சிறீலங்கா அரசை சூழும் மேற்குலக அழுத்தம்

அமெரிக்காவின் ஐனநாயகக்கட்சியை சேர்ந்த (எதிர்வரும் ஐனாதிபதி தேர்தலுக்கான) ஐனாதிபதி வேட்பாளர் உட்பட்ட மிகபிரபலமான செனற்ரர்கள் இலங்கையில் நிகழ்ந்து வரும் பாரிய மனிதஉரிமை மீறல்களால் ஆழ்ந்த விசனமடைந்துள்ளதாக செய்திகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றன.

அண்மையில் அமெரிக்காவில் இடம்பெற்ற தேர்தலில் வெற்றிபெற்ற ஐனநாயகக்கட்சியின் செனற்றர்களான எட்வேட் கென்னடி. றிச்சேட் டேபின், ஜோன் கெரி, கிறிஸ்ரோபர் டொட் ஆகியோர் அரசுக்கு எழுதிய கடிதத்தில் நாளுக்குநாள் கேவலமடைந்துவரும் மனித உரிமை மீறல்களை தடுத்து நிறுத்த உடன் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்குமாறு கேட்டுள்ளனர்.

கடந்த டிசம்பர் 14 ம்திகதி அமெரிக்காவிற்கான சிறீலங்கா தூதுவர் பேனாட் குணதிலகவிற்கு எழுதிய கடிதத்தில் இலங்கையில் மனிதாபிமான அவலம் தொடர்பில் விசனம் தெரிவித்திருந்தமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. இதற்கு சரியான பதிலை தூதுவர் வழங்கத் தவறியிருந்தார். இதையடுத்து டிசம்பர் 18 ல் சிறீலங்காவின் முன்னாள் வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சர் மங்கள சமரவீரவிற்கும் இதேபோன்ற அதிருப்திக் கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதியிருந்தமையும் இங்கே சுட்டிக்காட்டத்தக்;கது.

செய்திக்கான மூலம்(Source) எங்கே? இது இறைவன் சர்வதேச செய்தி நிறுவனத்தின் IINM(Iraivan International News Media) செய்தியா?

செய்திக்கான மூலம்(Source) எங்கே? இது இறைவன் சர்வதேச செய்தி நிறுவனத்தின் IINM(Iraivan International News Media) செய்தியா?

எங்கை எடுத்தாரோ தெரியாது. விசயம் உண்மை. சுண்டே லீடரிலை கிடக்குது.

US Senators join the human rights chorus against Sri Lanka

by Sonali Samarasinghe

Just weeks before 38 Congressmen urged US President George Bush to appoint a special envoy for Sri Lanka to put an end to the rising death toll and the increase in kidnappings, three widely respected Democratic senators wrote urgent letters regarding the humanitarian crisis directly to the Mahinda Rajapakse government.

On December 14 last year Edward Kennedy better known as Ted Kennedy, the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Rob Kennedy, and former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry, wrote to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington urging the government to reopen key access routes for shipment of food and fuel.

Both Kennedy and Kerry are senators for Massachusetts. Not four days later another high profile Democratic Senator Christopher J.Dodd from Connecticut was to write to former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera a hard hitting letter quoting a State Department Report that revealed human rights violations by government police and the security forces including arbitrary arrests of Tamil people, unlawful detention and torture.

Both these Congressional efforts from the House of Representatives and the Senate were initiated by Democrats and reflect a change in international policy and priority from the more hard line Bush administration.

Human rights situation

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are controlled by the Democrats since November last year, when the party won the congressional elections, demonstrating the fact that the American people took a dim view of the rising death toll and human rights situation in Iraq.

Both Congressional letters refer to the Allan Rock report on child conscription with the alleged assistance of the Sri Lankan security forces and the International Crisis Group report which opined that the government was continuing to restrict access along vital routes resulting in a grave humanitarian crisis.

Two Senators, Kennedy and Kerry as recently as December urged the government of Sri Lanka through a letter to Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke in Washington 'to open sea-lanes and roads for humanitarian convoys and supplies, as recommended by the joint statement of the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference (Norway, United States, European Union, and Japan) on November 21.

It is significant that the senators refer to and endorse the Tokyo Donor Conference statement which also advocated a negotiated settlement to the conflict based on a federal solution.

What is more the letter specifically relates to the opening of the A9 route and reads, "We were encouraged by President Mahinda Rajapakse's recent decision to arrange a one time passage of a humanitarian convoy using the A9 highway although it unfortunately had to turn back because of heavy fighting. We hope that the government will be able to make such openings permanent in the future."

Important to note is that the letter also urges the government to cooperate with the peace process which in effect tantamounts to a severe indictment that the legitimate government of the country is perceived by the international community as intransigent and perverse in terms of finding a viable negotiated settlement.

And Senator Dodd's letter to Samaraweera is even more damning. "We urge your government to consent to the monitoring of human rights abuses by the UN and international NGOs and to expedite the establishment of the International Group of Eminent Persons, mandated to observe the Presidential Commission of Inquiry's investigation into allegations of human rights violations. We will be monitoring the commission's work and hope its recommendations will be acted on," Senator Dodd states.

The letter also states, "the government must urgently consider designating certain areas as demilitarised zones to facilitate the flow of critical humanitarian aid."

Helping Karuna forces

Sen. Dodd also refers to the Human Rights Watch report that it 'has clear and compelling evidence that government forces are helping Karuna forces abduct boys. "We are encouraged," the letter adds, "by President Rajapakse's pledge to investigate these allegations when they were brought to his attention by Ambassador Rock and your government to end this practice immediately."

The letter while stating its distress that the military has blocked the free flow of civilians out of LTTE controlled areas and impeded free access to these areas by humanitarian workers and international monitors, also endorses the call by the UN for both the government and the LTTE to cease shelling in and from civilian areas and to guarantee assistance and protection to civilians caught in the fighting.

Dodd also supports the November 21, 2006 statement of the Co- Chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference to keep open sea lanes and roads for humanitarian supplies and urgently asks the government to consider demilitarised zones to facilitate the flow of aid.

The letter states that there is no military solution to the conflict and particularly refers to the Experts Committee Majority Report of the All Party Representative Committee to finding a political solution.

However even as the international community in one voice hailed the APRC and the MoU between the SLFP and the UNP, Rajapakse last month demolished all hopes of a southern consensus by abrogating the MoU with the swearing in of 18 UNP members of parliament as ministers into his cabinet.

The main opposition UNP has now withdrawn from the APRC even as its Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana last week appealed to the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to continue with his party's participation.

Urging the UNP not to abandon the process, Prof. Vitharana said, "I would request the members of the APRC to support me in making this request. In my view the success or failure of the MoU between the UNP and the SLFP should not be a factor in the decision to participate in the APRC, which is a forum in which the parties in parliament are coming together to prepare a document in the national interest."

Short sighted political manoeouvres

Therefore while on the one hand the need for a national consensus and the participation of the UNP in the peace process was being urged by none other than the Chairman of the APRC - Rajapakse who ironically set up the APRC himself was by his short sighted political manoeuvres destroying the very consensus he once boasted of.

In their letters the senators have in particular stressed the importance of respecting human rights whilst meeting the challenge of terrorism. Perhaps it is these international concerns that Mangala Samaraweera was referring to when he at various forums since December urged the government to investigate abductions and disappearances. It is perhaps due to these international pressures of which Samaraweera was no doubt acutely aware as Foreign Minister that he also urged the government to put in place a system to ensure that human rights and media freedom are protected.

Ironically even as new Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told foreign correspondents in India in his first overseas visit after assuming office that 'not a single civilian' had been killed during the recent military actions in the east, wide ranging reports by human rights agencies, on the spot media commentary and the UN paint a much more gory picture.

British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Dr. Kim Howells who arrived in Sri Lanka last week in a statement said;

"Our experience tells us that a 'war for peace' approach inevitably means more war, rather than peace. And violence comes with too high a price. It is the people who suffer, as human rights are eroded, the humanitarian situation deteriorates and mistrust between communities increases. This, in turn, damages Sri Lanka's image in the eyes of the world."

".. if things continue as they are, the current escalation of the conflict and its impact will hold back Sri Lanka's development, corrode the quality of its democracy and tarnish its image in the international arena, the statement added.

The letters from the US senators followed the Allan Rock findings in November 2006 and is part of an international effort to apply pressure on the Sri Lankan government to put the skids on human right violations and return to the rule of law.

Hold government accountable

With many in this country now fearing a return to the horror era of the late '80s when Sri Lanka was perhaps not second to the massacre in Rwanda in terms of brutality, an international campaign to hold the government accountable for its actions seems to have gathered momentum.

The letter signed by 38 US legislators to President George Bush and reproduced in full last week (see The Sunday Leader of February 11.) came just nine days before the Allan Rock report was to be presented to the United Nations Security Council last Friday (9) and just two days after US Ambassador Robert Blake warned the government at the development forum in Galle on January 29, that respect for human rights and the rule of law were essential pre conditions to economic development.

The letter to President George Bush dated January 31 was also copied to Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and stated, "We applaud your December 15, 2006 memorandum to the Secretary of State that instructed her to make available up to US$ 5.215 million for unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs resulting from the conflicts in Somalia and Sri Lanka. You clearly understand that the situation in Sri Lanka in untenable and must be addressed."

That Sri Lanka was identified in the same league as Somalia was one of the saddest indictments the country has had to face under President Mahinda Rajapakse's stewardship.

It is in this backdrop that the letter to President Bush and the earlier letters to the government of Sri Lanka through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington and the Foreign Minister by eminent US senators should be viewed. And it will be to the detriment of the Rajapakse regime if they do not read the writing on the wall and take steps to arrest the deteriorating human rights situation immediately.

Senators Kennedy and Kerry want humanitarian crisis addressed

United States Senate

WASHINGTON, DC 20510

December 14, 2006

The Honorable Bernard Goonetilleke Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Sri Lanka,

2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20008

Dear Ambassador Goonetilleke,

The continuing violence in Sri Lanka makes us increasingly concerned about the humanitarian situation on the ground. A new report from the International Crisis Group indicates that the government continues to restrict access along key routes, and that government shipments of food and fuel continue to be vulnerable to attack and to the unpredictability of monsoon season. According to some reports, several thousand people face malnutrition, disease, and starvation.

We urge the government of Sri Lanka to open sea-lanes and roads for humanitarian convoys and supplies, as recommended by the joint statement of the Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference (Norway, United States, European Union, and Japan) on November 21. We were encouraged by President Mahinda Rajapakse's recent decision to arrange a one-time passage of a humanitarian convoy using the A9 highway although it unfortunately had to turn back because of heavy fighting. We hope that the government will be able to make such openings permanent in the future.

We recognise that the security situation on the peninsula presents many challenges to the delivery of humanitarian aid, but we hope that by opening both sea transport and road transport, and by continued cooperation with the peace process, the government can bring relief to many people.

Thank you for your consideration of this request, and we look forward to your response.

With respect and appreciation,

Sincerely,

Edward M. Kennedy John F. Kerry

12/14/2006 10:31 AM

Senator Dodd calls for UN monitoring of human rights abuse

December 18, 2006

United States Senate

WASHINGTON, DC 20510

His Excellency Mangala Samaraweera,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Dear Mr. Minister,

We write to express our concern about the violence and rapidly deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka. We are particularly concerned about alleged human rights violations; forced conscription of children; and the unfolding humanitarian crisis. We deeply regret the tragic deaths of thousands of Sri Lankans during this conflict and encourage a political solution to it, not a military one.

Much of the blame rests with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who the United States has rightly designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. We strongly condemn its actions, including the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last August. While we do not question Sri Lanka's right to defend itself against terrorism, we are however deeply concerned about some of the practices that have been employed in combating the LTTE.

A March 2006 State Department report on Sri Lanka has revealed a disturbing array of human rights violations by government police and security forces, including arbitrary arrests of Tamil people, unlawful detention, and torture. We urge your government to consent to the monitoring of human rights abuses by the UN and international NGOs and to expedite the establishment of the International Group of Eminent Persons, mandated to observe the Presidential Commission of Inquiry's investigation into allegations of human rights violations. We will be monitoring the commission's work and hope its recommendations will be acted on.

We are also deeply concerned about the forced conscription of children, a practice commonly employed by the LTTE. Special Adviser to the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Ambassador Allan Rock, has reported that the Karuna group, an LTTE breakaway faction, has engaged in forced child conscription with assistance from the Sri Lankan security forces. Human Rights Watch has also reported that it has "clear and compelling evidence that government forces are helping Karuna forces abduct boys." We were encouraged by President Rajapakse's pledge to investigate these allegations when they were brought to his attention by Ambassador Rock and urge your government to end this practice immediately.

The humanitarian crisis unfolding in the north and east is also of grave concern with tens of thousands facing malnutrition and disease. The International Crisis Group has reported that the government continues to restrict access along key routes. We recognise the threat posed by the LTTE should routes be opened for humanitarian aid. At the same time, we are disturbed by reports from the Vaharai region that the military has blocked the free flow of civilians out of LTTE-controlled territories and has impeded free access to these areas by humanitarian workers and international monitors.

As such, we endorse the call by the UN for both the government and the LTTE to cease shelling in and from civilian areas and to guarantee assistance and protection to civilians caught in the fighting. We also support the 21 November 2006 statement ofthe Co-Chairs of the Tokyo Donors Conference to keep open sea-lanes and roads for humanitarian supplies. Furthermore, the government must urgently consider designating certain areas as demilitarised zones to facilitate the flow of critical humanitarian aid.

Mr. Minister, we strongly believe that there is no military solution to this conflict. We are encouraged by the report issued by the majority on the Experts Panel advising the All Party Representative Committee and regard it as a welcome step toward finding a political solution. We look forward to its full consideration by the All Party Conference and encourage you to work with the opposition in advancing a common proposal for a just and lasting settlement.

Please be assured that we fully appreciate the challenges your government is facing in combating the LTTE and stand with you in your fight against terrorism. At the same time, we appreciate your taking into account our serious concerns and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Chris Dodd

நன்றி - சண்டே லீடர்