Sri Lankan peace process - Wikileaks-dokumenter: Etter dette raknet freden på Sri Lanka

- Aftenposten and Wikileaks

Here's the story, as seen with American eyes, about how Erik Solheim and Norway desperately tried to save the peace in Sri Lanka. And how they failed.

It started so well. The year was 2002. After nearly 20 years of civil war had subsided, the weapons of Sri Lanka. Both the predominantly Sinhalese government and the Tamil rebel group LTTE - best known as the Tamil Tigers - were tired of war. Norway was brought in to get the parties to agree on a lasting peace.

At a meeting at the Norwegian Embassy in London 27 July of that year sitting Erik Solheim, Norway's special envoy to Sri Lanka, together with Foreign Ministry State Secretary Vidar Helgesen (H) and a handful of Norwegian diplomats. They are witnesses to a historic meeting between Milinda Mora Goda, minister in the Sri Lankan government and LTTE Anton Balasingham representative.

The mood is surprisingly good, much better than Mora Goda had expected. He had feared that Balasingham would ask for a separate state for Sri Lankan Tamils. Instead, he talks about autonomy in the Tamil areas. Mora Goda return home to Colombo, convinced that the peace process is on track.

He was wrong.
Norway impressed
Aftenposten, via the website Wikileaks, gained access to hundreds of secret U.S. documents stamped on the Norwegian peace process in Sri Lanka. A review of these shows how the process slowly unraveled after the breakthroughs in 2002. It is also clear how the Norwegian diplomats became increasingly depressed and frustrated, but that they had full confidence of Americans throughout the process. The United States was very impressed by Norway as a peace mediator and helped to give the Norwegians the political space they needed.

Agreed
The highlight of the peace negotiations came to an agreement in Oslo in December 2002, in which the parties agreed to find a political solution where Tamils and Sinhalese could live together in a united Sri Lanka. From there it went only downhill.

Tigers prove to be very secretive and confusing conversation partners. "They proclaim their views, but seems to have turned the receiving function, "according to a memo from the U.S. embassy sent home to Washington. Nor did the Norwegians, who send Foreign Minister Jan Petersen to the small island state to the tigers in the voice, get some further understanding of what they really want. In spring 2003, the LTTE pulls out of the negotiations. Norway and the United States do not understand why.

Broke the truce
Then start the violence. In June, several LTTE-people killed when a boat explodes off the east coast of Sri Lanka. That same day, a Tamil LTTE opponent killed in the northern city of Jaffna. Tamil Tigers are showing signs of slipping back into war mode and behaves more and more threatening, according to what Americans can understand.
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Website Wikileaks has published thousands of secret stamped documents. The latest leak is comprised of documents from the U.S. Foreign Service.

The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País and Der Spiegel signed an agreement soon so that Website Wikileaks has published thousands of secret stamped documents. The latest leak is comprised of documents from the U.S. Foreign Service.

Aftenposten has no clauses have access to all documents of the latest leak.

The documents will be continually reviewed as the basis of articles by the same editorial criteria and ethical rules as the rest of the Evening Post's journalism
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Det begynte så godt. Året var 2002. Etter nesten 20 år med borgerkrig hadde våpnene stilnet på Sri Lanka. Både den hovedsakelig singalesiske regjeringen og den tamilske opprørsgruppen LTTE - best kjent som Tamiltigrene - var trette av krig. Norge ble hentet inn for å få partene til å bli enige om en varig fred.

På et møterom på den norske ambassaden i London 27. juli det året sitter Erik Solheim, Norges spesialutsending til Sri Lanka, sammen med UD-statssekretær Vidar Helgesen (H) og et knippe norske diplomater. De er vitner til et historisk møte mellom Milinda Moragoda, statsråd i Sri Lankas regjering, og LTTE-representanten Anton Balasingham.

Stemningen er overraskende god, mye bedre enn hva Moragoda hadde forventet. Han hadde fryktet at Balasingham skulle be om en separat stat for Sri Lankas tamiler. I stedet snakker han om selvstyre i de tamilske områdene. Moragoda reiser hjem til Colombo, overbevist om at fredsprosessen er på riktig spor.

Han tok feil.

Norge imponerte
Aftenposten har, via nettstedet Wikileaks, fått tilgang til flere hundre hemmeligstemplede amerikanske dokumenter om den norske fredsprosessen i Sri Lanka. En gjennomgang av disse viser hvordan prosessen sakte raknet etter gjennombruddene i 2002. Det går også klart frem hvordan norske diplomater ble stadig mer nedtrykt og frustrerte, men at de hadde amerikanernes fulle tillit gjennom hele prosessen. USA var svært imponert av Norge som fredsmegler og bidro til å gi nordmennene det politiske handlingsrommet de trengte.

Ble enige

Høydepunktet i fredsforhandlingene kom med en avtale i Oslo i desember 2002, der partene ble enige om å finne en politisk løsning der tamiler og singalesere kunne leve sammen i et forent Sri Lanka. Derfra gikk det bare i nedoverbakke.

Tigrene viser seg raskt å være hemmelighetsfulle og forvirrende samtalepartnere. «De kunngjør sine syn, men ser ut til å ha skrudd av mottaksfunksjonen», heter det i et notat fra den amerikanske ambassaden som sendes hjem til Washington. Heller ikke nordmennene, som sender utenriksminister Jan Petersen til den vesle øystaten for å få tigrene i tale, får noen videre forståelse av hva de egentlig ønsker. Våren 2003 trekker LTTE seg fra forhandlingene. Norge og USA forstår ikke hvorfor.

Brøt våpenhvilen
Deretter begynner volden. I juni blir flere LTTE-folk drept da en båt eksploderer utenfor østkysten av Sri Lanka. Samme dag blir en tamilsk LTTE-motstander drept i den nordlige byen Jaffna. Tamiltigrene viser tegn til å skli tilbake i krigsmodus og oppfører seg stadig mer truende, etter hva amerikanerne kan forstå.
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Nettstedet Wikileaks har lagt ut tusenvis av hemmeligstemplede dokumenter. Den siste lekkasjen består av dokumenter fra amerikansk utenrikstjeneste.

The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País og Der Spiegel inngikk tidlig en avtale slik at de siden november har kunnet publisere artikler basert på disse dokumentene. Senere har bl.a. Aftenposten og Svenska Dagbladet fått utvalgte deler av materialet.

Aftenposten har nå uten klausuler fått tilgang til alle dokumentene fra den siste lekkasje. Dokumentene blir fortløpende vurdert som grunnlag for artikler etter de samme redaksjonelle kriterier og etiske regler som ellers i Aftenpostens journalistikk
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Her er Wikileaks-dokumentene om Sri Lanka-prosessen:


1.8.2002: GSL minister cautiously optimistic on direction of peace process based on meeting with Tiger spokesman (19.12 2010)

26.11.2002: Oslo meeting reaps lavish, upbeat press coverage (19.12 2010)

20.12.2002: Import of radio equipment for Tamil Tigers sparks controversy for GSL (19.12 2010)

24.4.2003: In another negative signal, Tigers postpone meeting (19.12 2010)

22.4.2003: Tigers announce they are suspending peace talks (19.12 2010)

6.5.2003: Norwegians, Japanese press Tigers to return to talks and to attend donors conference (19.12 2010)

8.5.2003: Tigers meet Japanese envoy and are noncommittal about returning to talks (19.12 2010)

16.5.2003: Norwegian FM presses Tigers, but no sign of give yet (19.12 2010)

21.5.2003: Tigers issue hard-edged letter demandinginterim structure in north/east (19.12 2010)

16.6.2003: Tensions notch up over sinking of Tamil Tigership and latest slaying of a Tiger opponent (19.12 2010)

15.7.2003: Tigers still refusing request from monitors tovacate forward base (19.12 2010)

11.8.2003: LTTE base issue; Tigers get ready for Paris meeting (19.12 2010)

23.10.2003: President demands removal of chief monitor, but it is not clear how far she wants to push matter (19.12 2010)

4.11.2003: Provoking political crisis, President fires three key ministers and suspends Parliament (19.12 2010)

5.11.2003: President Affirms Commitment to Negotiated Settlement and Cease-fire (19.12 2010)

12.11.2003: Sri Lanka update: No resolution in "cordial" President-PM meeting; Norwegians here to meet all sides (19.12 2010)

6.3.2004: Ignoring orders of LTTE leadership, rebel commander remains ensconced in east (19.12 2010)

15.3.2004: Norwegian Special Envoy Solheim reviews latest on LTTE split and discusses upcoming election (19.12 2010)

15.4.2004: In meeting, Norwegian Ambassador reviews recent discussion with President on peace process (19.12 2010)

20.4.2004: Norwegian envoy Solheim finds GSL and LTTE committed to peace process (19.12 2010)

9.6.2004: Recent meetings show the way forward for Sri Lanka peace process is troubled (19.12 2010)

17.6.2004: Talks about Talks in Stasis while Norwegians Ponder Next Moves (19.12 2010)

23.6.2004: Norwegian peregrinations for peace (19.12 2010)

17.11.2004: Possible ways forward in political standoff between Sri Lankan President and Prime Minister (19.12 2010)

29.11.2004: Norwegians concerned by JVP-orcheastrated campaign against them (19.12 2010)

6.12.2004: "Low key" Norwegian visit to Wanni (19.12 2010)

18.8.2005: Norwegian facilitators send letter to LTTE leader Prabhakaran via London; GSL asks EU to list LTTE as terrorist organization (19.12 2010)

23.1.2006: U/S Burns reviews Sri Lankan peace process with Norwegian facilitator Erik Solheim (19.12 2010)

9.3.2006: Norway has no plans to receive Hamas (19.12 2010)

11.4.2006: : "Grim" prospects for Sri Lanka peace talks (19.12 2010)

25.5.2006: Tokyo co-chairs pre-meetings (19.12 2010)

31.5.2006: Co-chairs appeal to Sri Lanka to pull back from crisis (19.12 2010)

12.6.2006: Sri Lanka talks disintegrate in Oslo (19.12 2010)

23.6.2006: Norwegians running out of steam (19.12 2010)

Kilde: Aftenposten.no

TNPF Press Release 19-12-2010

19-12-2010

இலங்கைத்தீவு தொடர்பான சர்வதேச அரசியல் சூழலும் தமிழ்ர் தரப்பின் அரசியல் நகர்வுகளும்

2011 ஆம் ஆண்டுக்கான வரவு செலவுத்திட்டத்தின் இரண்டாம் வாசிப்பு மீதான வாக்கெடுப்பு பாராளுமன்றத்தில் கடந்த 29-11-2010 அன்று இடம்பெற்றது. அந்த வாக்கெடுப்பில் எதிர்த்து வாக்களிக்காது ஒதுங்கிக் கொண்ட தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பானது அதற்கான காரணம் ‘‘மீள்குடியேற்றம் அரசியல்த் தீர்வு போன்ற விடயங்கள் தொடர்பாக தம்முடன் அரசு ஆக்கபூர்வமான பேச்சுக்களை ஆரம்பிக்க வேண்டும் என்ற நல்லெண்ணத்தை வெளிப்படுத்தும் வகையில் வரவு செலவுத்திட்ட வாக்கெடுப்பில் இருந்து விலகியிருப்பதென’’ அறிவித்துள்ளது.

அத்துடன் வரவுசெலவுத்திட்டத்தின் மீதான மூன்றாம் வாசிப்பு மீதான வாக்கெடுப்பு கடந்த வெள்ளிக்கிழமை(10-12-2010) ஸ்ரீலங்கா பாராளுமன்றத்தில் இடம்பெற்றபோது அதனையும் எதிர்த்து வாக்களிக்காது கூட்டமைப்பு ஒதுங்கிக் கொண்டுள்ளது.

பேச்சுப்பல்லக்கு செயற்பாடோ அரசின் காலடியில்
மேற்படி வரவு செலவுத்திட்ட விவாதத்தில் கலந்து கொண்டு உரையாற்றிய தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புப் பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் அனைவரும் அந்த வரவு செலவுத்திட்டமானது தமிழ்த் தேசத்தின் இருப்பை இல்லாது அழித்து ஒழிப்பதற்கான வரவு செலவுத் திட்டமென மிகவும் காட்டமாக விமர்சித்துள்ளனர். தமது பேச்சுகளில் கடுமையாக விமர்சித்துவிட்டு தாமே கூறிய கருத்துக்களுக்கு நேரெதிராக அவர்களது செயற்பாட்டில் அதனை எதிர்க்காமல் இருந்ததன் மூலம் அரசாங்கத்தை ஆதரித்துள்ளனர். தாயகம், தேசியம், சுயநிர்ணய உரிமை என்பவற்றை கைவிட்டுள்ள கூட்டமைப்பு தமது உண்மை நிலைப்பாட்டை மக்கள் புரிந்து கொள்ளக் கூடாது என்பதற்காகவே வரவுசெலவுத்திட்டத்தை எதிர்ப்பது போன்று பேசி மக்களை ஏமாற்றியுள்ளனர். மறுபுறத்தில் தமிழ்த் தேசத்தின் இருப்பை அழிப்பதில் முனைப்புக்காட்டிவரும் அரசின் செயற்பாடுகளை நியாயப்படுத்தும் வகையிலும் சர்வதேச சமூகத்திடமிருந்தும், புலம்பெயர் தமிழ் மக்களிடமிருந்தும் வரக்கூடிய அழுத்தங்களில் இருந்து அரசாங்கத்தை காப்பாற்றும் நோக்கிலும் வரவு செலவுத்திட்டத்தை எதிர்க்காமல் இருந்ததன் மூலம் ஆதரவளித்துள்ளனர். மேலும் தமிழ்க்கட்சிகளின் அரங்கத்தில் அங்கம் வகிக்கும் கட்சிகள் அரசின் கைக்கூலிகளாக உள்ளனர். அவர்களது கொள்கை, செயற்பாடுகளுக்கும் தழிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பின் கொள்கை, செயற்பாடுகளுக்கும் இடையில் அடிப்படையில் வேறுபாடுகிடையாது. எனினும் கூட்டமைப்பு தமது பேச்சுக்கள் ஊடாக தாம் தமிழ்த் தேசியத்தில் உறுதியாக இருப்பதுபோன்று காட்டி மக்களை ஏமாற்ற முயல்கின்றது.

இலங்கைத்தீவின் அரசியல் சூழல்
இலங்கைத்தீவில் அரசியல் நிலைமைகளை நோக்கினால் தமிழ் மக்களின் பேரம்பேசும் சக்தியாக விளங்கிய தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அமைப்மை 2009 மே 18 இல் ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசு இராணு ரீதியாக அழித்தது. யுத்தம் மூலம் தமிழ் மக்களை அடிமைப்படுத்தியுள்ள ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசானது தமிழ்த் தேசத்தின் இருப்பை இல்லாது அழிப்பதற்கான செயற்பாடுகளை நடைமுறையில் அதிவேகப்படுத்தியுள்ளது. சிங்களக் குடியேற்றங்கள், இராணுவக் குடியேற்றங்கள், பௌத்த விகாரைகள அமைத்தல்;, பொருளாதார, கல்வி, நிர்வாக ரீதியாக சிங்கள மயமாக்கல் என விரிவடைந்து செல்கின்றது. 2011 ஆண்டு வரவு செலவுத்திட்டமானது தமிழ்த் தேசத்தின் இருப்பை முழுமையாக இல்லாது அழிப்பதற்கான திட்டங்களை முழுமையாக நிறைவேற்றும் நோக்கிலேயே தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. மேலே நாம் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ள தமிழ்த் தேசத்தை இல்லாது அழிக்கும் அரசின் திட்டங்களை தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு உறுப்பினர்கள் புரிந்து கொண்டு அதனை தமது வரவு செலவுத்திட்ட உரைகளில் கடுமையாக விமர்சித்துள்ளனர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

சர்வதேச நிலைமைகளை கருத்தில்க் கொள்ளாது முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் படுகொலைகளையும், 2009 மே மாதத்திற்குப் பின்னர் தமிழ்ர் தாயகப் பிரதேசங்களில் ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரச நிர்வாக இயந்திரமும், அதன் முப்படைகளும், துணை இராணுவக் குழுக்களும் கூட்டிணைந்து மேற்கொண்டுவரும் நடவடிக்கைகளையும் மட்டும் கருத்தில் கொள்பவர்களுக்கு மரண பயம் ஏற்படுவதும் அதன் காரணமாக இலங்கைத்தீவில் தமிழ் மக்கள் இனி எதுவுமே செய்ய முடியாது மாறாக ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசு சொல்வதைக் கேட்டு அவர்கள் விரும்புவதனை மட்டுமே செய்து அவர்களது தயவில் அடிமைகளாகத்தான் வாழ முடியும் என்ற தோல்வி மனப்பான்மை ஏற்படக் கூடும்.

ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசாங்கமானது தமிழ்த் தேசத்தை இல்லாது அழிப்பதற்கான செயற்பாடுகளை தீவிரப்படுத்தி வருகின்றது. சமகாலத்தில் அரசாங்கத்தின் செற்பாடுகளுக்கு தமிழ் மக்களதும் மக்கள் பிரதிநிதிகளதும் ஆதரவு இருப்பதாக சர்வதேச சமூகத்திற்குக் காட்ட வேண்டி தேவை அல்லது ஆகக் குறைந்தது தமிழ் மக்களது எதிர்ப்பு இல்லாமல் உள்ள நிலைமையை பேண வேண்டிய நிலை உள்ளது.

இவ்வகையான சூழலை உருவாக்குவதற்கு அரசாங்கானது சகல வழிமுறைகளையும் கையாண்டு முயற்சி செய்து வருகின்றது என்பது வெளிப்படை.

தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பானது நல்லெண்ணம் என்ற போர்வையில் தமிழ்த் தேசத்தை இல்லாது அழிக்கும் திட்டத்திற்கு ஆதரவளித்துள்ளது. இதன் காரணமாக ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசு தமிழ்த் தேசத்திற்கு எதிரான தனது போக்கினைத் தீவிரப்படுத்தினால் தமிழர் தரப்பை தமிழ்த் தேசிய உரிமைக் கோரிக்கைகளை படிப்படியாக முற்றாகக் கைவிடச் செய்ய முடியும் என்ற நம்பிக்கையையே அரசுக்கு ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.

ஆனால் நாம் இலங்கைத்தீவில் உள்ள அரசியல் நிலைமைகளை மட்டும் கருத்தில் கொண்டு எந்த முடிவையும் எடுக்கக் கூடாது. மாறாக புலம்பெயர் தமிழ் மக்களது செயற்பாடுகளையும் இலங்கை தொடர்பாக இன்றுள்ள சர்வதேச அரசியல் சூழ்நிலைகளையும் முழுமையாக கருத்தில் கொண்டே தீர்மானங்களை மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

புலம்பெயர் தமிழ்ர்களது செயற்பாடு
தற்போது புலம்பெயர் தமிழர்;கள் ஒன்று திரண்டு ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுக்கு எதிராக தமிழ் மக்களுக்கு நீதி வேண்டி மேற்கொண்டுவரும் போராட்டங்கள் எழுச்சி அடைந்துள்ளது. அவர்களது போராட்டங்கள் இலங்கையில் தமிழர் தாயகத்தில் வாழும் தமிழ் மக்களது அரசியல் உரிமைக் கோரிக்கைகளுக்கு பலம் சேர்ப்பதாகவும், இலங்கை அரசுக்கு நெருக்கடிகளை எற்படுத்துவதாகவும், தமிழர்களுக்குச் சாதகமான அரசியல் நன்மைகளை ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடியதாகவும் உள்ளது.

சர்வதேச அரசியல் சூழல்
2009 மே மாதத்திற்கு முன்னர் தாயகத்தில் ஓர் நடைமுறை அரசு கட்டியெழுப்பப்பட்டிருந்தது. தமிழ்த் தேசத்தின் பாதுகாப்பு அரணாகவும், பேரம் பேசும் வலுவாகவும் அது விளங்கியது. ஆனாலும் அன்றய காலகட்டத்தில் இலங்கைத்தீவில் இரண்டு அதிகார மையங்கள் உருவாகுவதை சர்வதேச சமூகம் விரும்பாத காரணத்தால் அன்று சர்வதேச நாடுகளின் ஆதரவு தமிழர்களுக்குச் சாதகமாக இருக்கவில்லை. அதற்குக் காரணம் சர்வதே நாடுகள் தமது கேந்திர நலன்களை முன்னிலைப்படுத்தியமையாகும்.

ஆனால் 2009 மே மாதத்தின் பின்னர் பிராந்திய அரசியல் நிலைமைகளும், சர்வதேச அரசியல் நிலைமைகளும் மாற்றம் அடைந்துள்ளது.

தற்போது பல சர்வதேச அரசுகளும், ஐ.நா சபையும், சர்வதேச ஊடகங்களும் ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசு தொடர்பாக விமர்சனக் கருத்துக்களை கொண்டுள்ளமையை அவர்களது உத்தியோக பூர்வமான அறிக்கைகள் ஊடாகவும், செயற்பாடுகள் ஊடாகவும் அவதானிக்க முடிகின்றது.

பல சர்வதேச நாடுகளும், பெருமளவு சர்வதேச ஊடகங்களும் இறுதி யுத்தத்தில் பெருமளவு போர்க் குற்றங்களை இலங்கை அரசு மேற்கொண்டதான குற்றச்சாட்டுக்களை வெளிப்படையாக சுமத்துவதுடன், அது தொடர்பாக பக்கச்சார்பற்ற சர்வதேச விசாரணை நடாத்தப்படல் வேண்டும் எனவும் கடுமையான அழுத்தங்களை பிரயோகித்து வருகின்றமையையும் அவதானிக்க முடிகின்றது.

சர்வதேச மட்டத்தில் ஏற்பட்டுவரும் இத்தகைய மாற்றமானது தமிழ் மக்களது அரசியல் நிலைப்பாட்டை உறுதியாக வலியுறுத்தக் கூடிய சர்வதேச சூழல் உருவாகிவருவதனை தெளிவாக உணர முடியும். ஆகவே தமிழ் மக்களது பேரம் பேசலுக்கான பலம் என்பது 2009 ற்கு முன்னர் இருந்ததை விடவும் வலுவான சர்வதேச இராஐதந்திர ஆதரவுத்தளத்தைக் கொண்டதாக மாறிவருகின்றது என்பதனை தமிழ் மக்கள் புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

இந்த சர்வதேச நிலைமையையும் கருத்தில்க் கொண்டே தமிழ் அரசியல் தலைமைகள் தீர்மானங்களை மேற்கொண்டிருக்க வேண்டும்.

இனப்பிரச்சினைக்கு தீர்வு வழங்க வேண்டும் என்பது தொடர்பாக சர்வதேச சமூகத்திடமிருந்து விசேடமாக மேற்கு நாடுகளிடம் இருந்து அதிகரித்துவரும் நெருக்கடியில் இருந்து தப்பித்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டிய தேவை ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுக்கு உள்ளது.

சர்வதேச நெருக்கடியில் இருந்து தப்ப தமிழர் தரப்பை பயன்படுத்த முயலும் ஸ்ரீலங்கா

இதில் இருந்து தப்பித்துக் கொள்ளுவதற்காக வடகிழக்கில் மக்களால் ஐனநாயக ரீதியாக தெரிவு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ள தமிழ் அரசியல் தலைகளுடன் தீர்வு தொடர்பாக இணக்கப்பாட்டுக்கு வருவதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகள் மேற்கொள்ளப்படுவதாக காட்ட வேண்டிய தேவை ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுக்கு உண்டு.

ஐனநாயக ரீதியாகத் தெரிவு செய்யப்பட்ட தமிழ் அரசியல் தலைமைகள் அரசாங்கத்தின் வேலைத்திட்டத்தோடு இணங்கியுள்ளதாக காட்டுவதன் மூலம் இனப்பிரச்சினைத் தீர்வு விடயத்தில் புலம்பெயர் தமிழ் மக்களது நடவடிக்கைகளும், இலங்கைக்கு அழுத்தங்களை கொடுத்துவரும் சர்வதேச நாடுகளது நடவடிக்கைகளும் தவறானவை என நிரூபிக்க வேண்டிய தேவை அரசுக்கு உள்ளது.

அதனூடாக ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுக்கு எதிராக அழுத்தங்களையும், நடவடிக்கைகளையும் மேற்கொள்ள முடியாத நிலையை ஏற்படுத்தி சர்வதேச சமூகத்தின் நெருக்கடிகளில் இருந்து தப்பிக் கொள்ளுதலே ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசின் நோக்கமாகும்.

சர்வதேச சூழல் ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுக்கு பாதகமானதாக மாறிவரும் நிலையில் ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசை எதிர்க்காது ஒதுங்கியிருப்பதாக தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு எடுத்துள்ள முடிவானது மேற்படி சர்வதேச நெருக்கடியில் இருந்து தப்பித்துக் கொள்ளுவதற்கு ஸ்ரீலங்கா அரசுக்கு வாயப்பளிப்பதாகவும் அரசின் நிகழ்சி நிரலுக்குத் துணை போவதாகவும் அமைந்துள்ளது.

மேலும் தமிழ் மக்களது உரிமைக்காக உறுதியாக குரல் எழுப்பும் புலம்பெயர் தமிழ் மக்களது எழுச்சியை முற்றாக மழுங்கடிக்கக்கூடிய ஆபத்தையும் உருவாக்கியுள்ளது. அத்துடன் தாயகத்திலுள்ள மக்களுக்கும் புலம்பெயர் தமிழ் மக்களுக்கும் இடையில் முரண்பாட்டை உண்டுபண்ணக்கூடிய சூழலையும் உருவாக்கியுள்ளது.

தாயக்தில் உள்ள தமிழ் மக்கள் தமது உரிமைகள் தொடர்பான உண்மை நிலைப்பாட்டை வெளிப்படுத்த முடியாத அரசியல் சூழ்நிலையே இன்றும் இலங்கையில் காணப்படுகின்றது. இந்நிலையில் தமிழ் மக்களது உண்மையான அரசியல் நிலைப்பாட்டை உறுதியாக வெளிப்படுத்த வேண்டிய பொறுப்பு தாயகத்திலுள்ள தமிழ் அரசியல் தலைமைகளுக்கே உண்டு. குறிப்பாகத் தமிழ்த் தேசத்தினது இறைமையை கைவிடமாட்டோம் என்று கூறி தமிழ் மக்களை நம்பவைத்து அவர்களது வாக்குகளைப் பெற்ற தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புக்கே அதிக பொறுப்பு உண்டு. அப்படியிருக்கவும் தேர்தலிற்குப் பின்னர் தமிழ் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பின் செயற்பாடு தமிழ் மக்களது நலன்களுக்கும், எதிர்பார்ப்புக்கும் மாறாக அமைந்திருந்தமையை தமிழ்த் தேசிய மக்கள் முன்னணி சுட்டிக்காட்டி வந்துள்ளது. செயற்பட்டுவருகின்றது. இந்த வரவு செலவுதிட்டத்தில் கூட்டமைப்பின் முடிவானது தமிழ் மக்களுக்கு மேலும் ஓர் பாரிய பின்னடைவை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது என்பதனை சுட்டிக்காட்ட விரும்புகின்றோம்.

நன்றி

- தமிழ்த் தேசிய மக்கள் முன்னணி

UK urges Ban to sack Nambiar, appoint full-time Burma envoy - தமிழின துரோகி வில்லன் விஜய் நம்பியாரை பதவி நீக்குமாறு ஐ.நாவிற்கு பிரித்தானியா அழுத்தம்

இந்திய அதிகாரி விஜய் நம்பியாரை தூக்கி வீசுங்கள் – பிரித்தானியா கோரிக்கை
(தமிழில் செய்தியை வாசிக்க சற்று கீழே நகருங்கள்)

UK urges Ban to sack Nambiar, appoint full-time Burma envoy

Britain has suggested to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that a full-time envoy be appointed to replace Vijay Nambiar, Ban’s interim Burma envoy, the country’s UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters in New York last week.

Nambiar, who also serves as Ban’s chief of staff, took on the position of Burma envoy part-time following the departure of Nigerian diplomat Dr. Ibrahim Gambari last December.

Grant made the comment following a UN Security Council meeting on Burma in which Nambiar reported back on his recent two-day trip to Rangoon, during which he met pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The British calls for a full-time replacement for Nambiar were echoed by Mexico’s ambassador to the UN, Claude Heller.

Ban’s deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, informed Mizzima that Ban had told the ambassadors “that he is considering the idea”, adding that Ban’s office would make an announcement if there was any change of personnel.

Nambiar ignores Burma’s ethnic minorities, critics say
Mark Farmaner of the London-based advocacy group Burma Campaign UK, responded to news that the British government had proposed replacing Nambiar, stating that while his organisation had advocated that Ban and his office take a greater role on the Burma file they were unimpressed with the performance of his chief of staff as Burma envoy.

He said his organisation was “increasingly concerned by the approach of Nambiar, who seems to be following the failed approach of Gambari, thinking that befriending the generals will somehow buy influence. It seems that the dictatorship has got lucky yet again”.

Burma Campaign was extremely disappointed with Nambiar’s handling of Burma’s ethnic question, Farmaner said, adding that: “We are also disappointed that yet again a UN envoy has gone to Burma, met with Aung San Suu Kyi and the generals, and not with key ethnic representatives. The mandate from the General Assembly which Nambiar is acting on is to secure tripartite dialogue, not just dialogue between the generals and Aung San Suu Kyi.”

NLD veteran Win Tin, in a phone interview conducted the night before taking part in Suu Kyi’s meeting with Nambiar, told Mizzima that he would use occasion to urge the UN diplomat to meet leaders of Burma’s main ethnic groups so as to better understand their situation. Despite the request, Nambiar failed to do so during his short trip.

Nambiar said to have let Chinese strongly influence Burma report
The Washington Post reported last month that in August Nambiar had met Chinese UN ambassador Li Baodong days after the US announced its support for the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate possible war crimes committed by the Burmese regime. The report said that during the “confidential” meeting, Li relayed Beijing’s strong opposition to any such inquiry.

The Post’s Colum Lynch wrote that three separate UN sources privy to the details of the meeting said Li had told Nambiar the proposed Burma inquiry was “dangerous and counterproductive, and should not be allowed to proceed”.

Nambiar by omission appeared to share Chinese opposition to the commission of inquiry. A report in September this year on the Situation of Human rights in Burma, prepared with the assistance of Nambiar in his position as Burma envoy and officially submitted by Ban to the General Assembly, made no mention of the proposed inquiry.

The omission came despite the fact that UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana had issued a report in March to the UN Human Rights Council that called for such an inquiry. The September report, while briefly mentioning Quintana’s report also left out any discussion of his conclusion that in Burma there existed a pattern of “gross and systematic” rights abuses which suggested that the abuses were a state policy that involved authorities at all levels of the executive, military and judiciary.

The September report, which is supposed to cover the period from August last year to August this year also left out any mention of the significant Burmese military offences in ethnic areas that occurred during this time, leaving many in the Burma movement deeply concerned.

In a previous interview with Mizzima, senior NLD leader Win Tin said that it was totally unacceptable that the September report neglected to mention the continuing attacks against villagers in eastern Burma. He also said he was deeply disturbed that the report ignored the Burmese Army’s military offensive in the Kokang region of Shan State in August-September last year which the UN itself had estimated forced 37,000 refugees to flee into China.

In response to questions about the glaring omission of rights abuses in ethnic areas, Ban’s spokesman Haq said at a press conference in New York on November 26: “I have no comment on the SG’s [Secretary General] human rights report, which speaks for itself.”

Nambiar allegedly called Suu Kyi out of touch, too hard-line
The calls to replace Nambiar came just days after a widely circulated report by Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee that sources in the UN had said that after returning from Burma “Nambiar’s internal reporting to UN officials was critical of Aung San Suu Kyi, characterising her as out of touch and somehow too hard-line”.

Haq told Mizzima that Russell Lee’s report “is not accurate”, and that according to Haq, “Mr Nambiar has considerable respect for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi”.

Responding to Haq’s denial, Russell Lee told Mizzima he stood by his story. He said in an e-mail message: “Having spoken with people privy to Mr Nambiar’s report – back within the UN Secretariat – which again was different on the point from what Nambiar said in the Security Council and Group of Friends meeting, Inner City Press stands by its story 100 per cent. Now with the UK, Mexico and others having asked that Nambiar be replaced by another full-time envoy, this double game or doublespeak diplomacy may be less relevant. Mr Haq’s denial gives rise to the question: did Haq even ask to see the internal report before denying it?”

Envoy upbeat on Burma’s election
While Nambiar certainly had not condemned Suu Kyi or the NLD in public, he had made positive statements about Burma’s recent and much criticised elections. In an interview with the BBC Burmese langue service conducted after the election, Nambiar claimed that in Burma “Government formation is taking place. I think there will be new spaces, new slots in the parliament which will open up for by-elections”.

Nambiar also told the BBC that by-elections, held for a single seat or a small number of seats usually held when a politician retires or dies in office would give “small opportunities for increasing the political space for a broader, inclusive involvement”. As Burma’s national election was just held last month it is hardly likely will be any by-elections in the near future.

Role in Sri Lanka during height of civil war still controversial and unresolved

Nambiar remains surrounded in controversy over questions regarding his actions in May last year during the final days of Sri Lanka’s war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aka Tamil Tigers, while he was in the country on behalf of Ban as part of an apparent effort by the UN to stop the bloodshed. Ban sent the former Indian diplomat to Sri Lanka despite that his own brother, retired Indian army general Satish Nambiar, had served as an adviser to the Sri Lankan military for several years.

Marie Colvin, a reporter with The Times of London, wrote that on Monday, May 18, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. she personally called Nambiar in Colombo to relay a message she had received from members of the LTTE leadership, who were surrounded in a bunker with 300 loyalists including women and children, that they were ready to give themselves up to Sri Lankan government troops. According to Colvin the leaders wanted “Nambiar to be present to guarantee the Tigers’ safety”.

Nambiar told Colvin that he had been assured by Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa that those who gave up would be safe if they were to “hoist a white flag high”.

When Colvin suggested that Nambiar go personally to witness the surrender he told her it would not “be necessary” and that “the president’s assurances were enough”.

Hours later the lifeless bodies of dozens of members of the LTTE leadership including the two men who told Colvin they were ready to give up, were put on display by a triumphant Sri Lankan government. General Sarath Fonseka, head of the Sri Lankan military at the time, told an opposition newspaper last December that Gothabaya Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan defence minister and brother of the president had been “given orders not to accommodate any LTTE leaders attempting surrender and that ‘they must all be killed’”.

Foneska, now jailed and facing charges of sedition for making the allegations, said the president, the defence minister and their brother Basil Rajapaksa, a senior presidential adviser were all guilty of war crimes for ordering the summary executions of rebel forces during the final days of battle.

The Times also reported that after arriving in Colombo to survey the situation, Nambiar was briefed by UN staff that they estimated at least 20,000 people had died “mostly by army shelling” during the final stages of the war against the Tigers. The report said Nambiar “knew about but chose not to make public” the UN estimates. When the British Foreign Office revealed the UN estimate, human rights groups demanded an inquiry into the conduct of the Sri Lankan armed forces.

அன்று MGR படத்தில் நஞ்சுள்ளம்கொண்ட ஒரு நம்பியார்,  இன்று UN திரைப்படத்தில் கெட்ட எண்ணம் கொண்டஒரு விஜய் நம்பியார்

பர்மாவுக்கான ஐ.நாவின் தற்காலிகத் தூதுவர் பதவியில் இருந்து விஜய் நம்பியாரை நீக்கி விட்டு நிரந்தரத் தூதுவர் ஒருவரை நியமிக்குமாறு ஐ.நா பொதுச்செயலர் பான் கீ மூனிடம் பிரித்தானியா கேட்டுக் கொண்டுள்ளது.

நியுயோர்க்கில் கடந்தவாரம் செய்தியாளர்களிடம் பேசிய ஐ.நாவுக்கான பிரித்தானியத் தூதுவர் மார்க் லயல் இந்தத் தகவலை வெளியிட்டுள்ளதாக சியாங் மாய் என்ற ஊடகவியலாளர் மிஸ்ஸிமா என்ற இணையத்தில் எழுதியுள்ள கட்டுரையில் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

அதில் மேலும் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது,

கடந்த டிசம்பர் மாதம் நைஜீரிய இராஜதந்திரி இப்ராகிம் கம்பாரி பர்மாவுக்கான தூதுவர் பதவியில் இருந்து விடுவிக்கப்பட்ட பின்னர் ஐ.நா பொதுச்செயலரின் பிரதம அதிகாரியாக உள்ள விஜய் நம்பியார் பர்மாவுக்கான தூதுவர் பதவியையும் பகுதி நேரமாகக் கவனித்து வருகிறார்.

இவரை இந்தப் பதவியில் இருந்து நீக்கி விட்டு பர்மாவுக்கு நிரந்தரத் தூதுவர் ஒருவரை நியமிக்குமாறு பிரித்தானியா வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளது.

இதே கருத்தையே ஐ.நாவுக்கான மெக்சிக்கோவின் தூதுவரும் வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளார்.

இதுதொடர்பாக மிஸ்ஸிமா இணையத்துக்கு தகவல் வெளியிட்டுள்ள ஐ.நாவின் பதில் பிரதிப் பேச்சாளர் பர்ஹான் ஹக், தூதுவர்களின் இந்தக் கருத்துக் குறித்து ஆலோசனை செய்து வருவதாக ஐ.நா பொதுசெயலர் அவர்களிடம் தெரிவித்துள்ளதாக்க் கூறினார்.

பர்மா விவகாரத்தில் ஐ.நாவின் பங்கு முக்கியமானது என்று பிரித்தானியா கருதுகிறது.

ஆனால் பர்மாவுக்கான தூதுவராக உள்ள விஜய் நம்பியார் சிறுபான்மை இனங்களின் நலன்களைப் புறக்கணிக்கும் வகையில் செயற்படுகிறார்.

அவர் அண்மையில் பர்மா சென்றிருந்த போது ஆங் சாங் சூகியையும் பர்மிய ஜெனரல்களையும் சந்தித்திருந்தார்.

ஆனால் அவர் சிறுபான்மையின மக்களின பிரதிநிதிகள் யாரையும் சந்திக்கவில்லை.

எனவே அவர் சிறுபான்மையின மக்களுக்கு எதிராக செயற்படுகிறார் என்ற சந்தேகம் எழுந்துள்ளது.

தொடர்ந்தும் இந்தப் பதவியில் இருப்பது பர்மாவின் சிறுபான்மையின மக்களின் நலனுக்குப் பாதிப்பை ஏற்படுத்தக் கூடியது.

எனவே, அவரை இந்தப் பதவியில் இருந்து நீக்க வேண்டும் என்று பிரித்தானியா கோரியுள்ளது.

அதேவேளை, கடந்த ஆண்டு மே மாதம் சிறீலங்காவில் இடம்பெற்ற போரின்போது சரணடைந்த விடுதலைப் புலிகளும், பெருமளவு பொதுமக்களும் கொல்லப்பட்டதற்கு நம்பியாரின் நடவடிக்கைகளே காரணம் என்ற குற்றசாட்டுகளும் உள்ளன.

கடந்து ஆண்டு மே மாதம் போரின் இறுதி நாட்களில் போரை நிறுத்தி இரத்தக் களரியை தடுத்து நிறுத்த ஐநா உதவ வேண்டும் என்று விடுதலைப் புலிகள் கோரியிருந்தனர்.

அப்போது ஐ.நா பொதுச்செயலர் பான் கீ மூன், இந்தியாவின் முன்னாள் இராஜதந்திரியும், பல ஆண்டுகளாக சிறிலங்கா இராணுவத்துக்கு ஆலோசகராக பணியாற்றியவருமான ஓய்வுபெற்ற இந்திய இராணுவ அதிகாரி சதீஸ் நம்பியாரின் சகோதரருமான விஜய் நம்பியாரை அனுப்பினார்.

மே 18ம் திகதி அதிகாலை 5.30 மணியளவில் கொழும்பில் தங்கியிருந்த நம்பியாரை, தொலைபேசி மூலம் அழைத்த லண்டனை தளமாகக் கொண்ட “த ரைம்ஸ்“ நாளேட்டின் ஊடகவியலாளர் மேரி கொல்வின் என்பவர் விடுதலைப் புலிகள் சரணடைய விரும்புவதாக தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் அரசியல்துறை பொறுப்பாளர் நடேசன் மற்றும் சமாதானச் செயலகப் பணிப்பாளர் புலித்தேவன் உள்ளிட்ட குழந்தைகளும், பெண்களுமாக 300 பேர் சரணடையத் திட்டமிட்டுள்ளதாக மேரி கொல்வினுக்குத் தெரியப்படுத்தப்பட்டிருந்தது.

சரணடைபவர்களின் பாதுகாப்பை உறுதிப்படுத்த நம்பியார் அங்கு செல்ல வேண்டும் என்று கொல்வின் கேட்டுக் கொண்டார்.

ஆனால் வெள்ளைக்கொடியுடன் சரணடைபவர்களின் உயிருக்கு ஆபத்தில்லை என்று சிறிலங்கா அதிபர் தனக்கு உறுதிமொழி தந்துள்ளதாக நம்பியார் தெரிவித்திருந்தார்.

ஆனால் சில மணிநேரத்தின் பின்னர் சிறிலங்கா தொலைக்காட்சிகளில் நடேசன் மற்றும் புலித்தேவன் உள்ளிட்ட சரணடைந்தவர்கள் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்டுக் கிடக்கும் காட்சிகளைக் கண்டதாக கொல்வின் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

சரணடையும் விடுதலைப் புலிகள் அனைவரையும் சுட்டுக் கொல்லும்படி சிறிலங்கா பாதுகாப்புச் செயலர் கோத்தாபய ராஜபக்ச தனிப்பட்ட உத்தரவுகளை வழங்கியிருந்ததாக சிறிலங்கா இராணுவத் தளபதி சரத் பொன்சேகா பின்னர் ஊடகம் ஒன்றுக்குக் கூறியிருந்தார்.

இதனைக் கூறியதற்காக அவர் இப்போது சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

சரணடைந்த விடுதலைப் புலிகளையும், பொதுமக்களையும் படுகொலை செய்வதற்கான உத்தரவுகளை வழங்கியதாக பாதுகாப்புச் செயலாளர் கோத்தாபய ராஜபக்ச மீதும், சிறிலங்கா அதிபரின் ஆலோசகர் பசில் ராஜபக்ச மீதும் குற்றச்சாட்டுக்கள் உள்ளன.

அவர்கள் இருவரும் போர்க்குற்றவாளிகளாக இனம்காணப்பட்டுள்ளனர் என்றும் அந்தக் கட்டுரையில் மேலும் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Kilde: Mizzima

Wimal Weerawansa plays again the game ‘Fasting Unto Death’

”If UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts are allowed to arrive in the country to carry out investigations into alleged human rights violations by our forces, we will be in trouble for War Crime”

National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader and Housing and Construction Minister Wimal Weerawansa today (18) said that the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts should not be allowed to arrive in the country to carry out investigations into alleged human rights violations.

Weerawansa has told the media that the External Affairs Ministry should continue with its former stance of not permittingthe Panel to visit Sri Lanka.

According to Weerawansa, groups opposing the government might provide false information to the Panel if it is allowed to visit the country. The Panel, he has said would also get the opportunity to prepare bogus reports by meeting fake witnesses.

He has firmly said that the three member UN Panel should not be allowed to enter the country under
any circumstance.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the media yesterday (17) that the Panel of Experts appointed by him plans to visit Sri Lanka and meet with the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Kilde: Thesundayleader

How long Wimal can play this game and what has happend last time?

Mahinda visits Wimal Weerawasansa along with the NFF representatives.

He was informed by Wimal’s doctor that Wimal can only survive another 12 hours as his Kidneys would be directly affected due his fast.

When Mahinda contacted Wimal to explain about the physical impact on him, Wimal had replied “Sir even if you come I will not give my fight”.

“It is impossible to explain to Wimal the current situation” Mahinda told the NFF representatives and then asked them to in anyway explain the stand of the UN to him.

The representatives of the NFF told Mahinda Rajapaksa that they would try and convince Wimal to give up the fast and explain him on the UN stand.

When NFF did talk to Wimal, Mahinda gave him Juice and the fasting come to an end.

Danny Davis! Did the Tamil Tigers (which the US State Department has labeled a terrorist group) pay for your trip to Sri Lanka in 2004?

In August 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that, following the arrest of 11 supporters of the Sri Lankan rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for "conspiracy to support the terrorist group through money laundering, arms procurement and bribery of U.S. officials," Davis' 2005 trip to Sri Lanka was being investigated by the Tamil Tigers group, which the U.S. government has designated a terrorist organization. The weekend previous to the arrests, Davis reportedly "talked in Chicago with a supporter of the Tamil Tigers who was among 11 people arrested."

Davis defended his trip to Sri Lanka, on which he was accompanied by staffer Daniel Cantrell. "The five-term Democratic congressman said he was unaware that the Tigers paid for the trip and on his required congressional disclosure form he reported that the trip was paid for by a Hickory Hills-based Tamil cultural organization, the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America. ... avis said he knew that the group was 'associated' with the Tamil Tigers but did not realize that the trip's costs were covered with funds controlled by the rebel group."

For the last 13 years, Danny Davis has represented the West Side of Chicago in Congress. He served as an alderman and Cook County Commissioner before that. His district has some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods, many of which are full of ex-offenders looking for jobs.


Davis pulled off something of a miracle in 2008, persuading Republicans — including then President George W. Bush — to back a $100 million-a-year bill to rehabilitate ex-offenders. Using simple math, he showed them it’s cheaper for taxpayers to teach ex-cons new skills than to put them back in prison.

The Second Chance bill answers the question of whether Davis’ deep, melodious, Barry White voice — Sen. Dick Durbin calls Davis “The Voice of God” — is just air or whether he can back it up with action.

Davis laid out his vision for what he’d like to do as mayor of Chicago at his West Loop basement campaign headquarters, sitting beneath maps of the 12th, 14th and 16th wards, among others. This is a former Barack Obama campaign office. And this is Davis’ second run for mayor.

Questions and answers with mayoral candidate Danny Davis
 
Q. The Second Chance Act: You persuaded conservative Republicans to support millions of dollars for training . . .


A. Right now we’re getting over $100 million in appropriations for that program. I also was at Sen. Mark Kirk’s swearing-in, who also is a Republican, who beat my good friend Alexi Giannoulias. Government involves compromise. There is no such thing as one getting all of their way all of the time. Anyone who thinks so just needs to ask Barack Obama. I think the City Council plays a very meaningful role and will play an even more meaningful role in a Danny Davis administration than it has been accustomed to playing. I think the best ideas are those that are publicly debated, publicly discussed, publicly vetted. Sometimes business and industry is going to agree with me. Sometimes labor unions are going to agree. You have to deal in realities of budgets, money you’ve got and money you don’t have.

Q. And right now it’s mostly money we don’t have. How do you fix Chicago’s budget crisis? What do you cut?

A.The first thing you do is get cooperation, establish a real working relationship with the aldermen. People think the mayor of Chicago is kind of like [a] king even though we have a strong council, weak mayor form of government. It generally has not worked that way. It’s obvious you’re going to have to cut some things. You might save a little bit of money if you use the grid system of collecting refuse instead of the ward system. There are some things you can perhaps consolidate with other units of government. You may be able to consolidate elections. If there’s an election in the county and the city, maybe you only have one jurisdiction dealing with it. Maybe the city does not have to have the same election apparatus that the county has.

Q. There are a lot of fiefdoms you would upset changing garbage pickup and consolidating election offices.

A.There are some fiefdoms you will, in fact, upset, but in difficult situations, you have to make tough decisions, you have to make hard choices.

Q. With garbage collection, we have three guys on a truck now. Some places only have a driver. Could we get by with fewer?

A.With garbage, technology is constantly improving. I would not want to just lay people off and cut them loose. To lay off 200 workers, we’re not saving those 200 families anything. We’re not saving society anything, because, in the end, those individuals and their families, if we’ve got to pay for them to go to Cook County Hospital, or we’ve got to pay for them to get food stamps, or we’ve got to pay for some child or young person who gets disgruntled, ends up in the criminal justice system, then we’re paying still. I’d rather freeze wages than have to lay off people.

Q. Any other cuts?

A.With health care, maybe the city’s public health department focuses on education. Maybe the direct services are done in connection with the county’s health services or community health centers. You nickle-and-dime all of that, then you have to go after some new money. Hopefully we’re going to increase the state income tax. Transaction taxation is something that sometimes in a crunch, in a difficult situation, you begin to look at.

Q. You also want a downtown casino?

A.I recognize that you do difficult things in difficult times. I’m open to keeping some of the people who go over to Indiana [laughing] and take their money. Every day there are bus-loads of people that leave Chicago going to Indiana to the casinos. They leave what could be Chicago tax money over there. I’d like to have that tax money remain in Chicago. Whether or not it was municipally owned and run or not would need to be worked out.

Q. There are pictures that appear to show you placing a crown on the head of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church at a banquet. How’d that whole thing happen?

A.That’s a big lie. I was at the banquet. A fella named Michael Jenkins, whom I know, came up to me and said, “We are going to crown Rev. and Mrs. Moon ‘true parents.’ Would you do us a favor and carry one of them up to the place where they are sitting?” And I said, “Well, yeah, Michael, I think I can do that.” And so I carried the crown for Mrs. Moon. When I got to where she was, I gave it to somebody else and they then crowned her. So I didn’t put a crown on anybody, I was not even, I guess, a part of the ceremony. Why can’t the truth just be the truth?

Q. His church is very controversial. It has been called a “cult.” He’s made anti-Semitic and anti-homosexual statements. He’s a big promoter of conservative causes. How did you get to be friends with him?

A.I don’t have any friendship or relationship with Rev. Moon. I’ve seen Rev. Moon a few times in my life. He is very conservative in terms of his political philosophy. I have some difficulty with this guilt-by-association idea. The fact that Rev. Moon said some things at an event that I attended has no bearing whatsoever on my feelings. There is not a public official in the city of Chicago who has been more supportive of lesbians and gays than Danny Davis. You cannot find a single person that has been more supportive of the Jewish community of Chicago than Danny Davis.

Q. The question was were you being used? Did your presence at this banquet confer legitimacy on Moon?

A. I spend a lot of time with faith-based groups, Baptist preachers, Presbyterian ministers. The Unification Church is often at these gatherings. The conversations I’ve had with them center around 1) creating a peaceful environment in the world, and, 2) parenthood. The banquet I was at was a banquet where Rev. Moon and his wife were being honored for being “true parents.” A number of members of Congress were there. Most people call me the Judeo-Christian type. Love everybody, respect everybody, get along with everybody kind of guy who believes in “live and let live.’’ That’s the characterization of the guy on the street. That’s who the dope dealer will tell you Danny Davis is. That’s who the prostitute will tell you Danny Davis is. That’s who the rabbi will tell you Danny Davis is.

Q. One more controversy: Did the Tamil Tigers [which the U.S. State Department has labeled a terrorist group] pay for your trip to Sri Lanka in 2004?

A. The Tamil Tigers would be called “freedom fighters” by many people throughout the world. I’m not certain that the trip was paid for by the Tamil Tigers. It was paid for by a legitimate group organized to empower people of the Tamil heritage. The former director of employment and training in Cook County is one. The Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka have feuded for centuries. The Tamils were always a minority who said they were discriminated against by the majority, the same way black folks were discriminated against by slave-owners, or groups in Ireland were discriminated against by the dominant group.

Q. Your trip was after the tsunami?

A. The tsumani hit. Relief efforts were under way. The Tamils said the government was unfairly distributing the resources in Sinhalese areas and not Tamil areas. They asked if I would go and take a look. When we got there, the first thing we did was go to the U.S. Embassy. After we got back, one of the members of parliament who hosted us was assassinated coming out of his church on Christmas Day. We visited an orphanage. The government bombed the orphanage sometime after we were there. Forty kids were killed. They said they thought it was a terrorist training camp. The Justice Department came and asked us about it. It certainly wasn’t a pleasure trip. I’m a real advocate for the Tamil population. We just sent a letter to [Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton asking her to intervene.

Q. So you were born in Arkansas?

A. In Parkdale, the Southeast corner of the state, 10 miles from Louisiana. Bill Clinton and I used to kid each other that the state motto is “The Land of Opportunity” — the first opportunity we got, we left.

Q. You, John Stroger, Bill Clinton.

A. Scottie Pippin grew up 12 miles from there. Bob Love was from 35 miles away. Half the black politicians in Chicago: Tim Evans is from Hot Springs. The Shaw brothers are from Hope. My parents were share-croppers in Arkansas. They had very little formal education, but they were two of the smartest people I ever encountered. There were 10 of us. We grew up in what some people called “poverty.” We were never poor. We were positive thinkers. We were people who knew that life could be different than what it was.

Q. You were how old when you came here?

A. I was 19, just graduated from college. My father borrowed $50 and let me borrow it from him. That’s how I got here. The first paycheck I got I sent him his $50, because that was part of the values system we were taught.

Q. Do you think we need to re-align police beats?

A. It’s always been my position that you put resources were the need is. I liked what they used to do in New York for a while, whatever minor thing occurred you jump on it. We just don’t allow certain things to happen. I’m very fortunate on the block I live, we have a guy we call “The Mayor,” George Jones, my next-door mayor. Jackie Heard, the mayor’s press secretary lives two doors from me. George looks after everything on my block. I’d try to make sure there’s a George on every block.

I would initiate a strong program of block club organizing and neighborhood associations. That reduces certain kinds of need. You don’t need as much policing.

Q. Would you keep Police Supt. Jody Weis?

A. I would want to have conversations with department heads. I don’t approach situations with a lot of preconceived notions that you want to “clean house” or that you have to have wholesale removal of people.

Q. Have neighborhoods been neglected at the expense of downtown?

A. There has not been the balanced attention. You have to give credit for the development of downtown Chicago, Near South, Near West, Near North. But you get out into some of the neighborhoods and you see the vacant land. North Lawndale, you’ll see land vacant since Dr. King was assassinated. I believe in a concept called “linked development:” As you develop things downtown, that you balance that development by making sure you find a way to do the same thing in the Englewoods and the Lawndales. Public housing coming down, that’s a good thing. What has not happened has been the kind of replacement so that we didn’t lose any housing units. There are people in Chicago who are homeless. There are still people in Chicago sleeping under viaducts. I passed by a bunch of quilts and rags and things yesterday. I’m not sure if anybody was living there. We have to find a way to build more affordable housing in Chicago.

Kilde: Chihaco Sun-Times

Sri Lanka agrees to UN panel's visit

Sri Lankan government announced Saturday that it has decided to allow a three-member panel of UN-appointed experts to visit the country and share the findings of their probe into alleged war crimes committed during the country's civil war with its own inquiry commission.

"This position has already been conveyed through diplomatic channels to the United Nations in New York," Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday, marking a reversal of its earlier decision not to allow the panel to visit the country to conduct investigations.

The Foreign Ministry statement came a day after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York that the Sri Lankan government had agreed to let the UN panel visit the country to hold consultations with the government's own inquiry panel.

"I sincerely hope that the Panel of Experts will be able to have good cooperation, to have an accountability process and make progress as soon as possible. This is a result of long consultations, and I appreciate the flexibility of the Mr. Rajapaksa on this issue", Ban added.

Sri Lanka had witnessed massive anti-UN protests in July over the setting up of the panel to investigate into allegations of war crimes committed by the security forces during the civil war that ended last year with the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels.

Those protests, led by Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, had forced the UN to withdraw its special envoy to Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, from the South Asian country. He has since returned to Sri Lanka after conditions there improved.

The UN had set up a three member independent panel led by former Indonesian Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman in June to investigate claims that government forces committed atrocities against minority Tamils during the final phase of the country's quarter-century civil war.

However, the Sri Lankan government reacted by voicing its strong objections to the UN-sponsored independent inquiry and refused to issue visas to the members of the three-member panel for conducting investigations inside the country.

Insisting that the UN-sponsored probe was an interference in the country's internal affairs, the Sri Lankan government set up its own inquiry to probe war crimes allegedly committed by its security forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels in the final phase of the civil war.

In May, the Sri Lankan military claimed victory in its 25-year civil war against the Tamil Tiger rebels after recapturing rebel-held areas and eliminating major rebel leaders, including Tamil Tiger founder and leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, in an year-long final offensive.

Official figures indicate that the final military offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northeastern regions of the country left over 300,000 people homeless, while some 7,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the civil war. An estimated 80,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the country's civil war after the Tamil Tiger rebels launched an armed rebellion in 1983, demanding an independent state for the Tamil minority in the island nation's northern and eastern regions.

Kilde: RTTNews

Wikileaks surprises Sri Lanka government

In a cable dispatched by the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka, it was stated that if President Mahinda RajapaksaMahinda Rajapaksa's contender at the January 26 elections came into power, the US could have expected that his new government would be interested in moving forward more quickly than the Rajapaksa government.

Wikileaks revealed yesterday that the cable was dispatched by Ambassador Patricia Butenis on January 22, 2010.

There is little doubt that the revelations surprised and shocked the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his contender at the elections, former Army Commander Sarath FonsekaSarath Fonseka.

Fonseka is held in remand custody presently pending some criminal charges in the Colombo High Court and a Court Martial. The charges initiated by the Attorney General relate to Fonseka's activities in his capacity as the Army Commander and later statements.

The cable released by Wikileaks further quoted Ambassador Butenis.

‘It also is important to note that the upcoming presidential election - particularly if it were to result in an Opposition victory - could radically alter the political context of our assessment of GSL progress on key issues.

‘Opposition candidate General Fonseka has made many significant promises in each of these areas, and we could expect that his next government would be interested in moving forward more quickly than the Rajapaksa government'

Friday, 22 January 2010, 09:00

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000050
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB
EO 12958 DECL: 01/22/2020
TAGS PGOV, PREL, PREF, PHUM, PTER, EAID, MOPS, CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ASSESSING PROGRESS ON KEY ISSUES
REF: A. 09 COLOMBO 1176 B. COLOMBO 32 C. COLOMBO 8
COLOMBO 00000050 001.8 OF 004


Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA A. BUTENIS. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)

1. (S) According to Congressional mandates and Administration policy, U.S. assistance to Sri Lanka, particularly military assistance, is tied to progress by the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) on several key issues, including treatment of IDPs, human rights, political reconciliation, and accountability for alleged crimes perpetrated by GSL troops and officials during the war with the LTTE. The GSL has progressed more or less on each of these issues since the end of the conflict. Continued or increased U.S. assistance, however, hinges on the GSL broadening and deepening this progress.

2. (S) Outlined below are these key issue areas with discussion of what progress has been made so far and what further progress we would like to see. It is important to note that we are not offering this list as a set of "benchmarks," which the GSL must meet to qualify for more robust engagement. Our experience with benchmarks in the Sri Lankan context (and elsewhere as well) is that the government often makes notable progress but in areas not anticipated, or in ways not foreseen, by our benchmarks. Thus, the following list of favored steps is not meant to be exhaustive but rather illustrative. Actual progress will have to be assessed as it happens.

3. (S) It also is important to note that the upcoming presidential election -- particularly if it were to result in an opposition victory -- could radically alter the political context of our assessment of GSL progress on key issues. Opposition candidate General Fonseka has made many significant promises in each of these issue areas, and we could expect that his new government would be interested in moving forward more quickly than the Rajapaksa government. Nevertheless, the key issue areas of concern remain the same notwithstanding the election, and we would expect any Sri Lankan government to continue to make progress. Please note that our lists of "Next Steps" are not in any order of priority or importance.

IDPs
----
4. (S) There has been a dramatic improvement in the treatment of IDPs and their living conditions over the past several months. Whether because of international pressure or electoral politics, the result is that 106,007 displaced persons remain in GSL camps, according to UNHCR, down from a high of over 280,000. Large numbers who left the camps remain in transit camps or with host families and have not yet returned to their places of origin. Although humanitarian access to camps has been inconsistent since the end of the war, most organizations reported that access was now granted upon request. Protection monitoring and confidential interviews with IDPs are still prohibited, and the ICRC revised mandate has not been finalized. ICRC headquarters is assessing whether to accept the GSL offer of a general rather than a detailed MOU. Access to returnee areas for INGOs is still limited to those engaged in de-mining and one medical organization in the Vanni, although the government and local authorities were reportedly working to extend this to other groups. INGOs in Jaffna were recently authorized to work by the Governor of the North but await confirmation from the Presidential Task Force.

5. (S) Next steps:
COLOMBO 00000050 002.4 OF 004
-- Renew ICRC mandate. -- Provide transparent criteria and regularized processes for INGO access to the north. -- Provide transparent criteria and regularized processes for access to returnee areas for journalists. -- Continue to release or prosecute LTTE and other Tamil detainees according to a judicial process. -- Implement a national system for tracing separated family members. -- Continue GSL reintegration of returnees.

Human Rights
------------
6. (S) Numbers of disappearances have experienced a steady and significant decline across the island since the end of the war, and the Attorney General's Office, the Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster Relief, and other institutions have conducted investigations into some of the cases. For example, on December 21, Attorney General Peiris told Ambassador that there was an 11-person team working under Deputy Solicitor General De Livera to look into questions of disappearances and other potential violations under the Emergency Regulations (ref A). Peiris claimed that 100 (presumably innocent) people had been found in detention and released during the previous 45 days, and the team was continuing its investigations. He was going to Anuradhapura himself later that week to look at 33 cases and to decide whether the suspects could be released.

7. (S) Child soldiers affiliated with the TMVP have been significantly reduced over the past year, with just five reportedly remaining at the end of 2009, according to UNICEF; the government appears to be working actively to find the remaining child soldiers. On January 13, imprisoned journalist J.S. Tissainayagam was released on bail, and Post is not aware of any additional physical attacks on journalists since June, although there still have been threats.

8. (S) Next steps:
-- Disappearances continue to decline, and investigations continue to rise. The team under A.G. Peiris, in particular, should examine and process more cases. -- All remaining child soldiers accounted for and discharged/rehabilitated. -- Press freedom: threats to individual journalists must end, along with atmosphere of intimidation. -- Press freedom: progress made in investigation of the killing a year ago of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga. -- Remaining ex-LTTE "new" detainees, held since the end of the war, are placed within a legal structure. All "older" LTTE and Tamil detainees, held since before the end of the war, are charged and prosecuted or released. -- Lifting the Emergency Regulations. -- Less harassment and intimidation of civil society organizations.

Political Reconciliation
------------------------
9. (S) Although progress has been slow, the presidential elections -- particularly the fact that the two main candidates are splitting the Sinhalese vote -- has moved reconciliation issues higher on the political agenda. The A-9 road has been opened for nearly all travel by Sri Lankans (NOTE: Foreigners are still not permitted to drive into the North. END NOTE.), the curfew in Jaffna has ended, and fishing restrictions in the North have been largely

COLOMBO 00000050 003.6 OF 004
eliminated. Of the 12,000 ex-LTTE combatants held in detainment camps since the end of the war, 712 were released the week after the New Year, and the government has announced it would release an additional 1,000 shortly. General Fonseka has made reconciliation a prominent issue in his campaign, signing a ten-point program for devolving power to the North-East. In addition, in his widely distributed campaign manifesto, Fonseka has promised he would: (a) abolish the Executive Presidency; (b) reactivate the 17th Amendment to the Constitution; (c) end the culture of "white van" disappearances and extra-judicial killings; (d) eliminate the press council and establish an environment of free media; (e) return all remaining IDPs and double the resettlement allowance they receive to 100,000 rupees (about USD 880); (f) amend the Emergency Regulations; and (g) deal with all war-related detainees by either prosecuting them, releasing them, or placing them in rehabilitation programs.

10. (S) Next Steps:
-- Some sort of power-sharing or decentralization arrangement to accommodate minority rights. Should be locally developed (i.e. not necessarily the 13th Amendment) and satisfactory to minority populations in Sri Lanka. -- Lifting of High Security Zones. -- Unrestricted access permitted throughout the North for all Sri Lankans, diplomats, journalists, and NGOs. -- Remaining no-threat or low-threat ex-LTTE combatants in "new detainee" camps are released or placed into rehabilitation programs. -- Any low-risk "older" LTTE detainees convicted within the justice system are removed from prison and placed into rehabilitation programs.

Accountability
--------------
11. (S) Accountability for alleged crimes committed by GSL troops and officials during the war is the most difficult issue on our bilateral agenda, and the one we believe has the lowest prospect for forward movement. There are no examples of a sitting regime undertaking wholesale investigations of its own troops or senior officials for war crimes. In Sri Lanka this is further complicated by the fact that responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers and opposition candidate General Fonseka. Moreover, the fact that the LTTE leadership has been destroyed and there is virtually no one to hold accountable for LTTE war crimes makes prosecutions of GSL troops or officials that much more difficult.

12. (S) Accountability also has not been a top priority for Tamils in Sri Lanka. While Tamils have told us they would like to see some form of accountability, they have been pragmatic in what they can expect and have focused instead on securing greater rights and freedoms, resolving the IDP question, and improving economic prospects in the war-ravaged and former LTTE-occupied areas. Indeed, while they wanted to keep the issue alive for possible future action, Tamil leaders with whom we spoke in Colombo, Jaffna, and elsewhere said now was not time and that pushing hard on the issue would make them "vulnerable" (ref. B).

13. (S) Despite these considerations, there have been some tentative steps on accountability. Soon after the appearance of the State Department Report to Congress on Incidents, President Rajapaksa announced the formation of an experts' committee to examine the report and to provide him with recommendations on dealing with the allegations. At the end of the year, the president extended the deadline for the

COLOMBO 00000050 004.6 OF 004
committee's recommendations from December 31 until April. For his part, General Fonseka has spoken publicly of the need for a new deal with the Tamils and other minorities. Privately, his campaign manager told the Ambassador that Fonseka had ordered the opposition campaign to begin work planning a "truth and reconciliation" commission (ref. C).

14. (S) Rajapaksa Next Steps:
-- Presidential experts' committee makes credible recommendations for dealing with the allegations in the State Department report. -- A commission is formed to hear complaints and resolve individual cases of war disappearances. -- GSL publicly acknowledges human cost of war and losses on both sides. -- President institutes compensation program for families of civilians killed in the war.

15. (S) Fonseka Next Steps:
-- Begins national dialogue on the war and its human costs. -- Creation of a serious and credible truth and reconciliation mechanism. -- Considers compensation program. BUTENIS

அண்ணைக்கு அன்னை கவிதை - அறிவுமதி

ஒலிவடிவில் கேட்க படத்தில் அழுத்துக!

அழுவதற்கும் முடியாமல்

அழுகின்றேன் அம்மா

உன் தூய மகன் கருவறையைத்

தொழுகின்றேன் அம்மா


என் இனத்தை எழுப்புதற்கே

இனிய மகன் பெற்றெடுத்தாய்

இன்று

எழ முடியா நோய்தன்னை

எதற்கம்மா தத்தெடுத்தாய்?

ஈரய்ந்து மாதந்தான்

உன் பிள்ளை

உன் வயிற்றில் இருந்தான்

பின்பு, ஈழத் தாய் பெற்றெடுக்க

காடென்னும் கருவறைக்குள்

கன காலம்

கன காலம் கரந்தான்


















தமிழருக்கே தெரியாமல்

தமிழருக்கே உழைத்தான்

தன் தம்பி தன் தங்கை

தமிழீழம் தனைக் காண

தன்னோடு களமாட அழைத்தான்

தம் நண்பர் கயமைக்கும்

தகவில்லார் சிறுமைக்கும்

தப்பித்துத் தப்பித்தே உழைத்தான்


சிறு துளியும் கறை சொல்ல

முடியாத வெள்ளை

எம் வேர்த் தமிழின்

சீர் மீட்கக் கருவான பிள்ளை

என் தந்தை என் அன்னை

என் பிள்ளை என்றே

எப்போதும் எப்போதும்

இவன் பார்த்ததில்லை


அவருக்குச் சொத்தாகத்

தப்பாகத் தப்பாகத்

துளியேனும் முறை மீறிப்

பொருள் சேர்த்ததில்லை


அத்தனைத் தாய்க்கும்

மகனாய் இருந்தான்

அத்தனைச் சேய்க்கும்

அன்னையாய்ச் சிறந்தான்


புலம்பெயர்ப் பிள்ளைகள்

புத்திக்குள் போனவன்

அவர்தம் பொறுக்கா குளிருக்கும்

போர்வையாய் ஆனவன்


இணையிலா இசையினில்

ஈடிலா ஆடலில்

எம் இனப் பிள்ளையை

ஈடுபடுத்தினான்


இடையறா முயற்சியால்

இடை விடா பயிற்சியால்

உடல்களில் உயிர்களில்

உயிர்த் தமிழ் ஊறிய

உளவியல் உளவியல்

மேடை நடத்தினான்


நம்முடன் வாழ்ந்தவன்

நமக்கென வாழ்ந்ததை

நாமா நாமா

நன்கறிந்தோம்


நா கூசாமல் கூசாமல்

நல்ல அத்தமிழனை

வன்முறையாளனாய்

வாய் குழறிப் பேசியே

வரலாற்றில் பெயரிழந்தோம்


தாய்மொழி அறியாத

தலைமுறை ஒன்றிங்கு

தலைவரை உணர்ந்து எழும்

அன்றுதான்

தக தக தக தக

தக தக தக வென

தமிழினம் உயர்ந்து எழும்


தன் பிள்ளை சொகுசாகத்

தப்பித்துப் போக

ஊர்ப்பிள்ளை வைத்திங்கா களமாடினான்?

போடா போடா

அவன் பிள்ளை களமாடி அழியாத புகழ்சூடி

மாவீரர் பட்டியலில் படமாகினான்


தாய்த் தமிழ்நாட்டில்

வாழ்ந்த தன்

தாயையும் தந்தையையும்

அவசரமாய் அழைத்தாங்கே

குடியேற்றினான்


மனிதமற்ற கயவர்களின்

மரண நெடி நாட்களிலே

அவர்களையும் மக்களுடன்

அலையவிட்டு அலையவிட்டு

அன்பு மகன் அதிலேயும் பழி மாற்றினான்


என்னதான் குறை சொல்ல முடியும்

அம்மா உன் பிள்ளையை

என்றுதான் எவர் வெல்ல முடியும்

இல்லையென்றா இவர் கணக்கு முடியும்

உன் பிள்ளை இல்லையென்றால்

இல்லையென்றால்

இல்லை

என்றால் எங்களுக்கு எப்படித்தான்

இக் கிழக்கு விடியும்


வல்வெட்டித் துறையிலங்கே

வாடிக் கிடப்பவளே

உன் கண் முட்டும் கண்ணீரைக்

கை நீட்டித் துடைக்கின்றோம்

தலைவர்க்குப் பால் கொடுத்த

மார்புகளின் பசி வாங்கித் துடிக்கின்றோம்


ஆயிரம் மருத்துவர்கள்

அம்மா உன் அருகிருந்துத்

தீவிர சிகிச்சைதன்னைச்

சிறப்பாகச் செய்வதற்கு

ஆவலாய்க் காத்திருந்தும்

அறமற்றக் கயவர்களின்

அணை தாண்ட முடியாமல்

அடி மனசில் அடி மனசில்

அய்யோ வெடிக்கின்றோம்


சிங்களரும் உனைத் தேடி

சிரம் தாழ்த்தி

வணங்குகிறார் அம்மா

உன் சிறந்த மகன் தூய்மைக்குச்

சிறிதேனும் இணங்குகிறார்


உறவான தாய்த் தமிழர்

ஊமையாய்ப் பார்த்திருப்போம்

உறவற்ற எவர்களையோ

அன்னையென்றும் அம்மையென்றும்

அனுதினமும் தோத்தரிப்போம்


முள்வேலிக் கம்பிக்குள்

உம் காயங்கள் கொத்திக்

கண்ணீரில் பசியாறிக்

கடல் தாண்டி வந்த

அந்தக் காகங்கள்

உம் கதையைக்

கதறி உரைக்கிறதே


ஏமாறச் சம்மதித்து

எவருக்கும் தலையாட்டும்

எந்திரமாய் ஆனதனால்

எம் சனங்கள் உம் துயரை

உமியளவும் உணராமல்

உறங்கிக் கிடக்கிறதே


உலக அற மன்றம்

ஒரு கேள்வி கேட்கலையே

உம் உரிமைக்குத் தடை நீக்க

ஒரு நீதி வாய்க்கலையே


ஒன்று மட்டும் உறுதியம்மா...

ஈழக் கதவுகளை

என் தாயே என் தாயே

உன் மகன்தான் உன் மகன்தான்

திறப்பான்

உன் ஈர விழியருகில்

என் தாயே என் தாயே

மிக விரைவில் உன் பிள்ளை

உன் பிள்ளை இருப்பான்

 - விகடனிற்காக அறிவுமதி

At UN on Sri Lanka War Crimes Panel Deadline, Secretariat on 2 Week Vacation, Ban Ki-moon Silent on Discrimination

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UNITED NATIONS: On Sri Lanka, today is the deadline set by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Panel of Experts for written submissions. The Panel, through an automatic e-mail from its Secretariat who says he is “out of the office” through the end of the year, states that it “has a limited time for its work and has therefore chosen to request contributions in the written form.”

Thus it appears that the Panel did not speak to anyone, nor did it ever even ask to travel to Sri Lanka. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa said that visas would be denied. This or inertia seems to have been enough to avoid even a request for visas.

In the days before the deadline, as many submitters sent copies of their e-mails to Inner City Press, they were accompanied by some complaints saying that submissions were being rejected or bounced back. (See footnote below.)

To verify or disprove this, Inner City Press sent in an e-mail which with including some documents and suggestions asked for confirmation of receipt.

This came, along with the troubling disclaimer that “I am out of the Office until December 31, 2010.”

So of the Panel’s “limited time,” the Secretariat went on vacation for more than two weeks, at the deadline for submissions until two weeks before the Report is ostensibly due.

It has been impossible to get real answers or transparency from the Panel, or from the UN. Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: on the Secretary-General’s Sri Lanka panel, there is a story on something called News Now Sri Lanka, quoting some type of a release or response by the secretariat of the panel, saying, among other things, that they chose not to speak to anyone orally, but only to take written submissions. One, I wanted you to confirm if this is true that the panel never spoke to anyone, as it seems to say. And two, what’s the process for putting in, for media organizations interested in this topic, putting a request to the secretariat and getting an answer, as apparently News Now Sri Lanka did?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, on the last point, you can ask us at any point. That doesn’t mean that we will necessarily be able to answer, or that the panel will be able to answer, because, as we’ve said from the outset, the panel has a job to do in a certain timeframe, and when they have something to say to the media they will typically do that through us. That’s the first point. On the other point that you raised about the procedure, let me check. I think some of that is available on the web, where they have information about how people can submit material to the panel.

Inner City Press: Because they are quoted now saying an e-mail to News Now Lanka from the secretariat of the panel, saying that they didn’t speak to anyone early. So, that’s why I am wondering…

Spokesperson Nesirky: As I said, I believe, as I understand it, there was an announcement that submissions could be made by anybody. And I think it’s in that context that a reply may have been sent. But let me check.

As has been the case throughout this process, there has been no follow up by the UN Secretariat, no answers provided.

UN’s Ban portrayed with gun and Rajapaksa brother, Secretariat on vacation

On December 13 Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: in Sri Lanka, the President had a cabinet meeting of ministers, issued a directive that henceforth the national anthem will only be in Sinhala, and that previous allowance of it also being in Tamil would now be eliminated since… so, I just wondered, in light of that May 2009 statement that Ban Ki-moon issued with the President, does he view this as consistent with that statement, the idea that, with the war being over, that it would now be, not just a single language, but that many Tamils are pretty upset about this? Is there any comment from the Secretariat?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, we’re certainly aware of the report, but I don’t have any comment at the moment. If that changes, then we’ll let you know.

Two days later, apparently from the UN Secretary General’s Office’s perspective, nothing has changed. Others in the UN are spinning that there is no language ban, while pointing to “discriminatory” land actions. But nothing is being done; even the Secretariat in charge of this war crimes Panel of Expert is on a two week vacation. Watch this site.

Footnote: Here is a sample bounce-back notice forwarded to Inner City Press:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
panelofexpertsregistry@un.org
Technical details of permanent failure:

Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 552 552 Request not completed, exceeded storage allocation (state 18)

Many think this should require an extension of the time to receive evidence.

- By Matthew Russell Lee

UK: Defence Secretary Liam Fox postpones Sri Lanka trip

Defence Secretary Liam Fox has postponed a visit to Sri Lanka, following reported Foreign Office concerns about the trip.

A spokesman said the postponement was due to "an extension to his scheduled official visit to the Gulf" and it would go ahead next year.

The Guardian reported that Foreign Secretary William Hague was annoyed about the trip.

Sri Lanka denies war crimes during its defeat of the Tamil Tigers last year.

Earlier this month demonstrators tried to storm the British high commission in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, after a speech to the Oxford Union by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was cancelled, following Tamil protests in the UK.

Dr Fox has had an interest in Sri Lanka since his efforts to broker a ceasefire in the conflict when he was a junior Foreign Office minister in 1996. He met President Rajapaksa during his UK visit.

The Guardian reported that Dr Fox had accepted an invitation to deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar memorial lecture, made by the widow of the former foreign minister Mr Kadirgamar, who was shot dead in 2005.

Who is in charge of policy on Sri Lanka, the foreign secretary or the defence secretary?”

The paper reported Foreign Office sources as having said Foreign Secretary William Hague was "appalled" by the decision.

Questioned about Dr Fox's trip earlier, the prime minister's spokesman stressed it was a "private visit", not a government one, and Dr Fox had "a long-term private interest in Sri Lanka".

Later it was announced the trip would not go ahead this weekend.

A spokesman said: "Dr Fox has postponed his private visit to Sri Lanka due to an extension to his scheduled official visit to the Gulf.

"He intends to carry out an official visit to Sri Lanka next year during which he proposes to fulfil the speaking engagement that he had planned."

For Labour, Yvette Cooper said it was an example of "chaotic diplomacy" and raised questions about Dr Fox's judgement.

She said: "William Hague must be spitting mad. This is a sensitive area of foreign policy. Who is in charge of policy on Sri Lanka, the foreign secretary or the defence secretary?"

Kilde: BristolWired

US embassy cables: Karuna set up the assassination of Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham on Christmas Day 2005

Sri Lankan government accused of complicity in human rights abuses

Friday, 18 May 2007, 09:22
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 06 COLOMBO 000728
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
MCC FOR S GROFF, D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE
EO 12958 DECL: 05/18/2017
TAGS PGOV, PREL, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GSL COMPLICITY IN PARAMILITARY
FACTIONS' HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
REF: A. COLOMBO 591 B. COLOMBO 561 C. COLOMBO 463 D. COLOMBO 460 E. 2006 COLOMBO 2056 F. 2006 COLOMBO 1896 G. 2005 COLOMBO 2157 H. 2004 COLOMBO 1219
Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b, d)

1. (S) SUMMARY: Allegations of government complicity in crimes committed by organized paramilitary groups have mounted in the last year. Paramilitaries such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-breakaway Karuna group and Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) have helped the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) to fight the LTTE, to kidnap suspected LTTE collaborators, and to give the GSL a measure of deniability. The GSL, which denies any links to paramilitary groups, has recently touted its efforts to improve its human rights record, such as the re-publication of procedures on arrests and detentions and the appointment of a "One-Man Commission" to investigate reported disappearances (ref C). However, these efforts so far appear aimed more at improving Sri Lanka's image abroad and have yet to produce concrete improvements in the human rights situation. Outside the capital, the incidence of human rights abuses has continued, including extrajudicial killings, abductions, child trafficking, extortion, and prostitution. President Rajapaksa's government, strapped for cash, has cut direct payments to paramilitaries initiated by former President Kumaratunga and instead turns a blind eye to extortion and kidnapping for ransom by EPDP and Karuna. While many of the charges against the government have been made in public fora, a growing number of trusted Embassy contacts, often at personal risk, have described in detail the extent of the GSL's involvement with paramilitary groups. END SUMMARY.

GSL Finds Paramilitaries Useful
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2. (S) The GSL sees several advantages in allowing paramilitary groups to operate in the country. Paramilitary groups in the North and East help the GSL fight the LTTE and compete with the LTTE for public support and new recruits. These groups also enhance security in Colombo by kidnapping and sometimes killing those suspected of working with the LTTE. Frequent abductions by paramilitaries keep critics of the GSL fearful and quiet. Ultimately, the GSL's objective is to turn Karuna and EPDP leader Douglas Devananda into pro-GSL political leaders in the East and North, respectively. The government hopes this will ensure long term control over these areas even if some form of devolution is instituted.

3. (S) In the meantime, these paramilitary groups give the GSL a measure of deniability. XXXXXXXXXXXX

told us that some military commanders in JaffnaXXXXXXXXXXXX want to clamp down on paramilitaries but have orders from Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa to not interfere with the paramilitaries on the grounds that they are doing "work" that the military cannot do because of international scrutiny. On XXXXXXXXXXXX confided to XXXXXXXXXXXX that the Defense Ministry had instructed him not to interfere with "military intelligence" operations (ref E).

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4. (S) The GSL has a history of funding paramilitary groups. XXXXXXXXXXXX pointed out that under former President Kumaratunga, the GSL had begun the practice of paying paramilitaries to refrain from engaging in criminal pursuits. Several Embassy interlocutors have independently confirmed this. However, XXXXXXXXXXXX said that the current government, cash-strapped, has ended this arrangement. Instead, he alleged, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa has authorized EPDP and Karuna to collect the money from Tamil businessmen. This may account for the sharp rise in lawlessness, especially extortion and kidnapping, that many have documented in Vavuniya and Colombo. Even though EPDP and Karuna are each comprised nearly exclusively of ethnic Tamils, the crimes that they commit are almost always against other Tamils.

Karuna Group Becomes Pre-eminent Paramilitary
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5. (S) The Karuna faction's formal name is Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), which means "Liberation Tigers of the Tamil People" in Tamil. This name is an attempt to sap legitimacy from the LTTE by taking the "Liberation Tigers" part of their name. In less than one year since Karuna returned to Sri Lanka, the TMVP has become the most powerful paramilitary organization in the country. It began in 2004 when Karuna broke away from the LTTE, taking about 4,000 Tiger cadres with him (ref H). After the LTTE struck back, inflicting serious losses, then-President Chandrika Kumaratunga helped Karuna escape to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where he remained until July 2006. He remained active in managing his cadres even while living abroad. Since returning to Sri Lanka, Karuna has used strong-arm tactics to establish a powerful paramilitary group that operates under government protection (ref D).

Abductions and Killings

6. (S) The Karuna group is probably the most active Sri Lankan paramilitary in abductions and extrajudicial killings. XXXXXXXXXXXX confided to PolOff that even MPs fear that the GSL will use Karuna to assassinate them. XXXXXXXXXXXX echoed this anxiety to us XXXXXXXXXXXX. A number of XXXXXXXXXXXX MPs, Muslims as well as Tamils, have told us privately that they fear for their lives. XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that he believed Karuna set up the assassination of Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham on Christmas Day 2005 (ref G) with the help of EPDP leader Devananda. XXXXXXXXXXXX was also positive that Karuna cadres were employed in the killing in Colombo of popular Tamil MP Nadarajah Raviraj on November 10, 2006 (ref F).

7. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX confirmed that Karuna has extended his activities to Jaffna from his base in the East. XXXXXXXXXXXX has documented XXXXXXXXXXXX abduction cases in Jaffna XXXXXXXXXXXX, many of which he believes are the responsibility of the Karuna group. XXXXXXXXXXXX told PolOff that he was discouraged XXXXXXXXXXXX told us he has

COLOMBO 00000728 003 OF 006
evidence of XXXXXXXXXXXX. However, because of XXXXXXXXXXXX and limited resources, he was only able to document a sample XXXXXXXXXXXX.XXXXXXXXXXXX described one abduction in which a man suspected of having ties to the LTTE was taken and a "calling card" was left with a picture of Karuna on the front and a calendar on the back, indicating that the man's "time had run out."

Child Soldiers
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8. (S) The TMVP is allowed to operate throughout the East in close proximity to SLA bases, often with clearly underage cadres guarding its camps with machine guns. XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that the GSL allows Karuna's cadres to recruit children forcibly from within IDP camps in the East. XXXXXXXXXXXX said the average age of Karuna recruits is 14. XXXXXXXXXXXX's allegation that Karuna recruits children from IDP camps with the tacit approval of the military was confirmed by XXXXXXXXXXXX. We have received confidential reports of the Karuna group's recruitment and use of child soldiers from a U.S.-based NGO as well.

Extortion and Prostitution Rings
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9. (S) Karuna does not have the international fund-raising network among the Tamil Diaspora that the LTTE has built over the past 25 years. As a result, he has resorted to a wide range of criminal activities. XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that when the GSL brings in shipments of food and supplies to IDP camps from Colombo, Karuna's cadres are given the opportunity to go through the shipment first. They are allowed to take any food they need for themselves, as well as any supplies they believe they can sell, with only the left-overs making their way to the IDPs.

11. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX also explained that Karuna operates prostitution rings out of the IDP camps to "take care of" GSL soldiers, stating that the women "had no choice" but to acquiesce to Karuna cadres' demands. XXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXX independently described how women are forced into prostitution, or to give up their children to traffickers. The methods are similar to those in Jaffna (paras 17-18). Families sometimes try to arrange their daughters' marriages at the age of 12 or 13 in the hope that it will reduce the likelihood of their being forced into prostitution.

12. (S) Although the GSL has consistently denied supporting Karuna, XXXXXXXXXXXX allowed PolOff to listen to tapes of his interview with Gothabaya. The Defense Secretary was effusive in his praise for Karuna and the

SIPDIS benefits the GSLXXXXXXXXXXXX

COLOMBO 00000728 004 OF 006

Making Karuna Legitimate
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13. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX The TMVP does not yet have the status of a formal political party. According to Sri Lanka's Constitution, new parties cannot register when an election is "pending" in any part of the country. Elections for local councils are long overdue in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which are now in constitutional limbo following the October 1, 2006 Supreme Court decision to de-merge the two provinces. As a result, the GSL must find an existing political party for Karuna to "join," perhaps later changing the name to TMVP, in order for Karuna to stand for elections. XXXXXXXXXXXX said thatXXXXXXXXXXXX has so far resisted GSL efforts to force a shotgun marriage with Karuna, but that he may ultimately have to yield.

EPDP: "Political Party" and Paramilitary
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14. (S) The EPDP, originally called the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), began as a rival to the LTTE. One wing of the EPRLF founded the EPDP as a formal political party when its leader, Douglas Devananda, was elected to Parliament in 1994 and aligned with the government. Devananda continues to hold the single parliamentary seat his party won in the 2004 election. As part of the ruling coalition, he serves as Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare. Although registered as a formal political party, the EPDP remains a feared paramilitary group, wielding non-official power over parts of the Jaffna peninsula and especially the offshore islands with the tacit approval of the Sri Lanka Army.

Extra-Judicial Killings with the Military's Support

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15. (S) Working in concert with SLA soldiers stationed in the Jaffna peninsula, the EPDP is able to conduct extortion, abductions, extra-judicial killings and other criminal acts without fear of consequences, according to numerous sources. XXXXXXXXXXXX told us about EPDP's involvement in extra-judicial killings in Jaffna. Independently,XXXXXXXXXXXX confirmed much of XXXXXXXXXXXX's account. He explained that when the EPDP intends to kill a target, they first provide notice to the military. The number of soldiers patrolling the streets of Jaffna (40,000 total on the peninsula) is such that there are literally soldiers stationed at every street corner. At an agreed time, all of the soldiers in the designated area take a five to ten minute "break" at once (although the normal practice is to take breaks in shifts). At that point, armed and masked gunmen, often riding on motorcycles, race down the street and assassinate the intended victim. Shortly after the killing, the soldiers' break over, they return to their posts to deal with the aftermath. While police investigations are common, they almost never lead to arrests. XXXXXXXXXXXX also told us of a XXXXXXXXXXXX doctor XXXXXXXXXXXX who performs forced abortions, often under the guise of a regular check-up, on Tamil women suspected of being aligned with the LTTE.

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16. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX Child Trafficking
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17. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX said he believes that EPDP is operating child trafficking rings in Jaffna with a base on Delft island, which the EPDP "owns." XXXXXXXXXXXX explained that because of the large number of widows in Jaffna, men associated with the EPDP, often from neighboring villages, are used to seduce women with children, especially girls, with the promise of economic protection. After establishing a relationship, the men then take the children, sometimes by force and sometimes with the promise that they will be provided a better life. The children are sold into slavery, usually boys to work camps and girls to prostitution rings, through EPDP's networks in India and Malaysia. XXXXXXXXXXXX maintains that children are often smuggled out of the country with the help of a corrupt Customs and Immigration official at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.

18. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX's story was partially verified by XXXXXXXXXXXX who stated that the EPDP works in concert with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to operate Tamil prostitution rings for the soldiers. XXXXXXXXXXXX stated that young women were taken and forced to have sex with between five and ten soldiers a night. Sometimes they are paid approximately a dollar for each "service." The young women's parents are unable to complain to authorities for fear of retribution and because doing so would ruin the girls' reputation, making it impossible for them ever to marry. Families have begun arranging marriages for their daughters at a very young age in the hopes that the EPDP and soldiers will be less likely to take them. In addition to trafficking in children, XXXXXXXXXXXX detailed how the EPDP operates an illicit alcohol smuggling ring using child "mules."

U.S. Takes a Hard Line against Paramilitaries
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19. (S) Addressing the activities of these paramilitaries and their blatant disregard for human rights is a top priority of the Embassy. Ambassador, DCM and Pol Chief have met repeatedly with the President, the Foreign Minister, Foreign Secretary, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and others to emphasize the importance of reining in these groups and ending the abductions, killings, and other human rights abuses. Visiting senior USG officials, including Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) Richard

SIPDIS Boucher and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for SCA Steven Mann have delivered tough messages on human rights to the highest levels of the GSL, noting that continued abuses could affect defense cooperation.

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20. (S) COMMENT: While none of the evidence put forward by our contacts constitutes a smoking gun, the preponderance of these statements ) and the extent to which they independently corroborate each other ) points to a pattern of GSL complicity with paramilitary groups on multiple levels. It appears that this involvement goes beyond merely turning a blind eye to these organizations' less savory activities. At worst, these accounts suggest that top leaders of its security establishment may be providing direction to these paramilitaries. While it is perhaps understandable that the GSL wants to use every possible means in its war against LTTE , we must continue to stress to the Government the importance of reining in the paramilitaries and establishing internationally accepted norms for arresting, investigating, prosecuting and, if appropriate, punishing those suspected of cooperating with the LTTE.

- Blake