Norwegian (TNG) for Eezham Tamils is the first of many and will become a proud member of the Global Tamil Forum
GTF
Melting pot of Eezham-Tamil democratic politics
While the idea of transnational government (TNG) is captivating the minds of Eezham Tamils, their public opinion should be watchful for political moves not slipping in concepts and terminologies and the organisation process maintaining absolute financial independence.
Democratically elected country councils widen, strengthen and secure the democratic structure of TNG and help it to evolve from bottom to top. The nation needs to explore models of structurally integrating country councils and bodies such as GTF in the apex body of TNG. Conducive atmosphere has to be created for wider participation of the society, youth and women. The trauma Eezham Tamils undergo, can be conquered by them only by innovatively engaging in action – this time democratic action – and by demonstrating their spirit unconquered.
It is heartening to notice how the paradigm of democratic politics and transnational governance has captivated the minds of Eezham Tamils especially in the diaspora, where the much-needed space deprived in Sri Lanka is available for innovation and rejuvenation.
Quite typical of any democratic exercise, as ideas pour in, debates take place and moves originate in a short span of hard-pressed time, it is not only common folk but even keen activists are confused. The widely felt concern is that such confusion should not pave way for manipulation and hijack of the cause by motley of forces tacitly united in nullifying identity, independence, sovereignty and national liberation of Eezham Tamils.
It is of paramount importance that the various global moves originating from the Eezham Tamil diaspora in political organization, economy, society and culture need to be perceived, orientated and coordinated coherently to produce desired results.
The following are put forward to the consideration of especially the diaspora, the public opinion of which is actually the guardian in setting the course of its current global process of democratic politics.
1. Not slipping in terminologies outlining the cause:
Independence, sovereignty, nation state, nation, homeland, self-determination, autonomy, federal, confederation, self-rule etc are terms of specific meaning in the international system. They cannot be replaced by one another. Mere phrases such as Tamil Eelam or government cannot be taken for their face value, unless specified with appropriate technical terms.
Eezham Tamil public needs to carefully scrutinize the terminologies and their Tamil equivalents used by various political moves approaching them.
‘Independence and sovereignty’ can be translated into Tamil either as ‘suthanthiramum I’raimaiyum’ or as ’thannaathikkamum i’raimaiyum.’
What negotiation could achieve is another matter. But the democratic freedom of a nation to tell what it deservingly aspires is of supreme importance and it is for the diaspora public opinion to take care if there is any slip.
2. Financial independence in political organization:
Political organization is absolutely a matter of concerned people. They have to conceive and do it on their own, from their own resources and through their own will power, if they want their political organization to be true to them.
‘Democratisation’ of politics of a people may be a ‘development’ agenda for others and they may treat it a matter for funding. But for a people struggling for liberation it is not so. Diaspora needs to be watchful that evolving its political organization is done by motivating the masses and never through getting outside funds.
3. Widening the democratic structure:
In the given circumstances, when independent political organisation of Eezham Tamils is threatened by Sri Lanka and is likely to be sabotaged by forces abetting the ‘unity’ of Sri Lanka, the more the democratic structures are widened and integrated, the more the political organisation is secured. Otherwise, just by handling a few at the top, the entire politics could be crippled.
Needless to say that Eezham Tamils should have well-knitted multiplicity of grass root organisations and their politics have to be built form bottom to top and not vice versa.
The constitution announced by the move for Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils has touched some of these aspects by proposing to conduct elections regionally and nationally in Norway; by having a second chamber and by accommodating elected representatives from institutions of Eezham Tamils in the second chamber.
More attention need to be paid in this respect in the diaspora in encouraging more elected bodies, co-operative bodies and in integrating and orientating them and other grass root organisations such as village associations, alumni associations etc towards democratic transnational polity.
4. GTF and other such bodies:
The impression one gets from the draft constitution of the Global Tamil Forum is that it will be functioning as a global body of professionals and something like a multinational corporation of Eezham Tamils. This is a welcome move and Eezham Tamils will need such bodies to run banks, universities etc.
Such bodies should be integrated in the second chamber of the apex transnational government. However, it is important that GTF and other such bodies have to make clear themselves in specific terms of their commitment to independence and sovereignty of Eezham Tamils.
5. Importance of country councils:
Elected councils of Eezham Tamils in various countries are the real roots of transnational government. They make transnational government secure, widen the democratic structure by acting as federal units, make the implementation of the mandates of transnational government in a particular country much easier and help negotiating local situations arising from differing political systems of the various countries, as these councils are ‘national councils’ of those countries.
The move in Norway is a pioneering major step and the entire diaspora watches it with much expectation.
6. Transnational government as apex body:
Transnational government as conceived by Eezham Tamils is a novel and hitherto unseen experiment of human civilisation. Only a nation like that of Eezham Tamils that was brutally and unjustly crushed by entire establishments of the world joining together could conceive such alternative governance for them. This is sure to serve an inspiration to future world polity and to many oppressed peoples of the world.
In the exercise of evolving a democratic transnational government, whether the Eezham Tamils are fully aware of the importance of what they are doing is a crucial matter.
While the alternative world will welcome the challenging concept, the establishments will obviously try to either blunt it or hijack it.
Therefore, the apex body has to be formed with tremendous will power of people, with a strong foundation and with structural security.
It is perhaps advisable to structure transnational government after securely forming democratically elected councils at least in countries having bulk of the diaspora.
Country councils and transnational government should be structurally integrated so that they don't operate concurrently within a country.
It is of utmost importance that the apex body operating in the diaspora should not abandon independence and sovereignty of Tamil Eelam, even though that should not preclude it from engaging in negotiations, development etc.
TNG is a body of the diaspora and it has to continue for the identity, culture and development of the diaspora, even after Tamil Eelam is achieved.
7. Probable models of forming transnational government:
While direct election among the diaspora held across the world is a model, probably a feasible model at this juncture is holding elections for country councils, and either electing representatives from them, or making them as electoral colleges to elect members from a global list of candidates, or a combination of both. A second chamber could be having elected representatives from defined diaspora institutions.
Models are inexhaustible and we have to be judicious in deciding what suits better under given conditions to serve the purpose.
The first elected TNG may have to function as constitutional assembly as well in bringing out a mandated constitution.
8. Social participation:
A Tamil exppert recently sent a lengthy note on the importance of right personalities from various walks of life coming forward to take responsibilities in the polity of Eezham Tamils, when it is needed the most perhaps in the whole history of them.
It is our earnest hope that a right atmosphere will be created through public opinion for right personalities to come to politics.
An atmosphere has also to be created for people of various political shades and affiliations to develop whole-hearted belongingness in the new process and to contribute their best to the society.
The transnational governance of our context demands not merely politicians and negotiators, but economists, educationalists, culture personalities, people of letters and so on. Again, we need the right atmosphere for such personalities to come into politics.
9. Participation of youth and women:
A healthy sign for the Eezham Tamil nation today is the diaspora youth coming forward to take ownership of the struggle. Young diaspora women taking part in the politics of various countries and getting elected to public bodies is another encouraging feature we see today. This generation should come forward in participating and leading the democratic process of Tamil politics too. The success of transnational governance in the long run lies in the youth participation in it.
10. Mindset:
All liberation begins from mindset.
It is time Eezham Tamils come out of their mindset of colonial legacy to boldly look at themselves through their own eyes.
It is always suffering people who come out with innovations for them as well as for humanity
The trauma Eezham Tamils undergo is understandable only by them.
As we see from what is happening, no one else will help us to overcome it. The trauma and depression can be conquered only by innovatively engaging in action – this time democratic action – and by demonstrating our spirit unconquered.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Petition against the granting of GSP+ by the European Union to Sri Lanka. Please click to sigh the petition
We, the undersigned, write to you to petition against the granting of GSP+ by the European Union to the Government of Sri Lanka.
Due to non-compliance of Sri Lanka on 18th October 2008 the European Commission adopted a decision providing for the initiation of an investigation on the GSP+ concession arrangement.
Government of Sri Lanka does not satisfy the three core qualifying conditions for GSP+ as detailed below;
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that ‘the rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are not rights under the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – In light of the recent broadcasting of footage by Channel 4 showing Tamils being executed by the Sri Lankan armed forces and other emerging post war evidences clearly demonstrate that Sri Lanka is in violation of this condition
Widespread police torture, abductions of journalists, politicised courts and uninvestigated disappearances have all played a part in creating a state of ‘complete or virtually complete impunity in Sri Lanka’. – The Economist, 3 Sept 09
“Just three months after the Sri Lankan government declared the country liberated from the Tamil Tigers, video footage has emerged apparently showing government troops summarily executing Tamils.” – Channel 4, 25 Aug 09
Convention on the Rights of the Child – Thousands of children are being held in the interment camps in Sri Lanka with appalling conditions where there is no access to clean water, health care and educational facilities.
“The displaced people, including at least 50,000 children, are being accommodated in 41 camps spread over four districts” – Amnesty International, 7 Aug 2009
As evidenced by the disproportional defence budget allocated to the Sri Lankan armed forces from 2007 - 2009 and the confirmation of the end of the conflict, Sri Lanka cannot currently be classified as “vulnerable” under the qualifying criteria for the GSP+.
The quitting of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) – the international panel set up to monitor a Sri Lankan probe into human rights abuses, the persistent refusal to accept an independent monitoring body on human rights and the ongoing restricted access to aid agencies stand witness to the level of respect for human rights.
“Any government has a clear obligation to have a very thorough investigation in response to an allegation of this type,” - Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Reuters, 1 Sept 09
“One day I was inside the [operating] theatre and the next room was bombed. We had a lot of the treated people left in the room for the doctors to go and monitor and they all died in that shell bomb.” - Damilvany Gnanakumar, British Tamil medic witness to the conflict, The Guardian, 15 Sept 09
We, the undersigned, strongly feel that Sri Lanka has fallen far short of meeting any of the criteria and conditions stipulated by the EU Commission and we urge you to raise the case for the withdrawal of GSP+ to Sri Lanka. Unless a clear message is sent for being in breach of qualifying conditions, like the decision taken by the Council on Belarus, Sri Lanka and other States that enjoy such privileges will continue with human rights violations, lack of systems and governance and maintain status quo.
http://www.tamilsforum.com/petition/
Due to non-compliance of Sri Lanka on 18th October 2008 the European Commission adopted a decision providing for the initiation of an investigation on the GSP+ concession arrangement.
Government of Sri Lanka does not satisfy the three core qualifying conditions for GSP+ as detailed below;
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that ‘the rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are not rights under the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – In light of the recent broadcasting of footage by Channel 4 showing Tamils being executed by the Sri Lankan armed forces and other emerging post war evidences clearly demonstrate that Sri Lanka is in violation of this condition
Widespread police torture, abductions of journalists, politicised courts and uninvestigated disappearances have all played a part in creating a state of ‘complete or virtually complete impunity in Sri Lanka’. – The Economist, 3 Sept 09
“Just three months after the Sri Lankan government declared the country liberated from the Tamil Tigers, video footage has emerged apparently showing government troops summarily executing Tamils.” – Channel 4, 25 Aug 09
Convention on the Rights of the Child – Thousands of children are being held in the interment camps in Sri Lanka with appalling conditions where there is no access to clean water, health care and educational facilities.
“The displaced people, including at least 50,000 children, are being accommodated in 41 camps spread over four districts” – Amnesty International, 7 Aug 2009
As evidenced by the disproportional defence budget allocated to the Sri Lankan armed forces from 2007 - 2009 and the confirmation of the end of the conflict, Sri Lanka cannot currently be classified as “vulnerable” under the qualifying criteria for the GSP+.
The quitting of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) – the international panel set up to monitor a Sri Lankan probe into human rights abuses, the persistent refusal to accept an independent monitoring body on human rights and the ongoing restricted access to aid agencies stand witness to the level of respect for human rights.
“Any government has a clear obligation to have a very thorough investigation in response to an allegation of this type,” - Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Reuters, 1 Sept 09
“One day I was inside the [operating] theatre and the next room was bombed. We had a lot of the treated people left in the room for the doctors to go and monitor and they all died in that shell bomb.” - Damilvany Gnanakumar, British Tamil medic witness to the conflict, The Guardian, 15 Sept 09
We, the undersigned, strongly feel that Sri Lanka has fallen far short of meeting any of the criteria and conditions stipulated by the EU Commission and we urge you to raise the case for the withdrawal of GSP+ to Sri Lanka. Unless a clear message is sent for being in breach of qualifying conditions, like the decision taken by the Council on Belarus, Sri Lanka and other States that enjoy such privileges will continue with human rights violations, lack of systems and governance and maintain status quo.
http://www.tamilsforum.com/petition/
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Massive ethnic cleansing is occurring; the Human Rights Council should act for the Tamils
UN Human Rights Council at its12th session in Geneva has concluded general debate on human rights situations that require the council’s attention. Representatives from several countries and NGOs participating in the debate expressed concern about the situation in camps for internally displaced persons in the north of Sri Lanka.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said in her statement that there should be institutional reform and study of the root causes of conflicts as essential to transitional justice. In Sri Lanka, the Government resisted any purview of accountability, and was still prosecuting the war against the Tamil people. The only remedy for the latter was to submit to ever-harsher oppression and abuse. The international community had not looked into the underlying causes of the Sinala-Tamil war for many years. The people were in detention camps because they were Tamil, not because they were civilians. The whole issue of this war was because the Tamil people had sought their right to self-determination, among other rights, and the Government had refused them. Massive ethnic cleansing was occurring, and the Council should act for the Tamils.
Excerpts from some of their statements are as follows:
CHRISTIAN STROHAL (Austria) said that no country had a perfect human rights record and all needed to work constantly and self-critically to address their shortcomings and do better for the promotion and protection of human rights. This fact obliged countries to openly address situations that were of particularly concern to them in order to enter into a dialogue on how to improve the implementation of international standards on the ground. Austria pointed to the human rights situations in Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Sudan, which were all situations where Austria failed to see the necessary political will and determination to improve the protection of human rights effectively.
JANICE MCGANN (Ireland) said that the situation in Sri Lanka was over but the peace there remained to be won as serious breaches of humanitarian and human rights law had taken place during that war.
PETER HERTEL RASMUSSEN (Denmark) said the Government of Sri Lanka should fully respect all human rights.
CHRISTINE GOY (Luxembourg) said that Luxembourg was equally concerned for the grave situation in Sri Lanka with regards to the freedom of expression. The situation of internally displaced persons and the allegations of violations of international law during the armed conflict had not yet been the subject of an independent international enquiry, and therefore required particular attention from the Council.
MURIEL BERSET (Switzerland) said that the evolution of the situation in Sri Lanka remained of concern to Switzerland which reiterated its appeal. The humanitarian actors needed to be able to conduct their work without constraints. The holding of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced peoples must end and their safe and voluntary prompt return enabled.
CAROLINE MILLAR (Australia) said Australia remained concerned that over 300,000 civilians remained displaced in camps in northern Sri Lanka.
REINHARD SCHWEPPE (Germany) said as for the situation in Sri Lanka, Germany stressed that reconciliation was strongly based on the full respect of human rights and urged the Sri Lanka Government to create conditions which ensured the safe and dignified return of all internally displaced persons.
WENDY HINTON (New Zealand) said In Sri Lanka, New Zealand remained concerned about the situation for those in camps for internally displaced persons. The Government should engage in a reconciliation process taking into account the legitimate aspirations of all minority groups.
GOTZON ONANDIA ZARRABE, of Franciscans International, said in Sri Lanka, internally displaced persons were not being resettled as promptly nor as safely as the Government promised to the Council, and they continued to suffer within the camps. Human rights defenders, journalists and anyone voicing a differing opinion on the Government’s current policies continued to be the target of violent attacks and harassment by both State and non-State actors.
LUKAS MACHON, of International Commission of Jurists, said in Sri Lanka, humanitarian aid had been continuously obstructed by Government limitations on access to internally displaced persons and the maintenance of internment camps through unjustifiable restrictions on freedom of movement.
MICHAEL ANTONY, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, said the Universal Periodic Review was clearly not a sufficient mechanism to address the worst human rights situations in an effective or timely manner. The Council was currently failing to effectively address situations of human rights crisis, such as those in Sri Lanka and Myanmar; this was not simply a failing of political will, but also one of approach. In Sri Lanka, the continuing grave situation of internally displaced persons was testimony to this.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said there should be institutional reform and study of the root causes of conflicts as essential to transitional justice. In Sri Lanka, the Government resisted any purview of accountability, and was still prosecuting the war against the Tamil people. The only remedy for the latter was to submit to ever-harsher oppression and abuse. The international community had not looked into the underlying causes of the Sinala-Tamil war for many years. The people were in detention camps because they were Tamil, not because they were civilians. The whole issue of this war was because the Tamil people had sought their right to self-determination, among other rights, and the Government had refused them. Massive ethnic cleansing was occurring, and the Council should act for the Tamils. There should be a protective presence in Camp Ashraf as soon as possible. The Council should reflect its decision on Honduras in taking a new decision on Myanmar, where a similar situation prevailed.
SATHLYASANGARY ANANDASANGAREE of Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada, said so far the Sri Lankan Government had failed to live up to its commitments to the international community. Over 300,000 Tamil civilians were still being held against their will in open prisons and their freedom of movement restricted; clean water, sanitation, food, medicine and the basic necessities of life were in dire need. The Government had also failed to allow independent observers access to the camps. The deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka desperately required the attention of the Council - the international community must demand the unconditional release of the civilians within the 180-day timeline proposed by the Government of Sri Lanka and supported by a majority of Council members.
NIMALKA FERNAND, of International Movement against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), in a joint statement with Asian Forum for Human Rights; and Asian Legal Resource Centre, said with regard to the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, although the war had arguably ended, the threats to democracy as well as the human rights violations had not diminished. Further, over 250,000 people were living in camps as internally displaced persons and a leading human rights defender had received a death threat for his advocacy with the European Union. Against this backdrop, the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism wished to remind the members of the Council, the concerned Member States, the United Nations Secretary-General and other international institutions, of the various commitments and pledges given by the Government of Sri Lanka. It also called on the Sri Lankan Government to facilitate investigations of all allegations that had been revealed by various media institutions regarding extra-judicial killings. Finally, the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism wished to point out that the implementation of the 13th and 17th amendment was still outstanding and national legisla
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said in her statement that there should be institutional reform and study of the root causes of conflicts as essential to transitional justice. In Sri Lanka, the Government resisted any purview of accountability, and was still prosecuting the war against the Tamil people. The only remedy for the latter was to submit to ever-harsher oppression and abuse. The international community had not looked into the underlying causes of the Sinala-Tamil war for many years. The people were in detention camps because they were Tamil, not because they were civilians. The whole issue of this war was because the Tamil people had sought their right to self-determination, among other rights, and the Government had refused them. Massive ethnic cleansing was occurring, and the Council should act for the Tamils.
Excerpts from some of their statements are as follows:
CHRISTIAN STROHAL (Austria) said that no country had a perfect human rights record and all needed to work constantly and self-critically to address their shortcomings and do better for the promotion and protection of human rights. This fact obliged countries to openly address situations that were of particularly concern to them in order to enter into a dialogue on how to improve the implementation of international standards on the ground. Austria pointed to the human rights situations in Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Sudan, which were all situations where Austria failed to see the necessary political will and determination to improve the protection of human rights effectively.
JANICE MCGANN (Ireland) said that the situation in Sri Lanka was over but the peace there remained to be won as serious breaches of humanitarian and human rights law had taken place during that war.
PETER HERTEL RASMUSSEN (Denmark) said the Government of Sri Lanka should fully respect all human rights.
CHRISTINE GOY (Luxembourg) said that Luxembourg was equally concerned for the grave situation in Sri Lanka with regards to the freedom of expression. The situation of internally displaced persons and the allegations of violations of international law during the armed conflict had not yet been the subject of an independent international enquiry, and therefore required particular attention from the Council.
MURIEL BERSET (Switzerland) said that the evolution of the situation in Sri Lanka remained of concern to Switzerland which reiterated its appeal. The humanitarian actors needed to be able to conduct their work without constraints. The holding of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced peoples must end and their safe and voluntary prompt return enabled.
CAROLINE MILLAR (Australia) said Australia remained concerned that over 300,000 civilians remained displaced in camps in northern Sri Lanka.
REINHARD SCHWEPPE (Germany) said as for the situation in Sri Lanka, Germany stressed that reconciliation was strongly based on the full respect of human rights and urged the Sri Lanka Government to create conditions which ensured the safe and dignified return of all internally displaced persons.
WENDY HINTON (New Zealand) said In Sri Lanka, New Zealand remained concerned about the situation for those in camps for internally displaced persons. The Government should engage in a reconciliation process taking into account the legitimate aspirations of all minority groups.
GOTZON ONANDIA ZARRABE, of Franciscans International, said in Sri Lanka, internally displaced persons were not being resettled as promptly nor as safely as the Government promised to the Council, and they continued to suffer within the camps. Human rights defenders, journalists and anyone voicing a differing opinion on the Government’s current policies continued to be the target of violent attacks and harassment by both State and non-State actors.
LUKAS MACHON, of International Commission of Jurists, said in Sri Lanka, humanitarian aid had been continuously obstructed by Government limitations on access to internally displaced persons and the maintenance of internment camps through unjustifiable restrictions on freedom of movement.
MICHAEL ANTONY, of Asian Legal Resource Centre, said the Universal Periodic Review was clearly not a sufficient mechanism to address the worst human rights situations in an effective or timely manner. The Council was currently failing to effectively address situations of human rights crisis, such as those in Sri Lanka and Myanmar; this was not simply a failing of political will, but also one of approach. In Sri Lanka, the continuing grave situation of internally displaced persons was testimony to this.
KAREN PARKER, of International Educational Development, said there should be institutional reform and study of the root causes of conflicts as essential to transitional justice. In Sri Lanka, the Government resisted any purview of accountability, and was still prosecuting the war against the Tamil people. The only remedy for the latter was to submit to ever-harsher oppression and abuse. The international community had not looked into the underlying causes of the Sinala-Tamil war for many years. The people were in detention camps because they were Tamil, not because they were civilians. The whole issue of this war was because the Tamil people had sought their right to self-determination, among other rights, and the Government had refused them. Massive ethnic cleansing was occurring, and the Council should act for the Tamils. There should be a protective presence in Camp Ashraf as soon as possible. The Council should reflect its decision on Honduras in taking a new decision on Myanmar, where a similar situation prevailed.
SATHLYASANGARY ANANDASANGAREE of Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada, said so far the Sri Lankan Government had failed to live up to its commitments to the international community. Over 300,000 Tamil civilians were still being held against their will in open prisons and their freedom of movement restricted; clean water, sanitation, food, medicine and the basic necessities of life were in dire need. The Government had also failed to allow independent observers access to the camps. The deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka desperately required the attention of the Council - the international community must demand the unconditional release of the civilians within the 180-day timeline proposed by the Government of Sri Lanka and supported by a majority of Council members.
NIMALKA FERNAND, of International Movement against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), in a joint statement with Asian Forum for Human Rights; and Asian Legal Resource Centre, said with regard to the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, although the war had arguably ended, the threats to democracy as well as the human rights violations had not diminished. Further, over 250,000 people were living in camps as internally displaced persons and a leading human rights defender had received a death threat for his advocacy with the European Union. Against this backdrop, the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism wished to remind the members of the Council, the concerned Member States, the United Nations Secretary-General and other international institutions, of the various commitments and pledges given by the Government of Sri Lanka. It also called on the Sri Lankan Government to facilitate investigations of all allegations that had been revealed by various media institutions regarding extra-judicial killings. Finally, the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism wished to point out that the implementation of the 13th and 17th amendment was still outstanding and national legisla
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Injustice and Inequality in an unfair world
“Life is not fair” is a phrase that always echoes in the far corners of this Earth. A fifteen year old boy may have to work sixteen hours a day, in a poor African country just to get one meal a day for his sick mother and five siblings. This may not be the case in many other places in the world. Even the rulers of some poor countries, could be using gold plated toilets and marble baths while the poor hunt for bread crumps in rubbish dumps.
We are now so used to living with other people money without any shame. Resources on this earth are not distributed fairly among its inhabitants. We have built intelligent systems to steal, what belongs to others. Our banks no longer focus much on their traditional roles, instead they employ rocket scientists to build sophisticated gambling machines in order to rob the poor and give to the rich.
Corrupt regimes, can to some extent be blamed for the misery of people in their lands. Instead of setting the people free from such regimes, some of the big players use this as an opportunity to exploit the vulnerable people for their own selfish gains.
Value of life is not the same in every country. When the twin towers fell and three thousands perished, we all knelt down and wept. The whole world came to a stop for few minutes. We declared “War on Terror” against each and every single armed group in the world, including the ones that are genuinely fighting to free their communities from oppressive governments. Hands of the oppressed were tied and the weapons were given to many corrupt Nations. This is what we call Justice today.
Four hundred thousands were slaughtered in Darfur, Eight hundred thousands perished in Rwanda because the terror regimes in these countries were driven by ignorance and greed. No leader in the world declared “War on Genocide” even after seeing millions of deaths. Instead, some of the world powers aided genocide in these poor countries.
Although, the world media still stick with the figure of seventy thousands, the actual number of people, perished in the Sri Lankan civil war is around three hundred thousands. Fifty thousands were killed just within a short period of time in the recent war in Sri Lanka.
We have millions of evidences to prove that a systematic genocide is taking place in Sri Lanka while the Nations are watching. Neither UN nor any other world power is being able to stop the madness that is still going on in this country.
Security Council no longer agrees on any decisions that are vital to save the vulnerable and oppressed people on this earth. Permanent members use their Veto powers just to cover their own dirt and to protect the other bullies in their club.
Our parliamentarians are hanging on to their positions and they are forced to sort out their expense claims to keep their jobs. Leaders of some powerful nations are not being able to focus on the real issues because they are chased after, to give explanations for things they did when they were teenagers. Senior staffs in the UN no longer have the freedom to do what is right. They have to dance according to the tunes played by their masters who have conflicting interests. It has now become a common practice that the leaders in the UN and top diplomats speak the truth only after their retirement.
We have robust systems in place, to protect the criminals and torment the victims. Our legal systems are so advanced that diplomats and politicians have to think hundred times, before making any comments. Just to make life easier, they keep their mouths shut even at times it is important to speak out.
Even during a humanitarian crisis, our leaders would still act like electronic parrots who can only repeat the same recorded words that would comply with national and international laws, just to make sure that they hang on to their jobs. The world is dying for leaders who can at least use their basic common sense to help the persecuted people on this planet.
We talk about political correctness. We are very concerned about little things but we turn a deaf ear, when the real-world calamities strike the mankind. We are planning to stop using Christmas lights in our towns because we think it will offend people from other religions. We are supposed to write “Traces of Nuts” on peanut packets. Doctors have to break their heads before writing prescriptions, because most of the drugs have side effects. They will be sued if something goes wrong. We have been very successful in sending many talented doctors, writers and politicians to the prisons and letting the criminals to roam around our cities.
Praising the Sri Lankan regime for slaughtering thousands of innocents and letting the Tamils to languish in the concentration camps is another example that we have become real hypocrites and jokers who have bigger mouths, smaller brains and corrupt souls. Playing cricket with a country that is flowing with the blood of the innocent men, women and children, shows that we no longer have any moral principles to guide our lives. We are now even quite comfortable to sit and have tea with a Hannibal while his hands are still stained with the blood and his room is filled with the stink of rotting human flesh.
UN Staffs along with the Sri Lankan leaders were happy to fly over the killing fields and blood stained beaches of Sri Lanka, while having their hands on knives and forks.
We are now so used to living with other people money without any shame. Resources on this earth are not distributed fairly among its inhabitants. We have built intelligent systems to steal, what belongs to others. Our banks no longer focus much on their traditional roles, instead they employ rocket scientists to build sophisticated gambling machines in order to rob the poor and give to the rich.
Corrupt regimes, can to some extent be blamed for the misery of people in their lands. Instead of setting the people free from such regimes, some of the big players use this as an opportunity to exploit the vulnerable people for their own selfish gains.
Value of life is not the same in every country. When the twin towers fell and three thousands perished, we all knelt down and wept. The whole world came to a stop for few minutes. We declared “War on Terror” against each and every single armed group in the world, including the ones that are genuinely fighting to free their communities from oppressive governments. Hands of the oppressed were tied and the weapons were given to many corrupt Nations. This is what we call Justice today.
Four hundred thousands were slaughtered in Darfur, Eight hundred thousands perished in Rwanda because the terror regimes in these countries were driven by ignorance and greed. No leader in the world declared “War on Genocide” even after seeing millions of deaths. Instead, some of the world powers aided genocide in these poor countries.
Although, the world media still stick with the figure of seventy thousands, the actual number of people, perished in the Sri Lankan civil war is around three hundred thousands. Fifty thousands were killed just within a short period of time in the recent war in Sri Lanka.
We have millions of evidences to prove that a systematic genocide is taking place in Sri Lanka while the Nations are watching. Neither UN nor any other world power is being able to stop the madness that is still going on in this country.
Security Council no longer agrees on any decisions that are vital to save the vulnerable and oppressed people on this earth. Permanent members use their Veto powers just to cover their own dirt and to protect the other bullies in their club.
Our parliamentarians are hanging on to their positions and they are forced to sort out their expense claims to keep their jobs. Leaders of some powerful nations are not being able to focus on the real issues because they are chased after, to give explanations for things they did when they were teenagers. Senior staffs in the UN no longer have the freedom to do what is right. They have to dance according to the tunes played by their masters who have conflicting interests. It has now become a common practice that the leaders in the UN and top diplomats speak the truth only after their retirement.
We have robust systems in place, to protect the criminals and torment the victims. Our legal systems are so advanced that diplomats and politicians have to think hundred times, before making any comments. Just to make life easier, they keep their mouths shut even at times it is important to speak out.
Even during a humanitarian crisis, our leaders would still act like electronic parrots who can only repeat the same recorded words that would comply with national and international laws, just to make sure that they hang on to their jobs. The world is dying for leaders who can at least use their basic common sense to help the persecuted people on this planet.
We talk about political correctness. We are very concerned about little things but we turn a deaf ear, when the real-world calamities strike the mankind. We are planning to stop using Christmas lights in our towns because we think it will offend people from other religions. We are supposed to write “Traces of Nuts” on peanut packets. Doctors have to break their heads before writing prescriptions, because most of the drugs have side effects. They will be sued if something goes wrong. We have been very successful in sending many talented doctors, writers and politicians to the prisons and letting the criminals to roam around our cities.
Praising the Sri Lankan regime for slaughtering thousands of innocents and letting the Tamils to languish in the concentration camps is another example that we have become real hypocrites and jokers who have bigger mouths, smaller brains and corrupt souls. Playing cricket with a country that is flowing with the blood of the innocent men, women and children, shows that we no longer have any moral principles to guide our lives. We are now even quite comfortable to sit and have tea with a Hannibal while his hands are still stained with the blood and his room is filled with the stink of rotting human flesh.
UN Staffs along with the Sri Lankan leaders were happy to fly over the killing fields and blood stained beaches of Sri Lanka, while having their hands on knives and forks.
Emerging powers are turning into blood sucking leeches
The so called emerging superpowers are turning themselves into blood sucking leeches. Nobody can deny that these great nations have security concerns and they have to find a way to feed their own people. That doesn’t mean that they have God given right to slaughter the innocents in third world countries by giving support to the brutal regimes.
We teach our children to share everything because it is always a sensible and the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the great powers in the world still haven’t grasped the idea that gold in the lands and oil in the seas can also be shared. One might be able to forgive, when a country steals the resources from another country but it is completely unacceptable when thousands of innocents are sacrificed at the feet of greedy and selfish giants for them to fill their Gold pots.
If my neighbor wants to kill his step children and dump them in his back garden, I wouldn’t give him my shot gun just because he is offering me a free parking space in his garage. I wouldn’t feed my own children with the strawberries growing on the graves of the innocent children. I wouldn’t be going for his barbecue parties. I wouldn’t play golf with such a murderer.
As a sensible human being, I would stop him from abusing his step children in the first place. I would call the police to save lives before it is too late. I would alert all my good neighbors about a tragedy unfolding in front of my own eyes.
What China and some other emerging powers do to the vulnerable people of this world is nothing different from an evil man who give a shot gun to his neighbor in order to get free parking space and strawberries growing on the graves of the dead children.
China supplied weapons and provided training to the fighter pilots in Sudan. China was giving interest free loans while the Sudan government was slaughtering thousands in Darfur. One doesn’t need to be rocket scientist to recognize that China was acting selfishly.
China was complicit in Genocide as Sudan had opened up its oil fields for this sleeping giant. Western countries raised their voices but nothing was done to stop the genocide. As usual, the UN also stood back and remained powerless until everything was over.
What happened in Darfur has now become a standard model for the big beasts to secure their strategic interests in many parts of the world. They try to find trouble spots in this world, identify the abusive strongman who is having an upper hand and make the oppressor happy by giving him the toys and tools that he enjoys the most.
More than fifty thousands innocent Tamil civilians were slaughtered on the sandy beaches and jungles of Sri Lanka with the weapons and unlimited ammunitions supplied by the Chinese government. Three hundred thousands are now locked up in barbed wired concentration camps.
UN and other international organizations have so far failed to break this cycle of crimes being committed by the superpowers in various parts of the world.
“Exploiting someone’s weakness for their own benefit” is a simple phrase to describe the hell going on in Sri Lanka”. This is just like someone purposely creating a virus, spreading it and then selling the vaccines to make money. An internal conflict in Sri Lanka has now been made worse by its greedy neighbors. They are now lining up with spanners and hammers to fix the problems in Sri Lanka.
The way they are trying to fix it, is quite like how any selfish person would approach an issue. A genuine mediator might get bad name from either parties of a conflict by being fair on both sides. This is what happened to the Norwegian mediators in Sri Lanka. But the ones that are now trying to fix Sri Lanka are helping the strong party to the conflict to destroy the weaker one completely.
Cases are sometimes dropped in courts when the victims are dead or nobody is there to defend the victims. Helping Sri Lanka to kill the Tamils with deadly weapons and make them powerless is the strategy now being used by Sri Lanka and its greedy partners to deal with the conflict? Such method can’t be called as conflict resolution but it is an unfair conflict termination by eliminating one party to the conflict. This is almost like injecting poison and killing the patient to free him from sickness. This approach would enable the emerging superpowers to strengthen their ties with Sri Lanka and to carry on with their hidden agendas.
No country is willing to rescue the dying people in Sri Lanka. What is happening to the Tamils in Sri Lanka is not a fairy tale, not a film but it is a real story. They are real people. Cruelty against them is real. Deaths of the thousands are real and the ignorance and arrogance of the mankind are also real.
We teach our children to share everything because it is always a sensible and the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the great powers in the world still haven’t grasped the idea that gold in the lands and oil in the seas can also be shared. One might be able to forgive, when a country steals the resources from another country but it is completely unacceptable when thousands of innocents are sacrificed at the feet of greedy and selfish giants for them to fill their Gold pots.
If my neighbor wants to kill his step children and dump them in his back garden, I wouldn’t give him my shot gun just because he is offering me a free parking space in his garage. I wouldn’t feed my own children with the strawberries growing on the graves of the innocent children. I wouldn’t be going for his barbecue parties. I wouldn’t play golf with such a murderer.
As a sensible human being, I would stop him from abusing his step children in the first place. I would call the police to save lives before it is too late. I would alert all my good neighbors about a tragedy unfolding in front of my own eyes.
What China and some other emerging powers do to the vulnerable people of this world is nothing different from an evil man who give a shot gun to his neighbor in order to get free parking space and strawberries growing on the graves of the dead children.
China supplied weapons and provided training to the fighter pilots in Sudan. China was giving interest free loans while the Sudan government was slaughtering thousands in Darfur. One doesn’t need to be rocket scientist to recognize that China was acting selfishly.
China was complicit in Genocide as Sudan had opened up its oil fields for this sleeping giant. Western countries raised their voices but nothing was done to stop the genocide. As usual, the UN also stood back and remained powerless until everything was over.
What happened in Darfur has now become a standard model for the big beasts to secure their strategic interests in many parts of the world. They try to find trouble spots in this world, identify the abusive strongman who is having an upper hand and make the oppressor happy by giving him the toys and tools that he enjoys the most.
More than fifty thousands innocent Tamil civilians were slaughtered on the sandy beaches and jungles of Sri Lanka with the weapons and unlimited ammunitions supplied by the Chinese government. Three hundred thousands are now locked up in barbed wired concentration camps.
UN and other international organizations have so far failed to break this cycle of crimes being committed by the superpowers in various parts of the world.
“Exploiting someone’s weakness for their own benefit” is a simple phrase to describe the hell going on in Sri Lanka”. This is just like someone purposely creating a virus, spreading it and then selling the vaccines to make money. An internal conflict in Sri Lanka has now been made worse by its greedy neighbors. They are now lining up with spanners and hammers to fix the problems in Sri Lanka.
The way they are trying to fix it, is quite like how any selfish person would approach an issue. A genuine mediator might get bad name from either parties of a conflict by being fair on both sides. This is what happened to the Norwegian mediators in Sri Lanka. But the ones that are now trying to fix Sri Lanka are helping the strong party to the conflict to destroy the weaker one completely.
Cases are sometimes dropped in courts when the victims are dead or nobody is there to defend the victims. Helping Sri Lanka to kill the Tamils with deadly weapons and make them powerless is the strategy now being used by Sri Lanka and its greedy partners to deal with the conflict? Such method can’t be called as conflict resolution but it is an unfair conflict termination by eliminating one party to the conflict. This is almost like injecting poison and killing the patient to free him from sickness. This approach would enable the emerging superpowers to strengthen their ties with Sri Lanka and to carry on with their hidden agendas.
No country is willing to rescue the dying people in Sri Lanka. What is happening to the Tamils in Sri Lanka is not a fairy tale, not a film but it is a real story. They are real people. Cruelty against them is real. Deaths of the thousands are real and the ignorance and arrogance of the mankind are also real.
Masters of War and Silent Spectators
It has taken quite a while for many of us to understand, that what was happening in Sri Lanka was not “War on Terror”. If the war was just against the Tamil Rebels, the so called saviours of this country would have taken all the necessary steps to protect the vulnerable community once the war was over. Rulers of this land are still tormenting innocent Tamil men, women and children inside barbed wired concentration camps, even after crushing the Tamil rebels with the help of China, Pakistan and India. This has become a shocking revelation and eye opener for many parties who were initially supporting the war in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka wants to weaken the Tamils in order to establish a Sinhala Buddhist State. China wants to build ports in the South of Sri Lanka for military and commercial purposes. India wants to neutralize the Chinese threats and to establish its rule in the Indian Ocean. Pakistan has got its own agendas, what an evil combination. They have all been competing with each other to satisfy a country that is determined to flush out all the Tamils.
Sri Lanka has now become a football ground for many countries and the rulers of this land are delighted to entertain the players. Every time a ball is kicked, it kills the innocents and the pitch gets flooded with the blood. Players don’t care about how many are dying because it is part of their evil game.
China and India were the main players in the recent Sri Lankan war. They are still in the pitch, kicking the air. When people were dying in thousands, even the West didn’t do anything to stop; instead we also stood back and watched. We were more interested in finding out who was going to win the game in the Indian Ocean instead of focusing on the humanitarian crisis.
UN has failed to stop the bloodshed. West has failed. All the so called Human Right organizations have failed.
Sri Lanka wants to weaken the Tamils in order to establish a Sinhala Buddhist State. China wants to build ports in the South of Sri Lanka for military and commercial purposes. India wants to neutralize the Chinese threats and to establish its rule in the Indian Ocean. Pakistan has got its own agendas, what an evil combination. They have all been competing with each other to satisfy a country that is determined to flush out all the Tamils.
Sri Lanka has now become a football ground for many countries and the rulers of this land are delighted to entertain the players. Every time a ball is kicked, it kills the innocents and the pitch gets flooded with the blood. Players don’t care about how many are dying because it is part of their evil game.
China and India were the main players in the recent Sri Lankan war. They are still in the pitch, kicking the air. When people were dying in thousands, even the West didn’t do anything to stop; instead we also stood back and watched. We were more interested in finding out who was going to win the game in the Indian Ocean instead of focusing on the humanitarian crisis.
UN has failed to stop the bloodshed. West has failed. All the so called Human Right organizations have failed.
India and its role in Sri Lankan war
India is a successful democracy with the population of 1.17 billion. So many different races, cultures, colours and religions live relatively peacefully. Most of the ethnic groups have their own States and every State in the country is given a degree of autonomy within this great Nation. People of India are mostly religious, hard working and non violent and they still maintain very strong traditional family values.
India hasn’t got a consistent foreign policy towards Sri Lanka. RAW which is the external intelligent agency in India has done great damage to Sri Lanka particularly to the Tamil community. India can’t be fully blamed for this because the Sri Lankan regimes very often make unpredictable moves therefore India is forced to change its policies.
As any other intelligent agency, RAW has a legitimate responsibility to protect India from its enemies, by being proactive. However, India could have achieved its objectives without helping the Sri Lankan government to slaughter thousands of Tamils.
RAW provided military training to the Tamil rebels in the early eighties in order to challenge the Sri Lankan government that had closed links with the Western Countries including the US. Tamil youth were trained in different groups. RAW was also to some extent be responsible for fuelling enmity and competition between different Tamil organizations.
Contrary to what many people believe, it is Indian’s interest to maintain a troubled Sri Lanka than a peaceful nation for India to spread its wings in the region. Disturbance in Sri Lanka would give an excuse for India to keep its Navy in Sri Lankan waters.
Indian peace keeping forces and Tamil rebels fought an unfortunate war between 1987 and 1989. Around twelve hundreds Indian soldiers lost their lives and many thousands were wounded in Sri Lankan soil. This was a bitter experience for India.
From year 2001 until the start of war in 2007, India kept a distance from Sri Lanka, although activities were going on behind the scenes. India stopped supplying offensive weapons to the Sri Lankan military.
Indian involvement in recent Sri Lankan war was quite controversial. China and Pakistan provided with all the weapons and India provided the intelligence to the ground troops.
India was well capable of stopping the war but it failed to do it even when thousands of innocent men women and children were perishing in Vanni. Some Indian leaders made contradictory statements, pretending like they were after peace while pressing the “Attack” buttons on their remote controls.
India may have its concerns that Sri Lanka might become a launch pad for China and Pakistan in its own backyard. Letting the Tamils to die in the hands of the Sri Lankan forces was not an easy option for India either.
India has no enmity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka but it has made a historical blunder by supporting a corrupt Sri Lankan regime to commit genocide against the Tamils just to satisfy a racist Nation, so that it can secure its interest in the Indian Ocean.
Indian forces are now going to occupy the Vanni region with the excuse of clearing land mines.
Nation of India has unfortunately deviated from its principles and core values, it was originally built upon. India might build rockets to the moon and giant monuments reaching to the skies but India will not succeed if it corrupts its own soul by aiding Genocide in other countries.
India should dream of becoming a superpower not just by wealth and technology but also proving to the world as a defender and guardian of Human rights.
Cries of men, women and children, who died in Vanni, are still echoing in the thundering skies of Vanni. These voices will keep on haunting every Indian because India has blood on its hands.
India hasn’t got a consistent foreign policy towards Sri Lanka. RAW which is the external intelligent agency in India has done great damage to Sri Lanka particularly to the Tamil community. India can’t be fully blamed for this because the Sri Lankan regimes very often make unpredictable moves therefore India is forced to change its policies.
As any other intelligent agency, RAW has a legitimate responsibility to protect India from its enemies, by being proactive. However, India could have achieved its objectives without helping the Sri Lankan government to slaughter thousands of Tamils.
RAW provided military training to the Tamil rebels in the early eighties in order to challenge the Sri Lankan government that had closed links with the Western Countries including the US. Tamil youth were trained in different groups. RAW was also to some extent be responsible for fuelling enmity and competition between different Tamil organizations.
Contrary to what many people believe, it is Indian’s interest to maintain a troubled Sri Lanka than a peaceful nation for India to spread its wings in the region. Disturbance in Sri Lanka would give an excuse for India to keep its Navy in Sri Lankan waters.
Indian peace keeping forces and Tamil rebels fought an unfortunate war between 1987 and 1989. Around twelve hundreds Indian soldiers lost their lives and many thousands were wounded in Sri Lankan soil. This was a bitter experience for India.
From year 2001 until the start of war in 2007, India kept a distance from Sri Lanka, although activities were going on behind the scenes. India stopped supplying offensive weapons to the Sri Lankan military.
Indian involvement in recent Sri Lankan war was quite controversial. China and Pakistan provided with all the weapons and India provided the intelligence to the ground troops.
India was well capable of stopping the war but it failed to do it even when thousands of innocent men women and children were perishing in Vanni. Some Indian leaders made contradictory statements, pretending like they were after peace while pressing the “Attack” buttons on their remote controls.
India may have its concerns that Sri Lanka might become a launch pad for China and Pakistan in its own backyard. Letting the Tamils to die in the hands of the Sri Lankan forces was not an easy option for India either.
India has no enmity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka but it has made a historical blunder by supporting a corrupt Sri Lankan regime to commit genocide against the Tamils just to satisfy a racist Nation, so that it can secure its interest in the Indian Ocean.
Indian forces are now going to occupy the Vanni region with the excuse of clearing land mines.
Nation of India has unfortunately deviated from its principles and core values, it was originally built upon. India might build rockets to the moon and giant monuments reaching to the skies but India will not succeed if it corrupts its own soul by aiding Genocide in other countries.
India should dream of becoming a superpower not just by wealth and technology but also proving to the world as a defender and guardian of Human rights.
Cries of men, women and children, who died in Vanni, are still echoing in the thundering skies of Vanni. These voices will keep on haunting every Indian because India has blood on its hands.
China and its role in Sri Lankan War
China has a total population of 1.33 billion. It is an emerging superpower that manufactures 50% of the items that is used in an average household in the West.
In order to feed all its citizens, to have access to raw materials and energy and to protect its strategic interests, China obviously needs to maintain close relations with countries that have something to offer.
A country that crushed 3000 protesters by rolling tanks in Tienanmen square, China hasn’t got a great reputation for human rights. If a country can’t treat its own citizen’s well, we can’t expect them to be concerned about people dying in other countries.
China has been very aggressive with its foreign policies in recent times. This sleeping giant has woken up and giving support to many corrupt regimes on earth to fulfill its agendas. Sadly, China has directly or indirectly aided genocide in many countries including Sudan and Sri Lanka.
Although, India provided the directions and intelligence for the Sri Lankan war, it was China that had given all the dangerous weapons and ammunitions to kill the Tamils in thousands.
Most of Tamils who died in Sri Lanka were killed by Chinese weapons. Sri Lanka has allowed China to build a controversial Port in the south of Sri Lanka.
Chinese intervention in Sri Lanka is not about defeating the Tamil rebels but to reward the country that had given the permission to build infrastructures in the strategically important Indian Ocean.
Indian intervention in Sri Lankan war is more to do with stopping Sri Lanka going in the hands of other countries, than defeating the Tamil rebels.
In summary, neither China nor India was keen on killing the Tamils. Just like China supported the Sudanese government to commit genocide in Darfur, they supported the Sri Lankan government to slaughter the Tamils in order to look after their strategic interests in the India Ocean.
If China and Pakistan didn’t supply weapons to Sri Lanka, we wouldn’t have seen the recent war in Sri Lanka.
In order to feed all its citizens, to have access to raw materials and energy and to protect its strategic interests, China obviously needs to maintain close relations with countries that have something to offer.
A country that crushed 3000 protesters by rolling tanks in Tienanmen square, China hasn’t got a great reputation for human rights. If a country can’t treat its own citizen’s well, we can’t expect them to be concerned about people dying in other countries.
China has been very aggressive with its foreign policies in recent times. This sleeping giant has woken up and giving support to many corrupt regimes on earth to fulfill its agendas. Sadly, China has directly or indirectly aided genocide in many countries including Sudan and Sri Lanka.
Although, India provided the directions and intelligence for the Sri Lankan war, it was China that had given all the dangerous weapons and ammunitions to kill the Tamils in thousands.
Most of Tamils who died in Sri Lanka were killed by Chinese weapons. Sri Lanka has allowed China to build a controversial Port in the south of Sri Lanka.
Chinese intervention in Sri Lanka is not about defeating the Tamil rebels but to reward the country that had given the permission to build infrastructures in the strategically important Indian Ocean.
Indian intervention in Sri Lankan war is more to do with stopping Sri Lanka going in the hands of other countries, than defeating the Tamil rebels.
In summary, neither China nor India was keen on killing the Tamils. Just like China supported the Sudanese government to commit genocide in Darfur, they supported the Sri Lankan government to slaughter the Tamils in order to look after their strategic interests in the India Ocean.
If China and Pakistan didn’t supply weapons to Sri Lanka, we wouldn’t have seen the recent war in Sri Lanka.
West was deceived by Sri Lanka and its allies
Sri Lankan authorities with its PR partners prepared a dossier to justify the war to the international community. This proposal was submitted to many countries including the EU, US, Norway and Japan.
Sri Lanka and its allies were able to convince many countries that Tamil rebels were a danger to the whole world. They were able to demonize the Tamil community, with lies and deceptions for their own advantage.
Comments made by some Western leaders and Japanese representatives during the war clearly showed that these countries were fully supporting the war in Sri Lanka but they felt very uncomfortable when the war became very dirty at the end. Many openly talked about post LTTE scenarios which means they all had the maps in their hands.
One of the main reasons why the UN and Western countries couldn’t take a strong stand to stop the war even when thousands of innocents were dying was because there were all there when the button was pressed at the start of the War.
Only difference is that the West never gave the approval to kill innocent men, women and children. Sri Lanka was not given the go ahead to send Tamils to barbed wired concentration camps.
Sri Lanka has now deceived the western countries and revealed its true face. Sri Lanka lied to the whole world that it was conducting a war with surgical strikes and “Zero Civilian Causalities”. It also denied that heavy weapons were used against civilians.
Torture, murder, rape and all kind of human right violations in the concentrations camps of Sri Lanka, are now sending shock waves across the world. Deportations of Western reporters, journalists and politicians from the Sri Lankan Airport and denial of access to the death camps of Sri Lanka for aid workers are showing the face of rebellious country that is willing go to any extent to defy international humanitarian laws.
Sri Lanka and its allies were able to convince many countries that Tamil rebels were a danger to the whole world. They were able to demonize the Tamil community, with lies and deceptions for their own advantage.
Comments made by some Western leaders and Japanese representatives during the war clearly showed that these countries were fully supporting the war in Sri Lanka but they felt very uncomfortable when the war became very dirty at the end. Many openly talked about post LTTE scenarios which means they all had the maps in their hands.
One of the main reasons why the UN and Western countries couldn’t take a strong stand to stop the war even when thousands of innocents were dying was because there were all there when the button was pressed at the start of the War.
Only difference is that the West never gave the approval to kill innocent men, women and children. Sri Lanka was not given the go ahead to send Tamils to barbed wired concentration camps.
Sri Lanka has now deceived the western countries and revealed its true face. Sri Lanka lied to the whole world that it was conducting a war with surgical strikes and “Zero Civilian Causalities”. It also denied that heavy weapons were used against civilians.
Torture, murder, rape and all kind of human right violations in the concentrations camps of Sri Lanka, are now sending shock waves across the world. Deportations of Western reporters, journalists and politicians from the Sri Lankan Airport and denial of access to the death camps of Sri Lanka for aid workers are showing the face of rebellious country that is willing go to any extent to defy international humanitarian laws.
UN no longer has a backbone
No wonder why the UN acted the way it acted during the Sri Lankan war. Staff members in the UN were simply dancing according to the different set of tunes that were played by various parties to the war.
UN who is supposed to be a guardian of the oppressed and vulnerable, remained as a silent spectator while thousands were perishing in the sandy beaches of Sri Lanka.
It is so obvious that UN was manipulated and was made to act in this way by some master magicians.
UN who is supposed to be a guardian of the oppressed and vulnerable, remained as a silent spectator while thousands were perishing in the sandy beaches of Sri Lanka.
It is so obvious that UN was manipulated and was made to act in this way by some master magicians.
Master magicians are now trying to save Sri Lanka
China and India voted in favour of Sri Lanka in the human rights council. Their vote was like praising a murderer in a criminal court. Sri Lanka was congratulated by these countries for the war because they were also the culprits.
These two countries have both been involved in high level PR campaigns to hide the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka. Arrogant voice from Sri Lanka in the recent times is to do with its close bonding with India and China.
India has recently said that it would give aid to Sri Lanka in case if the loan from IMF is denied or delayed.
Indian and Chinese media have constantly been releasing news, supporting the Sri Lankan government since the start of the war. Sri Lanka not allowing Aid agencies and Journalists to the IDP camps and to the killing fields is done with the full support of India. This is to hide the war crimes and to silence the witnesses of the war. Three doctors who served thousands of wounded in the killing fields are now locked up in Sri Lankan jails. India is capable of requesting Sri Lanka to release these doctors but it has chosen not to.
Sri Lankan President and many cabinet ministers in Sri Lanka have recently acknowledged that they fought India’s War in Sri Lanka.
These two countries have both been involved in high level PR campaigns to hide the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka. Arrogant voice from Sri Lanka in the recent times is to do with its close bonding with India and China.
India has recently said that it would give aid to Sri Lanka in case if the loan from IMF is denied or delayed.
Indian and Chinese media have constantly been releasing news, supporting the Sri Lankan government since the start of the war. Sri Lanka not allowing Aid agencies and Journalists to the IDP camps and to the killing fields is done with the full support of India. This is to hide the war crimes and to silence the witnesses of the war. Three doctors who served thousands of wounded in the killing fields are now locked up in Sri Lankan jails. India is capable of requesting Sri Lanka to release these doctors but it has chosen not to.
Sri Lankan President and many cabinet ministers in Sri Lanka have recently acknowledged that they fought India’s War in Sri Lanka.
Conclusion
Indian and Chinese military, political and security leaders that are playing chess games in Sri Lanka, have caused so much death and destruction to the innocents. What is the point of becoming a superpower when the power is used to kill and destroy the oppressed and vulnerable people of this world?
So called guardians of this earth can use buzz words like Terrorism, National, Regional and International security, Global warming and Energy in international conferences and pretend like the saviors of human race but it is all meaningless when the same hypocrites advise their own governments to aid genocide in other countries.
Instead of playing Tic-Tac-Toe games in the Indian Ocean, China and India and even the West should sit together and discuss what they all want to achieve in the Indian Ocean. China with such a population has genuine energy requirements, India has its concerns and it is sensible for all these countries to find common ground and initiate constructive discussions.
These emerging superpowers should help the oppressed communities in Sri Lanka and other troubled nations on this earth, instead of helping the oppressive regimes and turn these countries into a hell in order to feed their own people.
Earth’s natural resources are being depleted so quickly. It is sensible for the energy hungry Nations to invest heavily on sustainable solutions like Hydrogen technology and Solar power. This would help us to save the planet and avoid human rights violations that are directly linked to the unfair competition between countries for raw materials and energy resources.
Any country that fails to protect the oppressed and vulnerable on this earth, and having worst human rights records, can’t become a leading Nation no matter how many rockets it sends to the Moon.
Fifty thousands were slaughtered in the killings fields by the Sri Lankan government with the help of India and China who are now acting like blood sucking leeches in the Indian Ocean. Three hundred thousands are now languishing in the death camps. Sri Lanka and its allies are doing all that they can to hide their crimes.
Rwanda, Sudan and now Sri Lanka, it is another wake up call to the World.
Genocide in Sri Lanka is real. Innocents are still being tortured, raped, murdered and starved. We have to make a choice whether to let the killings continue or we do something to stop it.
So called guardians of this earth can use buzz words like Terrorism, National, Regional and International security, Global warming and Energy in international conferences and pretend like the saviors of human race but it is all meaningless when the same hypocrites advise their own governments to aid genocide in other countries.
Instead of playing Tic-Tac-Toe games in the Indian Ocean, China and India and even the West should sit together and discuss what they all want to achieve in the Indian Ocean. China with such a population has genuine energy requirements, India has its concerns and it is sensible for all these countries to find common ground and initiate constructive discussions.
These emerging superpowers should help the oppressed communities in Sri Lanka and other troubled nations on this earth, instead of helping the oppressive regimes and turn these countries into a hell in order to feed their own people.
Earth’s natural resources are being depleted so quickly. It is sensible for the energy hungry Nations to invest heavily on sustainable solutions like Hydrogen technology and Solar power. This would help us to save the planet and avoid human rights violations that are directly linked to the unfair competition between countries for raw materials and energy resources.
Any country that fails to protect the oppressed and vulnerable on this earth, and having worst human rights records, can’t become a leading Nation no matter how many rockets it sends to the Moon.
Fifty thousands were slaughtered in the killings fields by the Sri Lankan government with the help of India and China who are now acting like blood sucking leeches in the Indian Ocean. Three hundred thousands are now languishing in the death camps. Sri Lanka and its allies are doing all that they can to hide their crimes.
Rwanda, Sudan and now Sri Lanka, it is another wake up call to the World.
Genocide in Sri Lanka is real. Innocents are still being tortured, raped, murdered and starved. We have to make a choice whether to let the killings continue or we do something to stop it.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Sri Lankan journalist jailed for 20 years
Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division arrested J.S. Tissainayagam, the editor of news web site OutreachSL, and today he was sentenced to 20 years in prison under anti-terrorism laws.
The charges against Tissainayagam cite a magazine, North Eastern Monthly, which the journalist edited in 2006. Two charges relate to articles Tissainayagam wrote for the magazine.
The Sri Lankan government said the articles incited communal disharmony, an offense under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. J.S. Tissainayagam, a Sri Lankan Tamil, endured long detention, harsh charges and subsequent sentencing to 20 years in prison for publishing a magazine, which should not constitute an offence.
This is the latest step by the Sri Lankan government to intimidate journalists. Sri Lankan Government Minister denied that Sri Lankan journalist had been jailed for criticizing the government. “Some of his publications were designed to embarrass the Sri Lankan government” Sri Lankan minister said
The charges against Tissainayagam cite a magazine, North Eastern Monthly, which the journalist edited in 2006. Two charges relate to articles Tissainayagam wrote for the magazine.
The Sri Lankan government said the articles incited communal disharmony, an offense under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. J.S. Tissainayagam, a Sri Lankan Tamil, endured long detention, harsh charges and subsequent sentencing to 20 years in prison for publishing a magazine, which should not constitute an offence.
This is the latest step by the Sri Lankan government to intimidate journalists. Sri Lankan Government Minister denied that Sri Lankan journalist had been jailed for criticizing the government. “Some of his publications were designed to embarrass the Sri Lankan government” Sri Lankan minister said
300,000 innocent Tamil civilians wil be held indefinitely in Sri Lanka Guantanamo
Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa appear to be building permanent Sri Lanka Guantanamo-like concentration camp to house many of the 300,000 innocent Tamil civilians from the last phase of the war with the Tamil Tiger rebels, despite promising to resettle 80 per cent of them by the end of the year.
Aid workers have told that permanent buildings are being erected at The Sri Lanka Guantanamo-like concentration camp site where the UN says that 300,000 of the refugees are being held after the Tigers’ defeat in May.
The Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa originally proposed holding the innocent Tamil civilian in “welfare villages” for up to three years to check that they were not Tigers, and to clear their villages of mines.
After donor nations protested and Tamil MPs and activists compared the barbed wire enclosures to concentration camps, the Government promised to resettle 80 per cent of the refugees by the end of this year. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary, who is also the President’s brother, renewed the promise last week.
Aid workers said that Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa meant to hold refugees for much longer.
Aid workers have told that permanent buildings are being erected at The Sri Lanka Guantanamo-like concentration camp site where the UN says that 300,000 of the refugees are being held after the Tigers’ defeat in May.
The Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa originally proposed holding the innocent Tamil civilian in “welfare villages” for up to three years to check that they were not Tigers, and to clear their villages of mines.
After donor nations protested and Tamil MPs and activists compared the barbed wire enclosures to concentration camps, the Government promised to resettle 80 per cent of the refugees by the end of this year. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary, who is also the President’s brother, renewed the promise last week.
Aid workers said that Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa meant to hold refugees for much longer.
Sri Lankan government shamelessly fleeces kith and kin of IDPs.
Another reason to keep the 300 000 innocent civilians in Sri Lankan concentration camps.
Sri Lankan government shamelessly fleeces kith and kin of IDPs. Family members and kinsfolk of IDPs in the internment camps had remitted 100 million rupees in the past two months, according to I.D. Weerasena, Deputy General Manager of Bank of Ceylon. In the past four to five months, 500 million rupees had been deposited by the IDPs, said Mr. Weerasena, whose state-controlled bank had opened banking units with online and ATM facilities in the internment camps and deals with 21,000 new account holders.
While it is the responsibility of the state and the international community that badly wanted the civilians to end up in the internment camps to look after them well, the Colombo government keeping them in sub-human ways has started looking at them as ducks laying golden eggs, said a social worker in Vavuniyaa.
As state receives foreign exchange through Diaspora remittances and through foreign aid meant for the IDPs, the local money reaches the IDPs is fleeced from them in various ways from business of the southerners to bribery of the military.
The “kind “Sri Lanka Government which let the elderly over 60 years go ? Not until each and every one of them paid exuberant fee.
And the businesses set up inside the concentration camps by Sri Lankan military (don’t forget: bribe, bribe, bribe) are charging astronomical prices for rotten vegetables.
Sri Lankan government shamelessly fleeces kith and kin of IDPs. Family members and kinsfolk of IDPs in the internment camps had remitted 100 million rupees in the past two months, according to I.D. Weerasena, Deputy General Manager of Bank of Ceylon. In the past four to five months, 500 million rupees had been deposited by the IDPs, said Mr. Weerasena, whose state-controlled bank had opened banking units with online and ATM facilities in the internment camps and deals with 21,000 new account holders.
While it is the responsibility of the state and the international community that badly wanted the civilians to end up in the internment camps to look after them well, the Colombo government keeping them in sub-human ways has started looking at them as ducks laying golden eggs, said a social worker in Vavuniyaa.
As state receives foreign exchange through Diaspora remittances and through foreign aid meant for the IDPs, the local money reaches the IDPs is fleeced from them in various ways from business of the southerners to bribery of the military.
The “kind “Sri Lanka Government which let the elderly over 60 years go ? Not until each and every one of them paid exuberant fee.
And the businesses set up inside the concentration camps by Sri Lankan military (don’t forget: bribe, bribe, bribe) are charging astronomical prices for rotten vegetables.
Racist Sri Lankan Government quotes
'Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka Sri Lankan Army Commander (2008)
“I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese but there are minority communities and we treat them like our people. We being the majority of the country, 75%, we will never give in and we have the right to protect this country. We are also a strong nation. They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things”
President: Chandrika Kumarathunga 1999
“Tamils were not the original people of Sri Lanka”
President: D B Wijetunge (1993)
“Minorities are like creepers clinging to the Sinhala tree.”
Oxford educated National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali 1985
“Only way to root out terrorism was to remove the concept of ‘traditional homelands”
Oxford educated Senior Minister Gamini Dissanayake soon after the 1983 Riots
“Who attacked you? Sinhalese. who saved you? Sinhalese. It is that we who attacked and protected you. They are bringing an army from India. It will take 14 hours to come from India. In 14 minutes the blood of every Tamil in the country can be sacrifi ce to the land by us”
President J.R.Jayawardene, Daily Telegraph, July 1983
“I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people.now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion.the more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy”
Mrs. Wimala Kannangara M.P (1981)
“If we are governing, we must govern. If we are ruling, we must rule. Do not give into the minorities”
Ceylon’s first Prime Minister,D.S.Senanayake
“Today you are brought here and given a plot of land. You have been uprooted from your village. You are like a piece of driftwood in the ocean; but remember that one day the whole country will look up to you. The fi nal battle for the Sinhala people will be fought on the plains of Padaviya. You are men and women who will carry this island’s destiny on your shoulders. Those who are attempting to divide this country will have to reckon with you. The country may forget you for a few years, but one day very soon they will look up to you as the last bastion of the Sinhala”
sorted by Tamil
Def Sec. Gotabaya’s words
“Let our soldiers feast on Tamil women while the Tamil men’s blood drip into the ocean and make it red”.
Foreign Minister Palitha Kohona: "Victorious soldiers could have raped every single woman" "If you look at the history of war crimes there isn’t one instance where a winner of a war has been tried before a Tribunal. They have always been set up for losers."
"“There is this thinking that all our problems can be solved by applying a political solution. I fail to see the logic behind this”
“I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese but there are minority communities and we treat them like our people. We being the majority of the country, 75%, we will never give in and we have the right to protect this country. We are also a strong nation. They can live in this country with us. But they must not try to, under the pretext of being a minority, demand undue things”
President: Chandrika Kumarathunga 1999
“Tamils were not the original people of Sri Lanka”
President: D B Wijetunge (1993)
“Minorities are like creepers clinging to the Sinhala tree.”
Oxford educated National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali 1985
“Only way to root out terrorism was to remove the concept of ‘traditional homelands”
Oxford educated Senior Minister Gamini Dissanayake soon after the 1983 Riots
“Who attacked you? Sinhalese. who saved you? Sinhalese. It is that we who attacked and protected you. They are bringing an army from India. It will take 14 hours to come from India. In 14 minutes the blood of every Tamil in the country can be sacrifi ce to the land by us”
President J.R.Jayawardene, Daily Telegraph, July 1983
“I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people.now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion.the more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy”
Mrs. Wimala Kannangara M.P (1981)
“If we are governing, we must govern. If we are ruling, we must rule. Do not give into the minorities”
Ceylon’s first Prime Minister,D.S.Senanayake
“Today you are brought here and given a plot of land. You have been uprooted from your village. You are like a piece of driftwood in the ocean; but remember that one day the whole country will look up to you. The fi nal battle for the Sinhala people will be fought on the plains of Padaviya. You are men and women who will carry this island’s destiny on your shoulders. Those who are attempting to divide this country will have to reckon with you. The country may forget you for a few years, but one day very soon they will look up to you as the last bastion of the Sinhala”
sorted by Tamil
Def Sec. Gotabaya’s words
“Let our soldiers feast on Tamil women while the Tamil men’s blood drip into the ocean and make it red”.
Foreign Minister Palitha Kohona: "Victorious soldiers could have raped every single woman" "If you look at the history of war crimes there isn’t one instance where a winner of a war has been tried before a Tribunal. They have always been set up for losers."
"“There is this thinking that all our problems can be solved by applying a political solution. I fail to see the logic behind this”
1600 political prisoners are in Sri Lanka jails for many years without trial
1600 political prisoners arrested on suspicion under Emergency Regulations (ER) and Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), languishing in various prisons in Sri Lanka for many years without being produced in the courts.
They launched a hunger strike as their requests placed in previous hunger strikes had not been taken into consideration despite promises by legal authorities that their cases will be taken for trial in two months time, sources in Colombo said.
The protesting prisoners further said that they believe that all are equal before the law and that they request the Sri Lanka President to at least allow them on bail as persons under normal court procedure
The political prisoners who had earlier staged hunger strikes 2 to 3 times in the period between 27th to 31st July 2009 had given up the strike on assurances given by legal authorities that their cases will be taken to trial within two months but they had not kept their word and this has forced them to go on hunger strike, they said.
They further pointed out that it is an outright violation of human rights to keep them in the prison, who had been arrested merely on suspicion under ER and PTA, without legal action against them for many years.
They launched a hunger strike as their requests placed in previous hunger strikes had not been taken into consideration despite promises by legal authorities that their cases will be taken for trial in two months time, sources in Colombo said.
The protesting prisoners further said that they believe that all are equal before the law and that they request the Sri Lanka President to at least allow them on bail as persons under normal court procedure
The political prisoners who had earlier staged hunger strikes 2 to 3 times in the period between 27th to 31st July 2009 had given up the strike on assurances given by legal authorities that their cases will be taken to trial within two months but they had not kept their word and this has forced them to go on hunger strike, they said.
They further pointed out that it is an outright violation of human rights to keep them in the prison, who had been arrested merely on suspicion under ER and PTA, without legal action against them for many years.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Mother Day Massacre
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=30180
The advancing Sri Lanka Army massacred civilians by paving their bunkers with tanks, by throwing explosives inside the bunkers and by shooting the injured, says a medical worker who came out of Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal during the last days of the war, became incarcerated in a camp and now escaped the island. “Around a hundred thousand captured civilians herded to Mullaiththeevu were kept in rows within barbed wires, most of the time without water or food under the hot sun.
Colombo particularly targeted hospitals and makeshift hospitals. When people moved away from Ki’linochchi, its hospital started functioning in the school building at Udaiyaar-kaddu. More than two thousand shells were fired on this building by the SLA.
Ki’linochchi to Tharmapuram, Vaddakkachchi, Visuvamadu, Udaiyaar-kaddu, Puthukkudiyiruppu – until reaching Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal, at an average 50 civilians were killed every day in Sri Lankan attacks. 8000 were already killed before herded into Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal.
Medical work decimated and workers were shaken at the death of patients, nurses and workers. When there were more than 300,000 people, Colombo sent food for only 30,000. Important medicines such as anesthetic drugs were not sent. Life-saving surgery without anesthesia was a cursing ordeal for the patients as well as doctors.
Mothers and children standing in queue to receive infant milk food were targeted in the SL shell attacks. Without seeing no one could visualize the sorrow of the child that lost the mother and the mother who lost the child.
SLA shell attacks, guided by spy craft were targeted on queues for gruel also. Despite casualties the queue would form again. While even gruel was scarce to people, lands they cultivated were harvested by the SLA.
At one stage, the LTTE leadership ordered food meant for combatants to be shared with civilians. The fighters fought only with gruel food and to the last LTTE served gruel to people.
Around 1000 waterholes were dug and several hundreds of toilets were made for civilians at the initiative of the LTTE. Water often mixed with sand was collected in shell-halves and was filtered by cloth.
There were no epidemics. Pregnant mothers and infants bearing shell fragments came to makeshift hospitals. These hospitals functioned 24 hours and wailing was always heard around them. Many dead bodies couldn’t be buried in certain situations of SL attacks and hungry dogs dragged them.
Every time moving patents to ICRC vessel there will be targeted shelling from the SLA. A few hundreds taken for ICRC treatment died. How that happened was not known and whom to ask.
Even in emaciated conditions people donated blood for treatment and some of them later died of their own injuries. More than a thousand people were killed on the day when the SLA entered into Maaththa’lan and Pokka’nai (20th April).
On May 15th and 16th the SLA entered and rampaged the pocket of land crowded with nearly a hundred thousand people. I had to pass through at least around 300 bodies when I came out. Some were alive but couldn’t walk. I helped a few who could walk. Some held my feet when I tried to go away. What could I do?
There is a long list of people who were eliminated and disappeared after capture by the SLA. The army-controlled area was a place where murders took place in front of one’s eyes.
In Mullaiththeevu, a hundred thousand people made to stand in rows would all of a sudden be ordered to squat by the SL army. The soldiers would make sadistic laugh at seeing the melee of people falling on each other in the exercise.
Long poles were used to beat the people and to threaten them. Old and young stood under hot sun for a long time, immensely suffering from thirst. Mullaiththeevu to Vavuniyaa was scenery of disaster.
There were 20 to 25 people in a tent in the internment camp at Cheddiku’lam. Food was sometimes thrown from a vehicle.
Everyday in the internment camp around 30 people died. It was a place of epidemics.
Thousands suffered of Chicken Pox, hundreds had brain fever, many elders died and some committed suicide.
The bribe to SL army for a person to come out was several hundred thousands of rupees.
In the last days of the war over 18,000 killed, more than 5,000 lost limbs, more than 7,000 seriously injured and several thousands suffered minor injuries. Several thousands suffer mental illnesses. More than a hundred medical workers- doctors, nurses and volunteers perished.
Knowledge and exercise of precaution reduced casualty. No one died of any epidemic under LTTE control. Several thousands of Sinhala youth of the SLA, from poor families, regrettably laid down their life in the war.
The sadistic lust of Mahinda Rajapaksa is very astonishing - inflicting pain on ordinary civilians in every possible way, and then projecting that as forms of his soothing operation to the outside world.
The world may forget, but Tamils will never forget the true face of the civilization of 21st century, the world has shown to them, writes the medical worker in his notes.
The advancing Sri Lanka Army massacred civilians by paving their bunkers with tanks, by throwing explosives inside the bunkers and by shooting the injured, says a medical worker who came out of Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal during the last days of the war, became incarcerated in a camp and now escaped the island. “Around a hundred thousand captured civilians herded to Mullaiththeevu were kept in rows within barbed wires, most of the time without water or food under the hot sun.
Colombo particularly targeted hospitals and makeshift hospitals. When people moved away from Ki’linochchi, its hospital started functioning in the school building at Udaiyaar-kaddu. More than two thousand shells were fired on this building by the SLA.
Ki’linochchi to Tharmapuram, Vaddakkachchi, Visuvamadu, Udaiyaar-kaddu, Puthukkudiyiruppu – until reaching Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal, at an average 50 civilians were killed every day in Sri Lankan attacks. 8000 were already killed before herded into Mu’l’li-vaaykkaal.
Medical work decimated and workers were shaken at the death of patients, nurses and workers. When there were more than 300,000 people, Colombo sent food for only 30,000. Important medicines such as anesthetic drugs were not sent. Life-saving surgery without anesthesia was a cursing ordeal for the patients as well as doctors.
Mothers and children standing in queue to receive infant milk food were targeted in the SL shell attacks. Without seeing no one could visualize the sorrow of the child that lost the mother and the mother who lost the child.
SLA shell attacks, guided by spy craft were targeted on queues for gruel also. Despite casualties the queue would form again. While even gruel was scarce to people, lands they cultivated were harvested by the SLA.
At one stage, the LTTE leadership ordered food meant for combatants to be shared with civilians. The fighters fought only with gruel food and to the last LTTE served gruel to people.
Around 1000 waterholes were dug and several hundreds of toilets were made for civilians at the initiative of the LTTE. Water often mixed with sand was collected in shell-halves and was filtered by cloth.
There were no epidemics. Pregnant mothers and infants bearing shell fragments came to makeshift hospitals. These hospitals functioned 24 hours and wailing was always heard around them. Many dead bodies couldn’t be buried in certain situations of SL attacks and hungry dogs dragged them.
Every time moving patents to ICRC vessel there will be targeted shelling from the SLA. A few hundreds taken for ICRC treatment died. How that happened was not known and whom to ask.
Even in emaciated conditions people donated blood for treatment and some of them later died of their own injuries. More than a thousand people were killed on the day when the SLA entered into Maaththa’lan and Pokka’nai (20th April).
On May 15th and 16th the SLA entered and rampaged the pocket of land crowded with nearly a hundred thousand people. I had to pass through at least around 300 bodies when I came out. Some were alive but couldn’t walk. I helped a few who could walk. Some held my feet when I tried to go away. What could I do?
There is a long list of people who were eliminated and disappeared after capture by the SLA. The army-controlled area was a place where murders took place in front of one’s eyes.
In Mullaiththeevu, a hundred thousand people made to stand in rows would all of a sudden be ordered to squat by the SL army. The soldiers would make sadistic laugh at seeing the melee of people falling on each other in the exercise.
Long poles were used to beat the people and to threaten them. Old and young stood under hot sun for a long time, immensely suffering from thirst. Mullaiththeevu to Vavuniyaa was scenery of disaster.
There were 20 to 25 people in a tent in the internment camp at Cheddiku’lam. Food was sometimes thrown from a vehicle.
Everyday in the internment camp around 30 people died. It was a place of epidemics.
Thousands suffered of Chicken Pox, hundreds had brain fever, many elders died and some committed suicide.
The bribe to SL army for a person to come out was several hundred thousands of rupees.
In the last days of the war over 18,000 killed, more than 5,000 lost limbs, more than 7,000 seriously injured and several thousands suffered minor injuries. Several thousands suffer mental illnesses. More than a hundred medical workers- doctors, nurses and volunteers perished.
Knowledge and exercise of precaution reduced casualty. No one died of any epidemic under LTTE control. Several thousands of Sinhala youth of the SLA, from poor families, regrettably laid down their life in the war.
The sadistic lust of Mahinda Rajapaksa is very astonishing - inflicting pain on ordinary civilians in every possible way, and then projecting that as forms of his soothing operation to the outside world.
The world may forget, but Tamils will never forget the true face of the civilization of 21st century, the world has shown to them, writes the medical worker in his notes.
ACF Massacre
Sri Lanka government commission investigating the massacre of 17 NGO workers (Muttur massacre) has, without sufficient basis, ruled out the involvement of the Sri Lankan armed forces.
It unfairly and dangerously denounced local human rights organizations participating in the commission.
And government authorities improperly pressured the families of the murdered aid workers to demand that France obtain for them greater compensation from Action Contre La Faim (ACF).
The Sri Lankan government's gross mishandling of the investigation into the execution-style slaying of 17 aid workers in the northeastern town of Mutur three years ago demonstrates the need for an international commission of inquiry.
Government actions in the case - for which no one has been convicted - raised further concerns about an already deeply troubling investigation, Human Rights Watch said.
"For three years since the ACF massacre, the Rajapaksa government has put on an elaborate song and dance to bedazzle the international community into believing justice is being done," said James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch.
Instead, the government used the atrocity to threaten local rights groups, intimidate the victims' families, and score political points against the French government."
It unfairly and dangerously denounced local human rights organizations participating in the commission.
And government authorities improperly pressured the families of the murdered aid workers to demand that France obtain for them greater compensation from Action Contre La Faim (ACF).
The Sri Lankan government's gross mishandling of the investigation into the execution-style slaying of 17 aid workers in the northeastern town of Mutur three years ago demonstrates the need for an international commission of inquiry.
Government actions in the case - for which no one has been convicted - raised further concerns about an already deeply troubling investigation, Human Rights Watch said.
"For three years since the ACF massacre, the Rajapaksa government has put on an elaborate song and dance to bedazzle the international community into believing justice is being done," said James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch.
Instead, the government used the atrocity to threaten local rights groups, intimidate the victims' families, and score political points against the French government."
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sri Lanka Army Atrocities
Channel 4 broadcasts a graphic footage, showed by a Sri Lankan soldier on a mobile phone, shows a naked Tamil minority man sitting blindfolded and bound in the dirt. A Sri Lankan soldier from the Sinhalese majority kicks the Tamil man before he is shot in the back of the head.
Channel 4 correspondent Jonathan Miller, who presented the video, said the material was obtained from the press freedom group Journalist for Democracy in Sri Lankan (JDS).
These scenes, captured on video, allegedly show extra-judicial killings of Tamils by Sri Lankan troops earlier this year in the bitter and bloody endgame of the country’s civil war.
The man is young, naked, bound and blindfolded; a corpse lying across his legs. A soldier approaches him in what appears to be Sri Lankan army uniform and shoots him at point-blank range, apparently amused at the death. “It’s like he jumped,” he says. After the murder the video, taken in daylight, pans out to show eight bound corpses, all shot in the head and all but one naked. Voices in the background speak Sinhalese; as the footage concludes, viewers see a ninth bound victim.
The significance of this footage – particularly shocking for the seemingly casual way in which the killings were carried out – is even greater given the way that journalists and independent observers were prevented by the government from reaching the war zone.
According to Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), a multiethnic exile organization, the video was taken by a soldier with a cell phone in January 2009 at Kilinochchi. Sri Lankan soldier took this footage, which was then smuggled out of the country by (JDS) activists. It may constitute the first hard evidence for those who believe war crimes were committed by Sri Lanka in the effort to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The summary execution of prisoners is a violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and a war crime. This apparent atrocity makes nonsense of Sri Lanka President Mahinda claims of a clean war against the Tamil Tigers,” said Steve Crawshaw, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “An international inquiry needs to get to the bottom of this and other war crimes committed during the past years fighting. Human Rights Watch has long criticized the government’s failure to carry out impartial investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the numerous human rights abuses committed by both sides during the conflict.
There have been serious ongoing violations of human rights, and the backlog of cases of enforced disappearances and unlawful killings runs to the tens of thousands. Only a small number of cases have ended in prosecutions. Past efforts to address violations through the establishment of ad hoc mechanisms in Sri Lanka, such as presidential commissions of inquiry, have produced little information and few prosecutions.
In interview with Time magazine, Sri Lanka president Mahinda said that during the war, “there was no violation of human rights. There were no civilian casualties.”
Human Rights Watch said “International Community (IC) should stop relying on the president’s promises of domestic action and make it clear that an international commission is needed if the victims of Sri Lanka’s bloody war are to find justice.”
Channel 4 correspondent Jonathan Miller, who presented the video, said the material was obtained from the press freedom group Journalist for Democracy in Sri Lankan (JDS).
These scenes, captured on video, allegedly show extra-judicial killings of Tamils by Sri Lankan troops earlier this year in the bitter and bloody endgame of the country’s civil war.
The man is young, naked, bound and blindfolded; a corpse lying across his legs. A soldier approaches him in what appears to be Sri Lankan army uniform and shoots him at point-blank range, apparently amused at the death. “It’s like he jumped,” he says. After the murder the video, taken in daylight, pans out to show eight bound corpses, all shot in the head and all but one naked. Voices in the background speak Sinhalese; as the footage concludes, viewers see a ninth bound victim.
The significance of this footage – particularly shocking for the seemingly casual way in which the killings were carried out – is even greater given the way that journalists and independent observers were prevented by the government from reaching the war zone.
According to Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), a multiethnic exile organization, the video was taken by a soldier with a cell phone in January 2009 at Kilinochchi. Sri Lankan soldier took this footage, which was then smuggled out of the country by (JDS) activists. It may constitute the first hard evidence for those who believe war crimes were committed by Sri Lanka in the effort to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The summary execution of prisoners is a violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and a war crime. This apparent atrocity makes nonsense of Sri Lanka President Mahinda claims of a clean war against the Tamil Tigers,” said Steve Crawshaw, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “An international inquiry needs to get to the bottom of this and other war crimes committed during the past years fighting. Human Rights Watch has long criticized the government’s failure to carry out impartial investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the numerous human rights abuses committed by both sides during the conflict.
There have been serious ongoing violations of human rights, and the backlog of cases of enforced disappearances and unlawful killings runs to the tens of thousands. Only a small number of cases have ended in prosecutions. Past efforts to address violations through the establishment of ad hoc mechanisms in Sri Lanka, such as presidential commissions of inquiry, have produced little information and few prosecutions.
In interview with Time magazine, Sri Lanka president Mahinda said that during the war, “there was no violation of human rights. There were no civilian casualties.”
Human Rights Watch said “International Community (IC) should stop relying on the president’s promises of domestic action and make it clear that an international commission is needed if the victims of Sri Lanka’s bloody war are to find justice.”
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