US, Jewish outfits in Colombo behind deceptive ‘hybrid court’, TRC advocacy
[TamilNet, Sunday, 09 August 2015, 11:56 GMT]
Human Rights activists in North and East told TamilNet this week that it was USA, more than any other countries, that has been promoting the South Africa inspired Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the so-called “hybrid mechanism” for transforming the international process into a domestic process lately in the island. The Colombo-based USAID and American Jewish World Service (AJWS) have been working behind the scene to campaign among Eelam Tamils to support these mechanisms, the sources told TamilNet. In the meantime, Northern Provincial Councillor M.K. Shivajilngam, in a letter sent to UN Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Saturday urged the UN Rights Chief to “take measures for proper international judicial process under the auspices of the UN.”
Citing the unanimous resolution adopted in February 2015 by the Northern Provincial Council, Mr Shivajilingam requested Mr Zeid to consider a judicial process that is purely of international nature under the control of the UN. “I request you to recommend the referral to the International Criminal Court or special tribunal for Sri Lanka, and do not support any domestic or hybrid mechanism under the control of Sri Lanka,” the NPC councillor said in his letter to the UN Human Rights Chief.
* * * The domestic model of ‘reconciliation’ without international investigations on the protracted genocide and international solutions to the national question in the island, coupled with accelerated demographic genocide that is taking place after 2009, would only make the ethnic conflict in the island a permanent feature like what the US-sponsored Israel is doing in Palestine, commented Tamil activists for alternative politics in the island.
In the long-run, the ‘Palestinanization’ of the country of Eezham Tamils, would become a permanent headache and security threat to India, the activists further commented.
* * * The AJWS has been campaigning amongst the Tamil organisations and individuals involved in the citizen committees in Mannaar, Vavuniyaa and other places, urging them not to boycott the sittings of the SL Presidential Commission to Investigate Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (PCICMP). A section of activists from North and East were invited to Colombo and ‘influenced’ not to boycott the sittings of the PCICMP. A section of activists, having links with the AJWS, have been causing dissension among the Tamil activists.
Meanwhile, the USAID affiliated personalities and funded groups have been campaigning for the TRC model through facilitating advocacy lectures on the topic, the sources further said.
TamilNet had brought out the following in an
earlier report:
The US sponsored NGOs in the island and the USAID-affiliated officials have been interacting with the sections of the emerging business elites among the Eezham Tamils, particularly the managers forum in Jaffna, diaspora-returned business-owners and the US-funded ‘rights defenders’ groups in a futile attempt to convince the Eezham Tamils to transform themselves into ‘Sri Lankans’ and embark upon a fresh South Africa model of ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ in a ‘Sri Lankan’ context.
One of the latest moves along this narrative was the meeting orgnised by the Colombo-based International Centre For Ethnic Studies (ICES) in which USAID-affiliated individuals took a visible role.
Former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Albie Sachs, and former Commissioner of the Truth Commission in Peru, Eduardo Gonzalez, were the distinguished guests invited to address in a series of meetings in the North-East and in other parts of the island. They were highlighting the significance of a South Africa model ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’.
“[...] If South Africa could do it, Sri Lanka can do it. Your problems are deep, bear deep historical roots, but they are not deeper than our problems were. They are not more intense than our problems were. We succeeded in getting a country of which we are all proud of, [...]” said Justice Albie Sachs in his address at Tilko hotel in Jaffna on 09 May.
The US move is targeting to create an alternative narration to that of the Tamil civil society in the North-East, a concerned Tamil activist, who has been observing the recent meetings and the debates in Jaffna told TamilNet.
The activist was also including the debate that took place between the nominated TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran and TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam in his list of examples. The debate was hosted by the Managers Forum in Jaffna.
* * *Meanwhile, informed human rights activists in North told TamilNet on Sunday that Eezham Tamils should carefully take note of the external sources channeling funds to media and political outlets that have propped up in recent times.
They added that these funded groups have been propped up through the election-contesting and campaign activities of journalists operating among the Eezham Tamils in the island and that these groups aim to split the votes of Tamils in the North and East in the forthcoming general elections.
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