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October - December 2013 Issue No. 141 October - December 2013 Tamil women meeting Cameron in Jaffna… Human Rights Review : October - December Institute of Human Rights 2 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Editorial 03 Current issues : Protesters & Human Rights Defenders under attack ♦ Sampanthan writes to President condemning attack 05 ♦ Army dismisses Jaffna protest as a 'circus' 06 ♦ Threats against Nimalka Fernando’s life and other human rights defenders through state media ♦ Right of citizens to participate in peaceful protests 08 ♦ Alternative People’s Forum And Duty To Perform 09 CHOGM & Media Freedom ♦ Channel 4's Vanni tour thwarted 10 ♦ Cannot vouch foreign journalists' safety 11 ♦ British PM invites Wigneswaran to London 12 ♦ On Commonwealth Values – Rosie Senanayake 13 ♦ Don't Touch Sirasa 14 ♦ Three Churches Attacked On Christmas Eve The need for the Truth & Reconciliation ♦ Nonis refuses to participate in discussion on SL's Unfinished war 15 ♦ Mannar - Tamil misery continues Corruption & Inefficiency ♦ Govt's CHOGM bill at Rs 15. 16 ♦ War of words over prime ministerial connection in heroin smuggling 17 Situation in the North & East ♦ NPC renews demand for civilian Governor 18 ♦ Details emerge of Sri Lanka's post CHOGM crackdown on dissent 19 in today's Sri Lanka these voices of sanity remain mere voices in the wilderness ♦ The Disappearance Of Morality In Our Politics & The Crisis Of The State 20 ♦ Why We Must Empower Moderate Voices 22 ♦ Focus on ‘20 years - working for your rights’ 23 ♦ A tribute poem for Nelson Mandela - His Day Is Done 24 Unit Reports : Rehabilitation Unit 25 Education Unit 27 Staff Information Edited by Layout designed by Cover Page Pictures Leela Isaac Hashini Rajaratna The Sunday Leader - 24/11/2013 Human Rights Review : October - December 2 Institute of Human Rights EDITORIAL 3 WHICH IS THE MYTH, WHICH IS THE TRUTH? Hark, in thine ear: Change places; and, handy, dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? ………… Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtles breaks; arm it in rags, a pigmy’s straw doth pierce it. Shakespeare in ‘King Lear’ There is a perception among visitors to the country, as well as a large section among the ordinary citizens in the country (other than the North and East) that Sri Lanka would soon become the Wonder of Asia. People flock to the North to see for themselves the ‘development’ that has taken place after the dev- astation caused by the Tamil Tiger terrorists. Now there are no terrorists, and the army that has taken over these areas gives them a sense of security. They marvel at the new roads and bridges. As Gamini Weera- koon says (Sunday Leader 05th January 2014) “How wonderful it is to be able to drive up to Jaffna on smooth roads in just 8 hours!” Visitors to the North also say, when you walk into hotels and restaurants people who serve you are so friendly & polite and talk to you in Sinhala! Even those who sell palmyrah jug- gery and ‘Kotte Kilangu’ on the way to Nagadipa, speak Sinhala. It’s wonderful, we couldn’t have ever imagined this situation just 5 years ago. God bless our President Mahinda Rajapaksa who made this possi- ble by defeating the Tigers. Just as our brave king Dutugamunu who defeated the Damila King Elara about 3000 years ago, still lives in our hearts, Mahinda too will be loved and remembered for centruries to come, as the one who saved the country and brought peace that we fully enjoy today. Even former terrorists have been rehabilitated, new hotels have come up and above all the government has held elections in the North after so many years. Today the TNA is in control of the North. The Tamils have to be grateful to the Presi- dent for liberating them from the liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam. Is this the whole truth based on facts or is it only a myth created by a section of our society? There is also another perception, specially among the minorities that all is not well in the country even after almost 5 years after the war. People in the North complain that they have lost their houses and land. Some of them still live in temporary sheds or even under trees. They have lost their livelihood mainly farming and fishing. As Gamini himself points out “The contrasting scenario to this development is the bombed out damaged, apparently deserted homes stretching out into the far distance. They have also lost many of their loved ones and want to know the fate of those who disappeared after the end of the war and still continue to disappear. It is mainly about these disappearances they seek international help. But they do not talk freely to local visitors and journalists. It is this stoic silence that Gamini refers to in his article when he says “The most important aspect we noticed among non political Jaffna residents is that they don’t speak out on critical issues. They maintain a stoic deafening silence. Perhaps the terrible personal losses and suffering they underwent is the cause”. That could be so but it could be also that they cannot trust the majority community to listen to their grievances sympathetically because they (the Sinhalese) do display a sense of triumphalism. Then there is also the disturbing constant presence of the army, who consider them- selves as the victors, “Be careful and watch your mouth. The government security forces are vigilant and they do not like us talking to outsiders” is a comment one hears. There is also the resurgence of Buddhists temples in the former strong hold of the LTTE, which is not pleasing to the local Tamils. “The propagation of Buddhist shrines is evident throughout, not only that, streets and roads are named after heroic Sri Lanka service men (Sinhala). Despite the local civilian population being Tamil the signs on the roads are in Sinhala only! Bunkers located every 500 meters and the continuous presence of the military give an air of a military state without any bridges to link the communities”. This was said over the BBC Sinhala Service. These could be the reasons for their ‘stoic deafening silence” and as Gamini says, “Until this barrier of silence is broken, talk of reconciliation will be hogwash”, is this the reality or is it part of a myth created by the minority groups aided by the international community? Is it part of the international conspiracy against “brave little Sri Lanka” as the government loves to maintain? What’s the truth about human rights violations and war crimes allegations? Are the channel 4 docu- mentaries based on facts or are all these documentaries fakes, that should be rejected. Do the security forces continue to abduct ‘Tiger supporters’ in the North and torture them (rape the women) to extract (Continue on page 04) Human Rights Review : October - December 3 Institute of Human Rights EDITORIAL 4 (Continue from page 03) information regarding their friends and relative abroad. Are Jonathan Miller & Callum Macrae Tiger support- ers who are being funded by the defunct LTTE, as the government says. There are ‘spontaneous’ pro gov- ernment demonstrators who scream and screech death threats at these channel 4 journalists. There are also screaming front page banner headlines in the newspapers not only against these journalists but against the international community, the UN, and the UNHRC where the 3rd Resolution against Sri Lanka is expected to be brought in March this year. It could call for an international investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Is this all a part of the same international conspiracy against Sri Lanka? Even David Cameron, Navi Pillay and Stephen Rapp are accused of being Tiger supporters. Myth or Truth? Recently there was a hue and cry about a photo caption posted by the US embassy in its official twitter account. It was a caption to a photo of US ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele Sison and US Ambassa- dor at large for war crimes issues in the office of Global Criminal Justice, Stephen Rapp taken at St. An- thony’s ground in Puthukudiyiruppu and it said “The site of January 2009 killing of hundreds of families by army shelling” Our external affairs ministry was angered by this “baseless allegation” and wanted the US embassy to change the caption. The embassy refused, and reiterated its call for an independent credible investigation into allegations of war crimes during the final phase of the war. Behind all the screaming banners and death threats from the pro-government demonstrators, there is also another voice. The voice of the moderates. These could be Tamil, Sinhala, Muslim or other voices, and they include human rights activists, journalists liberal intellectuals, religious leaders and professionals. Recently a well known human rights activist Nimalka Fernando was ,mercilessly abused and threatened over the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and no action has been taken against the SLBC Chairman in spite of her complaint to the police (See Page 06)In parliament too a few such voices can be heard from the opposition. As Mr. Sumanthiran said in parliament, as long as there are even a few rational moderate human beings in this country, there is still hope. And that is no myth. There is widespread corruption and inefficiency in the way the country is being governed. Corruption Index, a globally reputed index of Transparency International shows the situation in Sri Lanka has deterio- rated, it has slid down 12 places compared to 2012. Corruption takes place at the highest levels. Letters are issued from the Prime Minister’s office to friends and party supporters to waive off customs duties and this is considered normal practice in any ministry.
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