Those who speak highly and vociferously of Human Rights Violations were/are the worst violators.
Not a whimper.
No Nuremberg.
Pontificating B…….!
Refer Wiki for individual crimes.
http://listverse.com/2012/12/14/top-10-allied-war-crimes-of-world-war-ii/
Not content with the Genocide of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Government , through its army is engaged in harassing school girls by the army personnel asking them to call them on Cell phones by giving the children a ‘chit’ to write their cell Phone numbers.
Some girls were found missing and no action seems to have been taken by the authorities,
There are also reports that the Government has moved Tamils from the human Rights care to Army Detention Camp.
Mahinda Rajapakshe seems to be working out a plan.
First came the acquisition of Tamils lands, then the settlement of Sinhalese in the Tamil areas.
One of the major complaints against the Government during the period pf ‘war’ was that the army was given special directive to rape Tamil Women, thus ensuring th Sinhala domination.
May sound preposterous.
I have been under the impression that only the Sri Lankan Government is behaving this way and the normal Sinhalese are fair.
To my shock , I found Sinhalese spewing venom at the Tamils in a totally unrelated News item in the Times of India dt 22/8/2012 on SriLanka having allowed China to purchase a property in Colombo .( India of course was upset about and did nothing about it, except crying).
Of the 100o and odd comments nearly 50-60 were totally irrelevant and abusive of the Tamils.
Given the fact that the government and the people of Sinhala are against the Tamils , I am coming around to the view that co existence with the Sinhalese is out of question.
Story:
( August 24, 2012, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka Guardian) According to news reaching from the former LTTE hideout in and around the north-east Pudukudiyiruppu, Vanni, military men engaged in non-combating patrols are heavily engaged in harassing the Tamil school girls.
I have documented ,including Videos, on the Genocide committed by Sri Lankan Forces.
They are filed under Sri Lanka,Tamils.
This is not apologia for LTTE.
Their crimes are also documented.
The Report by The Tribunal On Si Lanka and
“The tribunal listened to several presentations by NGOs, experts on the recent and current “civil war”
situation in Sri Lanka, in front of a public audience. The Tribunal listened to a larger number of
witnesses, victims, human rights defenders, journalists and Tamils from the diaspora in ‘in camera.
sessions’ in order to protect their identity.
In its work the Tribunal was reminded several times that this civil war was a “war without witnesses”
because the GoSL had prevented either national or international media coverage. In fact, some of the
early victims were the many journalists that were murdered by unknown assassins, something which
appeared to serve the agenda of the Government by silencing critical opinion. The impression held by
most experts and witnesses is that this was a civil war, and an exercise in ethnic cleansing, perhaps even
genocide, and that the Government did not wish to share this with the media. Instead, significant
misinformation as to the policies, the fighting, and the numbers and overall well-being of civilians in
LTTE-controlled areas was provided by Colombo.
This misinformation frequently underestimated the number of Tamil civilians within LTTE-controlled
areas who were trapped by the military, and exposed to attack by aircraft and artillery. It was only when
the final exodus from the much diminished LTTE-held territory began, and the internally displaced
persons (IDPs) were counted that it was seen that the government had misinformed both the national
and the international public.
The atrocities carried out by the military relate particularly to civilians, and there is evidence of cluster
munitions being dropped by warplanes. Some witnesses reported that white phosphorous was used in
violation of international law. Several witnesses had seen burn marks on wounded civilians. Others
believed that indications of napalm were apparent, and evidence of other incendiary devices has been
confirmed by doctors who had cared for hundreds of Tamil civilians wounded in this manner. The
sight of hundreds of dead bodies was reported by a number of witnesses. This indicates that in addition
to the many wounded and the heavy loss of civilian life, the destruction of civilian infrastructure
essential for human wellbeing was common (with women and children among those targeted) in the
diminishing areas controlled by the LTTE.
The frequent use of heavy artillery by the military against LTTE forces in civilian areas, including on
public buildings such as hospitals and schools as indicated above, constitutes a violation of the Geneva
Conventions. The populace suffered from the lack of potable water, lack of access to essential medical
care and continuing lack of access to educational facilities. Virtually all their basic human rights were
violated. Further, loss of civilian life under these conditions was very high. By April 2009, according to
internal documents of the United Nations, use of heavy weapons, combined with air-raids caused the
death of some 116 persons each day. Further, British and French media indicated that during the final
weeks of fighting some 20.000 Tamils were killed.
The attempt to annihilate the Tamil population with or without the use of illegal weapons certainly
constitutes one form of war crime. The question remains if the government intended genocide in
respect of the Tamil people in brutally suppressing armed and political resistance. From expert and
eye-witness testimony, it would seem certain that the military attacked targets of a purely civilian
nature, such as hospitals, fleeing IDPs and many villages. Further, evidence that the military executed
both Tamil civilians and LTTE prisoners of war, who in some cases had voluntarily surrendered,
further supports charges of ethnic cleansing and violations of international law.
Before drawing any conclusions, other atrocities and abuses of Tamil civilians need to be considered.
Witness testimony on IDP “camps”, or perhaps “concentration camps” as suggested by testimony,
demands attention. Portrayed by the government as temporary residential facilities pending the return
home or resettlement of those detained within them, the camps were designated as “welfare villages”
by the government. Fifteen such IDP camps were so designated. These camps continue to be in gross
violation of the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many tragedies
within the camps were reported to the Tribunal members. Living space was very modest, cover was of
galvanised tin which in hot conditions became a health hazard, often resulting in poor skin conditions.
Many children in particular, but also women and the aged, died from diseases such as cholera and
malnutrition. Water supply was a significant problem, with five litres per day for all the needs of a
family being totally inadequate and threatening to health. Sufficient water for simple hygiene, toilet use
and the washing of clothes (most IDPs had only the clothes on their backs) was simply unavailable.
Garbage remained in place, and toilets pits constructed without cement often collapsed leading to
flooding, and, in some cases, the drowning of children. Many children had lost both parents and
become orphans, or only had the protection of a single parent, and were thus vulnerable to the many
dangers lurking in the camps.
Another unacceptable government policy was the withholding of food, and the use of this tactic as a
tool to coerce and torture Tamil civilians. The blockade of food supplies and deliberate underestimation
of the numbers of civilians within the LTTE-controlled areas also led to dangerous food shortages.
The additional withholding of medical supplies to Tamil civilians is equally unacceptable and a violation
of humanitarian law.
http://62.75.216.45/images/documents/ppt_sri_lanka.pdf
Report of The LLRC
http://62.75.216.45/index.php/documents/26-war-crimes-and-accountability
Few Countries in the world have regularly and systematically denied Rights to the minority Community as Sri Lanka has been to its Ethnic Minority.
Few Countries have massacred Children and women.
Rare are the Countries that confiscates the land of the minority and reconvert it into a Sinhala strong hold.
Few countries rape women and even children in front of their husbands,children and parents.
Few countries are so culturally brutal, despite having Buddhism as its official Religion , as have maimed children, massacred those who had come to surrender with White flags.
Ajay Sahni ,who is s an author and expert on counter-terrorism, and serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, which maintains the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a website focusing on terrorism in South Asia. Sahni also edits ‘South Asia Intelligence Review’ and ‘Faultlines’. Sahni earned his Ph.D. at the University of Delhi, where his dissertation was titled ‘Democracy, Dissent & the Right to Information’. has the gumption to write verbose prose justifying the maacacre of The Tamils in Sri Lanka under the garb of ‘Expert Opinion.’
Look at the Company he keeps.
His President at the South Asia terrorism portal is none other than the infamous K.P.S.Gill , whose record on Human Rights is as follows.
”
On January 16, 1995, Jaswant Singh Khalra, human rights activist and general secretary of the Akali Dal’s human rights wing, issued a press note alleging that Punjab security organizations had cremated thousands of unidentified bodies. [79] [80][dead link] [81] [82][dead link] Khalra was taken into custody by Punjab Police on 6 September 1995.[7] Human Rights Watch reported that a September 11, 1995 writ of habeas corpus from the Supreme Court was presented to DGP Gill,[32] and officials denied that police had detained him.[7]
In 2001, Sardool Singh, speaking for the Zinda Shaheed Police Officers Association, announced to the press “We have decided to return the gallantry medals to the President of India on the occasion of Police Martyr’s Day on October 21 if the cases against us are not withdrawn.” He also said that the association was filing a writ with the Supreme Court that cases be opened against senior police and political staff, including then-Director General of Police KPS Gill, for their “… ordering and certifying the encounters…” that resulted in over 650 junior officers facing human rights violation charges.[83][84][85]
In 2003, Khushwant Singh,[86][87] author of “A History of the Sikhs”,[88][89][90][91] wrote a review of “Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab”[92] for The Tribune titled K. P. S. Gill you have questions to answer.[93] Khushwant Singh noted that he supported Gill’s use of extrajudicial methods to “stamp out terrorism” as the judicial system was in a state of collapse due to judges being too frightened to rule against the “terrorists.” Singh commented on the murder of J.S. Khalra that “There were others like him who were disposed of because the police did not like them.” and “It is spine-chilling.” Khushwant Singh reported that when asked for comment, Gill’s response was “Rubbish.” The review continued “Well, Mr Gill, it is not rubbish; you and the Punjab police have quite a few awkward questions to answer.” [94][95]
In 2004, India’s National Human Rights Commission published a list of 2097 bodies cremated as unclaimed. Of those, the Commission had identified 693 at the time.[26]
In 2004, Khushwant Singh wrote K.P.S. Gill Is a “Hero” for The Tribune, and stated that “For 10 years, the Punjab countryside…” had been “…in the grip of terrorists…” until KPS Gill and Julio Francis Ribeiro led the Punjab Police to “…put them down with a heavy hand.” Khushwant Singh reported allegations that Gill was “…a wanton killer…”, but that in his judgement, this view was not correct. [96]
In 2005, Special Police Officer Kuldeep Singh testified in court that in October 1995, after Khalra had been beaten and tortured, and bore the signs of torture on his body, then-DGP KPS Gill visited Khalra at SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu’s home.[33] He further testified that Gill remained with Khalra in the room for “half an hour”, that a few days later Khalra was killed, and finally that on the way back to Jhabal police station after disposing of the body, he was told that Khalra could have saved himself if he had listened to the advice of KPS Gill.[8] [97] [98] Human Rights Watch and Ensaaf (another human rights organization focused on Punjab), argue that KPS Gill had knowledge of Khalra’s illegal detention, could reasonably have been expected to have knowledge of his torture, and had the authority and responsibility to order Khalra’s release, which would have prevented Khalra’s death.[32][97][98][99]
On November 18, 2005, six Punjab police officials were convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment for Khalra’s abduction and murder.[100] On October 16, 2007, a division bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court chaired by Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and A N Jindal extended the sentence to life imprisonment for four of those convicted: Satnam Singh, Surinder Pal Singh, Jasbir Singh (all former Sub Inspectors) and Prithipal Singh (former Head Constable). [101] [102]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanwar_Pal_Singh_Gill
Let me look at the people behind this portal.
Do they have any one from the community, the Tamils, who has suffered the most, or at least has this ‘expert’ understood the history of the Tamils in Sri Lanka?
Or has he documented the atrocities of the Sri Lankan Army?
Of course, one is known by the Books he reads and the company he keeps.
While it is nauseating to call the LTTE as Freedom Fighters, it can not be forgotten that but for the LTTE, the world would not have noticed the conditions of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
True, Prabakaran killed scores of Tamil Leaders who challenged his authority and went to the extent of assassinating Rajiv Gandh;
He recruited volunteers by Force,used children as a shield.
Does this justify Sri Lankan Government’s behaviour of Genocide?
While focussing on terrorism, one must not forget the causes of terrorism, though this is not in support of terrorism.
(By your logic Milosevic of Bosnia is Right and the world is wrong.)
But when all avenues are closed, what do you expect the community to do?
Write blogs in the WordPress?
Or deliberate issues(?) , ensconced in an air-conditioned office as an arm-chair philosopher?
Have you looked at the displaced Tamils of Sri Lanka, who have become penniless overnight and had to become beggars?
Or at parents who have lost their children, children who lost their parents,husbands, wives ?
Has some one seen his wife/daughter raped in front of his eyes?
Or seen one’s son blind folded and shot in front of one’s eyes?
The Jewish approach to Palestine has made the Palestinians ‘People with out State”
Want to do an encore of it for the Tamils?
The author seems to eulogize Rajapakshe, whose crimes of Genocide was confirmed by his Army Chief who was imprisoned by Rajapakshe.
Suggest ways for the Tamils to live peacefully with out the threat of booming guns and the freedom to learn their language.
Make them stop raping, killing and massacring the Tamil people.
Have you seen the ‘Killing Fields’
You might say it is doctored.
It is not difficult to convince an honest dissenter but a wilful one ..?
People must have a conscience.
* though , not one who can write flowery prose, let me add that I have not shied away from criticising the LTTE and its methods, nor have I shied away from stating that Rajapashe Government must be indicted.
P.S. Nice of you to have used Rajapakshe’s photo in the blog, it tells one more about you)
Story.
Through history, few countries in the world have had to endure a terrorist movement as protracted, vicious and intense as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) campaigns, which lasted over thirty three years and killed, on some estimates, up to 80,000 people, in a tiny country with a present population of under 21 million.
Few countries in the world have secured as clear and demonstrable victory over terrorism as has Sri Lanka, even where extraordinary and indiscriminate violence has been inflicted on large populations, as, for instance, in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where civilian settlements have been repeatedly targeted, and ‘collateral damage’ often overruns any rational proportion to legitimate targets.
And few countries in the world have restored normalcy with the speed and to the extent that Sri Lanka has in under three years. There has not been a single terrorism related fatality in the country since October 3, 2009, to the present, bringing peace to a people who had forgotten its contours over decades. Of the estimated 290,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), resulting from the final phase of the conflict, just 6,647 (roughly 2.3 per cent) had been left to return to their places of origin by the end of 2011. On March 15, 2012, Economic Development Minister Yapa Abeywardana claimed that over 99 per cent of the IDPs had been resettled. More significantly, of the 11,700 LTTE cadres who had surrendered, 10,490 had been freed and reunited with their families, after the completion of their rehabilitation process, as on March 29, 2012. The last remaining group of ex-LTTE cadres is scheduled for release by mid-2012, after completion of a mandatory 12-month rehabilitation and retraining process. The war ravaged North and East have also seen dramatic developmental transformations, with massive infrastructure and rehabilitation investments catalysing a 22 per cent rate of growth for the region, according to official claims, as against eight per cent for the entire country.
Crucially, a remarkable resurrection of democratic processes and structures has been secured across the country, with General, Presidential, Provincial and local body elections conducted across the country.
At the height of the final phase of the counter-terrorism campaign in the North, which eventually brought the LTTE terror to an end in May 2009, Norway and other European interlocutors had repeatedly used the threat of initiative processes for ‘war crimes’ and ‘human rights violations’ against the Sri Lankan state, to force the Colombo to end its increasingly successful operations against the LTTE, even as Velupillai Prabhakaran, the then LTTE Chief, and the besieged terrorist cadres surrounded themselves with a human shield of civilians to thwart Security Force (SF) operations. As President Mahinda Rajapakse declared unambiguously on May 22, 2009, “There are some who tried to stop our military campaign by threatening to haul us before war crimes tribunals. They are still trying to do that, but I am not afraid.” This group of minor and frustrated European powers have now roped in the US to push an agenda that they failed to impose through a perverse ‘peace process’, which kept a virulent terrorist movement alive for years, with increasing international sanction and legitimacy.
This is the essence of the gratuitous resolution passed by United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on March 22, 2012, by a vote of 24 in favour, 15 against and eight abstentions. Crucially and disgracefully, at the last moment, India chose to cast its vote in support of a hypocritical, divisive and essentially unproductive resolution that demanded, among other things, that Sri Lanka “present, as expeditiously as possible, a comprehensive action plan detailing the steps that the Government has taken and will take” to implement “the constructive recommendations in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission” (LLRC).
It is significant that India had dithered almost to the last moment on its vote, and eventually decided to go with the US sponsored resolution because of domestic political considerations – increasing pressures from the United Progressive Alliance Government’s ally, the Tamil Nadu regional party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). This has been duly noted by the leadership in Colombo, with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, observing,
The most distressing feature of this experience is the obvious reality that voting at the Human Rights Council is now determined not by the merits of a particular issue but by strategic alliances and domestic political issues in other countries which have nothing to do with the subject matter of a Resolution or the best interests of the country to which the Resolution relates. This is a cynical negation of the purposes for which the Human Rights Council was established.
Peiris’ obvious reference was to the UPA’s conundrum with political allies in the State of Tamil Nadu. As usual, and despite its vote against Sri Lanka, New Delhi continued in its efforts to straddle two boats at once, seeking credit for ‘diluting’ the content of the draft resolution to make it ‘non-intrusive’, even as the official spin, thereafter, has sought to justify the decision to vote in favour of the resolution on the grounds that the process for devolution of power was “not moving forward” in Sri Lanka. One unnamed ‘official source’ stated in the media, “Many promises were made (by Sri Lanka) but very little has been done. The rehabilitation process has proceeded well, in fact better than in countries like Cambodia but the political process is not happening. The devolution (of power) is not moving forward.”
This, then, appears to be the crux of India’s official justification for its feckless vote: that Colombo has failed to implement a formula for devolution of power in the North and East which would be acceptable to all Tamil groupings in the country (and their sympathisers in India). But adopting the political objective – devolution of power – of one ethnic grouping as the minimum definition of ‘resolution’ of the conflict in Sri Lanka is both arbitrary and absurd. The issue of devolution of power is a purely domestic political issue and, whatever their divergent preferences, no other country or international institution has any business telling the Sri Lankans how they should govern themselves, or what shape they must give to their Constitution. Certainly not India, which has numberless difficulties in accommodating the aspirations of its own many ethnic, religious, linguistic and regional minorities, and which has dealt with utter inhumanity with the millions who have been displaced by predatory development processes initiated and supported by the state, as well as with IDPs from a multiplicity of conflicts in different regions, where significant populations remain, often in utter destitution, in primitive ‘relief camps’, at least in some cases, decades after the proclaimed end of a conflict. New Delhi, in any event, has no more business interfering in domestic arrangements for devolution of power in Sri Lanka, than Colombo has intervening in fractious Centre-State relations in India.
The Resolution moved by the US apparently censuring the Sri Lankan Government by has been passed by 24 for,15 against with eight absentions( 47 members).
India joined the countries in voting against Sri Lanka and immediately mollified Sri Lanka.
“Soon after the voting, the Indian foreign ministry put out a detailed note which placed its contentious decision in perspective.
The ministry stressed that ‘resolutions of this nature should fully respect the sovereign rights of states and contribute to Sri Lanka’s own efforts in this regard’. It pointed out that with thousands of years of cordial relations and deep rooted spiritual and cultural ties, India can’t cannot remain untouched by developments in the neighbouring country.
‘We will continue to remain engaged with Sri Lanka to take forward the process of reconciliation to secure for all its citizens a future marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect,’ the ministry said in New Delhi. Reminding Colombo to implement the recommendations of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report, India said ‘there is a window of opportunity to forge a consensual way forward towards reconciliation through a political settlement respecting all ethnic and religious groups inhabiting the nation’.
India stressed that the LLRC report recognises that ‘a political solution is imperative and that the government of Sri Lanka should provide the leadership to this political process’.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5946614#page=2
What are the implications?
” The fifth and final paragraph of the preamble of the US Resolution, immediately preceding its operative clauses, reads: “Noting with concern that the LLRC report does not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international law…”
It is to be noted that this provides an alibi for the Sri Lankan Government to question the other observations of the LLRC Report and may even shelve thr Report quoting this proviso!
“(1). Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the constructive recommendations in the LLRC report and take all necessary additional steps to fulfill its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans,
(2) Requests that the Government of Sri Lanka present a comprehensive action plan as expeditiously as possible detailing the steps the Government has taken and will take to implement the LLRC recommendations and also to address alleged violations of international law.
This tantamount to the perpetrators to rectify /address issues created by them.
how illogical can one be?
‘and also violations of International Law’-this gives room for Sri Lanka to drag LTTE into the picture and muddy the water further.
“(3) “Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedures to provide, and the Government of Sri Lanka to accept, advice and technical assistance on implementing those steps and requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report to the Council on the provision of such assistance at its twenty-second session.”
That is to say the Government of Sri Lanka shall advise(supposed to accept and advice UNHRC Commissioner at the same time -how contradictory?) shall use the UNHRC High Commissioner as an Agent of the Government of Sri Lanka.
Instead of UNHRC dictating terms , it will be the Sri Lankan Government that shall dictate the UNHRC.
I often hear my elder brother say ‘if you have to scold some one, scold them in such a way that it does not hurt them’
My reply ‘then what is the purpose of scolding?
What a Farce of Censuring?
http://groundviews.org/2012/03/16/the-big-lie-about-the-us-resolution/
It is really strange that SrI Lankans do not seem to realize the enormity of the Genocide and this can be seen from the Petition organised by the Sri Lankan Youth(?)
The resolution;
1. Calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the constructive Recommendations made in the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and to take all necessary additional steps to fulfil its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans;
2. Requests the Government of Sri Lanka to present, as expeditiously as possible, a comprehensive action plan detailing the steps that the Government has taken and will take to implement the recommendations made in the Commission’s report, and also to address alleged violations of international law;
3. Encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedures mandate holders to provide, and the Government of Sri Lanka to accept, advice and technical assistance on implementing the above-mentioned steps, and requests the Office of the High Commissioner to present a report on the provision of such assistance to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-second session.
The passing of this resolution will have the effect of;
1) Breaching Article 2(7) of the Charter of the United Nations which states “Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state”
2)Completely jeopardizing the core concepts of International Law and breaching Article 2(1) of the Charter of the United Nations, which ensure the sovereign equality of all its Members, since no such resolution has been brought up against the US (sponsor of the current resolution) for allegations of Human Rights Violations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
3) Violating the sovereignty and integrity of Sri Lanka.
4) Hindering the effort of the Sri Lankan government in its reconciliation efforts to ensure equality among all races and the post war development process.
5) Taxing the resources of the United Nations since the government of Sri Lanka has already made substantial progress in implementing the recommendations of the LLRC report which makes it unnecessary for a process as recommended.
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