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.

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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)

Robert Andrews (D-NJ)

Shelley Berkley (D-NV)

Joseph Crowley (D-NY)

Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

John Doolittle (R-CA)

Phillip English (R-PA)

Eni Faleomavaega (AS)

Scott Garrett (R-NJ)

Bart Gordon (D-TN)

Baron Hill (D-IN)

Rush Holt (D-NJ)

William Jefferson (D-LA)

Dale Kildee (D-MI)

Michael McNulty (D-NY)

Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

James Moran (D-VA)

William Pascrell (D-NJ)

Donald Payne (D-NJ)

Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Robert Wexler (D-FL)

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.

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Mr. LEAHY. I want to take a moment to discuss the situation in Sri Lanka, which not long ago was one of promise after a cease fire agreement was signed in 2002 between the former government and the LTTE Tamil Tigers. The ceasefire was never perfect, but for several years negotiations on a political settlement offered a ray of hope for an end to the conflict. After April 2006, however, there was escalating violence and an increasing pattern of violations of the ceasefire agreement by both sides.

On July 20, the LTTE closed a reservoir sluice gate in an LTTE-controlled area near the eastern town of Trincomalee, cutting the water supply to about 60,000 people in government-controlled territory. In response, Sri Lankan government forces conducted air strikes over several days against LTTE positions in the area and on July 30 began a ground offensive to capture the reservoir's control point. This increase in violence contributed to the more than 800 deaths reported between January and August, including some in which large numbers of civilians were killed in flagrant violations of international law by both sides, and hundreds more combatants and civilians have died since then.

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 India. Road, air and sea links to the Tamil population in the north have been cut, and food, water and fuel shortages are severe.

We should be deeply concerned with the collapse of the peace process and escalating violence in Sri Lanka. Although it is apparent that neither the government nor the LTTE can defeat the other militarily, nor have they demonstrated the political will to stop the fighting and resolve this conflict peacefully. A report on September 13 that the government and the LTTE have proposed new peace talks is welcome. But the Sri Lankan people have been disappointed countless times before. Several steps should be taken immediately, most importantly to prevent further harm to civilians who have suffered disproportionately.

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 Sri Lanka....

The chairs of the Tokyo Donors' Conference – Japan, the European Union, Norway and the United States, need to find more effective ways to convince both sides to return to the bargaining table. There is no other way to end this conflict. The longer it takes to resume a process of good faith negotiations the more responsibility the LTTE and the government will bear for the needless deaths of innocent civilians.

Respectfully,

Dr. Ellyn Shander MD

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

[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

CPA: Statement on the Introduction of the Emergency (Prevention and Prohibition of Terrorism) Regulations 2006 (12 December 2006)

The Centre for Policy Alternatives expresses its concern with respect to both the process by which the Emergency (Prevention of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities)Regulations of December 2006 were introduced and with respect to their substance.CPA believes that a proper response to the introduction of these new regulations cannotbe made in isolation from the current political and constitutional context. As such, CPA calls upon the Government and all political parties represented in Parliament to revise the amendments to make them compatible with international human rights norms and the Rule of Law.

Our key concerns, in brief are:
• The wide, overbroad language of several of the regulations, which could curtail legitimate democratic activity, dissent and the autonomy of civil society groups.
• The sweeping discretionary power of the Competent Authority over the activities, inter alia of civil society organizations including those committed to human rights, national reconciliation and also over the media.
• The composition and legal standing of the Appeals Tribunal, which is a blatant violation of the principle of separation of powers and is an unconstitutional encroachment into the judicial sphere of government.
• Given the past record and the current context of a culture of impunity, the wide immunity clause (Regulation 15) that could be used to protect members of the police, armed forces and other persons who take action in good faith in terms of the proposed regulations in the discharge of their duties.

The Centre for Policy Alternatives opposes any moves to reactivate parts of the Prevention of Terrorism Act which were suspended under the terms of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE in February 2002.

Our concerns are enumerated in detail below.

There remains widespread confusion as to what the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday 7 December actually was. While both the President and the Prime Minister made public pronouncements that the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act of 1979 was to be reintroduced, what the Government released to the public was a new set of Emergency Regulations promulgated under the Public Security Ordinance titled Emergency (Prevention of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities) Regulations. Furthermore several Ministers in their public statements declared that the introduction of these new regulations was the sole decision of the Government and media reports suggest that this was also communicated to the LTTE.

While expressing grave concern at such confusion and mixed messages made by a Government with respect to subject matter that has serious consequences for human rights, the power of the State vis-a vis its citizens and good governance, and calling for urgent clarification by the Government on these matters, we wish to make the following observations. The Emergency Regulations (Prevention of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities 2006) CPA is concerned at the wide, overbroad language of several of the regulations which could in addition to dealing with activities that the State could legitimately restrain or prohibit in the interests of national security and the suppression of terrorism, also curtail legitimate democratic activity, dissent and the autonomy of civil society groups. We refer in particular to wide scope of the range of activities prohibited by Regulation 2, 3 and 4, the definition of terrorism in Regulation 16 (i) and the immunity clause, Regulation 15. These provisions are overbroad, drafted in very wide language allowing for the possible criminalisation of a range of legitimate activities of civil society, and would violate constitutionally protected fundamental rights. The regulations however provide for exemptions to engage in approved transactions in certain circumstances such as the furtherance of peace and the termination of terrorism with the written permission of a Competent Authority appointed by the President. This will give the Competent Authority, sweeping discretionary power over the activities, inter alia of civil society organizations including those committed to human rights, national reconciliation and also the media. Such powers will give the Government excessive control over civil society organizations which is incompatible with the freedom of expression and association and other freedoms which are necessary for the independence and autonomy of such organizations. The dangers of these regulations are made worse by the fact that an appeal from the decision of such Presidential appointee is to be made to an Appeals Tribunal consisting entirely of Presidential appointees who hold office at the pleasure of the President, the Secretaries to the Ministries of Defence, Finance, Nation Building and Justice.

Conferring what amounts to at least quasi-judicial powers to persons in the executive branch of government is a blatant violation of the principle of separation of powers and is an unconstitutional encroachment into the judicial sphere of government. Furthermore it is fanciful to believe that a tribunal consisting of secretaries to Ministries can function as an independent appellate institution.

CPA is particularly concerned about the wide immunity clause (Regulation 15) that could be used to protect members of the police, armed forces and other persons who take action in good faith in terms of these regulations in the discharge of their duties. Given the wide ranging powers provided to the State and its officers under these regulations, the absence of independent review, the history of abuse of similar draconian legislation, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act, to stifle legitimate democratic activity and political dissent, and the culture of impunity that has developed in Sri Lanka in recent months in particular, such a clause could easily become one that promotes impunity rather than providing for immunity for bona fide actions.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act

The Centre for Policy Alternatives opposes any moves to reactivate parts of the Prevention of Terrorism Act which were suspended under the terms of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE in February 2002. The PTA remains a draconian piece of legislation which is incompatible with basic international human rights norms and was introduced by the J.R. Jayewardene government in 1979 amidst widespread opposition from opposition parties and civil rights groups. It failed to curtail or suppress terrorism, was used to intimidate and harass political opponents and fostered a culture of impunity.

Conclusion

CPA believes that a proper response to the introduction of these new regulations cannot be made in isolation from the current political and constitutional context. The Government’s continuing flagrant violation of the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, thereby resulting in the absence of any independent Commissions to provide for depoliticisation, independence, integrity and good governance, the serious concerns about the current state of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and the effectiveness of the parliamentary opposition, create a context in which many of the established constitutional and legal safeguards which act as a countervailing force when governments bestow on themselves extraordinary powers in times of national emergency, regrettably do not exist in Sri Lanka today. As such, CPA calls upon the Government and all political parties represented in Parliament to revise the amendments to address the deficiencies referred to above, to make the regulations compatible with international human rights norms and the Rule of Law.

DR. PAIKIASOTHY SARAVANAMUTTU
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR