Air Traffic Controllers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) gave priority clearance to the Indian Air Force Embraer VIP jet that dropped altitude from 37,000 feet for a smooth touchdown on a sultry afternoon the previous Friday.
The luxury jet with a nautical range of more than 3,000 miles had taken off from New Delhi. It rolled to the parking apron at BIA. The door flung open upwards and the step ladder lowered gently on the ground. The trio who formed the high-powered delegation from India alighted amidst a tight security cordon. They were whisked away to the capital in a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter. The trio comprised National Security Advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar. The first two had served stints as Indian envoys in Sri Lanka. With a short break at the Hotel Taj Samudra, they got down to official business.
Their mission, unlike during their previous visits, was more important. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sent them to deliver a message -- India expects President Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration to honour its oft repeated promise to "enforce the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and more" as measures to address grievances of the Tamil community. They were to remind the government, though diplomatically, that the issue remained in the backburner despite Tiger guerrillas being militarily defeated two years ago. The Sunday Times of May 16 revealed exclusively that the delegation would ask the Rajapaksa administration to enforce the 13th Amendment to the Constitution giving both police and land powers to the Provincial Councils.
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| Russian President Dmitry Medvedev greets his counterpart Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa |
The trio set about the task by first meeting Tamil political leaders. The first was a meeting with a delegation from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) at India House, the official residence of the Indian High Commissioner at Stanley Wijesundera Mawatha. It is the TNA that has been holding talks with a Long Term Reconciliation Committee (LTRC) headed by External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris. The other members of this Committee are Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and Rajiva Wijesinha, MP. The latter replaced former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremenayake who resigned in protest after the TNA welcomed the UN Advisory Panel's report on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka as exclusively revealed in the Sunday Times of May 1.
The TNA delegation that met the Indian trio comprised its leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah, Selvam Adaikalanathan, M. Sumanthiran and Suresh Premachandran. Attorney Kanakanayagam Kanaga-Iswaran, President's Counsel, took part in the talks as legal advisor to the alliance. Premachandran summed up the essence of the talks. He told the Sunday Times the discussion centered on a permanent solution to Tamil grievances. That covered a discourse on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the participants underscored the need to enforce all its provisions.
The other two issues discussed were the re-settlement of displaced people in their original lands and the provision of relief to them; and instances of large extents of land being acquired by the state for development purposes. He said this included religious, cultural sites and places of historical importance. "This could lead to the loss of identity of the Tamil people," Premachandran claimed.
On Saturday D. Sitharthan (representing the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOT) and T. Sritharan (Padmanabha faction of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF) also met the Indian delegation. Another significant meeting was with Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader Veerasingham Anandasangaree, who backs the government and is largely opposed to the views of his compatriots on Tamil political issues.
Anandasangaree handed over a lengthy 16-point memorandum to the Indian delegation. He said, "The first and foremost priority of all issues is, as you all know, to find a solution to the ethnic problem. Apart from several other proposals put forward by various authorities, my suggestion to adopt the Indian model which has received wide acceptance, also could be considered as a satisfactory solution. A unitary constitution will never be accepted although the Government is very firm on that stand."
The Indian trio also met Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. They discussed wide ranging issues including re-settlement of Internally Displaced People, issues relating to High Security Zones, Indian projects in Sri Lanka, the planned construction of 50,000 houses, issues related to fishing in the Palk Strait and mechanisms to provide information of missing people in the north to their next of kin.
Notwithstanding the UPFA government's dialogue exclusively with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to address issues related to Tamil grievances, the visiting Indian delegation was exposed to divergent views. The most important of them all came also on Saturday from the Tamil cabinet minister in the government and Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda. It foreshadowed other events to follow. Though Devananda is unable to visit India in view of an alleged murder charge in a court in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the delegation sought a meeting with him. He was, however, in Jaffna where he is pitching himself as an aspirant to be chief minister of the Northern Province.
Parliamentary Select Committee
The delegation head, Menon, spoke with Devananda on the telephone. Their conversation centered, among other matters, on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, measures to prevent Indian fishermen from poaching in Sri Lankan waters and to expedite the construction of 50,000 houses with Indian aid. The same Saturday the EPDP issued a statement which was to foretell coming events that day. It said, "The appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee is the best way for a settlement to the ethnic problem. All political parties in parliament should take part in the process. The settlement should be put forward within a short time. The appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee would pave the way for participation by all. Thereby no party can object when a final settlement is reached. The settlement can be reached within three to six months."
The Indian trio accompanied by High Commissioner Ashok Kanth drove on Saturday morning to 'Temple Trees' for a breakfast meeting with President Rajapaksa. There, Rajapaksa told them, as exclusively revealed in the front page lead story in the Sunday Times last week, that his government was not able to concede police and land powers to Provincial Councils if they were to enforce the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. He said the government was willing to discuss other subjects on the concurrent list to determine which ones could be given to the PCs. Rajapaksa explained that the constituent partners in his UPFA (United People's Freedom Alliance) were opposed to land and police powers being vested in Provincial Councils.
The 13th Amendment article 2 (2.2) makes provision for a Provincial Police Division consisting of a DIG (Deputy Inspector General), SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police), SP (Superintendent of Police) and ASP (Assistant Superintendent of Police), all seconded from the National Division and Provincial Assistant Superintendents of Police. Chief Inspectors, Inspectors, Sub Inspectors, Sergeants and Constables are to be recruited from the province. In terms of the same Amendment, land has been made a Provincial Council subject with the exception of three special provisions - (1) State land required for the government may be utilized in accordance with laws governing the matter. The government is required to consult the relevant Provincial Council. (2) Government shall make available to every Provincial Council State land within the province required by such Council for a PC subject. (3) Alienation or disposition of State land within a Province to any citizen or any organisation shall be by the President, on the advice of the relevant PC, in accordance with the laws governing the matter.
There are various subjects under the concurrent list accompanying the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. They include the establishment and maintenance of new universities, agro-linked industries, farms, forestry, animal husbandry, employment, tourism development, production, supply and distribution of newspapers. It seemed that Devananda had set the stage with the statement on behalf of his party. Rajapaksa said that his government would back the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to formulate a new package that would address Tamil grievances. Such a package would be placed before Parliament for approval and implemented within a short, specific time frame.
13th Amendment no longer on offer
In other words Rajapaksa made clear, quite categorically, that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution "and more" he promised earlier would no longer be on offer. By doing so, he answered another critical question that had lingered since the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas -- the enforcement of the 13th Amendment "and more." The use of the word "more" was said to be a reference to the establishment of a Senate or a second chamber. Instead, a Parliamentary Select Committee would now formulate a brand new package that may or may not include a Senate.
This has placed the TNA in a dilemma. Though questions have been raised on the rationale of continuing talks with the government's Long Term Reconciliation Committee (LTRC) in this backdrop, it still wants to further the dialogue. It fears that breaking off the talks would lead to political isolation, making its members and supporters targets.
In fact, some TNA parliamentarians were in for a rude shock on Thursday evening. They held a small meeting in Tellipalai (Jaffna) the ancestral village of Mavai Senathirajah M.P. It was to plan for the upcoming local polls. Among those who attended were Suresh Premachandran, Appapillai Vinayagamoorthy and E. Saravanapavan. The latter, who is also the publisher of the Uthayan Tamil newspaper in Jaffna, was speaking when a group barged in, assaulted the participants and broke up the meeting. Among those injured were personnel from the Ministerial Security Division who were providing personal protection to the MPs. Later, an entry made at the Tellipalai Police Station said that a group of persons wearing uniforms similar to those worn by the Army were responsible for the attack. One of them had asked a TNA parliamentarian whether permission had been obtained to conduct the meeting before they went on an assaulting spree. The Army has denied the attack and Jaffna's Security Forces Commander Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe has assured an inquiry.
Rajapaksa's dilemma in conceding the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and what he called "plus" pivots around a critical factor -- how the countrywide Sinhala electorate that foisted him to the presidency would react to such a move. Would that dent his image as the leader who defeated terrorism in Sri Lanka and now project him as someone who "surrendered" thereafter, wondered some around him.
There were others who believed that whatever he did, it would be best for him to be upfront and frank. This is particularly at a time when Tiger guerrillas have been militarily defeated and there was no leverage for any party to use the separatist issue to demand concessions, they pointed out. This move not to give in to "Indian demands" was reflected when Rajapaksa met the leaders of the constituent parties of the UPFA at the parliament complex on Thursday, just a day ahead of the arrival of the Indian trio. He was aware that a request for the fuller implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was coming from the Indian delegation.
Constituent partners did not favour police and land powers being vested in the Provincial Councils. Even other subjects, they argued, had to be re-visited in the context of current political developments. One belligerent Minister, known for his repeated faux pas on world issues, not only voiced strong anti-Indian sentiments but also felt that a campaign should be carried out to educate Sri Lankans on "Indian hegemony". He alleged that India was trying to foist its solutions on Sri Lanka. When the meeting was over, Rajapaksa was armed with a response that would counter the Indian demands.
It has been a time-honored tradition for the Indian establishment to brief their media, and through them the Indian public, on matters of importance -- a feature that successive governments in Sri Lanka have ignored.
Delegation leader Menon followed this tradition to brief Indian media representatives based in Colombo on Saturday (June 11) afternoon, just hours before their departure to New Delhi. However, the media representatives seemed unaware that Rajapaksa had told the delegation that 13th Amendment was now an impossibility and no police or land powers would be given to the Provincial Councils. This fact was revealed exclusively in the Sunday Times only the day after the media briefing. This is why no pointed questions were raised from Menon on the matter. There were questions on issues relating to Tamil Nadu, government's direct dealing with the central government in New Delhi, meeting the TNA, human rights issues, the Sampur power project, Indian aided housing programme and persons reported missing in the north.
It was their amendment, not ours
Yet, there was a follow up to a question on the delegation's talks with the TNA. Menon used the opportunity to drive a strong point home though the nuances were somewhat lost. Most were unaware of Rajapaksa's rejection. Talking of addressing Tamil grievances, Menon said "our goal is an arrangement". He then hit out. "It was their amendment, not ours," he said referring to the 13th Amendment. He added, "We did the India-Sri Lanka agreement which gave them an enabling environment within which to implement their own amendment. If they think they want to do better than the 13th Amendment, which many of them think they want to do better, that is for them. But they must all feel comfortable." The last line seemed to suggest that a settlement, from an Indian perspective, should be acceptable to all parties.
Those words made clear that the Indian delegation left Colombo with acute disappointment. Just this week, one of Menon's first tasks was to give the new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jeyalalithaa Jeyaram, a full briefing on the outcome of the delegation's talks in Colombo. Jayalalithaa was up-to-date when she called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. Sources in New Delhi told the Sunday Times there was both lament and expression of disappointment from Premier Singh. It was only a week earlier; the Tamil Nadu State Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling upon the central government to impose sanctions on Sri Lanka. Jayalalithaa handed over a 24-page memorandum to the Indian Premier where Sri Lankan ssues formed the beginning.
Jayalalithaa told the Tamil Nadu State Assembly on June 8, " I appeal that this great Legislature unanimously pass the state Government sponsored resolution proposed by me that the Indian Government insist to the UN to declare those who are responsible for mercilessly and inhumanely shooting down thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils as war criminals, and until such time the Tamils who are in the refugee camps are fully rehabilitated and resettled in the places they loved, and the Sri Lanka Government grants to the Tamils all the civic rights entitled to the Sinhalese, economic sanctions be imposed on the SL government jointly with other countries."
Unlike her archrival, Muthuvel Karunanidhi, leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam that was routed at the Tamil Nadu polls, Jayalalithaa was a vociferous critic of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). So much so, the central government ensured extra personal protection for her to prevent any attempts on her life by the Tiger guerrillas. Hence, her pleas on behalf of the Tamils in Sri Lanka are treated by the central government somewhat differently.
Though her AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam) is not a backer of the Congress-led UPA government, Jayalalithaa has in more than one sense found a strong ally in Premier Singh when it comes to issues related to Sri Lanka. This is by no means good news for the government in Colombo. More so when it had been helped by India to militarily defeat the guerrillas by providing vital inputs, intelligence, satellite images and even military material. And now, both the central government in New Delhi and the state government in Tamil Nadu are on the same plank when it comes to Sri Lanka, and they appeared to be disappointed that their concerns have not been addressed. "What can we do when they are not listening to us," Premier Singh is reported to have lamented to Jayalalithaa.
The crucial question for the government now is whether the main opposition United National Party (UNP) will serve in the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). After all, it was a UNP administration under the late J.R. Jayewardene that introduced the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The party's willingness to serve in the PSC would mean it now acknowledges that the 13th Amendment is no longer necessary. On the other hand, if it does not serve, it acknowledges that the 13th Amendment is a necessary ingredient in addressing Tamil grievances. This would naturally be a focal point of attention not only to political parties representing minority groups but also to the international community.
Although the Indian delegation met all Tamil leaders during its visit, it was unable to meet with Opposition UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as he was busy with his late mother's one week bana and alms giving on Friday night and Saturday morning. Menon had however telephoned him and condoled on his mother's passing away the previous week.
UNP backs govt.
Yet, the UNP threw its weight behind a government backed campaign this week to counter India. General Secretary Tissa Attanayake joined cabinet Minister Champika Ranawaka, a key player in the Jathika Hela Urumaya, who was also opposed to police and land powers being given to Provincial Councils, to condemn the proposed CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with India. They took part in a seminar attended among others by Piyasiri Wijenayake, a senior member of Minister Wimal Weerawansa's National Freedom Front (NFF) and Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thera of the Mawbima Lanka Foundation which organized the event. Weerawansa also opposed the granting of police and land powers to the Provincial Councils. This is the first time the UNP has joined hands with constituent partners of the UPFA to oppose the Indo-Lanka economic deal which has generated considerable controversy.
At least diplomatically, the government's move not to enforce provisions of the 13th Amendment, despite pledges to the contrary, raises serious issues. Assurances to do so are embedded in a number of official statements. Here is a sampling:
India's then Minister of External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee, visited Sri Lanka on January 27, 2009. He held talks with President Rajapaksa. Later, on February 18 2009 he made a suo moto (Suo Moto, meaning "on its own motion," is an Indian legal term) statement in the Indian Parliament. He said "….the earlier normal democratic political process begins in Sri Lanka the better. In our view, after 23 years of conflict, there is today a political opportunity to restore life to normalcy in the Northern Province and throughout Sri Lanka. The President of Sri Lanka assured me that this is also his intent. The full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution would be a significant first step. Honourable Members would recall that the 13th Amendment was introduced to give effect to the India-Sri Lanka accord in 1987. Going beyond the 13th Amendment on the question of devolution of powers would be significant……"
A statement issued on May 21, 2009, just two days after the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas, came following the visit to Colombo by then Indian National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan and then Foreign Secretary (and now NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon. It said, "……Both sides also emphasized the urgent necessity of arriving at a lasting political settlement in Sri Lanka. Towards this end, the Government of Sri Lanka indicated that it will proceed with implementation of the 13th Amendment. Further, the Government of Sri Lanka also intends to begin a broader dialogue with all parties including, the Tamil parties in the new circumstances, for further enhancement of political arrangements to bring about lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka….."
On May 23, 2009, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Sri Lanka. Extracts from a joint statement issued by the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations at the conclusion of the UNSG's visit said, "……The Secretary-General welcomed the assurance of the President of Sri Lanka contained in his statement in Parliament on 19 May 2009 that a national solution acceptable to all sections of people will be evolved. President Rajapaksa expressed his firm resolve to proceed with the implementation of the 13th Amendment, as well as to begin a broader dialogue with all parties, including the Tamil parties in the new circumstances, to further enhance this process and to bring about lasting peace and development in Sri Lanka….."
It is not only to India and the United Nations that repeated commitments about the enforcement of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution were made. Interesting enough, this and many other aspects were also raised by the United States government weeks ago. Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary in the State Department for South and Central Asia visited Sri Lanka from April 29 to May 4 this year. The US Embassy in Colombo had sought a meeting for him with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. After intimation that Rajapaksa had a busy schedule, Blake had a meeting with External Affairs Miniser G.L. Peiris.
The Sunday Times learns that Blake sought assurances from the Sri Lanka government on seven specific issues. One of them which related to acknowledgement of civilian casualties during the last stages of the separatist war in May 2009 had been dismissed off hand. The six other issues are learnt to have related, among others, to urgently addressing Tamil grievances, human rights and media freedom. Blake had urged that the assurances be contained in a letter Peiris could address to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Such a move could have been a precursor to formulation of an official US government response to the report of the UN PoE (Panel of Experts). However, no such assurances have gone to Washington on behalf of the Sri Lanka Government.
Urge GOSL to work with TNA
Last Wednesday, just two days before the conclusion of the 17th sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the United States broke its silence. Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the US Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, spoke on Item 4: The General Debate on Human Rights Situations Requiring Council Attention. She said, "Mr. President, in Sri Lanka, we are deeply concerned by the allegations in the Panel of Experts' report and are considering its recommendations. We urge the Government of Sri Lanka to work with the Tamil National Alliance to achieve national reconciliation. We encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately adopt credible mechanisms to ensure accountability for violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law."
For the government in Colombo, there was both good and bad news in this statement. In asking the government to work with the TNA, and thus excluding other Tamil or even Muslim political parties, the US appears to have acknowledged the TNA as the sole representative of Tamils. Perhaps this is on the basis that even the government's LTRC is also engaging only the TNA. However, sections within the UPFA contend that the TNA is not the only polity that represents Tamil interests. The US envoy's remarks have avoided calling for an international probe and called upon the government of Sri Lanka "to immediately adopt credible mechanisms to ensure accountability…"
Here is a brief account of other statements made at the UNHRC in Geneva on Item 4 before the 17th sessions ended last Friday:
Ambassador Peter Gooderham, head of delegation of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "The UK calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to act on the recommendations of the Secretary General's Panel of Experts, which found credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both sides during the military conflict and to support the process of reconciliation. We re-iterate the need for the Government of Sri Lanka to take action on the Special Rapporteur's report on extra-judicial killings in Sri Lanka, which has been highlighted by recent broadcasted images on British television."
Andreas Delany on behalf of the European Union: "The EU considers the publication of the report of the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka as an important development. The EU re-iterates its view that a credible, independent process should address the extremely serious allegations contained in this document. The EU hopes the Government of Sri Lanka will engage with the Secretary-General on the report."
Jean Baptiste Mattei on behalf of France: "Regarding Sri Lanka, France supported the work of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts and urged the Government to investigate human rights violations and pursue national reconciliation."
Augustin Santos Maraver on behalf of Spain: "Spain read with great interest the report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and called on the Council to take recommendations seriously. A credible national mechanism for investigating human rights violations should be established."
Kenichi Suganama on behalf of Japan: "Japan took note of and supported Sri Lanka's national reconciliation efforts toward the realisation of lasting peace. It was crucial that the Sri Lankan Government take the lead in addressing the human rights violations that took place and make efforts toward national reconciliation."
Fedor Rosocha on behalf of Slovakia: "Lastly, Slovakia appealed to the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure proper, independent and impartial investigations of allegations of human rights abuses. Accountability was a crucial component of a sustainable peace and reconciliation."
Richard Schweppe on behalf of Germany: "Germany highlighted that the human rights defenders were targeted in Sri Lanka and welcomed the report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka."
Gerald Corr on behalf of Ireland: (we) "Call on the authorities of Sri Lanka to co-operate fully with the United Nations and to address the recommendations of the United Nations Panel of Experts."
Anna Ugla on behalf of Sweden: "Sweden welcomed the recommendations of the United Nations Panel of Experts and supported the recommendations for further investigations in Sri Lanka."
Steffen Smidt on behalf of Denmark: "It further welcomed the expert panel report on Sri Lanka. Denmark noted that a credible and independent follow-up process was needed to address the grave allegations thereby contributing to reconciliation and laying the groundwork for sustainable peace."
During the General Debate before the end of the UNHRC sessions, among countries that made no mention of Sri Lanka were Australia, Canada and Norway. Kshenuka Seneviratne, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said, "delivering on its responsibilities to ensure the welfare of all its citizens, the Government of Sri Lanka ten months ago embarked on an independent domestic process founded on the principles of restorative justice, which would enable the Government to identify the lessons of the past as well as to address issues of reconciliation…..Concerning the video aired on British media stations, these unsubstantiated allegations had not amounted to credible evidence as there were many examples of such doctored videos and photos.
The Government of Sri Lanka was distressed about the images aired in the Channel 4 film without any guarantee of their authenticity……."
Norway, which has stepped up its diplomatic initiatives to revive relations with the Rajapaksa administration, will receive a Sri Lanka delegation shortly. It will be led by Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva who will fly to Oslo after taking part in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association sessions in London on July 17 and 18. Also taking part in the event is UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. He is expected to fly from there to the United States. The Tamil National Alliance is being represented by M.A. Sumanthiran, MP.
Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
A fallout, which was most hurting to Sri Lanka, came after Britain's Channel 4 aired the video titled Sri Lanka's Killing Fields last Tuesday night. The near hour long programme claims of summary executions and showed corpses of women allegedly raped during the final stages of the war in May 2009. Christof Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, declared the footage contained evidence of "definitive crimes." This was after a special screening held at the UN complex in Geneva on the sidelines of the 17th sessions of the Human Rights Council. Sri Lanka said in its response that the video was fake and "the fact that the contents of the video were not made available to the Sri Lankan government by Channel 4 lends support to the suspicion that the broadcast of the videos was for collateral damage." Advertisements in London's Mail on Sunday, the Independent and The Sunday times depicted a palm fringed beach but the sea was painted red to project it was blood. Our front page report today reveals the latest response of the government in Geneva last week to the Channel 4 video.
Immediately after the screening of the video, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office posted a statement on its website where Foreign Office Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt said on Wednesday: "I was shocked by the horrific scenes I saw in the documentary that was broadcast on 14 June. Speaking after the transmission of Channel 4's documentary 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields'
"The recent UN Panel of Experts' report, this documentary and previously authenticated Channel 4 footage, constitute convincing evidence of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The whole of the international community will expect the Sri Lankans to give a serious and full response to this evidence.
"Since the end of the conflict the UK has called for an independent, thorough and credible investigation of the allegations that war crimes were committed during the hostilities and the UK Government expects to see progress by the end of the year. I reiterated this message to the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 14 June. If the Sri Lankan government does not respond we will support the international community in revisiting all options available to press the Sri Lankan Government to fulfil its obligations. Unless this is done, Sri Lanka will not be able to move on, and the prospects for reconciliation between Sri Lanka's communities will be curtailed. It is of the greatest importance that this does not happen."
A deadline for Sri Lanka
Minister Alastair Burt has in fact set a deadline for Sri Lanka by saying that "…the UK Government expects to see progress by the end of the year…" That means he wants to see what Britain perceives is progress before December 31, this year.
How does Sri Lanka respond to this? Well, the External Affairs Minister Peiris replied in a statement that "At this crucial time what Sri Lanka needs from its friends is not threats but the space and support for restoration of what was lost over three decades and the opportunity to move rapidly forward towards reconciliation and economic development." What has puzzled sections of the government itself is why Peiris did not summon the British envoy in Colombo to seek clarification on what Her Majesty's Government's self-imposed deadline meant.
Last Wednesday, Lee Scott, Conservative MP for Ilford North, asked in the House of Commons: "On Channel 4 there was a documentary called 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields', showing the atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan Government against the Tamil people, which resulted in about 40,000 people being killed. Will the Prime Minister join me in calling for justice for the Tamil people, and for the people who lost their lives?"
Prime Minister David Cameron replied, "I did not see the documentary, but I understand it was an extremely powerful programme. It refers to some very worrying events that are alleged to have taken place towards the end of that campaign. The Government, along with other Governments, have said that the Sri Lankan Government needs that to be investigated, and the UN needs it to be investigated. We need to make sure that we get to the bottom of what happened, and that lessons are learned."
Developments concerning Sri Lanka outside the country's shores reveal one very disturbing fact -- there is no clear foreign policy strategy to counter the devastating damage and pursue a coherent policy. A fine thread that runs through all these developments is, to say it very simply; Sri Lanka is continuing to alienate its friends and allies, one by one. All the rest that is being said is nothing
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