Govt. accuses US of making war crimes case against SL
September 13, 2009 – Sunday Island
The government yesterday said that the US was rapidly making a case of war crimes against Sri Lanka on the basis of the conduct of her armed forces, police as well as the political leadership during the recently concluded war.
Ministerial and Defence sources told The Sunday Island that former Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Robert Blake, now based at the State Department was behind the move.
They accused Dr. Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council and Dr. Pakyasothi Saravanamuttu of the Center for Policy Alternatives of being party to the US move.
Sources alleged that the US State Department recently arranged for them to visit Washington where they engaged in Sri Lanka bashing.
According to the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington, the NGO officials were critical of the Sri Lankan government not only during the war but the post-LTTE period as well.
Defence sources said that Messrs Perera and Saravanamuttu had spoken in support of the ongoing investigation ordered by the US Foreign Relations Committee. The embassy said that what they basically said was what Blake wanted them to say.
Dr. Jehan Perera denied the allegations, emphasizing that they were not in anyway involved in any anti-Sri Lankan campaign. Responding to The Sunday Island queries, Perera said that they visited Washington on an invitation of the US Institute of Peace for a hearing on the situation in Sri Lanka.
He also said that as the US Foreign Relations Committee had ordered an investigation into the situation here several months before their recent visit to Washington, it would be unreasonable to blame him or Saravanamuttu for causing an inquiry.
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Britain pleads, but Lanka says Elder must go
September 13, 2009 – Sunday Times, Sri Lanka
As the Government sent a second reminder to UNICEF Communications Director James Elder to leave Sri Lanka by September 21, Britain has made an appeal that the decision be reconsidered.
British Foreign Secretary David Milliband telephoned Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama to appeal that the expulsion order on the UNICEF official be revoked. A Foreign Ministry official denied foreign agency reports that the matter was now being re-considered and declared there was no change.
The second reminder, in the form of a letter from the Department of Immigration to Mr. Elder, the official spokesperson of UNICEF in Colombo, reminded him that he had to leave Sri Lanka before September 21.
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Sri Lankan Government Violating the Law & Constitution – Opposition Leader
September 11, 2009 – Daily Mirror
The government is acting outside the law and violating the Constitution by holding more than 250,000 displaced people at camps in the Wanni District, opposition UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe charged yesterday.
Mr. Wickremesinghe who spoke during the emergency debate said no law in the country allowed the government to detain people in camps without detention orders.
“The regulations under the Public Security Ordinance made no provision for such detention,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said. “It is clear that Wanni citizens are not being held in government camps under any law. This is illegal. We have a government that is acting outside the law and violating the Constitution. We do not accept the argument the government is acting in the interest of displaced people.”
He said that under regulation 19 of the Public Security Ordinance the Defence Secretary must issue a detention order against a person suspected of being a threat to national security.
“Therefore if the government is going to hold 250,000 people under Regulation 19, there will have to be 250,000 separate detention orders. But no such detention orders in respect of these 250,000 people have been issued,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.He said the government had three months to identify LTTE members among the displaced people and 9,000 suspects had been identified and emphasized that those not suspected of any involvement with the LTTE must be free to leave the camps. “All displaced people must be free to leave if they have alternate accommodation and there is no detention order against them under Regulations 19 which provides the right to resettle in their own villages,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said.
He said the government had refused permission for opposition MPs to visit the refugee camps, and urged parliament to rectify the situation and called for the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to oversea the resettlement of the displaced people.
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The Time of the Thugs
September 06, 2009 – Sunday Leader
In the last fortnight I personally and directly experienced the more vicious and thuggish expressions of the politics of hate and harm and hurt. In the space of two weeks I received an anonymous death threat in the post and in common parlance, was detained at the airport on the instructions of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID).
These two incidents are clearly unrelated and therefore merely coincidental in the span of a fortnight – the death threat is anonymous, the TID is a stalwart arm of the state. They however, constitute a chilling illustration of the potential costs and likely consequences of daring to dissent in this our beloved land. Daring to dissent and to constructively critique the prevailing orthodoxy and in doing so outlining an alternative vision and future for Sri Lanka, is what I believe I do and in the strongest conviction of it being an affirmation and celebration of our democracy, rather than an act of treason against the motherland.
I have written to the powers that be about the death threat and made an entry regarding it at my local police station. An investigation, I assume is proceeding. I have attempted to make contact with the TID, but have been unsuccessful so far. Greatly appreciative of the support and solidarity of friends and colleagues, I continue to dare to dissent and to celebrate our democracy, precisely because it is in dire peril.
Every act of intimidation, abduction, detention and killing is a grave and nasty threat to what is left of our democracy. Every act of intimidation, abduction, detention and killing that goes undeterred and uninvestigated reinforces the culture of impunity and nurtures further violations of rights. The culture of impunity is a cancer that will destroy any pretence we have of being a decent, democratic or humane society.
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UNICEF concerned over impact of conflict on Lankan kids
Sept 05, 2009 – Dailymirror (Sri Lanka)
UNICEF says it continues to be greatly concerned about children who have been impacted by the conflict in Sri Lanka. Ann Veneman, the head of UNICEF was quoted by ‘Alert Net’ as saying UNICEF is involved in providing protection for children at the Vavuniya IDP camps, especially those who have been separated from their families and are at risk of neglect, abuse and exploitation.
UNICEF is providing humanitarian assistance in the camps for internally displaced people in Sri Lanka, including safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, vaccinations and nutrition assistance. UNICEF also works throughout Sri Lanka supporting health, education and protection programmes for children, she added in an interview.
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