DE-MERGER OF NORTH-EAST : FRAUD ON INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

HON’BLE SAMPANTHAN, TAMIL LEADER  THUNDERS IN SINHALESE RULED PARLIAMENT

“Not only the Tamil speaking people but also the International Community are unhappy with the de-merger of NorthEastern province. Though the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka told that former President J. R. Jayewardene’s step was defective and invalid, the Sri Lanka’s President Mr. Rajapakse who wants to share no powers with Tamils, seized the opportunity quickly and declared the de-merger amidst the opposition from many of his own cabinet ministers and Members of parliament. Mr Rajapakse has not only betrayed the Tamil people, but also breached an international treaty, R. Sampanthan told in the Sri Lankan Parliament Wednesday. Mr Sampanthan spoke during a special debate held on Government’s recent declaration of de-merger of NorthEastern province.

The full text of his address follows: Hon Speaker Sir,I have given notice and accordingly move the following motion: – That Parliament do adjourn at the end of Questions today, to discuss the following matter of urgent public importance. “ The Peace process and the current situation pertaining to the Tamil Civilian population in the North East of Sri Lanka.”The matter which has caused the utmost agitation in recent times in the minds of all who very much wish the peace process to succeed has been the efforts at dismantling the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. This development was in consequence of the three petitions filed in the Supreme Court on the 14th July 2006, by certain persons who in my submission do not fall within the category of historical inhabitants of either the Eastern or Northern provinces, alleging a violation of their fundamental rights.

It is relevant to mention at this point, that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had on 10th November 2005 made an order under section 37 (2) (b) of the Provincial councils Act No:- 42 of 1987,and published in Gazette Extraordinary No:-1420/27 of November 23rd 2005 postponing the date for the holding of the poll in regard to whether the two provinces should be administered together or not, to 16th November 2006 in the Eastern Province and to 5th December 2006 in the Northern Province. This postponement by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the twenty sixth such postponement over a period of eighteen years commencing in 1988 and ending in 2006, starting with President J.RJayawardene, and subsequently effected by Presidents R.Premadasa, D.B.Wijetunga, and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. During the several postponements effected by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga commencing 1994 and expiring 2005, over a period of eleven years, the present President Mahinda Rajapakse was either a Minister or the Prime – Minister in the Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Government, and accepted the validity of the said several postponements effected by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as Executive President.

The Supreme Court delivered its judgment on 16th October 2006, The court held that the purported amendment of the section 37 (1) (b) of the Provincial Councils Act by the President, by an emergency regulation was invalid, and consequently the proclamation made by the President on September 8th 1988, constituting the Northern and Eastern provinces as one unit was invalid. I have dealt with this matter in the course of the statement made by me in Parliament on 7th November 2005.While we respectfully disagree with the view taken by the Supreme Court based upon a procedural flaw, it is difficult to comprehend that this so called procedural flaw was discovered only after a period of eighteen years and after several successive Presidents had during this period acted in pursuance of the proclamation made by President J.RJayawardene in 1988.It would be relevant to be reminded that but for the order delivered by the Supreme Court on 16th October 2006, President Mahinda Rajapakse would have been required to make a determination on whether the poll should be held or postponed, by November 2006 and given the condition in the Indo Sri Lanka agreement that, ( open quotation )

“ All persons who have been displaced due to ethnic violence, or other reasons will have a right to vote in such referendum ( poll ); Necessary conditions to enable them to return to areas from where they were displaced will be created” ( close quotation ); and in view of this condition not having been fulfilled ; it being well known that hundreds of thousands of displaced Tamil Civilians, particularly from the Eastern Province, had not returned to the areas from where they were displaced, and conditions not having been created for their return; and over Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Tamil speaking civilians largely from the Eastern Province having been displaced in 2006, no referendum ( poll ) could have been held in terms of the Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement, and in the said reality , President Mahinda Rajapakse would have had no alternative but to postpone the date for holding the referendum ( poll ).

The only other alternative would have been for President Mahinda Rajapakse to defy the Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement, an International treaty, by which he as Executive President of Sri Lanka was bound. It has to be pointed out with respect that the judgment of the Supreme Court has had the effect of saving him from this predicament.The Governor of the North East provincial council was one of the respondents in the said petition. It would be pertinent to quote what he stated in the said judicial proceedings. I quote from the affidavit dated 31st August 2006 filed by him in court.

( open quotation ) –para 03 ( a ) “ the petitioner has contravened the rules of your lordship’s court by failing to cite the necessary parties to this application”.

 – para 03 ( b ) “that your Lordship’s court is precluded from granting the relief against His Excellency the President, as His Excellency the President cannot be made a party to this application in terms of Article 35(1) of the constitution

”para 03 ( c ) “ that the petitioner’s application is time barred ”. para 03 ( d ) “ that the petitioner is guilty of laches ”. para 03 ( e ) “ that the petitioner is guilty of acquiescence in the subject matter of this application and / or is guilty of inaction and / or lack of diligence”.

The petitioner having made his application after 18 years from the purported infringement, the time limit for such complaints being within one month of such infringement.The historical inhabitants of the Eastern province vital stake holders, not having been made respondents in the said proceedings; their application to intervene having been refused by Court. I have dealt with this matter fully in the statement made by me in Parliament on 7th November 2006.

I quote further from the said affidavit of the Governor-para 9- “ I am advised to state and therefore I state that the said regulation made by President J.R.Jayawardene under section 5 of the Public Security ordinance had the legal effect of amending / modifying section 37 ( 1 ) ( b ) of the Provincial Councils Act No: 42 of 1987 ”Para 21- “ I further state that in the said circumstances, the fundamental rights of the petitioner enshrined in Article 12 ( 1 ) of the Constitution have not been violated ”Para 34- “ I am advised to state and I state as follows :- (a) that the petitioner’s application is time barred, (b) that the petitioner’s application is misconceived in law, (c) that the petitioner’s application does not confirm with the rules of the Supreme Court. (d) that the petitioner has failed to establish any infringement of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 12 ( 1 ) of the constitution and (e) that in the circumstances the petitioner is not entitled to any of the relief as prayed for.The above reflects the position taken up by the Governor of the North – East province, and therefore by the Government of Sri Lanka in the Supreme Court.If the above, was the position taken up by the Government of Sri Lanka through the Governor North – East Province in court, is it not obligatory on the part of Government to sustain that position.

The court does not and indeed cannot prohibit the merger. It merely states that a certain step taken by President J.R.Jeyawardene was defective and therefore invalid. We submit that it is obligatory on the part of the Government to cure that defect. If the Government does not do so, it can only mean that the Government is using the judgment of the court as an excuse to avoid fulfilling it’s obligation.It is relevant also to examine the official reaction to the judgment of the Court.

 The Daily Mirror of October 17th 2006 the day after the judgment, reported that several Hon Ministers had at the Government Parliamentary Group stated that they were unhappy with the judgment. Amongst them were Consumers Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Constitutional Affairs Minister D.E.W Gunasekara, Health Minister Nimal Sripala de Silva, Public Administration Minister Sarath Aamunugama. I have not the slightest doubt that many other Hon – Ministers and Members of Parliament were of the same view. In a significant statement in Parliament on 19th October 2006 the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Hon Rauf Hakeem stated that “it would be naive to assume that the Muslims would be overjoyed regarding the demerger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces , knowing fully well the timing and implications of the Judgment. Hon Rauf Hakeem further said that they could not be so naïve as to ignore the sentiments of their Tamil brethren”. Hon Rauf Hakeem also emphasized “that of particular significance is a need to address the Muslim dimension in a permanently merged Northern and Eastern Province”. This dimension, Mr. Speaker is a legitimate aspiration of our Muslim brethren, which I have not the slightest doubt the Tamil people and those representing them including the L.T.T.E, fully comprehend, and will accept.

It would be relevant to examine the views expressed by the International Community.

The co-chairs of the Tokyo donor conference representing a group of 58 donor countries and consisting of Norway , the European Union, the U.S.A and Japan have expressed their views on 12th September 2006 at their meeting at Brussels, ( before the Judgment ); the Co-chairs stated and I quote “There should be no change to the specific arrangements for the North and East which could endanger the achievement of peace. The legitimate interests and aspirations of all communities, including the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala communities must be accommodated as part of a political settlement.” (Close quote).

 The Co-chairs issued yet another statement after their meeting at Washington D.C on November 21st 2006 (after the judgment), which I quote “ At the same time, the specific arrangements for the North and East should not be disturbed as they are fundamental to continuing the dialogue to achieve an agreement. The legitimate interests and aspirations of the communities, including the Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala communities must be accommodated as part of a political settlement”.

Our Neighbor and Regional Power India, has been very much in touch with the President and Government of Sri Lanka on this issue both at New Delhi and during the non-aligned summit at Cuba in September 2006. It was the Indo Sri Lanka Agreement of 29th July 1987 which brought about the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces as one unit, on the basis of the historical incontrovertible reality that the Northern and Eastern provinces were the areas of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking people. New Delhi has expressed it’s strong commitment to the provisions of the Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement. We were informed by high officials in New Delhi on 21st September 2006 that the Sri Lanka. Government had assured the continuance of the existing arrangement, at the meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka at Havana, Cuba in September 2006.

A delegation of the I.T.A.K met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 22nd December 2006. We told the Hon. Prime Minister that the merger of the North – East was the corner stone of the peace process, and that the peace process would crumble unless the merger was sustained. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in complete agreement with that view, and unambiguously reiterated to us, India’s commitment to the restoration of the Status Quo Ante of the merged North – East, as per the Indo – Sri Lanka agreement.

Following the judgment of the Supreme Court, Hon.G.G.Ponnambalam on behalf of the I.T.A.K made a statement in Parliament on 19th October 2006, setting out our initial reaction, and sought a response from the government.The Hon. Prime minister made a statement in Parliament on the merger of the North – East Provinces on 7th November 2006. The Hon Prime Minister in the course of that statement did not shut the door. The Hon Prime Minister outlined several options that were available to Government. I wish to refer to one of options in the Hon. Prime Ministers statement.“The moving of a Bill and passing the same in Parliament, under Article 154A(3) of the Constitution for the purpose of laying down necessary criteria and formulating legal provisions to integrate two or three adjoining provinces as a single administrative unit, to decide on a structure whether the integration of the said provinces should be continued with or whether the said provinces should remain as separate administrative units”.

 This option suggested by the Hon. Prime Minister, is akin to the provisions of section 37 of the Provincial Councils Act subject to whatever modifications. The Hon Prime Minister has thereby accepted that the Government can take corrective action.On the same date 7th November 2006, I made a comprehensive statement in Parliament on behalf of the I.T.A.K tracing the history and justification for the merger, stating our views on the proceedings before the court, and urging the Government to take necessary corrective action to restore the status Quo Ante pertaining to merger.On 16th November 2006 a delegation of the I.T.A.K on the invitation of the President met with him. Matters pertaining to the merger of the North – East Provinces were discussed.

After the said meeting, the I.T.A.K met with Hon. Ranil Wickramasighe Leader of the Opposition. Consistent with the position taken by his party since the announcement of the Court judgement, Mr. Ranil Wickramasighe assured us that his party would extend to any legislative measure to validly restore the Status Quo Ante pertaining to the merger, the fullest support. Subsequently, on 20th November 2006. I wrote to President Mahinda Rajapakse. May I read the said letter / table it and request that it be included in the Hansard. We urged that corrective action be taken to restore the Status Quo Ante pertaining to the constitution of the Northern and Eastern Provinces as one unit, and thereby honour and implement the Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement. We received an acknowledgement to our letter.

More recently, the Hon.Dilan Perera Deputy Minister for Justice, in a statement to the “Veerakesari” the Tamil newspaper, referred to deficiencies in the Sri Lanka Constitution, which were an impediment to the resolution of the National Question. He also stated that the bifurcation of the North –East had retarded the prospect of a resolution to the national question. He further stated that if political decisions were continuously reversed by the Court, the Tamil people would begin to regard the Court as belonging only to the Sinhala people. Tragically, the Tamil speaking people strongly feel that way, because the five-judge bench in the demerger issue comprised entirely of judges who were from the Sinhala community. Given the strong ethnic dimension of the issue before the Court, and the sensitive issue of the rights of Tamil speaking historical inhabitants, a Court reflective of ethnic pluralism, would have been free of such suspicion. Even more tragically, three of the judges who heard the demerger issue, constituted the Court in the case pertaining to the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P.T.O.M’S). This matter also related to Tsunami reconstruction in the predominantly Tamil speaking North – East. It is well known that this arrangement too, was struck down by the Court, and yet another opportunity to get the peace process back on track was lost.

 In Acheh, Indonesia, the opportunity afforded by Tsunami has helped forge a political settlement between the Indonesian Government and the rebels in Acheh.President Mahinda Rajapakse has talked of a referendum as a means of deciding whether the North and East could be merged.It is necessary to point out that the policy document presented to the country, before the Presidential Election, the “Mahinda Chintana”, though it contained reference to various aspects of the North – East conflict did not contain any reference to the dismantling of the North – East merger.The two Agreements signed by Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse with the JVP and the J.H.U did not contain any reference to the dismantling of the North – East Merger, though the Agreements substantially related to the North – East question.The North – East Merger existed at the time of the Presidential Election.It is clear that President Mahinda Rajapakse did not obtain a mandate >from the country, for the dismantling of the North – East Merger. The Country could well take the view that it would be a very unwise step. It is my contention that a well informed country would have taken that view.

It must be pointed out, that President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga who whole-heartedly supported the Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement, polled 62.28 % at the Presidential Election in November 1994. President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga who continued with the North – East Merger polled 51.12% of the vote at the Presidential Election in December 1999. As earlier pointed out, President Mahinda Rajapakse was a Minister and thereafter Prime Minister in the Governments of President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga and accepted the policies of the said Governments.President Mahinda Rajapakse polled 50.29 % of the vote at the Presidential Election in November 2005.

Though the Tamil people largely did not vote at the Presidential Election in November 2005, President Mahinda Rajapakse did not win in any one of the Electoral districts in the North – East. He polled less that his rival in the Jaffna and Vanni Electoral districts in the Northern Province, and less than his rival in each one of the districts, Batticaloa, Digamadulla and Trincomalee in the Eastern Province. It cannot be claimed that President Mahinda Rajapakse has a mandate from either the Northern Province or the Eastern Province particularly in regard to matters related to the North – East. This is a factual reality which in the present circumstances needs to be stated.

The Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement of 29th July 1987 and the Provincial Councils Act No. 42 of 1987, contemplate a referendum to be held, only where adjoining provinces have been constituted as one unit, with one Provincial council, one Governor etc. The Indo – Sri Lanka Agreement further stipulates in Para 2.4 – that “All persons who have been displaced due to ethnic violence, or other reasons will have the right to vote in such a referendum; Necessary conditions to enable then to return to areas from where they were displaced will be created”. Hundreds of thousands of Tamil People continue to be displaced; necessary conditions to enable them to return have not been created, and with all the violence being unleashed against the Tamil People, in the North – East presently, several tens of thousands more of Tamil people are continuing to be displaced. A referendum or any other electoral process in the present situation, would be illegal, fraudulent, and undemocratic.We would strongly urge that the Government should not allow itself to be goaded by some of it’s alliance partners to take actions that would be against the long term interests of the Country. We strongly submit that the government should not make the judgment of the Court, an excuse for embarking on a course of action fraught with harmful consequences.The option outlined by the Hon. Prime Minister in his statement on 7th November 2006 and referred to by me earlier, provides an opportunity. We would strongly urge the President and the Government to take corrective action, as the judgment of the Supreme Court only outlines a procedural flaw in regard to the manner of the merger; so as to restore the status Quo Ante pertaining to the merged North – East. Such a measure wills we are certain, have overwhelming support in this House.It was the JVP, which mounted the challenges against the P.T.O.M’S arrangement, and the North – East merger in Court. Both these arrangements pertained to the North – East. The JVP contested the Local Authority Elections in the Digamadulla and Trincomalee Districts in the Eastern Provinces on it’s own in 2006. An examination of the results of the elections would clearly indicate it’s dismal performance even in the Sinhala majority local authority areas, invariably ending up at the bottom of the list, not winning a single seat, or just one, and very rarely two seats. It did not have any chance in the predominantly Tamil speaking Tamil or Muslim local authority areas.

I wish to raise the question Mr. Speaker, as to whom the JVP represents, when it raises these extreme anti-minority positions that cause much harm particularly to people in the North – East. The JVP had the audacity to aver in the petition filed in the Supreme Court, on the merger issue, that 62% of the land area in the Trincomalee District and 72% of the Land area in the Amparai District are Sinhala majority areas, though the Sinhalese are only 25% the population in the Eastern Province; 33.62% in the Trincomalee district and 37.64% of in the Amparai district. Can the JVP explain how the Sinhalese who in the Eastern Province were only 0.53% in 1827, 4.66% in 1881, 4.53% in 1921 and 9.87% in 1946 about which time the country attained independence, came to exercise control over 62% of the Land area in the Trincomalee District, and 72% of the Land area in the Ampara District. The JVP is obviously thinking that such an outrageous situation is perfectly justified and that the Sinhala position in the Eastern Province must get even stronger. It is such disproportionate, unreasonable and unjust claims that are the key factors motivating the bifurcation of the North – East. Very clearly the intention is to convert the Eastern province which is historically and traditionally a preponderantly majority Tamil speaking area into a Sinhala majority Area at the earliest. How can the Tamil speaking people ( Muslims and Tamils ) who are 62% of the population in the Amparai District have only 28% of the land, while the Sinhalese who are 38% have 72% of the land ? I wish to make it perfectly clear that my arguments are not advanced against the Sinhala people; as I have often stated, I have much affection for the Sinhala peasant who is a decent human being, but it is our duty as the elected representatives of the Tamil speaking people to ensure that the legitimate interests of the Tamil speaking people who have never had equal treatment in this country, are adequately safeguarded at least in the areas of their historical habitation, against the political machinations of those who want to promote Sinhala hegemony and supremacism in every part of the country.The electoral verdicts at elections in the North – East since 1956, have clearly demonstrated the Tamil aspirations; they have overwhelmingly supported the Federal Party and after 1977 till 2004, The Tamil United Liberation Front. This has also been so at the Parliamentary elections in 2004, and at the Local Authority elections in 2006 in the Eastern Province, in the Trincomalee and Digamadulla districts, which were contested on the ticket of the Federal party. An examination of the results would cleanly demonstrate the wish of the people, Local authority elections were not held in the preponderantly Tamil Batticaloa district and the districts in the Northern Province.At the District Development Council Elections in 1981, the last election held before the displacement of Tamils commenced in 1983, due to violence unleashed against them, the T.U.L.F won the elections in every district in the North – East Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaithivu, Trincomalee and Batticaloa, other than Amparai. Since the formation of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress the S.L.M.C has received substantial support of the Muslim people.The electoral verdicts delivered in the North – East have consistently supported a North – Eastern Tamil linguistic region. This has been the corner stone of any peaceful political resolution of the Tamil question. This is the accepted position of all Tamil political parties.Even the Bandaranaike – Chelvanayakam pact of 1957, contemplated the concept of a Tamil linguistic region. If the Bandaranaike – Chelvanayakam pact was implemented, a Tamil linguistic region would have become a reality in 1957. This is intertwined with the dignity, personal security, and well being of the Tamil speaking people. A compromise on this fundamental position will endanger the dignity, the security, and well being of the Tamil speaking people particularly in the Eastern province. The Tamil struggle in the past 50 years has been primarily to safeguard the interests of the Tamil speaking people in the Eastern province, who faced the danger of being devoured by Sinhala colonization, in violation of the Bandaranaike – Chelvanayakam pact of 1957, and the Dudley Senanayake – Chelvanayakam pact of 1965, which were intended to terminate Sinhala colonization but which were not implemented and colonization continued. The Indo – Sri Lanka agreement recognized this reality. Any effort to subvert the acceptance of that reality would destroy all prospects of peaceful resolution.Tamil civilians in the Eastern province, are presently being specifically targeted through violence to weaken the Tamil people. The majority of those who have been displaced, amounting to over two hundred and fifty thousand in 2006, and those who have fled from the country to Tamil Nadu in South India also in 2006, amounting to over sixteen thousand, are from the Eastern province.It is the failure of successive Governments to respect the democratic verdicts of the Tamil people that has resulted in the conflict. It cannot be forgotten that in this country, only Tamils were victims of violence till about the late 70’s and early 1980’s. For over three decades the Tamils were engaged in a peaceful non – violent democratic struggle but did not achieve anything. This is a fact that cannot be denied. The conflict cannot be resolved by subterfuge and devious deceptive processes; such action would only aggravate the conflict.If Governments can be established and Governments can be changed on the basis of the Sinhala vote in the country, most parts are Sinhala majority areas, why should not the Tamil speaking vote, determine the right to governance in the Tamil linguistic area in some adequate and durable way,. The North and East are unquestionably predominantly Tamil speaking contiguous areas. Every district in the North and the East has a Tamil speaking majority. The cause of the conflict not coming to an end, has been the refusal to recognize this reality.We would urge the Government to adopt a just and reasonable approach to resolve the National question, in a manner acceptable to the Tamil speaking people of the North – East. Efforts to destroy the Tamil struggle through military action against the Tamil people, or to destroy Tamil solidarity through subversion and intrigue will inevitably failCourtesy:TamilNet

SOLITARY SINHALESE VOICE IN SUPPORT OF EELAM TAMILS

United People’s Movement – a message of support

Brian Senewiratne ,Brisbane, Australia

[Dr.Tambi Nallathambi ausind@optusnet introduced in his email about Dr.Brian Senewiratne. The enclosed article by the noble heart among Sinhalese is reproduced below for enlightening Indian Tamils. We  welcome him to India but I would appeal to him to meet the Tamilnadu Chief Minister Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanithi first on his arrival and then meet any other leader he wishes to meet, so that his message reaches the Union cabinet.. N.Nandhivarman]

 This is a long overdue Movement – not just for Peace in Sri Lanka, but for Peace with Justice. There can be no Peace without Justice, and no Justice without Resistance. What has to be resisted is injustice, an attempt to settle a political problem by military might, the decimation of a people, the Tamil people in the North and East, abysmally poor governance which is resulting in grinding poverty in the Sinhalese South, and the  wrecking of the economy, sending the country to a ‘Failed State’.

 I have no political interests though I come from a highly political family. My father is from the Bandaranaike family, one that has done more to wreck Sri Lanka than any other. My mother is the brother of Edmund Samarakkody who showed what political integrity was all about

It is of no concern to me who runs Sri Lanka as long as it is run in a competent, just and equitable way, without violating the basic human rights of its people, and a devastation of the economy, sending a country with a bright future to one with no future, from the Pearl of the Indian Ocean to the Killing Field of Asia. My concerns are entirely humanitarian driven by a passion for justice and fair play.

I was forced to leave a country I love, by politicians dressed in academic garb, telling me that with the views I held, there was no place for me in Sri Lanka. I am a Sinhalese who supports the right of the Tamil people to exist with dignity, equality and safety in the country of their birth. I stand with my Tamil people. and have done so for five decades    

This is not an issue where one can have an unbiased stance. Either one is with the oppressor or the oppressed.   If this makes me a Sinhalese traitor, so be it. I will charge that those who are sending Sri Lanka towards destruction are the real traitors. I am a Christian whose mother was a devout Buddhist. As a half-Buddhist, I am outraged at followers of one of the greatest teachers of Peace and non-violence the world has ever known, demanding murder, bloodshed and war, defaming one of the world’s great religions. A revival of Buddhism is overdue.  

Despite being born to a capitalist family, I have always supported the working class and the downtrodden. I am aghast to see political opportunists, self-styled ‘Marxists, whose activities have brought so much suffering to the rural poor and the downtrodden. They are a disgrace to the Left and should be seen for what they are, not what they claim to be. A revival of the Left is overdue. Political leadership has been abysmal, and deteriorating rapidly. There is a widespread belief that what exists in Sri Lanka is an ethnic crisis, a humanitarian crisis, an economic crisis etc. While all this is true, the fundamental problem, and one that has existed since Independence some 58 years ago, is a crisis in leadership.

What the Sinhalese have lacked are statesmen and people of vision who could build a united country. What they have had are politicians, with neither vision nor integrity.  I hope that new Movement will provide this leadership, and hope even more, that the Sinhala people, some of the most misled people in the world, give their wholehearted support. This could be their last chance to save their country. 

The bottom line is a British colonial construct which centralised power, especially the critical power to develop, in the Centre in Sinhala hands. It has resulted in the developmental neglect of the periphery, which includes the entire Tamil area. Unless this is reversed and the power to develop is handed to the people of the area, the problem will not be resolved. Similar colonial constructs eg in Malaya, have been dismantled with spectacular benefit to all (Singapore and Malaysia). Such a change is overdue in Sri Lanka. 

If multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural Sri Lanka is to be a Sinhala-Buddhist nation (now even enshrined in the Constitution), then there is no alternative to the establishment of a separate Tamil nation, Eelam. 

 Eelam is not the creation of the Tamil people (or the LTTE), but the result of Sinhala-Buddhist ethno-religious chauvinism and the Sinhalese policy of excluding Tamils from the decision-making process, almost since the dawn of Independence in 1948 (and even before). The Sinhalese people have every right to have a Sinhalese-Buddhist nation. They are an ancient people, with a distinct culture, language, religion and a defined territory.

 By the same token, the Tamil people, who are also an ancient people with a distinct culture, language, and religion and a defined territory, have an equal right to have a Tamil nation. It is as simple as that. A succession of Sinhalese leaders have had more than half a century to decide whether they want a single united country where all ethnic and religious groups are treated equally. They decided, for no other reason than political opportunism, to go down the road of Sinhala-Buddhist ethno-religious chauvinism.  The price paid has been a failure to build a nation, a Sri Lankan nation, as envisaged by the departing British. It is now too late to keep the British construct together. No amount of glue, including the glue of international pressure, can prevent this construct falling apart.

The greater the force applied to keep this failed construct together, the greater will be the destruction of the country and its people. I totally reject the canard of the Sri Lankan government that what exists in Sri Lanka is nothing but ‘terrorism’. This will generate the support of war mongers abroad who have their own geo-political agenda which has nothing to do with peace and justice in Sri Lanka. Any government’s condemnation of terror is credible only if it shows itself to be responsive to reasonable, closely argued, persistent, non-violent dissent.

 No Sinhala government since Independence in 1948 has been responsive to the reasonable demands of the Tamil minority. A political problem cannot be settled by armed force, attempts to do so is political bankruptcy and a pathetic lack of understanding of addressing dissent.

Today the Tamils face one of the most murderous regimes ever to run Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese have brought on themselves a regime which is out of its depths in addressing the critical problems faced by the country. It is time for change. The situation in the South is serious with the virtual collapse of governance and its replacement by rampant corruption, spiralling inflation, grinding poverty, nepotism, incompetence, the breakdown of law and order, and bankruptcy. It is not only economic bankruptcy but political bankruptcy of a Government which has run out of political options and has only ‘war‘ to offer.The need to prosecute a ‘war’ supposedly a ‘War against Terrorism’ is being used as an excuse for the economic and human misery in the South. I believe that a better Sri Lanka, Federated or even divided, if necessary, is possible.  There is nothing that will give me greater pleasure than to be physically there in Nugegoda on 9 January 2006 to address your public rally.. For reasons that are obvious, I cannot do so. I can do better by staying alive abroad and supporting your admirable attempt to bring sense to a country that has taken leave of its senses.   5 January 2007

MAHINDA RAJAPAKSHE ENCASHING THE UNWANTED WAR

War in Sri Lanka root causes : Politician’s like Mahinda have vested interest  Tamil News

In Sydney Morning Herald’s “Heckler Column”, Mark Silcocks, nicely pointed out the classic example of a Country (Sri Lanka) where politicians have vested interest and deliberately making war to continuing indefinitely. Mahinda Rajapakse, Presidnet of Sri Lanka master minded to make money out of war, by having his one brother Basil Rajapakse responsible for social service portfolio ( Samurdhi Advisor ) and another brother Gotbaya Rajapakse responsible for Defence establishment ( Secretary Ministry of Defence ).

Gotbaya Rajapakse will rip off Tax Payers money from arms delas, Basil Rajapakse will rip off money from foreign aids and Mahinda Rajapakse will keep the balancesheet and make sure war continues, while hiding in a Saddham Heussain style bunker in the capital city Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Is it complex like rocket science to understand why Mahida Rajapakse DONT have a genuine desire to solve the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka ?

Full Text of Mark Silcocks’s Article,

It’s not that war is hell, it’s more like war is limbo January 12, 2007

THE problem with war today is no one wants to win. Once upon a time it was simple: invade, rape, murder and pillage until you subjugate the inhabitants or there are none left. Call the combined nations an empire and move on to the next country. Then events after World War II gave rise to the absurd concept of “peacekeeping”. A paradigm of meaningless marketing jargon. Where on Earth is there any peace to keep?

The trouble is, we’re trying to have civilised wars. It’s not very nice to take people’s land off them, so we’ll just drop in for a while, like Super Nanny, and try to sort everything out. But protecting people and resolving conflicts are the civilised traits of a highly developed species. War isn’t. War is anathema to civilisation. If all’s fair in war, then by definition, war, like love, can’t be fair. Today’s armies are asked to fight with one hand tied behind their back. They’re not invading or all-conquering or even allowed to kill anyone, unless they’re being shot at. It’s little more than target practice, with them as the target.

Once you decide to have a war, you can’t pussyfoot around. You’ve got to identify the territory you’d like to occupy. And then you have to annihilate anything that stands in your way and seize it. Therein lies the rub. The reason no one wants to win is not just because too many people, such as arms manufacturers (US) and arms dealers (eastern Europe) and organised criminals (Northern Ireland) and politicians (Sri Lanka) and religious leaders (Middle East) have a vested interest in wars continuing indefinitely; it’s that no one has a clear objective of what to do if they win. No one has the master plan essential for true, lasting victory.

The wars of yesteryear were usually driven by the clearly stated goals of a megalomaniac: something focused, like world domination. Today’s wars are so wishy-washy. How did America possibly expect to win the Vietnam War without invading, occupying and subjugating North Vietnam? And what then? Even if President George Bush had won the war in Iraq, as he erroneously claimed three years ago, did he have the slightest idea what he wanted to do with it? Give it straight back to the locals? That is not what war is about. And as for most of the world’s terrorist groups, the England cricket team has a better understanding of the consequences of victory.

In future the question our esteemed leaders should be asking, before they sacrifice a few more thousand innocent lives, is not whether this war is right or wrong, but: “Do we really want to win it, and what the hell do we do if we do?” By:Mark Silcocks

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/heckler/its-not-that-war-is-hell-its-more-like-war-islimbo/ 2007/01/11/1168105113208.html -By Seeraalan http://www.tamilsydney.com – Tamil Sydney Powered by Mambo Generated: 12 January, 2007, 11:31

SRILANKAN CONSPIRACIES EXPOSED BY INDIAN OFFICIAL

RAJAPAKSE BENT ON DICTATED PEACE
By B.Raman

In an assessment on the ground situation in Sri Lanka written on October 8, | 2006, I had stated as follows: “The hardline advisers of Mr.Rajapaksethink that they can now see the light at the end of a long and dark tunnel and  that this is the time to force upon the LTTE a dictated peace, which would  restrict the eventual Tamil control in any political solution  to the  Northern Province minus Jaffna and the Batticaloa District of the Eastern
| Province minus the Tricomallee and Amparai Districts. Their reported plans | for an ultimate political solution also envisage excluding the LTTE’s  presence and influence from even the Batticaloa District, by placing the  Karuna faction and other Tamil parties in power there and keeping Jaffna, Trincomallee and Amparai directly under the control of the Government in  Colombo. Among other ideas reportedly under consideration are changing the  demographic composition of the Trincomalle District by re-settling
Sinhalese ex-servicemen there.” ( http://www.saag.org/papers20/paper1983.html)

2.  In pursuance of its strategy for a dictated peace, which will remove the  Eastern Province from the control of the Tamils and ultimately convert it  into a Sinhalese majority area through the re-settlement of Sinhalese  ex-servicemen and others, the Mahinda Rajapakse Government  has already  initiated a number of steps by taking advantage of the silence of the  international community, including India, on its policy of using its Air  Force, heavy artillery and forced starvation to force the Tamils into
submission.

3. In the third week of December, 2006, Rear Admiral (Retd) Mohan  Wijewickrama was  sworn in before President Mahinda Rajapakse as the  Governor of the Eastern Province. He has  been appointed to hold concurrent  charge as the Governor of the Northern Province till a regular incumbent for  that post is found. After being sworn in, he was reported to have told the  media: “From 1 January 2007, we have no choice but to run the two provinces  separately.  Finances have already been appropriated separately for the two  provinces.”

4.  He also said that fresh appointments would  be made to the Northern and  Eastern Provincial Councils in keeping with the Supreme Court ruling that  the 1987 merger was illegal. According to him, the new ethnic balance would  be taken into consideration when these appointments are made. Consequently,  the Eastern Provincial Council is likely to have more Sinhalese and Muslim  employees than before. Earlier appointments had been made in keeping with  the ethnic ratio of the combined North and East.

5. The first batch of about 80 Sinhalese ex-servicemen for re-settlement was brought to Trincomallee under Army protection on December 30. More are  expected. Not only Sinhalese extremist leaders, but also Buddhist monks have  been associated with the plan for the dilution of the Tamil presence and  influence in the Eastern Province.  Lt.Gen.Sarath Fonseka, the Army  Commander, has been discussing the future strategy with local military  commanders. He reportedly met  senior commanders of the Army’s 23 Division  based in Welikanda, Polonnaruwa, in the island’s east on January 3.He has
also been meeting  Buddhist priests and seeking  their blessing and  co-operation for the success of what he called the Government’s new strategy  to crush the movement for a Tamil Eelam during 2007.

6. In an informal New Year-eve discussion with the media in Colombo, Lt. | Gen. Fonseka reportedly  said that the Security Forces would be able to take  the strategic eastern coastal towns of Vaharai and Kadirweli in about a | month. According to him, only the rains and the slushy terrain were  preventing the tri-services from launching an offensive to capture the two  towns. He claimed that the  LTTE had only about 800 fully-trained fighters  in the East in addition to a militia of about 2,000. He mentioned during his
interactions at Colombo  that he was confident of defeating the LTTE in the  East as well as the North before the end of 2007.

7.  While he attributed the delay in the long-expected Army offensive to  take Vaharai to bad weather, another reason is understood to be a shortage  of artillery shells for the heavy artillery being used against the LTTE  positions. A new consignment of arms and ammunition from Pakistan including  artillery shells is expected shortly and once that arrives, the offensive is  expected to be stepped up. The fighters of the anti-LTTE faction headed by  Karuna are now openly assisting the Army in its operations in the Eastern
Province. No effort is made any longer to conceal the presence and key role  of the followers of Karuna in the military operations in the Eastern  Province.

8. The strategy of Mr. Rajapakse’s advisers is to develop Karuna as the  future leader of Batticaloa to co-ordinate anti-LTTE activities there and  Mr.Douglas Devananda, a Tamil member of the present Government, as the  future leader of Jaffna to co-ordinate the anti-LTTE activities in the  Northern Province. The men of Devananda have already been working under the  over-all supervision of the Army. Devananda has also been made in charge of  co-ordinating the movement and distribution of humanitarian relief goods  donated by India.
9.  The Rajapakse Government has not been unduly worried  over the
concerns  of the Government of India at the humanitarian situation of the Tamils and
 over the reported decision of the German  Government not to make any fresh
budgetary allocations for assistance to Sri Lanka till the fighting stops.  Lt. Gen. Fonseka and other advisers of Mr. Rajapakse have been claiming that  the new strategy of crushing the LTTE by the end of 2007 has the tacit  support of the Indian authorities and that the expressions of concern over  the humanitarian situation in response to pressure from the political  parties of Tamil Nadu should be understood in the correct perspective and  should not be interpreted to mean that the Government of India disapproves
of their military strategy against the LTTE. They also claim that their plan  to remove the Eastern Province from the control of the LTTE was in  continuation of a similar plan reportedly drawn up by Rajiv Gandhi himself  in 1988-89 to build up Varadaraja Perumal as a counter to Prabhakaran.

10. While there has been a slight forward movement in the Government of  India’s Sri Lanka policy, it is still marked by considerable ambivalence.  The policy continues to be based on the following postulates: A federal  solution maintaining the unity of Sri Lanka, but not its unitary political  set-up; only a political solution is feasible; the problem cannot be solved  militarily; till a political solution is found the status quo (North-East  merger) should not be disturbed; No direct role for India in the search for  a political solution; No supply of lethal military equipment to the Sri  Lankan Armed Forces, which they could use in their counter-insurgency  operations; No disruption of training assistance; active monitoring of the  humanitarian situation and provision of relief through channels approved by  the Government of Sri Lanka.

11. Many of these postulates have already been rendered irrelevant by the  Rajapakse Government in total disregard of the sensitivities of New Delhi.  It has already ruled out a federal solution and has been working for a  unitary solution. It has already set in motion the process of de-merger and  the reduction of the Tamil influence in the Eastern Province. As a sop to  Indian sensitivities, it wants to associate India more actively with the  economic development of the Eastern Province in order to convey a message  that a reduction of Tamil influence would not mean a reduction of Indian  influence. It is bent upon finding a military solution to the problem during  the New Year. Mr. Rajapakse’s advisers are convinced that the ground and the  international situation are at present the most favourable to Sri Lanka and  that they if they miss this opportunity to turn the tide against the LTTE,  they may not get another opportunity like this again. The ultimate
objective  of Mr. Rajapakse’s advisers is to reduce the Sri Lankan Tamils to the status
 of the Red Indians of Sri Lanka kept confined to certain reserves as museum  pieces. A more anti-Tamil group of hardline advisers Sri Lanka has not had  since the Tamils rose in revolt in 1983.

12. Operationally, the LTTE continues to be handicapped by the lack of  anti-aircraft capability and a diminution in the stock of explosives. The  leadership losses in the Eastern Province following the desertion of Karuna  have not been effectively made good so far. Its international wing has been  considerably weakened by the death of Anton Balasingham, its ideologue, at  London last month after a painful struggle with cancer. His network of  contacts in the Western world, his close relations with the Norwegian authorities, his insights and negotiating skills and his understanding of  the Western mindset were a tremendous asset to the LTTE. Whle Karuna was the  conventional fighting genius of the LTTE, Balasingham was its political  genius, with a lucid understanding of the political realities. He imparted a  sophistication to the LTTE’s political approach which it might not have  otherwise had.

13. With Karuna having joined the Government forces against the LTTE and  with Balasingham dead, the LTTE leadership has been finding itself without  adequate material and intellectual resources to carry on its struggle for  Tamil Eelam. However, it would be foolhardy for Mr.Rajapakse’s advisers to  conclude there from that the LTTE is losing its resilience and has become  less of a fighting machine than it was till 2004. It is still a formidable  fighting machine, with considerable reserves of energy and motivation
still  left.

(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of  India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies,  Chennai. E-mail:  <mailto:itschen36@gmail.com <itschen36@gmail.com>>itschen36@gmail.com )

information given by :sritharan  http://srinoolakam.blogspot.com

MAHINDA RAJAPAKSHE : A TRUE ANALYSIS BY M.R.WILSON

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein compared with  Sri Lankan President Rajapakse
By M.R.Wilson
 
Just like the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was hanged  for the killings perpetrated by his reckless orders  empowered by the  flawed and defective  Iraqi Constitution,  President Mahinda Rajapakse also should be tried  for his  ordering recklessly the indiscriminate killings of the Tamils, young and old in Sri Lanka  empowered by the defective and  flawed  Sri Lankan Constitution.
 
Superpowers and their hypocrisy
The credibility of the superpowers that all vied for the death of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and backed the execution of death sentence on him for crimes against humanity is open to question because they are all leading proponents of the undemocratic ethnocracy prevalent in Sri Lanka which has unleashed state sponsored  killings indiscriminately among Tamils.
 
Under the patronage of super powers by being a pet in their hands already well equipped, Sri Lankan government roams around freely, and commits acts of worse terrorism in Tamil homeland without being checked, until the Tamil community is exterminated gradually but steadily.
 
Regional and Super powers both overtly and covertly help the hawkish chauvinist Sinhala government from time to time militarily, and provide military training to the Sri Lankan top army brasses and share military and naval intelligence with the Sri Lankan armed forces.
 
Sri Lankan Constitution is flawed and defective
It looks very unfortunate, unreasonable and unethical, when Sri Lanka , a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with a diverse and rich culture, has a constitution to impose the will of the majoritarian  Buddhist Sinhalese on the Tamil minority.
 
Sri Lankan Constitution had been enacted purely by the quantitative strength of the majoritarian Singhalese population which arrogates all the powers to the Buddhist Singhalese population strangulating the basic and fundamental rights of the Tamils.
 
The Constitution under reference emphasizes that, only a Buddhist Sinhalese could be the Head of government and state, Buddhism could be the State religion, Singhalese could be the official language, colonization of Tamil areas by Singhalese could be done at State expense, and a contrived standardization procedure to enter higher education could be enforced to benefit the Sinhalese with the suppression of Tamil children who thrive on education, while on the sly the past historical records or the archaeological evidences of the country  could be tampered with surreptitious interpolations to be advantageous to the Sinhalese community.
 
Sri Lanka is not a Democratic Country and the Constitution should be regularized with necessary amendments
Democracy does not prevail in Sri Lanka under the prevalent racial dominance of Sinhalese race, linguistic dominance of Singhalese language, and religious dominance of the Buddhist religion. Even after a lapse of 59 years since independence, the Chauvinistic Sinhalese rulers still do not have the will and desire to quench the aspirations of the Tamils.
 
Tamils have very legitimate aspirations
Tamils have a very legitimate desire, as anybody else would, to control their own lives, to rule their own destinies, and to govern themselves in their homeland, in the areas they have traditionally inhabited and to be independent as they were before the advent of Colonial rulers in the year 1505.
 
The vicious term, terrorism, has become a propaganda weapon to demonize the LTTE which is not at all an international terrorist organization, but only an organization within the Tamil territory struggling for the basic and fundamental rights of the Tamils.
It would be comprehensible even to any person that sustainable peace could be achieved in Sri Lanka only on redressing of political grievances of the Tamils living therein. It is of utmost stupidity to attempt to cure the symptom  instead of the root cause of the disease through anti-terrorism laws.
 
Any freedom struggle referred to as  terrorism is a symptom of an underlying cause of an unjust system, aggression or denial of rights, and they would  vanish once the root causes for the conflict are eliminated.
 
Only iniquitous ethnocracy prevails in Sri Lanka
Iniquitous ethnocracy of the Buddhist Singhalese prevails in Sri Lanka and their constitution cannot have any binding on the Tamils or exercise any jurisdiction over their aspirations as they are not a party to its formulation.
 
Sri Lankan regime coerces the Tamils into submission
Brazenly with impunity, the hawkish chauvinist regime tries all its best resorting to all tactics possible to bully the Tamil community into submission by threatening them with aerial bombardment, closures of highways and starvation besides denial of other basic facilities expedient and necessary.
 
State armed forces
In addition to their numerical strength, the Sri Lankan armed forces brazenly with impunity amass sophisticated weaponry and armaments, together with multi-barrel guns, naval ships and war planes reserving funds enormously in the budget for war, in addition to other foreign aids from parties with vested interest, to crush only the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
 
Kfir (bomber plane) is one among the arsenal used by the Sri Lankan government to bomb Tamil villages. It has been used by Sri Lankan government since 1998, and it caused several Tamils to lose their lives. Kfir (bomber plane) is used by nations such as Israel, US, Ecuador, Colombia, and Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan government is well known for its human right violations, but still US approved Israel to sell this disastrous weapon to Sri Lanka, only to annihilate the Sri Lankan Tamil community.
 
Hawkishness of the chauvinistic  Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse
Hawkishness of the chauvinistic Singhalese incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse tyrannizes the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. How dare he could claim to be a sensible, fit and proper person to be by his name and status? Why all the strings of atrocities are committed on the unarmed Tamils by way of three-pronged attacks  of the Singhalese army, Navy and the Air force ? Could he ever be able to account for his disgraceful conduct of promoting Sinhalese army occupation by displacing Tamils in tens of thousands relieving them of their belongings and properties from their legally owned territories where they lived in peace and harmony?
 
He is devoid of any achievement to boast about when the land is being blood soaked with uncertainty by his gory rule on the Tamils. Rulers like him should imagine the earth without human beings, animals, birds, trees, plants and all other living creatures because of such destructive rules.
 
International Humanitarian law has been defiantly flouted in Sri Lanka
International Humanitarian law has been defiantly flouted, and all sense of proportionality regarding use of force has been disregarded. Since 1983, over the last 23 years to date, in the war that ensued between the armed forces and the Tamil militants within the Tamil territories, churches, temples, schools, refugee camps, houses and business establishments were bombed and destroyed killing, wounding, maiming or mangling in hundreds including children while leaving behind children orphaned and men and women widowed.
 
Ceasefire agreement of 22/02/2002
It has to be borne in mind that after the Independence in 1948, former Prime Minister S.W.R.D.Bandaranayake from SLFP prioritized Singhalese only policy of 1956 and captured power defeating the U.N.P.  Bandaranayake- S.J.V.Chelvanayagam Pact of 1957 was abrogated because of the UNP protests. Dudley Senanayake – S.J.V.Chelvanayagam Pact of 1965 was abrogated because of the SLFP protest. The Republican  Constitution of 1972, robbed the minorities of even the scanty safeguards against discrimination provided under Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution, introduced at independence in 1948. Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 was abrogated by the National Singhalese protests.
 
Now, the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapakse from the SLFP has successfully manoeuvred to topple the Ceasefire agreement of 22/02/2002 enacted by the Tamil militants and the UNP, even though the people heaved a sigh of relief on the enactment of it.
 
President Mahinda Rajapakse  has  jettisoned all the aspirations of the Tamils for peace by prioritizing war, with his own ideology called Mahinda Chinthanaya, which emphasizes, no Norway, no federal constitution, no right to Homeland, no self-determination, no nation-hood for Tamils, no PTOMS, no recognition of anyone as sole partner in negotiation and no Oslo as venue for talks and bagged the coveted post with a combination of circumstances, his hawkish stance against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and solid backing from Jathika Hela Urumaya the party of the Buddhist monks and the fascist-nationalist party Janatha Vimukti Peramuna.
 
Defection of Karuna from the LTTE has become a trump card to forge ahead the Mahinda Chinthanaya
Karuna, one of the most trusted erstwhile confidants of LTTE militants, slipped into the hands of the Singhalese armed forces with a pledge to damage the reputation of the LTTE by pursuing his vendetta against it until it is crushed, to escape justice from the movement because of his embezzlement of tens of millions of movement funds, murdering fellow cadres, sexual escapades and abuse of female cadres.
 
He was spared on his pledge and his surrender impelled the armed forces to sideline the peace process, break the truce that prevailed by virtue of the CFA and embark afresh on violent activities shattering the peaceful atmosphere that existed in the country.
 
Karuna was admitted into the government sponsored paramilitary groups, the growth of which is being fostered with ulterior motive at state expense with corpulent remunerations and perquisites.
 
Tamil community in Sri Lanka is obsessed nowadays with a fear psychosis
Tamil community in Sri Lanka is obsessed nowadays with a fear psychosis, due to the dreadful terror that prevails among them by the existences of the SL Government sponsored Paramilitary groups comprising Tamil renegades.
 
The para-military groups in collusion with the Singhalese armed forces go on a killing spree when they come across any Tamil who exhibits his/or her aspirations for equal rights or do not submit to their extortions of money. Further, they do not even hesitate to stray into the Tamil territories yearning for sexual relations under coercion or to cast lewd remarks under the guise of searching for hidden bombs.
 
Furthermore, they indulge in abduction or killing of prominent, erudite and intellectual personnel among Tamils to subdue them and suppress their aspirations. Moreover, they have not released yet the humanitarian aid personnel of TRO whom they had abducted nearly thirteen months ago and their fate is not known still. 
 
Double standards and hypocrisy of the world nations
It smacks of double standards and hypocrisy, when the Co-Chairs (of the Tokyo Donor Conference for Sri Lanka Peace Process comprising the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Norway), stipulate in common that, both parties should cease hostilities immediately, and return to the negotiation table knowing very well that, the LTTE is always ready, but the Government is not ready with its hawkish policies.
 
One day, the US and other powerful countries would openly reiterate that they support the grievances of the Tamils, and recommend full autonomy for them within their territories in Sri Lanka.
 
On the next day, they would insist that Tamil militants should lay down arms, while turning a blind eye to the accumulation of sophisticated weaponry and armaments by the Singhalese regime to subdue the Tamils.
 
It should be understood that protracted negotiations motivated by vested interests would only severely aggravate the agony of the Tamils depleting all the avenues open to resolve the ethnic conflict with a lasting solution.
 
–Eelam Nation-
 

GERMANY OR INDIA ? WHO WILL LIFT BAN ON LTTE FIRST ?

EUROPEAN UNION MAY LIFT BAN ON LTTE :

WILL INDIA TAKE THE LEAD

 European Union under Germany may lift ban on Tamil Freedom fighters
(LTTE / Tamil Tigers)  A lifting of the ban on the LTTE by the European Union (EU) is now a possibility because Germany is going to be EU President (for six months) from January 1, says the Colombo-based The Sunday Times. In a Frankfurt-datelined story,
the paper said that at the very least, an EU under Germany would put economic pressure on the Sri Lankan government to abandon its military campaigns and return to the negotiating table for meaningful talks with the LTTE.

Germany has already stopped its aid for tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka.
Economic Cooperation Minister Heidmarie Wieczorek-Zeul had told Der Tagesspiegel that her ministry had stopped the $19 million pledged to Sri Lanka because of the war there, and hoped that other Western governments would follow suit. The Sunday Times quoted an official of Wieczorek-Zeul’s ministry as saying that as a co-chair of the Tokyo Aid Lanka Conference, the EU led by Germany would “redouble its efforts to re-energise the peace process,” in Sri Lanka. The paper further said that many NGOs had written to the German Minister asking her to get the EU to lift the ban on the LTTE as the ban had made the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government take extreme positions, which in turn were preventing NGOs from working in the North-East.

The EU had banned the LTTE in May 2006. According to The Sunday Times there is a move among human rights workers in the EU to lobby member countries on the need to get the ban lifted. Interestingly, one of the key participants in this movement is Viraj Mendis, a Sri Lankan from the majority Sinhala community who heads the International Human Rights Association from his base in Germany.

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times
http://www.tamilsydney.com – Tamil Sydney Powered by Mambo Generated: 4 January, 2007, 17:00

INDIAN TAMILS WANT INDIA TO TAKE THE LEAD AND LIFT THE BAN BEFORE EUROPEAN UNION INITIATES THE MOVE SO THAT IT  WILL ENHANCE CHANCES OF PEACE IN TAMIL EELAM

UNITED NATIONS CONDEMN SRILANKAN AERIAL BOMBARDMENT

UNITED NATIONS CONCERNED BY CIVILIAN DEATHS

United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Margareta Wahlström, in a statement issued Tuesday, said the aerial bombardment on Iluppaikadavai in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled Mannar district, by the Sri Lanka Air Force, killing civilians including children, was a “source of deepest concern.” The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also remained concerned about deteriorating livelihoods on the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka as well as all those who have been displaced in the country, the statement said. Full text of the Press Release issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [courtesy : Tamilnet] 

(New York: 2 January 2007): At least 14 civilians, including children, were killed this morning in north-western Sri Lanka during the aerial bombardment of the coastal village of Illupaikadavai, in Mannar District by the Sri Lankan Air Force. At least 35 additional civilian casualties have also been reported. Some 3,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since the resumption of armed hostilities in 2006, bringing the total number killed since the start of the conflict to 67,000. “Sri Lankans continue to suffer deeply due to this conflict, and today’s loss of life is a source of deepest concern,” said Margareta Wahlström, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator. “It is imperative that both sides to the conflict take all measures to fulfil their obligations under international law to protect civilians in this conflict; we have too often seen them fall short in this duty.” The village of Illupaikadavai is in Manthai West, an area of Mannar District controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and in which more than 4,000 displaced Sri Lankans have sought shelter from the conflict since early 2006. More than half a million Sri Lankans are displaced throughout the country — nearly 213,000 of them newly displaced since the resumption of armed conflict in 2006. Additionally, 120,000 to 140,000 people remain displaced following the devastating 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which ravaged northern and western coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and nearly 315,000 remain displaced since previous stages of the conflict. The United Nations calls once more for a cessation of hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and resumption of the peace process, and recalls the responsibility of all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and uphold international human rights and humanitarian law.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also remains concerned about deteriorating livelihoods on the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka — home to more than 500,000 civilians — as well as all those who have been displaced in the country. Limited access by land to the peninsula has impeded the population from receiving sufficient food, medicine and other essential supplies since August 2006. The Government of Sri Lanka has recently committed to improve the supply by sea and local distribution networks.

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