Tamil Justice

Inner City Press – At UN, Sri Lanka Move to Place Alleged War Criminal As Ambassador Questioned

Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN post, vacant following Bandula Jayasekera’s department triggered by a sexual harassment scandal, is now reportedly slated to be filled by Major General Shavendra Silva, who “was allegedly among those mentioned by MP Sarath Fonseka in a media interview where he had said that the former 58 Division Commander had received orders to shoot at sight LTTE suspects who came with white flags to surrender to the army during the final stage of war.”

At the UN on Wednesday, Inner City Press asked Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, about this reported appointment and that of General G.A. Chandrasiri to replace Palitha Kohona as Permanent Representative.

While Nesirky said he wouldn’t comment on hypotheticals, when Inner City Press asked if Ban would have some discretion to not accept credentials when presented, Nesirky said he would look into it.

Shavendra Silva is clearly a witness to the war crime events about which Ban has appointed a (stalled) three member panel to advise him. Would appointing him an ambassador give him de facto or de jure diplomatic immunity?

Inner City Press also asked Nesirky if the four month “clock” of Ban’s panel of experts had finally begun. No, Nesirky said, the clock has not started but it is being wound. But why so slowly? Watch this site.

Later on Wednesday Inner City Press asked a Sri Lankan diplomat about the reported new Deputy Perm Rep and Perm Rep. “It’s not yet confirmed,” he answered, adding that the entire staff of the mission in New York might be replaced.

CBC News – Tamil migrant review hears of torture

A lawyer representing some of the female Tamil migrants who recently arrived in B.C. has urged that the processing of two women be prioritized, saying that one is suffering from a shrapnel wound and the other was tortured. More

Reuters – Sri Lankan leader has votes to change constitution

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday secured the two-thirds parliamentary majority he needs to change the constitution after an opposition party with eight legislators pledged its support.

…Rajapaksa has already struck a tentative deal to return Sri Lanka to rule by an executive prime minister. That would allow him to by-pass the existing two-term limit as head of state and run the country as prime minister.

…Critics blame the president’s strong executive powers under the present constitution for political interference in the judiciary, public service and police, allowing the head of state to manipulate the system as he or she wishes. More

Sri Lankan Guardian – The Scope of Canadian Conscience
by Roy Ratnavel

As my flight descended into Charleston, South Carolina, I could see Fort Sumpter in the horizon through my sunny window of the aged United Airlines CRJ aircraft. Fort Sumter is best known as the site upon which the first shots initiated the American Civil War — subsequently bringing on unimaginable suffering of the people during and after that gruesome period in American history.

This inspired me to write about the people I left behind almost 22 years ago and their unimaginable, still ongoing suffering due to the longest civil war in Asian history. Leading up to the finale of Sri Lankan Civil War, many military strategists, politicians and terror experts in the West have either failed to recognize the deeper issues in Sri Lanka or they have deliberately applied a methodology to cause one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies of the century.

The murder of many thousands of Tamils last year by the Sri Lankan government is one more proof of lack of common sense of Western countries intervention in Sri Lanka. The listing of the Tigers, and not condemning the atrocities of Sri Lanka on Tamils severed to only strengthen Sri Lanka’s ‘racial’ tendencies, fanaticism and sheer brutality.

We are now witnessing the outcome of such one-sided Western meddling with Tamil freedom struggle. Proud people of 2000 year old rich culture of Indus Valley are now risking the high seas and their lives, including the lives of many orphans, begging for another chance at life, and all we Canadians can say is, “send them back.” Ironically, we call ourselves a nation of ‘civilized’ people. One has to question if the mankind has already lost it’s sanity. More

TamilNet – New Zealand Supreme Court decides LTTE a political organisation

The Supreme Court of New Zealand Friday dismissed the appeal of the government seeking rejection of the refugee status of an Eezham Tamil who was captaining a ship carrying arms to the LTTE. The court in its judgement said: “At all relevant times the Tamil Tigers was an organisation having the goals of self-determination for Tamils and securing an independent Tamil state in northeast Sri Lanka. The principal objective was to induce the government of Sri Lanka to concede such political change. These characteristics made the Tamil Tigers a political organisation notwithstanding its use, at times, of proscribed methods of advancing its cause. That much is not in dispute”.
“The appeal is dismissed. The respondent’s application for recognition of refugee status is remitted to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority for consideration in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s order. Costs are reserved and counsel may submit memoranda if necessary,” said the judgment of the court Friday. More

For full text of the judgment and reasons click here.

ABC – UN says discrimination embedded in Australia

The United Nations human rights panel has rebuked the Australian government over its treatment of Aboriginals.

At the release of a report from the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in Geneva, one of the authors said discrimination has become “embedded” in the Australian way of life.

Email received from Amnesty International

The amazing response from Congress really put a fire under us!

Within the first 24 hours of asking Representatives to sign on to a letter calling for an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka, we got one new co-signer every hour!

In just 8 days total, we won the support of 58 members of Congress. One by one, they added their name to a powerful letter addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. One by one, they spoke out against Sri Lanka’s weak stance on alleged war crimes.

But if we’re truly going to make war criminals pay for the abuses they Committed against masses of innocent people over a quarter century of ethnic conflict, then we’ve got to ignite that same fire under the rest of the international community – starting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Help us light a fire so bright that we can finally stop impunity for war crimes in Sri Lanka.

In the coming months, Amnesty representatives will be meeting with UN officials.

Our goal has been to collect and hand-deliver 50,000 signed petitions to UN offices from our supporters. But once again, the response has been staggering – nearly 40,000 of you have already taken action for Sri Lanka. Keep that momentum going!

Sri Lanka has a 20-year history of setting up flawed commissions that get us nowhere – lacking credibility and derailing criminal investigations.

If this time is going to be any different, then we need to build as much pressure as we can.

Please make a tax-deductible donation today and help finally bring justice to the people of Sri Lanka.

Thank you for standing up against injustice,

Christoph, Jim and the rest of the Crisis Response Team Amnesty International USA

1. Click here to download the Amnesty Letter

The National Post – Tamil migrants say they are fleeing mass murders

The Tamil migrants smuggled to the B.C. coast aboard the MV Sun Sea have released statements saying they are civilians fleeing disappearances and mass murders in Sri Lanka.

In a letter obtained by the National Post, a group of migrants detained at a prison near Vancouver thanked Canada and disputed what they called Sri Lankan government propaganda about them. More

The Star – Sri Lanka’s telling exodus

Canada doesn’t have a Tamil “problem,” whatever critics of our refugee system may say about the arrival here of the cargo freighter MV Sun Sea with some 500 asylum-seekers. We processed 34,000 refugee claims last year; these arrivals won’t overtax the system.

It is Sri Lanka that has a problem. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s triumphalist government has failed to make the country’s large Tamil minority feel secure after crushing the Tiger insurgency last year. Until he does, people will continue to flee. More

No one is illegal – Myths and Realities about 490 Tamil Refugees on MV Sun Sea

Myth: They are terrorists.

There is no evidence to substantiate this. Rohan Gunaratna, the government’s primary source, has already been discredited by lawyers as well as an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator for being uncredible. Last October, when the 76 Tamil asylum-seekers came on Ocean Lady they were similarly labeled as terrorists and security threats. However by Jan 2010, they were all released from detention when Canadian Border Services Agency admitted they had no evidence of a terrorist connection. More

The Hindu –  UN calls for more aid for Sri Lankan IDPs

The United Nations has said the displaced Tamil civilians continue to be vulnerable, needing support until livelihoods are restored, and has asked donors for a further assistance of $165 million.

Briefing donor countries, U.N. Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator Neil Buhne reiterated the urgent need to stay the course in helping displaced persons and returned communities. He said though generous donations of about $125 million had made these operations possible, $165 million more was needed to cover gaps.

As per the U.N., there has been substantial progress over the last months and since late 2009 and approximately 200,000 people have returned to their villages in the North. Though a declining number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are with host families, it is estimated that 70,000 remain displaced or are in transit sites near their home areas. Less than 35,000 IDPs remain in emergency sites.

The Age – Libs’ plan to stop boats undermined

THE Coalition’s election pledge to stop asylum seeker boats is under threat with key independents likely to block a key plank of its refugee policy.

A Coalition government would need the support of at least two independents to reinstate temporary protection visas, abolished by Labor in 2008. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has said temporary visas are crucial to stopping people smugglers selling asylum seekers a permanent life in Australia.

But the voting histories of Tony Windsor and Robert Oakeshott on refugee policies flag a more liberal approach. Both independents sided with Labor to abolish detention debts last year and Mr Oakeshott has since expressed his desire ”to unwind some of the damage” done by tough talk on asylum seekers.