Author: TELO Admin

Sixteen parliamentarians from 10 political parties which form the governing alliance plan to sit independently in the House from next week, The Sunday Morning reliably learns.

The decision to sit independently was reached during a 10-party party leaders’ meeting held last Friday (4), a leader of a dissident group told The Sunday Morning.

Accordingly, the group of 16 will sit separately from the Government MPs, but will remain on the Government side of the House.

It is also learnt that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which has been raising a dissenting voice over the last year, will not join this move.

The move comes in the wake of last week’s Cabinet reshuffle, where President Gotabaya Rajapaksa sacked two key Cabinet Ministers – National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Leader Udaya Gammanpila – who had criticised Government policies and called for a change in policy direction to avert a further crisis.

The government of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has a meagre 10% approval rating little over 2 years into his term, according to a poll by Verité Research.

The Colombo based think-tank recently launched a Gallup style “Mood of the Nation” poll in Sri Lanka to assess approval, satisfaction and confidence in relation to the government, the country and the economy.

Gallup is the most reputed polling organisation in the world. It runs a regular “Mood of the Nation” poll in the United States. Accordingly, Verité Research has adapted that same poll and scoring methodology to follow the pulse of the people in Sri Lanka.

The poll is based on an island wide nationally representative sample of responses from 1,021 Sri Lankan adults, conducted in January 2022. The sample and methodology were designed to ensure a maximum error margin of under 3% at a 95% confidence interval. The polling partner was Vanguard Survey (Pvt) Ltd.

Government approval rating | 10%

To the question, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way the current government is working?” only 10% said they approve.

Sri Lanka satisfaction | 6%

To the question, “In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in Sri Lanka?” only 6% said they were satisfied.

Economic confidence | negative (-) 82.96

Multiple choice questions on the condition and trajectory of the economy are used to generate an economic confidence score. The score can range from negative (-) 100 to positive (+) 100. A score above zero means more people see the economic conditions positively rather than negatively.

If everyone thinks the economy is in either excellent or good conditions, and everyone also thinks it is getting better the score will be positive (+) 100. If everyone thinks that the economy is in a poor condition, and everyone also thinks it is getting worse, the score will be a negative (-) 100.

The score is a negative (-) 83 because the average of those who thought the economy was in a poor condition, and those who thought it was getting worse, was 83%.

India on Friday called upon Sri Lanka to take “necessary steps” to address the “legitimate aspirations” of the Tamil community, while reiterating its earlier stance that it is in Sri Lanka’s “own interest that the expectations of Tamils in Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace and dignity, within a united Sri Lanka, are fulfilled”.

Delivering a statement in the interactive dialogue segment on the U.N. Human Rights chief’s latest report on Sri Lanka, Ambassador Indramani Pandey, Permanent Representative of India told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that, “As its friend and immediate neighbour, India has consistently called upon Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitments on addressing the issues related to protecting the interest of Tamils in Sri Lanka.” While making a similar intervention last year, India abstained from voting on the resolution on Sri Lanka. There is no resolution or vote on Sri Lanka this year.

Calling for continued engagement by the Government of Sri Lanka with the international community, India on Friday noted that High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s recent report raises “important concerns” on promoting, reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.

The written report, among other observations, highlighted “setbacks to accountability for past human rights violations and the recognition of victims’ rights”, and the failure of transitional justice mechanisms to win the confidence of victims affected by the civil war that ended in 2009.

In her statement to the Council on Friday, Ms. Bachelet said, “Regrettably, the past year has also seen further obstruction and setbacks to accountability. Victims and their families continue to be denied truth and justice.”

“Two years after the expression of commitments to pursue an “inclusive, domestically designed and executed reconciliation and accountability process” before this Council, the Government has still not produced a credible roadmap on transitional justice towards accountability and reconciliation,” the High Commissioner noted, adding that “as long as impunity prevails, Sri Lanka will not achieve genuine reconciliation and sustainable peace”.

Tamil concerns

India’s statement in response focussed on long-pending concerns of Tamils and the need for power devolution. “We call upon Sri Lanka to take the necessary steps to address the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community, including by carrying forward the process of reconciliation and the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, to ensure that the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all its citizens are fully protected,” Ambassador Pandey said. India would “continue to urge” the Sri Lankan Government for the early conduct of elections to the Provincial Councils in keeping with its commitment to devolution of power, he said.

What is the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, and why is it contentious?

The five-year terms of all nine Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka expired in 2018 and 2019. There is no official word on provincial polls from the Government, which is cash-strapped and growing increasingly unpopular in the wake of an unprecedented economic crisis, reflecting in fuel shortage and prolonged power cuts.

Thrust on 13 A and provincial polls

India’s emphasis on the 13th Amendment, which followed the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 and assured a measure of devolution, comes weeks after senior Tamil parliamentarians wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention in securing a durable political solution for Sri Lanka’s historic Tamil question.

Significantly, the signatories to the letter pointed to limits of the 13th Amendment, especially within a Unitary Constitution, and underscored their commitment to a political solution that goes beyond the Amendment, and is based on a federal structure that recognises Tamils’ “right to self-determination”.

The Government of China is seriously considering refraining from granting any more loans to Sri Lanka, informed sources revealed.

A high level group of Chinese Government officials, who are currently in Colombo, had reportedly conveyed this decision to a few top officials in the Government.

It is stated that Beijing had decided to abstain from granting loans or aid to Colombo due to two reasons. One of the main issues is said to be the problems that had cropped up in connection with the construction of the third phase of the Central Highway.

The second reason is the controversial Chinese fertiliser vessel that had been sent back from Colombo after its arrival here. It is reported that China had granted loans to Sri Lanka amounting to US$ 16 billion.

Five main Tamil political parties from Sri Lanka have jointly wrote a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet calling for “Referendum as the only way to bring permanent political solution to the ethnic conflict, thereby stopping mass atrocities against the Tamil people.”

“We would like to point out that repeated mass killings of Tamils amounting to genocide is due to lack of permanent political solution to the protracted ethic conflict in Sri Lanka. We strongly feel that an internationally conducted and monitored referendum is the only way to bring permanent political solution to the ethnic conflict, thereby stopping mass atrocities against the Tamil people.” said the letter.

The letter appreciated High Commissioner’s Report to the UN Human Rights Council on Jan 12, 2021 referring to accountability as:
“Member states have a number of options to advance criminal accountability and provide measures of redress for victims. In addition to taking steps towards the referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court….”

In addition to calling for Referendum, the letter also appealed the High Commissioner to:
“take decisive steps to stop government sponsored Sinhala – Buddhist settlements in Tamil areas, to stop demarcation of divisional boundaries to incorporate Sinhala – Buddhist areas into Tamil districts and to reduce the overwhelming Sri Lankan military presence in Tamil areas even after the war ended over twelve years ago.”

The letter also highlighted the continued abuses faced by the Tamil people as:
* Suffering Tamil women continue to face numerous challenges in their life since the war ended. International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) in February 2017 handed over details to UN of Sri Lankan Military run “Rape Camps”, where Tamil women are being held as “sex slaves”.
* According to UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office report in April 2013, there are over 90 thousand Tamil war widows in the North and East of Sri Lanka.
* Thousands of Tamils had disappeared, including babies and children. UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances stated in 2020 that the second highest number of enforced disappearance cases in the world is from Sri Lanka. Families of the disappeared who seek their loved ones are harassed, threatened and intimidated by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and other Government intelligence agencies. Peaceful protests of these families face numerous challenges.

This letter was written ahead of UN Human Rights Council Session currently taking place in Geneva. High Commissioner will table a report on Sri Lanka during this Session.

** BELOW, PLEASE FIND THE FULL LETTER:

February 25, 2022

Honourable Michelle Bachelet
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva

Dear Madam High Commissioner!

As you are preparing to deliver a written update to the UN Human Rights Council about Sri Lanka, we, from the Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka wish to bring to your kind attention our assessment of the situation of Tamils since the adoption of UN Resolution 46/1 in March 2021.

We also want to express our appreciation for your below report on Sri Lanka on Jan 12, 2021 referring accountability as:

“Member states have a number of options to advance criminal accountability and provide measures of redress for victims. In addition to taking steps towards the referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court, Member States can actively pursue investigation and prosecution of international crimes committed by all parties in Sri Lanka before their own national courts, including under the principles of extraterritorial or universal jurisdiction. The High Commissioner encourages Member States to work with OHCHR, victims and their representatives to promote such avenues for accountability, including through opening investigations into possible international crimes, and to support a dedicated capacity to advance these efforts. Member States can also apply targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes and travel bans against State officials and other actors credibly alleged to have committed or be responsible for grave human rights violations or abuses, as well as support initiatives that provide practical benefits to victims and their families.” https://undocs.org/A/HRC/46/20

We also would like to bring to your kind attention an open letter from 20 former high-level UN officials on February 18, 2021. The signatories included all four former UN High Commissioners for Human Rights – four former high officials of the UN, nine former Special Rapporteurs who had visited and written reports on Sri Lanka, and, all three members of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka.

As the signatories noted, “The recently released report on Sri Lanka by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights underlines, yet again, the country’s lack of progress on justice and accountability. Based largely on an analysis of emerging trends, it makes a compelling case for decisive international action to ensure justice and accountability for mass human rights violations and atrocities in Sri Lanka as a central element of the search for sustained
reconciliation and the prevention of the recurrence of rights abuses and conflict.” They concluded, “Given the continued reluctance of the Sri Lankan Government to meaningfully uphold the human rights of all, only decisive, international action to ensure justice and accountability can interrupt Sri Lanka’s periodic cycles of violence. https://chrgi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Sowing-the-Seeds-of-Conflict.pdf

During the last six months, there was continued impunity for violations committed during the war that ended in 2009 and the government ignored repeated UN Human Rights Council Resolutions calling for justice and accountability. As such, justice stalled and impunity prevailed. Tamil victim groups, Human rights defenders, Civil society leaders, Journalists and others were increasingly intimidated and harassed by Sri Lankan authorities. Increased use of Covid-19 restrictions and counter-terror laws by the Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities restrict the space for peaceful protests while discrimination against and marginalization of the Tamil people continues.

Under the guise of “development projects,” government – driven Sinhalese – Buddhist colonization (settlements) is growing in traditional Tamil areas with the intent to change the demography, disturb the contiguity of the North East Tamil speaking areas and deny Tamil people access to their lands. Several government departments, including the Mahaweli Authority, Archaeological Department, Forest Department, and Wildlife Department are deployed in this initiative. This encroachment is facilitated by the overwhelming presence of the Sri Lankan military which is comprised almost exclusively of Sinhala – Buddhist persons. The present ethnocratic government is bent on disturbing the demography of the North and East areas and plant Sinhala settlements within predominantly Tamil speaking areas.

We also wish to bring to your attention that Sri Lankan government is also engaged in a program of demarcation of divisional boundaries to incorporate Sinhala – Buddhist into Tamil districts, thereby increasing the Sinhala – Buddhist population in the Tamil areas.

Suffering Tamil women continue to face numerous challenges in their life since the war ended. International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) in February 2017 handed over details to UN of Sri Lankan Military run “Rape Camps”, where Tamil women are being held as “sex slaves”. Also, according to UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office report in April 2013, there are over 90 thousand Tamil war widows in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Thousands of Tamils had disappeared, including babies and children. UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances stated in 2020 that the second highest number of enforced disappearance cases in the world is from Sri Lanka. Families of the disappeared who seek their loved ones are harassed, threatened and intimidated by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and other Government intelligence agencies. Peaceful protests of these families face numerous challenges.

Despite numerous appeals and Resolutions by the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka continues to use draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). While numerous Tamil political prisoners are imprisoned for years without charge or trial or convicted after unfair trials, not a single member of the Sri Lankan security forces was arrested or charged for committing atrocity crimes against Tamils. It is pertinent to mention that members of the security forces have been released from their convictions or charges of crimes by the current Government.

We would like to point out that repeated mass killings of Tamils amounting to genocide is due to lack of permanent political solution to the protracted ethic conflict in Sri Lanka. We strongly feel that an internationally conducted and monitored referendum is the only way to bring permanent political solution to the ethnic conflict, thereby stopping mass atrocities against the Tamil people.

We appeal to you to take decisive steps to stop government sponsored Sinhala – Buddhist settlements in Tamil areas, to stop demarcation of divisional boundaries to incorporate Sinhala – Buddhist areas into Tamil districts and to reduce the overwhelming Sri Lankan military presence in Tamil areas even after the war ended over twelve years ago. We also appeal to you to strongly consider calling for a referendum to prevent further atrocity crimes against Tamil people.

We submit these facts for your kind attention, consideration and necessary action and to support your commitment and untiring efforts to ensure justice to the Tamil people of Sri Lanka.

Thanking you, Sincerely

1) Hon. Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, MP Member of Parliament, Jaffna District.
Leader – Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) / Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kootani (TMTK)
No. 232, Temple Road, Nallur, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94 21 221 4295 – Email: cvwoffice18@gmail.com

2) Hon. Selvam Adaikalanathan, MP Member of Parliament, Vanni District.
President – Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) (TNA)
St. Sebastian Road, Mannar, Sri Lanka.
Tel: + 94 23 222 2100 – Email: selvamtelo@yahoo.com

3) Hon. Dharmalingam Sithadthan, MP Member of Parliament, Jaffna District.
Leader – Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) (TNA)
Kantharodai, Chunnakam, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94 11 258 6289 – Email: sithadthan@gmail.com

4) Mr. Kandiah Premachandran, Former Member of Parliament, Jaffna District
President – Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) (TMTK)
Kattappiriai, Irupaalai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Email: akpchandran@gmail.com

5) Mr. Nallathamby Srikantha, Former member of Parliament, Jaffna District
Leader – Tamil National Party (TNP) (TMTK)
138A. Pointpedro Road, Aanaipanthi, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.
Email: nsrikanthampsl@gmail.com

Ukrainian tourists visiting Sri Lanka have been severely inconvenienced by the current Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

As a result of this issue, they are currently resorted to staying at hotels in Bettota area and are unable to travel to their home country.

They are requesting that they be allowed to remain in Sri Lanka until the war situation in Ukraine is resolved.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in 198 people being killed with 3 of them being children and 1,115 wounded, with 33 of them being children.