Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada

15 November 2012

OPEN LETTERƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to

Charles Haviland, BBC NEWS ASIA, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dear Charles Haviland:

I just happened to read your Analysis on the final months of the Tamil Tiger separatist war in Sri Lanka.

Permit me to analyze your ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”AnalysisƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the events that you seem to have pulled together from various author-accounts which turn out to be a typical British dogƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s breakfast.

1.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”The final months of the war saw hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians -330,000, according to the UN Panel of Experts (POE) report of 2011 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” trapped in the territory held by the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  With that statement you made me conclude that you are another ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”cut and pasteƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ journalist as did the UN Panel of Experts who collated that Report by cutting and pasting the biased Tamil News Reports.

If you had shown your smarts as an international journalist, the first thing that you would have foundƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  out was that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ExpertsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ panel report cannot and should not be called a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-UN Panel ReportƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ at all. Why, you may ask as a smart investigative journalist?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is simply because it was a report compiled on a private initiative by the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and has no nexus with the UN.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You may also have found outƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that the report was incurably flawed in many respects.

The ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ExpertsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ panel starts by insisting that they have no investigative power and that they are not embarking on any investigating at all.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  With regard to this, on the first page of the executive summary, the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ExpertsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The panelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mandate however does not extend to fact finding or investigation.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In confirmation of this, on page 3 of the main report, it said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The panel has not conducted fact finding as that term is understood in United Nations practice.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So, I am left with the question, if all the above information coming from Ban Ki-MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Expert Panel is true, then what the heck are we doing with this stupid cut and paste Report without discarding it to the waste-paper bin?

Further, this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Expert Panel ReportƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was not sanctioned by the UN and contravenes the UN Charter as defined by Chapter XV Articles 97 & 98.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Secretary General Ban Ki-MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s action is also a contravention of the decision taken by the UN Human Rights Council of June 2009 where the issue of human rights and international humanitarian laws were discussed and Sri Lanka was not found fault with as every sovereign country has and is expected to defend her security by all possible means.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So Charles, letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s gets these facts straight, before you paint yourself as an incompetentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  investigative journalist before you decide to go this route of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-UN Expert PanelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ said so and its gospel and will hold water.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It leaks Charles, as the BelafonteƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s song, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-There is a hole in the bucket dear Liza, dear LizaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And I could repeat that song to you as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-There is a hole in that bucket dear Charles, dear Charles, there is a hole in that bucket and it leaks!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

With such a summation and explanation, you surprise me to have quoted all that rubbish as gospel in your ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-AnalysisƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is disappointing!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Expert PanelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ it seems to me was on a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We Gotch-ya, Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Mission and nothing else as their biases were as good as theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  starched white collars of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  lying Tamil Roman Catholic BishopƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s of the North of Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  looking up desperately at heaven for redemption.

2. Now just a word on this UN Secretary GeneralƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Expert panelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ as to who they are.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was headed by former Indonesian Attorney General Marzuki Darusman and the other two members were South African Human Rights expert Yasmin Sooka and US Lawyer Steven Ratner.

For clarity, I shall address the UN Expert Report as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Darusman ReportƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ from now on, as it is not a UN Report as proved earlier.

Darusman was a member of an international team appointed to observe proceedings on a previous Sri Lanka commission on atrocities and left in a huff squabbling over fees with strong anti-Sri Lankan feelings.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This guy should have been dismissed for his bias without hesitation; RatnerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  was ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in a similar mind-set.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He in a book co-authored with Jason S. Abrahams, Accountability for Human Rights: Atrocities in International Law-Beyond the Nuremberg Legacy, advocates that the ban on apartheid be invoked in relation to some countries including Sri Lanka, which he refers to by innuendo.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He says that the Tamils that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) represent are an oppressed minority.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  More than his ignorance this reveals his bias when he calls the most privileged Jaffna Tamils ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the oppressed minorityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What expert knowledge, based on objectivity, can this man give when he comes out with this kind of ill informed punditry? This statement should have disqualified him ab initio to be an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Expert panelistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚; and the final ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ExpertƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ panelist Sooka, a former Truth Commission member, is the Executive Director of the Foundation of Human Rights (FHR) in South Africa.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Her outfit is heavily dependent on EU funds for survival.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The EU had allocated a whopping 25 million Euros for one of its programmes. She is, therefore, beholden to the EU, which was leading a war crimes campaign against Sri Lanka from the front.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  With such a biased ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Expert PanelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ who is the fool who wishes to believe inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ their cut and paste report, which really should have been relegated to the trash bin to be fair on Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And you Charles, quoted these guys cut and paste scriptures from the mainly Tamil News scriptures as gospel.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t believe you nor do I believe the Darusman Report.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Ban Ki-Moon should have been carpeted for this faux-pas.

In your sentence ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-As the LTTE retreated from the government advances, they forced the civilians to come with themƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, it would have been more honest if you had said: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-As the LTTE retreated from the government advances, the Tamil Tiger terrorists forced the TamilƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  civilians to come with them as their human-shield or else…!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The words ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-human shieldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ was the operational wordƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  underlined in red, tells the story how brutal the Tamil Tiger terrorists wereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  herding the 300,000 Tamils from the west coast to the east coast for 30 months as unwashed cattle, and how humane the Sri Lankan government soldiersƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  were who went to war, sacrificing the lives of their own comrades, to save the lives of theseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  300,000 Tamil ‘human shieldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Not to acknowledge this bit of its war history is dishonest and disingenuous, and I would suspect that you too are a member of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We Gotch-Ya Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  journalist brigade..

Charles, you surprised me when you said in your Analysis that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Five doctors in the rebel area who reported the casualty situation to the media were imprisoned by the government and in July 2009 paraded before the media and mysteriously recanted, saying fewer than 700 civilians died from January to May.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

If these doctors admitted that it were the Tamil Tigers who had forced them to exaggerate the numbers, will you dismiss that it was all hog-wash?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Come on, Charles, they knew exactly what they were against, if they did not toe the separatist-Eelam line of these serial killers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They would have been sentenced to death as was theirƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  brilliant doctor colleague Rajini Thiranagama.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They knew that they would be tracked down and snuffed out even if they had escaped to Chennai as they did to Rajiv Gandhi.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have a snow ball chance in hell to survive even if they had got to Colombo and hid themselves as they would haveƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  been tracked down by the Tamil Tigers as thy did the Tamil MPsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of the North and East who lived in Colombo.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And these Doctors knew what happened to A. Amirthalingam the TULF leader, V.Dharmalingam (MP for Manipay), K. Alalasundaram (MP for Kopai), Y.Yogeswaran (exTULF MP for Jaffna), Sam TambimuttuƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  (EPRLF MP for Batticaloa who was shot dead at the entrance to the Canadian High Commission in Colombo), Neelan Thiruchelvan (TULF MP and constitutional expert), all were got at in Colombo by Tamil Tiger assassins.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  To shoot and kill these Doctors where ever they were by these Tamil Tigers would have been just childƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s play.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not be naƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¯ve Charles.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t think to recant the numbers of the dead had any thing mysterious about them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Like most of us these Doctors too wanted to live another day andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ enjoy the warmth ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the rising sun at dawn.

I am afraid, with yourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ‘cut and paste’ Analysis, you have joined the rest of international journalistsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who excelled in theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ combination of shoddy journalism and cheap sensationalism at its worst on Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist Eelam War.

Asoka Weerasinghe