'Panic' in Jaffna over Grease Devils

By Charles Haviland | BBC News
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An opposition MP in Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka says many people there are in a state of panic and afraid to go out at night because of the security forces’ behaviour.

Reports say the police and army beat up 20 people when taking action against a crowd who had been chasing some strangers they accused of acting suspiciously.

Many areas of the island are now gripped by fear of suspicious attackers and intruders, who are being collectively dubbed “grease devils”.

There are clear signs that the scare over so-called "grease devils" is aggravating the already tense atmosphere in Jaffna, a mainly Tamil city largely governed by a mainly Sinhalese army.

There are more and more accounts of people reporting mysterious intruders or attackers of women, and crowds seeking to get them arrested, then accusing the security forces of protecting them.

Army admits attacks

The crowds have taken to vandalism and the military have been reacting heavy-handedly.

In the latest reported incident, a crowd chased two people they said were acting suspiciously, tried to smash a bus they fled into, and were then set upon by the army who beat up and arrested several people.

Dozens more await trial after an earlier similar incident.

An army source speaking anonymously to the BBC admitted they had used physical force on protestors.

He said this was because the military believed former Tamil Tiger militants were behind some of the crowd violence.

Ordinary people, in contrast, are increasingly blaming the military or civil authorities for perpetrating the so-called "grease devil" attacks.

It is mainly the Tamil and Muslim minorities who have been reporting these assaults.

At a recent meeting with Muslim imams, Sri Lanka’s defence secretary said that, just as the army defeated “terrorists”, it would act against anyone making trouble.

The whole affair is mysterious.

There are few coherent accounts of the alleged misdeeds of the "devils" and little photographic evidence.

What is clear is that in many places in Sri Lanka there is now a poisonous mixture – fear of crime, vigilante violence, and an atmosphere of revenge.

© BBC Sinhala

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Head of pro-opposition radio station attacked in Sri Lanka

Deutsche Presse Agentur | Monsters & Critics
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The head of a pro-opposition radio station was attacked by unidentified men in the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital on Friday, police said.

The managing director of the 'V FM' radio channel, Ruwan Sugathadasa was attacked by three men outside his house in Boralesgamuwa, 15 kilometres outside of Colombo.

'The reason for the attack is not known, we are investigating the matter,' a senior police officer said.

The incident comes less than a month after an anti-government newspaper editor was attacked and injured by unidentified persons in the northern capital of Jaffna.

© DPA

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2500 soldiers in exercise Comoran Strike 2011

By Supun Dias | Daily Mirror
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Nearly 2500 soldiers from the three armed forces including 1600 representing the Army Commandoes and the Special Forces are conducting an exercise called ‘Comoran Strike’ in the Trincomalee area to enhance the striking capabilities especially in amphibious warfare operations.

It is the second SEAL (Sea, Air and Land) training exercise which will be for six days in the Trincomalee area.

The training will focus on improving decision making, commanding and efficiency in deciding command capabilities at a given situation.

It commenced on Wednesday and will continue August 30 to enhance the efficiency of the armed forces. It is a joint exercise involving the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
“The Army and the Navy will be the two main players in the exercise as troops will do an amphibious landing. Then they will be given a specific task to carry out,” Military Spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi said.

The training exercise is a brain child of the Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya.

© Daily Mirror

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Emergent uncertainty : Repressive wartime measures linger

The Economist
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Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s president, did not tell his ministers why he required them to attend parliament on August 25th. But an Indian newspaper put them out of their misery, breaking the news online that he was going to announce a lifting of Sri Lanka’s state of emergency. And yet, when he strode into the assembly carrying a sheaf of papers, even members of his own benches craned their necks to sneak a glance at what they contained.

Sri Lanka has been under emergency rule on-and-off for nearly three decades, most recently since the assassination in August 2005 of Lakshman Kadirgamar, an ethnic-Tamil foreign minister. The emergency’s justification was the long war against the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who pursued their demand for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority with total disregard for human life. The emergency was retained even after the final rout of the Tigers in May 2009. It gives the army sweeping powers, including that of investigation, search, arrest and detention. Public marches and meetings can be banned.

Many regulations were repealed or amended in May last year. But international pressure on Sri Lanka to lift the emergency altogether was likely to mount ahead of a meeting in Geneva of the United Nations Human Rights Council from September 12th. So, at the end of a typically bombastic speech in parliament, Mr Rajapaksa said he proposed not to extend it. But he did not disclose when it would end, and officials ventured a variety of dates. Such befuddlement has been a feature of his presidency, which began in 2006. Disgruntled administrators lament that “only a handful of people” ever know what is going on. They include the president’s 20-something son, who is a rising member of parliament, and three of his brothers, all senior politicians.

It was also unclear what would replace the emergency. This meant that the fate of hundreds detained under emergency regulations—and much else—was uncertain. It was not even clear if ordinary citizens would still have to carry identification everywhere in case the army or police stopped and searched them. Frustrated by the lack of information, activists insisted that the government should make public any measures it intended to take.

That did not happen. But Mohan Peiris, the attorney-general, said in an interview that new regulations are to be promulgated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to provide for the continued proscription of the Tigers and a fresh regime for holding detainees. Worryingly, the rules also enable the president or the secretary of defence (the most powerful of those presidential siblings) to pass regulations “as it is deemed necessary”.

The evidence suggests that Mr Rajapaksa is not fond of relinquishing power. And with the PTA still in force, Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, a legal activist, argued in her newspaper column, it was a case of Tweedledee going but Tweedledum remaining. With so much left murky, the worry is that the president will sneak in through the back door what he shoved out of the front. Such fears may well be overblown. But, true to form, he and his government have done little to dispel them.

© The Economist

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Ripples over alleged chinese spy ship

Daily Mirror
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In the latest development over the continuing concern by India over the heavy Chinese involvement and presence in Sri Lanka, the Indian media quoting Indian government sources alleged yesterday that a Chinese spy ship disguised as a fishing trawler which was tracked in the Indian Ocean recently by the Indian Navy had moved towards Sri Lanka and docked at the Colombo port.

According to Indian media reports the ship was detected near the coast of Little Andaman. It is believed that the ship had spent more than 20 days in the sensitive location before Indian radars could locate it.

While the Indian Navy dispatched a ship as soon as the presence of the Chinese spy ship was confirmed, no action could be taken as the vessel was in international waters. However, the Indian Navy ship did tail the Chinese vessel till it move towards Sri Lankan waters. The ship is reported to have docked at Colombo.

It is believed that the ship had as many as 22 laboratories on board.

However, Sri Lanka Navy, which has the full authority every security related matters including the physical inspection of every vessel that is entering Colombo Port denied detection of any suspicious equipment on board Chinese vessels in the recent past.

“We have not found any suspicious equipment on board any Chinese vessels at Colombo port in the recent past as claimed by some media,” Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said.

The Indian media report quoting the Indian Government sources said the Chinese ship had specific aims to map the Indian Ocean and collect Bathymetric data, which helps in submarine and aircraft carrier based operations.

The labs on board the ship are also believed to have been used to collect data on Ocean currents, the temperature at various depths and also underwater obstructions and obstacles. This information becomes crucial if one has to use torpedoes.

© Daily Mirror

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Lapsing of emergency regulations in Sri Lanka significant: US

The Times of India
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The expiry of emergency regulations could be a significant step towards "normalising life" for people of Sri Lanka, the US has said.

"The United States did welcome President Rajapaksa's proposal last week in Parliament that the emergency regulations will lapse at the end of August," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

"We believe this could well be a significant step towards normalising life for the people of Sri Lanka," he said.

US also acknowledged the Lankan government for "rehabilitating and releasing more than 11,000 former LTTE combatants" who were taken prisoners at the end of the conflict.

"So we would just urge the government of Sri Lanka to charge or release those prisoners who are still held in custody. We have called on the government of Sri Lanka to look into allegations of human rights abuses in the past," Toner added.

© The Times of India

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Sri Lanka's response to "Killing Fields" screened at UN

By Matthew Russell Lee | Inner City Press
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After the bloody final stage of conflict in Sri Lanka in 2009, alongside stalled action at the UN and its Human Rights Council, a documentary was made. This "Killing Fields" film about Sri Lanka has still apparenlty not been seen by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Nor was it ever screened inside the UN, but rather across First Avenue in what's called the Church Center.

But tellingly, this notice reached Inner City Press on September 1:

"inviting all UN Correspondents to attend the screening of the documentary 'Lies Agreed Upon,' on Tuesday, September 6th at 2:00pm in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium. Ambassador Dr.Palitha Kohona and Ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka will be present for a Q&A session following the screening. Sri Lankan Authorities state 'This video directly challenges the assertions contained in the CH-4 video, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields."

While there is more to report on this strange screening, what most obviously jumps out is that a screening inside the UN is being given to a response film which " directly challenges the assertions contained in" another film which was never shown inside the UN.

This might be seen as propaganda, or as indicative of Ban Ki-moon's UN. Inner City Press has five times asked if Ban had taken the time to see "Killing Fields," which is critical of the performance of the UN and Ban himself in the final stages of the Sri Lanka conflict.

Ban's now departed deputy spokesman Farhan Haq belatedly replied that Ban had been given a DVD copy which he would watch when he had time. But this has apparently still not occurred, by contrast to a screening for Ban, his family and staff of the film "The Whistleblower" which criticizes the UN under Ban's predecessor Kofi Annan.

The Whistleblower was shown in the UN, unlike "Killing Fields," which because the request conflicted with Ban Ki-moon's re-appointment in the General Assembly was not screened inside the UN, and moved across the street.

In fairness Ban is now away from New York, headed to Australia -- where he may hear Sri Lanka concerns -- New Zealand and Kiribati. So those who unilaterally scheduled for a screening in the UN of the Rajapaksa government's rebuttal to a film that itself was never shown in the US may wish to explain themselves.

© Inner City Press

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Sri Lanka's trade deficit expands to US$ 4.25 billion in first half of 2011

Colombo Page
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Sri Lanka's trade deficit expanded to US$ 4.25 billion in the first half of 2011, the Central Bank reported Monday in its External Sector Performance Review.

Although Earnings from exports grew by 35.2 percent in the first six months of the year to US$ 5.06 billion, cumulative expenditure on imports increased by 46.5 percent to US$ 9.31 billion, the figures released by the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank showed.

Earnings from exports grew by 31.6 percent in June 2011 mainly from the contributions of industrial exports, particularly textiles and garments and rubber products, the Bank reported. However, earnings from food, beverages and tobacco exports decreased due to lower volumes.

Domestic consumers' increased demands for textiles and clothing imports contributed significantly to the import expenditure in June 2011 due to the higher volumes imported and the higher prices.

During June 2011, country's workers remitted 17.3 percent more to state coffers amounting to US$ 404 million over the same month of 2010. In the first half of 2011, workers have remitted a total of US$ 2.51 billion.

The Central Bank said the country's reserves increased to US$ 8.1 billion by end July 2011 mainly due to the receipt of proceeds of the fourth International Sovereign Bond of US$ 1 billion.

© Colombo Page

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'Most allegations against Sri Lankan Army ‘nonsense' says ruling party politician

By Nirupama Subramanian | The Hindu
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Sri Lanka can initiate inquiries into allegations that have been levelled against its Army of war crimes in the final stages of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009 only if it is provided specific instances with prima facie evidence, a parliamentarian from President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling alliance has said.

In an interview to The Hindu in Chennai, Rajiva Wijesinha, who was nominated to Parliament by the ruling alliance following the 2010 elections, said the majority of the soldiers had “behaved impeccably.”

He described as “nonsense” most of the allegations in the documentary aired recently by the U.K.-based Channel 4 and made in the report of the U.N.-empowered Darusman panel. “The one about excessive civilian casualties is nonsense, the one about attacking hospitals is nonsense, the one about trying to starve the civilians is nonsense,” the parliamentarian, who is an adviser to Mr. Rajapaksa on reconciliation issues, said.

But he conceded that there were “a couple of things that I think we must look at further. One of these is the allegation that some people wanted to surrender and came out with a white flag and were killed, because there you have a date and a time... My argument has always been that if there is a specific allegation, we should look into it. But if there are general allegations, while we can argue generally by citing the facts, there is no prima facie case.”

Mr. Wijesinha's comments come as Sri Lanka gears up for what could be a tough month for it at the United Nations. Both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council meet this month. Following the release of the documentary and the Darusman panel's report, there have been calls from several quarters for an international inquiry.

The Sri Lankan government's position, Mr. Wijesinha said, was that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee would make a report. He suggested that the LLRC might also recommend indictments.

Those indicted, he hinted however, might be let off lightly.

“Our line is that while it is important to indict, if there is a guilty plea on matters that are not the type of torture we saw on the [Channel 4] film or executions, a plea will be accepted and there will be a suspended sentence.”

The parliamentarian heads an organisation called the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, and is also the chairman of an international organisation called the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.

“We don't believe in retributive justice, that's a very old-fashioned concept,” Mr. Wijesinha said. “But there must be restorative justice. So the people who have suffered must be compensated.”

He said the government should extend this facility to the LTTE cadres who had “confessed” as most of them had been conscripted and had only carried out orders.

Mr. Wijesinha said “not enough attention” was being paid to the suffering that had been caused by the LTTE and by those [among the Tamil diaspora] who had encouraged it to use civilians as human shields.

India's position, most recently set out by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in the Lok Sabha, is that any inquiry into the war crime allegations must be carried out by Sri Lanka through a “transparent” process. It expresses confidence in the LLRC process.

New Delhi has preferred to emphasise the need for an early political settlement of the Tamil question through “institutional reforms,” building on the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka's Constitution, an outcome of Indian mediation in 1987.

“The sooner Sri Lanka can come to a political arrangement within which all the communities feel comfortable, and which works for all of them, the better. Government of India will do whatever it can to support this process,” Mr. Krishna said in his August 26 statement.

Mr. Wijesinha said India must help Sri Lanka counter pressure from the Western countries that were asking it to open a dialogue with pro-LTTE elements in the Tamil diaspora.

Conceding that “we know the LTTE in Sri Lanka is over,” he said supporters of the LTTE, who while not calling themselves that, were still pursuing an agenda of violent separatism in Sri Lanka, including criminal activities abroad.

“Don't ask us not to be vigilant for the future,” he said. “We can't take the risk, we have to remember how much our people suffered.”

It was not fair on the part of the Western nations, the parliamentarian said, “to tell us to talk to the LTTE, to rumps of the LTTE, to the separatist transnational government [set up by LTTE elements in the diaspora], because [by doing so] they encourage people who still have an agenda of separatism and violence and it does not strengthen the democratic Tamil politicians and the Tamil people.”

Mr. Wijesinha said despite some hiccups, his government was still in talks with the Tamil National Alliance, a coalition of Tamil parties that have representatives in Parliament and handsomely won recent local council elections in Northern Sri Lanka.

He suggested that the 13th Amendment would form the basis for a political settlement on the Tamil question, with the province as the unit of devolution.

Despite the “spoilers” among both the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority who saw devolution as a path towards separatism, “the vast majority of moderate people on both sides,” he said, “realise that you need devolution simply in order to have a more efficient structure for the lives of people all over the place, and certainly the Sri Lankan political system for many decades was the Westminster-style democracy which was majoritarian and decisions were taken without any notice about the impact on minorities.”

And, he said, this vast majority “are quite clear that the province should be the unit [of devolution]. After the 13th Amendment, I think now that the province is there, any effort to reduce it even on practical grounds would be counterproductive as it would also be seen as taking away.”

Mr. Wijesinha said two other ideas — empowering smaller units in the province such as the pradehsiya sabhas (local councils) and creating a second chamber in Parliament — that have been controversial among Tamils, were also under consideration.

The second chamber, Mr. Wijesinha argued, was to involve the provinces in decision-making at the Centre, which would work to the advantage of the province. Strengthening the pradeshiya sabhas would give them powers to deliver to the people such important facilities as education and roads, as well as make it more accountable to them.

While the government was pushing these two ideas, the TNA, he said, was concerned about the “concurrent list” and the provision in the 13th Amendment that in cases of dispute between the Centre and the provinces, the former would prevail.

The TNA had also brought up the issues of giving police powers and land rights to the provinces, which is contained in the 13th Amendment but has not been implemented.

Mr. Wijesinha said it was possible to settle both issues through negotiations.

© The Hindu

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