Pizza is one of the widely relished fast food by millions of people world wide. It has everything - from vegetables to meat and can be customized based on the taste of the consumer. The common ingredients are bread base, tomato sauce, cheese, onions, red bell peppers and olives - chicken or Sausage etc.
Well, if I had to relate pizza to federal power sharing systems of some nations across the world:
USA - Pizza with everything except olives.
Switzerland - Pizza that is delicious & complete.
India - Pizza without cheese and olives.
Sri Lanka (13th Amendment) - A Pizza with no bread base, no cheese, no tomato sauce, no onions, no olives, nor chicken; but Just red bell peppers.
United States of America:
The U.S. Constitution establishes a government based on sharing of power between national and state governments. While each of the 50 states have its own constitution, all provisions of state constitutions must comply with the U.S. Constitution. Under this Constitution both the national and state governments are granted certain exclusive powers and share other powers.
Exclusive Powers of the National government include:
* Print money (bills and coins)* Declare and End war* Establish armed forces* Enter into treaties with foreign governments* Regulate commerce between states and international trade* Establish post offices and issue postage stamps* Enact laws necessary to enforce the constitution
Powers reserved for the national and state governments as well as the powers they share are laid out in the U.S. Constitution.
Exclusive Powers of State governments include:
* Establish local governments* Issue licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)* Regulate intrastate (within the state) commerce* Conduct elections* Ratify amendments to the U.S. constitution* Provide for public health and safety* Exercise powers neither delegated to the national government or prohibited from the states by the U.S. constitution (Ex: setting legal drinking and smoking age)
Powers shared by National and State government:
* Setting up courts* Creating and collecting taxes* Building highways* Borrowing money* Enacting and enforcing laws* Chartering banks and corporations* Spending money for the betterment of the general welfare* Taking (condemning) private property with just compensation
Switzerland:
Switzerland is a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-confessional nation shaped by the will of its people. It has been a federal State since 1848. Switzerland has a federal structure of the confederation and the cantons.
Confederation:
The Confederation is the name used in Switzerland for the state. In the Confederation, there are three powers: the executive (the Federal Council), the legislature (the Federal Assembly) and the judiciary (the Federal Supreme Court).
Cantons:
Switzerland is made up of 26 states known as cantons. They are the states that originally united in 1848 to form the Confederation, to which they each relinquished part of their sovereignty. In all the cantons the cantonal governments are elected directly by the people and therefore they hold a strong position in cantonal politics.
Tasks:
The cantonal governments are the highest executive authorities in the cantons. Firstly, they are responsible for the activities of government and are in charge of the cantonal administrations. They are for example responsible for preliminary legislative procedures, and they draw up the financial plan and budget and represent the canton both within the canton itself and at national and international levels.
Important areas of activity in all Cantonal administrations are:
* Finance* Justice* Economics* Education* Social services* Police/Security* Planning and building
India:
India is a federal State with a national government and a government of each constituent state. Although the structure of India is federal in a general way, there are yet certain aspects that are unique to India. The Indian government follows a strong central bias. The states enjoy relative autonomy in India. There is autonomy in the legislative, executive as well as the judicial powers for the states of India. The Union list:
Contains legislations, on which the Union enjoys exclusive control. Of the total 99 subjects that are included in the Union list, some are :* Defense* Banking* Taxes* Coinage* Insurance* Currency* Union Duties* Foreign Affairs
The State list:
There are a total of 69 subjects in this particular list, all of which are exclusive legislative powers of the State. Some of the subjects enlisted in the State list are :* Public order and Police* State Taxes and Duties* Agriculture* Sanitation* Local governments* Forests* Fisheries* Public Health
The Concurrent List:
This list contains 52 items, which are powers vested on the State as well as the Union. Some of the subjects included are:* Economic and Social planning* Criminal law and procedure* Civil procedure* Torts* Trusts* Marriage* Education* Welfare and Labor
Sri Lanka:
Following the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 29, 1987, the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution was introduced in October 1987 providing for an elected provincial council, a provincial board of ministers with a chief minister and a provincial governor.
The governor, though not elected, holds all the power, and the ministers, though elected, virtually have no power. There is in reality no devolution of power to the provinces.
Provincial Governor:
Under the 13th Amendment, the President appoints the provincial governor and can dismiss him/her. The governor holds executive power in the province in relation to those matters, which are within the competence of the provincial council. Since the constitution vests executive power in the president, it follows that the governor is subject to control by the president. The governor can exercise his executive power either directly or through the board of ministers or through the members of the provincial public service. The disciplinary control of officers of the province is vested in the governor. The governor will alsodetermine terms and conditions of their employment. In this circumstance, the board of ministers in effect becomes redundant. The functions of the chief minister and the board of ministers are to aid and advise the governor in the exercise of his functions. The chief minister must communicate all decisions of the board of ministers to the governor. The governor will exercise executive power also in respect of all provincial legislation passed by the provincial council. The governor is empowered to make rules for allocation of business among ministers. The governor can summon the provincial council, including ministers and give instructions.
If the council fails to comply with any instruction, the president can declare that the powers of the council will be exercised by parliament and that the powers of the ministers will be exercised by the president. The governor has the discretion to ignore the advice of the chief minister and board of ministers. Whether any matter requires the advice of the chief minister will be decidedby the governor on the direction of the president and this cannot be called into question in any court.
Finance:
Under the 13th Amendment, a Finance Commission consisting of the Governor of the Central Bank, Secretary to the Treasury and three other members each representing the three major communities (appointed by the president) will recommend the amount to be allocated from the annual budget to meet the needs of the province. The president will decide the amount. The provincial council cannot pass any laws imposing, altering, and abolishing any taxes in the province without the recommendation of the governor. No money can be withdrawn or utilized from the provincial fund (which will include money allocated by the central government, taxes and levies) without the sanction of the governor. The provincial council does not have powers to borrow internally and externally, provide guarantees and indemnities, receive aid directly and engage in or regulate internal and external trade.
Take over of functions:
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution all powers of auditing of accounts in relation to monies received from international sources are vested in the auditor-general appointed by the president.
If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the provincial administration cannot be carried out (for example, if the provincial council does not act in accordance with the recommendation of the governor in the case of taxes), the President can take over the functions of the governor, the chief minister and the ministers and also declare that the powers of the provincial council are vested in the central parliament. This cannot be called intoquestion in any court.
Advice:
Under the 13th Amendment, the chief minister and the board of ministers can advise the governor only in respect of matters on which the provincial council can pass laws. They cannot even advise over other matters such as:
A. Police:
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), who reports directly to the president, will be the head of all provincial police forces. A Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) will head the provincial division of the police force. The DIG will be appointed by the IGP with the concurrence of the chief minister, but if there is no agreement, the President will appoint the DIG after consulting the chief minister. The DIG will be responsible to answer the chief minister and function under his control. But there are no provisions for the exercise of such control other than through the IGP and the president.
Offences against a public officer, prejudicial to national security or maintenance of essential services will not be within the competence of the provincial police force. These offences are under the jurisdiction of the national police division.
B. Land and land settlement:
Although this matter is in the Provincial List under the 13th Amendment, the disposal of land within the province will be under the direct control of the president. State lands will not be vested in the provincial council and therefore it will not be able to distribute land to the people in the province. There is a long- standing complaint of the people in the north-east relating to distribution of state lands to those from outside the north-east and forcible occupation of private lands as a result of government-organized colonization or settlement programs.
Judiciary:
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution, judicial power is exercised by parliament through courts established by law. The President appoints the judges of the Supreme Court. Under the 13th Amendment, a High Court is established for the province. The Chief Justice chooses the High Court judge for a province from among the High Court judges and is appointed by the President.
The three lists:
The 13th Amendment provides three lists: Provincial Council List - The provincial council may make laws applicable to the province in respect of matters in this list. Concurrent List - Both the Sri Lanka Parliament and the provincial council may legislate on matters in this list. Reserved List - Only parliament may make laws in respect of matters in this list.
Despite this, the central parliament will be able to legislate by a simple majority on all subjects on grounds of national policy. This would enable parliament to legislate in respect of any matters in all three lists.
Conclusion:
Based on the above comparison analysis, any one with a fair understanding of what “federalism” represents would conclude that Tamils have literally no control over either the executive or the legislature or the judiciary branch of the proposed Indo-Lankan agreement - 13th Amendments to the Sri Lanka Constitution.
If some countries, organizations or individuals continue to advocate what was offered in the “13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution” was at best, let them first sell this recipe to their respective country and relish the Pizza (of just red bell peppers).
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Ex-UN's Jan Egeland Describes "Horror" In Sri Lanka, Says R2P Has Failed, UN Silent
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- While current UN humanitarian coordinator John Holmes has commended the Sri Lankan government for how they are running the UN-funded camps where they have detained 300,000 Tamil civilians, his predecessor Jan Egeland on Tuesday told the Press that we can "safely assume... horrors" in the treatment of "women in Sri Lanka, Tamils," due to the continuing denial of access not only to humanitarian review but also "witnesses." Video here, from Minute 26:06.
Last week Inner City Press asked for the UN's and Holmes' response to the Sri Lanka government barring even UN workers from bringing cameras into the internment camps. There was no response, nor to the disbanding of the investigation into killings such as that of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers near Kilinochchi.
On June 22 and again on June 24, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about two UN system staffers grabbed up by the government, by plain clothes men in unmarked vehicles. Even though the UN in Colombo belatedly admitted what happened, Ban's spokesperson on June 24 told the Press "we are trying to get information on what happened, got your question yesterday." Video here, from Minute 10:10.
But it happened ten days ago, and was asked about on June 22. To many, it begins to be part of the cover-up.
Egeland was in New York for a UN Colloquium on Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Peace Negotiations. Inner City Press asked for his view of the UN's performance this year in Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka is the latest example of the world community letting a government get away with denying access, to witnesses, humanitarian relief, protection of civilians," Egeland said.
UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- While current UN humanitarian coordinator John Holmes has commended the Sri Lankan government for how they are running the UN-funded camps where they have detained 300,000 Tamil civilians, his predecessor Jan Egeland on Tuesday told the Press that we can "safely assume... horrors" in the treatment of "women in Sri Lanka, Tamils," due to the continuing denial of access not only to humanitarian review but also "witnesses." Video here, from Minute 26:06.
Last week Inner City Press asked for the UN's and Holmes' response to the Sri Lanka government barring even UN workers from bringing cameras into the internment camps. There was no response, nor to the disbanding of the investigation into killings such as that of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers near Kilinochchi.
On June 22 and again on June 24, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about two UN system staffers grabbed up by the government, by plain clothes men in unmarked vehicles. Even though the UN in Colombo belatedly admitted what happened, Ban's spokesperson on June 24 told the Press "we are trying to get information on what happened, got your question yesterday." Video here, from Minute 10:10.
But it happened ten days ago, and was asked about on June 22. To many, it begins to be part of the cover-up.
Egeland was in New York for a UN Colloquium on Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Peace Negotiations. Inner City Press asked for his view of the UN's performance this year in Sri Lanka. "Sri Lanka is the latest example of the world community letting a government get away with denying access, to witnesses, humanitarian relief, protection of civilians," Egeland said.
At but no longer of the UN, Jan Egeland says R2P failed in Sri Lanka
He said that the Responsibility to Protest, enacted by the UN in 2005, was "not upheld in Sri Lanka, the heads of state have failed." He predicted that conflict will brew because injustice is occurring. He added, that he was not saying this as a UN official, that he is now with the Norwegian Institute on International Affairs.
In the run up to the Colloquium, two current UN officials came to speak to the Press. Sri Lanka was raised by Inner City Press, and the UN Development Program briefer answered and then said, "that is all off the record."
Why can't the UN speak on the record about Sri Lanka, as staff are disappeared and civilians killed and locked up?
Why is it only an ex-UN official who can admit that on Sri Lanka, the UN emperor has no clothes? Watch this site.
Sri Lankan Government Used Plainclothes Men in Unmarked Cars to Grab UN Staff
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- While the UN in New York still refuses to confirm that Sri Lanka has detained two Tamil staff members, the acting Country Coordinator, UNHCR's Amim Awar, has told local staff that the two men were picked up on June 11 and 12 "by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle."
Many who disappear that way, particularly in the notorious white vans, are subsequently killed. That such tactics have been deployed by the government onto UN staff who are, at least elsewhere, immune signifies the degree of the UN's debasement in Sri Lanka.
Amin Awar's message to staff, obtained by Inner City Press and published below and attached, says that 12 days after the detentions, the UN has
"not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. ... We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent."
Ironically, when UN peacekeepers commit rape or sexual abuse, for example in the Congo, they are not allowed to be arrested by the national authorities. In the US, if the government wants to arrest or even question a UN staff member, the Secretary General has to waive immunity. Not in Sri Lanka, apparently.
On June 22, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas
Inner City Press:it emerged over the weekend that two more UN staff members had been detained by the Government of Sri Lanka. Reportedly, a driver for UNOPS and a driver for UNHCR. Is OCHA aware of that? And what’s being done to find out why they were detained?
Spokesperson Montas: Okay. I’ll try to find out more on that. Very soon.
More more than 30 hours later, no information has been provided by the UN in New York.
UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- While the UN in New York still refuses to confirm that Sri Lanka has detained two Tamil staff members, the acting Country Coordinator, UNHCR's Amim Awar, has told local staff that the two men were picked up on June 11 and 12 "by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle."
Many who disappear that way, particularly in the notorious white vans, are subsequently killed. That such tactics have been deployed by the government onto UN staff who are, at least elsewhere, immune signifies the degree of the UN's debasement in Sri Lanka.
Amin Awar's message to staff, obtained by Inner City Press and published below and attached, says that 12 days after the detentions, the UN has
"not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. ... We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent."
Ironically, when UN peacekeepers commit rape or sexual abuse, for example in the Congo, they are not allowed to be arrested by the national authorities. In the US, if the government wants to arrest or even question a UN staff member, the Secretary General has to waive immunity. Not in Sri Lanka, apparently.
On June 22, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas
Inner City Press:it emerged over the weekend that two more UN staff members had been detained by the Government of Sri Lanka. Reportedly, a driver for UNOPS and a driver for UNHCR. Is OCHA aware of that? And what’s being done to find out why they were detained?
Spokesperson Montas: Okay. I’ll try to find out more on that. Very soon.
More more than 30 hours later, no information has been provided by the UN in New York.
The June 23 noon briefing was canceled, to encourage reporters to go cover a Ban Ki-moon press conference outside of the UN at which questions were limited to climate change.
In the Spokesperson's Office, the previous practice of letting the Press view the Office's compilation for Ban Ki-moon of world news headlines has abruptly been discontinued. The explanation is that now Ban wants analysis along with the headlines and summaries, and it would be inappropriate for the Press to see this "format."
But the UN's internal News Monitoring Unit compiles articles about the Secretary General and allows a search by Positive, Neutral and Negative coverage. Strangely, despite the Economist review and Foreign Policy, on June 22 in the UN data base there were no negative reviews listed or included. Hear no evil, see no evil. We will have more on this.
Inner City Press' June 18 debate on Sri Lanka, click here
Message from Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
Arrest of UN staff members
Dear colleagues,
You may be aware that two UN staff members went missing in Vavuniya on 11 and 12 of June. You may have heard the news from colleagues, or have seen reports in the media.
From the facts as we understand them today, the two staff members in question were taken away by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle. One UNHCR staff member was taken from his home, and the UNOPS staff member was taken the following day from a service station, where he had stopped to refuel his vehicle. The UN was not informed by the authorities, and it was only after conducting inquiries that we were able to learn informally that the staff members had in fact been taken by the Sri Lankan security services. To date, we have not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. Under Sri Lankan Law, Emergency Regulation 20 (9) when a person is taken into custody, a receipt should be issued to family members or accompanying person acknowledging the arrest / detention.
We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent.
We are in constant contact with the government over our concerns, and have issued official communiqués to the government detailing them. We are keeping our respective headquarters closely informed, as well as Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. When UN staff members are detained it is standard practice for the UN to have direct contact with such persons. We will attempt to keep you informed in a timely manner through these bulletins of these matters.
Best regards
Amin Awad
Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian CoordinatorUN's Ban between cameras of Sri Lanka staff, detentions not yet shown
In the Spokesperson's Office, the previous practice of letting the Press view the Office's compilation for Ban Ki-moon of world news headlines has abruptly been discontinued. The explanation is that now Ban wants analysis along with the headlines and summaries, and it would be inappropriate for the Press to see this "format."
But the UN's internal News Monitoring Unit compiles articles about the Secretary General and allows a search by Positive, Neutral and Negative coverage. Strangely, despite the Economist review and Foreign Policy, on June 22 in the UN data base there were no negative reviews listed or included. Hear no evil, see no evil. We will have more on this.
Inner City Press' June 18 debate on Sri Lanka, click here
Message from Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
Arrest of UN staff members
Dear colleagues,
You may be aware that two UN staff members went missing in Vavuniya on 11 and 12 of June. You may have heard the news from colleagues, or have seen reports in the media.
From the facts as we understand them today, the two staff members in question were taken away by plain clothes men, who did not identify themselves, and who were driving an unmarked vehicle. One UNHCR staff member was taken from his home, and the UNOPS staff member was taken the following day from a service station, where he had stopped to refuel his vehicle. The UN was not informed by the authorities, and it was only after conducting inquiries that we were able to learn informally that the staff members had in fact been taken by the Sri Lankan security services. To date, we have not been officially informed of the detention, the reasons for this detention, the allegations, if any, of charges that might have been laid against the staff members, or the location of their detention. We understand that their families have not been officially informed. Under Sri Lankan Law, Emergency Regulation 20 (9) when a person is taken into custody, a receipt should be issued to family members or accompanying person acknowledging the arrest / detention.
We have sought legal advice as to whether the manner in which these men were taken followed due process. The UN acknowledges without reservation the right of the security services of Sri Lanka to investigate any allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including by UN staff members, and will cooperate fully to support due process. However it is our position that any investigation must comply with Sri Lankan national law and be transparent.
We are in constant contact with the government over our concerns, and have issued official communiqués to the government detailing them. We are keeping our respective headquarters closely informed, as well as Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. When UN staff members are detained it is standard practice for the UN to have direct contact with such persons. We will attempt to keep you informed in a timely manner through these bulletins of these matters.
Best regards
Amin Awad
Acting Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian CoordinatorUN's Ban between cameras of Sri Lanka staff, detentions not yet shown
Sri Lankan Tamil detainees give eye-witness accounts
It is now more than one month since the Sri Lankan military detained the final batch of Tamil refugees fleeing the northern war zone on May 19. They joined more than a quarter of a million civilians already incarcerated in camps set up near Vavuniya and on the Jaffna Peninsula during the last phase of the war. About 160,000 people are interned in four units in the biggest camp, known as Manik Farm.
In order to brush off criticism of the denial of democratic rights and terrible conditions in the camps, the government falsely claimed that most detainees would be resettled within six months. However, senior military officials have told Mark Cutts, a UN senior coordinator at Manik Farm, that they expect 80 percent of the people to be still detained in a year’s time. Cutts told the BBC that the government was building permanent structures at Manik Farm. Nothing less than a new city had been created, he said, with phone lines, schools, banks and even a cash machine.
The government is treating all the detainees as suspected supporters of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), saying that no-one can be released until the camps have been screened to identify those with LTTE connections. Every day 20 to 30 young people are taken away and their whereabouts are unknown, a human rights organisation, INFORM, reported this week. Interviewed by the BBC Sinhala Service, a spokesperson for the organisation said people wearing hoods were brought into the camps and they indicated by signs whether a detainee had LTTE connections or not.
No register is being kept of such removals, in violation of Sri Lankan and international law, and the media has been excluded from the camps to prevent any reporting of the conditions in the camps or the fate of the nearly 9,000 youth that the government has admitted taking away to separate detention facilities. Their parents do not know what has happened to them.
A report in the right-wing Island newspaper on June 16 provided a glimpse of how the military and police authorities are applying pressure to the Tamil youth to declare support for the government. According to the article, a deputy inspector general of police Nimal Lewke addressed over 2,000 detainees at the Neriyakulam Technical College and told them that President Mahinda Rajapakse was “their only hope”. Lewke told the Island that about 8,729 youth were being held in several detention centres at Vavuniya as LTTE cadres, including about 1,700 young women, and that 283,000 displaced people were in camps at Vavuniya, with 11,000 more on the Jaffna Peninsula.
Because of the government’s exclusion of the media, the only source of information is the testimonies of detainees relayed by relatives. We publish below two interviews given by relatives who visited two Manik Farm camps, in which they report the conditions there, as well as detainees’ accounts of the military’s shelling of civilians in the final stages of the war.
* * *
On the day I visited the camp, Education Minister Susil Premjayantha and Resettlement Minister Rishad Bathiuddeen were meeting with some NGOs [non-government organisations] in the camp. So we had to wait until they left. Police officers were controlling the people, wielding batons.
Speaking about the last days of the war, my relative told me: “The military fired more than a thousand shells an hour. The shells fell on people because there was a smaller chance of falling on the land--people were so crowded into a tiny area. About 1,400 people killed on the day when I was injured. I saw this in the hospital. I do not know how many died on the spot. I was admitted to Mullivaikkal hospital. After few days, they took me by ship to (eastern) Pulmoddai hospital. Again I was transferred to Polonnaruwa hospital. Later they brought me to Vavuniya and finally here. They photographed me each time when they transferred me.
“We are like prisoners here. Why don’t they allow us to go out? The toilets are overflowing. There is a lack of water to use toilets and for other needs. There are some tube wells for drinking water. For that we have to wait in a long queue. We have to bathe in a river running behind the camp. However if we bathe in that river continuously, some skin diseases will spread among us. A doctor visits the camp only once a week. Sometimes essential medicines are not available. We have to obtain a token two days in advance to consult the doctor for any severe illness.
“We are living with fear. We do not know what will happen at anytime. The foreign representatives who visit here do not know the real situation. We are not allowed to speak with them. When the UN secretary general [Ban Ki-moon] visited, the authorities took half the detainees out of Kadirgamar camp and cleaned it up. They showed him each family with a tent. They took him only to that camp.”
An elderly person who was leaving the camp with a relative who was released after nearly a month of requests, said: “I think we were the first people who crossed into the military-controlled area after the government announced that we could do so. But the treatment that the young and middle-aged people got and the words used against us made me think that I should have died starving rather than come here.
“Now of course they have put up tin sheets and thatched roofs. When we came here it was almost like a jungle. Numbers of families had to live in one hut. Because it is hot, people can sleep anywhere but the problems start if it begins to rain. If it rains, you can’t even walk because of the muddy land.
“Since we came here many of the parents with children have never slept at night for fear that their children would be taken away. There were numbers of such incidents. We had no lights, so nobody knew what was going on.”
A 60-year-old person who visited a camp to see his children said: “I went from one camp to another searching for the family of my daughter who was in Kilinochchi. Yesterday I went to a camp at Periyakattu in Vavuniya, which opened soon after the government announced its war victory. But visitors are not allowed there. The military considers those interns to be strong supporters or associates of the LTTE because they were there in the war zone until the last minute.”
* * *
I went to a camp recently to see some of my relatives detained there. We wrote down the name of the detainee we wanted to visit, his block and tent number and handed it over to the officers, who seemed to be intelligence officers or members of paramilitary groups working with the military.
They announced our visit by loud speakers. We were not sure whether the message had gotten to the particular relative. However, we stayed in the queue for checking. Officers checked all our bags and parcels, and our bodies. No shopping bags, betel and areca nut, big bags, boxes or hand phones were allowed.
We had to talk with our relatives through the barbed wire fence. We were allowed just 15 minutes. There were about 60 or 70 visitors talking to their relatives behind the fence, so it was difficult to hear or respond to each other.
My relative, 19, described his experience under the military’s shelling attacks in Mullivaikkal: “There were pieces of shells in the backbone of my mother. We think the shells were fired by the army. Medical staff would only give medicine without removing the shrapnel, because they said she would become paralysed or unconscious if the pieces were removed. After my mother was injured, I carried her and moved secretly during an entire night, without the knowledge of the LTTE, to reach the military-controlled area.
“My brother, who is 13, must study in grade 7 and I in the advanced level. But we have not been able to go to school for more than six months. The officials said they would arrange for us to study in the advanced level.
“They cook meals here for us. This morning it was porridge. For lunch, they gave us rice with soya meat, pumpkin, dhal and dried fish. We may have porridge tonight also. People who were able to find pans were cooking, but when a temporary tent burned down [due to a cooking fire], we were asked to stop cooking.
“We are facing a huge lack of water and there are lots of flies here. They gave us a floor sheet to put inside the tent, but the flies live on those sheets.” As we talked, flies flocked around our faces.
Another relative I wanted to meet did not turn up although I lined up in the queue three times. He may not have received the message about my visit. On my third attempt, I met another detainee I know and managed to send things for my relative through him. That detainee, a government employee told me:
“We are unable to get a good meal. The meals are not tasty—they are just to prevent hunger. I do my job here and they pay me. How many days do we have to suffer this camp life? There is no water here. Smallpox and mumps are spreading.”
In order to brush off criticism of the denial of democratic rights and terrible conditions in the camps, the government falsely claimed that most detainees would be resettled within six months. However, senior military officials have told Mark Cutts, a UN senior coordinator at Manik Farm, that they expect 80 percent of the people to be still detained in a year’s time. Cutts told the BBC that the government was building permanent structures at Manik Farm. Nothing less than a new city had been created, he said, with phone lines, schools, banks and even a cash machine.
The government is treating all the detainees as suspected supporters of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), saying that no-one can be released until the camps have been screened to identify those with LTTE connections. Every day 20 to 30 young people are taken away and their whereabouts are unknown, a human rights organisation, INFORM, reported this week. Interviewed by the BBC Sinhala Service, a spokesperson for the organisation said people wearing hoods were brought into the camps and they indicated by signs whether a detainee had LTTE connections or not.
No register is being kept of such removals, in violation of Sri Lankan and international law, and the media has been excluded from the camps to prevent any reporting of the conditions in the camps or the fate of the nearly 9,000 youth that the government has admitted taking away to separate detention facilities. Their parents do not know what has happened to them.
A report in the right-wing Island newspaper on June 16 provided a glimpse of how the military and police authorities are applying pressure to the Tamil youth to declare support for the government. According to the article, a deputy inspector general of police Nimal Lewke addressed over 2,000 detainees at the Neriyakulam Technical College and told them that President Mahinda Rajapakse was “their only hope”. Lewke told the Island that about 8,729 youth were being held in several detention centres at Vavuniya as LTTE cadres, including about 1,700 young women, and that 283,000 displaced people were in camps at Vavuniya, with 11,000 more on the Jaffna Peninsula.
Because of the government’s exclusion of the media, the only source of information is the testimonies of detainees relayed by relatives. We publish below two interviews given by relatives who visited two Manik Farm camps, in which they report the conditions there, as well as detainees’ accounts of the military’s shelling of civilians in the final stages of the war.
* * *
On the day I visited the camp, Education Minister Susil Premjayantha and Resettlement Minister Rishad Bathiuddeen were meeting with some NGOs [non-government organisations] in the camp. So we had to wait until they left. Police officers were controlling the people, wielding batons.
Speaking about the last days of the war, my relative told me: “The military fired more than a thousand shells an hour. The shells fell on people because there was a smaller chance of falling on the land--people were so crowded into a tiny area. About 1,400 people killed on the day when I was injured. I saw this in the hospital. I do not know how many died on the spot. I was admitted to Mullivaikkal hospital. After few days, they took me by ship to (eastern) Pulmoddai hospital. Again I was transferred to Polonnaruwa hospital. Later they brought me to Vavuniya and finally here. They photographed me each time when they transferred me.
“We are like prisoners here. Why don’t they allow us to go out? The toilets are overflowing. There is a lack of water to use toilets and for other needs. There are some tube wells for drinking water. For that we have to wait in a long queue. We have to bathe in a river running behind the camp. However if we bathe in that river continuously, some skin diseases will spread among us. A doctor visits the camp only once a week. Sometimes essential medicines are not available. We have to obtain a token two days in advance to consult the doctor for any severe illness.
“We are living with fear. We do not know what will happen at anytime. The foreign representatives who visit here do not know the real situation. We are not allowed to speak with them. When the UN secretary general [Ban Ki-moon] visited, the authorities took half the detainees out of Kadirgamar camp and cleaned it up. They showed him each family with a tent. They took him only to that camp.”
An elderly person who was leaving the camp with a relative who was released after nearly a month of requests, said: “I think we were the first people who crossed into the military-controlled area after the government announced that we could do so. But the treatment that the young and middle-aged people got and the words used against us made me think that I should have died starving rather than come here.
“Now of course they have put up tin sheets and thatched roofs. When we came here it was almost like a jungle. Numbers of families had to live in one hut. Because it is hot, people can sleep anywhere but the problems start if it begins to rain. If it rains, you can’t even walk because of the muddy land.
“Since we came here many of the parents with children have never slept at night for fear that their children would be taken away. There were numbers of such incidents. We had no lights, so nobody knew what was going on.”
A 60-year-old person who visited a camp to see his children said: “I went from one camp to another searching for the family of my daughter who was in Kilinochchi. Yesterday I went to a camp at Periyakattu in Vavuniya, which opened soon after the government announced its war victory. But visitors are not allowed there. The military considers those interns to be strong supporters or associates of the LTTE because they were there in the war zone until the last minute.”
* * *
I went to a camp recently to see some of my relatives detained there. We wrote down the name of the detainee we wanted to visit, his block and tent number and handed it over to the officers, who seemed to be intelligence officers or members of paramilitary groups working with the military.
They announced our visit by loud speakers. We were not sure whether the message had gotten to the particular relative. However, we stayed in the queue for checking. Officers checked all our bags and parcels, and our bodies. No shopping bags, betel and areca nut, big bags, boxes or hand phones were allowed.
We had to talk with our relatives through the barbed wire fence. We were allowed just 15 minutes. There were about 60 or 70 visitors talking to their relatives behind the fence, so it was difficult to hear or respond to each other.
My relative, 19, described his experience under the military’s shelling attacks in Mullivaikkal: “There were pieces of shells in the backbone of my mother. We think the shells were fired by the army. Medical staff would only give medicine without removing the shrapnel, because they said she would become paralysed or unconscious if the pieces were removed. After my mother was injured, I carried her and moved secretly during an entire night, without the knowledge of the LTTE, to reach the military-controlled area.
“My brother, who is 13, must study in grade 7 and I in the advanced level. But we have not been able to go to school for more than six months. The officials said they would arrange for us to study in the advanced level.
“They cook meals here for us. This morning it was porridge. For lunch, they gave us rice with soya meat, pumpkin, dhal and dried fish. We may have porridge tonight also. People who were able to find pans were cooking, but when a temporary tent burned down [due to a cooking fire], we were asked to stop cooking.
“We are facing a huge lack of water and there are lots of flies here. They gave us a floor sheet to put inside the tent, but the flies live on those sheets.” As we talked, flies flocked around our faces.
Another relative I wanted to meet did not turn up although I lined up in the queue three times. He may not have received the message about my visit. On my third attempt, I met another detainee I know and managed to send things for my relative through him. That detainee, a government employee told me:
“We are unable to get a good meal. The meals are not tasty—they are just to prevent hunger. I do my job here and they pay me. How many days do we have to suffer this camp life? There is no water here. Smallpox and mumps are spreading.”
US to "carefully assess" Sri Lanka IMF loan: official
June 24, 2009 (LBO) - The United States is not blocking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Sri Lanka but the US Treasury and State Department "will carefully assess" the program, an official has said.
"We are not threatening to block the loan and we will carefully assess any program in light of the conditions in Sri Lanka at the time," state department director public diplomacy in South and Central Asia said in a live webchat Tuesday.
"The Department of Treasury is in the lead for the U.S. Government on IMF issues and we will coordinate closely with them as the Sri Lankan Government-IMF negotiations proceed."
Sri Lankan authorities have insisted that negotiations with the IMF are complete and a staff-level deal has been reached for a 'stand-by arrangement' of at least 1.9 billion US dollars.
The latest US comments imply that negotiations are ongoing.
In late March Sri Lanka also floated the rupee, a prior action to break a peg with the US dollar to allow the island's central bank to regain control of its monetary system and stop foreign reserve losses.
A float is usually a sign that an agreement has been reached.
IMF spokesperson Caroline Atkinson said on June 19 that "whenever there is final agreement, then a program would go to the Executive Board." In May she said a deal would be presented to the IMF board "within weeks".
The US Treasury's international monetary affairs unit advises the US executive director to the IMF. The US has the largest vote share at the executive board level, though not a majority.
John Lipsky, IMF's powerful first deputy managing director, is also from the US.
Gregg said: "As we said in late May, we�re taking a fresh look at the Stand-by Arrangement, and believe the end of the conflict presents a new opportunity to seek reconciliation and build a tolerant and democratic Sri Lanka."
The US has expressed concern at the treatment of civilians in the last stages of a war against Tamil Tigers.
Gregg said the US still considered Tamil Tigers a terrorist organization and did not recognize a government in exile proposed by separatist elements outside Sri Lanka.
Since the float of the Sri Lanka rupee, the urgency for the loan has passed and the Central Bank has been a net buyer in forex markets.
Sri Lanka has also repaid a 125 million US dollar commercial loan, and hedge funds have bought 190 million US dollars in rupee denominated securities, the Central Bank has said.
The rupee is now pegged at 114.95 and the central bank is selling down its stock of domestic assets (government debt securities) in a text book IMF-style program to slowly build up foreign reserves.
"We are not threatening to block the loan and we will carefully assess any program in light of the conditions in Sri Lanka at the time," state department director public diplomacy in South and Central Asia said in a live webchat Tuesday.
"The Department of Treasury is in the lead for the U.S. Government on IMF issues and we will coordinate closely with them as the Sri Lankan Government-IMF negotiations proceed."
Sri Lankan authorities have insisted that negotiations with the IMF are complete and a staff-level deal has been reached for a 'stand-by arrangement' of at least 1.9 billion US dollars.
The latest US comments imply that negotiations are ongoing.
In late March Sri Lanka also floated the rupee, a prior action to break a peg with the US dollar to allow the island's central bank to regain control of its monetary system and stop foreign reserve losses.
A float is usually a sign that an agreement has been reached.
IMF spokesperson Caroline Atkinson said on June 19 that "whenever there is final agreement, then a program would go to the Executive Board." In May she said a deal would be presented to the IMF board "within weeks".
The US Treasury's international monetary affairs unit advises the US executive director to the IMF. The US has the largest vote share at the executive board level, though not a majority.
John Lipsky, IMF's powerful first deputy managing director, is also from the US.
Gregg said: "As we said in late May, we�re taking a fresh look at the Stand-by Arrangement, and believe the end of the conflict presents a new opportunity to seek reconciliation and build a tolerant and democratic Sri Lanka."
The US has expressed concern at the treatment of civilians in the last stages of a war against Tamil Tigers.
Gregg said the US still considered Tamil Tigers a terrorist organization and did not recognize a government in exile proposed by separatist elements outside Sri Lanka.
Since the float of the Sri Lanka rupee, the urgency for the loan has passed and the Central Bank has been a net buyer in forex markets.
Sri Lanka has also repaid a 125 million US dollar commercial loan, and hedge funds have bought 190 million US dollars in rupee denominated securities, the Central Bank has said.
The rupee is now pegged at 114.95 and the central bank is selling down its stock of domestic assets (government debt securities) in a text book IMF-style program to slowly build up foreign reserves.
Sri Lanka: The Elimination Of Torture
Wednesday, 24 June 2009, 1:43 pmPress Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
Sri Lanka: Elimination Of Torture Is A Precondition For Developing Civilised Policing System
From 1971 until the defeat of the LTTE there has been a continuous period of violence where both rebel groups and the state engaged in an attempt to outdo each other in brutality. One of the consequences of this period was the virtual destruction of the system of civilian policing. Now, with the end of this period the nation is faced with the serious problem of recreating a system of civilian policing which could serve the needs of the community.
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The most difficult question to deal with in creating a civilian police which will meet the criterion of civilised policing is how to eliminate the endemic practice of torture that has become a part of routine policing in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this statement is not to illustrate the problem of torture as it has, in fact, been adequately exposed by the enormous amounts of written records now available. Added to the reports based on complaints of persons published by human rights organisations, there is also a body of information available by petitions to and judgements of the Supreme Court. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also has adequate information on this matter.
The question that needs to be resolved in the days to come is how to stop the police from practicing torture. Mere legislative measures cannot achieve this. Already the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment or Punishment Act, (The CAT Act) Act No 22 of 1994 exists and the prescribed punishment is rigorous imprisonment for not less than seven years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/=. To-date in four cases successfully prosecuted under this act five officers have been sentenced to seven year terms; they are IP Karthi Bandara Edrisinghe of the Kirulapana Police Station, M.J. Thilakaratne the OIC of the Wellawatta Police Station, IP Selvin Selah and Constable Warnakusuriya of the Narahenpitiya Police Station and Sergeant Major N. Wimal Chandrasiri of the Panadura Police Station. However, these random convictions have not made any impact on the endemic practice of torture at police stations.
The problem is one of consistent enforcement of the CAT Act, police discipline under the Departmental Orders and unambiguous instructions from the commanding officers. However, for this to happen there are a few other obstacles to overcome.
The most frequent cause of torture is the abuse of power by the police in order to make money by abusing the powers of arrest and detention. The actual use of torture and the potential for the use of torture, as perceived by the people, has created a lucrative business. The beneficiaries are not just those who actually use torture but those who directly or indirectly instigate torture, beginning with the officers of the rank of inspector up to the hierarchy. Among the most direct culprits are the Officers-in-Charge of police stations and their immediate local superiors, such as ASPs and SPs. The Inspector General of Police and his deputies are responsible for the practice of the abuse of police powers and the use of these powers for corrupt money making due to their failures to exercise command responsibility.
However, the higher command of the police uses the excuse that the police system is politicised, meaning that powerful politicians of the ruling regime, both at the national and local levels are virtually giving the orders, ignoring the role of the top ranking officers. This excuse also implies that the higher officers have no capacity to resist such practices as those who are more powerful than they are involved. This excuse is now made even more plausible due to the failure to continue with the National Police Commission in compliance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
Throughout the country outrage is expressed in all parts by citizens who find that the police do not investigate their complaints. In a recent incident from Alpitiya, Divithurugama two young village girls were abducted and molested by some persons. The family and the villagers went to make a report and they were told by the officers of the local police station to catch the culprits and bring them to the police station. In an interview aired in a TV broadcast the villagers simply asked, what are the police for? That is the question that is being asked throughout the country over and over again.
The allegation that criminals are protected and the victims of crime are being punished is a common one. In the case of the journalist, Poddala Jayantha, who was severely injured after an abduction followed by assault, the police filed a report against the journalists who informed them of the incident. Though this incident received public attention there are literally thousands of cases around the country where innocent people are made the accused in cases and the actual criminals are not pursued at all.
Besides, the actual criminals are quite at liberty to kill or otherwise harm witnesses. The killings of Gerard Perera and Sugath Nishanta Fernando are just two incidents which represent many more incidents which are normally not brought to the notice of the public. However, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the human rights organisations constantly receive complaints about such incidents.
While this refers to normal civilian matters, allegations of torture associated with the military and anti terrorism organisations are not investigated at all. There is almost an openly admitted policy that on matters of security, torture or even extrajudicial killings are permitted. Perhaps for a considerable time to come that policy line will remain unaltered.
However, there are very crucial problems about the very survival of the rule of law while the policing system frequently uses torture for the purpose of illegal gain by utilising the powers of arrest and detention. For the citizen this creates a nightmare and for an individual or a family, whatever the social status of this family might be it creates an unacceptable situation from which there is no escape. The possibility of becoming a victim of abuse of power by the police is today a very real threat.
Effective implementation of law for the eradication for the practice of torture by the police is now a basic political question. If the government wants to stop torture it could do so within a very short period of time by giving clear instructions to the top ranks of the police to enforce the CAT Act and police discipline strictly. The continuance of torture is therefore a result of a political policy that allows bad policing. It is up to the government as well as the opposition political parties to judge whether the present policy of keeping a bad policing system is to the advantage of the nation. If the answer is negative then the solution to ending a bad policing system is quite readily available and this is to enforce the CAT Act and the Departmental Orders of the police with simple education of the police hierarchy and the rank and file.
Sri Lanka: Elimination Of Torture Is A Precondition For Developing Civilised Policing System
From 1971 until the defeat of the LTTE there has been a continuous period of violence where both rebel groups and the state engaged in an attempt to outdo each other in brutality. One of the consequences of this period was the virtual destruction of the system of civilian policing. Now, with the end of this period the nation is faced with the serious problem of recreating a system of civilian policing which could serve the needs of the community.
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The World's Healthiest Wines
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The most difficult question to deal with in creating a civilian police which will meet the criterion of civilised policing is how to eliminate the endemic practice of torture that has become a part of routine policing in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this statement is not to illustrate the problem of torture as it has, in fact, been adequately exposed by the enormous amounts of written records now available. Added to the reports based on complaints of persons published by human rights organisations, there is also a body of information available by petitions to and judgements of the Supreme Court. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also has adequate information on this matter.
The question that needs to be resolved in the days to come is how to stop the police from practicing torture. Mere legislative measures cannot achieve this. Already the Convention against Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment or Punishment Act, (The CAT Act) Act No 22 of 1994 exists and the prescribed punishment is rigorous imprisonment for not less than seven years and a fine of Rs. 10,000/=. To-date in four cases successfully prosecuted under this act five officers have been sentenced to seven year terms; they are IP Karthi Bandara Edrisinghe of the Kirulapana Police Station, M.J. Thilakaratne the OIC of the Wellawatta Police Station, IP Selvin Selah and Constable Warnakusuriya of the Narahenpitiya Police Station and Sergeant Major N. Wimal Chandrasiri of the Panadura Police Station. However, these random convictions have not made any impact on the endemic practice of torture at police stations.
The problem is one of consistent enforcement of the CAT Act, police discipline under the Departmental Orders and unambiguous instructions from the commanding officers. However, for this to happen there are a few other obstacles to overcome.
The most frequent cause of torture is the abuse of power by the police in order to make money by abusing the powers of arrest and detention. The actual use of torture and the potential for the use of torture, as perceived by the people, has created a lucrative business. The beneficiaries are not just those who actually use torture but those who directly or indirectly instigate torture, beginning with the officers of the rank of inspector up to the hierarchy. Among the most direct culprits are the Officers-in-Charge of police stations and their immediate local superiors, such as ASPs and SPs. The Inspector General of Police and his deputies are responsible for the practice of the abuse of police powers and the use of these powers for corrupt money making due to their failures to exercise command responsibility.
However, the higher command of the police uses the excuse that the police system is politicised, meaning that powerful politicians of the ruling regime, both at the national and local levels are virtually giving the orders, ignoring the role of the top ranking officers. This excuse also implies that the higher officers have no capacity to resist such practices as those who are more powerful than they are involved. This excuse is now made even more plausible due to the failure to continue with the National Police Commission in compliance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.
Throughout the country outrage is expressed in all parts by citizens who find that the police do not investigate their complaints. In a recent incident from Alpitiya, Divithurugama two young village girls were abducted and molested by some persons. The family and the villagers went to make a report and they were told by the officers of the local police station to catch the culprits and bring them to the police station. In an interview aired in a TV broadcast the villagers simply asked, what are the police for? That is the question that is being asked throughout the country over and over again.
The allegation that criminals are protected and the victims of crime are being punished is a common one. In the case of the journalist, Poddala Jayantha, who was severely injured after an abduction followed by assault, the police filed a report against the journalists who informed them of the incident. Though this incident received public attention there are literally thousands of cases around the country where innocent people are made the accused in cases and the actual criminals are not pursued at all.
Besides, the actual criminals are quite at liberty to kill or otherwise harm witnesses. The killings of Gerard Perera and Sugath Nishanta Fernando are just two incidents which represent many more incidents which are normally not brought to the notice of the public. However, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the human rights organisations constantly receive complaints about such incidents.
While this refers to normal civilian matters, allegations of torture associated with the military and anti terrorism organisations are not investigated at all. There is almost an openly admitted policy that on matters of security, torture or even extrajudicial killings are permitted. Perhaps for a considerable time to come that policy line will remain unaltered.
However, there are very crucial problems about the very survival of the rule of law while the policing system frequently uses torture for the purpose of illegal gain by utilising the powers of arrest and detention. For the citizen this creates a nightmare and for an individual or a family, whatever the social status of this family might be it creates an unacceptable situation from which there is no escape. The possibility of becoming a victim of abuse of power by the police is today a very real threat.
Effective implementation of law for the eradication for the practice of torture by the police is now a basic political question. If the government wants to stop torture it could do so within a very short period of time by giving clear instructions to the top ranks of the police to enforce the CAT Act and police discipline strictly. The continuance of torture is therefore a result of a political policy that allows bad policing. It is up to the government as well as the opposition political parties to judge whether the present policy of keeping a bad policing system is to the advantage of the nation. If the answer is negative then the solution to ending a bad policing system is quite readily available and this is to enforce the CAT Act and the Departmental Orders of the police with simple education of the police hierarchy and the rank and file.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
UN Security Council urged to turn talk into action to protect civilians in armed conflict
Security Council should turn its talk into an effective response to civilian suffering, says Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director of Human Rights Watch at New York, on Monday.
"It's not enough for the Security Council to say something should be done about the appalling damage wars cause to civilians across the world. The council needs to do something about it."
The United Nations Security Council should make sure that its existing commitments to protect civilians during armed conflict are actually carried out, Human Rights Watch said Monday in a letter to council member states.
On June 26, 2009, the Security Council will hold a debate to discuss its work on civilian protection, in which all UN members can participate. The Security Council has made numerous commitments to protect civilians in armed conflict, especially women and children, but often has failed to follow through and engage effectively, or sometimes at all, Human Rights Watch said. As a result, its efforts to end civilian suffering during armed conflict have been grossly inadequate.
"It's not enough for the Security Council to say something should be done about the appalling damage wars cause to civilians across the world," said Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The council needs to do something about it."
In its letter, Human Rights Watch identified the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Chad, and Sri Lanka as examples of nations in which the Security Council has failed to take meaningful action to address and prevent civilian suffering during armed conflict. Persistent problems needing attention in those countries include: sexual violence, lack of justice and accountability for abuses, continuing violence toward internally displaced people and refugees, and violations of international humanitarian law.
The Security Council's ability to develop coherent strategies to protect civilians often suffers from a lack of information, Human Rights Watch said. To resolve the problem, the council should: ensure that the reporting requirements contained in Security Council Resolution 1820 on sexual violence and armed conflict (2008) are honored by UN field missions; require that human rights reporting by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN agencies is made public; and regularly invite the High Commissioner for Human Rights to brief the council with information from the ground.
Political considerations have also been a problem, leading council members to ignore civilian protection at times instead of making them a priority, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Security Council has set up this debate about the issue," Crawshaw said. "Now it should take the next step and make it a priority to remedy existing gaps in civilian protection."
"It's not enough for the Security Council to say something should be done about the appalling damage wars cause to civilians across the world. The council needs to do something about it."
The United Nations Security Council should make sure that its existing commitments to protect civilians during armed conflict are actually carried out, Human Rights Watch said Monday in a letter to council member states.
On June 26, 2009, the Security Council will hold a debate to discuss its work on civilian protection, in which all UN members can participate. The Security Council has made numerous commitments to protect civilians in armed conflict, especially women and children, but often has failed to follow through and engage effectively, or sometimes at all, Human Rights Watch said. As a result, its efforts to end civilian suffering during armed conflict have been grossly inadequate.
"It's not enough for the Security Council to say something should be done about the appalling damage wars cause to civilians across the world," said Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The council needs to do something about it."
In its letter, Human Rights Watch identified the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Chad, and Sri Lanka as examples of nations in which the Security Council has failed to take meaningful action to address and prevent civilian suffering during armed conflict. Persistent problems needing attention in those countries include: sexual violence, lack of justice and accountability for abuses, continuing violence toward internally displaced people and refugees, and violations of international humanitarian law.
The Security Council's ability to develop coherent strategies to protect civilians often suffers from a lack of information, Human Rights Watch said. To resolve the problem, the council should: ensure that the reporting requirements contained in Security Council Resolution 1820 on sexual violence and armed conflict (2008) are honored by UN field missions; require that human rights reporting by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN agencies is made public; and regularly invite the High Commissioner for Human Rights to brief the council with information from the ground.
Political considerations have also been a problem, leading council members to ignore civilian protection at times instead of making them a priority, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Security Council has set up this debate about the issue," Crawshaw said. "Now it should take the next step and make it a priority to remedy existing gaps in civilian protection."
European Commission provides €5 million for humanitarian assistance to displaced
The European Commission has allocated €5 million to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people, mostly ethnic Tamils, placed in camps in Sri Lanka. According to a press release today, all funds are channelled through the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel. The projects are to be implemented by non-governmental relief organisations and specialised UN agencies.
Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, said: "Europe cares deeply about the welfare of Sri Lanka and its citizens and we have always stood ready to help. After the tsunami in 2004 the European Commission provided €42 million in humanitarian aid to those most affected. In the current humanitarian crisis with more than 280,000 people displaced from their homes and living in very difficult conditions in camps, we are demonstrating our willingness to complement the efforts of the Sri Lankan authorities in meeting the enormous humanitarian challenge. However, in order to properly implement assistance, European Commission relief experts and international aid agencies must have regular and consistent access to the displaced."
The Commission’s humanitarian support covers water and sanitation, health and nutrition and non-food relief items ranging from clothes, hygiene kits and mosquito nets to infant kits.
Since 2007, the Commission has given a total of €42 million in aid for the victims of humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka, including today's allocation.
The press release further said that ECHO has a support office in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo. It closely follows developments in the humanitarian situation and monitors the use of the Commission's relief funds.
Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, said: "Europe cares deeply about the welfare of Sri Lanka and its citizens and we have always stood ready to help. After the tsunami in 2004 the European Commission provided €42 million in humanitarian aid to those most affected. In the current humanitarian crisis with more than 280,000 people displaced from their homes and living in very difficult conditions in camps, we are demonstrating our willingness to complement the efforts of the Sri Lankan authorities in meeting the enormous humanitarian challenge. However, in order to properly implement assistance, European Commission relief experts and international aid agencies must have regular and consistent access to the displaced."
The Commission’s humanitarian support covers water and sanitation, health and nutrition and non-food relief items ranging from clothes, hygiene kits and mosquito nets to infant kits.
Since 2007, the Commission has given a total of €42 million in aid for the victims of humanitarian crises in Sri Lanka, including today's allocation.
The press release further said that ECHO has a support office in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo. It closely follows developments in the humanitarian situation and monitors the use of the Commission's relief funds.
Signs of dictatorship further endorsed – Now hunt for Sri Lankans living abroad
The government of Sri Lanka hell-bent on creating a dictatorial monarchy by unconstitutional means in the island has now launched a campaign to brand Sri Lankans who dissent the dogma of the regime and living abroad as “traitors” and severely punish them. A news release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states “members of the Sri Lankan expatriate community who are engaged in activities detrimental to the sovereignty and dignity of the country would be severely dealt with, said Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama”.
It further said that the government is seeking assistance of INTERPOL to get these Sri Lankans extradited from the countries they live in at the moment. Minister apparently was speaking at a ceremony held to felicitate the defense forces. This is a further endorsement of the dictatorial approach of the Sri Lankan government.
It is common knowledge that dozens of journalists from this Paradise Island were compelled to leave to safer countries due to death threats supposedly have been issued by ‘powers that be’ and physical attacks meted out on them. Now the government wants to silence the voices of some of these journalists who are working in exile by threatening them.
It is interesting to note that the government is not only suppressing the media freedom in Sri Lanka but making attempts to take the media suppression overseas through INTERPOL. (Lankanews)
It further said that the government is seeking assistance of INTERPOL to get these Sri Lankans extradited from the countries they live in at the moment. Minister apparently was speaking at a ceremony held to felicitate the defense forces. This is a further endorsement of the dictatorial approach of the Sri Lankan government.
It is common knowledge that dozens of journalists from this Paradise Island were compelled to leave to safer countries due to death threats supposedly have been issued by ‘powers that be’ and physical attacks meted out on them. Now the government wants to silence the voices of some of these journalists who are working in exile by threatening them.
It is interesting to note that the government is not only suppressing the media freedom in Sri Lanka but making attempts to take the media suppression overseas through INTERPOL. (Lankanews)
Tamil issue a big problem for Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, June 23 (UPI) -- The Sri Lankan military's victory ending the 26-year Tamil Tiger rebellion is only weeks old, but already the euphoria is giving way to rising international concerns about what awaits the country's Tamil-speaking minority in the future.
The plight of the minority in the predominantly Buddhist country of about 21 million is reflected in the humanitarian crisis of the about 300,000 Tamil civilians now housed in poorly supplied, military-run shelters after being driven from their homes by the war in which several thousands died.
The current Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is firm that these internally displaced persons would be resettled in six months, but outsiders disagree.
The government, already facing calls for a probe into alleged human-rights abuses in the final stages of the war, is coming under increasing pressure to address the plight of the IDPs, many reported to be living in deplorable conditions in the shelters.
Many of the Tamils were originally brought to the island nation from India by colonial British in the past two centuries to work as laborers on tea and coffee plantations. Their assimilation has been problematic ever since and became worse after Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948.
The resources of Sri Lanka, a poor country even in peace times, are stretched thin as a result of the prolonged civil war. International aid agencies also face problems in the current global financial crisis as they must deal with similar monumental refugee problems from Darfur to Pakistan.
Sri Lanka is receiving more attention as it celebrates its victory even as questions arise whether it can win the peace.
In a report this month, the Human Rights Group in New York said for more than a year, the Sri Lankan government has detained virtually everyone displaced by the fighting in military-run camps in violation of international law.
It said the Sri Lankan government should end the "illegal detention of nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamils" and warned that past government practice and absence of any concrete plans for their release raise serious concerns about indefinite confinement.
There is still no firm figure of the number of civilians killed during the final assault on the Tiger rebels, but estimates have ranged as high as tens of thousands.
The beleaguered Sri Lankan government has given greater access to the shelter camps for aid agencies, but the agencies say it is still not enough. The government says unrestricted access is not possible until it has determined the IDPs have no links to Tiger rebels or that no rebels are hiding among them.
One U.N. Official, quoting senior Sri Lankan military officials, has been quoted as saying he fears many of the displaced Tamils may still be in these camps a year from now despite government promises. A BBC report said the United Nations is concerned the shelters appear to be of a permanent nature, as efforts were under way to set up phone lines, schools and banks.
The Sri Lankan military may claim to have decimated the Tamil Tigers' leadership. However, in a recent article on TamilNet.com, a Web site the Tigers frequently use, the rebels' remnants said they have formed a "transnational government" to strengthen their Tamil diaspora and to "achieve the goal of independence and sovereignty … in the home country and to meet the international challenges internationally."
The article's message to fellow Tamils was the "contemporary world system including its apex body the United Nations, have shown least regards for the life, safety, dignity and human rights of Eelam Tamils."
The concern among some Sri Lankans is that their country in its current vulnerable situation might be exploited by outside powers.
The plea in some Sri Lankan media is that the Tamils and their Sinhalese counterparts now have a chance to meet free from fear of terrorism to achieve racial amity and national integration.
That would involve, among other things, the government allowing as much self-government as possible to the Tamils.
But before that happens, the civilian refugees must be resettled.
"Any long delay in resettling these war-ravaged Tamil people will further alienate them," Sri Lankan analyst D.B.S. Jeyaraj told the BBC, adding the future depends on how the Rajapaksa government reaches out to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people.
The plight of the minority in the predominantly Buddhist country of about 21 million is reflected in the humanitarian crisis of the about 300,000 Tamil civilians now housed in poorly supplied, military-run shelters after being driven from their homes by the war in which several thousands died.
The current Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is firm that these internally displaced persons would be resettled in six months, but outsiders disagree.
The government, already facing calls for a probe into alleged human-rights abuses in the final stages of the war, is coming under increasing pressure to address the plight of the IDPs, many reported to be living in deplorable conditions in the shelters.
Many of the Tamils were originally brought to the island nation from India by colonial British in the past two centuries to work as laborers on tea and coffee plantations. Their assimilation has been problematic ever since and became worse after Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948.
The resources of Sri Lanka, a poor country even in peace times, are stretched thin as a result of the prolonged civil war. International aid agencies also face problems in the current global financial crisis as they must deal with similar monumental refugee problems from Darfur to Pakistan.
Sri Lanka is receiving more attention as it celebrates its victory even as questions arise whether it can win the peace.
In a report this month, the Human Rights Group in New York said for more than a year, the Sri Lankan government has detained virtually everyone displaced by the fighting in military-run camps in violation of international law.
It said the Sri Lankan government should end the "illegal detention of nearly 300,000 ethnic Tamils" and warned that past government practice and absence of any concrete plans for their release raise serious concerns about indefinite confinement.
There is still no firm figure of the number of civilians killed during the final assault on the Tiger rebels, but estimates have ranged as high as tens of thousands.
The beleaguered Sri Lankan government has given greater access to the shelter camps for aid agencies, but the agencies say it is still not enough. The government says unrestricted access is not possible until it has determined the IDPs have no links to Tiger rebels or that no rebels are hiding among them.
One U.N. Official, quoting senior Sri Lankan military officials, has been quoted as saying he fears many of the displaced Tamils may still be in these camps a year from now despite government promises. A BBC report said the United Nations is concerned the shelters appear to be of a permanent nature, as efforts were under way to set up phone lines, schools and banks.
The Sri Lankan military may claim to have decimated the Tamil Tigers' leadership. However, in a recent article on TamilNet.com, a Web site the Tigers frequently use, the rebels' remnants said they have formed a "transnational government" to strengthen their Tamil diaspora and to "achieve the goal of independence and sovereignty … in the home country and to meet the international challenges internationally."
The article's message to fellow Tamils was the "contemporary world system including its apex body the United Nations, have shown least regards for the life, safety, dignity and human rights of Eelam Tamils."
The concern among some Sri Lankans is that their country in its current vulnerable situation might be exploited by outside powers.
The plea in some Sri Lankan media is that the Tamils and their Sinhalese counterparts now have a chance to meet free from fear of terrorism to achieve racial amity and national integration.
That would involve, among other things, the government allowing as much self-government as possible to the Tamils.
But before that happens, the civilian refugees must be resettled.
"Any long delay in resettling these war-ravaged Tamil people will further alienate them," Sri Lankan analyst D.B.S. Jeyaraj told the BBC, adding the future depends on how the Rajapaksa government reaches out to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people.
Tamil politician accused of helping Sri Lanka rebels
South Asia News
Jun 23, 2009, 6:48 GMT http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1485250.php/Tamil_politician_accused_of_helping_Sri_Lanka_rebels_#ixzz0JH3szuhq&D
Jun 23, 2009, 6:48 GMT http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1485250.php/Tamil_politician_accused_of_helping_Sri_Lanka_rebels_#ixzz0JH3szuhq&D
Colombo - An opposition Tamil minority legislator has been arrested for allegedly helping the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a local newspaper said Tuesday.
Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, a member of parliament representing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), was living in the rebel-controlled area in northern Sri Lanka and escaped two days before the defeat of the rebels in a major military action last month.
The lawmaker has been accused of violating the Emergency Regulations, which give wide powers to the security forces, but no other specific charges have been brought against him.
Kanagaratnam appeared before a magistrate in Colombo and has been remanded until July 26, the Daily News reported.
Earlier three doctors were also detained for allegedly working with the LTTE and carrying out propaganda for the rebel movement. They were accused of feeding the media pictures and information about civilian casualties allegedly caused by the military.
More than 10,000 former rebels are reported to have surrendered to the security forces. Some of them are undergoing rehabilitation while the more senior members are to be tried in the courts.http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1485250.php/Tamil_politician_accused_of_helping_Sri_Lanka_rebels_#ixzz0JH3SWeUF&D
Devananda to contest elections under Rajapaksa's ‘Betel Leaf’ symbol
Sri Lankan Minister and General Secretary of Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas Devananda, announced Tuesday in Jaffna that his party will contest the local government elections of Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) and Vavuniyaa Town Council (TC) under ‘Betel Leaf’ symbol, the common symbol of the ruling United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA), sources in Jaffna said. Mr. Devananda has been under pressure from the ruling SLFP to join the party in recent times, giving up the "Eelam" identity, according to informed sources, which also revealed that Devananda was forced to give up his plan of contesting under his party symbol Vee'nai.
20 EPDP candidates and 9 from other coalition parties in the UPFA will consist of the total 29 contesting JMC election while 6 EPDP candidates will contest in Vavuniyaa TC election, Douglas Devananda said among his supporters assembled in Srithar Theatre, the main office of EPDP in Jaffna, Tuesday morning.Meanwhile, the government is actively engaged in launching some 'development' activities in Jaffna peninsula with the view to lure in voters.Opening up of roads which had remained closed for public use for a long time, lifting fishing ban and announcing to resume 24 hours electricity supply to the peninsula are also some of the propaganda activities launched by Colombo.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Snubbed by Lanka anchored off Chennai
[ Times Now ]
MV Captain Ali- a ship on a mercy mission to Vanni in Sri Lanka has been anchored of the coast of Chennai. The ship carrying 884 ton of food, medicine and other relief materials for internally displaced Sri Lankan Tamils was turned away by Lankan Navy. Relief laden - MV Captain Ali was sent to Vanni by an NGO called 'ACT Now' a strong representative of the Tamil diaspora. However, the Lankan government has accused the NGO of aiding LTTE and hence has snubbed the relief ship. The in charge of the ship, Kristjan Guomontsson spoke exclusively to TIMES NOW and said that he has no clue as to why the aid was turned down. Guomontsson, an Iceland national, was a part of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) which includes Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden. The SLMM was set up in 2002 under the terms of cease fore agreement. Guomantsson was one of the monitors- and the SLMM was slammed by the Lankan government to be sympathetic to LTTE. According to the Lankan Navy, the ship was turned away on the ground that it violated internationally accepted formalities followed by merchant ships seeking to enter Lankan waters and that it did not conform to the International Ships Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.
MV Captain Ali- a ship on a mercy mission to Vanni in Sri Lanka has been anchored of the coast of Chennai. The ship carrying 884 ton of food, medicine and other relief materials for internally displaced Sri Lankan Tamils was turned away by Lankan Navy. Relief laden - MV Captain Ali was sent to Vanni by an NGO called 'ACT Now' a strong representative of the Tamil diaspora. However, the Lankan government has accused the NGO of aiding LTTE and hence has snubbed the relief ship. The in charge of the ship, Kristjan Guomontsson spoke exclusively to TIMES NOW and said that he has no clue as to why the aid was turned down. Guomontsson, an Iceland national, was a part of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) which includes Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden. The SLMM was set up in 2002 under the terms of cease fore agreement. Guomantsson was one of the monitors- and the SLMM was slammed by the Lankan government to be sympathetic to LTTE. According to the Lankan Navy, the ship was turned away on the ground that it violated internationally accepted formalities followed by merchant ships seeking to enter Lankan waters and that it did not conform to the International Ships Port Facility Security (ISPS) code.
President to be in power 'for ever'
[ BBC Sinhala ]
Chief minister says the president is successfully handling development work "after establishing peace in Sri Lanka"
Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the executive president of Sri Lanka for life after next general elections, a senior leader of the ruling party said.
Chief Minister of north central province Berty Premalal Dissanayake said that nobody will be able to change President Rakapaksa becoming the lifetime president in Sri Lanka.
He made the remarks addressing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee in Seruvila electorate on Sunday.
"It is very clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the lifetime president of this country once we amend the constitution following a victory in the general elections," he said.
'No elections'
Any change to Sri Lanka's constitution needs to be approved by a two thirds majority in parliament.
It is very clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the lifetime president of this country once we amend the constitution following a victory in the general elections
Berty Premalal Dissanayake
However, any extension to the term of office of the president should be approved by a referendum.
The chief minister of the north central province was confident that the ruling party will be able to get a two thirds majority in a future general election.
Earlier, Local Government Minister Janaka Tennakoon has told Sunday Times newspaper that the government plans to extend the term of the president without holding a presidential election.
However, in a statement, Media minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa has said the government has no such plans.
"We believe in people's mandate and the democratic right of the ballot and this we have demonstrated many times.The people have positively responded in large majorities to elect representatives to all bodies in a democratic manner," the minister was quoted by the government Information Department.
Chief minister says the president is successfully handling development work "after establishing peace in Sri Lanka"Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the executive president of Sri Lanka for life after next general elections, a senior leader of the ruling party said.
Chief Minister of north central province Berty Premalal Dissanayake said that nobody will be able to change President Rakapaksa becoming the lifetime president in Sri Lanka.
He made the remarks addressing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee in Seruvila electorate on Sunday.
"It is very clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the lifetime president of this country once we amend the constitution following a victory in the general elections," he said.
'No elections'
Any change to Sri Lanka's constitution needs to be approved by a two thirds majority in parliament.
It is very clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the lifetime president of this country once we amend the constitution following a victory in the general elections
Berty Premalal Dissanayake
However, any extension to the term of office of the president should be approved by a referendum.
The chief minister of the north central province was confident that the ruling party will be able to get a two thirds majority in a future general election.
Earlier, Local Government Minister Janaka Tennakoon has told Sunday Times newspaper that the government plans to extend the term of the president without holding a presidential election.
However, in a statement, Media minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa has said the government has no such plans.
"We believe in people's mandate and the democratic right of the ballot and this we have demonstrated many times.The people have positively responded in large majorities to elect representatives to all bodies in a democratic manner," the minister was quoted by the government Information Department.
HSBC Gushed About Sri Lanka Though IMF Loan for Ethnic Cleansing Delayed, Citi on Blood Bonds
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- As human rights groups call for investigations of the killing of tens of thousands of civilians by the Sri Lankan government as well as Tamil Tigers, and for the government to release the hundreds of thousands of Tamils including UN staff whom it has in detention, some banks and investors see only the chance to profit while there's blood in the streets. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are reportedly upbeat on "bloodbath bonds."
Now, Roman Scott of the Singapore-based Calamander Group brags that the geopolitical risk is "not as bad as the West thinks" -- in essence, monetizing the votes and posturing at the UN Human Rights Counci in Geneva and Security Council in New York. "Scott says even though Sri Lanka makes high-end apparel including Victoria's Secret lingerie, he doesn't like the structure of the business because it's 'far too prone to big single orders.' Tea plantations have 'horrible unionized labor,'" he is quoted.
"The rebound will be spectacular," said HSBC Private Bank's chief investment strategist for Asia Arjuna Mahendran, hyping the possibility of Sri Lanka becoming the "Hong Kong of India" and "wealth Indians" investing there.
Another HSBC report by Prakriti Sofat is being used to urge countries to drop restrictions on and travel advisories about Sri Lanka: "a report released by HSBC Global Research on 25 May 2009 had forecast... business process outsourcing (BPO), and manufacturing were key sectors ripe for Foreign Direct Investment."
But while continuance of the EU's GPS Plus favorable tariff treatment of Sri Lankan textiles, proffered after the tsunami, requires a human rights review, the Rajapakse administration has blocked investigators' access. Click here for Inner City Press on the tariff.
The focus seems to be on Sri Lanka's ports, which are to be trebled in size. Getting many of the contracts, some have noted, are South Korean firms.
But even the International Monetary Fund, which a month ago on May 21 said that the Rajapakse administration's application for a $1.9 billion loan would be approved "within weeks"(click here for the Inner City Press story) now says the proposal is not yet certain, is not agreed to.
The government's use of funds for what many call ethnic cleansing is increasingly questionable. This does not dissuade HSBC, or reportedly Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, under fire for standardless banking for strongmen in Gabon and Turkmenistan, respectively.
HSBC, multiple signs but no moral compass?
HSBC has a global record of ignoring human rights. It was implicated in money laundering with Riggs Banks, for Agusto Pinochet of Chile and other dictators. It has raised funds for controversial Canadian oil company Talisman, and has been sued for lending discrimination. Many now question its blithe gushing at this time about Sri Lanka. Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- As human rights groups call for investigations of the killing of tens of thousands of civilians by the Sri Lankan government as well as Tamil Tigers, and for the government to release the hundreds of thousands of Tamils including UN staff whom it has in detention, some banks and investors see only the chance to profit while there's blood in the streets. Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are reportedly upbeat on "bloodbath bonds."
Now, Roman Scott of the Singapore-based Calamander Group brags that the geopolitical risk is "not as bad as the West thinks" -- in essence, monetizing the votes and posturing at the UN Human Rights Counci in Geneva and Security Council in New York. "Scott says even though Sri Lanka makes high-end apparel including Victoria's Secret lingerie, he doesn't like the structure of the business because it's 'far too prone to big single orders.' Tea plantations have 'horrible unionized labor,'" he is quoted.
"The rebound will be spectacular," said HSBC Private Bank's chief investment strategist for Asia Arjuna Mahendran, hyping the possibility of Sri Lanka becoming the "Hong Kong of India" and "wealth Indians" investing there.
Another HSBC report by Prakriti Sofat is being used to urge countries to drop restrictions on and travel advisories about Sri Lanka: "a report released by HSBC Global Research on 25 May 2009 had forecast... business process outsourcing (BPO), and manufacturing were key sectors ripe for Foreign Direct Investment."
But while continuance of the EU's GPS Plus favorable tariff treatment of Sri Lankan textiles, proffered after the tsunami, requires a human rights review, the Rajapakse administration has blocked investigators' access. Click here for Inner City Press on the tariff.
The focus seems to be on Sri Lanka's ports, which are to be trebled in size. Getting many of the contracts, some have noted, are South Korean firms.
But even the International Monetary Fund, which a month ago on May 21 said that the Rajapakse administration's application for a $1.9 billion loan would be approved "within weeks"(click here for the Inner City Press story) now says the proposal is not yet certain, is not agreed to.
The government's use of funds for what many call ethnic cleansing is increasingly questionable. This does not dissuade HSBC, or reportedly Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, under fire for standardless banking for strongmen in Gabon and Turkmenistan, respectively.
HSBC, multiple signs but no moral compass?
HSBC has a global record of ignoring human rights. It was implicated in money laundering with Riggs Banks, for Agusto Pinochet of Chile and other dictators. It has raised funds for controversial Canadian oil company Talisman, and has been sued for lending discrimination. Many now question its blithe gushing at this time about Sri Lanka. Watch this site.
100,000 Tamils march in London over Sri Lanka’s concentration camps
[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 June 2009, 02:25 GMT]Over one hundred thousand expatriate Tamils in Britain marched Saturday through central London to express their outrage at international inaction over Sri Lanka’s massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils and the suffering of hundreds of thousands more enduring starvation, disease, disappearance, rape and torture in Colombo’s internment camps. Dressed in black, carrying placards and several hundred Tamil Eelam flags, the protesters marched from Hyde Park to rally at Embankment. The event was organised by the British Tamil Forum.
The protestors began forming up at midday and began their march at 2:00 p.m. By the time the lead protestors reached Haymarket, the hundred thousand-strong column stretched the mile-long length of Piccadilly and up Park Lane. The rally began at 5.30 p.m.To facilitate the march, the Police closed off traffic in one direction along the three-lane Park Lane and Piccadilly roads and along Haymarket, past Parliament Square and one direction of the thoroughfare along the Embankment.Hundreds of red and yellow Tamil Eelam flags fluttered in the summer breeze as the marchers chanted slogans, handed out leaflets to tourists and spectators crowding the pavements and balconies of central London. Several Union Jacks were carried by the protestors.“The protests we have been doing [in the Diaspora centres], at last has opened the conscience of the Western world,” a BTF spokesman said. “For example, the mainstream media has begun to expose the scale of the tragedy suffered by our people.”“Our struggle has now shifted to the hands of the Diaspora,” he said.“We have gathered here today to begin the next chapter of our long struggle
Tamil expatriates were joined by delegations from Columbian, Kurdish, Palestinian and some Indian communities in Britain, as well civil liberties and social justice groups.At the front of the protestors’ column were mobile street theatres depicting Sri Lanka’s militarized concentration camps where hundreds of thousands of Tamils are detained without access to sufficient food or medicine and suffering escalating abuse.Groups of Tamil people, including – elderly, children, families, dressed in blood-stained clothing and bandages marched within squares of barbed wire bearing signs with names of known concentration camps. Other protestors dressed in military uniform threateningly wielded batons to symbolize the ongoing brutality.Leaflets handed out set out the protestors’ demands about Sri Lanka’s abuses: “[1] Stop the disappearances, rapes and torture occurring daily at the internment camps, and find all those who have already gone missing [2] Free people from the camps immediately so that they can return to their normal way of life [3] Bring the perpetrators of the genocide against the Tamils to justice.”
Another leaflet stated: “The Tamil community, disappointed and embittered by the failure of the UK and other international powers to prevent the recent carnage despite constant and repeated warnings, are demanding that the international community must at least now act decisively to save the estimated 300,000 civilians in these camps, who remain in grave danger.”The protestors gathered on Embankment by Blackfriars Bridge where a stage had been set up, decorated in Tamil colours of red and yellow and a banner demanding “Free Tamils from Nazi style concentration camps! Prosecute the war criminals of the Sri Lankan State!”The rally was addressed by British political personalities, including Tony Benn, Simon Hughes MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP, as well as Tamil and British human rights and social justice activists.Veteran politician Tony Benn condemned the Sri Lankan state’s violence against the Tamils as crimes against humanity in which Britain continues to play an unacceptable. He also criticised the British media for the woeful lack of coverage the conflict in Sri Lanka has received, compared to similar conflicts around the world.Raji Nesaraja, representing the Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO), said the recent events in Sri Lanka were “nothing short of genocide”.In a stirring speech that illustrated the strong feelings amongst young Tamils in the UK, she went on to say that, following repeated and desperate warnings of an impending bloodbath, young Tamils were left dumbfounded and disappointed by the UN’s complete lack of response.She however expressed her optimism in the awakening of all sections of the British Tamil community in the past few months, and, observing that “we are witnessing a global uprising of Tamils,” vowed the Tamil struggle would be taken forward.
Jan Jananayagam, who stood as an independent candidate at the 4 June European election, winning a historic record of 50,000 votes for an independent, urged everyone to work tirelessly until the Tamils of Sri Lanka enjoy the same rights that Tamils take for granted in the UK.She also reminded the crowd of the power of their vote in a genuine democracy, and urged them to ensure they make their individuals vote count during the next UK general election towards the cause of stopping Sri Lanka’s genocide..Andy Higginbottom, secretary of the Columbia Solidarity campaign and lecturer in human rights at Kingston University, called claims that the LTTE used civilians as human shields during the conflict the “first lie of the international media” and the “first propaganda victory of the Sri Lankan government”. He went on to denounce the inaction of the UN during the conflict, and the pitiable resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council following the conflict, an “absolute and utter disgrace”.Simon Hughes MP, a senior Liberal Democrat and long-time supporter of the Tamils, praised the “fantastic courage and determination” that UK Tamils have shown in the past few months, and assured the crowd that there were many non-Tamils that supported them in their aspirations.Cllr Julian Bell, leader of the Ealing Labour Party and researcher for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) admitted that members of the APPG-T share the Tamil community’s feelings of being let down by Britain’s Labour government.He said the APPG-T were working hard to ensure that the food and medical aid that UK Tamils collected and sent to Sri Lanka on board the Mercy Mission ship, which was recently turned away by the Sri Lankan authorities, would still reach the desperate Tamil civilians there.
Dan Mayor, national organiser for the Socialist Worker Party, angrily dismissed complaints about the alleged police cost during the 73 day Tamil protest at Westminster, saying that the Britain had made much more money through the sale of military equipment to Sri Lanka.He blamed the US/UK led ‘War on Terror’ for masking the political question in Sri Lanka and weakening the Tamils’ position and making possible Sri Lanka’s brazen onslaught against the Tamils.Jeremy Corbyn MP, Labour politician and chairman of the human rights organisation Liberation, called for a complete economic boycott of Sri Lanka, saying “the tourism must stop, the arms must stop, the trade must stop”.Tim Martin, former aid worker and director of the charity Act Now, was loudly cheered by the crowds as he thanked them for the huge support he received from UK Tamils during his recent 21-day hunger strike in Parliament Square. Revealing that Bob Geldoff and several other international celebrities have begun pledging their support for the Tamils struggle against Sinhala oppression, he urged UK Tamils to “keep on fighting” for the freedom of their people in Sri Lanka.Police presence was light throughout the event. Officers closing off side roads, so protestors could pass and guiding tourists and others seeking to reach places on the other side of the column of marchers.Officers worked with several hundred Tamil volunteers to keep the crowd moving steadily and there were no riot police, in contrast to some other major protests in London. Media helicopters and police chopper remained aloft for the duration.
Now, Sri Lanka goes after jihadis
COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government was moving against armed jihadis, a new menace in the Eastern part of the island country, which just ended a long drawn out war against the LTTE, claimed a front-page report in the weekly Lakbimanews on Sunday.
Official Indian sources told The New Indian Express that presence of jihadis had begun to cause concern to both Sri Lanka and India. India was glad that the Sri Lankan authorities had, at long last, begun a crackdown on the Tablighi Jamaat members, who were getting funds and ideological inputs from abroad especially Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the sources added.
There have been instances of the armed clashes between Jamaatis and Tamils, a community the Eastern Muslims have been at odds with over questions of land for the last two or three decades.
Lakbimanews quoted unnamed intelligence sources to say that there could be about 500 jihadis in the three districts in the Eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
Batticaloa alone is believed to have 250 of them.
SPURT IN CRIME USING FIREARMS: In recent months, Eastern parts have witnessed a spurt in crimes such as abductions and extortions. At first it was thought that the perpetrators were members of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal, a breakaway group of the LTTE. Later, the LTTE itself was blamed. But investigations later revealed that jihadis were behind most of these crimes.
Last Friday, Security Forces commander (East) Maj Gen Srinath Rajapakse, the Security Forces and the police held a meeting with moulavis and Muslim politicians and civil society leaders at the Hisbullah Centre, Lakbimanews said.
While Lakbimanews said that the Muslim political leaders had been funding the jihadis for the past 15 years, Indian sources contended that local Muslim political leaders were not involved. They also noted that there has been a significant spurt in the establishment of Madrasas where the radical Wahabi ideology is inculcated. Lakbimanews reported that the police in Kanthankudi, a Muslim town in Batticaloa district, had recently seized seven T-56 rifles, SMGs, communication sets and anti-personnel mines.
The paper said that the Defense Ministry had given the jihadis time until July 2 to surrender their weapons. “Thereafter, we will have no mercy on them,” the paper quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying.
The Muslim dignitaries who had attended Friday’s meeting with the Security Forces had admitted that some Muslim youth were armed and promised to persuade them to give up their weapons.
MIDDLE EASTERN INDOCTRINATION: Meanwhile, employment opportunities in the oil-rich Middle East had facilitated religious indoctrination in Sri Lanka. The new Saudi-returned Wahabists began to take on the Sufiists.
Apparently, Pakistan also stepped in to give money and training to radical Islamists here. According to Indian sources, the South Eastern University at Oluvil in the district of Amparai has become a hotbed of radical Islamists
Official Indian sources told The New Indian Express that presence of jihadis had begun to cause concern to both Sri Lanka and India. India was glad that the Sri Lankan authorities had, at long last, begun a crackdown on the Tablighi Jamaat members, who were getting funds and ideological inputs from abroad especially Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the sources added.
There have been instances of the armed clashes between Jamaatis and Tamils, a community the Eastern Muslims have been at odds with over questions of land for the last two or three decades.
Lakbimanews quoted unnamed intelligence sources to say that there could be about 500 jihadis in the three districts in the Eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
Batticaloa alone is believed to have 250 of them.
SPURT IN CRIME USING FIREARMS: In recent months, Eastern parts have witnessed a spurt in crimes such as abductions and extortions. At first it was thought that the perpetrators were members of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal, a breakaway group of the LTTE. Later, the LTTE itself was blamed. But investigations later revealed that jihadis were behind most of these crimes.
Last Friday, Security Forces commander (East) Maj Gen Srinath Rajapakse, the Security Forces and the police held a meeting with moulavis and Muslim politicians and civil society leaders at the Hisbullah Centre, Lakbimanews said.
While Lakbimanews said that the Muslim political leaders had been funding the jihadis for the past 15 years, Indian sources contended that local Muslim political leaders were not involved. They also noted that there has been a significant spurt in the establishment of Madrasas where the radical Wahabi ideology is inculcated. Lakbimanews reported that the police in Kanthankudi, a Muslim town in Batticaloa district, had recently seized seven T-56 rifles, SMGs, communication sets and anti-personnel mines.
The paper said that the Defense Ministry had given the jihadis time until July 2 to surrender their weapons. “Thereafter, we will have no mercy on them,” the paper quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying.
The Muslim dignitaries who had attended Friday’s meeting with the Security Forces had admitted that some Muslim youth were armed and promised to persuade them to give up their weapons.
MIDDLE EASTERN INDOCTRINATION: Meanwhile, employment opportunities in the oil-rich Middle East had facilitated religious indoctrination in Sri Lanka. The new Saudi-returned Wahabists began to take on the Sufiists.
Apparently, Pakistan also stepped in to give money and training to radical Islamists here. According to Indian sources, the South Eastern University at Oluvil in the district of Amparai has become a hotbed of radical Islamists
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Sri Lanka fighting over, but much work remains- Ban
The Sri Lankan Government last month declared that its military operation against Tamil rebels has ended, but there remain a number of outstanding issues that if left unaddressed could lead more violence, stated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
In his remarks at a gala at the Foreign Policy Association in New York, Mr. Ban said that he has made it clear to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that though the fighting might be over, “there is much more to do.”
Mr. Ban, who was honoured with an award in recognition of his efforts in tackling global humanitarian issues, expressed his deep concern over the situation in Sri Lanka’s refugee camps.
He got a first-hand look at the situation in the camps, which are housing over 280,000 people displaced by the recently-concluded conflict between the Government and Tamil rebels, when he visited the country from 22 to 23 May.
In recent days, he has said that the Government has addressed some concerns he raised over humanitarian access to the camps, and that he was encouraged by its commitment to return 80 per cent of those displaced in the fighting to their homes by the end of this year. Nevertheless, he has noted that the conditions in the camps remain difficult.
“People must be allowed to return to their homes. There must be reconciliation. The Government of Sri Lanka must hold out their hands to the minority,” he told last night’s gathering.
“If this is not addressed, there might be more violence,” he warned.
The Secretary-General also called for accountability for those who may have committed human rights abuses, as was agreed in the joint statement issued with the Government at the end of his recent visit.
Mr. Ban reiterated his commitment to continue his work for the people of Sri Lanka, and for all people suffering from breaches of humanitarian law and human rights, in a wide-ranging speech that also touched on the violence plaguing various parts of the world, the economic crisis, and climate change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBDxtTpIDIo
In his remarks at a gala at the Foreign Policy Association in New York, Mr. Ban said that he has made it clear to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that though the fighting might be over, “there is much more to do.”
Mr. Ban, who was honoured with an award in recognition of his efforts in tackling global humanitarian issues, expressed his deep concern over the situation in Sri Lanka’s refugee camps.
He got a first-hand look at the situation in the camps, which are housing over 280,000 people displaced by the recently-concluded conflict between the Government and Tamil rebels, when he visited the country from 22 to 23 May.
In recent days, he has said that the Government has addressed some concerns he raised over humanitarian access to the camps, and that he was encouraged by its commitment to return 80 per cent of those displaced in the fighting to their homes by the end of this year. Nevertheless, he has noted that the conditions in the camps remain difficult.
“People must be allowed to return to their homes. There must be reconciliation. The Government of Sri Lanka must hold out their hands to the minority,” he told last night’s gathering.
“If this is not addressed, there might be more violence,” he warned.
The Secretary-General also called for accountability for those who may have committed human rights abuses, as was agreed in the joint statement issued with the Government at the end of his recent visit.
Mr. Ban reiterated his commitment to continue his work for the people of Sri Lanka, and for all people suffering from breaches of humanitarian law and human rights, in a wide-ranging speech that also touched on the violence plaguing various parts of the world, the economic crisis, and climate change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBDxtTpIDIo
‘Enter the Dragon’ after end of the ‘Tigers’
dailymirror
The Sri Lanka’s (SL) Ambassador in Geneva , Dayan Jayatileke recently , extolled China at the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) . He praised thus because China took steps to support the resolution in favour of Sri Lanka thereby defeating that brought against SL at the UNHRC. It is evident from this that China is not only assisting SL in the war , but is protecting it in the diplomatic front too.
Immediately prior to these enunciations of Jayatileke , at an interview with the Indian media, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that he fought India’s war. In other words , the annihilation of the Tamil Tigers who killed India’s leader and was a threat to India is a victory for India. In that case , it brings to question why China helped SL to win the war ?- A victory which was India’s necessity .The Indian media had reported that China provided arms, funds and even advice to SL to destroy the Tamil Tigers . According to some Indian media reports , China supplied six F 7 jets free of charge in 2008. It is indeed therefore baffling as to why China which considers India as its rival in the region went this far to help SL win the war, which victory India also was desirous.
It was only after China signed the agreement with SL for the construction of the Hambantota harbour that China went out of the way to help the SL Govt. in the war. If China is to establish its hegemony in the Indian Ocean , the Hambantota harbour will be a vital centre . Pakistan , Bangladesh and Myanmar harbours will be the other Centres to serve China’s objective. This constitutes the ‘ring of pearls’. What is most worth for China is the Hambantota harbour, because SL is described as the ‘crown’ of the Indian Ocean. But, if this ‘crown’ is to be owned by way of the Hambantota harbour, SL must become a protected Country absolutely free from terrorist threats whatsoever . Not only the SL Govt., even China became restless and distraught at the time when Hambantota came under Tamil Tiger threats .This was because China was opposed to Hambantota coming under terrorist threats . To China, not only Hambantota , the whole of SL’s security and its fortification are important for its regional hegemony . It is on this account China helped SL wholeheartedly to defeat the Tamil Tigers.
The majority of the inhabitants of Hambantota are Sinhala Buddhists. It is also the ruling Rajapaksa and his family’s political territory. Besides, it is JVP’s stronghold. The JVP , a left wing party is not well disposed towards India . Although China does not interfere with SL’s internal affairs , it has a close rapport with the JVP. The latter’s vigilance against India’s undue pressures gives solace to China though it may not perhaps be instigating the JVP. Above all ,China is assured of political security by the President Rajapaksa family from Hambantota.
Going by the profound links between the Rajapaksa Govt. and China , and latter’s relationship with the JVP , it is clear ,today these ties are stronger than the strength India wielded over the Tamil politics in SL during the period 1983 to 1987 . India during that period was manipulating SL politics via the Tamil politicians and the Tamil armed groups . However , China has not still reached this stage of manipulative politics in SL . Yet, in the backdrop of the close ties and rapport China has built within the SL politics and the media today , reaching that stage is not a distant or difficult task.
Following the liquidation of the Tamil Tigers , India is posed with a problem of renewed thinking to look out for avenues to manipulate SL politics. May be, India is getting down SL’s TNA politicians to console them with this objective in view.
Today, China is well ahead of India in its involvements in SL . It is apparent that the opinions of the Sri Lankans are not in disfavour of China’s stance towards SL. A majority of Sri Lankans are well disposed towards China for its contributions to the annihilation of the Tamil Tigers and China’s stance towards the development process of SL. But, a majority of the Sri Lankans are antagonistic to India’s insistence on a political solution for the Tamil community. Earlier, the majority were in favour of it despite their dislike . That was during the Tamil Tigers’ reign of terror, when they agreed to a political solution fearing the terrorism of the Tamil Tigers.
If India was to win over the Tamil politicians and the Tamil community for their political manipulations in SL, it should have found a political solution for the Tamils during the terror reign of the Tamil Tigers . But now it is too late. From every angle , India is now in a deep quandary unable to outwit China’s manoeuvres within SL.
At present, China has no cause to manipulate SL ‘s politics though it may be watchful in respect of the future elections in SL and the Govt. which may be elected to power . In the event of a new Govt. being installed in power following the change of the Rajapaksa Govt., the new Govt.’s posture towards the Hambantota harbour will be of prime importance to China . Prior to the Hambantota harbour construction , China had no concern about which Govt. was elected to power in SL. But now it is not so; because of the harbour , China in the future will be obliged to resort to manipulative politics in SL owing to the Hambantota harbour In any case , some sources say , China is more inclined to exert pressure on the SL Govt. and its Army rather than on SL politics . There seems to be a truth in this as China has been maintaining cordial and profound relations with SL’s Defense establishment during the war to crush the Tamil Tigers. As the SL’s Defense Establishment’s strength is growing progressively , so does the security relating to the Hambantota harbour conforming to China’s requirements . The new stringent measures taken by the SL’s defense Establishment to protect the Island’s coastal belt seems to be to the liking of China , for SL’s security is crucial for China’s ‘ring of pearls’
UN says two staff members arrested in Sri Lanka
Sat Jun 20, 4:46 AM
COLOMBO (AFP) - The United Nations said on Sunday that two of its employees working among tens of thousands of war-displaced civilians had been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities.
The two men, both ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils, were reported missing eight days ago and were subsequently discovered to have been taken into custody by Sri Lankan officials, the UN office in Colombo said in a statement.
"We are not aware which, if any, charges have been laid, and nor are we aware of the details of any accusations," the statement said.
The two men were working for the UN refugee agency and the UN office for Project Services in the northern region of Vavuniya
Human rights organisations have reported that thousands of Tamils had been taken from the state-run camps for people displaced by the recently ended war between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.
The UN has often been at odds with the Sri Lankan government over Colombo's handling of the final days of battle against the rebels and the treatment of 300,000 people displaced by the fighting.
The separatist Tamil Tigers were defeated last month when they lost the remaining territory under their control and their founder and chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed.
COLOMBO (AFP) - The United Nations said on Sunday that two of its employees working among tens of thousands of war-displaced civilians had been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities.
The two men, both ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils, were reported missing eight days ago and were subsequently discovered to have been taken into custody by Sri Lankan officials, the UN office in Colombo said in a statement.
"We are not aware which, if any, charges have been laid, and nor are we aware of the details of any accusations," the statement said.
The two men were working for the UN refugee agency and the UN office for Project Services in the northern region of Vavuniya
Human rights organisations have reported that thousands of Tamils had been taken from the state-run camps for people displaced by the recently ended war between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.
The UN has often been at odds with the Sri Lankan government over Colombo's handling of the final days of battle against the rebels and the treatment of 300,000 people displaced by the fighting.
The separatist Tamil Tigers were defeated last month when they lost the remaining territory under their control and their founder and chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed.
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