"I was beaten and made to sign a confession": Journalist V. Jasiharan

By Susitha R. Fernando - Vetrivail Jashiharan facing charges of helping to print, publish and distribute the ‘North Eastern Monthly’ magazine in his evidence said he was beaten up by TID officers and was made to sign a document which was in Sinhala, a language he did not understand.

He said this during the preliminary inquiry to ascertain whether the confession alleged to have been made by Jashiharan to the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) was made voluntarily.

When cross-examined by prosecution counsel Rohanthe Abeysuriya, Mr. Jashiharan said he never made a statement or a confession to the TID but one day he was made to sign a document under duress.

He said he never met ASP Premasiri Kollure who claimed to have recorded Jashiharan’s statement at the TID.

“I have never seen that officer until he came to give evidence in this court and I never signed any document given by him,” he said.

When Mr. Abeysuriya showed Mr. Jashiharan the document and asked him whether he could read it, Mr. Jashiharan said he could not read Sinhala and only recognized his identity card number.

“It was a document written in Sinhala and by then I had been severely assaulted and could not even stand up. I asked a TID officer to explain what was in the document before signing but they continued to beat me,” Mr. Jashiharan said adding that he was shown where to sign the document.

“I did not give any statement voluntarily,” Mr. Jashiharan reiterated.

He denied giving a statement to ASP Kollure and also denied being produced before the ASP at anytime.

Mr. Jashiharan said he was examined by doctors last year on March 26 and May 10, 11 and 27 and that he had not complained about being assaulted due to fear that he would be further assaulted by the TID.

To a prosecution question Mr. Jashiharan said J. S. Tissainayagam was his friend and he was journalist and was a journalist in Batticaloa.

At this stage Mr. Jashiharan requested for a chair as he found it difficult to stand up.

He said Red Cross officials visited him several times.

Further trial was put off for October 1.

Mr. Jashiharan and his wife V. Madhimalar were indicted on four counts including the aiding and abetting to print, publish and distribute the magazine ‘North Eastern Monthly’ during the period June 1, 2006 to June 1, 2007. They were also charged under the Emergency Regulations for making payments or collecting funds from Non-Governmental Organisation to run the said magazine.

Senior State Counsel Rohantha Abeysuriya and State Counsel Shehan de Silva appeared for the prosecution while Saliya Peiris and K.V. Thavarasha appeared for the defence.

© Daily Mirror

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Abducted journalist chosen to head SLWJA

The new committee of 33 journalists of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association for the coming two year period of 2009/2011 was unanimously appointed yesterday (23).

The group of media personnel led by prominent journalist and media rights activist Poddala Jayantha, were elected as the new committee uncontested. Jayantha, who formerly held the post of General Secretary of SLWJA, was severely beaten up before being released by a group of armed men, who abducted him in last June.

The list of nominations of the new committee was submitted to the Acting Press Commissioner during the period granted submission for nomination from September 16 to 23.

The new committee: President -Poddala Jayantha (Lake House)

Vice Presidents -Prasanna Fonseka (Siyatha),Gnanasiri Koththigoda (Haraya)

General Secretary -Lasantha Ruhunage (Ravaya)

Assistant Secretaries -Kurulu Kariyakarawana (Daily Mirror),Upali Saram (Divaina)

Treasurer - Gamini Susantha (Silumina)

Assistant Treasurers - S. Kaneshan (Freelance),S. K. M. Ramzi (Thinakaran)

National Organizer - Kanchana Marasinghe (SLRC)

Executive Committee - Vinitha M. Gamage (Lankadeepa),Sampath Deshapriya (Lakbima),Sampath Wilegoda (SLBC),Shanika Sriyananda (Sunday Observer),Prageeth Perera (Swarnavahini) ,Wasanthi Nanayakkara Derana),Mihiri Fonseka (Lakbima),Ditto Kugan (Thinakkural) ,Taha Muzzamil (Navamanni) ,Manoj Ratnayake (Daily Mirror) ,Kamani Hettiarachchi (Lakbima) ,Duminda Sampath (Lake House),Gamini Pushpakumara (SLRC) ,T. Nadarasa (Ravaya) ,Indunil Weeraratne (Silumina),K. W. Janaranjana (Ravaya) ,Dileesha Abeysundera (Irudina),Rukmal Gamage (Lake House) ,Hemali Wijeratne (Silumina) ,S. Thevadiran (Virakesari) ,Ranga Jayasuriya (Lakbima News) ,Thushari Hemamali (Swarnavahini),Shantha Wijesuriya (Lanka-E-News)

The new committee will assume duties on Oct. 14.

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Sri Lanka IMF document suppressed by government decision: official

Detailed International Monetary Fund documents showing the underlying basis for a stand-by loan to Sri Lanka have not been released by a decision of the island's government, an official said.

Sri Lanka at first only released the memorandum of economic policies governing a 2.6 billion US dollar standby loan to the island. Later a technical memorandum of understanding was also released.

But the staff report which gives the rationale for the loan was not released.

"Publishing that report is the prerogative of the government," IMF mission chief Brian Aitken told reporters in Colombo.

"You have to direct that question to the government, because it is their decision to publish. It is not our decision."

Annual country reports, prepared by the IMF as part of its annual 'Article IV" consultations have also been suppressed from last year.

The IMF staff reports contain independent technical analysis of the underlying economy and a high level of disclosure has been made by Sri Lanka from the 1990s.

Countries in the region, including Pakistan, have also made full disclosure of all IMF documents displaying a higher standard of transparency than Sri Lanka.

Ironically the reports are available to representatives of foreign governments that form the executive board of the multilateral lender, though they are withheld from the people of Sri Lanka.

Following the review mission, the government will sing a revised letter of intent with new foreign reserve and deficit targets with indicative targets in the original letter being hardened to performance criteria.

A storm has brewing in Sri Lanka over the suppression of IMF documents.

Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, from the Point Pedro Institute of Development, a private research body, has said the 2008 IMF staff report was suppressed at the request of Sri Lankan authorities.

In Sri Lanka debate on economics by political parties is mostly confined to ideology and not evidence.

Sri Lanka signed a series of agreements with the IMF during the 1980s, but there was little public scrutiny of state economic activity.

The then governments continued to deficit spend and create high levels of inflation and public had no access to independent evaluations of macro-economic management.

© Lanka Business Online

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"30 to 40 persons are abducted on a daily basis from IDP camps" : Ex - Foreign Minister

By Gihan de Chickera and Kelum Bandara - About 30 to 40 persons are abducted on a daily basis from IDP camps in the North, SLFP (M) Leader Mangala Samaraweera charged in Parliament yesterday.

“Certain reports indicate that 30 to 40 persons are abducted or disappear on a daily basis from IDP camps,” Mr. Samaraweera charged.

However, Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardane denied this allegation and asked where such statistics of abducted persons were found.

In response Mr. Samaraweera said that if such reports are to be denied the government must be transparent to the manner it deals with the IDP issue.

“If the government allows Opposition MPs to form a committee and visit the camps then such claims can be verified. The government should act in a transparent manner,” Mr. Samaraweera said.

Mr. Samaraweera said that in Orwellian terms the so called ‘welfare’ camps were virtual prisons for the IDPs.

“In George Orwells 1984, the Ministry of Peace dealt with war, and the Ministry of Love with torture. Likewise we witnessed in Sri Lanka how the Peace Secretariat justified excesses carried out in the name of war against terrorism. And the so-called welfare camps are virtual prisons,” Mr. Samaraweera said.

He added that most of the 280,000 IDPs had kith and kin around the country who are willing to have them until the de-mining process to the Vanni was complete.

“They are not economic refugees. They have opened 21,000 bank accounts and deposited Rs. 500 million in banks after coming out of LTTE areas. They are government servants, teachers and farmers. All they want is to go home,” Mr. Samaraweera said.

The MP also charged that the IDPs were being resettled from one camp into another. “The government is denying these people the right to speech, choice, movement and livelihood,” Mr. Samaraweera said.

© Daily Mirror

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Election violence very high in the UPFA: PAFFREL

By Olindhi Jayasundere - In the days leading up to the Southern Provincial Council election, the UPFA has had eight internal conflicts within the party and has had the highest number of complaints made against them in the past several months, the elections monitor PAFFREL said yesterday.

PAFFREL Executive Director, Rohana Hettiarachchi told the Daily Mirror that there were 29 complaints made against the UPFA, four made against the UNP, one made against the JVP and a total of 15 made against all the other parties competing in the election The Executive Director said the highest number of complaints was made in the Hambantota district where 22 complaints were made. However, he said in Galle, where there had been 18 complaints, the level of violence was also quite severe.

“The situation in Galle had been very serious. We had 18 complaints there, out of which four were for assault, three for threats and intimidation, three for damaging party offices, two for misusing government resources and six were made for illegal propaganda,” he said.

Hettiarachchi said that most of the complaints made in the Galle district were against the UPFA by the JVP party.

He said the most amount of hostility between parties took place in Hambantota and Galle. “In Matara the situation has been very stable. There have been only 10 complaints made in the district and things are looking well there,” he said.

The PAFFREL Director said that although several complaints had been made against certain political parties, it was only a few that were acting violently. “There are 1090 candidates taking part in the upcoming Southern Provincial council election, but it was just a mere five or six candidates who were creating chaos. Of these few candidates, several of them are UPFA members,” he said.

Hettiarachchi said the number of cases of hostility within parties had not been as high as those between political parties, but this time there was much significance to the number of internal cases because they had been highlighted due to recent events that had taken place.

“Certain internal party matters such as the incidents involving UPFA candidate Nishantha Muthuhettige that had been highlighted in the public eye would prove to have an adverse effect on other members of the party as well as other political parties,” he said.

Meanwhile, Police Spokesman, Nimal Madiwake told the Daily Mirror that the President had made a firm order for every individual taking part in provincial elections, irrespective of which party they were from, to maintain law and order and to ensure that a free and fair election takes place next month.

© Daily Mirror

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PTA detainees 'not political prisoners'

Tamil detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), say that they should be treated as political prisoners.

266 detainees, arrested under PTA, handed over a petition following a hunger strike at Welikada Magazine Prison.

They said “government should take immediate legal action.”

“We should be produced before a court or released,” they added.

Deputy Minister of Justice V. Puthirasigamani told BBC Sandeshya “these people who were held under detention orders are suspects of various terrorist activities".

“Even though the prisoners claim they are political prisoners we cannot treat them as such”.

Daya and George

“George Master and Daya Master were released because they surrendered; they were released after they surrendered.”

LTTE media co-ordinator, Velayudam Dayanidhi widely known as Daya Master and translator, Kumar Pancharatnam known as George Master who surrendered to Sri Lanka military in April were released on bail this month.

Minister Puthirasigamani further stressed that the government will consider their appeal in the future.

© BBC Sinhala

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Ruling UPFA minister abducts two JVP supporters

Two supporters of the JVP engaged in propaganda campaign for the Southern PC election have been abducted by a gang of thugs of a powerful minister of the UPFA states the media unit of the JVP.

Manjula and Devapriya, the two supporters of the JVP who had been pasting posters announcing an election meeting to be held tomorrow (23rd), were abducted by the minister’s gang at the Katuwewa bridge near Hambantota town.

The JVP has lodged a complaint at Hambantota Police regarding the incident but so far the police have not taken any action states the media unit of the JVP.

The Leader of the group of candidates of the JVP for the Southern PC election from Hambantota District Sisisra Wahalathanthri speaking to the media said, “Two supporters of the JVP who were engaged in pasting posters announcing the rally to be held tomorrow have been abducted by a group of thugs of the UPFA. We have information that a powerful minister is behind this incident. There is no information regarding the two JVP supporters who were abducted.”

Speaking further Mr. Wahalathanthri said “These are moves carried out by Rajapakse government to change the standpoint of the people in the South. This move towards a dictatorship should be stopped immediately. We call upon the people in Hambantota District and people throughout the island to condemn these acts carried out by Rajapakse government to plunder the public opinion and rally with us to stop the move towards a dictatorship.”

© Lanka Truth

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UN Sends Envoy to Survey Camps Housing Sri Lanka War Refugees

By Jay Shankar - The United Nation human-rights envoy will survey camps housing Tamils who fled the civil war in Sri Lanka, after the UN’s political chief said the pace of their release from the sites is “too slow.”

Under-Secretary-General Walter Kalin, who arrives today (22), will meet officials and travel to the camps in the north of the country to “see for himself the conditions of the displaced,” Gordon Weiss, spokesman for the UN in the capital, Colombo, said by phone. Kalin also visited the country in April.

Sri Lanka has been criticized for keeping more than 280,000 displaced Tamils in camps since the last forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were routed in May on the northeastern coast. The government says people will be resettled after landmines are cleared from former conflict zones and the northern region is secure.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe, during a visit to the island nation last week, said “very clearly” that he hasn’t seen enough progress toward the terms of agreements between the UN and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, according to Weiss. “Some of those things relate to the displaced and the pace at which people are being released from the camps, which is too slow,” Pascoe said, according to Weiss.

Western nations should help Sri Lanka rebuild war-torn areas and stop criticizing the country over human rights and the treatment of displaced people, Rajapaksa said this month in an interview with France’s Le Figaro daily newspaper.

Rajapaksa’s government and the Tamil Tigers have been criticized by the UN over alleged human rights abuses during the conflict. The UN’s Philip Alston, an envoy looking into executions, on Sept. 7 called for an independent investigation into the authenticity of a video that is purported to show the army executing nine people.

The government has said it will cooperate with any UN inquiry and that four investigations it has carried out show the tape is a fake.

© Bloomberg

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"Soldiers took orders from me" - SL President

By Paul Tighe - Sri Lanka is facing a conspiracy to devalue its achievement of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and ending the group’s 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

There is “conspiracy after conspiracy to downgrade the heroic feat achieved by the armed forces,” Rajapaksa said, according to a statement on the government’s Web site.

Sri Lanka has been criticized for keeping more than 280,000 Tamils displaced by the civil war in camps since the last LTTE forces were routed in May on the northeastern coast. The government says people will be resettled after mines are cleared from former conflict zones and the northern region is secure.

Sri Lanka isn’t making the expected progress toward a lasting peace since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, Lynn Pascoe, the UN’s political chief, said last week at the end of a visit to the South Asian island nation to press for a swift release of displaced people from camps.

Western nations should help Sri Lanka rebuild after the war and stop criticizing the country over human rights and the treatment of displaced people, Rajapaksa said earlier this month in an interview with France’s Le Figaro daily newspaper.

Rajapaksa’s government and the Tamil Tigers have been criticized by the UN over alleged human rights abuses during the conflict. A UN envoy last week called for an independent investigation into whether a video that may show the army executing nine people is authentic.

The government has said it will cooperate with any UN probe and that four investigations it has carried out show the tape is a fake.

Taking Orders

Soldiers fought bravely to end the war, Rajapaksa said, adding they took orders from him and he will appear before any judiciary on their behalf. The president was speaking at the weekend in the capital, Colombo, according to the government’s Web site.

Rajapaksa told Pascoe when they met on Sept. 18 that the resettlement of internally displaced people should be completed by the end of January. The process does depend on mine clearing, he added.

“We understand there are security concerns,” Pascoe said after the meeting, according to the UN. “At the same time, this kind of closed regime goes directly against the principles under which we work in assisting IDPs all around the world.”

People aren’t free “to come and go and they are understandably upset,” said Pascoe, who visited camps in the north last week, including Manik Farm near Vavuniya, the center holding the most refugees.

The government says it must undertake security checks of displaced people after receiving information that Tamil Tiger fighters infiltrated the camps.

“If there is more screening to do it should be speeded up,” Pascoe said. “It appears there are areas where de-mining is not a big concern. For those areas, families who have passed the screening process could be resettled without much further delay.”

© Bloomberg

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"I can shoot with both hands" says a ruling party candidate

"If I am elected, I will be the only chief minister who could shoot with both hands, except Chief Minister in the East" said a ruling UPFA candidate for the upcoming Southern Provincial Council election.

Speaking at a press conference Mr. Nishantha Muthuhettigama said, “I would worship at the feet of the President. I’d even go to courts to get police powers to provincial councils. We would get the 13th amendment fully implemented one way or another. The President should be prepared to give the rights we are entitled for."

Speaking futher he said "after I become the chief minister, I will prepare a code of ethics for children during the first three months. I will make a legal code and change the existing laws. The graduates in the SL Army will be trained and appointed as principals of schools."

Noting that he would sit on the ‘Big Chair’ of the Southern Provincial Council, Mr. Muthuhettigama further said that the next Chief Minister of the Province is capable of ‘shooting with both hands’.

“I was a school cadet. My school has all those records. Except Chief Minister Pillayan in the East, the next Chief Minister of the South would be able to shoot with both hands. But I would not shoot anyone,” he said.

He said that the ruling UPFA would win Galle district and even the President would vote in the south to make him the Chief Minister.

“We know his pulse. We know how he works,” he said.

Related Links:
Sri Lankan politician arrested for slamming police - Xinhua

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