War, Peace and Governance in Sri Lanka: Overview and Trends 2006, is the latest report by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is available for immediate download.
Covering issues related to human security, governance, the peace process, constitutional developments, the economy, public opinion shifts and media, the report provides a comprehensive overview of key social, political and economic developments in 2006, with projections into 2007.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Dear friends,
As many of you know the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka continues to worsen. The daily bulletins from the Northeastern provinces show a grisly picture.
500,000 Tamil civilians are cut off from food and medicine. They are being bombed in IDP camps and have no hospitals to get care.
Since the last humanitarian convoy in November, there has been no humanitarian access to Vaharai, where more than 15,000 people are trapped and on the verge of starvation. These are the people who bore the brunt of the tsunami and have not gotten aid to rebuild their lives. Instead they are being killed, starved, abducted and tortured.
The UN has issued many reports but has not taken sufficient action. The petition linked here is an urgent request for the UN to meet their responsibilities and stop the genocide of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO SIGN IT...IT IS URGENT!!! We will send the signed petition to everyone in the UN that can be part of the solution. Silence in the face of injustice is complicit with the crime.
Go to this link http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/srilankaunappeal and sign it today and then forward it to everyone you can!
Go to this link http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/srilankaunappeal and sign it today and then forward it to everyone you can!
Respectfully,
Ellyn Shander MD
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Our one sided government
Recently, our friend, Dr. Ellyn Shander wrote a letter to Senator Leahy urging him to work towards bringing together the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government for peace talks. Her letter is posted below.
The response from Senator Leahy was to pass the buck to Congressman Scott Garrett of New Jersey. What Congressman Garrett demonstates is the United States' one-sided approach to the conflict, categorically ruling out working with the LTTE. Congressman Garrett fails to recognize the role the Sri Lankan Government has also played in displacement, terror and torture. Rather than point fingers, we ask that both sides put their weapons down and return as many times as is necessary to peaceful negotiations.
The United States government, obsessed with the war on terror, will find every which way to conflate terrorism abroad with terrorism at home. The hardline approach to debasing any organization like the LTTE ultimately sends the message that there will be NO negotiating. And, from the nearly 20 years of war that Sri Lanka has experienced, we know that the continued fighting has not led to any resolution or peace.
President Rajapakse has not demonstrated a serious desire to settle with the LTTE on peaceful terms. Rather, Rajapakse, like President Bush, believes that brute force will get his administration what they need. The LTTE is not backing down as the government steps up its military efforts. And let us not forget who is suffering-- those without weapons.
Furthermore, Congressman Garrett makes the flagrant mistake of assuming all Tamils -- in the US and in Sri Lanka and frankly anywhere --are suspected terrorists. The LTTE does not represent all Tamil people all over the world. The US government, again, in its ignorance, will make costly mistakes.
No doubt there is terrorism happening here in the US and there in Sri Lanka and everywhere. Historically, the State is often the one most priviledged and most likely to carry out the first blows. State-sanctioned terrorism here in the US and there in Sri Lanka, is nothing new. Yet any response to terrorism by the state is deemed unacceptable.
Read below and if it fuels the anger in you as it has in me, send Congressman Garrett a piece of your mind.
***
The response from Senator Leahy was to pass the buck to Congressman Scott Garrett of New Jersey. What Congressman Garrett demonstates is the United States' one-sided approach to the conflict, categorically ruling out working with the LTTE. Congressman Garrett fails to recognize the role the Sri Lankan Government has also played in displacement, terror and torture. Rather than point fingers, we ask that both sides put their weapons down and return as many times as is necessary to peaceful negotiations.
The United States government, obsessed with the war on terror, will find every which way to conflate terrorism abroad with terrorism at home. The hardline approach to debasing any organization like the LTTE ultimately sends the message that there will be NO negotiating. And, from the nearly 20 years of war that Sri Lanka has experienced, we know that the continued fighting has not led to any resolution or peace.
President Rajapakse has not demonstrated a serious desire to settle with the LTTE on peaceful terms. Rather, Rajapakse, like President Bush, believes that brute force will get his administration what they need. The LTTE is not backing down as the government steps up its military efforts. And let us not forget who is suffering-- those without weapons.
Furthermore, Congressman Garrett makes the flagrant mistake of assuming all Tamils -- in the US and in Sri Lanka and frankly anywhere --are suspected terrorists. The LTTE does not represent all Tamil people all over the world. The US government, again, in its ignorance, will make costly mistakes.
No doubt there is terrorism happening here in the US and there in Sri Lanka and everywhere. Historically, the State is often the one most priviledged and most likely to carry out the first blows. State-sanctioned terrorism here in the US and there in Sri Lanka, is nothing new. Yet any response to terrorism by the state is deemed unacceptable.
Read below and if it fuels the anger in you as it has in me, send Congressman Garrett a piece of your mind.
***
Congressional Records
Proceedings and debate of the 109th congress, Second Session
House of Representatives
December 8, 2006
In my time in Congress, I have had the opportunity to visit our South Asian ally, Sri Lanka. This small island nation has directly suffered both the devastating effects of the 2004 Tsunami and the continuing threat of homegrown terrorism, which has experienced a recent resurgence.
Many years before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Sri Lanka was confronting the grim specter of suicide terrorism. In fact, many of the suicide tactics utilized by terrorists in the Middle East originated with the Tamils. Because of this and because of their ties with other international terrorist groups, the Tamils pose a threat to Americans around the globe as well.
Despite the fact that a cease-fire remains in effect, over the past year, the Liberation Tigers of Tam Eelam (LTTE) have continued to commit acts of violence against the legitimate government of Sri Lanka. The recent spate of violence began in August of last year with the assassination of Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar. In a further attempt to damage the democratic process, the LTTE prevented the Tamil population in the Wanni region from voting in the Presidential election last November. Since the Inauguration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the LTTE has stepped up attacks on unarmed civilians including the use of fragmentation bombs against a bus killing 64 and injuring 80. Additionally, they have carried out assassinations of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army and attacked a convoy of off-duty sailors, killing 94 and injuring many more. In all of these cases, the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.
The LTTE has cultivated a worldwide network of weapons suppliers. Here in the United States, the FBI was able to apprehend Tamil agents who attempted to purchase surface-to-air missiles in New York and Maryland. Tamil agents have been arrested here for attempting to bribe customs agents and funnel illicit funds through charities. While the Tamils continue their attempts to operate in the United States, federal authorities are vigorously investigating and prosecuting those who are recruiting support for terrorism in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government gives every indication that it is committed to a peaceful settlement to this conflict within their nation's borders. Even after an attempt on the life of Defense Secretary Rajapakse, the President's brother, the government refuses to institute an outright ban on the Tamil Tigers. Norwegian peace negotiators, who had presided over the current cease-fire agreements, continue their efforts to bring the LTTE to the peace table but, unfortunately, Tiger leader Prabhakaran has called for a full resumption of hostilities. The government is ready to except the Tigers as a peaceful political party but not as a purveyor of violence.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful nation filled with hopeful people who wish to live in peace, and I am hopeful that they will soon see a resolution to these dangerous difficulties.
Scott Garrett
Member of Congress
Below is the form letter that Dr. Shander received from Scott Garrett.
Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts and views. In keeping with a long-standing traditional courtesy amongst Members of Congress, constituent views from outside of my legislative district are forwarded to the appropriate Representative. The address you have provided is outside of the Fifth Congressional District and I invite you to visit www.house.gov to find your Member of Congress so that you may share your thoughts with that Member.
If you believe you have received this email in error or if you wish to share your thoughts with me as well as your Representative, I ask that you contact my Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-4465.
Sincerely,
Scott Garrett
Member of Congress
5th District, New Jersey
We need to get letters to these politicians NOW
CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS ON SRI LANKA AND SRI-LANKAN-AMERICANS – 108TH CONGRESS
If you care about what's happening in Sri Lanka and want to mobilize US politicans to help the peace process become a reality, please send a letter to the following memebers of the Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka. This requires immediate attention. If you would like, please copy the letter below or create your own.
Dear __________,I'm writing to request that you help to bring the Sri Lankan government and their opposition, the LTTE, back to the table for peace talks to help end the conflict in Sri Lanka that is nearly 20 years old and has cost countless lives. The United States has the ability to help bring both sides back into discussion, crucial to peace in Sri Lanka. Today, where we are at, the conflict has escalated and while the rest of the world only receives snippets of information, the reality of the daily lives of many is filled with terror, torture and displacement.
Please take this letter seriously and please work towards building a peaceful solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
Sincerely,
_________________________
Members
Frank Pallone - D Co-Chair (D-NJ)
Jerry Weller - R Co-Chair (R-IL)
Friday, December 15, 2006
Dr. Ellyn Shander sent this to me with the request to post it today. Please contact Senator Leahy's office and ask for further action on the peace talks in Sri Lanka. I post Dr. Shander's letter with some edits. For a brief history of the conflict, a better sense of Dr. Shander's work in Sri Lanka and more of her views on what needs to be done, please read her article Update: Humanitarian Catastrophe in Sri Lanka.
***
***
Mr. LEAHY. I want to take a moment to discuss the situation in
On July 20, the LTTE closed a reservoir sluice gate in an LTTE-controlled area near the eastern town of
Politically motivated killings, the recruitment of child soldiers, indiscriminate raids on civilians, targeting of international aid workers, and torture in police custody are only some of the human rights abuses that have been recently committed as reported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Additionally, a looming humanitarian crisis exists as the number of Sri Lankans displaced within the country by fighting this year has passed the 200,000 mark, and an estimated 8,700 citizens have fled to
We should be deeply concerned with the collapse of the peace process and escalating violence in
It is critical that humanitarian aid be allowed to reach those who have been displaced, whether as a result of the conflict or the lingering effects of the December 2004 tsunami. Relief agencies need unimpeded access to the affected populations, and civilians should be allowed to leave contested areas....
[W]e should reaffirm our support for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, which reports on violations of the ceasefire by both sides. A stronger monitoring presence would deter abuses, provide systematic documentation of violations, and help to address the problem of impunity that has contributed to the recurrent cycles of violence and reprisal in
The chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference –
Respectfully,
Dr. Ellyn Shander MD
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Anton Balasingham, LTTE Negotiator, Dies
Reuters
14 December 2006
The Tamil Tigers' chief negotiator and ideologue Anton Balasingham, who marshalled the rebels through successive rounds of abortive peace talks with the Sri Lankan state, died of cancer in London on Thursday, the rebels said. Here are some key facts about him:
Balasingham was the top adviser and speech writer to reclusive Tamil Tiger rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. He was chief negotiator for the rebels since 1985, when peace talks first began.
A British citizen, the 68-year-old was seen as the most acceptable face of the Tamil Tigers, willing to take risks on the possibility of a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict.
In June, he told an Indian television channel that the killing of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was a "monumental historical tragedy" which the Tigers deeply regretted, although Balasingham did not explicitly admit to the killing.
In April 2002 he reached out to Sri Lanka's Muslim minority, apologising for the Tigers expelling them from the north and promising to heal the rift.
Balasingham's Australian-born wife Adele, whom he married in 1978, has been an important figure in the rebel group, acting as an aide to her husband and a trainer to women members.
He was a diabetic for more than 35 years and underwent a kidney transplant some in 1999.
Balasingham was an avid reader and a keen student of world philosophies, had works by Karl Marx to Winston Churchill on the shelves of his study and said his hobbies included feeding birds and squirrels in his garden in the London suburb of New Malden.
4,000 people displaced in eastern Sri Lanka clashes
From People's Daily Online (China)
14 December 2006
14 December 2006
[W]eek long clashes between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the government troops have displaced over 4, 000 people in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, relief officials said Thursday.
The Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have been exchanging heavy artillery and mortar fire and the internally displaced have mostly come from the Sinhala majority community settlements in the eastern post district of Trincomalee.
The chief government administrative office at Kantalai in the district said nearly 2,000 families from the settlements of Somapura, Sirimangalapura, Alioluwa and Mahaweligama had found refuge at Kantalai.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that they have launched action to help the civilians flee the battle zones.
The Nordic truce monitoring group, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has been critical of both sides.
Relief workers say they have been hit with logistics problems in catering to the needs of the displaced people.
Source: Xinhua
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