THEN: Jaffna, Koappaay War Cemetary - November 2005
NOW: SL Army 51 Division New Headquarters - March 2011
By Charles Haviland | BBC News .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Anew military headquarters in northern Sri Lanka has been built on the site of a Tamil Tiger graveyard earlier flattened by the army, it has emerged.
The construction has come in for sharp criticism.
The army says it was allocated the plot as government land and that it was unaware of "unhappiness" over the site.
The Tamil Tigers departed from Hindu traditions of cremation and built large graveyards which experts say was part of a cult of martyrdom.
In May 2009 government forces defeated Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland. More than 70,000 people are estimated to have died in Sri Lanka's civil war which lasted for 26 years.
The army website has a full illustrated account of Friday's opening of the new headquarters for the 51 Division near Jaffna.
The website said it was declared open "amidst religious rites and rituals".
But it did not mention that on the same spot there used to stand a cemetery built by Tamil Tiger militants but destroyed by the army last year.
Tamil nationalists have already criticised the destruction of other Tiger graveyards in past years.
A former MP, MK Shivajilingam, said he was shocked because there were about 2,000 bodies of Tiger fighters on the site and there had been twice that number of memorial stones.
"How can the government build national reconciliation like this?" he said.
But army chief Jagath Jayasuriya told the BBC that having vacated its temporary premises in a Jaffna hotel, the 51 Division had to move to government land.
He said the military had been allocated this site which was owned by the prisons department, and he was "not aware of people expressing unhappiness".
Last year the government demolished the ancestral house of the late Tamil Tiger leader, Prabhakaran.
It says its policy is to wipe out any trace of the Tigers and ensure that their violence is forgotten.
It has however built several memorials to fallen government soldiers.
By Supun Dias | Daily Mirror .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Sri Lanka will share the experiences of its counterinsurgency campaign with 54 countries, including the USA, Russia, China and Britain, and enumerate the factors that contributed to its militarily defeating the LTTE, said Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya yesterday.
He said that the Army would conduct a three-day seminar on ‘Defeating Terrorism: the Sri Lankan Experience,’ scheduled to be held from May 31 to June 2.
The panel presenting the Sri Lankan Experience will share their knowledge of counterinsurgency emphasizing the predominance of the political effort, military effort, efficient politico military gearing and rapid resettlement as the core contributors to the success of the campaign.We will endeavour to propose adequate measures to manage and counter global terrorism, and discuss strategies for nation building while introducing the Sri Lankan perspective on counter terrorism, he said.
According to the Army, a comprehensive and effective counter terrorism strategy, operational and tactical level lessons covering intelligence, field engineering, medical aspects, and operations behind enemy lines, and the evolution of tactical level training would be discussed extensively during the seminar.
The role of human rights in counterinsurgency operations, rehabilitation programmes to integrate ex-combatants into society, and measures taken to mitigate factors that might lead to a resurgence of violence, and political reforms to accommodate all ethnic communities, and nation building would be the other key topics that would be touched on by the guests and also by the Sri Lanka Army during the seminar, the Army said.Meanwhile, the Army Commander launched a web site www.defseminar.lk yesterday, to enable the delegation members to register online for the summit and also to obtain a general view of the seminar.
BBC Sinhala .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Acourt in Sri Lanka has decided to re-initiate the investigation of senior Tamil journalist, Dharmaratnam Sivaram.
The case is to be heard for the first time after about five years.
Colombo High Court decided to hear the case in front of a Sinhala speaking jury, following a plea by the suspect, Arumugam Sri Skandharajah also known as Peter.
Police said the suspect was identified as a member of the armed wing of the Tamil militant group turned political party, PLOTE. The suspect was later released on bail.
Committee to Protect Journalists .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Five prominent media rights organizations sent a letter on Monday to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling on the U.N. to intervene in the case of Prageeth Eknelygoda, the Sri Lankan columnist and cartoonist for the Lanka eNews website, who disappeared on January 24, 2010. Since then, the letter notes, his wife, Sandhya Eknelygoda, has been asking the Sri Lankan government for any information about his fate. She has been given no word from any person in the government.
Eknelygoda's disappearance and his wife's efforts on his behalf have been widely reported in Sri Lankan and international media.
The letter was signed by representatives of the Cartoonists Rights Network International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Media Support, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Federation of Journalists.
Sri Lanka Mirror .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Sri Lanka accounts for as much as 80 per cent of the case backlog of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, says the Asian Legal Resource Centre.
ALRC has made the clam in an oral statement to the 16th session of the UN Human Rights Council now underway in Geneva, Switzerland.
It applauded the invaluable work of the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances. It also welcomed the entry into force of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
The ALRC urged all Council members and observers to ratify this important new instrument without delay or reservation and ensure its full and effective implementation.
Asia remains the scene of many of the world’s disappearances, it said, adding that the Working Group has, for example, noted with concern the increase in the number of contemporary cases of enforced disappearances in Pakistan.
The ALRC said it has been informed of up to several thousand alleged disappearances there in recent years.
It joined with the Working Group in calling on the government to ratify the Convention and accept the competence of the Committee under articles 31 and 32.
The same applies to Sri Lanka, which, shockingly, accounts for 80 percent of the Working Group’s present case backlog, ALRC said.
Has the Working Group received any response from the government of Sri Lanka concerning its repeated requests for a country visit?, it asked.
This remains vital as disappearances continue to be perpetrated with impunity. Journalist Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda, disappeared on January 4, 2010, but no serious investigation has since been launched.
Prominent human rights defender Mr. Pattani Razeek disappeared on February 11, 2010.
Despite a suspected perpetrator, Mr. Nowsadh, having been identified, the police have failed to take any action to arrest him, allegedly due to his political connections to a government Minister.
The government in its statement spoke only of databases and death certificates, but was silent on the lack of investigations or any credible actions to hold perpetrators accountable, it said.
How does the Working Group perceive ways in which the new Convention can assist in addressing situations in which disappearances remain ongoing and impunity is deeply entrenched?, the ALRC asked.
By Krishan Francis | Associated Press .............................................................................................................................................................................................
An international human rights group urged Sri Lanka's government on Wednesday to release hundreds of prisoners held without charge under the country's tough anti-terror laws.
Amnesty International said some detainees are kept in secret locations where they are vulnerable to torture or even death in custody.
It said 1,900 people are being held without trial according to the most recent official reports.
"Sri Lanka's so-called national security laws, and in particular the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), are being used to harass, intimidate and punish critical voices," said Sam Zarifi, the group's Asia-Pacific Director.
He said the detentions are "outside even the protections offered by the Sri Lankan legal system and in clear violation of recognized international human rights standards."
Some prominent journalists are among those who have been detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The law gives the police and military sweeping powers to enter and search premises without warrants, seize or seal off property, and detain people suspected of terrorism.
The London-based human rights group said it interviewed a detainee identified only as Elil who has spent 10 years in a Colombo prison without being charged.
Sri Lanka has spent a large portion of the last 40 years under emergency law. Tamil Tiger rebels fought the government for 26 years for an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils until they were defeated in 2009.
Authorities say the anti-terror laws are needed to detain captured rebels.
BBC Sinhala .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Rights watchdogs have complained to the United Nations that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated.
Several human rights groups have submitted written statements on Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
The 16 session of the Human Rights Council is meeting in Geneva until the 25th of March.
International Movement Against All Forms of Racism (IMADR) in its statement accuses the Sri Lankan government of failing to fulfil pledges given to the UNHRC at earlier sessions.
It also says that the testimonies in the north and east to a commission of inquiry appointed by the president of Sri Lanka bear witness to the 'culture of impunity, collapse of the rule of law and other systematic rights violations'.
The government appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in May, last year.
18th Amendment
"Further, the 18 amendment to the constitution has removed any expectation related to the independence of the Human Rights Commission," says the IMADR.
The 18th amendment that hugely increase the president's powers became law in last September amid local and international opposition.
Increasing militarisation in the north and east, continuing extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention and disappearances are of serious concern, says the rights watchdog.
The government, however, says the LLRC will come out of recommendations to resolve remaining human rights and war-related concerns.
The International Catholic Movement Pax Romana in its submission has urged the Council to protect rights defenders and fundamental freedoms in the north and east.
Pax Romana accuses the Sri Lankan government of continuing with the suppression of freedom of assembly and association in former war-torn areas, particularly in Tamil heartland, Jaffna.
Protect rights defenders
While killings and threats against human rights defenders are continued in Jaffna, the government still impose restrictions on NGOs working the population, according to Pax Romana.
It also highlights the disappearance of rights activist Pattani Rafeek, who is missing since February 2010.
The Hong Kong based Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) accuses the Sri Lankan government of failing to cooperate with the UNHRC and eradicate torture despite repeated pledges.
It urges the council to adopt measures to strengthen local human rights protection bodies and mechanisms.
Addressing the opening session of the UNHRC, Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has said that the Sri Lankan government is dedicated to restore the human rights that was “denied to the people by the Tiger terrorists.”
“It is the responsibility of all democratic countries to reject terrorism. But unfortunately in certain country pro terrorists activities are being allow to prevail,” the minister was quoted by the state-run SLBC.
International investigation
The Amnesty International (AI) in its submission says the government has refused to acknowledge credible allegations of war crimes and other violations of international law despite mounting evidence.
The Council, says the AI, should call on Sri Lanka to end reports of abductions, enforced disappearances and killings and other violations in northern Sri Lanka.
“A UN-led independent international investigation into alleged crimes under international law is an essential step to ensuring justice for Sri Lankan victims and their families,” AI submission to the UNHRC added.
The report of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Panel of Experts should be made public, it has urged.
But the government insists that the LLRC is mandated to inquire any violation of International human rights and humanitarian laws.
The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said: “It is an universally accepted legal principle that consideration needs to be given to international measures, only when national domestic recourse is unavailable.”
Responding to the recent resolution by the US Senate calling for a UN war crimes investigation, the Ministry said that “those who framed the text of the Resolution, have overlooked the capacity and strongtrack record of the LLRC as a domestic mechanism, to work for reconciliation and the further strengthening of national amity.”
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