Sri Lanka government accuses LTTE of conscripting civilians to fight

Sri Lanka government today accused the LTTE of conscripting civilians to fight the troops advancing into the Tiger controlled areas as their numbers dwindle due to the fighting.

The government said the LTTE leadership has directed their cadres to forcibly conscript civilians who had no battle training and use them as a buffer between the LTTE and the troops marching into the terrorist stronghold in the Wanni.

The government further said “the LTTE seeks to use civilians as a human shield so that in the event of casualties the organization can plead to what has been a largely unsympathetic world that there is a 'humanitarian catastrophe'.”

The human rights group, Amnesty International, recently slammed the LTTE for breaking international law by using civilians as a buffer against government forces.

Human right groups and the United Nations have repeatedly accused the Tigers of recruiting child soldiers and sending them to the frontlines.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/August2245743CH.html

UN turns down LTTE ceasefire plea

The United Nations has turned down the LTTE request for the declaration of an immediate ceasefire, Government Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday.

The LTTE had made the request to the UN on Thursday (7) and the UN had informed the Government of Sri Lanka about the request.

Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona was informed by the UN that the LTTE had made the request on an urgent basis stating that the government armed forces were attacking the Tamil people of the Kilinochchi District from two fronts, he said.

But the LTTE had not stated that they would lay down their arms in the event of a ceasefire, Rambukwella said.

Rambukwella also said the LTTE request had come in the wake of the increased assault on their positions by the armed forces in a bid to get the attacks stopped.

Extracted from,
http://www.island.lk/2008/08/09/news2.html

Probe INGOs with terror links

It is thanks to help from foreign governments and their INGO tentacles that the LTTE has evolved into a formidable terrorist group. Since the LTTE severed its umbilical cord with Mother India, several 'responsible' members of the world community have come forward to keep it going, while feigning abhorrence of its terror. But for their assistance, the outfit may not have been able to raise funds to finance its terrorism in this country.

Now, we hear that the UN has confirmed that the assets of a Norwegian INGO operating in the Wanni have got into the LTTE's hands. It is claimed that the LTTE has commandeered nine heavy vehicles belonging to the Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) to fortify its defences in view of the on-going military offensives. The LTTE is busy digging trenches to prevent the army from advancing.

Why didn't the NPA report the seizure by the LTTE of its assets to the Ministry of Defence immediately afterwards? It is unthinkable that the LTTE will ever use force against a Norwegian INGO and seize its vehicles, given its strong ties with Norway.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/08/01/editorial.html

British official to meet Chandrakanthan

Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan is expected to meet British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown. The British official is scheduled to arrive in Colombo today (14) on a four-day official visit.

During his visit Lord Malloch-Brown is scheduled to hold discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, and several other government officials.

The meeting with Chandrakanthan is expected to take place in Trincomalee. Recently, a high level EU delegation declined to meet Chandrakanthan, an ex-LTTE cadre and the leader of the breakaway LTTE faction.

This is Lord Malloch-Brown’s first visit to Sri Lanka after becoming State Minister. He has visited Sri Lanka twice before as Deputy Secretary-General of the UN.

xtracted from,
http://www.island.lk/2008/07/14/news2.html

Is it all that important to be seated on the UN Human Rights Council? USA & Israel doesn’t think so – why should Sri Lanka?

Desmond Tutu must be happy, so too must be Adolfo Perez Esquivel & former President Carter & perhaps many more of the human rights activists & NGOs that set in motion an international propaganda to project Sri Lanka as a nation in the grips of anarchy & urged member nations to reject Sri Lanka’s attempt to secure a re-election to the 47 member UN Human Rights Council.

But is this seat all that important? Why is the US & Israel not a member of it since they voted against the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council on 15th March 2006 & why did Venezuela abstain from voting citing that certain paragraphs paved the way for intervention in the internal affairs of States.

There are likely to be many interpretations of the denial of Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council, of course in the world of diplomacy it may be considered a slap to the Sri Lankan Government & possibly a jolt to its ego internationally but then considering the countries that have secured election purely by the structure of the Council, it becomes questionable whether Sri Lanka should feel disheartened at all.

Sri Lanka presently being accused of atrocious human rights abuses must feel quite content for being omitted from a seat in view of the members having to uphold highest standards in the promotion & protection of “human rights” not to mention being subject to periodic review.

Read more,
http://www.sinhalaya.com/news/english/wmview.php?ArtID=15330

No human rights organizations would be allowed in! – Govt. informs UNHRC

Sri Lanka has informed UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva that no human rights organizations would be allowed to investigate human rights situations in Sri Lanka here after.

The government has accused UNHRC for being a victim of incorrect information supplied by various voluntary organizations while the government was rigorously involved in safeguarding human rights in the country adding that the government would never give in to the demands of voluntary organizations that receive foreign funds to dismantle the work of the government.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to investigate the colossal sum of money received by voluntary organizations and how they are spent in this country. It has been revealed that a certain human rights organization has received a sum of $40 million.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/index.php?

Dethroned for violations or...?

Sri Lanka has lost its seat in the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) due mainly to a disrespecting of the world system, arrogance, complete lack of counter propaganda against LTTE and bungling and rantings by a group of theoreticians and technocrats.

International norms dealing with torture, disappearances, and political killings have emerged due mainly to the atrocities committed elsewhere. Human Rights groups, pioneered by the work of Amnesty International have used fact finding, consensus building, principled norm construction, norm application etc paving the way for HR standards and measures broadly described as 'principled norm emergence'.

In times of war, the principle Jus in Bello (Justice in War) is said to apply to regulate the conduct of military forces. The rules of warfare aim to safeguard human life and some other fundamental Human Rights, and to ensure that war is limited in its scope and level of violence. It is the premise that combatants have voluntarily forfeited some of their rights whilst civilians have not and carry at all times the full rights under the UN Charter.

Although international law suggests that the inhabitants of non-occupied territory, who take up arms on the approach of the enemy and resist the invading troops, even if they have not had time to organize themselves, count as armed forces, a guerrilla or insurgent force fighting mostly without uniforms are miles apart and cannot be easily distinguished from unarmed civilians.

Read more,
http://defencewire.blogspot.com/2008/05/dethroned-for-violations-or.html

Nobel Prize Winners misled by LTTE sympathisers

Three Nobel prize winners, in a coordinated act, has issued a statement regarding electing Sri Lanka to the UN Human Rights Council. The timing has left the friends of Sri Lanka with very little or no time to respond. I have seen the response of some, to the views expressed by the Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu. The comments are as follows:

How can a person who fought against racism and imperialism support Tamil racism and expansion ?

Another asked the following valid questions, which are relevant to all three Nobel Nobel laureates.

* What are the grounds and facts on which you make this claim. Are your information first hand, second hand, third or otherwise?
* Who are your informers in Sri Lanka ? Or do you have your sources in distant lands ?
* Are these sources ( here or abroad) remote- controlled by hidden hands or hidden and spotted tails ? Clearly if the secondary source of data is incorrect, corrupt or deliberate lies then the receiver of this incorrect data would come to incorrect deductions.

If the citizens of Sri Lanka are worried by the manner in which GoSL deals with human rights, they have a mechanism to get rid of the government. The recent election victory showed that even in the areas controlled by LTTE until recently, the Tamil people elected the Government lead coalition party. This surely must say something. Even the Tamil people have confidence in the Government lead coalition.

The most serious threat to human rights come from terrorists who have taken away the basic human right of right life of many innocent civilians. Sri Lanka is fighting for survival, against a vicious terrorist organisation that is carrying out an undeclared war.

Read more,
http://www.spur.asn.au/BS_20080520_Noble_Prize_winners_misled_by_the_LTTE_sympathisers.htm

Gota to UN: Check LTTE infiltration

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday called for stringent measures to prevent the LTTE from using what he called UN cover to mount operations in the South.

As troops step up pressure on the LTTE on four fronts in the Vanni theatre, the enemy would resort to hit and run attacks in the South, he said, a UN employee apprehended south of Vavuniya could have been on a special mission to destabilise the the souther parts of the country.

"There is no option but to take all precautions to thwart the LTTE’s plan," the Defence Secretary told The Island yesterday asserting the enemy wouldn’t hesitate to manipulate the UN or any other foreign NGO to achieve its targets.

HE said the government wanted all agencies to immediately scrutinise their local employees as there could be LTTE agents on their payroll. "I have repeatedly warned of the LTTE taking refuge in NGOs and using their cover to facilitate clandestine operations but unfortunately they turned a blind eye," he said. He said last Wednesday’s arrest of a Kilinochchi-based LTTE assassin on the payroll of the UN must prompt a thorough investigation.

The Defence Secretary said the on-going UN investigation targeting the suspect Thiagaraja Prabhakaran, a resident of Batticaloa would reveal the real extent of the LTTE infiltration of the organisation. Police took him into custody at Iratteperiyakulam, south of Vavuniya on Wednesday afternoon.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/05/05/news1.html

UN worker arrested with small pistol in Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan national working with the World Food Programme (WFP) of the UN was arrested Wednesday with a micro pistol in his possession at a security roadblock in the north of the island nation.

'The suspect was travelling from Kilinochchi to Batticaloa when he was arrested by the security forces at the Irattaperiyakulam road block in Vavuniya around 12.45 p.m. on Wednesday,' the defence ministry here said.

It said that the suspect, identified as Thiagaraja Prabhakaran, 'is a resident of Batticaloa and is currently working with the UNDP office in Kilinochchi', an area held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north.

According to the ministry, the suspect while questioning confessed that an LTTE agent had given him the micro pistol to be handed over to a person in the eastern Batticaloa district, where the provincial council election is set to be held May 10.

Read more,
http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/

UNOCHA & several INGOs to recue LTTE from impending defeat

Several UNOCHA (United Nations Office for Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs) representatives have been asked to team up with a few INGOs infiltrated by LTTE agents to carry out a smear campaign against Sri Lanka and its Security Forces.

According to information received by ‘Lankatruth’ LTTE terrorists in two recent meetings with UNOCHA representatives in Kilinochchi and Batticaloa have asked the UN Body to undertake false propaganda against Sri Lanka and its Security Forces stating several INGOs would support such a project.

The LTTE leaders had a meeting with UN officials on 7th April in Kilinochchi and another such meeting in Batticaloa assuring the support of Care (UK), Oxfam (UK), Norwegian Peoples Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council, Forut (EU), MSF (EU), Save the Children (USA & Canada) and World Vision (USA & Canada) for the UNOHA to carry out the ‘project.’

Read more,
http://www.lankatruth.com/index.php?

A clear message on rights, says Colombo

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has said the Constitution and the Supreme Court rulings give “adequate recognition to the provisions contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

In a ruling made on the basis of the opinion sought by President Rajapaksa, the apex court held that the citizens could derive the “benefit guaranteed by the Covenant.”

It is immediately not clear what prompted the President to seek the court’s opinion. A few months ago, the apex court in another case observed that the United Nations and other international conventions were not binding on the country unless ratified by Parliament.

Read more,
http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/31/stories/2008033155771600.htm

Why are they all ganging up on Sri Lanka

EITHER the world is ganging up against Sri Lanka or there is something wrong in the country where President Mahinda Rajapaksa is at the helm of affairs. In recent weeks, the International Commission of Jurists, the Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and top UN officials fired salvo after salvo on Sri Lanka, putting the government on the back-foot to defend itself.

The international human rights community’s attacks were too much for a government which is fighting a lone battle against what it calls a ruthless terrorist group which is waging a violent campaign to set up a separate state for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils living in the north and the east.

While the security forces fight a valiant battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and make slow but steady progress in their march towards the rebel heartland, government politicians and diplomats are also fighting an equally tough war to defend the country’s human rights record at world fora. While Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe last week went to Geneva to participate at the annual Human Rights Council sessions where he faced a series of allegations based on case studies and well-compiled reports, International Trade Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris left for Brussels and London on Sunday to plead for duty concessions for our exports.

The concessions granted under the European Union’s GSP+ (Generalised System of Preference) policy to Sri Lanka is up for review and it will be renewed only if the EU is satisfied that the Rajapaksa government is committed to good governance, which includes a commitment to respect human rights.

Read the full article,
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?

UN rejects HRW report

The human rights report forwarded by Human Rights Watch to UN has been rejected.
The report in 242 pages was rejected by all representatives of Asian, European and African countries as a false report.

Extracted from,
http://www.lankatruth.com/

Iranian President here in April

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected in Sri Lanka next month.
It is, however, likely to be marred by controversy with senior Foreign Ministry officials anxious over Ahmadinejad’s proposed visit to Sri Lanka.

The Iranian President is expected in the country between April 15 to 22.
In the event he arrives as scheduled, Ahmadinejad is also likely to lay the foundation stone for the Uma Oya hydro power project, which is being funded by Iran.
Iran is also assisting Sri Lanka to develop the Sapugaskanda oil refinery.

“Foreign Ministry officials are apprehensive over the impending visit, as the United Nations has imposed sanctions against Iran and Sri Lanka may likely irk the UN and other Western countries in the event Ahmadinejad visits the island,” sources said.
However, the Iranian President’s visit to the country is yet to be finalised.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa undertook a controversial visit to Iran in November last year, which reportedly irked many Western countries, including the United States.

Extracted from,
http://www.nation.lk/2008/03/09/news12.htm

Foreign Ministry slams AI report

The recent Amnesty International report fails to acknowledge the many positive steps taken by the Government to promote freedom of expression which is enshrined in the Constitution, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

It fails to acknowledge any positive steps taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to enhance protection in an environment of combating terrorism and shadowy killers, the Ministry said.

The Ministry said: “The attention of the Government of Sri Lanka has been drawn to a recent report issued by Amnesty International titled “Sri Lanka-Silencing Dissent” on alleged threats to media and media freedom.

The Report is totally misplaced - a contradiction between the title ‘silencing dissent’ and Government’s sustained policy of open and constructive engagement with the international community and international human rights mechanisms.

In 2007 the Government extended invitations to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, and in early 2008, to a delegation from the Inter Parliamentary Union and Ms Angela Kane, the UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/08/news03.asp

Resolute action against LTTE by UN essential

The full text of the statement made by Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Working Group:

First, I would like to convey our appreciation to you, Mr. Chairman, for the leadership you and your country have been providing to the issue of children and armed conflict. I thank other members of the Working Group for working diligently for the shared objective of bringing an end to the detestable practice of recruitment and use of children by armed groups.

Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and her staff also deserve credit for the manner in which they work effectively with member States concerned, with the aim of better implementing Resolution 1612.

Since independence 60 years ago, all successive governments in Sri Lanka have been committed towards creating a protective environment for children to live in dignity and to enjoy their rights with care and support of their families.

Read more,
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/02/23/fea01.asp

Top UN official arrives in Sri Lanka

Angela Kane, UN assistant secretary general for political affairs arrived in Sri Lanka today following a request from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for a weeklong fact finding mission, Foreign Ministry announced.

“The top UN official will come here for a week for primarily to review the work of the UN Country Team in the South Asian nation in all key areas,” a statement said.

“The visit is part of her regular consultations in the areas of her responsibility,” it added.

Foreign Ministry said that Ms. Kane will hold talks with the Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona and envoys from the European Union, Norway and India. She will also meet the opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe. The top UN official is expected to meet leaders of the All Party Representative's Committee (APRC) during her weeklong visit from Feb 20 through 26.

Exrtacted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/February20124758JV.html

Sri Lanka to report on child soldiers

A report from the Sri Lanka government on the recruitment of child soldiers in the country is expected to be presented to the United Nations.

Government officials announced plans to present the report on forced military indoctrination of children at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday. The U.N. recently singled out the terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam operating in Sri Lanka as among the top human-rights violators in the world, Sri Lanka's Daily News reported.

Sri Lanka Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe say a delegation from the country is traveling to U.N. headquarters in New York to apprise the world body on what he called progress that has been made by a committee appointed to inquire into abductions and recruitment of children for armed conflict.

Read more,
http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/02/18/

Nobody can touch Prabhakaran: LTTE

Rubbishing frequent claims by Sri Lankan government that the elusive LTTE supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran has been injured in a military raid, his key aide has said the people would soon realise the "futility" of army's claims of success against the rebels.

"A false propaganda saying our leader Prabhakaran is injured is being carried. Nobody can approach our leader," LTTE political head B. Nadesan told the Tamil Daily Thinakkural in an interview yesterday. While the Sri Lankan security forces were claiming success in their clashes against LTTE, Nadesan said the "people of Sri Lanka will realise the futility of such a claim in times to come".

Nadesan accused the Sri Lankan government of trying to sideline the Norwegian mediators besides contradicting the United Nations. "The government is not in favour of peace process," he said. Lankan Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetilleke had said that fighter jets had dropped 20 bombs on Prabhakaran's bunker on November 26, 2007 and had claimed that the rebel leader could have been injured in the attack. The LTTE denied the claim.

Read more,
http://news.indiainfo.com/2008/02/17/0802171801_lanka_prabhakaran.html