Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/teso-urges-centre-to-pass-resolution-against-sri-lanka/article5360661.ece

Drawing upon U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s ultimatum to the Sri Lankan government for a probe into human rights violations, the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) on Sunday urged the Centre to adopt a resolution in Parliament for an international inquiry into the human rights violations and war crimes in the last phase of the war.

A resolution adopted in the TESO meeting chaired by DMK leader M. Karunanidhi said the Indian government should take into consideration the views of Mr. Cameron and other world leaders and the aspirations of the Tamils across the world and adopt a resolution in Parliament.

While Mr. Cameron, who has no direct link with the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, has expressed strong views in support of the Tamils, India which has the responsibility to speak up for the Tamils, has spurned their request and sent External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to attend the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting (CHOGM). It is unjustifiable,” a resolution of the TESO said.

The TESO argued that India’s participation in the CHOGM, without understanding the dimensions of the Tamil issue and against request of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi other world leaders, had not only hurt the Tamils but had propped up Mr Rajapaksa who sought to destroy the Tamil race.

[SSridhar]

Vigneswaran clearly does not want these emotional rage boy type Tamil leaders in TN to meddle with the Sri Lankan Tamils at this stage. But, TESO, because it is an organization with a political agenda geared towards TN politics, talks from both corners of its mouth and is completely duplicitous.

[member_27847]

A memorial is now being built in Madurai ostensibly for the victims of the war,but in reality which will glorify the LTTE in the future.We will soon have a proliferation of such "memorials" in TN as the Eelamists take over the state in course of time.

Oh, is it? Am not following this particular bit of news. So is TN on its way to become another J&K with separatist tendencies?


like it or not, Can anyone deny that TN has always had separatist tendencies??

It is natural for Tamils in India to feel for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Branding this as 'separatist tendency' is silly.

Can you see your child or your brother being murdered and not feel the pain?

The Sri Lanka conflict is mainly about religion (Buddhism vs Hinduism) rather than ethnicity. There is not much difference genetically between Tamil and Sinhal of Sri Lanka.

As I said earlier, this conflict is unfortunate. India must always press upon Sri Lanka to ensure justice and equality for Sri Lankan Tamils.

[chetak]

WE CAN’T AFFORD TO EXPORT SOLUTIONS TO NEIGHBOUR

Saturday, 23 November 2013 | Swarn Kumar Anand | in Oped

Expecting Sri Lanka to allow international investigation into the conduct of its military is like asking for the moon as militaries of democratic countries have never been subjected to international scrutiny

The Indian media’s inquisitiveness to dig deep into the reasons for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s conspicuous absence from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo has yielded many colourful stories and opinions.

However, there has been a common inference: India lost a great opportunity. Some “naïve” experts, disconnected with the real issues in Sri Lanka, claimed India could have fruitfully raised the issue of “ethnic” crisis in Sri Lanka at the multilateral negations in Sri Lanka. Others, who have come to terms with the reality in the India’s backyard, said India could have used the summit to reinforce its status as a regional power by indulging in benign engagement with its southern neighbour in its efforts to reconciliation in the post-LTTE Sri Lanka.

It is easy to churn out solutions if one doesn’t care a hoot about the upshot. Each problem in a nation-State demands a unique solution, and it can’t be imported in any case. There is no single silver bullet to solve civil conflict. Involving stakeholders — who are direct victims of the separatist terrorism and anti-insurgency operations — in search of lasting solutions is the first premise.

Exporting banal ideas

UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s threat to drag Sri Lanka to an international platform for imposing solutions is imprudent. First, most likely it will be outrightly rejected by Sri Lanka with support from China, and second and more importantly, any non-indigenous idea will only complicate the peace process.

Thanks to the biased western media and Tamil separatist lobbies, many Indians are misinformed about the changing socio-political scenario in Sri Lanka. The rumblings created by Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) in Tamil Nadu is inconsistent with the aspirations of the Sri Lankan Tamils. TESO is vehemently supporting something which Sri Lankan people, including Tamils, are not asking for.

In a tête-à-tête with Swarn Kumar Anand, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam focussed on the need for the home-grown efforts. Mr Kariyawasam said: “Terrorism was eliminated in Sri Lanka in 2009. None of the Tamil parties in Sri Lanka or the Tamil people in Sri Lanka has asked for a separate state in Sri Lanka since the defeat of the LTTE which was the only entity that called for a separate state. Elections to the Northern Provincial Council were held in September 2013 for the first time since the Provincial Council system was introduced. The only reason why these elections could not be held previously was because the LTTE rejected the Provincial Council system which was introduced by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The newly elected Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council, Mr CV Wigneswaran, has stressed that the people in the North have crossed times of violence and that they do not support a separate state. Therefore, extraneous persons, parties or organisations that continue to support the concept of a separate state of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka will only vitiate the atmosphere for reconciliation and for consolidating peace in Sri Lanka. The aspirations of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka are manifesting well within a united Sri Lanka. This has been reiterated by many Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka, including the newly elected Chief Minister of the Northern Province, Mr Wigneswaran. Sri Lanka appreciates goodwill from any quarter but interference into our internal affairs that complicates our reconciliation process is unacceptable.”

Restoration, not retribution

The focus on vengeance and lopsided view of the human rights violation —which gives clean chit to the ruthless LTTE — is like rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims of violence. The shrill cry of war crimes is a dishonest charge, because it lets the monstrous party off hook. Solutions can’t found in the blink of an eye. As it was the three-decade long conflict, Sri Lanka should be given time and space to accomplish the reconciliation process in their own way.

Charges of human rights violations are not unique to Sri Lanka. We have seen it our neighbourhood, in China, in Pakistan and in our own country. Can we allow external intervention into our territory? No way.

Expecting Sri Lanka to allow international investigation into the conduct of its military is like asking for the moon as militaries of democratic countries have never been subjected to international scrutiny.

The western countries raising concern over human rights in Sri Lanka don’t espouse the Sri Lankans’ cause, rather they are anxious about their domestic votes — substantial chunk of which are Tamil separatist lobbies and diasporas.

What should India do?

First of all, India should stop looking at the Sri Lankan human rights issues through the myopic TESO lens. Because it carries two dangers. First, as we ourselves are victims of separatist politics egged on by cross-border (non)State actors, we should avoid supporting such a divisive ideology for our friendly southern neighbour. Second and more importantly, it endangers India’s status as Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour. The UPA government has already done harm in May 2009 by taking a U-turn to vote for the US resolution against Sri Lanka at a special session of the UNHRC.

India should look back at the deep historical relations between the two countries — Sri Lankan Tamils’ connection with southern India, Sinhalese with Bengal and Odisha 2000 years ago. We should continue helping Sri Lanka by way of infrastructure development first in Tamil areas and later in other parts of Sri Lanka, so that it doesn’t feel threatened by India and look far north to China for the needful succour. Any misadventure in Sri Lanka will further jeopardise India’s geopolitical ambitions.

(The writer is News Editor, The Pioneer)

[nawabs]

Jayalalithaa to have bigger role if Modi comes to power: Sri Lankan analyst

http://newindianexpress.com/world/Jayal ... 871039.ece

Dr Dayan Jayatilleka, a leading Sri Lankan strategic analyst and a former ambassador, has warned that an Indian government led by Narendra Modi will not bring any relief to Sri Lanka as Modi will not only be tougher than the present administration but will also give Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa a great role in national affairs, including foreign policy.

“There must be no illusions that our problems will cease or abate with a change of administration in Delhi. A Modi administration will be more robust and tough-minded in its reactions to perceived Chinese and Pakistani influence in India’s neighbourhood. It will regard China as more a rival than a mere competitor, especially in the South Asian region. A Modi administration will also have a far greater role for Jayalalithaa. Both these factors cannot but impact adversely on Sri Lanka,” Jayatilleka told Sunday Times.

“In a speech, significantly enough in Tamil Nadu, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate had called for a greater role in foreign policy to be given to India’s states. This is something that Sri Lanka will have to factor in and reckon with,” he said.

“The Tamil diaspora is stronger and more in touch with TN than ever before, there is more anti-Lankan fanatical sentiment in TN than ever before, TN is more influential at the Centre (Delhi) than ever before and India is a closer strategic partner of the US than ever before. It is a great and complex challenge to Sri Lanka "

“The volatility in the international arena around the Colombo CHOGM shows that the Sri Lankan state has lost the battle for international public opinion. We have almost lost our soft power, while Myanmar has regained hers!” “We have a chance to re-grow our soft power if we change our political culture once we take over as Commonwealth chair,” the analyst warned.

[Philip]

How has this escaped everyone? What we've been warning for aeons has finally "exploded" in our faces! The PMANE activists have been revealed to be saboteurs and quislings and should be tried for treason.What was the head honcho of the anti-national movement Udayakumar doing to get injured in the blast? Their foreign masters should also be exposed and their links to the LTTE/Eelam diaspora.If the TN cops are gutless and running scared,the Central Govt. should send in troops to destroy these bomb making "factories" and arrest/exterminate all bomb makers who pose a serious threat to the KKM N-plant.In fact all N-plant surrounds for several KMs radius should be declared military zones and sings warning trespassers that they "will be shot",my fav. sign that used to decorate an entry at HAL BLore!

http://www.asianage.com/india/dead-pman ... -maker-250

Dead PMANE activist was bomb-maker
Nov 28, 2013

Tirunelveli: One of the six persons kill­ed in the Tuesday blast at Tsunami Colony in Idin­thakarai near here has be­en identified as the main accused by the police investigating the case. Viyagappan, an expert bomb-maker, was killed while a bomb he was making went off accidentally.

Police on Wednesday registered case naming him and four others—Valan, Mariyaraj, Vijay and Jesu Marian for alleged conspiracy, culpable homicide and violation of explosives act.

Tirunelveli SP Vijayendra Bidari told mediapersons that cases would be filed against anti-nuke agitation leaders of PMANE (People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy), including S. P. Udayakumar, M. Pushparayan and Muhilan, besides some others.

However, it turned out later that the police first information report did not include the PMANE leaders and sources said Bidari had been called to police headquarters at Chennai for briefing on how his force could not enter the village for about two hours after the blast even though the fire service undertook the rescue operations in time.

Local fishermen have been upset with PMANE leadership for bringing about 100 families from another fishing village called Koothanguli, notorious for bomb wars.

These ‘outsiders’, including Viyagappan, had fled from one such violent clash to take refuge in the vacant Tsunami Colony a couple of months back.

Police inaction helped bomb factories thrive

Idinthakarai: Coordinator S P Udayakumar of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) on Wednesday denied reports linking his movement with the bomb blast that killed six people at Tsunami Colony here. “We have never supported violence. We have been conducting our agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power project in a peaceful manner. This tragedy is the result of group rivalry”, he told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Tirunelveli SP Vijayendra Bidari had told the media that the PMANE leaders were involved in the bomb blast. However, the subsequent police FIR did not include the PMANE leadership, though all the five men figuring in the case were known PMANE activists, including the bomb-maker Viyagappan, who died in the blast.

In a pitiable demonstration of inadequate response to the blast, the police force led by senior officers, including the SP, waited outside the village for almost two hours after the blast because the locals would not allow them to enter. In fact, the police would not dare to enter the fishing hamlets in the region, including Idinthakarai, Koothanguli and Tsunami Colony, for the last two years and more fearing their bomb-wielders.

In the present case, the Idinthakarai residents were upset with the police alleging that their petitions seeking action on group clashes, which invariably involved country bombs and aruvals, went unheeded by the authorities.

The locals were also unhappy with PMANE leaders for settling about 100 families from Kuthanguli village in Tsunami Colony after they fled from one such violent clash a couple of months back. It is said that PMANE leaders intervened when the village committee recently decided to expel the ‘guests’ as they continued to indulge in illegal activities, such as bomb-making. “We warned Viyagappan and associates against indulging in bomb-making”, PMANE spokesman M Pushparayan told DC.

“We have been objecting to the stay of these violent elements here but then, the PMANE leaders thrust them on us saying they must be allowed to use the vacant tenements in the government-built tsunami rehab colony. We had no choice, though we are very scared”, said a local fisherman Rajan, adding that the police remained unconcerned.

Local fishermen have been upset with PMANE leadership for bringing about 100 families from another fishing village called Koothanguli, notorious for bomb wars.

These ‘outsiders’, including Viyagappan, had fled from one such violent clash to take refuge in the vacant Tsunami Colony a couple of months back.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/wo ... 6770821329

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174539

On Tuesday a blast near the Kudankulam nuclear plant in south India left 6 dead and 3 injured. SP Uthayakumar, head of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), was injured in the blast and booked by police for suspected involvement.

The controversial nuclear plant began operations in October. Those opposing the plant, which is located on a coastline that was hit by a tsunami in 2004, fear that it will face a similar disaster as occurred in Fukushima, Japan in 2011, reports BBC.

Local police chief Vijayendra Bidari said "the bomb exploded accidently inside a house" that is suspected of being used as a bomb-making factory, and further stated that two unexploded bombs were found near the site.

The explosion reportedly occurred 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from the nuclear plant.

Among the dead was a woman and three young children under 5 years old. At least 3 homes apparently collapsed due to the explosion.

Anti-nuclear activist Uthayakumar was identified by police among the 3 injured according to the Hindustan Times. He was placed under investigation along with his associates Pushparayan, Mukilan and as yet unnamed others.

The nuclear plant, which was unaffected by the blast, is one of many similar planned facilities. India aims to generate 63,000 MW of nuclear power by 2032, nearly 14 times more than current production levels.

.

[Philip]

How has this escaped everyone? What we've been warning for aeons has finally "exploded" in our faces! The PMANE activists have been revealed to be saboteurs and quislings and should be tried for treason.What was the head honcho of the anti-national movement Udayakumar doing to get injured in the blast? Their foreign masters should also be exposed and their links to the LTTE/Eelam diaspora.If the TN cops are gutless and running scared,the Central Govt. should send in troops to destroy these bomb making "factories" and arrest/exterminate all bomb makers who pose a serious threat to the KKM N-plant.In fact all N-plant surrounds for several KMs radius should be declared military zones and sings warning trespassers that they "will be shot",my fav. sign that used to decorate an entry at HAL BLore!

http://www.asianage.com/india/dead-pman ... -maker-250

Dead PMANE activist was bomb-maker
Nov 28, 2013

Tirunelveli: One of the six persons kill­ed in the Tuesday blast at Tsunami Colony in Idin­thakarai near here has be­en identified as the main accused by the police investigating the case. Viyagappan, an expert bomb-maker, was killed while a bomb he was making went off accidentally.

Police on Wednesday registered case naming him and four others—Valan, Mariyaraj, Vijay and Jesu Marian for alleged conspiracy, culpable homicide and violation of explosives act.

Tirunelveli SP Vijayendra Bidari told mediapersons that cases would be filed against anti-nuke agitation leaders of PMANE (People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy), including S. P. Udayakumar, M. Pushparayan and Muhilan, besides some others.

However, it turned out later that the police first information report did not include the PMANE leaders and sources said Bidari had been called to police headquarters at Chennai for briefing on how his force could not enter the village for about two hours after the blast even though the fire service undertook the rescue operations in time.

Local fishermen have been upset with PMANE leadership for bringing about 100 families from another fishing village called Koothanguli, notorious for bomb wars.

These ‘outsiders’, including Viyagappan, had fled from one such violent clash to take refuge in the vacant Tsunami Colony a couple of months back.

Police inaction helped bomb factories thrive

Idinthakarai: Coordinator S P Udayakumar of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) on Wednesday denied reports linking his movement with the bomb blast that killed six people at Tsunami Colony here. “We have never supported violence. We have been conducting our agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power project in a peaceful manner. This tragedy is the result of group rivalry”, he told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Tirunelveli SP Vijayendra Bidari had told the media that the PMANE leaders were involved in the bomb blast. However, the subsequent police FIR did not include the PMANE leadership, though all the five men figuring in the case were known PMANE activists, including the bomb-maker Viyagappan, who died in the blast.

In a pitiable demonstration of inadequate response to the blast, the police force led by senior officers, including the SP, waited outside the village for almost two hours after the blast because the locals would not allow them to enter. In fact, the police would not dare to enter the fishing hamlets in the region, including Idinthakarai, Koothanguli and Tsunami Colony, for the last two years and more fearing their bomb-wielders.

In the present case, the Idinthakarai residents were upset with the police alleging that their petitions seeking action on group clashes, which invariably involved country bombs and aruvals, went unheeded by the authorities.

The locals were also unhappy with PMANE leaders for settling about 100 families from Kuthanguli village in Tsunami Colony after they fled from one such violent clash a couple of months back. It is said that PMANE leaders intervened when the village committee recently decided to expel the ‘guests’ as they continued to indulge in illegal activities, such as bomb-making. “We warned Viyagappan and associates against indulging in bomb-making”, PMANE spokesman M Pushparayan told DC.

“We have been objecting to the stay of these violent elements here but then, the PMANE leaders thrust them on us saying they must be allowed to use the vacant tenements in the government-built tsunami rehab colony. We had no choice, though we are very scared”, said a local fisherman Rajan, adding that the police remained unconcerned.

Local fishermen have been upset with PMANE leadership for bringing about 100 families from another fishing village called Koothanguli, notorious for bomb wars.

These ‘outsiders’, including Viyagappan, had fled from one such violent clash to take refuge in the vacant Tsunami Colony a couple of months back.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/wo ... 6770821329

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174539

On Tuesday a blast near the Kudankulam nuclear plant in south India left 6 dead and 3 injured. SP Uthayakumar, head of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), was injured in the blast and booked by police for suspected involvement.

The controversial nuclear plant began operations in October. Those opposing the plant, which is located on a coastline that was hit by a tsunami in 2004, fear that it will face a similar disaster as occurred in Fukushima, Japan in 2011, reports BBC.

Local police chief Vijayendra Bidari said "the bomb exploded accidently inside a house" that is suspected of being used as a bomb-making factory, and further stated that two unexploded bombs were found near the site.

The explosion reportedly occurred 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from the nuclear plant.

Among the dead was a woman and three young children under 5 years old. At least 3 homes apparently collapsed due to the explosion.

Anti-nuclear activist Uthayakumar was identified by police among the 3 injured according to the Hindustan Times. He was placed under investigation along with his associates Pushparayan, Mukilan and as yet unnamed others.

The nuclear plant, which was unaffected by the blast, is one of many similar planned facilities. India aims to generate 63,000 MW of nuclear power by 2032, nearly 14 times more than current production levels.

PS:Sub Swamy has written to CM JJ asking her to arrest a catholic priest who is an LTTE agent,wanted in the US for terror activities.The man who tried to bribe US undercover State Dept. officials has escaped to India and was apparently on an NDTV and CNN/IBN panel discussion on Sri Lanka.


.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/we-wont-rest-till-tamils-secure-their-rights-says-chidambaram/article5409666.ece

India will not rest until the 13{+t}{+h}amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution to secure Tamils their rights is implemented, and those guilty of war crimes are prosecuted, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Saturday. “I vow in the name of [the former Prime Minister] Rajiv Gandhi that we will ensure this.”

Addressing a meeting here to explain the Sri Lankan Tamil Rights vis-à-vis India’s stand, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s decision to stay away from the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting, held in Colombo, was intended to give Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa a shock. Though the Prime Minister had not attended the meeting, the invitation from Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran was still open.

“We also hope that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will have a change of heart. If there is no change in Sri Lanka’s attitude, India will continue to press on the international forum for a detailed inquiry into the human rights violations and killing of Tamils and punishment to those who are behind the killing,” he said.

Mr. Chidambaram said that while he was one of those who were against the Prime Minister’s participation at the CHOGM, he spoke in favour of India attending the meeting. Sri Lanka was a sovereign nation, and securing the rights of the minorities in a sovereign nation was not easy.

“Sri Lanka has a parliament and government. Whether the people of the county have voted for the right person, it is for them to ponder over. But the problems of the minorities can be understood only by the minorities as their approach, history and attitude are different. Even in India, there is a demand for a separate nation in Kashmir and Nagaland. Are we conceding their demand?” he asked.

Is there anyone in TN BJP who can articulate with even a fraction of the coherence of PC ?

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/jayalalithaa-flays-indias-offer-to-train-sri-lankan-naval-officials/article5410539.ece

Expressing dismay at India’s offer to train Sri Lankan Naval officials, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has demanded that the Prime Minister review this “insensitive policy of defence co-operation” as it was in “utter disregard” of sentiments of people of the State.

“I wish to convey our strong protest against this insensitive policy of defence co-operation with Sri Lanka, which totally ignores the impact it may have upon the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu,” she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday.

She was referring to the offer for a four-year Bachelor of Technology course made by visiting Indian Navy chief Admiral D.K. Joshi on November 29, when he called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.

[svenkat]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-will-visit-Jaffna-meet-Tamil-leader-P-Chidambaram-says/articleshow/26663701.cms

Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Jaffna and hold talks with recently-elected Northern Province chief minister C V Wigneswaran.

It is significant that while there was stiff opposition amongst parties in Tamil Nadu against the PM's participation in the summit, they hailed the visit of British premier David Cameron to Jaffna.

[Philip]

The "dog in the manger" attitude of TN political entities is sidesplitting! They welcome a friang PM,Cameron,visiting Jaffna,like a neo-colonial monarch,while denouncing any such visit by an Indian PM! It is precisely this attitude of divisiveness and petty egos that allowed the British to divide and eventually rule over India.They played one state against another and enjoyed watching Indian rulers tearing each other to pieces.

However,the so-called "secret" 5-day visit to Colombo by the CNS and the agreement to train on a priority basis Lankan naval officers at the IN's naval academy at Ezhimala in Kerala,is a very welcome step.The discreet visit to Delhi also by the Lankan Def. Min.,MR's brother Gothabaya,will hopefully put Indo-Lankan security issues back on track.Ranting and raving against Lanka from TN entities in an election year need to be taken with a lorryload of salt.

http://newindianexpress.com/thesundayst ... 920817.ece

India Continues Secret Military Ties with Sri Lanka
By N C Bipindra - NEW DELHI

Chief of Indian Navy Admiral D K Joshi (left)with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse

India’s diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka may face rough weather due to pressure from political groups in Tamil Nadu, but its defence ties would continue as usual through joint training, sharing of warfare expertise and military exchanges.

Indian Defence Ministry sources say that “political diplomacy with Sri Lanka may go through its pulls and pressures from political parties in Tamil Nadu, but military ties would not get tied down by such considerations” and would go on as usual.

“Political issues won’t affect military ties. There is an Indian security consideration involved in defence ties with Colombo. Sri Lanka is a very important nation in the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean Region,” a senior Defence Ministry official said.

There was also a clear signal in this regard in the form of Indian Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi’s five-day visit to the island nation this week, where he met the Sri Lankan political and military top brass to share critical inputs on military matters concerning the Indian Ocean region.

The Navy chief’s visit, though, was down played by the Indian defence establishment, whose members refused to talk about it till the visit was over, just as the External Affairs Ministry played down Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse’s two-day stay in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday.

Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s brother Gotabaya met with senior officials in the Indian External Affairs and Defence Ministries, but the meetings were kept under wraps till he left for Colombo on Friday.

In the case of Admiral Joshi, while Colombo went public about his visit and participation in the Galle Maritime dialogue that focused on Indian Ocean Region, New Delhi preferred to maintain a stoic silence about his visit.

Only earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had skipped the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet in Colombo, where India was represented by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. The Indian government took this decision under pressure from political groups in Tamil Nadu who are opposed to any diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka over the ethnic Lankan Tamils’ rights issue.

Indian Navy chief, during his stay, attended the Galle dialogue earlier in the week where he pitched for regulation of private maritime security forces, against the backdrop of the recent Indian experience in detaining an American-owned cargo ship off the Tamil Nadu coast.

Joshi was joined at the meet by naval leadership from 35 other maritime powers from the region. He also interacted with Gotabaya there. During his stay, Joshi met Sri Lankan Chief of Defence Staff General Jagath Jayasuriya and Navy Commander Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage, where the two sides discussed various military cooperation topics, particularly in the maritime domain such as anti-piracy operations and maritime crimes.

On the last day of his visit, Joshi met President Mahinda Rajapakse, where the two discussed the Indian offer to train Lankan Navy officers in the B.Tech course at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimala, Kerala.

The Indian Navy chief assured priority to Sri Lankan officers at the INA from among the foreign applicants. Sri Lankan foreign minister professor G L Peiris was present during those discussions, in which bilateral cooperation in anti-piracy operations was a key topic, say sources.

The two sides also talked about curbing the attacks on Indian fishermen at the high seas by the Lankan naval forces.

Indian Navy chief travelled around the island nation to several major maritime locations, including Trincomalee and Mannar.

Power Play

After the PM skipped the commonwealth summit, India is believed to be going through a phase of having lowest leverages with Sri Lanka in recent years. But there is an opportunity to up the leverage with Sri Lanka interested in ensuring the UNHRC reprimand in March next year is not that harsh. India hopes this allows it to play a role, so that it regains strategic space in Sri Lanka. It requires this ‘leverage’ to be able to extract commitments from Colombo on fishermen issues, keep the lid on inclination in the ruling regime to dilute 13th amendment and that the northern provincial government is allowed to function.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/from-sri-lanka-questions-about-wars/article5368610.ece

The real question in the debate over India’s Sri Lanka policy isn’t whether it is pragmatic or ethical. It goes, instead, to the heart of the ethics of the wars our country fights, and will fight in years to come
Florence-on-the-Elbe, they used to call the historic German city of Dresden, before it began to turn to ash that evening in February 1945. Inside of days, the United Kingdom and the United States bomber command dropped some 3,900 tonnes of ordnance over the city, creating an inferno which would claim an estimated 25,000 lives.

The military utility of the slaughter is still debated by historians: proponents claim it destroyed key Nazi communication hubs, and broke the will of Germans to resist; opponents say it was vengeance, plain and simple.

“There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre,” wrote Kurt Vonnegut, who watched the destruction of Dresden from a prisoner of war camp, in his classic Slaughterhouse Five.

Perhaps Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would agree: neither he, nor anyone else in the Indian government, has attempted to explain his controversial decision to stay away from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka. That leaves supporters of the choice to contend it was driven by high principle, and opponents to claim low politics triumphed over pragmatic foreign policy.

It is time New Delhi thought of something intelligent to say on the issue, because it goes far deeper than India’s interests in Sri Lanka. Instead, the issue is enmeshed with how India fought the wars it believed were necessary to survive as a nation — and how it will fight the wars it is fighting today, and the ones yet to come.

Making sense of the killing that unfolded in Sri Lanka in the last days of the Eelam War isn’t easy: we don’t know how many lives it claimed or, indeed, whether a genocide took place at all. Estimates for civilian fatalities, produced by the United Nations and human rights groups, range all the way from 20,000 to 1,47,000. There is no expert consensus on whether civilians were targeted on purpose, and, if so, when. There are indeed several well-documented cases of extrajudicial executions, but these are not the same as a genocide.

The numbers

It is important to understand why so many different numbers exist, what they mean, and what they imply.

The methodology behind these figures was first proposed by the University Teachers for Human Rights, a Jaffna-based human rights group. In essence, the UTHR proposed deducting the number of civilians who arrived at the government’s refugee camps from those known to be living in the so-called no-fire zone. This gave a number for people who could be presumed to have been killed.

However, no one knows how many people were actually living in the no-fire zone to start with. The government agent in Mullaithivu district, K. Parthipan, estimated the population to be around 330,000 in February 2009. Mr. Parthipan, though, had no way of conducting a census in the no-fire zone; he relied instead on reports from local headmen. He did not have any tools to distinguish civilians from LTTE conscripts and irregulars. He had no way of accounting for people who fled the zone to safety as the Sri Lankan forces closed in.

Mr. Parthipan’s numbers weren’t supported by the United Nations Panel of Expert’s analysis of satellite images, which suggested a population of 2,67,618. The U.N. experts then attempted a rule-of-thumb calculation of 1:2 or 1:3 civilian dead for every person known to be injured, which suggested 15,000 to 22,500 fatalities — much lower than the estimates that have now become commonplace. Finally, the panel plumped for an estimate of 40,000, based on Mr. Parthipan’s numbers.

Notably, the panel did not distinguish between civilians and the LTTE cadre — a fact noted by the U.S. State Department’s December 2009 report to Congress. The LTTE’s regular forces, estimated by experts at around 30,000, were backed by irregulars, the makkal padai, as well as press-ganged conscripts.

Deliberate killing?

It isn’t unequivocally clear, either, that disproportionate or indiscriminate force was used to eliminate these forces. Satellite imaging shows that right up to May 17, the Sri Lankan Army was facing fire from the LTTE’s 130 mm, 140 mm and 152 mm artillery. The Sri Lankan Army claims to have been losing over 40 soldiers a day during the last phases of the war. The former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake, sent a confidential cable to Washington, DC, on January 26, 2009, saying that the Sri Lankan Army “has a generally good track record of taking care to minimise civilian casualties during its advances.”

Jacques de Maio, head of operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross, concurred: on July 9, 2009 he told a U.S. diplomat that Sri Lanka “actually could have won the military battle faster with higher civilian casualties, yet chose a slower approach which led to a greater number of Sri Lankan military deaths.”

It is worth noting, too, that the U.N. panel acknowledged that the LTTE put some of those civilians in harm’s way. The report found “patterns of conduct whereby the LTTE deliberately located or used mortar pieces or other light artillery, military vehicles, mortar pits, and trenches in proximity to civilian areas.”

D.B.S. Jeyaraj has graphically described how the LTTE forced civilians into the Karaichikkudiyiruppu area to defeat an offensive by the Sri Lankan Army’s 55 division and 59 division. Photographs taken by a cameraman for The Times of London on May 24, 2009, for example, show what appear to be pits for siting mortar, an arms trailer and a bunker, in the midst of a civilian location in the no-fire zone.

None of this, of course, settles things one way or the other — and that’s the point. There is very little doubt that the Sri Lankan forces did commit crimes. They worked with savage paramilitaries who were out to settle scores with the LTTE. It doesn’t follow from this, though, that Sri Lanka’s campaign against the LTTE was genocide. And this brings us to the larger question.

The language of war

The real question is a simple one: when, and how much, is it ethical to kill in war? Through the history of modern warfare, commanders have confronted the same dilemmas that Sri Lanka faced in 2009, or Winston Churchill confronted in 1945. Iraq, the University of Washington’s Amy Hagopian and 11 co-authors have estimated, lost 461,000 lives, either directly or indirectly, because of the U.S. invasion.

In April 2004, up to 800 civilians were reported killed when the U.S. tried to clear insurgents from the Iraqi city of Fallujah — a cost so high that embarrassed commanders were forced to call off the campaign. Iraq continues to see abnormally high rates of birth defects, which some researchers attribute to depleted-uranium munitions used.

The second battle of Grozny in 1999-2000, when Russian troops backed by armour and air-power battled Chechen insurgents, saw the city reduced to what the U.N. later called “the most destroyed city on earth”.

For decades, India has propagated the comforting fiction that its counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations are conducted within the framework of everyday criminal law. Leaders and lawmakers have, at once, countenanced extra-judicial executions, torture, and collective reprisals against civilians. This hypocrisy is corrosive to the armed forces, and to India’s polity.

This isn’t reason to countenance sanctimony. The laws of war, as we know them, were written in the wake of 1945 — driven by a particular historical experience of war. They continue to evolve mainly in Europe and the U.S., where nation-states have no lived experience in generations of the hideous consequences — and costs — of existence-threatening insurgencies.

In India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, though, there has been next to no first-principles discussion of the ethics and law. We have lost our ability to talk honestly about war, and what it entails — and that won’t do.

“The language of war is killing,” 9/11 bomber Khalid Sheikh Mohammad told his interrogators, perhaps unconsciously borrowing words from the great strategist, Carl von Clausewitz. He was right. How to speak it is something we must learn to honestly discuss. Sri Lanka is as good a place to begin as any.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/colombo-counting-war-dead/article5401404.ece

The Department of Census and Statistics has started a nationwide exercise to assess the loss of human lives and damage to property from 1982 to 2009.
A fortnight after hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Sri Lanka has set out to count the number of civilians who died in the final stages of its civil war against Tamil rebels, which ended in May 2009.


The Department of Census and Statistics started a nationwide exercise on Thursday to assess the loss of human lives and damage to property. The census would cover the period from 1982 to 2009, said a report published in state-run English daily Daily News. The survey, one of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, would involve 16,000 officials.


Though U.N. estimates point to 40,000 civilian deaths in the final phase of the war, the government has denied the figure and termed the campaign a “humanitarian operation,” which could not have caused so many deaths.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/a-case-of-homes-schools-and-livelihoods-sacrificed-in-the-name-of-security/article5438263.ece

Between classes on Friday, their last working day before Christmas break, a few children at one of the oldest public schools in Jaffna were running about, giggling and chasing one another. The name plate outside had in bold letters its name: ‘Nadeswara College, Kanakesanthurai’.


It has been a long while since the school lost its building to the Sri Lankan army — which uses it for its High Security Zone (HSZ) — in 1990.

All hopes the teachers had of returning to the original building — now that it is four years since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended — were dashed last week following reports that the Sri Lankan army razed the school’s old building.

The century-old-school’s specific case is a reflection of the larger controversy around the Sri Lankan army taking over private land in Valikamam North, a divisional secretariat in Jaffna. While the army has denied demolition of any “building of significance”, the denial is not easy to verify since no one except the army — not even the Northern Province Chief Minister — has access to the HSZ.

Last week, when Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran tried visiting the HSZ after labourers working at a cement factory alerted his office about demolition of temples and a school building, the army did not permit him.Army spokesperson Ruwan Wanigasooriya told The Hindu : “The army invites people to its camp only when there is a function or an event. Otherwise, just about anybody cannot enter a high security zone, you see. Mr. Wigneswaran was not invited for any event that day.” The army, he said, would never bulldoze any important building, school or temple, adding: “You must also remember that there was a lot of artillery firing by the LTTE in that area. And it has been 20 years and many buildings exposed to rain and sun might have just collapsed on their own.”
Depending on who you talk to in Jaffna, different accounts — some blaming the Tigers for the shelling and others pointing to the Sri Lankan forces — emerge.

Those behind the shelling aside, the Sri Lankan army’s acquisition of private land in 1990 for its operation — the high security zone as of today spans 6,381 acres around the Palaly airport, about 15 km away from Jaffna town — has meant that thousands of families lost their homes. Fishermen lost their livelihoods. Those engaged in agriculture were also hit badly. As many as 18 government schools, including Nadeswara College, lost their buildings.

According to S. Sugeerthan, chairman of the Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha, the local government body in Kankesanthurai, only seven of these schools managed to survive by moving to different private buildings. “In all these schools, there has been a high dropout rate and the attendance is very low,” he said.
Amid ongoing debates in Sri Lanka on the need for the army to maintain high security zones, concerns over the Sri Lankan army taking over private land have been surfacing periodically since April. The army had put out notices claiming that the original occupants could not be traced.
In addition to frequent demonstrations — withstanding threats and intimidation reportedly by the army — the residents also voiced their concerns when British Prime Minister David Cameron went to one of the camps, during his recent visit to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Summit.

In October, TNA leader and senior parliamentarian R. Sampanthan took up the matter with President Mahinda Rajapaksa twice. “The President assured me that he would look into the matter. But two days after I spoke to him, the demolition seems to have begun again,” he told The Hindu .

The issue is also drawing international attention. Earlier this week, residents met Chaloka Beyani, the visiting U.N. special rapporteur, and submitted a petition highlighting their plight.
The dissenting voices, however, seem far from pressuring the government. On Friday, a bright pleasant morning, the vast expanse of land — all fenced by the army now — shone in bright shades of green. At a distance, you see tall men with toned torsos and bulging biceps strutting about the land with the soil dug up in some parts. A couple of them are in army fatigues, watering saplings.

[svenkat]

Sri Lanka: Chidambaram’s Brave Bid to Clear Congress of anti-Tamil Image

Seeking to deconstruct a much-laboured criticism against the Congress in Tamil Nadu and at the national level for being 'anti-Tamil' in its approach to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Union Finance Minister and Senior Congress leader, P. Chidambaram, at a recent meeting in Chennai, argues that the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, continues to offer the best possible solution to resolve the crisis and ensure a better deal for the island's Tamils.

Rarely does one openly witness the dilemma of a government's defence of itself unfolding as a counter-perspective, as was seen over the recent historical narrative about the travails of the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka and India's response to it.

When P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader from Tamil Nadu, sprung a surprise in Chennai on November 30 with a pro-active leap to pull his party out of the deep woods of ‘misperceptions’ over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, it was this predicament that came to the fore, even as its ringing political overtones were unmistakable. The event, where some other senior State Congress leaders were more conspicuous by their absence, even seemed to exceed Mr. Chidambaram's initially stated intent that it was a sober soul-searching forum.
A Conference got up at short notice on the theme, “Livelihood rights of the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Government’s stance” by Mr. Chidambaram’s supporters, may have partly helped the State Congress to retrieve itself from the negative categorisations that the national party has been long subjected to by the ideologues of the Dravidian movement for several years running. But more importantly, it seemed to open up an uncluttered channel for the first time in recent years to de-emotionalise the issue at the State level.
Barring the May 1991 elections in the immediate aftermath of India’s former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination on Tamil Nadu soil, Sri Lanka’s protracted ethnic crisis has hardly had any direct impact on electoral outcomes in Tamil Nadu in recent years for all the ‘umbilical cord’ metaphor passionately invoked by the pro-Tamil political parties and a fringe group of Tamil nationalists. Yet, Mr. Chidambaram's uphill task looked unenviable, seeking to make a larger political point in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with a hope to free this discourse from the clutches of competitive politics, so paradigmatic of Tamil Nadu these days.

Despite several other critical issues affecting the electorate here — erratic power outages, see-sawing petrol and diesel prices hitting the poor more, growing middle class anger over governance issues and so on — any election bhaashan (speech) would be ritually incomplete sans the Sri Lankan Tamils. This structural strand has turned thorny for the Congress as two serious charges continue to be thrown at the grand old party: 1. The Congress has ‘betrayed’ the Tamils cause, and 2. The Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre has done nothing or very little for the rehabilitation of the internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka after its armed forces decimated the Tamil terror outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009.


Compelled to demolish these two myths that have given the Congress an ‘anti-Tamil’ image, the party’s senior leader set out on a Euclid-like exercise arguing cogently from a few incontestable premises. The result may or may not be a geometrical proof, but Chidambaram was certainly targeting to shrink the Tamil nationalists’ space for an eternal pro-Tamil Eelam (separate Tamil State) plank. When the Congress distanced itself from an initiative by pro-Tamil groups led by P. Nedumaran to erect the Mullivaikal Memorial near Thanjavur, dedicated to the Tamils “massacred by the Sri Lanka Army” in the final phase of the civil war in 2009, as it showcased an implied pro-Tamil Eelam agenda, egged on by the Tamil Diaspora.

While Mr. Chidambaram made no mention of this latest development, he made clear that any ‘emotive approach’ will neither help to heal the wounds of the Sri Lankan Tamils, nor help resolve their livelihood problems nor fulfil their long-standing political aspiration for equal rights and dignity on par with the majority Sinhalese. India has to doggedly pursue “a reasoned approach with diplomatic sagacity”, given that Sri Lanka was a sovereign state and also that “we too do not accept separate State demands in India, whether it be from Nagaland, Manipur or Kashmir”, he argued.

Stating that ensuring due rights to minority groups in any society required a lot more understanding and political wisdom, Mr. Chidambaram reiterated that the Rajiv Gandhi-J.R. Jayewardene Accord (of July 1987) between India and Sri Lanka was still the best deal the Tamils there could hope for within a democratic framework, ''something on which we all laid great store for ending the agony of the Tamils”. This was to be implemented through the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, though subsequent Governments there had reneged on it, the most glaring instance being the de-merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, he noted.

Coming down on the present Rajapaksha Government’s bid to “dilute” the 13th Amendment despite his “promise of 13th Amendment Plus”, the Congress leader swore by Rajiv Gandhi’s name to assert that India would unwaveringly continue its efforts to “see that the 13th Amendment is implemented in full”. Holding of elections to the Northern Province that ushered in Justice C. V. Vigneswaran as its elected Chief Minister was an important first step. But, “we must continue to engage with Sri Lanka, whether it was to get the 13th Amendment implemented, devolving powers to the Tamils, enabling their economic betterment or stopping the attacks on our Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy”, Mr. Chidambaram emphasised, adding, “any boycott of Sri Lanka” will be of no help to anyone.

In the same breath, Mr. Chidambaram was emphatic that India would continue to press for a “comprehensive and truthful investigation into the genocide and war crimes” against the hapless Tamils during the last stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka, a probe “which is also seen as credible by world powers” and will not rest until the guilty are brought to book. The Union Finance Minister also listed out in minute detail the various types of assistance the Indian Government had rendered for resettling and rehabilitating the internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka in the last four years, adding, “it will continue”.

It was in this backdrop that the central Government ‘rightly’ decided that Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will not go to the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) in Colombo while sending a delegation led by External Affairs minister Mr. Salman Kursheed, an approach, he explained, that balanced the concerns of the political parties in Tamil Nadu and the Assembly resolution over the ‘war crimes’ issue on the one hand, and the need to continue to positively engage with Sri Lanka on the other.

Mr. Chidambaram’s elaborate one-hour defence of the Indian Government’s approach to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue subtly rolled out multiple political objectives for the domestic setting as well. The ‘inclusiveness’ this approach entailed was something ‘only a Congress Government in Delhi could do’, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the first to stoutly oppose any resolution in Parliament earlier this year that sought to strongly come down on the Rajapaksha regime for its tardy progress on reconciliation and rehabilitation issues concerning the Tamils.

If that was Chidambaram joining issue with the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr. Narendra Modi, on a different front, the Congress leader with a touch-and-go reference to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhaga (DMK) patriarch, M. Karunanidhi, was also keeping the poll alliance door open for the DMK. The latter had snapped its ties with the ruling United Progessive Alliance (UPA) in March 2013 over the same issue in the wake of a U.S. resolution then at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Interestingly, with the DMK’s general council to meet in Chennai on December 15 to discuss its strategies for the coming Lok Sabha polls, Mr. Chidambaram skirted other issues pilloried as contentious by the major Dravidian parties, including the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), which oppose any cooperation with Colombo like training Sri Lankan armed forces personnel at Indian defence establishments.

At the other end, by solidly debunking the anti-Tamils charge laid at the Congress’ doors by the Dravidian parties, Mr. Chidambaram also obliquely laid the pitch for a possible new Congress-led alliance, inclusive of the actor Vijayakant-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in Tamil Nadu, in the run-up to the 2014 polls, hoping it could take away the sting from an emotively polarised discourse on the island-Tamils issue in Tamil Nadu.

[chetak]

Has MMS lost complete control??

Tamilnadu fishermen are now running Indian foreign policy??

And what about srilankan sovereignty...


Fishermen ask PM to get jailed counterparts in Lanka released

He said the delegation has asked the Prime Minister to impress upon the Tamil Nadu government to convene a meeting between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka at the earliest to resolve various issues over fishing.

[Supratik]

I think it is a recurring issue that needs to be looked into.

[chetak]

I think it is a recurring issue that needs to be looked into.

It will be resolved automatically when tamilnadu fishermen stop entering sovereign lankan territory.

The lankans do not owe our fishermen a living.

The IN and CG have, on many an occasion, volunteered to escort the Indian fishermen but not only the fishermen but also the local political parties have refused the offer, hell bent as they are on fishing in lankan waters.

There is a very large EJ constituency along the coast hell bent on precipitating manufacturing another international crisis for the lankans.

No right thinking person can sanction the willful violation of lankan maritime borders. They have a right to protect their economic interests.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/easing-tensions-in-the-palk-bay/article5583217.ece

The agreement between India and Sri Lanka to empty their jails of each other’s fishermen is an encouraging sign that both sides have the will to resolve a long-standing irritant in bilateral ties. At Wednesday’s meeting between Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Sri Lankan Fisheries and Aquatic Minister Rajitha Senaratne, both sides agreed to release all fishermen in their custody except those who face charges other than crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line. With this confidence building measure, both sides must now sit down to the challenge of finding a long-term solution to the problems of the fishing communities in the region. Over the years, Tamil Nadu fishermen have with increasing stridency made the demand for the right to fish in the entire Palk Bay, describing it as their “traditional fishing grounds”. It is no longer just about fishing rights around Kachchatheevu. The reason is that the catch is better on the Sri Lankan side. This is no accident. Bad practices such as the indiscriminate use of trawlers that dredge right down to the sea bed have depleted the resources along the Tamil Nadu coast. On the other side, the long years of conflict during which fishermen in Northeast Sri Lanka were barely allowed by the Sri Lankan Navy to put their boats out a few hundred metres into the sea has ensured that fish and other marine resources are still plentiful. Now that there are no military restrictions on fishing off Northeast Sri Lanka, Tamil fishermen there who are still struggling to rebuild their lives find themselves in daily competition with Tamil Nadu fishermen for what they claim is rightfully theirs. Worse, the fishermen from the Indian side, better organised and equipped with bigger boats and better nets, use the same practices that ravaged their side of the bay.

It is no surprise that an agreement — finalised in 2008 when the Sri Lankan military operations against the LTTE were intensifying — that was favourable to Indian fishermen is now seen by the Sri Lankan side as requiring re-negotiation. The solution to the problem may well come from the fishermen themselves. With the backing of the two capitals, they are to hold a meeting of their representatives on January 20 and may explore options such as licensing and placing restrictions on the number of fishing days. Ultimately, however, the real solution for both, especially on the Indian side, lies in preserving what is left by moving away from coastal to deep sea fishing. The State government and the Centre must also encourage fishermen to diversify into related activities such as deep-freezing, preserving and canning. That could even pave the way for collaboration between Indian and Sri Lankan fishing communities. The way forward is to find ways to complement each other’s livelihoods, instead of just competing over scarce resources.

[Javee]

I think it is a recurring issue that needs to be looked into.

It will be resolved automatically when tamilnadu fishermen stop entering sovereign lankan territory.
The lankans do not owe our fishermen a living.
The IN and CG have, on many an occasion, volunteered to escort the Indian fishermen but not only the fishermen but also the local political parties have refused the offer, hell bent as they are on fishing in lankan waters.

It is not entirely black and white, there is a shade of grey. Katcha Theevu was traditional Indian fishing ground, GoI gave that away with a rider than Indian fishermen can access the island. To this date, SLN has been arresting Indian fishermen venturing to that area. If Indian fishermen are the only offending party, illegally entering in to SL waters because we over fished our side, why did 150 odd SL fishermen got arrested ?? If we are to believe SL, then technically there is nothing for the fishermen to fish on our side, then why did they get to Indian side?? Just don't plainly blame TN fishermen, it is because of GoI shortsightedness that we are in this mess. If they keep arresting our fishermen and damage our boats, there would soon be a revolt on the sea.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/use-of-trawlers-a-contentious-issue-at-fishermen-meet/article5622499.ece

Use of high-powered trawlers, banned in Sri Lanka, by the Indian fishermen while fishing in Palk Strait remained a contentious issue in the talks between the fishermen of the two countries here on Monday.

The two sides, however, agreed to have another round of talks in Colombo after a month.

“Till that time, Sri Lankan representatives urged Tamil fishermen not to enter Sri Lankan waters as they need to convince their fishermen,” said a participant of the meeting held in Chennai.

The argument of the Sri Lankan side was that it was strictly implementing the ban on trawling since 2010 and over 250 mechanised boats constructed with crores of rupees were remaining idle. But Indian fishermen continue to use them.

“The Sri Lankan side complained that trawling nets are responsible for depletion of marine resource and destruction of small nets used by the Sri Lankan fishermen,” another representative of Indian fishermen said.

At the meeting, the representatives of Indian fishermen agreed to abstain from using purse seine nets and erattai madi valai while fishing in Palk Strait.

“These nets are banned in Sri Lanka. Now, the Fisheries department in Tamil Nadu has the task of ensuring that Tamil fishermen do not use the nets in all the 13 coastal districts in Tamil Nadu,” the representative said.

The Sri Lankan representatives had made it clear that they had no problem with Indians using gill nets.

[svenkat]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/India-Lanka-Discuss-Fishermen-Maritime-Security-Trilateral/2014/01/29/article2026670.ece

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today held extensive talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris on key bilateral issues including fishermen, India-assisted developmental project in Northern Province and prospects for enhanced economic cooperation.

There was also a discussion about the satisfactory progress of the trilateral cooperation on maritime security among India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The meeting, which comes close on the heels of a visit by Sri Lankan Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development Minister Rajitha Senaratne here, assessed "positively" the recent meeting in Chennai between the fishermen associations as a first step in the right direction and agreed to consider the proposals put forward by the fishermen associations.

"It was agreed that the Governments of India and Sri Lanka will remain engaged to ensure that fishermen on both sides can continue to pursue their livelihood in a safe, secure and sustainable manner," official sources said.

During the meeting, Khurshid emphasised that "India attaches the highest importance to the safety, security and well being of Indian fishermen and thanked the Sri Lankan Minister for his personal efforts in ensuring the release of the Indian fishermen", they said.

The Ministers also discussed issues related to the progress of some of the important long-term developmental projects which are being undertaken by India.

Construction of 43,000 houses under the owner driven model was underway with more than 10,000 houses already completed in 2013 in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka in the second phase of the flagship housing project by India.

[svenkat]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/SL-Killed-No-TN-Fisherman-in-Indian-Waters/2014/01/21/article2011154.ece

Not a single fisherman from TN has been killed by the Sri Lankan Navy since April 2011 in Indian waters, the Central Government has informed the Madras HC (Madurai Bench). Further no warships were being sold to Lanka and only Offshore Patrol Vehicles (OPVs) would be traded.

The submissions were made in a counter affidavit filed by Mayank Joshi, Deputy Secretary (Sri Lanka) on behalf of the Union Ministries of External Affairs and Defence in response to a petition seeking to stop the proposed sale of warships to Sri Lanka.

The petitioner had expressed apprehension that the warships could be used by the Island Nation to attack TN fishermen, who were repeatedly fired at in mid-sea by the Navy. Denying the charges, Joshi said the ICG ships on patrol duty had not come across incidents of Indian fishermen being fired upon while fishing in Indian waters. Further he said the Lankan Navy had categorically stated that it never entered Indian waters. Besides, the Island Nation’s Navy had assured that they have been adhering to a “No Firing” policy on Indian fishermen.

The affidavit said that the Indian Government had reached a mutual understanding with the Sri Lankan Navy. As per this the latter would not open fire at Indian fishing vessels and Indian fishermen would not venture into sensitive areas.

Stating that the IMBL was being regularly patrolled by ships and aircraft of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the safety of Indian fishermen, Joshi said, “It is only as a result of these efforts of the Government, that no cause of deaths of Indian Fishermen has been reported after April 2011.”

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/teso-to-centre-support-us-resolution-against-sri-lanka/article5642757.ece?homepage=true

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/latest-fishermen-arrest-has-spoilt-atmosphere-cm/article5641459.ece

Calling upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to use the diplomatic channels of the Union government “in a concrete and decisive manner” to secure the release of the recently arrested 38 fishermen, along with their six boats, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has requested him to impress decisively upon the Sri Lankan government to advise its Navy to abstain from “acts of illegal abduction of innocent Indian fishermen.”

In her letter to Dr. Singh on Thursday, the Chief Minister alleged that the latest arrest was “an attempt by elements in the Sri Lankan Navy to deliberately spoil the conducive atmosphere created by the talks” between the fishermen communities of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka in Chennai on Monday. The arrest took place around midnight on Wednesday when the fishermen were “engaged in fishing in their traditional fishing waters in Palk Bay,” she said.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/released-indian-fishermen-to-reach-tuticorin-tomorrow/article5643124.ece

The Indian Coast Guard on Saturday announced that 15 Indian fishermen handed over by the Sri Lankan Navy to it at the Indo-Sri Lankan international maritime boundary line are returning to Tuticorin in one of its vessels.

Naikidevi, the vessel, in which the fishermen were expected to arrive in Tuticorin early morning on Sunday, a press release from Indian Coast Guard said. Stating that the ICG took over the fishermen from a Sri Lankan naval ship around 4.45 p.m., the release further said that on arrival, they would be handed over to local fisheries authorities.

The Indian Coast Guard in the Eastern region repatriated 45 Indian fishing boats with 302 crew and 16 Sri Lankan fishing boats with 138 crew this month, the release further said.

[Tuan]

U.S. Envoy to Visit Sri Lanka as Pressure Builds for War Crimes Inquiry
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/31/world ... c=rss&_r=1

NEW DELHI — A top State Department official is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on Friday, just three days after the United States announced that it would again seek a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council pressing for an investigation into allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Nisha Biswal, the assistant secretary of state for Central and South Asian affairs, is expected to meet with government officials, members of the opposition and others in Colombo, the capital. She is also expected to travel to Jaffna, a city in the heart of the Tamil-dominated Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

The visit comes as relations between the United States and Sri Lanka have become increasingly frosty, largely because, nearly five years after the end of a nearly 30-year civil war in which government forces battled the Tamil Tigers — a notoriously brutal insurgent group — the Sri Lankan government has shown little appetite for any robust investigation into possible war crimes.

Keheliya Rambukwella, a government spokesman, said in a phone interview that Ms. Biswal’s visit was an opportunity for the United States to “see firsthand the progress Sri Lanka has made in its reconciliation efforts.”

Two resolutions pressing the Sri Lankan government to investigate war crimes have already been passed by the Human Rights Council, but this time the United States may ask that an independent international investigation be conducted, one that does not depend on the government, human rights advocates said.

The Northern Provincial Council, now dominated by Tamils after elections in September, voted this week for just such an independent investigation, a move that was criticized by government officials in Colombo.

Ananthi Sasitharan, a member of the council, said she was eager to meet with Ms. Biswal during her visit to Jaffna. Ms. Sasitharan said the council’s support of an international investigation reflected the demands of its constituents.

“We want to present our case” to Ms. Biswal, Ms. Sasitharan said in an interview. “Her visit to Jaffna will be greatly welcomed.”

Videos and pictures of what appear to be executions of civilians have leaked out of Sri Lanka in recent years, adding to a mountain of evidence suggesting that the Sri Lankan government killed 40,000 people, many of them civilians, in the war’s final stages in 2009.

Lalith Weeratunga, the permanent secretary to the Sri Lankan president, is in Washington this week to lobby against a further resolution from the Human Rights Council. Mr. Weeratunga said Wednesday that the government needed several more years before any international investigation into suspected war crimes could be started.

“After 26 years of conflict, we want to make it a sustainable peace,” he said, according to local news media reports.

Mr. Weeratunga said that if Sri Lanka were forced into undertaking such an investigation, the government would extend the inquiry back to the 1980s, when India conducted military operations in the country. Indian peacekeeping troops have been accused by some human rights groups of committing abuses during operations against the Tamil Tigers, who refused to lay down arms after an Indian-mediated peace pact. Revisiting such allegations “will upset our relationship with India,” Mr. Weeratunga was quoted as saying in the reports.

Alan Keenan, a senior analyst at the nonprofit International Crisis Group, said India’s support for a resolution calling for an international investigation could be crucial.

“The U.S., Britain and others have come to a conclusion that for the truth to be established, it needs to be done by an outside body,” Mr. Keenan said.

The end of the insurgency has been a boon for Sri Lanka’s economy as well as the political fortunes of the dominant Rajapaksa family. Roads have been rebuilt, tourists have returned, and the pervading sense of unease that gripped the country for decades has largely evaporated.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is popular in Sri Lanka because of this turnaround, but an independent investigation of conduct during the war would be terribly risky for him, said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives, a public policy research group in Colombo.

“There is no way he can allow an investigation because an international probe that asks chain-of-command type of questions will lead directly to the Rajapaksas themselves,” Mr. Saravanamuttu said in an interview. “Literally and figuratively, President Rajapaksa must live and die in power.”

Whether the country’s restive north will remain peaceful without further reconciliation efforts is a crucial question. The army continues to occupy thousands of homes and administer its own farms, factories and resorts on appropriated land, for which the government has paid little or no compensation.

Thousands are still missing. S. Illanagai, a mother of two, is still looking for her husband, who was forcibly conscripted by the Tamil Tigers and who surrendered to government troops at the end of the war. “Since then we have not seen or heard from him, and I came to Colombo hoping that the authorities here would give me a clearer answer,” she said Thursday. “They claim to have no information on his whereabouts.”

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/sri-lanka-protests-envoys-remark/article5645440.ece

Colombo says it doesn’t wish to be dictated to by the international community on internal affairs
A day after United States envoy Nisha Desai Biswal warned Sri Lanka about its “frustrating” pace of reconciliation, the Sri Lankan government said the U.S. had a desire to believe the worst of Sri Lanka, to justify punitive action against the country.

In a statement released by the External Affairs Ministry here on Sunday, the Sri Lankan government observed that Ms. Biswal’s claims pertaining to the pace of implementation of the LLRC [Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission], allegations of religious intolerance or insufficient progress in addressing reconciliation and accountability, were unsubstantiated.

“Preposterous”

Ministry spokesperson Rodney M. Perera said: “They have been as preposterous as a visiting U.S. official’s statement of being convinced of a figure of 40,000 missing persons based on a purported census of 2008 carried out by a civil society institution.”

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/next-round-of-fishermen-talks-will-take-place-in-sri-lanka/article5650160.ece?homepage=true

The next round of talks between fishermen of Tamil Nadu and those of Sri Lanka will take place in Sri Lanka wherein “amicable decisions” will be taken, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the Assembly on Monday.

Wrapping up the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address last week, the Chief Minister, in her over two-hour reply, gave an account of decisions taken in the first round of talks here on January 27.

Action would be sought against those who use pair trawling and purse seine, both of which had been banned in many countries and several States of India.

As a mark of confidence-building measures, Tamil Nadu fishermen agreed not to use trawler boats and nets that had been banned by the governments of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka in the Sri Lankan territorial waters for one month from February 10. During the one-month period, it had been decided not to employ trawl nets in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka.
Agreement

The Chief Minister informed the House that an agreement reached at the talks last week would be without prejudice to proceedings before the Supreme Court [of India].

“It is a matter of concern that even after the talks, the Sri Lankan Navy arrests Indian fishermen.”

As a prelude to the first round of talks, 295 fishermen of Tamil Nadu were released and their belongings returned following the intervention of the Union government, which responded to the demand for release of Tamil Nadu fishermen and their boats.

On the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Ms. Jayalalithaa referred to reports that four countries had planned to bring in a resolution against Sri Lanka in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March and reiterated her position that India should propose a separate resolution, secure the support of other countries and get the resolution adopted.

After the Lok Sabha elections, her party – AIADMK – would be in a position to determine policies at the Centre.

Under such circumstances, steps would be taken to get a resolution adopted in the UNHRC against Sri Lanka, the Chief Minister added.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/sri-lankan-navy-arrests-4-tn-fishermen/article5652601.ece?homepage=true

Four local fishermen were arrested on Tuesday by Sri Lankan navy when they were fishing off Kodiakarai coast.

The fishermen — Manivannan, Mahadevan, Vetrivel and Selvaraj of Arucottuthurai fishing hamlet had ventured into the sea for fishing on Monday in a fibreglass boat.

When they were fishing a few knots South East off Kodiakarai this morning, the Sri Lankan navy personnel arrested them on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and took them to Sri Lanka, official sources said.

The navy personnel had on Monday arrested 20 fishermen of Rameswaram while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet in the Palk Straits and allegedly cut the fishing nets of about 50 boats.

On February 1, 19 Indian fishermen were arrested and their five boats seized by the navy when they were allegedly fishing in Lankan waters.

Voicing dismay over continuing arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has told the Centre that such repeated actions undermine all confidence and goodwill which the two countries are attempting to build.

[Javee]

When they were fishing a few knots South East off Kodiakarai this morning, the Sri Lankan navy personnel arrested them on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and took them to Sri Lanka, official sources said.

The navy personnel had on Monday arrested 20 fishermen of Rameswaram while fishing near Katchatheevu, an islet in the Palk Straits and allegedly cut the fishing nets of about 50 boats.

Sri Lanka proper is 48km from Kodikkarai, so few knots south east of Kodikkarai is definitely with in India. Why on earth did SLN arrested these fishermen who were with in Indian waters?

Likewise, Katchatheevu is smack middle between Rameshwaram and SL (18 NM from Rameshwaram), fishermen from Rameshwaram will invariably venture in to these waters if they need to go North, North East. GoI should force Sri Lanka to abide by the treaty, where in our fishermen have the right to fish around the island and to dry their nets.

If SLN keeps damaging the boats and arrest our fishermen, may be GoTN should start arming the fishermen and have a riot on the open seas.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dmk-seeks-referendum-for-political-solution-to-sri-lankan-tamils/article5695796.ece

The 10th State conference of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Sunday urged the Indian government to move a resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) seeking referendum among the Sri Lankan to facilitate a political solution preferred by them.

A resolution adopted in the meeting said India should insist on a referendum under the supervision of the United Nations and an international inquiry into the alleged war crimes in the last phase of war between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE.

The Centre should not fall prey to the Sri Lankan government and should stand by the U.S. when the resolution against the Sri Lankan government for its human rights violations is moved in the UNHRC, the party urged.

The conference also demanded abrogation of the agreement between India and Sri Lanka ceding Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka.

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/sri-lankan-navy-acting-with-greater-impunity-after-talks-jayalalithaa/article5693159.ece

Calling upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene personally for ensuring the release of 121 Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan custody, including 29 who were apprehended on Thursday, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said the hostile actions of the neighbouring country’s Navy had intensified after the fishermen-level talks here.

Describing the actions as extremely disheartening, Ms.Jayalalithaa, in a letter to Dr.Singh on Friday, said the talks between the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, with the support of their governments, represented a positive step forward to resolve the livelihood issues through mutual agreement.

[raj.devan]

Jayalalithaa to have bigger role if Modi comes to power: Sri Lankan analyst

http://newindianexpress.com/world/Jayal ... 871039.ece

Dr Dayan Jayatilleka, a leading Sri Lankan strategic analyst and a former ambassador, has warned that an Indian government led by Narendra Modi will not bring any relief to Sri Lanka as Modi will not only be tougher than the present administration but will also give Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa a great role in national affairs, including foreign policy.

“There must be no illusions that our problems will cease or abate with a change of administration in Delhi. A Modi administration will be more robust and tough-minded in its reactions to perceived Chinese and Pakistani influence in India’s neighbourhood. It will regard China as more a rival than a mere competitor, especially in the South Asian region. A Modi administration will also have a far greater role for Jayalalithaa. Both these factors cannot but impact adversely on Sri Lanka,” Jayatilleka told Sunday Times.

“In a speech, significantly enough in Tamil Nadu, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate had called for a greater role in foreign policy to be given to India’s states. This is something that Sri Lanka will have to factor in and reckon with,” he said.

“The Tamil diaspora is stronger and more in touch with TN than ever before, there is more anti-Lankan fanatical sentiment in TN than ever before, TN is more influential at the Centre (Delhi) than ever before and India is a closer strategic partner of the US than ever before. It is a great and complex challenge to Sri Lanka "

“The volatility in the international arena around the Colombo CHOGM shows that the Sri Lankan state has lost the battle for international public opinion. We have almost lost our soft power, while Myanmar has regained hers!” “We have a chance to re-grow our soft power if we change our political culture once we take over as Commonwealth chair,” the analyst warned.

How Jayalalitha wants to deal with Sri Lanka (while dreaming dreams of turning PM) is apparent in these banners that have sprouted all over Coimbatore:

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cbfc-refuses-to-certify-film-on-sri-lankan-war/article5717208.ece?ref=relatedNews

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has refused a censor certificate to the controversial film No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka, a documentary on the last phase of the war between Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE in early 2009.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/film-on-sri-lankan-war-screened/article5717199.ece?ref=relatedNews

As part of their effort to mobilise public opinion in favour of the US resolution against Sri Lanka and for urging India to move a resolution seeking an independent inquiry into the war crimes in the last moments of civil war, Youths and Students Federation screened Callum Macrae’s film, No Fire Zone: The killing fields of Sri Lanka, followed by an interaction over Skype with him.

“Our objective is to educate the people so that the Indian government will not fall prey to the designs of Sri Lanka and move a completely watered down resolution [at the UNHRC in Geneva next month] as it did last time,” said V. Prabakaran, co-ordinator of the federation, campaigning for the Sri Lankan Tamil cause.

Mr. Prabakaran said the organisation planned to screen the film, which has a few additions, across the State.

[Tuan]

My Day: Sri Lankan fisherwoman
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26366743

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/religious-festival-on-palk-bay-strip-unites-competing-fisherfolk/article5793256.ece?ref=relatedNews

For fisherfolk in Sri Lanka's Northern Province and Tamil Nadu, the shrine of St. Anthony on Katchatheevu island stands as a huge symbol of hope.

Spine upright, and hands together, A. Rajan was offering a prayer to his guardian angel on Sunday.

The fishing trade in Talaimannar — where he has come from — has never looked so tough, he says. “The catch has gone down drastically, and the price we get for our fish has fallen,” says the young man who does fishing for a living.

For fisherfolk — both in Sri Lanka, particularly in its Northern Province, and Tamil Nadu — the shrine of St. Anthony on Katchatheevu island, which falls on the Sri Lankan side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), stands as a huge symbol of hope.

Common prayer
This weekend saw over 5,000 people, largely fisherfolk, from either side of the island, congregating here. The annual St. Anthony’s festival is, in fact, the only time this tiny strip of land on the Palk Bay, otherwise uninhabited all through the year, brims with people differing from one another in Tamil dialect and nationality. The prayer seems more or less common — that their fishing trade goes on smoothly, though the recent years have drawn people from other occupations and faiths as well, organisers say.

“The strong belief among fisherfolk is that this Saint will convey their concerns and prayers to God. That is why they come in such large numbers,” says Father A. Amalaraj, a parish priest from Delft Island, which is closer to Jaffna Peninsula. “I spent a month here to prepare for this festival,” he says, at the close of the two-day event. The shrine was built by fisherfolk who stopped by at the island for a mid-sea break, say prevalent accounts of legend on the island, but its history is hazy,(This 'ancient' tradition must not be older than 60 years,is my guess). says Fr. Amalaraj. “It is said that for many, many years fishermen from both countries have been stopping here to offer prayers.”

It is an almost two-hour boat journey from Rameswaram — the only departure point from India from where 95 boats came this year — or any point off Jaffna peninsula or Mannar on the Sri Lankan side. Irrespective of which side you come from, you are greeted by a prominently placed board that reads “Welcome to Sri Lanka,” just as you land on the shore, with a variety of shells crunching under your shoes.

Sri Lankan national flags sway to the strong sea breeze, and several flags, sporting brown and yellow shades, catch your eye — the priests later tell me it is part of the custom. Apart from a few water tanks, tents, small stalls, the island has some bushes. Construction of 80 toilets is the only infrastructure addition this year.

Following the prayer mass on Saturday evening, most pilgrims have dinner — that they have packed from home — and get ready to retire under the sky, with an almost-full moon shining over the sea. Some encounter old friends, others make new ones.

They have an early start the following day. At about 5 a.m. on Sunday, a nun in a beige sari, with a muffler around her head, stands under the still-dark sky, swaying her arms, warming up. This is her first visit during the festival. Sister Rajam, the pilgrim from Madurai, says she was initially apprehensive about making this trip, but the facilities, though basic, were good enough for a couple of days. “Also, listening to all the politics around Katchatheevu, I was curious to see this island that everyone is fighting over.”

Enormous exercise
A lot of effort goes into the event, for 5,000-odd people of two nationalities have to be hosted on an island with virtually no facilities, explains Father L. Sahayaraj, the parish priest from the Indian side, one of the main coordinators in Ramanathapuram district. The Indian Consulate in Jaffna; the Ramanathapuram District Collectorate; fishermen’s associations; the Sri Lankan High Commission in Tamil Nadu; and the Navy and the Coast Guard of both countries work together for months, engaging in an enormous exercise of logistics — right from providing toilets to ensuring that all participants hold valid identity proof. “It is really the belief and this tradition that brings so many people back every year,” says Fr. Sahayaraj.

Soon after the Sunday mass, people begin packing up and move towards the shore. The shrine area morphs into an information centre for a crowded boat terminus, with announcements about boat numbers and departures blaring through the loud speakers.

Gradually, by 11 a.m. Katchatheevu is getting back to being its empty self — with a lot more plastic that organisers say will need at least two weeks’ cleaning. People crowd around its shores, boarding different boats, back to either side of the much-contested island.

[dinakar]

I was going through the photographs taken during the St.Anthony festival in Katchatheevu from Vikatan's link here and in a particular photo a building which looks like used by SL forces is shown and in front of that building a tent with some chinese letter is there. What is the meaning of this letter.

[Philip]

India's abstention on the Lankan vote at Geneva,is a departure from its earlier vote in favour of castigating the island republic.The MEA says that the intrusive demand for an international inquiry commission to investigate alleged war crimes in the island was a violation of its sovereignty.The same yardstick could easily be used in future against India over Kashmir,etc. It is also hard nosed realpolitik check to side with the Lankan govt., which has been both overtly and covertly listing dangerously towards China,just minutes away from South India.It is also a direct snub to the US.The MMS regime,which for almost a decade has been a servile lackey of the US ha sin its dying breath found some spine,but alas too late.Actually,it is not the mendicant of snake-oil who has stiffened his stoop,but since he has already thrown in the towel,the MEA babus,livid at the treatment of Devyani K,who have begun their own version of a Cold War with the US,and are showing The SD that the worm can turn.India's abstention is going to delight the GOSL who will trumpet its abstention as a diplomatic triumph.

The problem is going to be for the new dispensation,NDA most likely which will have amongst its members ,maverick,pro0LTTE entities like Vaiko,who have been baying for Lankan blood for decades.Will the tick on the tail of a dog wag it vigorously over Sri Lanka in the days to come? watch this space!

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/india ... eva-501052
India abstains from vote on Sri Lanka war crimes in Geneva

Geneva: India has abstained from the vote at the United Nations session in Geneva which calls for an international investigation into alleged war crimes in the final stage of the island's civil war which ended in 2009.

The Indian envoy speaking to the council before the vote said that India felt the resolution showed "an intrusive approach that undermines national sovereignty." Sri Lankan is being accused of failing to implement adequate reconciliation measures and investigate allegations of war crimes after the end of a three-decade civil war.

Speaking to NDTV, the Indian envoy Dilip Sinha said India does not support the operative para 10 OF the resolution which asks for an international inquiry but encourages Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of an internal inquiry's report and findings.

The resolution adopted today was rejected by Colombo.

The UN resolution, which is the third consecutive one faced by Sri Lanka, is led by the US. The issue of whether and to what extent Tamils in Sri Lanka were persecuted by the Sinhalese majority is an emotive one in Tamil Nadu. Last year, the Prime Minister lost the DMK, a crucial member of his minority government, which said New Delhi had failed to take a strong stand against Sri Lanka. (DMK quits UPA over Sri Lanka)

With the national election due in weeks, the Congress-led government has been evaluating the potential consequences of abstaining from the vote in Geneva.

After a quarter-century of fighting, the government crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels who said they faced discrimination from the Sinhalese majority. A UN report found that as many as 40,000 people may have been killed in the final phase of the civil war, but the government disputes that figure.

The Sri Lankan government has stressed that it was "grossly unfair" to investigate only the last phase of the war and constantly called for a comprehensive investigation during the whole three decades of war if an international inquiry was to be conducted.

[Tuan]

Dangerous defeat in Geneva
by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka - on 03/28/2014
http://groundviews.org/2014/03/28/dange ... in-geneva/

Having lost the crucial vote in Geneva and opened the door to an international investigation, Sri Lanka is now in new territory. Sri Lankans saw who their real friends were at the UNHRC on Thursday night. Our friends, Pakistan, Cuba, China, Russia — and in a welcome turn around, India, which opposed the intrusive mechanism of an OHCHR led investigation and abstained— did far better for Sri Lanka than the Government of Sri Lanka did for itself and the country. The performance of our friends was infinitely superior to that of our own. Ambassador Zamir Akram of Pakistan (my old comrade-in-arms from the conspicuously successful May 2009 battle in the same arena) made the speech, and argued the case, that the Sri Lankan side should have but didn’t. Not all the King’s horses and men (and gold) could secure a single vote more for Sri Lanka than the unimpressive 12 it obtained last year. In fact Sri Lanka got one vote less than estimated by the Global Tamil Forum ( or was it the British Tamil Forum— they all sound alike to me) in its on the record estimate of the UNHRC vote some weeks ago.

It is not so much that the USA won this vote on the resolution against Sri Lanka, but that Sri Lanka lost, since it was unable to convince those who abstained — which included those who stood with us in 2009— to vote get off the fence and vote with us.

Sri Lanka is in a box in Geneva. It cannot and must not agree to an international inquiry, but the rejection of it will entail an escalating price. An AFP report confirms the trap that is being set for Sri Lanka’s political and military leadership, with a view to legal decapitation:


“A Colombo-based European diplomatic source said any failure by Sri Lanka to conform with the resolution would accelerate the prospect of an international criminal investigation.
“The (draft) resolution says Sri Lanka must cooperate with an investigation,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. “If Colombo does not, it will only speed up an international criminal investigation that is down the road.”


A new study published by international rights lawyer Yasmin Sooka, who had also been a UN advisor on post-war accountability issues in Sri Lanka, said there was evidence that merited action in the International Criminal Court. “We urge the ICC prosecutor to explore the cases of individuals who bear the greatest responsibility,” said Sooka’s 110-page report unveiled last week following testimony from survivors of rights abuses in Sri Lanka.” (‘Sri Lanka Faces Toughest UN Censure over War Crimes’, Amal Jayasinghe, AFP March 26, 2014)

No democratically elected government can or should submit this country’s tormented contemporary history and its armed forces to an international inquiry. No party that hopes to be elected to office can be suspected of agreeing to such submission. If the UNP pussyfoots on the UNHRC resolution, it will remain in limbo and possibly go into oblivion through decomposition of its voter base. What any elected government — and that includes a future government of the UNP or the JVP— can and should do is to sincerely implement the LLRC recommendations, including its recommendation for an independent inquiry into a list of identified incidents.

The most striking single development at the UNHRC in Geneva was the fact that the West didn’t mind riding roughshod over India’s principled objections to the unprecedentedly intrusive role accorded in this resolution to the Office of the High Commissioner. This meant that the West was not willing to defer to Delhi’s perceptions in a matter that concerns Delhi, namely the post war process in Sri Lanka and the negative consequences of the resolution’s intrusive aspect. The Anglo-American axis was not willing to concede India’s leading role in a matter in her own neighbourhood. No good ever comes from an extra-regional initiative that vaults over rather than works with the regional power and the clear consensus in the neighbourhood (South Asia, and almost all of Asia, was decidedly opposed to an OHCHR investigation).

The second most noteworthy factor is that the TNA issued a statement welcoming the vote and the international investigation. It did so despite India’s abstention, following its criticisms of the international investigation aspect of the resolution and warnings about the deleterious effect on post-war reconciliation. This makes clear that the TNA marches to a Western Tamil Diaspora drum and perhaps a Western drum, much more than to Delhi’s.

Why did the US-UK overstep the consensus with its strategic partner India? Why did it not defer to Delhi’s perceptions in a matter concerning India’s interests and role? What were the considerations and compulsions driving Western policy that were felt to be more important? Exactly who and what are behind the Geneva resolution? What is the next step the main sponsors have in mind? All this is no longer a matter of guesswork because it is in the public domain. The report of the March 25th 2014 debate on Sri Lanka in the UK House of Commons quotes Hugo Swire, Britain’s Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as stating that: “We are determined to win the council vote, which will take place later this week. The UK has taken a forward-leaning position and provided leadership, and will help break new ground if the council is successful in establishing an international mechanism.”

So it is the UK rather than the US that has taken “a forward leaning position” i.e. been in the vanguard, and “provided leadership”, leveraging its special relationship with Washington. This is exactly what happened in 2009, when as the Wikileaks cables prove, it was David Miliband who successfully lobbied Hillary Clinton. For the British, this is unfinished colonial business— over-compensating for failing to do to Ceylon/Sri Lanka what British colonialism did to India on the way out, and opening the door for the possible ‘rectification’ of that ‘error’.

Swire also admits that the international inquiry into Sri Lanka will be a precedent in the international system: “will help break new ground if the council is successful in establishing an international mechanism”. It is precisely this aspect that was part of the battle of norms in the UN that a British scholar produced an essay on, observing ruefully that during the last war, it was Sri Lanka that won this battle, especially in Geneva.


““Many of the battles over conflict-related norms between Sri Lanka and Europe took place in UN institutions, primarily the Human Rights Council (HRC)…it was Sri Lanka which generally had the best of these diplomatic battles…In fact, Sri Lankan diplomats have been active norm entrepreneurs in their own right, making significant efforts to develop alternative norms of conflict management, linking for example Chechnya and Sri Lanka in a discourse of statecentric peace enforcement. They have played a leading role in UN forums such as the UN HRC, where Sri Lankan delegates have helped ensure that the HRC has become an arena, not so much for the promotion of the liberal norms around which it was designed, but as a space in which such norms are contested, rejected or adapted in unexpected ways…As a member of the UN HRC Sri Lanka has played an important role in asserting new, adapted norms opposing both secession and autonomy as possible elements in peacebuilding – trends that are convergent with views expressed by China, Russia and India…The Sri Lankan conflict may be seen as the beginning of a new international consensus about conflict management, in which sovereignty and non-interference norms are reasserted, backed not only by Russia and China but also by democratic states such as Brazil”. (David Lewis, ‘The failure of a liberal peace: Sri Lanka’s counterinsurgency in global perspective’, Conflict, Security & Development, 2010, Vol 10:5, pp 647-671)

It is the “new ground” that Hugo Swire hoped to break, i.e. the dangerous deviation from international norms, that Sri Lanka should have focused on and convinced or neutralised a majority of the Council, but it failed to do so because its stance and strategy was not one of reasoned if sharp argumentation (the mode of Sri Lanka in Geneva in 2007-2009) but of dogmatic denial fused with arrogantly aggressive assertion, echoing the discourse of the regime’s most hawkish personality.

What is it then that the US wants? I do not believe it is a military base, because that would be readily handed over by the most militarist element of the power elite, if it gets the regime off the war crimes hook. Surely there is no grand geostrategic factor that could have changed between March 3rd when the US presented a relatively balanced draft resolution that was acceptable to India, and a fortnight later when the US-UK resolution hardened to the point that it was unacceptable to India? US foreign policy is not formulated according to a crudely uni-dimensional militaristic determinism nor can it be comprehended by a geopolitical reductionism. The minimum that the US needs to ease off on Sri Lanka is beyond the maximum the regime is willing to concede, not on military facilities, but precisely on Tamil rights and autonomy, attacks on evangelical Christians (a powerful lobby in the US), and governance and democratic norms in general. The best chance for Sri Lanka to get off the US hook was when the Kerry-Lugar report (of the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee) of late 2009 expressed its willingness for a re-set, with the trade-off being that accountability could be put on the back-burner in return for real progress on political reconciliation with the Tamils, in the form of provincial devolution. Milinda Moragoda was responsible for opening that window, but the Sri Lankan government failed to respond constructively.

I believe that the minimum program of the USA is the same as that of India — containment of Sinhala militarist domination, a greater degree of equilibrium between the Sinhala and Tamils, and rendering regime behaviour more compliant with Western liberal democratic norms of governance. However, US policy seems to have more ambitious aims. Washington knows that its domestic ally, the pro-Western opposition (Ranil and/or CBK) cannot defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa electorally, and therefore, regime change and the re-shaping of the post-war Lankan order must be effected by recourse to external means— initially, international institutions and law, as well as external economic pressure.

The citizenry of Sri Lanka are trapped in a pincer, between the callous lies of the government and the hypocritical, aggressive arrogance of the West. What then is to be done?

Once the sharp contest at the provincial elections is over, Government and opposition should vote on a joint resolution in parliament which rejects any international inquiry, including one led by the Office of the High Commissioner, even if it has been endorsed by a majority of members of the UNHRC.

The way for this or any successor administration to roll back the resolution is to address positively and constructively, everything in it, except for the intrusive inquiry which must be rejected. Remove the planks of the platform by implementation of all the other points raised by both the Resolution and the High Commissioner’s Report, and the external inquiry can be isolated and neutralised.

As a country we have to hold on, hang tough. The speeches on High Commissioner Navi Pillay’s introductory remarks on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC on Wednesday March 26th 2014 showed us the faces of Sri Lanka’s true friends, whom we must never forget for generations to come: Russia, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Namibia, Algeria, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, et al. Hanging tough is not enough, though. We must be smart, and that sometimes means taking one step back so as to take two forward at the right time. There is a difference between capitulation and compromise.

Sri Lanka must hold out until our society and polity are capable of incubating, of gestating a collective Deng Hsiao Peng— a Realist reformist option, which will shift tack, manoeuvre and balance, get us out of this trap.

One does not have to agree with a single sentence of the strident stonewalling engaged in by the representatives of Sri Lanka in Geneva, in order to oppose the grotesque call for an international inquiry mechanism. One does not have to disagree with any criticism of the conduct of the Government of Sri Lanka made by the members of the UNHRC in order to reject an international inquiry. As Sri Lankans, our rejection of an international inquiry must be unconditional. Such an inquiry is so unfair, hypocritical and such an affront to our self-respect as a nation, that our opposition to it cannot be conditional.

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(Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva in 2007-2009, including the Special Session of May 2009.)

[svenkat]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-should-have-supported-resolution-against-sri-lanka-chidambaram/article5843424.ece?ref=relatedNews

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/tamil-nadu-parties-flay-indias-abstention/article5840783.ece?ref=relatedNew

The gadfly Subramanian Swamy Uvacha

Dr. Swamy said, “I congratulate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for ordering the Indian delegation in UNHRC not to support the dangerous U.S. Resolution seeking an international probe into the so-called human rights violations during 2009 anti-LTTE war by Sri Lanka.”