Extra-judicial execution of Trincomalee students, Sixth anniversary

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 January 2012, 00:05 GMT]
Two Tamil organizations in the U.S. jointly issued a commemorative stamp to mark the 6th anniversary of the extra-judicial execution by Sri Lanka security forces of five Trincomalee high school students on the 2nd January 2006, when the highly accomplished students were spending an afternoon at a seafront in Trincomalee. The stamp, the issuing organizations said, is a mark of respect to the families that are fighting for justice, and to celebrate the indomitable spirit of Dr Manoharan, the father of one of the students, Ragihar, who had made the fight to bring the killers of his son to justice his life's mission. Meanwhile, Amnesty International conducted a "Write-for-Rights" campaign seeking justice for Dr Manoharan's family during the first week of December 2011.

Post-Trinco-massacre photo album

The report submitted to Dublin tribunal pieced together a description of the crime as follows:

• Amnesty campaign (English)

• Amnesty campaign (Tamil)

• TAG Report: Trincomalee executions
A pre-staged effort to terrorize the Tamil population of the city by attacking innocents in a very public venue is a likely explanation of the incident. Close coordination between separate branches of the security forces – the army, navy, STF and police – in the incident lead to the supposition that the effort was directed from a high level in the Defense Ministry (the police report to the Minister of Defense).

Trinco executions crime scene

Culpability chart
The incident started with a grenade being thrown out of a three-wheeler near a common gathering place for students, wounding several of them. Reports have said that the vehicle then proceeded into Fort Frederick, the Army HQ. A short time later, five students were killed by gunfire from men who arrived in a jeep, while the father of Ragihar Manoharan was held back from the area at checkpoints of the security forces within earshot of the firing. The five dead and two wounded students were later transported to a hospital. Security forces attempted to build the case that the students were LTTE members, and told the father of Ragihar Manoharan that his son’s body would not be released unless he signed a statement saying that his son was an LTTE combatant. Dr. Manoharan refused. Dr. Manoharan later received many threats, including ones claiming Trincomalee for the Sinhalese, and bribes, including the offer of a house in the capital. Large numbers of civilians and military forces were in the area while the incident occurred, but collusion and intimidation kept all but one or two from providing much information to the local inquiring magistrate and to the 2008 Commission of Inquiry.

Dr Manoharan says in his affidavit that he "personally believe[s] that these murders were carried out by the STF [Special Task Force] under the supervision of Superintendent of Police [SP] Kapila Jayasekara."

The STF team was sent to Trincomalee with the approval of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse just before Christmas 2005, and Sinhala extremist Kotagadeniya was acting as an advisor to the Defence Ministry in Police matters. "Judging by events there is hardly any doubt that the attack on the students in a public place was conceived as teaching the Tamils a lesson...If not the details, the general form of the atrocity was planned at the highest level," the Rights organization UTHR concluded in its investigations. (UTHR, 1/2/10, pg. 14)

Ragihar Manoharan’s father, who heard the shots, has received death threats for giving evidence at an inquest into his son’s killing, Amnesty said in its campaign document.

Thirteen security forces personnel were detained in connection with the killings, but were later released. A commission of inquiry was established to investigate the incident along with 11 other deaths. However, the commission report, delivered directly to the President, has never been published. No thorough investigation has ever been conducted and no one has been brought to justice for Ragihar’s murder, according to Amnesty's report.

The names and the dates of birth of the five students killed at the big harbor town under the control of and heavily garrisoned by the Sri Lanka security forces are: (i) Manoharan Ragihar, DoB 22.09.1985, (ii) Yogarajah Hemachchandra, DoB 04.03.1985, (iii) Logitharajah Rohan, DoB 07.04.1985, (iv) Thangathurai Sivanantha, DoB 06.04.1985, and (v) Shanmugarajah Gajendran, DoB 16.09.1985.

Trinco-5 victim Ragihar's father talks to Amnesty From April 2011 archives

Dr. Manoharan, speaking to TamilNet from his UK residence, said that he is pleased with the progress of the law suit currently in progress at the District Court in the District of Columbia where Sri Lanka's President has "waived" his opposition to service of process by filing a memorandum requesting the judge to seek the views of the State Department.

• Case 1:11-cv-00235-CKK, Complaint

• U.S. Court: Filed motion for Alternate Service

• Court order: Alternate means of service

• Memorandum to validate service of process (127Kb)

• Rajapakse Motion seeking US intervention

"The case embodies my fight to seek justice for my son, and we have reached an important milestone in this effort. Our attorney has navigated the legal obstacles and have forced Mahinda Rajapakse, a sitting head of state, to court for complicity in the extra-judicial killings.

"Legal actions are expensive, and I appeal to the diaspora to contribute to the legal fund set up by Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) to defray the legal costs. Legal hurdles still remain, but crimes charged in this case are international crimes and immunity defenses are unlikely to succeed," Dr Manoharan told TamilNet.

Dr Manoharan's affidavit and evidence gathered by the independent rights group, UTHR, provide a preponderance of evidence on the alleged perpetrators and the chain of command responsible for the crime, legal sources in Washington said. Report submitted the Dublin Tribunal on Sri Lanka war crimes contains collected information on the killings.

The case (DR-11/1-2006) in the Trincomalee court, meanwhile, is being kept alive by Colombo and the subservient judges for procedural purposes only, legal sources in Trincomalee said. The Magistrates have been postponing hearings routinely for the past five year, first asking the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to produce reports of investigations, and then accepting without scrutiny CID's response that investigation is still in progress, Dr Manoharan said.

Related Articles:
17.12.11   Rajapakse accepts Court summons, asks US to confer immunity
14.04.11   SLA killed my son - Dr. Manoharan
28.01.11   Rajapaksa sued in US Courts over war-crimes, plaintiffs seek..
02.01.11   Fifth Anniversary of Trincomalee Students execution
17.10.10   Amnesty to begin campaign on SLA execution of Trincomalee st..
19.01.10   Trinco executions added to Sri Lanka's war crimes record in ..
02.01.10   Fourth Anniversary of Trinco Students' extra-judicial killin..
13.09.08   A family's search for justice
28.06.06   Protect witnesses in Trinco killings, Rights Group tells Col..


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Tamils Against Genocide

Sahithya academy awardee venkatesan said. . . .நல்லதங்காளின் பேருரு தான் முல்லைப் பெரியாறு!'

சொல்கிறார்கள்

"நல்லதங்காளின் பேருரு தான்

முல்லைப் பெரியாறு!'

"காவல் கோட்டம்' நாவலுக்காக, சாகித்ய அகடமி விருது பெற்ற எழுத்தாளர் வெங்கடேசன்: என் சொந்த ஊர் மதுரை அருகேயுள்ள ஹார்விப்பட்டி. கல்லூரி படிப்பை முடிச்சதும், மா.கம்யூ., கட்சியில முழு நேர ஊழியனாயிட்டேன். உலகின் பழமையான நகரங்களில் ஒன்று மதுரை; 2,500 ஆண்டுகள் பழமையான நகரம். இன்னமும் உயிர்ப்போடு இயங்குகிறது. நகரின் ஒவ்வொரு தெருவிலும், 2,500 ஆண்டுகள் பழமை அப்பி கிடக்கின்றன. வரலாற்றின் வசீகரங்கள் நிறைந்த நிலப்பரப்பு என்று மதுரையைச் சொல்லலாம். 600 ஆண்டு கால மதுரையின் வாழ்க்கையை எழுத எழுத, பல ரகசியங்களைத் தன்னுள் ஒளித்திருக்கும் மாயக் கம்பளம் போல, வரலாறு என் முன் விரிந்தது. அதை படைப்பாக மாற்றியபோது உருவானது தான், "காவல் கோட்டம்' நாவல். என் வாழ்நாளிலேயே அதிகபட்சம், காவல் கோட்டம் போல மூன்று நாவல்கள் தான் எழுத முடியும். காவல் கோட்டத்தை எழுதி முடிக்க, எனக்கு பத்து ஆண்டுகள் பிடித்தன. அப்படிப் பார்த்தால், சுந்தரராமசாமி தன் வாழ்நாளிலேயே மூன்றே மூன்று நாவல்கள் தான் எழுதி இருந்தார். நாவலுக்கு உள்ளிருந்து தான் விமர்சனம் வைக்கப்பட வேண்டுமே தவிர, ஒருவர் எத்தனை நாவல் எழுதி இருக்கிறார் என்பதை விமர்சிக்கக் கூடாது. ரசனை மிகுந்த வாசகர்களின் தீர்ப்பு தான் இறுதியானது. இந்த நாவலில் முல்லைப் பெரியாறு பற்றியும் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளேன். வரலாற்று உணர்வுடன் அணுகும்போது, முல்லைப் பெரியாறு அணை உருவான காரணத்தையும், அதற்குப் பின்னணியில் இருந்த துயரங்களையும் புரிந்து கொள்ள முடியும். தன் மக்களை மீண்டும் சாகக் கொடுக்காமல், ஓடும் நதியை மறித்து மதுரைக்குத் திருப்பிவிடும் நல்லதங்காளின் பேருரு தான் முல்லைப் பெரியாறு அணை. வீட்டையும், குடும்பத்தையும் சுற்றிச் சுற்றி வந்த தமிழ் நாவல்கள், அதைத் தாண்டி வரலாற்றைப் பதிவு செய்பவையாகவும், தத்துவ விவாதங்களின் களனாகவும் மாறியுள்ளன. ஆனால், இன்னொரு பக்கம் நாம் கொண்டாடும் அளவுக்கு தமிழ் வாசிப்பு வளர்ந்திருக்கிறதா என்பதும் ஆராயப்பட வேண்டிய விஷயம்.

Why this kolai veri against thamizh? என் தமிழ்மொழி மேல் உனக்கேனிந்த கொலைவெறிடா..

என் தமிழ்மொழி மேல் உனக்கேனிந்த கொலைவெறிடா..? ~ காணொளி

பதிவு செய்த நாள் : 02/01/2012



கொலைவெறிப் பாடல் இசையில் யாழ்ப்பாண கலைஞர்களால் எழுதி பாடப்பட்ட செந்தமிழ்ப் பாடல் காணொளி:
என் தமிழ்மொழி மேல் உனக்கேனிந்த கொலைவெறிடா..?
என் தமிழ்மொழி தாய்மொழி செம்மொழி பாவமடா…

பாடல் வரிகள்
என் தமிழ்மொழி மேல் உனக்கேனிந்த கொலைவெறிடா..?
என் தமிழ்மொழி தாய்மொழி செம்மொழி பாவமடா…
கல் தோன்றி மண் தோன்றா முன்வந்த தமிழ்மொழிடா…
நீ தமிழன் என்றால் கொஞ்சம் தன்மானம் இருக்கணும்டா…
செம்மொழி போற்றும்
செந்தமிழ் நாட்டில்
தமிழிற்கேன் பஞ்சம்?
தமிழை விற்று
பதக்கம் வாங்கும்
தமிழா கேள் கொஞ்சம்…
கம்பனின் வரிகள்…
வள்ளுவன் குறள்கள்…
பாரதி கவிகள் எங்கே?
தொன்று தொட்டு…
பழமை பாடும்…
தமிழர் பெருமை எங்கே?
என் தமிழ்மொழி மேல் உனக்கேனிந்த கொலைவெறிடா…? – தமிழா
என் தமிழ்மொழி தாய்மொழி செம்மொழி பாவமடா – தமிழா
யேசு, புத்தன்,
காந்தி சொன்ன
அகிம்சை வழியைக் கேளு – தினம்
தமிழின் செழுமை
படித்து வந்தால்
தணியும் கொலவெறி பாரு..!
ஆச்கார் வாங்கிய
தமிழன் சபையில்
பெருமை சேர்த்தான் தமிழில்..
செம்மொழி பாடிய
புரட்சிக் கவிஞன்
தன்னுயிர் கலந்தான் தமிழில்..!
தமிழை வாழவை இல்லை வாழவிடு
இன்னும் தாங்காதடா மனசு
தமிழன் என்றுசொல்லு தலை நிமிர்ந்து நில்லு
நமக்கு அதுமட்டுந்தான் இருப்பு
தமிழுக்காக உழைத்தவனெல்லாம்
வாய்ப்பைத் இழந்து நின்றான்…
தமிழை விற்றுப் பிழைச்சவனெல்லாம்
நான் தான் கலைஞன் என்றான்…
பணத்திற்காக படைப்பவன் எவனும்
உண்மைக் கலைஞனில்ல – அவன்
கொடுத்ததெல்லாம் ருசிப்பவன் என்றால்
அவனும் ரசிகனில்ல
என் தமிழ்மொழி மேல் உனக்கேனிந்த கொலைவெறிடா – தமிழா
என் தமிழ்மொழி தாய்மொழி செம்மொழி பாவமடா – தமிழா
யாழ்ப்பாணம் என்றும் செந்தமிழுக்கு இலக்கணம்டா – தமிழா
எம் தாய் மொழி காப்பது தமிழன் உன் கடமையடா…
வரிகள்: எசு.சே.தாலின்
ஒளிப்பதிவு: வர்ணன் & அமலன்

மு.வ.கட்டுரைக் களஞ்சியம் – நூல் அறிமுகம்

பதிவு செய்த நாள் : 02/01/2012



முதுமுனைவர் ச.சு.இளங்கோ பதிப்பித்த
மு.வ.கட்டுரைக் களஞ்சியம்
(இதுவரை நூலாக்கம் பெறாதவை)
நூல் அறிமுகம்
நாள்: திருவள்ளுவர் ஆண்டு 2042 மார்கழி 18ஆம் நாள்
(3-1-2012) செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை மாலை 6-00மணி
இடம்: எசுபிளனேடு ஒய்.எம்.சி.ஏ.அரங்கம
தலைமை:
முனைவர் இ.சுந்தரமூர்த்தி
(மேனாள் துணைவேந்தர், தமிழ்ப்பல்கலைக்கழகம், தஞ்சை)
ஆய்வுரை:
முனைவர் மறைமலை இலக்குவனார்
(ஆசிரியர், செம்மொழிச்சுடர்-மின்னிதழ்)
ஏற்புரை:
முதுமுனைவர் ச.சு.இளங்கோ
நூல்வெளியிட்ட பாரிநிலையம் செ.அமர்சோதி சிறப்பிக்கப்படுவார்

Russian tourist raped after attack in Sri Lanka: paper

Russian tourist raped 

after attack in Sri Lanka: paper

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 January 2012, 21:41 GMT]
While the tourism industry in Sri Lanka struggled to contain the negative fall-out from the murder of a 32-year old British tourist, Shaikah Zaman, and attack on his Russian girl friend, Victoria Alexandrovna, in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, a local bar owner and eye-witness told Sunday Leader that the attackers "stripped and raped her [Alexandronova] mercilessly although she was bleeding from her head. Later I saw Zaman [British tourist] lying on the lawn next to the restaurant but did not know whether he was dead or alive.” Earlier, Sri Lanka's deputy economic development minister, Lakshman Abeywardene, summarily dismissed the rape reports as false.

Police say the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha, Sampath Vidanapathirana, a close associate of ruling SLFP politicians.

Sunday Leader also reported that many eye-witnesses wished to remain anonymous as they fear for their lives. "Informants willingly spoke to the newspaper with a desire to educate the people about the true state of affairs in Tangalle over the past few years," the paper said, adding, many locals have told the paper that "Tangalle and Hambantota are becoming the most dangerous cities" in Sri Lanka.

According the primary eye-witness, “I was dancing with two foreign girls. The altercation began because none of the foreign girls wanted to dance with Vidanapathirana. He and his companions then assaulted me and a brawl broke out. It was at this time that Zaman and his friend rushed to the scene from the pool side. When the British tourist tried to settle the fight, Vidanapathirana attacked Zaman with broken bottles," the eye witness told the paper.

Hotel staff was prevented from leaving the premises and were held inside the hotel for three days, as a measure to control information spreading out to the media according to the paper.

Locals alleged that the police failed to arrest the main suspect even while the police knew the suspect's whereabouts. Police were fearful of suspect's connections to high-level politicians, locals added.

Chronology:

01.01.12  Russian tourist raped after attack in Sri Lanka: p..

31.12.11  Murder, rape dog Sri Lanka tourist sector

External Links:

SL:

A Murderer Turned Politician Let loose to kill again

ority ITAK members welcome civil society report, seek course-correction

Majority ITAK members welcome civil society report, seek course-correction

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 January 2012, 14:16 GMT]
Majority of the key members of the Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK), who met Friday for a central committee meeting at the residence of TNA parliamentary group leader Mr. Rajavarothayam Sampanthan in Trincomalee, have welcomed the recent memorandum submitted by leading members of the Tamil civil society. Calling the TNA leaders to engage with the civil society, the ITAK group sought a course-correction in the process. Two civil society and ITAK senior members, and signatories, Professor emeritus of Archaeology, S.K. Sitrampalam, an ITAK stalwart, and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Hindu Civilisation of Jaffna University, Mrs. Naachiyar Selvanayagam, were present at the committee meeting and explained their concerns of accountability. The meeting resolved that Mr. Sampanthan should engage with the civil society as early as possible in January 2012.

The ITAK members said the concerns raised by the civil society were real and criticized those who attempted to brush away the valid criticisms put forward by the civil society.

The process of negotiation between GoSL and the TNA so far has been non-transparent even within the ITAK and the TNA, according to many of the participants at the central committee meeting.

Even the elected parliamentarians of the TNA have been kept away from the process without any knowledge, the members pointed out.

Many ITAK members also said that the impression created by those involved in the negotiations have raised serious concerns of a deviatory line.

• A Public Memo to Members of Parliament representing the TNA from the Tamil Civil Society

The memorandum submitted by the civil society had urged firmness of leadership in political stand in convincing India and the US of the indispensability of addressing fundamentals of the aspirations of Eezham Tamils, i.e., nation and the right to self-determination.

The ITAK members also argued that the 80% of the civil society signatories to the memorandum, have worked for the TNA in the past elections without having any personal political ambitions. The civil society signatories included physicians, academics, civil representatives, engineers, lawyers and religious leaders, it is wrong to view them as having any political agenda behind the memorandum move, ITAK members said.

Two days before the meeting in Trincomalee, TNA MP Mr. Sritharan, who met the press at his residence in Jaffna on Wednesday, also put forward a crucial message welcoming the memorandum and said how the people of NorthEast in 2004 and 2010 placed genuine hope on TNA that TNA will stand committed to the fundamentals of the Eezham Tamil Nation.

Central committee meeting also discussed the long pending suggestion of formally registering the TNA. The suggestion had met opposition from some ITAK stalwarts and associates of Mr. Maavai Senathiraja, particularly Mr. C.V.K Sivagnanam, Mr. Kuganathan and Mr. Kanagasapathy, informed sources said.

However, many of the members who met in Trincomalee on Friday were of the view that the TNA should be registered.

When questions were raised on what role ITAK would play in the registered body of the TNA, a consensus was reached among the ITAK members on finding a formula acceptable to both the ITAK and other parties in the alliance. Arguing that ITAK members have had key positions in the TNA, the formula should pave way for continued wider significance of the ITAK in having a lead role in the TNA also in the future was the majority opinion among the ITAK members.

The meeting also resolved to include M.A. Sumanthiran, K. Sritharan, Yogeswaran, E. Saravanapan and P. Ariyaneththiran in the central committee of the ITAK.

The ITAK members also discussed holding a national convention of the party and Batticaloa was suggested as the venue for a such convention.

Related Articles:
13.12.11   TNA leadership faces admonition from civil society of Eezham..

solkiraargal: Believed me! ' என்னை நம்புகின்றனர்

சொல்கிறார்கள்

"என்னை நம்புகின்றனர்!' 

நரிக்குறவ மாணவர்களின் படிப்பிற்காக உதவும், ஆசிரியர் உதயக்குமார்: மற்றவர்களைப் போல், என்னால் சம்பளத்திற்கு வேலை செய்துவிட்டு போவதில் திருப்தி இல்லை. எளியவர்களுக்கு நம்மால் ஆன, உதவிகளைச் செய்ய வேண்டும் என நினைத்தேன். நான் திருவாடனை அருகே, பண்ணை வயல் ஊராட்சி ஒன்றிய தொடக்கப் பள்ளியில், தலைமை ஆசிரியராக இருந்த போது தான், முதன் முறையாக, நரிக்குறவ சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு குழந்தையை, பள்ளியில் சேர்த்தேன். அதற்கு நான் சந்தித்த இடர்பாடுகள் கொஞ்ச நஞ்சமல்ல. ஆனால், இப்போது, சர்வசிக்ஷா அபியான் திட்டப்படி, 50 நரிக்குறவர் பிள்ளைகள் படிக்கின்றனர். காலாண்டு, அரையாண்டு, கோடை விடுமுறையில், பெற்றோருடன் சேர்ந்து குழந்தைகளும், தேர்த் திருவிழாவிற்கு ஊசி, பாசி விற்கப் போகின்றனர். ஆனால், மீண்டும் பள்ளிக்கு வருவதில்லை. அவர்களையெல்லாம், வேன் மூலம் பள்ளிக்கு கொண்டு வருகிறேன். மறு நாளிலிருந்து சீராக பள்ளிக்கு வருகின்றனர். நரிக்குறவ மாணவர்கள் அனைவரும் நல்ல புத்திசாலிகள். நரிக்குறவர்கள் சாலையோரங்களில் வசிக்கின்றனர். சுகாதாரமான குடிநீர் வசதி உட்பட எந்த அடிப்படை வசதிகளும் இல்லை. ஆனால், இவர்கள் அனைவருக்கும் ஓட்டுரிமை உள்ளது. அரசு, இவர்களுக்காக ஏதாவது செய்ய வேண்டும். என் ஆசை, கனவு அனைத்துமே இவர்களில் ஒருவரையாவது, பிளஸ் 2 வரை படிக்க வைக்க வேண்டும் என்பது தான். என்னை இந்தக் குழந்தைகள் நம்புகின்றனர். அவர்களுக்கு ஒரு வழி காட்டிவிட்டால் போதும், முன்னேறி விடுவர்.

LLRC Report, an apologia for Sri Lanka Army, says New York Times

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 December 2011, 03:47 GMT]
Noting that "regarding the war’s terrible final weeks, it [the LLRC Report] is largely an apologia for the army," a report appearing in New York Times Saturday says that "while the commission makes sensible recommendations and exposes grave atrocities committed by the Tigers against ordinary people, it also demonstrates that government troops shelled no-fire zones in order to neutralize rebel attacks from within," and adds, "Sri Lankans no longer need to pretend that the army didn’t shell zones where civilians were encouraged to gather, or subscribe to the fantasy that no innocents died when shells landed on or near hospitals."

Full text of the article follows:

Sri Lanka’s Ghosts of War

(Courtesy NYT)

THE Sri Lankan government’s defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009 ended a three-decade war that took tens of thousands of lives. But only now is the government beginning to acknowledge its huge human cost. Two weeks ago, a government-appointed reconciliation commission released a long-awaited report, giving voice to the war’s civilian victims for the first time.

From August 2010 to January 2011, hundreds of people appeared before the commission in tears, begging for news of their loved ones, many of whom had last been seen in the custody of security forces. A doctor spoke of how they managed to survive under deplorable conditions in places “littered with dead bodies and carcasses of dying animals.”

In October, I visited a rural school just 6 miles from Mullivaikkal, on the northeast coast of the island, where the army finally crushed the Tigers — an area still off-limits to civilians. The government says there are too many land mines to allow resettlement; critics say there are too many bodies in mass graves.

The classroom had a new roof, but more than two years after the war ended, its walls were still pockmarked with shrapnel, a window was shattered and the floor was cracked. Most students’ uniforms were discolored; many wore flip-flops and carried tattered bags. A 7-year-old with a deep scar across his back stared at me. A shell had landed while his family slept and his sister was killed, he told me in a thin voice.

One child after another spoke of injuries and deaths caused by shelling; of lingering wounds; of forced conscription by the Tigers; of poor widowed mothers; and of family members missing after being taken into state custody.

Since Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948, members of the island’s Tamil minority have insisted that they face linguistic, educational and employment discrimination from the Sinhalese majority, which controls the government.

The Tigers — a sophisticated, well-financed guerilla group that formed in 1976 and pioneered the technique of suicide bombing — sought to redress their grievances by violent means, with the goal of establishing an independent Tamil state. They routinely recruited child soldiers, killed Tamil dissenters and massacred Sinhalese and Muslims. In 1991, the group went so far as to assassinate the Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, for having sent Indian troops to Sri Lanka in 1987 to enforce a peace accord. The Tigers held out against the Sri Lankan military until they were decisively defeated in May 2009.

Some journalists called Sri Lanka’s final battle with the Tigers a “war without witnesses.” Aid workers were asked to withdraw from the conflict zone months before the government defeated the Tigers. Only handpicked reporters, mostly from state media, were allowed to embed with troops. Those journalists knew what they must not write, for fear of losing access. The others relied on organized tours that were meticulously choreographed by the army — producing sanitized war coverage with the gory bits tucked away. As a result, there was no outside scrutiny of the controversial war.

But that did not mean there were no witnesses. As the army attacked, hundreds of thousands of civilians were trapped in between. They were the Tigers’ “human shield,” and a source for forced conscripts, including children. They were also witnesses.

More than 950 people testified before the commission and nearly 5,000 submitted written statements. Survivors spoke of displacement, incessant shelling and morbid fear. The commission’s report depicts a country where the rule of law is crumbling and where abductions, enforced or involuntary disappearances, protracted detention without charge and attacks on journalists continue. It proposes depoliticizing the police, disarming illegal armed groups and allowing a more independent media.

While the commission makes sensible recommendations and exposes grave atrocities committed by the Tigers against ordinary people, it also demonstrates that government troops shelled no-fire zones in order to neutralize rebel attacks from within.

The report is a valuable document, but regarding the war’s terrible final weeks, it is largely an apologia for the army. The commission admits only that “civilian casualties had in fact occurred in the course of cross-fire,” and blames the Tigers for most of them. The commission asserts that the government was confronted with an unprecedented situation — a massive human shield — that left it no other choice but to respond as it did.

However, on three separate occasions the government declared no-fire zones, giving the illusion of safety to hundreds of thousands of terrified civilians who fled into them. The rebels also went in, set up their heavy weapons among innocent men, women and children and proceeded to attack the military with gusto. The army retaliated and large numbers of civilians were killed.

Sri Lankans no longer need to pretend that the army didn’t shell zones where civilians were encouraged to gather, or subscribe to the fantasy that no innocents died when shells landed on or near hospitals.

If Sri Lanka wants true reconciliation, simply blaming the Tigers is not enough. The government, and the country, must take responsibility for the dead, mend the lives of the survivors — whatever their ethnicity — and stop the vicious cycle of ethnic strife by arriving at a political solution that meets, if not all aspirations, most of them. Until then, the end of the war will not bring true peace.

(Contributed by Namini Wijedasa, a Sri Lankan journalist)

Related Articles:
27.12.11   Tragedy of US policy on Sri Lanka's war crimes
20.12.11   TNA demands internationally mandated mechanism for war-crime..
20.12.11   TNPF slams LLRC report
18.12.11   LLRC, a farcical attempt at accountability: paper
17.12.11   LLRC has failed, IC should call for International Investigat..


External Links:

Amnesty:		Sri Lanka Report Falls Short
NYT:		Sri Lanka’s Ghosts of War
ICG:		Statement on the Report of Sri Lanka's LLRC
HRW:		Sri Lanka: Report Fails to Advance Accountability
SL:		Disappointed And Unhappy: The TNA On The LLRC Report

Murder, rape dog Sri Lanka tourist sector

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 December 2011, 04:13 GMT]
Reports from the Sri Lanka media state that the southern tourist town of Tangalle near Hambantota "is now all but deserted after foreign visitors fled" following the murder of a 32-year old British tourist after a bar brawl at the resort. Prosthetic expert Khuram Shaikh, from Milnrow, Rochdale, was taking a break from his Red Cross assignment in Middle-east, when he was killed, and his Russian girlfriend was severely injured during the altercation. The alleged killer, Vidanapathirana, 24, the chairman of Tangalle village council, a close associate of Rajapaksas, surrendered after absconding for a day, according to reports. Meanwhile, BBC reported five youths were arrested attempting to rape a swedish tourist Friday in Negombo, where tourists guides have complained to Police that incidents of sexual harassment of tourists occur regularly in the resorts.

Shaikh's friend, Victoria Alexandrovna, 23, is being treated in Karapitiya hospital, Galle at the intensive care unit, reports said.

While media reports said that the Ms. Alexandrovna was sexually assaulted, Sri Lanka's deputy economic development minister, Lakshman Abeywardene, said these reports were false.

BBC also reported that journalists have received death threats following their coverage of the murder and attack on a tourist couple.

All planned events and festivities for tourists in the southern Sri Lankan resort of Tangalle has been cancelled following the killing of a holiday maker, local tourism promoters said.

“Normally, tourists move around and visit other venues in the area, but now they are afraid to go out in the night” President of the Tangalle Tourist Hoteliers Association told BBC.

Local media also reported that "[a] group of persons identifying themselves as law abiding citizens of Tangalle, have complained to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in writing that there are attempts by some elements with vested interests to undermine investigations into the killing."

The attacks on tourists are reported amidst other ominous statistics related to escalation in rape cases in Sri Lanka. Daily Mirror reported Thursday that a total of 1,637 rape cases had been reported to the police during this year,

External Links:

DM:		1,637 rape cases reported in 2011: Police
BBC:		Red Cross grieves loss of Briton killed in Sri Lanka
BBC:		British tourist killed on Christmas eve
SkyNews:		Sri Lankan MP held over Briton's death
UK:		Sri Lanka holidaymakers tell of horror slaying of Red Cross hero from Rochdale
BBC:		'Attempted rape' of Swedish tourist
BBC:		Call to eradicate fear from Tangalle tourists

Kurdish civilians killed in ‘Sri Lanka style’ attack

Kurdish civilians killed in 

‘Sri Lanka style’ attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 31 December 2011, 07:26 GMT]
In a deadly strike that was carried out in Uludere of Sirnak province in Turkey’s Southeast region on Wednesday, Turkish F16’s killed at least 36 Kurdish civilians. While the ruling party AKP’s spokesperson called the attack an ‘operational mistake’ and the government has claimed that there will be investigations in to the matter, the PKK said in a statement that the strike was “the result of the all-out war concept developed by the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government against our leader, movement and people. This is the continuation of the system of arrest and torture that aims at intimidating our people”. Even as the PKK called for an uprising, there have been huge protests by the Kurdish people in Turkey’s capital and other places.

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bulent Arinc said in a televised interview that “Turkey is combating terrorism and in that fight incidents like this may occur. If there’s neglect, a mistake or intent in this event, then the people responsible will be revealed and they will bear the consequences.”

Turkey was one of the states to immediately congratulate Sri Lanka after the Mu’l’livaaikkaal genocide and has provided political and material assistance to Sri Lanka. Also, many military analysts in the Turkish official circles considered the ‘Sri Lanka style’ solution as an effective model for dealing with the Kurdish national question.

Likewise, many Kurdish activists and journalists have also likened their condition to that of the Eezham Tamils.

The International Community’s silence while Sri Lanka successfully executed its genocidal war manoeuvres in Mu’l’livaaikkaal with deliberate targeting of civilians, and its complicity in the structural genocide of the Eezham Tamils in their homelands by the occupying Lankan colonizers by its failure to address the national question provides an inspiration for states like Turkey to use such methods against similar struggles, commented a Tamil academic.

Chronology:

31.12.11  Kurdish civilians killed in ‘Sri Lanka style’ atta..

13.08.11  Iran, Turkey follow Sri Lanka model: Kurdish paper..