யாழ் திரைகடலோடி

= US to move strong resolution at UNHRC sessions; India also likely to support it = Prime movers in impeachment get top posts in new jumbo cabinet; Rs. 100m needed annually to maintain each ministry After a world record of having two Chief Justices, Sri Lanka set another last Monday. For almost every Member of Parliament who supported the UPFA government, the other is now a Minister, be it cabinet or otherwise. Most of them will be in the north-eastern port city of Trincomalee tomorrow for ceremonies to mark Sri Lanka’s 65th National Day. The event will be relatively low key with no fly past. There will only be a march past where 1,900 soldiers, 1,000 from the Nav…

Visiting Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt said yesterday that his country would support the planned procedural resolution by the United States on Sri Lanka at next month’s session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Addressing a seminar, Mr. Burt, referred to a wide range of issues. While acknowledging progress made by Sri Lanka in the post war period, he was critical of some matters including the impeachment of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Meanwhile, the British High Commission in Colombo said that Mr. Burt, delivered a lecture on “Sri Lanka: 2013 and beyond” at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for Inter…

Press releases 14 November 2012 Sri Lanka: How UN failed during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict The UN failed to protect civilians during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict according its own report, released today, prompting Amnesty International to renew its call for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE). The Report of the UN Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka, submitted to Ban Ki-moon and made public today, offers a strong indictment of the UN’s response to Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. It deals with a period of conflict in Sri Lanka when very grave violations of …

His Excellency John Kerry Secretary of State United States of America Excellency, I wish to extend my warm congratulations to Your Excellency, on your appointment as the Secretary of State of the United States of America. You bring to your office the wisdom and experience gained during a long and distinguished political and professional career. I am confident that your pragmatic outlook, particularly having been the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will stand in good stead in steering the foreign relations of your country in these challenging times. I recall with pleasure that Sri Lanka has…

Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam was born in Malaysia on 31ST March 1898, one century and fifteen years ago. He received his secondary education at the Union College, Tellippalai and later became a student at St. Thomas’ College, which was at that time situated at Modera. He was a contemporary of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. At the age of nineteen, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree. Soon after his graduation he became a teacher at St. Thomas’ College, which was by then shifted to Mount Lavinia. Later he moved to Wesley College and pursued his studies in law at Law College. He became an advocate in 1923 and the dignity of silk was conferred on him in 1947. He wa…

Two US senators on Tuesday renewed calls for an international investigation into potential war crimes in Sri Lanka, accusing Colombo of failing to address legitimate concerns. Senators Patrick Leahy and Bob Casey, prominent voices on foreign policy in President Barack Obama's Democratic Party, said the island had failed to carry out recommendations from its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). "The Sri Lankan people deserve better. In fact, as the government of Sri Lanka fails to implement LLRC recommendations, the outlook for human and political rights in Sri Lanka appears to be getting worse," the senators wrote in a letter to outgoing Secretar…

India trains 1,400 SL security forces personnel amidst increasing western boycott Govt. thanks New Delhi for assistance in crushing LTTE Amidst some western countries curtailing training opportunities for Sri Lankan security forces personnel, India says that it has offered Colombo maximum exposure. Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha responding to a query by The Island said that around 1,400 Lankan armed forces personnel were trained annually by his country which was bigger than what any one provided. When asked if India would similarly consider increasing the supply of arms and ammunition to its closest neighbour across the Palk Strait, he smiled and r…

The United States will deliver a sharp public rebuke to Sri Lanka at the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March for failing to pursue those responsible for abuses as government forces were crushing Tamil rebels in 2009, officials said on Monday. A three-member U.S. delegation is in Colombo on a five-day visit to discuss issues including progress in implementing the recommendations of Sri Lanka's own official investigation into the war, which called for the prosecution of soldiers suspected of killing civilians. But Washington appeared dissatisfied enough to announce that it would repeat its action of last March, when it sponsored a resolution at the UNHRC urging…

The recent impeachment of Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, has re-focused international attention on the country. Catherine Ashton, head of the EU’s External Action Service, has expressed “considerable concern”. However, the problem with Sri Lanka runs deeper than any single case. Despite the Sri Lankan Government’s claims of progress on human rights since the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the ‘Tamil Tigers’, ended in 2009, the reality is very different. Catherine Ashton: The EU has shown “considerable concern” about the situation in Sri Lanka. For 30 years Sri Lanka was ravaged by civil war betw…

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will adopt the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report on Sri Lanka during the 22nd session of the UNHRC which begins next month in Geneva. According to the agenda of the session Sri Lanka’s UPR report is among a list of UPR reports of countries listed to be adopted at the council session. The UPR on Sri Lanka was held last November in Geneva, during which, Sri Lanka rejected 98 and accepted 111 recommendations submitted by countries at the UPR. Sri Lanka is expected to face severe criticism during the UNHRC session in Geneva in February and March. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had said last week that sh…

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa rejected claims yesterday that civilians had gone missing in the North during the last stages of the war, insisting that all records maintained by the Army and the ICRC tallied with no discrepancies. Responding to a question posed by a journalist, the Defence Secretary said that the people who came to the Army by sea, during the final stages of the war were registered with the ICRC and with the “Indian hospitals manned by the Indian Army, and not a single person is missing from that list”, when tallied. “This is another factor that many people have forgotten. Take the large number of people who were coming by sea. Where did …

Foreign Minister John Baird has called in Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to Canada to discuss Canada’s “deep concern” with the country, according to his spokesperson. The country is facing growing pressure from all major parties in Canadian Parliament to improve its human rights record. But Sri Lankan High Commissioner Chitranganee Wagiswara argues that after an almost 30-year civil war, significant social change in the country is not a sprint—it’s a marathon. The parties are urging Sri Lanka to boost reconciliation between groups involved in the war. If the situation doesn’t improve, the parties have suggested Canada minimize (or fully stop) its participation in a h…

“The Cardinal never even visited our church or spoke to our children. He came directly to the Navy Head Quarters for the meeting and left soon after. On my way to the meeting, it was pouring with rain. As I was exhausted when passing my old home, I asked a Navy officer there if I could take shelter from the rain there as it was where I used to live. He refused and told me that I’d better continue on my way,” said a village elder in desolation. “Whatever they (the Government) are offering you, please accept, as I will come forward as your guarantor,” said His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith to the people of Mullikulam, at the outset of the meeting[1] held …

Should Gota be the CEO of Sri Lanka? – Question posed in some business circles No fair trial for Shirani B – BT poll reveals Lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects and various other professionals this week slammed the impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake in a near unanimous vote saying she was unfairly judged. Asked in a Business Times poll this week whether Ms Bandaranayake (who says she is legally still the chief justice) got a fair trial, more than 90 per cent of the respondents said NO. The email poll which asked two more questions drew more than 900 respondents, the highest ever in a BT poll. The street polls by BT partner, Research Cons…

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit has scheduled March 8th, 9:30 am for the oral argument in the appeal case against Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse for civil damages on war-crimes charges filed by three Tamil plaintiffs whose relatives were extra-judicially executed or unlawfully killed under the "command responsibility" of Rajapakse. "The key legal issue in this case is whether the U.S.'s Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) deputed the Executive Branch with authority to extinguish TVPA claims against sitting heads of state based on professed foreign policy concerns," plaintiff-appellants' attorney, Bruce Fein, said. Judges Merr…

ecretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says that each time he meets the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka she asked him why he had not taken steps to punish Sri Lankan soldiers. Speaking at a presentation ceremony at the National Chamber of Commerce yesterday Rajapaksa said that he always responds to Ambassador Michele Sison that soldiers cannot be punished without due procedure being followed. The Secretary to the Ministry of Defence referred to remarks made by Ambassador Sison in Matara on Wednesday when he claimed she criticized the impeachment process against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. “The biggest threat the US can pose to Sri Lanka’s…

The impeachment of the Sri Lankan Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake is possibly a watershed moment in Sri Lankan law and politics. President Rajapaksa’s 13 January decision to ratify the impeachment decided two days earlier by a parliament controlled by his ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance is the latest step in the gradual but systematic dismantling of the rule of law. The move, in violation of the Sri Lankan constitution and basic principles of due process and in disregard of rulings by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, leaves Sri Lanka’s already battered democracy on life-support. The decision to impeach the Chief Justice is a direct message that the Ra…

And then they came for the judges HIS foes accuse Mahinda Rajapaksa of many sins during his seven years as Sri Lanka’s president. They blame him for the savagery that cost so many civilian lives as his army defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers in 2009. They bridle at how he has carved up the government among his brothers, like a thriving family-run conglomerate. They resent the amendment of the constitution pushed through in 2010 to remove the limit on his tenure of two six-year terms, and to give himself legal immunity and the final say in appointments to the civil service, the judiciary and the police. And they suspect his regime of connivance in the beatings, disap…

HAVANA TIMES — An unprecedented move by internationalists and activists for human rights and justice, one that could inspire controversy among left oriented governments and peoples’ solidarity committees, will take place next spring. “In April 2013, a panel of international experts will be convened as Judges of the ‘Permanent People’s Tribunal’ to examine reports submitted by many specialized working groups on the accusation of the crime of Genocide against the Government of Sri Lanka and on the accusations against various international actors who had supported and prepared the conditions for the Sri Lankan Government to implement this alleged crime,” stated the Rome-…

France said Thursday that there are signs of communal tensions in northern Sri Lanka, particularly in the town of Mannar. French Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Christine Robichon, in a statement said that she had toured the areas where both the Tamil and Muslim communities displaced by the war, are being resettled including recently reopened part of the former high security zone in Jaffna. The purpose of the tour was to see the progress in development activities conducted by the Sri Lankan government and to have a better understanding of the needs and the aspirations of the people, with a specific focus on the fishermen. She said the briefings of the…

“Confusion now has made his masterpiece Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope The Lord’s anointed temple And stole thence. The life of the building” -Macbeth, William Shakespeare- Those who said and believed that justice was even-handed would not have heard of the country called Sri Lanka. The government, for the last few years, let its people get a glimpse of its multi-faceted course of justice in which the fundamentals are conveniently excluded and swiftness is a luxury granted solely for the selected few. And Rizana Nafeek was not one of them. Rizana marched to death after having been in prison for almost eight years; during which the government did not…

Apart from being an illegal appointment to the post of Chief Justice, Mohan Pieris undoubtedly is a controversial character in many respects. His business connections and government appointments are well known and contrary to the independence and integrity expected by that highest position in the judiciary. He was the Chief Legal Advisor to the Cabinet. He himself is personification of ‘conflict of interest’ par excellence. The following is an article I wrote about his views on the ethnic question and reconciliation which was published in the Asian Tribune on 16 June 2012, seven months ago. I wish the readers to pay attention to what he said about the ‘lawyers, consti…

Why Tamil cricket players Muttiah Muralitharan and Angelo Matthews have not spoken out boycotting Sri Lankan cricket? “No they haven’t said that. They prefer to stay silent. Because in our opinion, their cricket careers are more important, than this issue to them." "They try and say that politics and sport should be separated, but we all know, anybody who has worked in sport, like I have for 40 years, knows that they are inextricably entwined." -Trevor Grant, a former chief cricket writer at The Age http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=6530