28 March, 2024

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CBK Drops Bombshell, Says No Need For War Crimes Probe

Sri Lanka’s reconciliation efforts appeared to face more setbacks, with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga dropping a bombshell and ruling out the involvement of courts to probe war crimes committing during the final stages of the war in 2009.

Chandrika

Kumaratunga, who is also the head of the Office for the National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) said that what is urgent now is to bring in a new Constitution and to establish the Office of the Missing Persons, and therefore due to these initiatives there won’t be a necessity to have courts to probe war crimes.

She made this statement in an interview published in the Daily Mirror today while answering to a question about the present position with regard to the government entrusting her with building national reconciliation. “It is successfully carried out, in the face of opposition and a handful of extremists, activities are continuing with the blessings of the majority. Reconciliation means a lengthy activity. What is urgent now is to bring in a new Constitution and then comes the establishment of the Office of the Missing Persons. With these in place, there would not be any necessity to have courts to probe war crimes.”

She also criticized the recent report released by Attorney At Law Manori Muththettuwegama which reportedly stated that foreign judges must be included to probe the issues during the final stages of the war. “They have no right to comment in that manner. The committee was entrusted to obtain the views of the public and submit its report to the government. That was the responsibility of the committee. Their own ideas too had been incorporated in the report,” Kumaratunga said.

Last year, the government appointed a 11 member Special Task Force consisting of representatives of civil organizations to get the views of the public on the Geneva Human Rights proposal. The task force was headed by Muththettuwegama. The Task Force was tasked to work under two phases. Under the first Phase, views was obtained through all languages using websites. Then the task force met with the public to obtain their views in the second phase. The views were obtained from children, members of the security forces and the public who suffered from the war.

The former President however heavily praised incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena in her interview saying he has good knowledge, he reads well, explains well and is also a good listener.

The office headed by Kumaratunga is mandated to lead, facilitate and support initiatives related to national unity and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. The ONUR mandate broadly covers the 8 focus areas we have listed in our website and all initiatives related to Accountability mechanisms are coordinated by Justice Ministry and Foreign Ministry in consultation with the offices of His Excellency the President and Hon. Prime Minister. The ONUR will be assisting if any request for assistance is made in such initiative from the respective ministries.

The coalition government has been giving out varying views over the involvement of foreign judges to probe war crimes. In February last year, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera contradicted a statement by President Sirisena and said that international participation was necessary in bringing justice to the victims of war crimes. “What the President has expressed is his own opinion, and in Sri Lanka there are various thoughts on how this matter should be handled,” Samaraweera said, when questioned on Sirisena’s rejection of an international investigation to probe alleged war crimes committed during the final stages of the war against the LTTE during a Q & A session at US Institute of Peace, Washington DC.

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  • 5
    3

    CBK is right. Politics is a complex game like chess. All the ordinary people can’t understand and it is not wise to make them understand – better to keep idiots in the dark. No point in talking about war crime now and waste time without sharing the power and give opportunity to idiots like MR a chance to talk. This way the bad lot can be side tracked permanently and stop them ruining the country continuously. The reality is we are not going to find the missing people, they are all killed and soled and remains fed. No point in searching non-existent people and only one reply from singhalese like scratched record – leave the justice to the unbiased God. At least let CBK work hard to distribute power to all province to stop these mass killing in the future – God bless CBK.

    • 9
      0

      This women is crazy….what is the point of reporting to the government!!!.when the government is the cause of the problem…just like her..this woman is the main cause of all problems country is facing now..

      • 3
        0

        She following the coloniser Theresa May- Day one do not complain about our forces. Now- Iraq abuse inquiry to shut after MPs find it has ‘directly harmed defence of our nation’- Fallon, May.

        We always knew tamils are stupid and sinhalese are pirates like the english.

    • 11
      0

      CBK is utterly wrong . War crimes investigation is part of the reconciliation process, if she is genuinely interested in solving the issue. Politics is not a complex game but a dirty game where ordinary innocent people are used by the dirty politicians. The Tamil people still do not know what the new constitution comprised of and whether their rights and power sharing includes in the new constitution. The TNA is part of the process and they too are dubious in explaining to the Tamil people, catogarically what the new constitution provides to the Tamil people.
      CBK or the Sirisena government is doing nothing to promote reconciliation. Army occupation of private lands still continues, political prisoners not released yet. Development in the north is standstill. The TNA and the government should explain to the people what reconciliation means in practical terms.

    • 0
      0

      St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church Navaly was Ariel Bombarded and over 100 civilians got killed during Chandrika’s regime and this is also a War crime.

  • 4
    0

    CBK did not drop a bombshell. It is only a drop of birds poo.

    There is a difference between dropping a ‘bombshell’ and a ‘real bomb’.

    Bombshell is good for Minister Rishad Badu-dins illegal metal trade.

    Real bomb can be devastating.

    Just take her comment as birds poo and wipe or wash it off.

    • 0
      0

      Yes! I agree, because the Bombardment of Navali Church which killed over 120 civilians who took refuge. Madam this happened during your President-ship.

  • 0
    0

    Don’t take it for granted. This time it was her fore finger.
    Yes. She works hard and it will be not a bombshell but an actual bomb with the middle finger…………….

    Inspite of all these the country is going nowhere.
    We saw during the Independence Celebrations how restless Sirisena looked.
    Continuously tapping on the arms rest with his fingers and his head swaying from one direction to another, HE WAS ALL BUT RESTLESS.
    During his speech there was no appearance of blood flow to his face as it looked pale and dark.

    All that sums up the unsettled situation of the Country and her future.
    Nevertheless, Servicemen and Politicians looked as though there was abundance of Rice at very cheap price available in the country.

    The Navy Commander need to be sent on a scholarship to Japan to be trained as a Sumo Wrestler (No insult to japan) His sight was an absolute disgrace to the Sri Lanka Navy.

    My “Uththamachara” to the para jumpers from 1000′ with all those acrobatic manouvers. Daring.
    Wonder where the Vimukthi putha will fit in, in all these ????

    Also our “abimana” Politicians in Western attire. Ok fine for now.

    So…….. lets wait and see.

  • 0
    0

    correction 10,000’feet

  • 7
    0

    Sundara K

    Under CBK’s command, and during her regime, hundreds of bombs were dropped indiscriminately. As a result hundreds of civilians got killed and properties damaged.

    Remember , CBK cannot escape from the curse of those people.

  • 1
    1

    Her general “uncle” is no more among the living! So this is not a factor that influenced her thinking. We have to encourage her in her efforts to fix the broken politics faced by Sri Lanka. While Singapore a tiny city state is today a mini-super power in South Asia, Sri Lanka is struggling both politically and economically due to racist policies. Today’s Singapore is one man’s vision translated into political freedom, economic prosperity and communal peace. That man is late Lee Kuan Yew first prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990.

    • 2
      1

      Did Singapore give federal to tamils?

      • 1
        1

        Very good Question – However Singapore did a lot to integrate all the nationalities into one nation of Singaporeans – they all consider themselves as Singaporeans not as Tamils or Malays or Chinese – this exactly what is needed in our country – Jail all the extremist of all nationalities and follow Singapore Programme

  • 6
    0

    Madam,

    to close both of your eyes to the war crimes, you are endorsing the barbaric act that caused to loose sight in your one eye in the first place.
    Essentially eye for an eye however you want to cut it.
    Act like a human being before you think of politics. Think of the lives that were lost, regardless of the race.

    • 0
      0

      He eye was lost due to barbaric act of the LTTE and the tamil diaspora..and in 2009 the barbaric clan was eliminated. And Barbaric diaspora asks this woman to punish those who eliminated that barbaric clan for doing their job…

      How does rejecting that laughable demand is endorsing the barbaric act of that barbaric clan?

  • 1
    0

    Thanga,
    It is a huge challenge for srilanka to follow Singapore because many countries doesn’t like another Singapore in this area and they will use every resources to buy our modias like MR and remove if anyone like Lee Kuan spring among us. I do not think our majority is that clever for that challenge. Lets see whether CBK can overcome the present challenge and unite all communities (provide freedom for all province to develop independently) and leave a favourable space for our future generation to turn srilanke similar to Singapore. Definitely we will not be living that time to go and witness our God child’s dream which was buried with many innocent lives. God bless CBK who knows western values.

  • 7
    0

    CBK has skeletons in her cupboard. She has command responsibility for the bombing of the Navaly Church. It has to be tested out. She will be in the first line of war criminals. So, when she says that there is no need for war crimes, she is safeguarding her own interests.

    Manouri Muttutegama, the wife of a most honourable Sinhalese politician, was perhaps trying to wash away the sin of her father, Colvin R de Silva who after holding out for parity of status, sold the Tamils for a ministry in the Bandaranaike government. She is right in saying that there must be foreign judges. The farcical trial and acquittal of the accused in the Raviraj murder case and the sequel in the court of appeal shows how corrupt the Sinhala judges are. Tamils must insist on war crimes trials. The diaspora will ensure that it is kept in the attention of the international community. The Sinhalese must know that it is the only way of cleansing their own corrupt country and wiping the slate clean so that a new beginning can be made.

    • 0
      2

      we cleaned our country in 2009.

  • 1
    1

    This is very good article from the Age Melbourne/Sydney Morning Herald.
    Hope the moderator allows this

    http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-sri-lankan-war-crimes-swept-under-the-carpet-20170203-gu59yy.html

    • 0
      0

      Cool story, bro :D
      So nice to see Brucey’s still alive and well and finally decided to crawl out from under that rock – did We Thamizh finally scrape together enough dough to start paying him a retainer again :D

  • 3
    0

    The term CBK is another synonym for
    contradiction.

    Immediately after the Presidential
    elections, she gave an interview
    to Sirisa. She said she is the one
    who defeated the LTTE and not the
    Rajapakses.

    Now she is heading an Office of National
    Unity and Reconciliation ONUR. She
    says war crimes inquiries are not
    necessary but there should be reconciliation.

    She was Presdent for ELEVEN years and
    was unable to achieve anything except
    to spew rhetoric. This same CBK is now
    issuing judgements.

    The government should give a little more
    money and ask her to retire on condition
    that she keeps her mouth shut.

  • 0
    0

    Three sacred messages to The President.
    =========================================================

    1) Keep your friends close and your enmies closer.
    —————————————————-

    2) Either sincerely become 100% transparent( no amudas allowed either,only total nakedness) and establish real Public trustees to supervise all financial transactions with connection to tenders and investments.

    3) Otherwise introduce a semi autocracy.

    ie;

    Handover the devils job to the devils .

    Bring in MR and join him with Ranil and make them joint PMs with equal administrative powers.

    Bring in Gota and join him with SF and create a ministry of Interrior and make them both joint Ministers of Interrior and diivide the country’s administravtive divisons and give each of them to adminster.

    Bring in Basila and make him joint Finance minister with Ravi ya .

    And make joint candidates from UNP and Slfp to run for PC elections and make joint chairmans .

    No compalints ..-:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

    Everybody live happy ear apter!!!!!!

    There you go and after that you can go to Hawwi to catch the blue moon .

    With love from
    Mahadena-mutta & machans

    Happy governimg !

  • 1
    1

    Have mercy guys. Poor thing.

    She destroyed her Daddy’s Old party the SLFP which the the Elite, Anglicans, and the Vellalas couldn’t do for 50 years.

    She single handedly helped the Diaspora and the West to put cousin Batalanda into power which Batalanda couldn’t do it for two decades.

    Now Batalanda has made a Billionaire Diasporean family , plus several Millionaire UNP Ministers.

    And distributed our Land to few UNP mates both local and overseas.

    Now Batalanda is busy drafting the new Srilankan map dividing it in to hamlets, big ones for the minorities and the UNP and the rest for the Dalits.

    While the Madam is waiting to start her “Reconciliation Thing”and pay compo to the LTTE.through her Cold Case Office..

    She only made this War Crimes comment just to make it easy for the Cousin .

    And everyone in the Yahapalana Camp have gone for her jugular..

    No wonder she was seen at the Liquor Section of the Colombo Duty Free looking like a lonely old lady, in an ill fitting pair of pants and a blouse, staring daggers at he photo catcher.

    Wonder why the Cousin who wears Milano Suits even to bed, does not groom her to wear outfits to match the Elite image.

    Specially when his mate Singapore Mahendran forked out LKR 20 Lakhs of Yahapalana money for just one Tailor made Suit .

  • 0
    0

    Nothing important happened during her 10 year period as president. When Ranil was the PM she took over 3 most important ministries and upset Ranils Plans to develop the Country. Had she supported Ranil at that time the country will not face huge debt trap. She indirectly help MR to be president for two terms and ruin the Country. Ranil is still making his old follies.Last time he did not address the burning problems of the Poor. He wanted to develop the Country first and then help poor.
    People cannot wait years after years to get help from the government. He is repeating the same philosophy. by this he will pave way for Rajapakses to come back. Most poor peoples brains are in the Stomoach.
    at least let the old lady genuinely help Ranil to take the Country forward and compensate her wrong doings in the past

  • 0
    0

    CBK has eventually understood the ground reality! Proposed war crime probes will further polarise the ethnic relations and hamper reconciliation. See the situation in Northern Ireland today! A very fragile situation even after a decade of signing the peace agreement.
    War crime probes if pursued could result not only in worsening communal relations but can create an enabling environment for an Army Coup!

  • 2
    0

    A most unfortunate title, for it encapsulates the track record of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) throughout the years; 1958/1971/1977/1983/1987-89, and through the years of conflict. The GoSL shielded all those who did its work. Especially its ‘dirty; work; nudge, nudge, wink, wink! A shrug of the shoulders, a sigh, ‘these things happen in bad times’, ‘what to do?’.

    WE the ever-suffering People with broken hearts and unanswered questions have been patiently waiting for justice and closure. We cling to straws, our hopes are raised. We expected much from CBK (and the present government) but, once again, those hopes have been dashed. We are running out of politicians to trust; we are wary of our judiciary. Is it surprising that many are slowly coming round to thinking about foreign judges. (Dammit, we cannot even organise agame of rugby without having to get down foreign referees to officiate!) .

    One step forward, two steps back for justice, closure and reconciliation.

    Will we ever reach the promised land?

  • 2
    1

    1. What happened to the Magistrate who indiscriminately remanded a British Lady for possessing a tattoo of Buddha on her arm? Her love for Buddhism was the reason for the tattoo. The Magistrate continues as Magistrate happily ever after.

    2. What happened to the Policemen inside the remand prison who kept asking sexual favors from this British Lady while she was inside the Negombo remand prison? He has received promotion to sergeant recently and lives happily ever after.

    3. Why did it take ages for AG Palitha Fernando (a Mahinda lacky) to deliver justice for the murder and rape of Khoram and his Russian Girl friend respectively? Luckily he was a UK citizen and the world bodies began to question this at every forum that led to an arrest after almost 1 year after the crime was committed.

    4. When Lohan Ratwatte killed PNG Ruggerite Pera outside a night club in Colombo, how was the whole system and story changed so that the investigation was muffled, manipulated and a prearranged person a body guard of Lohan was given a short sentence and released quietly.

    5. Doesn’t the Lohan Ratwatte case look like a re-run of the Thajudeen case, but this time some truth is coming out specifically due to political purposes only. Our judicial and law will be at play again.

    6. What happened to Kumar Ponnambalam killers? According to any Sinhalese he deserved to die insulting Sinhalese all the time. Will they have the same opinion for Gnanasara and Sumana thero or simply be quiet providing tacit approval for criminal racism?

    7. Raviraj killing, no one found guilty and all released.

    This is just a 0.0001% of the State activities taking place in Sri Lanka. What more needs to be said about democracy?

    • 0
      0

      Good to see you keeping a tab on these things.

  • 3
    0

    CBK herself is guilty of war crimes and crimes against Humanity. Think of her military offensives on the very same people who voted for her and most popular support from among the Tamils and the Sinhalese masses.

    She should have been thankful for her husband Vijay Cumaratunge who had amassed the support of the Tamils that CBK eventually cashed im her Presidential Elections. She had proved ungrateful for her husband Vijay and the Tamils who voted for her because of their love foe Vijay.

    A true and fair record of her political achievements would definitely not a nice one. She carries a typical mind set of her parents SWRD and Srimavo to the very letter and spirit.Unfortunately this has become a nation wide trait of today’s Sri Lanka and gone to a point of no return.

    • 3
      2

      Mano

      The Bandaranaike clan grew up with a sense of entitlement to rule over us. A sort of follow up to when their ancestors reached the highest echelons for natives under the British. The very height of sycophancy was reached when Maha Mudliyar Solomon D B chose Governor Ridgeway as godfather to SWRD and baptised the child Solomon West Ridgeway D B.

      Every one of them screwed up when it came to tackling the big challenges that faced our island nation. The latest ‘bombshell’ is sad, but that is only because so much hope was invested in what would be a key factor in the reconciliation of our main communities. The only excuse that can be proffered is that theirs was a fate foretold.

      The best that can be said about them is that they knew how to behave at table. As for CBK’s legendary (un)punctuality, don’t ask!

  • 2
    0

    We all feel for the casualties of war. Before 2009, it was all bomb blasts around the country & systematic ethnic cleansing & genocide of the Sinhalese/Muslims in the north & east. Now you Tamil brothers have forgotten all about this. The LTTE started terrorism & unfortunately the Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher & all other communities suffered. Unfortunately at the last battle Tamil lives & soldiers lives were lost. That was to end terrorism & bring peace to the country. Don’t be hypocrites & be the voice of a few who wants ealam so they can make money. If ealam is given will you all living in Canada, US, EU or Australia come to live in the north & east & build the land??? First ask the that question yourselves. Let everyone live in peace now without dragging this on.

    You all are more than welcome to give up citizenship in those countries & come back to SL.

    • 0
      1

      I was on a family trip back in my motherland. I marveled at the fact that tourists are aplenty and people walk unafraid even in front of the Presidential mansion. No more tense military guard points;(and sadly as a result more crime); no check points and searches. I did not worry about not having my ID. I went outside colombo and was amazed. In Elle it has become a secret haven for backpacking and hiking tourists. I watched with amazement when the train came into the Elle station. For a moment I thought I was in a small European station. Almost everyone who came out was a tourist!! ?I tried to get a observation deck ticket and there were none to be sold because it was full. Amazing.

      So while some people overseas are relentlessly attacking everyone inside SL, I heard people saying “At least now we do not have to hug our kids so tightly when we go to work in the morning not knowing if we will return”. People forget the terrorist bombs; the suicide bombs and attacks and the climate of fear as LTTE terrorists ably supported by their overseas brethren wreaked carnage. I respect people like Sumanthiran. Let no one try to raise the ugly specte of racist ethno-separatist politics while enjoying life in Western societies like myself. From my motherland i came back to my homeland; people there bitch about Thora maalu going for nearly 2000 LKR for a kilo and pol gediya over 60 LKR now.

    • 1
      0

      S Fernando,

      You write……The LTTE started terrorism.

      You must be young, but I am of the much older generation, and remember the disturbing times of immediate post-independance when devious divisive Sinhala politicians (JR, SWRD to the fore, but many others too) played the race and religion card to woo the hearts and votes of the Buddhist-Sinhala voter.

      I watched our Tamil brethren harassed and assaulted just for being Tamil. Our elders asked “how long will they put up with this”. Well, we got the answer, and did not like it.

      Nobody likes terrorism, but WE all were responsible for allowing it to reach the point of no return. Politicians could not care because none of their children would lose their lives. Many (most?) werre sent abroad ‘to study’.

      The lesson has not been learnt. The BBS and their clones go around now making life a misery, and nobody shows any inclination to put a stop to it. The curse has NOT been exorcised yet.

      So, to everyone, particularly from the diaspora, come to Sri Lanka and enjoy the fragile peace whilst it lasts. The truth is that for every hundred who come, ninety-nine will return to the safety and peace of their adopted land.

      • 0
        0

        “”So, to everyone, particularly from the diaspora, come to Sri Lanka and enjoy the fragile peace whilst it lasts. The truth is that for every hundred who come, ninety-nine will return to the safety and peace of their adopted land.””

        It’s no use going back to yesterday,
        because I was a different person then.

        Why is a raven like a writing desk?

        L.C.

  • 0
    0

    LGBTQ issues are not relevant anymore. Obama propaganda is not relevant. Trump only cares for deals. [Edited out] HR and War crimes. Time to move on and heal like N.Ireland where there were no war crimes tribunals. Time to move on like so many other places. I support the missing persons commission. That and a Truth and Reconciliation committee and open dialogue is needed. Does she support gay marriage now too?

  • 0
    0

    Mangy time and LGBTQ issues are gone. He surreptitiously got his deputy Garrulous Harry to sneak in a bill without first having a public discourse and getting to change people’s minds. Christian fanatics, Buddhist Fanatics, Hindu Fanatics, and Muslim Fanatics all roared. In USA, It is fundamentalists, and born again Christians and US christian cults like Assembly of God(now in SL in a big way with a big expensive church on Battaramulla Road ) who oppose gays. The current VP the christian fanatic Mike Pence supports gay conversion therapy; he wants a Christian kingdom in a non-religious USA. He hates gays and poor people too. That is the American christian value. Mangy engaged in a lot of hot big talking during Obama days in USA. He needs to shut up now. Trump has no room for cissies and ponnayas. That is a fact. I support gay rights and I do support doing away with the sodomy laws forced on our nation by Christian Victorian Britain. They have done away with those laws and do not persecute gays(they did even in the 1950s though and 1960s). Turing the brilliant mathematician was persecuted though he broke Enigma. Oscar Wilde was jailed. So many people were harassed for their natural way of inclination. So I support gay rights but not the way it was deviously done by Garrulous Harry the Deputy FM on behalf of his openly gay minister(one of the most able true liberals in the government with a great training in dress designing from London). CBK and he are good buddies and they both support gay marriage now. It is a positive change. People need dialogue before such drastic changes are brought. Amudey Sira and pingona Semey the UNP’s other big talker were wrong in their cabinet attitudes. Look at Ranjan One Shot: so gay and trying to act macho and his gayness becomes even more obivious

  • 0
    1

    Edited out] Comments should not exceed 300 words.Please read our Comments Policy for further details.

  • 0
    2

    So give those living there a chance. LTTE rump in US, Canada, France, Norway in particular forget the war and bombs that created terrorism and chaos. Sinhalese forget the curse of 1983 that led to all that carnage. Please do not fund terrorism there again.
    Use your dollars or Euros to go build wells in the Tamil areas or houses(and do not give to the government to do this because they are crooks as good as any in the MR regime; So mostly it is a case of Unuth ekai; munuth ekai in my motherland but in my homeland buddo ammo monawa weiyda kiyala kiyanna baha pissek apey naayaka wela.
    I watched “Charitha Atak” at Lionel Wendt and it was a superb satirical attack on lankan leaders; best laughs were for the MR character but there was superb humor at the “Kuliyapityeng volkswagen ekka aaway mang”…superb. One bad thing; Typical lanka. (Audience was mostly VIPs and their chokkas); Hon Speaker a rare honorable man Karu Jayasuriya was there; CBK was there; MS was supported to be the guest of honour but I do not think he showed up; Dinesh Goonawardene was there too. I bought a ticket. The number of uncouth persons who let their cellphones ring was unbelievable. The dude seated right behind me was on the phone so many times. I was afraid to tell him to Shut the F up because this is SL and thugs are still aplenty. He was talking about what to have for dinner etc. So many self absorbed uncouth XXXXs.

    • 0
      0

      Water should be used just for consumption.(there are mains attached purifiers)
      The rest plastic granules should be used.
      Water should be made a fundamental right for all at beautiful Slovenia

  • 2
    0

    Familial of the sinhala buddhist Fascist playing the TRUMP card I lick your butt now that Killary ain’t no more.
    Tamils have no go except they were suicide bombers and USA is funding more peace keeping forces pedophiles from sri lanka.

  • 0
    0

    Whatever system that must be developed must ensure there is no more ethno-tribal war but also recognize all as Sri Lankans. No more war please.

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