Marie Colvin remembered in Jaffna

Tamil Net
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Tamil journalists from various media organizations came together on Monday in Jaffna with civil society members and student representatives of various faculties of the Jaffna University, to pay tribute to the slain war correspondent in Syria, Marie Colvin, who had been in the island covering the conflict earlier. Paying floral tribute, the event, organized by Nimalarajan Memorial Foundation, remembered the late Marie Colvin as a Journalist Friend of Tamils. Meanwhile, remembering Marie Colvin in the diaspora, the London-based International Association of Tamil Journalists came out with a tribute last Thursday, saluting her courage, discipline and commitment to her work and to humanity.

In the memorial event held in Jaffna, Editor of Yaazh Thinakkural Mr. A. Rajeevan, President of the student union of the Vavuniyaa campus of the Jaffna University Mr. Sakthi, the Director of Media Resource and Training Centre of the Jaffna University V. Thevananth and the Jaffna reporter of Lankadeepa and Dailymirror, Mr. Parameswaran, delivered speeches. The event took place at Yaazhpaadi hotel from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Professor R. Sivachanthiran of the Jaffna University and Ms. S. Rachel, a doctoral research fellow from UK, currently engaged in a field research on the political developments in the island between 2005 and 2010, also took part at the event.

Rachel who spoke at the memorial event said that the journalists from remote cities get together to honour Marie Colvin because she was a peoples' journalist and said that it was an honour for her to attend the memorial event of Marie Colvin in Jaffna.

Thinakkural Editor Rajeevan in his address said Marie Colvin, who risked her life in covering the conflict in the island, remained attached to the Eezham Tamils throughout, and it was that attachment that made her to become a key witness to the final hours in Vanni. Her contribution was significant in raising the global awareness, he said.

Marie Colvin will always remain an inspiration to the Tamil journalists, who continue their work under severe threat to press freedom, said Mr. Thevananth in his speech.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on behalf of the London-based International Association of Tamil Jouranlists, former BBC Tamil service journalist Ms. Aanandhi Suryapirakasam said that Marie would always be fondly remembered by the Tamil community all over the world.

© Tamil Net

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Tamils 'face torture after UK deportation'

Sky News
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The UK is due to deport up to 100 Tamils this week, despite warnings from human rights groups that they face torture from the Sri Lankan security services.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both voiced their concerns over the mass deportation of Tamils, which will be the UK's third since June.

Sky News has spoken to one man who was deported from the UK last year who claims he was tortured but managed to escape and get back to Britain.

He revealed lacerations on his back and burn marks on his chest - indicating that the UK's belief he would not be mistreated was wrong.

Going by the name of Hari, he said: "I was beaten up with plastic pipes, wires and batons. I was tied to a chair and burned with cigarettes.

"My head was covered in petrol... and I lost consciousness."

As a rebel Tamil fighter, Hari says he was subject to persecution and torture at the hands of the Sri Lankan government.

Campaigners say he is one of eight recent cases that prove torture is still happening, over two years since the country's 26-year civil war came to an end.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, told Sky News: "The British Government needs to be consistent.

"It claims that Sri Lanka needs to be held accountable at the Human Rights council in Geneva. But it's returning people to the possibility of torture.

"It has said that torture exists in the country, but because of its immigration policy, it doesn't want to keep asylum seekers in this country. So it's sending them back."

Protesters gathered outside the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, demanding that the Council's 19th session discusses the situation.

Sri Lanka denies the claims, and has said men like Hari inflict the wounds on themselves in order to be accepted into countries like the UK.

But one of the Tamils scheduled to return to Sri Lanka on this latest flight told Sky that he was worried for his life.

His interpreter said: "The Sri Lankan forces have got his fingerprint, and they have his photo. They will maybe torture him, and kill him."

© Sky News

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Sri Lanka: Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) begins

The Island
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The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Operational issues workshop, hosted by the Sri Lanka Navy commenced yesterday (28). Director General Operations Rear Admiral Jayantha Perera inaugurated the workshop at the Galadari Hotel.

The two day workshop conducted under the theme Enhancing Operational Efficiency through Sharing of Information and Coordination is attended by representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, France, Indonesia, India, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Iran.

The hosting of the workshop in Colombo by the Sri Lanka Navy shows the commitment and importance it gives to the "IONS’. The workshop, which will focus attention on maritime security and the freedom of the sea for safe navigation, will conclude on the 29th.

© The Island

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Britain defends the decision to deport asylum seekers

By Charles Haviland | BBC Sinhala
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Britain has questioned concerns raised by two charities which say that Sri Lankan Tamils deported from the UK are at danger of being tortured or raped.

Another charter flight returning people to the island nation, including Tamil and Sinhala failed asylum-seekers, is due to leave on Tuesday.

But Human Rights Watch and Freedom from Torture say that the flights should be suspended because some ethnic Tamils been subjected to cruel treatment after arriving.

Courts satisfied about safety

The British Foreign Office told the BBC that the government only sends people back to Sri Lanka when it and the courts are satisfied that an individual has no protection needs.

It cited a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that not all Tamil asylum-seekers require protection. And it said there had been no substantiated allegations of mistreatment of those returned from the UK.

In effect Britain is disputing strongly-worded statements released by the US-based Human Rights Watch and the British-based Freedom from Torture.

Beaten and raped

The former said last weekend that the Sri Lankan military and police have arrested some Tamil returnees, beating them, covering them in kerosene or raping them to force them to confess involvement with the Tamil Tigers.

The organisations say that although British High Commission officials meet most returnees and give them a small assistance package, this is far from adequate protection.

Police denies accusations

And they say deportation charter flights including one due to leave on Tuesday should be suspended.

The Sri Lankan police have strongly denied the allegations levelled against them, including those of rape. But they admit that some deportees are arrested at the airport.

© BBC Sinhala

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Sri Lanka may see tyranny of markets to be worse than IMF, World Bank

Lanka Business Online
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The pain imposed by the tyranny of markets could be much greater than adjustments caused by the International Monetary Fund or World Bank, an economist has warned.

Indrajith Coomaraswamy, an economist who has been at Sri Lanka's central bank, finance ministry and at the Commonwealth Secretariat said borrowing in commercial markets required good policy and transparent reporting.

"Now that we are exposed to the market and rating agencies even if we keep our house well, there could be exogenous shocks," Coomaraswamy told a forum in Colombo organized by the Sri Lanka Association of Exporters.

"We have to take timely action. If the oil price goes up, pass it through. If we don't we have to do more difficult actions later."

In 2011 a balance of payments crisis was triggered by high domestic credit growth and a sudden spike in borrowings by state energy firms, which did not raise prices.

Energy price deceptions became a key part of Sri Lanka's economic policy in 2004 under a policy put forward by Marxist-Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna called 'removing the World Bank plug', which called for the lifting of a monthly fuel price adjustment formula.

The Ceylon Electricity Board, which had to generate large amounts of thermal power from the second quarter of 2011 due to failed rains also skipped raising prices in both June 2011 and January 2012, though there was a regulatory process to do so.

Sri Lanka turned to bond markets that did not impose 'conditions' ahead of time like the World Bank and IMF and rapidly ratcheted up commercial borrowings.

Borrowings now include about 2.5 billion US dollars worth rupee debt and a similar amount of dollar denominated debt.

While dollar denominated debt can only be sold to buyers with dollars, and become a problem only at maturity, a run by rupee bond holders can push the domestic currency down and cause severe tightening in credit markets.

Coomaraswamy said the pain imposed by fleeing creditors on some other countries have been much worse than the adjustments required by multilateral lenders.

In later 2008 Sri Lanka faced a severe crisis, triggered by a pullout of bond buyers and also state deficit spending.

During the current crisis Sri Lanka's rupee bond buyers usually referred to as 'hot money' have so far been cool and waited through a near 10 percent devaluation, from around 110 rupees to 120 levels against the dollar.

The rupee weakened below 122, to an all time low on Tuesday prompting state banks to sell dollars.

Coomaraswamy said the adjustments done by authorities including fuel price hikes and rate ceiling would help but there may be pain ahead for the country in the short term.

A rate hike of 50 basis points lagged the markets, he said. Analysts have said monetary policy would require further tightening with private credit growth also strong.

But analysts says foreign bond buyers can force high spending rulers to take corrective action much more than domestic ones especially in countries like Sri Lanka where the largest bond buyers are forced savings funds of private citizens who have no control over them.

© LBO

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