ANC supports UN experts’ recommendations on Sri Lanka war crimes

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 May 2011, 01:19 GMT]
Endorsing the recommendations of the UN expert panel’s report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, the African National Congress (ANC) criticised Colombo’s use of “a military solution of resolving problems [between conflicting parties]” and called on the government “to take immediate steps to address the core grievances of the Tamil population and engage in a genuine reconciliation process.” The ANC noted that one of the UN experts was a prominent South African jurist, Yasmin Sooka, and said it “has consistently condemned any act of violation of human rights in all conflict areas.
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Canadian Tamils chose to desert Liberals in favour of Leftists

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 May 2011, 06:17 GMT]
Scarborough's Tamil community had chosen this campaign to desert the Liberals. "That community turned against us completely and some of us paid the price," said six-times winning Liberal candidate John Cannis, who lost his seat in the general elections in Canada this week in Scarborough Centre parliamentary constituency. Meanwhile, according to Rathika Sitsabaiesan, who won the Scarborough-Rough River constituency for the leftist New Democratic Party, in the last days of Sri Lanka's civil war in May 2009, Liberal politicians had not appeared to support protestors on Toronto's University Avenue or on Parliament Hill in Ottawa where, she said, only the NDP leader Layton came to address the crowd, reports Mike Adler in Inside Toronto.com, adding that "Liberal MPs at the time said they didn't want to appear because protestors were displaying flags of the banned [LTTE]".
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Blake should not mislead Tamils again: Mano Ganesan

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 May 2011, 05:38 GMT]
Mano Ganesan, the leader of the Democratic Peoples Front (DPF), who was once named by then US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, in a statement issued on Wednesday, reminded the Tamils that the visiting US Asst Secretary Robert Blake was instrumental in providing US government's unconditional support to the war waged by the Sri Lankan state against Tamils. The “US government wanted put out a savior impression. But in real it did not bother about the Tamil civilian causalities,” Mr. Mano Ganesan said. “International community should act decisively with the GoSL. It is time that US assistant state secretary for central and south Asia affaires Robert O Blake lives upto his earlier ambassadorial preaching. He should not mislead the Tamils again.”
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‘Colombo holds onto its sinking ship’

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 May 2011, 05:23 GMT]
The visiting US Asst. Secretary of State Robert Blake accepted the congratulations of Colombo for the death of Osama Bin Laden. At the same time, in the context of the UN panel report on Sri Lanka’s war crimes he has said, “International mechanisms can become appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet their obligations.” But Colombo’s diplomatic community, as seen from what Dayan Jayatilake has written on Tuesday, pins its last hope on making a comparison between its genocide and the imperialism of the USA, thinking that such conflations could save its sinking ship. What the Sinhala polity that is neither prepared to concede nor share sovereignty with Eezham Tamils fails to see is that a precedence has been set in South Asia where powers could supersede sovereignty to implement what they think is right, writes a political analyst in Jaffna.
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UN war crimes report to be produced in White Flag case

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 12:21 GMT]
The Colombo High Court Wednesday issued notices on two more witnesses cited by the defense to be present at the next date of trial in the controversial white flag case in which the former army commander Sarath Fonseka has been indicted by the Attorney General, legal sources in Colombo said. Fonseka was charged for causing disrepute to the government by giving an interview to a English weekly alleging that the Defense Secretary Gotabahaya Rajapakse had ordered the army to shoot all LTTE cadres, who come to surrender holding white flags at the last leg of the Vanni war, dead.
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Rajapaksa's governors blame UN Expert panel report as “irresponsible act”

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2011, 15:40 GMT]
The nine governors appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, including the two ex-military governors of North and East, Maj. Gen (retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri and Rear Admiral (red.) Mohan Wijewickrema, have come out with a joint statement accusing the UN Expert panel report as a “biased unilateral report which would bring discredit to the President and the Armed Forces thereby to the people of Sri Lanka.” Mohan Wijewickrema, the colonial SL governor of the Eastern Province has issued the press release in the capacity of the Chairman of 13th Governor’s Conference.
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Sinhala extremist federation wants Rajapaksa to terminate talks with TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 May 2011, 05:42 GMT]
The Federation of National Organizations, a coalition formed by ten Sinhala extremist groups in the south, has requested the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to terminate its talks with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement issued on May Day, coinciding with the protest show of Mahinda Rajapaksa against the UN Expert Panel report. Meanwhile, Tamils from several parts of the island were forcefully taken to Colombo by Sri Lankan military, paramilitary and other agents to showcase as people from all ethnicities were united in the protest against the UN. However, a dead silence prevailed in the SL occupied country of Eezham Tamils throughout the whole day on May Day.
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Sri Lanka war-crime alleged over killing of TECH Director

[TamilNet, Saturday, 30 April 2011, 00:08 GMT]
Emerging evidence on Sri Lanka military targeting civilian leadership of Eezham Tamil development organizations at the end of Vanni war further reinforces the credible allegation that Sri Lanka's war crimes and crimes against humanity had genocidal intentions. C. Sivalingam Suhunan, alias Thilak, the executive director of TECH (The Economic Consultancy House), the flagship development NGO of the de-facto state of Tamil Eelam and a registered NGO in Sri Lanka, was one of the victims, according to a Senior official of TECH, who has identified Thilak's body in a recently leaked photograph taken by Sri Lankan soldiers. Mr. Suhunan had phoned his family last on 18 May, 2009 at 6:15 a.m. local time, informing that he was among a group of persons in civil clothes, going into Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled territory in Mullaiththeevu.
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Sri Lanka plans criminal show of ‘reconciliation’ in Colombo, Jaffna on May 1

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2011, 20:51 GMT]
In a cruel show of ‘reconciliation,’ Sri Lanka’s occupying military in full swing has gone to the houses of released LTTE cadres, family members of the captives and ‘resettled’ Eezham Tamils living in open prisons in north and east and intimidated them to participate in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s demonstration show in Colombo on 1 May, to oppose any international justice coming to the crimes committed against them. A fleet of buses are organized to herd the people from Vanni and Jaffna to Colombo, after warning them of dire consequences if they don’t come. Meanwhile, a group of thugs has been brought from the south for violent demonstrations in the locality of UN offices in Jaffna city on May 1.
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‘Solheim transforms from peace facilitator to facilitator of war crimes indictment escape’

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 April 2011, 06:50 GMT]
Norway’s former peace facilitator to the island of Sri Lanka, Mr. Erik Solheim, speaking to Norwegian state owned media NRK (Dagsnytt 18) on Wednesday, argued against any immediate international investigation on the war crimes in the island and said that it is only correct and fair to expect the Sri Lankan authorities to domestically investigate the UN panel material. According to him, this is what the ‘broader international community’ including nearly all the Western countries want. Solheim defended Ban Ki Moon, as his situation is difficult, accused the Tigers for not listening to his surrender call since five months before the end of the war, and suggested a new principle for international law that since Tiger leaders are now eliminated, domestic handling should be given a chance than ‘one-sided’ international indictment of Sri Lankan state.
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Colombo’s crimes grotesque – The Times

[TamilNet, Thursday, 28 April 2011, 00:04 GMT]
The Times newspaper (London) said Wednesday that the UN expert panel’s report on Sri Lanka’s war crimes confirms the newspaper’s reporting in May 2009 that the “Sri Lankan Government was party to the mass murder of civilians.” Referring especially to mass bombardment of civilians in so-called no-fire zones, the paper demanded that “perpetrators of this war crime should be pursued and targeted with sanctions by the UN and other international organisations.” Dismissing Colombo’s claim that the UN panel’s conclusions would inflict “irrevocable damage” on postwar efforts of reconciliation as “disingenuous”, the paper singled out India especially to act over Sri Lanka’s war crimes.
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New evidence leads to war crime committed on LTTE's Col Ramesh

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 April 2011, 22:47 GMT]
The wife of slain Batticaloa Commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on Thursday verified that the dead body shown in the photo released on Wednesday was that of her husband, Col. Ramesh. On Wednesday, a former member of the LTTE identified a photo leaked in recent days by the soldiers of the SLA as that of showing the dead body of Col. Ramesh, who had come to SLA controlled territory with civilians during the final hours of Vanni war in May 2009.
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UN panel report oversteps by rejecting homeland of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 April 2011, 11:54 GMT]
Eezham Tamils hoodwinked by war crimes indictments that are doubtful of materialising into actions, should carefully note that the UN panel report has said nothing on the burning question of colonization of the Tamil country by Colombo in listing obstacles to ‘sustainable peace and reconciliation’. On the contrary, it advises especially the diaspora to realise that all ethnic communities in the island “share a common homeland.” Anyone could see that in the context of the island nullification of the historical homeland of Eezham Tamils amounts to dismemberment of their nation and completion of genocide. What is the mandate of the UN panel to imply a political model rejecting the territorial identity of Eezham Tamils as a ‘lasting solution’ and in the process paving way for further crisis to them, asks a Tamil politician in Jaffna.
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India was fully aware of the war situation: former UN spokesperson

[TamilNet, Monday, 25 April 2011, 07:32 GMT]
The Indian government which wanted to "see the Tamil Tigers destroyed" was "fully aware" of the real situation in the battle zone, including the civilian casualties, said, Mr. Gorden Weiss speaking to BBC Sinhala Service Sunday. "I believe that Indians were aware of the civilian casualties that were happening, because they had pretty good intelligence inside the siege zone," Weiss who was the UN spokesperson in Colombo during the war said. He admitted that Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, made an agreement between the LTTE and the Sri Lanka authorities to arrange the surrender of senior Tamil Tiger leaders including B Nadesan and Pulithevan, who were executed after the surrender. The UN should have done more to prevent civilian casualties, he further said.
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UN has no right to meddle with democratic government - Dinamina

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 April 2011, 19:36 GMT]
An angry Sri Lankan government lashed out at the United Nations declaring that it did not have any right to meddle with the affairs of an independent, democratically elected government, the state run, Dinamina newspaper said in its lead article on Sunday. Quoting Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, the article said, the report by the three member panel appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was one sided with obvious partiality to the LTTE.
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PTA suspect discharged after 7 years in remand

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 April 2011, 00:01 GMT]
The Batticaloa High Court discharged an accused who was indicted seven years ago under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for getting arms training from LTTE. The High Court Judge, Mr. B. Sasimahendran, reasoned that the the confession made by the accused was taken under duress, and therefore, he is discharging the accused. The accused, 44 years-old Kanthasamy Thavarajan of Badulla was kept in remand since November 21, 2004, legal sources said.
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SL occupation of hospitals, schools harm resettlement in Vanni - TNA MP

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2011, 12:20 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian from Vanni, S. Sritharan, has blamed the occupying Sri Lanka Army in Vanni for continuing to occupy public buildings, including primary hospitals and schools, causing severe hardships to resettling civilians. The accusation by the TNA MP comes following District Development Committee (DDC) meeting held in Jaffna on Tuesday, when Medical Officers brought to the notice of the DDC that if the Poonakari primary hospital, now occupied by the Sri Lanka Army, is handed over to them, they would resume services to the resettled civilians.
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Report, devastating indictment of Sri Lanka military conduct, says Washington Post

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 April 2011, 00:25 GMT]
"The [UN] panel’s findings constituted a devastating indictment of the country’s [Sri Lanka's] military conduct during the final stage of the 28-year war, accusing government forces of shelling hospitals, no-fire zones and U.N. facilities, and blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid to victims of the war," Washington Post said Thursday, adding, "the panel calls on Sri Lanka to “issue a public acknowledgment of its role in and responsibility for extensive civilian casualties in the final stages of the war."" The UN officials told the Post that the release of the report had been delayed amid discussions with Sri Lanka over the possibility of including a rebuttal in the report.
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Indian public opinion should take care of Russia meddling with Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2011, 21:51 GMT]
Mahinda Rajapaksa is harping on Russia and China to escape international action on war crimes and to continue the well-planned genocide of Eezham Tamils unabated. Regrettably, Russia sees the current accelerated process of structural genocide and dismemberment of the nation of Eezham Tamils in the island as ‘reconciliation’ that should not be disturbed by war crimes investigation. On Monday Russia raised a number of ‘procedural’ objections on UN discussing the panel report. According to Inner City Press Thursday, Colombo’s UN representative Palitha Kohona insisted that there was “no mechanism” to bring the matter to the Security Council and that “We have Friends”. Whether Russia is acting on own or at the behest of somebody else, public opinion in India should take care of Russia, writes a Tamil political activist in Colombo.
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UN experts took bribes from LTTE supporters – SL minister

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 April 2011, 15:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s minister for Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, Wimal Weerawansa, accused the independent experts who authored a UN report on war crimes during the final months of Sri Lanka’s war, of having taken bribes from the Tamil Diaspora. His comments were reported in the state-run Daily News Thursday. Sinhala ultra-nationalist firebrand Weerawansa last July famously staged a fast-unto-death in front of the UN building in Colombo in response to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s appointment of the panel.
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