6 October, 2024

Blog

There’s No Statute Of Limitations On Crimes Against Humanity

By Kumar David

Prof. Kumar David

There is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity in respect of place or time. That is a judge in Argentina for example can adjudicate on alleged crimes against humanity by the Franco dictatorship in Spain, or by Pinochet in Chile. Any liberal democratic country can act on its own or act in the UN Human Rights Council in respect, for example, of human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government during the period when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. This is aside from the specific charges lying in US courts against Gotabaya for the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge. I am not sure whether the US courts will hold that Lasantha’s murder is a straightforward criminal offence or a crime against humanity. Either way social scorn makes it difficult for Gota or his family to live without opprobrium in the US. But for so long as antipathy to Tamils endures it may provide a temporary shelter. (Of course, it works the other way round as well).

Whoever controls the past controls the narrative of the future and determines a nation’s amnesty law. The identity of the killers who worked out of the Tripoli Market, the names of the officers who murdered the young Tamil men on the Trinco Beach and the identity of politician-officers who covered up for them is no secret. The press, the political classes and the relatives of the victims know it all. In this sense we can say that this is all a matter of public knowledge. Though it is obligatory that those responsible be prosecuted and punished we also know that this is unlikely. Though the global pressure to hold persons responsible for human rights violations to account, and though crimes against human rights have no statute of limitations in respect of place or time, nevertheless the mills of god grind slowly and one can only pray that they will grind exceedingly fine.

There is another disturbing example from Spain – the Amnesty Law enacted in 1977, two years after Franco’s death, which declared that members of the regime could not be prosecuted for crimes committed during the dictator’s reign or during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) which saw more than half a million deaths during Franco’s rise to power. The gist of it was, forget the past; make a fresh start with a clean slate. Torturers and murders from the Franco years were to be forgiven. I fear something similar is possible when assigning responsibility for the thousands of young men and women, mostly Tamils, held in prison under emergency laws for ten to twenty years. It is certain that the Sri Lankan state will attempt to smuggle in provisions of this nature. The government of the day, of whichever rascals is in power, will attempt to pardon Lankan State officials who beat, tortured or murdered prisoners. 

It is incumbent on every one of us to reject these attempts. It would be more useful if the Front-Line Socialists and the NPP/JVP activists associated with Aragalaya devote their efforts to preventing this instead of demanding a constitutionally superior extra-parliamentary status for themselves. 

The United Nations as long ago as 2013 called on Spain to overturn the Amnesty Law that pardons crimes committed during the 36-year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Hundreds of thousands of died or disappeared during Spain’s civil war and subsequent dictatorship, but the crimes have been shielded under the Amnesty Law passed two years after Franco’s death. “It is regrettable the situation of impunity for cases of enforced disappearances that occurred during the civil war and the dictatorship. There is no ongoing effective criminal investigation nor any person convicted,” the UN said.

To move on to another but related topic of international accountability, I have long argued in these pages that globally, liberal opinion and democratic nations cannot and will not permit Sri Lanka to descend into anarchy and military dictatorship since it is one of the very few surviving post-colonial democracies. India is large, diverse and can look after itself. I am surprised not to have had any explicit support for this point of view in these pages and this is why I repeat it today. India too, for her own reasons, will not permit a military take-over or anarchy on her Southern littoral. For example, 2000 jawans were sacrificed to thwart Prabaharan and to keep JR in check. For all these reasons I am confident that both naked military dictatorship and an anarchist breakdown in Sri Lanka are unlikely. Outbursts of anarchy as in 1971 or 1989-90 will again be brought under control with international support. (I will take up relations with China anon).

To move on, what is the likely economic scenario in this country in say the 12 to 24 months ahead? The global context is uncertain. Most analysts predict a global recession, though a few analysts dispute its intensity. The global interest rate and inflation scenario is on the whole gloomy. I have written before about President Joe Biden’s populist-inflationary economic agenda and indicated that it will not let the rest of the world escape from the debt-trap it is mired in. The UK has suffered three prime ministers in the last year and PM Sunak seems at cross purposes with the Bank of England. Mitterrand has lost control of the domestic political narrative; Italy seems unable to form a government and Putin’s future is at stake. Very unusual times the like of which we have not seen since the 1920s and 30s. The background to all this is the prospect of a global economic recession or depression.

To be realistic then, we in Lanka have to expect a difficult two years ahead. Although the cuts demanded by the IMF have in fact already been passed on to the people in the form of steep price increases the following concerns remain. There is tension in respect of how demands on earnings derived from exports are allocated to different sectors – manufacturers, primary crop producers and financial services. And third there is the difficulty of persuading China to restructure Sri Lanka’s debt rather than simply rescheduling payments as it has insisted on doing up to now. The end result is that prudent strategic management of the economy is the priority. The President’s team, the Central Bank’s managers, and the private sector are not on the same page nor speak the same language. The point then is that there is no one boss and the President who should be exercising overall control does not have the team and the authority. He does not have people with the understanding, inclination and sobriety of how to pull it off. The game is likely to be amateurish and therefore messy. Predictions are fraught.

The last matter I wish to dwell on is the unexpected tensions that have arisen in the Chinese economic system; so serious that it has complicated the political future of President Xi Jinping’s. There are rumblings that his zero blowout Covid strategy has been a spectacular failure. Though he has secured a third term confirmation of a life-presidency at the next party conference is unlikely. What are Xi’s achievements? Mao though he fell psychologically in his later years led the Chinese people to liberation from 1921-1949, Deng Xiaoping led the modernisation of the Chinese economy for nearly 30 yars till his death in 1997.

Comparatively, what has Xi achieved? Just a cock-up of Covid policy to the point where his zero-tolerance approach lies in shambles, the economy has been damaged and young people are angry and revolting. All this may not be bad news for countries along the New Silk Road. Maybe China will be forced to accept a new and more generous approach to debt restructuring.

Latest comments

  • 10
    4

    Dear Professor Kumar David,
    .
    Until the 9th of March our one concern has been to ensure that a free and fair election takes place.
    .
    The NPP campaign is going so well that Ranil Wickremasinghe will not be able to subvert it. However, so determined does the establishment appear to be to stop the elections from being held that the pressure that is being put on the five Election Commissioners may not stop with threats. There may be actual deaths.
    .
    It will be good to remind ourselves how tough a time Professor S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole had when he was one of only three Election Commissioners.
    .
    https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/hoole-responds-to-colombo-telegraph-on-elections-commissions-request/
    .
    and
    .
    https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lankas-election-commission-undermined/
    .
    If you search, you will see much more that he told us about, but we didn’t heed it sufficiently. Never mind. His determination, honesty and courage ensured that two clean elections were held on November 17th 2019 and August 5th 2020. The results were not to our liking, but since voters were allowed to vote for persons of their choice we accepted the results. I’m glad that we now have five Election Commissioners.

  • 19
    2

    No super power can dent China’s phenomenal rise despite making them and Putin seem evil. With regard to Sri Lanka, the Chinese knew that the entire regime and bureaucracy were steeped in corruption, rotten to the core and demanded extra-ordinary safeguards or collateral. That is no fault of the Chinese. The Aragalaya is the only real option available to change the status quo although the NPP-JVP should be afforded every opportunity to make that critically important paradigm change in the interim.

    • 1
      5

      LP
      Aragalaya Mark-2 if at all.
      Aragalaya Mark-1 ended up as a tragi-comedy.

  • 0
    26

    “JVP/NPP: AKD/HA critically important paradigm change in the interim” would be an experiment with dynamite. I see them as good con-artists without any core principles nor values. MR was a good administrator with a determined mind who had capable men and women in key positions who effectively resonated to the needs of the people. He took advise from wrong people, opportunists like Nivard Cabraal pushing him hard towards China and pushing him over the precipice simultaneously. I personally had the chance to meet one of his Presidential Secretaries a highly competent, intelligent officer. He was always contactable via his Mobile and Email. They should have made him a role model for all public officials. I met MR when he was the President and found him very cordial an alien trait to most of his contemprories.

    • 14
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      hanchopancha
      ”…..MR was a good administrator with a determined mind who had capable men and women in key positions who effectively resonated to the needs of the people…” That is probably why he ensured tsunami funds ended up in his personal account, just to make sure the money was well spent on the needy people. Of course, ‘needy people’ are questionable. As for capable men & woman under him, maybe he thought Cabral was one of them, yet, went on to support Cabral despite his continued mismanagement. How can a good administrator be that dumb? Then,what about all the white elephant investments? Sorry H, your admiration for MR doesn’t stack up with me but keep sucking up, after all, bum sucking seems to be SL trait & probably survival in these hard times.

      • 10
        0

        Raj-Uk,
        MaRa is the stupidest leader Sri Lanka has produced since independence. He has no right to be out of a prison cell. The number of crimes he and his family committed are known to the people….. elphant is in the room, nobody dares to see it right ye ttoday….. MaRa and his family should be jailed….
        However, he knew that the entire population of this country ( including14,00,000 poverty-stricken villagers) are stupid people if he had hearted feelings,, and the first thing he should have done as soon as the war was declared over was to rebuild the nation.
        Instead, he built up his cronies by feeding them large sums of stolen money.
        Repeatedly abusing the trust placed in him, Malachha man tried to mislead the grass-eating nation into yet another ride, if he has some sort of dignity and shame, the bugger should realize it. Humans are grass eaters too, I have no more sympathy.

        • 10
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          leelagemalli

          As you correctly say, MR had the golden opportunity to unite the country & take it forward, in which case, he would have been considered a great leader internationally but his inherent corrupt & dodgy traits made him the most despicable politician to swindle the country blatantly in the history of SL. He has no shame, no remorse that millions of people are driven to poverty by his actions but the greatest tragedy is that there are still people defending him & living in denial. We are happy to keep all these yobs & their cronies in luxury instead of holding them accountable. Yesterday, UK Tory party chairman, Nadeem Zahavi, was sacked for breaking Ministerial Code of Ethics by not disclosing that he was under investigation by the Inland Revenue, even though he had paid his back taxes, including a penalty. No wonder SL remains backward & continue to be a failed state.

          • 6
            2

            Thank you Raj.
            .
            you are among the few that see things neutrally. I really appreciate your comments.

            Navity and gulliblity of our people are beyond estimations. They expect a lot than that they give. Their lethargy and indifference nature make them even more poorer. I usually dont respect ” paradise birds or monks of that style” but with that being the normality in that hell, I sometimes consider the message being given by JOKER monk Samantha Badda to stinky society today.

            .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzPQJ9tXN6c
            :
            If that would have been easier, long long ago, JVPrs would have grabbed power.

            You and I know it truly to respect law and order in a country. I become nervous today, if our fellow family ones would not respect hard working and punctuality… I dont have patience to listen to ” excuses” if any of my charity workers wouldnot do the job properly for the focused projects in my home country. All that is engrained in me by my european stay and education. However, also senior reitired men while continueing their living in SL, behave sometimes like ” blind and deaf” is beyond my fury.

            Even first time voters in this country were manipulated unlike their european counterparts though diving in an era where information technology keep feeding them with updates.

            • 4
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              leelagemalli

              I suppose living in a developed country, we have a strong sense of justice & corruption is unacceptable to us. It may not be perfect but corruption is much less & no place for incompetence.

              We can see the bigger picture of SL by being on the ‘outside’. Two of my good friends, since college days in SL, fell out with me when I was critical of slimy Sira &, particularly, GR, when he imposed 5 weeks of curfew in 2019. They were very impressed how the pandemic was ‘controlled’ in SL, unlike in Europe, where, as far as they were aware, deaths were mounting. In fact, they even suggested that I had no right to be critical as I don’t live in SL, even though I have dual citizenship.

              It is sad that even the educated get misled by nationalistic rhetoric & turn a blind eye to mega corruption & tolerate opportunists. ‘Aragalaya’ needs to continue until this lot is held accountable.

              • 2
                0

                Thanks Raj,
                However,our people dont make difference whether they studied University degrees or they plough paddy fields, at the end of the day they share the same thoughts. That they call the culture. They are not trained to cross-question about anything. We saw even MBBS holders were found in those serpentine queues to ” DHAMMIKAPANIYA”.
                The other best example is continued by GLP who once studied at Oxford. Prof. Kovoor has made it very clear that it is in our human genes. No matter what educational title you wear, at the end of the day, you are eating the same “Punnaku” with others. This is very true in retrospect.
                .
                It has a lot to do with their upbringing. I experienced this in Peradeniya before I left the country for Europe. Jealousy, hatred, malice and everything is in their mentality. Ironically, most of them grew up in a place where Pirith chanting abounded. Almost everyone worked to the auspicious times, their names too were made in compliance with numerology…. and and… nevertheless they many ended up being idiots.

                • 1
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                  leelagemalli

                  You are absolutely right. I blame the education system. When it comes to University education, those in Colombo are discriminated against those from the villages by preferential treatment. Instead of striving to improve village schools, the standards are lowered for them & such people who get admission have a chip on their shoulder. The sadistic ragging in universities & the same perpetrators being employed in high govt. positions is the resulting lethargy, inefficiency & corruption. We are in the 21st century but we believe in divine intervention, pouring holy water into rivers & even taken for a ride by snake oil merchants & that is with govt. approval. How backward we are. Is the education system fit for purpose?

      • 1
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        Raj-UK
        The point I meant to drive home is that the Cure can be worse than the Decease. There is a lurking danger. From the frying pan to the fire. To walk the talk is a different ball game.

        • 10
          1

          hanchopancha

          We already in the fire. Can it get any worse? I am sure there are enough capable competent people from the civil society who can do a good job. Surely, are all Sri Lankans dumb & corrupt like the Rajapakses?

          • 1
            5

            Raj-UK. I wonder if you can recall: at the end of fiery speeches by late JVP leader Mr. Wijeweera, lasses and lads handed over what ever valuables they were in possession for the cause. Is it the same again you are asking for?

            • 5
              0

              hanchopancha

              The short answer is NO. The JVP may be mainstream now & AKD talks sense but I have no respect for them until they publicly apologise to the nation for their violent & destructive past. I also do not have faith in SJB either, despite the international education & credentials of Premadasa jnr., who is carrying his old man’s baggage. The current lot of politicians are corrupt morons with a few exceptions like Karu J. Therefore, I would prefer a new set of competent & capable citizens from the civil society, such as, Naganada Kodithuwakku, who has been standing up for justice & fairness for some time now. I am sure there are many more such people who would come forward to rebuild the country if the current bunch of yobs & thugs are held accountable for their mismanagement & crimes.

              • 3
                0

                Dear Raj, I totally agree with you. May more and more people have your nature among us to promote these valuable, timely thoughts. Only then can they ever improve their knowledge and become fair voters.

                Part 1
                Knowing that the people of our nation are different, we must rebuild the nation for good. For common achievements. That is why there are different parties in this country today.
                JVP does not have enough practicality to touch even small things. Sri Lanka is not a nation for a one-party culture. The repeated rejection of the people is broadly associated with “JVP-hardness”: they must realize the reason for their defeat again and again…..They may be good orators but they are not good enough in practice.

                They should finally understand that our people are diverse and not all party loyalists are promoters of corruption. The false understanding that 225 should be rejected is Rajapaksa’s slogan to reduce racism. They are good at pretending to be the same person and doing other things. The question that the people should raise now is why they voted for the Rajapaksa….. It should be explained before voting for another election. Causation removes doubt. If an inexperienced surgeon cannot save a life – well, so is stupidity, but criminal politicians cannot do it for the public good.

                tbc

                • 2
                  0

                  .Part 2:
                  There are good and bad people everywhere. Jealous and generous people are everywhere. Tall and short everywhere. Smart and NON SMART people are also everywhere. Fanatics and liberal thinkers are everywhere. Extremists and tolerants are everywhere.

                  However, all evil can be handled within limits, and law and order must be respected by the majority of people. Everyone should be guided equally.

                  I have personally noticed the manner, some of those European tourists abuse their freedom in Pattaya, Thailand, Hikkaduwa. and the like places….. why ? They are abusing the freedom of Sri Lanka because the pot holes in prevailing law and order systems, allow them to do so.
                  .
                  tbc

                  • 2
                    0

                    Part 3
                    .
                    … their behavior is unethical and unethical when vacationing in Pattaya, Sri Lanka and Bali or similar tourist places. . Ironically, from the moment they return to Europe, they behave like law-abiding people… because the law and order in place in Europe does not allow them to escape. This is the nature of “Homo sapiens”.

                    This is how other countries in the region, including Sri Lanka, have become “hotspots for drug traffickers” today. I am going to build – we should be able to build a consensus for a common victory for the country and the nation, not only the JVP but also the alliance of other parties respecting law and order. The NPP has yet to succeed in this. So it has not yet reached the level of being the nation’s next potential force.

                    instead of 5 precepts, our people should all be ready to read the paragraphs of civil laws daily basis… .. that will guide them for sure for a better society sooner than later..

              • 1
                2

                Raj-UK. Mr. Naganada Kidituwakku sure did capture the imagination of many,. It is very sad that he has an attitude problem. He does not have that knack to organize a piss-up in a brewery. There must be a radical re-arrangement of the lattice of the neurons. Logical thinking must take priority over warped emotional way of thinking. Be very strict in calling the Spade the Spade.

                • 2
                  0

                  HP,
                  Yes Nagananda is not as perfect as some claim.
                  He seems to think that everything has a legal solution. He is a prima donna and is prone to shoot from the lip.

                  • 1
                    0

                    “Prima donna” is perfect for Nagananda, dear oc.
                    .
                    Yet I will always insist on your recognising him as honest, decent, and courageous. But he will get nowhere with his schemes, because he puts himself at the centre of everything.
                    .
                    Tell me, how do you now see AKD? I remember how you once heard him praise the Damro Group and were impressed with his performance. I always take you seriously (even to the extent of suspending judgement on the Bond Scam. Only suspending, mind!)
                    .
                    As for hanchopancha he’s very intelligent, but it all gets subverted by his desire to find an extra-judicial way of solving what possibly is a genuine misfortune that has befallen him. He’s tried me, Nagananda, the NPP (Harini), and now MaRa!

              • 0
                1

                Dear Raj-UK,
                .
                I may be too full of admiration for AKD and for what he is in the process of forging the JVP into. This, at 79 minutes may be too long for listening in its entirety:
                .
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VQ6nfYs0PE
                .
                But I have listened, although getting tired of the repetitive stump speeches. This is only three days ago: 30 Jan 2023 #10Questions #AKD #sirasatv
                .
                At 1 hour 11′ 30″ he is asked how much he knew of Wijeweera. “Saw him only once.”
                .
                The apology you crave: what form does it have to take? how realistic is it to expect something abject?
                .
                “leelagemalli” and I discussed this; 2,000 emails, admittedly fewer relaxed WhatsApp conversations, since he’s sensitive about his family being disturbed. Then I gave him an apology that AKD actually made in response to an audience-query at the end of one of AKD’s European Conventions. “leelagemalli” refused to listen to even the two minutes that I suggested in a comment.
                .
                Did you see that exchange between LM and me? If not, I’ll look for it again. Whether that “explanation-apology” was sufficient, can be subject to discussion. LM refused to discuss.

                • 0
                  2

                  ……………..Continuing
                  .
                  I can see that you’re NOT allowing yourself to be bracketed with LM as being superior to Lankan residents by virtue of living in Europe. Your comments are constructive, and you have respect for many of us who are staying on here. I’ve studied British politics a good deal, for all that I never got the opportunity to travel outside Asia, and your comments always seem valid.
                  .
                  Please see Lasantha Pethiyagoda’s comment above, and this article of his:
                  .
                  https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-enduring-hellholes-that-are-public-hospitals-in-sri-lanka/
                  .
                  That is genuinely powerful writing. Such writing is often misunderstood. I’ve had to explain to :whywhy”. Leelagemalli’s? He’s consciously sincere. And he’s generous – he couriered chocolates, etc to me. So I believe him when he speaks of his altruism, but beware of exaggeration in “connection-dropping”.
                  .
                  I have no problems with you, Raj; and Simon (although not personally known to me) also makes only valid points.
                  .
                  Panini Edirisinhe of Bandarawela (NIC 483111444V)

                  • 2
                    0

                    Sinhala_Man

                    I took a day off today to take my wife to hospital for a minor eye surgery & while in the waiting room, I decided to browse through CT comments to pass the time & came across your sincere comments.
                    I believe leelagemalli & I have a lot in common in our thinking. Despite being ex-pats, we are concerned about our motherland & the welfare of our friends & relatives. I always thought of returning to my country of birth after retirement but not so sure now. Some of my friends used to call me a ‘sinner’ for suffering in a foreign country as a third class citizen but despite the initial hardships, I have a higher standard of living which I would not have in SL. Winters are cold, heating is expensive & the cost of living is high but still manageable & sitting here in the hospital waiting room, despite relatively minor failings of the NHS, I feel fortunate & sorry for the people of SL, particularly, after Mr Pethiyagoda’s recent revelation of the conditions of hospitals in SL. This is why SL needs politicians who can empathise with the average citizens urgently.
                    Cont.

                    • 2
                      0

                      Cont.
                      It was not my intention to start a debate over a new leadership in SL. I am not always up-to-date with the politicians & the happenings in SL but I have a lot of respect for Nagananda K. because he stood up on his own to fight for justice & unfair perks of politicians. He may not be able to organise a piss up in a brewery but he can make a positive contribution collectively with like minded people with integrity.

                • 1
                  0

                  The name of god… (god is for me, any invisible forces behind us human beings), please be accurate with the number of your Emails. You sound to be a senior good citizen. Above all is retired iskolemahaththaya according to your self-proclamations.

                  Most of your emails were not focusing on the topics but your church stuff.

                  I am against racism from my infant days on.
                  My beloved mother predicted me, that I would be killed by our own people.

                  Back then I helped out any srilankens in Europe regardless of their race, religion or whatever.
                  :
                  If you would continueously experress that you sent me 2000 emails, I dont think it is literally accurate.

                  For your refresh, I am harmless COMMENTER that sacrificed a lot for a better future of our people, I risked sometimes, as no others.

                  At the time Tsunami hit the costal areas my friends and colelagues donated collossal sums – however it ended up being embezzeled…. then my hatred towards RAJAKSHES grew to a cancer.

          • 3
            1

            The danger before us is not yet clear to the punnaku drinkers dominated srilanka / Greeks suffer as no others but EU was their only saviour .
            Our people have no patience at all to see it right yet today. IMF is not cash cow but the biggest failure lies on our nation.They behave like animals. Sinhala Buddhist monks led primitive nation dont seem learning from their own past. Look at what GLP says today. How on earth a man wearing a Prof title acts like that??????????

    • 8
      1

      “I met MR when he was the President and found him very cordial an alien trait to most of his contemprories (sic).”
      What criteria do we use to pass judgment!

      • 1
        3

        Dumbness knows no bounds. It is called INSIGHT. The Third Eye if you have heard of by Lobsang Rampa. We live to learn Mate SJ.

        • 1
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          I learn a lot from HP’s sauce, like the Caucasians being the master race.
          *
          I like the new one:
          “Dumbness knows no bounds. It is called INSIGHT.”
          Thus boundless dumbness becomes INSIGHT.
          I am happy to stick with my five senses.

          • 0
            0

            SJ. Your senses/ mind are warped. The criteria to pass judgment is determined by INSIGHT. I do not think you have heard about the Third Eye. 75 years of Independence? What Independence? Need to get permission from the Chinese to allow a devotee to pay homage to a Place of worship considered Holy of Holy by the followers. You must start taking brain tablets to cure your dumbness.

      • 5
        1

        There are whole lot among artists that overestimated the behaviour of MaRa, some made public statements that he belongs to lord buddha a relatives. How stupid these people should be ? .
        .
        Getting 2/3 mandate is not an easy task in the racism dominated country but for some reasons MaRa was given not once but twice. Lack of education and the expertise that mandate ended up being the mad soldier took the weapons.
        .
        People suffer today not be ause anyone but MaRa and his family politics.
        .
        To mitigate the level of harm the brutal family deliberately made to the nation, they have now made another fake public perception- which is that they ruined 75 years. And treat all 225 are equally corrupted????????🐃🐃🐃🐃🐃🐃🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

  • 10
    0

    It is quite possible that the Govt:of President Ranil-Rajapakse may enact an Amnesty Law to free the Torturers and Murderers of the Rajapakse decade old corrupt rule.

    A condition to implement the 13th Amendment in full?

  • 7
    5

    “The Aragalaya is the only real option available to change the status quo although the NPP-JVP should be afforded every opportunity to make that critically important paradigm change in the interim.”

    It is too expensive to depend on Aragalaya or or NPP-JVP without people revolution. The People revolution should come from all Corners of this island. The country and people are divided into many aspects such as race, religion, language, caste, rich, poor, regions, devolution etc. etc. Aragalaya is just limited to Colombo and NPP-JVP also limited to few.

  • 16
    0

    You guys are typical Lankans. …….. Lankan to the core ….. with the same special gene/trait.

    Yeah! this time it’s going to be different …….. for the 6.9 millionth time!

    Now, you believe JVP/NPP is going to catch the crooks! ……. The JVP is also the ruling class: they look after their own kind.

    In spite of all the pretence and the fire and fury ………. behind the scenes …….. the ruling class is more linked and intertwined than you might think.

    Answer me this …….. who helped Somawansa (whatever his name is, the last leader of the JVP, who resurrected JVP from the grave) to escape to India and then to England?

    Case closed.

    Native, wanna buy a flying pig?

    • 3
      0

      nimal fernand: Referring to JVP you say: “…they look after their own kind” – Correct in the sense that they definitely look after their “Kind” who live and conduct themselves as per the agreed norms that even cover their personal behavioral patterns.

      WRONG. They never cover their kind if they do not discipline themselves as described above. For example (1) The “Dismissal” of Wimal Weerawanse while being a “Central Committee” member and an “MP” of the party. (2) Another MP by the name Polgampola “Exported” a man to Japan while he was on a tour to Japan. By the time he returned to S/L, he was “Dismissed” from the party. This man was recently JAILED in RI, for 14 years having got guilty of accepting a “Bribe” along with the “Chief of Staff” of ex-President Sirisena. These are some prominent cases while there are many others of lesser ranks. There is a large number who have “Deserted” for not being able to live as per the “Disciplinary Rules”.

      Re. Somawanse Amarasinghe: Simply put he was a “RENEGADE”. For details contact Prof. Athula Sumathipala now residing in the UK.

    • 5
      2

      nimal fernando

      “Native, wanna buy a flying pig?”

      No thanks.
      You paid for it and you bought it, it is only fair that you kept it.
      Next time around before you commit yourself in such deal please consult with old codger.

    • 4
      2

      Nimal
      “Yeah! this time it’s going to be different …….. for the 6.9 millionth time!”
      Are you saying Lankans are stupid?
      The guy was Somawansa Amarasingha, helped out by Preme’s right hand man Sirisena Cooray.
      Did you notice that the NPP at its Galadari tamasha was almost indistinguishable from the UNP, even unto the very pretty and articulate MC?

      • 4
        0

        “Are you saying Lankans are stupid?”
        Do you have doubts?

        This is a population that gave over 2/3 majority and elected a man to run a country that could not even run a gas station. This guy did not have the education, temperament or experience. So why did they elect him? You got to be brain dead or stupid.

        • 3
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          If you still think Sri Lankans at least the Sinhala Buddhist ar not stupid watch this clip.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiBg20VJup8

          • 1
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            Bert,
            You don’t understand irony, do you? Still, thanks for posting that clip . I am sending it to all my friends. 🤣🤣

          • 1
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            Bert,
            .
            thank you.
            .
            Burt,
            These people are shameless and tasteless. In a civilized world Gotabhaya and Mahinda would have killed themselves (literally I mean) not being able to face those stupid people….. Anyway DA Rajapaksa’s illegitimate sons are barbaric in every way.
            :
            See, they overrated a guy who was a petrol shed assistant. However, he was promoted to the post of “Secretary of Defense” under OWN BROTHER’s rule. Thanks to our war hero Sarath Fonseka and his sweat, bastard earned so much credit for spearheading the “End War” activities. There is a saying in German “Lüge haben kurze Beine” “Lies don’t last long”: ….Today, apart from biting nails, Gotabaha cant face or see in the eyes of anyone…. hik… hik…. hik… mama thamayi hariyata kare…. not even lads sitting on country side culverts would not act so, but Gotabaya did….. and 6.9 millions of idiots nodded the head….
            .
            The truth was that Gotabhaya was not even good enough to be a street sweeper…. also in Maradana ::

        • 0
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          Bert,
          .
          Not even today, they raise that question. That shows the level of stupidity.
          The media is still controlled by the Mlechcha family. Media whore houses are real criminals, because they plant news in favour of ballige puthas.

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    nimal fernando. I continue… This Prof. Athula Sumathipala divulged quite a lot of information as regards JVP and Somawanse at a discussion with Chathura Alwis of “Derana”. Please check:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?=SNLV56E-YZE&t=1415s I don’t know it is available yet.

    Somawansa had the full backing of a very “Powerful Minister” during the 1980s. This Prof. Athula was arrested for his links with JVP and was shown “Pictures” of all JVP “Leaders” to identify. Surprisingly, this Prof. Athula said in that interview, Somawansa’s picture was not there. How was that? Your guess is good as well as mine. There was another person who drove him from France to the UK. Who was that? Was he another “Affiliate” of that “Pwerfull Minister” or Prof. Athula?

    Enough for now.

  • 4
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    It is holocaust memorial time & there have been several documentaries on the subject recently. One such documentary states that over 90% of Nazi perpetrators of war crimes escaped justice. Many went back to their quiet lives in Germany while others hid abroad, some, even in UK, but it was considered too expensive by the British Govt. at the time to bring them to justice. Many English aristocrats, politicians, & even church leaders, thought it was revenge seeking & as a Christian country, even crimes against humanity, should be forgiven & forgotten. The crimes happened in a far away country & in the past, therefore ,the thought was not the business of the British Govt.

    Despots like Idi Amin & looters like the Marcos family were given refuge in other countries & never paid for their crimes. The Rajapakses & their cronies continue to have a luxury lifestyle in SL. We don’t care, so why would other countries? ”Statute Of Limitations On Crimes Against Humanity” – who cares?

  • 5
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    I always wonder why these writers and analysts only talk and write about isolated incidents such as Trinco students massacre, Lasantha murder etc? There is an elephant in the room, you cannot possibly miss it. It is the 2009 mass scale war crimes which can lead up to a systematic genocide. But, these so call writers don’t even want to mention about it. Why is this? Either they are denying it happened or scared of their popularity being tarnished by writing about Tamil genocide. I seriously don’t understand.

    • 5
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      A
      There is a place and time for everything.
      The people you are complaining about have brought up the matter quite often, but not every time they open their mouth.
      Alongside that happened killings by the LTTE. I am sure that you will agree that it is as much an elephant in the room.
      The crimes against northern Muslims are mostly forgotten by all.
      When will we cease to be selective about human rights violations?

      • 3
        1

        “Alongside that happened killings by the LTTE. I am sure that you will agree that it is as much an elephant in the room.
        The crimes against northern Muslims are mostly forgotten by all.”
        SJ,
        It is not surprised you will come with justification by taking revenge against LTTE and Tamil Civilians. LTTE was brandaed as Terrorists by not only Sri lanka but also by India and most of the Powerful nations including USA, EU, UK. Even all these countries supported Sri Lanka in defeating anf killing them. They were punished for their human rights violation but your Buddhist country and your Sinhala military genocidal massacres from 1958 onwards. You may also include all those militants including Douglas along with Sinhala military for abduction, massacres etc.

        • 0
          1

          A
          Let us use matching criteria for all offenders.
          The stick that you raise against SB racists can also strike other racists.
          *
          Do not digress.
          Resorting to personal insult points to bad loser.

    • 4
      1

      Not only that knowing that srilanken courts are highly corrupted- they repeat that our courts are independent..
      .
      This is really hell made for survival of Rajapakshes and their cronies..
      .
      As u clearly said it rightly- elephant is in the room but they stay as if they are mentally I’ll forever
      🐃🐃🐃🐃🐕🐕🐕😎😎😎😎

  • 4
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    There’s No Statute Of Limitations on Crimes against Humanity
    Ranil pledges cannot fulfill as the remote control is with Pohotuwa, if he wins election then the law will be turned on the heading of benefiting country The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others that the president step down and someone from pohotuwa will be appointed and all the agreement that he placed now will be cancelled

  • 8
    3

    Dr. KD,

    Universal jurisdiction on war crimes and crimes against humanity is not clearly established yet, certainly not as easy as you make it out to be, despite some efforts in that direction. But there is something that you haven’t touched on:

    Following Vladimir Putin’s horrendous war crimes in Ukraine, the US Congress has made new rules making it easier to prosecute war crimes in US courts, and President Biden signed that into law a few weeks back. Now if GR comes back to the US, the victims and their advocates can go to a prosecutor and new cases are almost certain to follow. But even before that happens, the State Dept. is likely to deny a visa to him and reject any request for re-instating his citizenship.

    • 0
      2

      The land of law and justice: ask the black victims of police brutality!

  • 5
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    Gota doesn’t seem to be getting a break.

    Dec 23rd.
    WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a bill to expand the U.S. government’s power to prosecute international war crimes suspects who are in the United States, allowing them to be tried in a federal court regardless of the nationality of the victim or the perpetrator, or where the crime was committed.

  • 1
    3

    “Deng Xiaoping led the modernisation of the Chinese economy for nearly 30 yars till his death in 1997”
    Shom mishtake I am afraid.

    • 3
      1

      Yes, this says that Deng Xiaoping stopped mattering much about seven years before his death:
      .
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Xiaoping
      .
      I agree that we ought not to be fed such mistakes, and it’s good that SJ has pointed it out. But it’s not important to the discussion, is it? I spotted another even more obvious mistake which mattered even less. Mitterrand has been mentioned as the current leader of France, instead of Macron.
      .
      Before making my comment, I emailed Kumar at 04.32, on the 29th, reporting his “stumble”. He admitted it, but said that it was even worse: He’s “unbalanced” after surgery. I wished him speedy recovery but didn’t want to burden him with more queries. He’s in Los Angeles, but hopes to return to Lanka (after a few days in Hong Kong) in March. In time to vote?
      .
      Had the typo mattered he would have corrected it. I don’t know him well, but a wonderful guy, isn’t he?

  • 2
    3

    “India too, for her own reasons, will not permit a military take-over or anarchy on her Southern littoral.”
    So what will India permit?
    *
    “For example, 2000 jawans were sacrificed to thwart Prabaharan and to keep JR in check.”
    The 2000 jawans were sacrificed because an expansionist plan misfired.
    What was the need for the IPKF to get entangled in internal matters? Was it not that India wanted its clients in power in the N&E.
    India started its destabilization project in 1978 but sums went awfully wrong from 1987.

  • 0
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    On principle, there should not be time limitation to bring in charges against a person for “Crimes against humanity” (CRH). The real question is as far as Sri Lanka is concerned what is a CRH is identified by the Criminal Procedure Code? If for instance a guy drops a vial of deadly poison to a reservoir of water that is used for drinking water by the community resulting in the death of many, then intuitively it is a crime against humanity but does the Criminal Procedure Code does define that as a crime against humanity?. One can charge the miscreant for murder. If there is a statutory limitation for murder, then the fellow escapes after that time. In the first place if CRH is not defined in the law of any given territory, how can one talk of a time limitation?

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