Politics on international platforms does not change people’s realities

By Jehan Perera

The Sri Lankan government came out with a forceful campaign in favour of the global war against terrorism and against those whom it claimed sought to use human rights as a tool against states in New York at the meeting of the UN General Assembly and in Geneva at the session of the UN Human Rights Council. President Mahinda Rajapaksa used the podium in New York to speak in the Sinhala language and reach the hearts and minds of his countrymen back at home. This was the second successive occasion in which the President used the Sinhala language to address all the nations of the world. Invariably the largest audience for the PresidentA?a??a??s speech was in Sri Lanka where the powerful state media gave it maximum coverage.

One of the roots of the ethnic conflict, and current war in Sri Lanka, has been the issue of language. When Sinhala was made the sole official language of the country in 1956 over the impassioned opposition of its Tamil-speaking peoples, who amounted to over a quarter of the countryA?a??a??s population, the seeds of ethnic marginalization were laid. Although the government made Tamil also an official language in 1990, it remains unimplemented for the most part. The PresidentA?a??a??s choice of Sinhala to make his speech at the UN remains part of a deeply ingrained pattern in government officials, both elected and unelected, to give primacy to Sinhala only.

In his speech in New York, President Rajapaksa gave emphasis to the war against terrorism that his government was conducting against the LTTE. He drew upon the growing international antipathy to terrorism, which took an upward climb following the terror attack on the US in September 2001, to strengthen his governmentA?a??a??s justification for its use of the military option to restore democracy and peace to the country. The LTTEA?a??a??s own track record of human rights violations and terrorist practices assisted the government to silence those who might otherwise have stood their ground firmly for the path of negotiations.

The PresidentA?a??a??s references to the restoration of democracy and plans for massive reconstruction in the newly recaptured areas of the east could have impressed the international delegates to whom a translation of the PresidentA?a??a??s speech was readily available. The President demonstrated considerable skill in coming across as a homespun and patriotic head of state in his unique clothing with a sash around his shoulder. Notwithstanding his narrow electoral victory which was made possible by the LTTEA?a??a??s enforced boycott of Tamil voters, the fact that he is the democratically elected President of a country also gave him equal international legitimacy with other elected heads of state, which was visible in the many photographs and visuals that pictured him with leaders of other countries.

Metoclopramide antiemetic generic reglan Ground realities

But back home in Sri Lanka, most particularly in the north and east where the military conflict between the government and LTTE is focused, the situation was starkly different from that sketched out by the President in New York. The most recent report of the international monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission says that the security situation in the north and east continues to be bleak and deteriorating for the civilian population. The PresidentA?a??a??s speech made in the Sinhala language would have reconfirmed to the Tamil-speaking peoples their disadvantaged position in Sri Lanka in relation to the more numerous Sinhalese people. In translation the claims made by the President that the government was serious about restoring democracy and development to the north and east would have seemed like an impossible dream, given the situation they presently live in.

A little more than two months ago I was an eyewitness to the fear and suffering that stretches across the east, from Trincomalee through Batticaloa down to Ampara, through which the governmentA?a??a??s writ now runs more or less completely. But if the governmentA?a??a??s writ implies justice, security and normalcy, this was not at all the case. Due to the constant apprehension about LTTE infiltration, the government troops are on high alert, manning hundreds of checkpoints at which the people are searched and sometimes detained. The armed Karuna group has its offices in public places guarded by its own armed cadres who also prowl about town as an effective para military affiliate of the government forces.

Although the President spoke of a massive development effort to reconstruct the east, the only thing that I saw of a major infrastructure development project during five days of travel through the east was a big bridge that is being constructed near Pottuvil. Indeed, it is hardly a cause for surprise that development should be taking a back seat in the east at the present time. The government is so badly strapped for cash that it is finding it difficult even to make pension payments, although it has printed cash in a manner that has driven up inflation to near 20 percent, has borrowed heavily from the state banking system, and now has approached commercial institutions for massive foreign loans.
Robaxin price per pill

The President also spoke of the restoration of democracy and elections. But the ground reality gives another story. The remnants of the LTTE still present in the east, and the possibility of fresh infiltration from outside, create a security crisis in which people are constantly checked, detained, abducted and assassinated. Even if this should happen to a few with impunity, it creates a climate of terror in which people are afraid to speak, even of their own sufferings and the injustices heaped upon them. This makes a free and fair election impossible in the foreseeable future. But the correspondence between democracy and elections is so strong in the international community that it becomes easy to see those who promise it as upholders of the higher values of civilization.

Offensive campaign

It was not only in New York that the government took the offensive. The government also temporarily staved off a much anticipated resolution against it by the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The assumption that the Human Rights Council would call Sri Lanka to account for its deteriorating human rights record proved to be a mistaken one. Many of the countries represented in the Human Rights Council are from the third world, or are those who also face problems similar to those faced by Sri Lanka. Each of these countries is cynically aware that if they were to take up a principled stance against a fraternal country, they are liable to be at the receiving end of that same principled stance.

Those who wish conflict resolution and problem solving in national and international affairs to take place on the basis of human rights, peace and justice may wish that the Human Rights Council of the UN is primarily a human rights body. But this is not the case, as it is primarily a political body just as much as the UN, which is a political organization where the interests of member states come before everything else. For instance, the Human Rights Council failed to meet to discuss a resolution that would condemn the Burmese government for suppressing the peopleA?a??a??s movement that demands change in that country. The Sri Lankan government selected a delegation that took advantage of this situation to attack and discredit their opponents.

An example would be a working document listing 547 persons killed and 396 persons disappeared during the period January to June 2007 compiled by the Law & Society Trust, in collaboration with four local partners including the Civil Monitoring Commission nd the Free Media Movement, which was submitted to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry as well as relevant members of the government. The government delegation identified that eight of the names on this list were those of Sri Lankan soldiers. They sought to discredit the NGOs, arguing that A?a??A?the callousness with which the dead become statistics, mere grist to the mill of these ghouls, does no service to those who suffer through violations of human rights.A?a??A? But they had nothing to say about the 935 other persons who had been killed or disappeared and whose spirits cry for justice.

A second example would be the government delegation calling upon A?a??A?the Office of the Special Representative and the international community to impress upon the LTTE and its breakaway Karuna faction to give priority to implementing the recommendations made in the 20th December report of the UN Secretary General on Children Affected by Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka and to cease child recruitment immediately and return child combatants and young persons to their families to that they can be reintegrated.A?a??A? However, this statement made no mention of the fact that the Karuna group is an important ally of the government and that the armed cadres of the Karuna group operate freely in government-controlled areas.

For an improvement in the ground situation it may be necessary for an international human rights monitoring mechanism to be established in Sri Lanka on the lines of the UN human rights monitoring mechanism established in Nepal with field offices. As a part of the peace process that led to the peace agreement between the Nepal government and Maoist rebels there was agreement to establish field offices of the UN to monitor the human rights situation.

In New York and Geneva, on the other hand, the Sri Lankan government denied that there was a crisis of human rights in the country. This means that obtaining positive change from the government and its agencies by themselves is unlikely at this time. President Rajapaksa frequently refers to his pride in Asia. Sri Lanka could follow the Nepal example, strengthen its human rights protection mechanism with international assistance, and be another endeavour of Asian peacemaking.

source:
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/10/02/opinion/01.asp

When did uroxatral go generic By Shakuntala Perera
Nationalist politics invariably crossing over to various levels of extremism have always been the bane of Sri Lanka. Such opportunist politics have always beein in the way of the country reaching its development goals. It has more importantly been the biggest obstacle in the way of minorities receiving their due. But, never in the history of this country has the situation dropped to the depths that they have today.

Allegations of attempts to change the demography of the country, especially with regard to the contentious Eastern and Northern provinces, increase at an alarming rate. Several development plans of the government especially in the East is showing strong moves to this end.

The newly A?a??E?liberatedA?a??a?? Eastern province is today a volcano awaiting eruption. The political agendas of various nationalist groups are threatening the peace of the province as never before. More seriously, they are threatening the lives of innocent people caught in between.

The Mavil Aru debacle and the consequent military engagements are increasingly viewed as further alienating the minority communities in the East. Such feelings have left suspicions on the Northern exercise that has now begun.
Buy kamagra gel uk

Following the first movement of displaced persons, 6,000 families, approx 30,000 persons, took place in April 2006 from the Trincomalee District to the Batticaloa District after the Mavil Aaru clashes between the Government and the LTTE. The IDPs first moved from Trincomalee to Vaharai in the Batticaloa district, then in late 2006 from Vaharai to Batticaloa. The third movement of persons was from West Batticaloa to Batticaloa East.

The resettlement plans of the government are accused of attempts to A?a??E?SinhaliseA?a??a?? the province. The allegation is strongly contributed to by clear moves to cement the demands by religious foundations.

Both humanitarian agencies operating in the areas and the people left destitute confirm that there were clear moves by certain political organizations to settle Sinhala families within Muslim villages have only poured fuel to the sensitivities of the area. The anger rising out of the Muslim community is not to be ignored. Such anger has the potential to grow in to militancy as we experience with the LTTE. The frustrations growing out of the situation are not to be ignored.

The government by Gazette notification No 1467/3 Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Law No 40(1978), declared a new High Security Zone covering Sampur and Muttur East on 16 February 2007. The declaration of HSZ for an Economic Zone will lead to the displacement of thousands. The government has reportedly already taken action to acquire land for relocation of said displaced families. Eastern Security Forces Commander Parakrama Pannipitiya has been appointed as the Competent Authority for the implementation of the regulations.

There are suspicions that A?a??E?a new and trustworthy work force and new communities, most likely Sinhala will be moved into Trincomalee, A?a??E?dramatically impacting on the demography and the ethnic balance in the Trincomalee District.A?a??a?? Already local communities are expressing fears that their areas are being marginalized and their needs and rights are being ignored in the proposed development plans.

Moves under the BOI Trincomalee Development Plan, to establish a nature park and in Seenanveli, north of Illankaiturai Muhattuvaram, a HSZ and a special fishing zone are not without their questionable implications. The residents, most of them Tamils of Veddha descent, from about 8 villages, have been transported and virtually dumped in the open. A?a??E?They are prevented from going home on the pretext of landmines while their meagre possessions have been reportedly looted by A?a??E?SinhaleseA?a??a?? from the Mahindapura colony, acting allegedly in cooperation with the ArmyA?a??a??. The army is also engaged in constructing a Buddhist Temple, Samudragiri Vihara, in Seenanveli.

The Coalition of Muslims and Tamils for Peace and Coexistence (CMTPC) maintain the allegations have a sound basis. They allege that the current development plan for Trincomalee or the soon to be unveiled Eastern Development Plan has elements contributing to the mistrust. A?a??E?This concern of minority communities needs to be addressed and their fears allayed as speedily as possibleA?a??a?? they maintain.

Certainly the eviction of 251 resettled farmers from Arafa Nagar on 10th, August, without prior notice by the military, demonstrates that it is not purely security concerns that keep the Tamils out of their lands. Such actions and in some instances obstacles placed in the way of resettlement are prompted more by ethnic considerations than by security safeguards. These Muslim families who earlier received the green light to rebuild their lives and continue farming from the security forces were suddenly evicted. All hopes of bringing some normalcy to their hopeless lives were short lived, they found. Five months to be exact.

A board declaring it a High Security Zone was erected on August 10, with a warning issued against trespasses. Trespassers were threatened with death. It is such harsh decisions by the State that are pushing the minority communities further and further awy from the Centre. These are far from the ambitious plans that the government spoke about to A?a??E?win hearts and mindsA?a??a?? of the liberated people. In effect these and many other similar examples are pushing the people towards the LTTE. There are serious questions raised if the demands of the LTTE are not justified. Pertinent questions are being asked on the intentions of the government policy in this regard. The people want to know if liberation from one terror group was only going to push them towards another dictatorial rule.

South Asians for Human Rights last week charged against the moves to Sinhalise the area. A?a??E?Appointment of numerous Sinhala government officials to the Provincial Council in the East after the de-merger of the Northern and Eastern province; establishment of Sinhala resettlements in Ampara; and building Viharas in Pottuvil, a predominantly Muslim area. The Muslim people, correctly, viewed themselves as being stuck between Sinhala and Tamil nationalisms,A?a??a?? they allege.

The concern of international communities canA?a??a??t be ignored in this scenario. Human rights violations, what ever form they take must remain the necessary concern of the international stakeholders. Attempts to antagonize them would not help the government in any way. The fact remains that all democratic governments are accountable at some point. It is irrelevant what their interpretation of liberation is. There is simply no justification for the human cost of the most A?a??E?nobleA?a??a?? of causes.

sourse:
Daily Mirror
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/08/30/opinion/1.asp

Batti Army Chief wants Karuna group disarmed: SLMM

Glycomet gp2 cost
Astelin corticosteroid By Easwaran Rutnam
The debate whether to disarm or not to disarm Karuna continues with a senior army officer telling the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission he felt the Karuna group, also known as the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal should be disarmed if normalcy was to be restored to the east.

Major General Daya Ratnayake, Batticaloa District General Officer Commanding (GOC) 23 Division, expressed this view at a meeting with the SLMM recently. Its spokesman Steinar Sveinsson told the Daily Mirror adding however that he was unaware if the view was his personal opinion or official.

This is the first time the military had openly commented on the need to disarm the Karuna faction although government ministers and even the Defence Secretary in the wake of the capture of Thoppigala had expressed the intention of disarming armed groups in the east.

When contacted Military spokesman Prasad Samarasingha however refused to comment on the views expressed by Major General Ratnayake while Karuna Amman himself had said he would not disarm at this time. Meanwhile the SLMM said it had received several complaints regarding extortion and harassment by the Karuna group in Batticaloa and Ampara. It was also reported that the Karuna group summoned people to its offices for questioning.

The Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) in its latest weekly report released yesterday noted that there was a continued presence of armed civilians in the Batticaloa district, particularly in close proximity to certain political party offices.

It said in the past week some humanitarian agencies had received threatening phone calls requesting for shelter material. An armed group in Pottuvil Komari is reported to have forcibly taken the keys to 30 permanent tsunami houses and evicted the families, IASC added.

Speaking to reporters at the weekly situation briefing, Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said the Karuna faction should be allowed to contest the elections in the east if it wished to do so.

As was reported in the Daily Mirror earlier the Karuna faction was expected to be listed in a new report on child recruitment, to be handed over to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon this month even as UNICEF and the Karuna faction traded charges over allegations of continued child recruitment.

source:
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/08/04/front/1.asp