Mariyarasa, Alfred Vijayakamalan, Anthonipillai Anton Amalraj, Anton Seevan and Edmond Reginald from Jaffna districts are the six Catholic priests detained in the internment camp.The above priests are in a poor condition of health due to lack of basic facilities and medical treatment.The priests, who had remained in Puthumaaththa’lan in Vanni with the people until the last, have expressed their desire to remain with the rest of the Vanni civilians despite the hardships, Jaffna Bishop House sources said.SLA authorities had turned down a similar request to release the Saiva priests held in the SLA detention centres in Jaffna.
Boyle, Fein charge Sri Lanka of Genocide in Chennai seminar
Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, and Bruce Fein, a Washington D.C. Attorney, speaking at a seminar in Chennai organized by the International Tamil Center Monday, reiterated charges of Genocide against the Sri Lanka Government alleging massacre of more than 50,000 Tamil civilians, sources attending the event said. While Prof. Boyle urged India to file charges in International Court against Sri Lanka for violating Geneva conventions, and to stop Colombo "to cease and desist from all acts of genocide against Tamils," Fein stressed the urgent need for the Tamils to reach a "consensus on their political aspirations." The event was organized by Dr Panchadcharam, a consultant physician from New York.
Video: Boyle, Fein speechesFull text of draft of Prof. Boyle's talk at the seminar follows:
THE RIGHTS OF THE TAMILS LIVING ON THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICEIntroductionThere are two basic points I want to make: First, the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have been the victims of genocide. Second, the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have the right to self-determination under international law and practice, including the right to establish their own independent state if they so desire. And the fact that the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have been victims of genocide only strengthens and reinforces their right to self-determination, including establishing their own independent State if that is their desire.GenocideArticle I of the 1948 Genocide Convention requires all 140 states parties to immediately act in order “to prevent” the ongoing GOSL genocide against the Tamils. One of the most important steps the 140 contracting states parties to the Genocide Convention must take in order to fulfill their obligation under Article I is to sue Sri Lanka at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (the so-called World Court) for violating the 1948 Genocide Convention on the basis of Article IX thereto: “Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in Article III, shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.”Any one or more of the 140 states parties to the Genocide Convention (1) must immediately sue Sri Lanka at the International Court of Justice in The Hague; (2) must demand an Emergency Hearing by the World Court; and (3) must request an Order indicating provisional measures of protection against Sri Lanka to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the 300,000 Tamils in Vanni. Such a World Court Order is the international equivalent to a domestic temporary restraining order and permanent injunction. Once issued by the World Court, this Order would be immediately transmitted to the United Nations Security Council for enforcement under U.N. Charter article 94(2). So far the member states of the United Nations Security Council have failed and refused to act in order to do anything to stop the GOSL’s genocide against the Tamils (1) despite the fact that the situation in Vanni constitutes a “threat to the peace” that requires Security Council action under article 39 of the United Nations Charter and (2) despite the fact that they are all obligated “to prevent” Sri Lanka’s genocide against the Tamils under article I of the Genocide Convention. This World Court Order will put the matter on the Agenda of the Security Council and force the Security Council to take action in order “to prevent” the ongoing genocide against the Tamils by Sri Lanka. Article II of the Genocide Convention defines the international crime of genocide in relevant part as follows:In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group such as:(a) Killing members of the group;(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;….Certainly the Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka and its legal predecessor Ceylon have committed genocide against the Hindu/Christian Tamils that actually started on or about 1948 and has continued apace until today and is now accelerating in Vanni in violation of Genocide Convention Articles II(a), (b), and (c). For the past six decades, the Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka has implemented a systematic and comprehensive military, political, and economic campaign with the intent to destroy in substantial part the different national, ethnical, racial, and religious group constituting the Hindu/Christian Tamils. This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has consisted of killing members of the Hindu/Christian Tamils in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(a). This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has also caused serious bodily and mental harm to the Hindu/Christian Tamils in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(b). This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has also deliberately inflicted on the Hindu/Christian Tamils conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in substantial part in violation of Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention. Since 1983 the Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka have exterminated approximately 100,000 Hindu/Christian Tamils. The Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka have now added another 300,000 Hindu/Christian Tamils in Vanni to their genocidal death list. Humanity needs one state party to the Genocide Convention to fulfill its obligation under article I thereof to immediately sue Sri Lanka at the World Court in order to save the 300,000 Tamils in Vanni from further extermination. Time is of the essence!Self-determinationThis gets into the second point that I want to make concerning the Tamils as a group of people living on the Island of Sri Lanka – their right to self-determination under international law and practice. And here I wanted to quote from an international treaty to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party, thus explicitly recognizing that the Tamils living on the Island of Sri Lanka have a right of self-determination. This is from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party. They are bound by their own treaty, which says quite clearly in Article One: “All peoples have the right of self-determination.” And clearly, the Tamils living on the Island of Sri Lanka are a “people.” The Tamils on Sri Lanka have a separate language, race, ethnicity, and religions, from the GOSL. The Tamils see themselves as a separate group of “people” and they are perceived to be such by the GOSL. For that precise reason the GOSL has attempted to exterminate the Tamils and ethnically cleanse their Homeland. So no better proof is needed than that. Both the objective criteria and the subjective criteria for establishing a “people” with a right of self-determination under international law and practice have been fulfilled by the Tamils living on Sri Lanka.Let me continue enumerating a few more of the most basic self-determination rights of the Tamils living on Sri Lanka under international law that are recognized by this International Covenant that the GOSL is a party to: “By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” Those are rights that the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have today even as recognized by the government of Sri Lanka. Those are group rights and not just individual rights. And those are group rights that must be protected because the government of Sri Lanka has attacked the Tamils as a group, not just as individuals. So, since Tamils have been victims as a group, they must be protected as a group. And one of the most basic rights of all that the Tamils have to protect themselves is this right of self-determination including determining their political status and pursuing their own economic, social and cultural development, as well as the establishment of an independent state of their own if that is what the Tamils decide is required for them to accomplish these objectives. Another component of this right of self-determination for the Tamils living on Sri Lanka is set forth in paragraph (2) of this Article One of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party. Notice here I am only using the treaties the GOSL itself is a party to, including the Genocide Convention. I am not citing any principles of international law that the GOSL has not already recognized and indeed violated grievously with respect to the Tamils living on Sri Lanka: “All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic cooperation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may the people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.”Yet we all know for a fact that the GOSL has done everything humanly possible to deprive the Tamil people of their own means of subsistence to a level that now constitutes genocide, in violation of that provision I quoted before from the Genocide Convention prohibiting inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part. Notice these economic and political rights are related to each other. Both elements of the right to self-determination must protect the Tamils since they have been victims of genocide. We must protect their political rights as well as their economic rights, to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources. The Tamil people, not the GOSL, must control their traditional Homeland in the North and the East of the Island, their farms, their mines, their plantations, their forests, their waters, their beaches etc. This is critical. Yet today we know that the GOSL is currently in the process of stealing, destroying and negating all these economic and political rights of the Tamils in their traditional Homeland in the North and the East of the Island of Sri Lanka. The GOSL is currently inflicting ethnic cleansing on the Tamils living there. I have already established that the Tamil people living on Sri Lanka have a right of self-determination, even in accordance with the GOSL’s own treaties themselves. What are some of the other political consequences of their right of self-determination? These are set forth in what is known as the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (1971). The government of Sri Lanka approved this Declaration in the United Nations General Assembly -- so I am not quoting here any provision of law that the GOSL has not already approved. And from the Declaration let me state what are the political alternatives that are open to the Tamil people, and they are set forth as follows: “[1] The establishment of a sovereign and independent State, [2] the free association or integration with an independent State, or [3] the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute the modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people.”So again, it is not for the GOSL to determine what might be the ultimate political outcome here. It is for the Tamil people living on Sri Lanka to determine which of those three options they desire. I also want to make it clear that it is not for me to tell the Tamils on Sri Lanka which of these three options they should choose. Moreover, it is not for the Tamils of India to tell the Tamils on Sri Lanka which of these three options they should choose. This is for them to decide pursuant to their right of self-determination under international law and practice. However I do want to note that historically the only way a people that has been subjected to genocide like the Tamils on Sri Lanka have been able to protect themselves from further extermination has been the creation of an independent state of their own. Indeed as the world saw for the last several months the government of Sri Lanka wantonly, openly, shamelessly, and gratuitously exterminated over 50,000 Tamils in Vanni; yet not one state in the entire world rose to protect them or defend them or help them as required by Article I of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Hence the need for the Tamils on Sri Lanka to have their own independent state in order to protect themselves from further annihilation by the GOSL. International law and practice establish that an independent state of their own is the only effective remedy as well as the only appropriate reparation for a people who have been the victims of genocide.Now the Indian government has basically argued that if it were to recognize the right of the Tamils on Sri Lanka to self-determination and an independent state of their own, then the 60 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu would also assert that same right and proceed to secede from India. I submit this is a false dichotomy under international law and practice. It must not be used as an excuse for inaction by the government of India when it comes to protecting the Tamils living on Sri Lanka.In this regard, let me return to the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States that was approved by both India and Sri Lanka and sets forth rules of customary international law interpreting the terms of the United Nations Charter itself as determined by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case (1986). In particular let me draw to your attention the following language: “Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.”This paragraph of the Declaration sets forth the rules of customary international law when it comes to the right of a people to secede from another state by means of exercising their right of self-determination. As you can see from the above language secession is permitted only when a government does not conduct itself “in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” and thus does not represent “the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.” From its very foundation in 1948 the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka has never conducted itself “in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” with respect to the Tamils. Furthermore, the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka has never represented “the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour” with respect to the Tamils. In fact the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka has always discriminated against and persecuted the Tamils on grounds of race, creed, colour, and language. This endemic pattern of criminal behavior by the Sinhala has now culminated in wholesale acts of genocide against the Tamils being inflicted by the government of Sri Lanka. So of course the Tamils have the right to secede from Sri Lanka under international law and practice and especially under the terms of this Declaration. Conversely, the government of India does conduct itself “in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” with respect to the Tamils in Tamil Nadu and is thus “possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.” India just had elections where the Tamils in Tamil Nadu participated on a basis of full equality with everyone else. The Tamils in India have full legal equality with all other peoples in India and indeed have their own state here in Tamil Nadu. Therefore in my opinion, the 60 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu do not have a right of secession under international law and practice according to this Declaration, which sets forth the basic rules of customary international law on this subject. Conversely, however, the Tamils living on Sri Lanka do have a right of secession under international law and practice including this Declaration for which both India and Sri Lanka voted. So with all due respect to the position of the Indian government, it is a false dichotomy for it to assert that recognition of the right of self-determination with an independent state of their own for the Tamils living on Sri Lanka would lead to the same for the Tamils in Tamil Nadu. There is no basis in international law for this conclusion. Indeed, basic principles of international law including this Declaration would fully support the territorial integrity of India in the event the government of India were to recognize the right of the Tamils living on the Island of Sri Lanka to self-determination including an independent state of their own.ConclusionBe that as it may, even if out of an excess of caution the government of India is not prepared to go that far at this time, nevertheless at a minimum, since it is the original homeland for the Tamils, the government of India has the right, the obligation, and the standing under international law and practice to act as parens patriae for the Tamils living on Sri Lanka. Therefore, India must immediately sue the GOSL for genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, demand an Emergency Hearing of the Court, and request that the World Court issue a Temporary Restraining Order against the GOSL to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the Tamils living on Sri Lanka. The ghosts of Dachau, Auschwitz, Cambodia, Sabra and Shatilla, Srebrenica, Rwanda, Kosovo, and now Vanni demand no less!
Video: Boyle, Fein speechesFull text of draft of Prof. Boyle's talk at the seminar follows:
THE RIGHTS OF THE TAMILS LIVING ON THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICEIntroductionThere are two basic points I want to make: First, the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have been the victims of genocide. Second, the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have the right to self-determination under international law and practice, including the right to establish their own independent state if they so desire. And the fact that the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have been victims of genocide only strengthens and reinforces their right to self-determination, including establishing their own independent State if that is their desire.GenocideArticle I of the 1948 Genocide Convention requires all 140 states parties to immediately act in order “to prevent” the ongoing GOSL genocide against the Tamils. One of the most important steps the 140 contracting states parties to the Genocide Convention must take in order to fulfill their obligation under Article I is to sue Sri Lanka at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (the so-called World Court) for violating the 1948 Genocide Convention on the basis of Article IX thereto: “Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in Article III, shall be submitted to the International Court of Justice at the request of any of the parties to the dispute.”Any one or more of the 140 states parties to the Genocide Convention (1) must immediately sue Sri Lanka at the International Court of Justice in The Hague; (2) must demand an Emergency Hearing by the World Court; and (3) must request an Order indicating provisional measures of protection against Sri Lanka to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the 300,000 Tamils in Vanni. Such a World Court Order is the international equivalent to a domestic temporary restraining order and permanent injunction. Once issued by the World Court, this Order would be immediately transmitted to the United Nations Security Council for enforcement under U.N. Charter article 94(2). So far the member states of the United Nations Security Council have failed and refused to act in order to do anything to stop the GOSL’s genocide against the Tamils (1) despite the fact that the situation in Vanni constitutes a “threat to the peace” that requires Security Council action under article 39 of the United Nations Charter and (2) despite the fact that they are all obligated “to prevent” Sri Lanka’s genocide against the Tamils under article I of the Genocide Convention. This World Court Order will put the matter on the Agenda of the Security Council and force the Security Council to take action in order “to prevent” the ongoing genocide against the Tamils by Sri Lanka. Article II of the Genocide Convention defines the international crime of genocide in relevant part as follows:In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group such as:(a) Killing members of the group;(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;….Certainly the Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka and its legal predecessor Ceylon have committed genocide against the Hindu/Christian Tamils that actually started on or about 1948 and has continued apace until today and is now accelerating in Vanni in violation of Genocide Convention Articles II(a), (b), and (c). For the past six decades, the Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka has implemented a systematic and comprehensive military, political, and economic campaign with the intent to destroy in substantial part the different national, ethnical, racial, and religious group constituting the Hindu/Christian Tamils. This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has consisted of killing members of the Hindu/Christian Tamils in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(a). This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has also caused serious bodily and mental harm to the Hindu/Christian Tamils in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(b). This Sinhala-Buddhist Ceylon/Sri Lanka campaign has also deliberately inflicted on the Hindu/Christian Tamils conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in substantial part in violation of Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention. Since 1983 the Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka have exterminated approximately 100,000 Hindu/Christian Tamils. The Sinhala-Buddhist Sri Lanka have now added another 300,000 Hindu/Christian Tamils in Vanni to their genocidal death list. Humanity needs one state party to the Genocide Convention to fulfill its obligation under article I thereof to immediately sue Sri Lanka at the World Court in order to save the 300,000 Tamils in Vanni from further extermination. Time is of the essence!Self-determinationThis gets into the second point that I want to make concerning the Tamils as a group of people living on the Island of Sri Lanka – their right to self-determination under international law and practice. And here I wanted to quote from an international treaty to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party, thus explicitly recognizing that the Tamils living on the Island of Sri Lanka have a right of self-determination. This is from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party. They are bound by their own treaty, which says quite clearly in Article One: “All peoples have the right of self-determination.” And clearly, the Tamils living on the Island of Sri Lanka are a “people.” The Tamils on Sri Lanka have a separate language, race, ethnicity, and religions, from the GOSL. The Tamils see themselves as a separate group of “people” and they are perceived to be such by the GOSL. For that precise reason the GOSL has attempted to exterminate the Tamils and ethnically cleanse their Homeland. So no better proof is needed than that. Both the objective criteria and the subjective criteria for establishing a “people” with a right of self-determination under international law and practice have been fulfilled by the Tamils living on Sri Lanka.Let me continue enumerating a few more of the most basic self-determination rights of the Tamils living on Sri Lanka under international law that are recognized by this International Covenant that the GOSL is a party to: “By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” Those are rights that the Tamils living on Sri Lanka have today even as recognized by the government of Sri Lanka. Those are group rights and not just individual rights. And those are group rights that must be protected because the government of Sri Lanka has attacked the Tamils as a group, not just as individuals. So, since Tamils have been victims as a group, they must be protected as a group. And one of the most basic rights of all that the Tamils have to protect themselves is this right of self-determination including determining their political status and pursuing their own economic, social and cultural development, as well as the establishment of an independent state of their own if that is what the Tamils decide is required for them to accomplish these objectives. Another component of this right of self-determination for the Tamils living on Sri Lanka is set forth in paragraph (2) of this Article One of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the government of Sri Lanka is a party. Notice here I am only using the treaties the GOSL itself is a party to, including the Genocide Convention. I am not citing any principles of international law that the GOSL has not already recognized and indeed violated grievously with respect to the Tamils living on Sri Lanka: “All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic cooperation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may the people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.”Yet we all know for a fact that the GOSL has done everything humanly possible to deprive the Tamil people of their own means of subsistence to a level that now constitutes genocide, in violation of that provision I quoted before from the Genocide Convention prohibiting inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part. Notice these economic and political rights are related to each other. Both elements of the right to self-determination must protect the Tamils since they have been victims of genocide. We must protect their political rights as well as their economic rights, to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources. The Tamil people, not the GOSL, must control their traditional Homeland in the North and the East of the Island, their farms, their mines, their plantations, their forests, their waters, their beaches etc. This is critical. Yet today we know that the GOSL is currently in the process of stealing, destroying and negating all these economic and political rights of the Tamils in their traditional Homeland in the North and the East of the Island of Sri Lanka. The GOSL is currently inflicting ethnic cleansing on the Tamils living there. I have already established that the Tamil people living on Sri Lanka have a right of self-determination, even in accordance with the GOSL’s own treaties themselves. What are some of the other political consequences of their right of self-determination? These are set forth in what is known as the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (1971). The government of Sri Lanka approved this Declaration in the United Nations General Assembly -- so I am not quoting here any provision of law that the GOSL has not already approved. And from the Declaration let me state what are the political alternatives that are open to the Tamil people, and they are set forth as follows: “[1] The establishment of a sovereign and independent State, [2] the free association or integration with an independent State, or [3] the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute the modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people.”So again, it is not for the GOSL to determine what might be the ultimate political outcome here. It is for the Tamil people living on Sri Lanka to determine which of those three options they desire. I also want to make it clear that it is not for me to tell the Tamils on Sri Lanka which of these three options they should choose. Moreover, it is not for the Tamils of India to tell the Tamils on Sri Lanka which of these three options they should choose. This is for them to decide pursuant to their right of self-determination under international law and practice. However I do want to note that historically the only way a people that has been subjected to genocide like the Tamils on Sri Lanka have been able to protect themselves from further extermination has been the creation of an independent state of their own. Indeed as the world saw for the last several months the government of Sri Lanka wantonly, openly, shamelessly, and gratuitously exterminated over 50,000 Tamils in Vanni; yet not one state in the entire world rose to protect them or defend them or help them as required by Article I of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Hence the need for the Tamils on Sri Lanka to have their own independent state in order to protect themselves from further annihilation by the GOSL. International law and practice establish that an independent state of their own is the only effective remedy as well as the only appropriate reparation for a people who have been the victims of genocide.Now the Indian government has basically argued that if it were to recognize the right of the Tamils on Sri Lanka to self-determination and an independent state of their own, then the 60 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu would also assert that same right and proceed to secede from India. I submit this is a false dichotomy under international law and practice. It must not be used as an excuse for inaction by the government of India when it comes to protecting the Tamils living on Sri Lanka.In this regard, let me return to the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States that was approved by both India and Sri Lanka and sets forth rules of customary international law interpreting the terms of the United Nations Charter itself as determined by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case (1986). In particular let me draw to your attention the following language: “Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as described above and thus possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.”This paragraph of the Declaration sets forth the rules of customary international law when it comes to the right of a people to secede from another state by means of exercising their right of self-determination. As you can see from the above language secession is permitted only when a government does not conduct itself “in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” and thus does not represent “the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.” From its very foundation in 1948 the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka has never conducted itself “in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” with respect to the Tamils. Furthermore, the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka has never represented “the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour” with respect to the Tamils. In fact the government of Ceylon/Sri Lanka has always discriminated against and persecuted the Tamils on grounds of race, creed, colour, and language. This endemic pattern of criminal behavior by the Sinhala has now culminated in wholesale acts of genocide against the Tamils being inflicted by the government of Sri Lanka. So of course the Tamils have the right to secede from Sri Lanka under international law and practice and especially under the terms of this Declaration. Conversely, the government of India does conduct itself “in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” with respect to the Tamils in Tamil Nadu and is thus “possessed of a government representing the whole people belonging to the territory without distinction as to race, creed or colour.” India just had elections where the Tamils in Tamil Nadu participated on a basis of full equality with everyone else. The Tamils in India have full legal equality with all other peoples in India and indeed have their own state here in Tamil Nadu. Therefore in my opinion, the 60 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu do not have a right of secession under international law and practice according to this Declaration, which sets forth the basic rules of customary international law on this subject. Conversely, however, the Tamils living on Sri Lanka do have a right of secession under international law and practice including this Declaration for which both India and Sri Lanka voted. So with all due respect to the position of the Indian government, it is a false dichotomy for it to assert that recognition of the right of self-determination with an independent state of their own for the Tamils living on Sri Lanka would lead to the same for the Tamils in Tamil Nadu. There is no basis in international law for this conclusion. Indeed, basic principles of international law including this Declaration would fully support the territorial integrity of India in the event the government of India were to recognize the right of the Tamils living on the Island of Sri Lanka to self-determination including an independent state of their own.ConclusionBe that as it may, even if out of an excess of caution the government of India is not prepared to go that far at this time, nevertheless at a minimum, since it is the original homeland for the Tamils, the government of India has the right, the obligation, and the standing under international law and practice to act as parens patriae for the Tamils living on Sri Lanka. Therefore, India must immediately sue the GOSL for genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, demand an Emergency Hearing of the Court, and request that the World Court issue a Temporary Restraining Order against the GOSL to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the Tamils living on Sri Lanka. The ghosts of Dachau, Auschwitz, Cambodia, Sabra and Shatilla, Srebrenica, Rwanda, Kosovo, and now Vanni demand no less!
Bob Rae denied entry to Sri Lanka - report
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 June 2009]Sri Lanka Wednesday denied entry to Bob Rae, a prominent Canadian politician outspoken in his criticism of Colombo’s military campaign and then Chair of the Forum of Federations, the constitutional NGO advising the Norwegian peace process during 2002 and 2003. Sri Lanka’s Immigration Commissioner P. B. Abeykoon said “intelligence reports” meant Mr. Rae should not to be admitted and was therefore detained when he arrived at Colombo airport and put on a leaving flight.
Former Ontario Premier Bob Rae
"We got some intelligence reports on this gentleman and the instructions were not to allow him into the country, so he is detained at the airport and he will be deported by the next available flight," Mr. Abeykoon told Reuters.Sri Lanka's intelligence services deemed Mr. Rae's visit "not suitable" and former Ontario premier was forced to leave on another flight, AP said.Mr. Rae said he was stopped on Tuesday night when he reached the immigration counter in the company of two Canadian High Commission officials."The government of Sri Lanka knew my views, and granted me a visa," he said in an emailed statement. "I have flown a very long way only to be told the door is firmly shut."In April, Mr. Rae had called on Canada to be more outspoken in its criticism of Sri Lanka's recent offensive against the Tamil Tigers that left 20,000 Tamil civilians dead.“The world can't just sit back and let this death and destruction happen,” he said in April as Sri Lankan artillery continued to kill and wound hundreds of Tamil civilians every day.“This is a humanitarian disaster and must be met with a concerted response.”Mr. Rae said in April Canada should be working with a group of like-minded countries to press for a complete ceasefire and a return to full-scale negotiations on the constitutional future of the country.According to his office, his recommendations included that the LTTE had to abandon terrorism and that the government of Sri Lanka had to accept the need for a political response to the crisis rather than a simple military one.Mr. Rae has advised and worked on federalism and constitutional matters in Sri Lanka, Sudan and Iraq.
Former Ontario Premier Bob Rae
"We got some intelligence reports on this gentleman and the instructions were not to allow him into the country, so he is detained at the airport and he will be deported by the next available flight," Mr. Abeykoon told Reuters.Sri Lanka's intelligence services deemed Mr. Rae's visit "not suitable" and former Ontario premier was forced to leave on another flight, AP said.Mr. Rae said he was stopped on Tuesday night when he reached the immigration counter in the company of two Canadian High Commission officials."The government of Sri Lanka knew my views, and granted me a visa," he said in an emailed statement. "I have flown a very long way only to be told the door is firmly shut."In April, Mr. Rae had called on Canada to be more outspoken in its criticism of Sri Lanka's recent offensive against the Tamil Tigers that left 20,000 Tamil civilians dead.“The world can't just sit back and let this death and destruction happen,” he said in April as Sri Lankan artillery continued to kill and wound hundreds of Tamil civilians every day.“This is a humanitarian disaster and must be met with a concerted response.”Mr. Rae said in April Canada should be working with a group of like-minded countries to press for a complete ceasefire and a return to full-scale negotiations on the constitutional future of the country.According to his office, his recommendations included that the LTTE had to abandon terrorism and that the government of Sri Lanka had to accept the need for a political response to the crisis rather than a simple military one.Mr. Rae has advised and worked on federalism and constitutional matters in Sri Lanka, Sudan and Iraq.
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