28 March, 2024

Blog

The History, Today And The Future

If you think back to the era before 2005 and how things were then, and compare that to the present era, you will see for yourselves just how much better things are now. Today, there is no more fighting. There is no more violence.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa

I would like to thank Mr. Geoffrey Dobbs, Mr. Herman Guneratne and the others involved in the Serendip Coast Festival for inviting me to speak here today. I am aware that many of the organisers were also responsible for the Galle Literary Festival that was held on an annual basis over the last few years, which brought many world-renowned authors, poets and other illustrious individuals to this historic city. I believe today’s event and the Serendip Coast Festival represents the continuation of their efforts to promote Galle as a hub for similar events. This deserves encouragement and appreciation, because it provides an opportunity for a particularly discerning and influential segment of the international community to visit Sri Lanka and see the situation on the ground. As you will have noticed, the ground realities are rather different from what is often reported about this country internationally. Particularly in context of the fact that Sri Lanka only emerged from a vicious, three decades long terrorist conflict less than four years ago, I believe it is fair to say that the progress we have achieved is remarkable.

Just over a month ago, I had the opportunity to accompany His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his official visit to Jaffna. During this visit, he presided over the inauguration of a new power plant in Chunnakam, the opening of a new building complex for the Jaffna Hospital, and several other official functions. He also took the opportunity to travel throughout the peninsula and make a number of unscheduled stops to talk to the ordinary people in the area. He did all of his travels by road. I particularly remember that on the last day of his visit, he opened the Pier at Nagadeepa at about 6.30 in the evening, then attended a ceremony at a Kovil in Karainagar. This event ended at around 8pm. Afterwards, he travelled by road across the Peninsula to Palaly, which is a journey that takes about an hour. This is the President of Sri Lanka, travelling across the breadth of the Jaffna Peninsula, by night, on road. A few years ago, I don’t think even a military convoy could have travelled from Karainagar to Palaly by road without being confronted by a terrorist attack. Yet today, the Head of State is able to make such a journey. This exemplifies the peace, stability and security that exist in every part of the country after the defeat of terrorism in May 2009.

Unfortunately, some people seem to have forgotten the situation Sri Lanka was in before the dawn of peace. They seem to have forgotten just how horrific the terrorism of the LTTE was. By the time His Excellency the President assumed office in December 2005, Sri Lanka had suffered nearly thirty years of LTTE terror. Its atrocities had become part of our day-to-day lives. People in vulnerable villages near territory captured and held by the LTTE lived in constant fear of attacks. So too did civilians throughout the country, especially in Colombo, which was all too frequently rocked by bomb explosions. Many of our leading politicians and public figures were assassinated, including President Premadasa, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgarmar, Minister of State for Defence Ranjan Wijeratne, former Opposition Leader A. Amirthalingam, and numerous other illustrious leaders from all communities.

Economic targets were attacked ruthlessly, including the Oil Refinery at Kolonnawa, power plants at Kelanitissa & Kerwalapitiya, and the International Air Port at Katunayake. The attack on the Central Bank in 1996 killed close to a hundred people and injured more than a thousand. Even places of worship such as the Sri Maha Bodhiya in Anuradhapura, the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, the Kaththankudy Mosque and Churches were targeted. Other such attacks by the LTTE claimed thousands of lives and deeply affected hundreds of thousands more. No one was safe. All Sri Lankans lived in a state of constant tension, never knowing when a sudden terrorist attack would take their lives or kill their loved ones. A veil of fear hung over day-to-day life. Parents did not travel in the same vehicle together for fear of leaving their children orphaned. Many of our best and brightest left the country to seek better prospects abroad. Foreign and local investment halted. Tourist arrivals slowed to a trickle. Our economy, our people, our way of life suffered incalculable harm due to the LTTE’s acts of terror.

It is important to stress that the LTTE was not a small band of separatists, but a large, sophisticated terrorist organisation with a formidable fighting force and international reach. By 2005, the LTTE had approximately 25,000 battle-hardened cadres in its ranks as well as a large auxiliary force comprising trained civilians which was known as Makkalaipadai. It had access to large stockpiles of modern armaments, ammunition and equipment, including heavy artillery, medium artillery, mortars, machine guns and missiles. Most of these items were equivalent weapons to those possessed by the Sri Lanka Army. Uniquely amongst terrorist organisations the world over, it possessed a very sophisticated naval wing as well as a fledgling air wing. At its height, the LTTE had influence over nearly two thirds of the country’s coastline and controlled most of the landmass in the Northern and Eastern provinces. In fact, the LTTE controlled virtually everything within that region, including the civil administration, through its military power. Although the Government provided funding for all administrative services and public services, it did not have the power to monitor what was taking place. Neither the Armed Forces nor the Police could enter these areas. These areas were ruled by the LTTE at gunpoint.

Liberating the hundreds of thousands of people in the North and East from the LTTE’s dominance was one of the President’s key objectives soon after he was elected. He had been given a very clear mandate by the people to solve the terrorist problem once and for all. One of his very first acts was to invite the LTTE for direct talks with the Government so that the stalled negotiations for peace could be restarted. However, instead of accepting his invitation, the LTTE increased its provocations considerably. It launched brazen attacks against key military targets and killed dozens of innocent civilians. The Government bore these provocations with patience, but it was compelled to take action after the LTTE shut down a crucial sluice gate at Maavilaru in July 2006, cutting off water supply to more than five thousand households and thousands of acres of agricultural land. This threatened a humanitarian disaster, and a limited operation was launched to reopen the sluice gate. Almost immediately, the LTTE launched attacks on the key city of Trincomalee in the East and military targets in the North, making clear that its true intentions at Maavilaru had been to restart a full-fledged war. The Government had no choice but to widen the ongoing military operation into a Humanitarian Operation to liberate all of Sri Lanka from the LTTE’s terrorism.

This was not, by any means, an easy task. During the last three decades, successive Presidents and successive Governments had attempted to solve this issue through negotiations as well as military means. There were even third party interventions from time to time, notably the Indo-Lanka Accord and the arrival of an Indian Peace Keeping Force in 1987, and the Ceasefire and peace process facilitated by Norway in 2002. However, the LTTE never had any genuine interest in peace, and it used ceasefires only to strengthen itself. As a result of its growth and increasing sophistication over the years, it was a formidable military threat when the Humanitarian Operation began in August 2006.

Defeating the LTTE required many success factors to converge. The first and perhaps most important factor was the unshakeable determination of His Excellency the President to fulfil his mandate and free Sri Lanka from terrorism once and for all. There had been many successful military operations in the past that could not be consolidated to a permanent victory because of the lack of sufficient political will. The clear, unambiguous aim of the President and his firm commitment to eradicating terrorism from Sri Lanka was critical throughout the Humanitarian Operation. This combined with committed personal leadership. For the duration of the Humanitarian Operations, over three and a half years, the President chaired the weekly Security Council meetings, where the debrief for the past week and the plans for the coming week were discussed. By constantly keeping in touch with the unfolding situation, the President, as Commander in Chief, was fully aware of the progress being made. Whenever there were setbacks, as there can be in any military operation, he understood that they were only temporary. Instead of being deterred, he instead gave the military the confidence to press ahead towards the ultimate goal.

The President’s decision to expand the Armed Forces was another critical factor in the success of the military. The strength of the LTTE, its military capability and armaments, the sheer extent of land it controlled and the guerilla tactics and diversionary tactics it used against the Armed Forces all meant that a large military was essential in combatting the entirety of the LTTE threat. As a result of the expansion of the Army, we had enough troops to operate on a number of different axes and on a wider frontage, and to hold territory in strength once it had been captured. For the first time, we were able to create more and more battalions, brigades and divisions to progress with, and at the same time to cater for battle casualties whilst maintaining the required strength of all units. By expanding the Navy and the Air Force and by using their personnel beyond their classic role to protect sensitive areas on ground, and by strengthening the Civil Defence Force and increasing the responsibilities of the Police, we were able to protect sensitive areas throughout the country while the war was being waged. This meant that there were no reversals on the field of battle, nor any need to divert the military to protect against LTTE attacks elsewhere. This made an enormous difference to the success of the entire military campaign.

Another essential success factor behind the Humanitarian Operation was the ability of the President and the political leadership to maintain domestic political stability whilst resisting international pressures. It is important to remember that it was a coalition Government in power during the Humanitarian Operation. The President had to somehow keep his coalition partners together and even persuade key opposition figures to support him in order to consolidate the Government’s position and ensure it did not collapse hallway through. At the same time, essential subsidies had to be granted on fertilizer and other items of key importance in order to control food and commodity prices that would affect the populace. Infrastructure development also could not be ignored despite the large war budget. By skillfully managing the economy as well as domestic politics, the Government could sustain its popularity and the country’s economic growth despite the hardships of the war and the international economic downturn. This helped maintain the popularity of the war effort as well as sustain the Government.

An even greater challenge, however, was resisting the various international pressures that were brought to bear on us to stop the war. I would like to remind the audience of the last minute visits of the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom and France, as well as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to pressurize the Government to stop the Humanitarian Operation. As a result of its vast international network, its extremely effective propaganda machine, and the large number of expatriate Tamils in many powerful foreign capitals, the LTTE was able to influence the political leadership of many western states to be critical of the Government’s success on the warfront. This led to numerous practical issues as well, including restrictions on the sale of weapons to Sri Lanka by certain countries. These issues had to be overcome through the skillful building up of our diplomatic relationships with key regional allies as well as countries such as China and Russia.

Without doubt, the most important country that had to be managed was India. Because of the political pressures in Tamil Nadu, the Sri Lankan situation has always been a very sensitive one in that country. In 1987, when the LTTE was on the brink of defeat during the Vadamarachchi Operation, India intervened and effectively forced the Government to stop its military campaign. In order to maintain the relationship with India and to prevent any such problem occurring this time around, the President went out of his way to keep New Delhi briefed on developments at all times. In addition, a special bilateral committee was set up at the highest level, including then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and myself as Defence Secretary from the Sri Lankan side, and former National Security Advisor M. K. Narayan, then Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and then Defence Secretary Vijay Singh on the Indian side. This troika had continuous discussions and ensured that any sensitive issues were dealt with as soon as they arose.

With the confluence of all these strategies and factors, we were able to conclude the Humanitarian Operation by defeating the LTTE on the field of battle in May 2009. The book Gota’s War by Mr. C. A. Chandraprema outlines the history of the conflict and its development over the years, and goes into great detail on how Sri Lanka’s victory over the LTTE was ultimately achieved.

It has to be acknowledged that this victory was not easy and did not come without a price. During the latter stages of the Northern operation, the LTTE withdrew from its entrenched positions and retreated towards its strongholds on the Northeastern coast. As it withdrew, it took three hundred thousand civilians out of their homes to serve as its human shield. During the last stage of the war, the LTTE set up its artillery positions within civilian encampments and fought amidst the civilians, often dressed in civilian attire. This was a very challenging situation for the Armed Forces, which acted with great restraint and suffered considerable losses in their efforts to minimize civilian casualties. The use of heavy weaponry was curtailed and then stopped outright. The minimum amount of necessary force was used at all times to ensure that harm to civilians and civilian property was minimized. However, the LTTE had no compunctions about putting civilians deliberately in harm’s way, and its cadres mercilessly shot at all civilians who tried to escape into Government controlled areas.

Despite all of these challenges, it is important to note that by the end of the Humanitarian Operation, nearly 300,000 civilians were left in the Government’s care. In spite of the absurd claims made by various parties with vested interests, the Armed Forces did their best to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. A comprehensive survey entitled an Enumeration of Vital Events undertaken in 2011 by the Department of Census and Statistics demonstrates this beyond doubt. The Enumeration was conducted between June and August 2011, with field data being collected in July. The enumerators were Government School Teachers attached to the Northern Province, all 2,500 of whom were Tamil. Apart from the gathering of usual census data, the enumerators paid attention to the deaths that had taken place in the North from 2005 to 2009, with a particular emphasis on the deaths that took place in the last stages of the war. The Enumeration Report states that 7,896 deaths occurred due to unnatural causes during this period. It is extremely important to stress that this figure includes all the LTTE leaders and cadres who died in battle, all the civilians killed by the LTTE, and all the civilians who died as a result of crossfire or collateral damage.

It should also be understood that the LTTE had approximately 25,000 cadres at the start of the Humanitarian Operation. By its conclusion, nearly 12,000 had surrendered to the Armed Forces. Technical sources and the number of bodies of LTTE cadres recovered indicates that a large number of cadres died in battle. These numbers exclude civilians who were forced to fight by the LTTE during the last stages of the war. When considering these numbers, it is clear that the majority of the 7,896 deaths that occurred during the last stages of the war were of LTTE cadres. This is particularly important to bear in mind, because it clearly demonstrates the falsity and quite likely malicious nature of the various civilian casualty figures that are alleged by various parties with vested interests. It should further be noted that the figures in the Enumeration of Vital Events tallies with the figures reported by the ICRC as well as UNICEF. Soon after the war, UNICEF started an independent effort to track the missing persons in the North. By July 2011, it received a total of 2,564 tracing applications, of which 1,888 were about adults and 676 were about children. It was also reported by 64% of parents that their children had been recruited by the LTTE. All of these figures—those in the Enumeration of Vital Events, the ICRC estimates and the UNICEF’s tracing applications—prove beyond doubt that the number of non-combatants who perished during the war is in fact very small.

The success of the Government in the post war era is as commendable as its defeat of terrorism during the Humanitarian Operation. As soon as victory was achieved, the Government faced a new set of challenges that it successfully overcame in a relatively short period. These challenges included:

•    accommodating and taking care of nearly 300,000 internally displaced persons
•    undertaking demining and reconstruction of infrastructure and facilities in the places they had been displaced from
•    resettling them at their original locations once they had been cleared of mines; and
•    rehabilitating and reintegrating nearly 12,000 ex-LTTE cadres who surrendered to the military as well as nearly 4,500 cadres who were in detention at that time.

Accommodating and ensuring the welfare of the IDPs was the first challenge. The Government had prepared for this challenge since late 2008, and had started to construct welfare villages to temporarily house the civilians it anticipated receiving at the end of the war. It was planned that the welfare villages would contain high quality infrastructure and facilities. Accordingly, the Government established semi-permanent shelters at Lakshman Kadirgamar Village and Ananda Kumaraswamy Village in Manik Farm, as well as temporary shelters and huts provided by the funding organizations, to accommodate the IDPs. These welfare villages comprise one of the many success stories of the post-war period.

During the initial stages, cooked food packets were provided to the IDPs. Dedicated medical teams were appointed to each welfare village and extensive healthcare facilities and sufficient medical supplies were provided. The vast majority of IDPs soon recovered from the ill health they had suffered while they were with the LTTE. Between May and June 2009, the crude mortality rate fell from 0.7 per 10,000 per day to 0.5 per 10,000 per day, which is the threshold rate for South East Asia. By July 2009, it had settled at 0.15 per 10,000 per day, which is the threshold rate for Sri Lanka. In addition to physical health, great care was also taken to provide psychological and psychosocial support to the IDPs.

After the early stages during which the people were settling down, life resumed a normal routine in the welfare villages. Instead of cooked meals, kitchen facilities were set up in each residential block and basic rations were issued free of charge. Cooperative outlets and markets were established, and banks, post offices and communication centres were also set up. Special public administration services were provided, including facilities to reconstruct legal documents and issue temporary Identity Cards. ‘Happiness Centres’ were established for children, and various activities including art, music, drama, yoga and sports were conducted. Many efforts were taken to promote religious, spiritual and cultural activities. Places of worship such as Kovils, Churches and Mosques were established through community consultation, with special facilities being provided for all clergy. Schools were established for students, and vocational training centres were established for the capacity building and empowerment of older individuals. Community centres and common areas were built for adults, and young adults were provided with career counselling.

While these efforts were taking place, the demining programme was expedited in the former conflict areas. In total, it was suspected that mines had been laid in more than 5,000 square kilometres of land. Demining such a vast area was a very difficult challenge, but the Government unhesitatingly undertook it immediately after the war ended. Many foreign organisations came forward to help but the Sri Lanka Army took responsibility for demining 1,500 square kilometres, including most of the densely mined regions. The entire demining programme was carefully planned and executed. The first priority was to demine the towns and villages. The second priority was to demine the agricultural areas and paddy fields. Finally, attention was paid to clearing the forested areas. During the demining process, nearly half a million antipersonnel mines, 1,400 antitank mines and close to four hundred thousand unexploded ordnance devices were recovered. This demonstrates the scope of the problem we faced, and clearly demonstrates just what an achievement it is that the two main priority areas could be demined successfully within three years.

Alongside the demining process, Reconstruction was expedited in each area that was cleared of mines and rendered safe. As a result of LTTE action and long neglect, many of the houses, business premises, Government offices, schools, hospitals, other facilities and infrastructure were in need of significant repair and improvement. The renovation of houses and construction of new housing units was one of the Government’s first priorities in terms of reconstruction. The Government extended direct assistance for the establishment of houses. The Army has been involved in several programmes in this regard and has renovated more than 6,000 houses and constructed close to 7,000 new permanent or semi-permanent houses. Other countries have also assisted; the most notable being India, which provided a grant for the construction of about 40,000 new houses. In addition to housing stock, infrastructure was built up rapidly under the Northern Spring and Eastern Dawn programmes. Under them, electricity, water supply and sanitation, irrigation, solid waste disposal, transportation and improved agriculture, livestock development, fisheries and facilities for trading activity were developed in these areas.

Alongside reconstruction, resettlement was also expedited. Under the rapid resettlement programme, all the IDPs were resettled within three and a half years. With the exception of a very few, they were resettled in their places of origin, including even areas such as Vellamullavaikkal where the last battles of the war took place. In addition to speedily affecting their resettlement, the Government has taken great care to ensure that the former IDPs have gained improved prospects in life. Vocational training was provided to young adults, and financial and other forms of assistance were provided for people to resume their livelihoods. The Government has provided tools, equipment, seeds and livestock for farming, donated fishing gear and fishing boats to help fishermen return to the sea, and provided concessionary financing and training for those hoping to start up small businesses. Through all these measures, the Government has ensured that the former IDPs have ample opportunity to return to normal life.

A similar approach was adopted to the LTTE cadres who surrendered or were detained during the Humanitarian Operation. All of them were categorized according to their level of involvement in LTTE atrocities, and the vast majority were sent for a comprehensive rehabilitation programme. All the child soldiers were rehabilitated within one year, and the adult ex-combatants were rehabilitated in stages and reintegrated with society. All beneficiaries of rehabilitation underwent extensive programmes designed to equip them with the ability to return to normal life in society. They were provided counseling, spiritual, religious and cultural rehabilitation, and psychosocial support including creative therapy. They were provided catch up education, given vocational training in various sectors, and even assisted in setting up their own businesses through provision of specialized training and concessionary financing. Many of the beneficiaries have also been absorbed into the Civil Defence Force. According to independent studies conducted by American academics, the rehabilitation process has been extremely successful in reducing the support for violence amongst the beneficiaries.

In the long term, the primary challenge and responsibility of the Government is to restore stability to Sri Lanka. In this regard, ensuring that the problems that led to the conflict in the first place do not arise again is critically important. Keeping some degree of security measures in place is essential. At the same time, the Government was very keen to remove whatever restrictions had to be in place during the war so that the people could feel the benefit of peace as fast as possible. All the restrictions on travel, restrictions on transport of certain items, restrictions on fishing and restrictions on ground in terms of high security zones were gradually removed. Elections have been restored and political plurality has returned. The visible presence of the military has been minimised, and the maintenance of law and order has been completely handed over to the Police. New police stations have been built and Tamil speaking policemen have been recruited and trained to serve in the North and East. All of these measures have ensured that life is returning to normal in the former conflict areas. This is one of the greatest benefits of the hard won peace.

The rest of the country, too, has benefitted tremendously from the restoration of peace and stability. Tourist arrivals are on the rise, with more and more internationally recognized travel magazines selecting Sri Lanka as one of the top-rated holiday destinations in the world. In keeping with this trend, more than a million tourists arrivals were recorded in the country during 2012. Sri Lanka has also been chosen to host several significant international events, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting later this year. Last year, it also hosted the 58th annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference and the ICC’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. Many leading international companies have decided to invest in Sri Lanka. In the hospitality and real estate sector, these include the Shangri La Hotel chain, ITC Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Indocean Developers and the Krrish Group. Sri Lankan companies too are investing in these sectors, with several planning to construct many new mixed developments, hotels and office buildings.

For its part, the Government is undertaking a large-scale development drive to improve infrastructure such as roads, railways, electricity, water supply and sanitation, disposal of solid waste etc. Several flagship projects have been undertaken. A few days ago, His Excellency the President declared open Sri Lanka’s second international airport at Mattala. The Hambantota Port is also now operational, and has the capacity to tap the vast potential afforded by the sea lines of communication that pass within a few nautical miles to the south of Sri Lanka. A concerted effort is underway to develop the quality of our urban spaces. Cities are being beautified and public facilities are being upgraded in dozens of locations. There are a number of urban development projects taking place in Colombo as well as smaller cities throughout the rest of the country. The private sector has started to exploit the opportunities that are being created by the Government, and more and more investment in various sectors is flowing into the country. Sri Lanka is on the brink of an economic resurgence that will benefit all our citizens and our residents.

However, despite all of these positive accomplishments and the country’s great potential, we must also realize that Sri Lanka still faces several challenges both domestically as well as from overseas. Despite the military defeat of the LTTE, its propaganda machine remains fully operational in a number of countries around the world. By influencing foreign governments through the large number of expatriate Tamils who comprise an important voting block in many western democracies, the rump of the LTTE is still causing problems for Sri Lanka. There are also many so called champions of human rights in the international media and in international NGOs who continue to attack the country. Some of them have publicly accepted donations from LTTE linked groups; many of them have been misled by LTTE propaganda and others are desperately trying to cling to causes to secure funding. The efforts of the rump of the LTTE and the other parties with vested interests is compounded by the strategic interest that certain states have in Sri Lanka because of its unique geographical position. Even in international forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, we can see that certain powerful countries and their allies are blatantly employing double standards when dealing with Sri Lanka. They have completely ignored our achievements. The LTTE’s terrorism has been eliminated. The senseless killing has stopped. Peace and stability has been achieved.

Even in Sri Lanka, some politicians who used to work under the LTTE still believe in its ideology, and continue to try and create problems among the Tamil population so that they can cling on to power. Instead of looking at the bigger picture and seeing the benefits that flow from a unitary state, their agenda is to divide our people for selfish gain. There are also unscrupulous politicians in the mainstream parties who disregard the national interest and resort to false propaganda to get into power. In addition, there are also civil society stalwarts with a distinct anti-national agenda, who do their best to discredit the Government and portray a bleak picture about Sri Lanka to the world. They are aided and abetted by sections of the media that have vested interests.

This is extremely unfortunate. People should not forget about the last thirty years. We must remember the many sacrifices that were made for peace to be achieved. During the conflict, nearly 30,000 military personnel made the ultimate sacrifice. 20,000 more are permanently disabled. Apart from these war heroes, about 10,000 civilians including political leaders and community leaders lost their lives because of the war. We must be careful not to do anything that will create such a situation in this country again. While we must deal with whatever domestic issues remain, we must not do so in a way that will threaten our present peace and stability.

If you think back to the era before 2005 and how things were then, and compare that to the present era, you will see for yourselves just how much better things are now. Today, there is no more fighting. There is no more violence. Families need not fear bomb blasts; children can go to school freely. Everyone has benefitted from the defeat of terrorism. The achievement of peace after so many years of conflict, the return of freedom to all our citizens, the successful meeting of all the post conflict challenges, the revival of democracy and the ongoing rapid economic development are all remarkable achievements. We must not let those with vested interests mislead us. Sri Lanka is one of the most peaceful and stable countries in the world, and if we stand united as Sri Lankans and as friends of Sri Lanka, we will together unleash the immense potential that this country has. In fact, the best riposte to those who stand in doubt of Sri Lanka is to show them what we as a nation are capable of achieving. If all of us commit ourselves to this task and stand united, I have every confidence that we will take this country forward into a bright new era of unparalleled opportunity and success.

Thank you.

*Keynote Address delivered on March 25th by Gotabaya Rajapaksa Secretary of Defence and Urban Development at the Serendip coast Festival 2013 at the Light house hotel in Galle
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Latest comments

  • 0
    0

    Those who sat out in the Western capitals and Colombo during this time will not know what suffering the poor Sinhela and Tamil people underwent.If the LTTE were still a force they could have deprived the tamil man of every basic human right.. at least now some of it has been restored. You had to see the starving children of the Vanni beg for food. It was no better in the villages close to the LTTE held areas – Thantrimale, Gonagala and other villages were attacked time and again.You have to admit that things are getting better for everybody since 2009. Gnanakoon who has gone into hiding will not agree. He must be hoping to be Minister of Financein an LTTE governemt if his American friends can helpour “shoe shine boy”.

    • 0
      0

      This UNEDUCATED PSYCHOPATH AND THUG, Gotabaya Rajapassa the white van goon, who does not know the first thing about the interpretation of history is rewriting Sri Lanka’s past! He and his bloody uncouth brothers who fancy themselves rulers of Lanka have distorted and destroyed Buddhism in Sri Lanka by militarizing a religion of peace and tolerance while covertly running the Balu Sena hate campaign against other religious communities to DIVIDE, DISTRACT AND RULE the Sinhalaya modayas. This uneducated upstart thug, Gota the goon now likes to make speeches to academics and thinks he is an intellect!
      THis goon does not have a university degree and is talking about history without knowing the basic meaning of the words “era” – a man unable to speak grammatical English, he can only talk of his so called war victories which are actually war crimes for which he will one day be hanged.

      • 0
        0

        The people responsible for this disgrace in the name of promoting God knows what are a caricature of what patrons of the arts should be.
        Herman Gunaratne and Geoffrey Dobbs are self-promoters without equal while Ravi Jayewardene shares with his new patron, Gotabhaya, a capacity for developing paramilitary responses to civil opposition. The fact that they are responsible for promoting a man who is, basically, illiterate in English in the name of English literature is beyond words in the matter of hypocrisy.
        P.S.
        Did Ravi Jayewardene’s presence at this event have anything to do with the fact that his son was appointed an ambassador to Malaysia(?)by Gotabhaya’s brother? But then, this is the way in which “principle” is practiced in Sri Lanka by the rich and famous.

    • 0
      0

      Please remember the governance in Sri Lanka is the mother of its illegitimate baby-the LTTE.

      Even before the LTTE was born, the Tamils paid a heavy price for their political stand in the hands of the government. The effort to suppress their democratic agitations gave birth to the LTTE.

      We have not forgotten the rampages, bombing and strafing of civilian targets as collective punishment by the government forces. In 1983 just because LTTE killed some 18 soldiers in Thirunelveli, the entire Tamil civilian population was collaterally punished by a state backed carnage.

      What we see now is military dictate to control resentments. What the government practising now even against Sinhala population is the tactics of the LTTE.

      • 0
        0

        And now now the targets are the Muslims through their babies the Sinhala Ravaya, Boda Bala Sena, etc.

      • 0
        0

        “Please remember the governance in Sri Lanka is the mother of its illegitimate baby-the LTTE.”

        Wrong! The Americans sired and the Indians mothered.

        “Even before the LTTE was born, the Tamils paid a heavy price for their political stand in the hands of the government. The effort to suppress their democratic agitations gave birth to the LTTE”

        True! but didn’the Tamil politicians raised the bar every time the governments try to meet the demends.

        “We have not forgotten the rampages, bombing and strafing of civilian targets as collective punishment by the government forces. In 1983 just because LTTE killed some 18 soldiers in Thirunelveli, the entire Tamil civilian population was collaterally punished by a state backed carnage”

        Why is it that the present government is held responsible for what the government in 83 did. Also it is ungrateful to forget that many of those who now vilify Sri Lanka from abroad were saved from JRJ’s goons by ordianry sinhala people.

        I my self am one of those saved and I will not forget that till my death.

        As you say,even the Sinhala people are also controled with LTTE tactics,you should be happy for,Sinhala people will not tolerate that as long as the Tamils did.

        • 0
          0

          NAK- you are another anonymous writing from the bunker!

          You are entitled to your opinion. The government of the day if it had the will could have made positive progress politically to resolve the ever growing conflict. It had the will to introduce the standardisation policy to undermine the Tamils.

          It had the will to spend billions of dollars over three decades to carry out state terrorism against its people under the pretext of fighting the so called terrorism of the JVP and the LTTE. It still has the will to carry on with the campaign to marginalise the Tamils. All these are marketable products to the Sinhalese voters.

          When it comes to political resolution, it is anathema to any government. By following the tradition, even this government is dragging its feet. Where is the latest Prof Tisse Vitharane’s proposals to solve the conflict. Did the Tamils bury it? Or did the Americans bury it? Definitely not Norway or Navaneetham Pillai.

          Anti-Tamil hysteria is something that is markettable in the South.

          I know many Sinhalese and Muslims have helped the Tamil during 1983 anti-Tamil riots. Where is the will of these good thnking Sinhalese to pressurise the government to resolve the conflict politically. They too are silent for the past 30 years-the very sentiment you have reflected herein.

          • 0
            0

            Rajasingham Jayadevan:
            You ask “I know many Sinhalese and Muslims have helped the Tamil during 1983 anti-Tamil riots. Where is the will of these good thnking Sinhalese to pressurise the government to resolve the conflict politically. They too are silent for the past 30 years-the very sentiment you have reflected herein.” The answer is a simple one: like the Ravi Jayewardens and Herman Gunaratnes, they have been BOUGHT over by this monumentally corrupt lot while the rest of the population stands by and cheers and doesn’t realise it is their (the people’s money) that is being used for the purpose!
            This is a nation that one commentator has referred to accurately as one of water buffaloes!

    • 0
      0

      This megalomaniac is advertising the Peace, Stability and security prevailing in the Jaffna peninsula, where his brother MR has toured with security convoys and claims as if the Tamils in the peninsula enjoy the same. The whole world saw the peace dished out to the Jaffna University Students when they staged a peaceful protest recently. The skeletal finds in Matale during the JVP uprising in ’88/89 when this same megalomaniac was in Command then and now how the surrenderees of the LTTE numbering over forty thousand were massacred yet again by the very same individual who boasts of Peace, Stability and Security, avoiding International and National calls for a probe, amply displays his method of solving Human and Social problems for some by just elimination. If this is his strategy there is nothing remarkable, as any Butcher would do.

      • 0
        0

        But Gamini, it is NOT only the dishonest Rajapakshes but RW is also equally accountable for the misery that the entire nation is fallen in today. Rulers can do whatever they think is right so long the opposition leader in a democracy is not strong enough. How many more years does your siamesian brother -Ranil (I have studied YOUR comments for the last few years on CT) need to strenghthen the hands of the opposition to be able to stand against the most corrupted regime we the right thinking ones have to uproot for the sake of better srilanka ?

        Internationl analysts say – that the current regime could have achieved more during the last 3 year on reconciliation if they paid wholehearted efforts in healing process.

        Alone the very recent rampages of BBS and how the rulers react – are more than enough IC to make a real picture about the regime.

        BBS and all forms of their thugs attacks civilians and trying to creat new communal problems – this time with muslims, so what have your RW has done against to avoid that ? He is just napping.. If he feels that he does not own the leadership qualities why not he allow any other capable leaders to mobilise against the brutal regime.

        As DJ lately made very clear – that the failure deliberately made in the illegal impeachment process against Dr. SB lately, have completely tarnished the image of lanken judiciary among the IC.

        https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/videosinhala-religion-reconciliation-and-future-dr-dayan-jayatilleka/

        So, in such an environment, would IC ever trust on lanka for their war crimes investigations that have been carried out by the state ?
        I will bet the situation as DJ clearly pointed out in his speech – in two years lankas stand internationally will be not second to today´s simbabwe.

    • 0
      0

      This has nothing to do with the normal suffering from the people that is common to entire developing world. But what Rajapakse gangsters have been doing is not acceptable to any civilsed sinhalese, tamils, muslims or other majorities. They half hearted reactions did not bring much with implementation of LLRC since the first UN resolution is passed. They the leadership did not take that serious. Alone the fact that taking over 10 months or longer to translate the original version (written in English)in to the indegenious langaugages of the majority of the country should be focused – then one would easily understand their attitudes with any kind of implementations. There is no tamil leaders ^s reactions in this regard. IC discuss why the SLGO failed to do so should be made clear by all resposible ministers. They should discuss all these in national TV. They should introduce a culture that is being practised in the negioubring country -India.

    • 0
      0

      Peter Casie Chetty:
      Pray tell us whether or not your (murderous)hero does or does not belong in at least one of the categories you list when you say, “Those who sat out in the Western capitals and Colombo during this time will not know what suffering the poor Sinhela and Tamil people underwent.”
      A simple “yes” or “no” will suffice.

  • 0
    0

    “Today, there is no more fighting. There is no more violence.”

    But just the Meeharktota White Vans and chetty mutti kallathoni.

    • 0
      0

      Gota the psychopathic goon will soon be given a Sri Lanka University Professorship by the University Grants Commission filled with his brothers’ cronies – for his (gota’s) talents at distorting history and twisting facts and falsifying the past to justify the Rajapassa military dictatorship!

      None of the Rajapakse brothers has a basic university degree or concept of what higher education is. They have no understanding of the freedom of thought and expression or the meaning and joy of research and intellectual growth, let alone the interpretation of history.
      These crude and greedy, uneducated and ambitious, money-mad looters of the public wealth, think that tourism and low end services is “development”. They talk about hubs without a clue of what it takes to be an education hub or what human resources and talents are.
      Just go to Hambantota and see the empty port and airport and think of the gigantic national debt! Half those funds spent on white elephant infrastructure to boost Rajapakse’s ego could have attracted qualified human resources into the education system would have made a huge difference.. Sri Lanka today is the DISASTER OF ASIA run by a family military dictatorship – Asia’s Gaddhafis!

    • 0
      0

      Truth seems to hurt binju like rump LTTE.

      What have you being smoking man? What white vans you are dreaming? I haven’t heard of them or seen the images of them even at evening news for a long long time. You are sad because neither haultsdrop spring nor FUTE spring nor anyother spring seems to be working.

      What is adopted at the UNHRC in Geneva in 2012 and 2013 is nothing. Those resolutions are not binding to say the least. There were similr resolutions against Sri Lanka during JRJ times in 1984. He just ignored it. Israel do not even attend UNHRC, now. Israel not just continue to hang-on to settlements in westbank against UNHRC resolutions but build new settlements.

      Resolution against Sri Lanka do not form an agenda to promote war crime investigations or human rights in Sri Lanka. The country is moving forward with absolute peace.
      Leela

      • 0
        0

        “The country is moving forward with absolute peace”- Absolute peace- that’s called goons shitting under the bo tree- BBS leela go back to your amude with gota.. Leela the Sinhala Buddhist baboon troll living at water’s edge it’s your LTTE and BBS all within the government that has caused the upheaval. Modaya give me the name of one Sinhalese who has obtained international recognition? None. However the Jews (Einstein, Freud) are a class above the rest and keep on doing even better in the fields of medicine, engineering etc. India has accommodated a fair share of Jewish refugees from Roman times. You studied using tax payer’s funds poor villager so it does not surprise me that you are part of Meeharaktota. Your tourist are mainly the unemployed and factory workers of UK and SL gets around $3 billion that the foolish Tamils livings around the world spends- SL couldn’t get $1billion from IMF so watch your butt baby if they decide to cut it down. Your main export and tourism is to UK and India watch your butt gas-gemba.

      • 0
        0

        Don`t compare Israel – the country with the largest no. of Nobel
        Prize winners, standing against UN Resolutions, with SL. Yes by
        next March SL may not even attend UN – as they will be “sarong-
        raised” mode! It is the ordinary citizens economics that will be
        eventually affected.

      • 0
        0

        Your ilk are in the stance that Resolution 1 is nothing, but those professional believed already that there will be second resolution taking the first as precedent. See, Leela, so long your ilk together with uneducated – govt with the low wisdom can achieve isolation among the IC.
        For you people pointing out but the truth is foreign intervention OR anything similar to that. It is high time to rethink the way the govt is marching. Even ones supportive to lanken peace efforts do believe that Rajapakshes are nothing but focusing on their family reign. This you can check on New Hour dialogues on indian TV channels

        • 0
          0

          I thought Leela had been abducted by the same White van goons and that was the reason her comments were not seen all these few weeks.

          It seems she is still among them.

          If one would listen to Leela, no Pissankotuwa can help them. She is representing the most foolish people of the country – is said to be living and running business on the area of Horana

      • 0
        0

        Yes Leela, Very soon your Big boss will start feeding people with Polkudu (coconut scrape) and thanakola (grass) curry. All ready office clerical and field staff are eating only one 15 rupee roti and half plain tea for Breakfast and taking 50 rupee Kiribath and lunumiris packet with them for lunch. Tell your big boss to go and watch what people eat for Breakfast and lunch in various colombo bath kades.

        Who is your boss Gota who ran away to USA for 19 years, during hight of war and came back to Sri Lanka after his Brother won 2005 elections to take over Logistics to Armed Forces and made Billions as commissions, now pretending to be in blood line to King Dutugemunu. King Dutugemunu is a honest,brave and a true patriot and not a cardboard sando.

        This Gots’s corrupt Arms deal Commissions were the reason for him to fall out with Gen.Fonseka. You could read everything in Sunday Leader Archives in internet.

        What Gota did was, packed off Gen.SF to China with his whole family including son in law Dhanuna Tillekaratne to China on a special super luxury tour to purchase arms between may 11th to 19th 2009, and used Major Shavendra Silva to clean sweep and wipe out the whole LTTE outfit including surrendered and wounded LTTE soldiers and tamil civilians during the final assault.

        I was watching the whole episode in Govt. and Private TV Channels as to how the final assault and the final winning MBRL’s used at a continuing non stop firing for over 15 minutes to celebrate victory.That’s why Gen.SF talked about white flag incident and got jail sentence.

        That’s why you do not see a single photo or video clips of Gen. SF during the final Battle and the following Victory photos at Nanthikandal victory in the internet.

        Now after using Gen.SF to win the war Gota Jailed him for telling truth by going against him on many things.

        Unless your MARA/Gota reconcile both with Tamil community and the International community, very soon get prepared to eat Polkudu and thanakola, while Rajapakses will be celebrating Moghul Buffet at Araliya house.

      • 0
        0

        Leela question is what have you been snorting.

    • 0
      0

      Gotabaiya’s White Vans, Gotabaiya’s Grease Devils, Gotabaiya’s BBS (Budda Balu Sena), Gotabaiya’s everything, looks like this runaway military man who pumped petrol in USA is today the Mafia Chief of Sri Lanka. Someone said he is a killing machine. I hope Allah will punish this uneducated, uncivilized, Barbarian sooner than later.

    • 0
      0

      Wuliangguobinjiu what he say is true he is talking about his family and the rest of his relatives and his inner circle of his friends they are having happy hedonistic world of there own.

  • 0
    0

    The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

    This is one face of the govt which GR would like to shown to the world.

    The other face is the one that abused Fredrika Jansz and patronises the facist BBS. The continued military occupation of Jaffna. The taking over of private lands. The incarceration of General Fonseka. etc.

    The third hidden face is the one that killed Lasantha and the abduction and killing of many tamils, journalists, opposition figures etc. White flag case etc.

  • 0
    0

    It is very creditable for the CT to have published GR’s speach and I say a “Big Thank You”.

    This history of nearly thirty (30) years of suffrings that we Sri Lankans of all ethnicity underwent are beyond description. The lives lost and made maimed,( I wonder whether anyone would have taken the trouble to chronicle) were innumerable. The way that campaign of “Terror” was carried out was most “BARBARIC'” to tell the least.

    But to our dismay and horror, the world, mostly the so called “Supper Powers” and the “International Bodies” such as UNO, UNHRC etc. including the so called “Human Rights Organizations”, the NGOs have completely by “VOLITION” forgotten the “FRANKENSTEIN ERA” that this little island went through. They have not stopped at that, but are working overtime to push this country to another spell of disaster by way of re-writing a book on “accountability and transparency” relating to the “Last Stages of the War on Terror”.

    “Accountability and Transparency” on what? We faught a war to regain our “Right to Live” and in that effort, what may come was not our concern. The “Love to Live” was the prime motive and if anyone stood against it, had to face the consequences and do not forget that we too lost immnensely. The only mistake was, we did not show ourselves as “COPYCATS” and declared to make a finish with it and say all the losses were “COLLATERAL”.

    TO Mr. GR: Please get those who write books on “winning a war” and offering “poems of praise” (Prasasthi Gee) to stop that waste of time, and direct their energies to “Chronical the atrocities committed by the Terrorists” in details, so that the world and the future generations would know the truth and nothing but the truth. I say this because the “TRUTH” is being hurriedly buried. Please consider this a national service.

    • 0
      0

      but trying to excuse using the war victory whatever the question arising in the post war srilanka is abosolutely not correct.

      Winning war though brought some peace real peace is far from achieving should be made clear to the nation. Instead of trying to make a false picture based on earned victories cant bring us further.

  • 0
    0

    Whether you agree or not, Defence Secretary’s words are clear and precise indicating he has clarity of vision and the courage to carry it through. A simple man who rose to the occasion and got the job done. Despite all the criticisms levelled against him today, one thing cannot be denied: If ordinary innocent people of all communities in Sri Lanka are able to go about their lives peacefully with a sense of security it is due to none other than Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa – a true son of Sri Lanka.

    “The majority of the 7,896 deaths that occurred during the last stages of the war were of LTTE cadres. This is particularly important to bear in mind, because it clearly demonstrates the falsity and quite likely malicious nature of the various civilian casualty figures that are alleged by various parties with vested interests”.

    “Despite the military defeat of the LTTE, its propaganda machine remains fully operational in a number of countries around the world. By influencing foreign governments through the large number of expatriate Tamils who comprise an important voting block in many western democracies, the rump of the LTTE is still causing problems for Sri Lanka. There are also many so called champions of human rights in the international media and in international NGOs who continue to attack the country. Some of them have publicly accepted donations from LTTE linked groups; many of them have been misled by LTTE propaganda and others are desperately trying to cling to causes to secure funding. The efforts of the rump of the LTTE and the other parties with vested interests is compounded by the strategic interest that certain states have in Sri Lanka because of its unique geographical position. Even in international forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, we can see that certain powerful countries and their allies are blatantly employing double standards when dealing with Sri Lanka”.

    “Even in Sri Lanka, some politicians who used to work under the LTTE still believe in its ideology, and continue to try and create problems among the Tamil population so that they can cling on to power. Instead of looking at the bigger picture and seeing the benefits that flow from a unitary state, their agenda is to divide our people for selfish gain. There are also unscrupulous politicians in the mainstream parties who disregard the national interest and resort to false propaganda to get into power. In addition, there are also civil society stalwarts with a distinct anti-national agenda, who do their best to discredit the Government and portray a bleak picture about Sri Lanka to the world. They are aided and abetted by sections of the media that have vested interests”.

    “We must be careful not to do anything that will create such a situation in this country again. While we must deal with whatever domestic issues remain, we must not do so in a way that will threaten our present peace and stability”.

    • 0
      0

      Uneducated, uncultured and uncivilised Butchers who killed it’s own citizen have no place to rule and govern it’s citizen and are not welcome in the civilised world.

    • 0
      0

      He should be an IRON man according to alike folks. Rest of the world should pay more attention in analyzing the magical man^s DNA and the brain to keep the world free from terror.

      War victory was a collective task – but grabbing the credit by force to excuse the nation for any matter is absolutely unthinkable for any one who studied it the entire story of the civil war.

      If PhIs appointed to control over MOSQUITO BORNE DISEASES, would NOT destroy the housing constructions with inhabitants, If did so is a criminal deed to everyone ^s eye but not to MR REGIME. That is how they fulfilled the task. Questions related to the consequences still remain unanswered. Competent journalists should bring many of the information that were discussed in the lately held UNHRC meetings in Geneva, then the blind folks will become aware the depth of the destruction they have exercised in the name of defeating the so call terrorists within the island.

      War was held 30 years, but since 2005 only almost many of the countries turned to name srilankens and killers.

      • 0
        0

        Sorry for the last comment:
        CORRECTIONS:

        PhIs appointed to control over MOSQUITO BORNE DISEASES, would NOT destroy the housing constructions with inhabitants, If did so is a criminal deed to everyone ^s eye but not to MR REGIME.

  • 0
    0

    Yes today we have no war, but the country and it’s resources are been Gang raped by the Lord Buddha, King Dutugemunu Blood line Girawapattuwe Rajapakse Clan stealing everything left and right.

    I herd in a TV Broadcast that this Clown Joker Andarae Jackson Anthony saying that Since Mahindea Rajapakse is the King of the country, he owns it and has full authority to do whatever he want.

    Are these part of Rajapakse installed cronies to spread Family rule to Sri Lanka’s masses to fool them.

    I herd that another Sri Lankan Airline Coming from Male, landed at Mattala to pick up four Rajapakse relatives, and on it’s way to colombo some birds struck it and broke it’s wind screen at Mattala. Also no passengers have got down from the plane at Mattala except these four who boarded it.

    Pilots say if it would have happened to a flight going towards ME or Europe, definitely they would have had to grounded it on another airport.

    Just to pick up Four Rajapakse Relatives from Mattala to Colombo had to burn two million rupees of fuel additional.Already Sri Lankan and Mihin loosing 50 Million Rupees per day.

    This is the way Rajapakses trying to bring prosperity to Sri Lanka, while Politicising everything to stay in power.

    What does this USA Petrol shed attendant Gota Know about LTTE and winning the war, if not for Gen. Sarath Fonseka implemented the war winning strategy.

    This do nothing, know nothing Shit eating pig Commission Kakka Tie Paiya is another Bulshit talker hiding behind BBS as now not even trust his own Military and Armed forces.

    • 0
      0

      Please someone should do a DNA test of Rakapakse’s to Lord Buddha, King Dutugenumu linke as Jackson Anthony says.

      Unless this Rajapakse DNA be carried out with Buddha Relics at Dalada Maligawa, Rajapakses plan to re-write our history with Girawapattuwa
      Rajapakse Buddha, Dutugemunu blood relationship.

      We cannot allow Clown Jokers to re-write our history.

      • 0
        0

        Why DNA he is a kallathoni from Bihar. Ask any babua there and they laugh about vijaya and gautama.

        • 0
          0

          How about the Dhantha Dathuwa “Sacred tooth” at Dalada Maligawa.

          We could have a DNA to march Rajapakses to find their ancestory to Lord Buddha, and King Dutugemunu…….or to other Kallathonies of king Vijaya like us.

      • 0
        0

        Jackson anthony^s speech was comparable to women hired to cry in some funerals. He was articulating as if he is confident of what was being explained about the bunch. I really dont know how the mind sets of alike people function. His speech was almost like – tasks fo the hired british company to draft MR^s UNO meeting letter in the recent past. Difference is personalities like Jackson anathony would get rotten within Srilanka only.

    • 0
      0

      Gas prices in the EU have gone up by 300% during the last several years. When your electricity prices shoot sky high where will you export competitively? If the Tamil remittances of $3billion are temporarily stopped during that period it will be dog bite dog.

  • 0
    0

    Reading the lengthy speech,Gota should not fear an independent international investigation. Gota ask the IC to commence the inquiry, you will come out with flying colours

  • 0
    0

    No, we have not forgotten the travails of war. W e have not forgotten the LTTE nor the present and past governments’ atrocities either. But now to add to the mix, we have the Bodu Bala Sena spreading hate and violence. Instead of this extended celebration of winning the war, why don’t we make sure that no extremist fraction – Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, is ever given the chance of spreading hate again? Why don’t we make sure that ALL Sri Lanka’s citizens feel safe and secure, and at peace?

    • 0
      0

      BBS is Rajapakse Proxy cover-up army to save it from either Peoples uprising or to seek cover from International communities war crimes tribunal.

      Whichever way it is the ordinary citizen that going to suffer and suffer miserably.

  • 0
    0

    Can any of the Opposition parties in Lanka offer any qualitative and quantitative proposals to to better these achiements under the current Regime?.

    No wonder the TNA is towing the Diaspora, Navi Pillay line and the main Opposition Leader is travelling to Vanni villages to canvass votes for these one time proxies of the Prabakaran’s LTTE.

  • 0
    0

    Since 1983 leaders of SL tired to solve the problem through discussion and these discussions continued even after 2005, the year in which MR was elected as the Executive President of SL. One should not forget the speech delivered by MR after he was sworn in as the Executive President. He stated that he was prepared to discuss with LTTE but warned that he should not pushed to wall. While the discussions were in progress the LTTE was negotiating elsewhere. It was not to find solutions but to procure arms.

    MR found himself pushed to a wall and there was no other option but to declare war. Parties close to the regime of CBK say that arms ordered during her time started arriving when MR was in power. He had direct support from Pakistan and tacit support of India, the two SAARC powers with enormous resources in their armouries. Who declared war against the democratically elected government of SL? The LTTE. Who internationalized the internal problem? The LTTE. Who took SL to Geneva? The LTTE.

    By the time MR declared war against terrorism, he had GR, his brother, who has completed his MBA, as the Defence Secretary and Gen. SF as the Army Commander. To fight terrorism a country need hard line strategic planners and hard line military leaders. Not foul mouthed politicians and short sighted “nationalists”. Both GR and Gen. SF were able to take up the challenge and to defeat the LTTE but not terrorism.

    To defeat the new form of terrorism within and without SL needs intellectuals in international relations. GL is misfit in this regard. His good command in English and the theoretical knowledge in Law are not adequate. He must learn how to smile and laugh. he still does not know to buy himself the home needs in the open market. That alone shows his negotiating skills. His globe trotting has not been successful.

    While all these things were happening both GR and BR have been implementing development projects. Those who brand them as partners of Rajapaksha and Company may not like it. Some projects may not be sustainable. It had been so the world over in the past. We visit those places as tourists and are fascinated. It will be so in the future.

    We all are aware of this state of the country. The need of the time is not reports and talks critical of the state of the country but plans, and strategies to solve the national problems. National problems can only be solved through national solutions. Not with international solutions. The 13th and 17th Amendments to the Constitution are very good comparable examples. Let us all get together to find solutions to burning national issues with open and well informed minds.

    • 0
      0

      Professional liar-You and your Gota are the real wolves. It’s the southern Sinhala Buddhist kallathoni fascist that spawned the LTTE and they are well within the Gota regime like the balu BBS- big ball society. Bush era is over and the American’s will not have it neither will the presently sulking Shrub.GL was a know fascist during camps days way back in the 70’s and there is nothing he can do because the west has the sky pictures of the civilian killings which they have not released- loose an election and Gota may not find refuge even in NK.

  • 0
    0

    Yes indeed. Anything was fair in war:genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now again in peace anything is fair: army of occupation, abductions disappearances,grease devils, rape ,religious intolerance, the absolute lack of rule of law, the denial of residential lands,incarcerations of Tamil youth without trial and torture etc. You have missed to say how your humanitarian war to liberate the Tamils came about: Could we venture to refer to the discrimination, State sponsored Pogroms of 1956,1958,1977,1979,1981,1983,cultural genocide by the burning of the Jaffna library the store house of the original works of Tamil learning, standardisation of university entrance to disadvantage Tamil students etc. Tamil militancy did not spring from no where but from State terrorism which is is still in vogue on a daily basis with all Tamils being classified as the LTTE rump.

    Bensen

  • 0
    0

    All well said.

    But there is no true process of reconciliation. Yet obstacles have been placed in a systematic way. Marginalisation of the Tamils is a process systematically practiced even after the war.

    There are about or over 1 million expatriate Tamils. They too are victims of the war. The prolonged war made them abode overseas and most of them due to circumstances obtained overseas passports.

    I feel the immigration controls the government brought in with the heavy involvement of the Defence Ministry post war is a anti-Tamil process.

    1. Visa system introduced – To cream the visiting Tamils who hold overseas passports.

    2. Strict controls on dual nationality applications was specifically targeted against the Tamils. The controls of interview by the Defence Ministry is an intimidating tactic prevent Tamils applying.

    3. Suspension of Sri Lankan passport to asylum claimant is another systematic targeted control.

    Further, the suspension of foreigners purchasing properties in Sri Lanka is cunningly aimed at the overseas Tamils.

    Rajasingham Jayadevan

    • 0
      0

      Tamils usually showed off their newly purchased vehicle by driving down to Jaffna- this show off business did count for jealousy among the other ethnic groups and the majority.
      Once again these refugee Tamils after having obtained status saying they fear for their lives are travelling in drones to SL. The SL government cannot do without the $3billion foreign exchange these Tamils bring in. What ironies when we see protest by Tamils in the west do not buy SL made garments and still large megastores like M&S, J. Lewis etc. importing more. Do these Tamils living in the west buy SL groceries? Yes. That’s the Tamil problem which only they have created by following the VP line by the gun for gun with the gun like Gota.

      • 0
        0

        This chaps comments speaks like his bongos Wuliangguobinjiu name.

        Jaffna was famous for A40’s and Summersets and historically only few new cars were owned. Bicycle was Jaffna man’s vehicle. To say that Tamils are enjoying luxury driving is the hate mindset that goes further to make demeaning comments against the collective expatriate Tamil community.

        Such mindsets since independence are the major impediment for peaceful co-existence of communities. If handful of expat Tamils could cause so much harm as stated by the bongos, how will Sri Lanka face the expat Tamils collective efforts if situation become worse.

    • 0
      0

      R. Jayadevan

      We know how you were a key figure in the the terrorist LTTE and your role in violating the human rights of the diaspora Tamils. You quit the LTTE only when Prabakaran gave you the same medicine you were giving diaspora Tamils in London. Though you complain the democratic rights of Tamils are not yet fully restored after the war, I’m sure you appreciated they were far better when you visited Sri Lanka at the end of 2011 compared with your infamous visit of 2005 during the de facto fascist regime of Prabakaran.

      For the benefit of your memory and the knowledge of the readers of these pages about your past incarnation I have attached HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT – MARCH 2006 VOL 18 NO.1(C) titled FUNDING THE “FINAL WAR” – LTTE INTIMIDATION AND EXTORTION IN THE TAMIL DIASPORA

      PART IV: LTTE CONTROL OF HINDU TEMPLES IN THE WEST

      Temples are money-making places. If they take control, they have control of the money, they can control the surplus, they can control the people coming there.
      —trustee of a Hindu temple, London, October 2005

      The majority of Tamils are Hindu. For many members of the Tamil diaspora, Hindu temples provide not only a place of worship, but also a focal point for social and community activities and an avenue for charitable giving. The Toronto area has approximately forty Hindu temples attended by Sri Lankan Tamils; London has twenty-two. Because the temples provide both ready access to the Tamil community and to a potential source of funds, the LTTE has sought control over temple events, management, and revenue.

      The LTTE’s influence is apparent in many Hindu temples in the West. Temples may display photographs of Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader, and sell LTTE flags, CDs of Prabakaran’s speeches, or videos and DVDs promoting the LTTE. The temples may also collect money for the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization52 or other LTTE front groups. At one temple in London, all attendees reportedly are told to make out “standing orders” (monthly pledges) for the LTTE, which are then collected by the British Tamil Association.53

      A trustee for a Hindu temple in the Toronto area told Human Rights Watch that in late 2005, LTTE representatives approached his temple several times, asking for Cdn$1 million as part of the recent LTTE fundraising drive. The trustee said when the men first approached him, they identified themselves as representatives from the intelligence group of Pottu Amman (the intelligence chief for the LTTE) and said that “We are going to declare Tamil Eelam [i.e. independence—see below], so we need the funds immediately.”54

      Several sources also described systematic efforts by the LTTE to take over the management structures of local temples. The temple trustee described the “capture” of another temple in Toronto: “They got LTTE supporters in as members. Then when they had a majority, they could elect the trustees.”55

      In one case in Australia, the Tamil Tigers reportedly tried to take control of a Hindu temple in Perth and use it for fundraising purposes. The Tigers’ efforts led to a government investigation, and the case was cited by the government as an argument for tighter controls on the LTTE. The Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs subsequently acted to freeze the assets of the LTTE and other entities associated with terrorism in late 2001.56 The following year, Subramaniam Muthulingam, a member of the temple’s management committee, was stabbed to death by two unknown Tamil youths while visiting his family in Colombo. Political killings in Sri Lanka are rarely investigated, and the perpetrators in this case were never identified or charged. However, according reports by human rights groups, Tamils who knew Muthulingam believed that the murder was linked to Muthulingam’s vocal criticism of the LTTE and his efforts to resist the Tiger’s takeover of the temple in Australia.57

      In another well-publicized case, Rajasingham Jayadevan and Arumugam Kandiah Vivekananthan, director and secretary, respectively, of a private Hindu temple in London, were detained for several weeks by the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka in early 2005 until they agreed to hand over control of the temple to a group aligned with the LTTE.58

      Jayadevan had lived in the U.K. for over twenty-five years, and before his detention was a strong supporter of the LTTE. In 1999 he helped Anton Balasingam, the LTTE’s primary political representative and negotiator outside of Sri Lanka, gain permission to leave Sri Lanka and get medical care in Norway. In 1999 and 2000, his temple raised funds for LTTE humanitarian projects and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization. When the U.K. government designated the LTTE as a terrorist group in late 2001, Jayadevan independently initiated an application to the UK High Court for a judicial review of the Terrorism Act, arguing that the proscription scheme violated the right to freedom of expression and freedom of association under the European Convention on Human Rights. However, his effort was not sanctioned by the LTTE and resulted in criticism from Balasingam and the pro-LTTE media.

      Jayadevan also angered the LTTE when he resisted LTTE efforts to take control of his temple, Eelapatheeswarar Aalayam. At the end of 2004, he traveled to northern Sri Lanka for a pre-arranged meeting with LTTE leaders to discuss the difficulties he was encountering with the LTTE in London. After he arrived he and his colleague Vivekananthan were initially housed at LTTE guesthouses in Kilinochchi, but after several days they transferred to an LTTE compound. Jayadevan said, “We were lured into a trap and detained in a cunning way. We were kept in a derelict building with two rooms. It was dirty, with filthy linen, and cobwebs. We found a dead rat in the water tank.”59

      They were guarded by four LTTE soldiers, and on several occasions were questioned at length about their activities in London by representatives of the LTTE finance and intelligence units. They were allowed no contact with their family, and given only very basic medical care.

      After six weeks, Jayadevan and Vivekananthan were finally told that Vivekananthan would be released, but only after both men signed papers authorizing the transfer of the London temple to an organization specified by the LTTE. Once the papers were signed, they were told, Vivekananthan would be released to return to London to execute the transfer, and once the transfer was complete, Jayadevan would also be released.

      Jeyadevan said, “We wrote the letter in Tamil to LTTE leader Prabakaran. We felt we had no choice. Our concern was our release.” At this point, Jeyadevan had been on a limited hunger strike, eating only one meal a day for fifteen days. After Vivekananthan’s release on February 20, Jeyadevan went on a full hunger strike for an additional fifteen days. He was taken to a medical center, where doctors told the LTTE that he should be taken to a hospital in Colombo. He said that, instead, he was returned to detention.

      On March 2, after returning to London, Vivekananthan signed a formal agreement to transfer control of the temple to Sivayogam, the organization designated by the LTTE.60 When he called the LTTE to confirm that the transfer was complete, however, the LTTE responded that they were conducting further investigations of Jayadevan’s activity and would not release him.

      Vivekananthan and Jayadevan’s family then went public, reporting the detention to the London police, the British High Commission in Colombo, members of the U.K. parliament, and the media. Following mounting media and political pressure, Jayadevan was finally released on March 12, 2005.

      Joined by four of the temple’s original trustees, the temple’s landlord challenged the transfer of the temple in U.K. court. The action prompted several threats against Vivekananthan and temple trustees. On March 24, a man came to Vivekananthan’s shop in London and told him, “If you take the temple back, we will shoot you both.” Later, Vivekananthan said he was told, “If you go to the court as a witness with the landlord, when you go to the hearing, you have to support Seevaratnam [Nagendram Seevaratnam, the chairman of Sivayogam]. If you don’t support him, we have instructions from the LTTE to bump you off.” One of the other trustees was told, “You let the LTTE down badly. The LTTE is not happy. They will deal with you.”61

      At a hearing on April 7, 2005, the high court ruled that the transfer of the temple was not valid, and returned control of the temple to its original trustees. Sivayogam was ordered to pay £35,000 in legal fees. Since the return of the temple, Jayadevan and the other trustees report that they have received several further threats. In one incident in December, a man vandalized the temple. Jayadevan said, “He went berserk by tearing down the notice board and damaging the door with a traffic cone. He was saying that he was a Black Tiger and will teach us a lesson.”62 In mid-January 2006, handwritten posters in Tamil were posted throughout the neighborhood near the temple, stating that “Jayadevan is a traitor to the cause and will be taught a lesson.”63

      Some temples have taken proactive steps to avoid LTTE control. For example, one public temple in the Toronto area froze its membership and adopted a policy that individuals could only become members after volunteering for a period of three years.64

      • 0
        0

        OutRider- A gutless anonymous writer!

        All what I said was true and all what experienced and experiencing too are true. It is not something for you to ridicule with your adulterated comments.

        In the first place, let me correct your comment that I quit the LTTE. In the first place, I should have been a LTTE member to quit the organisation. Yes. I had interactions with the LTTE reps in the diaspora. My independent engagement ultimately resulted in the Anton Balasingam coming to London and coming to being the 2001 peace accord.

        I have engaged with scores of others, including Mahinda and Gota too. There are elements who castigate me for meeting Mahinda and Gota. But if I have to meet them again, I will do so with the intention to bring about the much wanted peace in the island nation. I shall not fear to meet them just because the conditioned mindsets will accuse and criticise me. In the same token, despite the pressures from the few conditioned mindsets in the Tamil diaspora, I will not be dithered to criticise the Tamil failures in a public way.

        Currently, I am critical of the government for failing to address the core issues that are drowning the country. I am also critical of LTTE sympathisers for not owning the problems created by the LTTE.

        This is my democratic right.

        Rajasingham Jayadevan

        • 0
          0

          R. Jayadevan

          My understanding is that you are begging to see Mahinda and Gota but they don’t want to see you anymore because of your deceptive ways.

          People like me have to remain gutless until the LTTE rump is also liquidated.

          • 0
            0

            Dear speculative and gossip propping OutRider

            Keep your understanding and interpretations to yourself. It is quite clear you too are behaving like a rump having no other preoccupation other than to snip at others with your hate mongering prop ups.

            Rajasingham Jayadevan

  • 0
    0

    IF THIS GOTABAYAGULLA WAS THIS CLEVER WHY DID HE RUN AWAY AND HIDE IN
    U S A FOR OVER 15 YEARS.

    HE VANISHED AFTER MURDERING THE YOUNG J V P BOYS AND GIRLS IN MATALE.

    THE SKELETONS OF THESE YOUNGSTERS AND NOW UNEARTHED IN MATALE.

    NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE MAN WHO WAS IN THE BATTLE FRONT, GENERAL SARATH FONSEKA. HE WAS INCARCERATED IN WELIKADA PRISON.

    NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE WAY THE MEMBERS OF THE SO CALLED PARLIAMENT AND THEIR OFF SPRINGS ARE BEHAVING IN PUBLIC.

    NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE MURDERS AND THE DISAPPEARANCES OF THE MEDIA REPORTERS.

    NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE ATROCITIES DONE TO THE INNOCENT TAMIL, SINHALESE AND MUSLIM CITIZENS.

    IF THIS GUY WAS SO CLEVER HE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO GENEVA AND EXPLAINED WHAT HE IS TELLING US.

    MOST POSSIBLY THEY WOULD HAVE HUNG HIM FOR ALL THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED TO THE CITIZENS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND DESTROYED BY THESE GOONS.

    “AROHARA GOVINDHA”, “PRAISE THE LORD”, “INSHA ALLAH”, “BUDHU SARANAI”, “HAIL MARY”, AND LONG LIVE THE SARONG JOHNNY’S OF THE SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENT.

  • 0
    0

    Gota, wonderfi=ul devolpment, but you failed to mention these were doen to only Singalese and not for Tamils. Your words are totllay false and there were only 454 houses built. Dont you have functioning ear when Sumanthiran spoke in parliament. You outline as vested interest those who seek justice. Can you publish the details in CT or in parliament to evryone benefit what exact devolpments were made in last four years.

  • 0
    0

    [“No BBC, No IPL, No IMF, No GSP+, No WB, No Chinese loans, No Indian support, No ships to Hambanthota, No planes to Mattala…….Aiyoo Sri Rajapakshestan…… “]

    Now what are we going to do?
    Where to go now?
    Where to beg now?

  • 0
    0

    The whole world wonders how these bunch of devils still making such statements.
    Now there is peace after exterminating the Race,Tamilians. Where is the accountability?. what is the figure? how many were surrendered? how many were missing? why still not allowing independent observers in the country ? What you have done is genocide and you will be punished for the same in near future.
    in Dhaka conference it was promised 6% of GDP will be used for education. are you doing that? your citizens will revolt against you one day !

  • 0
    0

    If as Gota says that HE the President can go to Jaffna and right across by car, why postpone ProvincialCouncil Elections to September? Is it to show cosmetic development at Basil’s insistence to win them somehow?

  • 0
    0

    Mr.Gota ,stop this nonsence we all know this story. BBS,is your baby,teach them some manners to respect the other communities, we are multi religious communities.we must live in peace you brought us, hallas voted for our countries, otheerwise THOPPI.

  • 0
    0

    The speech writer has no clue of the speakers track record nor his vile deeds. Another Sinhellist paving the way to a conflict with the Muslims, Christians and re-energizing the Tamil cause for human dignity.

    Violence is a result of not observing the rights of ones Honour and Property. If one were to take this by force or through legislation; Peace and Prosperity will be a distant dream. Being a Strong believer in accountability through out life; and having witnessed oppression and the oppressor’s disgraceful downfall through out the world; it’s a matter of time evil doers will meet their fate.

    Have they not travelled in the land and seen the nature of the consequence for those who were before them, and they were mightier than these in power? Allah is not such that aught in the heavens or in the earth escapeth Him. Lo! He is the Wise, the Mighty. (The Noble Quran 35:44) If Allah took mankind to task by that which they deserve, He would not leave a living creature on the surface of the earth; but He reprieveth them unto an appointed term, and when their term cometh – then verily (they will know that) Allah is ever Seer of His slaves. (The Noble Quran 35:45)

  • 0
    0

    Mr.Gotabhaya Rajapakse,

    The history pertaining to the period you are referring to is correct. However, there was also a history that preceded that period that had an impact on the period that you refer and has relevance to the present and future.

    You are also correct with aspects of the present you refer. However, there are other aspects of the present that are unsavoury. The GOSL has tried to impose Tamils of their choice as leaders on the Tamil people. This is much resented. The decision to ban singing the national anthem in Tamil was stupid. The reason for this was never explained, although Mr. Weerawanse proved himself to be ignarant in trying to justify it. Further decisions to acquire the private property grabbed by the LTTE from their righful owners, was immoral. Most importantly the importace given to former bigwigs of the LTTE has been jarring to all Tamils. They should not have been given the public profile they have now, whatever the gratitude the government owes to them. While the small fry have been subject to incarceration and rehabilitation, the sight of these bigwigs who were the pillars of the LTTE, parading in all their new found glory is insulting to the Tamils.

    The GOSL has also not done what it promised to do several times over with respect of political solutions. Yes, the government managed India and the world, very well during the war. However, this was possible only because the government promised them poltical solutions to the so-called Tamil problem, will be forthcoming immediately after the war. This has not happened. This was duplicity of the highest order.

    Security concerns are justified given the history, but reconciliation must be the over riding concern. It appears that reconciliation has become the least concern of this government.

    Further, the future does not hold much promise on this front either. Your association with the BBS is spawing much suspicion among all minorities, including the Tamils.

    Tamils have to be trusted before they can trust the government. This trust has not been established yet. This does not mean that the development and rehabilitation efforts of the government are not appreciated, but means that the government has not reached out to win the hearts and minds of the Tamils. This requires gestures that assure them that a new chapter has opened in communal relations in this country, and includes measures that affirm their rights as citizens and a community.

    Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

    • 0
      0

      Thank you Gotabaya Rajapakse for your News letter and CT for publishing it.

      I think Gotabaya Rajapakse forming BBS was for three reasons.

      1)To re-direct and re-focus peoples and International community’s attention away from Rajapakses and towards a Racial and religious cult that Rajapakses think will give them a short and long term breathing space.

      2)To save Rajapakses from any majority or minority Peoples uprising or any possibility of an armed coup.

      3) To seek cover from International communities war crimes tribunal.

      Therefore BBS is Rajapakse Proxy cover-up army to save them from both local and foreign uprising.

      Whichever way, it is the ordinary citizen that going to suffer and suffer miserably.

      • 0
        0

        But Rajapakses using this Radical BBS as Rajapakse proxy could backfire on them similar to SWRD Bandaranaike.

        Every Business including Drug or Kasippu business deals have it’s good and bad.

        As long as the deals going good, everybody is happy, but the drama starts only when one try to play pandu with other.

        Let’s see how long this marriage going to last.

  • 0
    0

    Defence Sec , You must Honorably resign your Position as a Defense Sec you miserably failed by letting the soldiers carry cell phone in the battle field. Do you think your counterpart Hon.Vellupillai Pirabaharan would have allowed his soldiers to carry a cell phones , no way. Don’t forget VP dedicated 40 years of his life and have many battle field hands on experience than you, What made you think that defeat VP’s strategy? If you work for Private sector you would have been fired long time age and can even get a job in Gas Bar, You are hanging in there for your last name …Not for Long. To begin with MR hired you for only qualification for the same last name. Do you realize you have fell in the trap of VP, Do you realize the White Flag arrangement is part of VP big plane, MR. Defence Sec, You think VP’s effect is over, not at all, there will be more top come (non arm tricks). Bests of VP (non arm tricks ) are yet to come. Still thundering about “I wont allow War crime inquiry”? …Keep going with your rage. Western world loves you for it, A non-Tamil was watching one of our Raging interview and ask me< I have never heard any person in Charge of countries Defence would talk with this rage, Not a Word of Lie , around Feb 2009 he watched one your Interview and he Predicted that you will make a big blunder since your are dealing from Emotions, look what happened your "Power Drunkenness" and your lack of composure have landed you in this position, you not only put your self in trouble but for others too. You make won your battles but we VP is winning the War. I like to see your writing by May 2016. Time will tell…Mean while good bye for now.

    • 0
      0

      Waran Vaithilingam

      Do you realize you have fallen in the trap of VP, Do you realize the White Flag arrangement was part of VP big plan, MR. Defence Sec, Do you realize VP’s death was also part of the plan? Do you realize the other part of the plan is for VP to come back from death and give a TV interview with composure and without emotions (why because he is coming back as a corpse?) just like he did in Killinochchi in 2002?

      Waran, VP didn’t allow his soldiers to carry cellphones because he was paranoid. He knew if he allowed cellphones, all his soldiers would have escaped to freedom from his terror. Why did VP allow himself all the luxuries like a big mansion, swimming pool, AC, big screen TV, fridge, liquor when his stupid soldiers were not even allowed to take their cell phones? And that is why VP and his soldiers won the war but acted like they all died in Mullivaikkal as part of their plan? Get real man.

  • 0
    0

    One of the comments made by Gotha was “As you will have noticed, the ground realities are rather different from what is often reported about this country internationally”. I would like to ask what issues mentioned about the country internationally is not the ground reality? Is the IDP settlement issues not reality, is the non-implementation of 13th amendment which is in the constitution not reality, is the killing of civilians by both parties during the war not reality, is the only surviving LTTE senior members are now part of the ruling party not reality, is the impeachment of the Chief Justice subsequent to the ruling of the courts not reality, is the attacking of the media people not reality, is the Buddhists monks supported by Gotha attacking the Christians, Hindus and now the Muslims not reality, is the attack on the lawyers not reality, is the ruling party politicians killing their opponents not reality, and above all is the non implementation of the LLRC report not reality. I can keep on going. What is the point. It would be like my grand mother use to say “rain on a buffalo makes no impact on the buffalo”.

  • 0
    0

    It is divine justice when writing the present History in a book commissioned by Gota himself unintentionly criminal activities get
    connected, as seen below:-

    see Ceylon Telegraph on 2-3-13 The Mass Burials in S.Lanka & SLA
    and The present Defence Secretary
    ——————————————————————————–
    “Last year, C A Chandraprema, the political writer, wrote ‘Gota’s War’ eulogising Gotabaya Rajapakse’s contribution to the crushing of the northern insurgency, indirectly rubbishing claims that Sarath Fonseka, as Army Commander, was the principal architect of the military victory. But that book was written and published before the discovery of the mass graves at Matale. In that book, in the twenty-eighth chapter titled ‘The Second JVP Insurrection’, the author makes an unintended revelation. He writes on Page 173: “On 1 May 1989, with Colonel Wimalaratne being promoted to the rank of Brigadier, Gota was made the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the Gajaba Regiment…With this promotion, he was posted to Matale as the district coordinating officer tasked with bringing the JVP under control. The first Gajaba Battalion, which had been in Trincomalee for nearly one and a half years, was brought down to Matale. Lieutenants Shavendra Silva, Jagath Dias and Sumedha Perera were among his company commanders in Matale…(p 177) Gota remained the security coordinating officer of Matale until the end of the second JVP insurrection. In January 1990, he applied for three months leave and went to the USA to see his family.” In view of these facts, it becomes all the more necessary for an independent probe to be conducted so that Rajapakse and/or anybody else are cleared of any war crimes in 1989. It may be ironic that the persons being accused of war crimes now are the same persons who were then in charge of Matale. An independent probe may reveal they are innocent, But a probe by a body unconnected with these persons is necessary to show this..”

    • 0
      0

      Why is the JVP quiet on this matter, where the JVP is vociferous in bashing Ranil on Batalanda even after he was exonerated after an Inquiry. Similarly let Gota also face an Independent Inquiry. Ranil after clearing himself of another inquiry where Mangala accused him of having misused Indian credit went to Court and was exonerated once again. Ranil asked MR to do the same with reference to the Hambanthota scam. But MR shivered in his boots and that Scum of a CJ Sarath N Silva let him go scot free not on Law but on his own conviction and further preventing the Police from probing the matter.

  • 0
    0

    I am encouraged to read the writer of the article values the contribution literature makes to a society. I also viewed a video sometime back where the writer is determined to beautify Colombo, much like the Singapore model. Indeed when I visited Colombo last year for a very brief period, I found the streets cleaner, and even the beach being cleaned. When I lived in Colombo, quite apart from the fear of bombs, and mayhem, cleanliness on the streets, on the beach was not something I experienced. Consequently I do appreciate all efforts in this regard to make the land of my birth a place to be proud of and enjoyable for all.

    I would like to make a suggestion with regard to racial harmony too,as per the Singapore model. Singapore too experienced racial tensions amongst the Chinese and Malay people although not on the scale of Sri Lanka. Consequently they invest much effort and action towards racial harmony. It starts from Primary 1 in school. There is a day set apart for “racial harmony”, students come dressed up in each other’s national costumes e.g. The Chinese community may dress in Indian or Malay dress etc. Food of the different communities is sampled and different cultural customs where all take part in. Everyone has a good time. Moreover,school classes are taken on tour throughout the year to a buddhist temple, mosque, hindu temple, church and taught the basic beliefs of these religions. The community centres too have similar activities for adults. The leadership in Singapore, grabs every opportunity and makes every effort to ensure that there is an understanding of “the other” from a tender age. Although racial tensions are not at zero level in Singapore, and it is work in progress, I strongly feel this too is a good model to follow, to beautify hearts and minds in addition to the environment.

    I am confidant the writer of the article is open to suggestions and is eventually able to initiate and ensure this change as well.

  • 0
    0

    Chandraprema’s history writing will soon be discussed at Human Rights forums and will be termed in Sri Lanka as another Western conspiracy. Though “dead men can tell no tales”, dead men can leave behind tell-tale marks as evidence, which cannot be refuted, in the eyes of the international community, even by a genius of the calibre of Mhoan Peiris.

  • 0
    0

    We finally have a government that put nation above everything else, and brought an end to a war that had diverted this country’s focus as well as the hopes and promise of development that had come with independence from Colonial rule.
    This regime managed to get rid of terrorism and the horrors the LTTE inflicted on people of all ethnic groups by ending the oft-proclaimed “unwinnable war”.
    The country is in an era of peace with the signs of prosperity already here…one has only to look around Colombo and the other cities, the roads, the beaches, the lakes and rivers and the people themselves to see the emergence of Sri Lanka’s prosperity potential. That is, if one is objective enough to see it!
    But reading the comments to this article one sees that the Nay-Sayers are aplenty, who keep rejecting what is so clear for others to see!
    WHY? Is it that envy factor for which the people of this nation have earned a reputation??. Pull down anyone who tries to rise up!? A team spirit of togetherness in the collective exercise of rebuilding this nation that had suffered so much for near 3 decades, is sorely lacking. People have become inured to the positive changes around them and we have become a nation of complainers!
    It is time to reflect on what it is that drives Sri Lankans, especially the more well-to-do, to be bitterly hypercritical of their own country’s government, especially when they themselves are doing pretty well. One has only to go to the posh hotels and shops to see the money that is around. The global media show all too clearly that most everywhere else in the region including in our own powerful neighbor next door, things are so much worse, with wars still going on and poverty a much larger problem.
    It is time to reflect on what causes the collective mindset of most commentators to these articles, who despite the end of the war, and the obvious improvements around us, to be so wrathful and in ugly angry mode. What makes us see only the “half-empty glass”, and be in continual and damaging criticism mode when we are blest with so much?

  • 0
    0

    Really? There’s not fight! There’s no violence! I just heard the news about a bunch of so-called monks leading a group of people into fashion bug and destroying the place just because the place is owned by a muslim family. If, as it was heard, a raping incident happened in Fashion Bug, it is up to the police to take actions. Oh! I forgot the fagot who wrote this article is the one who controls the police. Where is the president of this country? Dead or Alive?

  • 0
    0

    Jayantha,
    I do not know where you live but you sure have a grudge on Rajapakses.

    People in the village where I live for the last twenty years evidently have flourished during the last five years. I can prove it. For one, it is difficult to find a single house in this village without a motor bike, TV and even non essential house hold items such as rice cookers. Indeed many has three wheelers or four wheelers. If one visit a cafe around here in a morning; he’ll find all food items are sold out by 8.30 am and there is no ready made food to buy after that till the mid day. I know these for I visit every shop, bana and daana house in the village. Hardly, these are signs of a country where people eat grass curry and polkudu as you say. I hear same goes for other villagers.

    Only a few years back during ChandrikaK’s time have I seen people in this village struggling hard to find a job. People didn’t frequent shops for they didn’t have money. But today, even if I pay Rs1,100/- a day, it is difficult to find even unskilled labour to work in my estate. That’s the change and the truth.

    Now, I am not saying everything is hunky-dory for the ordinary man or there is no corruption. But as far as the standard of living of the average man is concerned people know they are better off than never before.

    They also know MR has fulfilled the most important promise he made. In his election manifesto in 2005, MR has promised to solve terrorist problem. And he had eradicated terrorism from Sri Lanka on May 18, 2009. And that is why, majority of people keep voting him at every election in spite of his many short comings. But antinational, anti Buddhist jackanories like you see things in a different perspective. But that is not the view of the majority.

    You guys have forgotten that we were facing human-bombs, clamour bombs and many other bombs on daily basis before MR eradicated LTTE. At that time, we were not sure whether our children would come back home in one piece after school. Life was so uncertain, mothers and fathers went to work separately or hadn’t travelled together for popular belief was that at least one parent must survive to look after the family. Not just that your heroes IC and their stooges named this country a failed state. But today, we are one of the three countries in Asia that had reached ‘high’ in Human Development Index (HDI).

    How could those who have been living abroad but cry wolf now on not done by MR to date or accuse him on some petty unfulfilled promises or hate him for personal reasons understand effects of terrorism had in our daily lives those days and contribution MR made to improve that HDI.

    When MR came to power his government was bequeathed with a so-called internationally acclaimed ‘peace agreement’ with terrorist LTTE. LTTE ruled one the third of the land mass and two third of the cost line. Government ruled the rest. Terrorists ruled their part and the government their part. Eelamists were only inches away from their pipe dream becoming a reality.

    Terrorists were hard at work training their child brigade, women brigade and Makkaal padai to fight the final war. Diaspora was sending millions to LTTE coffers to finance their final war. No NGO or Human rights commissions were worried about deaths of civilians or children like Pirapakaran’s son then. Indeed, they were all offered cyanide neck laces by Adela Balasingham who lives in London freely now.

    All of those terrorists and their backers and their kith and kin explored every inch of Sri Lanka for espionage, pilgrimage, visiting relatives or whatever reason freely but not a soul from the government side was allowed to cross the terrorist iron crtain without a ‘visa’. If ever allowed that was with terrorist escorts only. Terrorists trained their boy brigades and makkal paddai in their jugles.

    RanilW knew his agreement was not worth the paper it was written. He had taken lessons from Norwegians to learn Pirapakaran is a genius of war and LTTE is invincible. That is why; he relied fully on the so called ‘international net’ to implement his peace agreement. RanilW never knew that that net was a facade and IC was a Trojan horse.

    The fact that RanilW sends his secretary for defence to convey best wishes to a terrorist leader being freely treated at an expensive private hospital with a basket full of apples, oranges and grapes speaks his timidity. Embolden by such timid acts by the government, pistol gangs of terrorist roamed freely and targeted every intelligence officers they could identify. A sniper targeted the former foreign minister. Human bombs had the choice to blast whoever they choose whenever they want. Veterans like Sarath Fonseka were marginalised and had no say; they were about to be send on retirement.

    Norway arbiters of peace and their peacenik buddies like Jehan were having a field day. They cruise the length and the breath of Sri Lanka in their Toyota land cruisers to pacify the warring parties and also to count bodies and hand them over to respective parties. They were busy counting peace violations and bodies at the same time. But they only condemned violence and lectured on how to restrain aggression through press statements issued from their five star hotels.

    Now that there is no war to arbitrate, it must be really frustrating for those wartime arbiters and peaceniks. They must be really disappointed for they have no job to do. I do not know what those Viking arbiters are doing now. As for our peaceniks they have given a new job by their western pay masters to render a new veneer to an old topic ‘Human Rights’, ‘democracy’ ‘good governance’ and etc that they had put in the back burner when LTTE was getting their human bombs to blast themselves in our buses, trains and public places to kill and maim thousands of civilians.

    Same old leaders that disagree on everything except for opposition to rid MR are busy issuing press statements together on human rights, that right and this right but no voter seems to listen to them.
    Leela

    • 0
      0

      Leela,

      I would like to have your considered opinion on the comments I have directed at Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakse.

      Further, after reading your robust comment above, which are well argued in many aspects, I feel you are off the mark on the cost living issue. Most people are struggling to make ends meet. They may have more vehicles, bought on credit, but are struggling to pay the instalments. Many cannot afford to run these vehicles as they would wish. The cost of food items has become unaffordable . Fortunately, vegetable prices have dramatically declined this week, because of a glut in supplies. The impending hike in electricity charges will be disastrous to many. What is the point in having electricity, if one has to restrict oneself to use only two or three bulbs, because of the cost? People are tightening their belts, but there is a limit to this.

      Things are not hunky dory on many fronts- a reflection of poor governance. The government has to be like Caessar’ s wife, in not only being above board, but also appearing to be above board. It is failing on both fronts.

      It is time the government grabbed the bull by its horns. It has to confront facts and make amends. It cannot continue to be deluded by the illusion it is expert at creating. The people know what is happening round them. They should not be taken for granted. If they are and the government continues in its present ways, it is in for unpleasant surprises.

      Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

    • 0
      0

      Leela,

      Yes, Let me say a few things on point form on very few issues.

      1)Gotabaya Rajapakse was in USA for 19 years straight during the hight of war.

      2)GR came to Sri Lanka only after MR won the election in 2005 only to take over Logistics and appointed as Defense Secretary.

      3)GR never went to war front but was communicating with ground commanders from Colombo as well as logistics.

      4)MR never had the least thought of winning the war until GR said and assuared MR that he will finish the war by end 2009, and he kept his promise. Therefore MR acted purely on SF’s assuarance.

      5)MR was acting on Gen.SF instructions as to not to stop the war until we win, and MR strayed on course with international community.

      6)MR jailing SF was a big blundar he did, as I fear a lot of these war videos and photos were given to international community by SF’s friendly soldiers to discredit MR.

      7)Of couse cost of living is high. Not only COL but now we have students unrest, University lecturers, teachers, test papers and university students unrest, health sector, utility and other issues on daily basis.

      8)Harbours without ships, Airports without much planning wasting fertile land and animal habitat while corruption, theft and murder and violnace have gone up drastically.

      9)Still people are risking lives to go by boats to Australia.

      10)Appointing and adding Ministers and deputies to already full house Parliament is baffling. Already every ministry that those ministers incharge are running at Billions of Rupees losses.

      All I say is there’s no proper plan to develop our country. Giving a plot of land to over 100,000 landless people to build their own house and grow vegetable won’t solve anything and won’t help anybody or our economy. We should have a long term technical and progressive plan.

      What we need is a well plan, well executed, maximise own resources, using both foreign and local highly qualified both Technical, research and business personnel to uplift our economy.

      Not giving a plot of land and seed to grow to plant or a tricho..three wheels and 4×4 bakki to graduates, or to short term uplift through Divi neguma will not solve our Youth and long term problem.

      That’s why I say We won the Battle but lost the opportunity to put back the country and it’s economy aftermath of the war.

      I still am surprise how GOSL still holding without handing over 1000 houses That Saudi built for tsunami effected people have still not been distributed among them. Also why GOSL did not allow Red Cross to build 400 houses free for Nothern war effected people insisting 10% commission.

      Therefore there are many others that baffle me with relating to Rajapakse administration and governance.

      • 0
        0

        Jayantha you are a bad liar and a lousy gossip monger to say the least. You can tell all the tall tales but how on earth you could say ‘GR never went to war front.’

        To say Gotabhaya Rajapakse was in the USA for 19 years is another lie. If GR was in the USA for 19 years as you say, he should have left Sri Lanka army in 1986. But I know he was doing some computer analyst work in Gamini Wickramasinghe’s informatics (Nixdorf) in 1992 before he left for the US.

        GR had taken part in the operation to liberate Vadamarachi in 1987. Thereafter, he was the second in command of the 1st Gajaba Regiment in operations “Strike Hard” and “Thrivida Balaya” in 1990. Afterwards he even commanded the same Regiment.

        GR was promoted Lieutenant Colonel by President Wijetunge, and has served as the Commandant of the Kotelawala Defence Academy at the time of his retirement in 1992. Just go and read the list of the commanders there to satisfy yourself.

        If you believe MR acted on SF’s ‘instructions’ ‘not to stop the war until we win’ and blah blah I am not going to waste my time trying to prove otherwise.

        You seem to have a master plan to make Sri Lanka rich and prosper. Why not consider contesting coming up Presidential elections.
        Leela

    • 0
      0

      Dr.Rajasingham Narendran,
      I am sure both the President and his secretary for Defence may well agree with you that the government has to win the hearts and minds of Tamils and to do that they’ll have to reach out to Tamils, first. But the dilemma they are facing may well be to find a way to do that particularly in the face of the popular choice of Tamils.

      You are right; Tamils may not like MR imposing his choice of leadership upon them. Also true is, MR imposed leadership may not be an ideal democratic way. But what choice MR has when, the apparent choice of Tamils is the LTTE proxy, TNA and they show all the signs that they wanted to stay the same old LTTE proxy unofficially. It is obvious that as much as TNA doesn’t trust MR, he doesn’t trust the TNA one bit. Effort by the so-called IC to enforce their will on this issue on the pretext of human rights will harden the approach by the TNA for a negotiated settlement. In the end TNA demands would polarise the situation once again and make MR more popular among his voter base.

      Columnists and pseudo pundits like Thisaranee, David and et al may write article after article to CT and satisfy their paymasters as worthwhile contribution to topple ‘the regime’. But I know very well that such writings do not change MR’s mind or change his course one bit nor would it change by those indirect messages by the likes of HRW and the veiled threats by their paymasters in the IC. They cannot bluff MR for he is much smarter than all the commentators who degrades him here as uneducated and uncultured put together. I often wondered, how, being able to write a bit of English makes a person high calibre as many commentators here portray. If that is the case, all those Africans who speak English fluently than many of our professors should have overtaken us on HDI a long time ago.

      I see clearly that MR fears only those voters that voted him to power. He seems to use a huge set of firsthand informers from friends to trusted associates to politicians to inform him on current trends. Based on that information, he let his instinct to decide and his political acumen to plan and do the needful to keep his vote base intact. In our kind of democracy but not in Lee Kwan Yew’s, I see that thing we criticize as corruption is an essential ingredient to keep governments steady and the ball rolling. MR knows; his government would not last long, if he doesn’t follow suit.

      Tamil preference to vote for LTTE proxy, TNA over others after the war must be a mind boggling problem to MR. Indeed it is a puzzle to Sinhala intellectual as well. They take it as a conformation of steadfast Tamil inclination to divide Lanka and create Eelam. When taken together with TNA’s close association with rump LTTE, the Eelamist section of the Tamil Diaspora, Indian counterpart of separatism and its opposition to approach by moderate Tamils like you and their confrontational negotiation tactics with the government, I wouldn’t blame MR if he believe TNA still hangs on to LTTE goal, Eelam in toto. This is the crux of the matter.

      I do not think that it is your type of Tamil nationalism that delay a solution and thereby a settlement at least for the satisfaction of a few. It is the obvious Eelam inclined voter base created by jingoism of TNA and its backers is the impediment even for such a settlement.
      Leela

      • 0
        0

        Leela,

        Thanks for your reply, which explains Mahinda Rajapakse’s dilemma and choices, as a populist politician. What we needed after the war and need now is a visionary statesman and leader. He has missed the greatest opportunity that could have been presented to any man. I am disappointed and considerably disgusted,he has missed this opportunity.

        Further, the Tamils needed a new leadership to steer them on a new course. Unfortunately, MR’s choices have pushed the Tamils into the hands of the TNA. The TNA and MR’s choices, combined will not permit a new leadership to raise their head in the north and east. The expected northern PC elections, if free and fair, will favour the TNA. The TNA has also its bag of trick-o-treats to reward and scare Tamil voters at election time- our Halloween.

        I will not however, endorse those elected, whatever party or groupings they represent nor the mandates that will be claimed. It will be charade that will be foisted on the Tamils. MR will have a bigger problem in his hands after the northern PC election. Only he has to be blamed for what is ahead. His post-war political decisions were absolutely flawed.

        Further, most Tamils in the north-east have no loyalties to the LTTE. However, they are intelligent enough to know when they are treated as village idiots by their government. I have information that Thamil Selvan’s widow is to be fielded by the government as a candidate. If so, is it not a challenge to intelligence of the Tamils?

        If the government quickly takes decisions to correct the problems I have listed in my comment addressed to GR, they will have a huge positive impact on the Tamils. However, this will be too much to expect from a paranoid government. Trust the Tamils and do right by them. The ordinary Tamils who matter most in a contest for their votes, expect a revolution in government attitudes. Trust them and they will trust in turn.

        Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

        • 0
          0

          This became evident to me, after listening to a speech dilivered by DJ to the audience, in which you may have also taken part.

          There he presented the facts about the reality. And towards the end of March he had an another interview with Derana in which he makes it clear the real stand of the country – from the point of view of IC. This is not just to be paid with blind eye as it is not just US or west but also some coummunist thought bearers like Paraguay has voted pro the UN resolution agianst Srilanka this time. And allies like Brasil, Malaysia and Korea have voted for it though all the latter 3 voted against a year ago.

          All these are facts – professionals and the leadership have no other options than wholehearted efforts on the LLRC and any other promised agendas.

          I fully agree with you that “His post-war political decisions were absolutely flawed.”

          • 0
            0

            If the regime is unclear that their source of information should be through senior diplomats – there they have gone fully wrong. Sensitive issues related to LLRC and other developments, why do they fail to share with diplomats – representatives of those countries in access in the slanka. Why cant the authorities organize regular discussions to share them with what ever the progress that have already been made and about the remaining tasks and plans. If international communities are well informed about the ground realities and the hurdles steps being delayed because country specific reasons – then nodoubt they will have to change their opinion about the process. I truly believe DJ, Rajiva and several others can contriubte a lot in the kind of info sessions with the foreign representatives in the country. Bottomline is to prove that the genuine efforts are being made but as a country like Srilanka needs more time depending on each of the issues that IC ´s stance is should be easy to implement.

            • 0
              0

              Typo:
              If the regime is unclear that their source of information should NOT be through senior diplomats …. etc

Leave A Comment

Comments should not exceed 200 words. Embedding external links and writing in capital letters are discouraged. Commenting is automatically disabled after 5 days and approval may take up to 24 hours. Please read our Comments Policy for further details. Your email address will not be published.