http://www.lankapuvath.lk/index.php/home/behind-the-curtain/behind-the-curtain-2/18043-ltte-diary-prabakaran-killed-300-cadres-loyal-to-mahattaya


Colombo Lankapuvath) An LTTE diary in the hands of a Tiger cadre in Germany has revealed that slain LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran ordered the massacre of 300 cadres loyal to his one time deputy leader,Mahendrarajah alias Mahattaya.Notes pertaining to threats on Anton Balasingham not to talk 'peace moves' issued by Prabakaran are also included in that diary,reports from Berlin said.
Prabakaran who fell out with Mahattaya over the latter's stand to seek a negotiated political settlement with the Colombo Government at that time, had personally shot dead Mahattaya near a Red Chilly chena cultivation in the thick jungles of Mullaitivu in the presence of Kittu,Raheem and Yogaratnam alias Yogi.At the time Mahattaya was killed, the trio Kittu, Raheem and Yogi were the trusted lieutenants of Prabakaran who spearheaded ground operations against the Sri Lankan military in the North.Having shot dead Mahattaya, the remains of the slain LTTE deputy leader had been carried into the thick jungles and cremated, the diary has revealed.Thereafter, 300 hundred hard core cadres allocated to Mahattaya had been targeted by Prabakaran and killed within six months laying booby traps,land mines and anti-personnel bombs on the paths they were directed to travel,the diary has noted.The diary unfolds that the manner of the killing of Mahattaya was kept a well guarded secret in order to put the blame on the government security forces on the sudden disappearance of Mahattaya.However, after Prabakaran penalized Yogi and the LTTE 'Top Command' split,many well guarded secrets of the LTTE had been let out by disgruntled cadres.Many of them have been punished with death while Yogi was barricaded in Jaffna as a cricket coach prohibited to leave the peninsula without the consent of Prabakaran,the diary has unfolded.

http://www.nation.lk/2011/08/28/inter.htm

Diaspora’s bid to mislead us will not succeed
Says S. P. Thamilselvan’s wife
The widow of the late LTTE political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan, Shashirekha in an exclusive interview with The Nation goes back to her youth, learning Bharata Natyam, becoming a dancing teacher, meeting with the LTTE leader Prabhakaran and Thamilselvan. She recounts her experiences in the terrorist group-controlled north including the fate that befell her. The unknown agonies she suffered after the death of her husband and the plight all Tamil people fell into under the LTTE and the warning that the Tamil diaspora is trying to drag the Tamil people into danger and destruction are told by her in this candid interview.

By Chamara Lakshan KumaraFollowing are the highlights of the interview:
Question: Could you recount the experiences of your childhood and early youth?I was born at Bambalapitiya, Colombo and our family had seven members including our parents. My father had a shop opposite the Majestic City shopping mall. My mother was a housewife. I studied at St.Anthony’s Girls School up to grade three.
Q: Why did you leave school at that grade? We left Colombo after the 1983 Black July and went to live in Chullipuram, Jaffna.
Q: Did your family leave Colombo for fear as you were victims of violence of the Black July?Mobs set fire to our shop during that time and we went back to Jaffna out of fear.
Q: After going back to Jaffna did you go back to school?I was admitted to Vaddukoddai Vidyalaya where I studied up to the GCE Ordinary Level.
Q: Why didn’t you continue your studies after the GCE Ordinary Level?At school I became interested in dancing. I studied for dancing examinations and passed the level four exam. I became a dancing teacher but my parents had decided to return to Colombo by that time. My parents deciding to return to Colombo was one of the reasons that prevented me from going up for higher education. When they returned to Colombo I stayed back at Nallur. While I was conducting dancing classes I also took part in the public performances organised by the LTTE at that time.
Q: What made you stay back in Jaffna while your parents returned to Colombo?It was about the year 1990 and my desire for higher education was lost. All I wanted to do was to further my career in dancing and achieve a high position in dancing. At the same time I was becoming sympathetic towards the LTTE. Therefore I decided to remain and refused to join my parents. My parents became very angry with me and they came to Colombo, angered over my decision.
Q: Did you continue to have relations with your parents after they came back to Colombo? No. For a long period I did not have any relations with my family. I stayed with a friend of mine Revathi at Nallur. She was also a dancing teacher. I did Bharatha Natyam.
Q: How did you come to join the LTTE?No. At the beginning I had not joined the LTTE. But when they invited me to perform in their public shows I accepted such invitations. During that time the area was under the control of the LTTE. When the Army recaptured Jaffna I went to the Vanni. Till I got married I had taken part in all the public shows put on by the LTTE.
Q: Why did you follow the LTTE into the Vanni. You could have remained in the area recaptured by the army?Since I had lived in an area controlled by the LTTE I went to all the other areas that they controlled. On the other hand they sent me a number of invitations to take part in the public performances as a dancer.
Q: Did the LTTE pay you well for dancing in their public shows?At that time I was paid three or four thousand rupees for each show and at that time I had enough money. Sometimes they presented clothes or dresses but there were times when I was not paid anything.
Q: It appears that you were a highly skilled dancer but it is difficult to understand how you came to be associated with a killer terrorist group. Any comment?Since I had been living in an area under the control of the LTTE I did not feel very much to go to an area controlled by the army. On the other hand it was necessary for anyone living in a LTTE controlled area to obtain a permit to enter an area under the army and that was difficult. These were the reasons that made me remain in LTTE controlled areas.
Q: From when were you, Shashirekha, came to be known Isaichelvi?After I got married to Thamilselvan.
Q: How did you come to know Thamilselvan?I met him at a public performance and later the LTTE’s Anton Balasingham brought the proposal to marry Thamilchelvan.
Q: By that time he had become a physically disabled person?Though he was disabled he had an artificial leg.
Q: What are your reminiscences of marriage to Thamilselvan?Our marriage took place suddenly. Within a month after Balasingham brought the marriage proposal we were married. Prabhakaran and his wife Madivadini acted as the parents of Thamilselvan. Anton Balasingham and Adele acted as my parents. At that time Balasingham’s kidney ailment had turned severe and he needed to go abroad for treatment. Therefore he insisted that the marriage should take place soon. Even Thamilselvan’s family was not aware that we were getting married. When his mother who was living abroad had asked why she was not informed earlier Thamilselvan had said that he too was made aware only four days before the marriage.
Q: Where did the marriage take place?It was at Pudukudirippu in the house Anton Balasingham was living. The members of Prabhakaran’s family including the parents of his wife Madivadini, Karuna Amman and many others were present. Nadesan was the registrar of the marriage.
Q: Did Prabhakaran and others in the LTTE have a frame of mind to take part or view public performances like dancing shows?They used to come to see such shows.
Q: After your marriage did the LTTE help you?We were given a house to live in but there was no special security though my husband had four security men accompanying him. When he came back home they came to leave him and when he went out they accompanied him.
Q: What sort of person was Thamilselvan?He was a calm person with whom anything could be discussed. He told me to continue my dancing career and said I should be able to stand on my own.
Q: What sort of relations did you have with the wives of other LTTE leaders?There was nothing special about them. We only met at functions and public events. Soosai’s family was good but the families of other leaders cannot be described as ones with an understanding. But Prabhakaran’s family had a very close association with us.
Q: Weren’t you aware that the families of leaders lived in luxury? Did your family also enjoy such luxuries?We were given houses by the organisation. When I was pregnant with our first child we were given a two-roomed house at Pudukudirippu but it was not a luxurious dwelling.
Q: You said you came from a high caste family in the north and Thamilselvan from the barber caste. Was that not a problem for your marriage?I was aware that he came from that caste but I did not consider that a problem.
Q: When your parents became aware of your marriage what was their reaction?They got afraid. At that time I was working for Save the Children Fund but no one was aware that I was Thamilselvan’s wife. I sent a message to my mother through another person from my village who too was working for Save the Children Fund. I asked him to give the message about my marriage when he came to Colombo.
Q: What are your brothers and sisters who had had higher education in the universities of the south doing now?They are living abroad. But my parents are now living with me.
Q: Do you remember that Thamilselvan went abroad to take part in peace talks several times. When he came back did he discuss things that happened at such talks?He was never in the habit of discussing anything in connection with the activities of the organization. Sometimes when leaders of the LTTE were away from home for long their wives wrote letters to Prabhakaran complaining about their long absence but I never did such things.
Q: There was a rumour that Thamilselvan once worked as a barber at Kotahena. Is that true?No he never worked in Colombo as a barber because he had joined the LTTE when he was only 16. He was the youngest child of the family, the mother’s pet. Others of his family were dark complexioned but he was fair complexioned and he had never been employed anywhere.
Q: How did you hear about the death of Thamilselvan and what happened afterwards?When the news reached us that he was killed I was not taken to the place where the tragedy occurred. Though the LTTE sent several persons there they did not tell me anything about it on their return. Some of those who went there did not come back but about 9.30 in the night of that day one LTTE cadre who came to see us told me that my husband had died. He said he did not see his remains but the bunker was completely destroyed. His remains were later taken to his brother’s house in Kilinochchi. I reached the house around 11 a.m. and I could not stop crying but I called him my father when I was crying as I did not know what the LTTE had told the media about my husband’s death.
Q: What was Prabhakaran’s emotion when he came to pay his last respects to Thamilselvan?He was visibly moved and he was not in a frame of mind to speak to us. His face betrayed his emotions as he had implicit trust in my husband.
Q: After the demise of your husband did the LTTE or any leader of the LTTE see to the welfare or feelings of your family?No one came to see us. One month after the death of my husband I requested one of the leaders of the LTTE women’s wing Rekha to send our family including my parents to India and she said LTTE leader Prabharkaran did not agree to accede to our request. She said the leader has said it could be done only after one year. Then in desperation I requested that we be allowed to go to army controlled area but I was told that the leadership would inform me of their decision in a few days. But the LTTE neglected me and my children and after the death of my husband the leaders of the LTTE became disunited.
Q: Do you say that your family was kept in the area controlled under compulsion?Yes, that is true. But I was aware that the end of the LTTE was almost certain. By May 2009 the LTTE did not tell our people that they were facing defeat and most of the leaders who were on the same status as my husband including Prabhakaran’s son Charles Anthony were killed.
Q: How did you really come into the army controlled area at the final phase of the armed conflict?When I was in a corner crying one young man came and asked me whether I was the widow of Thamilselvan and he volunteered to escort me to the army controlled area. Since firing shells were going on at the time I with my children got into a bunker in the LTTE area with no one to look after us for more than three hours and I saw that all Tamil civilians were making their way to the army controlled area but it was not easy as both sides were still fighting with light and heavy guns. But after some time we started fleeing from the LTTE controlled area into the army controlled area and all of us were in a queue to reach safety.
Q: When you finally reached the army controlled area did you carry white flags of surrender?No one carried white flags and came to surrender to the army. The story that some LTTE leaders came with white flags is not at all true. When we reached the side controlled by the army they did not harass us and we felt secure from the way they treated us but before that we were living between life and death. The Sri Lanka armed forces have treated us very well and afforded us all the facilities we never had before that. Today we are living happily with my children who are continuing their education well. My parents are also living with me. The story about certain LTTE leaders coming to surrender raising white flags is a fairy tale. None came to surrender with white flags. Today as a Tamil I have to say that we don’t need any conflict with the others in Sri Lanka and I would like to tell the Tamil diaspora that their activities will not benefit the Sri Lankan Tamil people. The diaspora by their activities is trying to destroy the Tamil people and I also would like to tell them that we do not need a war. We are being looked after well by the government and the armed forces of Sri Lanka but the diaspora who are living abroad do not know that the Sri Lankan Tamil people do not need any further armed conflicts. I have deep faith in my religion Hinduism and I would continue to live with my children according to the tenets of my religion and I would like to tell the Tamil diaspora that their efforts to mislead our people will not succeed.

http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/MCNS/defence-security/index.php

Another 500 rehabilitated former LTTE cadres will be released on September 19 at a ceremony to be held at the Vavuniya Cultural centre.Rehabilitation and Prison's Reform's Ministry Secretary A. Dissanayke told the Daily News that 2,630 cadres are currently in seven rehabilitation centres and 500 of them will be reintegrated into society on September 19.He said among the cadres currently being rehabilitated, 695 youth were sent to these rehabilitation centres on court orders.He said Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadheera has decided to reintegrate the remaining cadres by year's end. A large number of youths housed at these rehabilitation centres are between the 15-25 age group' the ministry Secretary said. Courtesy:Dailynews.lk

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110829_01

SL can offer tourists a range of wildlife experiences- Asia News
People can watch elephants gather in September
Sri Lanka can offer tourists a range of wildlife experiences. Animals like elephants, leopards and sloth bears live on the island in protected areas where nature lovers can watch them, something hard to do elsewhere in Asia. Visitors can also enjoy the island's pristine forests and watch its whales, states Asia News.
"In September, we are going to offer tourists an opportunity to see wildlife. One of the main attractions is going to be the gathering of elephants," said Rumy Jaufer, managing director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. "For the past six months, we have conducted a series of theme-oriented promotions. September will be Wildlife Month," he explained.
The island nation offers unusual attractions, such as a high concentration of elephants, leopards and whales, quoting Dirk Grigson, president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators Asia News reported.
In August, hundreds of elephants come together at a drying reservoir in Minnerriya in north-central Sri Lanka, in what is the largest gathering of Asian elephants in the world.
The Yala National Park is home instead to the largest concentration of leopards in the world, and it is not easy to catch a glimpse of them.
Such large-scale animal concentrations are infrequent in Asia, but normal in Sri Lanka and Africa, said Professor Gehan De Silva Wijeratne.
"Sri Lanka is only 140 miles across and is covered by protected primary and secondary forests," he explained. It is home, to not only elephants and leopards, but also sloth bears and dozens of bird species. On the coast, whales and dolphins can be seen just a few miles off the shore.
During the war, many areas were off limits to tourists, but are now safe and open to tourist.
In the first seven months of this year, the country welcomed 465,324 tourists, up 36 per cent over last year. In July alone, 69,339 tourists visited the island, an increase of 32 per cent.
Courtesy: Asia News

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110829_03


Remaining number of IDPs dropped to 7,422

According to the newly released statistics, the total number of IDPs in relief camps were dropped to 7,422 as of today,(29 Aug).
Accordingly, 3,319 IDPs are remaining in Kadirakamar Zone-0 and 4,103 IDPs are in Anandakumaraswami Zone-1 in Menik Farm Relief Village, the Government Information Department revealed.
The Government has released and resettled 273,088 IDPs so far under its programme for speedy resettlement, it said.
235,517 IDPs accommodated in the relief villages in Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee and other districts have been resettled in their places of origin.
Further, the Government released 27,720 IDPs for humanitarian reasons. They include the elderly, university students, infants with family members, pregnant women and foreign passport holders.
9,851 IDPs in the Jaffna District were also resettled in their places of origin, including Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Trincomalee.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/08/30/news01.asp

Minister Peiris tells diplomats:
Post-war development at a pace in North
Rasika SOMARATHNA
*Political institutions resurrected
*Appreciates contribution by int’l community
Despite challenges, the government has been able to achieve impressive and sustained progress in developing the former conflict-torn North, both socially and economically, External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L.Peiris told the diplomatic community.
Prof. G.L.Peiris
“Most impressive here is the pace of development carried out during the short span of two and a half years since the Lankan conflict ended,” he said while giving a detailed report on the progress of development work in the area.
Addressing foreign diplomats in Colombo recently, the minister said that the government had also been able to establish civil administration and resurrect political institutions in the area which were dormant for the major part of the last 30 years due to acts of terrorism.
He said that this exercise would be completed with the holding of Provincial Council elections in the North, most probably early next year.
Prof Peiris noted that the government appreciates the contribution made by the international community and other organizations in various development initiatives.
According to the report given to diplomats, compiled by the Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development, and Security in the Northern Province, 420,888 people have been resettled in the area, since the end of conflict. No welfare centres in other districts remain other than two in Manic farm.
The remaining IDPs in Manic farm too are to be resettled shortly.
Some of the other highlights regarding development in the area are, the repairs to over 24,500 houses or newly built ones. The government with the assistance of other organizations plans to build 73,044 houses in the area.
”With government assistance farmers have been able to cultivate 75 percent of the paddy lands which were abandoned in the north due to the conflict. In the last two and a half years, farmers have cultivated 136,000 acres out of 180,000 acres which remained abandoned when the conflict ended,” he said.
Among the most impressive progress made have been witnessed in the health and education sectors. The government has spent over Rs. 2.6 billion to repair hospitals, build new ones and provide equipment and drugs. Almost all the major hospitals and small and medium scale medical centres have been repaired. New ones have been built at identified locations.
In the north, out of 1020 schools, 900 are functioning. However arrangements have been made for students in schools that are not functioning to follow classes in alternate locations. As of 2010, over 220,000 were studying in schools with nearly 14,000 teachers to assist them. The government has invested over Rs. 1.2 billion in the education sector so far.
Prof. Peiris told diplomats that the government was the one which has invested the most on road development in post independence Sri Lanka. In the north too, the government has invested nearly US $ 490 million to construct 512 Kms of major roads.
”In the rehabilitation of northern railways, the government has invested US $ 652.4 million to construct 252 kms of rail roads. On the rehabilitation of reservoirs and large and medium scale irrigation schemes the government has invested nearly Rs. 01 billion to supplement over 100 schemes,” the minister said.
Impressive growth rates too have been recorded in food crops cultivation and livestock development.
In the black gram cultivation a 115 percent increase has been recorded, followed by green gram (70 percent increase), ground nut (84 percent increase), red onion (69 percent increase) and cow pea (47 percent increase).
In the livestock sector 40 per cent of the annual requirement needed is produced within the province at present. According to predictions, the province is slated to achieve self-sufficiency in livestock production within the next few years.
Some of the major projects in the north are rehabilitation of KKS harbour, rehabilitation of Palali airport runway, reconstruction of major bridges such as sangupiddy, Mannar etc and the construction of Kokavil transmission tower, the minister said.

http://www.lankapuvath.lk/index.php/home/behind-the-curtain/behind-the-curtain-2/17968-white-flag-charge-totally-false-tamil-chelvams-widow


(Colombo Lankapuvath) Shashi Rekha,widow of former LTTE Political Chief,S.P.Tamil Chelvam has categorically rejected a claim that Sri Lanka military gunned down LTTE leaders who carried white flags to surrender.'All LTTE leaders were killed during the battle with the security forces', Shashi Rekha has confessed.
In an exclusive interview with the Sinhala weekly 'Rivira' this weekend,the widow of Tamil Chelvam has specifically stated that all LTTE leaders died during the final days of battle with the security forces.Shashi Rekha too had been trapped in an area in Vellamullivaikkal with a few civilians till the last day of the battle and had arrived into the area controlled by troops on May 16,2009.Her previous attempts to flee into liberated areas had been thwarted by the LTTE, she has told the weekly 'Rivira'.She charged that the overseas Tamil diaspora was misleading the Tamil people by publicizing the untruth regarding the war.'We know what really happened as we were there till the war ended', she has said.

Sri Lanka Tourism Booms After End of War .

http://www.news.lk/home/18804-sri-lanka-tourism-booms-after-end-of-war-


Sri Lanka Tourism Booms After End of War
Sunday, 28 August 2011 06:48

Sri Lanka, after a more than two years
after the end of 30-year civil war,the tourism in the island nation is now on track to recovery with several development projects under way. Despite the global financial downturn and ensuing ups and downs, the underperforming tourism industry in Sri Lanka has shown strong signs of pickup over the last two years.
The Sri Lankan government has taken steps to boost its tourism industry by offering concessions and special deals for tourism-related projects which include the construction of new five-star hotels and luxurious resorts in several parts of the country.
Fast gaining popularity as a hot tourist destination since the end of the war in May 2009, Sri Lanka has seen arrivals rise every month ever since.
Declaring 2011 as "Visit Sri Lanka Year", the government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa gave the country a target of attracting 2.5 million tourists and earning US$2.5 billion annually by 2016.
According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, during the first six months of 2011, more than 450,000 tourists visited the island, up 36.1 per cent year on year.
"We are very happy with the figures, which are continuing to rise each year, and the industry has really improved. We are currently conducting many promotional activities in several parts of the world to promote our rich culture, heritage and natural beauty," the bureau's managing director Rumy Jauffer said.
India has been one of Sri Lanka's biggest tourist sources, with a record number of Indians visiting the island since the end of the war. Local authorities are also trying to attract tourists from the Western and European markets as well as Asian nations such as China.
Jauffer has told Xinhua that 10,112 Chinese visited Sri Lanka in the first six months of 2011.
"The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau has been participating in travel fairs in China. In October this year, and in March, May and June next year, we will be participating in travel fairs in different Chinese provinces to promote Sri Lankan tourism. China is a potential market for us," he said.
The authorities hope to raise the number of Chinese tourists per year to 100,000, the official added.
Sri Lanka's tourism sector earned US$370 million in the first half of 2011, making it one of the fastest growing industries in the country. The industry has approved many mega hotel projects with an investment of US$573 million, just two years since the conflict ended.
Currently one of Sri Lanka's biggest investors is Shangri-La Asia Ltd., a Hong Kong-based hotel and resort group, which has purchased some 2.4 hectares of prime land in the heart of Colombo to construct a multi-use complex with high-end retailing, deluxe apartments and a 500-key luxury hotel. The project is expected to complete by 2014Shangri-La has also expressed interest in developing a resort on approximately 40 hectares of land in Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka, which will be launched in 2013.
With the influx of tourists, Sri Lanka's Economic Development Ministry with the private sector will launch an ambitious programme of doubling hotel room capacity to 45,000 by 2016 over the current 22,745 to accommodate 2.5 million arrivals by that time.
Meanwhile, state-run Sri Lankan Airlines will also boost its fleet to 28 aircraft over the next four years, which may also include up to six Boeing 777 long-haul jets, Sri Lankan officials said, as tourist arrivals continue to rise.
During the bitter conflict, Sri Lanka's tourism sector was one of the worst hit, with the industry collapsing and many hotels going out of business.Many five-star hotels in Colombo were located within the High Security Zone which made sales drop to a great extent, and with suicide bombings in crowded places throughout the island, many countries imposed travel restrictions to the island nation.
Tourist arrivals and earnings only began rising in 2002, when the former Sri Lankan government signed a truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels. The upward trend also helped cushion the fallout from the 2004 tsunami, which left the coastal hotels in tatters.
But the war re-erupted with a vengeance in late July 2006 and the industry suffered severely once again.
With the end of bloodshed, however, this once shattered island has now begun making its mark on the tourism map and is all set to become a mega tourist destination within a few years and live up to its name as the "Pearl in the Indian Ocean."

http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/addressing-further-concerns-about-civilian-casualties-systematically/#more-3287


Addressing further concerns about civilian casualties systematically
August 20, 2011 in Political Commentary Tags: Bishop of Jaffna, Chis du Toit, civilian casualties, ICRC, UN

UAV footage of LTTE firing on fleeing civillians
I have looked previously at concerns about civilian casualties during the first part of the conflict. Since allegations of civilian casualties increased astronomically during 2009, it will be salutary to address these separately.
11. Concerns were expressed in January 2009 that civilians were falling victim on a large scale to army attacks. Whereas in the last seven months of 2008 only 78 civilian deaths were alleged by Tamilnet, in January 2009 alone there were allegations of 689 civilian deaths.
The largest allegation in this regard was on January 26th when there was an allegation that more than 300 people died. There was another allegation on the same day of more than 100 civilians killed. Both allegations refer to the safety zone, and it is possible that the references are to the same incident.
These allegations occurred a day after the Bishop of Jaffna said he would be ‘urgently requesting the Tigers not to station themselves among the people in the safety zone and fire their artillery-shells and rockets at the Army. This will only increase more and more the death of civilians thus endangering the safety of the people.’ This was also the time when the UN Resident Coordinator, having first thought the army was firing into the safety zone, sent a text message to say that most of the firing came from the Tigers.

Letter from the Bishop of Jaffna - January 2009
While it is possible that retaliatory fire by the forces led to casualties too, it is quite clear that many of the deaths were caused by LTTE shooting. Bearing in mind the success of this strategy in the East, when Human Rights Watch, despite evidence it recognized of armed Tiger cadres in a refugee camp, squarely blamed government for what it termed indiscriminate firing on civilians, it is more than likely that the Tigers counted on similar misrepresentation. In short, from their point of view, they were in a win-win situation – if the army did not fire back, they could kill members of the Sri Lankan forces with impunity, if the army did fire back, they could claim – and count on agencies such as Human Rights Watch to claim – that the forces were firing indiscriminately on civilians. Anyone stooping to such a strategy would obviously have had no qualms about ensuring that there were civilian casualties.
There were 55 air strikes in January 2009 in only three of which were there allegations that civilians had died. In two of these the allegations were of single figures. On the 28th, 39 deaths were alleged, but this seems to have been in connection with army activity mentioned in the same report.
12. Over the next three months there were many more allegations of civilian deaths. The total allegedly killed by the army between February and April was 5313, while a few hundreds more are attributed to the Air Force, with casualty figures sometimes not specified. Those killed are almost always referred to by Tamilnet as civilians. There is no mention of casualties amongst LTTE cadres.

LTTE child soldiers on combat duties
Given the large numbers of civilians forced by the LTTE into fighting for it, it is necessary to recognize that a number of those killed were to all intents and purposes civilians. The number of those whose mindset and approach was basically civilian, who were nevertheless forced into battle by the LTTE, may well have been tens of thousands, given the well attested determination of the LTTE that all families should have contributed at least one member to their cause. These untrained victims were often sent to the frontlines. In any attack on LTTE positions, it is more than likely that a high proportion of those who suffered were in essence civilians. That they were basically innocent of terrorist ideology or activity however does not make their deaths a matter of culpability for those who fought against them, since they were being incited to kill, and in some cases had received training that enabled them to bear arms not entirely hopelessly.
It is possible therefore that the figure of deaths cited by TamilNet is accurate, but it should be noted that not all of these can be classed as civilians in terms of their engagement in the conflict.
At the same time, the figure needs to be considered in the context of the numbers cited by the ICRC as having been taken to hospital by sea during this period. The ICRC took 13,826 persons away between February 9th and May 14th, in operations assisted by the Sri Lankan navy and the Department of Health.

...in some cases had received training that enabled them to bear arms not entirely hopelessly.
Of this figure, only 4.520 were actually injured. While about 2,000 more were sick, the remaining 7,000 seem to have been what are termed bystanders. Though there are some discrepancies between these figures and those provided by the Sri Lankan forces which registered those who were transferred, it is not in dispute that more bystanders were transported than patients, whether wounded or sick.
Assuming the usual ratio in conflict situations between wounded and dead, and assuming that we are talking here only about civilians, it would seem that there would have been just about 1,500 dead. Even if we double the figure, we would have just about 3,000 killed.
13. There is concern that the United Nations thought that about 7,000 persons had been killed by May, but concealed these figures through anxiety not to compromise its position with government.
This concern has been presented by elements in the UN that disagreed with the official UN position, and had no qualms, as revealed by journalists, of leaking information to the media. The UN had in fact first begun to keep unofficial statistics in February, though it did not reveal to government that these were on the basis of a network of informants put in place by the UN Head of Security, a South African called Chris du Toit who had previously worked for the terrorist Jonas Savimbi in Angola.
Soon after his first figures were mooted, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights called him in to discuss the basis of his figures, and were told that they were based on three categories, viz direct eyewitness accounts, reports from other sources, and extrapolations. Out of a total of over 1,000 that du Toit had initially advanced, it turned out that only 38 were actually based on eyuewitness accounts. He agreed that the extrapolation was not reliable, and thereafter the UN refrained from canvassing these figures publicly, though they were used with no disclaimers as to the methodology involved by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who seems to have acted in concert with the junior members of UN staff who disagreed with their superiors rather than with those actually holding positions of responsibility.
Though the figure of 7,000 was acknowledged by the UN to be only an estimate, it has since passed into legend, and was made the basis of further wild allegations, which will need to be examined further. It has never been considered in the light of the ICRC figures or indeed those advanced by TamilNet, which could otherwise have been relied upon to present a worst possible case scenario. It is not surprising however that some elements in the UN seem to have outdone TamilNet in this regard, presenting as absolutes what responsible UN officials granted was not a reliable figure.
Daily News 18 August 2011

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/08/21/sec04.asp


Arraignment of five men in credit card racket:
Exposé of LTTE’s new Mafia cloak
By Manjula FERNANDO
The recent arrests of five men of Malaysian and Sri Lankan origin in Australia, in connection with a sophisticated international credit card skimming racket, could be an expose of the LTTE’s transformation into a global mafia and its continuing global criminal activities.
Although the details are yet to be revealed of the ‘nerve cell’ from where these arrested men - all Tamils as far as the locked up Lankans are concerned - were being string-puppeted, the group have had their network operations in places where the LTTE concentration is disturbingly high, Canada, Britain and the western Europe.
The global fraud scheme involved credit card numbers stolen in Britain being emailed to Australia and encoded onto blank ‘Coles Myer’ and ‘Crown cards’, which were then used to withdraw cash at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), the Australian media reported.
These men have also stolen credit card information of Australian citizens and transmitted details overseas to their other wings and criminal cells.
Of the five men, three were key members of the Australian wing of the global syndicate.
Their arrests last Sunday is reported to be a massive blow to the operations of the criminal wing.
The Sydney police took into custody two more individuals aged 22 and 28 on Wednesday in connection with the skimming racket, bringing the total number arrested so far to 27.
During the trial of the three men, the court heard more than 1,500 credit and debit card details were stolen in the scheme to fleece major banks. These three are said to be masterminds of the scam which the police identified as one of the largest credit card skimming rackets in Australia. They have lived on refugee status.
One of the arrested had installed a skimming device in his Strathfield grocery store. Police has also described a Sri Lankan man arrested that day as an “international organiser” for the syndicate, and a Canadian national as a “technician”.
The masterminds, Karan Nada, 42, of Endeavour Hills, Ramesh Rasanayagam, 32, of Hallam, and Udayakumar Vivekanandan, 32, all pleaded guilty. All three were handed jail terms but the jail terms of Rasanayagam and Vivekanandan were suspended by the Judge.
According to Herald Sun, ‘Judge Roy Punshon said he was guarded about Nada’s prospects of rehabilitation given he had committed similar offences before. A card skimmer was found at his house in 2006.
He jailed Nada for 16 months and ordered that he serve at least 10 months.
The judge said Rasanayagam, a father of two and now a permanent resident, suffered post traumatic stress after being kidnapped in Sri Lanka and was entitled to a discount for co-operating with police. He was given a suspended 18-month jail term.
Vivekanandan’s immigration status was suspended pending the outcome of the fraud case. But Judge Punshon said he was entitled to mercy and suspended his 12-month jail term.
Some of the arrested Sri Lankans complaints to court of harassment before their flight to Australia could imply that they had been members of the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
The investigators found that the group had withdrawn $40,000, made up 317 fake cards and tried to steal another $70,000 across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT in 2008.
Three homes were raided across Pendle Hill, Strathfield and Auburn where police seized Eftpos terminals, laptops, mobile phones, and PIN copying technology. Cash, falsified travel documents and Canadian credit cards were also seized. The material seized also included 18,000 blank and counterfeit credit cards.
Leading international counter terror expert Prof. Rohan Gunaratna in an interview with the Sunday Observer last month said the LTTE’s main source of income is human smuggling but their international criminal activities include bank, credit card and cheque fraud since contributions from sympathetic Tamil diaspora had dwindled after the conflict ended in May 2009.
“The LTTE needs funds to pay rent for its offices, travel for its activists, maintain their families and hire lawyers, lobbyists, former politicians, former diplomats and others that advance their aims and objectives. The LTTE superstructure overseas that supported the LTTE in Sri Lanka is determined to continue the fight by other means. The tools they use include constituency (electorate) pressure, financial inducements, dissemination of disinformation and misinformation and lobbying and campaigning Western politicians, officials, journalists and human rights activists.”
He said without money and other assets, the LTTE will cease to exist.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/08/22/sec01.asp

Countering terrorist financing and money laundering:
US report lauds Lanka’s commitment


Rasika SOMARATHNA
Sri Lanka has shown a high level of commitment to counter terrorist financing and money laundering, a US state department report on terrorism said. The ‘Country Reports on Terrorism’, released last Thursday, said that while there were no terrorist incidents within Sri Lanka in 2010, there were continuing concerns that the LTTE’s international network of financial support might still be functioning and therefore, most counter-terrorism activities undertaken by the Sri Lankan government were targeted at countering terrorist finance.
In February, Sri Lanka provided a high-level written commitment to work with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to implement the following corrective measures:
(1) adequately criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing; and (2) establishing and implementing adequate procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets.
The government was drafting amendments to the 2005-2006 laws on money laundering and terrorist financing, in accordance with FATF recommendations, at year’s end, the report further said.
The report which provides and assessment of trends and events in international terrorism said that in Sri Lanka legislative efforts too were focused on limiting financial support for the remnants of the LTTE.
It said that Sri Lanka had signed a MOU with the Financial Intelligence Unit of Bangladesh to facilitate the investigations and prosecution of persons suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition Lanka has already signed similar MOU’s with Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, South Korea and Indonesia, the report noted.
On the government efforts to restore normalcy in the former conflict affected areas the report observed, that in order to address lingering resentment in areas that were formerly held by LTTE, the Sri Lankan government was working to restore civil administration, resettle Internally Displaced Persons, provide immediate infrastructure development, encourage private sector participation, and promote the development of industries.
On regional terrorism the US state department report said “South Asia continued to experience violence in 2010 as terrorists expanded their operations and networks across the region and beyond”.
It added, “in response the US worked to increase counter terrorism cooperation with its partners in South Asia”.
Following are some of the highlights the State Department report observed on Sri Lanka:
Legislation and Law Enforcement: Legislative efforts were focused on limiting financial support for the remnants of LTTE. Domestically, there was a large budgetary allocation for defence and monitoring of Tamil diaspora activity in coordination with foreign governments.
The United States provided training for relevant Sri Lankan government agencies and the banking sector in combating the provision of financial support to the LTTE remnants.
The Sri Lankan government implemented the Container Security Initiative and the Megaports programme at the Port of Colombo.
Regional and International Cooperation: In October, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the FIU of Bangladesh to share financial information to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of persons suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. Sri Lanka has already signed MOUs with the Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, South Korea, and Indonesia.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: In order to address lingering resentment in areas that were formerly held by LTTE combatants, the Sri Lankan government was working to restore civil administration, resettle Internally Displaced Persons, provide immediate infrastructure development, encourage private sector participation, and promote the development of industries.

http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=14647

Continuing concerns over LTTE’s international network of financial support: US State Dept.

August 20, 2011 01:16 am


While there were no terrorist incidents within Sri Lanka in 2010, there were continuing concerns that the LTTE’s international network of financial support might still be functioning. Therefore, most counterterrorism activities undertaken by the Sri Lankan government were targeted at countering terrorist finance, states a report by the US Department of State.
In chapter 2 of its report for 2010, the US State department states:
Chapter 2. Country Reports: South and Central Asia Overview of the US Department of State.
Overview: In 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka announced formally the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. While there were no terrorist incidents within Sri Lanka in 2010, there were continuing concerns that the LTTE’s international network of financial support might still be functioning; therefore, most counterterrorism activities undertaken by the Sri Lankan government were targeted at countering terrorist finance.
Legislation and Law Enforcement: Legislative efforts were focused on limiting financial support for the remnants of LTTE. Domestically, there was a large budgetary allocation (about four percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP) for defense and monitoring of Tamil diaspora activity in coordination with foreign governments. The United States provided training for relevant Sri Lankan government agencies and the banking sector in combating the provision of financial support to the LTTE remnants. The Sri Lankan government implemented the Container Security Initiative and the Megaports program at the Port of Colombo.
Countering Terrorist Finance: In February, Sri Lanka provided a high-level written commitment to work with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to implement the following corrective measures: (1) adequately criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing; and (2) establishing and implementing adequate procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets. The government was drafting amendments to the 2005-2006 laws on money laundering and terrorist financing, in accordance with FATF recommendations, at year’s end.
Regional and International Cooperation: In October, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the FIU of Bangladesh to share financial information to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of persons suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. Sri Lanka has already signed MOUs with the Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, South Korea, and Indonesia.
Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: In order to address lingering resentment in areas that were formerly held by LTTE combatants, the Sri Lankan government was working to restore civil administration, resettle Internally Displaced Persons, provide immediate infrastructure development, encourage private sector participation, and promote the development of industries.

http://www.nation.lk/2011/08/21/news23.htm


Overseas LTTE got arms in 2010

By S. SelvakumarDespite the war against the LTTE won by the Sri Lanka armed forces in 2009, overseas members of the terrorist group continued to procure weapons in 2010 the US State Department said in a report on Thursday. The Tamil diaspora continued to support the organisation financially, it further asserted.The report ‘Country Reports on Terrorism 2010’ revealed that the LTTE network continued to collect contributions from the Tamil diaspora in North America, Europe and Australia and locally based LTTE sympathizers reportedly coercing some contributions. Further the outfit has also used Tamil charitable organizations as fronts for its fundraising to procure weapons, communications, funding and other needed supplies. Some LTTE cadres who fled the country after defeat had also attempted to reorganise its activities in India, the report said.According to the report, a failed attempt to explode bombs in a train in Tamil Nadu has been suspected on LTTE activists. In March the German Police arrested six Tamil migrants living in Germany for using blackmail and extortion to raise funds for the overseas LTTE group.Most counterterrorism activities undertaken by the Sri Lanka government after the defeat of the LTTE were targeted at countering terrorist financing in foreign countries, it said.The report also observed that since the defeat of LTTE terrorism in 2009 there were no terrorist incidents within the country in 2010. However, there were continuing concerns that the LTTE’s international network of financial support might still be functioning hence the concentration on countering terrorist financé.“In order to address lingering resentment in areas that were formerly held by LTTE combatants, the Sri Lankan government was working to restore civil administration, resettle internally displaced persons, provide immediate infrastructure development, encouraging private sector participation and promote the development of industries,” the report said.“Domestically, there was a large budgetary allocation (about 4 per cent of the country’s GDP) for defence and monitoring of Tamil diaspora activity in coordination with foreign governments. The US provided training for relevant Sri Lankan government agencies and the banking sector in combating the provision of financial support to the LTTE remnants. The Sri Lankan government implemented the Container Security Initiative and Megaports programme at the Colombo Port’.
In October, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the FIU of Bangladesh to share financial information to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of persons suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. Sri Lanka has already signed MOUs with the Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, South Korea and Indonesia, the report further said.

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http://www.news.lk/home/18733-churnalism-in-channel-4

‘Churnalism’ in Channel 4

Friday, 19 August 2011 12:52

Duplicity in the battle of terror

The British government is considering bringing in emergency regulations to deal with rioting. The Sri Lankan government is considering repealing the emergency regulations brought in to deal with the LTTE, the worst terrorist organization known to man.

Nevertheless, the British government continues to criticize the way Sri Lanka conducted the “war on terror” within its own borders, states Irish journalist Padraig Colman, in reference to the Channel 4 allegations raised against Sri Lanka via the infamous video entitled The Sri Lankan Killing Fields.

“The Sri Lankan government made a decision in 2006 to push for a military victory over the LTTE who had been fighting for nearly 30 years for a separate state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. In May 2009, the Tamil Tigers were comprehensively defeated. There have been no acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka since then, which is a great relief after the horrors suffered over decades”, Colman writes. He also stresses that Sri Lanka today is safer than the UK according to the MTRI (Maplecroft Terrorism Risk Index).

He mentions that all of the Tamil political parties who had fought for a separate state have now agreed to enter the democratic political process and many of them have joined the government in the reconciliation and reconstruction process.

“However, the country has not been able to enjoy peace to the full because there have been persistent allegations that war crimes were perpetrated towards the end of the war”, he says.

Responding to the charges raised by the Channel 4 Video which he associates with ‘churnalism’, a term coined by BBC journalist Waseem Zakir that conveys the idea: “a harbinger of the end of news journalism”, Colman notes, “if enough dodgy allegations are gathered together they gain some credibility purely from their critical mass”.
“This is something akin to those urban myths that gather moss on the internet. If a rumour appears on a lot of websites or blogs it gets quoted again and again and the mere accumulation is seen as proof”, he adds.

http://pcolman.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/channel-4-news-and-sri-lankan-war-crimes/

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110818_04


High Commissioner for Sri Lanka briefs Australian Parliamentarians
www.defence.lk">
Hon Chris Hayes, M.P., Chair of the Australia-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group introducing High Commissioner Thisara Samarasinghe
Sri Lanka's High Commissioner for Australia, H.E Thisara Samarasinghe addressed a gathering of Federal Parliamentarians, Australian Government officials and Australian Print and Electronic Media yesterday (16th August 2011) at an event co-organized by the High Commission and the Australia- Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group.
Hon Chris Hayes, Chair of the Group and Hon Don Randall, Vice Chair of the Group whilst introducing the High Commissioner did not fail to congratulate him on the initiative taken to brief members of Parliament. Both Members expressed the hope that Sri Lanka could now move forward with the end of the conflict.
The High Commissioner briefed those present on the factual context of the Humanitarian Operation undertaken by the Sri Lankan armed forces to rescue 300,000 civilians from the clutches of terrorists who were holding them hostage as human shields. Admiral Samarasinghe spoke from a unique vantage point having been involved in the last stages of the conflict as Commander of Northern and Eastern Naval Areas and as Director General of Naval Operations since 2007. He also shared his perspectives on post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation efforts of the Government, a process he was directly involved in as Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy.
In his presentation, High Commissioner Samarsinghe emphasized that training in IHL, Rules of Engagement in Armed Conflict and Human Rights Laws was an integral part of the training given to Sri Lankan armed forces personnel and this moulded their conduct in the final phase of the conflict. He highlighted the measures taken by all armed forces personnel to prevent civilian casualties throughout the conflict. He drew the attention of the audience to the fact that the Sri Lankan armed forces had received military training alongside the best in the world at different stages of their careers and highlighted the investment made by the country in sophisticated radar and other equipment to identify terrorist targets and to take maximum precautions to save civilian lives in all combat operations.
He addressed comprehensively allegations made regarding the denial of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population and spoke of his involvement in the coordination of the delivery of such assistance in the final phases of the conflict. His presentation also covered several other key areas including the attempts by successive governments to negotiate peace, the failure of the CFA, the incident at Mavil Aru and the atrocities of the LTTE and the international network that supported terrorism in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner also stated that the alleged civilian casualty figure of 40,000 was completely false and without any basis. He explained the supreme sacrifices made by armed force and police in rescuing civilians and the exemplary conduct of the military.
Dr Eeshara K Vithana former Coordinator of Disaster Preparedness and Response Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka and Visiting Research Fellow, Monash University Department of Forensic Medicine, Australia, made a comprehensive presentation on the provision of Health Services to IDPs in 2009 and highlighted the health standards maintained by the Government in the Welfare Centres which were in keeping with international standards.
The video documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" was also screened at the event.
Hon Randall spoke of his recent visit to Sri Lanka and commented that people in Sri Lanka in particular in the North whom he had spoken and interacted with during the visit appear to want to put the war behind them and move on with their lives. He said that while the Channel 4 video has ignited certain issues related to accountability as a sovereign democratically elected Government, Sri Lanka has taken measures to establish its own domestic mechanism the LLRC which should be allowed to make its own determination on matters. He also said that of the 300,000 rescued only 17,000 remained in camps at the time of his visit. Don Randall who has served as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Group since its inception said that he initiated the setting up of the Group in response to a request made by H E Janaka Perera the former High Commissioner. He added that both Janaka and Vajira Perera were killed by a suicide bomb attack which demonstrated the brutality of what Sri Lanka had to deal with.
The event was well attended with the participation of 16 Federal Members of Parliament from the ruling Labour Party and the Opposition including the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Human Rights Sub Committee, Chair of the Defence Sub Committee and Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Sub Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade of the Federal Parliament. Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, advisors to Members of Parliament, Parliament Staff and representatives of the Australian Print and Electronic media were also present at the event.
Those present were given copies of the Report "Humanitarian Operation-Factual Analysis", a CD containing the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon", speeches of the Minister of External Affairs and Secretary of Defence made at the launch. A copy of the Central Bank's 60th Anniversary Oration made by Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal titled "Promoting Financial Inclusiveness in the North & the East - The Experience of the Past Two Years" was also distributed at the event.
At the conclusion of the event the High Commissioner responded comprehensively to questions posed by the Australian media on Channel 4 video contents and stated that the contents were completely unsubstantiated. In response to other question the High Commissioner stated that there was no requirement of an international inquiry as Sri Lanka has initiated its own domestic mechanism (LLRC) to investigate all allegations

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110817_06


They want you to be Suicide bombers! We want you to have a bright future
"Friends of Sri Lanka" Help Tamil Schoolchildren in the East
www.defence.lk">While the terror stooges in the Tamil Diaspora spend billions of dollars to breathe life to the terrorism that destroyed generations of Sri Lankan Tamils for their own advantage, a group of Sri Lankans living in the USA has come forward to lend helping hands to the children in the war affected areas to rebuild their lives.
The group, "Friends of Sri Lanka" has donated school equipment worth of over Rs. 650,000 to 200 schoolchildren in the recently resettled areas in Trincomalee.
Accordingly, the school children in war-torn Sampoor and Nilaweli were gifted with school bags, shoes, exercise books, boxes of Geometry Instruments, paint and colour pencil boxes, each amounting to Rs. 3200 at a function held in Sampoor recently.
The Sri Lanka Navy facilitated the representatives of the "Friends of Sri Lanka" for their move towards this noble charity.
Speaking to defence.lk a representative from the "Friends of Sri Lanka" said "100% of the donations trickled down to the sole purpose of the project, with zero administrative costs. The Children, Teachers and the Parents of both schools were full of praise of "Friends of Sri Lanka" for organizing such an event."
Moreover, "we are expecting to donate two Desktop computers to the Sampoor School within the next 30 days," he added.
Commander Eastern Naval Area Rear Admiral Jayanath Colombage, Directors of Education, Principals and parents of the children were also present at the occasion.

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110816_02

Haunting melodies from ex-combatants
A musical group 'Samaye Mithuro' (Friends of Peace) formed by ex-combatants recently showcased its musical talents at the Vavuniya Cultural Hall after their rehabilitation.
The Sinhala song they played 'Api Okkoma Rajawaru, Okkoma Wesiyo' captured a wider audience and later the group played some Tamil and Sinhala songs.
If not have been rehabilitated or retrained by the government, their talents would remain buried and never come into light. Efforts to make them useful to the society by the government have been praised across the world.
Moreover, the security forces in-charge-of rehabilitating these members said that they would make arrangements to have this group as a professional musical group in the future, and it would bring them an income too.

http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/addressing-concerns-of-the-international-community-systematically-is-it-possible/#more-3263

Addressing concerns of the international community systematically – is it possible?
August 17, 2011 in Post-Colonial Practices
I was told recently by a friend that he felt we were not actually addressing the concerns that had been raised with regard to Sri Lanka. I was surprised, because I thought we had been doing this throughout. However, I could see that, in assessing the methodologies adopted to attack us, we might have been distracting attention away from simple facts. It might be useful therefore to record specific concerns – but in doing so it will be clear that, the moment one concern is addressed, another is raised, sometimes with blatant inconsistency.
1. There was concern that we would hold the displaced indefinitely in what were termed internment camps, and not resettle them.
We pointed out three reasons for keeping them in welfare centres, which were by no means internment camps. The term internment refers to taking people from their homes into custody, whereas we were dealing with people who had been taken from their homes, which were in heavily mined areas. Some of those people were security risks given their involvement, whether willingly or not, in terrorism.
Apart from security checks, we noted the need to demine the areas to which people were being returned, as well as the need to restore at least basic infrastructure. Now that that has been done, all but 10,000 of the displaced have been resettled.
2. There was concern that we were using the problem of land mines to delay resettlement.
As a result, we got little assistance initially, except from the Indian government, for demining. We therefore spent a massive amount of money on equipment – after which UNHCR also donated five or so machines, far fewer than the 25 or so we had bought. Our army did most of the demining required, and we were able to begin resettlement within a few months.
3. Subsequently concern was expressed that we were resettling too quickly, without proper attention to demining.
Since resettlement began there have been hardly any mine related incidents in the areas of resettlement. I believe, apart from the death of a foreign demining expert, there was only one casualty in the Wanni last year, a boy who had been sent to collect firewood in an uncleared and marked area, whose leg was blown off.
This should be contrasted with a far higher number of accidents in the Northern peninsula, which had been demined by international agencies after it was freed from LTTE control in 1996. It should also be contrasted with incidents elsewhere, such as Cambodia, which suffered from constant explosions for years after conflict ceased.
4. After resettlement began, there was concern that we were resettling too quickly without proper infrastructure.
Basic infrastructure, which in Sri Lanka includes facilities for free education and health, were in place when resettlement began. Certainly conditions are poor, but those who were resettled were anxious to get back and get on with their lives, and clearly economic activity has developed in areas of initial resettlement. Even in recently resettled areas, commerce has begun and the shops are well stocked and patronized, though obviously much more needs to be done.
Progress with regard to roads and electrification has been tremendous, and as has happened in the East – where similar concerns were expressed previously, soon after it was fully freed from LTTE control – will contribute to rapid development.
5. Concern has been expressed about the 10,000 who have not yet been resettled.
These people come from the most heavily mined areas of Mullaitivu where the LTTE resistance was heaviest towards the end, in particular in the area around Puthudikiriyippu. Progress however is rapid, with for instance sectors north of the A 35 largely resettled now in that area, though sectors south of it remain dangerous.
It should be noted that, from the end of 2009, the displaced could move out of the camp if they wished, and several have done so, though others have chosen to remain behind until they can go home, which is by and large preferable since previously protracted displacement with local employment in temporary residences led to permanency and hence depopulation of relatively deprived areas.

Former LTTE cadres participating in a leadership and entrepreneurship training programme in Vavuniya
6. Concern has been expressed about former LTTE cadres taken for rehabilitation, on the grounds that this was done without transparency and they would be held indefinitely.
Over 9,000 of the over 11,000 who were in rehabilitation have now been released. The Commissioner General of Rehabilitation works with IOM and other agencies to provide adequate training and support for reintegration, though obviously more resources for this would be welcome, including to contribute to micro-credit schemes that are needed. Access to these cadres has always been open, and parents and relations visit them frequently.
Of the 2,268 of these youngsters still in Rehabilitation, 1,445 will be released during the next few months. 700 will be continue in rehabilitation for another year under court orders, while 123 will be investigated further with a view to indictment.
7. Concern has been expressed with regard to suspects taken in previously under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, that they could be held indefinitely and no information was available about them.
Of the over 4,000 in detention in the period beginning in 2006, only 817 are now in detention, with another 500 now subjected to court procedures that may lead to sentencing. Nearly 1,000 were sent for rehabilitation and have since been released. 74 of the 817 who are disabled will also soon be sent for rehabilitation, though these include some hard core members of the LTTE, injured through explosions etc while preparing bombs. The cases of the rest are now being looked into with a view to expediting action, either rehabilitation or court procedures. The names of all those currently in detention are available with the Human Rights Commission, and visits are permitted. It has been proposed that some of these should be moved to locations nearer to the North, if their relations are there, to facilitated visits.
8. Concern has been expressed that large numbers have vanished without trace. This includes individuals taken into custody, and those killed during operations in the Wanni.
This is an area in which information should be made available more readily, a start having been made with the involvement of the Human Right Commission for detainees. Unfortunately the matter is of political interest, which has led to refusal to share information on all sides.
However arrangements have now been made to make information available readily to relations. As noted previously, there were never problems with regard to those under rehabilitation.
Statistics are now sought with regard to the percentage of those who were visited during the period of rehabilitation, to facilitate establishing contacts between any who were not visited and their relations. The same should be done with regard to those detained under the PTA.
With regard to the numbers of those in the Wanni being alleged to have gone down, clearly methodical assessments are needed. However extrapolation from statistics available suggests that the problem is not a large one. That however will required a longer article, with explanation of the examples on which induction is based, as well as examination of statistics that are already available.

http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/the-western-use-of-riots/#more-3248


The Western use of riots
August 16, 2011 in Interactions with the West Tags: Afganistan, UK, Riots, 2011, Cameron, social media, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq

UK Riots 2011
The recent riots in Britain have taken many Britons by shock. The general reaction of the British people has been adverse, and understandably so. No one wants law and order disrupted, and there is ample evidence that many of those involved in the riots have been engaged essentially in plunder.
However, there were obviously also people who saw rioting as a way of registering a protest. Initially there were strong feelings based on the killing of a man by the police. I have no idea what actually happened in that incident, and I hope the inquiry that has been started will not only find out what happened, but will also do so in a manner that carries conviction. Sadly the history of official British inquiries suggests that their capacity to inspire confidence is minimal.
We all know what happened in the first ‘Bloody Sunday’ inquiry and, even though a second inquiry finally finished after several years, and seemed to many Britons to have moved nearer to the truth, the reaction of Bernadette Devlin suggests that doubts still remain, with the overall responsibility for brutality transferred to individuals, and no proper examination of the policies involved.

The Hutton Report into the events surrounding David Kelly's death.
Meanwhile a representative of the Liberal Party who came to Sri Lanka to work with our party said quite categorically that David Kelly, the scientist who had blown the whistle on the falsities that the British government had used to promote the attack on Iraq, had been murdered. I had followed the inquiry held on his apparent suicide with interest, because a good friend of mine was involved, and indeed in some sense took the rap because his career in the Civil Service ground to a halt afterwards. I could understand this, given the suspicions that had been engendered and the sense that David Kelly had been badly treated. But the manner in which the inquiry was conducted, to look basically into inadequacies in procedures that might have hounded the man to suicide, now makes me wonder if, with typical British brilliance, the establishment did not manage to divert attention from the more worrying question my Liberal friends advanced.
Certainly the several inquiries held into the Iraq War suggest that, while individuals may be blamed, there is no effort to look into the institutional corruption that can allow individuals to get away with murder. I refer here not only to suspicions with regard to David Kelly, but also the reality of so many Iraqis, not just civilians but the soldiers deemed fair targets because the West wanted regime change in Iraq. That, I was finally told, was the main justification for the war, not the pretexts of association with Al-Qaeda or of weapons of mass destruction that had been so blithely advanced. But the point is, while self-defence is an acceptable reason for war, the desire to change a regime is not. Sadly, that has now become a way of life with some rulers in the West, and no media outlets of influence will challenge the various excuses put forward to advance self interest, none will explore the inconsistencies and prejudices advanced to justify selective and selfish action.
A recent article by Michel Chossudovsky however raises a lot of questions about what is happening now in Syria. It claims that ‘the ongoing protest movement is intended to serve as a pretext and a justification to intervene militarily against Syria. The existence of an armed insurrection is denied. The Western media in chorus have described recent events in Syria as a “peaceful protest movement” directed against the government of Bashar Al Assad, when the evidence confirms the existence of an armed insurgency integrated by Islamic paramilitary groups.
From the outset of the protest movement in Daraa in mid-March, there has been an exchange of fire between the police and armed forces on the one hand and armed gunmen on the other. Acts of arson directed against government buildings have also been committed. In late July in Hama, public buildings including the Court House and the Agricultural Bank were set on fire. Israeli news sources, while dismissing the existence of an armed conflict, nonetheless, acknowledge that “protesters [were] armed with heavy machine guns.” (DEBKAfile August 1, 2001. Report on Hama, emphasis added)’.
Naturally, ‘the White House called, in no uncertain terms, for “regime change” in Syria and the ouster of President Bashar Al Assad….. Covert support has also been channelled to the armed rebel groups’.
If not entirely as a result of the support of the West for what are termed peaceful protests in countries where the West would like regime change, the media presents these protests in a very positive light. The implication is that law and order should be put aside in the service of a good cause. This extended as we know to protests in places where the West did not want a change, but those protests were soon forcibly quelled, and are now referred to only sporadically.
The stage then seemed set for a wholly manipulated presentation of protests, with good protests which the West found attractive and would support to the desired conclusion, and bad protests which had to be suppressed. This was reminiscent of the total cynicism with which the West had developed the concept of good terrorists and bad ones. The former were to be encouraged, so we used to have vivid accounts of the brave heroics of for instance Jonas Savimbi in Angola, the Contras in Nicaragua, Al Qaeda in Afghanistan when its opponents were Russians. There are also suggestions that similar tactics were used in Kosovo, though I should note that the latest article on the subject was published by the Centre for Research on Globalisation, which also published Chossudovsky. His account of what happened in Azerbaijan in 1993 therefore – ‘the mujahedin got to defend Muslims against Russian influence in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, while the Americans got a new president who opened up the oilfields of Baku to western oil companies’ – may need to be examined further.
Unfortunately chickens come home to roost. The utterly cynical use of fundamentalist terrorists to defeat the Soviet Union led to an enormously strengthened organization that was able to perpetrate the monstrosity of 9/11. Support for Saddam Hussein against Iran led to a well equipped army that invaded Kuwait and was then able to engage in rhetoric that provided a pretext for war. And now the privileging of lawless demonstrations has led to those who see themselves as deprived and discriminated against taking the law into their own hands, and engaging in looting and destruction.

David Cameron "..And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them."
Fascinatingly, given the adulation of the role social media had played in fomenting riots in the Middle East, the British Prime Minister came down hard on what he has now recognized can be abuse. He is now reported to have declared that ‘“Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organised via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them. So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. I have also asked the police if they need any other new powers. Police were facing a new circumstance where rioters were using the BlackBerry Messenger service, a closed network, to organise riots. We’ve got to examine that and work out how to get ahead of them.”’

David Cameron
So much for the free flow of information. But what the British Prime Minister should also examine is the manner in which use and abuse of these new methods of connectivity has been encouraged by training in the West to foment dissension. Such dissension may be seen by Western politicians of a particular mindset as salutary, but they must remember that unscrupulous use of violent dissension is a tool available to all sorts of people, all of whom might be full of self-righteousness in the pursuit of their own interests.
Fortunately those countries that feel threatened by those Western countries that think it is their god-given right to interfere are neither nasty nor powerful enough to engage in destabilization by encouraging forces opposed to governments in those countries to take to the streets. But given the enormous strides in recent years in the use of social media, and the possibility of replicating the training programmes now being conducted for possible recruits to the various networks that are being established, it is only a matter of time before other countries also might start to play similar games.
The result will be chaos. I can only hope then that measures will be taken soon to regulate the methods in which powerful countries interfere with each other. Interactions through economic integration as well as educational exchanges should be encouraged, and this may well help the West to promote the more open and decent of its values. Similarly, the strengthening of international bodies with a balance of power instead of the current domination by a particular mindset will help to resolve difficulties based on the authoritarian or majoritarian approach of particular governments. But the current practice of open season on governments that powerful countries disapprove of must be controlled, because it can only promote instability for everyone.

http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/full-text-of-responses-to-questions-from-associated-press-with-regard-to-reconciliation/#respond

Full text of responses to questions from Associated Press with regard to Reconciliation
August 15, 2011 in Interviews Tags: cultural identity, devolution, IDPs, reconciliation, Sri Lanka

1. With the end of the military conflict does the government think that there are more do be done on the social and political front to establish normalcy or does the government feel that the end of the military conflict itself solves all the problems ?
Not at all, as government always said, a military solution was necessary to deal with terrorism once the LTTE proved intransigent, but political and other problems required other measures.
2. If the government feels more needs to be done, what steps it has taken so far to accomodate the minority Tamil community?
Rapid resettlement and economic empowerment is taking place. This proved successful in the East, and is being pursued in the North, though obviously much more needs to be done. Also political empowerment through the resurrection of local and provincial authorities. This was done swiftly in the East, and has been started in the North, with the next tranche of local elections – the third after hostilities concluded and resettlement began – due at the end of July, with Provincial Council elections thereafter, as happened in the East.
3. Does the government seriously think that devolution is a neccessary component for future ethnic harmony?
Certainly devolution as practiced elsewhere should be implemented in the North, and extending it as appropriate will be finalized through discussions with the TNA as well as the input of that and other parties through the Select Committee that is planned. At the same time, given that the Centre will also continue to exercise power, and in particular in areas pertaining to security issues in the broader sense, it is important to introduce a greater voice for the peripheral units at the Centre too, which is why the President’s manifesto introduces the idea of a Second Chamber based on those units.
4. Does it feel that forming a uniformed society with no consideration for minority ethnic and cultural identities and freedoms to preserve same is part of the solution?
Not at all, uniformity goes against both the government’s commitment to pluralism and the socio-cultural history of this country. After the introduction of Tamil as an official language in 1987, for instance, little was done to enforce this provision, but this government has taken more measures in this regard than any other.
5. Why there is so much delay in addressing the housing and land problem of the IDPs?
Compared to other countries, and indeed previous work for IDPs in Sri Lanka, this government has been comparatively quick. Even before the Wanni was liberated, there were hundreds of thousands of IDPs, some of them in camps for decades, and now most of them too are being resettled, along with the ‘new’ IDPs. Land rights are particularly problematic, given the long delays and our laws of prescription, so solutions acceptable to all need to be worked out.
6. How do you respond to allegations that the military is taking over land and refuses to hand over lands that were focibly taken over by the LTTE to the rightful owners on the premise that they were captured from the Tigers therefore it belongs to the military?
I believe such allegations are false, and the High Security Zones have been reduced considerably over the last couple of years. If any land is needed for security or other reasons, it will be acquired with due compensation as the laws prescribe, though obviously with the range of government land available in most of the area except in the Jaffna peninsula, such needs will be minimal.
7. We heard the Army Commander Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya telling Buddhist chief priests that the government plans to create military cantonements in the former war zones with farming land for the soldiers is this the official position of the government ? if not why does the military take over land?
The need to set up military posts in the area, as in the rest of the country, is not contested. However these should be as small as possible, given the requirements.
8. How do you respond to allegations that there is a systematic effort to change the ethnic demography of the north and that the military cantonements and Buddhist shrines built all over are part of that plan?
Those are two separate issues. The former allegation has been made over the years about various government activities, beginning with the settlement on the east coast by the Kandyan kings of Muslims expelled by the Portuguese from the West, going through the introduction of workers by the British to the tea plantations, then the colonization schemes of the forties and fifties. In all cases I believe there were economic reasons for government action and availability of land, rather than sinister purposes. Now, with existing congestion and much greater awareness, ideas of demographic change are inconceivable, though of course free movement of citizens within all parts of the country must be permitted, without the sort of ethnic cleansing the LTTE indulged in.
The latter relates to the security requirement, which is not contested, though certainly it should be accompanied by measures to broadbase the composition of the security forces. In this context I am very sorry that the proposal of the Ministry of Defence to recruit more cadets as teachers, which facilitated minority officer recruitment even during the war, has not been approved by the Ministry of Education – I recall that even in 2006 the process was very slow, but it succeeded because of the hard work of the General in charge of the Cadet Corps and the then Secretary to the Ministry of Provincial Councils.
9. How would you respond to allegations that the north is excessively militarized so much so even a school prize giving can’t be held without inviting the military and the military walks in uninvited even for private functions?
I have not been to Jaffna for over a year, but during my frequent visits between 2008 and 2010 I thought the military presence had reduced, and this also seemed the case with Vavuniya, which I visited again this year. It would be unfortunate if the military was making its presence felt at ordinary civil events and problems in this regard should be addressed by better Civil-Military liaison, which was an area I was involved in closely when Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights. Resurrecting a similar mechanism might be a good idea to ensure that, while the security concerns of the military are respected, these do not disrupt normalization.
10. How would you respond to allegation that the elected members of parliament and intellectuals of the north are not being given enough space for the political and social activities? (ex: recent attack on TNA)
Such space and mutual understanding must be expanded, and I was happy to see that the TNA leader had written to the Secretary of Defence noting the need for better liaison. The problem is that there are individuals on all sides who are still distrustful and when problems occur, they wish to assert themselves. This contributes to polarization and of course there are individuals who welcome polarization, whereas the leadership at all levels should aim at conciliation and compromise.
More dialogue is essential and recognition on all sides of the separate but vital roles of all concerned. I am trying to find out more about what you have described as the recent attack on the TNA, and if it there was such an attack, it was not only wrong, it was foolish since the only result possible was greater sympathy for the TNA.
11. How could you justify the presidential task force that handles the development efforts of the north does not have a single Tamil and elected people’s representatives are not taken onboard?
The task force was set up at an earlier time and was made up of existing officials in relevant areas. I am sorry that no senior Tamils were involved, but at that time the TNA was representing what seemed an extremist viewpoint, perhaps through no fault of their own, given the structures under which they had been elected. Now that they have a streamlined membership and established themselves in the democratic process, they too should play their part. Conversely they seemed even more hostile to other leading Tamil elements in the North, though I hope that there too we will find mutual respect in the future and agreement, if you like, to disagree.
The Task Force, it should be noted, worked always with the administration of the North, which is predominantly Tamil. It would have been wrong to sidelines the officials there who had worked tirelessly in spite of enormous pressures, and whom the LTTE and those supportive of the LTTE had denigrated. However, I believe the Task Force will be wound up soon, and with the forthcoming elections and the democratic credentials of politicians established, there must be more scope for their involvement too.
12. Why the people of north are excluded from the development work ? (contractors, labour and machinary are all from the south and mainly Sinhalese) does this represent a policy of isolation?
Exclusion is the wrong word, but certainly there was a capacity shortage and I believe that we need to do more to build up capacity to ensure that the people of the area become full partners in development. These are issues that came up in the Entrepreneurs Workshop I funded for former combatants through my decentralized budget, and the youngsters, very bright and positive in their outlook, stressed the need for skills development to empower them. I am pleased that the Ministry of Youth Affairs has moved swiftly on this, and is encouraging different forms of delivery of skills training to enhance other capacities too.
But more needs to be done, and one of my themes, when I met the diaspora in Australia and New Zealand, is the need for support for training. I asked not just mixed groups including Tamils who want to support reconciliation, but also predominantly Sinhala groups and even one SLFP branch, to provide support for the ex-Combatants. They must be in the forefront of dev eloping that area, and we must work towards strengthening them and their contribution to society.
13. Why has the government been inconstent in its policy on devolution why do you need to appoint a parliamentary select committee while there is the APRC final report which is the result of the present government’s efforts?
The TNA did not participate in the APRC and the UNP and the JVP were not involved in the Report, while other parties did not accept the text that was subsequently claimed to be the final report, so to work on the basis of such a document would not make sense. You must remember that in 2000 the TULF, which had participated in formulating the proposals President Kumaratunga put forward, said they would consider the draft before Parliament as a starting point, while the UNP, which she thought was pledged to support them, opposed them a racist perspective too. In a context in which so many changes can happen, government should work in terms of the current political situation, and be sensitive, as all parties need to be, to the people who put them into Parliament. Fortunately the LTTE is no longer present to exercise influence as it claimed to do before, when it dictated what happened in elections in the North and parts of the East.
14. Is a parliamentary select committee a delaying tactic?
Any changes will need support in Parliament and it is best to involve all stakeholders early. Discussions with the TNA will continue, and any agreement between TNA and government will then have greater weight obviously in the Select Committee deliberations. However we all need to remember what happened on two previous occasions. Both pacts with Mr Chelvanayakam, by Mr Bandaranaike and Mr Senanayake, were defeated by rabble rousing in the country at large by the main opposition along with hostility from extremists within the governing party. Then, a decade ago, when Mrs Kumaratunga thought she had support from both the TULF and the main opposition, she was defeated in a pincer movement. The TULF, under pressure I believe from the LTTE which had assassinated Mr Tiruchelvam, refused to support the measures while the UNP attacked them from a racist perspective, and the poor President found the majority she had hoped to command decimated.
15. Do you think that the government has its priorities in order when it spends a lot for example on the commonwealth games 2018 bid while hundreds of thousands are homeless?
Exercises like the Commonwealth Games are extremely useful from an economic as well as a social perspective. I remember in the old days Colombo society, and some Western commentators following them, used to laugh at President Premadasa’s Gam Udawa programmes, calling them the most expensive birthday parties in the world, and it was only when I began working intensively in the rural sector that I realized how much they were appreciated in the areas they were meant to benefit – by developing infrastructure in such areas that were otherwise neglected, by providing employment, and by drawing the attention of people who never used to think beyond Colombo of the needs of other parts of the country.
16. What do you think are the impediments to peace both locally and internationally?
One impediment is the lack of trust on all sides, which we must overcome. In this regard I believe the Sinhalese in particular must work actively to help those in the Tamil community who suffered at the hands of the Tigers, to empower them economically. Investment and training must be encouraged and this will convince the Tamils at large of our bona fides whilst also helping with economic development which will benefit the country as a whole/
We must also deal effectively with those who want to continue with resentment and hostility. The efforts of the remains of the LTTE propaganda outfits abroad must be combated effectively, most obviously by telling the story of how we overcame the LTTE with maximum care for civilians, how we resettled swiftly, how we rehabilitated the former combatants, all this more quickly than in any comparable conflict. This is important because those who wish to revive the LTTE need to polarize, to prevent our people coming together. Unfortunately their efforts lead to correspondingly extreme reactions on the other side, which can also polarize, and we need to avoid these and show the benefits to all our citizens of working together, appreciating each other’s strengths, overcoming weaknesses, seeing diversity as an asset.
Finally we need to convince both those countries that wish to play politics with us, and those political parties in Sri Lanka that seek advantages from conflict, that they should not play with the lives of people and leave room for terrorism and extremism to be revived. The meanness of those who seek electoral advantage through perpetuating suffering must be pointed out and overcome.
Finally, one massive impediment to peace is inefficiency, our failure to set clear targets and work towards them. For this purpose we need to improve our education system, to encourage different approaches whilst pursuing excellence. We have made a start in trying to reform our Higher Education system, but we must do more with the Education system too, to promote thinking and problem solving and decision making skills, to improve communication capacity as well as promoting teamwork and discussion and practicality. We must ensure on the job training for our administrators and enhance understanding of the roles they must play, as facilitators to the people they serve, not controllers.