federalidea.com

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj

The latest decision by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to quit the Government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse has caused controversy. The timing of the SLMC’s move has led to much speculation that the party decision was tied up with the Budget’s third reading vote on Dec 14th.

While this may be true to some extent it would be a mistake to regard the SLMC move from that perspective alone. The political compulsions that caused the SLMC to act as it did are much more complex and problematic.

Unless the Rajapakse regime extricates itself from its majoritarian mindset and addresses minority concerns reasonably , such tensions and convulsions seem inevitable.

Before delving into the motivating factors behind the SLMC’s current decision a brief re- run outlining the reasons that compelled the party to join the Govt is necessary. Examining the past history of the SLMC is also required to understand the present.

The advent of the SLMC was a watershed in the politics of this country.The SLMC’s charismatic leader MHM Ashraff through his vision and political acumen demonstrated that the geographically dispersed Muslim community could be weaved into a vibrant entity. The political base of the party was the Eastern Province in general and the Amparai district in particular.

The dominant Sinhala political class had been long used to pliable Muslim politicians of both green and blue hues. Ashraff was different and stridently independent. He was however prepared to co-operate on the basis of principles and self – respect..

Ashraff forged an alliance with Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1994 through a memorandum of understanding.The SLMC tasted political power as a key constituent of the Kumaratunga regime. The SLMC was able to satisfy its voters on a number of issues by sharing power.

But Ashraff himself was an authoritative “Thalaiver” (leader) who would not brook inner – party dissent. By the tail – end of that Govt’s tenure Ashraff had fallen out with at least five MP’s like ULM “thoppi” Mohideen,MM Zuhair,SM Aboobucker, MAM Hizbullah and Dr. M. Illias.

Rauff Hakeem remained the most loyal and strongest of Ashraff’s deputies. He was the rising star of the party. After Ashraff’s tragic demise Hakeem took over the reins but there were elements hostile to him. Some of these people got around Ferial Ashraff and promoted dynastic politics.

Even as cracks began to appear in the seemingly monolithic Muslim Congress the dominant political establishment began to exploit these. The political unity of the Muslims under a strong party was unpalatable to many.

Ashraff had enjoyed a close relationship with Chandrika Kumaratunga but Rauff Hakeem did not. Complicating matters further was the unfortunate chasm between Ashraff’s widow Ferial Ashraff and his political heir Rauff Hakeem.Deep divisions were visible within the SLMC after the elections of 2000.

Though Ashraff developed the SLMC as a party of the Muslims he eventually realised that a broader alliance was needed to expand politically in the multi – ethnic East. The SLMC leader also perceived himself as a national leader who could help establish ethnic amity and national unity.

As a result the National Unity Alliance (NUA) was born. Sadly Ashraff died in the Air crash before he could give shape to his fresh political ideals.

In Ashraff’s absence the SLMC itself began to fragment. The able and articulate Hakeem was too young and inexperienced at that point of time to handle challenges to his authority. Parting of the ways with Ferial Ashraff saw her leading the NUA while Hakeem retained his hold on the SLMC.

One of the mistakes Hakeem made was to assume that the party would accept him as leader in the same way it did Ashraff. What he failed to note was that Ashraff virtualy built up the SLMC after he ousted Kattankudi’s Ahamed Lebber in 1986.

Also Ashraff was a son of the eastern province and Amparai district soil. Hakeem born in Galagedara was not a “Kizakku Muslim” (eastern Muslim).

As such Hakeem was forced to rely on local politicians from the East to maintain his leadership. He contested against formidable odds in Kandy district and was elected to Parliament in 2001.But people like AHM Athaullah and the late Anwer Ismail emerged as powerful SLMC leaders in Amparai district..

Egoistical clashes and temperamental incompatibility led to further splits. Encouraged by those in power , Athaullah split and eventually formed the National Congress.

The saga of SLMC fragmentation continued.The SLMC contested the 2004 Parliamentary polls in association with the United national Party (UNP). It was confined to the opposition with the UNP as the SLFP – JVP combine fared better electorally.

The elections also saw the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) with its Sinhala – Buddhist hegemonic ideology winning several seats. Several of the JHU policies were anti – Muslim in character.

Once again SLMC splits were promoted. Ministerial portfolios were dangled as carrots. As a result MP’s like Rishard Badiudeen, Najib Abdul Majeed, Ameer Ali and Hussein Bhaila went over to the Government.

They formed the All Ceylon Muslim Congress. This left the SLMC with only six seats in Parliament.Hakeem however proved a point by winning handsomely in the Amparai district.

While these amusing yet deplorable antics went on a clear political truth was being established firmly in Muslim politics. Though MP’s elected on the SLMC ticket were fickle and politically dis – loyal the average Muslim voter was not. The SLMC continued to win most of the seats entitled to the community and remained the single largest Muslim party.

It was the most credible Muslim political voice and Muslims identified with it as their party. At the last Local authority elections the SLMC captured 11 of 13 Muslim dominated local bodies in the East.

The 2005 Presidential elections saw the SLMC hitching its wagon to the Ranil Wickremasinghe star. Wickremasinghe got overwhelming support from the so called “minority” communities , the Sri Lankan Tamils, Up Country Tamils and the Muslims.

Rajapakse got more Sinhala votes than his rival. The Tigers in an act of political stupidity and betrayal enforced a boycott. As a result Tamils in the North – East could note vote in large numbers. Rajapakse won with a razor – thin majority.

Now the SLMC was in a quandary. With Ferial, Athaulla and Rishard etc enjoying ministerial power there was pressure from within sections of the SLMC that the party should join the Government.

Hakeem however wanted to do so on a principled basis. He began negotiating another MOU with set conditions before joining the Govt.

Meanwhile the Rajapakse regime was also accelerating its campaign to win over opposition MP’s with ministerial posts. Overtures were made behind Hakeem’s back to some SLMC Parliamentarians. These MP”s had neither the patience nor the self – respect to work out a respectable MOU.

Soon it became apparent that at least three of the six Muslim Congress MP’s would cross over defying Hakeem. In such a situation SLMC stalwarts decided to join the Govt as a party without an adequate MOU being worked out.

The SLMC could not afford another split at that juncture. So the party as a whole decided to join. The rebellious MP’s decided and the leaders followed.

The “marriage” was by no means an act of free will. It was virtually a shot gun wedding in which the minds of the groom and bride did not meet. It is doubtful whether the union was ever consummated politically.

The bitter irony is that the SLMC which gained entry into the Govt to prevent another split is once again torn apart by its exit.Only four MP’s Rauff Hakeem., Basheer Segu Dawood, SM Hassan Ali and Faisal Cassim have resigned their portfolios and crossed over to the opposition.

SM Najibudeen and KA Baiz have not. They went “missing” amid rumours that lavish hospitality was being shown them at a posh hotel.

It can be seen therefore that recent history is repeating itself as far as splits in the SLMC are concerned. The important question then is why did the SLMC risk another split to cross over? what compelled the party to discard the trappings of Govt office and seek the bleak desert of opposition? The simple answer is strong grass roots pressure exerted by the rank and file!

There is no denying that the Muslim community faces many problems generally and particularly in the East. Muslim MP’s are duty bound to try and alleviate them to whatever extent possible.

If the MP’s are unable or unwilling to do so and the people who voted for them perceive it that way then the political future of those Parliamentarians is in jeopardy.

The pivotal base of the SLMC is the Eastern Province.When the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) was a dominant force in the province there was much friction between the tigers and the Muslim community. Other problems were not felt acutely.

But now the LTTE is no longer a force to be reckoned with in the East. With that contradiction removed other contradictions are coming to the fore as far as the Muslims are concerned.

One of the major , legitimate grievances of the non – Sinhala ethnicities in Sri Lanka has been that of the Sinhala majoritarian state imposing its hegemony on the minorities.

The greater contradiction has been that, as far as the minority nationalities were concerned. Friction between the minority communities themselves amounted to lesser contradictions.

The conquest of the East opened up hopes for the Muslims who suffered at the hands of the LTTE. But such hopes turned into dupes soon.

This Govt run by the Rajapakse brethren and the Ethno – fascist saffron brigade soon demonstrated that sinister designs were in the pipeline for the Province.The East was to be “Sinhalaised” at the expense of the Tamils and Muslims.

If anyone were to ask the Tamils and Muslims of the East what the major problem in the east was the answer could probably be “It’s the land stupid”! Thousands of acres belonging to Muslims had been misappropriated by the LTTE.

Such lands however have not been returned to the Muslims. Instead massive “colonisation” projects are on to settle Sinhala people in those lands.

In Trincomalee district Muslims have been restricted from fishing in the seas from Kattaiparichan toIlangaithuraimuhathuvaaram;

quarrying in Jabalmalai has been banned; Muslim farmers have been banned from re- occupying their lands in certain places. At the same time new settlement schemes for Sinhala people are being promoted in areas where Muslims reside.

In Batticaloa there is a conspiracy on to carve out a new AGA division incorporating the Kudumbimalai/Thoppigala regions and also extensive areas along the Chenkalladdy – Maha Oya road.

Much of the lands here originally belonged to Tamils and Muslims. Also there were grazing lands for Cattle owned by Tamil and Muslim dairy farmers and livestock breeders.

But what is happening now is that the original owners are being kept out while preparations are on to bring outsiders (read Sinhala) in.

The sensitive issue of land is keenly felt in the Amparai district by Muslims. It is the only district where Muslims are in a majority but the demography of the region is being changed speedily by the Rajapakse regime. If the Govt continues in this way the Sinhala community will soon outnumber the Muslims.

Adding insult to injury is the symbolic imposition of a district flag. In Trincomalee it is an Eagle and Batticaloa it’s a fish but in Muslim – majority Amparai district the flag has a lion which is associated with the so called people of the lion. This is now becoming a contentious issue.

SLMC circles from Amparai district cited three specific issues concerning Muslim lands in the region. The first is about a tract of 500 acres in the Karankova area between Pottuvil and Ullai; the second concerns around 400 acres in the Pallakkaadu area in the Sammanthurai division; the third is about 175 acres in the Vellaikkal – Ponnanveli areas under the Addalaichenai division.

SLMC circles point the accusing finger at Patali Champika Ranawaka the JHU minister of Environment for current problems concerning these lands.

In the case of Karankova, Muslim farmers who have been tilling those lands were depicted as encroachers and evicted. The lands belong to a Forest reserve says Ranawaka.

It is the same story about Pallakkadu lands too. As for the Vellaikkal – Ponnanveli lands they are supposedly coming under the Digavapiya archaelological reserve .

In all these cases the MP’s of Amparai district resolved at the District Co-ordinating Committee that remedial action should be taken. In spite of this nothing concrete has been done. Furthermore irredeemable harm is being done by the filling in of agricultural canals.

Some of these lands have been cultivated by Muslims decades before the Gal – Oya scheme was set up. But now using Buddhist Archaeology and Forest environment as a pretext, Muslims are being deprived of their ancestral lands.

This issue of land naturally causes resentment and the SLMC is under great pressure to resolve it. Despite repeated endeavours nothing was done by the powers that be. No pressure was exerted on Champika Ranawaka to withdraw the controversial circular.

When the Rajapakse government faced a potential crisis last month over the voting on Nov 19th for the Budget second reading a meeting took place among the SLMC , Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Basil Rajapakse.

When the SLMC raised these issues Basil was sympathetic and apologetic. He ticked off concerned officials over the phone in the presence of the SLMC and pledged action.

For a while everything seemed hunky – dory and anti – Muslim activity ceased in Amparai. The SLMC in good faith voted with the Govt. But thereafter the situation changed. Once again the land grab action resumed. Apparently there was no stopping the Environment minister.

With the third reading scheduled for Dec 14th overtures were made once again to the SLMC. With the party itself threatening to pull out of the Govt these efforts were intensified.

Promises were made that remedial action would be taken after Dec 14th if the SLMC stayed put. But the SLMC had made its mind up to pull out of the Govt and vote against the budget.

The party decision was not imposed from above. It was a decision initiated from below by the rank and file. The Eastern Province lands issue and other problems faced by the community had both saddened and angered party members.

These committed activists were always referred to as “poraligal” (militants) by Ashraff in the past. Now these militants were displaying political militancy within the party.

The SLMC held a series of inner – party discussions. Consultations were held with the Eastern Province Mosques Federation and the Jamiyathul Ulama. The party felt strongly that the time had come to quit the government.

The 27 member Hierarchical council, the 57 member Politibureau and the 214 member Working Committee met separately and unanimously resolved to quit. It was a three – tiered decision.

Membership in SLMC decision making bodies is not restricted to the Eastern province alone. SLMC representatives from all over the Country were united in the decision. This was due to growing insecurity and a beleaguered feeling within the community.

One problem facing the Muslims is the new laws about noise pollution.. It has been the practice to publicly call upon the faithful to attend “tholugai” (worship) at “Pallivaasal” (Mosque). Those who cannot do so pray in their homes or workplaces at the appropriate times.

This entreaty called “Bhaangu” lasts for about three minutes and is regarded as a blessing on all those who hear it.

Devout Muslims pray five times a day.With the new laws in force banning all “noise” from 10 pm to 6 am no such entreaties can be made for the pre – dawn “Subuhu” prayer. The other four prayers could proclaim “bhaangu”internally within Mosque precincts.

These new laws regarding noise pollution were enacted by the Environment Ministry headed by Champika Ranawaka.

Another problem affecting Muslims is about killing and transporting animals and birds for food. These regulations seeking to prevent cruelty to animals was also initiated by the Hela Urumaya minister. Strict restrictions have been introduced about killing animals and transporting flesh .

It is open knowledge that most butchers in the Island are Muslim and that the trade in meat is dominated by the community. Thus the new laws affect that segment directly.

Muslims also consume more meat than others on a per capita basis.So the community too is affected indirectly by the new laws.

Aggravating tensions over the meat issue is the forthcoming Hajj festival. Those who are unable to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca are required to observe “qurbhan” whereby freshly killed meat is cooked and distributed as part of food to the needy at Mosques or at homes on an individual basis.

The new laws are restrictive in this respect. Since Hajj is on Dec 21st the community is getting increasingly agitated.

By what seems at best , strangely co-incidental , or at worst, deliberately intentional ,the three main problems confronting the community , can all be traced to the JHU.

The Hela Urumaya during its election campaign had often referred to the call to prayers by Mosques and had pledged to suppress them if elected.

But it was JHU ideologue and MP Ven Ellawela Mettananda Thero who unambiguously and openly revealed the hatred of the party towards the Muslims .

The politician – Bhikku denied that the Eastern Province was the historic habitat of Muslims. He accused the Muslims of grabbing land from the Sinhala and Tamil people in the Amparai district.

Whipping himself up into xenophobic frenzy the saffron – clad Sinhala supremacist said that Muslims should go back to their homeland Saudi Arabia seemingly oblivious to the fact that Muslims of Sri Lanka have a written history dating to the 8th century of their existence in this Country .

Rauff Hakeem in a statement made in Parliament and later at a press conference outlined the reasons for the party quitting the Government. He levelled many charges against the regime characterising it as unfriendly towards the minority communities.

If anyone had doubts about the validity of what Hakeem said , the Ven Ellawela Mettananda Thero in one stroke of racist venom dispelled all such misgivings. It was the lot of SLMC secretary Hassan Ali to refute the Bhikku firmly when addressing Parliament.

In addition to these problems there are other prickly issues confronting the community too. More than 2500 teacher vacancies in Muslim schools are yet to be filled. In addition quotas of appointment for “Moulavi”Arabic teachers remain vacant. Low admission rate of Muslims to universities is another problem.

The Muslims are also affected by the Karuna faction known as TMVP. Even though the LTTE presence in the east has declined the rise of TMVP has increased problems. State backing for the TMVP makes Muslims insecure. The TMVP was allegedly responsible for abductions of many rich Muslims recently.

Another potential problem is that of the State allegedly training and arming Muslim youths. These groups bearing different names exist in areas like Akkaraipattru, Kattankudi, Oddamavady and Muthur.

In the short term these groups along with the Karuna faction are being used to foment Tamil – Muslim friction. In the long term these groups could use violence to constrict the activities of legitimate , non – violent parties like the SLMC.

The Muslim Congress also found itself virtually powerless despite being in Government. An Eastern Province MP confessed that none of them could get anything effectively done for the community in spite of holding office.

Of 23 Muslim MP’s 18 were in Government holding ministerial, state ministerial and deputy – ministerial posts. None of them have been unable to do anything worthwhile.

They were politically impotent to do good for the community or at least prevent bad from befalling the community.

Though this state of affairs applies to the NUA, NC and ACMC the community at large was concerned only about the SLMC explained a Muslim Congress official. “Our people regard only the SLMC as their party. It is to us that they look up to fulfil their needs” he said.

Under these circumstances there was cast upon the SLMC a greater responsibility to look after Muslim interests. “If the SLMC could not deliver then it was time to go out of the government and fight for rights from opposition ranks”, the SLMC official further said.

The SLMC hand was forced to a great extent by the Mosques Federation. The Federation had sent a letter to President Rajapakse about Muslim grievances. Receipt was acknowledged but nothing further was done.

The head of the Federation , Al Shaikh Haniffa Madani had then called upon all Muslim MP’s to plan co-ordinated action. United action on Dec 14th on the Budget vote was recommended.

Only the SLMC it seems has responded positively to the Mosques Federation so far. Apart from consulting the federation the SLMC has taken the initiative to quit the Government.

Some Muslim journalists in the mainstream media told this column that the SLMC pull – out has raised its stock among the Muslim community.

The community at large had been hurt and troubled over the anti – Muslim attitude of this regime and had been disappointed over the inertia gripping Muslim MP’s in addressing these problems.

With the SLMC snapping out of its political paralysis and once again asserting itself as the paramount political force of Sri Lankan Muslims, the community was now rallying behind the party.

This leaves the other Muslim parties with unenviable choices. One is to exert pressure on the Govt and resolve some problems thereby scoring points against the SLMC. This however is highly unlikely because of the systemic anti – Muslim racism embedded amidst influential sections of this regime.

The other is to quit the Government and adopt confrontational politics. A third option is to close ranks with the SLMC.

If organizations like the Mosques Federation, Jamiyathul Ulama and the Muslim Council play a proactive role the dawn of such broad Muslim unity cannot be ruled out.

The newly visible approach of the SLMC must be seen in alignment with the changed leadership attitude of Rauff Hakeem. The SLMC leader has matured over the years and has tried hard to balance the party evenly between competing Sinhala and Tamil interests.

Earlier the vituperative personal attacks on him as well as the opportunistic tendencies of some of his deputies seemed to have de – moralised the SLMC leader. His performance seemed weak and aimless in recent times.But in recent times Hakeem has been displaying bold confidence in many matters.

He has stood his ground in Parliament as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee; he showed commendanle courage in suspending Puttalam strongman and SLMC national organizer K. Baiz from the party; he criticised the Eastern Province victory ceremony held in Colombo; he expressed condolences over SP Thamilchelvan’s death;now he has risked rebuke and recrimination by quitting the Government.

Hakeem also spoke up for the displaced Muslims in Puttalam refuting the President. It happened in cabinet when Rishard Badiurdeem put up a cabinet paper concerning displaced Northern Muslims.

Mahinda Rajapakse lost his cool , threw the paper and lambasted Rishard. He said that the Northern Muslims had stayed in Puttalam far too long and should be re- settled in the North within three months.

While Rishard kept quiet it was Rauff who confronted Rajapakse and said that such matters could not be done in a hurry without thought of ramifications. When the President pointed to speedy Vaakarai re- settlement , Hakeem patiently argued that an analogy could not be drawn between both cases.

Hakeem’s defiance drew the admiration of many a cabinet colleague. Later Ferial Ashraff was to chide Hakeem in a friendly manner saying he should have kept his mouth shut.

MHM Ashraff personified the SLMC through his visionary and bold leadership. Rauff Hakeem was found wanting in comparison. If recent events are any indication the time seems ripe for Hakeem, in his own right , to don the mantle of Ashraff.

The manner in which Hakeem handled the “quitting Govt” crisis was remarkable. He did so with tactful diplomacy and without bitter acrimony. In the process he has also kept SLMC options open.

Meanwhile President Rajapakse must comprehend clearly the underlying compulsions behind the SLMC action. The Muslim community faces many problems. It is time for the President to address these concerns in conjunction with the premier political party of Sri Lankan Muslims.

By Jayadeva Uyangoda

The report that the Supreme Court has granted permission to proceed with the fundamental rights violation petition filed by the CWC against the mass arrest of Tamil citizens in Colombo is a welcome development which occurred on the eve of this year’s International Human Rights Day.

This is a significant development particularly in the context of the alarming and seemingly unstoppable breakdown of both the rule of law and the systems that checks the balance of actions taken by the Executive, in the context of escalating war between the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE. It looks like the Defense Ministry has emerged as the most powerful agency of the state. Some of the worst features of the Presidential system of governance, as Sri Lanka experienced throughout the 1980s, have also come back amidst the escalation of the undeclared war. The excessive and almost unlimited concentration of governmental power in and around the office of the Executive President is no longer a secret. Sri Lankan citizens can have some hope that at least one branch of the state, the judiciary, has democratic resilience by being conscious of its institutional responsibility to protect the freedoms and liberties of citizens while preventing the erosion of the norms, values and practices of democratic governance in these difficult times of war.

National Security

It has been the experience in Sri Lanka ever since the civil war began in the early 1970s for contradictions to develop between citizens’ civil and political liberties and ‘national’ security. Governments have more often than not succumbed to the temptation of acquiring authoritarian powers through Emergency Laws and practices that are usually outside the framework of democratic governance. The war has also led to the periodic emergence of what Political Scientists call ‘national security regimes.’ In national security regimes, governments have had cultivated the practice of disregarding and even violating the basic rights and freedoms of the citizens on the premise of safeguarding national security.

In this national security approach to governance, state security, which often comes out as regime security, takes precedence over the rights of individual citizens. This approach also holds that the regime’s right to deny certain rights of the citizens in order to ensure state security should not be subjected to dispute. Even judicial scrutiny of such executive action is seen as unnecessary intervention that endangers national security. The advocates as well as the ‘hurrah boys’ of regimes (I borrow this evocative phrase from Tissa Jayatilleka), have in the past developed the habit of calling as allies of ‘terrorists’ and ‘enemies of the state’ those who would remind the rulers that the governments have a primary duty, especially in times of internal war, to ensure the rights of its citizens and minority communities. One hopes that they will not use this epithet to describe the Supreme Court order regarding the security check points in the city as well.

In an ethno-political civil war, like in Sri Lanka, there is also the proclivity on the part of the state to subject the citizens of minority ethnic communities, especially of the community from which anti-state insurgency has arisen, to restrictions and denial of rights. In such a context, the government faces the complex and difficult task of ensuring the security of the state and safety of its citizens while safeguarding the rights of the citizens of that minority community. But, as the experience shows, the exigencies of counter-insurgency operations take precedence over the rights of the citizens. When this happens, it calls for special measures to protect human rights. Many of such measures have in fact been developed in the international human rights and humanitarian law as well as guidelines. They are also available in Sri Lanka. In fact, during the Kumaratunga government, many of these measures were introduced to Sri Lanka’s human rights rules, regulations and practices.

Past Experiences

The record of violations since the present phase of war began early last year is not an exceptionally new development. During the Jayewardene, Premadasa and Kumaratunga regimes, there were grave human rights violations. The Jayewardene regime demonstrated an arrogantly callous disregard for human rights and harassed human rights advocates. Lalith Athulathmudali, President Jayewardene’s National Security Minister, derived great pleasure by branding human rights advocates, including the Amnesty International, as fronts for those he called ’separatist terrorists.’

In fact, Athulathmudali carried forward a tradition initiated by Felix Dias Bandaranaike. As the Minister of Justice in the United Front regime of 1970, Bandaranaike even branded human rights critics of the regime as sympathizers of ‘JVP terrorists’ and even CIA agents. He used the Lake House English newspapers as well as the Daily Mirror, then edited by his own hurrah boy Reggie Michael, to attack members of the Civil Rights Movement for their advocacy of civil and political rights of many thousands of JVP members arrested after the 1971 insurgency. Mr. R. K. W. Gunasekara, the then Principal of the Colombo Law College, was one of the prime targets and victims of these open attacks initiated by Felix Dias. During Athulathmudali’s time, the late Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam was similarly singled out for vituperative public attacks for defending human rights in times of civil war.

During the Premadasa regime of 1989 to 1993, there was a significant change in the government’s attitude to human rights. In its bloody internal war with the JVP, spearheaded by President Premadasa’s no-nonsense National Security Minister, Ranjan Wijeratne, civil and political rights took a severe beating. Arbitrary arrests, extra-judicial killings, and disappearances became regular, everyday events in 1988 to 1990. The Premadasa regime’s success in crushing the JVP insurgency was paralleled with one of the worst periods of human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

However, Mr. Premadasa did not close the doors to international pressure on human rights issues. It was not because the Premadasa regime was particularly friendly towards its international critics, but because in a context of political and human rights, conditionality for economic assistance, the regime had to accept the principle of compliance and accountability. Mr. Premadasa also had able advisors like Bradman Weerakoon to repair the regime’s image internationally. It needs to be noted that however much his regime came under international scrutiny and pressure on human rights issues, Mr. Premadasa did not resort to xenophobic patriotism.

During the Kumaratunga regime, there was some initial tension with international human writes groups. In 1996, goons linked to regime attacked a group of international and local human rights activists who had been holding a meeting in Bentota to discuss the country’s human rights situation after war broke out in December 1995. A few Ministers in that government, notably Mangala Samaraweera and S. B. Dissanayake, intervened, to restore the peaceful co-existance between the government and human rights groups.

The Kumaratunga regime developed a somewhat enlightened approach to managing human rights violations during the execution of its war against the LTTE. The government accepted the possibility of military and police excesses during the war and admitted the occurrence of excesses and then worked with the armed forces and the NGOs to minimize violations. There were training programmes for armed forces personnel in human rights and humanitarian laws and standards. Inquiries were immediately held when grave violations were reported. There was no willful strategy to cover up excesses, or to intimidate those who report excesses. On the rather complex issue of arrest and detention of suspects under the PTA, orders and guidelines formulated in line with international standards were sent out to defense and security authorities from the President’s office. The Human Rights Commission functioned for some time as a reasonably effective watchdog of the rights of citizens under conditions of war. Its branches in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticaloa were particularly active, with no undue pressure from the government

Tendencies

This backdrop is useful for us to appreciate the role of the judiciary and other oversight institutions in protecting the rights of the citizens in general and minority communities in particular in times of intensified ethnic war. As Sri Lanka’s own experience during the past two-to-three decades tell us, there are some tendencies that emerge during war which needs to be acknowledged and then arrested through proper institutional mechanisms. The first among them is the privileging of the security of the state and the ‘nation’ at the expense of the civil and political rights of individuals and the right of minority communities to equal treatment. The governments engaged in war have routinely argued that the security of the state, its officials and the government leaders should receive primacy over human rights.

The second is the tendency on the part of the government to curtail the democratic space on the premise that a little bit of authoritarianism is necessary to counter threats to the state. Advocates of this approach would even go to the extent of saying that curtailing democracy to some degree is necessary even for democracy to survive in a secured state. The third is to deny and justify excesses and then claim the right to impunity on behalf of the state and its defense and security institutions. In the late 1980s, the Jayewardene regime even introduced impunity legislation to protect the armed forces and police personnel from prosecution.

It is unfortunate that all these tendencies are present with some vigour in Sri Lanka today. The government, ignoring the lessons of the past governments, has gone back to the days of the early and mid-1980s when the Jayewardene government responded with disdain the arguments made by local and international rights groups for the protection of human rights while prosecuting the war. The attitude and the behavior of the present government to issues of human rights and democracy is sadly an outright denial of the advances that the Sri Lankan society, the state and the people achieved during the past two decades in those vital areas of state-society relations.

Xenophobia and Communalism

It seems that attacking UN agencies and local as well as international human rights groups, is a part of the government’s strategy to draw the public attention away from the actual human rights consequences of the on-going war. As a strategy, this is self-defeating, because it gives the government and its officials a false sense of safety and impunity. The xenophobic patriotism that the government encourages can actually promote further rights violations because the state functionaries might feel emboldened to continue to engage in actions that actually need to be stopped, if the government is at least worried about its own image and reputation abroad. The recent mass arrest of Tamil citizens in Colombo is just a case in point.

It seems that there is also a new spirit of communalism and racism introduced to Sri Lanka defense and security institutions. Otherwise, the security authorities would not have initiated such a blatant and indefensible ’security’ measure as the mass arrests of Tamil citizens last week. Probably, some influential sections of the government think that Tamil citizens deserve some collective punishment for the crimes of the LTTE. This is where the civil war also has the potential to push the Sri Lankan state back into a phase which the citizens of this country would have thought as a thing in the past.

Judiciary

Now, back to the role of the judiciary in times of war. As Sri Lanka has repeatedly experienced since the early 1970s, in times of war, the executive, and the legislature, which is controlled by the executive, possess a manifest tendency towards restricting the democratic space as well as the scope of rights that the citizens are entitled to under normal conditions. Thus, in times of war, the judiciary is the only institution of the state that the aggrieved citizens, communities and of course the dissidents can turn to for redress from infringements by both the executive and the legislature. That is why it is extremely important in times of war for an independent judiciary to be robust and assertive in protecting individual rights as well as the civil and political rights of the citizens and the rights of the members of ethnic and other minorities.

In Sri Lanka, the anti-terrorism thing is going awry. Let us hope Sri Lanka’s judiciary will stay firmly committed to protecting democratic governance, the rights of the citizens as well as vulnerable communities when all other defenses available to citizens are under attack. [dailymirror.lk]

By Ruki Fernando

Trincomalee continues to remain heavily militarized and tense. During the 85-km stretch between Habarana and Trincomalee the bus was stopped at five checkpoints to be checked. Though consideration was extended to older people and women with children at almost every checkpoint Tamil passengers were singled out for intense checking and questioning.

After 7 pm Trinco town was almost deserted. While I was in Mutur a man was shot dead at Karikamunai in Eechchilampathu, where several displaced people were resettled. Local people said the victim was a member of the Karuna group.

According to the Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) Trincomalee office, abductions and disappearances were reported almost daily-24 in August and 39 in September.

“We hear of other cases too but are not included as no formal complain complaint has been made – many people don’t complain to us or the Police,” an HRC official said. The SLMM too in its weekly reports mention incidences of killings, abductions and arrests in the Trincomalee district.

One issue highlighted by several people was the inability to obtain death certificates to cover those killed in last year’s shelling at Kadiravelly near Vakarai making it impossible for family members to obtain relief and compensation. Although several agencies were aware of this problem it is still to be satisfactorily resolved.

The HRC monitors intervene in some instances of violations, including abuses by non state actors, but it doesn’t make a significant impact. In the case of the killing of five students in January and 17 ACF aid workers in August last year and the killing of the Ven. Nandarathna Thera — the HRC had made its own investigations and submitted a report to its headquarters in Colombo. But the matter is at a standstill. The HRC visits IDP camps but its level of intervention to protect and ensure IDP’s rights is unclear.

I was sorry for the Police and Military officers at checkpoints-who are on their feet for more than eight hours a day. Checking bags amid the fear of ambushes is not an occupation to be cherished.

A young policeman at a checkpoint said: “It is a thankless job but we try to be as considerate as possible to everyone. Though the area is cleared, we fear attacks by LTTE cadres. I’m only staying because I have a daughter going to school and have to support her because here I get additional allowances. ”

Thousands still live as displaced people – some in camps and some with relatives and friends. I had the chance to interact with several of them. It was impossible to fully capture their hopes and fears but here are some that struck me.

“We are blamed whenever there is firing in the jungles behind the camp, maybe because we are helpless. On September 26, twenty six people were allegedly beaten up, including a pregnant woman. When I tried to intervene, they were angry about it,” a lady alleged describing the fear of the people at the Paddithtidal transit camp. She said a petition signed by more than 150 was handed over to the ICRC and the HRC but the intimidation continued.

“We are scared to go out and do any casual job, as we may be arrested in search operations,” a young man told me.

He said even the camp was not safe.

In September, the Grama Sevaka in charge of the nearby Manalchchenai transit camp was shot dead in the night. One person said it could have been in retaliation for supporting a petition to the Supreme Court on the loss of homes in the Sampoor High Security Zone.

Several expressed fear about a “Temporary ID card” issued to displaced people by the police irrespective of whether they have a National Identity Cards (NICs) or not. They fear this card could be used to arrest people by the Police and the security forces.

“The military harass us, believing we are LTTE supporters because we are from former LTTE-controlled areas. This ID card will help them to single us out,” alleged one man whose 17-year-old son was arrested on suspicion.

“Why can’t they accept the National IC ?” one person asked.

I had no answer. I was shocked to see the ID where the race had to be disclosed.

There was no official figure as to how many will lose their traditional lands and homes due to to Sampoor HSZ. According to the HRC some 15,425 people from 11 Grama Niladhari Divisions, presently in camps or with relatives will be affected, while most of the displaced still in Batticaloa (11,672 as of September) will also be losing their lands. NGOs working with displaced people put the figure at 53,000.

“The military took us from the camps in Batticaloa, telling us we will be taken home. I even left my pots and pans because I will return soon. Instead we were brought to another camp and told we will be taken home in a few days. Now, we hear our lands and homes have been taken over by the military for a HSZ and that we will be settled in Ralkuly. We will never go there (Ralkuly)-it’s not a suitable place to live,” a 62-year-old man at the Killiveddy transit camp told me.

“Please tell the government not to waste money by building houses for us at Ralkuly, we will not go there. I will drink poison if they take me forcibly,” another man told me. What is striking is that no government official had informed or consulted the affected people about their fate.

“More than assistance, we want to go home-if we can return to our homes in Sampoor, we can live on our own, without depending on the government or the NGOs,” another woman told me.

In the two major transit camps in Killiveddi and Paddiththidal, people told me toilets were full and could not be used. In these camps, people get food rations. But several people I met in the Cultural Hall close to Trincomalee town told me the only food they get is half a loaf from an NGO. They said government assistance stopped long ago, they alleged and that it’s impossible to find regular work.

I visited Ralkuly, and spoke to several people. Many said they would welcome those who wish to settle there. Government officials said clearing of the jungle and building of houses had begun.

The place appeared insecure. A man was killed on September 24 by shelling, which the villagers blamed on government forces. Villagers said the widow and her three children were finding it difficult to survive without an income but there has been no compensation neither an inquiry into this incident.

A 63-year-old woman said she was also injured in that incident and showed me a gaping hole in her kitchen that was damaged by the shelling.

Even here the security restrictions make life difficult for civilians. “Due to fishing restrictions the price of a kilo of fish is between Rs. 500 and 600, whereas before, it was around Rs. 50,” a Ralkuly woman resident told me.

Thaqwa Nagar is a predominantly Muslim fishing community in Mutur. The severe restrictions on fishing were causing untold hardships to the people there. On November 2, the day before I went there fishing had been totally banned by the military, without reason. Fishing is allowed on certain days but subject to a series of restrictions.

Fishing is allowed beyond two km from the shore but motor boats are not allowed.

Walking on the beach, I saw the sad sight of many motor boats turned upside down while some were being used as garbage dumps and some slowly rotting way.

A three-month permit is issued for Fishing which has to be surrendered to a military checkpoint when going fishing and collected when returning. The check point opens only at 4 am, so only very few fishermen can go out to sea by 4 am and to add insult to injury, the permit is in Sinhala and in this village almost no one understands Sinhala.

“Yesterday, we were not allowed to fish at all. Today, I went out around 5 am and came back empty handed. This happens on many days. If I’m lucky, I could get Rs. 200 to 300 worth of fish,” one fisherman told me.

“We Muslims didn’t like the LTTE. Many of us voted for the present President. But during the time the LTTE controlled this area, it didn’t impose any such restrictions. The government that we voted for claims they liberated us – but we are suffering more than before. Fishing is allowed in Trincomalee. Why only impose these difficulties on us?” one fisherman questioned.

“We don’t want any assistance-fishing is the only job we know-it’s been so for generations. If we’re allowed to fish, we don’t need any assistance from anyone,” another said echoing the sentiments I heard several times.

I heard more stories of desperation from the interiors of Mutur. Before reaching Eechchilampathu, I came across a massive new road being built across the A15 road (Mutur-Eravur) bisecting the paddy fields. I learnt later that this new road was to link Kantalai to Sampoor, the HSZ.

A bulldozer was visible with some military personnel. “I’ve lost a large part of my paddy land, and so has my cousin. I might lose as much as Rs. 75,000 a harvest because of this” a farmer said. No one had informed him, neither had there been any offers or discussions of compensation. “We are Tamils, so we can’t complain. We live in fear, and if we try to complain, we might even be killed” he told me. Talking to another farmer, I learnt that about 50 farmers including Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims will lose their paddy lands.

At Jinna Nagar in Mutur one of the main means of livelihood had been breaking stones. When returning home after displacement they had resumed their traditional job of breaking stones. But in September, a group of Buddhist Monks had turned up and asked them to stop, saying a Buddhist statue had been on the site.

“We don’t want to damage any Buddhist statue, but we have to continue our job, otherwise, how we can feed our children?” asked one man. The Monks had promised to give some food, but they had never received any. Since then, the area where breaking stones was allowed had been restricted, severely affecting their income.

“More than 60 of us handed over a letter to the Government Agent, Divisional Secretary and other officials, asking to reconsider this, but we have heard nothing yet” another villager told us.

When I asked whether they had a message for people in Colombo and elsewhere, the response was, “Tell people in Colombo and the authorities there is no liberation-we are only experiencing more and more hardships.” Many people who had fled as fighting broke out came back to find their houses damaged and belongings missing. Many I spoke to said they had lost electronic items such as TVs and motorbikes.

“When we came back, our house and bakery were destroyed and our car was stolen we have the relevant documents. But to date the car has not been returned,” a mother of five children said.

Finally, almost all the people I spoke to pleaded with me not to mention their names.

They feared reprisals if their names were mentioned. An exception was the woman injured in a shelling incident in September in Ralkuly, who asked me to take her picture near the small hole made by the shell, in her makeshift kitchen.

The visit was full of despair and questions that I could not answer and assurances I could not give. About going back home, about their livelihoods and about their physical security.

I could only promise them that I will tell their stories to the rest of the country and the rest of the world. Will their desperate cries be heard by authorities and people of goodwill?

By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai

“The Government is actively giving patronage to the armed groups in the East, and allowing them to act with impunity. Many Muslim civilians have gone missing in several months” said Rauff Hakeem, the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.

[Rauff Hakeem at "Thaarusalaam" on Dec 13, 2007]

The leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Rauff Hakeem met the journalists in Colombo at “Thaarusalaam”-party headquarters on Thursday after crossing over to the Opposition in Parliament on Wednesday. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has taken a decision to resign from the government and quit their ministerial portfolios over a slew of issues. Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has decided to support the Government from January 28th 2007 onwards.

The three members who crossed over along with the leader Rauff Hakeem were General Secretary of the party Hasan Ali, Chairman Bashir Segudawood and Ampara District Member of Parliament Faizal Cassim. Two other members and Deputy Ministers K. A. Baiz and M. Nijamudeen remain in the Government. The four members of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress were welcomed to the Opposition by thumping the desks and shaking hands by the Members of Parliament of the United National Party and Tamil National Alliance. United National Party Member of Parliament Lakshman Kiriella offered his front row seat to Rauff Hakeem.

He further clarified his party’s stand on crossing over to the journalists:

“My great leader used to say that, our party makes things happen. We like to see a paradigm shift in solving the national problem, not only the Muslim issue: and also of those Tamils. The issues pertaining to Northern and Eastern Muslims remain unresolved. There are huge issues pertaining to land, security, economic interest and our rights to exercise our religious freedom. The Government is trying to change the demography of the East through settlements and land grabbing.

We resigned from the government with dignity. People who have mandated us are happy about our decision. We will not join the Government again; we are ready to face any challenge. Truth is the first victim in a war.

Stamped as traitors

We were called nationalists when we were with the Government, the moment we withdrew our support we are stamped as traitors. The Tamil National Alliance Members of Parliament are threatened. Recently relatives of the three Tamil National Alliance Members of Parliament went missing. My security was withdrawn soon after I resigned along with my fellow members. When I was in the Government I had 14 guards from Ministerial Security Division with vehicles, and 6 Special Task Force personnel. It was reduced to two few hours after I crossed over to the Opposition. I made a complaint and I have 5 guards from Ministerial Security Division. Each of my fellow members who resigned from the Government is provided with only two Police constables. Removing the security is a violation of human rights.

Muslims have to go back to Saudi Arabia

It’s noted with deep regret that a Venerable Buddhist monk made a statement recently stating that the Muslims are not citizens of this country. And we Muslims have to go back to Saudi Arabia.

Today, I stand before you to tell the truth about the doubts that I and members of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress had been entertaining during the past twelve months, as ministers and members of the ruling coalition.

Parted ways on principles

However I should emphasize the fact that it is with no malice or acrimony that I present my case and that my party will continue to maintain very healthy ties with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his ministers and members of the Government even in the future despite our decision to leave the Government. There are no hostilities between us. We have only parted ways on principles.

We behaved in the most diplomatic manner in the process of leaving the Government. As we promised, we have given adequate advance notice on our decision to quit expect the Government too to respond to our departure in a similar mature manner and take it in the spirit that we made the move.

All of you are aware the circumstances under which we became part of the Government. The decision was more to do with keeping the unity of the party than out of conviction that there would be room within this Government with its assortment of parties for us to get the basic demands of the Muslim community met.

As the leader of the party I had serious misgivings about the capability of this Government with its far right wing slant to address the grievances of minorities both Muslims and Tamils from the very outset.

Doubts and dilemmas shared

My friends in Parliament and outside are witnesses to the fact that even on the day that I joined the Government-January 28th 2007 to be precise, I shared my doubts and dilemmas with them. I told them that my stint in this Government is not going to last long and it is to prevent a split in the party that I was joining the Government. If one peruses the media interviews given by me during the last twelve months it will become clear that I have been maintaining this stance in almost all my media comments.

Despite all these uncertainties about the manner the Government would approach Muslim grievances we were dignified enough to abide by the collective responsibility. We defended the Government in the House and outside throughout our stint even putting the party’s credibility at stake on many occasions. Finally at the second reading of the Budget we kept our word and voted for the Budget.

While we were dutifully playing our part as an ally of the Government we were very much conscious of the growing restlessness among our own constituents. The delicate politics in the East is such that everyday new issues keep cropping up. There is slew of issues pertaining to land, security, and economic interest. In the case of land issues our people are facing problems that they have never faced before, making them feel that they are outcasts in their own lands.

Fear psychosis

On the other hand the Northern Muslims who have been languishing in Puttlam and neighbouring areas fro 17 long years are now expected to return to their places of origin without any security guarantees due to a fear psychosis among some members of the Government that a long term presence of my people in Puttlam would disturb the traditional demographic pattern of the area.

Besides the infringement of religious rights in the form of new noise pollution regulations is becoming a rancorous issue. The interpretation by my community was that the regulations were in violation of the core traditions of Islam. Our repeated request to remedy the situation have fallen on deaf ears.

No sympathy towards the minorities

My party was coming under tremendous pressure from my community to withdraw our support to the government. There was absolutely no hope in the horizon for the community under the present regime. The unpalatable reality about the Government is that its composition and power alignment are such it can make a very little progress in addressing the grievances of the minorities. Not only Muslims equally those of Tamils. Even though a few make some genuine efforts to resolve some of the issues those moves too are doomed to fall apart due to the imbalanced configuration.”

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem made a statement to the House on Wednesday Dec 12th, announcing the reasons which led to his party’s decision to resign from the Government. He quoted a famous American writer Mark Twain “when in doubt tell the truth”.

Raising a privilege issue in Parliament today regarding reducing the security entitled to him and three of his fellow members, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem vowed to go international on the matter if the security is not restored. “The government is sponsoring illegal militant groups in East and the withdrawal of security has put the people’s representatives’ lives in jeopardy” Rauff Hakeem said.

by Ruki Fernando

Few weeks before I went to Jaffna, Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council had visited Jaffna and captured the powerful testimony of one airline passenger saying “the only thing we can do is cry”.

After my own visit to Jaffna, I wonder whether all I, other people in the rest of the country and the world can do is cry with people of Jaffna. Or whether some even care to cry.

I remember that Jehan finished his article saying that people in Jaffna don’t want to be shut off or be forgotten. But my impression was that the government seemed to be intent on just that-shutting off people in Jaffna from rest of Sri Lanka and the world.

I had spent fair amount of my youth traveling to various countries, including “hot spots”, taking hundreds of flights-and been through some arduous visa and immigration procedures. But no procedure was as frustrating as this. I spent 8 hours to reach Jaffna-from the time I reported to the airline office and the time I was finally allowed to be free in Jaffna-the flight was actually 70 minutes. My phone and camera was confiscated in the earliest part of the journey. In what was similar to a “visa on arrival” procedure, I was photographed, and given a special pass to keep with me while I was in Jaffna. Unlike in other countries, I didn’t have to fill a form, but security forces wrote up the information I gave at the several interviews. Coming back, we had 4 bus rides, the last two of which had curtains drawn so that we can’t see the outside, pass through 5 counters in the check in area (the old Railway station) and our bags were checked several times.

The next visible sign of shutting off Jaffna is the restrictions imposed on foreign passport holders from going to Jaffna, to provide essential humanitarian assistance and protection to civilians the government is obliged to provide, but is not providing. I was expecting a good friend to join me in Jaffna the day after I went. She was born in Jaffna, speaks Tamil, but had fled Jaffna with her family due to the war and holds a US passport now. She had subsequently returned with high hopes of working for peace and reconciliation in what she considered as her country-but she couldn’t come-instead, I got a text saying she can’t come due the newly introduced long procedure to get permits to visit Jaffna. As I languished for hours at the first checkpoint approaching the Ratmalana Airport, I met a humanitarian worker who has been working in Jaffna-she had a document from the Ministry of Defense (MOD) specifying she could work in Jaffna, but military personnel were telling her she needed another permit from the MOD! She was not allowed to board the flight. While in Jaffna, I heard that this was the latest of yet another changing procedures to enter/leave Jaffna-and for now, all foreign nationals doing humanitarian and peace work in Jaffna will need to get a permit from the MOD everytime they go to Jaffna-in addition to the work permits allowing them to work in Jaffna issued by the very same MOD. In the present environment of fear that grips Jaffna, it was clear to me that foreign nationals’ presence meant a lot to civilians, and even aid workers in Jaffna. “I’m not sure whether I could go back. I worry for my staff, I had already had staff killed” said one head of an agency who was on the flight back to Colombo with me and worrying whether she would be able to go back.

But these procedures seem to pale when compared to the “Colombo visa process”, that Jaffna residents have to go through. “It took me few days to get a visa to Italy-but it took me almost a month to get a “visa to Colombo” a passenger in the flight to Jaffna told me. He also told me he spent much more for photocopies for the “visa” or permit to come to Colombo, than for the documents for the Italian visa. I met one person who had not got his Colombo visa after 3 months and had lost hope of ever getting it!

Several friends in media also told me its difficult to go to Jaffna-at the Ratmalana airport entry point, I met a group of journalists waiting for their permit-when I left them, they were not sure whether they would get their “clearance”-even though they would be “embedded” journalists, who would travel in an air force plane.

Life in Jaffna

All around the town, I saw bombed out buildings, barbed wire and what once would have been residential houses now occupied by the military. One man I met in the plane told me his land and house had been taken over by the military in 1990, and no compensation or alternative land or housing had been provided. He has given up hoop of ever getting it back.

In terms of hearing, nothing can beat the shelling. Whether it was while I was trying to sleep, or while doing the training that took me to Jaffna, or even while playing a friendly cricket match, shelling continued.

Daily, there is a powercut at a specified time. But I also experienced unannounced powercuts, in the night as well as day time. There are mobile phone signals, but the signals are cut off regularly without advance notice-mostly, it was for around an hour or less, but on one day, there was no signal from about 9am to 4pm.

People are being reduced to starvation due huge prices and forcible restrictions on livelihoods. Eggs were being sold at Rs. 24, Rice around Rs. 200, fish around Rs. 700 and potatoes around Rs. 180 per kilo. My pen torch batteries were confiscated and not returned at the security checkpoint in Ratmalana, but pen torch batteries in the peninsular are rare and costs around Rs. 200 in Jaffna. All these, in a context where many fishermen can’t fish due to fishing restrictions of the military, many farmers land has been occupied by the military and shops close down before sunset as the town and streets gets deserted as darkness descends and curfew starts.

Insecurity of civilians

The curfew is now at 9pm (untill early November it had been 7pm) and on two days, as I went around at about 7pm, I didn’t see a single vehicle or cycle on the streets. Several friends told me that they “regretted” they can’t invite me for dinner as curfew starts at 9pm, and in any case, it would not be safe for me to visit them or vice versa after dark. The training was I was doing had to be concluded by 2.30pm, to enable participants to reach home before dark, leaving space for “convoys” that block roads for hours.

But everyone I spoke to said curfew is not for protection of civilians-but for protection of “unidentified groups” that roam the streets of Jaffna abducting and killing people. I got names of seven people who had been killed in the week I was in Jaffna. I remembered a recent report that showed that showed that almost 2 person per day disappeared or was killed in Jaffna in the first 8 months of 2007.

All this is despite the curfew, large number of armed military personnel at every few meters and severe restrictions on freedom of movement of civilians. Part of man roads, including main roads are made off limits to civilians. I saw for myself how a 12 kilometer stretch on the A18 highway between Jaffna and Palali was sealed off and civilians were left stranded for hours-to ensure security for the military convoys. I heard that this was a daily occurrence on the roads around Jaffna.

Fear was evident in all the people I spoke to. Men were scared of “unidentified” groups, including those in motor bikes without number plates, engaged in killings and abductions. They also feared harassment and torture at the hands of the security forces, who demand civilians to provide them with names of LTTE cadres. Mothers, wives and sisters fear for their men. I also heard of girls who had been raped and sexual harassment of young girls at checkpoints, including during the checking that occurs in taking a flight out of Jaffna. Everyday, people surrender themselves to the Human Rights Commission seeking security.

People I spoke to vehemently said they don’t agree with bombs such as the one in Nugegoda that targets civilians. Several told me the government is free to take on the LTTE militarily if they wanted to-but that the Colombo government and military personnel should stop this type of discrimination, harassment and attacks on civilians. I did hear from some people about abuses by the LTTE, but certainly, it was not something many spoke to me about.

Aid workers face numerous problems. At least 16 have been killed and abducted since 2006. In some cases, its clear its due to their work, but in others, it is not clear whether this was due to their their work or organizational affiliation. Even within the peninsular, aid workers need to get permits, often 48 hours in advance, to reach their project sites. On several occasions, the permission had not been forthcoming and they had been turned back. Priests face similar difficulties in reaching their flock to perform religious ceremonies.

Hoping against hope

Given the suspicion the government, military and even the some members of the public and religious leaders treat Tamil people, particularly those coming from the North and East, as well as the discriminations, harassments and indignities forced upon them in Colombo and rest of the South, I was surprised at the warmth extended to me, a Sinhalese from the South, by Tamil people in Jaffna. I was an invitee, a guest, but even ordinary people who I never met before displayed a warmth and kindness I would not expect from a people under such stress. In the University, a group of students invited me to join them in a friendly cricket match. Unfortunately, before I could bat, the match was abandoned-not due to bad light or rain, but due to intensification of shelling and fear of terrors Jaffna nights bring to young men in particular. As in my visits before, I came away with several gifts-amongst the ones I valued most was a plaque with a peace dove breaking free from a chained cage, with a map of Sri Lanka forming the backdrop.

But the last sense of hope was given by a young soldier who saw this plaque during the course of rigorous checking at the Palaly airport “we hope peace can come and we can go back and stay in our own lands without occupying other peoples lands” was what he told me.

(Apologies for no photos-in the first place, batteries in my camera and flashlight were confiscated and never returned, and the prices of batteries are so high in Jafna, and anyways, I was told taking photos in the streets and markets in Jaffna could prove a risky business)

by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai

“Government of Sri Lanka is wrong in thinking that, it can solve the issue by flushing out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from Vanni. The Tamil question remains unresolved. Peace would only come if the Tamil question is resolved in a way, which is acceptable to all” said R. Sampanthan MP, the leader of Tamil National Alliance.

He addressed a gathering of foreign correspondents in Colombo on December 10th at Galle Face Hotel.

He further stated:

Commitment for Peace

The Government should come with clean, candid and honest proposal with regard to Tamil speaking people’s issue. There should be positive movement towards resolution. Sri Lanka is 2,500 year-old. There were self-rules within a united Sri Lanka. Tamil people have been demanding for their rights since 1956. The Sri Lanka state says that the leader of the LTTE Velupillai Prabhakaran is committed for separate state. Has the Government of Sri Lanka given any proposal to challenge him? Never; ever! Sri Lanka is the most militarized sate in the whole world. I do not see any hope of fulfillment.

Mahinda Rajapakse became the President, partly because of the LTTE, because they did not allow the Tamils in North and East to vote. I think that the Tamils in North and East should have been allowed to exercise their franchise.

1983 July riots was the turning point for the ethnic conflict. Indo-Lanka Peace Accord accommodated within the existing 1972 constitution. There is an endorsement under the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, which says that, Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country, and people can nurture their identity.

[R. Sampanthan MP, at the Galle face Hotel on Dec 10th, 2007]

Sinhala colonisation

There had been extensive Sinhala colonisation in the North and East of the country. These were violations under Banda-Chelva pact and Dudley-Chelva pact, but the colonisations kept increasing. Natural increase in the Sinhala population island wide was 238% from 1947 to 1981, according to statistics. But it multiplied in the Eastern province of the country due to extended Sinhala population. According to the statistics the percentage of the Sinhala population in the East from 1947 to 1981 was 880%. We have nothing against the Sinhala people, but Sinhala people were settled in Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amapara districts.

The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse said recently in Los Angles that, 54% of the Tamil people do not live in North and East. There is no doubt about it, because people are bombed; people are killed;; people flee for their lives in North and East. There is 2.5% of Sinhala population still living in North and East.

Political solution

There were opportunities for political solution for the ethnic conflict when Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was in power in 1995. She had a set of proposals. I told her to consider the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam seriously, when she summoned the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was summoned to talk further about the proposals. But unfortunately the hostilities began in April-May of 1995. The United National Party did not extend their support to her. Gradually the hostilities became tensed; Jaffna peninsula fell into the hands of the Government; and Elephantpass feel into the hands of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam declared a unilateral ceasefire in late 2000, which was not accepted by the President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. But the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam kept extending the ceasefire till 26th of April 2001. Operation “Agni Keela” (Anvil of Fire) was launched to capture Palai by the Sri Lankan security forces, but they could not capture it.

Norwegians came to Sri Lanka to negotiate peace for the first time in 2000. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe became the Prime Minister in the general election held in December 2001. Ceasefire Agreement was signed between the Ranil Wickremasighe government and the LTTE in 2001.His mandate was to set up an interim council for the North and East. But unfortunately he was unable to make it a reality. He would have thought the President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunaga and Foreign Minister Late Lakshman Kadirgamar were looking over his shoulders. He would have moved in a positive and constructive way.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was not invited to attend the pre-Tokyo conference, which was held in Washington DC in April 2003. Principle of parity needed to be maintained. People were not allowed to resettle in Jaffna, especially Valikaamam area.

The Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremasinghe gave the third proposal, whilst the Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam came up with their own proposal. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga agreed to discuss the LTTE’s proposal in June 2004, but it never became a reality.

General elections were held in February 2004. I wrote to the President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and cautioned her about the alliance with Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). I mentioned in my letter that, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) are old political parties of the country, and they should not come with an alliance.

When Mahinda Rajapakse became the President he signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). The Supreme Court gave a convenient order to de-merge North and East. The beneficiaries of the North and East merger went to courts. The Supreme Courts upheld the order, and the rights of the real beneficiaries were denied.

Accept democracy

I know the leader of the Liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam Velupillai Prabhakaran for 30 years, ever since I became a Member of Parliament. I told him that, he needs to transform his military strength to political strength of the Tamil people, and accept democracy when I met him in April 2002 in Vanni.

Lost its life

He further speaking about the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) said it lost its life. I do not think that, the APRC will ever be able to come up with any solution.

The role of international community

Every effort is being made by the international community. Even the United Nations is attacked; high ranking officials have been severely criticized; some been physically attacked. Nevertheless the international community should continue its commitment in achieving sustainable peace in Sri Lanka, especially India.

The human rights situation is deplorable and appalling; it’s worse in Jaffna; 300 civilians were killed in the recent violence.

Sovereignty of State

Once I told the Foreign Minister Late Lakshman Kadirgamar that, the sovereignty is not a crystal to keep it in the cupboard and admire. Sovereignty of the state is not so sacred. Human rights of the people, right to life and liberty cannot be sacrificed for the state.

Ethnic cleansing

The Government kept saying that, the operation was underway to liberate the Tamils form the clutches of the LTTE. If so why are people of 28 villages in Trincomalee district not allowed to resettle? There is not LTTE cadre in these villages, there are only soldiers. Lands of East have been taken over for various purposes. There were attempts to make Trincomalee and Mullaithivu under one district, and make it a Sinhala colony.

R. Sampanthan, the leader of Tamil National Alliance is a Member of Parliament for Trincomalee district. He made these remarks at a meeting organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka.