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Full Text of the letter:

Most.Rev.Dr.Rayappu Joseph, D.C.I., Rome
Bishop of Mannar, Bishop’s House,
Mannar, Sri Lanka.
Tel: 023-22322503; 2232710
Fax: 023023-2232709
E-mail: bpjoseph@sltnet.lk
19-06-20060

His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio,
Apostolic Nunciature,
220 Bauddhaloka Mawatha,
Colombo 7.

Your Excellency,

Shedding of innocent blood in St. Mary’s Church, Pesalai in the island of Mannar at 8.20 AM on Saturday 17th of June,2006 sent with my kind request to be forwarded to the Holy See, Rome.

The Sri Lanka Navy which has one of its camps in the Pesalai area on the shores of a little village called Siruthoppu and the sea tigers of the LTTE were engaged in a battle in the sea off Pesalai. Two days before this incident i.e. on the 15th inst., an exchange of fire had taken place between the Police who are stationed at the very entrance of the village of Pesalai and the LTTE, at 8.00 PM. At this incident the people of Pesalai had fled to their Church for shelter. During this incident, seven houses in the village suffered extensive damage due to RPG mortar attack from the Police Post. The people numbering over 6000 spent the whole night in the Church and in the buildings in the church compound. The same people chose to stay there even on Friday night On the early morning of Saturday the 17th inst., as the people were trying to go to their homes, they were held back by the sound of the battle that had started between the Navy and the LTTE in the Pesalai sea.

As this battle was dying out around 8.00 AM, the people heard heavy firing coming from the side of the Siruthoppu Navy camp and they knew that the Navy was advancing towards the village of Pesalai and towards the Church. On the way, the Navy had set fire to the Cadjan houses of the fishermen at a costal location known as Vankalai Padu and gutted down several of them together with fishing nets, outboard engines and other valuables. This location was deserted by the fishermen who had taken shelter in the Church at Karisal a kilometer away from this their habitation, a towards the interior. The Navy personnel proceeded further towards Pesali it is related by eye witnesses and on the way they signaled to six fishermen who were returning to the shores at a costal location called Kaataspathri. The fishermen came down from their boats with their Identity Cards in hand. The Navy men asked them to go on their knees and fired at them through the mouths. Four of them fell dead still holding in their hands their Identity cards. The rest of the two had tried to run away and one of them was caught by the Navy and fired through his mouth and his body was found in one of the boats and the other sustained injuries on his stomach and holding his stomach, he ran and fell down at one of the houses at the village and he was immediately taken to the nearby church of Kaataspathri. He was removed by the SLRC to the Mannar hospital after an hour at 9.30 AM and had been sent from Mannar. to Anuradahpura hospital for special treatment. The Navy personnel proceeded to Pesalai blindly firing around and several houses at Pesalai are seen damaged. They came around the Church of Our Lady of Victory at Pesalai and took positions outside its walls. At this point four men in shorts and tea-shirts rushed into the church compound by the main entrance riding on two motor cycles it is said. They startd firing at the church walls, doors and windows where over 6000 people, after having fastened all the doors and windows from within, were taking shelter. Some Navy personnel had fired into the church through the little openings found on the large doors and a good number of innocent civilians there sustained injuries and even the frame on the main altar holding the statue of Our Lady of Victory is seen damaged. One of the Navy personnel, then had opened one of the windows and hurled one after the other two hand grenades in to the church. One of these fell back striking the window grills and the other blasted in the church with a big noise and heavy smoke resulting in one lady’s head being blown off in the church and several others sustaining injuries, some of whom had received serious injuries.

I, the Bishop of Mannar when informed about the incident contacted the area commander of the Sri Lanka Army in Mannar and he refused to allow me to proceed to Pesalai. After much efforts, the Divisional Secretary and myself were able to send the Mannar Police with the Ambulances to bring the seriously wounded to the Mannar Hospital .Finally at 9.10 A.M., I was able to move towards Pesalai with the SLLM (Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission), SLRC (Sri Lanka Red Cross) and the Divisional Secretary of Mannar. We managed to send the rest of the wounded and also dispatched the six dead bodies to the Mannar Hospital in the SLRC vehicles.

The military sources had tried to spread false news stating that there had been an attack by the LTTE on land at Pesalai on the Police and the Navy had to open fire etc. They also had been stating that a grenade held by one of those inside the Church had exploded etc. and that the Security Forces are not responsible for the explosion in the Church. All the people of Pesalai say that there was absolutely no incident on land in their village on that morning and the grenade story as stated by the military sources is adding insult to injury.

I informed the Vice Admiral, the commander in chief of the SL Navy of the above facts as testified by the people of Pesalai and their Parish Priests. I invited the local commander of the Navy seand organized a meeting with the people of Pesalai numbering 7000 at 4.30 in the evening of the same day of the incident. These people related to him in the above terms, of the inhuman incident perpetrated by the SL Navy in their village of Pesalai. They cried for their security against the Security Forces. They wanted him not to prevent them from fleeing to India or to go to the LTTE controlled Wanni for their safety. If not they said he could bring all his men and shoot all of them once and for all. Even if a sacred place like a Church is unsafe for them, where else will the innocent find safety? was their question. They pointed out that the incident had taken place in the sea and there had never been any provocation on land that morning and why this cruel brutality against the innocent people babies, women and elderly taking refuge in a Church. The Commander accepted everything the people said and tried to placate them by assuring them their future security. The people pointed out that several incidents of this type had taken place in the past and such assurances had been given by the leading commanders and they all had disappeared as words written on the waters. They spoke of the incident again at Pesalai on the 23rd of December, 2006 where after an incident of a claymore attack on the Navy, the consequent torture of the people of the area by the same Navy personnel, from noon 1.40 to night 9.00 PM and of the four innocent civilians including a three years old child made to disappear in the hands of the navy. Thereafter too assurances were given to no avail. The people told him of the threat meted out to all the people in Pesalai and in its sub-villages namely Kaataspathri and Siruthoppu by the Pesalai Navy saying that any LTTE attack on them will result in their wiping out the whole village sparing not even breast feeding infants. The people meeting requested the presence of the ICRC in the village on a permanent basis to which the ICRC representative present said that he would keep his headquarters informed of the same. The people are mortally afraid of the Navy and any amount of assurance given to them is not going to change their fear ridden psychosis due to past assurances not being kept up and the threats meted out to them by the Navy. When they sight the Navy moving in groups, the people at Pesalai run for their life to the church. The Navy and the Army expect that the ordinary civilians give them information about the LTTE. They do not see that the civilians have nothing to do with the LTTE and their activities and that their only concern is their daily civic life in search of the daily means of sustaining their large families. The fate of the so called informants is a fright to the innocent people. The security forces in this area do not understand this at all and from top to bottom, each of them has coloured his mind with this fanaticism that the people are there to supply security information to them. The are totally ignorant of LTTE plans etc. Unless and until the above unfounded prejudice is removed from the Forces against the Tamil civilians, they will never be in a position to offer any security to the people. The cry of the of our people that they want security from the SL Security forces in their midst is very genuine in the given situation. Their immediate expectation is that a neutral Force should be brought in to take care of the security of the innocent people in a situation where nearly 95% of the Security Forces in Sri Lanka are Singhala and except a few very good officers, almost all of them are prejudiced against the Tamil people. This truth should be squarely faced by all concerned to prevent violence and escalation of it against civilians Tamil or Singhala speaking. At the moment all fishing in Mannar district is forbidden and the life of the poor fishermen is going to become miserable. The people’s right to life and their right to earn a living are greatly endangered in the District of Mannar which has a population of 125,000 people. Today 7000 of Pesalai are staying in the Churches and over 2000 have left the area in search of safer locations.

The Church of Our Lady of Victory at Pesalai is the biggest church in the whole country which had been newly built and blessed by His Excellency Apostolic Nuncio on the 5th of December, 2004. This church has been desecrated by innocent blood being shed by unjust aggressors, the SL Navy. I had called for a day of penance and prayer and this day falls on Monday the 19th inst and by evening we will be having a purification ceremony for three hour and bless the Church anew for worship in the presence of the Presbyterium of Mannar and the people of Pesalai. Today I buried the six civilians murdered by the Navy at Pesalai yesterday and spoke of Jesus Christ crucified and his Eternal words “Father forgive them for they do not know what thy do”. It is this power of forgiveness, I said, that made Him rise again and reminded the people of this hope that enlightens us even at this hour of darkness.

Details of those killed by the Navy at Siruthoppu Navy camp in Pesalai, Mannar on 17.06.2006:

01. Mrs. Manaval Claramma Leela aged 75 yrs, Catholic,
Ward 4, Pesalai killed in the Church.

02. Mr.Jesuthasan Jude Nixon 23 yrs old, Catholic, unmarried; Ward 8, Pesalai.

03. Mr.Cyrilappar St.Jude 22 yrs old Vidathalthivu; Catholic, Unmarried.

04. Mr. Turairaja Vijekumar 39 yrs old, Hindu, married with three children of 16,13,and 10 years of age, Kaattaspathiri, Pesalai.

05. Kodalingham Linganathan 20 yrs old, Hindu, unmaried, Kaattaspathri, Pesalai.

06. Abdul Raheem Latheep, 38 yrs old, Muslim, married with wife and two children , Puthukudiiruppu, Erukilampiddy.

Composed by the Bishop of Mannar Rt Rev.Dr.Rayappu Joseph. 19.06.2006, Mannar.

We in Sri Lanka have not lived up to the promises enshrined in the Constitution. We ask people to vote, carry NICs, have national passports and call ourselves citizens of Sri Lanka. What do some get in return for such obedience? The testimony, in many instances in Sri Lanka, is its failure to protect. Protection which enables freedom for development, is what good governance should give us.

By J. Nikhil Mustaffa

Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated by a sniper, whose location could have been foreseen by any amateur sleuth. He was protected by some of the best in the country. While we may sing many a praise, after he is gone, it is not going to bring him back. For his family, loss was `immeasurable. Neelan, when he was assassinated, had a backup vehicle, where the door locks functioned from the outside. He too left behind a family grieving.

They were protected directly by the State.

Many years ago, on a weekend, the news reported the disappearance of Richard de Soyza. Subsequently found on Koralawella beach. His mother and maid witnessed the abduction from their home. No one was successfully convicted of the crime. In fact, it is said that the investigation was a farce. Though, thousands had disappeared before he did, it was said that his death was a turning point to highlight the murderous environment in which people lived, since he was quite well known and had influential friends.

CBK appointed a number of commissions of inquiry, to look into the disappearances. The narratives of 35,000 disappearances were deposed before the commissions. Most, if not all of the deaths, were the result of the culture of impunity. Our culture dictates customs that mourn death and put souls at rest. For the families of the disappeared, that is not possible, since there is no such finality.4000 persons are, reportedly, missing in action. The tale of incomplete rituals is the same here. This chapter in our history, has been fatal for us as a country. It meant, sanctioned extrajudicial killings and the killers were protected actors!

There have been many more tales. However, it’s this legacy, which made possible the killing of five youths on the beach, in Trincomalee. Evidently, three have bullet wounds to their heads, indicating a one style of executions. Two had wounds elsewhere. Amnesty International has sought information on the whereabouts of eight youths who were last seen in a temple.

The Alipiddy incident had eight dying in a very controlled area. The Bishop, in a comment published yesterday, alludes to conscription, in a government held area, by a group not aligned to the LTTE. A couple, who sought asylum and received it through an in-country process, had rung yesterday, to inquire how two of their brothers, who are under constant threat of conscription, could possibly seek safety in another country.

The two boys do not know who is `after them. Last week, in Pesalai, the people who sought shelter from fighting, saw a grenade being flung, in addition to shooting which injured them.

The Kebbitigollawa mine attack was an indescribable horror. The Human Rights Task Force, the forerunner to the current Commission, in a report, narrated how persons were loaded into a truck, never to be seen gain, even though, hundreds witnessed the departure.

A Chinese restaurant, where the current Cricket Club is, was once stormed, reportedly, by well connected personnel in the heart of Colombo. These are tales of one side of protection of the same coin.

Another side ensures all citizens are protected from deprivation. The Finance Ministry, in a thought provoking document released last year, classified deprivation in the form of poverty, into a number of categories.

The poorest of the poor and the less poor

This segment accounts for 23% of the population in the country. Ten percent is chronically poor. Both need support through public cash transfer schemes. About 10-15% of the population, who are above the poverty lines, but close to it, need to be supported with Credit Schemes and other Programmes such as, Micro-financing, Income Generating Activities and Community Infrastructure Rehabilitation. Poor households in the conflict affected North-East, need to be recognised separately and supported under ongoing Rehabilitation Programmes.

Youth

This targets youth above 18 and under 35 years, to enhance their income, where, currently, there is insufficient income for their livelihoods through public, private and people’s sectors.

Differently Abled Poor

The 2001 Census identifies 274,711 as being differently abled (excluding the North-East). Of these 58% are males and 42% are females. About 32% have never attended school.

The Conflict Affected Poor

The earlier narratives have indicated the impact. Hence, poverty in the North-East, is experienced differently, whilst Peace is key to reducing conflict related poverty.

The Tsunami Poor

There is an overlap between normal poverty and Tsunami affected poverty. In certain areas, where resettlement and area-wise infrastructure provisions are involved, there will be several additional reconstruction interventions.

Women and Children

Women constitute 51% of the population. Unemployment among women is 22% and is double that of men and where employed, mostly at the bottom of the pyramid, find jobs, usually, in low status, low skilled and low paying areas. Most of the jobs are in unorganized and informal sectors. They represent 76% of unskilled migrant labour. Poor women can be categorised into female heads of households, subdivided as (a) Non-widows and

(b) Widows/Separated/Divorced/Elderly and Disabled women.

Non-Widows

An estimated 20% of households are headed by females (one in every five). The urban sector has 23.4%, while the estate sector has 17.3%. Mainly, issues include financial instability, poverty and irregular low wage employment.

Widows, Separated / Divorced Women

Widows constitute 65% of female heads of households in Sri Lanka. About 19,000 are War widows and relatively young. Most are impoverished, deprived of social security and family support. Their children too, are isolated, often in unhealthy conditions, sexually and physically abused, and without inheritance rights to property. Many widows are hounded from their homes and denied access to essential resources such as, shelter, food, clothing and clean water. They have no social status and standing, and are denied loans to start gainful employment.

Elderly Women

The country’s old age dependency ratio has progressively increased over the last 20 years and is expected to double over the next 20 years. Retirement systems, currently cover 25% of Sri Lanka’s working age population; the vast majority of the population does not have formal social protection for old age. Further, of those who are covered, a large proportion are located in the top two income quintiles, suggesting that Sri Lanka’s retirement system does not adequately meet the needs of the poor. A large proportion of those not covered are outside the labour force, the majority (70%) of them are women.

Disabled Women

These comprise one of the most neglected segments of the population. Most are unemployed, isolated, marginalised and considered a burden and objects of pity. Disability imposes upon them greater vulnerability.

Children

Children under 18 years constitute 36% of the population, infants 1.6% and those under four 7.2%, making a total of 8.8% under five.

In front of Odel and the mosque at Town Hall in Colombo, passing motorists can see little children defecating, bathing and dressing for school from the pavement on which they sleep at night. It’s a convention that children have a right of protection, which should give them a life of dignity and security, as do all citizens in a country which promises democracy.

In South Africa, one of the judges of the Supreme Court, had interpreted a provision in the constitution to ensure all had a right to housing, in a case on the indignity of living in tin shacks.

The Nepali constitution had the Right to Life enshrined in it but the turmoil, recently, was testimony to failure. For now, it seems, they will, together, write up a new constitution.

The history though, is of bad governance, notwithstanding a very good constitutional framework.

Yash Ghai, a reputed scholar, due back for a lecture soon, in an address in Geneva, had spoken of the promise of a constitution to its citizens. We in Sri Lanka have not lived upto those promises. We ask people to vote, carry NICs, have national passports and call ourselves citizens of Sri Lanka.

What do some get in lieu of such obedience?

For a family in Mannar, where the husband and two children had died of hanging in their own little home, having returned from India, where they had been refugees, the woman in the family had been gang raped and found dead.

In her last moments alive, what failing promises of our Constitution would she have not seen?

When the youth on the beach were being executed, what thoughts would have crossed their minds? For their parents, justice may never be given. Manorani, mother of Richard de Soyza, did not either, though people with knowledge of how he died, may still be around.

For the people of Sampoor, who get bombed, each time the LTTE plays truant, what crime was it they committed in being born Sri Lankan?

It is`said that 43 meetings were held between the UPFA and the UNP, where agreement was found on 95% of what they discussed for constitutional reform, except, evidently, the option of a third term for a President.

When the All Party Conference members munch their crisp samosa, sandwiches and sip tea in fine china, they do not have the courage to disclose what has gone on before?

Nepal hid its head in the sand, pretended there was a passing rebellion. Horror of failures finally caught up on the rulers and they are now compelled to redraw the map on governance.

The testimony, in many instances in Sri Lanka, is its failure to protect. Protection which enables freedom for development, is what good governance should give us. [DailyMirror]

Pictures [humanityAshore.org]

By Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda

Sri Lanka’s peace process that began in 2002 continues to go deep in a serious crisis. An undeclared war between the armed forces of the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is intensifying every day. In the escalating violence, civilians have become victims to claymore mine attacks. Reports of civilian killings by unidentified death squads operating in the Northern and Eastern provinces have been increasing. Now it is really a dirty war in which civilian populations are deliberately targeted, killed and terrorized while the perpetrators deny responsibility.

The Cease-fire Agreement and the presence of the international Monitoring Mission are no longer effective instruments to arrest the spiral of violence or the sliding back to war. One can even say that the war has actually begun. If that is the case, Sri Lanka needs new initiatives by the international community and the government to prevent the war from developing into a catastrophic phase.

Geneva

These extremely negative developments are taking place in the backdrop of recent failure of the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE re-start the stalled peace process. The first such attempt under the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse was made in February this year in Geneva. Facilitated by the Norwegian peace brokers, the two sides met there after an absence of direct talks for three years. The immediate context for the Geneva meeting was the increasing violations of the CFA and the threat of the resumption of full scale-war in consequent to such violations.

In Geneva the two sides agreed to renew their commitment to honour the CFA fully and take immediate steps to prevent future violations. But that was a pledge that remained valid only on paper. Within two weeks of the Geneva Accord, killings returned on a larger scale, each side blaming the other for re-escalating violence.

Listing the LTTE as a terrorist entity by the European Union on May 29 occurred in the backdrop of an increasing risk of full-scale hostilities breaking out. The EU statement on the listing said that this decision should not surprise anybody because the LTTE had systematically ignored prior warnings. The EU seems to have been quite concerned with what they saw as the LTTE’s disregard of the EU’s repeated insistence that the parties in Sri Lanka ‘show commitment and responsibility towards the peace process and refrain from actions that could endanger a peaceful resolution and political settlement of the conflict.’

Co-Chairs

The meeting of the Co-Chairs – the EU, USA, Norway and Japan – which took place a few days later blamed the Sri Lankan government as well as the LTTE for the crisis and insisted that both parties should take immediate steps to ‘reverse the deteriorating situation and put the country back on the road to peace.’ The Co-Chair statement demanded from the LTTE to re-enter the negotiating process, renounce terrorism and violence and ‘be willing to make the political compromises necessary for a political solution within a united Sri Lanka.’ From the government, the Co-Chairs demanded that it must address the legitimate grievances of the Tamils, take steps to prevent acts of terrorism by armed groups and protect Tamil civilians throughout the country.

More importantly, the Co-Chairs insisted that the Sri Lankan government ‘show that it is ready to make the dramatic political changes to bring about a new system of governance which will enhance the rights of all Sri Lankans.’ The formulation ‘dramatic political changes’ meant federalist state reforms. There is an international consensus that federalism is the only alternative to Tamil separatism and Sinhalese unitarism

If the Co-Chairs thought that by being ‘tough’ on both sides, they could pressurise them back to the negotiation table, it was only a short-lived hope. Responding to intense international pressure, the LTTE agreed to meet with the government delegation in Oslo on June 08. The two delegations did go to Oslo. The most unexpected happened in the morning of June 08 when the LTTE delegation, led by its head of the Political Wing, refused to meet the government delegation. The LTTE’s explanation was that since the government had sent a junior official delegation, its Head of the Political Wing would not meet them.

The government responded to this unexpected move by the LTTE by recalling its team back to Colombo. Most embarrassed, the Norwegian facilitators fired a letter to the government and LTTE leaders demanding them to re-commit themselves to the CFA and ensure the security of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). As the things stand now, the international actors are realizing that they have a little or no role to play in re-convening Sri Lanka’s peace process. It may be the case that the internationals are looking for an honourable exit strategy.

Oslo Talks

Why did the LTTE go back on their word in Oslo by not taking part in negotiations with the Sri Lankan government delegation, when they had promised the Norwegians that their intention of coming to Oslo was to resume talks with the government?

Excuses given by the LTTE apart, it appears that the LTTE had implemented in Oslo a major political decision to terminate the peace process that began in 2002. Actually, this peace process has been in crisis for about three years and the crisis intensified particularly during the past six months in a context of regime change. Both the government and the LTTE have repeatedly expressed deep dissatisfaction with the peace process, for their own specific reasons. The present Sri Lankan government came in to power six months ago on a Sinhalese nationalist platform promising the electorate that it would amend the CFA and start a new peace process. The thinking of the present government has been that the peace process, initiated in 2002 by the then United National Front government, accorded unnecessary legitimacy to the LTTE, gave the LTTE many concessions placing at risk national security and sovereignty. The LTTE’s negative assessment of the peace process is based on the view that it did not produce any political outcome favourable to them.

The EU ban appears to have provided the context for the LTTE to bring the 2002 peace process to a political end, without saying it in writing or officially announcing it. The Oslo Communiqué which S. P. Thamilselvam, the LTTE’s Political Head, announced on June 10 was a further step in the direction of a unilateral path that the LTTE leadership seems to explore. The LTTE’s unilateralism is a direct response to the EU ban. It seems to entail either separating the EU from Sri Lanka’s peace process or creating conditions for the UN, the world body, to engage in Sri Lanka in new conditions of dramatically increasing violence.

Dilemmas

It appears that in the context of the current crisis of 2002 peace process, which has now approached what may be seen as its final phase, the Sri Lankan government, the LTTE and the international community are facing three sets of dilemmas.

For the Sri Lankan government, the dilemma is to prevent a major war breaking out while succeeding in weakening the LTTE militarily and politically. The government does not want to be seen by the international community as taking any direct initiative to bring the 2002 peace process to a formal end. It wants to be in the good books of the international community. Meanwhile, there are groups within the government that continue to argue that the opportune time has come to defeat the LTTE militarily. The radical Sinhalese Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a key member of the ruing coalition with 39 parliamentary seats, has launched a campaign saying that ‘enough is enough’ and telling the government to move in the direction of defeating ‘LTTE terrorism’ once and for all. They and sections of the military make the point that the war with the LTTE is necessary and winnable.

However, President Rajapakse appears to be cautious about a large-scale war. Politicians know that a big war will give an opportunity for the LTTE to launch massively destructive attacks on the economic and infrastructure installations. Maintaining the low intensity war leading to the outcome of weakening the LTTE’s offensive capacity seems to be the government’s preferred option for the moment. But, will it really work?

The LTTE’s calculations seem to be quite interesting too. Although not officially stated, they have bid farewell to the 2002 peace process. The LTTE’s dilemma is essentially about what next. The LTTE too does not want to be blamed for unilaterally initiating the next phase of war. Probably, the LTTE does not want a full-scale war, because it will certainly destroy the trappings of the parallel state which they have established over during the past few years. But at the same time, the government’s low intensity offensive has hurt the LTTE militarily. With the defection of Karuna, the LTTE’s military commander in the Eastern Province to the side of the government military in 2004, the LTTE’s military strength and control of the Eastern province has suffered a considerable setback. With the assistance of the Karuna group and other armed groups, a number of LTTE’s local military commanders as well as key civilian supporters have been assassinated in recent months.

The LTTE’s claim that it can protect the Tamil civilians is also coming under serious doubt, particularly in the context of continuing abduction and killing of pro-LTTE civilians by anti-LTTE armed groups. The government has also begun a policy of launching retaliatory air and artillery strikes against the LTTE in response to the LTTE’s offensive actions. Thus from the LTTE’s perspective too, a major war seems to be a necessity. But, who takes the first initiative? This is one of LTTE’s current dilemmas. It seems that the LTTE would prefer provoking the government to take the first step towards all-out war, with the hope that a massive retaliatory attack would be justified in the eyes of the world. Chilling stuff, indeed.

The LTTE’s new attitude towards the international community is worth studying. After the EU ban, the LTTE seems to be exploring possibilities of re-defining the role of the international community in Sri Lanka. The LTTE has also realized the limited nature of the role of Norway as peace facilitator in Sri Lanka. From the LTTE’s perspective, Norway has not been able to ensure that the Sri Lankan government implemented promises made at negotiations. The LTTE might look for a bigger power, with the capacity for power mediation. Yet, there are probably no volunteers to take up this responsibility, particularly in view of the international community’s frustration and disappointment with both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.

Verification

In this backdrop, the international custodians of Sri Lanka’s peace process do not seem to have many options. In banning the LTTE and in the Tokyo statement, the international community re-asserted its role in Sri Lanka. But there are limits to what the externals can do especially when the domestic actors in Sri Lanka are not in a mood to work together for peace. The UN might be the next in line to get involved, though reluctantly, Sri Lankan conflict.

Meanwhile, the escalating dirty war in Sri Lanka has opened up space for a new kind of role for the international community. It entails the setting up of an international verification commission to investigate incidents of violence against civilians. Although there have been many incidents of gruesome violence against Sinhalese as well as Tamil civilians in recent months and weeks, including the massacre of Sinhalese bus passengers the other day, the SLMM does not have power or capacity to conduct thorough investigations, and positively identify the perpetrators. While the government and LTTE exchange charges and counter-charges about responsibility for such acts of war crime, the presence of other armed groups in the Northern and Eastern provinces has made such violence against civilians a crime with impunity.

It is time now to think about an international verification commission for Sri Lanka with powers of investigation and compliance. That would be small, but necessary step towards humanizing a conflict that looks truly intractable. [www.focusLanka.org]

By S.S. Selvanayagam

The Supreme Court yesterday (19) granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights violation petition filed by a Tamil Relief Announcer of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) who was arrested and detained on the eve of a conference on World Press Freedom Day at BMICH.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justices Nihal Jayasinghe and Shiranee Tilakawardena, granted leave for the alleged infringement of the Petitioner’s right to equality and equal protection of the law and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.

The matter was listed for September 29.

Aggrieved Tamil Relief Announcer Ms Sivanathan Sivaramya (26) is seeking an order from Court for a compensation of Rs 5 million. She cited BMICH Police Post Chief Inspector Nimal, OIC Cinnamon Gardens Police Inspector Perera, the IGP, the Attorney General, SLBC, its Chairman, Sunil Sarath Perera and D.S. Senanayake College Principal Ashoka Senani Hewage, as Respondents.

Counsel V.S. Ganeshalingam, with Eugene Mariampillai, appeared for the Petitioner, a relief announcer at the SLBC as well as a volunteer teacher at D.S. Senanayake College, Borella, at the time of her arrest.

On May 1st this year, she went to the BMICH, to attend the UNESCO sponsored conference to mark World Press Freedom Day, where the guest of honour was Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

At 9.30 a.m. she produced her Identity Cards issued by the Director of Government Information and the SLBC at the main entrance. The police on duty examined them and permitted her to proceed. At the entrance to the building too, her Identity Cards were examined by the police and she was permitted to proceed to the 1st floor.

At the 1st floor counter, she was asked for her invitation, which she said she hadn’t, she was asked for her Identity Cards which were examined and permitted to proceed to the hall. At the entrance of the hall, where the conference was in sessions, a person asked her for her invitation which she replied she hadn’t. Then she was told that she cannot enter the hall.

She returned to the 1st floor counter and informed them about this. She was told that she could proceed upstairs and one of them was about to escort her upstairs, when the persons who asked for her invitation card, came to the counter and said that she cannot be permitted to attend the conference and added something in Sinhala which she could not follow.

She gave up the intention of attending the conference and decided to get back and was coming down the stairs, when the persons who refused to admit her to the hall, followed her to the police post on the ground floor and said something in Sinhala and she was detained there.

She was extensively interrogated there. She told them that she was a Relief Announcer at the SLBC and a volunteer teacher at D.S. Senanayake College, Borella. She also told them that her father was a lawyer working for a human rights organization in Colombo and that her uncle was a retired senior public servant, who served as advisor to past Presidents.

However, she was put into a jeep and taken to Cinnamon Gardens Police Station and detained there. During that night, three police teams repeatedly questioned her and recorded statemens in Sinhala. She was not informed of the contents of the statements but was told that LTTE suicide bombers had infiltrated the city.

On the following day, she was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate and remanded till the conclusion of the investigations. She alleged that, while in remand at Welikade Prison, she underwent humiliating treatment, both by the staff and the inmates, in that, she was accused of being an LTTE suicide bomber come to kill Mangala Samaraweera at the BMICH.

She stated that for their allegation, they relied on the news appearing both in the electronic media and the press, which stated that she was an LTTE suicide bomber. On May 5, she was enlarged on Rs 5,000 personal bail and subsequently, on June 2, she was discharged without any charges being framed against her.

Petitioner is asking the Court to direct that she be permitted to work as Tamil Relief Announcer and as volunteer teacher, in which capacity she was working before her arrest. [DailyMirror]

Related: Tamil woman broadcaster released on bail By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan alias Marshall is LTTE’s ‘Military Spokesperson’, effective June 19th, 2006. LTTE has created this position for the first time in the history of the organization.

Marshall was leading the Batti, Ampara Political wing after the assassination of Kaushalayan. Later he was transferred to the Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. Ilanthiraiyan was also a member of the LTTE delegation, at the Geneva talks early this year.

The following excerpt is a profile of Rasian Ilanthiraiyan appearing in an article in February 2005, marking the appointment of Ilanthiraiyan as LTTE political wing chief for Batticaloa/Ampara: [by D.B.S Jeyaraj]

Rasian Ilanthiraiyan alias Marshall is the replacement for Kausalyan in the East. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader Velupillai Pirapakaran has selected the affable native of Arumugathankudiyiruppu in the Eravoor area as his new “arasiyal poruppalar” or political commissar for the Batticaloa – Amparai districts.

Ilanthiraiyan was functioning as the LTTE’s Batticaloa – Amparai headquarters administrator prior to his new posting. An old boy of St. Michaels College, Batticaloa Ilanthiraiyan was involved in Tamil nationalist student politics with Ramalingam Paramadeva in the mid seventies. Later he was involved in the pro – TULF Tamil youth league politics. Paramadeva later went on to become the first LTTE military commander for Batticaloa but died in the attack on Kaluwanchikudy police station in 1984. Ilanthiraiyan too was a member of the LTTE team that attacked Kaluwanchikudi unsuccessfully in the maiden venture commanded by Paramadeva.

Ilanthiraiyan joined the LTTE officially in 1983. Earlier he had been on the fringes helping out wherever possible. Like the former tiger Eastern regional commander Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan alias Karuna, Ilanthiraiyan too was recruited by tiger veteran Sinnathurai alias “Father” who is now an LTTE “Judge” in Palugamam. After receiving arms training in Salem, Tamil Nadu Ilanthiraiyan returned to the East and participated in several operations. He also received special training in communications. Ilanthiraiyan has also functioned as am instructor in LTTE training camps.

Ilanthiraiyan too went along with Karuna and other Eastern cadres to the Wanni in the late nineties to fight against the Sri Lankan army in operations “Jayasikurui” and “Oyatha Alaigal”. It was around this time that he was “noticed” specifically by Pirapakaran. The tiger supremo was impressed by his quiet efficiency and got Karuna to “second” Ilanthiraiyan for service in the Wanni after the fighting was over. One of his plus points is his fluency in English and Sinhala and of course Tamil.

[Photo TamilNet: Ilanthirayan (Marshall), member of LTTE Geneva team speaking at a diaspora event in Geneva, in February 2006]

By S. T. Hettige
Senior Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Colombo

People and politician in Sri Lanka get together to seek divine help to deal with existential problems that in many secular democracies in the west as well as the in the east have been effectively addressed by rational state intervention, guided not by spiritual leaders, but by scientists and professionals.

With the escalation of the northeast conflict again, one wonders whether we have reached a critical point in the conflict. If we, in fact have entered another bloody phase of the conflict, our chances of getting out of the prevailing sorry state of affairs in the country is the foreseeable future can only be described as very slim. Given our addiction to an extreme form of populist politics, even without a debilitating conflict, it would not have been easy to sort out the mess. Now with the conflict raging again, the country’s future appears to be extremely bleak.

We know very well why the country came to be engaged in a violent ethnic conflict but the country’s political leaders did not bother to recognize and address its root causes. We know for certain that past policy failures contributed to worsening ethnic relations in the country but no concerted effort was made to rectify them. Populist politicians became so arrogant that they did everything to marginalize public servants, intellectuals, professionals, etc. They established almost total domination over the state-run media institutions. The media personnel have to obey their masters if they were to remain in employment. Media professionalism soon became a historical fact. The result is a lopsided dominant public discourse, irrespective of the party in power.

Sri Lankan society has succumbed to the pressures of the twin phenomena of the ethnic war and the unregulated open economy. Conspicuous consumption, made possible by a liberalized economy, became too tempting to almost everybody from the President of the country downwards. Increasing economic pressures flushed out hundreds of thousands of men and women belonging to low and middle strata of society; they found more lucrative employment in the Middle East and elsewhere. These workers began to send in remittances that have since then kept the trade gap within tolerable limits. Successive governments that adopted increasingly liberal economic policies have been rewarded by the developed country trading partners by increasing “development assistance”. Availability of foreign exchange ensured increasing imports of both basic commodities as well as luxury goods demanded by an expanding urban elite.

Higher income groups not only found more income earning opportunities but also ways of disposing of their new found wealth that set them clearly apart from the ordinary people. Luxury housing, expensive cars, leisure travel, international education for their children, exclusive medical treatment in well-equipped private hospitals, acquisition of expensive household gadgets, dining in sleek restaurants, etc. Such consumption patterns are constantly displayed in the media, by way of powerful advertisements. People who are exposed to such advertisements often look for opportunities to engage in such consumption. Those who cannot earn enough money by legitimate means resort to all sorts of illicit activities such as illegal migration, burglaries, bribery, extortion, drug peddling, production and sale of illicit alcohol and smuggling of goods. Those who are placed in positions of authority such as politicians, law enforcement officers, public servants, professionals, etc have enough opportunities to make money if they wish to do so. Newspapers have been full of reports in recent years about abuse of power for personal gain by high-ranking politicians and others mentioned above. Yet, given the fact that prospects of detection and prosecution appear to be slim due to various reasons, the trends continue to remain strong. On the other hand, political parties continue to field corrupt politicians as candidates at national and local elections and the people usually return them with large majorities.

It is obvious that there is a clear deterioration of standards in politics. This development is no doubt a reflexion of the quality of the voting population as well. It is true that educational levels of the general population has increased over the last few decades; yet the quality of their education has declined as it is evident from declining levels of general knowledge even among university graduates. Instrumental value of education has replaced intrinsic value of education. Education no longer has a humanizing effect on children and youth. Interpersonal relations among people are so debased today that not only the language used is increasingly violent and aggressive but physical violence is common place even among the most educated youth in the country as is evident from frequent violent clashes among university students.

People have become so pragmatic in their day-to-day lives that they seem to accept the notion that “the ends justify the means”, So if a politician offers personal benefits, such as Samurdhi handouts, employment, admission to schools, etc., whether the politician concerned is corrupt, violent and uneducated is immaterial. A well-established University professor is not an appealing candidate to such voters.

So, the populist politicians have established a new social contract with the general population unmediated by the intelligensia, professional journalist, and civil society organizations. Politicians can ignore the latter groups, or try to win them over to their side by offering positions and other privileges. Some of them, in fact join them, and use such connections as a short cut to privilege. Public institutions are naturally handed over to them, leading to politicization of such institutions and demoralization of their professionally minded employees.

Patron-client politics thus becomes all pervasive in society. Issues of development and public welfare are not addressed through a process of systematic policy making. People are compelled to find individual solutions to their problems. The growing demand for places in privileged schools is not managed by systematically reducing the gross inequalities within the education system. Instead, all the energies and resources are devoted to allocate such places to prospective pupils on the basis of a bureaucratic procedure that naturally favours those who could manipulate the system. Transport problems are not addressed through an integrated system of public and private transport but by encouraging people to have their own private means of transport. Poor people are kept on hand outs, delivered by a politically useful bureaucracy and no rational policy framework is developed to facilitate the adoption of effective strategies to wean the poor out of poverty.
The result of the adoption of populist strategies is that the socio-economic conditions in the country continue to deteriorate. There is ample evidence attesting to this fact. The first poverty alleviation programme was launched about 17years ago. Yet, the number of poor families in the country has remained almost unchanged over the period. The real beneficiaries of poverty alleviation efforts have been the non-poor and poverty researchers. The situation is not any better in other spheres such as education, health, transport and law and order. People adversely affected naturally look for some solace. Those who offer instant solutions such as counsellors, spiritual leaders, soothsayers and faith healers have a field day.

Media is full of religious sermons and other spiritual activities, but little on science and critical thinking. The strong connection between people and religion encourages politicians to follow suit. They join people to visit temples and participate in religious rituals, almost as if to demonstrate that politicians have no power to solve people’s problems. People and politician in Sri Lanka get together to seek divine help to deal with existential problems that in many secular democracies in the west as well as the in the east have been effectively addressed by rational state intervention, guided not by spiritual leaders, but by scientists and professionals.

This is understandable given the fact that most of our politicians today have had no opportunity to elevate themselves above the intellectual level of the average citizen of the country. So, it is no wonder that they conduct themselves in the same way as the ordinary people in the country, constantly participating in religions rituals, not in seminars, workshops and critical discussions dealing with development and other issues. Politicians who sit through an entire religious ritual or a sermon usually have no time to take part in a serious discussion involving scientists and professionals. When they are invited for a seminar, they rush out after the inauguration which is mostly a ritual involving the lighting of the oil lamp, recitation of the national anthem and a welcome address. They naturally wish the participants best of luck!

Populist politics leaves little or no room for serious internal discussion and debate based on objective facts, visionary thinking and professional inputs. Populist political leaders do not need such deliberations, either to win elections or to remain in power. So, why should one bother? They are enough people, including so-called educated people who are willing to justify and rationalize anything. The country remains poor and under developed. Society becomes more violent and disorganized. People’s problem remains unresolved. Yet, there is no political party or a leader in sight with the determination, commitment and a vision to lead the country out of the present mess. The need of the hour may be a new political movement to provide a rationalist, social democratic alternative to democratic populism that recognizes no bottom-line for declining standards in society. [DailyMirror]