Bharat Rakshak

Friday, 15 January 2010, 12:23
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000032
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB
EO 12958 DECL: 01/15/2020
TAGS PGOV, PREL, PREF, PHUM, PTER, EAID, MOPS, CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA WAR-CRIMES ACCOUNTABILITY: THE TAMIL
PERSPECTIVE
REF: A. 09 COLOMBO 1180 B. COLOMBO 8
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Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA A. BUTENIS. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)

¶1. (S) SUMMARY: There have been a few tentative steps on accountability for crimes allegedly committed by Sri Lankan troops and civilian officials during the war with the LTTE. President Rajapaksa named a committee to make recommendations to him on the U.S. incidents report by April, and candidate Fonseka has discussed privately the formation of some form of “truth and reconciliation” commission. Otherwise, accountability has not been a high-profile issue -- including for Tamils in Sri Lanka. While Tamils have told us they would like to see some form of accountability, they have been pragmatic in what they can expect and have focused instead on securing greater rights and freedoms, resolving the IDP question, and improving economic prospects in the war-ravaged and former LTTE-occupied areas. Indeed, while they wanted to keep the issue alive for possible future action, Tamil politicians with whom we spoke in Colombo, Jaffna, and elsewhere said now was not time and that pushing hard on the issue would make them “vulnerable.” END SUMMARY.
ACCOUNTABILITY AS A POLITICAL ISSUE
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¶2. (S) Accountability for alleged crimes committed by GSL troops and officials during the war is the most difficult issue on our bilateral agenda. (NOTE: Both the State Department Report to Congress on Incidents during the Conflict and the widely read report by the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) also detailed many incidents of alleged crimes perpetrated by the LTTE. Most of the LTTE leadership was killed at the end of the war, leaving few to be held responsible for those crimes. The Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) is holding thousands of mid- and lower-level ex-LTTE combatants for future rehabilitation and/or criminal prosecution. It is unclear whether any such prosecutions will meet international standards. END NOTE.) There have been some tentative steps on accountability on the GSL side. Soon after the appearance of the State Department report, President Rajapaksa announced the formation of an experts’ committee to examine the report and to provide him with recommendations on dealing with the allegations. At the end of the year, the president extended the deadline for the committee’s recommendations from December 31 until April. For his part, General Fonseka has spoken publicly of the need for a new deal with the Tamils and other minorities. Privately, his campaign manager told the Ambassador that Fonseka had ordered the opposition campaign to begin work planning a “truth and reconciliation” commission (ref .
¶3. (S) These tentative steps notwithstanding, accountability has not been a high-profile issue in the presidential election -- other than President Rajapaksa’s promises personally to stand up to any international power or body that would try to prosecute Sri Lankan war heroes. While regrettable, the lack of attention to accountability is not surprising. There are no examples we know of a regime undertaking wholesale investigations of its own troops or senior officials for war crimes while that regime or government remained in power. In Sri Lanka this is further complicated by the fact that responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country’s senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers and opposition candidate General Fonseka.
THE TAMIL PERSPECTIVE
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¶4. (S) For different reasons, of course, accountability also has not been a top priority for most Tamils in Sri Lanka. While Tamils have told us they would like to see some form of accountability, they have been pragmatic in what they can expect and have focused instead on securing greater rights and freedoms, resolving the IDP question, and improving economic prospects in the war-ravaged and former LTTE-occupied areas. Indeed, while they wanted to keep the issue alive for possible future action, Tamil leaders with whom we spoke in Colombo, Jaffna, and elsewhere said now was not time and that pushing hard on the issue would make them “vulnerable.”
¶5. (S) The one prominent Tamil who has spoken publicly on the issue is Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, self-proclaimed presidential candidate, and Prabhakaran relative M.K. Sivajilingam. Breaking from both the TNA mainstream and the pro-government Tamil groups, he launched his campaign because he believed neither the government nor the opposition was adequately addressing Tamil issues. Sivajilingam has focused on creating a de-centralized federal structure in Sri Lanka with separate prime ministers for the Sinhalese and Tamils, but he also has spoken about accountability, demanding an international inquiry to get justice for the deaths and suffering of the Tamil people.
¶6. (S) Other Tamil politicians have not made public statements on accountability and are generally more pragmatic in their thinking. In our multiple recent discussions with TNA leader R. Sampanthan, he said he believed accountability was important and he welcomed the international community’s -- especially the diaspora’s -- interest in the issue. But Sampanthan was realistic about the dim prospects for any Sri Lankan government to take up the issue. Granting that governments in power do not investigate their own, Sampanthan nevertheless said it was important to the health of the nation to get the truth out. While he believed the Tamil community was “vulnerable” on the issue and said he would not discuss “war crimes” per se in parliament for fear of retaliation, Sampanthan would emphasize the importance of people knowing the truth about what happened during the war. We also have asked Sampanthan repeatedly for his ideas on an accountability mechanism that would be credible to Tamils and possible within the current political context, but he has not been able to provide such a model.
¶7. (S) Mano Ganesan, MP and leader of the ethnic Tamil Democratic People’s Front (DPF), is a Colombo-based Tamil who counts as supporters many of the well-educated, long-term Colombo and Western Province resident Tamils, and was an early supporter of Fonseka. The general made promises that convinced him that if Fonseka were to win, ethnic reconciliation issues would then be decided by parliament, not the Executive President. On accountability, Ganesan told us that while the issue was significant XXXXXXXXXXXX accountability was a divisive issue and the focus now had to be on uniting to rid the country of the Rajapaksas.
¶8. (S) TNA MP Pathmini Sithamparanathan told us in mid-December that the true story of what happened in the final weeks of the war would not go away and would come out eventually, but she also said now was not the time for war crimes-type investigations. Finally, on a recent trip to Jaffna, PolOff found that local politicians did not raise accountability for events at the end of the war as an issue of immediate concern, focusing instead on current bread-and-butter issues, such as IDP releases, concerns about Sinhala emigration to traditional Tamil regions, and
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re-developing the local economy.
COMMENT
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¶9. (S) Accountability is clearly an issue of importance for the ultimate political and moral health of Sri Lankan society. There is an obvious split, however, between the Tamil diaspora and Tamils in Sri Lanka on how and when to address the issue. While we understand the former would like to see the issue as an immediate top-priority issue, most Tamils in Sri Lanka appear to think it is both unrealistic and counter-productive to push the issue too aggressively now. While Tamil leaders are very vocal and committed to national reconciliation and creating a political system more equitable to all ethnic communities, they believe themselves vulnerable to political or even physical attack if they raise the issue of accountability publicly, and common Tamils appear focused on more immediate economic and social concerns. A few have suggested to us that while they cannot address the issue, they would like to see the international community push it. Such an approach, however, would seem to play into the super-heated campaign rhetoric of Rajapaksa and his allies that there is an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka and its “war heroes.” BUTENIS

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has scrapped the Tamil version of its national anthem at official and state functions, a move likely to further alienate the ethnic Tamils in the country.

Now the national anthem--'Sri Lanka matha....' can only be rendered in the majority Sinhala language at official functions, the Sri Lankan cabinet decided.

The decision was taken at the last cabinet meeting headed by the President Mahinda Rajapksha, who pointed out that no country in the world uses the national anthem in other than one language, the 'Sunday Times' reported today.

"The move will mean that the current Tamil version will no longer be played at any official or state functions"

no country in the world uses the national anthem in other than one language

Tamil Maiyam, founded by Christian priest Jegath Gasper Raj, in which Kanimozhi is a director, was raided.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is almost on the verge of a wipe out, is trying to regroup and planning to launch spectacular strikes on high-profile targets like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ], Home Minister P Chidambaram [ Images ] and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi [ Images ].

Philip wrote:Well,we have only one version.No one complains.However,if there has been a multi-lingual anthem in the island for a long time,its removal is asinine PR.Many moons ago,JR Jayawardene tried to do something similarly stupid after the '83 riots.His stunt was an "oath" of loyalty to the state which every citizen had to take! Yet,the tri-lingual official forms that the GOSL uses and tri-lingual cabin announcements by the national airline go a long way in showing the world how the GOSL cares for all its citizens regardless of ethnic origin.Pres.Rajapakse would do well to let the existing anthem method remain if he wishes to retain the loyalty of not just his northern Tamils,as all (non-Eelam) Tamils in the island would feel slighted at this new directive.

LTTE wanted more concessions Monday, 10 January 2011 05:35 1 2 3 4 5 ( 1 Vote )
A top secret diplomatic cable made public by Wikileaks reveals that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) left peace talks with Sri Lankan government in a tactical move to “get more concessions”.

Although the then United National Party (UNP) government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, had given more than enough concessions to the terror outfit, the Tigers had confessed to Japan that the terror group suspended peace talks with the motive of getting more concessions
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This remark was made by none other than Tiger’s Chief Ideologue Anton Balasingham himself, who along with Tiger Supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran met Japanese envoy Akashi and Japanese Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka on May 7. Ambassador Otsuka provided US Ambassador Wills a readout of the Kilinochchi talks early May 8.

Sri Lankans Arrested
Cyprus media have reported that the police in Cyprus have arrested nine Sri Lankans in connection with the violent clashes that took place on Thursday night in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Six were reportedly arrested on Friday afternoon, with a further three later on Friday night. All nine went to Nicosia district court and have been remanded in custody for six days.
Three people were hospitalized after the clashes, with two head injuries and one hand injury.
A police spokesperson has said that they did not plan to make any further arrests over the violence, which reportedly involved around 20 individuals.

However the causes of the incident are still under investigation.
Thursday’s clash in Ayios Dhometios involved 20 people, believed to be foreigners, wielding swords, bats and Molotov bombs, one of which was thrown into a house, causing it to erupt in flames. A car windshield was also smashed.
Police Spokesman Michalis Katsounotos has said, “Such behaviour will not be tolerated… Those who are being hosted on the soil of the Republic of Cyprus have a legal obligation to comply with the rules and the laws of the state that hosts them.”

It was announced recently that Shangri-la had been ‘sold’ 12 acres of land at Army Headquarters opposite Galle Face. Days later, last Thursday it was announced that Cabinet had approved the sale of another huge block of land, again at Galle Face to China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation to build a multifunctional complex comprising of a five star hotel and a shopping mall.
It is an open secret that the days when powerful countries fought wars to conquer other less powerful countries are long gone. Now the same goals are achieved through the use of economic firepower. The Chinese have already got a firm foothold in Hambantota through the port it is now building there. From this vantage point they can easily monitor the shipping traffic in the Indian Ocean – the veritable jewel in the Chinese’ ‘String of Pearls.’ What the Chinese lacked was a firm foothold in the commercial capital and now it seems the Government of Sri Lanka has given it too, on a platter.
State land does not belong to the Government of Mahinda Rajapaksa to dispose as they please. State lands belong to the people of Sri Lanka and it is held in trust on their behalf, by the government of the day. How does selling, for example, say the Timber Corporation differ from selling a part of Galle Face to the Chinese? How does this government define the word ‘privatisation’? When one of the most prime assets of the country such as a part of Galle Face or Army Headquarters is sold to a foreign government is that not privatisation of a key state asset?
One can just imagine the wailing cardboard ‘patriots’ such as the JHU and its Champika Ranawaka, Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva and such others would have resorted to had Ranil Wickremesinghe and his UNP decided to sell Army Headquarters to a foreign company to build a five star hotel. They would be screaming from the rooftops of a ‘threat to national security,’ ‘sovereignty has been surrendered for a few million dollars,’ ‘traitors of the nation’ etc. Today, their silence is deafening. So it was when the Casino Bill was introduced.
It will be intriguing should some selective activists like Vasudeva Nanayakkara, like he did in the case of the Insurance Corporation, initiate public interest litigation at least for the purpose of defining whether the two Galle Face deals are indeed instances of privatisation. Part two can then begin where part one ends.
It is also interesting that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga in an interview last week had said that 40% of every government deal was shrouded in corruption. When asked as to how she came about this figure she had replied it was through experience she had gathered as head of state for two consecutive terms. What it means in terms of the colossal projects undertaken by this regime, which incidentally consists of the very same ministers that served under her watch, we leave it to the imagination of readers.
It will be recalled that until last year the Galle Face area in its entirety was closed to the public of Sri Lanka for ‘security reasons.’ Should there be a security issue in the future will the seven star Shangri-la and the other Chinese five star hotel be told to pack up and leave due to security reasons? After all that was what the citizens of this country were told until a few months ago when they were denied access to even park a motorcycle in this area.
It won’t be long when some Indian company also demands a piece of Galle Face if one is to go by recent events. When that happens Sri Lankans who come from such far away places as Mahiyanganaya and even the city folk who have enjoyed this open space for centuries, will have no option but to jump right into the Indian Ocean while the high and mighty can wine and dine in Shangri-la style at Galle Face. To hell with national security etc. etc.
The bottom-line is this. A key part of Sri Lanka’s capital city has been sold outright to China – for USD 250 million – by a government that claims to be against privatisation. And the people of Sri Lanka? Well, they are cheering! What then, is the word that describes such a people?

Sri Lanka's main opposition parties on Saturday warned the government that it will carryout agitations similar to those sweeping the Arab world as they planed a major protest against the detention of former army chief Sarath Fonseka. The United National Party (UNP) of former premier Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the attack against its MPs and supporters on Friday was a clear sign that the government was not willing to allow democratic dissent.
It warned of major protests, similar to those sweeping across the Arab world, unless the government stopped "suppression of dissent".

"The protests sweeping across the Arab world is a result of long years of suppression and we want to remind the government that people here too will resort to similar action," UNP deputy Karu Jayasuriya said.

The main opposition parties are planning to stage a demonstration in the capital on Tuesday to mark one year of Fonseka's arrest, just two weeks after he failed to unseat Mahinda Rajapakse at the January 26 presidential polls.

Fonseka, the war hero credited with crushing the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009, is serving a 30-month jail term after his conviction by a military court martial in September in 2010.

UNP leader Jayasuriya narrowly escaped the attack by alleged government supporters when they tried to stage a night vigil outside the country's main prison demanding the release of the common opposition presidential candidate Fonseka.

Several vehicles of opposition members were smashed and nearly a dozen, including UNP MP's were wounded when government supporters attacked them with sticks and clubs on Friday night as the country marked its 63rd anniversary of independence from Britain, police said.

The leftist JVP, or the People's Liberation Front said that it condemned the attack against the UNP-led protest in favour of Fonseka and said that the government was clearly bent on suppressing its political opponents.

The JVP claimed the government had locked up the top military commander but were cosying up to Kumaran Pathmanathan, the international leader of the Tamil Tigers and the main arms procurer of the former rebels.

Pathmanathan is officially in military custody after government forces reportedly "arrested" him at a south Asian city in 2010.

However, he is known to be travelling with military escorts to the country's north for "political work" in support of the government.