Malaysian PM says no facts on KP arrest

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, Monday, refused to confirm whether new LTTE leader Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) was detained on Malaysian soil. He told reporters he did not have the facts to comment on the matter.

'I do not know. I do not have the facts,' AFP quoted him as telling reporters.
The defeated rebels have demanded answers from Malaysia on what they describe as the 'abduction' last week of their new leader, Selvarasa Pathmanathan.
Officials in Colombo have declined to say how Pathmanathan was detained, but the Thai government said he was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday and transferred to Sri Lanka through Bangkok.
However, Najib refused to confirm whether he was arrested here, or address rumours that Sri Lankan military personnel were involved in Pathmanathan's capture, AFP reported.

US urges Sri Lanka to seek reconciliation

By FOSTER KLUG


Associated Press

The top U.S. diplomat for South Asia says Sri Lanka's failure to share power with minority Tamils following the end of a bloody 25-year civil war in May could lead to renewed violence.
In an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake also urged Nepal to stop squabbling and get to work on consolidating a peace process that ended a decade of fighting between Maoist guerrillas and government troops in 2006. Infighting, he said, could lead to dangerous instability.
On Sri Lanka, Blake expressed disappointment that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has indicated he will not pursue political reconciliation until after presidential elections are held, probably in January.
"The government needs to find a way to move more quickly than January 2010," Blake said from his office in the State Department. "Because the risk, of course, is that people will become disaffected and that will give new impetus to terrorism."
He said the government must make Tamils feel like they are part of the political process after a civil war that killed between 80,000 and 100,000 people. In that war, Tamil Tiger rebels fought for an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils.
Blake also said that Sri Lanka should allow more freedom of movement for the nearly 300,000 Tamils displaced by the war and confined to government camps. Some aid groups fear the camps are actually military-run internment centers designed to indefinitely hold the displaced.
Blake noted some progress on the matter, including Sri Lanka allowing about 10,000 displaced people to leave the camps and its pledge to let another 40,000 leave this month and to have the majority released by the end of the year. But, he said, the people in the camps were being "held against their will."
"They're not allowed to leave," Blake said. "It's important for them to have this freedom of movement."
The United States said Monday that it was donating $15 million in food aid to help Sri Lanka resettle some of the Tamils displaced by the war. The U.S. Agency for International Development said the aid will provide those returning to their homes with a six-month ration of essential foods.
Washington, Blake said, will not put conditions on humanitarian aid. But, he said, "longer term reconstruction assistance really will be dependent on the progress that they make" on resettling displaced people and in power sharing efforts.
On Nepal, Blake expressed worry that there has not been more progress toward implementing a 2006 peace agreement, specifically on the drafting of a new constitution and on integrating the Maoist and Nepalese armies.
"There's a sense of drift, and that drift can be very dangerous if the people of Nepal perceive that their elected leaders are not taking seriously their responsibilities. And so there's a risk of instability under those circumstances," Blake said.
He called on the Maoists and other parties to work together and stop squabbling, to "put national interests above narrow, partisan interests and really get down to business on these important issues."
As part of the peace process, thousands of ex-Maoist fighters in 2006 laid down their weapons. The fighters were supposed to be integrated into the national security forces, but little has been done to move toward that.
"Nepal has come so far," Blake said. "It would really be a shame to jeopardize the progress that has been made."

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1028177&lang=eng_news

At UN, No Answers on Sri Lanka Killings or Burma Bombs, Honduras and Niger Elections

By Matthew Russell Lee


UNITED NATIONS, August 10 -- Even with the UN Spokesperson's office now reducing its public question taking from five down to three days a week, still it refuses or is unable to answer simply queries about what the UN is doing, and its follow through if any on topics on which it has already spoken, ranging from Sudan, Niger and Somalia to Sri Lanka and Honduras (that is, Africa, Asia and Latin America).

On Monday August 3, Inner City Press asked Spokesperson Michele Montas about reports of fighting between rebels and the government in Sudan, where the UN has two billion dollar peacekeeping missions, and about the total rejection in Somalia of an initiative of the UN's envoy to the country:

Inner City Press: there are these reports of the JEM [Justice and Equality Movement] rebels in Sudan engaging the Sudanese army in [inaudible]. Is that something that either of the two UN missions in Sudan can confirm?

Spokesperson Montas: No, I can try to get the answer for you.

Inner City Press: And I wanted to ask you, the Somali Parliament had voted down about 334 out of the 347… this Law of the Sea filing organized by [Ahmedou] Ould-Abdallah between Somalia and Kenya, funded by Norway. They voted it down, you know, and totally rejected. I wondered if either Ould-Abdallah has a comment and also whether this affects the filing that was made here at the UN for Somalia by Kenya for their undersea rights.

Spokesperson Montas: This I would have to ask the Treaty Department for you, if that changes anything. I don’t have an answer myself today right now.

On the JEM fighting, the Spokesperson's Office never provided an answer, even six days later. The UN's force commander for Darfur also dodged the question, saying the despite the billions of dollars, the UN can't see such fighting. On Ould Abdallah, after Inner City Press further pursued it, the answer was that the question should be posed to the states involved: that is, Somalia and Kenya and presumably Norway. But it was the deal Ould Abdallah put together that was turned down, by the Somali parliament. On whose behalf is he speaking?
On Wednesday, August 5, Inner City Press asked Ms. Montas about a mass killing in Sri Lanka on which the UN has previously spoken, but on which it is now mute, and for the second time about requests to the UN system for aid for Honduras camping with Mel Zelaya in Nicaragua:
Inner City Press: There are these reports that the camps set up for Hondurans just across the border in Nicaragua where Mr. Zelaya is, that Nicaragua has asked for UN for support to these camps. Have you received any information on this? Has a request been made and has any UN assistance or monitoring mission sent there or taken place?
Spokesperson: Not that I know of, but of course we can check with DPA or the refugee agency whether there was anything done on that account. As far as I know, no, so far.
Inner City Press: Can I also ask, the Human Rights Watch has asked the Secretary-General to set up an inquiry into the killing of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers three years ago and also other human rights abuses. They say that the Government hasn’t done anything. The request is specifically to the Secretary-General. Is he aware of that call? And given that he visited the country and said that he’d be monitoring it, what is, you know, what is his response?
Spokesperson: I don’t have any specifics on that. Of course we can try to find out whether there was a specific request that was made officially to the Secretary-General. I can try to find out for you.
While the UN in the four days that follow provided no answer on Honduras, diplomats from the region tell Inner City Press that assistance is being provided. On the Sri Lankan government's killings and self-exoneration, the UN's silence had become deafening. The UN's top Humanitarian has repeatedly said it's not clear to him that the government has stopped investigating. It's clear to Human Rights Watch, and to even pro-government journalists in Colombo.

UN's Ban with doctorate, but answers not provided by OSSG

The UN did, we note, provide an answer to a question on August 5, about Sudan, and even inserted the response into its transcript:


Spokesperson: Montas: Yes, Matthew.
Inner City Press: in the trial of Lubna Hussein, the UNMIS [United Nations Mission in the Sudan] worker that the… both protesters and one of her lawyers were apparently beaten up in front of, or beaten by the police in front of the court. I’m wondering what, even if UNMIS or the UN is monitoring that, if they have any comment on that, and also if there is yet an answer on whether, was she both a private journalist and UNMIS employee at the same time as was reported, or there was some…?
Spokesperson: She was an UNMIS employee. As you know, she said that she would not be claiming immunity and she wanted to have the case tried in court. Of course, we respect what she wants. However, there is an agreement signed by the UN, the peacekeeping mission there and the Government. And we’re still waiting for answers to know whether or not the immunity still holds. And that’s what we have to find out. We don’t have an answer yet. As you know, the trial has been postponed.
[Later, the correspondent was further informed that the United Nations has informed the Sudanese authorities that, as a United Nations staff member, Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein is covered by immunity from legal process. There is an agreed procedure between the host Government and the United Nations for dealing with cases in which the Government believes that a staff member has committed a criminal offence.
In such cases, the Government is required to report the matter to the United Nations, which in turn will conduct any necessary investigation and, upon the Government's request, decide whether to waive immunity. In the present case, the United Nations has not received any request for the waiver of the staff member’s immunity. Immunity is afforded not only to protect the staff member, but the interests of the United Nations in a broader sense. It is, therefore, not up to a staff member to waive his or her immunity. That is the sole prerogative of the United Nations.]
What the noble sounding answer doesn't address is the UN's failure to invoke immunity this year for two of its staff members in Sri Lanka who were seized by the government and, they say, tortured and asked to point out more people for the government to torture.
Even on the Sudan, when on August 7 Inner City Press directed a question about Lubna's case to a UN Police officer present at the noon briefing, UNPOL chief Hughes stepped in and refused to let her answer, as he did on Inner City Press' question about peacekeepers repatriated from the UN Mission in Haiti under charges of sexual exploitation and abuse. Video here.

On August 7, Inner City Press asked Ms. Montas' deputy Marie Okabe about Niger and Myanmar, without answer:
Inner City Pres: it’s reported that the President of Niger has won his contested referendum to extend his term in office. Does the Secretariat now have any comment or response to that?
Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: I have nothing beyond the comment that we already had issued on the concerns of these developments earlier.
Inner City Press: Also, Myanmar has announced that they have arrested 15 people who they say were going to set off a bomb while the Secretary-General was in Myanmar. Has that been communicated to the Secretariat? Does he think he was a target?
Deputy Spokesperson: I am not aware of any such reports. I’ve only seen them in the press reports.

Inner City Press: So Myanmar hasn’t communicated to the UN…?

Deputy Spokesperson: I haven’t seen anything.

And this litany of non answers is without regard to the UN's two week refusal to answer Inner City Press' questions about Congo envoy Alan Doss' documented pressure to get his daughter at UNDP, leading to the pepper spraying and now prosecution of the UNDP worker whose job was taken, click here for that.. When will things improve?

* * *

UN Nepotism from Congo to NY Criminal Court, UNDP Biter Case Set for August 10

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 7 -- When the UN's top envoy to the Congo Alan Doss wrote in April to ask for leeway to get his daughter Rebecca hired at the UN Development Program, it set off a chain of events leading to the firing and pepper spraying of the person who held the Doss-sought post, and now starting on August 10 his criminal trial for fighting back, allegedly with his teeth. Click here for Inner City Press' exclusive three stories to date on this matter.
Nicola Baroncini, who until June 22 was the assistant to UNDP's Deputy Director for Asia and the Pacific, told Inner City Press on Friday that he intends to ask for a trial on the changes against him, and to demand the presence of various UN witnesses. These should, he said, including the Special Representative of the Secretary General in the Congo, Alan Doss, whose April 20, 2009 email, first published by Inner City Press, asked for "leeway" in awarding his daughter the position Mr. Baroncini had been filling.
On August 7, UNDP told Inner City Press that "Ms. Rebecca Doss began working at UNDP on July 1st 2009. The process through which she was hired is currently being investigated by UNDP’s Office of Audit and Investigation. Until that work is completed we will not have any further comments."

But, as first published by Inner City Press, on April 20, 2009 Alan Doss wrote

"Dear Ligia,

This is just to inform that I have advised UNDP in writing that I will transfer to DPKO effective 1 July 2009. I have also spoken to Martin and advised him that I cannot transfer before that date because the new DPKO contractual arrangements only come into effect on the 1 July. He informed me that the ‘deadline’ for the ALD contracts is 15 May so the period of overlap would only be 6 weeks (assuming Rebecca’s ALD would come into force on the 14th May at the latest). I have asked for some flexibility, which would allow a very long serving and faithful UNDP staff member a little lee-way before he rides off into the sunset.
Becky is very excited about the prospect of going to work for you so I hope that it will work out. With my warm regards and thanks,

Alan."

It was improper for UNDP to process Rebecca Doss' "application," declare her on the short list, and offer her the position while her USG father was with UNDP. Beyond that, the contact by a UN Under Secretary General was improper.
Sources now say that Doss has obtained his daughter other jobs in the past, and they note that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon may have something of a conflict in ruling on Doss' behavior, given the hiring of Ban's son in law Siddarth Chatterjee first by the SRSG in Iraq, Steffan de Mistura, then by the head of the UN Office of Project Services in Copenhagen, Jan Mattsson. Attention is turning to the UN system posts of Ban's daughter, Chatterjee's wife.
Since Inner City Press' third story on the matter one week ago, Ban's spokespeople have repeated referred questions to UNDP, which has told Inner City Press that "the hiring is being reviewed." On August 7, Ban's Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe specified that UNDP's Office of Audit and Investigation is looking at it. But UNDP no longer has jurisdiction over Alan Doss; Ms. Okabe on August 7 answered Inner City Press' question from a week ago, that Doss transferred from UNDP to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations on July 1.
On August 7, Inner City Press asked the head of DPKO, Alain Le Roy, what he thought of the chief of the Congo peacekeeping mission bending rules to get his daughter hired by the UN. Mr. Le Roy, too, said that UNDP must answer, while noting that he has read Inner City Press' story. Others have as well, and questions are multiplying. Video of August 7 noon briefing here.

Alan Doss, at right, with Alain Le Roy, requests for hiring leeway not shown: Rule of Law?

Back on August 3, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas:


Inner City Press: Michele, on Friday I had asked Farhan a question about Alan Doss and when he became a DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] staffer and not a UNDP [United Nations Development Programme] staffer. He told me UNDP would answer. I still don’t have an answer. Since it seems to be a Secretariat question, it involves, it’s an e-mail that Mr Doss sent [inaudible]… that job --

Spokesperson: No, I think it’s a UNDP question.

Question: But isn’t it, I mean, the date on which he became DPKO is actually relevant to that inquiry and it seems like that is something that the Secretariat would know, since he --

Spokesperson: Well, at this point I don’t have anything new for you on this, and we have been saying that UNDP should handle that.

Question: But I sent them an e-mail as soon as we finished on Friday, but I don’t have… I guess I am just pleading with you maybe to put a squeeze on?

Spokesperson: Yes, okay, I will ask whether UNDP can answer you.

Question: And I know that the Secretary-General met with Helen Clark this morning. Is there any readout? What did they discuss?

Spokesperson: No, just internal matters.

Question: Including this most recent issue of [inaudible]… not just the biting incident, but the job search?

Spokesperson: I don’t think such minor issues come up in discussions of that sort.

Question: [inaudible] the envoy of Ban Ki-moon actually writes in and says “give my relative a job”; this doesn’t seem to me to be that minor. The biting might be kind of comical, but I mean, I don’t know if you’ve followed that issue, but I’ve just wondered…

Spokesperson: Yes, of course I have read about it, but…

Inner City Press: You don’t think it arose?

Spokesperson: I don’t think so. Thank you all so very much.

Helen Clark has yet to hold a press conference at the UN, despite holding the post for more than 100 days. On August 5 Inner City Press asked:
Inner City Press: In the Council today they’re talking about peacekeeping and leadership. I just wanted to know, on the question that arose about Alan Doss and when he became a DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] employee. You’ve said, Farhan said Friday UNDP [United Nations Development Programme] would answer it. You said Monday that they’d answer it. But, still they haven’t answered. So, that’s why I am asking. It seems like it’s a straight factual question and that the information is in this building. Do you have an answer to that?
Spokesperson: All I can tell you is that UNDP is reviewing the issue, that’s all I have really. I don’t have a definite answer for you. I know that UNDP is reviewing the issue, that’s all I can say at this point.
Question: But doesn’t DPKO know? I mean, the e-mail that was released said that he asked, he said that 1 July he was going to transfer to DPKO from UNDP, but he wanted them to hire his daughter prior to that and sort of play with the rules. So, it’s just factual, while they review that, that’s fine. But it seems like DPKO or your office should be able to know when someone…
Spokesperson: Well, we’re trying to ascertain the facts, that’s what I am saying, Matthew. I am not evading your question, I just don’t have the facts yet. And if I have them, I will give them to you as soon as I have them. In this specific case, as I said, I was told by UNDP that they are reviewing the case. That’s all I was told today. I asked the question.
Question: I mean, the guy who sort of raised this complaint that the job was improperly given has like a criminal trial date on 10 August, you know, that’s going to be released. He says that there is some connection between these two.
Spokesperson: Well, you know, I have to say about that incident, you know the one that you have mentioned several times here. There was a serious nature to the security incident that took place on 22 June in the DC-2 building. And the incident resulted -- and I found that out yesterday -- resulted in the injury of one of our UN officers, whom I might add was transported to the hospital because of the severity of his wound. So, I was not aware of that fact when I spoke to you yesterday. Now I know that the man was hospitalized. He has since had to do several tests for specific diseases as a result of the wound, which was extremely stressful for everyone involved. He was out on sick leave after the incident, based on the hospital’s request. So this is what I have. It was much more serious than was originally reported to us. And so I just wanted to underline that fact.
Inner City Press: [inaudible] I had asked Farhan, maybe now that you know this you can tell. The dispute seems to be whether security used pepper spray on the individual prior to what appears to be a biting or vice versa. Do you have any information on that?
Spokesperson: No, I don’t have the details on whether pepper spray was used or not. It was a violent incident and the individual was violent, as I can testify. The person was bitten.

The court return date is Monday, August 10. Watch this site.

http://www.innercitypress.com/ossg4cutback081009.html

Sri Lanka on way back to Tamil rebellion - FT

Sri Lanka is careering back to where it was when the conflict began, with Tamil grievances being ignored amid a triumphalist wave of Sinhalese chauvinism, the Financial Times warned in its editorial Tuesday. Rather than share power with the Tamils, US and British officials fear the Sinhala state is seeking to scatter them, the paper said. “Unless the Sinhala majority shows magnanimity and gives the Tamils control over their lives, their cause will surely reignite from the embers of this war,” the paper said.


The FT’s editorial, titled ‘Dark triumphalism clouds Sri Lanka’ follows:

                        

After the government of Sri Lanka finally and violently crushed the 25-year-old insurrection by Tamil rebels last May, there were hopes this sparkling island in the Indian Ocean would finally emerge from its dark history into the light. That is already looking forlorn.

Put simply, while the conflict has ended, Sri Lanka is careering back to where it was when the conflict began. Its precarious identity as a mix of ethnic and linguistic, cultural and religious influences is in danger of being swept away by a triumphalist wave of Sinhalese chauvinism.
True, partial local elections on Saturday returned some Tamil nationalists in northern towns on the fringe of the former fief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. But the real purpose of the poll seems to have been to test the popularity of President Mahinda Rajapaksa before he calls an early general election to secure a second six-year term, in the afterglow of military victory. Mr Rajapaksa’s machine steamrollered through the southern province of Uva. That will, no doubt, have added to his sense of invulnerability.
What really happened in the elections is hard to know; foreign journalists were banned from the north, just as all journalists were during the final stages of the war.
The government has stepped up its intimidation of dissidents, lawyers and human rights workers as well as journalists. Five doctors who were the sources for the outside world on the final civilian bloodbath in the Tigers’ last redoubt have somehow been persuaded to recant in public, downgrading the number of civilian deaths to a tenth of UN estimates.
Meanwhile, 280,000 Tamils are being held in camps largely sealed off from aid workers. The notion of devolution to deal with Tamil grievances has been taken off the table. The government no longer wishes to discuss minority rights, only individual rights within the new national identity it intends to forge. US and British officials fear this may involve the forced dispersal of Tamils across the island so they can no longer cluster.
Even before last month’s $2.5bn reconstruction loan package from the International Monetary Fund, Mr Rajapaksa’s ability to find new sources of finance, especially from China, had made him relatively immune to international pressure.
His victory seems to have convinced him force is the answer. Yet unless the Sinhala majority shows magnanimity and gives the Tamils control over their lives, their cause will surely reignite from the embers of this war.

PEARL, a rights activist group in US launch campaign against Microsoft investment in SL

PEARL, the US based right activist group, pointing MSNBC's coverage of the conditions within the military supervised internment camps in Vavuniya that said that "no one is allowed to leave the camps and few are permitted entrance," and that the camps are "at best...at the edge of all kinds of internal principles...but more likely...illegal," urged Microsoft to reconsider investments in Sri Lanka.


PEARL in its message to Microsoft told, "the human rights community and Tamils all over the world are deeply concerned about the ultimate use of funds given to government of Sri Lanka. While technology transfer is important, blanket support should not be given to governments who do not respect the rule of law and basic human rights. We urge you to hear the cries of voiceless Tamils, and avoid doing business with regimes as egregious as Sri Lanka's."
While praising the charitable activities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the areas of global health, the youth campaign referred to the Gates Foundation goal of increasing "access to information technology in impoverished countries," and said, "although this is yet another admirable pursuit, the business you have decided to carry out in Sri Lanka is deeply concerning to human rights activists."
The message added, "Sri Lanka has been enmeshed in a human rights and humanitarian crisis for decades; in the first 6 months of this year, CNN reported that over 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed as the government pursued an intense military offensive. Currently, over 280,000 Tamil refugees are trapped in internment camps in the north, without full access to aid agencies, journalists or human rights monitors. Despite this situation, several articles quote your enthusiasm for negotiations with President Rajapaksa and his government to further economic growth in the country. Unfortunately, any profits made from these technological innovations will likely be exploited by the government for the continuation of its internment camps."
The message to Microsoft also noted that "the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, which includes Amnesty International USA, depicted the military-controlled internment camps as having 80,000 children, many of whom are being abducted for ransom, possibly for government supported armed groups."

Close 'loopholes' allowing war criminals into UK, Straw told

Alan Travis
The Guardian,
Article history


Proposals from the justice secretary, Jack Straw, to change the law to enable the prosecution of overseas war criminals and torturers living in Britain for crimes dating back to 1991 fail to go far enough, according to a committee of MPs and peers.
A report from parliament's joint human rights committee published today says the 1991 cut-off date and a requirement that only residents in the UK should face prosecution will leave an "impunity gap" which will allow international war criminals to visit and stay in Britain without fear of prosecution.
The cross-party group of MPs and peers say they "fail to understand the justification" for using 1991 as the cut-off date for prosecution, saying it means that the 1994 Rwandan massacres are covered but not the 1970s Cambodian genocide.
They urge Straw to adopt a date as far back as possible for each offence, with 1948 for genocide and 1949 for war crimes committed during internal armed conflicts.
Andrew Dismore, chairman of the parliament's human rights committee, said: "The UK must not be a safe haven for evil. The message to those who have perpetrated the most heinous crime imaginable must be clear: they are not welcome here – not to visit, not to live, not to holiday, shop or get medical treatment.
"The UK should close these loopholes in the law. We also need to re-establish the specialist war crimes unit. Victims of torture must be able to pursue compensation … We should lead the world in bringing international criminals to justice."
The Aegis Trust, which campaigns against genocide, has said there are significant numbers of suspected war criminals and perpetrators of genocide who are living in the UK or who have visited this country. They include suspects from Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
The committee heard evidence that between 2004 and 2008 the UK border agency refused entry or refugee status to 138 individuals and referred 22 cases to the police. A further 1,863 individuals have been investigated by the immigration authorities for genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.
The decision to limit the possible prosecution of war criminals to those legally resident in Britain rather than those who are simply visiting or passing through was taken by Straw on the grounds that it was neither attractive or practical to go further.
Sir Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, also voiced concerns, saying that if the proposal was amended to include those who were present on British soil there was a high likelihood of further prosecutions.
war-criminals-legislation-jack-straw
The change in the law to enable the prosecution of war criminals is included in the coroners and justice bill, currently going through parliament.

Unlock the Camps in Sri Lanka: Amnesty International

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the recent war in North East Sri Lanka and living in camps are being denied basic human rights including freedom of movement, said Amnesty International as Secretary General Irene Khan today launched the Unlock the Camps campaign at the start the organization's International Council Meeting, a gathering of international delegates in Turkey.

Two months after the end of the fighting, the Sri Lankan authorities are still not addressing properly the needs of the newly displaced. The camps are overcrowded and unsanitary.
In addition, these are effectively detention camps. They are run by the military and the camp residents are prevented from leaving them; they are denied basic legal safeguards. The government's claim that it needs to hold people to carry out screening is not a justifiable reason to detain civilians including entire families, the elderly and children, for an indefinite period.
Displaced people have even been prevented from talking to aid workers. With no independent monitors able to freely visit the camps, many people are unprotected and at risk from enforced disappearances, abductions, arbitrary arrest and sexual violence.
According to government figures, the fighting between the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) displaced over 409,000 people. At least 280,000 are displaced from areas previously under LTTE control. A dramatic influx of people fleeing the fighting and crossing to government controlled areas took place from March 2009. The displaced people, including at least 50,000 children, are being accommodated in 41 camps spread over four districts. The majority of the displaced are in Vavuniya District where Manik Farm is the biggest camp.
When United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited some of the camps in May, he said: "I have travelled around the world and visited similar places, but this is by far the most appalling scene I have seen."
While some progress had been made on providing basic needs, much still needs to be done on the right to health, food, water, family reunion and access to relatives.
Amnesty International has also called on the government of Sri Lanka to end restrictions on liberty and freedom of movement; ensure that camps are of a truly civilian nature and administered by civilian authorities, rather than under military supervisions; and give immediate and full access to national and international organizations and observers, including aid agencies, in order to monitor the situation and provide a safeguard against human rights violations.
The Sri Lankan government said on 21 May that the displaced will be resettled in 180 days. But very few have so far been allowed to return to their homes or to join friends or family elsewhere, and people remaining in the camps are not at liberty to leave camp premises. Amnesty International is calling on the Sri Lanka government to end its policy of forcibly confining people to camps, which amounts to arbitrary detention. The Sri Lankan government must allow persons who require temporary shelter in these facilities to come and go freely.
With assistance and support from the international community and the involvement of displaced people themselves, the Sri Lankan government must set up clear benchmarks and timelines to ensure that displaced people can safely return home or find other durable solutions (such as relocation) as soon as possible.
As part of the Unlock the Camps campaign Amnesty International is posting a video on Facebook, calling on the Sri Lankan government to allow freedom of movement and on the Government of India to monitor the aid pledged to the Sri Lankan government and to press for the immediate transfer of the management of the displaced people camps from the military to the civilian authorities.

Tamils to Endure Three Years of Barbed-Wire Incarceration

By Satheesan Kumaaran



Tamils and human rights activists are panicked and shocked at Colombo’s decision to keep the Tamils in internment camps in Vavuniya and even more so with New Delhi’s direct support to keep the Tamils in the camps for the next three years. Sri Lanka once again hoodwinks the international community, including the UN, with the false promise to resettle the Tamils, who are now held in camps behind barbed-wires with tight security provided by the Sri Lankan army, from Vanni. Sri Lanka’s original agenda before the Tamils reached Vavuniya from the LTTE’s former held areas was to keep them in the camps for at least three years.
However, when the plight of the civilians in the camps reached a high peak in the international community, Sri Lanka played teeter-totter and changed its tune saying that it will resettle up to 90% of the people, at least 80% within 180 days. This promise was given to the UN Secretary General in May 2009, but now things are changing. Colombo is going back to its original agenda and India is echoing Colombo’s agenda to keep the Tamils in the camps for the next three years.
Political analysts argue that Colombo and New Delhi plan to keep the Tamils in the camps for the next three years so that the deep wound caused to the Tamils will be healed by then. Further, Colombo could bring a permanent solution to the Tamil national question with minimal powers, possibly something closer to the powers granted to urban council in the North using the Tamils as human shields to get their plan executed.


The Three Year Agenda Benefits New Delhi and Colombo


New Delhi wants to calm the sentiments of people in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and union territory of Puducherry because people are sick and tired of New Delhi’s inability to protect Eelam Tamils when they were dying at the hands of the Sri Lankan armed forces at the end of Eelam War - IV. So, keeping the Eelam issue silent for three years will bring calm in India. By then, Indian Congress Party gets its work done and then starts playing again in the guise of helping Tamils in Sri Lanka, which they think that will bring a positive political outcome and will help the Congress sweep the next parliamentary elections in India. Then they could go to the people in the south saying that New Delhi, under United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Congress, did everything good for the betterment of Tamils in Sri Lanka.


Further, New Delhi does not want the LTTE to emerge once again as a strong military force because the LTTE would then create political problems for New Delhi. So, New Delhi calculates that keeping the Tamils in the camps for the next three years under heavy security will prevent the LTTE reorganization because they think that many LTTE’s hardcore cadres are in the camps already and they will forget everything by three years and return to a normal life abandoning their associations with LTTE. They assume the LTTE would not be able to rise up again if they do not receive support from the people within the next three years. So, keeping the Tamils under tight security whether it is in Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, or Amparai under army occupation will not provide another chance for the LTTE re-emerge.


Colombo calculates that Mahinda can win the next presidential elections to be held early next year with the slogan that they conquered the LTTE. Also, Colombo realizes that it could get monetary aid from foreign governments claiming that they need funds to feed the displaced civilians in Vavuniya. Further, it could seek more aid to develop the Tamil areas, but in fact after receiving the funds they would not do so. A classic example is the misappropriated funding provided by the global governments when the tsunami hit Sri Lanka’s North-East in 2004. Politicians in Colombo did not even allow NGOs to help the tsunami-damaged people in the North. Also, medicine meant for the North-Eastern people donated by foreign governments and INGOs were stored in the South and never sent the affected people on time. However, reliable sources revealed that after the validity of the medications expired, they were sold privately at higher prices to dealers and sold them in the market in the Northeast.


Despite all the misappropriations, Colombo, with the support of New Delhi, has been acting vigorously to keep the Tamils in the camps for the next three years, and New Delhi has offered manoeuvres to the Tamils in the camps. India also has the power to bring the global community on its knee because India is emerging as an economic powerhouse and it is closely working with its old enemies like China and Pakistan. So the political, economic, and military pyramid has made the old enemies as new allies with India. As a result, India has influence in the world arena now as never before.


Keeping the global community in the interest of New Delhi would not be a problem. But, New Delhi is an opportunistic and hypocritical player because if the Tamils, numbering around 75 million, come out strongly against New Delhi and if they demand New Delhi not support Colombo forever, and especially if Tamil Nadu does not agree with the home grown solution to be offered by Colombo in the future to end the conflict, New Delhi will have no choice but to withdraw support from Colombo.


New Delhi will support Colombo unless Tamil Nadu boils over. Also, the Diaspora Tamils have the greater role in educating the global governments about Tamils’ grievances. Tamils’ activities in India and elsewhere should parallel and the rights of Eelam Tamils who are in the hands of Indian and the Diaspora Tamils.


Dropping dhal in 80s and now demining intervention


Unless Tamils do not rise up, New Delhi will support Colombo on various sinister forms. Since 2003, India has deployed thousands of India’s former military officials in the guise of de-mining. But, New Delhi and Colombo remain mum about the exact number of Indian soldiers in Tamil homeland.
Before intervening in 1987, India dropped dhal (paruppu) to the Tamils from the air without the consent of the Sri Lankan government to show Colombo that India would not be a silent spectator in the affairs of Tamils because Tamils were starving as the military operations between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces intensified. And when the Sri Lankan military was becoming defeated military, President J. R. Jayawardana sought India’s intervention.


Already India showed its intention by dropping dhal to the Tamils from the air without Sri Lankan government permission. The cunning President Jayawardana managed to manipulate the young and inexperienced politician Rajiv to fall on his knee in order to save Sri Lanka’s military defeat. So, J. R. Jayawardana and then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed an accord and sent the military as ‘Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)’ to the Tamil homeland.


Eventually, the Tamils realized the real Indian motives. India’s ploy was not to save the Tamils. Rather, the IPKF was sent to save Colombo and to weaken the Eelam demand. So, they demanded the LTTE lay down their arms and eventually they did, successfully with conditions, including full protection to the LTTE cadres and Tamil civilians. However, IPKF failed to provide protection to the defenceless Tamils and the LTTE. As a result, the LTTE leader ordered the LTTE cadres to continue fighting the IPKF.
Things changed after the withdrawal of IPKF from Eelam in 1990. India lost its former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was the man sent by the IPKF to Sri Lanka.
Now, the LTTE is a banned organization in India and LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan and LTTE’s intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman are wanted by Indian judicial courts as they are the first and second accused in the Rajiv assassination. So, India was not able to intervene directly as they did in 1990s, but like dropping dhal in 1987, they sent hundreds or even thousands of their military to the Tamil areas after the LTTE and Sri Lankan government entered into ceasefire agreement in 2002. The Indian ex-soldiers, under the guise of removing landmines, were sent to Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Amparai. But, India maintains that the de-miners were privately owned and they were deployed by invitation from Colombo. Now, they have deployed many more to Vanni. India never revealed its de-mining intervention earlier, but now they openly declared that they sent de-mining experts along with mobile hospitals consisting of military doctors and other healthcare workers.
So, India has already intervened in Sri Lanka. The question is whether India will change sides helping the Tamils obtain their freedom by embracing the LTTE now that the LTTE has changed its strategy towards obtaining Tamil Eelam through political and diplomatic means as per LTTE leader Pirapaharan who asked his cadres to silence their guns in May 2009. So, if India does not want to endure the Tamil conflict, it should lift the ban on the LTTE and invite the LTTE for dialogue in India. Or the question is whether India will not change sides helping Colombo in its agenda of restraining the Tamils for more than three years in the camps and thereby weakening the Eelam struggle.
In any event, India will have no choice but to make wise decisions and India must choose whether to support the Tamils or Colombo. And the Tamils will know soon. The wheel is in the hands of Tamils and the Tamils in India will have to keep India in favour of Eelam Tamils while the Diaspora Tamils have the responsibility to keep the global community in support of Eelam Tamils. So, the global support through Tamils’ marches will liberate Eelam Tamils making Colombo and New Delhi’s agenda of restraining the Tamils for the next three years impossible and will liberate the 285,000 Tamils from the camps. Free Tamil Eelam will have to be done simultaneously with the support of global governments, which would only end the conflict in the Indian Ocean island, which has existed for decades and will continue to exist unless the Tamils’ grievances are fulfilled.

India take control of coastal surveillance in Sri Lanka via Barnas International Private Limited

India Government in a bid to strengthen its power base in Indian Ocean, won a coastal surveillance project in Sri Lanka via Barnas International Private Limited, security analysts said. Barnas International Private Limited, which has bagged a 30 million Sri Lankan rupee contract to provide surveillance solutions in the Sri Lankan capital, will also take up similar projects in the island's northern regions that had recently been wrested from the LTTE, company sources here told to an indian media.

Under the project, the entire Sri Lankan coast will come under a specially- designed surveillance system with sophisticated thermal-imaging cameras and a software that can detect the nature of the moving object. "Thermal-imaging cameras, unlike conventional ones, are so powerful that they can pick up images from distances nearly 20 km into the sea. A specially-designed software will analyse the nature of the images and sound out an alarm in the central control centre when a boat or ship approaches the coast," Barnas vice-president Sivaji Rao, who is taking care of the Sri Lankan operations, told to an indian media.
He said the Sri Lankan government had realised the difficulty of monitoring the entire coast manually and gone in for an unmanned surveillance system.Sivaji Rao said the Sri Lankan government was worried about the security situation and had embarked on the project of enhancing its surveillance systems on a war footing."Apart from providing coastal security, all sensitive areas will be brought under strict surveillance under the project. We are not using conventional cameras and digital video recorders here but are using highly sophisticated and specially-designed equipment and software.
All the cameras involved will be internet-enabled and can be monitored by senior officials even when they are on the move through cell phones and laptops," Sivaji Rao added.The company will also be taking up similar projects in the war-ravaged northern parts.

http://www.tamilsydney.com/content/view/2361/37/

Sri Lanka’s State Terrorism Spreads to Foreign Soil - Extraordinary Rendition?

The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella organisation of peak Tamil Associations in Australia and New Zealand condemns in the strongest terms, the manner in which Mr. Selvarasas Pathmanathan has been seized in Malaysia and taken to Sri Lanka for interrogation by the Sri Lankan security agents. AFTA considers the abduction and transfer of Mr. Pathmanathan to Colombo as an act of Extraordinary Rendition. Tamil Diaspora is gravely concerned that if this dastardly act goes unchecked, no Tamil would be safe in any part of the world.

According to international news agencies Mr. Pathmanathan spearheaded a move to direct the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) movement, to continue its struggle for self-determination of Tamils through democratic and diplomatic means. His recent efforts in taking steps to form a Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (PTGTE), through a democratic process amongst the Tamil Diaspora were welcomed by AFTA.
The Thai government spokesman has stated that Mr. Pathmanathan is married to a Thai national and lived in the north of the country. Mr. Pathmanathan is believed to be a Thai national as well. Although Sri Lankan authorities initially claimed that Mr. Pathmanathan was arrested in Thailand and taken to Sri Lanka for interrogation, Thailand's prime minister said on Friday 7th August that he had been seized but denied that it happened in Thailand. All the independent media reports indicate that Mr. Pathmanathan was seized in Malaysia in an illegal manner by the Sri Lankan military intelligence with possible support of some sections of the Malaysian law enforcement agencies.
Extraordinary Rendition is illegal and should be challenged by people who believe in democracy and rule of law and signatories to the relevant Geneva Conventions. Even states which are not a party to conventions against Torture are bound by international norms to stamp out torture and not facilitate such acts. Article 3 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment prohibits Extraordinary Rendition. Article 3(1) prohibits parties from returning, extraditing or refouling any person to a state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. The Committee against Torture has held that this danger must be assessed not just for the initial receiving state, but also to states to which the person may be subsequently expelled, returned or extradited. It further states that for the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.
It is alarming to note that such an act could be permitted despite the International Community including Malaysia and Thailand being fully aware of the abductions, torture and indiscriminate killing of Tamils are common place in Sri Lanka.
Reuters news agency quoted Sri Lankan defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella as saying, "We are quite capable of demolishing LTTE activities anywhere in the world. We have the capacity and assistance". Reuters quoting three senior military sources has said that, three senior Sri Lankan military sources speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that three teams were deployed to Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia to hunt down and kill Pathmanathan, not capture him. "We didn't want him to be brought down here. But the circumstances didn't allow us to do that," one military intelligence officer told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

AFTA is of the opinion that if these statements by Sri Lankan military sources are true no Tamils from Sri Lanka, irrespective of their current nationality are safe on the streets of the country of residence.

AFTA feels that Sri Lanka has abducted Mr. Pathmanathan to deny a source of evidence of “war crimes” committed by Sri Lankan government officials, including the former DFAT official Dr. Palitha Kohona, who was involved in the surrender arrangements of the LTTE political wing leaders. These leaders were shot and killed by the Sri Lankan army while surrendering unarmed and carrying a white flag on the order of Government officials. Mr. Pathmanathan only negotiated the modalities for the surrender and he had played recently some of the recordings of these conversations to the international media.

AFTA appeals to

• the ICRC to demand immediate access to Mr. Pathmanathan to ensure his safety and his well being including supply of essential medication. ICRC also should facilitate the availability of a lawyer to represent him to assist in the investigation by the Sri Lankan authorities and protect this key witness who is vital for future independent international “war crimes” investigations.
• all the States who are against Extraordinary Rendition, including Australia and New Zealand, to condemn the illegal seizure of Mr. Pathmanathan, irrespective of any crime if committed by him, and the subsequent transfer of him to Colombo.
• the Malaysian government to break its silence about the alleged involvement of any of its law enforcement agencies in this matter.
• Thai Government to secure the release of its national; and
• The human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch to seek a just resolution to this matter

AFTA also appeals to the independent media to use investigative journalism to expose blatant disregard displayed by the parties involved in violating international norms.

Media Enquiries:
Sydney: Dr. Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209
Melbourne: Mr. Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591
Canberra: Dr. Raga Ragavan 0402 387 920
Auckland: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Wellington: Mr. Mani Maniparathy 027 448 0340

http://www.tamilsydney.com/content/view/2362/37/

Sri Lanka under pressure to clarify circumstances of Tamil Tiger leader capture

The Sri Lankan government was facing calls to explain how it captured and extradited the new Tamil Tiger leader 'KP' Selvarasa Pathmanathan last week

By Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor

Selvarasa Pathmanathan, formerly the LTTE's chief fundraiser and arms supplier, was reported to have been seized from a hotel Kuala Lumpur Photo: AP

Pathmanathan, formerly the LTTE's chief fundraiser and arms supplier, was reported to have been seized from a hotel in Kuala Lumpur by a Sri Lankan intelligence team acting with support from Malaysian officials. His capture has dealt a serious blow to the LTTE's hopes of regrouping as a political force.

Diplomats in Colombo said Pathmanathan had not faced an extradition hearing while human rights campaigners said they feared he could be tortured in detention. They compared his arrest with American 'rendition' detentions.
According to Tamil sources, Pathmanathan had left his home in Bangkok, where he is believed to live with his Thai wife and daughter, for a meeting with other senior LTTE figures. One was Balasingham Balendran, the brother of the Tigers' former political chief, Nadesan, and Nadesan's son, both of whom are understood to be based in London.

According to the D B S Jeyaraj, an influential Tamil commentator with close links to LTTE leadership figures, Pathmanathan had been in a room at Kuala Lumpur's First Tune Hotel when he received a call and left the room to continue his conversation. He never returned to his guests. His caller has said he had heard a 'thud' on the line and a commotion before the line went dead.
The LTTE has denounced his arrest as an act of state terrorism, but there had been an Interpol warrant for his arrest for sometime. It is understood that the Sri Lankan government had intensified moves to track the former gun-runner and financier with the appointment of a senior brigadier as deputy high commissioner to Malaysia specifically tasked with his extradition.
The Malaysian authorities have so far refused to comment on his arrest, while Human Rights Watch has called for an explanation of how he was deported, and expressed concern for his welfare in Sri Lankan custody.
"The Sri Lankans do not have a good reputation on the treatment of terrorism suspects. We're approaching the Sri Lankan government and Kuala Lumpur for further information. We remain concerned about the detention process. He should have received the [proper] judicial process before a court," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch.


Sri-Lanka-under-pressure-to-clarify-circumstances-of-Tamil-Tiger-leader-capture.html

Adopt international inquiry for aid worker killings: HRW

Third Anniversary of ACF Murders Marked by Government Inaction, Intimidation; For three years since the ACF massacre, the Rajapaksa government has put on an elaborate song and dance to bedazzle the international community into believing justice is being done. It’s time the UN and concerned governments say ‘the show is over’ and put into place a serious international inquiry, says James Ross, legal and policy director of Human Rights watch.

The Sri Lankan government's gross mishandling of the investigation into the execution-style slaying of 17 aid workers in the northeastern town of Mutur three years ago demonstrates the need for an international commission of inquiry, Human Rights Watch said Monday. Since mid-July 2009, government actions in the case - for which no one has been arrested, let alone convicted - raised further concerns about an already deeply troubling investigation, Human Rights Watch said.
On August 4, 2006, 17 Sri Lankan aid workers with the Paris-based international humanitarian agency Action Contre La Faim (ACF) were summarily executed in their office in Mutur, Trincomalee district, following fighting between government security forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for control of the town. The aid workers, 16 Tamils and one Muslim, were engaged in a program to help survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
"For three years since the ACF massacre, the Rajapaksa government has put on an elaborate song and dance to bedazzle the international community into believing justice is being done," said James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch. "It's time the UN and concerned governments say ‘the show is over' and put into place a serious international inquiry."
Since mid-July, the government commission investigating the case has, without sufficient basis, ruled out the involvement of the Sri Lankan armed forces. It unfairly and dangerously denounced local human rights organizations participating in the commission. And government authorities improperly pressured the families of the murdered aid workers to demand that France obtain for them greater compensation from ACF.
On July 14, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, created in November 2006 to investigate 16 major human rights cases, publicly announced its findings in the ACF case. The commission exonerated the Sri Lankan army and navy in the ACF killings, primarily on limited witness testimony that these forces were not in the vicinity at the time. It blamed the killings on either the LTTE or auxiliary police known as home guards. Its full report to the president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, remains unpublished.
The commission rejected the detailed findings of the nongovernmental University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), which in April 2008 published eyewitness accounts, weapons analysis, and information on the government security forces that it believes were responsible for the atrocity. However, the commission chair told the media that the commission was hindered by the absence of a witness-protection program and noted that the government blocked video testimonies that would have permitted at-risk witnesses to testify from outside the country.
Excerpts from the commission's final report posted on the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense website sharply criticize the role of local organizations in the ACF inquiry. These organizations provided legal support for witnesses and made a number of written submissions on the case. The commission stated that the "main function" of seven named nongovernmental organizations was to "attempt to discredit every possible institution and authority of this country before the Commission, and attempt to hold one party responsible for the gruesome crime.... They appeared not to ascertain the truth but to engage in a fault finding exercise of the security forces of Sri Lanka." The commission said the groups adopted "a suspiciously narrow outlook" and engaged in a "preconceived plan or conspiracy to discredit the Commission ... for the consumption of some of the international organizations."
Human Rights Watch said that such accusations, made in the current context of continuing threats and physical assaults against media and civil society groups labeled "traitorous" or otherwise anti-government, place individuals and organizations at serious risk.
Sri Lanka sources and the media reported that the Sri Lankan authorities have also placed improper pressure on the families of the ACF victims. Victims' families summoned to a government office in Trincomalee on July 19 were given three letters to sign and return by July 25. All three form letters demanded that the French government seek further compensation for the families from ACF on the basis of the commission's finding of ACF's "gross negligence."
One letter was addressed to the French embassy and another to Sri Lanka's attorney general. The third letter, to Rajapaksa, explained that the signatory was "extremely grateful" to the president for appointing a commission of inquiry and for "ensuring that justice prevailed." Some families expressed apprehension about possible retaliation if they did not sign the letters, though several reportedly refused to do so.
"Instead of doing all it can to get justice for this horrific crime, the Sri Lankan government is further traumatizing the ACF victims' families by trying to shift the blame to others," Ross said.
Human Rights Watch called for the United Nations secretary-general or other UN body to create an international commission of inquiry to investigate the ACF killings and other human rights abuses by all parties to the armed conflict in Sri Lanka, and make recommendations for the prosecution of those responsible. On May 23, Rajapaksa and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a joint statement from Sri Lanka in which the government said it "will take measures to address" the need for an accountability process for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Human Rights Watch has long reported on the government's failure to impartially investigate and prosecute those responsible for the numerous human rights abuses committed during the 25-year armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers, which ended in May with the Tigers' defeat.
Human Rights Watch previously criticized the Presidential Commission of Inquiry for being an insufficient governmental response to ongoing human rights abuses, the absence of a presidential obligation to act on its recommendations or make its findings public, and improper interference in the commission by the attorney general. In April 2008, the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) withdrew from its role monitoring the commission because it had "not been able to conclude ... that the proceedings of the Commission have been transparent or have satisfied basic international norms and standards."
"On the third anniversary of the murder of 17 aid workers, the Sri Lankan government is no closer to uncovering the truth or prosecuting those responsible," said Ross. "Instead, the government is using the atrocity to threaten local rights groups, intimidate the victims' families, and score political points against the French government."

'It is time for the Lankan govt to reach out to Tamils': Deepak Obhrai, Canada

Canada's conservative Member of Parliament Deepak Obhrai, who's also Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for Foreign Affairs Lawrence Canon, was on an official visit to Lanka from July 5 to July 7 to visit refugee camps and ensure that Canadian aid is reaching the Tamil refugees there.


In a telephonic interview from Phuket, Thailand, where he's currently attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Conference, Obhrai tells rediff.com's Ajit Jain about his visit and the direction of the Sri Lankan government's foreign policy.

What was the main objective of your visit to Sri Lanka [ Images ]?

Canada has contributed heavily towards the rehabilitation of Lankan refugees, so I visited the internally displaced persons' camps to find out what the government has done so far for the repatriation of these refugees. Most importantly, I also wanted to find out what the government of Sri Lanka is doing to reach out to the local Tamil community for the reconciliation process.

What has been Canada's contribution towards helping the Lankan refugees?

Canada hIn a telephonic interview from Phuket, Thailand, where he's currently attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Conference, Obhrai tells rediff.com's Ajit Jain about his visit and the direction of the Sri Lankan government's foreign policy.

What was the main objective of your visit to Sri Lanka [ Images ]?

Canada [ Images ] has contributed heavily towards the rehabilitation of Lankan refugees, so I visited the internally displaced persons' camps to find out what the government has done so far for the repatriation of these refugees. Most importantly, I also wanted to find out what the government of Sri Lanka is doing to reach out to the local Tamil community for the reconciliation process.

What has been Canada's contribution towards helping the Lankan refugees?

Canada has been engaged with Sri Lanka for a long time. Canon has already announced $7.1 million aid for helping refugees. So, it was important to see what was happening on the ground, whether aid was reaching the refugees or not.

The Sri Lankan government gave me the permission to visit IDP camps. I also talked to the local authorities -- military and civilians. I informed the Sri Lankan authorities that the Tamil Diaspora (in Canada) would like to contribute towards the resettlement of the refugees and rebuilding of the areas heavily damaged during the conflict. The government welcomed that and assured that they would set up some mechanism to ensure that the process of reconstruction of those areas commences soon.

I also saw the work the Sri Lankan government is doing to help the refugees. I have earlier visited IDP camps in Dar-e-Salam, Kenya and elsewhere and based on my visits to IDP camps, I would say that no matter what you do, it is still a refugee camp. The sooner these people go home the better it is.

What was the response of the Sri Lankan authorities to your suggestion?

They said yes, but at the same time they explained that there are still lots of heavily mined areas, and it was dangerous to allow people to go back unless those areas are de-mined. In fact, an Indian team of experts with de-mining equipment will visit Sri Lanka to help the government.

Did you meet the foreign minister of Sri Lanka?

Yes, I had lengthy discussions with Foreign Minister Roitha Bogollama and also Foreign Secretary Dr Palitha Kohona.
I met Minister for Rehabilitation Rishard Badurdeen, who had himself been displaced by the LTTE [ Images ] and has lived in an IDP camp. He also discussed the rehabilitation and repatriation process.

During my meeting with Bogollama, we discussed the important issue of how the government of Sri Lanka would now reach out to the Tamil community for the reconciliation process. He pointed out that till now, there was a war going on and they were preoccupied with the war.

Now that the war has ended, the Lankan government can work for the peace process. In many areas, where the government was not able to do anything, it is time for them to reach out to Tamils. The foreign minister assured me that they would do that.

Are there any concrete signs that the Sri Lankan government is in fact moving in that direction?

They have made a statement and we will see how that process moves forward. I was informed by the Sri Lankan foreign minister that they have had meetings with the Tamil Diaspora as well, including people from Canada.

Did you meet any Tamil Canadians while you were in Sri Lanka?

I am going to be very candid with you. The issue is not with Canadian Tamils. The issue is with Tamils in Sri Lanka. The ultimate political solution has to come in consultation with the Tamils in Sri Lanka and not Tamils in Canada. While I appreciate the concerns of Tamils living in Canada and their willingness to contribute towards rebuilding of Tamil areas, I do not personally believe that Sri Lankans who live outside the country are the ones who will be instrumental in the direct political settlement in Sri Lanka.

Did you meet people from the Tamil community at the IDP camps?

I would say that they are people who are just caught in the fighting. It is most important that these people go home. I also visited a hospital that is being run by Indians and talked to the doctors there.

The Canadian government is in favour of the Sri Lankan government allowing the IDPs to repatriate as soon as possible.

Yes, I have suggested that these people should be allowed to leave the IDP camps, allowed to go home. Of course, those areas are heavily mined. I did indicate to the Sri Lankan authorities that there's a desire on the part of Sri Lankans in Canada to be more active, but I would clearly state that they cannot be involved in the political process.

But the Canadian foreign affairs minister has repeatedly made statements in support of the human rights of the Tamil people. Also, representatives of the foreign media have not been allowed inside Sri Lanka?

We discussed the reconciliation process and the Lankan politicians said that the process is going to move forward. The protection of all citizens is the responsibility of all citizens here as well, and that includes Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.

I must make it clear we have to engage with the government of Sri Lanka. We have historical ties with the Sri Lankan government. as been engaged with Sri Lanka for a long time. Canon has already announced $7.1 million aid for helping refugees. So, it was important to see what was happening on the ground, whether aid was reaching the refugees or not.

The Sri Lankan government gave me the permission to visit IDP camps. I also talked to the local authorities -- military and civilians. I informed the Sri Lankan authorities that the Tamil Diaspora (in Canada) would like to contribute towards the resettlement of the refugees and rebuilding of the areas heavily damaged during the conflict. The government welcomed that and assured that they would set up some mechanism to ensure that the process of reconstruction of those areas commences soon.

I also saw the work the Sri Lankan government is doing to help the refugees. I have earlier visited IDP camps in Dar-e-Salam, Kenya and elsewhere and based on my visits to IDP camps, I would say that no matter what you do, it is still a refugee camp. The sooner these people go home the better it is.

What was the response of the Sri Lankan authorities to your suggestion?

They said yes, but at the same time they explained that there are still lots of heavily mined areas, and it was dangerous to allow people to go back unless those areas are de-mined. In fact, an Indian team of experts with de-mining equipment will visit Sri Lanka to help the government.

Did you meet the foreign minister of Sri Lanka?

Yes, I had lengthy discussions with Foreign Minister Roitha Bogollama and also Foreign Secretary Dr Palitha Kohona.
I met Minister for Rehabilitation Rishard Badurdeen, who had himself been displaced by the LTTE [ Images ] and has lived in an IDP camp. He also discussed the rehabilitation and repatriation process.
During my meeting with Bogollama, we discussed the important issue of how the government of Sri Lanka would now reach out to the Tamil community for the reconciliation process. He pointed out that till now, there was a war going on and they were preoccupied with the war.

Now that the war has ended, the Lankan government can work for the peace process. In many areas, where the government was not able to do anything, it is time for them to reach out to Tamils. The foreign minister assured me that they would do that.

Are there any concrete signs that the Sri Lankan government is in fact moving in that direction?

They have made a statement and we will see how that process moves forward. I was informed by the Sri Lankan foreign minister that they have had meetings with the Tamil Diaspora as well, including people from Canada.

Did you meet any Tamil Canadians while you were in Sri Lanka?

I am going to be very candid with you. The issue is not with Canadian Tamils. The issue is with Tamils in Sri Lanka. The ultimate political solution has to come in consultation with the Tamils in Sri Lanka and not Tamils in Canada. While I appreciate the concerns of Tamils living in Canada and their willingness to contribute towards rebuilding of Tamil areas, I do not personally believe that Sri Lankans who live outside the country are the ones who will be instrumental in the direct political settlement in Sri Lanka.

Did you meet people from the Tamil community at the IDP camps?

I would say that they are people who are just caught in the fighting. It is most important that these people go home. I also visited a hospital that is being run by Indians and talked to the doctors there.
The Canadian government is in favour of the Sri Lankan government allowing the IDPs to repatriate as soon as possible.
Yes, I have suggested that these people should be allowed to leave the IDP camps, allowed to go home. Of course, those areas are heavily mined. I did indicate to the Sri Lankan authorities that there's a desire on the part of Sri Lankans in Canada to be more active, but I would clearly state that they cannot be involved in the political process.

But the Canadian foreign affairs minister has repeatedly made statements in support of the human rights of the Tamil people. Also, representatives of the foreign media have not been allowed inside Sri Lanka?

We discussed the reconciliation process and the Lankan politicians said that the process is going to move forward. The protection of all citizens is the responsibility of all citizens here as well, and that includes Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.
I must make it clear we have to engage with the government of Sri Lanka. We have historical ties with the Sri Lankan government.

British Govt issues new travel advice: warns on anti-Western rhetoric

The British Government has issued a new travel advice to British nationals visiting Sri Lanka. It advices British on increased anti-Western (particularly anti-British) rhetoric in Sri Lanka due to the upsurge of Sinhala extremism. The travel advice said: "The end of the military conflict has seen an upsurge of nationalism in Sri Lanka. As a result,anti-Western (particularly anti-British) rhetoric has increased, including from senior Government figures. This has led to violent protests against the British High Commission and other diplomatic premises."


The summary of travel advice:

* We advise against all travel to the north of Sri Lanka. This includes all areas north of the A12 road connecting Puttalam in the west with Trincomalee in the east. It does not include Anuradhapura or the spit of land to Kalpitiya west of Puttalam.

* We advise against all but essential travel to most parts of eastern Sri Lanka, including the districts of Batticaloa (all areas), Trincomalee (rural areas), and Ampara (north and eastern areas). We do not advise against travel to the following areas in the east: Trincomalee Town, including the A6 road corridor to Trincomalee; Block One of Yala National Park; areas of Ampara District south of the A4 road including Arugam Bay; areas of Ampara District, west of the A25 and A27 roads.

* The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, or “Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. All territory in Sri Lanka is now under Government control. However, politically-motivated violence, abductions and criminality persist throughout the country, particularly in the north and east. The Government maintains its State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers. Heightened security measures including checkpoints are expected to remain throughout the country. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Detentions do occur, particularly of people of Tamil ethnicity. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

* The end of the military conflict has seen an upsurge of nationalism in Sri Lanka. As a result, anti-Western (particularly anti-British) rhetoric has increased, including from senior Government figures. This has led to violent protests against the British High Commission and other diplomatic premises. Although no protests have so far been directed at the British community more generally, you should be vigilant and avoid demonstrations.

* The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its Pandemic Threat Alert Phase to Level 6. The WHO website at: www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html as further details. You should also monitor local media reports for any developments and advice. There is a dedicated Swine Flu page on the FCO website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/swine-flu . Guidance on Pandemic Flu can be obtained on the UK Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk.

* The Government of Sri Lanka has introduced surveillance measures at Katunayake (Bandaranayake) International Airport. On arrival in Sri Lanka travellers from affected countries (including the UK) should be prepared to be asked questions or be checked for symptoms by medical staff. Travellers suspected of having A (H1N1) will be admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Angoda for compulsory quarantine, testing and treatment. Travellers should be aware that transfer from the IDH to a more modern and better equipped private facility will not be permitted for those with suspected or confirmed H1N1. Travellers should consult their healthcare provider before travelling to Sri Lanka.

* There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Although foreign tourists and visitors have not been targeted in the past, attacks have occurred in places frequented by foreigners. Attacks have continued in 2009 and have affected a variety of targets including government and military sites and public gatherings. Although the LTTE has suffered a military defeat further terrorist attacks may occur. See the Terrorism section of this advice for more details.

* The majority of visits are incident free, although there are an increasing number of incidents of credit card fraud, road accidents and drownings. You should wear a seatbelt when travelling by road and use credit or debit cards only in reputable establishments (e.g. major hotels). Take local advice before bathing in the sea. A number of tropical diseases are also prevalent, including dengue fever, Chikungunya and rat fever (Leptospirosis). Cases of dengue fever in particular have risen sharply in recent months.

* About 94,000 British nationals visit Sri Lanka each year (source: Sri Lanka tourism board). The main types of incident for which British nationals required consular assistance in 2008 were: replacing lost or stolen passports; deaths, mostly from natural causes; and arrests or detentions.

* We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake. See the General (Insurance) page of this advice and the Travel Insurance page of the FCO website for more details. We also recommend that British nationals resident and/or working in Sri Lanka, or visiting for over one month, should register with the British High Commission in Colombo.

Safety and security

Terrorism

There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. For more general information see the Terrorism Abroad page of the FCO website.
The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as the “Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. The LTTE has traditionally combined guerrilla warfare with terrorist attacks on government and civilian targets. Although the military conflict has ended the LTTE is likely to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks.
Although the conflict is over, the Government has extended the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers. Heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) are therefore likely to be maintained for the foreseeable future. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.
Fatal attacks have occurred throughout the country, including Colombo and other areas frequented by foreigners. Since the beginning of 2009 at least 50 civilians have been killed in terrorist attacks across Sri Lanka. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant recent attacks include:

* On 10 March 2009 a suicide bomb attack at a political gathering in Akuressa, near Matara, resulted in 14 deaths and a number of injuries.

* On 21 February 2009 21 civilians were shot dead in a village in rural Ampara district.

* On 20 February 2009 an LTTE air raid on military targets in Colombo resulted in four deaths and injured a further 12.

* On 9 February 2009 a suicide bomb attack in an IDP centre in Mullaithivu district killed eight civilians and 20 soldiers.

* On 2 January 2009 a suicide bomb attack near the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Air Force in Colombo resulted in three deaths and injured a further six.

Crime

Credit card fraud is the most common type of crime affecting visitors. It is advisable to use cash wherever possible and to use ATMs attached to banks or major hotels. Do not let your credit card leave your sight when you use it. Some travellers experience problems using their credit / debit cards on arrival in Sri Lanka when their banks’ automated fraud protection system blocks transactions. It may be useful to inform your bank in advance of your intended travel arrangements. If your card is blocked, you will need to contact your bank to re-activate it. There are plenty of money changers in tourist areas if you want to change cash.
Violent crimes against foreigners are relatively infrequent, although there have been reports of sexual offences and muggings. When travelling around Sri Lanka, you should make arrangements through reputable travel companies (such as those identified in your guidebook or local listings information) and exercise appropriate caution. Women should take particular care when travelling alone and carry personal alarms. For more general inforamtion see Rape and Sexual Assault Abroad.
There has been an increase in the number of reported thefts from hotels and guesthouses. You should take sensible precautions to safeguard your valuables, especially passports and money.

For more general information see Victims of Crime Abroad.

Political Situation

As stated in the Summary, the conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended in May 2009.
Travellers should note that the end of the military conflict has seen an upsurge of nationalism in Sri Lanka. As a result, anti-Western (particularly anti-British) rhetoric has increased, including from senior Government figures. This has led to violent protests against the British High Commission and other diplomatic premises. Although no protests have so far been directed at the British community more generally, you should be vigilant and avoid demonstrations.
There have been a number of “hartals” (widely enforced general strikes) and curfews, particularly in the north and east. You should avoid political gatherings or demonstrations. You should follow local news and maintain a high state of vigilance during such events
Foreign nationals have been detained by the police after taking photographs of buildings or vehicles used by VIPs. These include numerous sites in central Colombo. Use of video and/or photography is prohibited near military bases and government buildings.

Local Travel

We advise against all travel to the north of Sri Lanka. The Government has recently concluded an intense military campaign against the LTTE in the north. Parts of this area are heavily land-mined and it is possible that pockets of LTTE cadres remain. Violence could break out in these areas with little or no warning. The High Commission is very limited in the assistance it can offer visitors to this area. For the purposes of this travel advice we consider the north to be all areas north of the A12 road (which runs from Puttalam in the west to Trincomalee in the east). This includes the Jaffna peninsula, but does not include Anuradhapura or the spit of land to Kalpitiya west of Puttalam.
We advise against all but essential travel to the eastern Sri Lankan districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, and Ampara. The security situation across the east is volatile. Violent incidents and paramilitary activity are frequently reported, especially at night. This includes incidents of shootings, abduction, and civil unrest. Foreigners have not previously been targeted, but there is a risk that British nationals could become involved in an incident through being in the wrong place at the wrong time. British Nationals of Sri Lankan origin or descent should exercise particular caution.
Travellers should note that we do not advise against travel to the following areas in the east: Trincomalee Town, including the A6 road corridor to Trincomalee; areas of Ampara District south of the A4 road, including Arugam Bay; areas of Ampara District, west of the A25 and A27 roads.
We do not advise against travel to the Yala National Park, but you should ensure that any visit is on an officially approved tour that visits only “Block one” of the park, (in practice, most organised tours only visit this area). A number of security incidents have occurred since 2007 in “Block two” to “Block five” of the Yala National Park (the outlying areas of the park) and these areas remain closed to visitors. You should not attempt to visit Blocks Two - Five.
Many rural areas in the north and east are heavily land-mined. Always obey signs warning about the danger from land-mines and do not step off main roads.

Did the Govt. death squad kill the arrested Tamil Tiger leaders in the prisons?

The Sri Lanka Guardian in its online news said that information filtering through highly restricted government sources confirms a number of LTTE leaders arrested in the IDP camps immediately after the military defeat of the LTTE have been killed after severe torturing in the prisons in the southern Sri Lanka.

The news report further said: ‘Over one hundred odd LTTE men have been silently and systematically wiped out by the government death squads’ said one source. The sources said LTTE’s Balakumar (former EROS head), Yogaratnam Yogi, Karikalan and Pulavar Puthuvai were some of those being killed. They were arrested in the IDP camps and taken to Colombo for interrogation.
‘The government is maintaining dumbfounded silence about their arrests and whereabouts and only revealing the situation faced by Thaya Master and Suba Thamilchelvan’s interpreter George to sidetrack the massacre’ said another source anonymously.
The sources further said that the government failed to report the arrests and whereabouts of the LTTE men to the ICRC.

‘Sri Lanka can’t quell the Tamils’ thirst for equality and freedom’

Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, the coordinator of the committee for the formation of provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) in an exclusive interview to 'Tehelka,' shared his thoughts on the transnational government that they are trying to establish.


Excerpts from his interview:

Q: How confident are you about the success of the TGTE? How would it be different from the existing ‘governments in exile’ in various regions of the world?

A: We are very confident that this initiative will succeed. Even though the Government of Sri Lanka has brutally crushed the armed struggle, they cannot quell the Tamils’ thirst for dignity, equality and freedom. At present, not only is the survival of Tamils in Sri Lanka in danger, they also have no space to articulate their political aspirations. Thus, the Tamils’ political campaign can be pursued only from outside. What we are trying to establish is not a government in exile. We envisage a transnational government (TG) that does not require a host state. This government will be elected by the Tamil diaspora. There is no precedent of a TG created by an ethnic group. The TG we conceptualise will be our contribution to politics and political theory.

Q: Will Tamil refugees living in Tamil Nadu be part of the process? Will you seek the support of state parties and the Indian government?

A: Definitely. We will seek their support.

Q: Do you intend to visit Tamil Nadu to meet Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and other Tamil leaders?

A: We intend to meet [CM] Karunanidhi, Jayalalithaa [AIADMK chief], Nedumaran and Vaiko [both pro-Eelam leaders], Pandian [CPI state secretary] and other political leaders. We also intend to have discussions with civic leaders and intellectuals in Tamil Nadu and Delhi. India’s support is very important.

Q: When is your realistic deadline for electing the constituent assembly of the proposed TG? What will be the method of election?

A: We hope to have the elections during April 2010. However, we have been asked by many people to expedite the process. What we envisage is people going to the booths and voting.

Q: ‘Sri Lanka brutally crushed the LTTE, but they can’t quell the Tamils’ thirst for equality and freedom’

A: What would be your roadmap for achieving Eelam?

The TG, through its legitimacy, popularity and international support will become a power centre and create an equilibrium of power between the Sinhala nation and the Tamil nation. It will contribute towards creating a political arrangement where Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils can live in peace.

Q: Have you received a favourable response from any country?

A: International support is essential for the success for this initiative. Since the TG is to be established in accordance with democratic principles, we hope democratic countries will support our initiative. We have received favourable responses from some countries.