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Unbowed and UnafraidMon, 21 Jan 2019 17:56:07 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2Australian family mourn death of mother and daughter in Sri Lankahttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/06/22/australian-family-mourn-death-of-mother-and-daughter-in-sri-lanka/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/06/22/australian-family-mourn-death-of-mother-and-daughter-in-sri-lanka/#commentsFri, 22 Jun 2018 05:05:40 +0000Adminhttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/?p=193752A family is mourning the loss of Brisbane mother Louise Collins and her four-year-old daughter Poppy who tragically died in a car accident in Sri Lanka.

“Poppy was everything to (Louise),” Ms Collins’ brother James Curtain told the Courier-Mail.

“Family meant everything to you and our hearts are breaking, as we ponder a life without you and Poppy lighting up our lives,” sister-in-law Leesa Curtain added.

The family was travelling in a white van near the town of Nagoda, on the island nation’s southwest, when the vehicle struck a parked truck.

The van flipped, and Louise and Poppy both died at the scene.

Her husband Patrick, a Qatar Airways pilot, is currently in intensive care, suffering a severed bowel and broken ankle.

Ms Collins, who was the youngest of seven children, is remembered as a woman who was family orientated with a huge heart.

Mr Curtain told the Courier Mail his sister had a loving nature and “vibrant” personality, and paid tribute to her ability to care for her wider family in Brisbane, despite living in Doha, Qatar.

“Through all this grief, what does bring some comfort, is knowing you and your darling Poppy are together, forever. The world has just lost two angels, but then again, angels don’t pass on, they just shine brighter in another realm,” Leesa said.

“Every once in a while there is a moment when time stands still. On the 20th June we lost our beautiful Louise Collins (nee Curtain), 37 years, and her daughter Poppy Collins, 4 years,” she told the Courier-Mail.

Ms Collins met her husband through mutual friends in the commercial airline industry.

Mr Curtain said the family loved Sri Lanka and were on a “short holiday”, enjoying the country’s “tranquillity, peace and calm”. (Courtesy News.com.au)

]]>http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/06/22/australian-family-mourn-death-of-mother-and-daughter-in-sri-lanka/feed/3The charge of the saffron brigade in Sri Lankahttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/05/05/the-charge-of-the-saffron-brigade-in-sri-lanka/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/05/05/the-charge-of-the-saffron-brigade-in-sri-lanka/#commentsSat, 05 May 2018 17:32:39 +0000Adminhttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/?p=190517Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara is a well-fed man. His jowly features and rounded fleshy shoulders belong to someone who has succumbed to at least one of life’s pleasures without too much resistance. Tall and sturdy, Gnanasara is far removed from the time-honoured image of a sinewy Buddhist monk who sustains himself on a bowl of rice daily as he puts his mind to matters that transcend the material world.

The Buddhist holy man is clearly seduced by all things material. His designer glasses, latest smartphone and plush four-by-four, complete with driver, are but superficial examples of this.

What really gives it away is the fact that he has, over the years, embroiled himself in the fraught world of Sri Lanka’s ethnic tensions to the point where he is now an influential – and many would say dangerous – player in some of the most contentious issues the country is facing. And he appears to be relishing every moment of it.

Gnanasara is the general secretary of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), an ultra-nationalist Buddhist organisation. Gnanasara and the BBS, also known as the Buddhist Power Force, are blamed by many for inciting deadly violence against Muslims in the Buddhist-majority country over the last few years.

I’m clearly dealing with no ordinary monk here, and for someone who is about to grill him on some of his most controversial actions, this poses a number of challenges, not least how to keep on the right side of him without compromising the nature of the interview.

I needn’t have worried. The first time I meet Gnanasara at the mansion-like BBS headquarters in April, he seems delighted that I have a cameraman. The showmanship he displays when he’s the centre of attention lasts throughout the two days we spend with him.

He also appears to be unfazed by the fact that he’s been in court all day, facing serious of criminal accusations of hate speeches that target Muslims and other minority groups, and inciting violence.

Then again, this nonchalance may be due to the fact that he’s faced these allegations for years, but has not been convicted so far.

Gnanasara is all smiles as he shakes our hands, and this affable manner remains constant during our hour-and-a-half long interview, even when I confront him with some of the many offensive and provocative pronouncements he has made. Still, it is not too long before the duality of his nature is exposed.

I remind him of the derogatory language he uses frequently when referring to Muslims and Islam, including when he referred to Allah as “an octopus.”

During the course of the interview, I also bring up a speech he made in June 2014 in which he threatens Muslims and calls on the Sinhalese to “stop loitering, unite and fulfil your duty.”

Within hours, a group of hardline Sinhalese nationalists stormed a suburb near the town where he made the speech and burnt down hundreds of homes and businesses. At least three men died in this attack.

“How do you respond,” I ask, looking Gnanasara directly in the eye.

He does not flinch or show any remorse as he replies, “Yes, I will say that even tomorrow. It won’t change. What is said there is true. The truth is the truth.”

At times he is openly offensive, but he slips these comments in when I am least expecting them.

When I ask him, “Do you believe Muslims are causing problems in Sri Lanka?” he starts off in the most diplomatic of tones. “We have Muslims who are traditional and moderate,” he says, “who have lived for generations in this country. Such Muslims and the Sinhalese lived in co-existence for years.”

But then he hits me with, “What country in the world does not have problems caused by Muslims? There is only one problem, and it is a global problem.”

His manner has been so appeasing that when he reveals what he really thinks, it completely throws me.

He talks about national unity and reconciliation, dialogue and non-violence. But when I ask him if he believes violence is unacceptable, his reply is quick and confident.

“If a violent group arrives and starts attacking the non-violent people who are meditating, should we just wait and watch?”

The threat is thinly veiled, and could very easily get lost because of the manner in which it is made, but human rights groups dispel any doubts about his real intentions.

“They have been open about their hatred towards many minorities, not just Muslims but also towards others,” says Omar Waraich, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for South Asia, referring to Gnanasara’s organisation BBS.

“We certainly believe elements of the BBS have been inciting hatred that has led to violence.”

It is clear that incitement to hatred is having a pernicious effect within Sri Lanka, which is leading to minorities to being targeted.”

Waraich articulates a widespread concern but despite this, BBS’s popularity seems to be growing among more moderate sections of Sinhalese society, in particular those who fear their ethnic identity may one day become sidelined.

As Kalana Senaratne, a senior law lecturer at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy, explains, “Some of his speeches have been clear cases of inciting violence. But he also advocates a more moderate position.”

“He knows the politics of Sinhalese nationalism and also how to respond or talk to a wide segment of Sri Lankan society.”

Gnanasara employs this tactic during the interview. He is articulate and charismatic, so it’s not too difficult to see why many are drawn in by him.

But when my questions get direct and uncompromising, and there are times during the interview I worry he might throw us out. Instead, Gnanasara offers us tea and I get the sense that he’ll just about do or say anything, as long the spotlight remains on him.

It’s the same showmanship on display when I meet him a few days later at one of his temples.

I spend half a day filming him and he’s happy to do take after take under the blazing sun, to the point where my crew and I are certain that if I ask him for another three weeks’ worth of filming with him as the focal point, he would drop everything and oblige.

Our filming is interrupted at regular intervals by young monks who greet him with absolute reverence. He responds with an air of aloof grace usually seen in the mannerisms of royalty.

He also stops every now and then to cuddle and cajole the young children who are attending Sinhalese cultural classes at the temple. They, in turn, look to him with adoring eyes, as if their favourite uncle is visiting with armfuls of gifts.

His love of life manifests itself particularly at lunchtime, when he tucks into a plethora of dishes that include various kinds of chicken, at least half a dozen types of vegetables, a variety of salads and a generous choice of desserts and fruits.

All this is provided by Sinhalese families with recently deceased relatives in the belief that feeding monks is a way to ensure their loved-ones will achieve eternal peace. Judging by the manner in which Gnanasara tucks in, it’s clearly a belief he readily subscribes to.

There’s another reason for this exuberance.

Gnanasara has close ties with sections of Sri Lanka’s political establishment, in particular with members of nationalist opposition parties. This has considerably elevated his status and given him more than a veneer of respectability across large swathes of the country.

“These groups have had links with politicians, are invited to parliament to have discussions with the president and various ministers,” Senaratne says. “So it is difficult as an observer to say if this is a classic hardline Sinhala Buddhist movement or if it is one of the broader Sinhalese nationalist groups.”

This also explains why Gnanasara is addressed as thero – venerable – by everyone, why his group is so well-funded and why he is often invited to give talks overseas.

As my crew and I leave, Gnanasara shakes our hands and tells us he’d be happy to talk to us any time.

He is amicable to the end, most likely in the knowledge that he is virtually untouchable and nothing I or anyone else can do or say is likely to change that anytime soon.

Source: TRT Worl

]]>http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/05/05/the-charge-of-the-saffron-brigade-in-sri-lanka/feed/0STF in the spotlight: New report makes startling accusationshttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/04/28/stf-in-the-spotlight-new-report-makes-startling-accusations/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/04/28/stf-in-the-spotlight-new-report-makes-startling-accusations/#commentsSat, 28 Apr 2018 18:15:47 +0000Adminhttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/?p=190182A new report by a human rights organisation led by a former UN panel membe, has made startling accusations against the Police Special Task Force (STF).

The report by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP ) led by former UN panel member YasminSooka, reveals why members of the Special Task Force should not be sent abroad as UN peacekeepers without stringent vetting and screening. This unit has from its inception in 1983 been steeped in allegations of human rights violations, including abductions, torture, killings and extrajudicial executions.

The violations described in the report speak to an amoral attitude to the taking of life and to human dignity, and where dehumanisation has become institutionalised. Shockingly, those responsible for the violations have been rewarded post-war by successive Governments in Sri Lanka, the report said.

The STF was a frontline combat unit in the East of Sri Lanka at the climax of the civil war and should be subjected to the same vetting and screening criteria as military units who fought in the war when considered for UN peacekeeping roles. Individuals belonging to military units implicated in the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) investigation into Sri Lanka have been barred from peacekeeping.

The ITJP has collected 56 names of individuals in the STF who should not be sent as UN peacekeepers. This breaks down as a preliminary list of 32 names of STF officers involved in frontline command positions who should be barred from peacekeeping, an additional list of 24 names of alleged perpetrators or individuals complicit in grave violations of human rights in the STF, the name of an STF officer who is currently serving in Africa who should be sent home immediately and investigated in connection with multiple grave violations in Sri Lanka and detailed information on secret torture sites that were operated in the past by Tamil paramilitaries.

The information has not been made public in order to protect witnesses in any future judicial process. The names have been shared with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping (DPKO), the Department of Field Support (DFS), the Conduct and Discipline Unit (CDU) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

This report is the first by the ITJP to be based primarily on insider witnesses, interviewed in four different countries by multiple investigators. They include several former STF officers and Tamil paramilitaries.

An insider witness describes how during the final phase of the war in the East of Sri Lanka, Tamil women were forced into providing sex to STF members, with a large number forced into sexual slavery, including some women being subjected to frequent ‘visits’ by different personnel and expected to provide sexual services for them. This amounts to sexual exploitation and abuse.

A witness describes a colleague going to a house and ordering the husband to stand outside while going inside and raping his wife. The witness said his colleagues’ behavior would vary from place to place depending on the attitude of the Officer in Charge of the area – some would condone sexual violations, others would not.

In February 2018 it became public that the last 3 Sri Lankan contingent commanders sent to Lebanon had not been subject to due diligence by Sri Lanka and should have been vetted out. The public disclosure of this information led to the suspension of the deployment of the fourth contingent under commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rathnappuli Wasantha Kumara Hewage, days before he was due to leave. However there has been no transparency about what has happened subsequently to Lt. Col. Hewage’s bid to become a peacekeeper.

The fact that a frontline commando from STF could be serving as a UN peacekeeper in Africa also speaks to the failure of vetting. ITJP says it has credible information that this individual has been involved in serious human rights violations, including involvement in extrajudicial killings.

“One STF officer who appears currently to be serving in a UN peacekeeping mission in Africa is alleged to have ordered summary executions of Tamils in the East of Sri Lanka in 2006-7,” said ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka. “This shows the UN is still clearly failing in its obligation when it comes to the vetting of Sri Lankans for peacekeeping.”

In addition there are still very serious concerns about lack of criminal accountability for the 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers sent home in 2007 in connection with allegations of systematic child sexual exploitation in Haiti. Not one individual has spent time behind bars for allegedly raping children, the ITPJ report said.

ITJP says to its knowledge the only thorough vetting has been carried out in respect of the 200 Sri Lankan peacekeepers deployed to Mali and this was done by OHCHR in Geneva. At one point there was discussion of as many as 3,500 Sri Lankan troops going abroad as peacekeepers. This number requires a better vetting system to ‘do no harm’ to the troop receiving countries whose vulnerable civilians deserve to be protected from sexual predators and alleged war criminals.

One Sinhalese man, still traumatised, described his work in an STF ‘white van’ abduction team in Colombo as ‘like a horror film’. Another interrogator active during the final years of the civil war in Colombo said of his victims: “We would garrotte, strangle, stab or beat them to death”.

There is also no indication that the STF abduction teams are still active under the current Government though the ITJP has documented ongoing abduction, torture and sexual violence by other security forces units.

ITJP is calling on the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) to investigate the role of the STF in enforced disappearances, as well as that of other security forces.

It also says the OMP must call for the personnel records of STF members and those of the security forces implicated in allegations of enforced disappearances investigate them and hold specific inquiries which include families of the disappeared, who should be informed of all evidence that becomes available in respect of the whereabouts of their family members.

Iranathivu, a combination of two small islands located 22 kilometers from the Nachchikuda beach, had been populated for about four decades. The Northern Island – Iranathivu and its Southern Island – Hoom were known as Enkhuizen by the Dutch rulers, who invaded the island in 1658. The Northern part is over about 4.22 sq. kilo meters and the Southern part is about 1.71 sq. kilo meters.

What could be seen in 80 per cent of the houses in Iranathivu are only foundations. The islands function as a separate Grama Seva division, but no government so far had attempted to provide public transport service and even the ferry service to the island is operated by the Iranathivu people themselves.

As the war in 1992 intensified, the Iranathivu people left everything and came to Mulangavil. Consequently, Iranathivu became uninhabited. At one time, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Sea Force Regiment occupied the surrounding areas, but their presence did not hinder the livelihood of Iranativu fisher folk. Only after the Sri Lankan Navy occupied the Iranathivu, the issues cropped up.

About 2,400 members of 500 displaced families cleared the coastal land stretch of Mulangavil and temporarily settled there. Some people settled in the Oliyaththudavai and Thevanpindi (Mannar) areas, while some others took dangerous sea routes and reached Thamil Nadu refugee camps.

With the commencement of the genocidal annihilation initiated by the Rajapaksa regime during the war, temporary settlers in Iranathivu were displaced and they journeyed towards Mullivaikkal languishing long durations in detainee open camps which were functioned as welfare centres and were resettled along the Mulangavil coastal areas. The region was known as Iranamatha Nagar. About 35 Iranathivu people were killed by the government forces and over 10 women became widows. Women headed about 60 families.

Once the war ended, Iranathivu people believed that they could resettle on their native lands. However, fishing in seas of Mulangavil, Nachchikuda and Iranathivu proved very expensive and gravely tiresome. They had to get the approval of the Navy and work under their inspection. Since 2013, Tamil National Alliance leaders and the regional representatives of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) had been requesting the government to release their island from the Navy for them to carry on their livelihood. However, the Navy as well as the Rajapaksa regime flatly disregarded their request.

JVP brings national security first

After the Yahapalana Government came into power, the Iranativu people expected to go back to their native lands. Meanwhile, JVP MP Nihal Galappathi along with his party stalwarts, regional administrators and Navy officials engaged in an inspection tour in the Iranathivu area on October 21, 2016. A few days later, on November 30, 2016, the MP proposed in the House at its postponement revealing his analyses and suggestions on the Iranativu people’s issue. While ignoring the forcible occupation of the Iranativu Island by the Navy, Galapatthi made a peculiar proposal.

“Once the Iranathivu people resettled further, the Navy would get obstacles even to inspect the region. So, if they were resettled temporarily nearer to the Navy camp, their activities would be scrutinized. Then, there would be no issue. We sent a letter on November 11, 2016 to the Navy Commander making him aware of the situation while keeping the national security at the top.”

The Navy also built permanent structures in the Iranativu Island fortifying their presence in the island. Administering the island was carried out by the Buwenakaba Centre of the Sri Lanka Navy located about six miles away from the camp. The Navy never thought of leaving the Island considering its strategic importance. Instead, they further fortified their forces there. They even established a radar center in the island under the initiative of then North Central Navy Commander Rear Admiral Rohan Amarasinghe. Later the government itself accepted that the Navy presence in the island affected its people.

The Iranativu people also did not give up the struggle for winning their rights. They made appeals to the Human Rights Commissioner, European Commission, and the UN Colombo Office demanding their assistance to urge the government to resolve their issues. As a result, the European Commission enquired from the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Minister in this regard, but the ministry did not take any concrete step to resolve the issues of the Iranativu people.

Responding, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said, “The Iranativu Island was abandoned because of the war at that time. We have resettled everyone on alternative lands in the Iranamatha Nagar, Nachchikuda, and Ambajapuram villages. The region was occupied by the forces to prevent the LTTE from smuggling arms into the island.

“Now the Navy has two strategic reasons to keep the region under its control – to control Indian fishermen encroaching on the island and to prevent smuggling drugs. The Navy maintains a radar centre in the Island, so they have reported that they need the island. However, the Navy allows the fisher folk and civilians to engage in fishing without any naval hindrance.

“The fishermen have been provided with essential facilities to carry out their livelihood and temporary structures have been given to them to dry up their nets. They can engage in fishing along the coastal seas and there is no issue. The island has 10 acres of coconut and their owners can temporarily stay there and carry out what they need. A famous church in Sri Lanka, Mother Sembal Catholic Church, is in the Island. No restriction was enforced to hold sermons at the church. The Navy provides every facility under the guidance of the clergy.”

The Prime Minister’s story in Parliament could make average people certain in his words but reality in Iranativu is totally different. The fishermen were allowed to engage in fishing in seas adjacent to the southern part of the Island only under the strict surveillance of Navy personnel. Even that was restricted by the Navy thereafter. According to the Iranativu residents, only on first Friday of March, the sermons are held and they are also under the intervention and surveillance of the Navy. Even on these days, none can stay in the Island after 4 p.m. Those who stay back, the Navy would arrest.

Radar risk

Finally, the Iranativu people decided to carry out an indefinite protest to rid their island from the Navy occupation. Started on the World Labours’ Day, May 1, 2017, their protest still continues unabated. They said that they carry out the protest until they get the Island released. Forcing the government to release the island from the Navy, a protest was carried out on June 24, 2017 along the Mannar-Punarin A32 road, completely obstructing the vehicular movements on the road. Thereafter, on August 10, 2017, they reached Colombo and carried out a massive protest at Fort led by the National Fisheries Federation. Thereafter, they reached on foot to the Presidential Secretariat Office and handed over a letter of nine demands. The protest of the Iranativu people has gone past 101 days by that time. The National Fisheries Federation too urged the President and the Prime Minister to take measures to release the Iranativu Island to its natives numbering about 600 families.

“If the regional people were brought to the location, they would be affected with the radar system. That is why the Navy Commander refuses to release the island.” Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene made this farcical statement when he was asked in parliament to clarify the situation. He made the statement after five days from the protest campaign in Colombo.

However, yet another discussion was held in this regard on August 31, 2017 and Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene, Tamil National Aliance MPs, regional State officials, Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious
Affairs D. M. Swaminathan, the Navy Commander and other rankers participated in the discussion.

At the discussion, the Navy was firm that they cannot leave the Island. Reasoning their stand, the Navy told if they released the island, it definitely would become a hub of drug smuggling and therefore, the region should be declared a high security zone furthermore. In addition, they did not agree to release Iranativu Jetty for even fishing. At the end of the negotiation, as the ministers and others were inspecting Iranativu on helicopters, the Iranativu people were carrying out their protest being in Mulangavil amidst untold difficulties.

Naval robbery

The Navy meanwhile robbed the Iranativu people of their assets day by day. They occupied every house which remained intact by the war. The Navy personnel drink up coconuts and consume other crops in the island. According to the Iranativu residents, the remaining cattle, about 1,500, inhabit the island for providing meat for the Navy or sometimes outsiders bought them.

Even though the Iranativu people are not allowed fishing in the surrounding seas, the Navy allows outsiders to fish in them on the condition that a part of what they caught should be given to the Navy. The Iranativu people, who languish on Nachchikuda and Mulangavil beaches losing their revenue sources, said that other aquatic resources are also in the same pathetic situation.

Authorities of the Iranativu St. Mary Fisheries Cooperative Society have been informed that a radar network should not be installed on a fertile island such as Iranativu and by achieving the same, the State and the Navy affect the Iranativu people and destruct their inheritance.

“As radar network is functioning, it affects not only human beings but also aquatic lives, plants and oceanic resources. Installing a radar network on the Iranativu Island, being inhabited by humans since the days unheard of, shows that the government as well as the Navy is not sensitive enough towards the environment, the nature and humanity,” they said.

The St. Mary Fisheries Cooperative Society urges the government and the Navy to shift the radar network to adjacent uninhabited islands. They named that the uninhabited Pungudutivu, Katkadativu, Irumaitivu, Kachatheevu and Kakkaithivu islands are ideal for the purpose.

A UN security assessment report issued on last month’s violence in Kandy has raised concerns after it spoke of clashes between Sinhalese and Muslims.

Sri Lanka Project Director of the International Crisis Group Alan Keenan said that the report was dangerously inaccurate.

“Let’s hope this isn’t really how the @UNSriLanka sees last month’s anti-Muslim violence. Speaking of “clashes between the Sinhalese and Muslims” is dangerously inaccurate,” he tweeted.

Foreign Ministry sources said that the Government was looking into the contents of report.

The concern was that the report gave the impression that there were communal clashes Sinhalese and Muslims.

The Government position has been that an organized mob and not the Sinhalese community as a whole were involved in the violence.

The UN report which covers the period of March, notes that the security situation in Kandy was volatile and tense following the clashes between Sinhalese and Muslims which erupted on March 3.

The security report gives in detail the incidents which followed from the day the clashes erupted and action taken by the Government to address the situation.

It also took note of the statements which were made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the incidents, including that he admitted to shortcomings in the maintenance of law and order.

The security report said that no UN staff had been physically affected by the violence but UN movement to Kandy was affected due to the curfew.

The UN report said that the situation was now back to normal.

In its own assessment issued soon after the violence erupted in Kandy, the International Crisis Group had said that there were many factors behind the upsurge of violence against Sri Lankan Muslims.

The events were not seen as local “clashes” between Buddhists and Muslims, but organised and targeted attacks by national-level militant groups who are well known and have made their intentions clear through traditional and social media.

The immediate cycle of violence began with the death on 3 March of a Sinhala Buddhist man in Teldeniya. He had been attacked ten days earlier by four local Muslim men, who were promptly arrested and detained. His death sparked anger and limited violence the next day by local Buddhists, 24 of whom were arrested and held by the police. Demanding the release of these men, leaders of radical Buddhist groups converged on the town with hundreds of their supporters from other districts, who later began attacking mosques and Muslim businesses and homes. Even after the declaration of a state of emergency, violence continued against Muslims in the hills around the town of Kandy.

The International Crisis Group said that the violence marked the resurgence of militant Buddhist groups that first emerged in 2012-2014 with the support of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government. Having ceased during the first two years of the current coalition Government, attacks on Muslims began again over a six-week period in April and May 2017 and for two days in November 2017, with militants apparently emboldened by the Government’s failure to prosecute those responsible for violence and hate speech under the Rajapaksa regime.

The issue over the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) continues to drag resulting in the academic activities of the students being stalled.

Convener of the SAITM Student Action Committee Shanaka De Saram said that after its establishment in 2009, SAITM functioned as a UGC approved degree awarding institute until 2017.

As a result of vehement opposition from various trade unions and student unions to this institute, President Maithripala Sirisena decided to abolish this institute in October 2017.

“As a result of this, all our academic and clinical activities were hindered and our lecturers and non-academic staff were not even paid their salaries. The proposed alternative solution provided for the students was not implemented either and we as students were facing increased and immense mental stress since our future is very uncertain,” De Saram said.

The President later decided to affiliate SAITM students to the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) on the 31st of January 2018.

“It has been over 50 days since then and still the procedure as to how this transfer would be implemented has not been conveyed to us. Because of this we have a justifiable reason to ponder whether this solution too will be not implemented as it happened on previous occasions. Therefore, we humbly request the President to look into our plea and hasten the implementation of the transfer procedure to KDU,” De Saram said.

However, the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) which has been protesting against SAITM, said stated that they oppose affiliating SAITM to the KDU.

IUSF Convener Lahiru Weerasekera said the SAITM should be affiliated to either the Sabaragamuwa University or to Wayamba University. He said that their organization carried out a protest in the capital recently urging the Government to meet their demands.

Weerasekera said that they would carry out another protest in this regard after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and continue until they receive a final solution.

The IUSF maintains that the medical education of the country will be sold through SAITM.

Weerasekera said that the KDU uses the name SAITM for their degrees as well to fulfill their purpose. He said the name of an abolished institute should not be used in this regard to flourish the government’s agenda.

]]>http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/04/08/saitm-students-stranded-transfer-to-kdu-yet-to-be-implemented/feed/2Recruiters order Sri Lankan women to take birth control before working in Gulfhttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/04/08/recruiters-order-sri-lankan-women-to-take-birth-control-before-working-in-gulf/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/04/08/recruiters-order-sri-lankan-women-to-take-birth-control-before-working-in-gulf/#commentsSat, 07 Apr 2018 18:40:19 +0000Adminhttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/?p=188965Sri Lankan women who take up domestic work in the Middle East to support families devastated by conflict are being targeted by recruitment agents who order them to take contraceptives before leaving.

Six recruiters licensed by the Sri Lankan government said they could provide an employer with a “three-month guarantee” that a maid would not become pregnant.

An agent from Gulf Jobs in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, said: “Before we can send a maid, there is a medical check-up by the government and no one can influence that. But once the medical test is done … there is a device we can give in them. If you want it, we can arrange it.”

While no women were prepared to speak openly about being forced to take contraceptives, the Guardian found that many recruitment agencies make migrant workers take Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive that lasts for three months.

Sri Lanka’s protracted civil war, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of husbands, fathers and brothers, and took a severe physical or mental toll on countless other combatants, has left many Tamil women as the sole breadwinners for their families.

Rahini Bhaskaran, coordinator of Migrants Network, a migrant rights organisation, said women were so desperate for work that they complied unquestioningly with the stipulations of recruiters.

“Most women don’t know what the injections are for,” she said. “They are not told anything about it,” she said.

Bhaskaran believes the contraceptive serves a double purpose: covering up potential sexual assaults by recruitment agents and serving as a guarantee to prospective employers in the Gulf that workers will not get pregnant.

“Some women think it’s necessary … to have sex with the agents to go abroad. The agents coax women, even promising marriage in some cases, and then abuse them,” said Bhaskaran.

Typically single, divorced or widowed, or married to men who are no longer able to work, the women are victims of a growing pattern of abuse and coercion by agents and employers.

The experience of Saroja is indicative of the abusive behaviour that many endure. In 2016, a man turned up at her home in a small village in northern Sri Lanka with the offer of a job in the Middle East.

“They came looking for me,” she said. “They told me I could earn well if I went abroad and that they could help me to look after my family.”

Saroja’s son was ill and the civil war had left her husband disabled and her five sisters widowed. Struggling to shoulder the burden of caring for her extended family single-handedly, she accepted the offer. She sold her jewellery to pay the agency the equivalent of £200 for training, and left her village on the outskirts of Jaffna to take up employment as a household maid in Saudi Arabia.

But Saroja found it impossible to keep up with the cooking and cleaning required for the family of 12. She couldn’t send any money home to her family because she was never paid. Then her demanding boss turned abusive.

“My employer, he started beating me. I complained and he ripped off my clothes and I was just left in my underwear,” she said.

Tamil women who endure such ordeals abroad are often stigmatised, as the need to work counters cultural tradition. Nonetheless, there are , and recruitment agencies fly in 40,000 foreign women a month to keep up with demand.

“People are forced to do these things because of economic problems,” said S Senthurajah, executive director of Sond, an organisation that raises awareness of migration issues. “Women have far less opportunities here for employment. If she’s poor or a widow, she’s excluded from the community. We do our best, but it’s not enough.”

According to Senthurajah, the dangers have become accepted to the point where it is almost expected that women who migrate to work in the Middle East will face abuse or assault at the hands of their employers.

“When a woman goes abroad it’s implicit she’s going to be sexually active,” he says. “The chance is high for abuse.”

Swairee Rupasinghe, coordinator for labour migration at the International Labour Organisation in Sri Lanka, said there was an economic imperative for recruiters to make women take contraceptives.

“I see why the recruitment agencies organise it – because if found pregnant they would have to bare the cost of repatriation of the worker, so it’s in their interest to enforce it,” said Rupasinghe.

Rothna Begum, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “Migrant domestic workers in the Gulf are treated as commodities by agencies and employers to the extent that their bodies and their choices are no longer theirs at the point of migration. When they go into employment, it’s this power dynamic that allows exploitation and abuse to flourish.”

After eight months in Saudi Arabia, Saroja eventually arrived home with less than a dollar in her pocket.

“The agency keeps coming back telling me how poor we are and that I should go back for my children,” she said. “But I’ll never go back to Saudi Arabia again. I got nothing from it except pain. I’m holding on to life just because of my children.” (Courtesy The Guardian)

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) will make use of witness statements presented to the Maxwell Paranagamacommission.OMP Chairman SaliyaPeiris told The Sunday Leader that the newly established office intends to make use of the statements when making inquiries into those reported missing.

On 15 August 2013, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, established the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints regarding Missing Persons comprised of three members former Judge Maxwell P. Paranagama (Chairman), Mrs. Mano Ramanathan and Mrs. Suranjana Vidyaratne (‘Paranagama Commission’ or ‘PCICMP’).

The commission held several sittings and obtained written and oral statements from families of missing, both from the North and East and from families of missing soldiers.

The Maxwell Paranagama Commission report, officially known as the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into Complaints of Abductions and Disappearances was later handed over to the current Government and was also tabled in Parliament.

President Maithripala Sirisena recently established the OMP chaired by President’s Counsel SaliyaPeiris.SaliyaPeiris said that it was too early for the OMP to set timelines.

At the recently concluded UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva Sri Lanka was urged to announce a time-bound action plan to meet its transitional justice commitments. Peiris said that the OMP was in the process of establishing the office, including taking key decisions on staffing and other matters.

At the UN Human Rights Council session last month the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein had welcomed the gazetting of the Office of Missing Persons and progress towards its operationalisation, after long delays following the adoption of the original legislation in August 2016.

This is the first transitional justice mechanism to be established. Moreover, the allocations in the 2018 national budget indicate that this body will be properly resourced to start operations. As at 15 January 2018, the process of selection and appointment of the commissioners was ongoing.

“It is to be seen if the new institution will be able to overcome the distrust and frustration that has festered among civil society and victims’ groups, particularly in the North, as a result of the multiple delays, amendments and insufficient consultation with respect to the legislation establishing the Office of Missing Persons. An independent and well-resourced Office, with capable, trustworthy and impartial commissioners, appropriate protection mechanisms for victims and witnesses and a clear policy on gender sensitiveness, has the potential to provide a new impetus to the protracted transitional justice process, including the creation of the remaining three mechanisms. An enabling environment will be essential for commissioners and staff, the families of victims, witnesses and civil society aiming to contribute to the objectives of the Office without the risk of reprisals or other threats,” Al Hussein had said.

The UNHRC had noted that progress in the design of a truth and reconciliation commission and of a reparation programme cannot be properly assessed until the Government unveils the drafts prepared by the technical working groups and opens public consultations and discussion on them.

ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein had said that legislation establishing a truth commission must not be further delayed as it is a key tool for uncovering patterns of serious violations, creating a demand for accountability and fostering consensus around a non-partisan view of victimhood that recognises that victims of the conflict come from all communities.

“While the Office of Missing Persons will hopefully contribute to realising some aspects of the right to truth, only a truth commission with a broad temporal and material scope can attempt to construct a comprehensive narrative that addresses the multiple layers of serious violations and provides sound answers on the number of victims and the root causes of the conflict,” ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein had said.

The OMP is not a law enforcement or judicial agency but a truth-seeking investigative agency. If it appears a criminal offense has been committed, under the OMP Act the OMP may, after consultation, report the same to the relevant authority, who will have to begin a new investigation. But the OMP itself cannot initiate a court case or any prosecutions. In any situation which may call for it, after consideration of the best interest of the victims, the OMP may at most pass on information to law enforcement authorities.

There has been for decades a lack of answers for those who do not know the fate of their loved ones. The Government recognised the need for justice and its responsibility to such families and co-sponsored a UN resolution that calls for the establishment of the OMP.

The Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms said that establishing the OMP is consistent with the continuing policy position of Sri Lanka to plan for a peaceful country, to fulfill obligations willingly made by the State, and to ensure the rule of law and justice.

The Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms said that positive steps made by the Government to facilitate reconciliation had initially helped to rebuild the trust of international allies who contributed critically to the fight against terrorism. Increased engagement with the global community has brought significant economic and cultural benefits to the people of the nation, such as increased trade and tourism opportunities, a greater flow of Foreign Direct Investment, and better opportunities for foreign employment or scholarships.

The OMP was seen by the Government as being established to facilitate peace and prosperity, and to promote the best interests of all Sri Lankans.

]]>http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/04/01/omp-to-make-use-of-paranagama-witness-statements/feed/0Port City motors on despite concernshttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/03/25/port-city-motors-on-despite-concerns/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2018/03/25/port-city-motors-on-despite-concerns/#commentsSat, 24 Mar 2018 19:11:37 +0000Adminhttp://www.thesundayleader.lk/?p=188161Work on the Colombo Port City is moving ahead at an accelerated pace despite concerns raised by some environmentalists. According to the Port City, over 72 percent of the reclamation work for the project has been completed.

The Port City is now looking for a new name and advertisements have been published where a name can be nominated and the winning entry will receive Rs. 100,000.

A total of around 269 hectares of sea is being filled by a Chinese company to create the new city and part of it will be developed by the Government and the rest by the Chinese company.

Once the reclamation work is over the President will declare the new land as part of Sri Lanka and as a special urban development area. The Prime Minister’s office is at present working on the legal system which will apply to the new property which will be part of the Port City.

Agreements were signed recently to construct the Colombo International Finance City (CIFC) Building Complex on the reclaimed land of the Colombo Port City Development Project and the Underground Marine Drive Tunnel – with the Cabinet giving its approval in principle – connecting the airport highway and Marine Drive in Kollupitiya.

The completion of the reclamation and the construction of the breakwater will be done by June 2019. The Chinese investment company indicated its willingness to invest a further $ 1 billion in the construction of the first building complex on reclaimed land.

According to the provisions agreed in the tripartite agreement, the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development made a request to the project company to look into the possibility of making a further investment on a BOT basis to connect the elevated airport highway from Chaithya at the A1 Gate of the Colombo Harbour to Marine Drive in Kollupitiya.

Environmental groups had recently warned that the Port City would increase air pollution in Colombo by 30 times the globally accepted standard.

During a seminar titled ‘The Colombo Port City – The Hidden Truth’ecologist DrRanilSenanayake was reported in the media as saying that Fine Particles PM 2.5 would reach levels 25 to 30 times higher than what is internationally accepted.

However the Port City management denied the allegations and insisted that the project met environmental regulations.

The Port City project management said that the project is being carried out after a detailed environmental impact assessment.

The management said that the project is carried out in a completely sustainable manner at distances of over 7km from the shoreline, and at depths of 15 m or more. The Port City project management assured that the dredging has no impact on coastal erosion or fisher livelihoods.

The Colombo Port City project, which will reclaim some 2.7 square kilometres of land, on which will sit flats, offices, shopping centres, hotels and exhibition centres, is expected to be completed by 2030.

The new Sri Lankan administration suspended the Port City project for a year while it re-examined most accords that had been signed by the previous administration.

China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) had complained of hefty losses because of the work stoppage.

However once the project was given approval to resume the issues over the project were resolved and the project is now moving forward at an accelerated pace.

Sri Lanka last week failed in its attempt to seek wide support at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resulting in the country being placed back on the human rights agenda.

As UNHRC members raised concerns on Sri Lanka in Geneva, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian, together with the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) had talks in the US seeking support to put pressure on Sri Lanka to meet its human rights commitments.

Sumanthiran met Alice G. Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department and discussed concerns on Sri Lanka’s slow progress to address the human rights issue.

“Ambassador Wells met with Sri Lankan MP M. A. Sumanthiran and members of the Global Tamil Forum to discuss the need for Sri Lanka to implement its commitments to reconciliation, justice and accountability,” the US State Department said.

Sumanthiran also had talks with US Congressman Bill Johnson and the Norwegian Ambassador in New York for the UN, Torre Hattrem.

The meetings involving Sumanthiran took place as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Wednesday expressed ‘much regret’ over the slow progress in establishing transitional justice mechanisms in Sri Lanka.

Kate Gilmore, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights told the UN Human Rights Council that in the absence of concrete results or publicly available drafts of legislation, it seems doubtful that the transitional justice agenda committed to by the Government under the Council’s resolution 30/1 could be fully implemented before the next report of OHCHR in March 2019.

“We also regret that the commissioners of the Office of Missing Persons were only recently appointed, 20 months after the adoption of the legislation. Further there has been insufficient progress in returning land occupied by the military. Trust will not be rebuilt if land grabbing continues, nor without independent mechanisms established to determine fair compensations for land reserved for security reasons,” she said.

In light of the gravity of the matters mentioned and given the important role that the Council has played to date, Gilmore said the High Commissioner strongly advises that the Council continue to focus its attention on the human rights of the people of Sri Lanka and in particular on the processes in place for accountability and reconciliation.

Several UNHRC member countries expressed their concerns on Sri Lanka, the first time that the unity Government came under such pressure from the UNHRC since taking office in 2015.

Some countries called for a fully fledged office of the OHCHR to be established in Sri Lanka while others called for other steps to be taken to ensure resolution 30/1 is fully implemented.

Elsewhere, the UK Parliament also discussed Sri Lanka while the main sponsors of HRC resolutions 30/1 and 34/1, Macedonia, Montenegro, the United States and the United Kingdom, in a joint statement, told the UNHRC that much still remains to be done to implement Sri Lanka’s commitments.

“We remain concerned about reports of abuse of authority by some security officials. And multiple incidents of intercommunal violence, attacks, and hate speech against minorities are alarming and demonstrate the need for reconciliation efforts,” the statement said.

Meanwhile the Government made it clear that there was no room for foreign judges to be involved in the transitional justice process in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka told the UNHRC that the local judiciary and law enforcement mechanisms are fully capable and committed to the processes of advancing justice to all concerned.

Addressing the UNHRC on Wednesday after a written update was made on Sri Lanka by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana said that Sri Lanka is deeply committed to uphold the rule of law and to ensure the equal protection of the law to all individuals without discrimination as guaranteed under the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

“We do not consider the reconciliation process in our country as a box-ticking exercise. We are deeply committed to uphold the rule of law and to ensure the equal protection of the law to all individuals without discrimination as guaranteed under the Constitution of Sri Lanka. We also recognize that we owe our citizens equitable socio-economic development, which can only become possible through the establishment of durable peace and reconciliation. We are making every effort, therefore, Mr. President, despite the socio-political and economic constraints and challenges that we face, to realize our vision of a reconciled, peaceful, stable and prosperous Sri Lanka for all our citizens. Much progress has been made throughout the course of last year as well as previously, demonstrating Sri Lanka’s firm commitment, willingness and ability to advancing truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence of conflict,” the Foreign Minister said.

Minister of Special Assignments, Dr. Sarath Amunugam and Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, Faiszer Musthapha, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, Mano Tittawella, Secretary General, Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms (SCRM), A. L. A. Azeez, Addl. Secretary/EU, Commonwealth and Multilateral Treaties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nerin Pulle, Deputy Solicitor General, Attorney General’s Department, Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, Ms. Mahishini Colonne, Director General/UN, US and Canada of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prashanthi Mahindaratne, Advisor to the Prime Minister and the diplomatic officers of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva were associated with the Foreign Minister when he made the address.