CCD obtains statement from a leading human rights lawyer

Attorney at Law J. C. Weliamuna says that the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) obtained a statement from him yesterday.

He added that the statement was regarding the threats leveled against the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Paikiasothi Saravanamuttu.

© Newsfirst

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Sri Lanka under fire for lack of Tamil reconciliation

By Mian Ridge - When Sri Lanka's government finally defeated the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May, even its harshest critics rejoiced. Here, at last, was a chance to bring peace to an island that had suffered 26 years of war, in which as many as 100,000 people were killed.

The end of the war gave Sri Lanka an opportunity to heal the bitter ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority that had fueled it. But even as the government says it seeks reconciliation, it is drawing fire for actions that appear counterproductive to achieving that goal.

Chief among the complaints is delaying the return of more than 250,000 displaced Tamils. They have been refused permission to return to their homes or, in many cases, unite with spouses and children living in other camps. In addition, aid agencies have been given limited access to the camps and most reporters have been barred.

Last Friday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced he would ensure the return of all refugees by January, after demining operations were completed in the areas around their homes. The government has also said it wants to ensure that it identifies any Tamil militants among the displaced before allowing them to go home.

Mr. Rajapaksa's assurances came during a meeting with UN envoy Lynn Pascoe, who was visiting the country to follow up on a number of issues including the government's expulsion of James Elder, a spokesman for UNICEF – the United Nations' child-welfare agency.

The government said Mr. Elder, who had said recently that the island's monsoon rains would cause chaos in the camps, was "spreading propaganda." During the final, most bloody stage of the war earlier this year, Elder had described the "unimaginable suffering" of children caught in the fighting, including babies he had seen with shrapnel wounds.

In August, heavy showers had caused latrines in the camp to overflow, heightening concerns about the spread of contagious diseases.

Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, a nonpartisan advocacy group, says that at least three children died in one camp in August, "which shows the sense of what [Elder] was saying."

Treating every Tamil as a terrorist?

After Sri Lanka gave Elder a Sept. 21 deadline for leaving the country, the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said that the organization was "working impartially to assist the people of Sri Lanka." This included "making public statements when necessary in an effort to save lives and prevent grave humanitarian problems."

Elder reportedly left the country Sept. 18, marking the first expulsion of a UN worker from Sri Lanka. Many see it as yet another example of the government's intolerance of any criticism of its tactics either during or after the war.

But more worryingly, the government's apparent conflation of the defense of the rights of ordinary Tamils with LTTE propaganda suggests an unwillingness to tackle Tamil grievances – without which peace will be difficult, if not impossible.

"It seems absolutely racist, to treat every Tamil as if he was a potential member of the Tamil Tigers," says Suhas Chakma of the Delhi-based Asian Center for Human Rights.

Human rights abuses

In late August, President Rajapaksa told Forbes magazine, "I want to be the leader who brings permanent peace and development to this country," as well as reconciliation with Tamil communities, he added.

But even as the government promises to bring reconciliation, in recent weeks a series of alarming reports have come out of Sri Lanka. Tamils, who constitute around 12 percent of the population of 20 million, have endured decades of institutionalized discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese.

Only days before Mr. Rajapaksa's comment, British television aired a video that apparently showed soldiers killing unarmed, naked, and blindfolded Tamils – which would constitute a serious violation of international law – during the last and bloodiest phase of the war.

The footage was obtained by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, an organization made up of several dozen expatriate Sri Lankan journalists, which said the film was taken by a Sri Lankan soldier in January using his mobile phone.

The government has said the footage is "doctored." But Philip Alston, the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, has said he hoped the UN would open an investigation into the video.

Political settlement

Less dramatic but equally important, the government is also failing to develop a long-promised political settlement for the Tamils.

That settlement – which is included in the country's Constitution and widely accepted as a vital condition for peace – involves giving Tamils some measure of regional devolution.

But Rajapaksa said recently he would delay that solution until after his reelection, which may happen next year.

It is not surprising that Rajapaksa feels no sense of urgency. An ardent Sinhalese nationalist, his popularity ratings have soared since the Tigers were vanquished. The government has said the economy is expected to grow by 5 percent this year – double what was previously expected, after the International Monetary Fund agreed to a $2.6 billion loan. And tourist numbers are beginning to pick up.

Nor is Rajapaksa is likely to be swayed by international pressure. Sri Lanka is expected to lose a valuable trade concession granted by the European Union after it failed to meet its terms, which include stipulations on human rights. But Sri Lanka has forged friendships with other parts of the world, including China, Libya, and Pakistan, thus reducing its economic dependence on Europe and the US.

In the end, says Mr. Perera, the only thing likely to change the government's behavior is democracy. As more elections are held in Tamil-heavy areas once ruled by the LTTE, the government, "will need to build up Tamil votes," he says. "At the moment the government does not see the price it will have to pay [for its treatment of the Tamils] but it will have to pay – and that, we hope, will make it change."

© Christian Science Monitor

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Sri Lankan video investigations not independent: UN envoy

Click 'play' to listen to the report

RA: Recent shocking British television footage, allegedly showing government soldiers killing unarmed, bound and naked prisoners, has prompted calls for a probe into possible war crimes. The Sri Lankan government says the video is fake and has released the results of what it calls four independent investigations. But not everyone is convinced.

ALSTON: Well, the Sri Lankan Government has recently produced a statement by four experts. The requirement under international law when there is an ostensibly valid allegation that a serious human rights violation has been committed, is to carry out a thorough and impartial investigation of the allegations. What the government has done, is to produce analysis by two of the members of its own army - in other words, the very body that is accused of carrying out the crime and perhaps unsurprisingly, these two army officials say that they don't think the video is convincing. They have also hired an academic, a Sri Lankan, who has done work for the government before. I have no quibble with his qualifications or with what he said, but it's still a very unsatisfactory approach when it comes to showing real independence and impartiality. And finally, they have used the analysis of another gentleman who is apparently based in Australia, but of Sri Lankan origin, who claims to have and appears to have a significant technical credentials in this area. He first wrote an opinion piece in one of the Sri Lankan daily newspapers asserting that this (video) was a fake, based on his own examinations. The government then took him up, employed him as an expert to provide a more detailed report, but the government has not showed us any of these four reports. They have shown us brief summaries of them and the bottom line is that you have got very serious allegations and you have got a handful of experts who are extremely close to the government who provide no sense of an impartial investigation of the type required.

RA: Well, if the government were to turn to you for advice, what would you suggest the Sri Lankan Government do?

ALSTON: Well, what is normally done in a situation like this is to constitute some independent group of experts. In other words, the government or the United Nations or some other third party would designate experts who would look at the tapes and make an assessment of it. The Sri Lankan Government has systematically refused to do that. They have not issued an invitation to me or to other UN actors who undertake this sort of investigation. And so, the path forward I think is very clear rather than bringing in a few home grown locals to support the local football team basically.

RA: And just very briefly, in an earlier interview with us, you said you would like to visit Sri Lanka yourself to investigate the video. Has the government agreed to your request?

ALSTON: No, there's been no response. I have been requesting the government for a very long time now to undertake a visit, because there have been quite a number of allegations of killings undertaken during the closing months of the civil war, and the government is not interested again, it seems, in any sort of independent investigation of those allegations.

© Radio Australia

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UN refugee envoy to visit Sri Lanka

The United Nations is sending a top official to Sri Lanka this week to press for the speedy resettlement of 300,000 war-displaced, officials said Monday, the second UN visit in as many weeks.

Walter Kalin, the UN Secretary-General's envoy for refugee rights, will arrive late Wednesday for a five-day visit that includes a tour to camps holding tens of thousands of refugees, Sri Lanka's Human Rights Ministry said.

His trip comes a week after the visit of the UN's political chief, Lynn Pascoe, who expressed concern over the plight of refugees and also urged Sri Lanka to investigate rights abuses during the final stages of the civil war.

"Mr. Kalin will meet with senior government officials, international aid agencies, including UN staff, and also visit some sites holding internally displaced people (IDPs)," a ministry official said.

UN sources here said Kalin would press for improved conditions for the Tamil civilians held in internment camps.

"He will follow up promises made by the government to resettle the IDPs at the earliest," said a UN official who declined to be named.

The displaced are being held in "welfare villages" and the government says they cannot be allowed freedom of movement until authorities finish screening them for remaining Tamil rebels.

Pascoe last week said the Sri Lankan government was not making sufficiently fast progress in implementing a deal between Colombo and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in May.

The agreement was for the speedy resettlement of the civilians who were displaced after the end of fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

"We have not seen the progress we expected from that agreement," Pascoe said.

Pascoe also urged Sri Lanka to set up a mechanism for "truth seeking" into alleged excesses by government forces during the final stages of the war.

Kalin toured Sri Lanka in April, just weeks before Sri Lankan troops crushed Tamil Tiger rebels who had been waging a guerrilla war for a homeland since 1972.

© AFP

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India Inc eyeing Sri Lanka for projects

courtesy Ceylon Daily News

A host of Indian companies are planning to develop projects across sectors in the island nation of Sri Lanka.

The companies have already identified the land and besides, have also received approval from the Sri Lankan Government for their projects.

"Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is constructing a commercial complex here and the total cost of the project will be USD 50-million," Sri Lanka Board of Investment's Director, C Ignatius, said.

The company has already acquired the land for the project and it is expected to be completed by next year, Ignatius said.

The engineering and construction major has already developed projects in Sri Lanka such as a 26-storey residential apartment at Colombo, design and construction of urea storage silo and prill tower for a fertiliser complex and design, test, manufacture and supply of 33kV, 132kV and 220kV transmission line towers for Sri Lanka's electricity board.

A Bangalore-based commercial and residential property developer, Girish Puravankara-run Lalith Gangadhar Constructions Limited, is also constructing residential villas outside Colombo, he said.

© The Economic Times

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Lanka’s Mandela

By Janaka Abeywickrema - Both made it to the 20s. One was jailed for 27 years at Robben Island in South Africa and the other for 20 at Welikada in Sri Lanka. Nelson Mandela and J.S. Tissainayagam it could be argued were both jailed on similar grounds in similar circumstances – where regimes wary of the work they were involved in resorted to the easy way of silencing them by locking them up. Jayaprakash Tissainayagam many would say is no Nelson Mandela and they would most probably be right.

But let’s not get wires crossed here – the comparison is strictly limited to the fact that both believed in a cause that was for the greater good of society and went about it in a non-violent way – Mandela against Apartheid and Tissainayagam against anti democratic methods being used by the regime in power; be it the UNP in ’88-89 or exactly 20 years later, the UPFA in ’08-09.

From his childhood young Jayaprakash Tissainayagam showed signs of being different from the rest. He would stand up for what he believed was right and on many an occasion faced the wrath of the powers that be for his trouble.

This is what Tissainayagam, after 520 days in prison had to say from the dock on the conclusion of his trial;

“I was and am still an advocate against terrorism. I have criticised terrorism in whatever form. I never advocated violence, my objective was to generate non violent means of resolving the conflict, my research, writings and work was towards achieving this… I always agitated against violence, fought for justice and for the oppressed.”

Nelson Mandela concluded his statement from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the trial on April 20, 1964 at Pretoria Supreme Court, by saying;

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Tissa’s thinking was not much different. In the late ’80s he worked actively alongside those like Mahinda Rajapakse and Vasudeva Nanayakkara to bring to justice those responsible for many disappearances during the JVP insurrection. Twenty years later he was doing much the same thing but this time around his team mates in the ’80s were the ones he was fighting against and there, many say, lay the rub.

Blossomed out at Mount

Jayaprakash Tissainayagam was born on April 30, 1962. Six years later the young Tissainayagam was to enter S. Thomas’ Prep School. From there he went over to Mount Lavinia. Right along Tissainayagam studied in the English medium. It was after the young man shifted to the main school in Mount that he really blossomed out.

In his final year in school he won the class prize and also all three subject prizes in the A/L class. A voracious reader from a young age no one could prevent Tissainayagam from winning the Classical General Knowledge Quiz prize and went on to represent his school at quiz contests.

Tissa’s talents weren’t restricted to academic achievements; he was quite the sportsman too. And it was in athletics that the young Tissainayagam made an impression. His pet events were the rather challenging 100 and 200 metre events. He was a sprinter of no mean repute and had the distinction of being short listed to represent public schools.

Unfortunately his sporting exploits were to come to an abrupt end when one day young Tissa had fallen off a bus. Though physically he escaped with a few bruises he had damaged his eyes in the accident. It was later found that he had a detached retina and if extreme care was not taken to protect his eyes there was every possibility of him going blind.

In 1982 the academically inclined Tissainayagam gained entrance to the Peradeniya University. It was a volatile time for the young man as ethnic tensions were simmering pre-’83 but as fate would have it, when the riots broke out he was getting down from a bus that had arrived in Colombo from Kandy. Having survived through the riots and once things settled down somewhat, unlike the hordes of Tamils who took the first flight or boat out of the island Tissa took a bus back to Kandy to continue his studies at Pera.

In 1986 Tissa passed out from Peradeniya University with a second class upper in political science.

It was about this time that The Sunday Times was being set up and the young political science graduate was a natural choice in the first batch of journalists at the paper. After two years with The Times Tissa moved on to Marga Institute where he believed he would be able to put his knowledge to better use in the midst of the then JVP insurrection.

A little while later his thirst for knowledge took him to India, to the Jawaharlal Nehru University to complete a Masters. Having achieved what he set out to do Tissa was back in Sri Lanka in 1992 and immediately went back to Marga.

Contract terminated

About this time the staff at the institute were having a problem with the management and Tissa being Tissa spoke up on their behalf and soon enough it was he who was being targeted by the management and soon enough his contract was terminated. Tissa took the matter to the Labour Tribunal but lost the case there. Undeterred he petitioned the High Court where this time around he won the case and this enabled Tissa to hold his head high once again.

Later on the journalist in him took him to the Mirror where he stuck on for a while before he turned up in the offices of The Sunday Leader. Editor in Chief at the time, Lasantha Wickrematunge specially created the post of news features editor to accommodate Tissa. It was during this period that this writer really got to know Tissa. It was a laugh-a-minute situation in the editorial office with Tissa seeing the funny side of every situation and hearty laughs would ensue for quite a while.

But it was not all laughs either. There was serious work involved and no amount of distractions could veer Tissa away from his work in the news desk. Of course there was the almost daily post-mortem at the end of the day at the local waterhole, which was much looked forward to. Joining us quite regularly was Marwaan now in Bangkok and Asgar who is now in a different field. While events would be analysed, incidents dissected and theories formed following passionate arguments, it was all forgotten the next morning – just as well too – the ritual could start with a clean slate all over again.

Born introvert

If you knew Tissa for a day you would know that he was one of the most harmless people that walk the earth today. He is a born introvert. Violence was anathema to him and this resonated well with us for we shared similar sentiments. Tissa as we Sri Lankans say was very much an “eating drinking man” and far removed from the projected image these days of a terrorist.

Tissa left the Leader to engage himself in active peace building, a subject close to his heart especially with the then peace process floundering.

As a part of this endeavour he thought of setting up his own magazine which ultimately was to be the cause of his incarceration. While working on his magazine he also found time to find his life partner, a scribe herself and the two got married in Kandy in 2006. What a party it was where all his friends, the majority of whom were from communities other than his own, had a ball of a time. His wife, fearing for her safety is now in exile.

Chief Government Censor

A little known fact about Tissa is that almost every member of his family had served the nation in key posts at different periods with distinction. His father, M.J. Tissainayagam was Director Information and Broadcasting when he retired in 1979 after serving the Information Department for 35 long years. Ironically he was the Chief Government Censor during two crucial periods of the country’s history – after the assassination of S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1959 and during the JVP insurrection of 1971, on both occasions under SLFP regimes. Like Junior, Tissainayagam Senior also started off as a journalist in the early ’50s in the then Times of Ceylon.

Tissainayagam Senior was also a member of the Press Council when it was first set up in the late sixties, ironically again, the very institution the present regime is in the process of resurrecting.

Tissainayagam Senior was also the head of task force/competent authority for all media during the highly successful Non Aligned Summit in Colombo in 1976.

Following his retirement in 1979 Prime Minister at the time Ranasinghe Premadasa recalled Tissainayagam Senior back into service. Having joined the PM’s office he was entrusted the task of writing all the PM’s speeches. The historic speech Prime Minister Premadasa made at the UN based on which the organisation named 1988 as the Year of Habitat was also written by him.

Tissainayagam Senior’s brother, Tissa’s uncle, an engineer of repute served as the chief project engineer for the Kotmale Dam project, having been the sole government nominee for the post.

Engineering has been running in Tissainayagam blood – both Tissa’s grandfathers were district highways engineers when such posts were the domain of the colonial masters.

Of much significance however is that Tissa’s maternal uncle, mother’s brother, served the nation with distinction in the Sri Lanka Army. He rose to the rank of Major General and was the Army’s Chief of Staff when he retired in 1992 after 35 years of unblemished service. Many of the present commanders including the hierarchy of the defence establishment had served directly under him at some point of their service period.

Tissa’s own brother followed in the uncle’s footsteps in to the army and had to reluctantly hang up his boots having not been able to secure the required marks at the compulsory Official Languages Competency exam. He was the only Tamil in that particular batch.

As a result of this Parliamentarian Vasudeva Nanayakkara raised the issue of Official Languages Competency in parliament at the time but without much luck.

It is the son of this family that has done the nation proud who was tried under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and is today being incarcerated for a period of 20 long years. His crime, speaking his mind. If there is a message in that, it is being heard loud and clear. The exodus of journalists both from the country and from the field is proof of it. Mandela came out a hero and there is no reason why Tissa should not.

© The Sunday Leader

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254,000 jobs axed in six months

155,000 persons in the industrial sector and 99,000 in the services sector have lost their jobs within the first six months of this year. Accordingly the total number of people who lost jobs during the period is 254,000 states reports from Department of Census and Statistics.

Meanwhile, the government has taken loans for high interests by issuing development bonds for Rs.150000 million. Out of this amount Rs.75000 million has been allocated to pay loan installments and interest.

Latest statistics issued by the Department of Census and Statistic reveal the economic growth by the second quarter of this year has come down by 2.1%. Also, several ministries are preparing to get supplementary estimates to the value of Rs.6000 million approved during the next three months.

All this data reveal that the economic crisis the government has been trying to hide has aggravated.

© Lanka Truth

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UN urges Sri Lanka to probe war crimes charges

By Amal Jayasinghe - A top UN official issued a strong call for "truth-seeking" into alleged excesses by security forces during the crushing of Tamil rebels as he ended a visit to Sri Lanka, a UN statement said on Saturday.

"We feel that ideally the Sri Lankans should carry out a national process of truth-seeking and accountability," the UN's political chief Lynn Pascoe said a statement issued in Colombo after his departure late on Friday.

Pascoe, undersecretary general for political affairs, asked Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to set up a process to ensure accountability for alleged war crimes, said the statement.

"The (truth-seeking) process has to be serious, independent and impartial," said Pascoe, a deputy to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Sri Lanka has consistently resisted US- and European-led calls for war crimes investigations, saying no civilians were killed by its security forces.

With support from China and Russia, it has managed to stave off a UN Security Council debate on the issue.

"Coming to grips with the past is difficult," the UN statement said.

"Sweeping it under the rug could be a tempting shortcut, but it can have a high price at a later time," the statement added.

The UN statement said reconciliation was important for the island's future.

"The UN has dealt with the aftermath of many conflicts around the world, and has learnt that moving forward and building peace sometimes requires finding a way to address issues of accountability," the UN statement said.

The UN has said up to 7,000 civilians may have perished in the first few months of this year when security forces escalated their offensive against the remnants of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

At a press conference just before leaving the island, Pascoe expressed "strong concerns" over Sri Lanka's war refugees and said the government had been slow to resettle tens of thousands of displaced civilians.

"We have not seen the progress we expected from that agreement," he said of a deal between Colombo and Ban in May, just after the government declared the decades-long separatist war was over.

The agreement was for the speedy resettlement of 300,000 internally displaced people who were driven out of their homes after the end of fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

"Clearly, the government is making a lot of effort, but we have some strong concerns -- particularly the 'closed' nature of the camps," Pascoe told reporters after touring camps where ethnic Tamil civilians are held in what rights groups say are prison-like conditions.

"We picked up great frustrations. I was told by many that they just wanted to go home," Pascoe added. "I urged the government to allow people who were screened to be allowed to leave."

© AFP

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Election Violence: JVP offices burnt down in Galle, Matara

Two election offices of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) located in Seenipella and Kiriveldeniya in Galle and Matara districts were set on fire Thursday night by unidentified gang suspected to be ruling UPFA supporters. JVP member of the Mulatiyana Pradeshiya Sabha and Matara district provincial election candidate Ajantha Gammedda complained to the police that the furniture and several banners in the two offices were destroyed by the fire.

In another incident the Akmeemana Chief organizer of the ruling UPFA Nishantha Mutuhetti was arrested by the Police after he attacked an office of actress Anarkali Aakarsha who is also contesting from the same party in the same district for the upcoming PC elections.

The arrest came hours after Mutuhetti surrendered himself to the Galle Magistrate court over an allegation that he had threatened Anarkali.

He was given bail later.

He and his supporters thereafter attacked the office at Magalla. The Police also had been attacked, but residents had overpowered them and handed over to the police.

Mutuhetti is a former PC member and has been opposed to Anarkali contesting from the same district.

© TamilNet

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UN official expresses concern over Sri Lanka war refugees

A visiting senior United Nations official on Friday expressed "strong concerns" over Sri Lanka's war refugees and said the government had been slow to resettle tens of thousands of displaced civilians.

"We have not seen the progress we expected from that agreement," UN undersecretary-general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe said of a deal between Colombo and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in May.

The agreement was for the speedy resettlement of 300,000 internally displaced people (IDP) who were displaced after the end of fighting between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

"Clearly, the government is making a lot of effort, but we have some strong concerns," Pascoe told reporters here after touring camps where ethnic Tamil civilians are hold in what rights groups say are prison-like conditions.

"But we have some strong concerns. The UN is concerned over the lack of free movement of IDPs, particularly the 'closed' nature of the camps," he said at the end of his three-day visit.

"We picked up great frustrations. I was told by many that they just wanted to go home," Pascoe said. "I urged the government to allow people who were screened, to be allowed to leave.

"For others, to leave the camps in the daytime to find work, to meet with family, to visit families in other camps," he said.

He said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Friday agreed to issue "day passes" for inmates allowing them to leave the camps during the daytime.

"As the situation currently stands in the camps, there is a real risk of breeding resentment that will undermine the prospects for a political reconciliation in the future," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the government, but the government in a statement earlier in the day said Rajapakse had promised Pascoe to resettle war-displaced civilians by January.

The president also brushed aside Western demands for a probe into war crimes in the final stages of the decades-old conflict, saying the global body should not "pacify" Western countries which have been seeking a UN investigation.

"Considering the understanding that existed between the UN and Sri Lanka, President Rajapakse said he did not expect the UN to pacify any members, big or small, about the situation in Sri Lanka," his office said in a statement.

"With the new (mine-clearing) equipment in use, and hopefully more to come, we expected the entire resettlement to be completed by the end of next January," he told Pascoe, the presidency said in a statement.

"I look forward to things been done on the timetable assured by the president," Pascoe said of the end-January deadline.

Pascoe was sent by Ban, who has voiced concern over delays in resettling Tamil civilians living in what the government calls "welfare villages."

"I understand the pressure and constraints on the (UN) Secretary General. However, you must also understand the problems we face," Rajapakse said in the statement, referring to the need to screen the camps for rebels.

Sri Lanka has resisted calls for war-crimes investigations into its recent crushing of the Tamil separatist insurgency and, with support from China and Russia, managed to stave off a UN Security Council debate on the issue.

The UN has said that up to 7,000 civilians may have perished in the first few months of this year when security forces escalated their offensive against the remnants of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Pascoe said that he saw some efforts to provide facilities for the refugees displaced by the violence, but added that people were impatient and wanted to go back to their homes at the earliest.

A UN statement issued before Pascoe's arrived here said he would discuss resettlement, political reconciliation and ways to probe alleged human rights violations during the conflict.

© AFP

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