What chance of a change for Sri Lanka?

Natalie Samarasinghe - One year ago today, my uncle Lasantha Wickrematunge – one of Sri Lanka's best-known journalists – was assassinated. For 15 years his paper, the Sunday Leader, was the strongest liberal democratic voice in the country. Despite frequent attacks on its staff and offices, it produced impartial reporting on the brutal civil war and high-level corruption, and thwarted censorship to expose human rights violations.

Grimly aware of the danger he faced, Lasantha anticipated his murder in an editorial penned days before his death: a searing indictment of government tyranny and an eloquent defence of free speech. His killing marked a turning point in awareness, both internally and externally, of just how far rights had been eroded in Sri Lanka.

Much has happened since his death, most importantly the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. The end of the conflict saw callous contempt for the hundreds of thousands of civilians – predominantly Tamil – trapped by fighting. The government shelled "no-fire zones" and barred access to aid and media agencies. The LTTE ruthlessly used civilians as bargaining chips and human shields. The UN has accused both sides of war crimes.

The military victory prompted scenes of jubilation, and proclamations that Sri Lanka held the key to defeating terrorism. Many believed that now the war was over, Tamil grievances would be addressed, a political system acceptable to all installed, and freedoms – necessarily curtailed in the interests of security – restored. I'm sure I'm not the only one who missed Lasantha's incisive commentary and dry wit during this time.

But in many ways, not much has changed. Those civilians who survived entrapment on the battleground continued to be trapped in camps with health and sanitation facilities described as "woeful". Though more than 150,000 have now been released, the UN Refugee Agency estimates that over 100,000 remain, and organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have voiced concerns over the manner of returns.

And it's business as usual in other areas too. There has been no real inquiry into Lasantha's death, which remains unresolved. Who perpetrated the deed and who ordered it done? The court of public opinion may have passed its sentence but justice has not been served. There is still a media ban in the north of the country and journalists continue to face harsh treatment. In September, JS Tissainayagam was sentenced to 20 years under Sri Lanka's prevention of terrorism act for writing two articles in 2006. President Obama has called Tissainayagam an "emblematic example" of an unjustly persecuted reporter.

So what are the chances of change? The new year brings a presidential election on 26 January. Many are placing their hopes on President Rajapakse's main challenger, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who is backed by an alliance of opposition parties – including the Tamil National Alliance. He has wooed supporters by promising sweeping reforms, including amnesty for the 10,000 detainees being held without charge on suspicion of LTTE involvement, and an end to the "state of emergency". Just two days ago, the Sri Lankan parliament voted to extend these draconian laws, which have been in place almost continuously since 1983, the official outbreak of hostilities with the LTTE.

But just how much difference can there be between the president and one of the chief architects of his war? In the run-up to the election, both face questions in relation to the alleged shooting of surrendering LTTE rebels, unarmed and bearing flags. At this important juncture, the Sri Lankan electorate would do well to revisit Lasantha's writings.

© Guardian

Related Links:
Lasantha assassination: Doubts over cause of death - Daily Mirror
One year later: A murder unresolved, a government unashamed - Ground Views
The Courageous Editor who Fearlessly spoke Truth to Power - Tamil Week
The President is answerable for Lasantha’s murder - Sri Lanka Guardian

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UN EXPERT CONCLUDES THAT SRI LANKAN VIDEO IS AUTHENTIC

Click here to read Technical Note prepared by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions
Click here to read the Appendix to the Technical Note

An independent United Nations human rights expert said today there are strong indications that the video of alleged extrajudicial executions by Sri Lankan soldiers that aired last August on British television is authentic, and called for an inquiry into possible war crimes committed during the conflict with Tamil rebels.

Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, commissioned three experts in forensic pathology, forensic video analysis, and firearm evidence to examine the video, after concluding that the investigations carried out by the Government had not been thorough or impartial.

“The conclusion clearly is that the video is authentic,” he told a news conference in New York. “I have therefore called on the Government of Sri Lanka to respond to these allegations.”

The Government – which earlier this year declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) after years of fighting – has categorically denied the allegations raised by the video, which purportedly depicts the extrajudicial execution of two naked and helpless Tamil men by the Sri Lankan military and the presumed prior executions of others.

It had commissioned four separate investigations which concluded that the video was a fake. However, Mr. Alston had pointed out that two of the Government’s experts looking into the matter were members of the Sri Lankan Army, the body whose actions have been called into question.

Meanwhile, the reports by the three experts from the United States commissioned by Mr. Alston to examine the video “strongly suggest that the video is authentic,” according to a note prepared by the Special Rapporteur.

Peter Diaczuk, an expert in firearms evidence, concluded that the recoil, movement of the weapon and the shooter, and the gases expelled from the muzzle in both apparent shootings were consistent with firing live ammunition, and not with shooting blank cartridges.

Daniel Spitz, a prominent forensic pathologist, found that the footage appeared authentic, especially with respect to the two individuals who are shown being shot in the head at close range. He found that the body reaction, movement, and blood evidence was entirely consistent with what would be expected in such shootings.

Jeff Spivack, an expert in forensic video analysis, found no evidence of breaks in continuity in the video, no additional video layers, and no evidence of image manipulation.

“Given these conclusions, and in light of the persistent flow of other allegations of extrajudicial executions by both sides during the closing phases of the war against the LTTE, I call for the establishment of an independent inquiry to carry out an impartial investigation into war crimes and other grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law allegedly committed in Sri Lanka,” stated Mr. Alston.

He added that there are a small number of characteristics of the video which the experts were unable to explain, including the movement of certain victims in the video, 17 frames at the end of the video, and the date of 17 July 2009 encoded in the video (the conflict was officially declared over in May 2009).

“Each of these characteristics can, however, be explained in a manner entirely consistent with the conclusion that the videotape appears to be authentic,” noted a news release also issued today.

“In sum, while there are some unexplained elements in the video, there are strong indications of its authenticity. In addition, most of the arguments relied upon by the Government of Sri Lanka to impugn the video have been shown to be flawed.”

© UN News Centre

Related Links:
UN expert calls for an independent war crimes investigation - Relief Web
UN expert concludes that Sri Lankan video is authentic - Office of the HCHR
Sri Lanka video report findings - Channel 4
Sri Lanka execution video 'authentic' - Al Jazeera
Sri Lankan execution video authentic: UN envoy - AFP
Sri Lanka execution video appears authentic - U.N. - Reuters
UN Expert Cites Video in Call for Sri Lankan Probe - New York Times

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SRI LANKA VIDEO 'APPEARS AUTHENTIC' - UNITED NATIONS

An investigation commissioned for the United Nations says that a video broadcast on Channel 4 News showing Sri Lankan soldiers apparently executing naked Tamils 'appears to be authentic'.

The video, which contains extremely disturbing images, was obtained by the group Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka and it was shown on August 25.

It provoked an angry reaction from Sri Lankan army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, who said the footage was a fabrication designed to discredit security forces.

It also sparked a passionate debate on our World News blog, where several posters thought it was fake, a view shared by the Sri Lankan government.

However, the report commissioned by the UN's Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, examined the video frame-by-frame and a group of experts said they could find no evidence that the video was a fake.

Channel 4 News foreign editor Ben de Pear said: "Since we broadcast the video on August 25, the Sri Lankan government has called press conferences, released technical investigations (which they said proved the footage was faked or doctored) and dispatched senior civil servants and politicians to London, New York and Geneva to publicly defend their position and criticise Channel 4 News.

"Thousands of phone calls, emails, blogs and postings have further questioned the authenticity of the video and the motivation of Channel 4 News running it and thousands more have called emailed and blogged to praise us for, they say, having told the truth.

"Whilst the furious debate that broadcast of the execution video has prompted continues unabated the vitally important questions it poses remain unanswered about what is happening in this grainy but horrific video.

"Questions the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch would like to try and answer. But without access to Sri Lanka and a full independent investigation, they say it is impossible to do so."

© Channel 4

Related News:
Sri Lanka execution video 'authentic':UN envoy - BBC News
Alston says probe proves Channel 4 video is authentic - Daily Mirror
Sri Lankan execution tape is authentic:UN expert - Zee News
Alston’s conduct breach of diplomatic procedures: Sri Lanka - Daily Mirror

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Past year confirms government responsibility of Lasantha Wikrematunge assassination - JDS

8th January marks the first anniversary of the assassination of Lasantha Wikrematunge, the senior journalist and founding editor of “The Sunday Leader” newspaper. Lasantha Wikrematunge was on his way to his office when four motorcyclists wearing black followed him for several miles before gunning him down during the morning hours on a busy road in a Colombo suburb – apparently without any fear of being apprehended. By committing this horrendous crime in broad day-light and leaving the scene ‘miraculously’ without being stopped at any of the security road blocks in Colombo, the assassins proved two important facts: first, that they were well experienced killers and the second, that they had a ‘special’ capability to evade detection.

Lasantha Wikrematunge sacrificed his life for his treasured ideals – that is the practice of fearless critical journalism. All political and social forces of the country condemned the assassination and promised to bring culprits to justice.

But long before he was killed, Lasantha frequently received threats against his outspoken criticism of government. Reflecting his awareness about the growing threats, he wrote in his last note to his newspaper that "[i]n all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me." No one else other than Lasantha Wikrematunge could have made a better judgement on who was behind those threats. But so far government has done nothing to absolve itself from this serious accusation other than by staging a pseudo arrest to hoodwink the country.

As things stand now, this cowardly assassination which shocked the country and became a fatal blow to media freedom in Sri Lanka will remain as another unresolved killing, reflecting the deep rooted and well preserved culture of impunity. The inability of the police to submit an investigation report to the court even after 26 hearings and after one full year had elapsed clearly shows the Sri Lankan Government’s intention of covering up the murder. The efforts of the Government during the past year to drag investigations deliberately without making any significant breakthrough has reconfirmed Lasantha Wikrematunge's fateful prediction that ‘it will be the government that kills him’.

But one year after the death of Lasantha, instead of apprehending the killers who murdered him and many other journalists, their tragic fate has been turned into a mere political slogan simply to be used for propaganda purposes in hostile election campaigns. For example, the person who held the highest office in Sri Lanka's military has repeatedly claimed on political platforms, that he is aware of the identities of the perpetrators in the killings and committed the atrocities against journalists. He even went further to implicate the Defence Secretary as the person responsible for many such crimes. On the other hand, the Defence Secretary himself has publicly claimed that he knows the identity of those who attacked the media and intimidated the journalists.

All these statements amount to evidence that all these parties are withholding information. Apart from that it provides ample proof that Lasanthas’ killing and other atrocities were in fact carried out by parties attached to the government. Therefore, both the Army Commander and the Defence Secretary should be held responsible for their statements, and must be forced to divulge the information, since they have openly proclaimed their knowledge of the identity of the responsible parties. The plight of the media and the danger that Sri Lankan media workers face should not be allowed to be made part of any political propaganda by either by those in power or those who aspire to be in power. We strongly believe that initiating such an investigation will enable those others who feel apprehensive of divulging information in an atmosphere with no witness protection mechanism to come forward.

We, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, reiterate strongly the words of Lasantha Wikrematunge at his first death anniversary which falls on this day. We feel that this will be the judgement of our peoples' conscience as well. The burden of proving the contrary is with the Government of Sri Lanka. So far the Government of Sri Lanka has failed in this challenge issued by fallen journalist Lasantha Wikramatunge.

History has written its judgement. Regardless of newly found electoral divisions, the Government of Sri Lanka should bear the responsibility of the murder of Lasantha Wikrematunge.

Executive Committee
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka
08th January 2010

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Philip Alston to present analysis on Channel 4 video at UN today

Philip Alston, who is the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, is to present the findings of an analysis of the authenticity of the "Channel 4 videotape" containing footage from Sri Lanka during a special briefing at the UN today, the UN announced.

Meanwhile responding to reporters at the UN, the UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon noted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised he will have all the remaining displaced persons in the IDP camps resettled or reintegrated into their native homes or some other place by the end of this month.

The UN Chief said he was going to discuss this matter with the Sri Lankan Government and hoped the government will keep their promise.

© Daily Mirror

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U.N. rejects request to observe Sri Lanka elections

by Patrick Worsnip - The United Nations has turned down a request from Sri Lanka to send observers to monitor the country's presidential election later this month because of lack of time, a U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday.

Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa is standing against 21 challengers in the Jan. 26 vote, the first since the government crushed a 25-year rebellion by Tamil Tiger separatists in May.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Sri Lanka's election commissioner and government had asked the world body to consider observing the election.

"In light of the limited lead time available" and because U.N. election observation requires a mandate from the General Assembly or Security Council, "the U.N. informed the commissioner and the government of Sri Lanka that it could not provide observers," Nesirky said.

The United Nations has not sent observers to monitor an election in any country for at least 10 years, Nesirky said, although it has provided technical assistance for votes in several nations, most recently Afghanistan.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Sri Lanka days after the end of the war against the Tigers. Some critics said his visit could be seen as endorsing the government's military victory.

© Reuters

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PTA prisoners continue hunger strike demanding amnesty

By Gandhya Senanayake - A group of prisoners arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) are continuing a peaceful hunger strike, demanding a general amnesty, Prisons commissioner, Major General V. R. Silva told Daily Mirror online. He added that so far legal action has not been taken against 196 prisoners and 364 of those remanded have been sent for rehabilitation.

He added that the legal process for these inmates has been stepped up but it was a lengthy process. The Attorney Generals department had to consider individual cases and decide whether to take legal action or not and this took time. Furthermore two teams have also been appointed, one by the Attorney Generals department and another by the IGP to look into this matter and speed up the process.

© Daily Mirror

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On board the Tamil asylum boat

By Atika Shubert - They are home movies of a different sort. Children scamper across the wooden deck. Parents lie on woven mats trying to fend off boredom. A handful of men share a single hose as a shower at the back of the boat.

This is daily life aboard the Indonesian fishing boat carrying more than 200 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers to Australia.

Video and pictures chronicling their daily life, were given to CNN by Sanjeev Kuhendrarajah, one of the asylum seekers. He calls himself Alex.

He was raised in Canada and is now on board with a camera and a laptop. He has become, he says, a reluctant spokesman.

"I am not the leader of this ship and I am not God. I cannot save lives," Alex said us in a broadband interview with CNN. We're at the point where we don't know what to do anymore."

Since Sri Lankan forces routed Tamil rebels seeking an independent state last year, thousands of Tamils have been seeking asylum -- mostly in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Alex and his fellow passengers were trying to reach Australia when they were intercepted by the Indonesian navy, at the request of Australia. They have now been parked off the coast of West Java for about two months.

With his laptop, Alex beams out what he says are deteriorating conditions aboard the boat. He claims disease is spreading and access to medical care is minimal.

He shows us video of a man having a seizure on board. In this case, an ambulance came to take him to an Indonesian hospital. But another asylum seeker was not so lucky. Alex says his friend Jacob, died after days of vomiting blood.

"I tried my best to save this man. But I couldn't save Jacob. I tried to do whatever I can for him." He says before breaking down in tears. 'Jacob went through a lot of pain and in my eyes died of criminal negligence."

Indonesia says it is providing food and medical attention but the asylum seekers not only refuse to leave the boat, they won't allow Indonesian officials on board to assess their condition or process their requests for asylum with the U.N. High Commission for Refugees.

"They don't allow us access to check the medical situation on board. They are always refusing us entry to the boat even just to see how the situation is like" says Teuku Faizasyah, a spokesman for Indonesia's Foreign Ministry. "By refusing, they actually are doing more harm to their own people."

So, why not leave the boat or give officials access? Alex was convicted of illegal weapons possession in Canada and deported to Sri Lanka. A youthful mistake, he says, of getting involved with a gang.

He has already had run-ins with the Sri Lankan authorities. Now, the Sri Lankan government accuses him of being a member of the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam -- a terror group fighting for Tamil independence in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government also says Alex is a wanted human smuggler. Allegations he denies.

"I don't know anything about the LTTE. I don't sympathize with them at all. I don't know anything about them to support them," he says. "I don't understand. What proof do they have of that? I paid $15,000 to get on this boat. Why would I want to pay to smuggle myself out. And I wouldn't bring 250 people with me."

He fears leaving the boat will mean deportation and jail back in Sri Lanka. He wants the UNHCR to give him a shot at asylum.

"My life is now so public," Alex said. "People hate me. I did something in Canada that was childish and immature and I'm paying the price 9 years later. I deserve a break. I'm only human."

For now, however, Alex and the other asylum seekers on board are in a stand-off with Indonesian authorities. UNHCR is unable to process their asylum requests until Indonesia has cleared them and verified their identities.

Alex left behind a wife and four children, including a baby boy born while he was aboard the boat. He had hoped to reach Australia, claim asylum and then bring them afterwards. That does not seem likely now.

"What people should understand is that the situation in Sri Lanka is riskier than going to hell itself," he says. I don't know when the Tamil people will find peace, when we'll find a country but of all the things in my life, I will go as far as it takes to find these 250 people refuge, to find them a national anthem and a country they can call their own."

© CNN

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World Agenda: will the hammer of the Tamils nail the President?

Catherine Philp - A few weeks ago Sri Lanka’s upcoming general election looked like a walk in the park for the incumbent, President Rajapaksa, who was riding high on the kudos of ending the country's long-running civil war.

While Western human rights groups and governments railed at his abuses of power, at home the folksy President spoke confidently of his re-election in the first fully nationwide poll to be held in Sri Lanka for more than three decades.

That was before his own general, Sarath Fonseka, who led the offensive that crushed the Tamil Tigers, turned on the President and put himself forward as the candidate for the opposition. That motley coalition of parties has only one goal: to beat Mr Rajapaksa.

And so, in a bizarre twist, General Fonseka, the hammer of the Tamils, has won the support of the Tamil minority. A competition is now on between the President and his disillusioned general over who should take the credit for winning the war and get the chance to win the peace.

Tamil refugees are starting to trickle home after months imprisoned in detention camps because of harsh government measures ostensibly aimed at rooting out rebel fighters. Their votes have never counted in the way they promise to in this election because in the past the Tamil Tigers ordered them to boycott official polls.

Tamils make up about 12 per cent of the electorate but other groups — including Muslims descended from Arab and Malay traders and so-called Estate Tamils originating from India — bring the total "minority" proportion up to 25 per cent.

Sri Lanka’s other minorities have watched in alarm at the treatment of Tamils following the end of the civil war, and at the bellicose Sinhalese nationalism employed by the President and his allies.

The announcement by the Tamil National Alliance that they will back General Fonseka will send a powerful signal to other minorities that this might be their best chance of representation too.

General Fonseka has won Tamil support in part by alleging that the President himself was behind extrajudicial killings of Tamil Tiger rebels that the army chief did not authorise. He has also made much of Mr Rajapaksa’s failure to bring political reconciliation to Sri Lanka.

He has played up Mr Rajapaksa’s cronyism – three of his brothers are in his cabinet – corruption and economic failings in his pitch to the Sinhalese majority.

So far Mr Rajapaksa has led the field but support has recently started to shift towards the former general, influenced by allegations about state sabotage of his campaign.

Mr Rajapaksa’s defeat of the Tigers shows he has no qualms about fighting dirty and General Fonseka is a dangerous man – he holds the key to any future war crimes charges.

Whoever wins, Sri Lanka may not be big enough for both of them. The battle for the nation is not over.

© Times Online

Related Links:
Tamils throw weight behind general who crushed them - The Independent
"These candidates are largely to blame for destroying our people" - The Independent
All Ceylon Tamil Congress to support Fonseka - Express Buzz
Majority of TNA MPs back Fonseka - Tamil Net

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IDPs 'resettled' to another camp

Over two hundred internally displaced people (IDPs) had been relocated to a camp in Killinochchi instead of resettling in their homes, says one of the refugees who spoke to the BBC.

He told the BBC Sinhala Service, that they were taken from Vavunia to Killinochchi to be put in another camp.

"We were brought here from the Arunachalam camp in Vavunia. They told us that we would be permanently resettled in our own homes," he told the BBC.

Tamil inmates from Vavunia say that they are frustrated about the situation.

Home nearby

"We had been here in this camp for over a month now. We were promised that we would be going home within days. Latest we heard is that it will happen in a month".

The refugee who spoke to the BBC from Killinochchi, said there are fifty two families in this camp situated at Killinochchi Central School.

"Once we arrived, we were given dry rations, now we get cooked food like any other camp. The perimeter of the school is guarded by the Army,"he said.

"My house is only 800 metres away from this camp. We are kept in the school while there is an army camp where my house was. This is a new camp established since the end of the war".

The refugees are not allowed out by the authorities, he says.

"After days of protest, they took us in a bus for a hair cut. The barber was only one hundred metres down the road. We were taken back to the camp immediately after the haircut".

The IDPs in Kilinochchi are waiting to go back to their homes says the refugee who spoke to BBC Sandeshaya.

© BBC Sinhala

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