The Govt. which had achieved some success in its campaign to control and censor the media, is now planning to trap certain media personnel Institutions and personnel who are making exposures which are antagonistic to the Govt. with falsely implicating them in heinous crimes like possession of firearms, explosives, bombs etc which are non -bailable offences, whereby they can be held in custody for long periods or cause them to disappear or subject them to life long threats as was in the case of the Sunday leader Editor.
It is also learnt that this threat is directed even against those journalists who question the Govt. Ministers and MPs at media briefings with a view to humiliating or disgracing them . During the past media briefings of the Govt.,the State intelligence unit has videoed the proceedings with this end in view, it is reported.

Under the present regime, it is a well and widely known fact that many journalists have been murdered and gone missing. Prageeth Ekneliyagoda is one of them. The Govt. and the police have sadly failed to make any breakthrough in his case to the consternation of all concerned.
Because the ‘Lanka’ newspaper Editor published an article in it regarding the judiciary, he was charged for contempt of court. Later he was discharged by the Court with a warning.

Meanwhile the Govt. during that period was also seeking to establish a competent authority to censor and control news of the free media.

Sri Lanka - International inquiry needed to address alleged war crimes –Amnesty International

(Lanka-e-News 14.Oct.2010 5.00PM)

AI Index: PRE01/341/2010

Amnesty International has declined an invitation to appear before Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and calls again for an international inquiry into the evidence of war crimes and other abuses during the civil war.

In a joint letter released today, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group announced that they would not appear before the Commission, saying it did not meet international standards for independent and impartial inquiries.

“Amnesty International would welcome the opportunity to appear before a credible commission of inquiry aimed at securing accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka”, said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Asia-Pacific. “We believe effective domestic inquiries are essential to human rights protection and accountability. But the LLRC falls far short of what is required”.

Like its predecessors, the LLRC exists against a backdrop of continuing government failure to address accountability and continuing human rights abuses. Amnesty International documented Sri Lanka’s long history of impunity and the failed Presidential Commission of Inquiry in its 2009 report Twenty Years of Make-believe; Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry.

“The LLRC’s mandate, its composition, its procedures, and the human rights environment in which it is operating all conspire to make a safe and satisfactory outcome for victims of human rights violations and their families extremely unlikely”, said Madhu Malhotra. “Amnesty International is particularly concerned about the lack of any provisions for witness protection and the fact that former officials who have publicly defended the Sri Lankan government against allegations of war crimes serve on the commission”.

Amnesty International has received numerous credible reports from witnesses that both the government security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) committed serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law during the armed conflict, particularly in the final months of the war. Some of their testimony was included in Amnesty International’s 2009 briefing “Unlock the Camps; Safety and Dignity For The Displaced Now”. But the LLRC’s mandate does not requires it to investigate these allegations, which include summary executions, torture, attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and other war crimes.
“The hundreds of civilians who sought to testify before the LLRC in Killinochchi in September did so without guarantees of protection or any real hope of justice. Their willingness to come forward shows the need of Sri Lanka’s war survivors for news about what happened to missing relatives and for justice”, said Madhu Malhotra. “If the Sri Lankan government is serious about accountability and reconciliation, it must be serious about truth and justice for these people. Any credible commission must be given adequate scope and resources to allow for individuals to receive a fair hearing and sufficient authority to ensure redress. It must also treat all witnesses in a safe and humane fashion.”
Amnesty International remains committed to contribute to any genuine effort in Sri Lanka to find a just way forward from the decades of civil war and human rights abuses.

Associated links:

Joint Letter to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/015/2010/en

The hard core ruthless terrorist Karuna who gave orders to kill Sinhala, Muslim and the Tamil people has been brought to Parliament by this lawless and atrocious Govt., and made a Minister, whereas the army Commander who destroyed the terrorists ushered in peace for the country and who was elected by the people to Parliament has been jailed by this power greedy Govt. on false accusations, charges and legal manipulations. This Govt. should be thrown out lock stock and barrel, and the people and the Army should work towards installing a Govt. which respects Democracy and laws of the country, Dr..Iriyagolla pinpointed.
Over 300 protestors congregated in front of the Prime Minister’s office in London. The protest took the dimensions of a struggle with people from all races and religions participating.
UNP M P Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena who represented the opposition at Geneva also came to London to partake in the protest.

Dr. Jayawardena told Lanka e news that he is engaged in a campaign apprising the International community of the Govt.’s lawless actions pursuing a political witch hunt against Fonseka, and his complaint to the Human rights Committee of the European Parliament was taken for trial.He is hoping to take up this matter and lodge complaints with the Amnesty Int. and the Rights Watch in the coming days, Dr. Jayawardena observed.
The participation of ‘Karuna’ the wife of Upatissa Gamanayake who was killed during the 1988- 1989 period at the protest demonstration was something most striking.

JVP London Branch Secretary Dharshana Hettiarachi, Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena and UNP youth front London Branch Secretary Namal Soysa who also joined in the protests addressed the protestors before they dispersed.

Pictures of the London protests are appended herein. They were provided by our London correspondent.

By a Special Correspondent

It is reliably learnt that never in the history of the police department has an IGP been given such a comprehensive security contingent as now. IGP Mahinda Balasuriya has beefed up his personal security cadre by as much as 180 police officers from the Special Task Force (STF) of the police department.

Apart from such a huge cadre of policemen, IGP Balasuriya has also no fewer than 19 vehicles to provide him security whenever he is on the move. A bulletproof vehicle is also included in the vehicle fleet.
In addition, it has been found that no other government VIP is entitled to such a huge security back-up. “Even powerful Ministers who have been classified as high risk do not have more than 50 security guards. Normally a Minister is given six security guards with a vehicle”, sources said.

A senior police officer said that not a single IGP who held the post during the height of the war was provided with such a formidable security blanket, and added he was at a loss to understand as to what has made the current IGP an exception to merit such treatment especially since the war was over.

Karadiyanaru explosion (part 2): China has been supplying arms to South Asian terrorist groups through Sri Lanka for years

Chinese authorities have been involved in supplying arms and grenades to various terrorist groups in South Asia for years through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the LankaNewsWeb can exclusively reveal.
The plot also involves Pakistan, China’s strategic partner against the Indian dominance, and both countries have been using many terrorist groups to curb India’s influence in the region.

The LNW can exclusively report that Sri Lanka, the so-called friend and business partner of India, has also been involved in helping these

anti-Indian terrorist groups –by helping China and Pakistan to use Sri Lanka as a transit point- since Mahinda Rajapaksa became the president in 2005.
The LNW reliably learns that the Sri Lanka navy has confiscated a Panamian-registered vessel, MV MOL Admiration, which was carrying suspected military cargo from Karachi in Pakistan to Chittagong Port in Bangladesh on August 22, 2007.
Following a tip off that the consignment may be meant for the LTTE, the Sri Lanka navy boarded the ship when it anchored at Colombo port.

The ship’s manifesto listed the consignment as “steel helmets, bullet proof jackets and DMS boots”. The ship did not have any documentation showing the end users.

Further questioning revealed that the consignment was from Pakistan Ordinance Factory (POF) at Wah, and it was meant for Bangladesh army.

However, Bangladeshi authorities denied that there was any such order from their side fro procurement from the PoF.
The matter reached the highest levels in all the three countries; Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka refused to release the consignment without end user confirmation from Dhaka.
While Bangladesh army initially refused to give any such confirmation, the Pakistan army mounted pressure on the then Interim government led by Gen. Moeen to issue such a certificate.

Bangladesh finally relented and issued necessary certification. The consignment was then released and was picked up by a Chinese ship for an undisclosed location.

Sri Lankan naval authorities who checked the containers revealed that they contained explosives and hand grenades of `ARGES 84’ type.
The explosive material was Penta Erythrital Tetra Nitrate (PETN). A Bangladeshi court in Chittagong is currently holding a trial of the notorious 10-truck load arms haul case.

Police seized 10 truck loads of weapons and ammunition from the CUFL Jetty in Chittagong on April 1, 2004 sparking speculation that the cache was destined for the Indian insurgent group, the `United Liberation Front of Assam’ (ULFA).

While the then Bangladeshi government tried to cover up the case, the Interim government that succeeded launched a fresh investigation which revealed that the consignment came from China’s state-owned ordinance factory, Norinco.

Reporting these disclosures, Bangladesh’s respected daily, “Pratham Alo”, stated on Sept. 26 that its efforts to contact the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka failed to evoke any response.

Investigations have also exposed involvement of several BNP (Bangladesh National Party) leaders and former Ministers such as Lutfuzaman Babar, former State Minister for Home, Omar Faruque, former Home Secretary, besides senior officials of the Intelligence agencies.
It was also reported that the ULFA Chief Paresh Barua, and the then Pakistan High Commissioner were also present in Chittagong for preparatory meetings to receive the arms shipment.

The climate of impunity in using ports for illegal transhipments by China and Pakistan is seem to be more dangerous when considered the prospect when Chinese have 'de jure' control of the ports in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Security experts say that if Sri Lanka and Bangladesh authorities continue helping their Chinese business partners merely for commissions on business deals, there would be very dangerous security ramifications for other countries in the region.

Courtesy Of LankaNewsWeb
http://lankanewsweb.com/news/EN_2010_10_05_007.html

Rajapakse, making a National Intelligence Service in Sri Lanka as well as camps of Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and Special task force(STF) in every district is the end of Democracy in Sri Lanka.

The Ministry for State Security, (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, commonly known as the Stasi (IPA: [ˈʃtaziː]) (abbreviation German: Staatssicherheit, literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. We now know how your neighbour spied on you for special Favours .

The KGB (КГБ) is the common abbreviation for the Russian: Комитет государственной безопасности​ (help·info) (Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti or Committee for State Security). It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and its premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time. KGB had done many wrong things to millions of people in the former soviet union.

New National Intelligence Service in Sri Lanka
Tuesday, 12 October 2010 - 1:46 AM SL Time
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The government has decided to setup a new National Intelligence Service through a new act of parliament.

It is to be established with basic civil features and like in other countries.

Informed government sources said that this service would be established under the Ministry of Defence on an urgent basis and the government expects to submit the draft bill soon.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Defence Minister has already submitted the cabinet paper in this regard.

The new intelligence service would comprise internal and external sections under the direct administration and supervision of the defence ministry.

Government sources said that the new Intelligence Service is to be set up, taking into consideration the necessity to safeguard the peace and stability in the country through an efficient national security system.

From Mano Banduwardena

General will never apologize; it is the president who should apologize – ‘War heroes for General’
Sunday, 03 October 2010 14:53

 

It is not Gen. Sarath Fonseka who should ask for pardon but the President who imprisoned him says organizer of ‘War heroes for General.’ Retired Capt. Gayan Vithanage speaking at a press conference held by the organization today. He said the General has not done any wrong to take pardon from anybody.
Speaking further Capt. Gayan Vithanage said, “What is the wrong Gen. Sarath Fonseka committed for him to take pardon from the President? All what we know is that he eradicated terrorism that waged a war for30 years against the people of Sri Lanka and after retiring from the Army service he entered politics. Hence, it is the President who should apologize for taking revenge and imprisoning the war hero who ended the thirty year old war. As soldiers we know Gen. Fonseka would never apologize for a wrong he had not committed.
The world’s best Army Commander has been imprisoned for contesting an election against the President. Contesting an electron is not an offence. It is a democratic right everyone has. Gen. Sarath Fosneka entered politics and contested the election in a very democratic manner. He entered politics against the corrupt family regime and for the benefit of the masses but not to earn for his children or to buy lands. We know that even today his family does not have a permanent house to live. They live in a rented out house.
Today at every junction, from boutique to boutique people talk of the injustice meted out to Gen. Fonseka. We warn the government that they would be able to experience the people’s power that would rally against this injustice. We call upon all retired members of the Army and their family members to join us to get Gen. Sarath Fonseka released. Our organization, without any political bias, would take all measures that could be taken to get Gen, Sarath Fonseka released.”
All those who would like to know the future programmes of the ‘War heroes for General’ could do so by dialing 0113136551.
Rfetirfed Army men Maj. Lal Fernando, Maj. Sarath Siriwardene, Capt. Raju wijayamuni and Sgt. Sunil Seneviratne too addressed the media.

http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/10/what-happened-to-good-governance.html

What happened to good governance?

Posted by Sri Lanka Guardian Business , R .M.B Senanayake 5:07:00 AM

In our traditional history to which nationalists want to take us back to, there was no bureaucracy but only a feudal patronage system of state minions under the control of the nilames- a system of farming out power and administration.

by R.M.B Senanayake

(October 10, Colombo , Sri Lanka Guardian) Administrative agencies determine who gets what from government—and how well government works. Obviously what is required is good governance and not bad governance. We have no difficulty in identifying good from bad governance. If one goes to any government department today, one sees bad governance and if there is to be development we must change this situation. How we do it is a professional issue best tackled by practitioners of public administration who also understand the theory of public administration.

It is possible to view Public Administration purely from a management point of view as a process to obtain results from the activities that the government institution is engaged in. The theory of Public Administration includes such canons as the principle of hierarchy, unity of command, specialization of functions, co-ordination and leadership in management. All these have now disappeared. Administrative leadership has been replaced by our traditional systems of intrigue, back- biting and sowing discord in organizations.

When I was the Director of Combined Services I received a call from the Minister Felix Dias Bndaranaike to see him immediately. As I went into his room I heard my name being mentioned by Vivienne Gunawardene and she was engaged in a tirade against me. I heard part of what she was saying and it was the charge that I was harassing the Leftist trade unions. As I walked in the Minister introduced me to Mrs. Gunawardene and asked her to repeat the charges. She went completely mum and shortly afterwards left with the minister grinning. The minister's conduct is according to the best canons of public administration apart from it being gentlemanly behavior. But such conduct is alien to our traditions and ancient habits and practices are being revived.

In our traditional history to which nationalists want to take us back to, there was no bureaucracy but only a feudal patronage system of state minions under the control of the nilames- a system of farming out power and administration.

Need for a politically neutral bureaucracy for a multi-party democracy

The Chinese first organized a bureaucracy which the Romans emulated and built up the massive Roman Empire . But it is the British who proved the value of a bureaucracy which was the instrument through which they controlled the far flung British Empire . After Independence the Indian leaders realized the importance of a national bureaucracy to hold the country together. So the Indian political leaders allowed the bureaucracy to function with relative independence.

Indian leaders saw to it that with the continuation of English as the medium of instruction and its use in administration the newer generations would imbibe the ideas of modern democracy and liberal values. They made no move to replace them with traditional Hindu cultural values and transmit Hindu religious nationalism. So Indian democracy has survived and liberal values are taking root in India .

India has not regressed to its caste ridden religious fundamentalist widow burning past. Not so Sri Lanka where the Buddhist clergy steeped only in traditional culture asserted themselves and launched into the political scene. SWRD won in 1956 on a totally new ethno-religious nationalism. The newer type of Members of Parliament had no understanding of the norms of democracy or their role as Members of the Legislature. They had never heard of Edmund Burke and his definition of the role of a MP or of the division of power between the Executive and the Legislature. They considered themselves the new kings of their electorates. One MP from Colombo , as an exercise of his power, demanded entry to the Operating Theatre of the General Hospital . The surgeon had to hand over the scalpel to him and leave before he got any sense into his head.

But in the districts they could freely exercise their power in the name of the people. The bureaucracy was drawn from the urban middle class and they were rather remote from the rural people. The top officials were from the elite in society. The MP saw an opportunity to exercise power by articulating the demands of his people. The demands of the people were for land and water ( dry zone) in particular. Their demands were urgent and persistent and could not be resolved by the District Administration given the constraints of resources and time involved in following orderly procedures required for good administration.

When delays took place the people went to their MP who was ever willing to intervene on their behalf. This situation soon led to the MP directly intervening in the district administration to obtain favors for their supporters. Those who voted for the Opposition were left in the cold. The MPs became the effective rulers of the countryside. But they are not disinterested parties who act only in the public interest. The Public Choice Theorists have shown that politicians and public administrators act in the interests of the people only where their personal and political interests converge with those of the people they represent.

Soon the new ‘Nilames' in charge of the countryside created chaos in the District Administration. Such canons of public administration theory like the need to observe the hierarchical principle and unity of command were neither understood nor appreciated by them. Public administration degenerated and with it democracy and the village economy suffered. All illegal encroachments on state lands were regularized and the respect for the law that had been inculcated in the people by the British was undermined.

The irrigation based farming economy in the Dry Zone has suffered the most from this takeover of power by the local MP. The maintenance of the tanks is neglected and orderly water rationing for irrigation has been disrupted with the vast amount of illegal encroachments on tank bund reservations. Tanks are not filling but getting silted without proper maintenance. Insecticides used in illicit cultivations in the upper reaches of the tanks are flowing into them, polluting the water and killing the inland fishing industry.

It is not in the interests of these MPs to check such practices for they have to ensure their re-election through pandering to the wishes of the voters. A similar situation was repeated at the Center where Ministers obliterated the distinction between the functions of the political Executive and the permanent bureaucracy. According to the Financial Regulations financial transactions such as tenders are entirely within the preserve of the officials and the Secretary to the Ministry is the Chief Accounting Officer. But what if the Secretary surrenders this function directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly to his minister? I was an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Food under the late K. Alvapillai. One day he called me and gave me a file which he wanted me to show Minister J.R Jayawardene and bring it back to him. I read the minute addressed to the minister who had called for the Pakistan Rice Purchase file. After giving reference to the tenders the Secretary ended by saying that under the Financial Regulations tenders was entirely a matter for the Secretary.

When I presented the file to the minister he read the minute and told me that he wanted to retain the file. This boundary between the bureaucracy and the political Executive exists no more. Overtly or covertly, directly or indirectly ministers today decide on tenders and other financial matters. But the nominal responsibility of the Secretary as Chief Accounting Officer is still there in the Financial Regulations. So the ministers exercise power without responsibility with no accountability for any irregularities which may arise in financial matters. The stage has been set for crony capitalists - businessmen cultivating politicians to get concessions and monetary benefits from state contracts.

The United Front Government of the 1970s realized that the State machinery was no longer working. They sought to replace it with their own Leftist party based organizations and thereby to surreptitiously set up a one party state from within. They set up Janatha Committees which added to the confusion. The SLFP tried to regularize the assumption of power by the elected MPs through the District Political Authority.

UNP fails to restore a politically neutral bureaucracy

The UNP came back to power in 1977. President J. R Jayawardene was a great leader who understood economic development. But he had no faith in democracy and was more enamored of Lee Kwan Yew's methods of strong government. He was also impatient with the bureaucracy and wanted to exercise his will despite the consequences. He ordered the IGP to promote a police officer whose record was so bad that he should have been sacked. When the IGP, a conscientious officer well known for his integrity, refused to comply he was forced to resign. Where oh where are such officers today? What foul fate has befallen our country?

President J.R. Jayewardene did nothing to ensure the protection of the public servants from the depredations of politicians. He failed to reverse the subordinate role given to the Public Service Commission by the United Front Constitution. Without such protection public officials gave up their independence thought and professional judgment and became a breed of sycophants.

Rajapakse showing his dictatorship that people of Sri Lanka do not have their Democratic rights to individual political preference any more. According to his vision any minister’s extended family should show nothing but allegiance to him only. This was the same thing that happened during Nazi Germany under Hitler .

Those who stabbed me behind my back are also in the Cabinet –President

(Lanka-e-News, Oct.09, 2010, 11.40PM) In this Cabinet there are many who have stabbed me in the back. If I wished I could have avoided giving them portfolios. There is a Minister in the Cabinet whose sister broke coconuts with Anoma Fonseka. I have with me a photograph of that event.

The President was in a fit of fury when he made these announcements at the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday.

The President who had signed the ratification for the verdict of the second military court as the Commander in chief of the Forces was in an explosive mood when the issue of Fonseka was opened for discussion when that was not a subject matter at the Cabinet meeting.

When a Minister was speaking about the pardon in regard to Fonseka, Minister Felix Perera had stated, during the period when JR Jayawardena was the President, Chandrika spoke to Jayawardena on behalf of her husband Vijaya Kumaratunge who was imprisoned on ‘Naxalite’ charges, and obtained a pardon.

FW: Gen. Sarath Fonseka, (A lion caged by hyenas )‏

It is a sad day and a black mark in the entire history of Sri Lanka.
President Mahinda Rajapakse upon his return from a failed multi million dollar visit to UN Summit in US , had shown to the entire world that the majority of Sri Lankans who are called Sinhalese are not a hybrid of a woman and a lion as the Mytho-Historical epic Mahavamsa exaggerated, but a crappy third grade mishap in a bush in ancient India where a great civilization Mohenjo-daro, now being slowly unscrambled and unearthed by historians, archeologist and anthropologist from all over the world since the last century.
What is so degrading is, not that the modern day Sinhalese can’t accept the fact that this hybrid crap of Mahavamsa couldn’t have ever occurred according to modern science, but Rajapakse’s undemocratic act giving a new interpretation, , that Sinhalese are a product of a Hyena who already had being carrying some Donkey genes with a frustrated homosapien female in the wilderness of ancient India contrary to the common belief . (I have to give credit to a fellow Anandian and a class mate of mine who is a Scientist living in USA for reminding me not too long ago that a donkey gene is also imperative to make a Sinhalese of Rajapakse Caliber and his followers )
However , there is a lionhearted man among the Sinhalese who wanted to give the true meaning of being one of those Sinhalese, which the mytho-history had exaggerated but had adopted the philosophy of Buddha three millennia ago. This lion had sacrificed his entire life to this land apparently blessed by Buddha too , to protect it’s composition unimpaired and undiminished .
In Contrast to those Hyenas like Gotabhaya who ran away from their duties of protecting our land to save only their dear lives , this Lion not only stood up against every obstacle he faced with brevity but delivered the ultimate result every decent citizen of our country had quested for, by defeating Terrorism .
Unlike the bogus attempts of Rajapakse brothers , this lion does not have to show the bodily scars of his sacrifice he sustained in liberating this land from terrorism , but his entire carrier is already being carved in to hearts and minds of millions of Sri Lankans as well as in archives of contemporary history , including military history of the world , irrespective of the Rajapakse rogues desperate attempts to erase his sacrifice from monuments erected to salute our brave Soldiers, nor by the verdicts of unconstitutional Military /Kangaroo Tribunals of Rajapaksa .
.
No hybrid of Hyena +Donkey +Homosapien + Tsunami fund misappropriate or this Mahamulana breed of cheap rogues can subjugate democracy in Sri Lanka for ever.
As a nation, our progress in this 21st century as Sri Lankans defeating LTTE Terrorism ( thanks to military geneious of Gen Fonseka,) and facing the challenges of global recession, ethnic or religious conflicts , do not depend on protecting Rajapakse hypocrisy and dictatorship creating another ruthless dynasty of kings, which the entire world had suffered through out the history of man kind, but only by establishing the constitutional rights of every individual citizen of our country adhering to the concepts of Democracy we had been building as human beings for thousands of years since the time we humans started to think beyond hunting and copulating for survival.

This is where I do not hesitate to say that Gen Sarath Fonseka had become a lion and an icon of Patriotism and Democracy in Sri Lanka..
What a shame that Sinhalese had become so ungrateful, allowing their votes to be robbed to give powers to Rajapakse rogues to cage this lion who had eradicated ruthless Terrorism in Sri Lanka bringing a dawn of peace the country had not seen for three decades!

I endorse views of Sanath de Silva of the need to establish democracy in Sri Lanka for the betterment of every individual of our country irrespective of their ethnicity , language, creed , cast or social status, and to fight against Rajapakse Dictatorship and corruption as well as for the fundamental and Democratic Rights of Gen Fonseka the utmost War Hero of our nation Sri Lanka ,in every democratic and civilized means .

Thank you all ,
Magha Dissanayake

30/09/2010
De : tomwije@yahoo.com
Envoyé : jeu. 30/09/10 18:48
À : deshapremiya@yahoo.com via ( francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr )

Please Circulate

Sri Lanka's A day of gloom‏

Mrs Fonseka Waiting For The War Hero At Welikada (30.09.10)

--- On Thu, 9/30/10, Sanath de Silva <sanathdes@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear friends,
I am so sad and outraged about the decision made by the dictator Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka to impose a prison term on General Sarath Fonseka, the man who was single-handedly responsible for planning and executing the victorious war to liberate our motherland from terrorism. Having known him for well over 40 years, it is extremely difficult for me to come to terms with this travesty of justice and I can empathize with the pain Anoma, Apsara and Aparna have to deal with right now. I wish them strength and promise them that we shall never give up our struggle to free him.
From the way the military tribunal was appointed with chosen lap dogs and the shameless way the proceedings were conducted, it was clearly evident from the very inception that they had already resolved to lock him away. So this decision has not come to him or to us as a shock.

I am writing this letter to appeal to our masses - in Sri Lanka and abroad, to unite to pressure international elements to force the regime of Sri Lanka to release General Sarath Fonseka and to ensure Sri Lankan citizens enjoy other freedoms such as freedom of press, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly as enshrined in our constitution. You may have different political beliefs but all of us aspire for fundamental freedoms and dignity so we do have a common ground to unite. In a democracy, even if we disagree with the opinion of another, we should respect the other man's right to express that opposing view. When that right is denied, we should know that democratic rights have been eroded. That is what has happened to Sri Lanka today.

While the true hero is incarcerated, the president who was an integral part of CBK government that came out with various peace packages to appease the LTTE terrorists and also while assuming duties as the president, thanks to Ranil Wickramasinghe for signing the CFA is trying to portray himself as the real hero! A man who left the battle field for the safety of Sri Lanka at the Sri Lanka's hour of need is our Defence Secretary today and has politicized all forces and shamelessly claiming credit for the victory. Why could not they do it when MR was the Prime Minister of the country and why could not he even suggest the path to victory if he knew how to do that as we could have finished this long ago?

Above are the issues I want you to critically examine without looking at them with partisan views. We are open to criticism and your views are welcome.
I have a few requests for our enthusiastic expatriates. We often get suggestions and proposals without proper participation. If you need to do anything against this regime, please take the initiative and we will help you and participate as long as your actions are lawful in this country. From my New York experience I know that there is a large segment of people who are disgruntled with the Sri Lanka mission because they have been sidelined and not received invitations to the festivities organized by the Sri Lankan mission. Mission should launch a public relations campaign to harness such people as we do not need their pressure as their motives are different. We need real men and women, who understand the gravity of the situation in Sri Lanka! We need DOERS and not just TALKERS. We need participants more than advisors.

For us the battle has just begun and we will not rest until democracy in Sri Lanka is restored and General Sarath Fonseka is freed. This may look like a gigantic task now but let us take strength from those heroic Iranians and Burmese who defied tremendous odds to stand up against the dictators of Iran and Burma and their dictatorial regimes. History shows us that dictators and their monolithic structures crumble faster than we think.

Let us unite and let us regain our country so that our beloved motherland Sri Lanka will once again stand proudly among civilized nations in the world!

Sincerely,
Sanath de Silva

De : Mano Banduwardena (manob@hotmail.com) Envoyé : jeu. 30/09/10 08:03 À : ( francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr )

Please Circulate

Before too late‏

Time to STOP the Next HITLER

"First they came ..." attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power.

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Mano Banduwardena

RE: Urgent Please Come All Together For Help Our Motherland‏

Thank you AHFESL behalf of true mother country loving people for this gesture.

We all should condemn the "verdict" against General Sarath Fonseka which has just been approved by the President Rajapaksha.Under the undemocratic and inhuman path towards a dictatorship by the Sri Lankan President and his brothers surround with traitors . It also emphasizes how the LTTE leader Kumaran Pathmanadhan,colonel Karuna,Daya master,..and so, are treated with honor of diplomatic relations given luxurious facilities off the money of Sri Lankan tax payers money,while the other arrested members or the sympathizers of the LTTE were being assassinated or being imprisoned without a proper trial.

We should also condemns this unlawful imprisonment of war winning former military chief retired,Sri Lanla's only 4 star General Sarath Fonseka who gained the highest percentage of votes in Colombo at the recent parliamentary election shows us the contradictory way of handling politics in our country to stay in power by any means by the undemocratic rules of the dictator Rajapakshe and his brothers.

Now the time has come for all Sri Lankans and it's forces to stand against undemocratic activities of the Rajapaksha regime.

Mano Banduwardena

The President returned to the Island yesterday after being away to attend the 65th UN assembly.
The Ven. Mahanayakes had addressed a letter signed by all the Prelates to the President requesting him to give the General a pardon taking into account his yeoman service and patriotic contributions to the country disregarding his alleged wrongs, if any the General has committed.

The military Court passed a three year jail sentence judgment against the General in the HiCorp case where he was indicted for favoring the Hi Corp Co. allegedly belonging to his son in law Dhanuna Thilakaratne when passing a tender for the purchase of equipment for the Army, when General Fonseka was the Army Commander and the Chairman of the Army tender Board.
General Fonseka acted as the Chairman of the tender Board by virtue of his official position as the Army Commander.
The panel of judges of the second military Court were, Major General M P Peiris (President) Major General S W L Daulagala, Major General M Haturusinghe while Rear admiral W W J S Fernando was the Court advocate.

General Fonseka is the leader of the political party DNA, and is a Colombo District M P. As he was obstructed to attend Parliament on several occasions, the Opposition pointed out that those obstructions constituted a breach of privilege., the Speaker gave an order that he should not be obstructed from attending Parliamentary sittings and meetings. Meanwhile the judicial Court too had given an order that the General shall be allowed to attend Parliament without any hindrance, and every facility should be provided to him towards that end.
In the first military court, Fonseka who was indicted for participating in politics while he was in the service of the Army, it was decided that all his official positions he held and the privileges including his pension rights he enjoyed be officially divested.

The judgment of the first military court was ratified by the President on 14th August. The cruelest irony of all this is, the very Govt. which extolled him and celebrated his war victory (defeating the world’s deadliest terrorists after a 30 year war) has deemed it fit to mete out all these punishments to him on flimsy grounds on judgments based on controversial courts alleged by legal experts in the country as illegally constituted.

It is significant to note that soon after the war was won by General Fosneka, the very President Mahinda Rajapkse who has ratified the jail sentence yesterday proudly announced to the world that he is the greatest war Hero ever.

Major General Ubaya Madiwela speaking to the media over the President’s ratification of the decision of the second military court said , Gen. Fonseka was found guilty on all four counts on the charges filed against him of not adhering to the tender procedures when awarding a tender for purchases of equipments for the Army when he was the Army Commander and the chairman of the Army tender Board.

Fonseka was sentenced to 30 months rigorous imprisonment which was ratified by the President on the 23rd as the Commander in chief of the forces. This case was filed based on four charges of degrading conduct while in the Army under Section 109 E of the Army Act .

Samaraweera said, the UNP roundly condemns this sentence, and will be launching protests against this in SL and abroad.
The President who won the Presidential elections under suspicious and dubious circumstances, and when a Presidential election petition has been filed by his rival Gen. Fonseka and is pending against the President, the latter is abusing all his powers violating the laws of the country and the traditions. Fonseka was tried before the military court as a suspect when the lawyers of the defense had argued that the judges of this court were acting like Rajapakse family’s officers. This whole exercise of military proceedings and the sentence was a manipulation and the result of a cold calculation of the Rajapakses from the very outset to jail Fonseka, he noted.
When the military court conducted proceedings on the 6th April 2010, the lawyers for the defense in their report showed that all the judges of the panel were either close friends or stooges of the either President or Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse. It is well to recall how Gotabaya told he would see that Fonseka is hanged when he gave an interview to the BBC. Is this the first step of the Govt. taken to achieve what Gotabaya promised? Samaraweera asked.

At the very beginning, Fonseka had questioned the integrity and the impartiality of the judges appointed to the military court. The President of that court, Major general Malinda Perera is the present Army Commander’s brother in law. When Fonseka was the Army Commander, this individual had disciplinary proceedings against him on charges based on his rectitude and honesty. He was also one who had been charged for providing misleading information to the military court and to Major General Parakrama Pannipitiya.

A member of the military court, Major General S W L Daulagala is a bosom friend of Gotabaya. Fonseka had told that when he was the Army Commander, Daulagala had requested Fonseka to appoint him as the commanding officer of the Gajaba regiment. Major General Haturusinghe was appointed as operations officer, Colombo on Gotabaya‘s instructions while Fonseka was the Army chief. Moreover, Haturusinghe had collected monies monthly from the LTTE according to what the LTTE suspect who ran a shop in the Liberty complex declared when he was arrested.

Thus, Gen. Fonseka has been found guilty by a court comprising judges who have been charged with most grievous and serious crimes. In other words judgment has been delivered on a patriot by a group who have committed treason and felonies against the country, he pointed out.

Following this judgment the entire nation and the international community are entertaining doubts as to the legal processes in SL and the judgments delivered without a proper legal base.

The UNP will launch a vicious protest campaign within SL and abroad against the judgment delivered against Fonseka, Samaraweera emphasized.

This cell where Wijaya Kumaratunge was imprisoned on naxalite charges during the JR Jayawardena Govt. had two fans and a bed a few days ago. These facilities were provided to former Colombo district MP Chandana Kathriarachi who was in that cell on murder charges.
Prisons sources say, when there was information that Gen. Fonseka was going to brought to this cell, both fans and the bed had been taken away.

The same sources said , that when Gen Fonsek a is brought to the cell this evening he will have to sleep on a mat as the bed has been removed along with the fans.

Judgments are being dispensed against him practically daily which would make even the King Kekille to turn in his grave. To dispense these judgments and to carry out atrocities, a group of officials and officers who eat the crumbs falling off the sumptuous tables of Rajapakses had been appointed whose whole time occupation is fawning on the Rajapakses and serving as their lackeys. The case against a war Hero, a five star General is being heard by a junior panel of officers of ‘yesterday’ who had been given promotions so that they would be more loyal to the Govt. and less to the laws and the justice they ought to implement.

The judgment against Fonseka was delivered by the chief of the judges panel of the military Court, Major General Mahinda Haturusinghe. As his name ‘Haturu’ (enemy) suggests, he has only strived to live up to this despicable name, and not to maintain the dignity and decency of his official position. My article herein is trying to explore whether ‘Haturu’ singhe has ever done any good to anybody, when and where, if any in his putrid antecedence, whereby the public can become aware as to what type of individuals held positions in the judges’ panel of the military court.

Let us commence from the period of the 1988-89 insurgency. In the cold blooded murder of 32 innocent students, the name Mahinda Haturusinghe as the Captain in the Army during that period has been implicated. Because the names of the Army officers who were held in custody were not disclosed these students were gruesomely murdered by Haturusinghe who was in charge of a Company in the Sevanagala Army camp. Over 100 statements were recorded by the CID alone against the multiple murders committed by Haturusinghe. These statements were recorded by the then CID Police Inspector Mahesh Perera who is now a senior S. P.

Later on, as Army Brigadier Haturusinghe was the chief of the joint operations command in Colombo. The white Van ruthless abductions and murders which commenced mysteriously coincided with his appointment.

When he was a Brigadier, he was for a while, the chief Commander of the Artillery Brigade. An intriguing incident during this period merits exposure. A Board was appointed to send a team for inspection and import of bullets for rifles and multi barrel guns during the Eelam war. A brother of Mahinda Saturusinghe was appointed to this Board. He was Nandana Huturusinghe, a Lieutinent Colonel. He was appointed through the influence and powers used by Mahinda Haturusinghe as the chief Commander. This team left for Ukraine and China for the inspection and recommendation of artillery for SL. It was Nandana Haturusinghe who had finally decided that the SL requirements shall be made imported from Ukraine, and an Officer of the Ukraine Company be invited to SL.

After this Ukraine officer arrived in SL, he was met at the Lakeside Hotel in Colombo, by Nandana Haturusinghe. After titillating the officer’s palate with the choicest black label whisky, Haturusinghe had demanded a kickback of 30 million rupees from the foreign officer to successfully close the deal. The Ukraine national officer who was startled by this bribery demand had complained to the Army. After an investigation Nandana Haturusinghe was interdicted from his Army post.

Brigadier Mahinda Samarasinghe the brother of the culprit had become worried and panic stricken over the punishment meted out to his brother, and had requested Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse to consider a relief for his brother. Gotabaya has advised him as the investigations are concluded, the only relief that can be sought is through an appeal to the judicial Courts. Since that time, Mahinda Saturusinghe has become the unofficial ‘contractor’ for the Rajapakses’ hired contracts.

It was during that period a lot of abduction and attacks including that of Keith Noyahr of the ‘Nation’ newspaper occurred .It was thereafter, it became exposed that Mahinda ‘Haturu’ singhe was performing duties as an enemy (‘hatura’) of the nation. The following chain of incidents bear out this truth: Mahinda Haturusinghe has had very close and cordial relation s with a frontline LTTE terrorist Parbahakaran alias ‘majestic Prabha’who had been masquerading as a trader in the Majestic shopping complex .Two electronic parts shops, No. 26 and 27 in the 3rd floor of the majestic city had been run by Majestic Prabha. Mahinda Haturusinghe has even collected cash from the LTTE via Majestic Prabha. While Haturusinghe was paid a monthly sum of Rs. 30,000/- for his vehicle by the Govt., he had also collected another Rs.30,000/- monthly from Majestic Prabha. Following the arrest of Majestic Prabha, all these facts were disgorged by him.

According to reports, It was Mahinda Saturusunghe who had used his influence with the Defense Ministry to bring down LIeutinent Colonel Ranjith Perera to Colombo who was in custody in Jaffna for treason for his involvement in supplying information to the LTTE.

Moreover, Mahinda Saturusinghe who was only a Brigadier at that time was selected for the National defense Academy course which awards the highest qualification for an Army officer, on the instructions of Gotabaya Rajapakse.Only Major Generals are selected for this course as a rule and practice in India, China and America, the main countries. Yet, on strong directives of Gotabaya, Mahinda Saturusinghe had been chosen. This is a further confirmation that the Rajapakse brothers will care two hoots for the hallowed traditions and laws of the country when they do not serve their selfish purpose. Laptop gift from Majestic Prabha
A few days before Mahionda Haturusinghe was to leave for Philipines, Majestic Prabha has visited the office of Mahinda Huturusinghe situated in the High security zone. Haturusinghe had introduced Majestic Prabha to Brigadier B A Perera, the Commander of the 112 Brigade who was to take over the duties of Haturusinghe when he is abroad. He had instructed Perera to provide Majestic Prabha with whatever facilities and comforts Prabha requests, while saying ‘machang, he is a nice fellow’ pointing to Majestic Prabha.

But, Perera (now, 53rd Army Commander) who is more loyal to his official duties had replied, machang his name is loathsome to me. To me he looks a double agent. Hence, there will be no transactions between him and myself. Later, when Majestic Prabha tried to meet Perera on several occasions, the latter had not responded. Majestic Prabha has invited Perera for so many functions including SSC club functions, Hilton Hotel dinners and others.

To Mahinda ‘Haturu’ singhe who was leaving for Philipines, it was Majestic Prabha who had supplied all the books, clothes and a Laptop computer. Mind you all these were received as gifts from a LTTE spy by a SL’s so called patriotic Army chief still going strong with Govt. backing.
Friends of the traitorous foe When this Haturusinghe who is a bosom friend of the deadliest foe was in Philipines, the Govt. intelligence unit took majestic Prabha into custody. That was on the 20th of March 2009. When he was interrogated for a long time, he had confessed to having ties with Mahinda Haturusinghe. After the Govt. intelligence division informed the Army intelligence unit of these disclosures, the Army intelligence unit chief Major General Amala Karunasekera questioned Majestic Prabha, the LTTE spy, when it was confirmed that the latter has indeed had close ties with Mahinda Haturusinghe.

Amal Karunasekera had then forwarded a report thereof to the Army Commander at that time, General Sarath Fonseka. After it was confirmed that Haturusinghe did have connections with a LTTE spy, it was directed that Haturusinghe be brought back to Colombo immediately from Philipines and placed in custody. Letters regarding this and about a disciplinary inquiry being conducted against him and due punishment being meted out to him was forwarded to the Defense Ministry. It is a mystery that the defense Ministry has so far not taken any action in pursuance of these directives. Doesn’t this make it abundantly clear that the country’s defense Secretary is much more concerned with the security and protection of Haturusinghe than the country’s ?

Following the end of the war when all arrangements were made to appoint a military court to try Haturusinghe who came back to SL, Army Commander Fonseka resigned his position and was appointed as the chief of the defense staff. Mahinda Haturusinghe who returned to SL was, instead of being punished was appointed as the Commander in chief for Jaffna. Such an appointment was a flagrant breach of the Army regulations. Moreover, for such an appointment as the Commander in chief, Mahinda Haturusinghe should have served as a Commander in chief for a division at least for two years. Haturusinghe did not have such a qualification. Was Haturusinghe exempted from this indispensable qualification because he is a servile crony and lackey of the Defense Secretary ?

Finally, it was this dastardly degradingly sordid individual who has been appointed as the chief of the panel of judges to hear the trial of General Fonseka in the military Court. Therefore no matter what evidence is produced in such a court by the General Fonseka in his defense, the decision of this illegal court necessarily has to be one which would put Kekile King too to shame. Of course, the injustice meted out to General Fonseka and the unjust judgment against him were foregone conclusions in such a manipulative and atrociously designed Court.

It was such a court conducted by traitors which delivered a judgment recently to send a patriotic Army Commander to jail. Of course, people could not have expected anything better from such a Court. But, the worst treason committed by a nation is when it stands idle and watches these injustices being perpetrated by traitors before its own eyes. -By Sandaruwan Senadheera-

The Buddhist Prelates have expressed in the letter that even if Gen. Fonseka has committed a wrong, considering his yeoman service for the country and the patriotic sacrifices he made, the General shall be released.
Ven. Tibatuwave Sri Sumangala mahanayake Thero of the Malwatte Asgiriya Maha sangha sabha, Udugama Sri Buddharakitha Maha Nayake of the Asgiriya sabha, Duvaldena Sri Gnanathissara mahanayake of the Amarapura maha sangha and Wevel deniye Medalankara mahanayake of the Ramanya maha sangha have together made this request in their letter which was posted to the President under registered cover.

This was well illustrated when, over 100 State leaders were invited to be present for a convivial party there organized by the President as SL’s head on the 24th, only a single State leader attended the party. That solitary leader who attended that function was the Iran President Mohomed Ahmadinijad who was allegedly elected on election malpractices and vote rigging. Even he had stayed only 3 minutes at the function. Among the so many diplomats of the countries of the world, only 8 of them had graced the occasion. What was most disappointing was, even the Diplomats of the so called friendly countries, India, Pakistan and Bangla Desh have not attended the convivial gathering.Though the Foreign Ministers of India, Pakistan and the State leader of Bangla Desh had participated at the function, the conviviality and cordiality for which the function was organized, sadly had not been there. This was the first time SL faced such a humiliating and degrading situation at the UN, reports say.

There were over 500 invitees. Among them were over 100 State leaders invited. But finally that much hyped and hoped for party organized for the State leaders, ironically, turned out be not a party with the participation of State leaders, but rather a party of Rajapakse henchmen, stooges, cronies and lackeys, including those running ‘sex shops’ and those linked to Mafia Organizations in New York. Not a single member of the Organization, united Sri Lanka was invited, reports say, though this Organization had in the past helped SL immensely. The most ludicrous part of the event was the time wasted by Rajapakse on taking photographs. There had been a long queue to take photographs with the President.

At the poorly attended function too, the President has like in his jumbo delegation shown his proneness for exhibitionism and wasteful extravagance at state expense. He has spent country’s money much more lavishly even in excess of Obama. Obama‘s conviviality party was held at ‘National History museum’ in New York which is not much of an expensive venue. SL President has had his ill attended party at the super luxury ‘Waldorf Astoria’ Hotel in its most expensive ‘Empire Ballroom’ Hall. It was very unfortunate that SL President who spent poverty stricken SL’s precious funds most lavishly towards making a grand function was most poorly attended with only one State leader being its guest, whereas, the much richer country’s President Obama expending less on the parallel conviviality function had a Hall full of State leaders and VIP guests gracing the occasion. The President who was unfortunate with organizing his own function which flopped miserably, was also unfortunate to be present at Obama ‘s function to witness its tremendous success, according to reports.

It is learnt that the cold shouldering of Mahinda Rajapakse by State leaders of other countries was not confined to Rajapakse’s conviviality party alone. Even at the UN State assembly sessions, Rajapkse was sidelined. Though he had made a scramble to be in the front row for photographs, the leaders of the Democratic countries had not given him a place. When all State leaders met UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, SL had however experienced tremendous obstacles to get an appointment, sources say. After moving heaven and earth, at last he had been able to pose for a photograph with a few leaders, they are ,Jamaican, Hungary and Turkey, the countries which are of no consequence to SL.

When the President addressed the assembly, he had committed a blunder. AState leader, before he addresses the assembly sits in the cubicle meant for him behind and not among his group. But, Rajapakse has instead sat in the front row reserved for his group. A n officer attached to the United Nations who had seen Rajapakse blundering has immediately gone forward and led him to the State leader’s cubicle.

All State leaders were allowed two speeches. One was, about how to eradicate poverty by 2015; the other was the addressing the main assembly. President Rajapakse had to witness a most unsavory spectacle at this juncture: when he was making his first speech in the morning of Wednesday the 22nd, there had been no officers at State level in the front seats. Besides, a majority of the seats were empty. But, in contrast, when Obama started speaking all the seats were occupied and the Hall was spilling over with crowds. They had even to keep standing when listening to the speech. On the second day too, President Rajapakse had faced the same or even worse disappointment. The Hall which was filled to capacity with crowds, some even standing as a result of the overcrowding when Obama was delivering his speech, had suddenly turned empty when Rajapakse began his speech.

The Army media spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala told Lanka e news that a subsequent announcement will be made with regard to the punishment that shall be meted out to him. The decision will be conveyed to the President. After the latter signs and ratifies the decision as the Commanding Chief of the Forces, the court will announce the punishment, he added.

The maximum punishment the military Court can give in a case as this is 3 years in jail.
The Lawyer for Gen. Fonseka, Rienzie Aresecularatne said in open Court when it met yesterday (16) that he is not going to make any concluding pleas requesting mercy or justice on behalf of his client, because he and his client have no faith in the proceedings conducted by the military Court nor in the panel of judges.

Gen. Fonseka’s stance had all along been that he does not repose faith in the Court proceedings or its judges; and he does not expect the military court to dispense justice fairly and justly in respect of him. He also repeatedly stated that this military Court was commenced solely and wholly with the aim of assassinating his political character and to jail him.
When the Lawyer for the accused handed over the summons to the judges yesterday to summon Asoka Thoradeniya the witness for Fonseka, it was rejected by the judges, perhaps because they had already decided on this judgment.

Even the request by Fonseka’s lawyer yesterday, to give him time until 20th to furnish evidence in writing was rejected by the inquiring Judge Shavindra Fernando.

The judgment delivered in the first military Court against Fonseka was to strip him of all his official positions in the Army whereby he was deprived of even his pension rights.

Non Violent Peace Force officer ordered to quit country: 5th officer in 3months so ordered to leave
(lanka-e-News, Sep.18, 2010, 8.45PM)

An American National Dan Hogan, the co ordinating officer for security in Sri Lanka of the non violent peace Force- a non Governmental Organization (NGO) worldwide championing the cause of the Media and their security had been ordered to quit the country by the SL immigration and emigration authorities before the end of September.

Hogan was the Security co ordinating officer in Vavuniya and Batticaloa. His application to extend his visa had been rejected by the SL Secretariat dealing with NGOs.

After the commencement of the office of the National confidential information investigation unit in relation to human rights and media security, Hogan is the fifth Non violent peace Force officer who had been ordered to quit within the last three months.
Because these officers of the non violent peace force in Sri Lanka are being sent out, the Organization is contemplating sending a member of the Commonwealth to SL.

In the ordinary circumstances, a Foreign officer of an NGO is issued a visa to be in SL for a maximum period of three years. In the case of Foreign officers of the NGO s supplying aid to SL, visas for periods more than three years is issued.

Today might be a very sad day for all law abiding Sri Lankans

Dear friends,

I know you all have been there with my father since the presidential election and have been watching closely as to what the government has been doing to him day by day. Things are said to become better with time but so far we are yet to see that day. However, I feel like the time has come to voice out. What are we waiting for? If we do not fight for democracy now, when are we planning on fighting for it?
My father is an icon as to what the dictators are willing to do.
However, he seems to still stand strong without bending to their will. He does not change parties or change his views just because the going gets tough. He believes that if going to jail is what it takes to bring the people their rights, then let it be so. Think about it, if it’s a normal political life he wants, why is he the only one suffering in jail? Why does he not just give in to what the government says? He wants a better tomorrow not just for him self but for all Sri Lankans. That is why he has decided to sacrifice his happiness for others.

We waited all this time hoping for a miracle to happen. But, if you don’t really stand by him now, the government will make sure you will never get the opportunity to do so.
So, please do what you can to save our hero. Even a small gesture might go a long way. He once promised a country free of terror and kept his word. He has once again promised a country that stays true to democracy. Therefore, give your assistance to him to keep his word.
Apsara Fonseka.
P.S - Below is an outline of what has happened on the 2nd court martial and what is likely going to be the outcome.

SECOND COURT MARTIAL OF GEN SARATH FONSEKA
GUILTY VERDICT TO BE ISSUED SEPTEMBER 17 AT 11AM

The government will proceed with this mockery of the legislature even though:
1. The government itself admitted that Hicorp was a lie created by them and that there
is no illegal involvement.

2. There is no evidence to suggest that Sarath Fonseka had an arbitrary hand in the
selection process as:
· All tenders were recommended by other officers
· All tenders follow a set procedure for selection
· All tenders pass through the Defence Secretary's company “Lanka Logistics & Technologies”, the sole procurement agency for all military equipment (Where Attorney General Mohan Pieris too sat on the Board of Directors)
· There have been no instance of any alteration of details by Sarath Fonseka (ex: quantities / specifications)

3. The Defence lawyers are not allowed to present their statements.
The courts have attempted to prevent a written submission by the Defence Council
Arsakularatne, so that no written submission is available in the official court logs for a
later appeal.

4. The Defence lawyers are not allowed to bring in their witnesses.
Maj Gen Thoradenity, a member of the Tender Board who was willing to come forward
and testify that nothing illegal happened has been rejected as a witness.
38 other such witnesses have also been rejected by the Prosecution.

5. The Defence lawyers are not allowed to contest the time of the trial.
Even though it happens at a time when they need to represent another trial in Galle.

The court will go ahead with the planned time of 11am for the trial, without the Defence
lawyers and are expected to give another guilty verdict.
This is the first time in history that such blatant disregard for the legal rights and procedures of
court is being shown by a Government and President.
Please say or do something! Protest in any way you can.
Once the legal system is corrupted as well - there is no protection for anyone in the nation!

NATIONAL constitutions come in two main types. Some are prescriptive, enshrining freedoms, curtailing the powers of the state and generally hampering would-be dictators. Others, however, tend to the descriptive, and are often revised to catch up with changes that have already happened. Into this class can be put Sri Lanka’s 1978 constitution, this week amended for the 18th time, with unseemly haste.
The Sri Lanka described in the revised charter is not a pretty place. It is one where the forms of parliamentary democracy are preserved but the substance has become subordinated to almost untrammelled presidential power. With the opposition divided, his rival in the presidential election in January in detention and his popularity still high, President Mahinda Rajapaksa already seems monarch of all he surveys.
The amendment changes the constitution in two main ways. The first is to remove the bar on the president’s serving more than two six-year terms. First elected president in 2005, and then re-elected with a thumping majority in January, Mr Rajapaksa has in fact not even started his second term. But he seems to be settling in for the long haul.
As government spokesmen have pointed out, however, Sri Lanka’s voters will at least have the chance to turf him out in six years’ time. That is why it is the second change that is more pernicious. It is (such is the way of descriptive constitutions) to overturn the 17th amendment. This was an admittedly muddled attempt to curb the powers of the “executive presidency”, partly through a “constitutional council”. After the latest change, the constitution will both grant the president immunity and also give him final authority over all appointments to the civil service, the judiciary and the police. He is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Almost the only formal constraint on him—electoral considerations aside—is an obligation to show up in parliament once a quarter.
Sri Lanka, goes the argument of Mr Rajapaksa’s cheerleaders, needs a strong executive to seize the chances of peaceful development offered by last year’s victory in the 26-year civil war with the Tamil Tigers. But confusingly they also point to that victory—grasped with a ruthlessness that shocked many of Sri Lanka’s foreign friends—as evidence of the virtues of a powerful presidency. Indeed, whatever problems Sri Lanka’s political system suffers from, the weakness of the presidency, which is already directly responsible for over 90 institutions, is not one of them. Quite the contrary: Mr Rajapaksa himself, before he tasted its benefits first-hand, used to campaign for the abolition of the executive presidency.
His new vision of further strengthening the president’s powers has been greeted with an outcry from Sri Lanka’s liberals, but few mass protests. The public must feel bewildered by it all. The change was pushed through as an “urgent” parliamentary bill in under two weeks from the draft’s first appearance, thanks to Mr Rajapaksa’s recent acquisition of the requisite two-thirds majority. Such important changes should have been put to a referendum. Mr Rajapaksa might well have won one. But a campaign would at least have thrown the issues open to public debate and scrutiny.

Because he can
The only urgent compulsions facing Mr Rajapaksa and his brothers (two have senior jobs in his government and a third is the parliament’s speaker) are those of parliamentary arithmetic and personal popularity. Still basking in the glow of military and electoral triumphs, the president has done in haste what he knows he can get away with. That he has preferred to put the consolidation of his family’s power ahead of a sorely needed national reconciliation with an aggrieved Tamil minority is a decision Sri Lanka will repent at leisure.
Leaders

http://www.economist.com/node/16992141?story_id=16992141&fsrc=rss

Idi Mahinda-Amin is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on September 23rd between 9.00am and 1.00pm.
Below are the other interesting facts surrounding his visit:
a) 4 - floors (approximately 30 rooms per floor) at Waldorf Astoria has been reserved for the delegation
b) 85 Limos have been reserved for 10 days and each Limo will be paid $ 45.00 per hour for 19 hours a day for 10 days.
( You do the math and inform the poor souls who remit valuable foreign currency to Sri Lanka and the cost incurred to our mission here is ONLY $ 13 Million!)
c) The delegation has 130 members but the UN has issued only 5 passes so 125 members will be watching his address from the hotel room
d) A woman called Muditha Hailyedda, (who fraudulently claims a relationship to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa) has started calling other embassies requesting them for any excess passes
e) It is also said that the person who made the reservations is paid by the Limo company $ 10.00 per hour for 19 hours a day for 85 Limos for 10 days!
This is the commission - 10X19X85X10 - & 161,500.00 - way to go Ms. Haliyedda!

The President who is leading this massive delegation this time as usual is comprised of nearly 130 members !!. The expenditure to cover this jumbo tour is Rs. 140 million !, according to reports.

Although the President is taking such a large crowd with him , at any session of the assembly , a State leader receives only five tickets for entrance . It is learnt that the SL office in UN is therefore busy collecting tickets from countries which are attending the sessions with fewer members than the quota. Even the delegation of Britain comprises only 15 members though it is such a large country relatively . It is little wonder therefore, according to Embassy sources in New York , that the Jumbo delegation of SL , which is such a small country ,is frowned at and looked down with ridicule by other countries around the world.

In addition , the SL Embassy in New York has hired as many as 85 super luxury Limousines for the travelling comfort of the members of this Jumbo delegation . The hiring charges for every vehicle is US $ 45/- per hour and is on a 19 hour daily hire basis starting from 6.00 a .m . in the morning until night.

The expenditure for the vehicles for 10 days totals to $ 726,750/- made up as follows: 45 x19x 85x10 dollars. In SL rupees it costs Rs. 70 million !!

President and his jumbo delegation has taken abode in the super luxury Hotel ‘Waldorf Astoria’in New York. Four floors have been reserved for his Jumbo delegation. The rent for each floor is US $ 30,000/-. That means the cost for the four floors reserved is US $ 120,000/-. If the reservation is for a minimum of five day s, the cost will total to US $ 600,000/-. In SL rupees it will be 60 million ! Accordingly the cost of vehicles and the Hotel stay alone totals to over Rs. 130 million! – a poverty stricken nation is astounded and dumbfounded at these statistics!

The most awesome phenomenon and the biggest joke in all this grand generosity at State expense is, even American President Barack Obama has only reserved one floor (40th floor) for his delegation.

It is reported that on the vehicle hiring alone, a secretary attached to the SL Embassy has received millions in Commission. While there is an officer in charge of these duties, this Secretary has claimed prerogatives based on her alleged blood relationship with Gotabaya Rajapakse stating that he is her baapa (uncle)’.
When there are vehicles in plenty and at one’s beck and call, and can be hired just on a telephone call, this ‘daughter’ who is basking in the oozing love of ‘Gota baappa’ has elected to hire 85 super luxury limousines for obvious reasons. She has hired 40 vehicles from Air Seelan, a vehicle hiring Co. in New York. She is being paid a commission of US $ 10/ per hour every hour’s hire. On this basis she is collecting a commission of US $ 161,500/- (10x19x 85x10). The SL rupee equivalent is Rs. 16,150,000/-.! Thanks to Gota baapa.

It is reported that as this ‘daughter’ very frequently uses the words Gota Baappa when she speaks on the phone while she is at work. Hence others are scared to expose her frauds or make complaints against her.
It is also learnt that this ‘daughter’ of Gota baapa, practically every month collects a sum of US $ 500 to 1000/- by forwarding medical bills from a Doctor who is a close friend of hers. This ‘daughter’ who is bathed by Gota baappa ‘s compassionate water is now heading for trouble, it is revealed, as a group in the Embassy is getting ready to expose her regardless of Gota baappa.

The 65th UN assembly was inaugurated on the 14th officially. The Victory assembly of the Organization of the century is being held from the 20th to the 22nd. The Main conference where the State leaders will be attending is to commence on the 23rd. The SL President is scheduled to address the General assembly.

Our New York correspondent reports that apart from these expenditures, colossal sums have been disbursed towards Air fares.

Amidst this, a group who made sacrifices for the country claim that they have been forgotten by the President on his tour of the UN. The Sri Lankans who are residing in America accuse that the President is now associating with businessmen when he arrives for the UN assembly, and does not invite for parties those who made immense sacrifices in the days of the war. They spent all their monies and made donations in cash, clothes and medicines to the Forces, and spent lavishly for the functions the President attended, when he came on the previous tours of the UN. It is reported that now, the President’s functions are being organized not by Sri Lankans of decency and dignity, but by two Businessmen in New York who are running a ‘sex shop’ and engaged in sordid activities. This picture gives a glimpse of the super luxury Hotel ‘Waldorf Astoria’ and one of the super luxury

manob@hotmail.com _ À francoeurope
To be published in AHFESL
Mano Banduwardena

Vengeance continue contre General Fonseka

Aucun des précédents Chef d'Etat Sri Lankais n'a montré un tel irrespect de la loi comme le fait le Président Rajapakse. Aucun d’eux n’aurait traité son Chef de l’armée de cette façon. Le non respect de la loi et la corruption se manifeste à tous les niveaux.
Nous prions la communauté internationale, les organismes de droit de l'homme et citoyens d’intervenir pour la liberté et de la démocratie Sri Lanka et éviter que le pays s’oriente vers un régime totalitaire.

1. Des membres de leur électorat sont préoccupés par les développements récents au Sri Lanka, d'une manière plus importante le traitement subit par le Général Sarath Fonseka, ancien candidat à la présidentielle et actuel membre du Parlement.
2. Sarath Fonseka est un général de 4 étoiles, reconnu par la communauté internationale comme étant un commandant militaire exceptionnel. Il entame son 7ème mois d'emprisonnement au Quartier Général de la Navale du Sri Lankaise. Il est poursuivi devant la cour martiale pour 2 affaires relevant de la cour martiale et 23 affaires civiles pour s’être opposé au Président et au Gouvernement en place.

3. Pour ces motifs, la cour martiale condamne General Sarath Fonséka et le destitue de son titre. Les avocats de Sarath Fonséka conteste cette décision car :
- les 3 principaux généraux qui avaient ouvertement accusé GeneralFonseka faisaient partie du jury.
- Les dates d'auditions ont été choisies alors que les avocats de General Fonseka avaient à plusieurs reprises indiqués que General Fonséka n’était pas disponible à ces dates là.
- Bien que les avocats de Fonseka aient produits des preuves de non crédibilité du jury et du système, les auditions ont quand même eu lieu et la cour martiale n’a pas tenu compte de ces objections.
- D'une manière plus importante, les avocats n’ont pas eu la possibilité de produire les preuves dont ils disposaient (déclaration de témoins affirmant que Fonséka n’avait pas mené d’activités politiques lorsqu’il était en fonction, ce qui constitue une des charges contre lui). Par conséquent, ses avocats font appel de cette décision pour manquement de preuves évidentes.

4. Il n’a pas eu la possibilité de se défendre face à un jury partial.
5. En outre, il n’a pas été jugé et traité avec le respect des droits fondamentaux des prisonniers politiques.
6. Sa famille et ses alliés sont constamment harcelés, menacés voire emprisonnés.
7. Avec le gouvernement actuel, le Sri Lanka s’oriente dangereusement vers une dictature.
8. Il n'y a aucune liberté de presse. Les journalistes ne peuvent plus rapporter ces atrocités. Ils sont menaces voire tués.
9. Il est urgent que la communauté internationale viennent en aide au Sri Lanka.
10. L’UE et la Grande Bretagne ont d’ores supprimer les privilèges et le GSP.
11. L'ONU a missionné une commission indépendante pour examiner les affaires courantes du pays, mais le gouvernement Sri Lankais s’y oppose fermement.
12. Les Elders, un groupe de leaders globaux comprenant l’archevêque Desmond Tutu et les anciens Présidents Nelson Mandela et Jimmy Carter ont publié un rapport sur la situation et ont invité la communauté internationale à intervenir rapidement.

Nous tenons à rapporter les faits suivants : le 12 août 2010, à Galle, la police a arrêté avec force et brutalité une manifestation démocratique et paisible organisée par l'Alliance Nationale Démocratique (ADN) exigeant la libération du Général retraité Sarath Fonseka, le chef de l'ADN, pour mettre fin aux abus contre la démocratie et réduire le coût de la vie.
Au début de cette manifestation paisible, la police a ordonné aux manifestants de se disperser. Ces derniers leur ont précisé qu’il n’y a aucune loi qui interdise une manifestation paisible. Qu’il s’agit d’un droit légitime et qu’ils allaient continuer à protester paisiblement.

Les policiers ont brutalement attaqué les manifestants en employant des gaz lacrymogènes et les bâtons, blessant plusieurs personnes. Plusieurs manifestants ont été arrêtés.
Plus tard les membres d'AND, dont les parlementaires, Mr. Vijitha Herath, secrétaire de l'ADN et M. Ajith Kumara se sont rendus au commissariat de police de Galle pour déposer une plainte contre l'attaque et pour demander la liberation des manifestants. Ils ont été battus et arrêtés par la police, selon nos sources, sur ordre du Secrétaire de la Défense. Ils ont été traduits en justice sous de fausses accustions. Ils auraient endommagé la propriété d'état. Nous, IHR croyons que cet incident est un tournant crucial dans la suppression de la démocratie et des droits de l'homme dans ce pays par le gouvernement actuel.

Le gouvernement avait supprimé les parties politiques d'opposition, les droites de telles parties et les citoyens pour tenir les protestations paisibles contre ce qu'ils croient sont des actes injustes ou antidémocratiques. C'est le dernier incident et nous croyons qui illustre une tendance très sérieuse due à plusieurs raisons. Premièrement, la police a supprimé les droites des personnes de présenter des protestations paisibles. Deuxièmement il montre que la suprématie de la loi a été contestée et les personnes ne peuvent pas faire confiance sur l'autorité de maintien de l'ordre, la police, parce qu'elles assaillent et logent les frais faux contre les plaignants qui vont à la protection de recherche de police. Troisièmement une dictature forme les représentants des personnes de attaque des parties politiques d'opposition et les arrête sur les frais faux. Indépendamment de cet incident il y a des séries d'incidents semblables qui ont eu lieu dans le passé récent qui a tué plusieurs personnes quand elles étaient sous la garde de police comprenant un étudiant, viol d'une d'ex-femme soldat par trois policiers à l'intérieur d'un commissariat de police, punition illégale à un dirigeant de gouvernement en le bondissant à un arbre par un ministre du conseil qui montre que la règle de la loi n'est pas imposée dans le pays. L'abolition de la Commission de police par le président a donné la puissance sans garantie à la police et à la portée aux politiciens de partie d'acte d'influencer la police. Le Secrétaire de la Défense, un frère du président, commandes la police et les forces de sécurité selon ses souhaits et fantaisies ignorant la loi du pays. Il agit en tant que politicien plutôt qu'un dirigeant administratif aîné de gouvernement. Il a les pouvoirs de détenir des personnes sans les produire aux cours sous la prévention de la Loi de terrorisme. Nous d'IfHR estimer fortement que le gouvernement actuel du Sri Lanka maltraite par habitude la démocratie et les droits de l'homme sans crainte d'être tenu au compte. Notre intérêt particulier est le manque de la communauté internationale de presser le gouvernement sri-lankais finir des abus. Nous invitons avec respect vous et toute autre communauté internationale à employer n'importe quelle influence que vous devez arrêter les abus de la démocratie et des droits de l'homme effectués par le gouvernement.

Mano Banduwardena - 4 Septembre 2010, FRANCE

Sarath Fonseka

To all SF supporters:

Thank you very much!

For taking the time to be there, for taking the initiative and for taking that stand.

Not only did it mean a lot to our father but it meant a lot to us, his family. To know that we are not alone in this struggle and to know that you are still by our side means a lot.

Our heartiest gratitude goes to all of you who were able to come and to the ones who could not make it but are still with us.

Apsara & Aparna

Mano Banduwardena

Beautiful Thought by Lord Buddha:

Once Buddha was travelling with a few of his followers. While they were passing a lake, Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from the lake."

The disciple walked up to the lake. At that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink?"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink."

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake.

The disciple went back, and found that the water was still muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.

After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back.

This time, the disciple found the mud had settled down, and the water was clean and clear. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said," See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be, and the mud settled down on its own -- and you have clear water.

Your mind is like that too ! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."

Having 'Peace of Mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!


TREAT EVERYONE WITH POLITENESS
EVEN THOSE WHO ARE RUDE TO YOU
NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT NICE
BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE NICE.

Prison cell at Navy Headquarters
20th July 2010

My dear Sri Lankans living here and overseas, members of the armed forces, police and home guards, families of the war heroes, friends and relatives.

I write this as a political prisoner who has been confined to a prison cell for more than five months, deprived of many liberties that one would take for granted in a democratic society. A number of spurious charges have been framed against me by the vengeful Rajapaksa regime for simply daring to contest the presidential election against Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In the past, this country cherished and respected the democratic rights of the people, giving them the freedom to exercise their franchise, independently and without prejudice. Standing up for what a person believed in was never deemed a crime, nor was that person harassed, intimidated and treated as an enemy by those who were in power. In the past, our leaders conducted themselves as statesmen/stateswomen and did not resort to intimidating or imprisoning their political opponents. But that was then. Here I am today, forced into solitary confinement and treated as a criminal simply because I chose to exercise my democratic rights.

I’m not saddened about being confined to a prison cell, but what pains me is the overall situation in the country where the people have been subjugated, through fear and intimidation, against voicing their opinion on any issues, be it governance, economic wellbeing, the rule of law or their rights.

Political Freedom
----------------------------
In the run-up to the presidential election, the Rajapaksa regime talked about Hitler and Idi Amin. Looking back, I feel somewhat relieved, that although my victory was stolen, people now know who the real Hitlers and Idi Amins are. In the past, our leaders, no matter what party they were elected from, never behaved in the inhuman, unjust or undemocratic manner of the present Head of State. Actually, I feel proud that I made the right decision, although risky, to shed my uniform and challenge this tyrannical regime, which is suppressing the rights of the people and violating all democratic norms. I am certain the larger percentage of the population agrees with me and this has given me the inspiration and the motivation to continue with my fight for a just society even if this means more spurious charges will be framed against me and I may have to spend another 10 to 15 years in jail.

I am 59 years old now. Up until my incarceration I lead a very successful life and when I die, I can do so, content that I saved my motherland not only from the scourge of terrorism but also prevented it from being dissected into separate states.

My mother died at the age of 72 and my father at age 76. I may, despite the tension of living in a war situation and the present imprisonment, follow in my father’s footsteps and live to see my 75th birthday. This means I have another 15 years left in me and even if I am to spend these 15 years in jail for my country and for my people, I will die content in the knowledge that everything I’ve done, I’ve done for my beloved country and her people.

However, I am not prepared to just roll over and die just because the regime wishes so. On the contrary I am determined to fight with every breath I have to save my country and my people from this despotic regime, which will never give due consideration for welfare of the people and will always put the needs of a few in power above the needs of the masses.

I know the task I have undertaken is extremely risky in the present day context. But I will never give up and am even ready to sacrifice my life for the people of this country, as I have nothing to lose. In the worst case scenario, my wife will lose a husband and my children their father, but it would be a worthy task, as my family and I have spent a long time together when compared with the families of war heroes, who lost their loved ones early in life.

Life in confinement
---------------------------------
On June 23 my younger daughter, who is still an undergraduate, celebrated her 24th birthday. I wished her over the phone from my prison cell, knowing her eyes were filled with tears as were mine. Every time I speak on the phone to my elder daughter, I know she too has tears in her eyes and that she lives in fear, concerned for the welfare of her husband who is in hiding, fearing for his life.

We had my mother-in-law’s seventh day alms giving on June 23. Although I should have been there by my wife’s side, I did not request permission to attend the ceremony as I knew it would be a waste of time and effort. Partway through the ceremony, my wife visited me for few minutes and left with tears in her eyes.

So life in confinement is indeed tearful and painful for me. But I do not regret my decision to enter politics, and will endure agony with a smile, for the sake of the future of my people and my country.

Post War Sri Lanka
---------------------------------
It has been more than a year since we liberated the country from the grip of terrorism. I feel overwhelmed when I reflect on what we finally achieved, and the sheer dedication, commitment and hard work of the forces during the two years and nine months battle that brought about the historic victory. No one thought my promise to defeat the scourge of terrorism would become a reality. But we proved otherwise. This was possible because of the courage and conviction of the valiant members of our security forces, some of who made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

Those who have no idea about the hard work and commitment that ensured victory, will obviously, not have much respect for the soldiers who sacrificed much and will not think twice about putting them behind bars or terminating their services. I get emotional when I think of the injustice committed on these war heroes and it pains me greatly, when I think about the thousands of young men who sacrificed their lives and others who were rendered disabled by just carrying out my orders to achieve our common goal – to eradicate terrorism and liberate the country.

However, it is even more painful to look at the post war situation and acknowledge that instead of using the golden opportunity to ensure that a terrorism free Sri Lanka prospers and her people live in a free country, the present administration has used the freedom to subvert democracy, suppress the people and augment the powers of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers.

Victory Day Parade
--------------------------------
Although the government commemorated the war heroes in the victory parade, it was not done in the true spirit of respecting those who contributed to the war victory. It was purely another self- glorifying event and yet another opportunity to vilify me. Significantly, I was not invited to the event, even as a Member of Parliament, though all MP’s were invited. It is indeed a pitiful situation when the Commander in Chief celebrates the war victory, while ensuring the army commander who won him the war languishes in prison.

I was not given an opportunity to witness the victory parade that saw those who were commanded and guided to victory by me marching proudly on. However, I could hear them on parade and I could see the air force fly-past through the 12- inch gap over the sealed window of my prison cell in the 3rd floor of the Navy junior officers’ quarters. I watched the fly-past with tears in my eyes and thanked the air force for granting me at least that much. My tears were not of sadness, but those of joy, because I had the satisfaction of being the person who paved the way for the victory that was being celebrated out there.

I may be the only General to have experienced such a situation, subsequent to orchestrating a grand war victory. In a normal scenario, a victorious General will be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. But sadly it has not been so in Sri Lanka. Our Commander in Chief has instead sought to ruin the General and weaken the army by destroying its spirit.

Politicisation of the Army
--------------------------------------
It is distressing to see the manner in which the military is being politicised. I have always taken immense pride in the fact that I managed to instill discipline in the army and transform it into a model outfit that inculcated professionalism above all else. This is why we were able to liberate the country from the 30-year grip of terrorism. But the Rajapaksa regime, though appreciative of the achievements of the army, have embarked on a devious course of politicization that may well destroy it at the end.

The services of many professional officers were terminated with scant respect for the future of their families, because these officers, who under my command, held very important and sensitive positions during the crucial stage of the battle. Losing these Generals, Brigadiers, Colonels and many senior officers is a great blow for the army and has caused irreparable damage to its morale. It has also paved the way for the Rajapaksa regime to promote those officers who worked on a political agenda, were undisciplined and made no contribution to winning the war.

Watching this process of politicisation gives me immense pain and I worry the future of the army may indeed be very bleak. Evidence of this is the manner in which the Defence Minister and the Defence Secretary have been treating the victorious army. This has succeeded in silencing the other services, including the police, all of whom, after seeing what happed to the army have decided, though thoroughly discontent, to remain silent.

It is not necessary for me to elucidate further on the sorry state of affairs in the military as the truth will come to light before long. The present Commander has turned the army into a frightened, suspicious and a demoralised unit, a far cry from what it was during my command. In a bid to please his political bosses, he also orchestrated the most insulting and reprehensible task when he ordered the army to arrest its own Commander. These types of shameless incidents have never occurred in any other army.

Future
------------------
The future of the country will finally be decided by the people. I am only making an attempt to get the people to understand what is good or bad for the country. Some may be happy just being able to survive, not realising how good and beautiful their lives can be in a truly democratic society. I urge everyone in this wonderful country of ours, to be concerned about their rights to be partners in governance while enjoying a free life in a just society where the resources are used for the development of the country and not stolen by the corrupt politicians.

The prevalent sense of complacency is unfortunate as is the belief that keeping politicians in power happy is easier and safer than demanding and working towards ensuring that democratic rights are upheld.

Fight for Democracy
--------------------------------
Although I’m living under extremely dangerous conditions, courtesy the Rajapaksa regime targeting me, my family, my friends and my political supporters, I will not give up my struggle to reinstate a genuine democracy with its accompanying freedoms and governing practices.

I believe genuine democracy is only enjoyed by the people in the western world today. A majority of Sri Lankans are unaware of this as they have never seen the political conditions in those countries and our corrupt politicians are exploiting this short coming. Sri Lankans must realise the value of their franchise and use it wisely to ensure they elect those who will govern in a democratic manner benefitting the people rather than a selected few.

My struggle to ensure the welfare of the people and keep politicians in their due places will continue. I know I will be targeted by the Rajapaksa regime as I am challenging a dictatorship. The Rajapaksa regime has exhibited its tyrannical disposition by depriving me of my rights just because I was Mahinda Rajapaksa’s political opponent at the presidential election. They did not stop with simply targeting me but continue to shamelessly target my family too.
As my daughter has very rightly written, even Velupillai Prabhakaran had shown he had some principles as he did not target the families of his military or political opponents. But the so called Head of State of this country won’t spare even the family members of his political opponents. He has shown who the real Idi Amin is.

Sri Lanka needs discipline too. To ensure this we are in dire need of a clean government. The most undisciplined are the politicians who don’t even seem to respect parliamentary decorum. At times I feel ashamed of being a politician due to the utterances our politicians make in the august assembly. This behaviour is even watched at times by school children from the gallery and the filthy comments made by politicians are even written in the Hanzard. Nobody can deny this. At times this behavior is appreciated by their political bosses. Our future generation must endeavor to ensure our society becomes disciplined and is respected by the outside world.

Recently a journalist asked Mr. Robert Blake, former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and one of the secretaries of US State Department, “What about Sri Lanka. In the USA and India they don’t put people in jail or court martial them after they lose election.” This question indicates where we stand as far as democracy is concerned. It is a shame to be judged in this manner when it comes to the image of the country. But for the Rajapaksa regime nothing is shameful if they can continue to remain in power.

My beloved citizens, the time has come to join hands to move forward and bring prosperity to the country without getting fooled by corrupt politicians. Ask to yourself whether the corrupt politicians who made grandiose promises to you during elections have really delivered. My appeal to the youth is to unite and help bring about changes to the existing political system. Help rid the country of the scourge of corruption and ensure those elected have a genuine love for the country and are qualified to govern.

We did not eradicate terrorism and save the country for corrupt politicians to destroy it. The war heroes sacrificed themselves to ensure a free and just country for the future generation. This beautiful country belongs to all citizens be they clergy, layman, professionals, farmers, labourers, fishermen or businessmen, but not to corrupt politicians.

So let’s join hands to make Sri Lanka a beautiful and peaceful country once again. We need to be determined in our endeavour, for certainly the journey is going to be difficult and tough. All we need is your conviction. I will give everything to see this country prosper. I don’t need anything in return.
My Ambition
----------------------
My ambition is to see a country where the people have a government of their own, achieved by them for them. My ambition is to see a country with adults and children who love the flora and fauna, the streams and rivers, the sea and the shore, the green valleys and the paddy fields, the mountains and estates, the culture and the people as a whole. My ambition is to see a country where the judiciary prevails to protect the people without interference from corrupt politicians. My ambition is to see a government, which does not exploit, fool or cheat the people, governing this country and considering the people as its biggest wealth. My ambition is to see a disciplined society where examples can be set by the politicians. My ambition is to see a nation with hope not despair.

The day I achieve my ambition I will handover this beautiful country of ours to the future generation, and willingly face my death.

The war started when I was a junior captain in the army. I changed my lifestyle, curtailed my social activities and kept aspiring for a day for this country would be free of terrorism. I made many sacrifices to convert those aspirations into reality. Today I am aspiring for a better Sri Lanka and am prepared to make any sacrifices to ensure my aspirations are fulfilled.

I love my country and my people irrespective of cast, creed, race or religion. Please think about Mother Lanka. My best wishes and good luck are with you always.

signed by

GENERAL SARATH FONSEKA (RTD)

Sri Lankan stages a march from London to UN Headquarters demanding that the human rights of North East Tamils of SL be protected

(Lanka-e-News, Aug. 01, 2010, 11.45 PM) A Sri Lankan Tamil national, Thivanthan, a resident in London has commenced a walk from London to the UN Human rights Commission (UNHRC) Headquarters in Geneva to hand over a petition with a view to draw the attention of the world to the problems faced by the North and East Tamils in SL.

Thivanthan has to travel 1000 kilometers to accomplish this goal. Until 31st, he has traveled 8 days on his march and covered 120 kilometers and reached Paris. He has come within 160 kilometers of the state of Aminsa, according to reports.
He is headed for the UN HRC to demand that punishment is duly meted out for the war crimes committed in SL; to release the Tamil youths who are currently imprisoned and to protect the human rights of the Tamil people.

By yesterday, the 31st, several other Tamil nationals who had gone from London have also joined his walk, it is reported.

According to information reaching Lanka e news, already a Tourist Hotel in Beruwala has been reserved for this. The workshop whose objective is to motivate and encourage the Ministers and Govt. MPs to the maximum is scheduled to be conducted on the 6,7 and 8 of August.

It is learnt that those close to the President and his advisors have pointed out to the President, unlike earlier , during the last two to three months whenever criticisms are viciously hurled against the Govt. and the leadership , the Govt. side is not directly repudiating the criticisms so leveled and the Govt. Ministers and MPs are now not countering the charges mounted against the Govt. and the Rajapakses. It is evident that they are not interested in rejecting those charges and criticisms.

When Opposition hurled accusations against the Govt. specially when those referred to the President , some of the Ministers who entered into near fisticuffs with the opposition on such occasions, are now not showing much concern and are remaining silent. In most instances they appear to be just trying to show only their presence . Consequently , this has been a hot topic of discussion among those in the Govt.’s upper crust since of late. Even those who participated in the television debates for the Govt. and who were most critical against the Opposition are now indifferent and are avoiding them, reports say.

It is revealed that the President is holding the three day workshop in an attempt to averting the creation of divisions within the party and to establish unity among the Ministers and MPs.

These announcements were made by the present Minister for media and information Keheliya Rambukwella who at that time when he was the former Minister of Security described KP as a deadly terrorist and internationally recognized leader of the LTTE.

The Minister explained as stated above when answering a question posed by the media at the Press briefing.

Questions from the media …

Q: Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP in an interview with the ‘The Island ‘newspaper invited the Tamil people to render aid and assistance to the North East development programs. He also mentioned the account number to which the funds should be sent. But isn’t it a fact that KP was taken into custody on charges that he is a terrorist leader , LTTE international chain leader and finance division chief . Then , why is he not brought before the law of the country ?

A: The Minister’s answer to that was , after KP joined with the Govt. , the LTTE is now divided into two.

Q: Why is the Govt. not adopting the same policy followed in regard to KP in relation to the 7000 LTTE suspects held in custody too .Is the Govt. today trying to tame the dragon professedly for country’s benefit ?

A: There are times when a dragon too may have to be tamed and used if the occasion demands .
The Govt. is relentlessly trying to establish camaraderie with the Tamils after the war. Following the relationships the Govt. has initiated this camaraderie is growing . Moreover . K P is going to give evidence in favor of the Govt. in the event war crime charges are brought against the govt. , he added.

Q: Earlier too you said KP will be a witness in the war crime scenario. When the Lanka e news website interviewed the intelligentsia in this regard , Vasudeva Nanayakkara , a Govt. M P. told, the war crime charges are not only against the Govt. but is also against the LTTE . Hence , how can K P be made a Govt. witness ? he asked. What have you to say to this ?

A: Lawyers only know to give opinions. But the country’s laws are different and independent of opinions. The Govt. showing concern for the future of the country . It is jointly with KP , abiding by the constitution and the laws of the land , and expecting to launch development programs in the North and East .

Q: KP is a noted terrorist leader . If the Govt. is hoping to engage him jointly in the development programs , why cannot the Govt. on the same policy enlist the support of Gen. Fonseka who ushered in peace to this country and develop it?

A: That is a good proposal. In Parliament too this was proposed. We will consider this proposition in the future.

(Lanka-e-News, July 26, 2010, 2.30PM) The President Mahinda Rajapakse who some weeks ago was adamant on extending the number of Executive President’s terms even further in his ever growing power obsession did a sudden 180 degree turnabout, and invited the UNP leader to discuss constitutional amendments to introduce an Executive Prime Minister position replacing the Executive Presidency . The UNP leader falling over himself made a beeline to the Temple Trees without even informing the Executive Committee ( which he ought to have done). Next, the newspapers were awash with huge headline news ‘Govt. and opposition commence talks regardingconstitutional amendments’. Political commentators said, if this the true and sincere picture , then this is an unprecedented event and augurs well for the country.

I am writing this article dispassionately sans prejudice or doubts on this subject.

Why did the two parties, especially the parties which are diametrically opposed begin discussions ?Any party starts negotiations only when it cannot go further on its journey and is seeking to ride piggy back on another. That is natural and understandable. Even Mahinda and Ranil are each in this quagmire. Both of them are trying to cover their failures by this much hyped and crowed about discussion. This is therefore obviously a camouflage to take the people for a ride.

Today, both Mahinda and Ranil are floundering in their selfish agendas. Mahinda‘s aim is to continue enjoying the luxury, power and Executive Presidency until his son reaches the age ripe enough to take over. This is why only two householders of his were the only supporters for his attempt to increase the number of Presidential terms, namely the son whom he is grooming and his mother. The opposition raised a loud hue and cry against this not for nothing. This uproar had in it the groaning and griping but strongly supporting voices of Maithripalas, Siripalas as well as Basils and Gotabayas. Mahinda got stuck in the mud with his agenda on this account.
Ranil on the other hand is surviving grappling with three ‘deaths’ ominously staring in his face. One is Sajith. Second is party re structuring and the third is, the manifestly growing popularity of incarcerated leader Gen. Fonseka. Ranil was desperately looking for something to cling on to like a drowning man to whom even a straw is a savior. Mahinda by inviting him at this juncture provided that straw. No wonder, Ranil made a dash to the Temple Trees beating all Olympic sprinting records.

Now, Mahinda has found a way to spend his time unendingly talking about an Executive Prime Minister appointment. Ranil too can continue with him talking on this same empty subject. Both have found a way out to waste precious time which otherwise could be used in country’s and people’s interest.
The UNP leader after the first discussion made a loud announcement at the public rally that discussions have been begun with the Govt. in regard to good governance. This is an absolute lie. If truly Ranil had such an objective, the first thing Ranil should have done was inquired into what is Govt.’s interest towards good governance. If Govt. is truly interested, the Govt. could have been requested to demonstrate by taking just one simple step in that direction.

In the least, a request could have been made to appoint the Constitutional Councils under the 17th amendment to the constitution, which is at the final stage, and blocked just only because the President has still not signed the final approval. Or, he could have asked for the release of Gen. Fonseka who was supported by his party at the last Presidential elections as the Presidential candidate who is being detained by the Govt. unduly while the cases against him can be continued. Or, if that is not possible, Ranil could have asked the Govt. to release the UNP Provincial Council member on bail whom the Govt. is holding in custody on false charges. Instead of these measures being taken, the Govt. and he saying they are moving for good governance deserves to be entered in the Guinness book of records as the worst lie uttered and cruelest hocus pocus ever committed by two partners in a crime to deceive a gullible nation. One partner, Mahinda kindling the fire from above, his other partner , Ranil kindling the fire from below.
Were it not because of the human rights violations in the country that the UN Secretary General appointed a panel to advise him regarding SL ? By protecting human rights, good governance follows, wont they? Even before the dust and din kicked up by the Govt. using a Minister and making him stage protests and fasts unto death against this panel has settled down , the Govt. making a U turn, and announcing it is going to establish good governance should have made Ranil to use his common sense and mistrust the Govt.’s invitation if he is true to his conscience and his party, rather than sprinting to Temple Trees deserting all his loyal supporters even without consulting them.

When the laws and law books of the Country are being thrown into the garbage bin by this Govt. day by day, how did Ranil as a Lawyer himself repose confidence and faith in such a Govt.? Are there any valid justifiable reasons? Surely, Ranil cannot forget that his party has filed an election petition against Mahinda being elected as President on the ground that the elections held were corrupt and ridden with rigging and malpractices. Ranil must answer the people regarding these questions.

When viewed in this context, Ranil’s opportunistic and self serving traits are not second to those of Mahinda.

What should the Opposition do at the present?. The Opposition leader must act with sanity and agility or wreak havoc within the party? Let us now analyze the 5/6 th majority sought by the Govt. At the last farcical and manipulated Presidential elections and the subsequent General elections, there were 26% people who did not vote. Even when Mahinda was polling 20 lakhs votes by rigging, 26% did not vote. This increased to 40% at the General elections. That means there is a further 14 % more at the General elections who do not want to vote for Mahinda. In other words, all those who did not vote are disillusioned with Mahinda’s administration. At the Parliamentary elections, the opposition received 37% votes. If this is added to the 14 % mentioned earlier, the total percentage is 51% meaning that the there is a 51 % opposition including men and women against Mahinda’s administration. Hence 5/ 6 th majority of Mahinda is out of the question because under any circumstance, there is a 51% silent opposition against Mahinda. The true opposition are the people and hence, the Opposition has a 51% support which has not been harnessed properly. It is very clear therefore, there is a higher percentage against the Govt. than for the Govt. The bottom line is Mahinda is on a hot frying pan next to jumping into the fire.

When there is a 29% within the UNP hostile to Ranil, how can he as a leader harness the 51% support against the Govt.? The people are being burdened with ever increasing hardships. KP who are traitors are being mollycoddled by the Govt. while patriots like Fonseka are imprisoned and being threatened irresponsibly and openly with punishment in the gallows by foul mouthed Govt.’s responsible top officials. Under these circumstances will the 51% opposition against the Govt. increase or decrease? Any sensible person can understand. A true sincere opposition leader would move heaven and earth and look for ways and means to canvass the support of this 51% among all races, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, and consolidate the party and defeat this Govt. which is perpetuating itself in power on falsehoods, fake programs and selfish agendas, rather than descending to the level of crawling and cringing before the President selling his soul even sacrificing the party and people’s interest at the altar of his opportunistic selfishness.

I deem it important that I write a few words about the amendments to the constitution in regard to Executive Presidency and Executive Premiership. Earlier, in 2000, with a view to striking a permanent solution with depth, the UNP Govt.the Opposition and other parties met on 87 occasions to formulate proposals and introduced a new constitution. In that, provisions were incorporated to ensure that the Executive President is made responsible to the Parliament. An internal autonomous rule was contemplated in it. At the final stages, this was ‘torn apart’ due to power greed of Chandrika’ s Govt. which came to power and lasted a short period, and the selfish agendas of the Opposition. The draft proposal of the constitution had the Cabinet approval too at that time. In that cabinet, there were Mahinda Rajapakse, Mangala Samaraweera and Rauff Hakeem.

Today, instead of these long and protracted discussions, if the proposals made at that time are continued from where it stopped along with the support of the minority communities, Tamils and Muslims, the solution sought could be achieved within two months as the LTTE which never agreed to any proposal no longer exists. If the Leaders of the Govt. and the Opposition are truly sincere and thinking of the people and the country more and less of themselves, this is what they should do. By Sandaruwan Senadheera

(Lanka-e-News, July 30, 2010, 11.45AM) Senior Attorney at law Rienzie Aresecularatne when forwarding evidence in writing stated that in the B report of the CID presented to the Colombo Magistrate Court on the 16th 0f July 2010, it is revealed that on the instructions of a LTTE leader Kapila Amman, a group of LTTE cadres, namely, Sivraja Subakrishnan, Thavarajasingham Subash, Linton Chandrishan who came to Colombo along with M .P. Johnston Fernando following the orders of Rajesh who was abroad had conspired to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapakse at No. 16, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 07, a place Rajapakse frequents. A sum of Rs. 100 lakhs was also given to Johnston Fernando at Pettah, Colombo to assist them on this account.

Aresecularatne presented a report of this written evidence which is based on the information disgorged by Minister Johnston Fernando when he was cross examined by the Defense in the case against Gen. Fonseka before the panel of judges of the military Court where Fonseka stands charged for taking part in politics when he was in service in the Army.

In October 2009, when the accused Fonseka and Johnston Fernando were discussing at a cricket club canteen in Colombo over the phone, what was related to Johnston Fernando by Fonseka had been recorded in writing as evidence.
During the cross examination of witness Johnston Fernando by Attorney at Law Aresecularatne, the former admitted that the CID recorded a statement in relation to this incident on the 05th of February 2010. However he had not made a complaint thereof to the CID, he had added. But, later the CID recorded this in his office, he confessed. When Johnston Fernando was further cross examined, he revealed that he is only grade 9 qualified.

On the B report 6465/01 forwarded by Inspector Jayaratne, OIC of the crimes division at the request of the IGP to the Chief Magistrate Court on 16-07 2010, it is disclosed in the statements of the suspects, Sivarja Subhakrishnan, Thavarajasingham Subash and Linton Chandrishan Vardharajan that in the alleged conspiracy to murder the President, Minister Johnston Fernando has extended support in this conspiracy to murder. It is therefore abundantly clear in the reports presented to the Courts by the CID on the written evidence that the Minister has aided and abetted this crime, Aresecularatne pointed out.

Despite these disclosures against Johnston Fernando by the LTTE suspects and his name was profoundly implicated, he was not arrested . On the contrary, five months after these charges were brought to Court, this ‘suspect’ Johnston Fernando was given a Cabinet Ministerial post, the Attorney for the accused Fonseka pointed out. This ‘suspect’ Fernando, a week after the Presidential elections made a false statement to the CID against Gen. Fonseka in order to ward off the conspiracy charges against him and to divert the legal action that was to be filed on this crime where he was gravely implicated. Hence, the evidence of his is unacceptable because he is now trying to pose off as a witness for the Govt. in order to find an escape route from the incriminations and charges staring ominously against him, Attorney at law Aresecularatne pointed out.

Johnny the 21st century Judas! Judas betrayed only Jesus – Johnny is betraying the country and all and sundry!

A dozen men armed with assault rifles and petrol bombs attacked the offices of privately owned Voice of Asia Network at pre-dawn Friday.
The television management said the assailants assaulted security guards before setting fire to the building that houses the TV station, destroying its studios, control room and library. One guard and another employee were injured.

The attack comes after Prageeth Eknaligoda — a journalist critical of the government — was reported missing in January and suspected of having been abducted. His fate is still not known.
"This attack, together with the unsolved disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda and other acts of violence against the press, serves to intimidate journalists and to further imperil media freedoms in Sri Lanka," the American embassy said in a statement.

The Sri Lankan government said on its website it ordered a police investigation into the "reported fire."

Jimmy Deen, a spokesman for the news company, said Friday he couldn't think of any reason for the attack.

Voice of Asia Network's owners backed the main opposition candidate, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, in January's bitterly fought presidential election.

Eknaligoda also supported Fonseka, and he disappeared two days before the election.

"If the government does not arrest those culprits (in Friday's incident), we are compelled to believe that the government is either directly or indirectly responsible for such attacks," Gnanasiri Kottigoda, president of local media rights group Sri Lanka Working Journalists' Association, said Friday.

Fonseka lost the election, and he and many supporters were arrested after the vote. Fonseka faces a court-martial for allegedly planning his political career while in the army — a crime in Sri Lanka.

Fonseka's supporters say President Mahinda Rajapaksa is punishing the general for daring to challenge him.

Media rights groups say Sri Lanka is among the most dangerous places for dissenting journalists. Amnesty International says at least 14 Sri Lankan media workers have been killed since the beginning of 2006.

A similar attack to Friday's took place last year on another television station critical of the government. No arrests have been made over the killings or attacks.
Courtesy - AP

(Lanka-e-News, July 30, 2010, 1.00PM second edition 1.30PM) The Siyatha TV station located at Gangarama Lake Road, Colombo came under a bomb attack this early morning (30) at about 1.30 a.m. There has been extensive damage to the equipments in the premises.

The Director of the TV station, Nimal Ekanayake told Lanka e news about 12 individuals who came in white and red cars caused this bomb attack.

The group of attackers who were masked and unidentifiable carried arms. They had broken open the locks on the gate and had entered the premises after attacking the security personnel. After inquiring where the television service is being conducted they have entered the station and attacked with a bombing device. Consequently, extensive damage has been caused to the laptops, televising and telecasting equipments. Right now it is impossible to continue the television services, Ekanayake pointed out.

This attack has lasted about 10 to 12 minutes. The attackers had assaulted a security personnel and a member of the staff. The security personnel is hospitalized while the staff member is being treated for injuries to his hand, and several sutures were necessary to treat the wound.

The Siyatha Broadcasting service will however continue as there is no damage caused to that division.

A complaint has been lodged with the Slave island Police, and three groups of police officers are conducting investigations.

The owner of Siyatha media chain is Roshantha Kariyaperuma. He is the husband of popular actress Sangeetha Weeraratne.

Because of dire threats and intimidation on the owners of Siyatha after the Presidential elections, Kariyaperuma went abroad for a period. At the last Presidential elections it was the owners of Siyatha who provided funds for the common candidate Gen. Fonseka’s election campaigns which incurred the displeasure and bitter resentment of the Govt. officials.

Apart from the Siyatha electronic media, a ‘Siyatha’newspaper division too was run by the owners. Earlier the Govt. gave a lot of its advertisements to the Siyatha. However, after the Presidential elections the advertisements to Siyatha were stopped and eventually the Siyatha newspaper division had to close down.

This is the second attack on a private TV station during the Rajapkse regime. Earlier the ‘Sirasa’ was attacked and set fire to. Significantly, so far not one single culprit has been brought before the law, neither police investigations have been duly conducted in respect of that attack. The Govt. that time claimed that the Sirasa itself orchestrated this attack.

“The Secretary-General finds it unacceptable that the Sri Lankan authorities have failed to prevent the disruption of the normal functioning of the United Nations offices in Colombo as a result of unruly protests organized and led by a cabinet minister of the Government,” a statement issued by his spokesperson said.

The protests in the capital, in which hundreds of people took part, were led by Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who reportedly said today he will not eat until the UN disbands the advisory panel it set up last month.
Mr. Ban set up the three-member panel to advise him on accountability issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict that ended last year between the Government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“The Secretary-General calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to live up to its responsibilities towards the United Nations as host country, so as to ensure continuation of the vital work of the Organization to assist the people of Sri Lanka without any further hindrance,” said the statement.
It added that in light of the evolving situation, Mr. Ban is recalling the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, to New York for consultations.

He has also decided to close the Regional Centre in Colombo of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). (UN News Centre)

Gen. fonseka gave the above answer in reply to the question posed by the media as to how he would respond to Weerawansa’s claim that if Fonseka leads false evidence before the three member Committee, the Army officers will be in trouble.

If anyone leads evidence regarding the war crimes, these stupid clowns and brags are not going to fall into trouble. If truly there have been war crimes committed in this country, the first person to be in trouble will be myself. I have always talked about how the war was fought and won. I have not shouted hoarse like these nitwits and nincompoops who know nothing about the war coming to the scene and blurting out some nonsense compromising the country’s image only to gain some cheap publicity and parade as a ‘cardboard patriot’. They are not patriots, they are ‘fat rots’ who have fattened themselves on people’s starvation. These ‘fat rots’ are shouting as though they fought the war. If I betray the Army, it is I who will be in deep trouble first, Fonseka asseted.
These clowns are concocting these issues and creating a story that Fonseka will disclose it, and thereby the prestige of this country will be at stake. What these clowns are trying to tell impliedly is that there was such a situation, and they are striving to hide it. But, as far as I am concerned, there hadn’t been such a situation, and I had all along insisted that the Army committed no wrongs; I am prepared to accept full responsibility in that regard.

Therefore, if I lead evidence against the forces to whom I gave orders, they will put me into the nearest jail available, Fonseka noted.
If the Govt. truly fears that I would not come back if I go for the Commonwealth conference of MPs in Kenya, they would not stop me from attending the conference. If I am going to stay without coming, the Govt. would be glad to ask me where I wish to go, and if necessary arrange a special flight for me and my family to leave. It will also give any amount of money and even buy the tickets for my family. This is the factual position.

On the 6th, Opposition MPs met the Foreign Diplomats in Parliament. It was not a special occasion. Yet, an MP who is noted for his profusion of lies in Parliament had told that we are conspiring with the Norway Ambassador, Fonseka bemoaned.

There are diverse views expressed by various sections within the Govt. itself on this incident. Though they are not openly stated, some of them are in agreement with the Opposition in their opinions, he added.

Karu Jayasooriya gave the above answer in reply to a question raised by the media, whether don’t the actions of these protestors confirm that the Govt. is linked to these protest demonstrations because, following the telephone conversation of Weerawansa with the Defense Secretary, and the high ranking police officer close by overhearing, the police officers who were there were asked to quit the area immediately.?

Some media had disclosed the details of the discussion between the Defense Secretary and the Minister, Jayasooriya noted.
The conflict between the UN and the Govt. is reaching alarming proportions. This must be resolved through diplomatic exchanges, and not by rowdy conduct and tough talks, that is foolishness he pointed out.

The UNP is not a UN stooge. It must be remembered that we are a member country of the UN. We cannot allow any Minister or anybody to disgrace the country or degrade its dignity. The UNP is against the War crime Court. That is why our leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at that time did not sign that agreement. Like the capitalist countries, there are also communist countries in this Organization. The UN is running its offices in those countries too,. If we know how to resolve issues at diplomatic levels, we need not obstruct entrances or hold anybody hostage. By these actions what is the message we are conveying to the world? he asked.

The Minister has demanded that the UN withdraws this Committee that was appointed. A non stop fast was commenced by protestors in front of the UN office on the 6th against the Committee appointed by the UN Secretary while demanding its withdrawal. Today, Weerawansa began a non stop fast ceremoniously by sitting on the platform with the blessings of the Sangha members.

Indeed, the Minister had on an earlier occasion in his characteristic violence prone gangster style warned publicly that he would resort to this barbaric action–besiege the UN office in Colombo and hold its staff hostage. Of course, the Govt. then dissociated itself from his views when the UN office inquired about it, and stated that those were Weerawansa’s personal outbursts, and had nothing to do with the Govt.’s official stand.

However, later, the Minister did lead a huge crowd and truly made good his ominous threat, which finally in keeping with his gangster style ended up in a most violent note, with a senior DIG and a former Minister getting severely mauled, among many others injured.

The Govt. in an effort to explain why the protest demonstrations were held outside the UN office in Colombo has issued a communiqué released by its Dept. of Govt. information which is appended herein :
PROTEST DEMONSTRATION OUTSIDE THE UN OFFICE IN COLOMBO

The Government of Sri Lanka dealt with the protest outside the UN complex in Colombo today, in compliance with both domestic as well as international obligations. At the domestic level, Sri Lanka being a democratic society, the Government had to respect the entitlement to voice opinion, including through peaceful demonstrations. Accordingly, the Police permitted a peaceful gathering in front of the complex.
The Government was also absolutely mindful of its international obligations and so the Police authorities deployed adequate strength and remained vigilant, to ensure the safety of the UN complex and of the personnel within it. At the end of the working day, the Police authorities provided reassurance to those within, that they could freely leave their work place.

Once the bulk of the staff had left, a few senior personnel remained within the complex. Those demonstrating had expressed the wish that they should be able to speak to a person in authority in the UN office, in order to convey their deeply felt reservations against the appointment of a Panel on Sri Lanka. The Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs was accordingly instructed to proceed to the UN complex, so that a very limited number of demonstrators could meet the senior staff and express their sentiments. Once this was accomplished, the remaining UN staff too left the complex.

The Government of Sri Lanka expects that the UN complex in Colombo would continue to function as normal in the days ahead. The Government understands that those who are demonstrating intend to continue with their protest, until the UN system revisits the matter of the Panel on Sri Lanka. At the same time, the freedom of entry and exit to and from the complex for authorized personnel will remain constant.

Though the rights of the Sri Lankan citizens to conduct peaceful demonstrations is respected , the obstructions caused to the carrying out of the duties and functions at the UN office is deplorable and objectionable. As promised by the SL Govt., it is expected that adequate protection will be guaranteed and provided to the UN and its staff, the media spokesman for the UN organization, Haq, asserted.
Meanwhile, the SL representative for the UN population census Fund, Ms. Malini Weerasuriya did not attend the news briefing held at the Health education Dept. on the 7th, yesterday, which was designed to educate the media in connection with the world population census day to be held on the 11th July 2010.

She was to make the opening address at this meeting. But her non attendance without any reason or intimation being conveyed stood out most conspicuous.

When Chulananda Perera, the Immigration and emigration Director General was asked about this visa cancellation, he stated that he had acted on the report furnished by the Govt. intelligence unit.
The decision to expel two chief Peace Force officers from SL amidst protests staged against the appointment of a Committee by Ban Ki Moon to advise him on the human rights violations in SL during the war has invited the focus and attention of all Organizations acting on behalf of human rights protection.

The non violent peace Force had been running offices in Colombo, Batticaloa and the North, and have been in SL for a long time. This is an International Organization which is world recognized and ha s been appearing on behalf of those whose human rights have been violated.

These were the ‘honorable’ enunciations contained in the announcement made by Weerawansa, the Honorable Minister of housing and engineering services under the most Honorable , His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapakse. Weerawansa is the leader of the NFF which is a party with the Govt.

These outrageous statements were made by Weerawansa when he addressed those who were staging a fast and the protestors who demonstrated in front of the UN office in Colombo today .

The Rajapakse Cabinet Minister Weerawansa with about 2000 members of his NFF party staged a massive protest demonstration today (6) blocking the entrance to the UN office at Thummulla junction .

Until the special advisory Committee appointed by UN Sec. General Ban Ki Moon to investigate the SL war crimes is withdrawn , the protestors who held the staff of the UN office captive by obstructing the main entrance erected platforms to stage a fast .

Housing Minister Weerawansa, Deputy Minister Weerakumara Dissanayake, Achala Jagoda M P, NFF media spokesman and former MP Mohomed Muzammil , former MP Piyasiri Wijenayake, Bhikkhus who are frontline supporters of the NFF first assembled at the Colombo Henry Pedris stadium and began a march from there to the UN office . Minister Weerawansa pushed aside all the barriers placed by the Police and made entry to stage the massive demonstration.

An effigy of Ban Ki Moon was burnt in front of the UN office. The protestors then began a fast from the platform . Former MPs Piyasiri Wijenayake , Mohomed Muzzammil and Wayambe PC member Senaratne Silva joined in the fast.

Minister Wimal Weerawansa addressing the protestors stated thus…..

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon by using powers not vested in him has started an International campaign against the Head of State and the Forces who defeated the terrorists.

Ban Ki Moon has no authority whatsoever to appoint a Committee to investigate the affairs of a member country or any of its issues. Ban Ki Moon is an individual who had been appointed as a Secretary General by the member countries. SL is a country which is a member of the United Nations. This office is situated in a land owned by SL Govt. Their water Bills are also paid by the Govt. The Secretary by taking the side of the terrorists who are separatists has poked his fingers into matters which are not within his purview.

If Moon has a problem regarding SL , he can make his proposals to the Security Council or to the Human rights Council. Apart from this Moon has no right to act in the way he is acting now. The member countries have not empowered Ban Ki Moon to appoint Committees to decide on what action should be taken against SL war crimes . We therefore clearly warn Ban Ki Moon not to trespass on his limits and provoke the motherland loving Sri Lankans which can lead to catastrophic reprisals.

We came today with the object of resolving this problem with the UN Colombo Office. We will not budge form here today. We will stage a fast in front of the entrance until the bogus Committee is withdrawn.

The Forces who fought the war conducted themselves in an exemplary manner. They were a model to the world. Moon first investigate the killings in Iraq by the Americans. Cowardly Moon is coming to investigate SL . He is tarnishing the name of the UN. We tell these white men here to immediately intimate to Ban Ki Moon to withdraw the Committee as we are not allowing them to go until the withdrawal is effected. We came today not with the idea of going back. If those inside this office wish to come out , this bogus Committee must be withdrawn . Until this Committee is withdrawn , we will not call off our fast.

People united to support to win the war .Similarly , we ask the people who are loving their motherland to come forward and extend support on this issue too. Making Fonseka as a witness , and hauling up our Forces personnel before the International Courts cannot be allowed. You will learn a bitter lesson in SL .

When the protest was beginning , there were about 15 police officers including high ranking officers. But , as the protests got heated , it was noticeable that the Police officers slowly slipped away from the scene. One of the protestors climbed the wall of the UN office and painted the security camera that was there with black paint .

While these demonstrations were being staged outside , the staff off the UN office were seen watching the drama from within .

It is significant to note that Weerawansa addressing a media briefing recently said , the UN office should be held siege and the staff must be taken hostage , for which the people should extend their support . When the UN inquired about this statement of Minister Weerawansa from the Govt. , a spokesman for the Govt. replied that those were the personal views of Weerawansa , and the Govt. dissociates itself from those statements.

This incident occurred while Minister and leader of NFF Weerawansa was speaking over the phone to the Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, and after a senior Police officer nearby overheard the conversation.

Following the telephone conversation of Weerawansa and the overhearing by the Police officer, a tense situation erupted with heated exchange of words between the Police and the crowd with the police personnel who were detailed for security at the UN office during the protests being immediately ordered off the area by the protestors.

In this scuffle, the NFF former Minister of cultural affairs ,Piyasiri Wijenayake has been assaulted and is now admitted to the emergency ward of the Colombo National Hospital.

Minister Weerawansa addressing the protestors said, no matter what obstacles are placed, and even if he is sacked from his Ministerial post he would not abandon his campaign of fasting.

The officers and staff of the UN office were sent out with police protection amidst obstructions, hooting and jeering by the Weerawansa cronies.

The protests were begun on the condition that the staff of the UN office will be held hostage.

The foreign staff of the highest rungs working in the UN office had informed their main office that they are being held hostage. The UN Headquarters had then intimated to the Foreign affairs Ministry of the harassment faced by their staff. Following this complaint, the Secretary of the Foreign affairs Ministry Romesh Jayasinghe had visited the UN office in Colombo and had discussions. Two representatives of the NFF have also participated at this discussion.

At the discussions, agreement was reached that the UN representatives shall be allowed to leave the office. Accordingly, they were seen being sent out with police protection.

Minister Wimal Weerawansa announced that until the advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary General of the UN is called off, the fast will be strictly observed; and if anything is done to impede their action, a fast unto death will be staged.

He added that this Committee will commence proceedings without delay, and he had appointed this Committee after a careful evaluation having regard to his limits and rights.

Ban Ki Moon who explained as above -mentioned at a Press briefing, said the letter signed and sent to the Secretary General by the non aligned countries on behalf of Sri Lanka is based on lack of knowledge and understanding of the subject. He is therefore rejecting it , he noted.

In the letter sent by the non aligned countries it was stated that the appointment of panel of advisors by the Secretary General was exceeding his powers.

Meanwhile, the announcement made by Minister Wimal Weerawansa that until the three member Committee appointed to give advice regarding SL is withdrawn, the Sri Lankans must hold the UN office here under siege has been rejected by the SL Govt. as not representing its official stand, and it is the Minister's personal sentiment. The SL Govt. has intimated this to the UN, the spokesman for the UN, Farhan Haq , stated.

At a media briefing in Colombo, Minister Weerawansa had said the UN Office in Colombo shall be held under siege and its staff kept captive until the advisory Committee is withdrawn.
The UN following this announcement has instructed all its security positions to investigate whether this is the official view of the SL Govt.

The UN Geneva Headquarters, after inquiring from the SL office had learnt that the Minister’s statement is not posing an instant threat. At all events, if any threats are held out against its offices anywhere in the World by any Govt. or individual , such intimidations and threats would be considered as most grave and perilous, and will not be condoned under any circumstance, the UN spokesman has emphasized .

No GSP+ to Sri Lanka from 15th August – EU decides
(Lanka Truth) Sunday, 27 June 2010 08:42

The European Commission has decided to halt GSP+ facility given to Sri Lanka’s exports from the 15th August. The chief delegate of EU in Sri Lanka said, “There will be no further extensions. Sri Lanka must meet its international obligations,” adding that the EU expected the government of Sri Lanka to heed the 15 conditions placed before it.
The cabinet chaired by President Mahinda Rajapakse that met on the 24th decided to reject outright the EU’s conditions. External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris too had stated that Sri Lanka would not accept EU conditions.
However, EU delegation chief Bernard Savage had said they would consider extending the GSP+ facility only when they receive a formal response from the Government of Sri Lanka regarding the conditions they had laid down to grant the facility.
GSP provides preferences to 176 Developing Countries and Territories on over 6200 tariff lines. The GSP programme provides duty-free treatment for about 3400 types of exports from Sri Lanka and about 130 other countries.

Nous connaissons tous la blague Sri Lankaise à propos d'un gangster (Chandiya) qui a voulu assaillir un adversaire, tout en s’assurant de la protection de ses amis en cas de victoire de l’opposant.
Aujourd'hui, il semble que nous ayons le même scenario avec le régime de Rajapaksa qui essaye de se dissimuler derrière ses fidèles lèches bottes toujours prêts à défendre la stupidité du régime corrompu. Ils sont même allés jusqu'à blâmer les journalistes pour avoir poser des questions difficiles et tout en ne condamnent pas les propos déshonorants du secrétaire de défense au cours de sa récente interview avec le «  BBC Hard Talk »
Le régime de Rajapakse est contestataire et fait abstraction des lois constitutionnelles du pays, des lois internationales ou tout argument logique faisant état de corruption, d’abus de pouvoir ou les crimes de guerre. Lors des dernières élections présidentielles et des élections générales récentes nous avions vu comment ils ont rejeté les plaintes concernant la corruption des frères de Rajapakse en demandant à des personnes d’exprimer leur grief devant le pays tout entier. Il semblerait que, Le régime de Rajapakse n’accorde aucune protection de témoins aux personnes qui s’exposerait en dénonçant la corruption devant la justice. Il n’est pas déraisonnable de dire que la commission « Lessons Learned and Reconsciliation » mise en place par le Président est un artifice pour tromper la communauté publique et internationale.

Récemment, lors d’une interview dans un journal quotidien Singhalaise Lankadeepa, le secrétaire de défense du Sri Lanka, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa,, a également mis au défi les groupes de droits de l'homme internationaux de présenter toute preuve de crime de guerre avéré qui aurait été commis au cours de la dernière phase de guerre civile.
Il semble que le secrétaire de défense Gotabhaya Rajapakse est soit naïf ou interprète t-il le rôle d’une personne contestant avec des mots vides de sens tout en sachant pertinemment que lui-même s'oppose énergiquement à n'importe quelle enquête sur les crimes de guerre.
Rappelons ce concept de base juridique, au Secrétaire de la défense, qui stipule que tout crime rapporté doit d'abord être examiné avant d’accuser les coupables. Des crimes de guerre allégués doivent être étudiés pour trouver les preuves permettant d’appuyer les charges. Les preuves seront présentées seulement après. Les groupes de droits de l'homme internationaux ou les commissions internationales doivent être libres d’investiguer, afin d’enquêter objectivement sur les crimes de guerre allégués.

Il est tout à fait évident que lorsque l’on questionne notre Secrétaire de la défense sur les crimes de guerre, il entre à un état second montrant crainte psychotique. Il est préférable pour lui de se terrer plutôt que d’ouvrir sa bouche qui apporte le déshonneur aux valeurs bouddhistes de ce pays indépendamment des principes Démocratique de la constitution.
En tant qu’expatriés du Sri Lanka, nous aimerions poser quelques questions simples au Secrétaire de la Défense :
1) Le Secrétaire de la Défense Gotabhaya Rajapakse est-il un citoyen respectueux des lois de notre pays ?
2) S'il est un citoyen respectueux des lois de notre pays, va-t-il enquêter sur l’action criminelle du ministre Karuna qui aurait établi un passeport diplomatique D1944260 au nom de « Kokila Dushmantha Gunawardena » en qualité de « Directeur Général de conservation de la faune sauvage » lui permettant ainsi de voyager vers le RU en violant ainsi les lois de l’immigration de notre pays ?
3) Le Secrétaire de la Défense lavera t-il son nom de ce scandale alors que le Ministre Karuna a admis, devant une cour britannique, avoir obtenu ce passeport diplomatique avec l’aide du Secrétaire de la défense ?
4) Le Secrétaire de la Défense respecte-t-il la convention de Genève et les lois humanitaires internationales dont le Sri Lanka est signataire ?
5) Le Secrétaire de la Défense est-il informé que le Sri Lanka, tant que pays signataire, a l’obligation de respecter la convention de Genève et les lois humanitaires internationales ?
6) Si tel est le cas, est-ce que le Secrétaire de la Défense expliquera au monde comment il pourrait pendre pour la trahison, une personne qui témoignerait contre des crimes de guerre ?
7) En se comportant comme tel, est-ce qu’il défit la convention de Genève et les lois humanitaires internationales ?
8) Comment réagiraient le Secrétaire de la Défense et son frère, le Président, si la Cour Suprême demande de recompter les votes de la dernière élection présidentielle sous la supervision de médiateurs internationaux.
9) Le Secrétaire de la Défense expliquera-t-il au public sous quel chef d’accusation militaire l'ancien commandant de l’armée Général Sarath Fonseka a été arrêté ?
10) Va-t-il y avoir une commission pour découvrir comment 600 policiers qui se sont rendus en 1990 ont été tués sous les ordres du Chef LTTE de l’est, le Col Karuna?
11) Le Secrétaire de la Défense permettra-t-il à une commission internationale de trouver la fosse commune de ces policiers ?
12) Puisque le Secrétaire de défense se targue de montrer l’évidence, permettra-t-il à une commission internationale de rechercher l'évidence dans la zone de bataille finale où plus de 300.000 mille civils Tamouls ont été emprisonnés ?
13) S'il n'y a eu aucun crime de guerre, alors qui y a-t-il à cacher M. le secrétaire, Ministère de la Défense ?
14) Le secrétaire de défense prendra-t-il l'action judiciaire contre le chef terroriste de LTTE, le marchand d’armes international Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) en dépit d’elle étant presque une année depuis son arrestation ?

Nous sommes d'accord avec le secrétaire de défense que combattre le terrorisme du LTTE n'est pas un crime de guerre, mais intimider ceux qui veulent témoigner par des menaces de mort est un crime démontrant la couardise.

le vendredi 02 juillet 2010, Mano Banduwardena (France)

De : Mano Banduwardena
Envoyé : ven. 02/07/10 12:06
À : francoeurope (francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr)

Is it the Public, Stupid?

- Mano Banduwardena (France)

We all are aware of the Sinhala joke about a thug (Chandiya)who wanted to assault an opponent  while  asking his friends  around him  to hold him tight seeking protection from them  to prevent getting  beaten up by the opponent he was challenging .
Today we see the same attitude by the Rajapaksa regime trying to shield themselves with their own bunch of boot lickers ever ready to defend the stupidity of the corrupt polity. They even went to the extent of blaming the Journalists for asking hard questions and not condemning the disgrace shown to the entire world by the Defense secretary in an interview of BBC Hard Talk recently. 

Rajapakse regime is defiant with empty challenges disregarding the constitutional law of the country, International laws or any logical argument brought forward exposing corruption, abuse of power or alleged war crimes.  During the  recent Presidential and General  elections we had seen how they challenged the alleged claims  about the corruption of Rajapakse brothers by asking people to come forward  and expose to  the country who had taken bribes . The Irony is,    Rajapakse regime doesn’t give any protection to the witnesses who are willing to come forward to bring the corrupt to justice.   This regime had deliberately failed to appoint the Judiciary commission which would have appointed   various independent commissions under the 17th amendment as well as a witness protection program. Hence, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation commission appointed by the President is a fallacy to hoodwink the Public and the International community.

Recently, Defense Secretary of SRI Lanka Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has also made a similar challenge to international human rights groups to present any evidence of war crimes alleged to have been committed in the last phase of the island's civil war in an interview in a daily Sinhalese-language newspaper Lankadeepa .He threw down the gauntlet refraining to have a designated time, place and a second for a duel.
It appears that the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse is either ignorant or acting the role of a common thug challenging with empty words when he himself vehemently objects to any investigation of alleged war crimes.

Let us remind the defense secretary about a basic concept in judiciary that any reported crime needs to be first investigated to bring charges against the culprits. . Alleged War crimes needs to be investigated to find evidence to press charges. Evidence will be presented only after an investigation in to crimes that had been said to have taken place. International Human rights groups or International commissions need to be given the freedom of investigating in collaboration with the government to objectively investigate on alleged war crimes.

It is quite apparent that when asked about war crimes, our Defense Secretary goes in to a manic state expressing his fear psychosis. It is better for him to bury his head in the stand than open his mouth which brings disgrace to Buddhist values apart from Democratic Principles this country upholds   at least according to the Constitution.
If Defense secretary is  not suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)caused by the serious questions thrown at him by various INGOs, Western Governments and International media, we would like to ask  him some basic questions as expatriates of Sri Lanka.

1)      Is the Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse a law abiding citizen of our country?
2)      If he is a law abiding citizen of our country, will he investigate in to the criminal act of Minister Karuna of forging a Diplomatic Passport number D1944260 in the name of “Kokila Dushmantha Gunawardena” whose occupation on the passport was given as Director General of Wildlife Conservation and travelling to UK violating immigration laws of our country. Defense secretary has all the powers to investigate this matter as the Pass Port office and The Department of Immigration, comes under the Ministry of Defense, Public Security, Law and Order of which Gotabaya Rajapakse is Secretary and President Rajapakse the Minister.
3)      Will defense secretary clear his name from this scandal, as Minister Karuna has admitted in a British court that it was the Defense Secretary who had helped him to get the Diplomatic Pass Port? This is of National importance since if the defense secretary was involved in forgery of a Diplomatic Passport, the Pass Port Department should not be under him not to mention that he shouldn’t be given any administrative position in the Government sector.
4)      Does Defense Secretary respect Geneva conventions and International Humanitarian laws which Sri Lanka is a signatory?
5)      Is the Defense Secretary aware that Sri Lanka is obliged to uphold Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian laws above the laws of the country being a signatory?
6)      If so will Defense Secretary explain to the public how he could hang a person for treason who would testify against war crimes?
7)      By doing so is he defying the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian laws?
8)      How would the Defense Secretary and his Brother the President react if the Supreme Court calls for a recount of last Presidential election supervised by International Monitors.
9)      Will the defense secretary explain to the public under what provision of the Army act the Former Army commander retired General Sarath Fonseka was arrested?
10)  Will there be a commission to find out how 600 policemen surrendered in 1990 under government orders to LTTE Eastern Leader Col Karuna got killed?
11)  Will the defense secretary allow an international commission to find the mass graves of those policemen?
12)  Since the Defense Secretary challenged to show evidence, will he allow an international commission to look for evidence in the final battle zone where more than 300,000 thousand Tamil civilians were trapped?
13)  If there were no war crimes, then what is there to hide Mr. Secretary, Ministry of Defense?
14) Will the defense secretary take legal action against the top LTTE terrorist, chief arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) despite it being nearly a year since his arrest?

We agree with Defense secretary that fighting LTTE Terrorism is not a war crime, but intimidation of those who are willing to testify with death threats is a crime showing cowardice.   

le vendredi 02 juillet 2010, Mano Banduwardena (France)

 De : Mano Banduwardena
Envoyé : ven. 11/06/10 11:14
À : francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr

La déclaration indigne du Secrétaire de la Défense du Sri Lanka‏

Ils vont pendre le général Fonseka pour trahison si ce dernier témoigne devant un tribunal international pour crimes de guerre ». Cette déclaration est plus que déplacée, compte tenu du fait que certains des anciens dirigeants du LTTE - tels que Karuna, actuellement ministre, (anciennement leader du LTTE de la province de l'Est, responsable de la mort de près de six douzaines de moines bouddhistes tués sang-froid et K. Pathmanadan (marchand d'armes et directeur des finances du LTTE , également connu pour avoir fourni des armes aux groupes maoïstes de l'Est de l'Inde). Tous deux sont maintenant installés à Colombo sous l’entière protection et bénéficiant des privilèges du gouvernement !
 
Les médias indépendants et la communauté internationale savent que, le Genéral Sarath Fonseka (général retraité de quatre étoiles), ancien commandant de l'armée du Sri Lanka, est le véritable héros de la guerre qui a remporté la guerre contre le terrorisme contre par le LTTE, guerre qui a pris fin l'année dernière. Aujourd'hui, le Général Fonseka, bien qu’étant illégalement incarcéré dans la maison d'arrêt (similaire à celle du défenseur des droits humains Mme Aung San Sun Kyi au Myanmar), est à l'heure actuelle, un député dûment élu au Parlement du Sri Lanka. Au cours des dernières élections présidentielles du Sri Lanka, qui se sont déroulées en janvier 2010, il était le principal candidat de l'opposition. Le Général Fonseka est détenu illégalement par l'armée du Sri Lanka, depuis l'élection présidentielle, sur ordre du secrétaire à la Défense, et les procédures judiciaires ont été volontairement reportées car le gouvernement est toujours incapable de présenter de preuves crédibles pour poursuivre le général même avec un système judiciaire très politisé qui à la botte du gouvernement.
 
La déclaration faite par le secrétaire à la Défense est en complète contradiction avec l'esprit de la Commission, récemment nommé par le Président du Sri Lanka pour se pencher sur les crimes de guerre. Nous croyons fermement que le gouvernement du Sri Lanka use de façon directe ou indirecte, de méthodes à sa disposition, y compris à travers ses délégations à l'étranger pour intimider les personnes prêtes à témoigner contre les crimes de guerre, en particulier durant le dernier épisode du conflit. Si cela s’avéré juste, ce serait une violation flagrante, de la Convention de Genève et des lois humanitaires internationales, par le gouvernement du Sri Lanka, qui a été l'un des signataires et un fervent défenseur de ces conventions.
 
Avant la réunion tenue par le Ministre des affaires étrangères de Sri Lanka, M. GL Pieris, avec le Secrétaire d'État, Mme Hillary Clinton, nous avons porté à son attention que «la Commission de réconciliation et de lesons apprises " n’est pas une véritable initiative du gouvernement sri lankais, mais simplement une tentative de tromper les masses locales mal informées et une tentative désespérée de faire de même auprès de la communauté internationale active et bien mieux informée, incluant l'Union européenne, les États-Unis, dont les aides financières éloignent l’économie locale d’une crise financière dévastatrice.
 
Nous tenons également à souligner que le régime du président Mahinda Rajapakse est incapable de réaliser un objectif d'une manière impartiale et de façon transparente, sans la participation active et constante de la communauté internationale.
 
Malheureusement le Sri Lanka n'a pas de programme de protection des témoins. Par conséquent, le secrétaire de la Défense Gotabhaya Rajapakse pourrait et va ouvertement intimider, tout militaire qui serait prêt à témoigner devant une commission indépendante, par des menaces similaires à celles récemment proférées contre le Général Fonseka : qu'il était un traître et devrait donc être exécuté sommairement par pendaison pour trahison. Ces affirmations saugrenues et les menaces ouvertes émanant de hauts fonctionnaires du gouvernement montrent que personne ne peut espérer un jugement impartiale d'une de ces commissions nommées par le gouvernement ou de soit disant cour d’audiences qu'ils orchestrent contre toute personne dont les témoignages ne collent pas à version du gouvernement de tout ce qui a transpiré pendant le dernier mois de la guerre civile.
Le seul résultat que l’on peut espérer et une poursuite de la consolidation du pouvoir politique par la famille la plus corrompue (et sans instruction) de toute l'histoire politique du pays qui a pour mission d’établir à tout prix une dynastie Rajapakse, incluant la violation ouverte et brutale des droits démocratiques du Sri Lanka.

La situation politique au Sri Lanka est intolérable et les droits de l’homme sont bafoués. Nous demandons à la communauté internationale de :

condamner les dérives, telle que la déclaration de Gotabhaya Rajapakse faite sur BBC-Hard Talk.
de faire pression sur le gouvernement du Sri Lanka pour mettre en place une commission indépendante, dirigée par les Nations Unies, afin d’enquêter sur la guerre.
d’exiger que le Général Sarath Foseka, illégalement emprisonné, puisse bénéficier des droits minimums : tels que l’accès aux médias, les lettres, l'eau potable, l’air, etc.…
que le Général Fonséka puisse bénéficier de la protection de témoin s’il est amené à témoigner sur les épisodes de la guerre.

Le 08 juin 2010, Mano Banduwardena (France)

Come Moon, see whether flowers will bloom in SL! –Of what use are so called ‘patriots’ who cannot respect human rights and values.

(Lanka-e-News, July 07, 2010, 8.30PM) The SL Govt. has become panicky and tensed up over the appointment of a panel of experts by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to counsel him on whether there had been human rights violations during the last phase of the war in SL. A so called ‘patriotic campaign’ has been started on the ground that this action is a threat to SL’s sovereignty.

While Foreign Minister Dr. GL Peiris made an official statement that visas would not be granted to the panel to visit SL, the Minister of Housing Wimal Weerawansa has openly threatened to hold the UN office in Colombo and its staff hostage. When the UN Organization inquired about this from the Govt., the latter stated that, it was Weerawansa’s personal sentiments expressed, and the Govt. dissociates itself from those views, and confirmed it was not the official stand of the Govt.

The main opposition party, the UNP while condemning Dr. Peiris’s statement objected to the interference with the internal affairs of SL by foreign powers. However, the opposition pointed out that this interference was engendered by the Govt. owing to its undoings, adding that the UNP totally disagrees with Weerawansa’s statements.

The purpose of this article is to make an analysis on these irresponsible utterances made by responsible politicos in this country

Is the United Nations Organization a foreign power? What is this Organization which was formed after the second world war by the joining together of so many countries of the world? Are we still learning in the seventh grade? Let me not waste my precious time on this article trying to educate these illiterate nitwits and nincompoops on what this Organization is. How can these politicians who have learnt about this in the seventh grade disclaim this knowledge. Identifying this World Organization formed by 192 countries joining together including SL, as a foreign power is a vilification of the truth and distortion of the true picture.

Let us ask ourselves a simple question. When Ban Ki Moon contested the post of UN Gen. Secretary, SL’s Jayantha Dhanapala, a top notch State Diplomat also contested the post. In the event of Dhanapala being elected to the post, would the UN Organization been considered a World power? Just because Nimal Siripala de Silva was appointed as the President of the World Health Organization (WHO), does the WHO become a local power therefore?

The UNP which has been hearing and reading the harangues and gobbledygook for a long time of Weerawansas and Ranawakes the noted hypocritical elements portraying themselves as ‘cardboard patriots’, seems to have got confused themselves, as they are also now calling the UN a foreign power. This is not a matter for surprise .

The UNP without exposing the hypocrisy and the opportunistic politics of the Weerawansas and the Ranwakas to the people and following a straight path, but instead swallowing spit and becoming greedy for the pseudo hypocrisy stunts of those cardboard patriots, occasioned by UNP’s stupid and foolish ways, is going to drive itself into a deep cesspit and get spat from its supporters. Did n’t the JVP suffer this fate and are in a deep quagmire unable to raise itself.? Opportunistic patriotism has always been the handmaid of venomous and dastardly politics. The truth and true patriotism must be made known to the people. A true political campaign should not become subservient to opportunistic patriotic elements who are seeking a fast buck and instant benefits.

The UN Organization is only trying to see whether there had been human rights violations during the latter part of the war. What are the human rights which have been violated? After the second world war, the UN Organization in 1948 formally made a universal declaration. for any human being born anywhere in the world there are 30 fundamental human rights inherent in him. They are as follows:--------------------------------------------------------------

Article 1
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All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
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Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
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Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
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No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
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No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
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Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
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All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
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Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
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No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
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Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
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Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
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No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
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Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

Article 14
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Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
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Everyone has the right to a nationality.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
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Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
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Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
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Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
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Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
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Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
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Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country.

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
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Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organisation and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
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Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
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Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
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Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
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Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
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Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
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Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realised.
Article 29
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Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
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Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
--------------------------------------------------------------- All the countries including SL are signatories to this covenant which stipulates that these human rights hall not be violated. In other words we have agreed to allow investigations into whether there had in fact been HR violations. We are also a member of this Organization . What is wrong in that, then?

After reading the above 30 conditions, what do you feel? Do we know that we have a right to enjoy these.? What a pity many people confine their rights only to the boundaries of their lands. Though these rightsviolations are in relation to the happenings in the battlefield, but, in our country, in ordinary circumstances, do our people enjoy these rights? What these rulers are doing is violating these 30 stipulations the whole 24 hours of the day. Aren’t they?

One question will give the answer to all these. Do we enjoy the rights conferred on us by the laws of the land? When a petition is filed in Court by a rival candidate at the Presidential elections against the President who is alleged as having been elected on malpractices and irregularities, even the Judge who examines the petition is appointed by the accused (the President). It is like asking the accused to sit in judgment, let alone pass judgment! Just see how the law operates in our country. When the litigation is in progress, it is the accused (President) against whom the case is being heard who is having full governance over the country. If the accused is found guilty, he being the active President he has all the powers to reverse the entire legal process during or after the trial using his full powers and resources subjugating the judiciary.

All what the people can do is blame fate and endure the injustices.

It is not necessary to go to lengths to talk about the Judiciary in SL. Take for example the appointment of the SC judge Shiranee Bandaranaike. Her appointment is made by the President of the country. Her husband Pradeep Kariyawasam is the Chairman of the SL Insurance Corporation under the President. His is a political appointment made by the President. In crucial judgements of the SC judge, wont there be a conflict of interests ?

When this is pointed out, will she or her husband be made to resign the post ?

All the 30 stipulations in the covenant signed by SL are being flagrantly violated in SL the whole 24 hours of the day. If they are to be elaborated, this article is not enough, let alone a book. What happens to those who expose the truth was best demonstrated in the murder of Lassantha Wickremesinghe the fearless and forthright journalist. What is happening to the fundamental right to education in this country is being experienced by all in the worst possible form.

If the rulers are conducting themselves in this manner, what can the people do? To whom are they to go and complain? The only place left is the UN Organization. Even though many from SL have gone to the International Courts and have obtained redress, yet in the Sinharaja case, even after S B Dissanayake went so far as to obtain a judgment from the International Court, Geneva, the Govt. has still not implemented that decision.

In a country as this, if the UN secretary General is trying to probe whether the human rights were safeguarded during the final phase of the war, it is the duty of a reasonable person and who respects human rights not to oppose it, or think only of the violations during that short period, but, request the UN to inquire into the human rights violations in all parts of the country not just covering a short period, rather throughout permanently, because the SL human rights Commission that existed nominally has perhaps by now ceased functioning.

Mr. Speaker,

The Rajapakse administration has shown an uncanny ability to create world records in the last few years; prior to the General Election, Sri Lanka had the dubious honour of having the world’s largest number of Ministers and now we have created yet another world record by having the world’s smallest cabinet of two ministers. As some say, the new cabinet consists of 2 Ministers and 39 door mats for the family, especially for the young Mr. Rajapakse to wipe his feet on while receiving on job training at the expense of the senior and experienced politicians holding the rest of the name board Ministries.

The Rajapakse triad consisting of the President as Minister of several key Ministries along with his super Minister brother and his super secretary brother control over 63% of the annual budget.According to the report presented to Parliament, out of the total expenditure of Rs.1.9 T, Rs.1.2 T comes under the direct purview of the Rajapakse triad.

However, due to the limited time available, I am not going to discuss the economics of the heads, which come under the Rajapakse triad. At a time when a three member panel of experts has been appointed to advise the UN Secretary General on Sri Lanka, I feel that it is appropriate to talk about the short sighted acts of commission and omission of some of the Ministries under discussion today, which has led to the sorry state of affairs, our country is facing today.

Mr. Speaker,

The appointment of the expert’s panel is the culmination of nearly four years of governance by the Rajapakse regime where the rule of law in our country was systematically undermined, using the war against terrorism as a basis or a justification for doing so.

In fact, as I mentioned in my speech last Friday, I warned the President in writing on the 13thDecember 2006 that, “ due to various omissions and commissions on our part as the Government, our image is deteriorating rapidly which may lead to serious repercussions for the country. As Your Excellency’s Foreign Minister, I would be failing in my duty if I do not highlight some of these concerns and impending perils.”

I also pointed out the outstanding diplomatic victories the President achieved in the first six months in office.However, the emergence of the white van culture of abductions and extra-judicial killings, political assassinations of MPs like Joseph Pararajasingham, Ravi Raj and Maheswaran and the increasing number of attacks on journalists and as aresult of the defence Ministries stubborn refusal to investigate such crimes and the governments inability to respond toserious allegations in a credible manner, the country started to lose the international goodwill we had harnessed. Hurling abuse in the style of a sarong raised village thug became the hallmark of this government in the face of mounting criticism both locally and Internationally. As I wrote, “ instead of responding to the allegations made against us in a credible and factual manner, people who make such allegations become victims of vicious personal attacks bordering on criminal defamation. This strategy of “shooting the messenger” will only alienate the International community further away from us.”

Mr. Speaker, due to the limited time I have I cannot go into details of the letter but I would like to table it to be included in full in the Hansard.

My sincere appeal fell on deaf years and today Sri Lanka is on the verge of being labelled as an international fugitive and faces the risk of being hauled up before the ICC. (International Criminal Court). This would be a severe blow to the image of our country, which has a proud history of being a much loved and respected member of the International community.

Mr. Speaker,

The ICC Treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court came into operation in 2002 and as of July 2009,nearly 110 countries had become state parties to this treaty. This international institution, based in the Hague in the Netherlands has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals responsible for the most serious crimes of international concern; genocide, crimes against humanity, the crimes of aggression and war crimes.

However, the ICC has jurisdiction over any of these crimes, only if the country is a state party or a signatory to the Rome Statute. Fortunately for the Rajapakse regime, Sri Lanka is not a signatory to this treaty because PM Ranil Wickramesinghe in 2002 refused to be a signatory on the basis that Sri Lanka has the independent institutions able to undertake such investigations, if and when the necessity arises.

In fact the Rajapakse regime owes a debt of gratitude to the much-maligned Ranil Wickramesinghe for his forward thinking wisdom as PM.

However, the woes of this regime does not end there because there is provision in the treaty for the UN security council to refer a non state party to the ICC like they did to Sudan, also a non signatory to the ICC, in 2005.

Sudan, Mr. Speaker is a case study of interest to Sri Lanka in the present context. Subsequent to the refusal of the Sudanese government to cooperate with the UN to investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the UN Security Council passed resolution 1593 referring “the situation prevailing in Darfur since 1st July 2002” to the prosecutor of the ICC. Despite Sudan insisting that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter, the courts issued arrest warrants in 2007 for the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister and a militia leader. In July 2008, an arrest warrant was issued for President Al Bashir making him the first head of state to be indicted by the ICC. In spite of familiar anti western rhetoric and staged protests in Dafur, Bashir remains an international fugitive with an international warrant issued for his arrest; other than to a few other African countries he is unable to travel outside his country.

Mr. Speaker,
Although I have many ‘reservations’ about the leaders of this government, I would hate to see such scenario being enacted in Sri Lanka. The ignominy of such situation would be a devastating blow to our country and our people with devastating consequences for years to come. That is why the government, even at this late stage deal with this problem in a responsible manner to salvage the good name of our country instead of resorting its village thug tactics and wishfully hoping that countries like China will bale us out of a difficult situation in the UN.

In this context, it is interesting to note that China did not use its veto power when the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1593, referring Sudan to the ICC in March 2005. China abstained along with US allowing the resolution to pass by 11 votes.
This was in spite of the fact that China and Sudan have very warm and cordial diplomatic relations. Beijing’s direct investment rose to $1.6b in 2005 making Sudan the 9th largest recipient of Chinese FDI.More recently China backed the US sponsored sanctions despite heavy lobbying by Iran and China is one of Iran’s biggest oil customers. This ought to be a wake up call to elements within this government who are cocky about the prospects of a UN probe because of the apparent support of China for the government. China follows a very pragmatic foreign policy and in many critical votes in the UN, China has never stood in the way of resolutions backed by the western powers.

Mr. Speaker,

If our country is referred to a war crimes prosecution, it will also tarnish the image of our armed forces. The Sri Lanka Army is one of the most disciplined armies in the world and this was the main reason that our army was chosen for peacekeeping activities around the world by the UN in 2002. However, even in the best of Armies, there could be a few black sheep or miscreants who tarnish the image of the entire force by their actions and many countries, protect the reputation of their respective armies by investigating any allegations and punishing those responsible in keeping with the law of the land.

For example, Mr. Speaker, in 2004, Seymour M. Hersh of the New Yorker magazine along with a local TV station related accounts of physical, psychological and sexual abuse including torture and homicide of prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by personnel of the US Army.

How did the US government respond to these allegations? They did not label the journalist an Al Quid sympathiser and send white van in search of him nor did they bomb the TV station: the secretary defence, unlike in Sri Lanka, the Defence Minister, did not use his position to threaten the media to stop them writing about these allegations.

Instead, the US Department of Defence carried out a full-scale investigation and eleven soldiers were convicted in court between May 2004 and March 2005, sentenced to military prison and dishonourably discharged from service.

Even in the UK, allegations against the armed forces receive the serious attention of the government. The London Times reported on Wednesday, that PM David Cameron is to announce an inquiry into claims that British security services were complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects.

Even in Sri Lanka, previous governments have responded swiftly to allegations of state violence. In the face of mounting criticism and outrage at the rape and murder of 16 year old Krishanthi Coomeraswamy in 1996, President Chandrika Kumaratunge ordered a trial at bar against the army personnel accused while the forces personnel behind the floating Bolgoda bodies in 1995 were also charged and presented to court while the forces personnel who threatened journalist Iqbal Athas were also brought before the law.

This is how responsible governments behave in the face of allegations of state violence, which is inevitable especially in countries that are fighting the menace of terrorism.However, as the International Commission of Jurists in the Berlin Declaration of 28 August 2004 stated;“ In adopting measures aimed at suppressing acts of terrorism, states must adhere strictly to the rule of law, including the core principals of criminal and international law and the specific standards and obligations of international human rights law”

And also states that “ the odious nature of terrorist acts cannot serve as a basis or pretext for states to disregard their international obligations.”

The Council of Europe also articulated the need to uphold the law when fighting terrorism, in 2002.

“………..while the state has the right to employ to the full its arsenal of legal weapons to repress and prevent terrorist activities, it may not use indiscriminate measures which would only undermine the fundamental values they seek to protect. For a state to react in such a way would be to fall into the trap set by terrorism for democracy and the rule of law.”

Unfortunately for us in Sri Lanka, the government seems to have fallen into this trap; the way the government, especially the External affairs Ministry along with the rest of the Cabinet is handling the present crisis, Prabakharan may well have the last laugh from beyond the grave.

So for the sake of our country, the government must act in a responsible manner to save its reputation; let experienced diplomats handle this situation instead of the jokers and amateurs who have been posing as diplomats over the last four years.

Let us also not forget for a moment that this crisis has been brought on by the government itself. As I pointed out in this house last Friday, it was MP Mahinda Rajapakse himself who invited the UN and other International human rights agencies to intervene in Sri Lanka 21 years ago.

Even recently, the UN Secretary General stated that he is acting on the basis of the joint statement of the GOSL and UNSG on 23 May 2009, in which the government had given an undertaking to take measures to address the grievance relating to violations of human rights. This position has not been refuted by the government nor has the Foreign Ministry has at any time stated that the joint statement is inoperative. Therefore, the government has obviously conceded the position of the UNSG.

In conclusion, I request the government to cooperate with UN to clear the name of our country instead of howling and barking at the moon like a pack of demented wolves.

Thank you.

If the amendment is reasonable as regards the division of powers in accordance with the report forwarded by Tissa Vitharane, the Chairman of the All party representatives committee (APRC), then UNP is prepared to support the Govt. ‘s proposed amendments, he pointed out.
The refusal to allow Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the opposition representative to attend the Commonwealth MPs conference in Nairobi is a violation of the Harare agreement, whilst it is also infringing the Commonwealth MPs conference code of ethics, Ranil declared. The Harare agreement was signed by former President Chandrika during her tenure in office, he added.

The denial of a representative to attend the conference elected by the Opposition for the conference is a major issue. Earlier the Govt. said, it will take up his participation subject in the Courts, and he must get permission in Courts. But, now the decision has been taken to block his participation by the SL branch of the Executive committee of the Commonwealth MPs, Wickremesinghe bemoaned.

The relatives have protested because the houses allocated to them are of poor quality and are uninhabitable because of the lack of basic facilities. Though these houses were constructed on the ‘us for ourselves’ funds, monies have been collected from the Soldiers too , the protestors complained.

It is reported that in order that these news do not seep through to the public via the media,, immediate action was taken to disperse the demonstrators , by dispatching a Navy officer to the village yesterday night itself at the behest of a top notch official of the Defense Ministry.

Though 1509 houses were gifted to the members of the Three Forces and the Police at the 'Rana jaya pura’ housing village by the President on 22nd November 2009., the beneficiaries have to pay a sum of Rs. 8 lakhs over a period of 20 years before the ownership is vested in them.
It is significant to note that under the 'us for ourselves' project, large sums of monies were collected by the Govt. by holding shows in Italy, France and other countries. Within SL too, a day’s pay of workers was collected under while the Business community also disbursed large sums of money towards this project.

Apart from these infra structure facilities which are wanting, the Defense Ministry had also promised to provide, Schools, Pre Schools, playground and sports activities, recreation Hall, medical center Library and a Bank

Not only are the Executive Presidency terms to be extended, the previous Presidents are also to be barred from the post

(Lanka-e-News 01.July.2010 1.30 PM)The amendment to the constitution is sought not only to extend the period of the Executive Presidency beyond two terms , but is also to bar the previous Presidents of SL from seeking appointment to the post again.

Under Section 31 (2) of the chapter 7 of the SL constitution, a candidate who had been elected as the President for two terms is disqualified from seeking a third term.

The Govt. is preparing to amend the constitution to rescind the limitation to two terms of the Executive Presidency and make the terms unlimited.

In this connection the Govt. members of the highest rungs at secret discussions have decided that the former Presidents shall be barred from contesting the Executive Presidency again via the proposed amendments.

In this context ,the only surviving President currently is Chandrika Bandaranaike who contested and won the Presidential elections , in accordance with the constitution.

After the Cabinet members of the Rajapakse Govt. took a decision to extend the terms of the President further, a number of prominent SLFP members who are now MPs on the opposition side had discussed with Chandrka Bandaranaike about the proposed amendments and focused her attention on her possibility to contest the next Presidential elections.
Meanwhile . it is reported that three senior Ministers of the Govt. too have discussed with her regarding this amendment in closed door sessions . They have suggested that if she contests elections again , a large number of Ministers who are senior SLFPers will also support her.

It is also learnt that one of the three Ministers who met Mrs. Bandaranaike has told that , because the senior SLFPers have been sidelined and in the appointment of Ministers they have not got their due recognition , they are totally disillusioned with the leadership, and they are only sticking there because they have no alternative..

Chandrika Kumaratunge's response in this connection had not been made known.

Among the Forces and the people there is a general disillusionment and disappointment over the large number of the members of the Army being not invited for the celebration.
It is a well known fact that Gen. Fonseka the former Commander who played the key role in winning the war is being kept in detention and was not invited. In addition, another large number of officers have also been thrown into the limbo of oblivion without being invited. Hereunder are some of those key officers….

1. 57th Divisional Army Commander Major General Jagath Dias who has been sent as the Deputy Ambassador to Germany . He was one of the Army Commanders made a big contribution to the victory.

2. Major Gen. Udaya Perera who was the Director operations and was actively engaged in the war operations, and is now the Deputy High Commissioner in Malaysia.

3. Athula Kodipilli and Ralph Nugera

It was the Special Force (SF) and the Army Commando Force which planned and launched attacks in the last phase of the war. It was Athula Kodippilli who was commanding the Special Force Brigades and Ralph Nugera who gave orders to the Commando Force. Indeed, Kodipilli suffered injuries on three occasions on the battle field. Kodipilli has been transferred from the offensive unit to the service unit, while Nugera has been sent to Oddu Sudan.

4.Mahesh Senanayake

Major General Mahesh Senanayake was the Director planning for the entire war. He was responsible for the supply of arms, ammunitions,vehicles and soldiers including guns and bullets. He had to decide exactly what the requirements are and make the supplies. He is now sent on pension.

5.Dhammika Liyanage

He was the former Director of the Army intelligence unit. He too has been sent on pension.

6. Mendaka Samarasinghe

Mendaka Samarasinghe was the Trincomalee Divisional Commander and 22nd Divisional Commander during the period when the first sensational Army victory at Marvilaru was registered. At the Mutur palaThoppur armed conflict in Trincomalee, he faced the LTTE attacks. He is now transferred to the Joint operations Headquarters

7.Sanjaya Wanasinghe

Army sniper unit played a major part during the final phase of the war to save the civil population .It was Lieutenant Colonel Sanjaya Wanasinghe was in charge of giving orders to the entire Sniper groups and sniper instructors. Sanjaya is a son of former Army Commander Hamilton Wanasinghe. It is speculated that Hamilton Wanasinghe figuring in support of Gen . Fonseka at the last Presidential elections led to he being not invited.

8. In addition , Major Gen. Gamini Hettiarachi, Brigadier Raj Wijesiri, Colonel Jayavi Fernando and several others who played a major role during the war and built the LRRP and Special Force for a long time and extensively, have also not been invited for the Army felicitation ceremony , and treated as discards deserving a place in the garbage bin.

The Govt.’s war victory celebration had not only offended the Sinhala groups of the South , but has also hurt the Tamil people who opposed Tamil extremists. A Univercity Lecturer of the North told ‘Lanka e news’ that the Govt. by disallowing the Tamil people to conduct religious ceremonies to commemorate their loved ones who died in the war in the North had trod on their corns and disappointed them deeply.

The Lecturer questioned , if the three lakhs Tamils in Jaffna, the ten lakhs Tamils in Colombo and the 7 lakhs Tamils in the camps had supported the war campaign of Prabhakaran , would it have been possible for the Govt. to carry on the war ?. These Tamils who opposed the extremists during the war cannot be forgotten. Why doesn’t the Govt. give thought to the fact at least when commemorating the war victory that, if the 3 lakhs Tamils have not crossed and come over to the Govt. zone , what would have been the disastrous result ?, he asked.
When this question was posed to the new Army spokesman Brigadier Medawala , he said ,he is taking up the new appointment only tomorrow, and he cannot make a statement in this regard. He wished that Prasad Samarasinghe be questioned on this. An Army officer who spoke to Lanka e news and did not disclose his name speaking on behalf of the Major general Samarasinghe explained that Major General Gamini Hettiarachi referred to in our news item was invited and he was present at the celebrations.

Prasad Samarsinghe clarified that the invitations were sent by the Defense Ministry , and he cannot comment until he has seen the name list .

He added that he is aware that the retired Army Commanders were invited. The President of the working Army officers association also was invited. Major general Mendaka Samarasinghe was in the Army procession. Among those who had been mentioned as having been in the special task Force and the operations Force, some of them had gone on retirement, and they did not participate in the final humanitarian operations, he pointed out.

On other days, Fonseka was brought to Parliamentary sessions in a Montero vehicle followed by two Jeeps with Army soldiers and another security vehicle leading ahead.

It is learnt that Gen. Fonseka was brought to Parliament today sans adequate security on the orders from the top. Today, he was brought in a Mitsubishi Van belonging to the Army driven by an Army Driver, along with a military police officer in civil attire and a Prisons officer, who were the only two security officers detailed for the Colombo District M P.

The Magistrate who is hearing the trial of the case of Fonseka's son in law Dhanuna Thilakaratne , and where Gen. Fonseka has been named as the third respondent , instructed, at the last Court date that even if he is remanded, he must be held in Army custody taking into consideration his own safety . The Magistrate who was informed on that occasion that the MP was brought to court in a Prisons Van, ordered that he should in the future be brought under Army security .Moreover , for Parliamentary sessions, party leaders' meetings and Parliamentary Committee meetings too he must be transported under Army security , the Magistrate instructed.

Despite all this, Sarath Fonseka M P was brought to Parliament today in a Van in flagrant violation of the clear Court directive.
It is interesting to recall that when the Opposition inquired from Defense Ministry why the former Army Commander and now M P was not invited when all other MPs were extended invitations to attend the Army felicitation ceremony held recently, the Ministry replied that he was omitted on grounds of security considerations.

It is also a matter of grave significance that all along, the MPs of the DNF of which Fonseka is the leader had told the media that there are dire threats to Fonseka 's life.

The total revenue has been estimated at Rs.817, 800 million. The Govt. is seeking to rake in a revenue of Rs. 729 billion by ruthlessly imposing taxes , tariffs and levies on the people. This amount is to be collected from the people within the next 6 months. In other words, the budget which ought to provide relief and buoy up the people is going to trample and torture them beyond anything they have been accustomed to in their lifetime. ‘Thanks’ to the Govt.’s colossal debt burdens for which people are not responsible but made answerable by the Govt. It is an indisputable fact , going by the comments and warnings made by independent non political top notch economists right along that the country was hurtling down an economic precipice due to the Govt. ‘s reckless fiscal policies and infinite borrowing affinities . Hence, it was their prophecy that the Govt. will sooner or later realize that it is the sole architect of country’s economic catastrophe and misfortunes. This budget is a deadly fallout of all the economic ills and evils the Govt. stoked during its period in office, only to carry on regardless in power riding roughshod all the time on the backs of the people .

Though the budget deficit for 2010 was stated by the Minister as Rs. 462,000 million, he did not explain how this deficit is going to be bridged!

The Govt.'s estimated expenditure inclusive of the loan re payments is Rs.1, 821 billion!
The promises made by the President at the last Presidential and General elections that a monthly salary increase will be granted to workers, according to the Acting Finance Minister will only be considered at the next annual budget. However, he did not specify by what amount their salaries will be increased.

When the Opposition began screaming and making a loud hue and cry against the proposals , the Minister calmed them by requesting to be patient until he had finished his speech. Minister Mervyn Silva however in characteristic 'chandiya' (though he is a 'nondiya' now) style went up to the Opposition benches and tried to obstruct the opposition catcalls.
Given hereunder are the funds allocated towards workers and welfare reliefs in this budget …

Rs. 3 million towards School children; free School books; uniforms; nutrition; transport facilities. Rs. 7363 million had been allocated for scholarship promotion .

Rs. 2500 million had been allocated towards nourishment and assistance of feeding mothers and infants’ nourishment .

Rs. 7500 million towards 25000 (approximately) refugees in welfare camps to provide food and dry rations

Rs. 9300 million has been allocated to provide relief to beneficiaries of Samurdhi program families.

A sum of Rs. 9300 million allocated towards relief for families of low income earners under the Samurdhi program.

Rs. 102, 500 million had been set apart towards social uplift- ment through the Govt. pensioners’ funds and the grants made to the disabled soldiers numbering about 6000.

Towards better Agriculture production, a sum of Rs. 2 million; and for manure, Goviyas, for loans and for a guaranteed price on paddy , a sum of Rs. 35 000 million had been allocated.

The Govt. in an attempt to demonstrate its concern for the Health service has allocated a sum of Rs. 13,000 million for providing free health service to about 50 million outdoor and indoor patients and for purchase of drugs.

Rs. 6650 million had been set aside for the facilities to be provided to commuters by the Railways and the Bus transport services.

Peace cannot be achieved without development. As the conflict is over development cannot be postponed any more yielding to cheap political gains, the Minister pointed out. It is essential that the people are got back what they lost owing to the LTTE devastation. All must rally round to fulfill the promise given by the President to make SL a model for Asia. The whole object of this budget is to uplift the living standards of the people via economic development, the Minister said in conclusion.

Surrender would have saved thousands of lives -Solheim

(Lanka-e-News 27.June.2010 5.20PM) Mr. Solheim said thereafter he was in constant touch with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to "find a way to stop the fighting" by getting a UN representative to talk to LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

“All these were rejected for different reasons by the Government and the LTTE," Mr. Solheim said.

Mr. Solheim said that on May 17 last year, he received a telephone call from LTTE leaders B. Nadesan and S. Pulithevan. They had appealed to him to arrange for a surrender. They had also made similar appeals to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN. "We passed the information to the Government. We told the two LTTE leaders that their offer came too late.

I told them if they wished to surrender, they would have to raise white flags and give themselves up, he said. "A few hours later, we heard they were dead," he added. Asked whether he communicated the appeal of the two LTTE leaders to the Government, Mr. Solheim said, "this information was clearly given to the Government."
He said he would not go into the matter of whom the information was provided. He also said there were "others" involved in the surrender dialogue but declined to name them.

resumption of war. That is the position of Norway and that is the position of most governments in the world."

Courtesy by : Sunday times

“The Travel Warning issued for Sri Lanka on November 19, 2009 has been cancelled, effective May 26, 2010,” the State Department said in an announcement. “Department of State has cancelled the Travel Warning for Sri Lanka due to improvements in safety and security conditions throughout the country.”

The State Department’s decision occurred during a four-day Washington visit of Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs, Professor G.L. Peiris. Minister Peiris is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday. On Wednesday, the Minister met with Gen. James Jones, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, as well as with senior U.S. Department of Defense officials.
The State Department’s decision was hailed by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya.

“We welcome the State Department’s decision recognition of Sri Lanka as a peaceful and prosperous nation that is of course safe for visitors,” Ambassador Wickramasuriya said. “We have been working with the State Department for some time to lift this warning, and I am heartened that it has occurred during Minister Peiris’ Washington visit.”
In its statement, the State Department noted that, “The Government of Sri Lanka declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 18, 2009. Since the war's declared end, the LTTE has not mounted any attacks in Colombo or elsewhere in Sri Lanka.”

In fact, tourism returned dramatically to Sri Lanka just days after the conflict ended, and it has continued to improve, nearly doubling in some months compared to last year, despite the State Department’s travel advisory.

Tourism is an important component of Sri Lanka’s economy, and tourism officials expect it to continue to expand dramatically.

The New York Times in January listed Sri Lanka as the number one destination to visit in 2010, citing the war’s conclusion and Sri Lanka’s historical sites, lush forest and broad beaches. National Geographic and the luxury living website Dailycandy.com also both gave Sri Lanka high rankings as a travel destination in 2010.
26 May 2010.

The Lawyers for Gen. Fonseka told Courts today (28) citing reasons that the Prisons vehicle bringing the General to courts ought to be given intensified security by the Army, the security vehicles provided were trailing six vehicles behind the vehicle which brought him. Besides, the glasses of the vehicle transporting him were not tinted, whereby anybody could identify him, meaning that it is a massive threat to his life.

The Magistrate also gave a directive that his wife and others who take food to him should be allowed to supply it to him without any obstruction or impediment.
The Prisons Dept had arranged to produce Sarath Fonseka today before the Magistrate Court as a suspect in connection with the Hi Corp case filed against him.

On the last occasion, when the case was called up, a request was made by the CID to name Fonseka as a suspect in the Hi Corp transaction and keep him in remand custody. The Magistrate considering the special security requirements necessary in respect of him ordered that he should continue in Army custody. Accordingly, arrangements were made by the Prisons Commissioner to detail two Prisons officers for duty to provide security to the General at the Navy Headquarters where he is detained.

This petition signed by MPs of the UNP, Muslim Congress and the DNA states in the petition, at this juncture when the first anniversary of the war victory is being celebrated, justice should be meted out to Gen. Fonseka by releasing him who planned and carried out the war operations right until the end of the war, and secured freedom for this country by defeating the terrorists.

Apsara hands over letter to Hillary

(Lanka-e-News, May 30, 2010,5.45 PM) Apsara Fonseka, daughter of General Sarath Fonseka, has handed over a letter to the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton last Friday.

This letter was handed over to Hillary Clinton’s assistant chief of staff a few hours before foreign Minister Prof G.L Pieris’s scheduled meeting with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Friday in Washington DC.
Apsara Fonseka and three other Sri Lankans, who are co- founders of the Mission Sri Lanka Foundation rights organization have signed the letter.

The letter stated that Sri Lanka was seriously mishandling current foreign policy which will lead to disastrous consequences.

The letter states “China, Russia, Myanmar, Iran, and Libya have now become the government’s closest allies. The projects funded by the Chinese government dwarf all other bilateral aid. In February 2010, Russia gave 300 million USD credit to Sri Lanka, most likely the biggest such donation ever given to Sri Lanka, even compared to the days when the Soviet Union gave assistance. The Sri Lankan government continues to purchase arms when the country has a surplus of weapons and 150,000 soldiers who could deal with any potential future insurgency. Most of these arms purchases are from China. It is reported that the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) is now making attempts to embrace North Korea for the country’s military needs”. This letter also stated that the government is illegally detaining former Commander of the Army, Gen. Sarath Fonseka.

The number of Chinese in Sri Lanka at the moment is one hundred and ten thousand. Many of them are in Sri Lanka for the Chinese projects in progress here under the Socialist China aid.
Most of the Chinese who have come to SL are those who have served in the Chinese red Army, while others are Chinese prisoners , reports say.
As China extended arms , financial and other assistance to the SL Govt. to defeat the LTTE , the Govt. which is entertaining the suspicion that the Chinese in SL may become the target of attack of the LTTE , is providing special security to them .

As the North East war in SL ended, India , America and China are engaged in a cold war to take control of the areas which are of economic and military importance , Govt. top officials told Lanka e news.

A large number of workers of the private sector joined in this demonstration. The protestors shouted slogans against the CEPA agreement and protested not to fall prey to this agreement.

The protestors marched towards the Temple trees without any obstruction. When permission was granted at the Temple Trees, a representative of the National traders Forum, got an opportunity to hand over a message to the President.

The Traders Forum claimed that this agreement to be signed between India and SL has exceeded the bilateral treaty, whereby there are opportunities for the Indian Traders to come to SL and engage in business; Medical and Engineering professionals too can visit SL and render services. The National Traders Forum says, this will militate against local business community and professionals, and therefore draws attention to this danger.

It is reported that even sections of the Govt. side participated in these protests. Although the Temple Trees area is a high security zone, yet, for yesterday’s protest campaign, there was not much obstruction from the security for the protestors when they marched towards the Temple Trees.

There isn’t a single Minister who is happy in this Govt.

(Lanka-e-News, May 26, 2010, 3.25PM) A senior Minister said, it is difficult to identify a Minister who is happy in the Rajapakse Govt.

When Lanka e news asked from this Minister, why there is no news about Dullas Alahaperuma? he replied, he too is searching for the whereabouts of Dullas Alahaperuma.

It is reported that Alahaperuma who took oaths as a Minister is disillusioned because the foreign employment Bureau which was originally earmarked under his Ministry had been later brought under the purview of the Foreign Ministry, and also because of the appointment of the Secretary of the Nil Balakaya led by Naamal Rajapakse as President to the Youth service Council coming under Dallas’ Ministry without his consent. The Minister who is bitterly disappointed has during the last few weeks not attended to his official tasks. When efforts were made to get information in this regard from the Minister over the phone, nobody answered the phone. When Lanka e news tried to reach the Minister via the general phone of the Ministry, the person answering stated, the Minister has not come to office these days.
It is learnt that the Minister Alahaperuma has gone for medical treatment. Meanwhile, a correspondent who spoke to Lanka e news from London said, Minister Alahaperuma was in London for about a week, and he was met by several members of the SLFP Branch office. Though the media tried to meet him, they were not successful. However, when he was leaving London, he had told one media personnel that he was going back to SL.

Inauguration of the India Visa Application Centre of the High Commission of India, Sri Lanka in Jaffna

(Lanka-e-News, May 05, 2010, 5.00PM) The High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka H.E. Ashok K. Kantha inaugurated the India Visa Application Centre (IVAC) of the High Commission of India, Sri Lanka in Jaffna today. This will be operated by the VFS Global who have been successfully running the India Visa Application Centre in Colombo since February 2008.

Speaking on this occasion, the High Commissioner of India hoped that this would benefit the people of Jaffna and neighbouring areas as they would not have to travel all the way to Colombo to submit their India visa applications. This initiative on the part of the High Commission of India will facilitate the visa applicants to submit their visa applications in Jaffna and to take delivery of the passports from the India Visa Application Centre, Jaffna.
The High Commissioner hoped that the opening of the India Visa Application Centre, Jaffna would encourage many more people to obtain visas to India from this region and travel more frequently to India. This would promote the traditional close ties between the people of Jaffna and India. The High Commissioner also reiterated the commitment of the Government of India to promote closer ties between the people of India and Sri Lanka and conveyed that India was looking forward to opening a Consulate in Jaffna in the near future. The Government of India also favoured an early resumption of the ferry service between Talaimannar and Rameshwaram as also between Colombo and Tuticorin.
The India Visa Application Centre is well located at No.89, Brown Road, Jaffna. The IVAC will function from 0800 hours to 1700 hours from Monday to Friday. Visa applicants can log on to www.vfs-in-lk.com for guidance about visa instructions. They can send e-mails to info.inlk@vfshelpline.com for visa queries. The IVAC helpline number is 011 4505588. The facilities to the visa applicants include longer operational hours; dedicated Call Centre Unit and e-mail support; information desk at the IVAC; flexibility of submission and collection timings and convenient procedure for submitting visa applications. The processing time for each visa application will normally take about three working days. The decision to grant or refuse visa will be the sole prerogative of the High Commission of India, Colombo.

Mr.President Mahinda Rajapakse in Iran

(17.05.2010)

photo LankaEnews 17.05.2010

President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Now people are moving freely, moving from north to south, south to north. So people are mixing, so they do their businesses. People are getting used to each other, they’ve started to trust each other, so this is the only process that we can depend on.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
But a year on, some people are saying that you have not addressed the grievances that started this war in the first place. The Tamil community still feels marginalized. How do you ….
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
(interrupts)
I don’t agree with that, because some politicians are making these issues. Or some NGO’s. Now if you go to the camps and if you ask them what do you want first? They will say I want my house back, I want a job, I want to educate my children. They will not ask for anything else. So first what we must do is resettle these people. Give them the facilities, give them the things that are enjoyed by others in the south. Why not? Let them enjoy that first, then the people will… once they elect their own people, their representatives, into parliament, into provincial governments…. And then we can discuss with them, we can have a dialogue.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
What do you then say to the Tamil diaspora who are overseas who say you are not doing anything for the Tamil community?

President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Unfortunately, this is the problem, because they don’t want to come back to Sri Lanka. They are enjoying themselves. They have never visited Jaffna. They have never visited beyond Colombo to the north. They have not met the people. They have not discussed with them. Now I am meeting the common man, whether in Jaffna, or Trincomalee or Batticaloa. When I speak to them, I speak to the ordinary people. The masses. But find out from these people whether they have been to Jaffna, whether they have been to Kilinochchi.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
You now have Tamil groups who say they want representation. You have Tamil politicians who say they want a bigger representation of the community. How can you trust these people?

President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
I trust them. They have to trust us also. I trust them, so that’s why I called them to have a dialogue with me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have, because I know that they, most of these politicians who supported the Tiger movement, the terrorists, they represented them in parliament. So now it’s up to us. So we have called them. They have to come with us. They must understand our difficulties also….the difficulties of Government. They must compromise, we are ready to compromise. Because for me whether they are Tamil, Muslim or Sinhalese, it’s immaterial.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
You inherited this long drawn out war. You ended this war. Do you think, in your mind, was it inevitable to lose that many civilian lives, especially towards the end of the war?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
I deny it, because we never killed any civilians.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
You can categorically, confidently say that the Sri Lankan army never targeted civilians?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
No.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
How sure are you? How can you be so sure? It’s a war.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
It’s a war, you’re right. By the way the people came to this side, to the government-controlled areas, you can see. If Sri Lankan army acted in a different way, against the civilians, they would never have trusted us. They wouldn’t have walked into our camps. 300,000 people. So that shows our army, they trusted our army. Otherwise they wouldn’t have walked in. This is why I’m saying this.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
If you are so confident that the Sri Lankan army did not commit any crimes, or war crimes during the conflict, why not allow for an independent body to come in and make their own independent investigation?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
This is an internal matter. I don’t want my internal matters to be inquired by any other country or any other NGO’s. So we will look after that. That’s why we appointed a commission so if there is any violations, we will see.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
So you’re saying that this commission that you’ve appointed will investigate alleged war crimes?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
If there is anything like that, they will come and complain to us and we will enquire into it.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
Will you take action against those who have committed these crimes?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Yes. Certainly, certainly.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
Even if they’re on your side? Even if they are connected to you?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
If it is a crime, whether it is my relation, or my army commander or anybody. It is immaterial. It’s a crime, crime is a crime, so we have to punish them. We can’t punish a person for defeating terrorism. So if the international community wants to punish Sri Lanka for defeating terrorism, I’m not for that.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
You can understand the international community’s concern though. If you have an internal investigation, a government that is investigating itself. Where is the transparency? How can we be sure there will be …..
(interrupts)
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
You don’t ask that from the Americans! You don’t go and ask that of the British about Iraq, or Afghanistan or what is happening in Pakistan? Be fair with us…be fair with us… don’t treat Sri Lanka like this because we defeated terrorism. Unfortunately, other countries couldn’t defeat terrorism yet, although we have done that.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
Earlier this year, you had an overwhelming electoral victory. And so did some of your family members as well. Now some of your family members are in very high positions in your cabinet. You have brothers in the Economic Development posts, in the Defense sec post and speaker of Parliament. …..there are some 300 other relations who occupy important government positions.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Who gave those figures? 300 relations ... I will tell you, the whole country is related to me. The whole country.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
It’s a huge family?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Huge family.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
But you can see how, there is this accusation of nepotism ….
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
How can you say that?
Fauziah Ibrahim:
Because your family members are in very high positions …
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
No, no they have been elected by the people….
Fauziah Ibrahim:
…. Very important positions …..
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
No, only one! Now he is a minister, I have appointed Gothabaya as the Defense Secretary, yes.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
That’s a very important position..
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Yes, why not? I have to trust my Defense Secretary.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
And the only person you can trust is those in your family?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
No, No … He is capable, and he has shown that he is capable and I can trust him. So why not?
Fauziah Ibrahim:
What do you then say to critics who say that you are now building the Rajapaksa political dynasty?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
I won’t. Why should I? It’s up to the people. People are electing them, what can I do about it? When they don’t want them, they will kick them out. All Rajapaksas will be kicked out. So they have to deliver. If Rajapaksas are delivering, what else do they want?

Fauziah Ibrahim:
Will you be changing the constitution to get rid of the president’s term limit?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
It’s up to the parliament.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
Are you in favour of it?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Yes, I don’t mind if it’s the Presidential system, or the Prime Minister system. I have no problem, because I’m going to win again.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
You’re confident of this? Why do you say that?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
People will trust me. I know that people will trust me. When I asked for two thirds majority, they gave me.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
It has been said that you have no tolerance towards any form of opposition, any form of political opposition.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
I completely reject that.
This is all propaganda.
Fauziah Ibrahim:
By whom?
President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
By the opposition. By the opposition and the NGO’s who are being paid by some of these other organizations.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
Going forward and as Sri Lanka tries to rebuild itself after a near 30 year war, and reconciliation as you say is trying to take place. What do you think is the biggest obstacle that faces your people?

President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
We have to build that trust as soon as possible and it’s building up. This is the challenge we are ready to take. So, after 30 years we took the challenge to defeat terrorism, so we took that challenge and won. Now it is the economic development, so we do that. Within one year, we resettle the people. 90% have been resettled. By December, everyone will be resettled in this country.

Fauziah Ibrahim:
Mr President, thanks for speaking with us.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa:
Thank you.

Assist. Director of the disaster management Kodipilly said, 12 people were drowned in the flood waters , two died struck by lightning .

It is reported that the Govt. authorities had not been able to provide even a single meal to the victims of the floods who are displaced, shelter-less and without a morsel of food .The victims of the floods in Koralawella , Moratuwa had staged a demonstration in front of the State Timber corporation this morning , as the Govt. officials had not paid any attention even to give a slice of bread to them.

However, the Disaster management Ministry declares that the necessary funds had been allocated to the relevant District Secretaries to arrange food supplies to the victims.

The State media reports that President Mahinda Rajapakse who is attending the Iranian G- 15 conference has given instructions to the relevant Ministries and officials; and the Govt. MP‘s representing the Districts affected by the floods to take swift action to provide relief to those who have fallen victims to the floods . The President gave these instructions when the Disaster management met yesterday for a special session at the Temple trees. The President has allocated 180 lakhs towards relief during the discussion.

As at today , the number of residents of Gampaha who are victims of the floods is 164, 349. The victims in and around Colombo total to 142, 236.The number of victims in Kalutara is 37,803. In Galle and around, the number is 94,971. In Ratnapura – 230. In Matara 533, and Kurunegala 135, Assist. Director, disaster management center, Kodipilly confirmed.

In addition 154 houses have been completely submerged by the waters,while 802 houses have been destroyed partly.
Of the 12 who died in the floods, 7 of them are from Gampaha, 2 from Ratnapura, 2 from Puttalam and one from Kalutara. The two individuals who died struck by lightning are residents from the Anuradhapura District.

As a number of railway stations between the main lines from Ragama to Enderamulla are under water, the trains are moving along only on one line to Ragama and Hunupitiya even today.

Rains wreak havoc : Tens of thousands rendered homeless

(Lanka-e-News 18.May.2010 1.00AM) Owing to the torrential rains from this early morning , over 15,065 families from Gampaha alone have been rendered homeless and are displaced without shelter. Disaster management center Deputy Director Pradeep Kodipilly said , 59,785 families from Gampaha have been affected by these rains , adding that most people were from Gampaha who were affected.

A large number of families from Bellummahara , Gampaha have been rendered homeless , the Disaster management center added.

Meanwhile , the number of families affected by floods in the Kalutara District are 2720.
In Colombo City, because most of the roads were inundated , there was grave traffic congestion from early morning today.

As the Ragama Railway station platform and the railway line were inundated with water about four feet high along the Colombo –Polgahawela main railway line, , all trains along the main line were delayed many hours. Some train services had to be cancelled.

Disaster Management Center Dep. Director said , no deaths have been reported so far due to the rains and the floods. Over 50, 000 families have been affected by the rains followed by floods which had lasted for the last several days , according to the Disaster management center .

On the instructions of the President , food parcels and dry rations were distributed with the help of the Secretaries of the Ministry of disaster management of the affected Districts and provinces, the Ministry stated.
A large number of houses on the banks of the Kelaniya river had gone under water because of the flooding. Similarly , in Colombo certain areas , a number of make shift shelters and huts had also been submerged by the floods. Consequently these dwellers had no place to go.

Automobile Association informed that , because the Puwakpitiya ,Avisawella Roads were under water transport was at a standstill .

15 houses have gone under water in the Piliyandala Bokundara area. Those displaced had to move to security stations.

The Observatory states that , due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal , this rain and cyclonic situation has arisen , which will build up during the day (17) and will last for the next 24 hours.

Kelani ganga now reaches flood level

The Highways Dept. water research Dept. states , the Kelani ganga water level has risen by four feet and is now at flood level . Already, there is an alarm rung of flood threats .

The Kalu ganga and the Attanagalla Oya have reached minor flood levels . The Highways water research division points out that the flood threats yesterday in Gampaha and Ja ela are likely to develop further , and is therefore taking measures while reporting to the disaster management center.

A group of Senior workers have revealed this based on the contents of a letter addressed to the President on the 24th of February 2010 by the Executive officers of the CPC oil Companies.

Further, that letter relates that the Chairman had said, he will continue to be Chairman for 8 years. Even if the President wishes to remove him, for reasons known to him, he cannot do so, the Chairman has pointed out. It also discloses that the present Chairman has signed an affidavit that he has committed the murders before three Lawyers and several Justices of the peace.
The Executive officers have urged the President to bring the Chairman before the law and mete out punishment so that it will be a deterrent to others and be exemplary.

Despite the Workers’ Organizations having informed the President in writing about this Chairman’s frauds, corruption, mismanagement and profligacy which had cost the Corporation Companies many billions of losses through default payments due to delays; import of fuel when the fuel stocks are there, and when storage facilities are not available, this Chairman has been re appointed for the second time. The Workers allege that this re appointment is because of his ties with the Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse.

On the first anniversary of the end of the fighting, the Brussels-based organization is demanding an international inquiry into alleged war crimes on the island.

"The scale of civilian deaths and suffering demands a response," says Louise Arbour, the group's president and a former Canadian Supreme Court justice, UN high commissioner for human rights and chief prosecutor for war crime tribunals in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

"Future generations will demand to know what happened, and future peace in Sri Lanka requires some measure of justice."

In the final days of the war, as government troops surrounded the rebels, about 300,000 Tamil civilians were trapped amid heavy fighting on a narrow strip of coast in the country's north-east.
After an eight-month investigation, the ICG says it has credible evidence of war crimes in the deaths of "tens of thousands of Tamil men, women, children and elderly." Countless more were wounded and "hundreds of thousands deprived of adequate food and medical care, resulting in more deaths."

From January through May last year the Sri Lankan "government and security forces encouraged hundreds of thousands of civilians to move into ever smaller government-declared No Fire Zones and then subjected them to repeated and increasingly intense artillery and mortar barrages," the group's report says.

Sri Lankan security forces intentionally shelled hospitals and makeshift medical centres, which were overflowing with the wounded and sick. Humanitarian operations and food distribution points were also repeatedly bombarded.
The report also accuses the Tamil Tigers of firing on and killing civilians who were attempting to flee the shelling by crossing into government-controlled areas.

"The LTTE refused to allow civilians to leave the conflict zone, despite grave danger from shelling and lack of humanitarian supplies, even when the civilians were injured or dying," the study says.

"Their calculation, ultimately an incorrect one, was that escalating civilian casualties would eventually get the attention of the international community to broker a ceasefire so the LTTE could regroup or perhaps enter negotiations."

The ICG said an international war crimes investigation should also look into the LTTE's recruitment of children and the Sri Lankan security forces' execution of Tamils who had laid down their arms and were trying to surrender.

It adds there is credible evidence that Sri Lankan government and military leaders were responsible for war crimes. The Tamil Tigers also committed atrocities, but most of their leaders were killed and will never face justice.

An international inquiry into war crimes would force Sri Lanka to address grievances that are still feeding conflict in the country, while discouraging other governments from adopting a Sri Lankan model of counter-insurgency.

In the meantime, the ICG urges countries like Canada not to deport suspected former Tamil Tiger fighters, saying their lives will be at risk until there are safeguards in place for humane treatment and fair trials.

It also asks other countries to grant asylum to potential witnesses and to act to preserve evidence of war crimes.

The Sri Lankan government, which refused to participate in the ICG investigation, denies it ever targeted civilians.

THE FULL REPORT OF ICG AS FOLLOWS:

War Crimes in Sri Lanka
------------------------
Asia Report N°19117 May 2010
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) repeatedly violated international humanitarian law during the last five months of their 30-year civil war. Although both sides committed atrocities throughout the many years of conflict, the scale and nature of violations particularly worsened from January 2009 to the government’s declaration of victory in May. Evidence gathered by the International Crisis Group suggests that these months saw tens of thousands of Tamil civilian men, women, children and the elderly killed, countless more wounded, and hundreds of thousands deprived of adequate food and medical care, resulting in more deaths.

This evidence also provides reasonable grounds to believe the Sri Lankan security forces committed war crimes with top government and military leaders potentially responsible. There is evidence of war crimes committed by the LTTE and its leaders as well, but most of them were killed and will never face justice. An international inquiry into alleged crimes is essential given the absence of political will or capacity for genuine domestic investigations, the need for an accounting to address the grievances that drive conflict in Sri Lanka, and the potential of other governments adopting the Sri Lankan model of counter-insurgency in their own internal conflicts.

Crisis Group possesses credible evidence that is sufficient to warrant an independent international investigation of the following allegations:

The intentional shelling of civilians. Starting in late January, the government and security forces encouraged hundreds of thousands of civilians to move into ever smaller government-declared No Fire Zones (NFZs) and then subjected them to repeated and increasingly intense artillery and mortar barrages and other fire. This continued through May despite the government and security forces knowing the size and location of the civilian population and scale of civilian casualties.
The intentional shelling of hospitals. The security forces shelled hospitals and makeshift medical centres – many overflowing with the wounded and sick – on multiple occasions even though they knew of their precise locations and functions. During these incidents, medical staff, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and others continually informed the government and security forces of the shelling, yet they continued to strike medical facilities through May forcing civilians to abandon them.

The intentional shelling of humanitarian operations. Despite knowing the exact location of humanitarian operations and food distribution points, the security forces repeatedly shelled these areas, which were crowded with humanitarian workers, vehicles and supplies, and civilians. Many were killed or wounded trying to deliver or receive basic humanitarian assistance, including women, children and infants.

The consequences of the security forces’ shelling were made substantially worse by the government’s obstruction of food and medical treatment for the civilian population, including by knowingly claiming the civilian population was less than one third its actual size and denying adequate supplies.

The government declined to respond to Crisis Group’s request for comment on these allegations.

There is also strong evidence that the LTTE engaged in:

The intentional shooting of civilians. The LTTE fired on and killed or wounded many civilians in the conflict zone who were attempting to flee the shelling and cross into government-controlled areas.

The intentional infliction of suffering on civilians. The LTTE refused to allow civilians to leave the conflict zone, despite grave danger from shelling and lack of humanitarian supplies, even when the civilians were injured and dying. The LTTE also forcibly recruited many civilians to fight or serve as labourers and beat some family members who protested the recruitment.

The substantial body of evidence collected by Crisis Group since August 2009 offers a compelling case for investigation of the conduct of hostilities and the role of the military and political leadership on both sides. It consists of numerous eyewitness statements that Crisis Group has taken and considers to be reliable as well as hundreds of photographs, video, satellite images, electronic communications and documents from multiple credible sources. But it covers only a small number of the violations allegedly committed and is but a first step in what should be a major effort to examine the last year of the war. Among the other allegations that should be investigated are the recruitment of children by the LTTE and the execution by the security forces of those who had laid down their arms and were trying to surrender.

Much of the international community turned a blind eye to the violations when they were happening. Some issued statements calling for restraint but took no action as the government continually denied any wrongdoing. Many countries had declared the LTTE terrorists and welcomed their defeat. They encouraged the government’s tough response while failing to press for political reforms to address Tamil grievances or for any improvement in human rights. The eventual destruction of the LTTE militarily came at the cost of immense civilian suffering and an acute challenge to the laws of war. It also undermined the credibility of the United Nations and further entrenched a bitterness among Tamils in Sri Lanka and elsewhere which may make a durable peace elusive. Now a number of other countries are considering “the Sri Lankan option” – unrestrained military action, refusal to negotiate, disregard for humanitarian issues – as a way to deal with insurgencies and other violent groups.

To recover from this damage, there must be a concerted effort to investigate alleged war crimes by both sides and prosecute those responsible. Sri Lanka is not a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the UN Security Council is not likely to refer these crimes to the ICC in the short term. While some of the LTTE may go on trial in Sri Lanka, it is virtually impossible that any domestic investigation into the government or security forces would be impartial given the entrenched culture of impunity. A UN-mandated international inquiry should be the priority, and those countries that have jurisdiction over alleged crimes – including countries such as the U.S. where dual nationals or residents may be suspected – should vigorously pursue investigations.

RECOMMENDATIONS
-------------------
To the Government of Sri Lanka:
-------------------------------
1. Cooperate fully with international efforts to investigate alleged war crimes, including a UN-mandated international inquiry, guaranteeing free access to the conflict area and effective protection of witnesses.

2. Try LTTE cadres suspected of war crimes in open court, allowing them and witnesses against them full protections required by international law and permitting international oversight, or release them if there is insufficient evidence.

3. Invite the UN special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions, torture, violence against women, the right to food, the right to health, the protection of human rights while countering terrorism and the situation of human rights defenders, and the special representatives on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and on children and armed conflict, to visit Sri Lanka to investigate the conduct of the last year of hostilities.

4. Compile, with the assistance of the ICRC and/or the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a full and public register of those killed, wounded and missing from the final months of the war, including the circumstances of their death, injury or disappearance; and issue death certificates and provide financial compensation for civilians killed or wounded and for property destroyed or damaged.

5. Provide ICRC with full access to all places of detention, including where LTTE suspects or surrendees are being held, and allow detained individuals full protections under international law.

To the United Nations and Member States:
------------------------------------------
6. Authorise an independent international inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last year of the conflict, tasking it to investigate the conduct of both sides, to complete its work within a reasonably short period and to recommend steps to be taken by national and international authorities to ensure accountability for any crimes.

7. Begin inquiries into attacks on UN assets and personnel and into the conduct of the UN during the last year of the conflict, examining the UN’s September 2008 withdrawal from Kilinochchi through to its ineffectual attempts to push for a ceasefire and its involvement in Sri Lankan government internment camps.

8. Empower the special rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions, torture, violence against women, the right to food, the right to health, the protection of human rights while countering terrorism and the situation of human rights defenders, and the special representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), to carry out full investigations of the conduct of the last year of hostilities, particularly into alleged extrajudicial executions and torture, and the special representative on children and armed conflict to more completely investigate the recruitment of child soldiers and killing and maiming of children.

9. Make available to any credible efforts to investigate alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka all relevant information within the possession or control of the UN.

10. Ensure that Sri Lankan contributions to UN peacekeeping missions are consistent with universal human rights principles, including by ensuring the systematic pre-deployment screening of Sri Lankan personnel to identify any individuals allegedly involved in war crimes or human rights violations.

To India, the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Other EU Member States, Switzerland and Others:

11. Do not extradite LTTE suspects to Sri Lanka unless guarantees of humane treatment and fair trials are in place. Instead prosecute in domestic courts where possible and appropriate.

12. Begin investigations into alleged war crimes or human rights abuses in cases where jurisdiction may exist, including where nationals or residents are allegedly involved. Ensure such investigations have sufficient resources and share evidence in the possession or control of governments, including satellite imagery.

13. Support non-frivolous civil suits by or on behalf of alleged victims of the security forces or the LTTE, including by limiting claims of immunity.

14. Grant asylum or other protected status to witnesses and act to preserve evidence of war crimes, particularly by allowing officials to cooperate with credible investigations.

15. Impose targeted sanctions, including travel restrictions, on Sri Lankan officials and members of their families, unless and until the government cooperates with international efforts to investigate alleged war crimes.

Brussels, 17 May 2010 Courtesy: National Post

The foregoing is an announcement made by the former Army Commander Gen. Fonseka who led the country to victory in the 30 year old war against the deadliest terrorist outfit in the world , and brought an end to a terrorist Organization considered earlier as indefeasible.

The General who is an M P and the leader of the DNA party stated ‘Even though I am kept imprisoned ,I feel it is my duty to express my gratitude on this occasion of the war victory commemoration to all those who helped me to win the war by making supreme sacrifices including their lives to accomplish this victory after 30 years of conflict’

Today , we complete one year following the defeat of terrorism which liberated the country and the people from the curse that lasted 30 years. At this juncture, I am made to remember the immense sacrifices the brave soldiers made on behalf of the country , and the innocent people who bore the sufferings due to the ravages of war.

I pay a tribute to the Army, Navy, Air Force and the civil defense Organizations who from the very outset fought for this victory out of love for the motherland. I also thank the parents with great respect who sacrificed their children by allowing them to take part in the battle . Of course their grief is immeasurable, yet I am sure these parents must be proud now for producing such children who gave away their lives fighting for the motherland..

Some Soldiers are in a permanently disabled state today .They have lost their eyes , hearing and even their legs and arms. My special gratitude to them who lost their precious physical and mental abilities fighting for the cause of the country.

Parents lost their children. Wives lost their husbands. Children lost their parents. Brothers and sisters were lost. I fully appreciate the great patience and endurance of those bereaved families and individuals who are gripped by this indelible grief. Many Buddhist priests and the clergy order too lost their lives in Arantalawa, Sri Maha Bodhi and other religious places. Similarly, priests of other religions died and suffered. I express my heartfelt condolences to all of them who suffered at the hands of the terrorist attacks.

I can still visualize how the whole country and the people en masse cheered me when I , as Army Commander officially announced the war victory. The lion flags which adorned every house, every street and every corner are still vivid in my memory. There was not a single place where my photographs and pictures were not displayed.
Yet, today , on the day this war victory is being celebrated , my photograph is banned. Even announcing my name is prohibited. I was then described and extolled by this very Govt. as the greatest army Commander, War Hero and patriot. But, now I am flimsily accused as having conspired against the Govt. and as a traitor. This is the first and only country. in the world which is commemorating a war victory keeping out the main War Hero who won the war for the country , people and the Govt., purposely and designedly out of it. This is an irony of ironies!

I conclude by expressing my gratitude and appreciation to all those who made sacrifices and extended their co operation and assistance towards winning this 30 year long cruel war .

MPs who support the emergency regulations throttling the people must be ashamed -General Fonseka


(Lanka-e-News 05.May.2010 8.30AM) DNA Colombo District M P Gen. Sarath Fonseka told in Parliament today (4) that the emergency regulations which was introduced only to meet exigencies of circumstances, has been in existence for the last 30 years. But, now that the war is over these regulations should be withdrawn and the country be ruled by the ordinary laws of the country.

Fonseka who joined in the debate to extend the emergency regulations said , amidst objections and obstructions of Deputy media Minister Dr. Mervyn Silva that the credit of war victory should not be appropriated by the politicians , rather they rightly belong to the Armed forces.

The Parliament was summoned this morning with Speaker Chamal Rajapakse in the chair.
It was Prime Minister D M Jayaratne who moved for the extension of the emergency regulations after the terrorism has been rooted out . The regulations were extended for the last 30 years during the war .

Gen. Fonseka speaking at the debate pointed out that the people of the South and the North made immense sacrifices during the war . Under the pretext of preventing terrorism , they cannot be further harassed by continuing with the harsh laws . The country should be subject to the ordinary laws now without the Govt. continuing to intimidate the ordinary citizens and instilling fear by extending and exploiting these regulations. In the circumstances , those MPs who are supporting these regulations should be ashamed of themselves , he added.

If the rulers cannot govern the country under the ordinary laws , it is the weakness of the rulers. Laws must be there to protect the citizens . As far as I am concerned , now , the country can be governed under the ordinary laws. Parliament legislates to protect the people and the country , not politicians alone.

In a country where politics is ridden with hatred and revenge , emergency regulations can never confer any good. If that continues the whole world will look down on this country as barbaric. Merely the claim that terrorists are still among us does not justify the extension of the emergency. Hence , the emergency regulations shall be eliminated , and used only in exceptional circumstances.

Prageeth's wife, once again publically protested this weekend complaining that the state has remained silent on the issue and demanded to know the whereabouts of her husband. She has campaigned consistently since her husband disappearance demanding her rights as a wife and a citizen for a proper investigation. The government has failed to give a reasonable answer to her plea.

Ministers initially tried to create the impression that they have received information from the police about the actual circumstances surrounding the disappearance they would reveal the information to the public soon. The insinuation is that there is no state involvement in this disappearance; that it was the result of a private dispute, the police have, in fact, investigated and are aware of the 'real circumstances'. However, that position soon changed and the various promises to finalise the investigation soon, which was made in public when the journalists questioned the government spokesman, were not kept.

However, when on this weekend, the journalists contacted the police spokesman on Prageeth's disappearance and the current state of the investigations, the reply was that due to the elections the police did not have time to spare for this matter. This reply smacks of deep cynicism on the issue of forced disappearances. A forced disappearance is one of the most heinous of crimes and there is no duty for a law enforcement agency than to investigate such a serious matter. When they stated that, due to the election, Prageeth's disappearance could not be investigated the police are trying to create the impression that this is neither a matter of priority or great concern to anyone.

Furthermore there was even propaganda that claimed that as Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda is not an important journalist and therefore his disappearance is not a matter of significance. There is no issue about superior inferior citizens when the issue of a person's basic rights comes to be questioned. The fact of the matter is that a Sri Lankan citizen has disappeared. It is clearly stated in international law that the obligation of explaining the disappearance lies with the state. It is not an option for the state to select cases for investigation when grave crimes are involved.

There is no crime greater than a forced disappearance. The point that has been raised repeatedly by Prageeth's wife throughout is that she suspects a government agency for being responsible for the loss of her husband. This is a serious allegation on the part of a family and such a complaint needs to be respected by any law enforcement agency or government. It is only by a credible investigation that such an allegation could be proved or disproved.

However, the behaviour of the state in trying to prevent the investigation into the matter clearly shows that there is a deliberate attempt to hush up this investigation. So their silence on the matter is a deliberate silence which indicates the intention on the part of the government to sweep this matter under the carpet so that it might be forgotten.

If the matter of a forced disappearances is forgotten then virtually the issue of citizenship in a country becomes meaningless. Today a serious question raised by this forced disappearances and the response of the government and the policing system is that there is hardly any meaning in citizenship except for those who are willing to completely abandon their rights on behalf of the patronage of the politicians in the ruling regime. This system of patronage has spread so deeply to the effect that those who do not enjoy such patronage also do not have the right to justice.

Thus the forced disappearance of Prageeth Ekanaliyagoda and the poor response from the government is an indication of a serious crisis relating to the protection of rights of individuals in Sri Lankan society. Already the country has catastrophically fallen into lawlessness and the rule of law system has been seriously jeopardised. The present attitude towards disappearances is even indicative of a greater collapse to come which is becoming increasingly visible. Under these circumstances the fear goes deeper and the meaning of anything is being undermined.

It is the duty of all citizens to face up to the gravity of the problem. The issue is not about the views of a particular journalist or about his status. The issue is about the causing of a disappearance which no person in a government or a society has any right to do. It is this problem that the citizens of the country and those concerned with the human liberty of citizens in Sri Lanka should now face and address.
(The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.)

A ‘War’ in Parliament demanding Gen. Fonseka who won the LTTE war and now M.P. to be brought to Parliament –pandemonium reigns

(Lanka-e-News, May 6, 2010, 9.40AM) DNA M.P. Anura Kumara Dissanaayake yesterday (5) again raised the question of privilege and invoked the Parliamentary rules in regard to the hurdles being placed so far against bringing Gen. Fonseka, the Colombo District DNA M.P. to Parliament.

Dissanayake pointed out, though the Speaker stated Fonseka will be brought to Parliament before the voting on emergency began, has so far taken no steps towards fulfilling his undertaking. This is a very serious breach of privilege of a Parliamentary Member.
Can a military Court or an Army officer override the Parliament? he questioned. A H M Azwar said, from the very outset, requests had been made to arrange for Gen. Fonseka being brought to Parliament.

Under Parliamentary members privileges Act, section 17 on standing orders, if 22 MPs stand for the request, the Speaker is bound to comply, Kurunegala UNP M.P. Dayasiri Jayasekera emphasized.
There was a huge commotion in Parliament for not providing the opportunity to Gen. Fonseka to attend Parliament.

Parliament door closed for Fonseka M.P. – Opposition charges breach of privilege

(Lanka-e-News, May 05, 2010, 4.10PM) A tense situation prevailed in Parliament today (05), following the barring of Gen. Fonseka’s advent to Parliament to attend the Parliamentary session today.

DNA M .P. Anura Kumara Dissanayake raising a question of privilege said, because the General did not attend the military Courts yesterday (4), the Court had caused embarrassment to him by ordering him to be produced to the military Court today (5). This clearly is a breach of privilege of the MP obstructing his attending Parliament. Dissanayake therefore requested the Speaker to give an order to bring Fonseka to the Parliament.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe too cited reasons to support this request. Meanwhile, DNF leader Wimal Weerawansa casting aside party differences, also stated that the Parliamentary privileges should be safeguarded.
The speaker told, he would set a precedent considering the matter.

Dissanayake joining in the emergency regulations debate stated that Gen. Fonseka has announced that he would forego a meal and stage a fast until he is brought to Parliament.

Question of Parliamentary privilege raised by Colombo Dist. MP Fonseka regarding his summoning to military Court when he is at Parl. Sittings

(Lanka-e-News, May 4, 2010, 4.25PM) Colombo District M P. Sarath Fonseka raised an issue of parliamentary privilege this morning (4) in Parliament and stated, the Army officers trying to take him to military Courts to hear his case at 1.00 p.m. today while he is attending a Parliamentary session is a breach of his privilege as an MP.

When the Parliament convened today to debate on the extension of the emergency regulations , the MP who raised this issue before the Speaker , stated that he has a special statement to make in Parliament , and therefore he has to remain in Parliament until the close of Parliamentary sessions .

Chaamal Rajapakse, the speaker replied that he would inquire into this.

Appeal Court orders military Court to stop proceedings against General

(Lanka-e-News, May 3, 2010, 5.35PM) The appeal Court today (3)examining the writ application filed by General Fonseka ordered that the hearings in the military Court conducted against the applicant be suspended until a determination is made by the Appeal Court on the writ application.

In a dissenting judgement, two judges, W L Ranjith Silva and Anil Gunaratne were in favor of this decision, while the Chairman of the panel, Sathyahetti was against.

The General had asked for a writ of certiorari in his application against his arrest and detention under the military laws claiming they were unlawful and to declare the proceedings in the military Court as null and void.

Attorney at law Romesh De Silva PC appeared on behalf of Gen. Fonseka.

Speaking on this occasion, the High Commissioner of India hoped that this would benefit the people of Jaffna and neighbouring areas as they would not have to travel all the way to Colombo to submit their India visa applications. This initiative on the part of the High Commission of India will facilitate the visa applicants to submit their visa applications in Jaffna and to take delivery of the passports from the India Visa Application Centre, Jaffna.
The High Commissioner hoped that the opening of the India Visa Application Centre, Jaffna would encourage many more people to obtain visas to India from this region and travel more frequently to India. This would promote the traditional close ties between the people of Jaffna and India. The High Commissioner also reiterated the commitment of the Government of India to promote closer ties between the people of India and Sri Lanka and conveyed that India was looking forward to opening a Consulate in Jaffna in the near future. The Government of India also favoured an early resumption of the ferry service between Talaimannar and Rameshwaram as also between Colombo and Tuticorin.

The India Visa Application Centre is well located at No.89, Brown Road, Jaffna. The IVAC will function from 0800 hours to 1700 hours from Monday to Friday. Visa applicants can log on to www.vfs-in-lk.com for guidance about visa instructions. They can send e-mails to info.inlk@vfshelpline.com for visa queries. The IVAC helpline number is 011 4505588. The facilities to the visa applicants include longer operational hours; dedicated Call Centre Unit and e-mail support; information desk at the IVAC; flexibility of submission and collection timings and convenient procedure for submitting visa applications. The processing time for each visa application will normally take about three working days. The decision to grant or refuse visa will be the sole prerogative of the High Commission of India, Colombo.

Presidential pardon for Tissanayagam who was sentenced to 20 years jail on charges of terrorist complicity

(Lanka-e-News, May 3, 2010, 5.35PM) Minister of foreign affairs Dr. G L Peiris said, the President Mahinda Rajapakse has decided to give a Presidential pardon to journalist Tissanayagam coinciding with the world media day today (3).

Tissanayagam was arrested and jailed in 2008 on charges of inciting communal hatred in his articles in the monthly periodical ‘North Eastern monthly’ and for having received funds from the LTTE. He was released on bail on the 12th of January by the Appeal Court after he was jailed in the lower Court to 20 years in prison.

The 20 years jail sentence Journalist Tissanayagam received was the biggest punishment a Sri Lankan Journalist had ever been meted out. Earlier, American President Barak Obama too requested Sri Lanka to release him.

Even when the Govt. Ministers and Deputy Ministers were strongly objecting and obstructing when the privilege issue was raised in Parliament , Minister Weerawansa said, every MP who is under arrest or is detained should be allowed to come to Parliament , and urged the Speaker to give a permanent ruling regarding their attending Parliament without giving ad hoc rulings each day.

Weerawansa explaining further said , by not supporting the right of an MP who is in custody to attend Parliament sittings a bad precedent is being created which can be used against all MPs of the Govt. and the Opposition . We may have differences with Fonseka’s political affiliations . If he has won the Presidential elections , whether this Democracy we are yearning for may or may not be existing is questionable. Be that as it may , but today we are speaking about Gen. Fonseka as an M P elected to Parliament , Weerawansa added..

A Parliamentary M P has a right to represent and be present in Parliament . We must stand by it . If we don’t , this can lead to a pernicious precedent , Weerawansa pointed out.

The speech of Weerawansa has been frowned upon by a Govt. ‘strong man ‘ who is not a Parliamentary representative as trespassing on the limits set by the Govt.. He has reported this to the Lokka , it is learnt.

The Ministry of Weerawansa had been divested of Urban development authority as well as the land reclamation and development Corporation which were Institutions earlier under that Ministry .Besides, when the NFF leader proposed the name of Mohomed Muzammil as M P. via the National list , Achala Jagoda was appointed instead without consulting the NFF leader. These actions , it is reported have provoked Weerawansa who is hence resentful against the Govt. .When no one from the Govt. came forward to speak about the Gen. Fonseka’s privilege , Weerawansa as a leader of a party expressing these views has caused immense displeasure among the Govt. rank and file.
According to political sources , the announcement made at yesterday’ Cabinet meeting that the Cabinet meeting is a place where decisions are taken cordially , and those decisions cannot be used by individuals to suit his personal interests is construed as a veiled answer to Weerawansa ‘a speech in Parliament

There was no answer from the Speaker yesterday to the question of privilege which was raised in Parliament on behalf of Fonseka M P. It is interesting to note that , Chamal Rajapakse was recently appointed unanimously as the speaker.

Addressing a press briefing recently at the Mahaweli Centre, Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said: “This will be the final election in Sri Lanka to be held under the preferential system.” Political observers noted that this meant the government already knows the result of the general election even before it is held. They say that unless the government rigs the election due to be held Thursday, it is almost impossible for it to get a two-third majority in parliament under current preferential voting system. Such a majority is needed for changing the constitution.

Mahinda Rajapaksa is obsessed with kingship. After wining the presidential election, Rajapaksa’s family members dominate the government. His family members in the government are prime-ministers in waiting. He has launched his son, Namal Rajapaksa, into politics as his ‘heir to the throne.’ It now wants voters give it a two-their majority in parliament to amend the constitution so that it can be able to abolish the executive presidency and the preferential voting. Voters have been made to believe that all evils of a ruling party come through the executive presidency.

People in Sri Lanka have already begun to call Mahinda Rajapaksa ‘Idi Amin’ and ‘Dictator’. Probably they must be feeling the extreme heat of the tyranny but one would not say as yet. Back in 1983, I wrote to President JR Jayewardene (JR), in an anonymous letter addressed to his private residence at Colombo Ward Place, calling him; ‘Idi Amin.’ Nobody would dare say it publicly because he was indeed a dictator in national clothes. Surprisingly a week later, in a public meeting, he said: “People now call me ‘Idi Amin’”.

When JR Jayewardene came to power in 1977 with a fifth of a majority in the parliament I was a student of Peradeniya University. J.R. supporters celebrated the victory violently killing many opponents and burning their houses. They had reasons. His predecessor, Sirima Bandaranaike led a coalition in 1970 which demanded and got a two-third majority to amend the constitution and to get real freedom from British colonial power. She became prime-minister for the second time. A year later there was an armed uprising and her government unleashed its military might. More than 17,000 people were killed and 20,000 imprisoned. The vast majority of the victims were young people. Even during the 150- year British colonial rule, the citizens of Ceylon (the former colonial name for Sri Lanka) never suffered such mass murder. I remember the terrifying experience of my childhood when soldiers and police came to the village to hunt the suspects during the period of continuous curfew. The rebels were in jungles but soldiers killed relatives and burnt their properties. Some people were burnt alive.

Bandaranaike ruled the country as a dictator
After that Bandaranaike ruled the country under emergency regulations as a dictator. Public meetings and trade unions were banned. Some news papers and media organisations closed for ever. The biggest news provider, Lake House, was taken into government control. People had to live as if they were under a military regime. Her cabinet and the MPs were there to say ‘Yes’ [to all her whims]. Prominent artists such as Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Simon Navagaththegama staged dramas [such as] ‘Eka Adipathi’ (Dictator) and ‘Suba Yasa’ reflecting the tyranny. She extended the life of parliament for two years without public mandate. Her government finally collapsed after the brutal police attack on Peradeniya university students. While carrying out such evils, she was campaigning to create a ‘war-free Indian ocean’. Her propaganda machine portrayed her as ‘peace messenger’. Placards carried by the university students read ‘World’s peace messenger! Our slaughter!’ ‘Let Indian Ocean be a war-free zone while Peradeniya (University) is a lake of blood’. The opposition viewed her rule as ‘a seven-year curse’
“People now call me ‘Idi Amin’” United National Party (UNP) led by JR Jayewardene cleverly used this situation and promised to create a ‘fair and just society.’ He demanded a two-thir majority to restore democracy, without emergency regulations. The UNP had an unprecedented victory, with a fifth majority in the parliament. But what happened? JR amended the constitution allowing him to become executive president. He abolished civic rights of Sirima Bandaranaike, a good thing people expected from him to do. He boasted ‘His parliament can do anything it wants except change a man into a woman and a woman onto a man.’ But the opposition challenged him to reduce the rocketing cost of living.

He hated the Bandaranaike and Senanayake family regimes. He had a king mania like current president Rajapaksa. After his landslide victory people were impatient to hear his speech. But he just confirmed that he had won the election with a massive mandate and would form a government. But he waited to deliver his victory speech from the Paththirippuwa (The Octagon) of Palace of the Tooth Relic where ancient kings used to address the citizens. In Kandy, streets were decorated with crowns by the government and his supporters. Understanding his mentality, some ministers suggested he should be crowned ‘king’. (Rajapaksa’s propaganda machine is in some ways very similar to JR’s. After his victory over the Tamil Tigers, he was given an unofficial title ‘Great king’. He was even given titles such as ‘King Mihindu VII’ by his henchmen.)

Not long after JR had formed a government, violence against Tamil people was unleashed. Many innocent Tamils were killed and their properties burnt. Discrimination and violence against Tamils were the seeds of LTTE terrorism. From 1982 to 1984 I worked in Jaffna district as a teacher. I saw the way JR’s army behaved. They behaved worse than an occupying force. When an army convoy was approaching, every vehicle on the Jaffna-Vavuniya road had to stop. Failing to do so was to receive a humiliating punishment. Once I saw a driver dragged away from his bus and kicked in front of the passengers who were packed like sardines. I said in Sinhala ‘He is an innocent man. Don’t do it’. The soldier was embarrassed and stopped his beating.

Soldiers travelling in convoys had wooden bars in their hands to smash windows of vehicles which did not stop to give way to them. When the LTTE reacted with arms in July 1983, the government backed widespread communal violence which broke out island-wide. Tamils joined armed rebel groups. JR used this situation to silence opposition against him. Political parties which promoted communal harmony and equal rights for the Tamils were banned as culprits for the violence. At the same time, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna JVP (People’s Liberation Front which leads the political campaign of Gen Sarath Fonseka) was forced to go underground. Thus JR created two civil wars.

One day, in 1984, I was in Jaffna town centre when people started running everywhere after hearing that airmen (the Air Force) were advancing towards Jaffna and killing people. About an hour later, the mother of a Sinhalese teacher came to the school trembling with fear. She said: “I was in the Chunnakam Market place. The airmen came with machineguns and fired at people indiscriminately. Many were killed. Some school children were killed. A heavily pregnant woman was among the critically injured. In the evening the government radio broadcast said: “24 terrorists were killed by the air force and many others injured. The following day I saw a poster in the Jaffa town as the load Buddha was crying by seeing the killing’. That is why JR was deserved to be called ‘Idi Amin’.

When workers demanded a 300-rupee (about £8 increase per month) because of the inflation, the government sacked more than 100,000 workers. The media were intimidated and news censored. Some newspapers such as ‘The Truth’ came out with blank pages. While giving a green light to extra judicial killings, he suspended capital punishment. Yet JR’s propaganda machine praised him as the wisest politician in Asia. Reactions exploded differently. A cabinet meeting was bombed while he was charring a meeting in parliament. He survived. In 1987 JR was forced to sign a peace treaty with India and the Indian Army landed in the country.

But in the end he went. His successor, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, carried the burden JR created. He had to face two civil wars, in the North and the South. Premadasa’s government crushed the JVP armed uprising in 1989. According to party sources, the government killed more than 100,000 of its members and supporters. For the situation, the cabinet had to pay a price in blood. President Premadasa and some of JR’s most trusted ministers and henchman were murdered by the LTTE. The state terrorism must be blamed for the turmoil. In my opinion Rajiv Gandhi was also a victim of the situation that JR created. According to official figures, more than 80,000 people were killed during the 26 year-long ethnic conflict.

[So Sri Lankan voters] in the current election must remember the history when they cast their votes Thursday. With a two-third majority, winners go mad. It results in continuous bloodshed. They ought to think not twice but many times before the election. “Do we need another dictator or do we need democracy?” Remember, the government is promising to abolish the preferential voting system. With the present system one has the right to choose a preferred M.P. from a list of candidates. Without it, the party leadership makes your choice for you. This is a step towards dictatorship. Voters must not be fooled again. After decades of terrible experiences, one needs a change. You need to breathe the freedom of democracy. Strong opposition is a part of good governance.

If Mahinda Rajapaksa wants to abolish executive presidency I am sure the opposition will support him. I remember the UNP offered to support President Chandrika Kumaranathunga in abolishing executive presidency but she did not want to give up the power.

(The author’s views in this article are his own. They do not reflect those of the Editor-in-Chief and Management of Lanka E News) Courtesy: Str8talk Chronicle

Because of life threats, Inamaluwa Thero goes into hiding to another place
(Lanka-e-News, April 7, 2010, 7.45PM) During the period of the LTTE war, a group of officers of Digampatanedi Naval Force died in a truck from a bomb explosion. Recently, Inamaluwe Sri Sumangala Thero made an open announcement that a powerful politico was behind this explosion. It is reported that the Ven. Thero has been threatened by this politico and his life is in danger.

This powerful politico has been having close cordial relationship with a LTTE member ‘Rajan’. Our Dambulla correspondent informs us, by now pictures of this politico together with the LTTE Rajan have been distributed in Dambulla.
Because of threats to his life, the Thero has moved to another place and is working. Attempts to contact the Thero had failed. The telephone gives a recorded message that the Thero is not in the Rangiri Dambulla FM office or in the Aramaya where he works.

Please view the video and pictures below and circulate them so the rest of the world can see the injustices and brazen violations of human rights abuses committed in Sri Lanka. We have a constitution that allows us freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. So no court of law issued an order to assault and abduct a group of citizens of Sri Lanka who was engaged in a peaceful demonstration. If they issued such an order it is definitely unconstitutional.

Further I request you to look at the goons who took part in this repulsive act protected by uniformed police officers. WE REQUEST YOU TO IDENTIFY THESE INDIVIDUALS AND SUBMIT US ALL THE INFORMATION! Now I request you to read this article and decide how you should cast the vote the day after tomorrow. Please think of our forefathers such as Puran Appu and Gongalegoda Banda and act accordingly and patriotically - for the sake our future generations yet to be born in Sri Lanka. Let us not pass this menace over to them!

(Click here to see this video) : http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=7697

Today the citizens of Sri Lanka share a common bond - a sacred bond - to overcome tyranny through our commitment to freedom and democracy. It is our bounden duty TO CAST OUR VOTE AGAINST TYRANNY UNLEASHED AGAINST OUR OWN PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE WHOM WE HAVE APPARENTLY ELECTED TO SAFEGUARD US.

It is clearly evident to anyone, who is paying attention that all Sri Lankan citizens are victims of political tyranny. We all have fallen prey to the malady of political and ethnic factionalism.
Unfortunately, over the years, because of our adherence to the words of politicians, we have evolved into a nation of ignorance - with total disregard to natural justice, rule of law, and fundamental rights of people and above all disregard to human dignity. The constitution of Sri Lanka very eloquently spells out the fundamental freedoms endowed upon us. Yet today, people are being abducted, detained and killed at the hands of the elements controlled by the Sri Lankan regime, because they dared to question the regime and because of their quest for freedom. The leaders of the nation who took the oath to uphold the rights enshrined in our constitution, stand indifferent to the call of the majority - deaf for the pleas for reason and above all orchestrating these misdeeds.

Today the Sri Lankan citizens, no matter what their political beliefs are, have either abdicated their right of power over government, forgotten that the government is derived of the will of thje people, or both.

Today , because of neglecting our constitutional duty to civic responsibility and governmental oversight, cheap politics have taken over the government.

It is time we ask ourselves some hard questions. It is time we ask ourselves if we are , indeed, patriots? It is time - I re-iterate IT IS TIME INDEED - to rededicate ourselves to the preservation of our nation and the extension of freedom and liberty for everyone and anyone, everywhere and anywhere.

Please think twice before you cast your vote as it could be you who would be taken into custody next for they need no reasons and they have no regard for the sacred institution of judiciary!

May Sri Lanka be free of tyranny for the sake of our future generations! Sincerely,

-Sanath de Silva-

Polling Agents Chased Away, Impersonation in Nawalapitiya

(Lanka-e-News 08.April.2010 5.00PM)

CaFFE election observer’s report that individuals and groups connected to a former Government Minister has been involved in a campaign of intimidation and violence against opposition supporters and voters in the Nawalapitiya area from 8.30 am today. As reported earlier by CaFFE and other election observers the Nawalapitiya area has seen some of the worst pre election phases in terms of election violence, intimidation and the violation of election law.

CaFFE observers noted that opposition polling agents have been chased away from the following polling booths as explicit example of attempting to manipulate election results by a certain party:

Anurudha Kumara National School
Kadireishan College
Nawalapitiya St Andrews Girls College
Aluthgamage Village Polling Booth
Rambukkapitiya Main College
Barakshal Waththa Main College
Paththunuttiya Main College
Galatha
Girawulla Central College
Dholosbagei Junior School
Patithala Junior School
Nawalapitiya Junior School
Galpola Village Development Committee Hall
The above mentioned incidents involve issues in which a former government minister assaulted and chased away opposition polling agents from the Anurudha Kumara National School.

According to reports received by CaFFE supporters of a former minister arrived in two vehicles bearing vehicle numbers WP 609000 and 25 Shri 8349 to engage in the above mentioned illegal activity.

Based on the evidence presented above CaFFE would like the Elections Commissioner to take the necessary actions to annul the poll before the vote counting takes place. CaFFE Media Unit

Mahindananda’s henchmen turn back voters from voting at Nawalapitiya: Police are idle spectators
(Lanka-e-News, April 8, 2010, 6.00PM)

Our Kandy District correspondent informs that lection laws are being openly and brazenly violated at many polling centers. Voting of the supporters of the Opposition are obstructed and sent back without voting while opposition party agents at the polling booths are also being forcibly chased away from the centers.

At the Nawalapitiya Kadiresan College and Nawalapitiya Madya Maha vidyalaya polling booths, Tamil and Muslim voters, and those who are believed to be supporters of the opposition parties are being obstructed from voting. Mahindananda’s supporters standing on the route have been threatening and intimidating the Opposition party voters, and chasing them away openly. In some cases even the official polling cards have been forcibly wrested from them.
What was most significant in regard to these ugly lawless incidents was all these were happening under the very nose of the police on duty. These officers who should be enforcing the law in fact encouraging the breaking of the law by turning a blind eye, it is reported.

Because of Mahindananda’s gang and gangsters were engaging in deadly violence, a request was made to deploy the Army in those areas. According to the DNA candidate Mano Ganeshan, though the army were deployed yesterday night, by today, they had been withdrawn.

1000’s of IDP’s Denied Voting Rights in Menik Farm and Killinochchi Cluster Polling Centers

(Lanka-e-News 08.April.2010 12.30PM)

1000’s of IDP voters have been denied their right to vote due to the non existence of clearly defined guidelines in relation to voter identification papers. CaFFE elections observers were temporarily stopped by security officers from taking photographic evidence of these incidents as they unfolded in the close vicinity of Menik Farm.

These IDP voters in Menik Farm were told that they must go to the Killinochchi Cluster Polling Station to vote by Election Officials. However, voters in the Killinochchi Cluster Polling station have informed by Election Officials that they must proceed to the Menik Farm Polling Station to vote. Election Official have not been given clear instructions to IDP’s in relation to where they can vote. IDP’s were thus thrown into confusion as to whether they were to vote in Menik Farm, Killinochchi cluster polling centers, their original place of residence or in the areas where
they have been newly resettled.

These pictures taken by CaFFE observers show the long queues due to delays, uncertainty and confusion in relation to identification documents (Camp ID’s) in the Menik Farm Polling Center.
From CAFFE Report

His son Viraj Ratnatileke as the co ordinating Secretary, his wife S A Kannagara as the co ordinating officer, her brother S R Kannangara as the media Secretary, son in law D A Solomons as the public relations officer, wife’s sister’s son J M A Jayasekera as the office assistant, son Mohan Rathnatileke as the Private secretary, relatives, L B Ratnasinghe, A S Wanasinghe, and D M Ajith as Drivers, Minister’s son Mahona Rathnatileke‘s wife as clerk, Minister’s daughter S S Kumari as a clerk, P K De Silva as a Driver, wife’s sister’s daughter U U Nimalasiri as personal assistant have all been appointed to this Ministry and salaries collected in their various names.
According to reports reaching Lanka e news, Driver named as P P De Silva is a motor spare parts trader. J M A Jaysekera is a gem Dealer. LT Ranasinghe and Wanasinghe named as Drivers are importers.

Although the Handicrafts development Ministry operates separately is affiliated to the Industrial development Ministry. Hence they are all paid salaries from the Ministry of Industrial development.
The staff at the Ministry say, none of these members above named come to work. A majority of them in the payroll have never stepped into the work place.

Although the Minister is only entitled officially to three vehicles, he uses four vehicles instead. One of those vehicles Harier Toyota is in the garage for the last two months for repairs, yet the Minister has collected fuel allowance for traveling to the tune of several lakhs. He also collects a rent of Rs. One lakh as monthly House rent. On top of this, he also collects Rs. 248,000/- as fuel allowance monthly. Additional overtime and ‘batta’ of the Drivers are also being collected, in addition, it is reported.

Salaries amounting to Rs. 28785/- and Rs. 15371/- are also paid to those whose names are mentioned above.

The copy of the salary register detailing salaries of the Minister’s kith and kin are depicted herein.

C'est incroyable? mais il est vrai dans SL - Un ministre attire 14 versements salaire mensuel !! Ministre Mahinda Ranthilaka (Lanka-e-News, le 7 avril 2010, 9h25) Mahinda Rathnatileke qui a traversé au cours de l'UNP et rejoint le gouv. apparemment pour la plupart "patriotiques" raisons prétendument pour renforcer les deux mains (pas suffisant pour le président!) du président et prit un portefeuille ministériel Hnadicraft, a affiché son «vrai» esprit patriotique en recueillant des salaires des ministres et tous les avantages pour lui-même et 13 autres appartenant à sa famille et ses relations tous les mois. Il a accompli ce phénomène incroyable en incluant les noms de ses enfants, sa femme et la famille dans le rôle des salaires et recueillies de manière frauduleuse autour de Rs. 300,000 / - par mois. Son fils Viraj Ratnatileke en tant que co coordination secrétaire, son épouse SA Kannagara en tant que co coordination agent, son frère SR Kannangara que les médias Secrétaire, gendre DA Salomon que l'agent de relations publiques, la sœur de l'épouse de son fils JMA Jayasekera que l'assistant de bureau, fils Mohan Rathnatileke que le secrétaire privé, les parents, LB Ratnasinghe, AS Wanasinghe, et DM Ajith comme conducteurs, fils du ministre Mahona Rathnatileke la femme en tant que clerc, ministre de la fille SS Kumari en tant que commis, PK De Silva en tant que pilote, la sœur de l'épouse de fille UU Nimalasiri comme assistant personnel ont tous été nommés à ce ministère et les salaires perçus dans leur différents noms. Selon des informations parvenues Lanka e nouvelles, pilote nommé PP De Silva est un moteur de rechange, pièces opérateur. J M A Jaysekera est un courtier en pierres précieuses. LT Ranasinghe et Wanasinghe nommé Pilotes sont des importateurs. Bien que le développement de l'artisanat Ministère gère séparément est affiliée au développement industriel du ministère. Ils sont donc tous les salaires versés par le ministère du développement industriel. Le personnel du Ministère de dire, aucun de ces membres nommés ci-dessus se rendre au travail. Une majorité d'entre eux dans la masse salariale ont jamais mis les pieds dans le lieu de travail. Bien que le ministre n'est autorisé officiellement à trois véhicules, il utilise quatre véhicules au lieu. Un de ces véhicules Harier Toyota est dans le garage pour les deux derniers mois pour des réparations, mais le ministre a perçu l'allocation de carburant pour les déplacements à hauteur de plusieurs lakhs. Il recueille également un loyer de Rs. Un lakh que la Chambre loyer mensuel. En plus de cela, il recueille aussi Rs. 248.000 / - comme l'allocation mensuelle de carburant. heures supplémentaires et «Batta» de l'Union des chauffeurs sont également recueillies, en outre, il est rapporté. Les salaires d'un montant de Rs. 28785 / - et R. 15371 / - sont également versées à ceux dont les noms sont mentionnés ci-dessus. La copie du salaire registre détaillant les salaires des Kith du ministre et de la parenté sont décrits dans ce document.

In the objections listed, it was pointed out that the two Lawyers for the prosecution including the Court Attorney at law are representatives of the Attorney General’s Dept. He had represented the Govt. in the tours arranged by the Attorney General’s Dept. Above all, he is appearing for the prosecution in this case when there exists a permanent Attorney at law for the military Court. Besides, It was questioned why he is being given two salaries, the permanent salary he receives from the AGs Dept. as well as for this assignment?

As these objections are very grave and serious on the face of them, the Court decided to postpone the case until the 9th April to enable it to ascertain the factual position.

Western province operation unit Chief Inspector , D M D Gemunu , Jaffna Chief Inspector Lewanagama , Nelliady Police OIC Dharmadasa, Rajagiriya , Welikade OIC Neville Silva, Kurunegala OIC Wickremenayake , Police Inspector Kumarasinghe and Matara OIC Saman Jayasekera have filed these petitions.
The petitioners have cited the Defense Secretary, the IGP, , DIG Anura Senanayake and police Authority Vaas Gunawardena as respondents.

Gunawardena and Ranasinghe Associates , legal Co. appeared for the petitioners instructed by Attorneys at law Upul Jayasooriya and Mervyn Silva.

The petition CA 196/ 210 on 31st March was heard again on the next day by the Appeal Court panel of judges ,which comprised of Appeal Court President Sathya Hettige, Justices , W L Ranjith Silva and Anil Gunaratne .

This panel which was to decide whether this petition is to be taken up for hearing or not on the 3rd of May ordered the Army Commander Jagath Jayasooriya , , Military Court Judges Major General H L R Weeratunge , Major General A L R Wijetunge , Major General D R A Jayatileke and military Court lawyer J S Fernando , who are the five respondents that the status quo of the General Fonseka shall be maintained.

On the following day (1st April) , in the chambers of the Appeal Court President , the decision taken on the 31st was elaborated , and confirmed that the status quo shall continue until the 3rd of May when the case is to be heard again, and when a decision on the petition is to be delivered, until which time the military Court shall not try the General .

The other two judges of the panel have assented to this decision of the President of the Appeal court , as published below :
Before : Sathya Hettige (In the Chambers of the President of the Court of Appeal)
Ranjith Silva
Anil Gooneratne J.

This is further to the direction made by Court on 31. 03. 2010 in the writ application No. CA 196/2010 wherein a direction was made to the 1st to 5th Respondents to maintain the status quo which means that no further proceedings in the Court Martial shall take place until the date of delivery of the order on 03. 05. 2010.

SGD/
President of the Court of Appeal

Ranjith Silva
I agree.
SGD/
Judge of the Court of Appeal

Anil Gooneratne J.
I agree
SGD
Judge of the Court of Appeal

Accordingly before the ballot boxes are to be dispatched from the voting stations to the counting centers , a document bearing the signatures of the polling agent and the party representatives shall be pasted inside the box.. Similarly to avert computer frauds , after the counting at the Counting centers , the final result shall be manually written. A carbon copy of that document shall be given to party representatives . It has been decided that the final result given thereafter at the counting center is fed to the computer .

UNP Deputy leader Karu Jayasooriya addressing a media briefing at the UNP media unit today (07) explained the above precautions which are to be taken against results rigging and computer frauds following the party’s discussion with the Elections Commissioner.

Since the day nominations were handed over the directives and advice issued by the Elections Commissioner had not been followed hitherto. State assets , vehicles are being used unlawfully, and cutouts and posters are displayed violating election laws . Jayasooriya said ,they requested the Commissioner , at least on the day of the elections to give the voters an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. The Elect. Commissioner had agreed to deploy the STF at the counting centers , Jayasooriya added.

The military Court resumed sittings today at 9.30 a .m. at the Navy Headquarters conference Hall to hear the case against General Fonseka who is charged on three counts for engaging in politics when he was the Army Commander and chief of defense staff.

The team of Lawyers who appeared for General Fonseka raised the above counter objections. The basis for the counter objections advanced by Fonseka’s Lawyers was the Appeal Court’s declaration earlier that Fonseka’s status quo remains, and no new changes can be introduced.

However, the case against Gen. Fonseka regarding the allegations of corrupt deals in the arms procurement when he was the Army Commander is scheduled to be heard today in the second military Court at 2.30 p.m. at the Navy Headquarters.
Because the same panel of judges of the first military Court was appointed to the second military Court too, the Lawyers of Gen. Fonseka were in the ready to raise objections. This necessity however did not arise, as the President had paid attention to this issue and changed the panel of judges: a new panel of judges was appointed.

Even when the law is very clear that the Ministry Secretary cannot take part in politics under the constitution and the laws of the country, the Defense Secretary is prostituting his official powers and position openly. Going by the same token, that power should be available even to the Army Commander, IGP and superior officers of the State, he asserted. The conduct of the defense Secretary is tarnishing the image of the whole State service, and he is a disgrace to the entire hierarchy, he added.
It is the people who can give the verdict against the Defense Secretary who is President’s brother and therefore conducts himself as above the law. On the 8th, only the people by using their valuable franchise by voting intelligently can they punish him before the People’s Court, he noted.
Q

The media questioned him, isn’t it possible that although the opposition says, it can form the Govt., the President has the Executive power to dissolve the Parliament after some years like during the period of the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike?
A:
Surely, cant you understand from the discussion that the same mistake which was committed that time will not be allowed to be repeated?, he asked. Chandrika who was just killing time was able to dissolve Parliament because no proper action was taken against her, he explained.

Under a UNP Govt., within six months, the Executive Presidency will be abolished, whereby the President’s power to dissolve Parliament will also be extinguished, he pointed out.

We are Sinhala. Country is also Sinhala. Those who are listening are Tamils –President Rajapakse’s style of address to the Northern Tamils

(Lanka-e-News, April 04, 2010, 11.00 AM) We are Sinhala. Country is also Sinhala. Those who are listening are Tamils. Don’t make ‘panditha' talks. If you cant listen, you can go.

Above were the words uttered by the most venerable Honorable President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse when addressing the Northern Tamil people, the brethrens at an election rally at Nothern on the 1st of April.

When the President was speaking in Tamil at the meeting, because his Tamil was faulty, the crowd at the meeting had hooted. The President responded to the hooting in the words expressed in the manner above mentioned.

The President who continued despite the hooting, said, ‘I will not stop my speech. Because you jeered at me, I will continue to speak more in Tamil.’ The crowd at the meeting has greeted his talk with more hooting.
It is well to recall that this most Venerable Honorable President Mahinda Rajapakse of SL, after winning the war and on independence day when addressing the Nation, clearly enunciated there are no minorities in this country. There are only Sri Lankans.

There are only two races in this country, the race that loves the country and the race that does not love the country and the Nation, he added, when he made those speeches.

Fasting to get General released forbidden: Fasting Bhikkus baton charged by Police

(Lanka-e-news 05.April.2010 11.45PM) The group of Bhikkus who commenced a fast from the 3rd to secure the release of Gen. Fonseka who is detained at the Navy Headquarters were dispersed by the Police this afternoon (5).

By the use of the Police Force the place where the Bhikkus were staging the fast was cleared and the hut in which they were, was also destroyed.

On the first day of the fast , the Police had arrived on the scene and had removed the roof of the stage alleging that it was obstructing the traffic. The Police said they did that with the permission received from the Courts.

At many places where the protests were staged by the public in the recent past , the Police had attacked them.

Police station OIC has not cited reasons for taking the Bhikkhus into custody: OIC summoned to Court on 29th

(Lanka-e-News, April 7, 2010, 7.45PM) The Colombo Additional Magistrate Ravindra Premaratne odered the Slave Island police OIC to appear in Court on the 29th, for not adducing reasons as to why the Bhikkhus who staged a fast unto death opposite the Fort Railway station were arrested.

The Magistrate made this order yesterday (6) as no police officer of the Slave Island police was present in Court when the case was taken upto show cause as to why the Bhikkhus were arrested.

12 Bhikkhus who fasted for release of General granted bail

(Lanka-e-News, April 7, 2010, 9.25AM) The Bhikkhus who were arrested and produced before the Magistrate Court 3, yesterday (6) when they staged a strong protest in front of the Fort Railway station demanding the release of Gen. Fonseka, were released on bail. Four monks who were fasting and 12 others were granted bail.

The monks who were arrested by the Police on the 5th when they were engaged in the fast and produced before the Magistrate in the night were ordered to be brought to Courts on the 6th. They were then released on bail on the 6th.
The police told Courts that the Bhikkhus who were demonstrating in front of the Railway station were obstructing the public under S 98 01 of the Public nuisance Act, and S 79 2 of the Police ordinance, and were therefore arrested.

The Attorney at Law Gunaratne Wanninayake appearing for the Bhikkhus, asked the police where the Bhikkhus were taken in a bus by the police from Slave Island in civvies, when the monks were protesting in Fort coming under the purview of the Fort police?
Further hearing was put off to 23 April.

Attorneys at law Manjula Pathiraja, Namal Rajapakse and Bandara Ekanayake appeared in defense of the Bhikkhus.

This satyagraha was organized by media groups .

Inter Teachers University students Council, media Organizations and members of people’s Organizations participated in this Satyagraha.

Participants wore black cloth around their faces with the slogan ‘Allow us to talk the truth’ printed on them, and they carried placards. They staged the satyagraha for over about an hour seated on the ground.

This ‘media personnel against suppression’ protest was convened by Chandana Sirimalwatte who spoke thus..

Today, this Govt. is causing media personnel to go missing. In broad daylight attacking media Institutions, illegally arresting them. The Govt. is intimidating and attacking Journalists to destroy their rights to express and expose the truth to the people. If the media stops reporting, the people will have no way of receiving information. When the Govt. is engaging in suppressing the media and stifling them, it is for the people to rise against it. Otherwise they will lose their right to information. The media and the people must unite against the fascist policies of the Govt. and protect their rights.

The Govt.’s Ministers and M Ps are involved in large scale corruption and huge frauds, the Govt. instead of asking them to bare their assets, it is asking the media to declare their assets and liabilities. The Govt. ordering this declaration, is an index of what this Govt. is aiming at after the 8th of April – to wipe out the rights of the media, he added.

SL human rights violations stand in the way even against US military training to SL

(Lanka-e-News, March 28, 2010, 5.45PM) SL’s human rights violations which stood in the way against the GSP +concessions for SL have also militated against the United States giving training to the SL military officers.

The US has turned down a request made by SL Defense Ministry to provide advanced training to SL military officers. Jeff Anderson, spokesman for US Embassy said, if such training programs are to be carried out , there must be certain assurances including human rights. Some military operations with SL have also been suspended owing to these concerns, he lamented.

Anderson however added, US and SL maintain a long tradition of co operation including military between the two countries. Our military is also assisting in the de mining efforts in the North of SL, he pointed out.

When one man's rights are denied, the rights of all are endangered

This is a special update regarding journalist Ruwan Weerakoon, currently arrested by the CID for refusing to give evidence against General Sarath Fonseka.
As you are all aware the Sri Lankan government is recklessly attempting to fabricate allegations against the General in a fast failing bid to keep him detained.
The newest victim of this government's violence is Ruwan Weerakoon.
The two MPs providing the evidence from the government against SF have alleged that Ruwan was used by the General to contact them about entering politics.
An allegation that Ruwan has vehemently denied throughout.
Here's a timeline of his questioning and detention.
March 11
Ruwan was questioned by the CID on this matter at which point he had told the CID that this was false, and he would not support the false claims of the two MPs.
March 15
Ruwan is admitted to the hospital.
The CID comes to the hospital to say that he will not be harmed if he provides a statement supporting the government.
Ruwan refuses - maintaining that the allegations are false.
The CID arrest Ruwan and keeps him in custody at the hospital at 9.15pm.
March 16
At 11pm Ruwan is served a detention order given by the Defense Minister.
This is illegal as he was not produced before a judicial officer.
4 TID (Terrorism Investigation department) officers stand outside his room, with another in civil uniform staying in the room with a pistol.
Ruwan is now charged with conspiring against the government.
Even amidst this physiological torture, Ruwan has so far refused to corraborate the stories of the MPs and has even given an affidavit accordingly. However, we fear there will be a limit to how much pressure he will be able to take.
His fundamental rights as a citizen has been denied and once again we see the government illegally arrest and detain people with no regard for the nation's legal system or due process. Their simple aim is to capture as many people as they can until someone somewhere gives into this torture.
We are grateful for citizens like Ruwan Weerakoon, who in the face of great danger still stand firm for the truth, honesty and integrity.
This government is using the Emergency Situation and the Terrorism Prevention Act, to arrest, detain, torture and justify any kind of abuse on anyone not willing to support its witch hunt to convict the General.
A Fundamental Rights case has been filed for this injustice, and we await the results.
We will keep you posted as more information come up.

Sarath Fonseka Media Unit
3/1 Rajakeeya Mawatha, Colombo 7
sarathfonsekamedia@gmail.com

Arrest of General Fonseka against Sri Lankan and International law – Former CJ

The arrest of General Sarath Fonseka is against Sri Lankan and the international law, said former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva at the formal occasion associated with the inauguration of the internet petition aimed at bringing pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to release General Fonseka.
Following is the complete text of his speech.
“ I see this arrest as a political one, aimed at imprisoning the hero who saved our nation from the LTTE menace. His arrest has been made with the intention of breaking his spirit, his will to go against all odds to serve this country. It is with responsibility that I state Sarath Fonseka is a political prisoner. There are certain provisions in our law concerning the arrest of a person. Now all of those provisions have been thwarted. The international community views us as a land where law does not exist. But on the contrary, we have a system of justice that is still valid – our Supreme Court was established in 1802, considered the first in this region. I had the opportunity to hold the post of Chief Justice in those hallowed halls of justice. I clearly state that we have a strong system of justice, one that has been recognized by the international community. “
“ The law of the land stems from the Constitution. Section 13 of the Constitution clearly states the conditions under which a person could be arrested. The second sub section under Section 13 states that the person arrested must be produced in a court of law within the time limits stipulated by law. Legal time frame as per the Criminal Procedure Code would amount to 24 hours within which the arrested person must be produced in court. When general Fonseka was arrested, none of these formalities were observed. Witnesses to this are Mr Somawansa Amarasinghe and former MP Sunil Handunetti.”
“According to the law, an arrest must be made in accordance with the criminal legal frame. The arresting police officer must inform the person being arrested concerning the reasons for the arrest. General Fonseka was not arrested according to the criminal law but dragged down a staircase, in the middle of a political discussion, treated worse than a common criminal.”
“ Since the arrest of General Fonseka was not made under the accepted law of the land, I call this arrest a political one. The law I talk about is not limited to the Constitution. That’s why I agreed to the internet based petition against the arrest of General Fonseka. This is a sacred part of the international law. At the end of the Second World War in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made with the intention of securing the rights of individuals. Section 09 of the Declaration states that an arrest must be made in accordance with the Constitution and the law of the land. Sri Lanka was one of the first signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and thereby, we are bound by it.”
“In 1978, Sri Lankan took part in the Human Rights Convention which in its Section 09 states the same thing. That is the accepted international law and that’s why we are appealing to the international community to take note of this arrest. This arrest has violated not only the Constitutional rights in Sri Lanka but also the internationally accepted law.”
“ Friends, international law did not commence after 1948 but in 1215 with the Magna Carta declared by the British under which rights are ensured. The book of law states that when an arrest of a person or the denying of the rights of a person is done it must be within the law of the land. This is therefore not to be taken lightly. Once again, the arrest of General Fonseka violates both Sri Lankan and the international law.”
“ Some state that this arrest was done with the Army Act but the Army Act does not supersede the international or the constitutional law. We must understand that. The Army Act comes under the Constitution and the International law. The Army Act exists to ensure discipline in the Army. Many may have many opinions but I state with accountability, as the former Chief Justice, that Section 13 of the Constitution clearly states that a person must not be arrested outside the law. Section 15 states that these basic rights can be used within limitations to ensure discipline in the Army. There are 03 points very adequately highlighted here. One states that in order to ensure the proper discharge of duties and their accepted code of conduct that Army personnel can be brought within the limits of the law. Which means that an officer serving in the Army can be brought under the law to ensure that he properly discharges his duties and maintains the accepted code of conduct within the Army. However, this does not apply to General Fonseka since at the time of his arrest, he was no longer serving in the Army. Therefore, Section 15 has been completely twisted and misunderstood in this entire episode. According to the Constitution, three conditions must be fulfilled in order for someone to be prosecuted under the law as stated in Section 15 – the person must be a serving officer of the Army, it must be within the Army’s accepted code of conduct and it must concern a violation of discipline. For an example, an officer of the Army refusing to go to war can be arrested within these conditions which limit one’s fundamental rights assured by the Constitution.”
“ It is unfortunate that those engaged in the law have not examined the law closely. We presented a Fundamental Rights Application on behalf of General Fonseka to Court but that has not been postponed until April 26th, following the conclusion of the General Election. We do not question the authority of the Supreme Court to postpone a hearing. However, Section 126 of the Constitution clearly states that a case concerning a Fundamental Rights Violation must be argued within 02 months of presentation. There have been occasions when that has been violated. However, we strived to conclude this soon but when it is postponed beyond the 02 month frame stipulated, anyone will assume that there is no justice in this land, which is indeed a tragedy.”
“ For the first time in the history of this country, the leader of a key political alliance that include over 30 former MPs, has to operate an election campaign while being in prison. Mrs Anoma Fonseka therefore has to carry the weight of the campaign and we wish her all the best. But more importantly, we call on everyone to light a lamp of hope in our hearts. We must spread the love of humanity – we must hope that truth in our action will triumph. We wish that General Fonseka will truly experience the freedom that he ensured for all of us.”

Addressing a Press conference to enlighten the media , JVP M P Anura Kumara Dissanayake said , as the five indictments based on the arms procurement for the Army when Gen. Fonseka was the army Commander are trumped up , the panel of judges appointed by the Army Commander on the orders of the President have withdrawn by declaring that they cannot hear this case because they are already hearing the other case in another military court.

These Army officers were aware of their appointments on the 10th . They were also aware that they are going to be the judges for the two Courts well ahead. But ,they pretended to have suddenly awoken to this fact today , because they realized that they cannot proceed any further on these spurious charges. These three judges are junior to Gen. Fonseka by 10 years, he added.

This bogus military Court President , Major general Weeratunge is married to the Army Commander’s sister . Both of them had joined the Army together. The other member of the panel of judges is A L R Wijetunge who was demoted when Gen. Fonseka was Army Commander for misconduct. Hence, he is not suitable to be a judge as he bears a grudge against Gen .Fonseka . Major General D R B A Jayatileke was removed from the Army tender Board of which he was a member because he tried to pass a tender to a higher bidder wrongfully . Our Lawyers pointed out that these judges are not suitable to be in the panel therefore.. All these measures of the Govt. only go to shows its illegal determination to have Fonseka detained in order to preclude him from taking part in the election activities, Anura Kumara noted.

The allegations of political involvement of Gen. Fonseka were based on the mere hearsay and on some wayside utterances of Lakshman Seneviratne M P , and Minister Johnston Fernando. In their statements they say that they spoke to Gen. Fonseka via Ruwan Weerakoon , a media personnel. The latter had clearly in an affidavit stated what truly transpired. Now , it has come to light that he is held in detention by the TID , and while he is hospitalized in Nawaloka Hospital , attempts are being made to alter his affidavit .
Ruwan in his affidavit declares that one day when he met Johnston Fernando at a cricket club canteen, the Minister has asked for his phone for a while on the excuse that the Minister’s is not working. In like manner , Ruwan had also sworn that he never met Lakshman Seneviratne together with a CDMA phone.. This whole drama should bring home to the people what a cruel melodrama interested parties who wished to implicate Gen. Fonseka had enacted .

Can same panel of judges hear in both courts ? Judges panel ask from President -the second military Court postpones without fixing a date for next hearing

(Lanka-e-News, March 17, 2010, 5.00PM) As the same panel of judges are to hear the cases against General Sarath Fonseka in the two Military Courts, the judges who assembled today (17) at the second military Court decided to invite the attention of the President Rajapakse who appointed the judges to address this issue.

When hearing was about to begin at the auditorium of the Naval Headquarters this morning, the President of the Court, Major General H L Weeratunge has first read the letter sent by President Rajapakse in connection with the appointment of the panel of judges. As there is an issue as to whether the same panel of judges of the first Court can hear the case in the second Court too, Major general Weeratunge has referred the matter to the President who appointed the judges.
As a result the second Court adjourned without fixing a date for the next hearing.

The second military Court convened today to hear the case filed against General based on four charges leveled against him for violating the Army rules and procedures in the procurement of arms..

The panel of judges headed by Major General Weeratunge comprised Major Generals A L R Wijetunge and D R A Jayathileke.
PC Aresecularatne along with Nalin Ladduhetty, Eraj De Silva, Sudath Caldera, Vasantha Batagoda, Nuwan Bopage and Nilanthi Peiris of Paul Ratnayake Co. of Lawyers appeared for Gen. Fonseka.

Because of the Military Court President’s announcement and the postponement of the case without a date, the Lawyers appearing for the General did not get an opportunity to make their representations.

Day 22 and no charge:
It has been 22 days since the illegal arrest of General Fonseka and the government is yet to come up with an official charge. However, surprisingly, they have come up with a verdict - according to the military spokesman the General is to get 5 years in prison.
Even though the government is able to get false statements and false witnesses, they are yet to make a law of the land false - they have no charge so they keep on searching for anything they can even broadly use in this case.

Danuna Tillakaratne, is not hiding from law officials - if there is an actual law in this nation he would not have to take this position.
We want to clarify the charge against, Danuna Tillekaratne, it is NOT about arms deals, it is an allegation of a false signature, a charge, if proven correct is only worth a fine of Rs. 20,000. However, now the military has been told to get involved in the search - they are looking for him so that they can take a statement against SF from him. We all know what methods they will use for this. Once such a statement is taken under pressure and torture, the government can then silence him for good. It is a known fact that several people have "committed suicide" in custody once such statements were taken.
Now you can make your own minds about this matter.

Mr. Tillekaratne's mother and father and the many honest people working in our campaign and connected to us are being harassed by the CID daily- they are called to the CID offices at all odd hours and held there without any reason.
All these tactics are to elicit any kind of false statement to frame General Fonseka.
The gentlemanly army, navy and police forces are now no more. The forces you were so proud of have been corrupted by money and silenced by death threats, the honest people are being arrested, humiliated, fired, demoted and their livelihoods sabotaged.
This is not what our forces gave their lives for - they did not die in the thousands so that one family could rape this nation and turn it into a military state. Instill fear in everyone who dares to comment on anything and threaten anyone who dares to protest.
Any speech given by Mrs. Fonseka is being recorded by the government so as to falsely accuse her as well.
No other political election has seen grown men running after the children of their opponents to jail them and cause them harm - but this government has done that and continues to do that.

The way you vote, the way you act and the way you protest is all that we have now.
Even if it is a small step to stop this inhumane, immoral and illegal regime - take it!
Today it'll be our children, our husbands and our wives and tomorrow it will be yours.
Do not think that a regime who can accuse and put youth in jail, break into temples and ransack places of worship has anything holding them back.

Sri Lankans in Australia urge UN to intervene in protecting Human & Civil rights of Sri Lankans citizens

(Lanka-e-News, March 17, 2010, 7.55PM) We publish hereunder a letter addressed to the United Nations quoting Article 25 and Article 9 of the covenant urging its intervention as the guardian of civil and human rights in connection with the arrest and detention of General Sarath Fonseka allegedly violating the laws of the country and in breach of the covenant.

The Honourable Ban Ki Moon,
Secretary-General
United Nations
March 14 2010

Dear Sir,

Although a signatory to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the government of Sri Lanka is in breach of Article 25 and Article 9. Therefore we respectfully ask that you remind the President of the said government of its civil rights obligations under international law.

Article 25 of the ICCPR gives every citizen the right to vote in "genuine periodic elections" which shall guarantee "the free expression of the will of the electors." Sri Lanka has recently been subjected to a series of elections which were neither "genuine" nor "free".

The ruling party and the incumbent president used full power of the state to guarantee electoral success. Armed gangs were used to intimidate supporters of the opposition candidate who challenged the incumbent president, General (Rtd.) Sarath Fonseka. The resources of state authorities were widely employed to help the sitting President's campaign; the state media which is run by the tax payers' money of Sri Lanka carried constant advertisements which were like programmes for him. Live coverage was given to meetings at which the President participated while the General's meetings were not given any publicity at all or virtually none. Likewise the state media was used to make false statements defaming Fonseka's personal character. It was repeatedly alleged that he was not eligible to be elected president and that therefore a vote cast for him would be wasted. Such statements were broadcast without a break until the close of polling at 4 pm. The counting agents of candidates other than the President were threatened and chased away from many counting centres. Transport facilities were not provided to residents of IDP camps in the North with the result that only 5,000 out of 100,000 eligible and registered voters cast their votes. Planned bomb explosions in the war a_ected the northern peninsula on the day before the presidential election, preventing people casting their votes (the number who turned up was as low as below 15%}. The Elections' Commissioner admitted that he could not ensure the safety of even one ballot box and that "the situation has reached a dangerous level that is beyond me."
This manner in which the election was held denied the human rights of the Sri Lankan people. Soon afterwards, the main opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka was arrested under the Army Act even though he had already ceased to be a serving o_cer, Military law has denied him the normal rights of an accused citizen; he has not yet been charged although one month of detention has passed.

Article 9 of the ICCPR states:

1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.

2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.

By its illegal detention of Sarath Fonseka without charge, the government of Sri Lanka has breached this article of the Covenant in every respect. That is the considered opinion of Retired Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, who said, after thoroughly examining the evidence, " In conclusion I wish to state that from whatever perspective one may look at the matter – the Constitution; the Universal Declaration; the ICCPR; the Code of Criminal Procedure Act; the Army Act or the CDS Act; the purported arrest and continued detention of General Sarath Fonseka who is now a candidate nominated for the Parliamentary Elections is entirely contrary to law and justice. "

The people of Sri Lanka hope that the UN is the guardian of Article 25 and Article 9 of the Covenant. They are precious civil rights which we are unwilling to lose.

Yours sincerely
Jagath Bandara
National Convener,
Campaign for Democracy in Sri Lanka - Australia

Mr. Ban told journalists that the establishment of the panel is in line with a joint statement he issued with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his visit to the country last May after Government forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“This joint statement contained a commitment related to ensuring an accountability process for addressing violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws,” he said in response to questions from reporters at his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters in New York.
“The panel I am establishing will advise me on the standards, benchmarks and parameters, based on international experience, that must guide any accountability process such as the one mentioned in the joint statement. Now this panel will report to me directly and not to another body.”

Mr. Ban said a recent letter on the subject he received from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) indicated “there is a misunderstanding on the nature and purpose” of the experts’ panel.
“I am convinced that it is well within my power as Secretary-General of the United Nations to ask such a body to furnish me with their advice of this nature. This does not in any way infringe on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka.”

Last week the UN chief voiced concern about the lack of progress on political reconciliation, the treatment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the setting up of an accountability process since he reached the joint statement with Mr. Rajapaksa.

Earlier this month Mr. Ban had what he described as “a frank and honest exchange of views” by telephone with Mr. Rajapaksa, who was re-elected President in an election in late January. Since the ballot was held the runner-up candidate, General Sarath Fonseka, has been arrested and faces trial.

B. Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, is slated to soon head to Sri Lanka for talks with senior officials in the Government. (UN News Centre)

If the war victory is to be consolidated , these international threats must be defeated and for this the Govt. should be made to secure a 2/3 majority. The decision to appoint such a Committee in regard to SL is an infringement of the UN Organization laws and traditions, Dr. Peiris added.

The reasons cited for the charges against SL are human rights violations. The UN is following a special policy in regard to a small country like SL whereas powerful countries where there are such violations a different policy is being pursued, he noted.
An independent Organization affiliated to the International crisis group has issued an important report last week. It points out that the path followed by pro LTTE Tamil Diaspora are diametrically opposed to that pursued by the Tamil political parties in SL.. The Tamil Diaspora has still not abandoned its Eelam goal, and are pursuing that with determination. They are not only employing political parties, but even voluntary Organizations towards this end, Dr. Peiris noted.
Hopes can be entertained in regard to the GSP+ concessions following the discussions held in Brussels from 15th to the 18th. The SL delegation has told the European Union (EU) that the emergency and other laws which were operative during the war period will be withdrawn step by step, while the issues of child soldiers and the IDPs too are engaging the Govt.’s attention as priorities. At these discussions, the Govt. has after considering the EU‘s proposals and what they expect of us is taking remedial measures, Dr. Peiris explained.

The Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has stated that under his Govt., the Bank loans taken by the Rajapakse Govt. will not be paid back. These are meant to criticize the Govt., but actually they undermine and affect the country’s economy adversely. It is a matter for regret that the Opposition leader is making statements which run counter to the prevailing Democratic traditions, Dr. Peiris lamented.

The former Chief Justice stated this based on his examination of the manner in which Fonseka was arrested, the subsequent actions against him and the inquiry fixed for 16th and 17th in the Military Court.

The conduct of the proposed trial in the Army Court only, following the arrest of Fonseka by the military police is a violation of the fundamental right of the General under S 13 (1) of the constitution. Likewise it is an infringement of the UN proclamation on civil and political universal human rights.
Action can be filed in a military Court within six months of retirement in relation to offences committed under the Army Act only against officers below the rank of the army Commander. In the Army Act, there are no provisions governing the action to be taken against an Army Commander.

Under the constitution, the power to appoint an Army Commander and removal of him is vested in the President. But, if any action is to be instituted against the army Commander, such action shall be only under the constitution and not under the Army Act, former CJ clearly emphasized.
The unlawful acts of arrest of Fonseka and attempts to produce him before the military Court, and the development on these bases is indeed a matter of fate if the General had co operated in this direction, the CJ lamented.This Society’s Democracy is eroded not at once, but gradually, insidiously and step by step. Because the Society for various reasons not taking action against the erosion of Democracy and following a silent policy, it can militate against their own citizens’ rights and engender the danger of losing the fundamental right to legal protection.

When the security barricades were removed during the war, there was a sudden and instant evacuation of Tamils from Lodging houses in Colombo and forcibly taking to the North. However the Supreme Court gave an order against the action and directed to bring them back to Colombo within 24 hours. If Gen. Fonseka as the Army Commander at that time had adhered to the orders of the Civil Court and acted accordingly, this Army behavior of unlawfully and forcibly acting against Fonseka, who is now a civilian may not have occurred, the former CJ pointed out.

This case was heard at the Colombo Naval Headquarters . The panel of judges comprised Major General H L Weeratunge , (President) ,Major General T R A B Jayatileke and Major General A L R Wijetunge.

When the lawyers who appeared for Gen. Fonseka raised the preliminary objections , the Counsel Sameendra Fernando who appeared on behalf of the Attorney General requested General’s lawyers to raise objections individually in respect of each judge .

Accordingly the General’s lawyers stated , the President of the Court , Major General H L Weeratunge is the brother in law of the Army Commander , his conducting the trial therefore will not be unbiased , and justice will not prevail.

Major General T R A B Jayatileke was an officer who was demoted for inefficiency by Gen. Fonseka when he was the Army Commander for not carrying out orders duly .

Major General T L R Wijetunge was found guilty of and punished for granting a tender illegally to the higher bidder. This incident occurred when Gen. Fonseka was the Army Commander and when tenders were called at the Army Headquarters.

The Judges panel had however overruled these objections and the Judges have read out the charges against the General, and asked from him whether he is pleading guilty or not . The General had pleaded not guilty.

The charge against General Fonseka under S 124 and S 102 (1) of the Army Act is that he has taken part in politics when he was in service as an Army Commander and as Chief of Defense staff .

The Lawyers for Gen. Fonseka while filing preliminary objection s, said the military Court has no power to hear this case , and this Court has been suddenly and hastily established . Consequently there was no time to meet the General and discuss the issues . Therefore more time should be granted , the Lawyers pointed out .

The Judges who gave permission to file their answers adjourned the Court until the 6th of April.
PC Rienzie Aresecularatne along with Nalin Laduwahetti, Sugath Kolder, Rishard Ameen, Sunil Watagala. Wasantha Batagala, Janith De Silva appeared for the General assisted by Lawyers of Paul Ratnayake legal Firm. Attorney at Law Lilantha De Silva appeared on behalf of the legal Firm.

Solicitor General Buwaneka Aluvihare and a group of Lawyers of the Attorney General’s Dept. appeared on behalf of the Army Commander

This leaflet distribution was organized by the Media Organization campaign against media suppression . Several representatives of media organizations participated in this leaflet distribution. The media personnel agreed to distribute at least a ten thousand leaflets against media persecution in SL.

Independent media campaign Secretary Sunil Jayasekera said.

Our security divisions succeeded in defeating the world’s most dangerous terrorist Organization. Therefore the authorities saying it is unable to trace Ekneliyagoda or garner information about his whereabouts is a stupid joke. Ekneliyagoda consistently criticized the Govt. Hence, the failure to make a breakthrough in the investigations clearly compels anyone to direct an accusing finger at the Govt. It is therefore a duty incumbent on the Govt. to conduct a serious and honest investigation with a view to making a breakthrough.

The Demonstration staged under the leadership of JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe, JVP M.P. Sunil Hnadunetti and many others, was attended by a huge crowd. The protestors carrying placards sat down in front of the Viharaya and demonstrated peacefully.

Somawansa addressing the media said, General Fonseka was forcibly carried away by a group of Army officers. The General was taken into custody without any charges. But, now charges are being framed against Fonseka, evidence is being collected against him and even laws are to be introduced with retroactive effect. Tomorrow (16), he is going to be produced before the military Court. This is absolutely illegal. Neither the Govt. nor the Army or any other can produce Gen. Fonseka before a military Court legally. Hence, we demand that he shall be released forthwith. No one has the right to violate his human rights.
All these actions have one basis – political revenge the Govt. is trying to wreak on him. The Rajapakse Govt. has been democratically challenged by him. That has been the cause for the Govt. to arrest him and take him into custody. Every citizen must have the right to challenge the Rajapakse Govt. democratically. Gen. Fonseka performed his duty at the highest level by offering this challenge. Now, he has been forced to go ahead without turning back on this challenge.
The President Mahinda Rajapakse who could not move freely or fearlessly out of even the Temple Trees, not even to the Bandaranaike Memorial Hall was secured the freedom to travel by Gen. Fonseka. Hence, it is the duty of the President to be grateful, withdraw the frame ups and release Gen. Fonseka immediately. The nation does not approve this incarceration of a great war Hero and the insult poured on him.

With a view to inspiring this great war Hero and patriot, the savior of this country we will stage demonstrations throughout the Island and across the whole world.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasooriya, Naval Commander Vice Admiral Tisara Samarasinghe, Military Police Brigadier A K J R Wijesiri and Attorney General have been cited as respondents.
This petition has been filed through the company of Lawyers, Paul Ratnayake, while President’s Counsel Romesh Ratnayake is appearing for the petitioner.

No less a person than the former District Court Judge P.D. Kulatileke explained to Lanka e news as follows :

In one charge sheet against the General , three accusation have been made . One charge is under S 124 of the Army Act.. The other two charges are under S102 , sub section one of the Act.

The indictment under S 124 is , while he was in the Army service and when he was the chief of defense staff , and a member of the security Council , during the period between Oct. 1st to Nov. 14th 2009, he has had discussions with Johnston Fernando on the phone which were damaging to the State sovereignty and integrity . The words , he used ‘ after providing the necessary evidence regarding the war to the American Govt. , I shall return placing the Govt. and the army in jeopardy. I will be coming back to contest as a candidate for the Presidential elections.. Be ready to receive me as a Hero at the Airport.’ has been included to incriminate Fonseka in the indictment.

What S 124 refers to is ,betraying the President or using words which are detrimental to the President . If he has made such a wrong he is guilty under the section .. But , his words which are incorporated in the indictment , by no means indicate he has committed such a wrong. Hence , how can you indict him under that section ?. Of course the General was the closest rival of the President at the last Presidential elections.

The charge under S 102 (1) is, during the above period , while having telephone discussions with Johnston Fernando , he had requested Johnston Fernando to propose his name as a Presidential candidate for the Presidential elections in February 2010 at the UNP Executive Committee meeting .

The X1 Charge has been served under the orders of Army Act 13/79 dated 27th December 1979 . Under that section , infringement of such an order is an offence punishable under the section 102 (1) .The next charge is based on the discussion the General had with Lakshman Seneviratne on politics. The charge against Gen. Fonseka in that regard is , he has acted in breach of the Army order 13/79 .

The Army order 13 / 79 clearly lays down that in the appointment of representatives to Deputy MPs group and other representatives to District Councils , except casting the vote , participation in politics is prohibited .. Similarly , becoming a candidate for an election or supporting a candidate for election is also prohibited under this order .

After SL secured independence , under the Dominion constitution known as the Ceylon constitution 1946 ; under order in Council section 7 , the Parliament was represented by the Parliamentary representatives and the Senate council . In the 1972 constitution , the Deputy MPs Council changed into the National state assembly, and the Senate was dissolved.. Consequently , under the 1978 constitution , the National state assembly became the Parliament. The Army orders were formulated on 27th December 1979.. By that time , the Deputy MPs Council and the National state assembly had ceased existence.. In that event , , the 13 /79 order made on 27th December 1979 is totally wrong. This order has also not been updated . There is nothing mentioned in this about the Presidential election . In the circumstances , , the charges two and three are being filed on which order and on what basis?. If General Fonseka has got associated with politics at all , it is only at the Presidential elections.
The appointment of the military Court has been on the order of the President Rajapakse.. The President was a rival of Gen. Fonseka at the Presidential elections. Hence, this Army Court has been established to punish a candidate who contested with him.. The appointment of such a Court on the directive of the President by letter dated 10th March 2010 is a violation of the principle of natural justice.

The present army commander is officially below the rank of Gen. Fonseka. Under the Army Act , there are no provisions to punish an Army Commander or an officer above that rank. Under the provisions the Chief officer is the Army Commander . Hence , in the final scenario ,the charge sheet has been served on Gen. Fonseka by the army Commander . The judges were appointed by the President and the President is making this appointment against his rival candidate who contested him at the Presidential elections. In other words , he has not only filed the case, but sitting in judgment and even passing judgment on it .

This Committee will probe the terrorist activity from the beginning when Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiayappah fell victim , the growth and spread of the movement escalating into a civil war.

The Minister of National disaster management and human rights , Mahinda Samarasinghe speaking on this at a media discussion today (12) said , so far the members for this Committee have not been appointed.

A Journalist raised the question whether the Govt. is now searching for solutions after thirty years because it had no interest on the subject and finding a political solution during this period. What happened to The All Party Representative conference (APRC) proposals which were prepared after spending so much money time and energy of the participants ? he questioned.
Because the Govt. has a good understanding of the terrorist problem that it is appointing a Committee like this , the Minister pinpointed. He went further and said , Late resident Premadasa appointed a Presidential Committee to inquire into the youth unrest in 1987 -1989 . Splendid results were achieved . Many of the proposals made by those experts of that independent Committee were implemented , the Minister observed.

The new Govt. with the permission of the President will look into the Tissa Vitharane report on those APRC proposals and take action . The present caretaker Govt. has not enough time to attend to them , the Minister explained.

The TID which questioned Lakthileke for two and half hours , had asked him as to how and why he helped the General politically
Lakthileke , told Lanka e news that the Govt. is carrying on a deliberate campaign of intimidation and harassment against all opposition parties and Forces by resorting to terror tactics and instilling fear. The people must rally round the opposition and ensure that this undemocratic terror reign is ousted once and for all at the forthcoming elections.

The Secretary of the Conference , has addressed a letter on the 10th March to Ban Ki Moon based on the request of SL , that directing the focus against one country unilaterally is in contravention of the UN s Charter , and they are opposed to these attempts.

The UN Secretary General , had sent a letter on the 02nd of March to the President Rajapakse stating that he is proposing to appoint a special Committee to inquire and advice him in respect of the allegations leveled during the last phase of the SL war .
Subsequently , at a Press conference held at the UN headquarters on the 08th , he had reiterated that he is sending a representative without delay to investigate the situation in SL while he will also be implementing his decision to appoint the special Advisory Committee.

Meanwhile ,the Presidential Secretariat which issued a communiqué on the 7th March following the telephone conversation with Ban KI Moon , stated , with regard to the letter dated 25th February addressed to the President by Ban Ki Moon , that appointing a special advisory Committee is unnecessary and unwarranted, and he would take measures to counter that if such steps are taken.

Gen. Fonseka was taken into custody allegedly by the Govt. on charges based on his offences committed when he was in uniform, but now it is very clear it was part of Govt.’s vindictive campaign to wreak revenge, he pointed out.

The President and the defense secretary cannot try General Fonseka in the Military Court for offences allegedly committed by him when he was in the Army service. A habeas corpus action has therefore been filed in the Supreme Court (SC) on the 11th against the abduction and wrongful detention of Fonseka and for his immediate release, he stated.
The President is vested with the power to appoint the Army General or remove him. Except that power the President cannot interfere in other official matters. If he does, the victimized officer can seek redress in the civil Court on grounds of violation of their rights. The Lawyers are now studying whether in the case where an Army Commander is removed from his post, he can go for legal action in a civil Court.

Our lawyers have in the application showed that there is no way by which General Fonseka can be tried before a military Court, Dissanayake noted.
The govt. is excited and in panic to hastily try Gen. Fonseka in the military Court just before the General elections, in order to fasten guilt to Gen. Fonseka and convict him, and show to the people that because he is guilty, he cannot enter Parliament, and hence his winning at the General elections will be unavailing. Kumara Dissanayake recalled how at the Presidential election the govt. similarly made a hue and cry about his voting disqualification (just a mere technical lapse) and tried to paint a picture that he cannot be appointed as the President even if he wins.

JVP Ex M.P. Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing a media briefing on the 11th made this point very clear. As the Army Act does not provide for the trial of an Army Commander , and because an Army officer higher in seniority than the Army Commander has not been appointed to the Judges’ panel, Gen. Fonseka cannot be tried in the Army Court , he pointed out .

Gen. Fonseka is not only a rare War hero and patriot , but also a four star Army general. There are no officers more senior than he in the SL Armed Forces. If the Army Commander has committed an offence , the President can by a stroke of the pen remove him from the post . Only officers below the rank of Army Commander can be tried in a military Court. Hence , if the General is tried in a military Court , we will take the matter up with the Civil Courts of SL , Dissanayake explained.
Army spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe and his group can only malign and hurl false charges against Gen. Fonskea before the media. Gen. Fonseka has been allowed to speak only for two hours with his wife for a day. The balance 22 hours he knows not what to do. This is the treatment meted to such a great war Hero who saved the country for the President , the Govt., and the people with unselfish determination and dedication devoting all his 24 hours of the day of his life in the battlefield.

It is the President and Govt.’s inordinate fear for the General who is a constant threat to their political careers that is impelling the Govt. to act this way. The last Presidential elections , the General won it but for the election frauds and results manipulations. The only task of G L Peiris who has nothing better to do these days is to spend his time on profusely lying about Gen. Fonseka’s offences.
Now , the Govt. is begging from the people for a 2/ 3 majority to amend the constitution . We ask the Govt. to tell us ahead as to what changes the Govt . is trying to introduce. The Govt. is now in an uncharted sea traveling in all directions aimlessly , as , it is aware that it has no plans or programs to solve the economic and other burning problems in the country . It also knows if it loses power , the entire hierarchy will have to face the corruption and mismanagement charges pending against it . No wonder it is clinging to power at any cost , holding foul elections and announcing fictitious results .

The entire country holds the judicial Courts of the country in the highest esteem . They have so far been acting impartially and dispassionately without stooping to political influence or bending to political pressures . The whole country hopes they will live as in the past so in the future up to the expectations of the people , Dissanayake added.

In connection with the violence that erupted on the 26th of January 2010, the day of the Presidential elections and the day following, the Defense Secretary has ordered the immediate interdiction of the following Police Inspectors for allegedly failing to maintain law, peace and order to safeguard the security of the state and the people.

Former Welikade Police station OIC H A N W T De Silva, Western province operations unit O.M.De Gemunu ( Maradana former OIC), Kurunegala Headquarters OIC, M S K Wickremenayake, Chunnakam former OIC T Ludowyke, Jaffna former OIC H A M Lewangama, Nelliady OIC D R N S Dharmadasa, Matara OIC H D N S Jayasekera, and Jaffna Police RP, K A D K Ranasinghe have been interdicted.
At the meeting of the top Police brass at the Police headquarters on the 5th, the IGP who announced the interdiction orders has also frightened the police officers by stating that the police stations OICs at areas where the Govt. loses at elections shall be liable to transfers, and they must take responsibility for Govt.’s defeat, according to reports.

A majority of the OICs who had been issued with interdiction orders are those who performed their duties duly during the Presidential elections and took action against election violence and malpractices.
Sources say, some OICs are preparing to take legal action against the interdiction orders.

The two Courts which will be hearing the case are situated within the Naval Headquarters.

The same panel of judges will be hearing the case in both Courts. The panel appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Army commander will comprise Major General H L Weeratunge (President), Major General H L R Wijetunge, and Major General D R A P Jayatileke . Rear Admiral W W J S Fernando will act for the Judges and as legal Counsel presenting the plaint.

The charges against him Fonseka in the first Court hearing the case on the 16th are : one, his taking part in politics while in the Army service under S 124 of the Army Act. ; and two charges under S 102 (1) of the Act. All three charges have been filed in relation to his taking part in politics while being in the Army.

In the second Court which is scheduled to commence on the 17th , there are four charges against Gen. Fonseka under S 109 (e) of the Army Act . These charges are based on allegations that when making procurements for the Army , the laws and regulations governing them had not been adhered to.
Army spokesman Major General Prasad Samarasinghe made these announcements at a special media briefing regarding National security summoned today (11) at the media Headquarters.

It is none other than Minister Champika Ranawake who made these denunciations.

The Minister added that individuals who are practicing hooliganism, involved in frauds and corruption should be prevented from entering Parliament. In the future, he urged, Sri Lankans should think and act carefully to elect Parliamentarians who are educated, well character-ed, well bred and from respectable professions .

This application was filed in the court by Prageeth’s wife Sandya Ekneliyagoda .

The Judges Upali Abeyratne and Ranjith Silva who examined the petition postponed the case to the 27th April to allow the lawyers for the petitioners to adduce reasons .
Lawyers Krishmal Jayasooriya and Sunil Watagala appeared for the petitioner.

The IGP ,The DIG of the CID and the OIC of the Homagama Police station have been cited as respondents in this case.

While requesting the elections Commissioner to investigate this , he warned the Govt. not to create panic by giving the printing of ballot paper to India on the excuse of shortage of them.
If papers are to be imported from India , it must be done duly and following proper procedures .Otherwise , like at the last Presidential elections the Govt. can resort to election frauds and produce fictitious results, Dayasiri pointed out. We entertain grave doubts as to whether the Govt. in its determination to get a 2/3 majority is seeking this insidious avenue to achieve that . Last time, too ballot papers without print were discovered . Hence , he urged the Elections Commissioner to investigate these attempts.

Do you know the Journalists Wickremetunga and Tennekoon ? Where were you when Wickremetunge was killed and Tennekoon was attacked ? The CID had thus questioned him and inquired about the connection he has with General Sarath Fonseka , and about the instructions he latter had issued to him on the phone.

The CID had also questioned him as to the bitterness that existed between Fonseka and Wickremetunge , and what he knows about the killing of Wickremetunge . The CID had asked him whether Fonseka had given instructions to the media to tarnish the image of the Govt. , and who are those media personnel who received such instructions ?

Lal Priyantha told Lanka e news that under Ref. Nos. 2010 /31 and 4855/08/2010 of the CID folios his statements were recorded.

ASP Roshan Hewavitharane , SI Ratnayake were among the officers who questioned Lal Priyantha and recorded the statements .

Meanwhile the TID had interrogated Lakbima Journalist Mihiri Fonseka who covered Gen. Fonseka’s war news, and Tissa Ravindra Perera of the Rivira who covered Defense news when the General was the Army Commander. Both had been questioned pertaining to their connections with the General.

During the meeting at Janadhipathi Mandiraya she said the victory of the President gave much cause for confidence and hope for bi-lateral relations between India and Sri Lanka in the future, and that the Indian Prime Minister looked forward to an early visit by President Rajapaksa to India.

Discussing current political developments in Sri Lanka, she said that the presence of more than 1,000 candidates for the forthcoming general election and the North and Eastern Provinces alone showed the enthusiasm of the people for the democratic process, and the change that had taken place with the restoration of peace. “There is a great sense of hope and optimism in the air wherever I have been to”, she said.
The Indian Foreign Secretary is here to participate in the opening of the Sri-Lanka-India Centre of English Language Training ( SLICELT) at Peradeniya earlier today, said the President’s vision to promote the teaching of English in Sri Lanka deserved commendation, and that India was glad to assist in this task. President Rajapaksa thanked India for the assistance given to the furtherance of his policy of providing English as a Life Skill to Sri Lankan youth.

Amended para
Smt. Nirupama Rao also said the participation of more than 3,000 pilgrims from India at the recent feast at the shrine of St, Anthony in Kachchativu was a further indication of the good interaction between the Sri Lankan and Indian people.

Commenting on the forthcoming general election, President Rajapaksa said there was much enthusiasm by the people to participate in it, being the first nation-wide election of representatives to parliament after the restoration of peace, and that he was looking forward to working with the many new faces and leaders who are expected to be elected, especially from the North and the East.

The Indian Foreign Secretary was of the view that Sri Lanka had made considerable success on the resettling of IDPs in the North and the East, with the number now standing at less than 70,000, and noted that this issue had now gone away from the attention of the international community. She expressed India’s willingness to continue assisting Sri Lanka in the resettlement of the IDPs. Similarly, India was also keen to assist in the complete restoration of the railway line in the North, she said

Among other matters of mutual interest discussed were that of the problems faced by fisherman from both counties, the proposed coal powered power project in Trincomalee, and the necessity for understanding between India andSri Lanka on the protection of the environment and the eco-systems.

President Rajapaksa later hosted Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to lunch at Janadhipathi Manidiraya. She was accompanied by the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Shri Ashok Kantha. President Rajapaksa was accompanied in the cordial discussions by Secretary to the President Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary, Foreign Affairs Mr. Romesh Jayasinghe and the Governor of the Central Bank Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal. -Presidential Secretariat-

Sri Lanka strongly protests British Foreign Secretary’s participation at Global Tamil Forum

Thu, 2010-02-25 02:41 — editor
Sri Lanka
Colombo, 25 February (Asianrtribune.com):

Minister Rohitha Bogallagama
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama summoned the British Acting High Commissioner in Colombo Mark Gooding to the Foreign Ministry yesterday to express Sri Lanka’s strong protest with regard to the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband’s intent to address the London Conference of the pro-LTTE ‘Global Tamil Forum’ (GTF) yesterday (24/2).
The Foreign Minister informed the Acting High Commissioner that the GTF brings together under one umbrella, several LTTE front organizations based mostly in the western countries, and that its objective is to create a separate state of Tamil Eelam.
Mr. Bogollagama in this context emphasized that Foreign Secretary Miliband, by participating at yesterday’s GTF Meeting in London, would unfortunately lend credibility to an organization which is propagating the separatist agenda of the LTTE, and would be acting in a manner inimical to the national interest of Sri Lanka and its legitimate government.
He further noted that the GTF was formed in order to launch the so called “Provisional Trans-National Government of Tamil Eelam”, and hence poses a ‘direct threat’ to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. Taking into consideration the LTTE agenda of the GTF, the Foreign Minister asked the Acting High Commissioner to convey that he urged Foreign Secretary Miliband to change his decision to address the GTF Meeting today in London, if the Foreign Secretary is genuinely interested in supporting the legitimate government elected by the people of Sri Lanka to achieve peace and reconciliation among all communities.
The Foreign Minister also indicated that Sri Lanka encouraged the British Government to directly engage with the Sri Lankan Government in achieving this shared objective of peace and reconciliation.
He observed that Sri Lanka expects the British Government and its representatives who are interested in achieving a durable peace in Sri Lanka to encourage the Sri Lankan diaspora to give up the LTTE’s monolithic separatist agenda and to work constructively towards an inclusive peace. The non-participation of Foreign Secretary Miliband in today’s GTF meeting in London would be the best way to convey this message, he noted.
The British Foreign Secretary has made his intention of addressing the GTF known in a statement delivered on Tuesday, at the British House of Commons.
- Asian Tribune -

British Foreign Secretary addresses Global Tamil Forum against Lanka’s displeasure

Thu, 2010-02-25 04:24 — editor
United Kingdom
London, 25 February (Asiantribune.com):

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has participated today and addressed the Global Tamil Forum meet, even as the Sri Lanka government protested his participation in the meet and wanted to keep him away, creating further sour in the relations between both the countries.
Not only that, he was appreciative of the foundation of the Global Tamil Forum, the inauguration of its international work, and he called it an important moment for politics and above all politics in Sri Lanka. He also said there is no substitute for political voice in asserting political rights. Tamils know to their cost the price of violence against them and in their name. “We know that the civil war is over, but the civil peace has yet to be built and it is the dedication of this organisation to build a lasting equitable and endurable political civil peace that I think is the test of all of our effort.”
Here is the full text of his speech made to members of the Global Tamil Forum at the House of Commons on 24 February 2010:
“I want to very warmly welcome all of you to the House of Commons if you’ve come from around Britain, and welcome you to Britain, those of you who’ve come from around the world. I think that it is very significant indeed that the Global Tamil Forum should have brought people together from fourteen countries. That in itself is a huge achievement. It is a reflection of the breadth of the Tamil diaspora around the world and I hope it speaks to a unity that will serve the rights and hopes of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
“It’s also important to recognise the history that’s associated with Britain’s relationship with Sri Lanka. Father Emmanuel spoke about this. And I hope that not just historians, but Tamils will come to look back on this meeting in this building as being a time and a moment of significance for the future of Sri Lanka.
“I also want to recognize on the platform with me here are three Members of Parliament who have played an outstanding role in the British debate about the future of Sri Lanka. Virendra Sharma on my right, Keith Vaz, Siobhain McDonagh have all been stout defenders of the rights of all Sri Lankans and I think it is right not just to recognise the role of Governments, but to recognise the work of parliamentarians and also to recognise the work of community groups. Some of them made by Tamils, but others made by churches, made by other groups of British people who’ve seen the plight in Sri Lanka and wanted to respond to it and I think it’s important to recognise that this is a grass roots movement in Britain, not just a Government led movement.
“I also want to say that the foundation of the Global Tamil Forum, the inauguration of its international work, is an important moment for politics and above all politics in Sri Lanka, because there is no substitute for political voice in asserting political rights. Tamils know to their cost the price of violence against them and in their name. We know that the civil war is over, but the civil peace has yet to be built and it is the dedication of this organisation to build a lasting equitable and endurable political civil peace that I think is the test of all of our effort.
“I want to commend very, very strongly your decision to, not just to support non violence, but to advocate non violence. I think that history has shown time and again that lasting peace is not found through weapons and through warfare but through politics, however hard it is to persevere with it. We’ve seen this in our own United Kingdom, notably in the state of Northern Ireland, but also in other parts of the world and the road ahead no doubt will be long and hard in some ways that I will describe in a moment. But I think the founding commitment not just to a fully inclusive political process, but to support non violence as the means to achieve it, is something that speaks to the deepest values of the Tamil people and actually, as I will say later, to the deepest values of people everywhere.
“Perhaps I should say why I’m here. It’s not just that London is the venue for this important meeting. It’s that the importance of establishing a lasting peace in Sri Lanka matters. It matters because of the deep links that exist between Britain and Sri Lanka, the deep links that exist between British people and Sri Lankans of all kinds, and it’s also that the future of Sri Lanka is important for the future of South Asia more generally. And I think that any Foreign Secretary would want to be here to listen, but also to support about the way ahead.
“For twenty six years all the peoples of Sri Lanka suffered from the effects of civil war, but we know that while all communities were hit, the Tamil communities were the worst hit. We know that during the conflict Tamils were in every day fear for their lives, trapped between Government forces and the LTTE, many thousands killed we know, seventy thousand in total from all communities. Thousands more injured or maimed which often is not mentioned in a grim recitation of statistics.
“We know that civilians were displaced, individuals, children separated from their families, homes and livelihoods destroyed and we know also that the Tamil diaspora around the world reflects conflict and it reflects fear around the world. We are proud in this country, very proud, of the contribution that British Tamils are making to our country. You are our neighbours, our friends, our relatives. We’re proud of your role in business, in commerce, in politics. But you know very deeply that you would like to be making a contribution above all in Sri Lanka and it is that tension, that dual focus first of all on Britain and first of all, and secondly on Sri Lanka, that brings us together.
“It’s also important to say as Tamils lived in fear, some expelled from their country, that they, you also lived in the shadow of the LTTE, a terrorist organisation which committed countless atrocities itself, which refused to tolerate dissent, which forcibly recruited children as soldiers and which again refused to allow Tamil civilians to escape from the fighting. I think it’s important to say those things as well.
“And we know that today land mines are still scattered across the former conflict zone, the lack of infrastructure and the lack of electricity, the lack of irrigation, poverty rates in Tamil areas are at least double those in the other provinces. And after the spike in violence that preceded the end of the civil war, nearly a hundred thousand Tamils still remain in the IDP camps, unable to return to their homes. And I will never forget the faces that I saw in the IDP camps in Sri Lanka ten months ago. I will never forget the stories that I was told of innocent people separated from their families, of brutalisation and of profound fear about the future. And whenever I think of that statistic of a hundred thousand people still in IDP camps I think of individual men, women and in some cases young teenagers talking to me about all they wanted was to be treated as a decent human being, able to go about their lives in a decent way. And that’s what motivates me and it’s wha t motivates the Prime Minister and it’s what motivates the Government to believe that the aspirations of the Tamil people expressed as the hope of a decent life alongside others in Sri Lanka is something that should motivate us in the future.
“We try in the short term to alleviate the suffering. We try to send money and we do send money, tens of millions of pounds are sent from Britain by the Government. But I know many millions of pounds are sent by the Tamil communities too to try to make a difference through the humanitarian agencies who should be given far greater access and freedom of movement. We also continue to urge the Government of Sri Lanka to return the remaining IDPs to their home areas, to grant full access to NGOs and we do not forget either the eleven thousand five hundred or so ex combatants also still in camps.
“Now despite the scale of this humanitarian crisis and the need for us to focus on it as a matter of urgency, we do not forget the longer term, because anyone who cares about the future of Sri Lanka knows that it will not be built by aid alone. It must be built through a new political settlement. Since the end of the civil war, since the re-election of President Rajapaksa, as we look forward and await the parliamentary elections, we continue to make the case that the President should use his mandate for a real drive for national reconciliation, a real drive to respect the rights of every single Sri Lankan, a real drive to fulfil the commitments, constitutional and other reforms, that would make a difference.
“Now to do this there needs to be greater effort to respect the rights of all Sri Lankans. It is because of our concern about the implementation of core commitments in respect of human rights conventions that we along with twenty six other members of the European Union supported the European Commission’s recommendation to suspend Sri Lanka from the benefits of the GSP+ trade programme. We did, we did so because trade and values need to be linked. We did so because the rules of the GSP programme put values at their heart. Those values are values of civil and political rights, because we are concerned about violence and allegations of malpractice in the election campaign and of course there are also important commitments made by the Government in respect of media freedom. There is also the issue of the arrest of the presidential candidate who like anyone else arrested should be treated in accordance with Sri Lankan law.
“We also believe that as well as the GSP issue there is an issue of history because history is there to be learned from. We can not live in our history, but we have to learn from it and I think that my reading of reconciliation around the world is that if history is buried then reconciliation never happens. We have recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela and the commitment to expose history to the full glare of publicity, the commitment to reconcile history as well as reconcile people has been an important part of the South African experience and I think is an important lesson from the South African experience. That is why we continue to call as a Government for a process to investigate serious allegations of violation of international humanitarian law by both sides in the conflict. If credible and independent, such efforts could make an important contribution to reconciliation between Sri Lanka’s communities.
“I’ve also said repeatedly that the concern with civil and political rights today, concern with the history, concern with the IDPs, feeds in to a constitutional point that there needs to be a genuinely inclusive political process in Sri Lanka which involves all communities of Sri Lanka. It’s important to say that whenever a British Minister says this, there are accusations that we are trying to tell Sri Lanka how to govern or run its own affairs. I want to refute that very, very clearly, because the shape of any future political settlement is for the Sri Lankan people, all the Sri Lankan people recognising all their rights, including minority rights, it’s for them to determine. But we will continue to be an advocate for the universal human rights that we believe underpin the basis not just of democracy, but of decent societies everywhere.
“I just want to conclude on the following point. Politics is about Governments, it’s also about people, it’s about people in countries that are trying to chart a peaceful future, but it’s also about those with links around the world and that relates to the significance of today’s event. This democratic group, this heartily engaged forum is well placed to influence debate, well placed because of its commitments and well placed because of its contacts.
“And it is my view that political reconciliation will require the active engagement of Tamil communities around the world. It will require you to speak up for your values of non violence. It will require you to speak up for a vision of a decent Sri Lanka that respects all its people and it will require you to speak up for a spirit that recognises that if people can not find a way to live together they will drift apart.
“These commitments are easy to say, especially easy to say from the relative comfort of a democratic country like the United Kingdom. But it’s important that we say that we are in solidarity with all those Sri Lankans, whatever their background, who want to live up to the commitments in the Sri Lankan constitution and who want to live up to the founding ideals of a country that respects every single one of its citizens without fear or favour. The struggle for equality and democracy is one that should unite all Sri Lankans and all Governments around the world. On behalf of the UK Government I can assure you it does. Thank you very much indeed.”
-Asian Tribune-

Huge victory in presidential election

I was not surprised [by the margin of victory, nearly 18 percentage points]. Because in the Provincial Councils, if you count the majority, it was 2.5 million. I knew that if you took 1 million out of that, I would have won with 1.5 million. And I knew what the pulse of the people in villages was. Even in Colombo district, outside the municipal area, they gave me a good majority. I knew from the start that my majority would be there.

And I am not surprised about the North-East results. I was encouraged by that. I had the election, I knew that people must vote, they must be given a chance to elect their own President. Twenty-six per cent, I am satisfied with it. In every village, I got some votes, didn't I?

Factors behind the decisive win

One thing is that people wanted experience – a politician to lead their country. I have been in politics for 40 years. Suddenly a military man coming in, I don't think people trusted him. They were frightened by the way that he talked, shouting at people, blackguarding people. He [Sarath Fonseka] showed his inexperience on economic affairs,

On mis-targeting

Actually, he never said anything about me other than a few words in the final days. Other than ‘I will take him and remand him.' ‘I will kick him out' – that was Somavansa [Amarasinghe, the JVP leader] and he endorsed it. ‘At 7 o'clock I will walk in there, take him into custody, put him into Bogambara [maximum security prison in Kandy] in a 2x2 cell.' He thought this was the Army! He was ill advised.

The whole campaign was against a family and it was all mud-throwing. Without politics, they were trying to personalise the campaign.

Rural Sri Lanka supported me in a big way. I feel that was because of the development in the villages. We had the village road development programme, the programme for the development of the whole village, the fertilizer subsidy, the ‘Grow More Food' campaign. Incomes for rural households rose sharply. From 1948 to 2005, the per capita income came up to $ 1000. During the period of my presidency, when the war was going on, it has gone up to $2200. With development, the lifestyle of the people had changed. They [the Fonseka camp] couldn't understand that.

If I had been in the Opposition, I would have addressed not anything else but the cost of living. Forget about everything else, just address that. When eventually they tried to address it, it was too late. We had the answers.

People in the villages didn't like the way they conducted the campaign: that they would try to take me into custody, kick me out, kill me. People don't like that. Villagers don't want that to happen. They [the Fonseka camp] miscalculated, failed to see the affection, the love people in the villages have for me.

In addition, suburban people voted heavily for me. Other than people in Colombo, and some people in Kandy and other cities, they voted for me. They wanted a peaceful life. They believed in democracy. I think our people are, in that way, very educated, very conscious about democracy. They didn't want a military man coming in.

Who got the credit for eliminating the LTTE?

People, by the way they voted, showed they gave the credit to me. Who built the Taj Mahal? Who is remembered by people as the builder of the Taj Mahal? Not the mason or the chief engineer, right?

On parliamentary election prospects

I think we will win the parliamentary elections very comfortably. The people will vote with us. Now they know the government is stable for seven years.

A two-thirds majority?

I think we will be able to get that, or at least close to that. Finally, Ranil Wickremasinghe's crowd is there to come back and join me, right [laughter]?

Cohabitation? Ranil as Prime Minister?

Oh, no problem but he won't do that [do well in the parliamentary election]! So the situation won't arise. You know that during the campaign, Ranil campaigned for me when he went to the Tamil areas.

He said, ‘Poda, Mahinda Rajapaksa poda, Gotabaya poda, Basil poda [laughter].' People were shocked. I was talking in Tamil; he wanted to show that he also knew Tamil. And the first word he said was ‘Poda, Mahinda poda [laughter].' He meant, ‘Don't vote for him, reject him.'

Role of opposition

The opposition must be able to contribute. They must criticise – constructive criticism but not mud-throwing all the time. Not opposing everything the government brings. This is the unfortunate thing in Sri Lanka. They oppose everything, whatever the government does. It's petty politics. The criticism is always personalised. The opposition must contribute to whatever solution we are going to bring to this North-East issue. Because what we want is permanent peace.

13th Amendment plus

The 13th Amendment was brought in a hurry, without studying the whole problem. There is a need to understand the geography of the country, the historical background of the whole problem. Without studying that, you can't bring a solution that is suitable for your country. It must be a practical solution.

The 13th Amendment is implementable at the moment other than the police powers. It is in the Constitution. I don't have to say I'm implementing it because it is implemented in the other areas. The land, everything is implementable. We had the [presidential] election [in the Northern Province] and we are going to have the Provincial Council election after this [parliamentary elections of April 8]. I thought I had to resettle the people [first]. Now there are fewer than 50,000 in the IDP camps; and many of them don't want to go.

The development-peace link

The west doesn't understand this. It doesn't know what's going in here. They're making statements. They ask about humanitarian assistance. I say I don't want humanitarian assistance! We will look after our people, provide them food. I can get down food from India any time. I said we want development assistance [for the North].

Without peace, there is no development; without development, there is no peace.

Tamils in the national police
Do you know we have taken about 500 Tamils from the Eastern Province and they are already in service? Now we are taking them from the Northern Province. In Jaffna, 7500 Tamils came for 450 places. They have been selected. [The President's Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga add: ‘The people selected have been security-screened and will be recruited [in the national police force] immediately after the election. This is an achievement, by any government.']

There was a campaign by the LTTE and the Muslim parties, Rauff Hakeem and some others, not to join the police forces and the Army. We had Tamil Army officers and even now we have Muslim [Army officers]. There was a campaign against joining. But now, after this [final victory over the LTTE], they have joined.

You should see their muscles! They have been trained well [laughs]. You don't have to train them again. The only thing is they must learn some police work. That's all, it's easy! We have good training institutes.
We can train adequate numbers. They will be in these [Tamil] areas mostly and we want to get them down to the South also. You've got to mix them.

Tamil-Muslim majorityin Colombo

In Colombo, the majority is Tamil and Muslim. Twenty years ago, the Sinhalese were about 90 per cent; today, they're less than 30 [per cent]. The majority are Muslims and Tamils and there is no problem. The Mayor of Colombo is a Muslim [Uvais Mohamed Imitiyas].

Dialogue on devolution

Soon after these parliamentary elections, I will call all the leaders of the political parties and start talking to them. You know, I tried to get them down, the TNA [Tamil National Alliance], the Tamil parties, the Muslim parties. But they were not interested. They were not interested in solving this problem as long as [Velupillai] Prabakaran was there. Now they must understand that there is no option for them but to talk. I'm the President of the country, I'm the leader of the country, they must come and negotiate with me, have a dialogue with me. If they think they can't cope with me, new leaders will come up and I will have to deal with them.

On western antipathy to him

They don't like me. They don't like my independent views. My preference is for my country. Why should I be loyal to any other country? I'm not a green card holder, am I?

Close ties with Asian countries

They [India, China, Japan] were the countries that helped me to develop this country. As neighbours of the Asian group, they were very generous in offering us development assistance. This country needs development: infrastructure in the North-East and in the South. In the North and East, the conflict is over, we're one country. Now I want to develop the country. For development, these are the countries that helped me and I am ready to accept other countries to come and help me develop the country. We can look after the humanitarian… We give free food, free health care, subsidised fertilizer, transport assistance. We can afford that. But I want development assistance. I want roads, development of the power sector, hotels. And investment.

I have set new targets for tourism. I called the Tourism Board and said I was not satisfied with the present [rate of development]. I want to call the private sector. They're going to the Maldives and various other countries to invest their money. I am going to tell them to invest here. I want to get Indian companies, the Tatas and others, to invest in Sri Lanka.

On excellent ties with India

That's right. Because I'm very clear. When I say something, I stick to it. When I say ‘yes,' yes. When I say ‘no,' no. With India, I think I have been very clear in my policy. Consistent, never changed. They were a little worried about my connection with China. For development, China, Japan and all these [Asian] countries will come and invest. That is a different question. India is our close neighbour. I always say, ‘India is my relation. Others are my friends.'

On Sarath Fonseka's arrest

When I heard about all this earlier, when the intelligence agencies were reporting to me on all this, the Army would have taken him over [under military law]. They wanted to do that. But if at that time I had allowed that, they would have said that I was frightened of this man contesting.

I accepted his resignation as CDS [Chief of Defence Staff]. I could have declined to do that [under the special Act] and we could have charged him for what he had done, what the intelligence agencies were reporting on. But I didn't want to do that because the people would have said I blocked him from contesting.

I knew he was the best candidate I could get! It was very clear in the election. He couldn't get what Ranil Wickremasinghe got.

Even with the JVP, which supported me once and with all this alliance, he never got that vote. They had the biggest alliance against a contesting President. Ultimately, what happened?

Then [after the election] the Army came and said, ‘Sir, we have to take action for what he had done.' So I said, ‘All right, it's up to you. See if you have the evidence to arrest him. If you have evidence, certainly do it. But please consult the Attorney-General.' Gotabaya [Rajapaksa] was very cautious. He said ‘no,' otherwise they would have taken him [Fonseka] immediately [after the election results were announced]. Only after going through all the evidence was the Army given the green light to do what they wanted.

This is an enquiry [under military law] to see if there is a prima facie case against Fonseka. I don't want to get involved in the judicial process. One thing is that I am a lawyer myself, so I always respect the law. I never say anything against the courts, against the judges. [Except once when the last Chief Justice was trying to decide the price of petrol. I said that was the executive's, not the judiciary's, job.] My view is, ‘let the legal process go on.' I don't want to get involved in it. Discipline is an Army matter. If I get involved, Army discipline will go for a six. I don't want to do that. It is very important that democracy is restored.

Army law is very different from the general law. Now he has been taken by the Army. He is under the Army Commander. He is being given a luxury flat, the Navy Commander's chalet. If he had won, I would have been in Bogambara, in a 2x2 cell! He is allowed access to his lawyer, his wife is allowed to see him. She called my wife, who was at a banquet in Moscow; she was told, ‘ask for it and you will be allowed to see him' and she did. Doctors, everything possible is allowed. We don't want to harass him.

In Buddhism, they say, ‘for what you have done, there will be repercussions in this particular birth.' Good or bad, you don't have to wait till the next birth.

I always believe in God – Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and God. There is somebody who looks after us. They say that when Vishnu looks after you, no one can do you any harm. That's why I went to Tirupati [and prayed]: ‘Look after this country.'

If Fonseka had won

Had there been a different election result, there would have been a bloodbath. There would have been dead bodies everywhere. Burning houses and all that. Just before the election, even government servants were getting threatening letters saying ‘on the 26th [of January] we will come for you.‘ Courtesy - The Hindu

The institute said it is naming Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was editor of Sri Lankan newspaper The Sunday Leader, as an IPI World Press Freedom Hero.

Wickrematunge, a fierce critic of the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger militants, was shot dead near Colombo on January 8, 2009. More than a year later, the killing has not been solved, IPI said.

"The murder of Wickrematunge was a shocking reminder of the dangers facing Sri Lanka's courageous journalists, for whom death is all too often the ultimate form of censorship," IPI Director David Dadge said in a written statement.

"By naming him an IPI World Press Freedom Hero, IPI honors his memory and his sacrifice, and sends the strongest message possible to the Sri Lankan government that the international community will not forget his murder and that the perpetrators must be found and punished."
Three days after his death, The Sunday Leader published a column in which Wickrematunge had predicted his own death.

The column anticipated his killing by government forces and defended the craft of journalism in his country, which is enduring a bitter civil war.

Wickrematunge wrote that he was twice assaulted and his house was fired upon.

"Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended," he wrote in the column.
"In all of these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me."

Asked last year about threats to journalists, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa voiced assurance that no journalist or media institution had cause to fear any threats or attacks by the government, according to a statement on the government's official Web site.

"The government had no interest whatever in seeking disgrace through any attacks on the media," he said, and he assured media leaders that the culprits would be captured and brought to justice, the statement said.

Wickrematunge's brother, Lal Wickrematunge -- chairman of Leader Publications Ltd., which includes The Sunday Leader -- told IPI that the slain editor had known he was in danger.

"But he continued in his journey unbowed and unafraid. He felt total commitment to his work," Lal Wickrematunge said.

Lasantha Wickrematunge's killing spurred a demonstration in Colombo by 4,000 people, which Reporters Without Borders said was the largest since Rajapaksa took power in 2005.

He was re-elected to a second term last month.

Sinhalese-dominated government forces have been working to eradicate the last vestiges of Tamil Tiger separatists in Jaffna peninsula, a rebel-held northern region. The 25-year-old civil war has left more than 65,000 people dead.

According to IPI figures, 17 journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka over the past decade. Two of them were killed in 2009.

Wickrematunge will be among 60 World Press Freedom Heroes honored in a ceremony in September, IPI said.

(CNN)

Cognitech Inc., specializing in forensic video processing, was one of three “independent experts” requested to analyze the video by U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston. Following those investigations, Alston issued a statement on Jan. 7 indicating that all three experts had concluded from their investigations that the video is authentic.
The company stated that its technical representative and forensic multimedia analyst Jeff Spivak had successfully conducted the “forensic video processing and analysis” of the recording said to have been obtained using a cell phone.

The Video Investigator software used for the analysis was developed by Cognitech in 1988. The company claims its latest software package, consisting of a trio of programs including Video Investigator, to be “the most scientifically advanced and the only comprehensive forensic video processing and 3D analysis software in the world.”

In a phone interview with SLNN, a company official confirmed that it can state with 100 percent certainty that the video is authentic.
The recording, reportedly obtained by a group known as Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, was broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 in August 2009. Subsequently, the video was widely circulated on the Internet, increasing pressure on the Sri Lankan government to address human rights issues in the country.

The Sri Lankan government says its own analysis of the video has shown that it is not authentic and strongly denies allegations of human rights abuses during the final stages of the war.

Alston has requested a full investigation into the alleged incident. Courtesy - Sri Lanka News Network

Open letter to all Sri Lankans from a true patriot…

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.13, 2010, 5.30PM) All Sri Lankans, show the world that have a conscience?
Speak against this axis of evil!

All Sri Lankans, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays, Burgers, whatever religion, caste, creed or ethnic group you belong to, rise against this axis of evil-Mahinda, Gotabhaya and Basil. What is at stake is not only democracy. Hang the democratic rights; what is at stake is our free will. The three brothers of evil are taking away our birthright to breathe the free air around us, our birthright to express our innermost thoughts to our brothers and sisters; our birthright to move freely in our land of birth. If we do not act now, we deserve what befalls us.

Arresting General Sarath Fonseka was not done as a legal procedure after a proper investigation. It was a flagrant act of abduction. In the presence of the other leaders of the Opposition Alliance, the General who was once acclaimed as the best Army Commander of the world was dragged by his feet along the floor and thrown into a jeep. The General who led his troops with courage and daring to annihilate the most brutal terrorist force in the world was subjected to the most inhuman and humiliating treatment by his own subordinate soldiers.
Today, General Fonseka is more powerful from a prison cell than from outside. All dictators think that they are in power for good. They all think that suppression of the free will of their subject people is the only answer to the question. And they are all wrong. They never learn. The saying goes that “there is none as blind as those who refuse to see”. The ruling junta of brothers of Sri Lanka today doesn’t see because they refuse to see. Even though nobody has come out so far with any direct evidence of election rigging, all the circumstantial evidence is directing towards it. Their demeanor after the elections, suppression of the free will of the media in particular and the people in general, abduction of the General, Election Commissioner’s first statement at the proclamation ceremony and his refuting statement later on at the press conference, the absence of the senior government Ministers from the media- the combination of all the above factors do not speak of a party that has come to power with 1.8 million majority. They knew that the General was the rallying force, so they imprisoned him, little realizing that they are unleashing a force whose control they would no longer have; knowing nothing about decent civil governance, knowing nothing about what is to unfold. In this murky environment what can the opposition do?
This is a wake up call to all the political parties and their activists, especially to those UNP activists and their so-called leaders. The UNP leadership thinks that their shortcut to power is through General Sarath Fonseka. Come on, Ranil, come on Karu and Tissa, wake up from your slumber, the path to political power does not go through a bed of roses. It leads through mud and stones and wide ridges; it runs through deep gorges and yawning canyons. Nelson Mandela won the freedom struggle for South Africa from behind bars, Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru spent scores of years in prison to liberate India from the shackles of the British Raj. Even J R Jayawardena wrote his last will before he embarked on the famous march to Kandy in 1957, to awaken a demoralized, sleeping UNP. The price of freedom is not cheap; it demands tremendous commitment, it demands raw courage, it demands extraordinary fortitude, it demands unqualified sincerity and above all it demands sacrifice, a genuine sense of sacrifice. If you fail in this, you will have failed your beloved Party, you will have failed our country and you will have failed our people. Go, meet the Maha Sangha. Ask them to join you in this grave hour of deed. The same way King Dutu Gamunu went to war with the Maha Sangha leading the way, we appeal to the leadership of the UNP and other political parties that respect human decency to undertake a long and peaceful march from Colombo to Kandy with thousands of Buddhist monks in front. Ask all temples in the country to hold “Bodhi Poojas” to invoke blessings on the General, ask all the churches and Kovils to conduct special services and ask all Muslim mosques to conduct prayer meetings on the same day at the same time. If you want to protest, challenge the government. Let the government baton-charge the protesters; let them tear-gas the protesters, let them stop the marchers. There is no reward without sacrifice. Do and say what the peaceful people of Czechoslovakia did and said when they were invaded by the Soviet army in 1967: “do not touch a hair their heads, do not give them a drop of water”.

This special appeal is to those seventeen renegade UNP MPs who left the Opposition and joined the axis of evil. Their stance was that they joined the government to end the war. Now what? The brave soldier who gave leadership to that war is kept behind bars by the junta that did not fire a single bullet in that war. Do you not have a conscience? How can you justify to your grandchildren the stand that you all took? The country’s eyes are on you. Show some spine, if you have any, for a change.

Don’t expect to come to power without sacrifice. The pinnacle of power is not cheap. It requires blood, sweat and tears and let us all shed them at the altar of freedom! -Rupu Senpathi-

This conference will be held at the Kandy Headquarters on the 18th Feb. at 3.00 p.m.

Arrangements are being made to dispatch invitation letters to all Temples in the Island today.

The text of the invitation letter is as follows …..

Historical Maha Sangha conference at Kandy Headquarters 0n 2010-02- 18 at 3.00 p.m.
Most Ven. the Maha Sangha,

We believe that you, the venerable selves would by now be aware that a dire situation has arisen in the country owing to the perils posed to Democracy and good governance in the country. It is our conviction that this is a dangerous trend afflicting the country’s future.

Keeping silent in the light of these trends and dangers is not a duty of ours. All of you venerable selves will accept that the Buddhist clergy from historical times through peaceful struggle has spearheaded the campaigns for the benefit of the country. But now, all what we stood for are in great peril and are being viciously challenged in the recent past.
Taking into account the present unstable situation in the country and all these deadly trends and dangers faced by the people as a whole, it has been decided that with a view to restoring Democracy and good governance in a peaceful and harmonious climate, all Buddhist Prelates, the Maha Sangha and the entire clergy across the whole Island meet on the 18th of February at 3.00 p.m. at the Kandy Headquarters accepting this invitation. We request you to please keep this date free and attend this conference which is of immense importance in the best interests of all.

Yours sincerely,

Ven. Malwatte chapter Maha Nayake Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thero
Ven. Asgiriya chapter Maha Nayke Labugama Sri Buddharikitha Thero
Ven. Amarapura Nikaye Maha Nayake Davuldene Medalankara Thero
Ven. Ramanya Nikaye Maha Nayake Weveldeniye Medalankara Thero

(A photo of this invitation letter is depicted hereunder)

Ven Malwatte Mahanayake Thero commenting on this letter said, we have now given notice and we are also prepared to take action.

Of what purpose are rulers who persecute the innocents?- I feel like telling politicos not to visit my Temple – Malwatte Thero exclaims in disgust

Ven. Thibbatuwave Sri Siddhatha Sumangala Thero , the chief incumbent of the Malwatte Chapter expressed his frank views in a sermon when missing Journalist Prageeth Ekneliyagoda‘s wife and two children met the Prelate at the Temple to pour out their desperation and woes over the disappearance of Ekneliyagoda since two weeks ago .

Speaking further on the occasion, he said ,

Cant someone write ? Everyone should have a right to write so that the people will know the actual situation in the country. It is the duty of a journalist to express the factual situation. We all too have a right to know the facts. Those should not be concealed. If such writers are being liquidated , it is not a Democratic climate. Everyone must have the right to express their views . If such people are being abducted , such acts cannot be condoned or permitted , no matter from what highest echelons these orders come from, the Ven.Nayake Thero emphasized.
What has happened today , the greatest war Hero has been arrested ; the Army Commander who saved the country , its future and ushered in peace by destroying the most atrocious terrorist in the World . This is a big curse. The true situation is not being made known. In any event , a pardon is deserving for him under any circumstance .

The country’ political leaders are cheating on all of us. They never heed us though they come and listen to sermons and advice , while also promising to follow them, he regretted.
There are our poor people. I have with me a full file. Just because they voted fro the Opposition they are unable to sleep because they are threatened with abduction and intimidation. They are hence going into the jungles and sleeping. Now it is like the period of the insurrection. They are from Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Matara and other areas. We as Prelates can only advise and announce the true situation to the country. There is nothing more we can do with such a despotic environment.

The voters should also realize that such people are not elected . In the present context I see no future for this country.

Indeed I am deeply moved by your sorry plight . You are relating your woes to me because there is no alternative . Telling or depending on the administration is useless , that is why you are here with me, I understand. The rulers do not heed us though they show to the public they are following our sermons and advice. Now I have thought to tell these despotic politicians not to come to this Temple for advice .

Besides , of what purpose are rulers whose favorite occupation is harassing and inflicting suffering on their innocent subjects ? he asked.

If her husband , a world recognized war Hero can be assaulted and arrested before the very eyes of JVP leader Somwansa Amerasinghe, SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem , DNF leader Mano Ganeshan and JVP M.P. Handhunetti , what cant they do to him when he is in their custody ? she asked. She is therefore in great fear for the safety of her husband’s life , she stated .

Anoma Fonseka expressed these fears at a media briefing this morning (11) held at the General’s office.

About 40 members of our staff who worked in our office have been taken into custody . The state media states that we have conspired against the Govt. If so the Govt. must tell us what was the conspiracy.

On the January 26th night we heard that they are going to take us into custody . My husband , myself and relatives took refuge in the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel . We did not go there to hatch a plot . There were so many other party leaders , MPs in the Hotel with us . If we had conspired to overthrow the Govt , why is the Govt. arresting only my husband without arresting all including us and our relatives ? she asked.

It is the jungle laws that are being practiced even in the Army . The Sri Lanka people know well who is behind these jungle laws. The enunciations of Ministers Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Keheliya Rambukwella and Army spokesperson Prasad Samarasinghe are contradictory in regard to the arrest of my husband .Their accusations are unfounded and baseless , she pointed out.

She was given permission to see her husband only after she made a request to the Int. Red Cross . My husband is confined to a very small room in the Colombo Naval Headquarters . You cant even speak with him freely. The navy and the Army are inside and outside the room guarding him , she added.

Because of the injuries her husband sustained during the war, he has to continuously and regularly take medicines. Her husband had made a request to the Army Commander to provide him with the services of a Doctor attached to Army Hospital who is fully conversant with his sickness , but this has also been turned down, she bemoaned.

Even after the arrest the Govt. did not allow us to stay in peace . The CID too came to our house and interrogated . What is the crime we have committed for them to harass us this cruelly . But let me tell the President and the Govt. that they cant crush us by driving us into mental despair . Let them know that the whole country is aware that it is my husband who is the true President and not Mahinda Rajapakse on the actual polling based on the votes of the people , , she emphasized.

The questions posed by the media and the answers given by her are as follows :

Q
Though you say Fonseka was arrested without valid grounds , Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena and NFF leader Wimal Weerawansa told the media that on the day of his arrest , Gen. Fonseka has made a statement to the BBC broadcasting service that if war crime charges have occurred , and if he is requested to lead evidence in the international investigation , he would do so. Was this the reason why your husband arrested?

A
I cant make my comments on this . I was at home at that time . My husband was in Office .
BBC Sandesaya local correspondent Elmo Fernando who was present made a clarification in relation to this question………..

It is true that on the day of arrest , Gen. Fonseka made a statement to the BBC media unit. The Army took him into custody at 9.30 in the night , but Gen . Fonseka ‘s statement was broadcast by the BBC at 10.00 p.m. Hence , it is incorrect to say that he was arrested because of his statement made to the BBC.

If Fonseka has made any statement to us , he made them not at an interview but when answering questions raised by our media personnel at media meetings.

Major General Manawadu treated my husband like an animal –Anoma Fonseka

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.09, 2010, 7.35PM) Addressing a special media briefing today at General Fonseka’s residence, wife of the General, Anoma Fonseka said, her husband General Sarath Fonseka was arrested by Major General Manawadu and his group of front line Army officers yesterday night (08).

But, as her husband is a retired Army officer, he cannot be taken into custody under the military laws, and therefore he can be arrested only by the Police.

As there is now news of his whereabouts or his fate up to this point of time, and as no officer had given her any information about her husband even though she is the General’s wife after he was taken away, this is not a lawful arrest but an illegal abduction by the Govt. she pointed out.

As my husband has retired from the Army, he cannot be arrested by the military. Even if they are to make an arrest, an Officer of a higher rank than he should have done the arrest and in a more decent manner. He was caught by his hands and legs carried, dragged and bundled into the vehicle. This is the way Manawadu treated my husband. When the officers were reluctant to take him this way, Manawadu has shouted at the other officers ‘moova aragena palayan’ (take this fellow away).
‘Is this the gift you are giving to my husband who destroyed the worst terrorist outfit in the world and saved the country for the good of all including you all and the future generation ?’, I wish to ask from the rulers. As long as he wore the uniform he never talked about politics. He respected the Army discipline to the utmost. This Manawadu, the officer also of the Army treated my husband more disdainfully than how he would treat an animal. Though he is of the Army he had not learnt discipline from my husband – he did not know how a senior officer should be treated. All these years I thought our Army was a disciplined lot.
If the Govt. has truly won the elections this is not the way it should celebrate it degrading and disgracing the very war hero who they extolled after the victory. But now he is considered a villain, all because he stood for Presidential elections against the President. According to information we received the Govt. is deeply in its toils searching for charges to frame against him and justify the arrest (abduction). On the 26th night, myself, my daughters and relatives were there with him. If he was conspiring to overthrow the Govt. as the Govt. alleges, will he have all of us beside him ?

Hence, I warn all women that this same fate can befall you and your husband tomorrow. Even to your brother or to your father. As women we must all rise against these atrocities and lawlessness. After my husband survived the LTTE suicide bomber’s lethal attack sometime ago, he has to take his prescribed medicines daily. Even to give those medicines, these ruthless and heartless men and Govt. had obstructed me, she grieved.

May lightning strike these ruthless rulers: satyagraha staged successfully; Govt. Gangs and goons create mayhem but chased away: 6 injured

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.10, 2010, 7.10PM) When a satyagraha campaign was staged peacefully this morning (10) in the vicinity of the Hultsdorf Court complex by the opposition parties jointly against the illegal arrest of General Fonseka, a Govt. group of goons and gangsters came to disrupt it, an intense scuffle followed between the two factions. Though the goons and gangs were chased off finally, several persons were however injured. Two police officers, a Municipal member and three others were seriously injured. They had been admitted to the emergency ward of the General Hospital.

The goons and gangs who were well armed with stones, iron rods and poles were overpowered by the huge crowds and chased away. The entire crowd in and around also joined in the protests shouting and chanting ‘may lightning strike these ruthless rulers and killers’. They went round the Hultsdorf roundabout.

Rauff Hakeem, Mangala Samarweera, Daysiri Jayasekera, Mano Ganeshan, Shiral Lakthileke and many others led the protests.

Because the Govt. goons, gangs and police were from the beginning obstructing the mammoth crowds trying to assemble at the venue, a tense situation prevailed in Aluthkade in the morning just before the Satyagraha commenced. It was worthy of note that the policemen and security personnel who were deployed at the scene to maintain peace, were more concerned about protecting the Govt. goons and thugs who were creating trouble.

The Govt. thugs and goons used the Police riot squad bus as their shield to protect themselves during the attack, let alone the police protection they got.

Unfortunately for the Govt. the satyagraha could not be broken up by the Govt. marauders and goons. When this failed the police then tried to disperse the milling crowds by using tear gas. The protestors questioning the Police ‘whether the law is only enforced against them’ was witnessed by all bystanders.

There are reports that the satyagraha campaign around the whole Island has been extremely successful with people on the roads and vicinity of the campaign joining voluntarily.

General arrested at a time when President is away

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.09, 2010, 12.55PM) SL Presidential candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka was taken into custody yesterday night (8), by the Army when the General was at a discussion with other political leaders.

At the time of his arrest, the General was at a discussion with Mangala Samaraweera, Mano Ganeshan and Rauff Hakeem.

I t is reported that Brigadier Manawadu has given the order for the arrest of the General. It was this same Brigadier who had given orders to lay siege to the Hotel where the General was staying on the election day when results were being announced.
According to the Govt., this arrest was necessitated because the General had allegedly made public military secrets and strategies while attending the Security Council meetings when he was the Army Commander.

When Lanka e news inquired from the new Army spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe whether a retired Army Commander can be arrested this way, he stated, that would be decided tomorrow by the Courts.
It is significant to note that General Fonseka acknowledged and acclaimed locally and internationally as the undisputed Hero and patriot in achieving the war victory for the country defeating the Tamil tiger terrorists, is now being subjected to the most humiliating treatment, which all began, after he contested against the President Rajapakse at the recent Presidential elections.

It is interesting to note that at the time of this arrest, the President is on a tour of Russia while Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Human rights Minister is also away to address the Human rights Council in Geneva tomorrow.

SF Media Unit urge you
(Lanka-e-News 09.Feb.2010 9.20PM)

Dear All,

As you know by now, a few hours ago, former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka was falsely arrested and dragged away forcibly by the same military that he served so faithfully for over 40 years.

The government has alleged that the General violated the military code of conduct during his tenure as the Army Commander.

The General was arrested by the military despite the fact that he is retired and is now a civilian. Therefore such an arrest, if at all, should have been conducted by the police. If the government alleges that military law still applies to General Fonseka, the law stipulates that he should be arrested by an officer holding a similar rank. This was not the case. Under the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the arrest was made by Major General Manawadu an officer two ranks his junior violating all military and civilian protocol.

The arresting officer insulted and dragged the General away when he questioned his arrest.

He has not been allowed a lawyer, due procedure of detention, or even a call to his family - as yet no one knows where he is detained or what is being done to him.

It has come to light that the administration has made elaborate plans to kill the General, their claim being that he was shot while resisting his captors.

Although we are unable to verify this fact, we believe that he is being held at the Navy camp in Rangala.

As a nation, we should be ashamed of our leaders and of ourselves.

For 30 years he fought on our behalf and risked his life for each and every one of us.

Be it under threat of prosecution or even death - he never faltered in his duty and never once disobeyed his honest conscience.

Now it is your duty to do what you can to save his life.

We at the media center of Sarath Fonseka, urge everyone to email us at sarathfonsekamedia@gmail.com with any information of his whereabouts.

Most importantly, we urge you to contact your politicians, religious leaders, media, civil society organizations and foreign embassies and make your voice heard to save the life of General Fonseka and democracy for our nation.

SF Media Unit

LeN Readers in worldwide write about abduction of SF

(Lanka-e-News 09.Feb.2010 10.00PM)

Hi All

We all know who is he , before the war & after the war .that time he is a hero to whole country including president, defense Secretary .One defense Secretary said now we have world finest Amy commander not like before, what does it mean.

More than 1000 times prasident said samething. How come they have two tung now.

He came a traitor because he contest for the election.Otherwise still he is a favour of government and hero of the country.

Who ever against stand against them they label them as traitors and throwing all muds.

People who protest in in toronto against including us what we said that time machan Fonseka kiyanne mara porak , ayeth kiwuwoth kiwuwa thamai.

who ever support government they are paitriotic others traitors
WHO ARE REAL TRAITORS, THOUSE WHO THROUGH MUD AT REAL HERO LIKE FONSEKA

please guys wakeup open your eyes, instead of shopping for government.

Why LTTE Bomb attack Fonseka They new he is a biggest thret.And he did not sleep with Emil Kanthan,

Where is democracy now , there were some people in toronto talk about democracy where are they, they don't have eyes I gues to see what is going on.

Tks
Arjuna Weerawansa

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- On arrest of General Sarath Fonseka
General Sarath Fonseka is not a friend of mine or a relative. I learnt about him mostly through media. During the entire operation against the LTTE, I very closely followed the events that were unfolding in Sri Lanka. When I first heard about him after the suicide attack, he was another military leader to me. However, when I looked at the photos of the damages in his body, I developed an attachment towards him mainly because of his eyes that showed no fear about death even after the deadly blast. It seemed that his iron like eyes could penetrate a man faster than a built. I was surprised to see such deep and lively eyes amidst the deadly wounds. I began to follow his movements during the war since I belong to a Sri Lankan, who was chased away by the LTTE from the North of the country. Now I am living in a western country.

As I am also one of the ardent followers of General Fonseka, I was shocked to learn his recent arrest. My personal opinion is that we all should have treated him like a hero, who saved the country and people of all ethnic groups from the menace of terrorism. In the process no one should undermine the political leadership of the President as well as administrative support extended by the Defence secretary. However, politicians should not have dragged him into the game of dirty politics at least for a considerable period of time.

I do not wish to comment on as to why the government took him into custody. They might have their own reasons for it. However, I can present certain propositions about the outcome of the arrest.
In deed, the government of Sri Lanka has to face server criticisms from the international community and people of Sri Lanka alike. Whatever it is he is a hero for the people of Sri Lanka. For the international community, he is technically able military leader. At the same time, with this arrest and the way of treating General Fonseka at the time of arrest, Sri Lanka has provided much needed ingredients to the international community to talk about Sri Lanka for a long period of time. Obviously, the international community might think that if a war hero is treated in this manner, how about an LTTE suspect or an ordinary citizen of the country?

Once again Sri Lanka needs to do a lot to repair the damage and regain trust of the international community at a time we are fighting a bitter battle to convince that no war crime took place in Sri Lanka and to prove ours is a democratic country. However, with this incident we have left a huge question mark before the entire world. What is important is to preserve our democratic traditions. Politicians and certain undemocratic elements might appear and disappear but still we need to preserve our democratic system for the future generations. I personally do not believe that any politician has genuine love towards our country. What they want is power and space to exercise this power to stay in power.

My humble wish is that President might intervene to settle this matter for the best interest of the country. Otherwise, every citizen of Sri Lanka would have to face the consequences as a result of certain unwise actions of certain individuals who have no understanding about Sri Lankan way and mindset of the international community. No Sri Lankan would like to see International community labeling our country another Myanmar or Libya.

Dr.Ali

8 camps ready to imprison 12000 on conspiracy charges –JVP leader these are not arrests ;they are abductions

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.10, 2010, 10. 10AM) JVP leader Somwansa Amerasinghe addressing a news conference yesterday (09) at the General's office at Rajakeeya mawatha said, 8 Detention centers are in the ready so far to accommodate 12000 persons in connection with alleged conspiracy against the Govt., adding that in the struggle of the people for their Democratic rights , the Govt. is making preparations to imprison patriots.

When he was having a discussion with Mano Ganeshan , Sunil Hnadunnetti and Rauff Hakeem in the presence of the General on the 8th night at this same office , suddenly Major General Sumith Manawadu and about 15 Army officers broke into the office and carried the General and his Secretary forcibly holding their arms and legs, Somawansa stated.

Is this the way a Govt. treats a locally and internationally acclaimed war Hero who nearly lost his life at the hands of a LTTE terrorist in his battle to successfully crush them finally? Has the Govt. forgotten that he defeated the worst terrorist outfit in the world which devastated the country for the last 30 years? He asked.

Speaking at the same briefing , Rauff Hakeem said, the Govt. conducting itself this way even before two weeks are gone following the President's so called election victory is a clear manifestation that he knows in his own conscience that this is not a true victory but a fake one. It is to conceal this the Govt. is on a campaign of witch hunt against prominent and popular opposition leaders . This abduction is part of that campaign, he added.

Mano Ganeshan stated thus ….

This was not an arrest, but an abduction. I know about abductions more than anybody else. In Colombo so many Tamils were abducted. Our Presidential candidate who polled 42 lakhs votes at the Presidential elections,and whose victory was plundered by rigging was now abducted before our own eyes.

I am an eye witness to this abduction. I even saw one officer assaulting the General; he hit him on the neck. He was dragged and taken like an animal . This is how the war hero whom the South population extolled was treated. The South population ate kiri bath with him a few months ago and celebrated his victory. But now, we can see how he is being degraded and insulted. This is the innate trait of these men.

The Tamil people totally condemn these actions. As a leader of the Tamil people I can tell with confidence that the President in his own conscience knows he is not the victor at the last elections. Theses are the evil fallouts of that guilty conscience, he noted.

Mangala Samaraweera

This is an absolute abduction in the true sense of the word , he said. Until this point of time nobody including his wife has been informed where he is or of his condition. General Fonseka has to be given his medicines daily for his lung ailment following the LTTE suicide attack on him. He sustained these almost fatal injuries not in a personal conflict , but in the national patriotic struggle as an Army Commander to save the country from the LTTE terrorists over whom he finally won and relieved the country of a 30year old scourge .

To such a war Hero , the Govt. has not even allowed the medicines to be given by his wife. Now, she is seeking international assistance to send the medicines to him, he observed.

Karu Jaysooriya ….
General Fonseka was acclaimed and applauded as the greatest war Hero locally by the President , his Govt. and even internationally . The Govt. called him the greatest patriot . But, now, how did he become a traitor? All because he chose to contest against the President against his wish at the last Presidential election. It is the consensus of all going by the atrocious actions of this Govt. that any person who opposes the Govt.'s despotism and misdeeds is a traitor . Hence, this great patriot and true National Hero has been reduced to the level of a traitor by Govt. machinations, he pinpointed.

This country is heading for an Authoritarian rule. The people have to rise against this .

The picture herein shows the plastic name badge of one of the officers who abducted him found in the room where the General was having a discussion.

Why is President Mahinda so frightened of the media exposures ? –media campaigners ask

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.09, 2010, 2.25PM) If Mahinda is President and if he has won truly, why is the President so frightened of the media?

The professional Organizations which staged a mammoth protest in front of the Fort Railway station yesterday (8) asked this question from the President while shouting slogans.

The main objective of the Demonstrations was to protest against the govt.’s inability to take action or arrest the culprits responsible for the abduction of Lanka e news free lance journalist Prageeth Ekneliyagoda . They also protested against the detention of the ‘Lanka’ newspaper editor Chandana Sirimalwatte by the Police .

The massive Demonstration lasted more than one hour. After making clear the purpose of the Demonstration and most successfully, the crowd dispersed peacefully.

Sunil Jayasekera, the Secretary of the media campaign addressed the crowd thus …

It is 15 days since Ekneliyagoda was abducted. Chandana Sirimalwatte is being detained by the Police without any charges against him for the last 10 days. We do not condone such actions. The state of affairs in the state media is also very dangerous. They are being victimized without any valid reason. This is the first time in SL’s history the media is facing such dangers and challenges from the Govt. we must unite to secure your rights and ours, he emphasized.

Chief Editor of Lanka e news Sandaruwan Senadheera spoke thus …
Our comrade Ekneliyagoda was a journalist who published news independently and without prejudice. Those who abducted him are those who could not bear the true facts he published. Truth always stings the wrongdoers. I plaed with these abductors to please release him. Everyone has a right to express opposition views. The aurhorities must learn to understand that.

Srimalwatte, the Editor of ‘Lanka’ news is also a journalist who expressed unbiased news. Holding him in detention without charges is an unlawful act. He should be released.

Sirimalwatte’s wife, his small daughter, and Ekneliyagoda’s wife too along with the large crowds participated at these demonstrations.

Lumumba University honors President Rajapaksa with a Doctorate in Moscow, Russia

(Lanka-e-News 07.Feb.2010 10.00AM) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa was awarded a Honoris Causa Doctorate by the Peoples’ Friendship University (PFU), formally known as Patricia Lumumba University of Moscow in Russia on Saturday 6th February 2010 at 6.00pm.

The PFU is celebrating its Golden Jubilee and to mark the anniversary it has been decided to award the Honorary Doctorate to President Rajapaksa for his contribution for world peace and outstanding success against defeating terrorism. The award ceremony was held at the conference hall of the Great Kremlin Concert Hotel in Moscow.

Head of the University Rector Professor Vladimir M. Filippov presented the President with a diploma at the ceremony. President Rajapaksa addressed the audience following the conferment. The conference hall was fully packed with more than 6000 invitees from over 100 countries. Several world leaders, including Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo also attended the ceremony.

The People’s Friendship University (PFU) was established by the former USSR government on 5th February 1960. On 22nd February 1961 it was named after Patricia Lumumba, a political and public figure, a poet and also the head of the first Peoples’ Democratic Government of Congo. The university was re-named as “Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia on 5th February 1992. Since 1995 PFU has awarded ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ to distinguished persons for outstanding academic achievements in the fields of science and education and to world leaders in recognition of their contribution towards fostering world peace. The awardees include five (5) Presidents and two (2) Prime Ministers from around the globe.

The official letter informing of the awarding of this degree was handed over to President Rajapaksa by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, during their meeting when he visited Sri Lanka recently. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will meet the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday. Also on the same day at the Russian Ministry of Finance, there will be a US$ 300 million credit line signing ceremony. President Rajapaksa is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with former President and the present Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin, other government officials and the business community.

The President’s entourage includes Madam Shiranthi Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama,Minster of Export Development & International Trade Prof.G.L Peiris, Minister of Mass Media & Information, Enterprise Development & Investment Promotion Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Power Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Leader of the National Freedom Front MP Wimal Weerawansa and the Secretary to the President Mr.Lalith Weeratunga.

Russian language speaking Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Moscow Udayanga Weeratunga will host a reception at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the 62nd Independence Day celebrations during the President’s visit to Russia.
By Janaka Alahapperuma(London) - Pix by: Sudath Silva

The Chief Magistrate made these remarks when the Police produced the nine suspects today before Court.

At yesterday ‘s protest demonstrations and satyagraha staged against the arrest of Gen. Fonseka the Presidential candidate , fierce clashes resulted when a group of goons and thugs came to disrupt the peaceful campaign , and when they were protected by the Police . The Hultsdorf turned into a mini battlefield with clashes raging for four hours. The police took nine of those involved in the conflict into custody.

When the Keselwatte Police produced the suspects on charges of disturbing the peace , engaging in attacks , causing damage to property and for unlawful assembly , over about 50 Lawyers appearing for the suspects told courts that these suspects did not commit those offences , but were committed by the goons and hooligans who arrived there and who were given protection by the Police. To corroborate this , pictures depicting the Police providing protection to the marauders and gangsters were shown to Court .
After hearing this , the Chief Magistrate said , the whole country saw this incident on television . The court is not a place which acts for or on behalf of a single individual or particular group . It is part of the people in general.
The chief Magistrate added , people are looking forward to the Court’s decisions . She reprimanded the Police for not producing the actual suspects , and went on to warn

thus …….
The police Force is being maintained by innocent people and taxpayers’ money . Hence it is the duty of the Police to serve the people and none other. The police should not be subservient to any political group or person. If the police are acting that way it is a disgrace to the police, and a matter for deep regret .

The Magistrate warned the Police not to act to please individuals , but to apprehend the true culprits. She released the nine suspects on Rs. 50000/- personal bail while warning the suspects to be careful in the future not to get involved in such clashes.
Attorneys at law , Gunaratne Wanninayake, Manjula Pathiraja, Piyaranjana Jayasinghe, Ajith Jaysekera, Sandun Kongalage, Manjula Senanayake, Sisira Senaratne, and KW Janranjana along with about 50 other Lawyers appeared for the suspects.

Police resorts to violent tactics to disperse Maharagama peaceful protest

(Lanka-e-News 11.Feb.2010 9.20PM) The Police used violent methods and baton charged to disperse a peaceful demonstration and protest staged today (11) near the Maharagama National Youth service Council against the humiliation inflicted on Gen. Fonseka at the time of his arrest .

Even before the crowds who came for the protest could congregate , the Police had attacked them.
In the same way the Govt. goons and gangs attacked the protestors yesterday (10) at Hultsdorf a group of aabout 40 thugs thugs , had attacked the protestors at Maharagama with stones. Owing to this attack one person was seriously injured and is in Hospital. According to reports , his condition is very serious.

A Lakbima reporter who was on the scene covering the protest had also been attacked by the Police.

A Buddhist monk and seven youths among the protestors have also been arrested by the Maharagama Police . They are ….
Biyagama Susila Thero – Udahamulla
Moratuwa Municipal Council member Duminda
Amarasuriya Rupasinghe –Bralesgamuwa.
Kamal Ranjith – Kotte
Ruwan Kumara –Moratuwa
Tharindu Lakshan – Moratuwa
Shanhalal – Moratuwa
and Tharindu Thushara

General’s arrest is illegal : wife files FR Petition in Court

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.11, 2010, 9.30AM) Anoma Fonseka, the wife of General Fonseka filed a fundamental rights (FR) petition yesterday (10) in the Supreme Court (SC) against the arrest of her husband General Fonseka claiming that it is illegal.

She has cited the names of the Defense Secretary, Army Commander, Major General Sumith Manawadu, the Attorney General and many others as respondents in this petition.
She had alleged that the arrest of Gen. Fonseka under the military laws is illegal, and therefore requested Court for his release.

She had further stated in her petition that by this illegal arrest her husband Gen. Fonseka’s fundamental rights have been violated, and therefore she sought redress.

Release Fonseka forthwith is the voluble cry of all Democracy loving citizens -Ranil

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.11, 2010, 9.30AM) Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday (10), the Govt. by announcing that Gen. Sarath Fonseka has been taken into custody under the military laws while also making wild untrue statements is causing the people of the country and the whole world to lose faith in this Govt. Keeping him in custody without a legal foundation and violating the constitutional rights of Gen. Fonseka is an absolutely anti Democratic act. Hence, the clamor of the Democracy loving citizens to the Govt. is to release him immediately.

The Opposition leader stated this when he addressed a media briefing at his office yesterday (10). He explained that General Fonseka has not committed any wrong .Hence, his arrest is unwarranted and unjustifiable on any ground, he emphasized. The utterances of Govt. spokesmen are all false, contradictory and baseless, he added.
Today all of you would have got the foretaste of the mounting opposition against the Govt. and the massive support for the release of Gen. Fonseka going by the protest and demonstrations which were staged Island wide. They are all screaming in unison for his release. The Govt. has not only acted undemocratically and illegally, but has degraded the war Hero, but for whom this country would never have been ridden of terrorism. Even the pro Govt. Hindu newspaper has demanded the release of the General which implies that the Govt. is tarnishing its own image through its despotic actions, he pointed out.

Govt.’s attempt to block election petition being filed – to obstruct General’s signature being taken

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.11, 2010, 9.30AM) It is reported that the Govt. is scheming to obstruct the filing of election petition against the recent Presidential election results by the Presidential candidate Gen. Fonseka. Using the officials there are concerted attempts by the Govt. to block his signature being taken, which is a requirement for the filing of petition.

UNP Gen. Secretary Tissa Attanayake stated, the signature of his is a mandatory requirement. But, by the Govt. holding him in the military custody and refusing even his Lawyers to meet him under controversial circumstances is a machination to obstruct him from signing the petition.
The election petition has to be filed within 21 days of the announcement of the results. The final day therefore is the 17th of February. All documents have been finalized for the filing of petition, but the authorities have not provided the opportunity to obtain the General’ signature on the application so far. In a Democratic country, allowing this is indispensable and is a responsibility of the authorities.

It is proposed that the election petition is filed on the 15th, Monday.
Meanwhile, arrangements have been made to file another petition for a vote re count in the Supreme Court next week. A further petition is also to be filed against the State media’s conduct flagrantly violating the election laws and the SC directives, in the run up to elections, he observed.

What a way to show gratitude to a great War hero Gen. Fonseka – not even a drop of water given to him after Govt. abduction

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.11, 2010, 9.30AM) President’s Counsel Wijedasa Rajapkse told Lanka e news that Gen. Fonseka was no t even given a drop of water or even a morsel of food from the time of his abduction until 6.30 p.m. Tuesday (9) when his wife Anoma Fonseka and he went to meet him.

The General who was also the Presidential candidate was arrested/ abducted when he was at a discussion with opposition party leaders in his office on 8th night at around 9.00 p.m.
Mr. Rajapakse said the General is being kept in custody in the third floor at the Colombo Fort Naval unit of the Junior married navy officers official housing complex near the Fort Bodhiya. He and the General’s wife spent about three hours with him,. About military police officers are standing guard round him, he added.

Until they took clothes, medicines, food and drinks for him, he had not been served with food or even water. He expressed surprise as to why a former Army Commander who ought to be kept in the Army quarters is being held in custody at the Naval unit. However, those officers guarding him are treating him duly, and there is no apparent harassment, Rajapakse noted.

Because of the injuries to his internal organs he sustained owing to the LTTE suicide bomber attack, Gen. Fonseka has to take his medicines regularly every six hours, as advised by the Doctors.

Dear All,

As you know by now, a few hours ago, former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka was falsely arrested and dragged away forcibly by the same military that he served so faithfully for over 40 years.

The government has alleged that the General violated the military code of conduct during his tenure as the Army Commander.

The General was arrested by the military despite the fact that he is retired and is now a civilian. Therefore such an arrest, if at all, should have been conducted by the police. If the government alleges that military law still applies to General Fonseka, the law stipulates that he should be arrested by an officer holding a similar rank. This was not the case. Under the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the arrest was made by Major General Manawadu an officer two ranks his junior violating all military and civilian protocol.

The arresting officer insulted and dragged the General away when he questioned his arrest.

He has not been allowed a lawyer, due procedure of detention, or even a call to his family - as yet no one knows where he is detained or what is being done to him.

It has come to light that the administration has made elaborate plans to kill the General, their claim being that he was shot while resisting his captors.

Although we are unable to verify this fact, we believe that he is being held at the Navy camp in Rangala.

As a nation, we should be ashamed of our leaders and of ourselves.

For 30 years he fought on our behalf and risked his life for each and every one of us.

Be it under threat of prosecution or even death - he never faltered in his duty and never once disobeyed his honest conscience.
Now it is your duty to do what you can to save his life.

We at the media center of Sarath Fonseka, urge everyone to email us at sarathfonsekamedia@gmail.com with any information of his whereabouts.

Most importantly, we urge you to contact your politicians, religious leaders, media, civil society organizations and foreign embassies and make your voice heard to save the life of General Fonseka and democracy for our nation.

SF Media Unit

The situation now is such even the ballot boxes cant be safeguarded : I am disgusted and mentally shattered –Elect. Commissioner

(Lanka-e-News 31.Jan.2010 8.00PM) The Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake deeply regretted that this is the first time , at a Presidential election, the District presiding officer was abused in filth and chased away.

He said when he was trying to carry out his duties impartially and properly , some individuals are subjecting him to humiliation and harassment . He is therefore disgusted of his duties and will not continue any longer after this election . He will not be a candidate for this post in the future, he observed.

The Elections Commissioner made these comments when announcing the official results of the Presidential elections. He stated that he can’t face any more blame or labels being attached to him.

When the election results were being announced , of the Presidential candidates , Mahinda Rajapakse and his Ministers were present to hear them.

The Commissioner pointed out that he has gone 8 years beyond his retirement age and hence pleaded that he shall be relieved of his position after this election . He made this request publicly to the President when announcing the results officially.
Two Govt. Institutions did not adhere to his instructions. Consequently , he had to relieve the competent authority of his duties, he stated with great disappointment. He clearly noticed that some Govt. Institution s did not know what they ought to do and they ought not to do. Some charged that I am there only to safeguard the ballot boxes and vote counting . But , I am ashamed to say even safeguarding the ballot boxes is a big problem in the prevailing lawless culture , he emphasized.

A large bundle of votes cast for the Swan found in a drain at Ratnapura

(Lanka-e-News, Feb.03, 2010, 9.50AM) A large bundle of Votes cast clearly for the Swan symbol of Opposition common candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the recent Presidential election was found in a drain in the vicinity of the Ratnapura Technical College polling center.

This bundle containing 64 votes were handed over to the UNP by the Ratnapura District UNP M.P. Thalatha Ahukorala.

Although 27 of the 64 votes bear clearly the cross against the swan and are valid votes, the chief polling officer at the booth has signed and rejected them as invalid.
When the UNP leaders met the Asgiriya chapter chief incumbent, these votes were shown to him.

There are reports that such incidents have occurred at other polling booths too. These incidents are to be exposed shortly. The UNP members and the leaders are to meet the Elections Commissioner and enlighten him on the situation tomorrow (3), Dep. Leader of UNP Karu Jayasooriya told Lanka e news.

THE COUNTING OF THE BALLOTS
----------------------------
As soon as the results of the election announced, many people tend to suspect the outcome.

The counting was started as scheduled, and it was reported that the counting has gone on smoothly. After some time some incidents were reported. The incidents were reported from the Kurunegala, Anuradapura, Matale, Gampaha, Puttalam, and Hambantota districts.
A group of drunken people have attempted to enter to the counting center in Anuradapura around 11.30 pm. The police have acted accordingly and have sent them away. This group then has assaulted a SPO in the counting center. The Police has arrested four people including a security guard of a politician in the area.
As a politician of the area arrived at the seen, the Police Inspectors, Mr. Vipula Thennakoon and Mr. Harsha de Silva who were on duty at the place have arrested him. Meanwhile it was reported that the Superintendent of the Police, Mr. Samarakoon arrived at the seen and withdrew the Police Officers on duty and thus the group of people then have entered the counting center. This group has behaved violently and threatened the officers involve in counting. The District Returning Officer has informed this to the EC and, the EC has complained this to the IGP. At around 3.00 am this group has gone out and most of the Counting Agents of the relevant Political Parties have gone out due to the threat of this group.

It is reported that an inquiry is been held against the police officers who arrested the group and there were no legal actions taken with regard to the assaults and threats on the Counting Officers.

There were reports of chasing out of the Counting agents of the political parties from the counting centers in Kurunegala district, especially in Panduwasnuwara, Bingiriya, Pannala, Mawathagama and Dodangaslanda electorates.

Dr Jyalath Jayawardena of the UNP was assaulted when he visited the counting center established at the Paththalagedara Teacher Training School in Gampaha district. As a result they were compelled to go out from the Counting Center around 11.00pm. Before the final result announced the JVP counting agents and all the others were forced to go out from the center.
A tension was erupted in Mannar, as a politician of Vanni district threatened an ARO of the district.

A minister alone with his wife and a group of people have entered the Counting Center at the Christuraja Vidyalaya in Matale and chased all the counting agents away. Mr. Ranjith Aluvihare the UNP MP for the area and an ex MP of JVP too were subjected to this threat. The Police promptly have removed these MPs as they were under threat.

The Counting agents of the opposition candidates were compelled to go away around 11.30 pm from the counting center established at Fathima Maha Vidyalaya in Puttalam as there was a severe threat against them. Mr. Range Bandara the UNP MP for the area was among the people who left the place.

One of a counting Officer in Ratnapura was reported attacked.

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda shortly after he wrote articles supporting the presidential opposition candidate. His office was ransacked shortly after, the website he writes for was blocked during the election, and there have been delays and flaws in the police investigation. The journalist was also a victim of an unresolved organised abduction last year. It should be noted that his disappearance fits the strong pattern of harassment of journalists in the country by government agencies.

According to the information received, Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Eknaligoda (also printed as Ekanaligoda), disappeared shortly after he left his office at the LankaeNews Website headquarters on 24 January 2010 – two days before the presidential election. His last contact was in a call to a Mr Gamini Perera, who usually drives him home, during which the journalist told Mr Perera that he had arranged alternative transport. He mentioned being 'at Koswatte' (and though there are two potential Koswatte’s in Colombo, the victim’s wife believes he was referring to a place near Talangama).

There has been no communication from the victim since and there are no known facts about the perpetrators at this time. However due to the nature of his work, the day of his disappearance, the frequency of state sanctioned acts of repression against journalists under the current administration, and his own past experience of abduction, detailed below, Eknaligoda's family suspect the involvement of state authorities, rather than – as suggested by police – individuals with a grudge.

Shortly after the victim’s disappearance the website LankaeNews was blocked by the government authorities. The block was lifted after the election. The AHRC is also informed that the LankaeNews premises were searched for two hours on the night of 28 January 2010 by a large number of unidentified persons (vehicle registration number: 32-8432), after which the website was again blocked for a short time.

When Mrs. Kamalgoda Mudalige Sandya Priyangani Eknaligoda, attempted to register the incident at Homagama police station, accompanied by Mr Perera, she was told by the OIC (Officer-in-Charge) that the station was unable to record the incident without prior instruction from higher officers, and he advised her to register the complaint with the Koswatte police; this is despite his legal obligation to register the case without delay. After persistence from Mrs. Eknaligoda the officer allegedly agreed to accept the complaint, and statements were recorded from her and Mr. Perera between 10:30 and 11:00am on 25 January 2010.

On 28 January 2010 an officer from Homagama police station and two officers purporting to be from the CID (Criminal Investigation Division) visited Mrs Eknaligoda and her neighbours to record further statements regarding the possibility of private dispute related to the victim. No further action has been seen to be taken.

Ekanaligoda's family do not believe that his disappearance is the result of a private grudge. On 27 August 2009 he was victim of an organised abduction - he was blindfolded, transported a considerable distance and chained in a kind of cell overnight – by men who responded to organised instruction from someone referred to as a higher officer. He was released after the officer told them that he was not the correct intended target.

The case has been well publicised in the media however Mrs. Ekanaligoda also registered complaints at the office of the opposition leader, to Mr Gamini Jayawickrama Perera who is chairman of the United National Party, to the office of the National Board of Intellectuals (Jathika Vidwath Mandalaya), to Mr Wasudewa Nanayakkara who is an adviser to the president, and to several civil society organisations. A government spokesman has since publicly denied government involvement.

Sri Lanka remains one of the most dangerous environments in the region for journalists, and other public opinion makers, largely due to the lack of accountablilty faced by those who harass or attack them. Please refer to last years' urgent appeals and statement archive for other recent and unresolved cases, including the protection and investigation that was denied journalist and police torture victim Senake Ekanayake (UAU-029-2009) and abudction and torture victim, Poddala Jayantha, who is currently president of the Working Journalists Association (in STM-125-2009:SRI LANKA: Journalist attacked - a civil society organisation threatened and a provocative campaign against freedom of expression continues).

SUGGESTED ACTION:
---------------------
Please write letters to the relevant authorities to urge for stronger and clearer efforts to thoroughly investigate this disappearance, ensure his safe return, and provide security for the victim’s family.

Please be informed that the AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Working Group for Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, calling for intervention in this case.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on information received from the victim's wife)

LeN Journalist Prageeth’s disappearance: Human rights Comm. refuses to accept complaint

(Lanka-e-news 03.Feb.2010 9.00PM) The Human rights Commission (HRC) has refused to accept a complaint or record it or to investigate in regard to the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneliyagoda who went missing on the 25th night , the day previous to the Presidential elections on the 26th of Jan.

When Ekneliyagoda’s wife , Sandya Ekneligoda has gone to the HRC along with her Lawyer yesterday (02) to complain about her husband’s disappearance , the Officer there , Samagi Perera has refused on the ground that ‘disappearances’ don’t come within the purview of the HRC.

When the Lawyer who accompanied Sandya questioned as to why the complaint cannot be accepted , the HRC Lawyer had replied , if the place where he is kept in custody is known , they could inquire, but they cannot conduct an investigation .
However this officer had taken down the complaint later. The complaint No. is 369/ 2010.

When inquiries were made from the HRC Secretary C. Ellawala , she said , because such a complaint could not be rejected , it was accepted for investigation.

1.The whereabouts of well-known political commentator Prageeth Eknaligoda remain unknown since his disappearance at midnight on 24th January 2010. A regular contributor to the Lankaenews website and father of two children, Eknaligoda suffers from a diabetic condition and has undergone open heart, bypass surgery for which he requires daily medication. His wife has lodged a complaint with the Police and has been informed that investigations are on -going. At a media conference on 25th January 2010 The Minister of Information Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene stated that the Government has information regarding his disappearance. Media organizations have called for any information relating to his disappearance and for his early release but have not received a favourable response so far.

2. The Lankaenews website was blocked on the eve of the Presidential Elections. After complaining to the Elections Commissioner about it, and following his order to Sri Lanka Telecom not to prevent access to the website, the editor and staff of Lankaenews received threatening phone calls. The continued presence of unknown persons in the vicinity of the Lankaenews office has also been noted and the Welikade Police have been duly informed.

3. On the 28th of January, Programme Producer Ravi Abeywickreme of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation was assaulted by the Transport Co-ordinator, in the presence of the Chairman and the Director General. Other programme producers Kanchana Marasinghe, Herbert Kumara Alagiyawanna, Gamini Pushpakumara and Daya Mahinda Gunatilake were verbally abused. Subsequently, Herbert Kumara Alaguyawanna has been dismissed and the others have been interdicted. They have been informed of this decision by their SLRC Employees Union. They are officers and member of the SLRC Producers’ Association and Free Media Movement.

4. On the 30th of January Chandana Sirimalwatte the chief editor of Lanka, a weekly newspaper was asked to call over at the CID to make a statement. Following questioning he was detained by the CID. The office of the Lanka newspaper the CID was sealed thereafter, but subsequently removed following a court order.

5. Among the reports of post elections violence in various parts of the country is the attack on the residence of provincial reporter from Kurunegala, Gunaratne Liyanarchchi, by an unidentified group on the night of January 28th.

6. On the 1st of February 2010 an unruly crowd attacked a group of media workers from Lake House. Reports indicate that two people have been hospitalized.

7. We would like to remind Your Excellency of the behaviour of the state media during the lead up to the Presidential Election. The Election Commissioner has also expressed his displeasure on the manner in which the state media behaved. Even after the election concluded the state media continues to harass certain media institutions and organizations by publicizing false statements and the use of revengeful language. The state media has also broadcast reports saying that in the event of the Opposition candidate winning the election, he would assassinate Your Excellency and others, and that he would use journalists and resources of the state media to create a state of confusion in the country.
Your Excellency, all these incidents taken as a whole are creating a sense of terror within the media industry in the country due to the intimidation and suppression taking place in different parts of the country by unruly groups targeting members of the Opposition. We believe that if this escalating situation is not brought under control immediately there will be unforeseen repercussions.

If your election victory is to be celebrated in a democratic manner it should not be only limited to your voters, and should not include the suppression of selected media institutions and journalists. We believe that if this situation continues it would not bring you repute but disrepute instead.
We therefore expect Your Excellency to intervene in this matter and ensure that public confidence in democracy is restored and that this unhealthy trend is curbed. We strongly believe that the intervention of Your Excellency is imperative to locating the whereabouts of missing journalist Pradeep Ekneliyagoda and to bring justice to other journalists who are being treated unfairly, as well as to create a free media environment

Thanking You

Free Media Movement
Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association
Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum
Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance
Editors Guild of Sri Lanka
South Asian Free Media Association
Federation of Media Trade Unions

In 1815, Variyapola Sumangala Thero hoisted our flag on this historic land after lowering the Union Jack. I wish to pay my respect to the venerable monks as well as the revered clergy of all religions for their dedication and commitment displayed to preserve this freedom.

When I unfurled the national flag today, I remembered those heroic soldiers who sacrificed their lives and limbs for the freedom of the country and all those who worked with dedication for the liberation struggle.

Friends,

Freedom is a responsibility. The people of this country have entrusted me with that responsibility on January 26 by a larger majority than in the 2005 Presidential election. I would like to assure you that I will fulfill that trust placed upon me.

Accordingly, it was demonstrated to the world that for us the Motherland is first, second and third. Thus, we have become richer with the supreme human quality of gratitude. It is my fortune to fight along side people with such great qualities to preserve the freedom of our nation. It is indeed a privilege to live in a country with such intelligent people. I am fortunate to be the leader of a country of fathers, mothers and children who know the value of gratitude.

I have succeeded in uniting the territory. Now, I am entrusted with the task of uniting the hearts of all sections of our people. I willingly take over the noble task of creating peace among our communities.

The first Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. D. S. Senanayake stated on the occasion of the first Independence Day that the meaning of freedom is to curtail sorrows and enhance happiness. That is the desire of the people when a country attains independence. I would like to point out that the past four years was the most meaningful era of freedom since we attained independence.

Friends,

This is the time when the benefits of unifying the nation begin to show results. Now that the war has ended, the nation is saving more than the cost of the war. International research magazines recently reported that Sri Lanka is among the 31 countries in the list of best tourist destinations. Sri Lanka is second only to China among Asia's fastest growing economies. Sri Lanka is also listed among the best countries for investment. We cordially invite investors here.

We were able to gain such achievements because infrastructure was speedily built whilst the war was being waged. I will use this mandate given by you to re- establish all that was lost for the past 30 years due to the war.

Our country which fell back in progress because of the war needs to be advanced swiftly. Peace alone is not enough. An efficient, advanced nation needs to be built to replace a country which is lazy, lethargic and lacks energy. It is meaningless to blame our nation for its inefficiency whilst referring to the efficiency and progress of other countries. We proved at the recent overwhelming victory that our people could overtake them.

In the development of the country the private sector too has a responsibility similar to that of the public sector. There is a better environment for the private sector which was at a standstill during the war. I expect a public service which can take quick decisions and which is people friendly. I will make the government service a service for the public.

You are aware that during the operation to defend the country, I protected the heroes who fought for the country. I represented them everywhere. And now in the nation building process, I will protect the honest and skilled people who work for the betterment of the country. The country cannot be developed with harassment, gross punishments or by the gun. Discipline is not revenge. The nation can only be built through commitment, discipline and elimination of corruption.

In the Mahinda Chintana, we mentioned that Sri Lanka will be made a centre of marine, aviation, commercial, energy and knowledge. You may feel that this target is very far. But we will bring the benefits of these five great economic forces closer to your feet in the near future in order to end the era of sorrow and tears. We will give more opportunities to artistes, authors, musicians so that the yield of their creativity would enhance the contentment of the society.

We will make this a country where people return to, instead of leave for fear of life or poverty. We need to remove the bureaucratic hurdles on the path to economic development as we removed road barriers. My people were at a standstill for thirty years because of terrorists. Now this era is over. We will create a country where people can live at ease.

I implore the separatist forces and local and international conspirators not to underestimate our motherland and the people of this nation.

Friends,

We have brought massive development to the North and East regions as never witnessed in history after removing their fear of death. Uthuru Vasanthaya (Northern Spring) and Nagenahira Navodaya (Eastern Awakening) are some of the major development projects in the country.

The people of the North and East suffered for thirty years without their democratic rights. I was able to grant them democracy. That is the greatest victory we have achieved.

We do not strengthen the parties based on divisive politics on the basis of colour or tribe, pro- LTTE or separatist.

I am certain that the people in the North and East could stand on their own feet through a solution wrought by devolving powers to the villages and empowering them in the entire country.

In accordance with Mahinda Chintana: Vision Ahead, I believe that discussions should be held with the people and their representatives of those areas to find solutions and take action as necessary.
(In Tamil)

My dear people

Today is our Independence Day. It is a very happy day for all of us. Thirty years of terrorism is now over. We are celebrating our independence in such an atmosphere for the first time. Now all of you can live in consolation without fear or doubt.

Anyone can go anywhere freely. That is very important. This is our motherland. All of us are children of one mother. All of us are kings today. We all should live together as brothers with equal rights and with dignity. Let us discuss our issues among ourselves and resolve them.
Everyone will receive all facilities in equal manner. That is called equality and equal rights.

One country, one people, one law. That is our way, the only way.

Thus, there is no racism, separatism or terrorism. Never forget the motherland; never betray it. We consider no one in our country as a minority person. All those who love the country are children of Mother Lanka.

Our motherland is emerging as a hub of development. Democracy should be protected forever.

Recently, the people of Northern and Eastern provinces too were able to vote democratically. I am very pleased about it. Politicians should not mislead the innocent people.

Hereafter, we will not entertain narrow divisions based on race, religion, language and political ideology in terms of regions. Never leave room for the politics of hate. Peace, brotherhood, co-existence and prosperity -- that is our prime objective.

Let us join together. Let us build this country for the sake of our future generations.

(end of Tamil text)

Friends,

You all are aware that our foreign policy is independent and non-aligned. It is no secret that we have maintained close friendly relationships with our neighbours such as India, China, Japan and others. We also maintain close affinity with Africa, the West, the Middle East and the European countries.

In my foreign policy, whatever I have done was in the interest of the people of this country. Now the world should have a correct opinion about us. The Tiger terrorism that impacted on other countries too has ended. The state of war is now over. We are entering into a new era of co-existence after finishing the period of some controversy. I would like to say that we are now entering the golden era of international relations.

Friends,

I never thought of gaining political mileage and take decisions that betrayed the nation. I will never betray the country. The decisions I took from the time when I decided to defeat terrorism, were taken while thinking of the country's welfare. I did not think of political power when I took decisions. I did not take decisions to implement major projects; the Norochcholai coal power station and Upper Kotmale hydroelectric project to obtain foreign assistance to stay in power. I have done this for the development of the country. I have done this because those are essential for the country. We will not surrender even an inch of territory from our Motherland. As I have always said, we will not take even a single step backwards to stay in power. On the other hand, we will go forward many steps under any difficult conditions in the interest of the nation.

My feet were worn out by walking in long marches with my people. I have sweated in the fight for the rights of the working class. My voice was trained and tuned to rise up against injustice.

I spent my free time listening to the grievances of the common people. The only time I could not listen to the problems of the common people was when I was imprisoned for fighting for the democratic rights of the people. Our house has become a home for the common people. Today, the luxurious carpets at the Temple Trees affectionately receive the feet of common people.

I did not ask you to crown me. However, please remember that I have placed the crown of freedom, prosperity and heroism on the heads of you and your children.

I have understood the fatherly love and affection of your sons and daughters for me. The affection of the sons and daughters of this country was an enormous blessing for me.

It was on this historic place that Veera Keppetipola sacrificed his life without any fear, for the freedom of the nation. I believe that the leaders who ruled this nation should have a heart which will not betray the country similar to that of Veera Keppetipola.

Now I am addressing you from the place where the child hero, Madduma Bandara, son of Keppetipola's sister, sacrificed his life without display of any fear. Please remember that the hearts of your sons and daughters too are filled with unlimited love for the motherland similar to that of Madduma Bandara. Your sons and daughters have unlimited love for me for the same reason.

I feel I am the world's luckiest leader of state to earn the love and affection of such a heroic and talented generation of children.

Friends,

Please protect your child who grows up with love for the country. We have to build a society where your sons and daughters could live with knowledge and good values. It is for our children that we build this nation to be the Pride of Asia.

I wish you a prosperous future.

May the Triple Gem bless you and the blessings of the Sacred Tooth relic be with you. Pix: Sudath Silva

‘Lanka’ office to be sealed
Saturday, 30 January 2010 15:29 (Lanka Truth)

Another prey for 'Idi Amin' – ‘Lanka’ sealed!
Saturday, 30 January 2010 17:05 (Lanka Truth)

The office of ‘Lanka Irida,’ one of the most popular newspapers in Sri Lanka was sealed by officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (30th) afternoon. The officials said they took the steps on powers they have been bestowed with under Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTC).
Mr. Priyadhrshana Yapa, member of the Editorial Board of ‘Lanka Irida’ speaking regarding the decision of the government to seal the newspaper office said, “This is an undemocratic move. Taking such an action immediately after a main election in the country is a very serious matter. Several media institutions have been pressurized after the presidential election. Certain media persons have been already made to disappear. This is certainly not favourable for democracy and good governance. We call upon all progressive masses in the country to come forward to take all democratic measures against such undemocratic moves.”
{youtube}lRryBvPAlCI(/youtube}

Why seal newspaper offices if Mahinda won by 60%? – Mangala
Saturday, 30 January 2010 19:29 (Lanka Truth)

The government which claims that it has received a mandate of 60% is hunting down individuals and institutions that stand for the truth says Leader of the SLFP (M) wing Mangala Samaraweera. He said this after observing the sealed office of ‘Lanka’ newspaper.
Speaking further Mr. Samaraweera said, “The real public opinion was distorted at the presidential election held a few days ago. As such, the Rajapakse regime, without acting as a victorious government, has launched a hunting spree of individuals and institutions that represent the truth. They are demolishing democracy. This is a fascist administration similar to the initial stages of Idi Amin’s Uganda administration. All those who cherish democracy should stand against this regime,” he added.

CID whisks away computers from general Fonseka’s office
Saturday, 30 January 2010 13:00 (Lanka Truth)

The CID has taken away computers from General Sarath Fonseka’s office at Rajakeeya Mawatha Colombo.
Deputy Leader of the UNP Karu Jayasuriya who rushed to the office when the STF stormed the building earlier, told media that the STF had informed him they were looking for “army deserters” and “unauthorised weapons” inside the building.

Plot to assassinate several MPs of TNA
Friday, 29 January 2010 13:39 (Lanka Truth)

At a secret discussion lead by Karuna Amman held at Batticaloa on the 27th a plan to assassinate TNA Parliamentarians R. Sambanthan, Ariyanethri and Thomas has been discussed reports globletamilnews.net web site.
According to the Tamil page of the web site the discussion held under the leadership of Karuna Amman had been held in two stages at the Rest House near Batticaloa Town Hall. The presidential coordinator for Ampara District Vinayabharathi, Minister Ameer Ali, and several members of TMVP including Chief Minister for Eastern Province Pilleyan, Puliyan, Weera and Mahilan had participated. Here the participants had discussed reasons for the defeat of Mahinda Rajapakse at Batticaloa.
According to the web site the assassination plot had been discussed at the second stage of the discussion. This discussion had been held after 10.00 p.m. on the same day. For this the conveners have avoided getting Minister Ameer Ali and Pilleyan to participate.
At this discussion it had been proposed to oust Mayoress of Batticaloa Ms. Sivageetha Prabakaran from her post, drive her away from Batticaloa and appoint George Pillai for her position. Also, it had been proposed to assassinate TNA Parliamentarians R. Sambanthan, Ariyanethri and Thomas. Several names of persons who are not members of TNA too have been added to the list of persons to be assassinated.
Meanwhile, a group of TMVP supporters had gone to houses of those who supported the opposition yesterday and the day before and threatened them with death.

“This wave of post-election violence could cast a lasting stain on the start of President Rajapaksa’s second term and bodes ill for the political climate during the coming years,” said Reporters Without Borders, which highlighted an increase in election violence and censorship in countries such as Iran and Tunisia in its latest press freedom roundup.

Reporters Without Borders also reminds the president of the statements in support of press freedom that he has made on many occasions, including a meeting with a Reporters Without Borders representative in October 2008.

“It is quite normal for journalists and privately-owned media to side with a candidate before and during a democratic election but it is unacceptable for them to the victims of reprisals once the elections are over,” the press freedom organisation added.

Police and unidentified groups have been targeting the media, especially media that supported the leading opposition candidate, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, every since the announcement of the result, which some opposition sectors including Fonseka are disputing. Sri Lanka’s five main journalists’ organisations have issued a joint statement condemning the “post-election media suppression.”

The following serious press freedom violations have been reported:

1. Police today arrested Chandana Sirimalwatta, the editor of Lanka, a newspaper that supports the JVP opposition party, after he responded to a summons for questioning about an article published on 26 January. The president’s brother, defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, threatened to burn the newspaper down a few days ago.

2. Plain-clothes men using a car with the license plate 32/ 84 32 placed seals yesterday evening over the entrance to the office of the Lankaenews website. Men searched the office earlier in the day. The website itself has been rendered inaccessible for the past few days by the state telecommunications company Sri Lanka Telecom.

3. In an interview for the Colombo-based Daily Mirror newspaper yesterday, Tamil government minister Douglas Devananda threatened the Jaffna-based newspaper Uthayan with unspecified reprisals.

4. Reporter Karin Wenger of the Swiss public radio station DRS is facing possible deportation on 1 February following the withdrawal of her press accreditation. “I had a visa and accreditation that were valid for the election,” she told Reporters Without Borders. “I think this decision is linked to the questions I asked an official during a news conference after the results were announced.” A presidential adviser referred to her insultingly as a “white face.”

5. Ravi Abewikrama, a reporter with state radio broadcaster SLBC was attacked yesterday by one of the station’s officials for criticising the biased election coverage imposed by the head of the station.

6. Soldiers took up position on 26 January around and inside the buildings that house two privately-owned TV stations, Sirasa and Swarnavahini, in Colombo.

7. Soldiers roughed up photographers working for foreign news agencies when they tried to attend a news conference given by Gen. Fonseka yesterday. One was forced to delete the photos on his camera’s memory card. Soldiers also prevented journalists from working freely near a hotel being used by Fonseka the previous day.

Reporters Without Borders finally also urges President Rajapaksa to assign more police officers to the search for political reporter and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who has been missing since 24 January. His family has had no news of him since that date.

Don't Respect this Fraud Result

Presidential Election 2010

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Mahinda continues as President with 1.8 million majority

Local : Wednesday, 27 January 2010 22:09

President of Sri Lanka for the second time polling 1,842,749 votes. Accordingly, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse will continue his term as the executive president for six more years.
Out of the 14,088,500 voters registered for the presidential election 10,495,451 had exercised their franchise while 101,838 had been invalid. The valid number of votes is 10,393,613 which is 99.03% of the total votes.
Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse of UPFA received 6,015,934 votes which is 57.88% of the polled votes. Candidate of New Democratic Front Sarath Fonseka received 4,173,185 votes which is 40.15% of the total number of votes.
As such, Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse will continue as the President of Sri Lanka for another term of 6 years.

Gen. Fonseka is detained at Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel
Local : Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:35

Apolitical Common Candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka has accused President Rajapakse and his government of intimidation and has said his staff had received threatening phone calls.
Gen. Fonseka had told CNN that Army soldiers and commandos tried to enter the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel shortly after he and opposition party members arrived there on Tuesday. His security forces told the soldiers they could not enter the building, so they stayed outside, Gen. Fonseka had said.
Gen. Fonseka had said he was not leaving the hotel as there were armed soldiers outside. A large number of armed soldiers lined inside the compound of the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel and surrounding area, checking cars driving up to the building.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported over its news bulletin today that Gen. Fonseka is detained in the hotel by the government fearing that he would carry out a coup. According to Al Jazeera commentator earlier government had claimed the hotel where Gen. Fonseka was staying was surrounded to prevent him marching to President’s House and take over if he won the election.

Lanka e news the most popular website of SL blocked by State’s Lanka Telecom

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.26, 2010, 10.40PM) The Sri Lanka Telecom today (26) through its internet facilities blocked the Lanka e news, the most popular website from being accessed by viewers in SL.

From 10.00 this morning this stoppage had been made on orders from the top. When we made a complaint to the Elections Commissioner on this. The latter made a request by letter to the SL telecom Chairman to withdraw this prohibition. Incidentally, the SL Telecom Chairman is also the President’s Secretary, Lalith Weeratunge.

As 85 % of our website viewers are Sri Lankans, this action is a great disservice and injustice done to them.
During the period of this stoppage, the Lanka e news website can be accessed by the Sri Lankan viewers through the proxy server, Ninja ‘proxy dot com’

This website blocked by the Govt. won the award last year as the best website. Besides, presently it is the most popular website in SL with most number of viewers.

The Lanka e news website publishes news in all three languages Sinhala, English and Tamil
We regret any inconvenience caused to our viewers due to circumstances beyond our control.

Private television networks also suddenly brought under the control of the Security forces covering the State televisions

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.27, 2010, 9.10AM) The State Rupavahini main administration control room and at the main gates have been brought under the control of the Sri Lanka Army Engineering Force at the moment.

Meanwhile, the Army has also been installed around the Swarnavahini and the Sirasa Television stations yesterday (26).

Although this security is purportedly for providing protection to these Television stations, it is learnt that they have not made any such requests.

Presidential Polls: 14 million voters, 22 Candidates, 11,000 polling centres
Posted on26 January 2010.

Final result expected tomorrow afternoon

Nearly 250,000 government servants will be on duty for today's 6th Presidential Election to be conducted for the first time islandwide, including the Northern and Eastern Provinces, after the conclusion of war on terrorism ended in May last year.

There are 22 candidates in the fray, including incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Army Chief, General (Retd.) Sarath Fonseka, the two main contenders. Two candidates withdrew earlier.

A spokesman for the Election Commissioner's Department told The Island that 14,088,500 persons were eligible to vote at the presidential election today. Ballot boxes were sent to Kachcheries islandwide yesterday under heavy security escorts.

Among the voters eligible to vote are 45,732 internally displaced persons (IDP's) in the North and East. The Menik Farm Welfare Village in Vavuniya has 16,000 persons who have registered to cast their votes today.

State as well as private buses had been deployed for those persons to travel to their polling booths in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, a spokesman for the Ministry of Resettlement said.

There are 11,098 polling centres and 888 counting centres. The counting in Colombo will be at D. S. Senanayake College and Isipathana College, where 2500 officials will be on duty. The final result could be expected tomorrow (Wednesday) early afternoon.

The Police Elections Secretariat sources told The Island that there would be 68,000 policemen on duty, assisted by personnel of the three armed forces.

It said: “The military will be called in to assist Police if violence erupts, even after the election results are announced. We will be very strict and severe on culprits who engage in acts of violence or even instigate violence. Just cast your vote and leave. Don't hang around polling booths, start arguments which could end in fights.”

Elections Commissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake, told The Island that today's Presidential Election would be free and fair. He appealed to everyone concerned not to make unwanted allegations and for the losing candidate to take defeat in proper spirit.

“I only hope this will be my last election as the Commissioner,” the Commissioner of Elections, Dayananda Dissanayake told the media recently.

There are 55 election monitors in the country from the Asian Association of Election Authorities (AAEA) and the Commonwealth representing 21 countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Korea, Kazakhastan, Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. The UN and EU declined to send monitors for today's Presidential Election.

There are also over 40 foreign media personnel in the country, mainly in vulnerable areas, including the North and East.

Reported election violence incidents were 985 upto last evening including four killings.

TRANCEPARENCY INTERNATIONAL SRI-LANKA

More than 70 percent vote
Posted on26 January 2010.
DailyMirror

Island wide voter turnout was more than 70% while the voter turnout for the North and East Provinces was less, People’s Action Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Spokesperson Rohana Hettiarachchi said.
“The overall voter turnout was more than 70% island wide while the North and East witnessed a very low voter turnout of less than 20%,” Hettiarachchi said. There were isolated incidents of violence that took place in Jaffna, Hambantota and Nawalapitiya with regard to grenade attacks and firing although these incidents were comparatively low considering the elections, Hettiarachchi said.

39 incidents of violence were reported at the time when the polls were closing, Hettiarachchi said. Although only 27 cases of violence were confirmed by the PAFFREL while 12 cases went unconfirmed, he added.

“There have been five cases of assaults, seven cases of intimidation and seven cases of illegal propaganda,” Hettiarachchi said. Seven of the most violent incidents were reported from the central province while the western and southern province had four incidents of election violence each, he said.

However when compared to the incidents of pre election violence that amounted to 757 the Election Day violence was comparatively low, Hettiarcachi said.

DailyMirror

Presidential Election 2010

All Island Results Cumulative

UPFA

Mahinda Rajapaksa

60.53%

282182

NDF

Sarath Fonseka

38.62%

180058

Postal Votes

• Rathnapura Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 9458 (69.53%), Sarath Fonseka 4143 (30.46%)
• Monaragala District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 8871 (69.76%), Sarath Fonseka 3795 (29.84%)
• Puttalam District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 4988 (66.70%), Sarath Fonseka 2464 (32.95%)
• Galle District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 15640 (66.19%), Sarath Fonseka 7905 (33.46%)
• Hambantota District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 8982 (70.73%), Sarath Fonseka 3679 (28.97%)
• Jaffna District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 892 (20.23%), Sarath Fonseka 3173 (71.95%)
• Trincomalee District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 6882 (63.73%), Sarath Fonseka 3798 (35.17%)
• Matara District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 10425 (66.65%), Sarath Fonseka 5159 (32.98%)
• Matale District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 8846 (68.38%), Sarath Fonseka 4038 (31.21%)
• Badulla District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 14998 (64.72%), Sarath Fonseka 8056 (34.76%)
• Batticaloa District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 1491 (28.57%), Sarath Fonseka 3637 (69.69%)
• Digamadulla District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 9989 (62.47%), Sarath Fonseka 5885 (36.80%)
• Kalutara District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 13695 (68.68%), Sarath Fonseka 6177 (30.98%)
• Wanni District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 2018 (51.14%), Sarath Fonseka 1845 (46.76%)
• Polonnaurwa District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 9971 (70.64%), Sarath Fonseka 4057 (28.74%)
• Colombo District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 12119 (63.54%), Sarath Fonseka 6897 (36.16%)
• Kegalle District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 14330 (67.53%), Sarath Fonseka 6811 (32.10%)
• Kandy District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 20184 (66.57%), Sarath Fonseka 10025 (33.07%)
• Nuwaraeliya District Total Postal Votes: Mahinda Rajapaksa 6098 (66.18%), Sarath Fonseka 3067 (33.29%)

Districts

De : donotreply@sarathfonseka.com
Envoyé : lun. 25/01/10 11:57
À : francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr

Vote‏

Dear Friends,
Please tell everyone not to worry about rigging - we are taking care of it.
There will also be people standing by to help.
Contact numbers: (011) 7393550 / (011) 5231019 / (011) 5231865 / (011) 5231011 / (011) 5231023 / (011) 5231976 / (011) 5231978 / (011) 5231979.
Just make sure everyone goes and votes.
Go in numbers and vote for the change you wish for.
You have been great throughout and we are very grateful to all of you!

How to Vote :

Please note:

Tips to remember:

How to make your vote count:

What our opponents have in mind:

· Our opponents plan to create riots and get their people to wear SF T-shirts and disrupt voting. 

· Our opponents will attempt to get the agents in the polling booths to scare you and prevent you from voting.

· They may try to make you to give them your ID cards which will prevent you from voting.

Do not be afraid or misled – We have people standing by to support you

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING - SAY SOMETHING

Please call our offices on (011) 7393550 / (011) 5231019 - we will email more numbers tomorrow to contact us regarding any type of election violation.

Victory on the 26th!

The Sarath Fonseka Campaign

Dear Friends,

This weekend is to meet and convince more people to join this ever rising tide of active voters and to make sure all our votes are secure.

We request all of you to hold pocket meetings in your houses, offices or places of worship over the weekend.

Speak with people who may have doubts, and explain to them our vision for this nation's future.

If you would like us to answer a question that you might like to address during these meetings please email it to info@sarathfonseka.com and write "Pocket Meeting: Question" in the subject line.

This campaign has gained an unprecedented momentum and we're now at the final stretch.

There are also a few points we'd like for you to keep in mind.

Ballot paper

There is no "Duck" on the ballot paper. The Swan can clearly be seen.

Please be aware of these lies

1. At no point between now and the 26th will we pull out or declare defeat.

This is a tactic our opponents will use right before the election. They plan to spend our hard earned tax money to send out several massive sms projects to say we have withdrawn from the election. We never will - so please ignore these and don't forward them.

2. Again, we say that we won't be using weapons or violence at the polling booths.

Our opponents have also decided to spread a rumor that we are planning a bomb attack - this is a malicious lie.

We know the value of life - We have always maintained an honorable campaign and we will never stand for such low tactics.

Your vote

Please note that our opponents are taking some very costly measures to prevent you from turning up at the voting booths.

We urge all our friends to go in groups.

As a group you can stand up to people who might discourage you.

As a group you can take care of each other.

As a group you will be stronger.

As a group we have gained our momentum.

As a group we have always moved forward in this campaign - and

As a group we will make history on January 26th!

Office of Sarath Fonseka

3/1, Rajakeeya Mw, Colombo 7

Phone: (011) 7393550 / (011) 5231019

Fax: (011) 7393551

Email: info@sarathfonseka.com

www.sarathfonseka.com

De :Mahinda Rajapaksa Campaign 2010
(Mahinda_Rajapaksa_Campaign_2010@mail.vresp.com)
Envoyé lun. 25/01/10 12:41
À : francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr
If you cannot view the content below properly, please click here

An easy decision‏

With only 1 day left until Election Day, we have a choice.
We are certain of our victory.
Should we sit back and relax?
Or should we make sure that critical VOTES go to our Mahinda Rajapaksa on January 26th.
I don't think it's a hard decision.
Now is the time to help get out the VOTE -- this is our chance to make sure that our country is on the right path for development.

We have come a long way in the past four years. We achieved peace and started massive development drive throughout the country. Achieving all this was not easy – but it was all possible because we came together as a nation.

Many of you have asked what else you can do to help, and we appreciate that. At this time, you can talk to your neighbors and friends. You can call your mother or father. Make sure they know the importance of VOTING for “President Mahinda.”

Now that we're in the final, crucial days of this campaign, letting up is simply not an option. If supporters like you make sure that voters go to the polls, we're going to win with a great majority on the 26th.

We have to take advantage of this historic opportunity to build a brighter future:
By working together;
all of us can accomplish extraordinary things.
Thank you for everything you're doing….

Mahinda Rajapaksa Campaign 2010

Edit your profile‏

De : Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidential Campaign 2010 (info@mahinda2010.lk)
l'expéditeur.Autoriser|Marquer comme courrier indésirable
Envoyé : dim. 24/01/10 07:04
À : francoeurope-srilanka@hotmail.fr

Hello Asso.Humanitaire Sri Lanka & French European,

You recently requested that we send you a link to edit your profile.

Please click below to edit your profile:

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If Govt. tries its conspiracies, the Army will give the answer on the 27th –Gen. Fonseka

(Lanka-e-News, Jan. 25, 2010, 8.50PM) The Presidential candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka said, no matter what conspiracies are hatched or problems created during the elections by the Govt. he knows how to combat them. Hence, all what the voters have to do is go early and cast their votes peacefully. this is his request to the Nation, he added.

The Govt. by now has brought five Army regiments to Colombo, and has posted two regiments at the Race course, one at Balangoda and the other two at an unknown place. But, his victory cannot be stopped by the Govt. by any of its plots and atrocious plans, he warned. If the Govt. tries to use the Army to preclude my victory, that will never succeed. Even if the Govt. declares war against him he can face that too, the General told with absolute confidence.

His Army experience shows this type of shifting Army regiments is unnecessary. Even during the war, Army regiments were not brought to Colombo. He asked why the Govt. is engaging in illegal acts by also getting down 15 Army vehicles to Colombo and stationing them at the Rock House camp.?
If the Govt. tries to indulge in any unlawful acts on the 27th, his supporters will get to the streets and wreak havoc. If the Govt. tries to use the Army to quell the protests, we know how to face them too. If the Govt. tries an army conspiracy, the Govt. will get the right answer from the Army itself on the 27th, he noted.

At this Media discussion, Ranil Wckremesinghe, Mnao Gnaeshan, Anura Dissanayake, Karu Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunge also participated.

Media personnel Prageeth Ekneliyagoda missing from yesterday night

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.25, 2010, 1.35PM) Prageeth Ekneliyagoda and independent media personnel and a political analyst has disappeared from yesterday night (24)

Ekneliyagoda is an independent media personnel and a political analyst. He lives at Homagama. People of the area have seen a white Van sans number plate stationed around his house yesterday. It is reported that he has disappeared after leaving the office at Lanka e news for home at about 9.00 p.m. From yesterday night around 9.30 p.m. his phone is not functioning. It is learnt that when he received a call on his phone at about 9.30 .p.m. from a friend of his, he had answered ‘I am not going towards Koswatte’

During the last several days, he had been engaged in the election campaign of Gen. Fonseka. Ekneliyagoda was a provider of news based on political affairs to Lanka e news.

On an earlier occasion too there was an attempted abduction on Ekneliyagoda.

His wife has made a complaint to the Police this morning, (25) about his disappearance.

There is absolutely no free and fair election: Ven. Prelates intervene –Sarasavi lecturers meet Prelates and plead

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.24, 2010, 8.45PM) Independent University lecturers and intellectuals today (24) met the Ven. Malwatte Mahanayake Thero and requested the Prelate to make an announcement denouncing election violence.

A group of Professors of the Universities met the Prelate this morning and begged him to make a request to all political parties to conduct their election campaigns without violence, murder and mayhem.

The Ven..Mahanayake said, the three Nikayas have made a clear request earlier against violence, but there had been no positive response.
Porfessors, Doctors and Senior lecturers of the Universities of Peradeniya, Colombo, Sri Jayawardenapura, Ruhuna, wayambe and Sabaragamuwa were in the delegation which met the Prelate Professor Amerasiri Soysa of the Dept. of political Science of the Peradeniya University headed the delegation.

SLFP Bhikku Society former Secretary who supported the General arrested allegedly on bomb charges

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.24, 2010, 8.45PM) SLFP Bhikku Society former Gen. Secretary, Prelate Ven. Sumana Thero who extended support to Gen. Fonseka at the Presidential elections was arrested allegedly for discovery of a haul of arms in the Maligawatte Bodhiraja temple where the Thero is the incumbent. Meanwhile some Tamils were also taken into custody on orders from the Defense Secretary. According to the Police there had been 50 hand grenades, two T56 rifles and a cyanide capsule in the Temple premises.

A news release by the Gen. Fonseka’s media unit says, this is a perplexing discovery as, if this amount of arms is to be found, this Temple must be located in Pudhukuduirippu.
The President who is up against a blank wall and with defeat writ large on it, is resorting to all kinds of plots to intimidate and arrest supporters of Gen. Fonseka. Even a few weeks ago, Ven. Dr. Amila Thero, the President of the Patriotic National Center who appeared on stage of Gen’ Fonseka in support of his candidature was arrested on flimsy charges, the media stated.

In Killinochchi 80% of the Polling Cards are still at the Post Offices

(Lanka-e-News 24.Jan.2010 12.40PM) CaFFE states that only less than 10,000 poling cards were distributed out of 90,901 cards to the voters in Killinochchi Administrative District so far.

Out of the four Divisional Secretary Divisions (DSD)in Killinochchi District, the resettlement programs even in a limited scale, have taken place only in two DSDs, namely Puninn and Karachchi . There is still no Civil Administration established in the other DSDs.

As a result only less than 10,000 poling cards were been distributed among the voters out of 90,901 poling cards.

There will be “Cluster Polling Centers” established in the Public Play Ground in Killinochchi for the voters to come and exercise their ballot. The Tamil speaking officers will be deployed for the election duties in these Polling Centers.

Most number of voters out of 68, 729 registered in the Mullaittivu Administrative District, will be exercised their ballot in ‘Cluster Polling Centers’ establish in the Tamil Maha Vidyalaya in Vavuniya. The opportunity for exercising the ballots of these voters live in Oddusuttan, Pudukudiirruppu and Weralabadapattu, DSDs, mainly is depended on the transport facilities provided by the government on the Election Day, as these people have to travel quite a distance to the polling center.

Some of the registered voters are supposed to exercise their ballot in the polling center establish in the Manik Farm camp.

Though there are 721,359 voters registered in the Jaffna Electoral District, only less than 400,000 voters are now residing in the . Hence the percentage of the voter turns over in will be lesser in Jaffna and Vanni Districts.

Security at Rupavahini and Broadcasting Corporation beefed up from 25th : 26th and 27th declared holidays at Rupavahini

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.23, 2010, 6.10PM) It has been decided that from 25th Monday Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation shall be declared as High security zones.

Along with this decision , Additional Director General Devapriya Abeysinghe is being vested with all the powers and responsibilities to control the two Institutions.

It has also been decided to declare two days holidays on the 26th and 27th for all the workers. The Deputy Director General (administration) has sent out a circular today to this effect.

According to this circular , after 25th evening 5.00 p.m., only selected staff from the various divisions named in the list have been called to work.

Tiran Alles who summoned a special media meeting after the bomb explosion at his house disclosed details of the deal at the meeting.

At subsequent discussions, Emil has asked 180 million to buy boats for the LTTE if the contract of Rajapakse is to be carried out. Basil has without any demur agreed to pay this amount. Alles went on to explain further as follows…

Last Friday (22), I told you that this bomb explosion at my house was to avenge my releasing the photograph depicting Emil kanthan and Naamal Rajapakse together. The President, according to information we received was furious over this episode on Thursday (21)as the media had got access to the photograph. Mangala Samaraweera the SLFP (M) leader related.
Alles further elaborating said ,this Emilkanthan has a history. Hitherto I have not spoken openly on this subject. I came to know Emilkanthan in 2002. At that time he was working in the rehabilitation Ministry. In 2004 when Mnagala Samarweera became the Minster of Ports and aviation, I was appointed as Chairman of the Airports. In 2005, the Presidential elections was held. I was appointed to a Committee. Mahinda who was the Prime Minister at that time invited me to the Temple Trees one day, and asked whether I know people from that area.? I want to start discussions with the LTTE, he added. Introduce somebody to start discussions, he said. I told, I know Emilkanthan who has contact with the LTTE and he is doing business in Colombo. I told him if he wishes I can introduce him. Mahinda asked me whether Basil.Rajapkse knows him. At that time I have not seen Basil. Mahinda then introduced me to Basil and wanted me to link Basil to Emilkanthan. I did so.
From that point of time, discussions were started between Basil and Emil. They discussed how to enlist the support of LTTE for Mahinda’s election purpose. When November 2005 Presidential elections was drawing near, Basil Rajapakse asked Emilkanthan to help him to open a route to meet the LTTE, and he is prepared to pay any amount of money for this, adding that if the voting in the North and East can be blocked Mahinda can win and become the President.

Soon afterwards, Emilkanthan told Basil ‘you asked me what we want. Well we want to buy some boats for the LTTE. We need Rs. 180 million for that. Basil straight away said, no problem, we will give that amount.

Basil and Emil met again. That day what I never expected even in my dreams happened. Basil came with several huge traveling bags.

Indeed, I have told all these to the Terrorism investigation unit (TIU) in 2007. Yet, I am divulging this now, because they tried to kill me, Tiran pointed out.

Basil gave this full Rs. 180 million to create a camaraderie with the LTTE. When I was giving this statement to the TIU, they were shocked, and did not want to record what I was disclosing. I threatened that I will not sign the statement if they don’t record my declarations.

The CID then withdrew all the charges against me and released me from custody.

If Govt. tries to use the Army for unlawful ends after defeat on 26th, it will boomerang on the Govt. –Gen. Fonseka

(Lanka-e-News 2010.Jan.23 8.30PM) Addressing a special Press briefing today (23) at the JAIC Hilton Hotel today (23) , Presidential candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka said , even if the Govt. tries to utilize the Army for its wrongful and unlawful ends when it is defeated at the 26th elections , he is certain the Army will never stoop to the Govt. ‘s orders . If the Govt. tries, it will boomerang on the Govt.

All the political party leaders who are supporting Gen. Fonseka participated at the meeting , including Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, JVP laeder , Mano Ganeshan , and S. Sathasivam.

At the postal voting , 90% votes have been cast for me. The Army which is a disciplined group will never join the Govt. in its illegal designs. A great many of the Army Officers are having close ties with me. So, if the Govt. tries those dastardly tricks , it will only boomerang on the govt.

When the CID was instructed to question my son in law , the CID officer has told Defense Secretary . it si better to remove the uniform than to stoop to this type of base activities. The Army too will react this way. I have full confidence in the Army.. Whenever the Defense Secretary gives unlawful instructions , they inform me. Hence, the Govt. is only day dreaming of using the disciplined Army in the wrong direction .The Army is not like the Govt. without discipline.

An unusually large crowd of media representatives were present at the meeting . The following questions raised by the media were answered by the general as follows:

Q
If we wish to know about your position when you started your campaign compared with yours now ?

Although I started without any political experience , now I a m well ahead of him. You can judge for yourself by the vast crowds rallying round me. I am ably supported by the UNP , JVP and other parties of the UNF.

Q.
You told 15 Army Tanks have been brought to Colombo.
A.
Not Army tanks , they are APC ( army personal carriers) . Its is not necessary to bring them and soldiers to Colombo when an election is being held.

Q
What are the complaints you have received regarding election malpractices ?
A
There are countless complaints , from forged polling cards, ID cards ,bogus ballot boxes. Even iD card machines have been taken to Jaffna . The Police informed me one container load of stuffed ballot boxes was taken to Jaffna..

The Govt. has imported 3 lakhs black SF Tee shirts my supporters are wearing form China . On elections day they are getting ready to create violence and blame on our supporters.

The Govt . has already lost the elections . We are ahead of them .We are having 54% support , whereas , the Govt . has only 46 %.

The Govt. is therefore resorting to all kinds of unlawful activities to avert its defeat .

Q
How are you going to face the elections violence ?
A.
We cant face violence at this election by violence.. If it is a war , we can. We can only make complaints to the El. Commissioner and those bodies protecting peace.. We have full faith in the Police and the Army .
Q.
Do you allege that Army and the Police are being politicized ?
A
There are some officers of the Army and the Police in the higher echelons of the service , in order to please the President, Defense Secretary and the superior officers are mudslinging at me even with their uniforms via the media . But , I know officers in the lower ranks below the Brigadiers , some Generals, and the officers below the high ranking senior DIGs do not commit any wrongs.

The Govt. has transferred some Army officers even just prior to elections .The govt. has arrange dto send the Army commanding officer in Jaffna and of Poonaryn ot be dispatched during elections for a conference at Bangla Desh.

Vadamarachi Army chief has been transferred to Kotalawela cademy without any reason.. Now there is no Army Chief at Vadaaamarachi.
The Army Chief at Kilinochi is a close friend of the Defense Secretary . There were serious charges against him of having business dealings with the LTTE . Yet , he is now given control of Jaffna too.

You can yourself witness , how generals are mudslinging at me via the Television channels.. they are talking about Defense secretary’s abilities. This Defense Secretary who was a computer operator for 15 years . At that time What did we do ?. Over four times I was injured . Now this computer operator is giving orders to Army Commanders.

Q.
What have you to say in regard to the war crime charges.?
A.
Itake responsibility ofr all charges during my period in The Army. . No wrongs occurred at the hands of my Army.. What the President wanted to show was that he was the one who gave orders for the war . It is the Army Commander who is responsible. . If there were charges , the Prseident should have directed them to the Army Commander .. If that had happened , those charges could have been faced immediately.

Q.
If the power is taken back by an army conspiracy ?
A
Such a thing cant be done through the SL Army. If he tries those pranks , he will be atught a good lesson..

Bomb attack on Tiran’s house is most disgraceful and deplorable –The Head of State should hold himself responsible – Chandrika he should resign not be reinstated

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.23, 2010, 10.00AM) Following the bomb attack early morning on the 22nd on the house and vehicle of SLFP (M) National Organizer , the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike visited the site of the tragedy and made an inspection of the devastation.

The former President expressed her sentiments as follows after witnessing the scene…

This is a most disgraceful , deplorable and disdainful act. Tiran Alles is a leading politician from the Opposition side . Earlier too this Govt. took revenge on him. Now he has been the target of a bomb attack . Under this Govt . there are murders , assaults , arson and abductions , but no culprit is arrested . The Police too is unable to track down the criminals . As a former President of the country I can tell one thing that the Head of State and his Govt. must take the entire responsibility and blame for these crimes. When crimes are raging, Isn’t the leader and his Govt. who should stop them? she asked.
During my period in office I gave strict instructions personally to the Police and CID to somehow stop the crime wave , and I succeeded. During my time . a Tamil youth was murdered and his body was found in the Diyawanna Oya. I personally took the initiative to conduct a probe . We solved those problems within two months. Now , for the last four years crimes are being committed with impunity . The Govt. shall be held responsible for every unsolved crime . This crime wave must end.

It is the primary and paramount duty of a Leader and his Govt. to take stern action and put a full stop to them. If they cant ,they must resign forthwith , not seek another term, she emphasized.

Kurunegala IP refuses to stoop to illegal orders and threatens to remove his uniform

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.24, 2010, 8.45PM) On the orders of a senior Presidential advisor , a Navy Truck carrying mudslinging posters against Gen. Fonseka was taken into custody by the Kurunegala Police was released while a large crowd was watching despite the OIC of the station strongly protesting against this unlawful action.

Our Kurunegala Correspondent reports that the OIC Mangala Wickremenayake who objected to this release of the truck today, had threatened to remove the uniform and relinquish his duties in disgust. However, the other Police officers have pleaded with him to withdraw his decision as, only if he is in service during the elections period he can stop also the election malpractices.
Prabath, the Kurunegala District co ordinator to Basil Rajapkse has arrived at the Police station along with SP Vaas Gunaawradena and ordered the release of the truck and contents before large crowds who were shocked by the open lawless conduct of the top notch Law enforcing officer and Govt. authorities.

Residents of Kurunegala said, Goatbaya Rajapkse was in Kurunegala throughout yesterday engaged in President’s election campaign. A large number of Trailers were seen around the Govt. circuit Bungalow and also traveling in Kurunegala, without number plates.

Fake ID cards printed at Temple Trees

(Lanka-e-News 2010.Jan.23 8.30PM) Voters' Registers at each of the 9900 + polling booths contain the following: 1) Full name of voter, 2) Residential address and 3) His/her national ID number(NIC). A few of the names that appear in Registers have either died or gone abbroad.

It is learnt that the Temple Trees Operations Unit is engaged in printing fake/bogus ID cards of those who have either gone abroad or died and whose names still appear in the electoral lists. Laminating machines taken from the ID card Office located at Jawatte Road are being used for this job.This operatiuon is being undertaken behind closed doors and all those who are working on this dubious and flagrantly fraudulant act have been sworn to absolute secrecy.
Polling agents of all opposition parties have been warned about this operation and they have been instructed to object vehimently to such impersonators so that the results of this massive fraud will come to nought. Polling agents at each and every polling booths have been carefully slected beacuse they have personal knowledge of all the voters in their neighborhood. Brand new ID cars arouse suspicion.

Govt. openly deploys section of Army for its election campaign

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.22, 2010, 8.50PM) Charges are being leveled that Govt. is openly deploying sections of the Army for its election campaign and malpractices.

Residents of Matara say that a Captain of the Matara Army camp is engaged in obstructional and harassment activities while threatening them with shooting in the air directed against the supporters of Gen. Fonseka in Matara. Those in the camp are themselves confused and question as to what authority this Commanding officer has to act so high handedly. It is learnt that this Officer’s father is involved in turning out President’ campaign banners and is linked to the Medamulana walauwe.

Sources say, it is under the instructions of this Army commander that a group of Gen. Fonseka who were engaged in election campaign activities were shot at. A T56 rifle and 19 bullets have been found at the place of incident. This gang have been brought from Beliatta and are staying in the camp, it is reported.
Meanwhile, the govt. is to deploy Naval officers from today at Avukana and Mihintale Police stations. The Avukana Police comes under the GalnewaPolice, but the Galnewa Police OIC has not even been informed of these changes. Grave suspicions are in the air over the deployment of these naval officers during the election days after transferring the police officers temporarily from these stations.

The Police officers themselves are entertaining grave suspicions that these changes are being done by the Govt. to commit large scale election malpractices and frauds.

State media not respecting Supreme Court order – Malwatte Chapter Nayake Thero

(Lanka-e-News, Jan.23, 2010, 10.00AM) Shyamapali Maha Nikaye Malwatte Chapter Maha Nayake Ven, Thimbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero in a letter addressed to the President Mahinda Rajapakse has drawn his urgent attention to the issue of the State media not abiding by the Supreme Court (SC) order. He has pointed out that disobedience of a sacrosanct Court order form the most Supreme Court in the land is tantamount to contempt of Court and paves the way for a lawless civil society which can eventually defy the laws openly.

The Ven. Mahanayake was prompted to write this letter after about 100 eminent Lawyers met him and handed over a copy of the SC judgment. They also referred to the relevant clause in the judgment .
The Ven. Maha Nayake Thero’s letter to the President in essence is as follows ..

Over 100 lawyers met me on the 20th and handed over a copy of the SC judgment delivered on the 15th of January.

I wish to draw your special attention to the Court order and the failure of the State media , which is a responsible public Institution not adhering so far to the directive s of the Court judgment.
Let me emphasize that every citizen in the country irrespective of his position is bound by the rule of law and the legal mechanisms under all circumstances . He further pointed out that the Supreme Court is the highest Court in the land and should be respected . The State media ‘s conduct is making a dent in the legal system and can eventuate in creating a lawless society and promote unruliness in the country.

An eye witness to the Lasantha murder found

(Lanka-e-News, Jan. 21, 2010, 7.15PM) The CID told the Galkissa Court where the case is being heard that there is a an eye witness to the assassination of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickremetunge, but his identity cannot be revealed right now.

The CID at the hearing today (21), before the Magistrate Harsha Setunge further said, the witness is being interrogated, and wanted permission of the Court to continue with the interrogation.
The Magistrate gave permission to the Police to question the witness while postponing the case until 3rd March. The investigation in this case was transferred to the CID recently.

The Army which should be independent and act impartially is now being roped into the election campaign of the President.

The Defense secretary is addressing rallies of the President infringing the election laws with complete impunity, and making statements on behalf of the President and the UPFA using media and the top Army officers. This type of action is unbecoming of a Defense Secretary who should set an example instead of engaging in illegal partisan politics. We ask him to remove his uniform and take to politics. When and where are these dastardly actions going to end ? Isn’t it possible to think that when an unfit leader is defeated, they would act to keep him in power? This portends grave danger to the security of the country and can provoke repercussions, Dissanayake warned.
Unless this is prevented what befell some other countries because of power greed of wicked rulers can befall us too, he pinpointed.

When the General entered politics, the Govt. said he is trying to establish an Army rule. If he has any desire to form an Army Govt, why should he come into politics?. He entered the political arena because he respects democratic politics.

Open mouthed Govt. lackey Weerawansa had said, Gen. Fonseka is acting in a manner to get a bomb exploded at his meetings. It is clear from this utterance that the Govt. is preparing to explode a bomb. The CID should immediately question this Govt. lackey Weerawansa, Dissanaayke emphasized.
If the CID has guts it should interrogate him. Even the Govt.’s collecting identity cards was exposed by the Opposition. The Govt. is accusing that Fonseka’s supporters are planning to plunder votes. In truth the Govt. is making such accusation s to smother the allegations truly leveled against it of vote plunder.

We totally oppose the removal of the Competent authority by the elections commissioner. This has turned to the advantage of the govt. as the State media are acting without control. We therefore demand that the Competent authority is immediately reinstated, he asserted.

This period also was the darkest in its history as the war against the LTTE terrorists raged while the Forces headed by General Fonseka , the Army Commander at that time waged war with a vengeance and a determination to conclude it once and for all. Finally , the battle was won against the deadliest terrorist outfit in the world with accolades and acclaim being showered on the Forces specially on the Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka who led the ground operations . The Indian Defense Advisor described him as the greatest Army Commander in the World while the President of Sri Lanka and the Govt. decorated him with medals , merits , plaudits and promotions.

The General however did not wish to appropriate the credit selfishly to himself .He publicly announced that the victory was not received on a platter . It was hard fought and because his men made supreme sacrifices this victory was made possible. His concern for the country and the Forces was so great that he said , he did not wish to allow this burden of war to be carried forward after him to be finished by his successors. ‘I saw to it that terrorism is stamped out once and for all’. In the process , it is well to remember that the General himself almost lost his life at the hands of an LTTE suicide bomber. Though his escape was miraculous , his patriotic determination to save the country , its future , the people and the Government was so sincere and absolute he steered the war operations to the ultimate end until victory was accomplished undeterred and undaunted by the setbacks and vicious dangers personally faced by him - three attempts were made on his life .

His motto was always ‘mata perata rata’ (country before self ). He faithfully followed this motto unlike the cardboard Heroes and so called patriots who have now proliferated to arrogate to themselves the credit for the war victory selfishly , which he with selfless determination fought and won solely and wholly for the country’s benefit.

It is well to recall, this great Hero during his over forty years of service in the Army had not even built a house of his own . Indeed , he once said , the war victory was also possible because he ensured that the scourge of corruption , neglect of duty and lethargy did not spread to his Armed Forces., even while there was a huge hue and cry in the country that corruption was raging among the Govt. sectors, and the Opposition was screaming that the Govt. is ‘selling’ the war to cover its incompetence , fiscal mismanagement , monumental corruption and malpractices.

The General earlier said , he had no idea of entering politics . That was the time he was fully focused on and obsessed with winning the war for his motherland . However , after the terrorist scourge was eliminated , it was only then he found the time to look around and evaluate the political and economic scene and trends in the country .He expected the Govt., following the war victory to confer the benefits , specially the economic on the people , but to his dismay and disappointment, he saw no such serious efforts being made by the Govt. in that direction . All what he saw was endless wasteful victory celebrations to fulfill the megalomaniac ambitions of politicians, and sudden Presidential election preparations two years ahead of the Presidential term end. In other words , the President was only preoccupied with exploiting the war victory of the Forces to win at his elections The Govt. was only seeking to perpetuate itself in power spending billions and billions of people’s money on elections held prematurely , let alone the colossal waste of money on the staggered series of uncalled for untimely Provincial Council elections held earlier across the country neglecting the urgent need of the Govt. to address itself to the people’s abysmal sufferings and untold hardships or the development of the country which are in truth the more important dire necessities from a true patriotic point of view.

The Govt. in its selfish inordinate power greed neglected the starving people and the struggling working classes who patiently endured all the hardships during the dark days of the war eagerly awaiting the Govt.’s promise of the distant dawn no sooner than the war ended. Moreover , the political solution it promised to end the ethnic issue was not forthcoming. The refugees of the war , the many hundreds of thousands of IDP s in Camps have not been re settled yet. In other words , Govt.’s promises of the distant dawn was ever receding even after the Forces made supreme sacrifices, fought and won the war to enable and facilitate the Govt. to fulfill its pledges and promises with a view to extricating the country from the abysmal mess it has been plunged into partly because of terrorism and mostly because of Govt. economic mismanagement , corruption , shocking wasteful programs and projects which have sent billions and billions of public money down the drain, while the Govt. was all the time blaming on the war.

A war is not fought by the Forces just for its own sake or for the thrill of it , nor to benefit just a family or self seeking political leaders of the country ,it is fought in the larger interests of the people and the country . Therefore the spoils of the war victory must be distributed among the people who have suffered most monumentally .

It is in these circumstances General Sarath Fonseka , the former Army Commander and the present Presidential candidate for the forthcoming Presidential elections in whom patriotism is an inborn trait and who spearheaded the war victory against the terrorists to realize that, though he had reached the pinnacle of success in his professional career and done his might for the country which achievement none other can equal , to launch on a political career to complete and consummate his patriotic mission in the fulfillment of people’s aspirations and country’s true needs - not politicians’ and rulers’ needs.
By winning the war against the deadliest terrorists in the world Gen . Fonseka has already demonstrated his practical ability and proven talent which earned him the recognition not only locally but even internationally as the greatest Army Commander in the world.

He said certain key factors helped him to win the war

People’s encouragement

The sacrifices made by his officers of all ranks along with him.

The discipline he ensured in the ranks.

The law and order , he and his officers maintained which precluded any war crime charges against the Forces.

Corruption being his pet aversion, he averted corruption allegedly raging in the country from intruding upon dealings in the Army. He ensured nothing of that kind occurred under his nose.

He did not allow politics to contaminate the Armed Forces . Neither did he allow political interference .

Indeed , it is his firm conviction that if corruption and politicization can be rooted out - the biggest evils ; and discipline and laws are strictly enforced making them applicable to all without making exceptions on grounds of nepotism and favoritism in any sphere of public service , putting in place everything else is no difficult task .

In his own words , the retired General Fonseka said , he could have continued in service for another two years enjoying all the comforts including 600 security personnel , 25 vehicles and a whole lot of luxuries and privileges the Govt. provided him with. Moreover , to obstruct him from entering the political arena and serving the people , the Govt. went as far as to offer him a range of Ministerial portfolios and even the Defense Secretary post to be shared with the present incumbent. Yet , he opted to serve the people. Looking around he realized that the fruits of the war victory for which he strived so hard and achieved for the benefit of the country at large and for which the Forces and the people en bloc made supreme sacrifices are not being enjoyed by them . Rather , a few who are trying to arrogate to themselves the credit for the war victory selfishly are only wallowing in them . While the war was on , this same group of so called ‘patriots’, sold the war to justify their monumental corruption , financial bungling, media freedom erosion , lawless atrocities and heaped endless hardships on the people. After the war they have neglected welfare measures for the Forces , mitigation of people’s burdens and solving the problems of the displaced persons in the war .The rich rulers were getting richer while the poor masses were ever getting poorer.

‘My aim of winning the war was not to pamper and fatten the rulers but to benefit the people and the country. It is only at this juncture I realized that I have another task before me .A second phase in my duty after liberating the country from the terrorists , to liberate the country from corrupt, lawless , selfish, self fattening despotic leaders who were leading the country on the road of perdition , and not on the road of recovery .

I , who decided after the war victory to rest on my laurels after having giving of my best on behalf of one’s country and reached the zenith of success in my Army career, was impelled again by my innate patriotic instincts and inspired by honest and honorable politicians who concurred with me in my views and worries about the plight of the country , to wage another war - this time a political war against the leaders who are exploiting and promoting corruption , malpractices, fiscal mismanagement , media freedom erosion , lawlessness , indiscipline and raging anti Democratic actions, he observed .

So, Gen. Fonseka has given the people a golden opportunity to bring about the change they had been longing and craving for – to usher in his ‘vishvasaneeya wenesak’ (changes that can be trusted) on the 26th of January 2010 . He is the catalyst you can trust .

Make your choice judiciously and farsightedly on the 26th – are you to vote for the genuine light at the end of the tunnel or to vote for the deceiving light at the end of the tunnel which finally will turn out be a headlamp of the on coming brakeless train which can only mow down all and sundry as it has done during the last four years ? By -Staff Writer