19 March, 2024

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After Geneva What?

By Izeth Hussain

 Izeth Hussain

Izeth Hussain

At the moment of writing the vote has not yet been cast on a final anti-Sri Lankan US Resolution in Geneva. If no Resolution is adopted in favour of the immediate setting up of a mechanism for international investigations of alleged war crimes in the final phase of the war, and there are no Western moves for the imposition of sanctions against Sri Lanka, the SL Government can legitimately claim a triumph. At the time of the Cameron visit to Sri Lanka for CHOGM and in the ensuing months, it was widely and confidently anticipated – indeed it was widely assumed as a certainty – that there would be such action following on the adoption of a US Resolution. However the Government’s triumph would only be of a temporary and provisional order if, as is being anticipated at the moment of writing, the Resolution provides a reprieve of just one year: such action could be taken if at the end of the year the Government has not shown that it has got going with credible internal investigations into war crimes, and also taken effective action over a wide range of other matters.

How has this triumph – albeit of a temporary and provisional order – been achieved? I believe that the crux is the incompatibility between investigations into war crimes and movement towards a political solution and ethnic reconciliation. The Government took to emphasizing this incompatibility – an unanswerable point in my view – and has also managed to effect, or promote, changes of a radical order in the Draft Resolution. How can it be squared with any notion of equity that enquiries should be confined to war crimes perpetrated by one side only? Why should they be confined to the final phase of the war only? The British Foreign Secretary’s injudicious parallel with the case of Sierra Leone has led logically to the demand that India’s role in training, arming, and promoting the LTTE, as well as the crimes committed by the IPKF in Sri Lanka, be also investigated. I believe that it is very probable that these arguments have led to our being given a reprieve of one year. I feel that it is an achievement for which Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris should be given major credit.

However the triumph is only of a provisional order because at the end of a year the Government could find itself in very serious trouble: international investigations plus sanctions plus who knows what else? So, while the reprieve is a triumph for the Government, a successful US Resolution could be a major defeat with possibly horrendous consequences. What should be done? Since India is an integral part of the ethnic problem, not just an ancillary factor, we should recognize that there are four main actors in our ethnic imbroglio: the SL Government, the SL Tamils, the Indian Government, and Tamil Nadu. It should help if there is an understanding, not a formal agreement or treaty, between the two Governments which gets the broad consensus of the SL Tamils represented by the TNA and Tamil Nadu. It is important to bear in mind that the BJP in power will not strike the same postures as the BJP in opposition: in other words, it is extremely unlikely that a new Government under the BJP will act precipitately and push for Eelam. So an understanding should be possible about what should be done to move towards a political solution and ethnic reonciliation. In any case, even without an understanding, it seems obvious that the way forward is through implementation of 13A, making the NPC a success in meeting the grass roots needs of the Tamil people, plus more democracy, the democracy that is embodied in the LLRC recommendations.

However, there is an uncertain factor among the four main actors that I have listed above, namely the Sri Lanka Government. The history of our endlessly protracted ethnic imbroglio suggests that when it comes to the ethnic problem, we cannot assume that any of our Governments have had untrammeled power. The Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact of 1957 was torn up when members of the Sangha protested against it. It is known that when Chelvanayagam and other leaders of the Federal Party visited Bandaranaike at his residence that night the latter had wept, showing the prescience of a statesman who had understood the horrors that would follow from our ethnolunacy. The Dudley-Chelvanayagam Pact of a decade later was also aborted when the Opposition protested with the backing of the Sangha. Since then it has been assumed that when it comes to the ethnic problem the ultimate determinant is not the Government but a hard indissoluble core of Sinhala Buddhist chauvinist together with the Sangha.

But that widespread assumption representing orthodox thinking on our ethnic problem came into question after 1994. President Kumaratunge spectacularly offered Prabhakaran ten years of power over the North. There was no outrage expressed by the Sangha with the mass backing of the people. Nor was there anything like that kind of reaction when CBK made handsome offers of devolution between 1995 and 2000. Neither was there anything like that during the entire period of the internationally-backed peace process when it was widely assumed that any solution would only be on the basis of a very wide measure of devolution in the North and East. The conclusion has been drawn therefore that what looked like President Rajapakse’s grim determination to lose the peace in the five years after the 2009 victory has been due mainly to his anti-minority racism.

I would proffer a different explanation for President MR’s behavior. He has not been the main determinant in losing the peace. Between 1995 and 2000, and even more during the years of the peace process, the widespread assumption was that the LTTE could never be defeated militarily.  There were very few dissentient voices against that conventional wisdom outside the armed forces and those identifiable as Sinhala Buddhist chauvinists. One dissentient voice was that of Dayan Jayatilleka, who consistently maintained that there was no reason at all why the LTTE could not be defeated militarily. Anyway, it is reasonable to think that it was that conventional wisdom about the LTTE’s invincibility that made many people accept the idea of a political solution through a wide measure of devolution.

Obviously that conventional wisdom has undergone a sea-change after the victory of May 19, 2009. In an earlier article I argued that President MR will go down in history for two achievements: defeating the LTTE and preventing the military coming to power in the aftermath of the 2009 victory. But he has found himself forced to prevent the latter outcome at a price. Since Sri Lanka is not Britain in 1945, since it does not have an advanced economy, the Government cannot be expected simply to disband the armed forces and expect them to melt peacefully into the wider society. Obviously the armed forces had to be allowed a special role, and that can be seen in a number of ways, most notably in the militarization – what I and many others regard as the disastrous militarization – of the North. At this point I must go into some speculation which to some readers may seem fanciful but to most as thoroughly commonsensical. I postulate a hard intransigent core in the armed forces that is opposed to any concessions being made to the Tamils for a political solution. I postulate also such a hard core in the Sangha, and further that the two groups are integrally together. It is that hard core that makes the Government what I called an “uncertain factor” among the four main actors in our ethnic tragedy.

The kind of hard core inner group to which I refer that is beyond the control of Government and people is not something peculiar to Sri Lanka. I have in mind the US military –industrial complex about the power of which Eisenhower alerted the American people in his farewell speech. Later, the military-industrial complex came to figure prominently in the conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination. He was seen as a liberal, who would be regarded by the American far right as akin to the communist, who among other things would want to withdraw from Vietnam, adversely affecting the interests of the military-industrial complex. Hence his assassination, which some saw as a coup d’état, after which the hard-liner Lyndon Johnson took power.

What should be done to counter the hard-core ultra opposition to a political solution and ethnic reconciliation? Only an appeal to the factor of hard power, I believe, will help. Some weeks ago the shadow Foreign Minister of the BJP declared that Eelam is a distinct possibility, and there were extremely menacing noises from Tamil Nadu. More recently the Russian take- over of the Crimea led to the drawing of some eerie parallels, which very probably caused some disturbance among the upper echelons of the State in Sri Lanka. What has to be emphasized to the hard-core ultras is this: within Sri Lanka Sinhalese hard power is dominant over the Tamils, but outside that framework Indian hard power would be dominant over the Sinhalese, and that fact can be expected to count – as long as the ethnic problem remains unsolved – in favour of the Tamils against the Sinhalese.

I have just seen the outcome of the voting at the UNHRC. India has abstained, which is a very positive development. It could be seen as a triumph for Sri Lankan diplomacy.

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Latest comments

  • 1
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    I am laughing at this write up.

    I guess senility comes to all of us in the end.

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      While yo ulaugh, here is the answer to the question:

      After Geneva What? Indian Elections in May: may be the turning point; may turn the table on Sri Lanka.

      All readers and commentators take rest till May.

      • 4
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        I bet, you can have your peelam.

        Hindians have known the thirst of Tamils since before DMK contested 1962 state elections on a separatist platform and demanded a separate country for Tamils aftermath that election. Nehru put a stop to all that nonsense with his 16th Amendment to Indian constitution that banned anyone who talk of division of India from contesting elections.

        India voted against Sri Lanka twice at UNHRC. But this time around, Hindian government has realized at long last that neo-con gang is using them to help separatist Tamils to divide Sri Lanka for their own geo-political ends. And Tamils are using the neo-cons to get a step closer to their own Eelam dream.

        India is dead against Eelam, not for any love of Sri Lanka, they know its the beginning of the disintegration of India. Sooner Hindians realize bantu land concept, police and land powers are detrimental to one Sri Lanka the better for India.

        And that’s why the Indian ambassador Dilip Sinha, gave a speech at UNHRC criticizing the US move and abstained. Singha said this resolution titled promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka at the UNHRC imposes an intrusive approach of international investigative mechanism which was counterproductive apart from being inconsistent and impractical.

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      Fully agree this especially the case for the cap flippers

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      “It should be obvious that the Government has SCORED A TREMENDOUS VICTORY in Geneva….I don’t expect any serious reversals… The crucial facts are these: THERE WILL NO NO SETTING UP OF A MECHANISM FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO WAR CRIMES…..” so rushed to print on March 15 our self-proclaimed “Expert in International Affairs” the infallible, ex-diplomat Mr. Izzeth Hussain. The angry man – notorious for his acid tongue against any one disagreeing with him – now stands naked and exposed.

      Spreading knowledge through proper analysis and learning in this blog and elsewhere is a welcome feature. Not the other way about.

      Nettabomman

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        Nettabomman – I made a mistake – as things stand. But let us see how the ridiculous US-led Resolution fares in practice. I may have the last laugh. Anyway don’t you and everyone else make mistakes? That’s all there is to it.
        You say that I am notorious for my acid tongue. The record will show that I make strong replies only when I am provoked by gratuitous insults, abuse, ridiculous fault-finding arguments, and mad hatred.
        You charge that I am “a self-proclaimed expert in international affairs”. Can you tell me and other readers where and when I made that self-proclamation? You can’t. You are a liar. Or rather – as usual – your mental faculty has gone into abeyance because you are choking with mad anti-Muslim racist hatred.
        I must explain to other readers why I use the term “racist”. My articles in the CT have provoked many attacks with gratuitous insults, abuse, ridiculous fault-finding, and often showing a mad hatred. Practically all of them have been from persons whose nom de plumes declare a Tamil identity. This Netta has been among the worst of them

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          Izeth Hussain – at last, but Oh! so reluctantly – and, after nearly a fortnight. To admit one’s mistake is expected of gentlemen. There is nothing to feel bad about here. After all, we submit to the truism to err is human. You do no one here a favour in saying you made a mistake. It is all too patent to the reader.

          The rest of your characteristic bitter ranting, flowing from your own culture, I chose to ignore. You are clearly a wounded man – consumed by so much of self-pride. It is unworthy to descend to your levels of personal abuse and so I chose to allow the issue to pass.

          Nettabomman

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        This article was amended on 10 March 2014 to clarify that Helal Attayee has been supported by the Refugee Council, not Red Cross; and that Agnes Tanoh’s accommodation is provided by Hope Housing, not Women for Refugee Women. It was further amended on 12 March 2014 to remove personal details of one of the people interviewed.

        [Editors note: This was sent by the author directly to us. As a policy Groundviews does not republish what’s already gone up somewhere else on the web. Making an exception in this case because of the context in Sri Lanka at present, and the need to get as many readers engaged with this content]

        ——————
        CORRECTION: The headline and language of this article have been adjusted to emphasize that Angampura’s age of 30,000 is according to local legend.

        ———————

        A version of this article appears in print on August 14, 2014, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: For U.N. Leader on Human Rights, Finish Line Looks Blurry. Order Reprints|Today’s Paper|Subscribe

        ………………………………………

        Anna Selleck is a pseudonym

    • 0
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      In this article dated March 29 Mr. Hussain wants us to believe he wrote this before March 27 as he notes “..how has this triumph been achieved” – meaning he was going by a victory for GoSL in Geneva –
      a horrible mistake for a senior political scientist, as we now see. Curiously, he later on writes “these arguments have lead to our being given a reprieve of one year – which is a post-March 27 reality????
      If we won in Geneva where is the necessity for a reprieve?

      R.J. de Silva

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    I do not think our government should act in a way to overcome international pressure or due to geopolitical concerns. We should do what it takes to improve our peace and economy. Certainly a good devolution of power will bring an economic lift from the fruits of labor of the hard working Tamils.Instead of constant fight, happiness and prosperity will follow. A very wealthy diaspora will bring in lucrative investment opportunities.If not we will go down the Indian ocean.

  • 10
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    After Geneva the plan would have been to let the dogs and monkeys loose.

    But the picture has changed, I see that there is a catch behind many “no” votes and “absentees”, surely there is a backdoor deal, India seems to have taken the lead in crafting the deal. I think for the betterment of all Lankans Dogs and Monkeys will be put in to a more moderate role, as they cannot be disbanded in haste. It is quite clear since recent past BBS is all about Gandasara, the rest are clearly very quite.

    Some of the Dogs and monkeys most likely to take to politics and support MR for presidency openly. (As if we don’t have enough donkeys already)

    However the 2014-2015 period will be critical for MR regime, as next time will be the last time.

    Imagine plight of Lankans if there was no such thing as UNHRC.

  • 2
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    I read this article this afternoon in DBS Jeyaraj Column.

    Crackdown on LTTE Colombo cell reveals plot to assassinate President Rajapaksa or his brother Gotabhaya

    28 March 2014, 1:59 pm

    20140328-135642.jpg by D.B.S.Jeyaraj

    Hectic events over the past few weeks in Sri Lanka have driven home three salient truths on the security front relating to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization. The first is that tiger or pro-tiger elements in the Tamil Diaspora will persist with efforts to resurrect the LTTE and disrupt life in Sri Lanka. The second is that the Sri Lankan state will effectively respond to such a challenge regardless of international implications. The third is that the strongly entrenched security apparatus in the country is capable of cracking down hard on any such perceived LTTE revival attempt and crushing it.

    Last week saw this column focusing on the shooting incident in the Tharmapuram area of Kilinochchi district and subsequent events including the manhunt for an LTTE operative known as “Gobi” and the security crackdown on suspected attempts to revive the LTTE. What the country at large seems to have failed to comprehend is the seriousness of “what might have been” had not the security authorities countered the challenge posed.

    Though different shades of opinion in the political spectrum have either wittingly or unwittingly opted to trivialise the issue , the crux of the matter is that the attempt to revive the LTTE , if successful may have resulted in drastic consequences for the country. Thankfully the LTTE revival threat seems to have been effectively neutralised while in its embryonic stages for the present , though the security crackdown continues in some parts of the Island.

    According to reliable security related sources, the most important breakthrough in the probe into a potential LTTE renaissance was the detection of a conspiracy to execute a major assassination in Colombo. The target seems to have been either President Mahinda Rajapaksa or his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa the Secretary of Defence and Urban Development. The simple logic seems to have been this.

    COLOMBO

    The defence establishment has been lulled into a sense of false complacency due to the past years of LTTE inactivity in Colombo and the suburbs after the military debacle at Mullivaaikkaal in May 2009.Security measures in Colombo have been progressively relaxed. This has created a situation where it may be possible to mount an “operation” in Colombo utilising the element of surprise.

    Given the current weak state of the LTTE it would require a great deal of resources and organizational capacity to carry out even one attack in Colombo. Therefore chances of executing a single successful attack alone may be possible initially.Thereafter security authorities will be on full alert thereby diminishing possibilities of another attack.

    Under such circumstances it would be pointless to attack comparatively easier soft targets as the alerted authorities will crack down hard thereby negating chances of further operations. As such the opportunity to attack must be utilised against a very high profile target. If softer targets are hit earlier the security around such high profile key targets would be strengthened. Breaching such “security walls” would be impossible for the revived LTTE that is actually embryonic in Sri Lanka. In that context the targets should be very very important persons. The President and his brother fit this target description perfectly.

    Besides the targeting of either the President or the defence secretary would help the LTTE derive maximum political mileage. Demonstrating the ability to take on such powerful targets has great symbolic value and would re-capture the diminishing support base of the LTTE amidst the global Tamil Diaspora. It would also prove to the world that the LTTE is not a spent force. Also Mahinda and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa are virulently hated by tiger elements after the LTTE was militarily defeated. Harming either of the two would warm the hearts of many a diehard supporter in the Diaspora and fill the LTTE coffers abundantly.

    BACKLASH

    It would also demoralise the country and throw into disarray the politico-administrative equilibrium. A process of de-stabilisation could set in. Moreover in the volatile atmosphere that is likely to prevail in the aftermath of such an attack, a backlash might occur against the Tamil people. A recurrence of anti-Tamil violence in the Island is what the tigers, pro-tigers and supportive fellow travellers are yearning for. The attack if successful may have caused exactly such a violent backlash against the Tamil people.

    Targetting the upper echelons of leadership has always been part of the LTTE modus operandi in the past. If the tigers want to render an organization or entity ineffective, defunct or coerce it into toeing the LTTE line, they do not target the rank and file. Instead they go for the leader or top tier of leadership particularly the livewires who make the organization tick. Thereafter the entity concerned becomes non-operational, ineffective or falls in line. This has been the LTTE practice in the past when dealing with organizations they want to either control ,destroy or render impotent.

    Militarily too the LTTE has adopted this strategy effectively until perhaps the post -2005 period. Earlier the LTTE that was relatively weaker than the armed forces in manpower and firepower in a general context would seek to remedy that state of affairs in a particular context by adopting this strategy. It would select a key military target, mobilise maximum resources and attack it utilising the element of surprise. This successful attack would cause consternation and result in consequent over estimation of the LTTE military prowess. This in turn paved the way for demoralization to set in amidst the armed forces.

    The LTTE adopted this strategy successfully when it attacked the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front(EPRLF) in December 1986. The LTTE being relatively stronger than the EPRLF in the North vanquished them by launching simultaneous attacks on the northern EPRLF camps. In the East it was the EPRLF that outnumbered the LTTE and was also more widespread. There was a great disparity of strength with the EPRLF having the advantage.

    HEADCAMPS

    The LTTE however outsmarted the EPRLF by harnessing its limited resources and selectively targeting the three head camps of the EPRLF in the three Eastern districts. The tigers launched simultaneous attacks against the EPRLF head camps at Thambiluvil, Kokkattichoalai and Saambaltheevu in the districts of Amparai,Batticaloa and Trincomalee respectively. With the overrunning of the three head camps the rest of the EPRLF though large in numbers became virtually headless chickens.

    The plans in the pipeline to target the President and Defence secretary are also illustrative of past LTTE modus operandi.The tigers battered and shattered in Sri Lanka after 2009 were now in the process of attempting a revival. Given the inadequate assets at their disposal, Gobi the mastermind behind the LTTE resurgence in Sri Lanka also envisaged the targeting of Mahinda or Gotabhya Rajapaksa in a Colombo based attack. Fortunately such a deadly objective has been detected and nipped in the bud while the plot was in an evolutionary stage.

    Knowledgeable circles indicate that the proposed safe house in Colombo to be used as a launching pad for the envisaged attack has been identified and raided. This safehouse apparently was a bakery establishment in Dehiwela. Twelve persons connected to the premises were taken into custody. All of them are being held under provisions of the prevention of terrorism act(PTA).Ten are detained at Boosa while two are being intensively interrogated on the second floor at the Police Terrorism Investigation Division(TID)headquarters in Colombo.

    DEHIWELA

    A few of those arrested on the Bakery premises are apparently innocent being totally unaware of the diabolical designs of the others involved as the LTTE generally functions on a need to know basis. It appears that the Colombo connection of the revived LTTE is now de-activated after the mopping up at Dehiwela.

    Ongoing investigations have revealed that the lynchpin in the entire exercise of reviving the LTTE in Sri Lanka inclusive of establishing a Colombo cell in Dehiwela is Gobi whose full name is Ponniah Selvanayagam Kajeeban.He is known by the nom de guerre Gobi and the nom de plume Kaasiyan. As stated earlier this 31 year old six-footer of medium complexion with a scar on his left upper lip had been living in the Tharmapuram area of Kilinochchi district and functioning as a heavy vehicle driver. Kajeeban alias Gobi had been formerly an LTTE intelligence wing functionary under the dreaded Shanmugalingam Sivasangaran alias Pottu Ammaan. Kajeeban had surrendered at the end of the war and been accommodated at the Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Centre (PARC) at Poonthottam in Vavuniya.

    It is suspected that Gobi exited from the Poonthottam camp with the aid of a Tamil member of the ruling regime and made his way to Saudi Arabia and not Quatar as I had mistakenly written last week.. After working for a while in that country Kajeeban alias Gobi made his way to Europe. He had travelled widely in Europe and gone also to Norway. It is now suspected that Gobi had met with prominent LTTE activists in Europe including the low-profile high-ranking leader Nediyavan and his senior deputy Irumborai during his European sojourn. He had been tasked by Nediyavan and Irumborai to revive the tigers in Sri Lanka.

    DRIVER

    He had then returned to Sri Lanka and started working as an owner- driver of a heavy vehicle. Gobi has his own vehicle that he hires out and functions as its driver. This provides him a cover to travel frequently to Colombo and also to towns such as Mullaithivu, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna.His wife and mother who were taken in for questioning deny all knowledge of his whereabouts and say that he has been living separately away from them.

    Security circles opine that Gobi has been entrusted with the task of reviving the LTTE in the North. They regard Gobi with the “simpleton” looking appearance as extremely dangerous because he is a zealot fired up by a political vision and sense of mission. Gobi is perceived as a highly motivated person because he has turned his back on an opportunity to lead a safe comfortable life in Europe and instead has voluntarily returned home to undertake a potentially hazardous and dangerous task.

    Gobi is also seen as armed and dangerous. Initially he came under the security radar for the relatively “mild” offence of publishing and circulating pro-LTTE leaflets hailing the tigers as Tamil guardians. The arrest of two youths distributing such leaflets in Pallai in the first week of March and subsequent inquiries brought up the name of Gobi. The security forces were on the lookout for Gobi but did not suspect initially that he was masterminding a LTTE renaissance in the North with backing from the Nediyavan led Diaspora tigers. It was the shooting incident at Tharmapuram in the house of Jeyakumari Balendra which alerted the security sleuths to the true nature of Gobi. (This incident was described in detail last week).

    Current Investigations have indicated that Gobi had set up four cells in the North and one in Colombo to execute plans aiming at a LTTE revival. The bulk of those coopted into the nascent tiger network are either ex-tigers or family members of former LTTE members. There is also evidence that funds from Diaspora LTTE operatives in three western countries have been channelled to Gobi’s “agents” in the North.

    OPERATIONS

    The security forces in association with anti-terrorism sleuths are currently engaged in a series of widespread operations in different parts of the North. Hundreds of persons mainly youths from both sexes have been rounded up and interrogated. The bulk of those rounded up were released after some hours. Over fifty persons were detained under the PTA and questioned. Several of these persons too have been released. It is learnt that over 30 persons are currently being detained and interrogated. This figure however is fluid as some are being released while others are being arrested anew.

    Informed security related sources are confident that they have been able to neutralise the “revived” LTTE through the ongoing heavy crackdown. They vehemently deny that Gobi has been apprehended but express confidence that he would be nabbed soon. The possibility of Gobi committing suicide if and when on the verge of being captured is also not ruled out by security circles.

    Further details of the crackdown on suspected tigers as well as the progress of the ongoing investigation into alleged LTTE activity will be outlined in a forthcoming article.

    DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com

    GOSL should go on a search and destroy of any and all LTTE cells and sympathizers.

    JP/USA

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      To make a living is justified through express news service offered DBS from Canada.

      If he was living in the Tiger head office in Toronto and publishing a Pro-tiger tamil newspaper delivering hot hot news to tamil readers in the late 80’s and 90’s..

      Now Jeyaraj has done a complete turnaround by getting a thourough lesson for his uncritical support of the Tigers.

      Now he has turned completeley around and has become a mouth piece of Gota and the guardian of the Sinhala state…

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      Both sides of the story have not been told by DBSJ yet. This follow up too tells the police- army idle of the story. The timing of the story in relation to the Geneva process and the related arrest of Mrs. Balachandran raise many questions. The arrests and release of Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan in connection to this event add strength to the questions. Mrs. Balachandran is an archetypal war-victim who lost a husband and two sons to the war. She has a teenage daughter to care for, while seeking her third son who she claims she surrendered to the army soon after the war. She has been quite vociferous and active in the search for her missing son and through this effor her story and face are known to the world . Was she a member of the LtTE before or has she been newly recruited by the outfit. How did ‘Gopi’ escape the police- army net in highly militarised Kilinochchi, after shooting and injuring two police officers?

      While there is no doubt the surviving LTTE remnants both locally and abroad will like and are probably trying to give a second breath to the outfit, was what is purported to have happened and the targets for assassination mentioned, believable beyond doubts, considering the present circumstances ( Geneva + PC elections)? We have to hear the ‘other’ side of the story yet. We have to hear Mrs. Balachandran’s story and that of ‘Gopi’, once he is arrested. We have to in the meantime await what DBSJ’s investigations reveal in the promised part 3, in this series.

      Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

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      Didn’t DBS Jeyaraj get the laptop from Mahinda? I am sure he did.

      They are all in it together!

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      Testing block to submit comments.

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      In parts 1 & 2 of this series DBSJ has told us the security force- police version of the story. I hope he will piece together the ‘ Other’ side of the story, with reference to ‘ Gopi’, Mrs. Balachandran , Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan. Although there is little doubt that LTTE die hards yet left over in Sri Lanka and in the Diaspora, will seize any opportunity to give a new lease of life to that outfit, the circumstances in which ( Geneva and the PC elections) these events have unfolded, raise many questions.

      Would Mrs. Balachandran, who has already lost her husband and two sons to the war and is searching for her third son she handed over to the army post-war, risk the future of her barely teenage daughter in voluntarily giving shelter to ‘Gopi’ and his paraphernalia? She has vociferously searched for her lost son and is a known face locally and internationally. She has become the face of all the mothers searching for their sons, daughters and husbands who are missing post-war.Is she mad to have taken such risks? Would her LTTE (possible) affinity, override her love for her daughter and the son who she heart of heart hopes is yet alive in military custody? Will any sane mother act thus? These are questions that have to be satisfactorily answered.

      If our President can order the release of 40+ Indian fishermen taken into custody for trespassing in our waters as reward for India’s abstention in Geneva, what else cannot this government do? Were they arrested wrongly or has the cross maritime boundary fishing issue been resolved? Is it a question of question of crime and punishment or a case of crime and reward? If our government can synthesise public demonstrations against the Geneva process what else can it not do? Our government is no longer like Caesar’s wife, who had to be above suspicions.

      Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

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        What do you expect?

        US foreign policy has been based on bullying for the last 65 years? “Either you do what we say, or we’ll use proxy forces to invade or occupy your country” has been their motto. They took war from one country to another. Panama, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan are only some. They invaded Somalia on a humanitarian basis. They bombed Yugoslavia to divide it to pieces. How many millions of civilians such bombings must have killed. They used economic sanctions to bully vulnerable and weaker economies.

        So, releasing Indian fishermen is just a simple gesture to reassure our friendship to India in the face of threats by a bully and its mad dogs roaming at large.

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          Mechanic,

          Let us look at your scenario in reverse. The US and the 22 others who voted for the resolution may be thinking of restraining a poodle that shows symptoms of rabies. The 12 who abstained may have recognised the symptoms, but yet are not sure of the diagnosis. The 12 who voted against may be convinced it is not rabies, despite similar symptoms. The majority opinion favours rabies and requires that the poodle be restrained, vaccinated, further studied and observed for at lease 12 months, as in this instance.

          You may be young enough not to know that a whole generation of Lankans kept their body and souls together because of the PL 480 food aid program of the US. Those who affected by the Tsunami also be ever grateful for the overwhelming US response.

          It is unfortunate you have failed to address the questions I have raised or questioned their validity.

          The decision on the errant Indian fisherman, typified the expediency syndrome that has taken deep root in this country and has to be bemoaned , condemned and uprooted, but not justified.

          Dr.RN

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            While I don’t always agree with you, I like your example.

            People like mechanic often forget who banned the LTTE first, gave information on the arms shipment for them to be sunk, who encouraged the EU ban the LTTE and who continue to persecute overseas LTTE operatives !! The LTTE !!!

            • 1
              1

              You don’t understand Dew: Just like India, the US too wanted a controlled LTTE. With the US sponsored 2001 peace agreement, they hoped to have a controlled LTTE and a controlled Sri Lanka. But megalomaniac Velu went out of line. So they got us to sink LTTE ships to cut them to size. But they never wanted us to annihilate LTTE. When Velu was cornered, Obama wanted MR to hand him over to a third party. Compare that to what he did to Bin Ladden.

              You see, the US has a part for weakened terrorists and countries to play in their geopolitical strategy. Silver bullet is what they give to those who go out of line. Read ‘Confessions of an Economic HitMan’ by John Perkins to learn what they have done to many leaders of South American countries.

          • 1
            0

            Of the twelve countries that abstained, two countries, namely SA and India had expressed their opinion about the US resolution very clearly. Indian ambassador Dilip Sinha gave a speech at UNHRC criticizing the US move and abstained. Singha said to have said; this resolution titled promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka at the UNHRC imposes an intrusive approach of international investigative mechanism which was counterproductive apart from being inconsistent and impractical. Surely Doc, that doesn’t sound like ‘recognition of symptoms’. It’s more like a complete disapproval of the US resolution. Others’ views are no different.

            I quite agree with you that the US has helped many poor countries when in need. One has to read the book named ‘Confessions of an Economic HitMan’ by John Perkins or at least some of its reviews in the web to understand how they use silver bullets with their AID.

            As for the errant Indian fisherman, bottom trawling illegal fishers, should have been fined at least in the normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances. The bully and its mad dogs must be kept out.

      • 0
        1

        Dr. Narendran,

        In general, when journalists quote sources, they have to provide full details of those sources. If there are reasons to hide the source’s name, then at least the responsible editor and the publisher should be aware of the source’s details. That was the case with the Watergate scandal and ‘Deep Throat’ as well.

        In the case of DBSJ, he doesn’t tell people who his sources are so that people can assess their credibility and motivations. And because he writes from Canada, I don’t think even his editor at the Daily Mirror knows his sources. People are simply expected to trust his sources.

        So journalists in SL newspapers easily become unwitting conduits of utter lies and disinformation by the regime.

        ‘Reliable security sources’ doesn’t cut it at all.

        If as DBSJ mentioned in his first article there is another side, then he should have got that side in the original article, even under space constraints. Leaving the other side to another article later, when the UNHRC sessions would have concluded and attention would have wandered, is bad journalism, and is a sign that he may have become, wittingly or unwittingly, a tool for some people affiliated to the regime. Sometimes even when he says there will be a subsequent article, that never comes, leaving the issues dangling, and the misinformation entrenched.

    • 0
      0

      Adey Jay, in future please consider posting a link to articles such as this (with a simple intro) to save on precious real estate on these columns and also its readers’ time. Just leave it to the reader to take a look if interested. Please.

    • 0
      0

      I concur with Agnos’s views on DBS Jeyaraj!see below his comments.

      Unwittingly acting as a mouth piece for Gota, his style of sensationalist one can call MGR journalism is really quite poor substittue for good journalism.

      Furthermore he does not seemed to have learned from his chest thumping support of the Tigers in the 80’s and 90’s for which he got a bitter lesson. from which he does not seem to have learnt anything…

      Instead he is doing a chest thumping journalism for the Govt…..

      Dr. Narendran, In general, when journalists quote sources, they have to provide full details of those sources. If there are reasons to hide the source’s name, then at least the responsible editor and the publisher should be aware of the source’s details. That was the case with the Watergate scandal and ‘Deep Throat’ as well. In the case of DBSJ, he doesn’t tell people who his sources are so that people can assess their credibility and motivations. And because he writes from Canada, I don’t think even his editor at the Daily Mirror knows his sources. People are simply expected to trust his sources. So journalists in SL newspapers easily become unwitting conduits of utter lies and disinformation by the regime. ‘Reliable security sources’ doesn’t cut it at all. If as DBSJ mentioned in his first article there is another side, then he should have got that side in the original article, even under space constraints. Leaving the other side to another article later, when the UNHRC sessions would have concluded and attention would have wandered, is bad journalism, and is a sign that he may have become, wittingly or unwittingly, a tool for some people affiliated to the regime. Sometimes even when he says there will be a subsequent article, that never comes, leaving the issues dangling, and the misinformation entrenched.

      Agnos
      March 29, 2014 at 9:35 pm

  • 2
    0

    “the vote has not yet been cast on a final anti-Sri Lankan US Resolution in Geneva…”

    Anti Sri Lankan Resolution? Really?? What is wrong with finding the truth in the recent past, and the atrocities committed by the Government and the LTTE during the conflict? Government wanted to have Commissions on Reconciliation and Disappearance. But, they are not committed to deliver anything, as people with brains understand.

    “India has abstained, which is a very positive development. It could be seen as a triumph for Sri Lankan diplomacy.”

    Really?? It us unfortunate that people with this kind of demonstrated ability to interpret the mechanisations take a lot of space in the respectable forums.

    • 0
      0

      Rohan – I am in favour of investigations of war crimes, but not at the present stage because it will militate against the spirit of mutual accommodativeness that is requisite for gong forward towards a political solution and ethnic reconciliation.That is why I regard the Resolution adopted as anti-Sri Lankan.
      There could have been several reasons why India abstained. It seems to me commonsensical to assume that Sri Lankan diplomacy also counted. For instance, it is believed that when President MR met Manmohan Singh the former gave an undertaking about making the NPC function properly.

  • 3
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    Whatever the pressure, MR will not change and that will spell doom for the country as a whole!

    Sengodan. M

    • 2
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      Sengodan. M

      You say….”Whatever the pressure, MR will not change”……..

      Yes, JR was also behaving like Sando until he got air “Parippu” drop.

      Perhaps MR could get a plane load of “Polkudu” to make pol sambol.

      Bin Ladan 2 in Colombo and Gobi in North.

  • 1
    4

    Now that the Indian Congress leaders have ensured that the Srilankan inhabitants are safe from the LTTE proxy Diaspora, TNA and the West causing mayhem through Pillai, you should focus on protecting the poor Muslims in India from LTTE Vaiko, Jeyalalitha, Modi alliance in case they show up to rule India.

    • 1
      0

      Sumanasekera:

      You Sinkala Pallan stop talking rubbish. You lot are a thing of the past. Just wait for another month and we will sort you out. When Sanctions begin to bite and the Indian Navy Docks at Colombo Harbour what would yo do mate. Invite the Chinese Navy.
      At least in India they are not attacking the Mosques except in Ayothya where there is a dispute but being handeled through the Court unlike in your Country in Temple Trees.

  • 2
    0

    India abstaining is not a triumph for Sri Lankan diplomacy as much as western stupidity . GSP+ did not work now that are searching high and low for leverage

  • 4
    1

    “I have just seen the outcome of the voting at the UNHRC. India has abstained, which is a very positive development. It could be seen as a triumph for Sri Lankan diplomacy.”

    The fact is the resolution is adopted at the UNHRC. International investigation mechanism is accepted. It is not that diplomacy that made India to take a middle stage rather than voting against this resolution. India couldn’t stop the international investigation mechanism. It is obvious India played a significant role in the defeat of LTTE and the massacre of Tamils was implemented with the knowledge of India. When we talk about India, it refers to Sonia Gandhi lead India (something like Rajapakse lead Sri Lanka) and people of India would not have supported Sonia Congress if they have known the truth.
    India’s Sri Lanka policy is always inconsistent, and you would expect a significant change of policy if Modi lead BJP come in to power.
    India’s policy helped LTTE to grow to Himalayan level but later change in India’s policy helped Rajapakse to grow to Himalayan level and it appears that time has come to the end of Rajapakse show.

  • 3
    6

    NOTHING!

    What happened after 2012 and 2013 resolutions? Nothing.

    No difference this time.

    NO Tamil Elam.

  • 0
    2

    [Edited out]

  • 2
    0

    There is a hardcore group in the Govt which is the JHU supported by BBS / SR / RB / NPF. Their patron saint is GR and includes prominent personalities in the sangha, military , establishment and corporate world. They appear to have the ear of the President, if he is under duress is unknown.

    He is definitely supportive of their stand. So it is rather doubtful to expect anything much from him or the Govt. Even people like Vasudeva and DJ have been singled out for criticism by the President and Mahanayakes in their recent missive to the UN. So it seems that we are in for a protracted struggle in the international arena.

    As far as the abstention of India is concerned, it more like good cop, bad cop. BJP is not going to be as concilliatory as the Congress. TN will continue to support the Tamil cause.

  • 3
    4

    Buddy Izeth,

    You have made a few references to “Sinhala Chavounism” responsible for the “Ethnic problem”. Given time constraints I shall try to be succinct as possible.

    The absolute root cause of the Sri Lankan palawa is underwitten in the “co-ownership” idea.

    The idea states Sinhala and Tamil are “co-owners” of the island whilst Indian Tamils, Moslems and Burghers are minorities. The idea is also sometimes described as “parity of status” between Sinhala and Tamil. The idea also says Tamil constitute a “nation” – not a minority. The co-ownership idea has so far manisefted as the 50:50 demand, Tamil homeland, Tamil Eealm etc.

    This concept originated before Sinhala majority government took control of Sri Lanka. It had nothing to do with “Sinhala Chavounism”. In fact in can be quite vividly proved it had everything to do with Tamil Chavounism and casteism. The ideas try to reduce Sinhala electoral, land and other powers down to 50%. It is also the platform where Jaffna Tamils can continue to practise their caste discrimination without interference.

    This is the idiots guide Sri Lankan probem right here.

  • 1
    2

    Excellent editorial “A dangerous precedent” – The Island, March 28

  • 5
    1

    The only person who could unite Sri Lanka while keeping the Buddhist extrimists under control is Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge.

    Only she has the Mo Jo to stand against any extrimists, tyranny and Racists.

    Pres.Rajapakse as well as other Buddhist extrimists and clergy know it.

    Ranil is a cabbage when it comes to subduing extrimists, although he may good at Economic development, justice, racial harmony and maintain peace in the country.

    But you need a Tough leader to Tame Extrimists, specially Buddhist extrimists and other Racists and Madam Chandrika is the ideal leader for it.

    Madam chandrika will keep the mad dogs in theeir leash and in their proper place. She also has past experience from her father’s fate.

    Madam Chandrika as the President with the help from old SLFP,UNP, JVP,DM,TNA and Muslim Congress (NO UPFA) will be the ideal to govern Sri Lanka.

    She STILL has the support from both within and outside Sri Lanka.

    Only issue is that she has to ADJUST HER CLOCK BY BRINGING IT FOREWARD 3 HOURS.

    UNHRC is a blessing in disguise for all the peace seeking Sri Lankans.

    Await for more surprises.

    • 0
      4

      Your recalcitrant madam is hallucinating. Will the JVP dare have an agreement with her again with their pants on? In any case, Gal Ranil, Sobitha or even Fonseka would perform far better. The woman is a rotten old egg. MR was least concerned about a challenge from her. He said, he likes Chandrika for she could help him find those in his party who keep their legs on both sides of the fense.

      Ranil was a minister for over 15 years in JRJ government and 3 years the executive like Prime Minister. Name a single project he envisaged that brought economic benefits to this country. NONE. If he put forward his yankee doodle prepared ‘regaining lanka’ manifesto again, his party wouldn’t get the votes they get at this election.

      • 0
        0

        “Will the JVP dare have an agreement with her again with their pants on? In any case, Gal Ranil, Sobitha or even Fonseka would perform far better.”

        it seems that you are so concern about CBK’s defeat , wonder why ? ideally Regime backers must be happy with a weak opposition candidate ,won’t they ? but here , you are attempting to show that CBK is not the ideal candidate , hence try a different one !we understand your heart felt sympathy & out pouring kindness towards the opposition’s well being , more you show about CBK’s unsuitability for the contest , more people will join in supporting her candidacy , so please don’t stop , go on high lighting all her misdeeds/blunders !

        PS : no body in his or her right mind will back CBK ,that is for sure , but time has come to forget and forgive her past for the sake of future generation , no one can stop her , she is coming and only she knows how to deal with your king !

        • 0
          1

          srilal
          May be you haven’t read what I have written elsewhere: I wrote as MR said that he likes Chandrika to be the common opposition candidate because that way, he can find out those that keep their legs on both side of the fense.

          Chandrika has become a spend force with the end of her first term. She was lucky LTTE took her eye. If not for the sympathy vote she would have not win her second term and Gal Ranil would have become the president. I am in favour of all that. In today’s context however, there is no credible challenge for MR in sight. That’s the truth.

          • 0
            0

            mechanic,

            “I wrote as MR said that he likes Chandrika to be the common opposition candidate because that way, he can find out those that keep their legs on both side of the fense. “

            what a loads of bollocks ? when CBK was the president how many of this same Ministers were praising her every move , today very same ministers are doing exactly the same thing to MR , MR is well aware of the whole game and playing the cards close to his chest ! if for some reasons MR to lose power for CBK tomorrow , you will see how many of these same Die hard supporters of Rajapakse would come out and reveal the juicy stories !!!! so don’t worry about this “sitting on the fence” cock & bull , as a matter of fact every single minister is sitting on the fence , it is only a matter of time !

            bottom line is , neither MR nor his backers want to see CBK contesting , that is the truth !

  • 2
    0

    What do everyone understand from the resolution in Geneva for Sri Lanka, all the actors taking part, dilema of the rulers of Sri Lanka, impending elections in Sri Lanka and India etc? Why is this happening to Sri Lanka with only two major races and the same or worse not happening to India with more than 300 races contesting for elections? We don’t see Sri Lanka intervening in the affairs of India though India has a similar problem in Punjab. We see sometimes violence taking place in India, but India never punished a whole race because the culprits come from a particular race. They catch the perpetrators and punish only the perpetrators. The authorities don’t even speak ill of the race as a whole. We never heard India finding excuses to annihilate a race for any reason. India doesn’t give any room for any outsider to decide in its internal affairs. Compare the state of affairs in Sri Lanka to India. Sri Lanka never hesitate to make LTTE responsible for all the violence. Sri Lanka never hesitated calling Tamils local or abroad LTTE supporters, never took to courts any culprit but politicized all violence, all Departments, Press, and even the Supreme Courts! That is the difference.

    • 0
      0

      Richard – the contrast with India certainly bears thinking about. India has a vast multiplicity of ethnic groups but few, comparatively very few ethnic conflicts. I believe that the essential difference is that the Indian civilisation has a universalist outlook, while we in SL don’t.

  • 1
    3

    After Geneva, now it’s time to dissolve NPC and to arrest TNA terrorists. Then one third of the reconciliation will be done.

  • 0
    0

    After Geneva bottomless perdition? This is the crass prescription of the author IH in his piece. From Olympian heights to conscious descent is what CT readership has been able to see so distressingly.

    To a Prime Minister who had no reserves of character or fortitude to stand his ground in support of a Pact of his own creation, the author attributes greatness. …”the latter (SWRD) had wept”. Was it a display of leadership or an exhibition of effeminacy. “showing the prescience of a statesman” the author says. Is dilly dallying the salient quality of statesmanship or standing immovably by what has been worked out for the good of the nation?.

    The author continues in the same tenor “who had understood the horrors that would follow”. Foresight or no, he had an year more 1957 – 58, to stave off the horors. But did he stir even after seeing the “fireworks”?- His own words. “The emergency was declared 4 days too late” Dr.NM Perera said.”follow from our ethnolunacy”. Ours or HIS? Does he stand condemned or does he need to be applauded?

    “It seems obvious that the way forward is through implementation of 13A”. If it was so obvious, why did the Tamil leadership the traditional and the combative avant garde seek to thwart it from 1987 – 2009? Should they be inveighled into embracing 13A when a robust political formation is replacing the imbecile that had harmed Tamils’ future and India’s reputation?

    “Making the NPC a success in meeting the grass roots needs of the Tamil people”. What are those needs? Elementary or alimentary? After the Tamils’ 65 year yearning to reach for the stars, the author prescribes going into the infernal darkness of where grass roots are.

    Tamils have built their future for the lofty foliage to catch the first light. They will settle down for no less. Never will they accept with humility insidious prescriptions. Unsolicited supercilious advice is just anathema to them. Anything does for the Tamils is the foolishness of other ethnicities. Do not enter our turf since you cannot understand what we are about is what their stentorian voice bellows loud and clear.

  • 0
    0

    dear Izeth, you have a clear mind. Do not jump the gun and cloud the issues. Bensen

  • 1
    2

    USA attacks UNHRC over 5 anti-Israel resolutions passed 46 to 1!!!

    America was the sole country to vote against five anti-Israel resolutions with the UNHRC approved on Friday afternoon as it met in Geneva at the close of its 25th session.

    Four of the five resolutions attacked Israel’s treatment of Palestinians over the pre-1967 lines and were approved 46 to 1.

    The fifth resolution that dealt with Israel’s continued presence on the Golan Heights, and its treatment of the Syrian population that lives there, passed with the approval of 33 nations. There were 13 abstentions and one vote against it.

    “We are deeply troubled once again to be presented with a slate of one sided resolutions that undermine efforts to make progress in the negotiations,” said Paula Schriefer, who heads the US Delegation to the UNHRC.

    “Only Israel, a vibrant and open democracy, received such treatment,” Schriefer said.”
    -jpost

    How true about SL!! USA repeatedly attacks SL at the UNHRC but when others bring 5 RESOLUTIONS against Israel and pass it USA gets spikes up its arse.

    GOOD FOR THEM!!

    Karma! Karma!

    5 times karma!!

    • 0
      0

      USA should remember that what goes around comes around, that is the world order. US wont be a super power for ever, if you climb to the peak then you will get the downhill, nobody can stay at the peak forever!!!! Sooner or later there will be a resolution against US, that has to happen.

  • 1
    0

    Isabet:

    Whivh planet are you living on mate. It looks like you have just woken up from a deeo coma.
    But let me tell youn what happened on Mother Earth and what is going to happen in the nest few weeks.

    1) There has been a Vote at the UN passed by 23 to 12 to set up a Commitee to look in to the War Crimes by Sinhala Lanka.
    2) A 7 man committee has already been set up and they are ready to come to Sri Lanka.
    3) Elections are due to start in Mother India on the 7th April to usher in a new era for the Tamils.

    MRs fate will be sealed and if he doesnt comply with the UN resolution he will be made to comply.

    You will be out of a Job.

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