Posts Categorized: Politics

An Open Letter to DBS Jeyaraj

Re your article ‘Tussle in North between Governor and Chief Minister’ In your 10 page essay you have given copious criticisms of the elected Tamil Justice Wigneswaran, but none for the ex military Singhalese  governor. Don’t you think Chandrasri and Rajapakse also  need your  wisdom?  You seem to presume that Chandrsri and  Rajapakse are infallible and can do no wrong,… Read more »

Tamil Tragedy

by Bhekuzulu Khumalo, ‘Washington Times’ Communities blog, December 12, 2013 WASHINGTON, December 12, 2013 — Congress recently created the Congressional Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka. The Caucus was initiated by efforts of Congressmen Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Danny Davis (D-IL). The objective of the Caucus is to bring the attention of the… Read more »

“Constructing a Development Based Strategy for Durable Solutions

Key issues to address include protection of the physical integrity and bodily autonomy of women and girls and their reproductive rights, of children, feasible access to land, and a proportionate balance between justifiable military concerns of national security and freedom of movement and choice of place for IDPs seeking to return to their original places of residence. Transparent information on plans to release land currently under military control and withdrawal of the military from all civilian functions would help to find durable solutions for people in conflict-affected areas. While significant numbers of IDPs secured their residential plots of land, some still need access to their original farmland or fishing areas to sustain their livelihood. Displaced and resettled communities seem to remain vulnerable to recurrent shocks. Their situation is exacerbated by growing food-insecurity and indebtedness in the Northern Province, partly due to the lack of sustainable livelihood opportunities. “The situation of single female headed households and of orphan girls is particularly preoccupying. While some received assistance to rebuild their houses, others live in extreme poverty, without adequate access to services and livelihood,” added Mr Beyani.

“Another critical element is creating conditions for IDPs and returnees to get back to normalcy after 30 years of conflict. Peace- building alongside post conflict reconstruction, national reconciliation and healing, making available information on missing relatives, empowering local elected authorities, and ensuring that law enforcement activities are carried out by specially trained police services, are particularly vital to anchoring durable solutions in the long term,” said Mr. Beyani. “Similarly, civil society should be allowed to operate in accordance with international norms, namely without undue restrictions and interference from the authorities including in terms of monitoring and reporting.

Sampanthan Speech on Land Issues

I am happy to follow the Minister, the Hon. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, who, I think, in the course of his statement referred to the multifarious problems that exist in the North and the East pertaining to State land. I will be dealing with some of these issues in the course of my speech. Lands, Sir,… Read more »

CPA: Land Acquisition in NE

CPA Land Acquisition North and East Nov 2013 [PDF] The Centre for Policy Brief (CPA) in its most recent policy brief titled ‘Politics, Policies and Practices with Land Acquisitions and Related Issues in the North and East of Sri Lanka’ issued today draws attention to several disturbing trends of land acquisition and related issues in the… Read more »

Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal’s 2nd Session on Sri Lanka

The Peoples’ Tribunal on Sri Lanka ‐ Session II 7th ‐ 10th December 2013 Bremen, Germany Panel of Judges presents verdict finding Sri Lanka guilty of the crime of genocide against the Eelam Tamil people; the UK and USA were found to be guilty of complicity, while the Judges withheld their decision on India’s complicity… Read more »

British Commonwealth and the Sovereignty Claim of the Tamil Nation

In 1796, according to the Armenian Treaty, the British East India Company became the ruler of the Maritime Provinces of Ceylon which were ruled by the Dutch who ruled the Tamil and Sinhala territories separately. At the time of this change, there were two independent native kingdoms namely Vanni and Kandy which existed in the island of Ceylon. British administration considered that these native kingdoms, which were ruled, respectively by Panadra Vanniyan and Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe were obstacles for the expansion of their rule to the rest of the territory. These original kingdoms and their rulers were conquered in 1804 and 1815 respectively.

India Won’t Rest till Implementation of 13th Amendment P Chidambaram

“None can deny that there was genocide. We will continue to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government for an elaborate probe. I call upon the people of India, including Tamils here to support the government’s efforts to protect the 13th amendment, while Lankan government is trying to not implement it,” he said.

Top U.N. Rights Official Links Assad to Crimes in Syria

The four-member panel investigating human rights offenses in Syria has produced “massive evidence” of the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the official, Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, told reporters here in Geneva. She went on: “They point to the fact that the evidence indicates responsibility at the highest level of government, including the head of state.”…

Ms. Pillay later sought to clarify her comment, observing that “I have not said that a head of state is a suspect. I was quoting the fact-finding mission, which said that based on their facts, responsibility points at the highest level.”

US: Patience with Sri Lanka Could ‘Wear Thin’

Washington – International patience could wear thin with Sri Lanka unless it takes action to address allegations of atrocities during the island nation’s civil war, the top U.S. diplomat for South Asia said Tuesday. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal stopped short of endorsing a deadline set last month by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who… Read more »

What is Happening in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, is well noted for broken promises.  Soon after the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, he promised Indian leaders and  the world community, that he would bring about reconciliation with the Tamil minority by implementing Amendment 13 and by improving on it. Amendment 13 was a consequence of the Indo-Sri… Read more »

We Don’t Have Freedom In This House Or In This Country

It is those countries which so banned the LTTE and which indeed crippled the LTTE thereby, that are now stating quite clearly that there must be a political solution because these countries realize that there were valid causes for the conflict to emerge, that the said valid causes continue and are a recurring phenomenon and that unless there is a political solution that addresses these causes effectively, there can be no reconciliation. The Sri Lankan Government, on the contrary, seems to think quite erroneously that with the physical demise of the LTTE, peace and normalcy have returned to the country, however spurious such a claim maybe, and that everything is indeed hunky dory. This is the quagmire in which Sri Lanka is presently entangled and Sri Lanka, it appears, needs a great deal of assistance to disentangle itself from this situation. This basic reality, in my submission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, needs to be borne in mind in addressing the current situation in Sri Lanka.

Judging by what is happening in this country today, Sir, I would think that there are two critical words that have a bearing on the future of this country and those words are “accountability” and “reconciliation”. Genuine reconciliation is not possible unless there is credible accountability. Unfortunately, one observes impunity in every area of activity moving towards authoritarianism. The treatment of the Tamil people is worse than what it has been ever before.

Parliment Speech by Sritharan MP

  Translation of some of the speech by Tamil Guardian, London at http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=9348 Speaking in Parliament today, TNA MP, Sivagnanam Sritharan, outlined that the majority of the Tamil people in the North-East had voted for the TNA to support the ideals of the LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. Sritharan further reiterated that the Tamil people had a… Read more »

Genocide, Resistance and the Politics of Remembrance

The right to assembly, association and expression is deemed a threat to the state as they unwittingly acknowledge the collective will of the Tamil nation in rejecting Colombo’s sovereignty and embrace their national aspirations.

Sri Lanka: A View From Britain

Last week, The Agenda did a series on the situation in Sri Lanka ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held there. We’ve gotten some reaction to the series, so we are hosting a series of follow up conversations. In this video, Jan Jananayagam of the NGO Tamils Against GenocideEurope evaluates British Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to… Read more »

The Time for an International Investigation is Now

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s presence at last week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) facilitated coverage that might not have been possible otherwise for media organisations. But if the human rights and war crimes issues highlighted by the international media are to be redressed and Commonwealth values and international law upheld, the band-aid solution proposed… Read more »

Nepal (Not So Random) Connection

In addition to the presence of the UNMIN, Nepal’s 2006 peace accord had one other significant aspect in contrast to the Sri Lankan cease fire accord and the peace process. Nepal’s agreement expressed ““determination to carry out a progressive restructuring of the state”. Something Sri Lanka has never been willing to do and the international players have not made that a requirement for stable peace ( LTTE’s insistence on a political solution for them to accept an internationally monitored end to the conflict stands vindicated by the current status. Just as it was then, international players are scrambling to come up with excuses for the lack of political will).

Cameron Sets March Deadline for Sri Lanka Rights Investigation

CNN news video of PM David Cameron in Jaffna at http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/world/asia/sri-lanka-commonwealth-cameron-march/index.html British Prime Minister David Cameron has given Sri Lanka a March 2014 deadline to hold an independent international inquiry into alleged war crimes during the country’s 26-year civil war. Cameron held talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa while in the capital of Colombo for… Read more »