By Colombo Telegraph –
“The torture of Tamil political prisoners is increasingly rife in Sri Lanka with some detainees dying in custody after suffering prolonged abuse, a new investigation claims.The findings will intensify pressure on Britain to withdraw from a controversial summit to be held in Sri Lanka later this year.” the Guardian reports.
Read more in the Guardian
justice / March 24, 2013
On 29 October 2007, Prof Manfrd Novak, UN Rapporteur,after investigating for $ weeks,reported that torture is widely practised in sri lanka,in police stations and prisons.
Even now this continues and torture of tamil prisoners is only a part of it.
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sinhala friend / March 24, 2013
Nothing new, still the international community do not believe
There was a violent race riot in Sri Lanka in July 1983. It was a one-sided riot. Sinhalese went on a rampage in Tamil areas, torturing and murdering Tamil men and children, raping, torturing and murdering Tamil women and girls, and looting and burning Tamil residences and businesses. Police and army (which were almost exclusively Sinhalese) either participated in this orgy of violence against the Tamils or kept a blind eye. It is widely believed that some senior ruling party (United National Party) members encouraged and helped this onslaught against minority Tamils.
As the Tamils were being slaughtered in the streets, in their businesses and in their homes, the guards (all Sinhalese) at the Welikada prison were also becoming bloodthirsty. On July 25, the guards left open the gates that separated the 35 Tamil prisoners from the Sinhala prisoners. According to Amnesty International, some of the Sinhala prisoners were given alcohol and then were encouraged to attack the Tamil prisoners. A large number of the Sinhala prisoners, with knives and other sharp weapons, stormed into the building where the 35 Tamil prisoners were lodged. They stabbed, beat and tortured the Tamil prisoners. Testicles of some of the prisoners were cut off. In case of Kuttimani, they also gouged both his eyes laughing about his last request of eye donation. They carried the dead bodies of these Tamil prisoners out of the prison cells and put them in front of the Buddha statue in the prison yard (majority of Sinhalas are Buddhists and it is the state religion of Sri Lanka. Most Tamils are Hindus with a fair number of Muslims and some Christians.) All these things happened in front of armed prison guards and they did not stop this violence.
someone with some sense of humanity would not dream to go to Srilanka as a tourist
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noble / March 25, 2013
friend,
There were violent race riots in India, Malaysia and Sigapoor even in the US. What is important is in Sri Lanka, there were no race riots after 1983. In that race riots not just Tamils, Sinhalas were killed as well.
UL504 that a friend of mine boarded in from Heathrow last Sunday was full. He also told me that 90% of the passengers were white tourists. So much for your misinformation campaign! I believe those tourists were our best ambassadors to disseminate the truth.
See the images attched to abtract writing of Micheal Roberts in these web pages. You’ll see young as well as old women in military drills and being trained to fire T56. And you expect soldiers to fight gun-totting civilians with candy pops. And you guys cry civilins were killed. In a war with terrorists people kill each other for tit for tat. Everyone has to accept the truth and reconcile with themself. You have to accept that the real culprit is the one that put arms in the hands of innocent people.
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Chandra Seneviratne / March 25, 2013
By and large the situation ,as at present is that human rights violations are rampant everywhere not only in the North of Sri Lanka, irrespective whether he/she is Sinhalese or Tamils . The citizens have lost their last hope in judiciary with political interference. The international fora is the only re-cause now to Sri Lankans.
Chandra Seneviratne
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noble / March 25, 2013
Seneviratne
There are no human right violations wherever I travel in Sri Lanka. Even if a guy get killed in a motorbike accident or another being run over by a VIP vehicle or a man climbing a tree in protest for wrongful school admission his child get reported in radio and TV instantly. What nonsense you are talking about?
If you have come across any human rights violations don’t be vague be specific and give the names and places.
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Svetlana Chekovskaya / March 25, 2013
So you are an infrequent sightseeing traveller. Your arguments looks naive et boring, and you tire your brain cells to prove of what, that solemn insecurity of your pit and wits. Dos Svidanya!
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Rambler / March 25, 2013
Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice is in reality a Tamil Eelam campaign whose immediate objectives (after the Geneva debacle) are:
1) To prevent CHOGM happening in Sri Lanka
2) To sabotage the revival of tourist industry
3) To prevent the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka
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Radish.S / March 25, 2013
It is surprising unless it is done purposely that reference is made to the situation in Sri Lanka as ‘post conflict’ both by the U.K. FCO and by people like Sinha, the Indian Representative at UNHRC in Geneva.Why all this bother if there is no more conflict in Sri Lanka. In fact no effort has been taken in SL to address the root causes of the conflict(which was also the cause for Mr.Chelvanayagam to fight non-violently for three decades and for ltte to fight for another three decades using arms).In fact the situation in SL is ‘post war’ and not ‘post conflict’
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saradiel / March 25, 2013
Sinhala friend …. those tourists to whom you address from which country are they?
I can not get a seat in the loss making UL for a flight to Colombo.
What do I do??
Sinhala friend you appear to be a one helluva jester………
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Wuliangguobinjiu / March 25, 2013
“What do I do??” Hey Tatte Motte BBS try about turn meharak tota rajaporkistan.
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Oh Danny boy / March 25, 2013
NOWADAYS, MAHINDHA MAMA IS LOOKING VERY TIRED AND SLOWING DOWN.
IT IS TIME HE GAVE UP POLITICS AND RETIRED INTO AN ELDERS HOME.
HE MIGHT GET TRIPPED BY HIS WHITE SARONG AND FALL FLAT ON HIS FACE.
HOPE HE IS WEARING AN AMBUDE’ UNDERNEATH THIS SARONG.
WE SHOULD GET THE KATTADIYA’S TO DO A THOVIL FOR HIS WELLBEING.
GET THE DEVIL DANCERS FROM RUHUNU.
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Kumar Senadirajah / March 25, 2013
This so called Sinhala friend is not a sinhalese friend my dear.It is a old same story.Do you think for this one responsible every sinhalese living in this country.30 years war started by whom?Bloody Indian Government trained this LTTE youths.Please read this letter address to Mr.Gotabaya Rajapaksa by former diplomat published in Colombo Page.
Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka
Office of the Secretary of Defence, Colombo.
Sri Lanka
22 March 2013
Dear Gotabaya Rajapaksa
I just read in today’s (March 22, 2013) Colombo Page which said “India disappointed us- Gotabaya. March 22 (DM) Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said yesterday that the strong statement issued by India at the UN Council session raising accountability issues at war came both as a surprise and a big disappointment.”
My question to you is, since when did you believe that India respected the sovereignty of its neighbour, Sri Lanka? I believe that you are too intelligent and too smart not to accept that India is a hostile neighbour of Sri Lanka who has been back-stabbing Sri Lanka for the past 30 years. That India still operates on their Indira-Monroe doctrine mode hoping that they will take Sri Lanka under their wing one day.
Surely your premise that India has been a friendly neighbour for you to be disappointed after the UN vote is fraught with misconceptions. Pity!
*India is our neighbour whose R.N.Kao, India’s legendry spymaster and the National Security Advisor to India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, designed the Sri Lanka Operation to recruit, train and arm and direct Tamil militancy in the form of terrorism, and trained 1000s of barefooted Tamil guerillas in their military camps in the south of India and in the foothills of the Himalayas to destabilize Sri Lanka in the late 1983 and 1984. And we still call India our friendly neighbour!;
*India is our neighbour that violated our sovereign airspace by giving Colombo a bare 35 minute notice and sending four Mirage 2000 fighter jet planes screaming over Northern Sri Lankan skies for their Anatov-32 Transport planes to drop 25 tons of parippu to feed 800,000 Tamil peoples in Jaffna peninsula. And we still call India our friendly neighbour!;
*India is our neighbour, whose Prime Minister Indira Gandhi summoned a high powered meeting in August 1984 to discuss invasion plans of Sri Lanka. Indian troops were moved from Agra to Thivandrum. And in September plans to invade Sri Lanka was shelved. And we still call India our friendly neighbour!;
*India is our neighbour, who in1987 threatened to militarily intervene if the Sri Lankan Government end the Tamil Tiger separatist war when they were cornered by the military, navy and airforce in the Vadamarachchi region, a strategic area for traffic between India and the Jaffna peninsula. And New Delhi informed through private sources and through diplomatic channels that India will not allow Jaffna to be captured by the Sri Lankan forces. Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tigers admitted that the Tamil Tigers would have been wiped out within four hours at Vadamarachchi if not for the timely intervention by India. India’s RAW shipped fresh arm to the beleaguered Tamil Tigers. And the war lasted another 22 years which killed scores of thousands of innocent Sri Lankans. And we still call India our friendly neighbour.
*India is our neighbour, that aligned with the US to pass a resolution breaking the solidarity of Asian nations to undermine Sri Lanka at Geneva. And we still call India our friendly neighbour.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, knowing that you are in the inner circle of President Rajapaksa’s advisory council, my request to you is simple:
If geo-politics necessitates that you repeat the lying mantra, “India is a friend of Sri Lanka”, over and over again, go ahead and do it, but you have a responsibility to the 22 million peoples of Sri Lanka;
They need to be told the truth that Sri Lanka is now living in the shadow of a hostile neighbour, India who has not acknowledge that Sri Lanka is a sovereign nation.
And let Sri Lankans make their choices. Should they go on a pilgrimage to India and get assaulted by the South Indian vindictive thugs and terrorists. Or should they go to India and expose their female partners for being possibly gang raped by these vindictive Indian thugs. If they could do it to a Swiss lady in front of her husband, it is no sweat to do the same to a Sri Lankan. Or should they patronize an Indian business to let them take a foothold in Sri Lanka, etc.
3. Be cautious of big key investments in Sri Lanka by Indian Companies and conglomerates, like the Lanka Indian Oil Corp, Ashok Leyland, TATA’s et cetera, as most trade agreements are tilted towards India and will give a foot hold in Sri Lanka. Every time we sign a trade deal with this hostile neighbour who twice wanted to invade Sri Lanka we are letting them place a noose around Sri Lanka’s neck. And I strongly urge the Sri Lankan government not to grant any trade and diplomatic concessions to India which does not respect nor accept Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.
4. And finally, lets be smart and repeal the 13th Amendment with out delay, which is the blue print for separating our little nation into two. We are being humiliated by India and the US, and lets say that enough is enough.
And I say, Let’s wake up Sri Lanka.
Very sincerely
Asoka Weerasinghe (a dual citizen)
Kings Grove Crescent
Gloucester
Ontario
Canada K1J 6G1
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Kumar Senadirajah / March 25, 2013
please delete address of that article.
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sinhala friend / March 25, 2013
good at least you know about the 30 years of war. it would not be appropriate to talk about the Tamil history before 30 years. if you say ” lets wake up Ceylon” it would reflect some history before 30 years.
It is unfortunate that the history is based on Mahavansa. just do some homework about the history of Eelam. certainly not the mahavansa
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DODU / March 26, 2013
My dear Diplomat and his dear friends:- I think you have forgotten the history of Sinhalese! Sri Lanka belongs do Veddas. Sinhalese are Arians who migrated to Sri Lanka from India. So my dear you are all Indians. Moreover, Sri Lanka and India were one country years ago. In 1970s when JVP was about to take over the government our Mrs. bandaranayake requested the help from Mrs. Indira Gandhi. In the recent past, This may be the first incident that India sent forces to Sri Lanka. Our democracy was saved by India.
When you killed innocent Tamils in 1956 India was silent! When you killed them again in 1983 India was again silent! When you aligned with America during Jayawardane regime India got Alerted. You should know how to live with your neighbors. It is impossible for Budhists to do this, because they are not even able to live peacefully among themselves and with their minorities within the country because of their politicians!
Our politicians are all communal minded accept the Great Ranasinghe Premadasa! They need communalism to survive, to become Presidents, to swindle this country. They created anti Tamil feelings for one election and won it! They are trying to create anti Muslim feelings for the coming election and may be the anti Indian feelings for the next. These blood thirsty, money hungry politicians will never allow innocent Sinhalese to live peacefully.
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Senguttuvan / March 26, 2013
More potent than the possibility of the UK pulling out is yesterday’s
news both Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi have demanded India pull out.
Indian PM is in quite a quandary (the man is in S.Africa for the BRICS
summit now) All this is because of the failure of our diplomacy to function in the level of efficiency we have known before – when diplomacy was handled mostly by career, trained and experienced personnel. Now it has gone to bungling fools and the grinning “apey miniya” types who can hardly speak in proper English – the language of international diplomacy.
It is such a shame within a very short time Sri Lanka, that was respected so much in the diplomatic world until recently, finds itself isolated and sneered at.
Senguttuvan
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Lester / March 28, 2013
What about the torture of prisoners in Saudi Arabia? Oh right, the West will never go after Saudi because of the oil . Even though people have their heads chopped off in public, their arms and legs cut for stealing television, even though women are given lashes for revealing a leg in public, these hypocritical Western buggers are forever focused on the element of least resistance, Sri Lanka!
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