Tamil homeland of north and east of sri-lanka is a killing field for the sinhala racist armed forces and hired hitmen
It was common knowledge and any war analyst simple guess that the chauvinist Government of Sri-Lanka unilaterally abrogated the Norway brokered Ceasefire Agreement of 2005 with an ulterior motive. It was to prevent its armed forces HR violations in the newly declared war and the open impunity given to them, reaching the attention of the world conscientious community through the Sri-Lanka monitoring mission’s (SLMM) official reports. Current armed forces assaults point to this scenario.
Amnesty International, USA, had rightly pointed this fact, though mildly, in its report of Jan 29, 2008. It went on, “The end of the ceasefire is likely to unleash fresh violence that will lead to serious human rights abuses, including an increase in enforced disappearances and abductions as a counter-insurgency strategy, as well as unlawful killings”.
The macabre scenery sketched by Human Rights Watch researcher Fred Abrahams and Sunila Abeyasekera of the INFORM –a human rights documentation centre in Colombo to Chicago radio on 22 Saturday December pointed out that: (1). mainly Tamil men between 18-35 were being abducted or killed at a rate of 4 persons per day.(2). Men were often taken in for questioning. (3). Inhuman methods and torture that were used in interrogations have gone worse.
Some were being held in uncongenial detentions facilities. The government does not release their names, as they should under law. Under emergency regulations now in force for last several years they could be held there without charge for long period. They revealed that these abductions were carried out in a way to terrorise the community; armed men in white vans arrive and take people in broad day light without any question asked load the victims in an authoritarian way.
There were several killings by the para militaries and the armed forces that met no international standards or rules during 2007-2008. They acted on the whims and fancies of an unknown adviser probably Sarath Fonseka and his ilk.
Tamilnet flashed news on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 that motorbike riding unidentified armed men shot and killed two civilians in Kodikaamam unleashing panic among the people in Thenmaraadchi on Friday morning. The killers were suspected to be from the GSL and para-military groups. It was an open violation of law of the land and UN’s HR.
To add to the tally of murders, the Yarl.net web beamed a news that on 30th of January 08 night in Jaffna/Thenmaradchi division near the Madduvil Solai Amman temple three male siblings were asked to stand in a line and fired at execution style by government aided para militaries. This happened when there was electricity failure at night. Even Hilter would not have carried out such a cruel crime.
Further, violent deaths took place on Tuesday, 29 January 2008. News.bbc.co.uk announced that eleven schoolchildren were among at least 18 people killed in a bomb attack on a bus in north-western Sri Lanka citing Roman Catholic church sources in Mannar. The area is tiger controlled. Therefore it was suspected that Deep Penetration Unit of the GSL army may be responsible for this dastardly attack. This murder contravened the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of Children.
BBC Sinhala.com disclosed further homicide on 27 January. Sixteen bodies had been found buried in newly dug out pits at a remote jungle location in government-controlled territory in Kebitigollewa, Anuradhapura. One of the bodies was female, the rest male. Some were found with their hands bound behind their backs. All were executed by shooting through their head. It also added that some relatives did not find their missing ones among the decayed corpses that were buried in a hurry. These carnage prompted reaction from media and dutiful citizens.
The magisterial inquiry could neither identify the dead nor the killers. The verdict was probably open. ABC news on Fri Jan 25, 2008 made public that, government media officials asked local radio and television stations on Thursday not to broadcast the report of the mass graves, and some stations complied, pulling the story from their prime time news bulletins.
The work of the press was severely restricted in Sri Lanka by MR, with reporters systematically barred by the government from travelling to front-line areas and rebel-held territory. This is a glaring example of press muzzling. Mass graves have been previously found in Sri Lanka's embattled northern regions, and several people killed execution-style were also found in and around the capital last year. The army was accused of burying civilians killed by them in mass graves in Chemmany Jaffna in the past.
Daily mirror Jan 28 carried a news item that SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem was worried that allowing armed groups to contest the local government election in the Batticaloa district was part of state terrorism. Addressing a public rally at Dharga Town in Aluthgama over the weekend Mr. Hakeem said terror mounted by the Pillayan group was a part of state terrorism as the group did not allow others to contest the poll other than the government. On Jan 24, the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake said in Colombo that U S believed paramilitaries including the TMVP must not be allowed to carry arms, but should instead compete with the strength of their words rather than the threat of a bullet. Free and fair elections without violence or intimidation would help stabilise the region and give its inhabitants new promise and hope for a secure and prosperous future
Indian broad sheet The Hindu carried a report from PTI in Colombo on 31 January that a UN report incriminated a renegade outfit of the LTTE, Karuna Group, of continuing child recruitment for combat purposes (para militariy). Like adding oil to burning fire they had chosen the most susceptible and poor Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in refugee camps in Sri Lanka as their recruits of agents of murder. This is an open violation of UNICEF declaration on child protection.
In the absence of credible reporting by free media critical news of the government wrong doing as published above would not have manifested. Fearing exposure of its misdeeds and crime against humanity GSL had even resorted to press gag to ensure that even its citizens along with the world citizenry were kept in the dark.
A dictator’s motive and priority was to suppress press freedom and prevent the free flow of information to the public. Consequently intimidation and assault on Sri-Lankan free media was the order of the day. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned on 30/01/2008 that the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka was in serious jeopardy as several serious attacks and anti-media statements by government officials demonstrated a lack of respect for the value of media freedom in the country.
In an interview published on January 27, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksha openly called for media censorship. “Continuing attacks and harassment was intended to send a message to the media community and to spread fear”, IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said. “Media freedom requires respect for the right of differing and critical opinions to be voiced, particularly in times of conflict. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of any civil democracy, but attacks on journalists are eroding Sri Lanka’s democratic stability.”
Watching this tragic trend UN reacted through its commissioner. The Morning leader on Jan 15, 2008 quoted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour of warning the GSL yesterday. In her dialogue with the Government she had stressed the critical need for independent, public reporting on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and the readiness of her Office to assist in this regard. MR had ignored her. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. MR is not worried about the consequence of his actions because his siblings had made hay while he is in power. It was highlighted in the media that Gothabaya had bought a property recently for 9 million dollars in he USA and his erstwhile big brother MR a property for R300 million. Even the Tamil traitor Karuna who helped the GSL forces in its war for money was allowed to take $500 million with him when he emigrated to UK under false Sri-lankan diplomatic passport.
All these bureaucratic bungling led Senior journalist Sonali Samarasinghe of Sunday Leader to write a piece on MR. On Jan 26, 2008 she dubbed MR a village double talker in an article titled ‘Meet Percival the village humbug’. She concluded that he compromised all good principles that he stood for before he became president.
Members of parliaments joined in the critique. In a frank interview with The Sunday Leader in January 2008 Sajith Premadasa MP asserted that President Rajapakse is 'not even suitable to run a Co-operative shop' leave alone the country.
The government is like a rudderless ship now. Reporter Zacki Jabbar for island.lk penned a story on January 28 that UNP MP,Dayasiri Jayasekera had alleged that the government had failed on all fronts. The crime rate was rising at an alarming rate with abductions and killings being reported with a monotonous regularity. The latest incident was on Thursday when 16 unidentified dead bodies were found in buried in mass grave in Kepitigollawa in Anuradhapura (referred in paragaraph above). He also accused that "The armed groups it nurtured to intimidate political opponents and those who dare to criticise its wrong doings have got too big to handle." He stressed that a civilised society could not permit a law of the jungle to pervade the country.
When we see this vacillations of a nitwitted MR’s manner of governance we are reminded of Albert Einstein. The century’s big brain once said “Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction”. MR had easily made Sri-Lankan Tamil rights of self-determination more complex and more violent. Hence in Einstein definition MR is a fool nay a mediocre. Like nazi Hitler who on a message to the Germans said "Above all I charge the leaders of the nation and those under them to scrupulous observance of the laws of race and to merciless opposition to the universal poisoned of all peoples, international Jewry”, MR is also dreaming of a united Sinhalese land to the exclusion of the Tamils right of self determination.
Following Hilter who eliminated one third of all the Jews in the world that totalled six million, MR had reduced the population of the TH of Tamils by almost half. Carpet bombings, execution squad, multi-barrel guns and heavily bribed Tamil para militaries made their hellish contributions in this genocide.
The UN, EU and the whole world watched in silence at this sordid murder. Should the world wait any longer for a repetition of Hilters holocaust in Sri-Lanka?
Like Vlad the Impaler of the 1460’s MR had mercilessly carpet bombed the East that helped him to become the president by abstaining to vote in the last presidential election. The North remained a virtual prison as opined by many NGO’s with numerous IDPs camps and high security militarised zones. He also like Vlad virtually exiled from politics Sinhala ancestral leaders like Chandrika Bandaranayake, Ranil Wickremasinghe and Mangala Samaraweera.
He had elevated the downtrodden and nonentities like Fernadopulle, Devananda and his brothers to high position in the government. History repeats ironically in a negative context. Humanity repeats the same mistake by remaining demure without crying halt to this tyrant.
The entire world had seen how MR had resorted to Machiavellian tactics to get ahead in politics. As publicly condemned by his former associates Tyran Alles, Mangala, Sooriarachchi and other ex “pandang karays”, yes men and lackeys, political expediency was placed above morality and the use of craftiness and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler.
All his international affairs were characterised by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty. The APRC and the 13-amendment proposal are a typical example of his foxy talent.
Who can stop this megalomaniac from his hell bent adventure of extermination of the Tamils of N&E. Only the will power of the Tamils and a determination to face the odds at any cost can save the Tamils. We must follow Mahatma Ganddhi, the Indian philosopher internationally esteemed for his doctrine of ‘Ahimsa’ and Truth, who said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Till the Tamils realise their aspiration of TH their only hope is resisting the tyrant’s assault with all our might. Of course diplomacy at higher level will pay dividends. Presently the world important personalities who have a say in policy making in many countries are not fully aware of the Tamil’s plight because Sinhalese propaganda in the corridors of UN and other bodies have painted a negative image of the LTTE and thereby that of the whole Tamil community.
International Crisis Group (ISG) should be enlightened of the Tamils just political demands and their present precarious plight. ISG’s 2007 report was deficient in many respects as far as Tamil’s TH concept was concerned. Bruce Fein, the associate deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, and a lawyer for a U.S. group of Tamil activists ‘Tamils For Justice’ had lodged valid arguments with US for the rights of Sri Lanka's long oppressed Tamil people to independent statehood from the racial supremacist Sinhalese. The lawyer could also persuade right thinking US senators to take proactive action against the racist Sinhala regime.
By: Dr C P Thiagarajah
Courtesy: TamilCanadian
February 4, 2008
Amnesty International, USA, had rightly pointed this fact, though mildly, in its report of Jan 29, 2008. It went on, “The end of the ceasefire is likely to unleash fresh violence that will lead to serious human rights abuses, including an increase in enforced disappearances and abductions as a counter-insurgency strategy, as well as unlawful killings”.
The macabre scenery sketched by Human Rights Watch researcher Fred Abrahams and Sunila Abeyasekera of the INFORM –a human rights documentation centre in Colombo to Chicago radio on 22 Saturday December pointed out that: (1). mainly Tamil men between 18-35 were being abducted or killed at a rate of 4 persons per day.(2). Men were often taken in for questioning. (3). Inhuman methods and torture that were used in interrogations have gone worse.
Some were being held in uncongenial detentions facilities. The government does not release their names, as they should under law. Under emergency regulations now in force for last several years they could be held there without charge for long period. They revealed that these abductions were carried out in a way to terrorise the community; armed men in white vans arrive and take people in broad day light without any question asked load the victims in an authoritarian way.
There were several killings by the para militaries and the armed forces that met no international standards or rules during 2007-2008. They acted on the whims and fancies of an unknown adviser probably Sarath Fonseka and his ilk.
Tamilnet flashed news on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 that motorbike riding unidentified armed men shot and killed two civilians in Kodikaamam unleashing panic among the people in Thenmaraadchi on Friday morning. The killers were suspected to be from the GSL and para-military groups. It was an open violation of law of the land and UN’s HR.
To add to the tally of murders, the Yarl.net web beamed a news that on 30th of January 08 night in Jaffna/Thenmaradchi division near the Madduvil Solai Amman temple three male siblings were asked to stand in a line and fired at execution style by government aided para militaries. This happened when there was electricity failure at night. Even Hilter would not have carried out such a cruel crime.
Further, violent deaths took place on Tuesday, 29 January 2008. News.bbc.co.uk announced that eleven schoolchildren were among at least 18 people killed in a bomb attack on a bus in north-western Sri Lanka citing Roman Catholic church sources in Mannar. The area is tiger controlled. Therefore it was suspected that Deep Penetration Unit of the GSL army may be responsible for this dastardly attack. This murder contravened the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of Children.
BBC Sinhala.com disclosed further homicide on 27 January. Sixteen bodies had been found buried in newly dug out pits at a remote jungle location in government-controlled territory in Kebitigollewa, Anuradhapura. One of the bodies was female, the rest male. Some were found with their hands bound behind their backs. All were executed by shooting through their head. It also added that some relatives did not find their missing ones among the decayed corpses that were buried in a hurry. These carnage prompted reaction from media and dutiful citizens.
The magisterial inquiry could neither identify the dead nor the killers. The verdict was probably open. ABC news on Fri Jan 25, 2008 made public that, government media officials asked local radio and television stations on Thursday not to broadcast the report of the mass graves, and some stations complied, pulling the story from their prime time news bulletins.
The work of the press was severely restricted in Sri Lanka by MR, with reporters systematically barred by the government from travelling to front-line areas and rebel-held territory. This is a glaring example of press muzzling. Mass graves have been previously found in Sri Lanka's embattled northern regions, and several people killed execution-style were also found in and around the capital last year. The army was accused of burying civilians killed by them in mass graves in Chemmany Jaffna in the past.
Daily mirror Jan 28 carried a news item that SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem was worried that allowing armed groups to contest the local government election in the Batticaloa district was part of state terrorism. Addressing a public rally at Dharga Town in Aluthgama over the weekend Mr. Hakeem said terror mounted by the Pillayan group was a part of state terrorism as the group did not allow others to contest the poll other than the government. On Jan 24, the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake said in Colombo that U S believed paramilitaries including the TMVP must not be allowed to carry arms, but should instead compete with the strength of their words rather than the threat of a bullet. Free and fair elections without violence or intimidation would help stabilise the region and give its inhabitants new promise and hope for a secure and prosperous future
Indian broad sheet The Hindu carried a report from PTI in Colombo on 31 January that a UN report incriminated a renegade outfit of the LTTE, Karuna Group, of continuing child recruitment for combat purposes (para militariy). Like adding oil to burning fire they had chosen the most susceptible and poor Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in refugee camps in Sri Lanka as their recruits of agents of murder. This is an open violation of UNICEF declaration on child protection.
In the absence of credible reporting by free media critical news of the government wrong doing as published above would not have manifested. Fearing exposure of its misdeeds and crime against humanity GSL had even resorted to press gag to ensure that even its citizens along with the world citizenry were kept in the dark.
A dictator’s motive and priority was to suppress press freedom and prevent the free flow of information to the public. Consequently intimidation and assault on Sri-Lankan free media was the order of the day. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned on 30/01/2008 that the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka was in serious jeopardy as several serious attacks and anti-media statements by government officials demonstrated a lack of respect for the value of media freedom in the country.
In an interview published on January 27, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksha openly called for media censorship. “Continuing attacks and harassment was intended to send a message to the media community and to spread fear”, IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said. “Media freedom requires respect for the right of differing and critical opinions to be voiced, particularly in times of conflict. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of any civil democracy, but attacks on journalists are eroding Sri Lanka’s democratic stability.”
Watching this tragic trend UN reacted through its commissioner. The Morning leader on Jan 15, 2008 quoted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour of warning the GSL yesterday. In her dialogue with the Government she had stressed the critical need for independent, public reporting on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and the readiness of her Office to assist in this regard. MR had ignored her. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. MR is not worried about the consequence of his actions because his siblings had made hay while he is in power. It was highlighted in the media that Gothabaya had bought a property recently for 9 million dollars in he USA and his erstwhile big brother MR a property for R300 million. Even the Tamil traitor Karuna who helped the GSL forces in its war for money was allowed to take $500 million with him when he emigrated to UK under false Sri-lankan diplomatic passport.
All these bureaucratic bungling led Senior journalist Sonali Samarasinghe of Sunday Leader to write a piece on MR. On Jan 26, 2008 she dubbed MR a village double talker in an article titled ‘Meet Percival the village humbug’. She concluded that he compromised all good principles that he stood for before he became president.
Members of parliaments joined in the critique. In a frank interview with The Sunday Leader in January 2008 Sajith Premadasa MP asserted that President Rajapakse is 'not even suitable to run a Co-operative shop' leave alone the country.
The government is like a rudderless ship now. Reporter Zacki Jabbar for island.lk penned a story on January 28 that UNP MP,Dayasiri Jayasekera had alleged that the government had failed on all fronts. The crime rate was rising at an alarming rate with abductions and killings being reported with a monotonous regularity. The latest incident was on Thursday when 16 unidentified dead bodies were found in buried in mass grave in Kepitigollawa in Anuradhapura (referred in paragaraph above). He also accused that "The armed groups it nurtured to intimidate political opponents and those who dare to criticise its wrong doings have got too big to handle." He stressed that a civilised society could not permit a law of the jungle to pervade the country.
When we see this vacillations of a nitwitted MR’s manner of governance we are reminded of Albert Einstein. The century’s big brain once said “Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction”. MR had easily made Sri-Lankan Tamil rights of self-determination more complex and more violent. Hence in Einstein definition MR is a fool nay a mediocre. Like nazi Hitler who on a message to the Germans said "Above all I charge the leaders of the nation and those under them to scrupulous observance of the laws of race and to merciless opposition to the universal poisoned of all peoples, international Jewry”, MR is also dreaming of a united Sinhalese land to the exclusion of the Tamils right of self determination.
Following Hilter who eliminated one third of all the Jews in the world that totalled six million, MR had reduced the population of the TH of Tamils by almost half. Carpet bombings, execution squad, multi-barrel guns and heavily bribed Tamil para militaries made their hellish contributions in this genocide.
The UN, EU and the whole world watched in silence at this sordid murder. Should the world wait any longer for a repetition of Hilters holocaust in Sri-Lanka?
Like Vlad the Impaler of the 1460’s MR had mercilessly carpet bombed the East that helped him to become the president by abstaining to vote in the last presidential election. The North remained a virtual prison as opined by many NGO’s with numerous IDPs camps and high security militarised zones. He also like Vlad virtually exiled from politics Sinhala ancestral leaders like Chandrika Bandaranayake, Ranil Wickremasinghe and Mangala Samaraweera.
He had elevated the downtrodden and nonentities like Fernadopulle, Devananda and his brothers to high position in the government. History repeats ironically in a negative context. Humanity repeats the same mistake by remaining demure without crying halt to this tyrant.
The entire world had seen how MR had resorted to Machiavellian tactics to get ahead in politics. As publicly condemned by his former associates Tyran Alles, Mangala, Sooriarachchi and other ex “pandang karays”, yes men and lackeys, political expediency was placed above morality and the use of craftiness and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler.
All his international affairs were characterised by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty. The APRC and the 13-amendment proposal are a typical example of his foxy talent.
Who can stop this megalomaniac from his hell bent adventure of extermination of the Tamils of N&E. Only the will power of the Tamils and a determination to face the odds at any cost can save the Tamils. We must follow Mahatma Ganddhi, the Indian philosopher internationally esteemed for his doctrine of ‘Ahimsa’ and Truth, who said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Till the Tamils realise their aspiration of TH their only hope is resisting the tyrant’s assault with all our might. Of course diplomacy at higher level will pay dividends. Presently the world important personalities who have a say in policy making in many countries are not fully aware of the Tamil’s plight because Sinhalese propaganda in the corridors of UN and other bodies have painted a negative image of the LTTE and thereby that of the whole Tamil community.
International Crisis Group (ISG) should be enlightened of the Tamils just political demands and their present precarious plight. ISG’s 2007 report was deficient in many respects as far as Tamil’s TH concept was concerned. Bruce Fein, the associate deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, and a lawyer for a U.S. group of Tamil activists ‘Tamils For Justice’ had lodged valid arguments with US for the rights of Sri Lanka's long oppressed Tamil people to independent statehood from the racial supremacist Sinhalese. The lawyer could also persuade right thinking US senators to take proactive action against the racist Sinhala regime.
By: Dr C P Thiagarajah
Courtesy: TamilCanadian
February 4, 2008