Suresh Sriskandarajah, Canadian Who Helped Tamil Tigers, Faces 15-Year Sentence

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/27/suresh-sriskandarajah-canadian-tamil-tigers_n_4003311.html

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Prosecutors in the U.S. are asking for a Canadian man to serve the maximum sentence of 15 years after he admitted to helping a terrorist group in Sri Lanka.
Suresh Sriskandarajah, who earned university degrees in Waterloo, Ont., pleaded guilty in July in Brooklyn, N.Y., to conspiring to provide material support to the Tamil Tigers.
The 32-year-old is due to be sentenced on Oct. 28 and written sentencing arguments filed before the hearing show that prosecutors want him to serve the maximum.
Sriskandarajah is arguing for time served.
He was arrested in 2006 and freed on bail three years later before his extradition to the U.S. in 2012.
While in Canada, Sriskandarajah helped research and acquire aviation equipment, submarine and warship design software, night vision equipment and communications technology for the Tamil Tigers.
The Tamil Tigers, notorious for suicide bombings and political assassinations in their fight for an independent homeland in Sri Lanka, were declared a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 1997 and by Canada in 2006.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=88876

Kenya massacre highlighted need for C’wealth response to int’l terrorism - Gotabhaya

September 26, 2013, 9:14 pm


By Shamindra Ferdinando


The massacre of nearly 70 men, women and children in Nairobi, Kenya should prompt the Commonwealth to re-examine its priorities in the run-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled for November this year, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Island.


Victims included British, Canadian, French and Chinese nationals.


Kenya is among the member states expected to attend the three-day conference scheduled to begin on November 15.


Defence Secretary Rajapaksa pointed out that the slaughter of the innocents at Westgate mall in Nairobi had again underscored the pivotal importance of global action against cross-border terrorism.


The Defence Secretary said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, on behalf of Sri Lanka, at the outset of his speech to the 68th sessions of the UNGA on Wednesday, offered condolences to the families whose loved ones died as a result of a terrorist attack in Kenya. Recollecting Sri Lanka’s experience in being at the receiving end of terrorism, the President said: "Having suffered from many terrorist attacks, for nearly three decades, we Sri Lankans condemn this cowardly act."


The siege on the up market mall began ahead of the 68th sessions of the UNGA. Somalia-based Al-Shabaab allegedly linked to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Nairobi mall attack.


Responding to a query, the war veteran said that the international media had alleged the involvement of Westerners, including at least one woman in the worst massacre since the killing of 91 men, women and children by a Norwegian, who drew inspiration from the LTTE, two years after the conclusion of the conflict in Sri Lanka in May 2009.


The Defence Secretary was referring to 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik going on the rampage in Oslo on July 23, 2011.


He said that CHOGM 2013 should be a platform to discuss terrorism.


Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, formerly of the Indian Foreign Service said: "This is a heinous act which must be condemned in the strongest terms.


"The targeting and premeditated killing of defenseless civilians is absolutely reprehensible. It is my fervent hope that those behind this terrible attack will release the innocent children, women and men that they have taken hostage.


"The Commonwealth stands in total solidarity with the people of Kenya at this trying time."


President Rajapaksa will take over Commonwealth leadership for a two-year period beginning November 2013.


The Defence Secretary said that the Commonwealth couldn’t turn a blind eye to some terrorist groups drawing recruits from some member states. Western media alleged that among those involved in terrorist acts on foreign soil, including the Nairobi massacre, were Canadian, British as well as US nationals.


The Canadian media quoted Christian Leuprecht, associate professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario as having said: "Over the years, various groups have found financial support and recruits in Canada, including the Irish Republican Army and the Tamil Tigers."


The ‘foreign fighter’ problem has a long history in Canada and much of the western world, Leuprecht noted. "For example, one recent report flagged 600 Europeans who are known to be fighting alongside the rebels in Syria," Leuprecht said in an interview with CTVNews.ca. The actual number was probably much higher, he said.


Defence Secretary Rajapaksa alleged that Western powers had declined to cooperate with Sri Lanka’s efforts to identify those taking refuge there after committing terrorist acts in Sri Lanka.

http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=24228

New Zealand has sought Sri Lanka’s support in its bid for a seat at the United National Security Council (UNSC) for the period 2015-2016.

During discussions held between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in New York Thursday (26), the latter had requested President Rajapaksa to consider supporting New Zealand for the UNSC seat.

“President Rajapaksa told the Prime Minister that Sri Lanka has not yet decided which country it will support but assured Prime Minister Key that Sri Lanka will consider his request,” the Presidential Spokesman said.

Sri Lanka has already pledged to support Nigeria’s bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan had said recently.

In a cordial conversation, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly currently taking place in New York, the two leaders talked about a number of topics, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 that will take place in Colombo in November.

“We’re looking forward to coming to CHOGM,” Prime Minister Key told President Rajapaksa, also indicating that he was unable to attend CHOGM 2011 in Perth, Australia, and is looking forward to seeing Sri Lanka.

President Rajapaksa invited New Zealand to send representatives to the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) as well; The Prime Minister accepted the invitation and said New Zealand would be able to send representatives to the CBF.

Pointing out that Sri Lanka is a very important market for New Zealand’s dairy sector, Prime Minister Key said that his country has a great deal of technological expertise that it is willing to share to further develop Sri Lanka’s dairy sector, the Presidential Spokesman said in a press release.

President Rajapaksa talked to the Prime Minister about some of Sri Lanka’s post-war developments and the prevailing economic climate with reducing poverty and unemployment rates.

The New Zealand delegation consisted of Foreign Minister Mr. Murray McCully, Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations Mr. Jim McLay, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr. Gerard van Bohemen, Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Mr. Wayne Eagleson, Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Adviser Mr. Ben King and Foreign Minister’s Foreign Policy Adviser Mr. Billie Moore.

The Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Mr. Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Mr. Dullas Alahapperuma and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona were present at the meeting.

http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201309/201309224fa_wins.htm

Sunday, September 22, 2013 - 10.38 GMT

UPFA wins NWP and CP, TNA Northern PC

The ruling United People's Freddom Alliance (UPFA) recorded another landslide victories in North Western (NW) and Central Provincial Councils elections held yesterday. In North Western Province, the UPFA obtained 705,188 votes which 66% of the total votes cast in the province. The United National Party came in second with 257,011 votes (24%) while the Democratic Party received 46,114 votes, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 27,860 votes and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) 19,624 votes. The UPFA won 34 out of 50 seats to form the North Western Provincial Council while the UNP managed to secure only 12 seats. The Democratic Party won 3 seats while the SLMC and JVP secured 2 seats and 1 seat respectively. The UPFA secured a sweeping victory in the elections to the Central Provincial Council by obtaining 60% of the votes. The ruling party received a total of 716,247 voted (60%) in the province while the United National Party obtained less than half of that number with 330,815 votes (27%). The Sarath Fonseka-led Democratic Party obtained 45,239 votes, the Ceylon Workers’ Congress 29,285 votes, the Up Country People’s Front 24,913 votes and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress received 17,788 votes. The UPFA won 36 out of the total 56 seats, the UNP won 16 seats while the Democratic Party and CWC secured 2 seats each. The UCPF and SLMC managed to win just 1 seat each in the Central Provincial Council. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has won the first ever provincial council elections in Northern Province. The party won all five districts in the Province and secured 30 of the 38 seats for the newly formed Council. The UPFA has secured seven seats and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) got one seat in the Council

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/09/15/main_Editorial.asp

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the former Tiger proxy party which had been remote-controlled by LTTE terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, is finding it increasingly difficult to retain its popularity in the North since people in the province have realised that there is barely any difference between the Tigers and the TNA.
The TNA perhaps was under an illusion that it could easily succeed the LTTE after the world's most ruthless terrorist outfit was crushed militarily in May, 2009. TNA leader R. Sampanthan reckoned that he could emulate Prabhakaran's hold.
Fortunately, people in the North are far more intelligent than Sampanthan takes them to be and have now clearly understood who their real saviours are. Tamils in the North have by no means forgotten how Sampanthan and his Tiger puppets in the TNA had turned a blind eye when people in the North were forcibly held as a human shield by the LTTE.
While disregarding the sufferings of the people in the North when LTTE terror was at its peak, Sampanthan and cohorts have now emerged from nowhere to shed crocodile tears over Tamils. In the event Sampanthan and his TNA parliamentarians had an iota of concern for their own community, they should have protested against the LTTE's terror acts against people in the North.
Rather than protecting Tamils in the North, the TNA has now gone before them to grab power in the Northern Provincial Council (NPC). Sampanthan is going hammer and tongs to capture power in the NPC at any cost as the TNA is only interested in giving a democratic facelift for the LTTE ideology.
The TNA's goals and objectives are akin to those of the LTTE. However, the only notable difference is the strategy employed to achieve those goals - the democratic path sans the LTTE's armed struggle. In other words, the TNA wants to democratically achieve the goals which the LTTE had failed through the bullet. The repercussions would be no different, thereby threatening the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Sampanthan and his gang have now realised that the people in the North are wiser than what the TNA takes them to be. The TNA is finding it extremely difficult to convince moderate and right-thinking Tamils in the North. Hence, Sampanthan has now resorted to the LTTE's intimidatory tactics to win the NPC elections.
Sampanthan has threatened Tamils in the North to refrain from voting for the governing UPFA, if they wish to live in that area. Addressing a TNA political rally for the NPC elections, Sampanthan has cautioned Tamils in the North that they should not support the Government if they have any intention of living within the provincial territory.
The TNA leader's warning is of a serious nature and should not be dubbed as another statement by a TNA politician. This clearly shows Sampanthan's dictatorial attitude. If the TNA leader could make such a veiled threat to the Tamils in the North, one could well imagine the plight of those in the North in the event the TNA captures power in the NPC.
It is evident that even Prabhakaran had not descended to such low level in making such open threats despite killing thousands of Tamil civilians. If Sampanthan makes such threats in broad daylight, one could well assume that he could be even worse than Prabhakaran, if the TNA is elected to power.
On the other hand, the circumstances which led Sampanthan to go berserk and make such irresponsible statements too are understandable. His dream of emulating Prabhakaran after the LTTE leader's death and gain control like the Tigers has now been shattered. He could no longer bear to see the TNA losing control and the people of the North drifting away from the party.
Sampanthan took the people in the North for suckers and played the racist card as and when the occasion demanded. There was a time when the TNA won public sympathy in the North and misled the Tamils by putting the blame on the Government. The TNA at one time, projected the Sinhalese as an arch enemy who was all out to destroy the Tamils in the North.
But the time has come where the TNA could no longer win the hearts of the people in the North who are by far more intelligent now. The Tamils in the North have now realised who their real enemy is in a disguised mask. The TNA could no longer hold the Tamils in the North in the separate state fantasy created by Prabhakaran.
Even the ex-LTTE cadres have commended the Government's contribution to restore peace and develop the area. Scores of former LTTE leaders, along with a large number of rehabilitated members of the now defunct terrorist organisation, got on to the stage during a United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) election rally in Mannar last week, to show their appreciation and support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government for their efforts to rebuild the North.
The former LTTE political head for the Mannar district, Eranbamoorthi Sivanendraraja alias Robert and former Mannar district military leader Prabha Nandan, along with several other former LTTE leaders and members from the area joined the UPFA leaders at the rally at the Mannar public grounds, under the patronage of President Rajapaksa. Prabha Nandan, in his address to the gathering, denounced the LTTE's atrocities in the North and described in graphic detail the unprecedented destruction of both lives and property in the North.
He said the LTTE had kept the people under an iron fist unleashing mortal fear as a means to control them. He outlined how people now live in unity sans fear after terrorism was defeated. He said that some Tamil politicians who did precious little for people in the North are now campaigning and making near impossible promises. He called upon the people to vote in favour of the UPFA to continue the current development without being misled by false promises.
Religious leaders have also raised their voice against the TNA's vicious efforts to realise the goals of the failed LTTE terrorists through its election manifesto which they claim would 'lead to a revival of separatism and ethnic disharmony.' The leaders representing various religious denominations said that the TNA has released a manifesto that was in conformity with the LTTE's separatist agenda. They exhorted the Tamils not to fall prey to the TNA's subtle manoeuvres to disrupt the peaceful environment now prevailing in the province.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the Tamils in the North, who had faced untold hardships due to the LTTE's three decades terror, would repudiate the separatist ideology in the TNA's election manifesto. The Tamils must be ever vigilant against the TNA's wily attempt to sow the seeds of separatism and communalism in the country to achieve their petty political gains.
It is as clear as daylight that the TNA, in a desperate attempt to win the election, is fanning the flames of separatism and communalism in the country. Many religious leaders have condemned the TNA manifesto in no uncertain terms as it would promote division on the lines of ethnicity and religion rather than cementing ties between those of different religions and ethnic groups.
At a time when an election manifesto should help promote peace, harmony and coexistence among one and all in a multi-ethnic country, the TNA election manifesto would only create further divisions among communities. The TNA is now dancing to the tune of the LTTE rump, ignoring the true aspirations of the Tamils in the North. People in the Northern Province should take serious note of this impending threat.
More importantly, people in the North are not willing to return to that dark era again where they spent many sleepless nights in the jungles due to LTTE terror. Prabhakaran and his barbaric terrorists showed no mercy whatsoever even to their own community. The Tamils in the North have certainly not forgotten the untold sufferings they underwent while the TNA kept mum against LTTE's ruthless acts.
Hence, it is a do or die battle for Sampanthan and his TNA cohorts who are going all out to resurrect its moribund image. People in the North are deeply cognizant of the fact that the TNA could do little or nothing for their well-being and continue the Government's massive development work in the North.
This has obviously prompted the TNA leader to press the panic button and make sweeping statements and even go to the extent of threatening Tamils in the North. People in the North would no doubt teach an unforgettable lesson to the TNA and other opportunist politicians who play the racist card in their lust for power.

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/09/15/fea02.asp

Opinion:

LTTE rump intensifies anti-Lanka campaign

By K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga

The LTTE rump appears to be conducting a series of events to intensify their anti-Sri Lanka campaign. The UNHRC chief Navi Pillay’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, the Northern Provincial Council elections and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (GHOGM 2013) are being used to project a gloomy picture in the eyes of the international community.

The Victory Parade at Galle Face

Pillay’s controversial remarks during the final news conference before leaving Colombo two weeks ago, has given fresh hopes to the Tiger cohorts who are targeting the GHOGM 2013 to mislead leaders of the Commonwealth. The LTTE rump made every effort to prevent Sri Lanka from hosting the CHOGM 2013 in November.
Having failed with their different ploys to stop Sri Lanka from hosting the CHOGM 2013, the LTTE rump carried out a worldwide campaign to stop Commonwealth leaders attending the event. Since they have failed in that too and even the newly elected Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed his participation no sooner he was elected. Tiger cohorts would now adopt a different strategy to mislead the Heads of State before they arrive here.

Under an illusion

On the other hand, the Tiger sympathisers and LTTE cohorts would make every endeavour to use the former Tiger-proxy party TNA to democratically win their goal. In other words, the TNA is keeping the people in the North under an illusion once again, spreading racism and claiming that they would achieve the same which the LTTE failed to do through an armed struggle with a series of terror attacks.
TNA’s election manifesto is ample testimony that there is hardly any difference between the dreams of Sampanthan and his men and that of Prabhakaran. Hence, people in the North should not dig their own grave by voting for the TNA and push them back to that dark era again.
The TNA should not be allowed to rob Sri Lanka’s hard-earned peace in the guise of democracy.
The most valuable lesson learned by the end of the battle against terrorism in May 2009 was the opportunity to replace the seeds of discord that divided the country with a unified, common goal in the best interests of our country's development.
On May 18, 2009, all Sri Lankans, irrespective of their ethnic and religious affiliations, rejoiced the end of LTTE terror that had devastated the nation for three decades, crippling the country’s social, economic and developmental progress. Thousands of soldiers had made the supreme sacrifice for their motherland, alongside many innocent civilians ruthlessly killed by LTTE attacks on civilian centres in all parts of the country.

Prolonged terror

Road rehabilitation in the north.

The nationwide celebrations were not without considerable reflection, and not founded on the bastions of a military victory. Thousands poured into the street with emphatic joy despite the tragedies that their families had endured over decades of prolonged terror unleashed by the LTTE. Even in the liberated areas of the North and East, people were united in their unanimous joy that the destructive terrorism was over.
Every Sri Lankan was profoundly grateful to the Government and the political sagacity of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who brought an end to three decades of terror.
The government has consolidated their expressed intention to develop and promote the North and the East as a significant component of the country’s economic and social development. The children in the North and East, who had been liberated have now access to educational resources they richly deserve.
Their parents have new opportunities in terms of employment, and businesses have developed as a result of the government's committed investment in transport and infrastructure. These businesses are now the beneficiaries of the protection offered by the nation's legal system, and no longer subject to the authoritarian taxation imposed by the LTTE to fund their nefarious activities.

LLRC recommendations

The Government's efforts to rebuild the North and the East in next to no time, provide constructive assistance to rehabilitate, resettle and provide opportunities for the affected communities is the strongest measure of their commitment towards peace, stability and prosperity in Sri Lanka.
In terms of reconciliation and resumption of the livelihoods of the affected communities in the North and East, this is the ideal preliminary measure towards setting up a framework for future execution of the LLRC's recommendations that remain to be implemented.
But the West should not intimidate Sri Lanka in the guise of national reconciliation. Those who turned a blind eye when 21 million Sri Lankans were at the receiving end due to LTTE terror have no moral right to tell us what we ought to do. As President Rajapaksa has said, no foreigner could have a greater pain on people in Sri Lanka than our own leaders.
Certain Western politicians shed crocodile tears for people in the North to put their agendas in motion. All what they want is a regime change and have a Sri Lankan leadership that would dance to the melody of the West. They are acutely aware that they could not achieve their goals and put Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in danger as far as President Rajapaksa remains in office. Hence, they make every endeavour to intimidate Sri Lanka and find a puppet regime to meddle in internal affairs of Sri Lanka.

Work together

The Government’s efforts to develop the nation as a whole, the government has actively encouraged and incentivised the Sri Lankan public, industrial bodies and businesses to work together in this vital endeavour. The affected communities in the North and East are now in a position they only dreamed about over the past thirty years - a position of hope, opportunity and future well-being.
Over 21 million Sri Lankans now embrace the concept of unity, and our shared role in developing our nation for the benefit of future generations. The country’s progress will be cemented on the diversification of opportunities in all economic sectors, and spread across all lands with equal access for every member of our population. This mindset and mentality can be directly attributed to the practices and efforts implemented by the Government under the leadership of President Rajapaksa.
The Northern and Eastern provinces have shown the fastest development in 2013, though starting from a low base, helped by construction but also banking and agriculture. The Northern Province grew 25.9 percent nominally (real gross domestic product plus inflation) with inflation down from 27.9 percent in 2011, followed by the Eastern Province at 25.0 percent, up from 13.5 percent.

No discrimination

In contrast, the Southern province came third at 21.3 percent, up from 21.3 percent helped by manufacturing, construction and government services. The North and the East have developed by over 27 percent, compared to the average national nominal growth rate of 15.9 percent in 2012 down from 16.8 percent in 2011. The Western province, which is linked with the rest of the world and has the higher population and generates the most economic output share of 43.4 percent, grew at only 13.4 percent. Its share fell to 43.4 percent from 44.2 percent in 2011.
This clearly shows that the Government has given preferential treatment to people in the North who had suffered the most due to LTTE terrorism. Hence, there is no truth whatsoever in the allegations that the Tamils have been discriminated. The GDP share of Northern Province has risen to 4.0 percent from 3.7 percent, East to 6.3 percent from 5.8 percent, while that of the North Western province fell to 9.6 percent from 10.0 percent from 2011 to 2012.
It is perhaps the most constructive step ever taken in directly addressing the societal and economic divisions that prevented a united movement in our country's best interests. This semantic shift is the foundation of our continued progress, and the possibility that our future generations may develop in an environment mindful of our ability to unite and develop together in the best interests of mankind.

Enthusiasm

Under the recommendations of the LLRC Report, the Government has taken far-reaching steps in establishing the economic stability and framework for development, equitable opportunities and national progress. It has cemented the foundation for economic, educational and social advancement, and consolidated the unified enthusiasm of all Sri Lankans in reaching this goal.
Undermining the Government's progress and commitment towards national reconciliation could only be detrimental to the many persons who are on the cusp of realising the economic and social rights that they richly deserve after many years of terror and lost opportunities. That would destabilise such progress go against the interests of all Sri Lankans who retain a vested interest in the future of the next generation.
Considering of the recent events taking place in Egypt, the Middle East and Iraq, we cannot emphasise the importance of recognising Sri Lanka’s efforts in uniting our countrymen and working towards the development of the North and East. We wish to remind Pillay that the context of the allegations of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka which the UNHRC continues to highlight in the international arena, that these incidents were primarily the result of actions taken by the LTTE in a desperate attempt to leverage the escape of their hierarchy.

Human shields

It was the LTTE which had taken thousands of innocent civilians hostage and obstructing their safe passage to the ‘no-fire zone’ designated by the Sri Lanka’s Security Forces in a commendable effort to adhere to international humanitarian principles, the LTTE deliberately put these innocent civilians in the line of fire as ‘human shields'.
What is most baffling is that the UNHRC consistently questions the necessity of the Sri Lanka’s Security Forces to invade their own country’s territory forcibly held by a terrorist outfit which killed thousands of people for nearly three decades.
The LTTE was not only a terrorist group, but an organisation sustained financially as a result of an international criminal network committing systematic acts of transnational crime and violations of international criminal law. The Western World, and many of the countries in which we reside have had their sovereignty violated by the LTTE's international procurement of arms, international drug smuggling and money laundering activity.
Those who now weep buckets of crocodile tear over the human rights of LTTE terrorists killed in action have forgotten how the LTTE recruited child soldiers by the thousands, denying these children their fundamental rights and freedoms and deliberately forsaking them for a cause that endorsed separatism and division within our society. Hence, the West must look at Sri Lanka with an open mind and must not feel shy to accept Sri Lanka’s landmark achievements in eradicating terrorism.

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Restored_railway_an_economic_boost_for_North_20130915_03

Restored railway, an economic boost for North

On January 19, 1985, the Yal Devi train was blasted using landmines and then by shooting at the people who survived the blast at Kokavil killing 34 passengers and destroying the tracks.

The Kilinochchi station on the day of the test run

Preparation at Kilinochchi prior to the opening

Human rights groups who still try to dig out only the last few days of the war and discredit the Security Forces were silent as in the many other cases where civilians were massacred by Tiger terrorists This attack ended north-south rail transport and the terrorists uprooted rail tracks to build reinforced underground bunkers virtually cutting off the South from the North.

Sri Lanka's Northern Line from Vavuniya to Kankesanthurai in the northernmost tip of the island was completely destroyed by the Tamil Tiger terrorists during the three-decade long war on terrorism. Kilinochchi was the capital of the de facto State run by the Tamil Tiger terrorist outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Sri Lankan Army captured Kilinochchi in 2009.

Uturu Wasanthaya

Since then it took nearly 28 years for a political leader to rebuild this link which would help Northerners to transport their goods and services and to make the travel between the North and South shorter and more convenient.

The decision to rebuild the Northern railway was taken long before the decision was taken to hold the Northern elections clearly underlining that this is not a election gimmick as done by previous governments.

The government was sincere in their efforts to rebuild the North and East and already an international harbour was gifted to the people by opening the Oluvil harbour. The Uturu Wasanthaya, Negenahira Udayana and opening power girds, modern hospitals water supply plans were also parts of the sincere efforts of the government to help normalcy to North East and help them to live better lives. These were all done when holding an election was not even dreamt of.IRCON International Limited, a state owned construction firm of India, under Indian Railways, is executing the 252 km Northern Railway Project in Sri Lanka. IRCON International Limited started its Sri Lanka charter with the project of up-grading the Matara-Galle-Kalutara railway line in March, 2009.

The Medawachchiya-Madhu Road section of the Northern Railway project is also completed and has been taken over by SLR, while work on the other sections is progressing as per schedule. All these projects are funded through Indian lines of credit.

Three locomotives

Officials in a locomotive during a test run

Three locomotives were handed over to augment the progress of the Northern Railway Projects in July.

The Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi, India, is the production unit owned by Indian Railways that manufactures diesel-electric locomotives along with its spare parts. It is the largest diesel-electric locomotive manufacturer in India. These Locomotives are supplied by Ircon International Limited, the construction agency for the Northern Railway Projects. As part of their contractual commitments, IRCON has imported three Locomotives to Sri Lanka in March which were commissioned and are currently in use.

Up to yesterday trains operated from Colombo Fort Railway Station only up to Omanthai. The distance of the railway track from Omanthai to Kilinochchi is 63 kilometres. Construction of the track from Omanthai to Kilinochchi has been concluded under the first stage of the 150 kilometre railway line from Omanthai to Kankesanturai.

The construction of the whole Northern Line up to Kankasanthurai would be completed by the end of 2014 and all the previous railway stations which were destroyed during the conflict are to be re-established.

Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) authorities last month conducted a test run on the Northern Railway Line re-built from Vavuniya to Kankesanthurai, in the Jaffna peninsula. The train left the Omanthai railway station at 9.30 in the morning and it reached Kilinochchi railway station at 10.10 a.m. Yesterday (Saturday) President Mahinda Rajapaksa officially launch the train service on the reconstructed railway line from Omanthai to Kilinochchi reopening a new chapter in the railway history of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) will now operate three trains to Kilinochchi daily.

Night mail

A SLR spokesman said this will include the Yal Devi which operated up to Omanthai earlier, the Deyata Kirula intercity train which ran upto Medawachchiya earlier and the night mail train from Colombo. According to the schedule, the Yal Devi will leave Colombo Fort at 5.45 a.m. and reach the Kilinochchi station at 12.35 p.m.

The Deyata Kirula intercity train will leave the Colombo Fort station at 6.50 am and reach the Kilinochchi station at 11.48 pm.The night mail train will leave the Colombo Fort station at 10.15pm and arrive at Kilinochchi at 4.10am (next day). On the return journey, the Yal Devi will leave the Kilinochchi station at 6 am and arrive at the Colombo Fort station at 1pm. The Deyata Kirula intercity train will leave Kilinochchi at 2.18 pm and reach Colombo Fort at 7.16pm.Meanwhile, the night mail train will leave the Kilinochchi station at 8.30 pm and arrive at Colombo Fort at 4.40 am (next day).

The re-construction of the northern railway line and return of the Yal Devi express train to Kilinochchi will not only see the resumption of the normal train services to the North after 20 years, but, will also symbolise the liberation of the northern people from LTTE terrorism and return of democracy to the north.

The train could travel at a speed of 120 kmh since it has been constructed by IRCON, a Indian Company. A new signalling and telecommunication system for the railway Northern network has been installed with all level crossings interlocked with a new signalling system, to ensure safety.

The Commercial Bank of Sri Lanka also came up to support this endeavour investing millions of rupees to build the railway station in Kilinochchi. This to date is their biggest ever CSR project in one location.

The station was build according to the specifications given by the Railway engineers and includes all modern facilities including restrooms, toilets, and facilities and also has a Commercial Bank Teller machine. This also another instance where the private sector too came to help rebuild north and East.

In addition to opening the railway station President would also and also inaugurated the Chunnakam Grid substation constructed by Ceylon Electricity Board connecting the Jaffna peninsula with the national grid after a lapse of two decades.

Over 63 Mw of power is to be transmitted to the Jaffna peninsular through the substation for which the Government has spent Rs. 1,800 million. More than 120,000 households and the small and mega scale industries in the peninsula will be supplied electricity from the national grid. The Government has allocated Rs. 3,839 million for this mega electrification project.

Asian Tribune visited Kilinochchi Railway Station and saw nearly 400 workers working in the railway station and rail track to enable Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to declare open the station on 14th of this month and the train services up to Kilinochchi and dedicate it to the people of the North according to a report filed by Asian Tribune.

Courtesy : Sunday Observer

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=New_Australia_PM_vows_tougher_border_controls_20130917_01

New Australia PM vows tougher border controls

Australia's new prime minister Tony Abbott said Monday his tougher border protection scheme, with the navy towing asylum-seeker boats back to Indonesia, would begin as soon as his government was sworn in.

Abbott, who swept to victory in an election on September 7, put a pledge to "Stop the Boats" at the centre of his campaign, vowing a crackdown on asylum-seekers arriving by sea which includes towing back vessels where possible.

"On day one, which will be Wednesday, I expect Operation Sovereign Borders to commence," Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

"It will start to make a difference from day one. Do I think the boats will stop dead on day one of an incoming government? I wish, but it may not happen.

"But from day one, the people-smugglers and their customers will start to notice a very significant difference. Interdiction operations on the seas to our north will change and become more forthright, cooperation with the authorities in Indonesia will become more vigorous."

Australia has struggled to manage the stream of asylum-seekers arriving on rickety, overloaded fishing boats which are boarded in Indonesia. Hundreds have died on the risky journey in recent years.

Several boatloads carrying more than 200 passengers have arrived since Abbott's conservatives took power.

Abbott plans to tow back asylum-seeker vessels, while buying up Indonesian fishing boats to keep them out of the hands of people-smugglers, embedding Australian police in villages and paying locals for intelligence.

At his first press conference since the election Abbott conceded that not all elements would be in place instantly, but said there would be an immediate impact.

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has said Jakarta will reject the plans as not in the spirit of partnership between the nations, adding that the issue would be a top priority for talks with Abbott ahead of next month's APEC summit.

Abbott said he wanted to travel to Indonesia as soon as possible, maybe even before the APEC meeting which begins in early October. Indonesia was "in many respects... our most important single relationship", he said.

"I am determined to get the relationship off to the best possible start," he added.

Julie Bishop, set to be sworn in as foreign minister, has said the new government would work with Indonesia "where we need to" but it was not seeking permission to implement the controversial refugee policies.

"Over the next few days and weeks we will be working cooperatively with Indonesia," Bishop said.

"But I point out we're not seeking Indonesia's permission to implement our policies, we're seeking their understanding," Bishop told Meet the Press on Sunday.

Courtesy : Fox News

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/lanka-to-release-107-rehabilitated-ltte-cadres-113090800470_1.html

Sri Lanka will release a total of 107 rehabilitated LTTE cadres tomorrow, leaving only 232 former Tamil rebels to be reintegrated into the society.

The country's rehabilitation officials said today the 107 former Tamil Tigers would to be released tomorrow in the northern town of Vavuniya.

"They are to be released after a successful programme of vocational training," said Maj Gen Jagath Wijethilake, Army's top rehabilitation official.

Wijethilake said out of the 11,631 former LTTE cadres who had been through rehabilitation only around 232 would be left after tomorrow's release.

They were provided with life skills and languages training during their rehabilitation programme, he said.

They surrendered to the army at the end of the nearly three decades long ethnic war in May, 2009.

The government in January this year announced the allocation of 500 million rupees to grant self employment loans to the rehabilitated LTTE cadres.

A state bank provides self employment loans up to 250,000 rupees each to 10375 of them.

Sri Lankan military defeated the LTTE in May 2009, putting an end to their bid to create a separate state for Tamils. According to a UN report, army might have killed 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final phase of the war.

http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/20748-job-opportunities-open-for-kilinochchi-youths.html


Recommencement of train services to Kilinochchi will provide job opportunities for war-affected youth, Government officials said. Train services to Kilinochchi will commence on September 14 after 28 years.Media Secretary to the Transport Ministry Sujith Withanapathirana told The Nation that the recommencement of train services would provide job opportunities to youth in Kilinochchi. “Substitute labor for the Railway Department will be from Kilinochchi,” he said.Kilinochi District Secretary Rupavathi Ketheeswaran speaking to The Nation said, “I believe that the commencement of the extended railway service will open job opportunities to the youth of the North.” The rehabilitation of the northern railway line from Omanthai to Kilinochi, which is of a distance of 62km, is only the first stage of the 150km railway line from Omanthai to Kankesanturai. Further extension of the track to Jaffna and Kankesanthurai are under constructions. The newly built railway line enables the train to run at a speed of 110 kmph. The Railway Department plans to operate three trains to Kilinochchi on a daily basis during the initial stage.The Yal Devi train was bombed by the LTTE on January 19, 1985 killing 34 passengers. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will officially launch the train service to Kilinochchi at the opening of newly built Kilinochchi Railway Station. The line of credit in redeveloping infrastructure in the North is a part of India’s assistance that provided a loan of US$ 800 million. - See more at: http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/20748-job-opportunities-open-for-kilinochchi-youths.html#sthash.4L64IS9w.dpuf

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/09/08/fea01.asp

Pillay’s impartiality in question due to serious conflict of interest

by Philip Fernando

Commissioner Navi Pillay could not in good faith proclaim that her ethnicity (S. African born and of Tamil descent) does not put her in a pickle in trying to be an impartial Human Rights Commissioner. Her ethnic affinity creates an obvious conflict of interest which threatens the impartiality required of a Commissioner, a judicial position she now holds. If a person with Sinhala ethnicity were to be named Commissioner - he or she would be shot down as a seemingly biased person. Pillai’s predicament stems from the seriously conflicted position she is in despite her assertions to the contrary.

Increasing tourist arrivals boost the growing economy

Conflict of interest is a respected axiom for persons who are obliged to be fearlessly impartial where not even a semblance of partisanship should exist. Such a person must be always be fair and seemingly so.
This is no affront to Pillays inherited ability in particular but a universal adage internationally recognised. In such an event the person must recluse from being the adjudicator. That is the only option Pillay has in order to be impartial.

Pillai must recluse herself as arbiter on Sri Lankan matters

The sanest thing for Commissioner Pillai to do is to recluse herself in being the arbiter on Sri Lankan matters. She can continue to function as Commissioner on matters affecting other countries, but not Sri Lanka or South Africa - pretty elementary, Commissioner Pillay!
Commissioner Pillay has a duty to more than one racial group, but cannot do justice to the actual or potentially adverse interests of all. Pillay’s personal interests or concerns are inconsistent with the best for one group and her ethnic background is contrary to her loyalty to public duty, which Pillay is under oath to uphold.
It is common knowledge that an attorney, an accountant, a business adviser or realtor cannot represent two parties in a dispute and must avoid even the appearance of conflict.
He/she may not join with a client in business without making full disclosure of his/her potential conflicts, he/she must avoid commingling funds with the client, and never, never take a position adverse to the customer. Pillay is ignoring all norms of proprietorship carrying on regardless despite the obvious conflict of interest.

Pillai’s hard-wired altruism towards her own

Pillay’s body language indicated that she was peeved with so many things happening in the North. The sense of optimism now prevailing there and the dire need to prevent ethnic conclaves existing in any part of Sri Lanka were two salient features of the post-war mind-set.
Those seemed anathema to Pillay. Sociologists claim that political inclinations are informed by a person’s home, institutions and social groups. Navi Pillay’s evolutionary instincts shaped her political preferences - the hard-wired levels of altruism towards her own. Most people are kinder to others in the same tribe - political party, race, nationality, and the like.
Sri Lanka has expended substantial outlays of investment on the North and East, Pillay just dismissed them talking of a holistic approach. The post-war resurgence in the North and East is a direct affront to Pillai’s convoluted notions of public good.
She has yet to produce anything substantial to justify her stance.

Pillai exhibited her bias openly during her visit to Sri Lanka

Her opening remarks at the press conference stated, “I would like to pay my respects to all Sri Lankans, across the country, who were killed during those three decades of conflict, and offer my heartfelt sympathy to their families, all of whom - no matter who they are - share one thing: they have lost someone they can never replace. I have met many people during this visit whose relatives or spouses - both civilians and soldiers - are known to have been killed, or who are missing and may well be dead.”
Yet Pillay had a one-sided fact finding mission meeting with folks in the North - even a private meeting with a priest. There were hundreds of civilians in the south massacred by the Tigers including some respected monks. Pillay just gave a pass to all that.
She threw in a dart to sound impartial stating “the LTTE was a murderous organisation that committed numerous crimes and destroyed many lives. In fact, my only previous visit to Sri Lanka was to attend a commemoration of the celebrated legislator, peacemaker and scholar, Neelan Tiruchelvam, who was killed by an LTTE suicide bomb in July 1999.
Those in the diaspora who continue to revere the memory of the LTTE must recognise that there should be no place for the glorification of such a ruthless organisation.” Pillai seemed to have been oblivious to some who flocked to her meetings glorifying the Tigers in more ways than one. Pillay was quite at home with those folks, their language and social behaviour. Pillay was by no means seemingly or in fact impartial.

The hunch Sri Lankans had about Pillay

In a media release issued by the Presidential media unit, detailing the discussion the President had with Commissioner Pillay, said that many topics were discussed during the meeting. President Rajapaksa told Ms. Pillay that there is a belief among many Sri Lankans that the United Nations is biased in the way it deals with countries, and he said he urged those who voiced these concerns to him not to prejudge the report Ms. Pillay is due to issue” the release said.
In an interview with The Australian , the President said that Sri Lanka is no longer a story of conflict, it is now a story of development. “Sri Lanka since the end of the conflict has been a nation at peace. In under a decade per capita income has trebled to $3,000.
In the best years during the war, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka reached 450,000.
Last year, there were a million international visitors. This year there will be 1.5 million. The economy is growing by nearly seven percent, having had an eight percent growth in 2010 and 2011. “We can sustain six percent growth.” President said. “Peace is the driving force behind growth.

Sri Lanka never targeted civilians

The President denied the Sri Lanka security forces knowingly or intentionally killed civilians. “In a war like this, it was a war against terrorists. If we had killed civilians, civilians would never have come to us. But some 300,000 civilians fled to our side. When people tried to flee from the LTTE, the LTTE shot them.
To the outside critics I say come and see for yourselves.” President Rajapaksa said the international LTTE network is still alive and well, or at least the networks among the Tamil diaspora, which formerly raised funds and waged information campaigns on behalf of the LTTE. “The LTTE sympathiser networks have been in this business for a long time. It was their big money-raiser. They are still doing it today.’

Courtesy: Asian Tribune

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/09/08/pol03.asp
TNA manifesto contains Prabhakaran's policies’



It is an open secret that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had been the unofficial political wing of the LTTE when the world’s most ruthless terrorist outfit was at its best. The TNA leaders had no option, but to surrender meekly to LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran due to fear.
Since then, Prabhakaran remote-controlled the TNA leadership through his jungle hideout in Wanni until the terror outfit was military crushed in May, 2009. Prabhakaran informed his decisions to the LTTE’s political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvam who acted as the unofficial boss of the TNA.
All TNA parliamentarians were summoned to the LTTE political headquarters in Killinochchi as an when Thamilselvam wanted and the TNA leader R. Sampanthan and his fellow parliamentarians looked mere puppets. When the Tamils in the North and the East had been subjected to untold hardships due to LTTE threats, TNA parliamentarians did not utter a word as they feared that the Tigers would eliminate the entire TNA leadership.
But most moderate Tamils in the North thought that the TNA would abandon its LTTE agenda after Prabhakaran and his goons were vanquished at the Nandikadal lagoon a little over four years ago. Instead, the TNA was bought over by the LTTE rump and a section of the Tamil diaspora which now lavishly funds the former Tiger-proxy party.
The TNA’s separatist agenda came to light with its election manifesto for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC). The TNA manifesto has let the LTTE cat out of its bag, making it obvious that Sampanthan and his men are continuing from where Prabhakaran had left.
The TNA has called for the merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces in its manifesto presented last week. It further states that devolution of power should be on the basis of shared sovereignty, necessarily over land, law and order, socio-economic development including health and education, resources and fiscal powers.
“To achieve the above including self-reliance it is imperative that we need self-government. We have set out a two-stage constitutional process to secure this.
While we do our utmost to play a positive role in promoting self-government for the Tamil-Speaking Peoples in the North-East, we will carry on with our political negotiations for meaningful sharing of powers of governance,” the TNA said.
TNA’s chief ministerial candidate C.V. Wigneswaran had even gone to the extent of threatening to obtain direct Tamil diaspora funding for the NPC, if he is given a mandate at the polls to be held this month.
The leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), Wimal Weerawansa said that the controversial TNA manifesto contains the policies of Prabhakaran. Addressing an event at the National Youth Centre, Maharagama on Wednesday, he said though the LTTE was defeated in 2009, the political threat of the emergence of a separate state still prevails.
“In their manifesto, the TNA is demanding land, police, education, social and economic powers. They also demand the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. These are the things that were demanded by Prabhakaran,” Weerawansa claimed.
He alleged that Wigneswaran had stated that Prabhakaran is a hero and such statements indicated that the TNA supports separatism. He added, through merging the Northern and Eastern Provinces the TNA wants to destabilise the government with the support of certain Muslim leaders.
He said, in the past, some governments became unstable due to the pressure exerted on them by the TNA. “During the tenure of J.R. Jayewardene, K.W. Devanayagam demarcated the Eastern Province in favour of an Eelam State and included Eelam supporters in the diplomatic services,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, former Mannar Sea Tiger Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), Balasuresh, received the membership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) from Minister Susil Premajayantha and Deputy Minister, Sarath Kumara Gunaratne.
Obtaining party membership, the former LTTE activist said, he is living a good life today as a result of the development activities carried out by the government. He also said due to the mistakes in the past, many people senselessly died and many properties were damaged, adding that he joined the LTTE due to racially divisive ideas implanted in the minds of the people by the LTTE.
As the campaign in the North reaches its peak, TNA leader Sampanthan cautioned the southern political forces not to criticise his alliance’s manifesto with malicious intentions, as it has been “prepared in a manner to ensure the dignity of the minorities and to uphold the integrity of the country”.
Sampanthan, along with TNA’s Chief Ministerial candidate, C.V. Wigneswaran and other candidates of the Alliance, addressed a media briefing at the Green Grass on the TNA’s manifesto on Thursday in Jaffna. Leader of the Democratic People’s Front (DPF), Mano Ganesan, also addressed the briefing, in support of the TNA.
The TNA Leader, detailing the TNA’s manifesto said the Alliance has no intention of harming the integrity of the country. “What we emphasise is the need to maintain the integrity of the country by ensuring the rights and the dignity of the minorities. We also want a political settlement to the Tamil question, which should be durable and ensure the dignity of the Tamils. We are for the unity of the country. We don’t want the country to be divided,” he said. It appears to be an attempt to play different cards – the raciest cart to the North and the unity card in the south.

Abduction of Dayasiri’s campaign financier

Sarath Ratnayake, the main financial supporter of United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate, Dayasiri Jayasekara, who has also provided him a Hummer luxury vehicle, was abducted, assaulted and dumped in Anuradhapura last week.
Jayasekara accused those engaged in the preferential vote race of being responsible for the disappearance of his closest supporter and the police suspect the person had been abducted by an organised group.
Ratnayake, a millionaire businessman had reportedly gone missing on Wednesday night, prompting his wife to lodge a complaint with Hettipola and Wariyapola Police stations. Ratnayake was admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital and is under observation. Police also said he was unconscious, and as such they could not record a statement on the incident until the late hours of Friday.
Though the police said they could not observe any external injuries, sources said there is evidence of Ratnayake being physically assaulted. “I see this as a gross violation of the people's right to engage in a free and fair election by those who are engaged in a campaign of gaining preferential votes by hook or by crook.
They also want to show that those who supported me once are now aligned with another candidate of the same party. This incident also raises concerns whether they are providing ammunition to the opposition and foreign forces that are against the government,” Jayasekara charged.
Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Devale in Tissamaharama, Ratnayake is believed to be the largest financier of Jayasekara's election campaign, even providing a Hummer vehicle to facilitate his campaign.
“I contacted the President and the Defence Secretary to inform them regarding the disappearance of my long-standing supporter and requested assistance to find Ratnayake as soon as I heard the news,” Dayasiri was quoted as saying.

Pope confirms tour of Sri Lanka

Pope Francis I, has accepted an invitation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to tour Sri Lanka during pontiff’s forthcoming tour of Asia. Rev. Father Benedict Joseph, the spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo confirmed that the Holy Pope would visit Sri Lanka.
The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has already approved the visit and the Archdiocese is expected to announce the dates of the tour in near future. Fr. Benedict Joseph has said that Pope Francis I is eager to visit the island.
According to formalities the local Catholic Church needs an agreement with the government and once agreed the Bishops’ Conference must issue a formal invitation to the Pope to visit the country. It was only last month that the President Rajapaksa extended an invitation to Pope Francis I to visit Sri Lanka.

Ranil continues his day dreaming

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe continues to day-dream of capturing power. Ever since the UNP lost the executive presidency in 1994 and the fall of its last Government under his premiership in 2004, Ranil has been making various statements on the UNP coming to power.
Each time the UNP embarks on an election campaign or holds its party convention, Ranil has adopted various ploys by giving different time-frames of UNP capturing power, in a desperate attempt to keep the morale of the party supporters.
On the other hand, it was a different tactic by Ranil to deviate attention from the leadership crisis so that supporters could live under an illusion that the UNP would ‘soon’ come to power.
But how soon it would be is anybody’s guess, going by the UNP’s dismal record during the past 27 elections. Ranil made use of the UNP’s 67th anniversary celebrations on Friday to give another broken promise. He said that Friday’s ceremony would be the last anniversary celebrated as the opposition. Ranil pledged that the UNP would be commemorating its 68th anniversary next year after forming a government.
“This is the last anniversary we are celebrating as the opposition. The UNP will pave the way for a general election in 2014 and we will win it. We will celebrate our 68th anniversary under a UNP government,” the UNP leaders said.
Meanwhile, an official committee of inquiry has concluded that only 176 files have been set ablaze at the cemetery by some officials of the UNP-led Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) recently. However, the officials had permission to destroy only 126 files. The balance, 52 files, had been destroyed by mistake, the committee of inquiry has concluded.
The three-member committee of inquiry, appointed by Western Province Commissioner of Local Government, Chandrani Samarakoon, to probe the incident has finalised its findings and the report was to be handed over to Secretary of the Western Provincial Council, Jayanthi Wijetunga. The committee of inquiry had questioned 10 persons involved in the incident.

UNP crisis over speakers

The loyalists of Ranil and Sajith had a recent discussion to iron out differences and make a united effort to win the Provincial Council elections. But insiders said both sides were not genuine in their efforts though they initially agreed to forget differences and work tirelessly to put the UNP on the winning track.
But on the very next day, Ranil’s confidants broke the agreement and omitted names of Sajith Premadasa and Karu Jayasuriya from the speakers list at main UNP political rallies in the North Western and Central Provinces.
Some moderate UNP parliamentarians later told the Ranil loyalists that Sajith and Karu have been in high demand by the UNP candidates contesting the Provincial Council elections. But there has not been any positive response from the party leadership as Sajith and Karu have been forced to remain backstage in most of the UNP rallies.
There have been different stories on Ranil’s meeting with Navi Pillay last weekend at his private residence at Fifth Lane. Prior to the Opposition leader’s meeting Pillay with a group of UNP seniors, Ranil and Pillay had been engaged in a closed door meeting. At the end of the 15-minute meeting, Pillay had whispered a secret to Ranil but none of the UNP seniors were aware what it was all about.
Th United Nations said on Wednesday that it was ‘fully supportive of the work that UN Rights Chief Navanethem Pillay was doing while she was on the ground in Sri Lanka.’
“We fully support the work that Navanethem Pillay was doing while she was on the ground in Sri Lanka. We may have more to say on this down the line, but for now, basically, those are the standard principles,” a UN spokesman was quoted as saying.

PC polls campaign in full swing

The Provincial Couincil elections campaign in the Central, North Western and the Central Provinces reached the peak with only a fortnight away from the elections. All major parties have intensified their campaigns in full force.
President Rajapaksa presided over at a series of UPFA main rallies which began last Monday with the party’s 62nd anniversary celebrations. The first of the ten major UPFA rallies was held at the Maligapitiya grounds in Kurunegala under the patronage of the President who symbolized the unity of the ruling party with holding hands of leading candidates together – Dayasiri Jayasekera, Athula Wijesinghe and Johan Fernando, the eldest son of Trade Minister Johnston Fernando.
Johan has been in the forefront among the freshers contesting the PC polls. He has been extremely popular among the masses in the province.
There have been a few isolated incidents during the election campaign with the leatest being reported from the Central Province yesterday. One person was wounded after a shooting incident that took place near the residence of UPFA candidate for the Central Provincial Council, Jagath Chandraratna in Peradeniya last morning. Police said a supporter of the candidate had sustained gunshot injuries following the shooting which occurred in the early hours of yesterday. The Police is yet to identify the gunman. The wounded person was admitted to the Kandy General Hospital after being shot in the leg.

Great deal of misinterpretation prevails - GL

The second day of the Army's third annual international conclave ‘Defence Seminar - 2013’ saw speakers elaborating under the theme of ‘Regional Stability - Regional Perspective'. The three day defence symposium began on 3rd September at the hotel Galadari in Colombo. Minister of External Affairs Prof G.L Peiris and Senior Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama were among the distinguished panel of speakers.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa was also present during the second day sessions.
Addressing the gathering on ‘Political and Foreign Relations’ Prof G.L Peiris said that having underhand motives certain parties vested with pitiful interests act on a process of destabilizing the country while spreading strong misinformation on our Army's role. “Such misinformation is reflected in the UNHRC report too and the deliberate use of the word ‘intrusive’ for presence of the Army in the north, is inaccurate, unjustified and wrong” he added. He also said that “this assertion contradicts the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report that they (UN) themselves have prepared in which their own independent surveys, conducted on 197 northern civilians at random, said that they want the Army to be there, considering the extent of humanitarian roles, being performed by them”.
“It was the perception of the people that had been articulated to the OCHA,” he added.
Further elaborating on the present situation he said that “they are now amassing funds with the view to reviving the movement for separatism. Earlier, they owned ships, petrol sheds, aircraft, banks and suchlike as investments to buy weaponry to be smuggled to Sri Lanka when the armed forces were waging war against them”.
“With that accumulated finances, they are now buying people, information campaign, overseas rump who are prepared to destabilise Sri Lanka now on its recovery path.” he added.
The Minister also pointed out that UN High Commissioner Pillay defines the current government as authoritarian. Commenting on the coming provincial elections and establishment of democracy, he reiterated that “Almost after 25 years, northerners have been able to vote in provincial elections, scheduled in a couple of weeks and that itself is a victory for the people and democracy”. If the country is heading towards authoritarian, such a situation will not prevail, the Minister said.

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/09/08/fea03.asp

Think as Sri Lankans first

Interview with Dr. Subramanian Swamy - politician, social activist and economist and former Indian Cabinet Minister of Commerce, Law and Justice

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Dr. Subramanian Swamy

A close friend of Sri Lanka, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, commending the decision to hold elections in the Northern Province said out that if Tamil people need true reconciliation then they must select the most meritorious candidates and not based on their ethnicity. “Reconciliation cannot come if the Tamil people think only Tamils can represent them,” said Dr. Swamy. In an interview with the Sunday Observer during his recent visit to Sri Lanka to attend the Defence Seminar 2013, Dr. Swamy insisted that there should be an over-riding national identity. He pointed out that it is important to be ready to think as Sri Lankans first and take ethnicity at the second level.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: In 2012, addressing the second Defence Seminar in Sri Lanka you said that the fundamental long term problem before Sri Lanka was the essential reconciliation – erasing the uncertainty in the minds of Sri Lankans about the country's future. How would you compare your then comment in today's context?
A: I think Sri Lanka has made some substantial progress. The country would have more progress if the TNA had not been so obdurate. After nearly two decades your country is holding elections in the Northern part of the country. It is a free and fair election. The only factor I'm not happy about is that Tamils are still voting for Tamil candidates. That should not be the case. That is wrong. They should also vote for meritorious Sinhala candidates. Reconciliation cannot come if the Tamil people think only Tamils can represent them. I have been elected five times in India from different states. Twice from Bombay, twice from Uttar Pradesh and once from Madurai, which is my home town. So different people have voted for me without thinking about my ethnicity thinking only that this man would go to the parliament and do something progressive for the people. The same way the Tamils should also learn not only to vote for Tamils.
I'm urging the Tamil people that if you want genuine reconciliation show that you can consider yourself as a Sri Lankan first and Tamil afterwards. Which means when you get Tamil and Sinhala candidates during the elections and Tamil voters find that the Sinhala candidate is more meritorious then they should select him. That mentality must go. Such ideas will further aggravate non conducive environment for reconciliation.
Not only TNA I would like to see a single spokesman for the Tamil. I would like to see other spokesman for Tamil also - Politicians like Chandra Hasan and Douglas Devananda. These people also recognised as spokesman for Tamils. It is dangerous when you regard only one organisation as a representative of the Tamils.
Q: There are Tamil politicians other than the TNA who work for the Tamil people. Do you mean to say that other political parties are not doing their job properly?
A: No no its not that. Tamils are fed with a concept that who ever opposes LTTE representatives are enemies of Tamils. Politicians like Chandra Hasan definitely want to work with present Government. But the Tamils feel suspicious and the propaganda goes around that he is already sold out to the Sinhala people. That is all wrong. You all are one people. And my concept can be proven by DNA – Genetics. It is absurd to call you all ethnically different. There are no such things as Tamil nations – they are bogus concepts. In India all Tamils regard themselves as Indians first and then as Tamils. If there is a clash between Indian interest and that of the Tamil what prevails is the Indian interest. Same principle should be in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan concept comes first and second place is for the ethnicity. If there is a clash between the Sri Lankan interest and the interest of other parties it is the Sri Lankan interest that should prevail.
When Tamils in India say that India can not have good relationship with Sri Lanka because they did this and they did that to Tamils, I say, no we need friendship with Sri Lanka. It is of national interest to India. There is the over-riding national identity. That should be inculcated in Tamil people also. Nobody in India ever going to support any sort of separatism of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Q: How would you explain the response from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka? So much pressure coming from them?
A: Ah . . . That is not a response. It is just a handful of people, who get the drug money of the LTTE, they make a little noise and do few demonstrations. They bribe some press people. There is no pressure to be concerned. It is only from the two Dravidian parties. In the height of their power, Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and he had Ministers in the centre, did we (India) not get our Navy to block the seas when Sri Lanka was with a war with the LTTE to ensure that no terrorist could escape or any outside support would come. How could we have done that. Because the establishments in India go by the national interest. And they did not even inform Karunanidhi.
Q: Do you think India has properly evaluated the Sri Lankan situation, particularly considering it as an independent country?
A: Indian patriots regard Sri Lanka as an independent state - the decisions Sri Lankan people make on whom to treat as friends and whom to treat as enemies. And we want to have good relationship with Sri Lanka. That's the way the Indian establishment or the Indian majority think. India is of 35 states and Tamil Nadu is only one of them. So they can not decide national policy.
Q: When you consider relationships between countries the state of understanding among the two Governments matters , harmony between the two countries holds equal importance. Yet, today there is a fear psychosis among Sri Lankans who travel to many parts of Tamil Nadu. Isn't this a negative factor?
A: That will be rectified soon. I understand that fear because these Sri Lankans have no protection. But it may not last. I, faced protests because I support Sri Lanka. When I came last February, the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council was discussing Sri Lanka's human rights issues. When I went back there were numerous demonstrations.
It never mattered . Organising demonstrations in India is easy. Jayalalitha is regarded as a non-dravidian in political circles,. She is a Brahmin. The Dravidian concept is bogus. This is planted by Colonialists. Dravidian means South India but the British converted it into a race. They said anyone who is not a Brahmin is a Dravidian. When Jayalalitha is heading a Dravidian party, Karunanidhi says that she is not a Dravidian and is not one of us. Now to disprove this claim, Jayalalitha goes overboard. But she rectifies it to a certain extent. In the recent event, she arrested the sleeper cells of the LTTE. She is basically a patriotndia.
Q: You have been in politics for nearly four decades. All these years you have immense experience with the common people. What do Indians think about Sri Lankans? Because what they think about us matters.
A: Indians love Sri Lanka. Talk to Tamil Naduites, they have demonstrated their feelings many times. In 1991, when I was the Minister of Commerce, Law and Justice, I came to know from intelligence agencies ,that Karunanidhi as the Chief Minister was passing secrets to the LTTE. I persuaded the Prime Minister then that we must dismiss the Government. In 1991, I was in charge and went to Tamil Nadu to organise the dismissal. People told me that the Tamil sentiment will be upset and that there will be riots resulting in a river of blood. Nothing happened. And the elections were held as it was needed immediately.
In this election, Karunanidhi's party got only two seats out of 234. Vaiko, if he stands alone has never been able to even save his deposit. Nedumaran, Vaiko and all these politicians can win only on a coalition. In the coalition they will pay lip service.
If you want to know what the Indian people think, they never liked the LTTE. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi they hated the LTTE. There are only a handful of people in politics who are sympathetic towards them.
Q: Coming back to the Indian situation, the merger of your Janatha Party with the Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) was an important step ahead of the 2014 elections. Could we see a significant change in Indian politics?
A: The Government will be with the BJP, without doubt. We all have come in to a general consensus that we will bring the Gujarat Chief Minister as the Prime Ministerial candidate. The current Chief Minister of Gujarat is Narendra Modi. He is the one who proposed to make Colombo – Kandy – Ahmadabad sister cities. Well Sri Lanka is still considering it. That has not been accepted yet. It should be accepted I would say because Gujarat is a very flourishing area and Sri Lankans will we welcome there.
But during the elections I can not predict what will happen. That's the nature of Indian politics. Nothing can be predicted beyond one week.
Q: You are an Economist. Could you give your assessment of the Sri Lankan economy?
A: As I see Sri Lankan economy is very well poised to become the hub like Singapore and Hongkong. Those countries have small islands but Sri Lanka is a large island and there is space for manufacturing. Sri Lanka has the highest human development index, quality of life index, highly educated population and in this age of innovation and knowledge economy these are positive factors. I think Sri Lanka should try to become a hub for India, China and the whole of Asia.
Q: Another key issue raised during the Defence Seminar 2013, at which you participated, was the concern over transnational crimes. But we do not see much regional cooperation to face this. Should not the leaders of countries get together to face this?
A: Piracy in the Malacca Straights is a problem. And we can cooperate with the Americans and the Chinese in the region.
There is a no regional cooperation as yet. Why? Well, from the beginning we were too much European oriented in this context. But now we must look in to Asia. But India has set-up a good Naval fleet to face this threat.

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/09/08/fea02.asp

 

 

Sri Lanka is a peaceful, stable and democratically secure country - Defence Secretary

[Part 1]

It gives me great pleasure to deliver the keynote address this morning, at the 3rd Annual Defence Seminar organised by the Sri Lanka Army. I am aware that distinguished delegates and guests from 29 countries are participating in this event, alongside a large number of attendees from Sri Lanka. On behalf of the Government, I take this opportunity to welcome our foreign guests to Sri Lanka and to wish all the participants an educative and productive time at this important event. I also extend my congratulations to the Commander and the Officers of the Sri Lanka Army who have organised this event with great professionalism and skill.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa

This year’s Defence Seminar is the third successive one organised by the Sri Lanka Army since the series began in 2011. The first Seminar centred on the lessons learnt by the Sri Lankan defence establishment in defeating the ruthless and formidable terrorist organisation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. During that Seminar, senior members of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces shared their experiences on the strategies and tactics used to defeat terrorism, and discussed their broader applicability and relevance to other nations. In 2012, the second Seminar focused on the post-war efforts to create lasting peace and stability in Sri Lanka after the war. It examined the steps taken towards Reconstruction, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Reconciliation in the conflict affected parts of the country, as well as the overall development of the country at large and its prospects for the future.

Appropriate

The theme selected for this year’s Defence Seminar is “Post Conflict Sri Lanka-Challenges and Regional Stability”. This is a particularly appropriate theme in the present context. Sri Lanka has had considerable problems in the last three decades. In 1983, the country suffered from riots that raged for 5 days without effective state intervention. During the 1986 to 1989 period, people were frequently abducted, tortured and killed as the country veered towards barbarism and anarchy with the second JVP insurrection. And for nearly thirty years until the end of the war in 2009, Sri Lanka suffered through the brutal terrorism of the LTTE, whose countless targeted killings, indiscriminate bombings and armed attacks killed numerous innocent civilians and led to a paralysis of day to day life.
After its liberation from terrorism through the Humanitarian Operation, and with democracy being restored to every part of the island, Sri Lanka is now one of the most peaceful and stable countries in the entire world. However, there are still a number of challenges that the country faces. These challenges, together with issues that affect regional stability, are critical considerations at this juncture because of the impact they will have on the country’s future.
How Sri Lanka faces its internal as well as external challenges over the next few years will influence or even determine its destiny for much longer to come.
Before discussing these challenges and regional issues, however, it is important to take proper note of where we currently stand. Soon after the war, there were a number of pressing concerns that had to be dealt with urgently. These immediate post-war challenges included:
• Accommodating and ensuring the welfare of nearly 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons
• Undertaking de-mining and the reconstruction of infrastructure
• and facilities Resettling the IDPs
• Rehabilitating nearly 12,000 ex-LTTE cadres and
• Reintegrating them to society.
I am pleased to note that as of today, each and every one of these challenges has been successfully dealt with. Demining of nearly 5,000 square kilometres of land and reconstruction of vital infrastructure and housing facilities were urgent tasks that the Government had to undertake to facilitate the speedy resettlement of the IDPs. As these tasks were being completed, the IDPs were resettled in their places of origin. Resettlement commenced in October 2009, less than five months after the end of the war. By August 2012, just three years and three months after war, all of the IDPs in the welfare camps, as well as a considerable number of persons who had been displaced from the North in earlier times due to LTTE activities, had returned to their homes. This is a remarkable achievement by any standard. In addition to resettlement, great effort has been taken to ensure that these people are able to resume normal lives. Livelihood assistance programs have been launched, and material assistance has been provided through the donation of fishing gear, utilities for farming and provision of livestock and seeds for agriculture.
A survey undertaken by UNHCR Sri Lanka between November 2012 and March 2013 has demonstrated the overall success of the resettlement program. Assessing the current situation of resettled persons against the global standard of the Inter Agency Standing Committee Framework for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons, the survey found that considerable progress had been achieved under each of the eight themes of the Framework. Access to personal and other documentation without discrimination, Family reunification, and Access to effective remedies and justice had been achieved. Considerable progress had been made in areas including Safety and security, Access to livelihoods, and Participation in public affairs. Interestingly, nearly 90 percent of respondents had a high level of confidence in local civilian law enforcement, and only 29 percent had negative views on the presence of the military in their areas.
A field mission conducted between May and June this year by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, observed that while there were still areas for improvement, the transformation of the region in such a short matter of time was praiseworthy. The report of the field mission noted “remarkable improvement in infrastructure development in many sectors including transportation, communication, roads, railways and health facilities”.
It was also observed that there was no visible presence of armed military personnel in uniforms, and that the work of the military is primarily to address the “immediate and development needs of the population” including projects for “building houses, shelter, water, sanitation; scholarships for school going children and schools focused vocational training;” and organising tours for people in the North to visit the rest of Sri Lanka. These efforts are aimed at helping the civilians return to normal life in a peaceful nation.
In addition to the displaced civilians, the vast majority of the LTTE cadres who surrendered to the military during the Humanitarian Operation have also been returned to their homes after an extensive Rehabilitation programme carried out by the Government. The overall success of the rehabilitation programme can be gauged by studies undertaken by independent foreign researchers, including Dr. Kruglanski and Dr. Gelfland of the University of Maryland, College Park, who showed that even hard-core LTTE cadres have undergone a significant reduction in their support for violence as a result of the program.

Normalcy

With the swift addressing of these immediate post-war requirements, the Government turned its attention to the restoration of normalcy. One of the first objectives in this regard was the restoration of the civil administration in the North and East. During the previous decades, while the LTTE was in control of these areas, the Government administrative machinery remained in existence but had not been able to function independently. After the war ended, the military had to undertake some of the duties of the civil administration until sufficient capacity could be built up within the system for it to function effectively without external support. As this required capacity was gradually being built up, the tasks undertaken by the military were handed over to civilian counterparts, and the involvement of the military in these administrative matters was stopped.
The post-war period saw significant shifts overall in the modus operandi of the Armed Forces, since there was no longer a requirement for offensive operations. The focus was more on functioning in a passive role that would ensure long term stability. Intelligence units were strengthened and expanded, and more use was made of the engineering battalions for reconstruction and national development purposes. At the same time, the military had to develop new policies and procedures for their functions relating to internal security. In the immediate post-conflict period, the military had to assume an expanded role in the maintenance of law and order for some time.
However, the full responsibility for the maintenance of law and order has now been handed over to the Police and the military has been released from these duties.
The disengagement of the military from administrative and law and order functions has only been one of the steps towards normalisation that has been effected by the Government in the post-conflict period.
Several other steps were taken shortly after the war ended to ensure that the people in the formerly war affected areas could return to life under normal conditions as soon as possible.
The various armed groups that had been operating in opposition to the LTTE and in support of the Government in the North and East needed to be disarmed. The Government accomplished this challenging task within a remarkably quick period soon after the war. The members of these former armed groups were encouraged to work towards the betterment of the people through democratic means. Many of these individuals are now playing an active role in politics at various levels.
Civilian properties that had been used for other purposes for many years during the war needed to be returned to their rightful owners. Some of these properties had to be occupied by the military whereas others had been forcibly taken over and used by the LTTE during the war. Action has been taken to trace the rightful owners of these properties, and most have already been returned to them.
Restrictions that had to be in place during the war for security purposes had to be removed. These included restrictions on movement on land due to the maintenance of high security zones; limitations on fishing including restrictions on outboard motors and the times and locations in which fishing could take place; as well as restrictions in the trade of certain items that could be used for offensive purposes. All of these restrictions were removed in stages after the end of the war. The Palaly cantonment is now the only area on ground in which some security restrictions remain; but even within the cantonment, civilians have free access to the airport and the Kankasanthurai harbour.
The presence of military camps and troops in the North had to be reduced. This was done gradually after the end of the war. The number of camps as well as troops in this region has been reduced dramatically. Although the military remains in this region for strategic security reasons, it mostly engages in development work to win the hearts and minds of the people. The full responsibility for law and order has been handed over to the Police with the establishment of more and more police stations in the North and East and the recruitment of more Tamil speaking Police personnel to serve in these areas.

Rehabilitation

Another step in the normalisation process following the war was dealing with those who had been detained for involvement in LTTE activities. Most of the detainees were released into rehabilitation. A very few numbers of hard-core cadres who had been involved in LTTE activities at a higher level remained in detention centres for prosecution.
A comprehensive database of all those in detention was created and access to this database was enabled through police stations. Lawyers and family members of the detainees were provided access to the detention centres, as were officials of agencies and relevant organisations such as the ICRC and the Human Rights Commission.
Very significant in the normalisation process for the entire country was the repealing of the Emergency Regulations that had been in place in Sri Lanka for many decades. These regulations gave wide-reaching powers to law enforcement authorities, and were necessary during the war for the upholding of security in the country at large.
However, in August 2011, after two peaceful years had passed since the end of the war without any terrorism related incidents, the Government repealed these regulations.
Alongside the return to normalcy, steps had to be taken by the Government to address the various allegations that were being made by various parties during and after the war about what took place in its last stages. The primary allegation concerned the number of civilian casualties that were supposed to have taken place during this period.

Enumeration

Various people started making various claims about the number of casualties, which ranged from 7,000 to more than 40,000 people killed. Hardly any of these estimates referred to any sources, and most completely ignored independent and credible sources that reported figures very much to the contrary.
The Government was therefore very keen on addressing this issue in a rigorous and transparent manner. In 2011, the Department of Census and Statistics carried out an “Enumeration of Vital Events” for the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
The Enumeration was conducted between June and August 2011, with field data being collected in July. The enumerators were Government servants from the Northern Province, all 2,500 of whom were Tamil and Muslim officials. Apart from the gathering of usual census data, the enumerators paid attention to the vital events that had taken place in the North from 2005 to 2009, with a particular emphasis on the deaths that took place in the last stages of the war. The Enumeration Report shows that according of the reporting of the next of kin, 7,896 deaths occurred due to unnatural causes from January to May 2009. This number includes:
• LTTE cadres killed in action;
• Civilians killed by the LTTE whilst trying to escape into Government controlled areas;
• Civilians who were detained and killed by the LTTE for other reasons;
• Civilians forcefully used for combat and related activities by the LTTE;
• Civilians who died as a result of crossfire;
• Civilians who had been reported as dead but who may have escaped or illegally migrated overseas;
• Deaths reported but not during the Humanitarian Operation for the purpose of claiming compensation; and
• False reporting.
It is also worth bearing in mind that at the start of the Humanitarian Operation, the LTTE had approximately 30,000 cadres. By its conclusion, nearly 12,000 had surrendered to the Armed Forces. LTTE transmissions intercepted, LTTE documents recovered, LTTE graveyards discovered, and LTTE publications and posters indicate a large number of cadres were killed in action during the early stages of the Humanitarian Operation.
It is also possible that many bodies were unrecovered during this period. However, the most intense battles were fought after Puthukudiyirippu. During this period, it was impossible for the LTTE to recover the bodies of its cadres or give any indication of its casualty figures. It is also worth nothing that unlike a conventional military, the LTTE was a terrorist group that did not have a proper procedure of recruiting and maintaining its cadres. Most of the time its cadres used aliases instead of proper names. Some of them did not fight in uniform. As a result, it is difficult to establish with certainty the number of cadres killed. In this context, it is also worth bearing in mind that the military lost nearly 6,000 of its personnel in combat during the Humanitarian Operation. Close to 20,000 more were injured. This gives an indication of the intensity of the battles that took place during this period.

Whereabouts

In addition to the deaths that were said to have occurred, the Enumeration of Vital Events shows that 2,635 persons were reported as untraceable. These numbers were reported because the parents and next of kin of the missing persons were not able to recover their bodies or obtain information about their whereabouts. Further investigations have already been carried out with regard to 2,360 of these cases.
These investigations have established beyond doubt that 1,625 were instances of forced recruitment by the LTTE. It is also a fact that an unknown number of persons left Sri Lanka through illegal means during the last stages of the war, and are presently resident in other countries.
However these countries have not yet divulged their details to the Government. There are only 26 instances of people who are reported by the next of kin as having surrendered to Security Forces and subsequently disappeared.
In a completely independent effort to track the missing persons in the North, UNICEF, together with the Probation and Child Care Commissioner of the Northern Province and the Government Agent of Vavuniya, launched a family reunification project soon after the war.
A total of 2,564 tracing applications were received by July 2011. 1,888 of these applications were about missing adults, and 676 about missing children. 64% of the parents of missing children reported that they had been recruited by the LTTE. This study independently confirms our findings.
At the same time, it is very important to keep in mind that a military confronting a non-state actor using asymmetric warfare strategies has an incredibly difficult task to perform. A terrorist organisation has no compunctions about safeguarding civilian lives.
In fact, the LTTE relentlessly put civilians in harm’s way by using them as a human shield and to increase international attention to the war. This was primarily in the hope of attracting external intervention that would subvert the on-going Humanitarian Operation.
The ground realities that the Sri Lankan military faced in this context are widely ignored. The
LTTE deliberately and repeatedly launched artillery and mortar attacks on the military from No Fire Zones. It also encamped and fought from civilian areas and installations including hospitals. These are complexities that those who make allegations against the Sri Lankan military are sometimes unaware of.
Given the Government’s clear commitment to address all issues relating to accountability, a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was instituted in May 2010 to examine all matters connected with the war.
This Commission obtained submissions from people all over the country during an 18-month period, after which it published a comprehensive report. The Commission concluded that there was no deliberate targeting of civilians on the part of the Sri Lankan military, although it found that the LTTE was responsible for numerous violations of international humanitarian law. The Commission also outlined a number of constructive recommendations that the Government is committed to implementing through a comprehensive and time-bound National Action Plan. It is hoped that the process of national reconciliation will be assisted by the implementation of these recommendations.
It must be noted that a lot has been said, particularly internationally, on the subject of reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
Unfortunately, much of what is said has been negative, and lacks a holistic perspective grounded in the realities of post-war Sri Lanka.
Reconciliation is a process. Like all processes it takes time to accomplish. Demanding overnight results is counterproductive. For a very long period of time, most of the people in the North and parts of the East of Sri Lanka lived under the total control of the LTTE. There were no democratic freedoms in the areas under LTTE dominance. There was no space for dissent. The LTTE did not allow any alternate viewpoints.
All opposition voices were swiftly and ruthlessly silenced. The people in those areas were brainwashed with LTTE propaganda. An entire generation grew up without any experience of normal life. They were separated and isolated from the rest of the country; they were taught to hate and fear the Sri Lankan state. Some took up arms against the state willingly. Despite the success of the Welfare camps, despite the speed of resettlement, and despite the far-reaching nature of the rehabilitation and reintegration program, it is not easy to ensure speedy reconciliation in this context.
At the same time, it has to be acknowledged that much remains to be done by all parties, including the Government, to ensure that national reconciliation is achieved. It is of the utmost importance that all Sri Lankans move into the future together as one nation, without unnecessary fragmentation into groups based on ethnicity, religion, caste or place of origin. The most essential task of the Government in this regard is to ensure that all Sri Lankans have the same opportunities and unobstructed access to state services, and that they are empowered to seek better futures for themselves in a peaceful, stable and rapidly developing democracy.
In this regard, one of the most crucial steps towards the restoration of normalcy in the North and East was the revival of the democratic process through the restoration of elections and the return of political plurality. Under the direction of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Provincial Council elections were held in the Eastern Province even before the Humanitarian Operation had ended.
Local Authority elections were held for the Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council as early as August 2009.
The Presidential Election and General Election were both held throughout the country in 2010. Local authority elections held island-wide in 2011 saw free and fair elections throughout the North and East for the first time in decades. In the areas formerly dominated by the LTTE, people exercised their franchise without fear for the first time in a generation.
Text of the Speech delivered by Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Defence Seminar 2013 on September 3, 2013 at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo.

To be continued