Sri Lanka and war crimes

Keep quiet and carry on

A crackdown precedes a new report on the end of the civil war

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United Nations must intervene to protect Sri Lanka's media, 31 January 2011:
A publication of the Institute for Constitutional Studies, ‘Twenty Two Years of Devolution – An Evaluation of the Working of Provincial Councils(PCs) in Sri Lanka’, launched on 21 December 2010 says:
‘’… Recentralization is the hallmark of the system. Today, PCs have become a means by which the centre controls regional resources. They have also become the avenues through which the centre consolidates its political power. ''

No war, no peace: the denial of minority rights and justice in Sri Lanka, Report by Minority Rights Group International, 19 January 2011:
(The whole report can be downloaded here).


An excellent analysis!

Only in Sri Lanka could an organisation like Transparency International be subject to scrutiny by a Cabal that depends on corruption for its survival: could this be a case of “man bites dog”?

But it looks like Our Dear Leader Mahinda is now trying to impose “Chinese Democracy” It’s not that he’s going to have us rocking to music by Guns n Roses, rather we’ll be dancing to a tune familiar in Beijing: militarized civil administration, ineffective judiciary (though those judges do try) and a corrupt police force that toes the party line. Couple that with the Brothers who control most of the economic spend and (unprecedented in Sri Lanka) have begun to manipulate the banking system by imposing nominees on the boards of major banks. So the erstwhile mouthpiece at the Defence Ministry is now a banker, despite having details of his criminal record published in the national press.

We now have a bizarre scenario where the Army runs holiday resorts in Jaffna! Perhaps they should take over the Tourist Board too and see if they can improve the hotel system nationwide; the Air force could then take over the running of the national airline? Not that far fetched, given that many of the principal diplomatic postings are now occupied by ex-military men as rewards for servility; a situation the will no doubt cause much gnashing of teeth in the ranks of the pseudo-intellectuals who made Faustian pacts with Rajapakse while eying these very same plum postings.
Perhaps the Cabal has made a startling discovery: these sycophants have some vital business know how that our captains of industry lack. We’ve got Casino moguls who’ve morphed into top civil servants so they must be on to something!


The brutal regime of the family of Mahinda Rajapaksha [now KING] wants to rule the country like a monarch for ever by him and his siblings. He does not want any opposition, no criticism, just he needs praise and power for ever and ever. He does not cares for his country or his people. How can anyone expect justice from this government of Rajapaksha Bros. & Co. Kindly view this link - from Catholic Priest:

Exiled Tamil priest wants peace, truth and justice in Sri Lanka

Published: 17 April 2011
By: Paul Dobbyn

Father S.J. Emmanuel: "One day in 1995 I was nearly finished off when a bomb was dropped outside Francis Xavier Seminary"

A Sri Lankan priest who is living in self-imposed exile and campaigning for peace and justice in his homeland visited Brisbane recently to plead on behalf of his people. PAUL DOBBYN reports

EMINENT Tamil theologian and academic Father S.J. Emmanuel can count five bishops among those he has educated in his distinguished career - but he is much prouder of five special priests who attended his lectures in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

President of the Global Tamil Forum, Fr Emmanuel once told the State Department in Washington that he was "father" to these priests.

The five were among 10 priests killed in the final bloody battle between Government and rebel forces in Sri Lanka's north in May 2009.

Once called the "Archbishop Tutu" of the Tamil struggle by United States human rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson, the 77-year-old priest was recently in Brisbane to spread the message that his people are suffering widespread human-rights abuses in the aftermath of the country's 30-year civil war.

Fr Emmanuel can also count Cardinal George Pell and then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) as classmates and associates.

Fr Emmanuel and Cardinal Pell were ordained as priests at St Peter's Basilica in 1966.

For the past 14 years he's been in exile and he is Vicarius Co-operator in St Nikolaus' parish, Darfeld, in Munster diocese, Germany.

In his interview with The Catholic Leader while visiting Brisbane in February, Fr Emmanuel explained the reasons for his self-imposed exile.

The priest of 44 years told of narrowly escaping death on at least one occasion before being forced out, along with about 500,000 other Tamils from civil war-torn Sri Lanka.

"From 1986 onwards I lived through the ethnic conflict and war in Jaffna in the country's north," Fr Emmanuel said.

"The first part of this war I spent in the city with no electricity, telephone, postage or fuel.

"I was ten years rector and lecturer at St Francis Xavier's Major Seminary in Jaffna.

"During this time, the Government imposed an economic embargo on the region and we lived on dried fish and rice for years."

Of far more concern was the constant threat of aerial bombardment.

"We were always looking up - hearing helicopter gunships overhead," Fr Emmanuel said.


Alex Pandian

Sri Lanka has a long history of establishing ad hoc commissions to deflect international criticism over its very poor human rights record and widespread culture of impunity.Since independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has established at least 10 such commissions, none of which have produced any significant results.
Every time the international community raises the issue of accountability, Sri Lanka establishes a commission that takes a long time to achieve nothing,"
"US should put an end to this game of smoke and mirrors and begin a process that would ensure justice for all the victims of Sri Lanka's war.
Govt may well be continuing its human rights abuses with these arbitrary arrests and executions.
The level of democracy in the island was best illustrated by the opposition presidential candidate called for the intervention of 'outside governments' to prevent dictatorship and to protect democracy in the island. "There is no law and order in this country,there is nothing we can do about it" he said.
Colombo still seeks to hold back the truth. Tamils right for political self determination has been brutally twisted and crushed.


Yes, it is extremely dangerous to speak even the truth because the punishment is summary death or at best, jail on concocted charges. There are enough examples of courageous people who have been martyred under the regime under continuing Emergency Regulations which makes it open season for government, its forces or its allies to commit serious crimes against humanity without ny accountabilty!. The President's good friend and donor Mu'ammar Gaddafi's Libya is copying the same tactics to target their so-called perceived enemies.

But the astonishing difference is that in the case of Libya the UN and the international community have come down like 'a ton of bricks' on Gaddafi forces presumably to prevent a bloodbath like in Sri lanka. After much dithering and delays all that has happened in Sri Lanka is the UNSG's Advisory Panel Report which has been just published wto eyars after the mass murder in teh wanni ergiosn of Sri Lanka. It has been shared with that government but as yet not released to the public! Meanwhile opponents yet go missing and unaccounted for as in the case of the Lanka e News cartoonist Prageeth Ekneliyagoda whose wife had petitioned the UNSG without any result. Tamils too who have lost tens of thouands of their kith and kin in the vicious genocidal war waged by the state for decades have asked the UNSG to release the Panel Report which will ostensibly deal only with the end of war situation. What the SG plans to do with the Report is yet unclear. Procrastination is the thief of time to deny justice which has been long delayed resulting in more human rights and humanitarian rights abuses by the abusers themsleves. Examples are piling up by the day in an environment of total impunity.


another month and another silly, sloppy, inaccurate, attack piece against sri lanka from the economist .

this extremely biased article deliberate fails to mention important facts.

it fails to mention that we sri lankans are subjected to a double standard when this so called panel was appointed by mr moon. why is there no similar panel for brutal war crimes carried out by american, british, and other western governments in iraq , afghanistan and pakistan ( not to mention other places ) ? after all everyone has seen authenticated visual and documentary evidence of those crimes, while we are yet to see any substantiated evidence of any war crime in sri lanka.
why should we bow to such a double standard?
of course the economist originating in remnant of genocidal british empire fails even to notice the racist double standard. typical!
(historically this mag supported same empire 's bloody and brutish repression in colonies including sri lanka)
it fails to give a truthful account of what these so called western funded organizations 'advocated'. they advocated more power to tamil tiger murderers of our children in return for 'peace'; 'peace at any cost' appeasement, even though the cost was daily killing and maiming of us, sri lankans, and violation of our rights by the ltte. they advocated accepting ltte's racist claim to be the sole representative of tamils. a claim completely repugnant to any one who values human rights , democracy, and freedom .
why no mention of these easily verifiable facts here?

it fails to mention that the misnamed national peace council went so far as to lobby 'free of charge'.on behalf of ltte murderers with eurapean union when eu was in the process of including ltte among terrorist organizations.

it fails to mention that these organizations have not produced any audited accounts in spite of many requests throughout the decades. why do you gloss over this fact by deceptive statement that they have merely offered to produce them now?

why are we expected not to investigate organizations with unknown funding sources that have tried to influence events and policy in ways directly detrimental to our interests and rights, not to mention our lives?
any other government anywhere have, will and should investigate such organizations.
again why are we expected to bow to a racist double standard?

it fails to mention that prageeth eknaligoda staged another disappearance in 2009 and then reapaered without any explanation. the aim seems to be to create a myth of repression. same kind of play acting was going on with so called arson attack which failed to cause any real damage. the economist as usual willingly fell for it by deliberately not checking facts.

btw if there is such a repression of media can anyone mention even one ( just one !) story concerning sri lanka that was not published in sri lankan media? president and family and goverment is daily attacked and satirized in sri lankan media, as anyone can verify by checking the said media. the economist deliberately failed to do. why?

cont ....

Ryan K

This reporting is shockingly bad. The writer paints a picture where the government is trying to intimidate non-governmental organizations within the country, specifically mentioning the National Peace Council headed by Jehan Perera. Mr. Perera himself is completely free to express his opinions, as he did in a piece he wrote to a local newspaper. While he understandably isn't happy that his organization is under police investigation, his view of the situation is a significant contrast from that portrayed by the Economist.

With regard to Transparency International, the writer also claims that since October 2010, "pro-government press has continued to vilify the group". In actuality, government media contains articles such as this; titled "Bribery and Corruption: Bane of our Country", it goes on "Transparency International raises awareness of the damaging effects of corruption and works with partners in government, business and civil society to develop and implement effective measures to tackle it. According to Transparency International, corruption is notoriously difficult to measure."

Another point that demonstrates the factual inaccuracy of this report is the claim that a website editor was arrested for arson on his own press in an "Orwellian style" act by the goverment. It was pointed out, very very clearly by the police, that he was arrested for *threatening* the people accused of the arson attack. "A senior web journalist was arrested on Thursday for allegedly threatening the brother of a suspect, said to be behind the arson attack which gutted a website office in January this year.. Police spokesperson Prasahanta Jayakkody told reporters that Rupasinghe has been taken into custody on the basis of a complaint made by the brother of the suspect who is under police remand and is being questioned over the arson attack on the office of the Lanka e News earlier this year."

This is very irresponsible journalism on the part of the Economist.


cont >

btw shouldn't sri lanka be wary of murderous extremist tiger flag waving elements in tamil diaspora? among many instances, they have used physical violence against sri lankans and institutions (including embassies ) in other countries. btw even one these violent acts are yet to be mentioned in the economist though they were covered by respective countries' (incl uk) local media. these ppl even denied the sri lankan president the right to of free speech last december at oxford union by threatening a violent disturbance, that oxford union (betraying its principles ) canceled the event at the last moment
but to the economist being wary of such ppl is equal to being wary of "the active and educated Tamil diaspora". such is racist prejudice here.

there are many more instances of extreme anti sri lankan bias in this article, but i will stop for now , esp since the economist have long track record of arbitrary censoring of my comments in spite of verifiable truth of what i write. in contrast it allows free reign to comments, see several above mine, which don't have a single shred of verifiable truth .

after all remember (and easily verify in archives here) this is the same the economist which insisted tamil tiger terrorist murderers cannot be defeated, same that in true racist fashion equated tamils with terrorists, same that published maps straight from terrorist propaganda, same that claimed sri lanka will suffer economically of gsp+ was withdrawn etc., etc...


cont >





If the UN wants to have any credibility, it should make the next step and bring all those who committed war crimes to justice.

What is the Sri-Lankan government trying to HIDE from the outside world?

The Sri-Lankan government has repeatedly claimed that NO CIVILIAN was killed in the final stages of the war. Why are they now worried about an investigation? Let the UN investigate and find out the TRUTH!

Sri Lanka is still among the most dangerous places for independent journalists, according to press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In a recent press freedom index, Sri Lanka is rated 158 out of 178 countries listed.

The government does not want any foreign interference when it comes to investigating war crimes. But it wants trade privileges, money and aid from other countries, especially from Western Countries.


Yet another piece of mischief-making from the Economist. One wonders if you were awoken by Moon himself to begin your spreading of lies about Sri Lanka, such was the silence you displayed heretofore.

The Moon panel was initiated at the whim of the SG and without the authority of the General Assembly, the Security Council, or the Human Rights Council. So really, one need not add the "UN" tag to it at all. It basically has no legitimacy, and since it was (rightly) not given permission to enter the country -- because Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation and because this was an internal conflict -- they have no prima facie evidence to base any of their "conclusions" on. Instead, what we will find is a hack job of heresay, Tamil terrorist propaganda, and the gestimations and theorizing of a few "human rights" groups. I'm sure that video will make an appearance (or three) just as Channel 4 presented it repeatedly as "new" "evidence". Furthermore, it would have had a tiny scrap of usefulness if it had analysed the conflict in its entirety, which would have highlighted how the Tamil supremacists initiated this conflict back in the 1920s.

In short, this panel is nothing more than a witch hunt against Sri Lanka by groups in whose interest it was to perpetuate the conflict. The NGO/human rights industry lost a major source of funding for their decadent lifestyles, and have lost the opportunity for a posting on a tropical paradise isle. Boo hoo for them, but Sinhalese Buddhists refuse to die to maintain their luxuries.

Their true motives in constrast to the "peace" and "reconciliation" they claim to seek was clearly borne out by the stubborn refusal of AI, HRW and other groups to participate in Sri Lanka's LLRC -- releasing a joint statement to that effect to boot. Perhaps having to provide references and evidence to back up their heinous slanders against the Sinhalese Buddhists would have given the game away, so instead they decided to scurry about in the shadows and plot to overthrow this democratically elected government which deserves the Nobel Peace prize.

The NPC and TI have received hundreds of millions of rupees of funding, with no accountability as to where the money has gone. Does it really cost 50 million to monitor an election? Also, the NPC has not offered to show its books to anyone, either governmental or press, and has only been arrogant to report that their donors are "happy." As far as TI goes, Mr. "First Citizen" has had a hissy fit recently, but what is more ridiculous than a group calling itself "Transparency" which behaves in the most opaque and obfuscatory manner imaginable?

As far as "speaking out for civilians" by these groups, that is debatable. Most Sri Lankans see all that pompous talk of civil society and human rights by the NGOs for exactly what it was: as being mostly in service of Tamil terrorists at the expense of the peace-loving Sinhalese Buddhists and other citizens of Sri Lanka.

The estimates of numbers of dead "civilians" in the final stages of the war which have been bandied about by supposedly respectable organizations, including other print and electronic media such as the Economist, have been lifted wholesale off Tamilnet and other terrorist mouthpieces.

With regard to the case of "Lanka E News" editor's arrest, we can only go by what the police say. The suspect in the arson's brother has made a complaint to the police that the editor and a bunch of hired thugs had threatened him with a pistol and demanded that his brother change his testimony to state that it was the government which ordered him to carry out the attack. This stinks of an Orwellian plot, which is precisely why it is being treated as such.

With regard to claims of "nepotism," an increasing occurence in the pro-Tamil terrorist press (the Economist chief among them), I would ask a simple question: are the Rajapaksa brothers elected or not? And have they all received high if not the highest preferential votes in their districts or not? The answer is that for every member of the Rajapaksa family in parliament or in positions of power, yes they have all been duly elected in free and fair elections. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is the exception to this, but he has been a great Defence Secretary, and this role has always been by appointment rather than election.

If you actually look at the facts, with dozens of pro-Terrorist voices speaking loud and clearly in Sri Lanka, spreading their homeland myths, fabricated histories, invalid grievances and unacceptable aspirations freely, you will see that it is more than safe to speak out in Sri Lanka.

Screaming things which you cannot prove, will lead to a lawsuit. Everything else that happens is simply an attempt to discredit the government and the people of Sri Lanka.

Try again Economist. Next time, why don't you get the story straight rather than repeating ad nauseam the same old Tamil terrorist lies and propaganda? Perhaps then we can have an adult conversation.


"Putting the Raj into Rajapkse" would have been a far more apropriate caption.
Especially since it would have summarised the so called Mahinda Chintanaya so well.


Most human rights activitists in Sri Lanka used to be petrified of terrorists. They solved their problem by criticizing the Government and refraining from criticizing terrorists.

Currently there are some people who demand action against the democratic Government of Sri Lanka for killing terrorist leaders. But, isn't it more important to crack down on terrorists who commit atrocities against ordinary people?

The UN should investigate LTTE terrorist atrocities against civilians and and take steps to arrest terrorists who continue their operations abroad. However, approximately half of the terrorists defected to the Government side before the end of the war.

Furthermore there have been certain western Politicians who have been helping the terrorists. Aiding & abetting terrorism against a democratic Government is a crime in their own countries.

Why isn't the UN investigating terrorist atrocities against civilians, while trying to attack a democratic Government which addressed terrorism?


"It has been dangerous to speak out in Sri Lanka". This concluding line of the article is very true. What is worse is ; "It has been dangerous also to keep quiet in Sri Lanka" . The Sri Lankan government follows the dictum of Bush that "Either you are with us or with them" even when the "them" have been finished two years ago.

Innocents (those who keep quiet) are being abducted and tortured and killed without any charges. It is simply "State Terror". Please see:

So it is nothing surprising that Ban Ki Moon's Report is being condemned even before it is published. People are suspicious why Ban should give the Report to Mahinda before it is even published. Is the accused being given a chance to amend the charge sheet ? Or is the drama of COLLUSION between UN and Sri Lanka continuuing even two years after the defeat of LTTE ?

Will the people ever know the reasons for their suffering ? It looks the oppressors have concluded that the best way of continuuing the oppression is tp keep the people ignorant. Ubder such circumstances, even Buddha may lose his Enlightenment !

OaO Asithri

Another LET'S-BASH-SRI-LANKA-HAPPILY article from the obvious LTTE agent implanted within The Economist. What's amusing about this basing is if one were to believe all the doom-&-gloom this bashing desperately attempts to portray about the Govt. of Sri Lanka, about the country, then one should see an abject refusal of this Govt. of SL at the Polls!!! On the contrary, I have noticed that each time The Economist resorts to this happy-go-lucky Govt. of SL bashing, the very same Govt. of SL goes from popularity to even higher popularity at the various national Polls!!! WHAT A LAUGH!!!


Speaking of UN "panel reports" and the likes, one must ask the question...where is the war crimes report on IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN?
Well, we can't have such can we...given that there are no Iraqi or Afghani lobbies in the west with a $3Billion of a slush-fund (not even one made up from crime proceeds such as credit card frauds, bank frauds, human smuggling, drug peddling, etc. as in this case) that they can throw at these sacred "human rights experts" to go get war-crimes reports done on their own countries - about war crimes that US/UK/NATO are known to committed in those two countries!!!

not buying bull

The mendacity of this UN and its officials is OUTRAGEOUS. The lack of UN accountability on sri lanka while Ban Ki Moon rushes head on into LIBYA and that talk of protecting the Libyan CIVILIANS is questionable at best! Just which civilians of our world is the UN trying to fool? We all know they don't give a damn about civilians. Estimates of 200,000 innocent Eelam Tamil civilians were bombed and murdered by their government with cluster and phosphorous laden bombs after being herded into safe areas. And this Ban rushes to protect the very murderers while he and his spokesmen stall all the decent people of the world... civilians, civil institutions and media asking for a copy of the SECRET report of murder. Well most of the world knows from Channel 4 videos of summary executions and multiple reports from NGOs including the UN's own Gordon Weiss who has been shut up by this 'playing wicked politics Ban, Nambiar and his spokesmen'. Please book the murderers and liars in sri lanka before UN grandstanding about Libyan civilians. There is no track record of credibility from sri lanka to take to libya, another murderous hell hole of friendly dictators! By the way what polls are we talking about in sri lanka; the elections are bought and sold with state resources of the already in power single family to poor sinhalese to support this racist regime that would not survive under any DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS with their own educated Sinhalese countrymen... many in prison or disappeared for asking democratic questions! The world eyes are on you BAN KI MOON and UN cohorts.


It is almost unbelievable that the once respected Economist could descend to this level of biased reportage. It is clear that this magazine has reached an all-time low in ACCURACY of reporting. People who live in Sri Lanka and experience the progress Sri Lanka has made in the short 2 yr. after the LTTE was routed, recognize that this report is but a false and well-constructed barrage on Sri Lanka's Rajapakse government for having taken firm and decisive action against the terror group (that is, btw, still on the International Terror Lists of the US, UK and India among other countries, but is being now mollycoddled by these self-same countries for whatever double-standard policies regarding terrorism that those countries are now following), and for having brought an end to a war that was very profitable for the war-mongers of the world. The propagandist character of the report is clear.
For one, the photo of Tamils lined up and a woman in rags and undernourished children does not carry a caption and gives a false impression to readers that it depicts a current situation. This photo is from May 2009 after the "human shield" kept by the LTTE for its protection broke loose and ran to safety to the Sri Lanka military-controlled sector and taken at a camp from which nearly all of some 280,000 have been released except for about 10,000 suspected LTTE cadres still in custody. Even these latter are being rehabilitated and released gradually. Isn't that an achievement? But the omission of a caption says it all as far as the motive and bias of The Economist editors.
Secondly, Sri Lanka is as yet in a security-sensitive situation, and the end of the war does not mean an end to the separatist intentions of the Diaspora. The media have freedom as is clear from the fact that both Jehan Perera and Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu among several others noted for their pro-LTTE positions, still publish in the Sri Lankan newspapers. But the media must also have a sense of responsibility, we hope, and not stoke unrest in a country where the embers of terror still lurk, awaiting opportunity to rise again.
Thirdly this article's description of the Tamil Diaspora as highly educated" belies the facts almost daily reported over the last several years of the criminal content of this group with Credit Card and Phone-Card fraud, Social Security fraud, gang murders, drug running, people smuggling, etc etc, that are rampant among the Tamil community who have sought refugee status in London, Toronto, Paris etc. The once-respected "educated" group has been overrun by the criminal element and the Western govt.s are playing ball with them!!
One can go on, but suffice it to say that Sri Lanka is now whole and home to all its peoples who hopefully will be able to once more achieve the potential that was its hope after independence, but were thwarted by the legacy of "divide and rule" left by the British colonial rulers in the main. This is not unique to Sri Lanka, but it has its evil results in India, Pakistan and all of the African countries. Sri Lanka has managed to extricate itself from the pincer hold of "divide and rule". The world has an obligation to allow it some years in which it can rebuild and reconcile, a difficult process made more difficult by a vengeful West and a vengeful Tamil diaspora who have a sadistic desire to put a damper on every effort that Sri Lankans and their democratically elected government make to come out of the national insecurity and disasters that were experienced during the Tamil terror years.
It is the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in Sri Lanka (an equivalent of Easter in the West at this time)....why The Economist and the UN Expert Panel among other Tamil-diaspora influenced organs of the West like the US State Dept. and US Senate should choose this time to go on Harassment Mode leaves only a clear impression of organized attack on an Asian Democracy and the Mahinda Rajapakse government (which IS a democratically elected one with popular support from the people including the non-LTTE Tamils for having ushered in peace and for the visible economic development in this post-war period). After 3 decades of terror, the people, and especially the children are safe again. Let Sri Lanka be to achieve her peace and stability her way.


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