They
say people living in glass houses should not throw stones. Canada has been one
of the staunchest proponents of unsubstantiated allegations against Sri Lanka,
simply because a handful of LTTE lobbyists have learnt the art of influencing
them through means only they would know &unlikely to admit. In accusing Sri
Lanka of genocide and what not, we would expect the accusers to be squeaky
clean. Not so…. daily skeletons (pun intended) are coming out of graves of
children killed. These are not just one or two incidents but systematic &
planned killings & abuse of indigenous children. It certainly dampens the
fictitious image Canada tries to portray itself and should remind Canada
without cleaning its own backyard, Canada should not try to clean others. It
should also wake Canada up to some ground realities of molly-cuddling with
terrorists also.
Canada
is a created country. Canada was established in 1867. Canada’s history is
therefore just 154years. That is less than the years the Portuguese ruled parts
of Sri Lanka!
Though
the whites took claim over Canada, Canada was inhabited by indigenous people
for over 12,000 years.
Canada
that is demanding Sri Lanka remove its penal codes, internal laws etc continues
the 1876 passed Indian Act. The Act allows the Canadian government to define
who an ‘Indian’ is, after which you gain ‘Status’. Canada that boasts about
equality still decides who they call an ‘Indian’ and gives status to and linked
to the ‘rights’ they enjoy ! The Indian Act does not include the Metis &
Inuit people, who are known as ‘non-Status Indians’ and yes, Canada dictates
how Sri Lanka treats its ‘minorities’.
The
Canada that accuses Sri Lanka of disenfranchising the Indian Tamils imported by
colonials, have denied Status Indians their legal & ancestral identities
via Canada’s Indian Act! First Nations women lost their Indian Status if they
married a non-Status man Their children suffered too! The Indian Act also
denied First Nations women from voting & running for elections. But Canada
has no problem with LTTE proxies running for elections! Status Indians could
vote only in 1960! Sri Lanka’s Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world’s first
female PM in 1960!
The
Canada that demands rehabilitated LTTE be inducted into the armed forces &
police, denies Inuits & Metis women serving the Canadian armed forces,
getting college & university degrees or becoming a professional
(doctor/lawyer) How many know what happened to Indigenous Tommy Prince, who
inspite becoming a decorated Canadian war hero, faced systematic racism after
returning to his ‘home’. Not only was he not able to vote but he was not
treated like the other white veterans. Shocking!
In
their own habitat they were declared ‘citizens’ only in 1951, in their homeland
their land was usurped and made to live on ‘reserved’ land and until early
1900s they had to even get permission to leave these areas with passes. These
reserve areas still exist & are governed by the Indian Act – no wonder
Canada is supporting LTTE to usurp land & create a bogus homeland!
The
Residential School system to ‘solve’ the Indian problem and force indigenous to
assimilate was another example of the ‘white man’s burden’ having usurped and
stolen lands belonging to others and then determining who rules & on whose
terms! These schools were operational from 1600s far before Canada per se was
created! The Residential School in Saskatchewan closed only in 1996.
Here’s
how Canada ASSIMILATED indigenous Indians
Children between 4-16years were forcibly removed from their
families & communities & segregated by gender
Children were malnourished, made vulnerable to diseases
Children were sexually abused & subject to various
experimental brain tests
These schools remain federally funded (not provincially) and are
under-funded & not given same care as others.
Indigenous systems of healing was criminalized and prohibited by
Amendments to the Indian Act in late 19th& 20th
Canada
that demands Truth & Reconciliation in Sri Lanka must answer to whether the
problems of the indigenous people of Canada has been solved after Canada’s
Truth & Reconciliation Commission as well as the National inquiry into
Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women???
Canada’s TRC
declared the indigenous school system ‘cultural genocide’. So what has Canada
done to reverse this 6 years after? TRC commissioners Murray Sinclair, Wilton
Littlechild and Marie Wilson are not very happy.
Canada that demands transparency from Sri Lanka was caught
hiding evidence https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/1/6/canada-accused-of-hiding-child-abuse-evidenceBut
evidence keeps popping up https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/childrens-bodies-kamloops-indian-residential-school-trudeau/100180332which
is why we refuse to fall prey to the LTTE funded global propaganda accusing Sri
Lanka of killing 40,000 people and we wish to instead simply ask those making
the allegations to name these 40,000 dead, give some form of identity, prove
where they lived, show the police complaints filed by their families. Without
any of these and no skeletons even, the Sri Lanka’s National Army cannot be
accused of killing people who did not exist. Of course the Sri Lankan Armed
Forces do not have to apologize for killing LTTE during hostilities.
Between
1836 and 1996, Canada operated 139 residential schools in Canada. An estimated
6000 children are said to have died in these schools. The TRC requested
$1.5M to find mass graves at residential schools but the federal government denied
the money in 2009 – Oh the very year LTTE was defeated by Sri Lanka! Why don’t
the LTTE Diaspora holding positions in Canada question the Canadian government
and fight for truth & justice for Canadian Indians?
The
indigenous people living in the country called Canada have suffered much. The
irony and the issue is that Canada preaches to other countries of the world
while hiding and not attempting to remove the racism, segregations and other
stigma that aboriginals continue to suffer from. We find this highly
hypocritical given that Canada uses its envoys and international officials to
issue highly offensive statements to less powerful nations on how they should
govern their countries when Canada is doing the opposite back home!
We
can only ask Canada to take out its TRC report and look at how justice can be
given to the indigenous natives before trying to create separate homelands in
other countries for terrorists and their supporters living in Canada, holding
Canadian passports & unlikely to ever live in a ‘Eelam homeland’, Canada
wants to help create for them. But Canada is more than welcome to help create
Eelam in Canada given that more Canadian Tamils demand Eelam living in Canada
than the handful of isolated voices heard elsewhere.
Eelam war IV, which started
in June 2006, was the LTTE‘s ‘final war’ to establish Eelam, using conventional warfare across
large swathes of land, intermixed with guerilla methods. It was a high intensity, military
confrontation across a vast battlefield. The warring was almost continuous,
with few short pauses.
Eelam war IV was a Civil War, a protracted armed confrontation between the
state and a non-state army, sustained by
a secessionist movement. It was not
Terrorism” nor was it a War of liberation”.
The intention was to partition the country, creating the littoral state of
Eelam, leaving the rest land locked.
This war did not come as a
surprise. It had been brewing for some time. Tamil politicians launched a new political party in December
1949, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). The word ‘arasu’ could mean
kingdom/government/administration/state. A.J Wilson made it clear that their ‘Tamil arasu” meant an ‘autonomous Tamil state’ and that ‘Illankai
Tamil Arasu Kadchi ‘meant ‘Ceylon Tamil State Party”.
Modern International law uses the
term Non-international armed conflict” (NIAC) instead of ‘Civil War’. In a Non-international armed conflict” the country’s
Security Forces should be confronted within its own territory by an organized
armed group operating under an effective command structure, having the capacity
to carry out sustained and concerted military operations and exercising control
over a part of country. The
confrontation must reach a high level
of intensity.
In addition, the non state group must have access to weapons, to recruits
and to military training. It must have the ability to plan and carry out
military operations, as well as the ability to negotiate agreements, including
cease-fire or peace accords.
There are several
laws which applied to non-international armed conflicts. Firstly, Common
Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, secondly, Additional
Protocol II of 1977, and lastly, the Rome
Statue of the International Criminal Court, (1998, 2002) which includes the
items held in Common Article 3.
Two sets of
Human Rights laws have also been thrown into the arena, namely, ‘International Human Rights Law’ (IHRL) and ‘International Humanitarian Law’ (IHL). The
International Committee of the Red Cross is the custodian of IHL. IHRL
is for peace time violations of
human rights while IHL is for those engaged in war. Analysts point out that Eelam war must be judged in terms of International
Humanitarian Law. However, UNHRC has
included both IHRL and IHL in its 2021 Resolution on Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has signed Common Article 3 but has not
signed Additional Protocol II or the Rome Statute. The most important of these
for Sri Lanka was Additional
Protocol II, 1977 to the Geneva conventions.
This is the only
regulation that is of any use to a government engaged in civil war, said
analysts. This Protocol supports the right of governments to preserve national
unity, protect territory, and maintain law and order in a civil war situation.
This Protocol prohibits others from meddling in the war or interfering with any
actions the government chooses to take on the matter. The Protocol said,
1. Nothing in
this Protocol shall be invoked for the purpose of affecting the sovereignty of
a State or the responsibility of the government, by all legitimate means, to
maintain or re-establish law and order in the State or to defend the national
unity and territorial integrity of the State.
2. Nothing in this Protocol shall be invoked as a justification
for intervening, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the armed
conflict or in the internal or external affairs of the High Contracting Party
in the territory of which that conflict occurs.
3. Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this Part,
unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.
As of July 2020, the Protocol had been ratified by 169 countries, however, Bhutan, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Nepal,
Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tuvalu have not
signed the Protocol.
Sri Lanka has not signed this Protocol and therefore
cannot make use of these valuable clauses.
When asked why Sri Lanka did not sign, officials have no answer, said
Nihal Jayawickrema. Observers ask, was
it deliberate? The present trumped up ‘war crimes’ charges are due to this
omission.
The conflict
in Sri Lanka is a Non –international armed conflict as defined by the ICC for
Yugoslavia. However, the government of
Sri Lanka has not recognized the Eelam war as a Non international armed
conflict, observed Laksiri Mendis . Laksiri
has done legislative drafting in many Commonwealth countries.
The government of Sri Lanka has failed to say at the UNHRC sessions, in Geneva, that the Eelam
War was a non-international armed conflict, and that it comes under Additional Protocol
II of 1977. This is a serious
shortcoming on the part of successive governments, observed Neville Ladduwahetty.
Successive Sri Lanka
governments have been reluctant to categorize the conflict as an ‘armed
conflict’ said Ladduwahetty. This is despite the fact that the Government of Sri Lanka signed a Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE which gave the LTTE control
over territory which was then identified as ‘LTTE controlled areas’ . The
ICRC in Sri Lanka joined in this, and
never referred to LTTE fighters as ‘combatants’. The land held by the LTTE was referred to as ‘uncleared areas’ added
analysts.
The last
phase of the war should have been classified by Sri Lanka as an Armed Conflict,
said analysts. All high level commentators, such as Desmond
de Silva, said that this phase was an Armed Conflict. An Armed Conflict is protected from HR charges because it comes under the rules of war.
Instead of using the term Armed Conflict, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government called the last phase of Eelam War IV a Humanitarian
mission”. The last word they should have
used was ‘Humanitarian’. When asked why
they did this, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said ‘it
was just a name we used. It had nothing to do with Human Rights. We were rescuing people as well as fighting. Of
course it was not ‘just a name we used.’ It has been deliberately introduced by
someone and thoughtlessly accepted
by those in charge. ( Continued)
The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) in collaboration with the
Washington based Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) held a virtual meeting in
January, 2021 to pursue improved bilateral relations between the US and Sri
Lanka. The discussions broadly focused on economic and relations and with a
better understanding of the ground situation of the US administration. The
report on the discussion presented by Mr. Bernard Goonathilaka to President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President Secretariat.
The objective of the initiative was to provide President Joe Biden
administration with a better understanding of the ground situation prevailing
in Sri Lanka; challenges, opportunities and priorities that may impact on the
US – Sri Lanka bilateral relationship. The discussions broadly focused on
economic relations covering trade, investment, science and technology
cooperation; strategic and security cooperation; and political and common
values.
The Sri Lankan delegation was
headed by Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman-Pathfinder Foundation and former
Ambassador to the U.S. Other members included H.M.G.S.
Palihakkara – Former Foreign Secretary, Ambassador & Permanent
Representative to the U.N; Dr. Rohan Perera – Former Legal Advisor to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs & PRUN, New York; Prof. Rohan Gunaratne – S.
Rajaratnam School of Int. Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;
Prof. Rohan Samarajiva – Chair, LIRNEasia & former Chairman of ICT;
Dr. Indirajit Coomaraswamy – Former Governor, Central Bank of Sri
Lanka, Distinguished Fellow – PF; Waruna Karunatilake – Former
Chairman, Independent Committee for Digitalization of Television in Sri Lanka
and Senior journalist; and Chathuka Senanayake, Director, Lakshman Kadirgamar
Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies.
Amb.
Robert O. Blake Jr., former Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central
Asian Affairs under the Obama Administration and Ambassador to Sri Lanka, the
Maldives and Indonesia, headed the US delegation comprising former senior government
officials, representatives of civil society etc. The U.S. team included Alyssa Ayres –
Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on
Foreign Relations, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia;
Nisha Biswal – President, U.S. India Business Council, Senior Vice President for
South Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, former Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asia;
Sajit Gandhi –
Senior Professional Staff Member, House Committee on Foreign
Affairs; Nilanthi Samaranayake –
Director, Strategy and Policy Analysis, Center for Naval Analysis;
John Sifton – Asia Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch; Knox Thames –
Visiting Expert, US Institute of Peace, Senior Fellow, Institute for Global
Engagement and Alice Wells – International Government Relations Adviser,
ExxonMobil, former Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia.
Following the dialogue, each team
produced a report comprising vital areas of the relationship and made
recommendations to further develop bilateral relations. Mr. Bernard
Goonathilaka, Chairman, PF in picture the event of the report handed over to
the President at the President Secretariat on 02nd June 2021
Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Bangkok
To Commemorate the Vesak Day-2021 (2564 B.E.), the telecast of the international award-winning True Little Monk” (“True Plookpanya”), documentary series was launched on the Vesak Full Moon Poya Day, 26 May 2021 (2564 B.E. on Haritha TV during the Buddha Rashmi” National Vesak Programme 2021 held at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The 31-episode series is being telecast for the first time in Sri Lanka in collaboration with True Corporation PLC, Sri Lanka Embassy and Permanent Mission in Thailand, the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, and the Sri Lanka Prime Minister’s Office.The documentary was showcased with Sinhala subtitles. It was the very first translation of the documentary to a foreign language.
In 2018, True Little monk year 7” started with 12 Thai boys. Later the project expanded with the inclusion of 12 other boys from different nationalities around the world, for international audiences and the documentary was titled as True Little Monk: A Wisdom Training Programme for Novices”. During the four week creation period of the documentary, all 24 boys studied Dhamma and the essence of Buddhism through age appropriate learning method in line with monastic practices at Wat Nog Pah Pong, a forest monastery established by Phra Bodhinyanathera (Chan Subhaddo).
Authorizing the broadcast of True Little Monks” for 12 months, starting 26 May 2021 in Sri Lanka, Chief Excellence Center and Education Officer of True Corporation PLC, Thailand Dr. Naetchanok Wipatasinlapin, stated that It is our wish that we are able to reach out to all audiences in Sri Lanka who are looking for true inner peace and happiness in their lives and hope that the True Little Monk” programme will be beneficial, and bring happiness to their lives as it does the Thai audience”
Since the first telecast in 2012, True Little Monk,” the innovative Dhamma documentary has received comment, praises and encouragement from both domestic and international audiences. The Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards (2013 and 2016, Award Winner for Educational TV Programme Category), The Telly Awards (2015, 2017, and 2018 Award Winner for the Religious/Spiritual TV Show Category), Asian Academy Creative Awards (2018, Award Winner for Best Children’s Programme Category (Thailand)), TV Gold Awards (2017, Award Winner for the TV Programme for Youths Category), Nataraj Awards (2015-2017, Award for the Best Children Programme Category), and Chor Sa-ard Awards (2014- 2016 and 2018, Award for TV Programme Category) are the awards received for the documentary locally and internationally.
On 29 and 30 May 2020, after the launch of the documentary in Sri Lanka, the True TV and Thai News Network (TNN) channels as well as online media Matichon, Siamrath, and Today Line in Thailand, gave nationwide due publicity for the launch.
Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Bangkok 01 June, 202
මෙසේ ප්රදානය කළ ජිමිනාස්ටික් උපකරණ අතර Vaulting Table, a Runway for Vaulting Table, Vaulting Boards,
Landing Mat, a Safety Collar for Vaulting Board and a Mat for Hands අන්තර්ගත ය.
Sputnik V is the world’s first registered vaccine based on a well-studied human adenoviral vector-based platform. Sputnik V is already registered in more than 65 countries.
The ongoing Sputnik V post-registration clinical trial in Russia involved more than 31,000 volunteers. Phase 3 clinical trials of Sputnik V have been conducting in the UAE, India, Venezuela and Belarus.
Sputnik V is one of the three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90%. The Vaccine’s efficacy is confirmed at 91.6% based on the analysis of data on 19,866 volunteers, who received both the first and second doses of the Sputnik V vaccine or placebo at the final control point of 78 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
According to analysis of data from 3.8 million vaccinated persons in Russia Sputnik V demonstrates 97.6% efficacy.
RDIF jointly with partners and manufacturers is ramping up the production of Sputnik V. The cost of one dose of the vaccine for international markets is less than $10 (Sputnik V is a two dose vaccine). The vaccine can be stored at a temperature of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius, which allows for easy distribution worldwide, including hard-to-reach regions.
The vaccine supplies for the global market will be produced by RDIF’s international partners in India, Brazil, China, South Korea and other countries.
This website has been created to provide accurate and up-to-date information about Sputnik V.
The vaccine is named after the first Soviet space satellite. The launch of Sputnik-1 in 1957 reinvigorated space research around the world, creating a so called Sputnik moment” for the global community.
The Russian Ministry of Health, the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) announce that Sputnik Light, a single dose COVID-19 vaccine, has received authorization for use in Russia.
Sputnik Light is the first component (recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 (rAd26)) of Sputnik V – the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus.
The single dose Sputnik Light vaccine demonstrated 79.4% efficacy according to analyzed data taken from 28 days after the injection was administered as part of Russia’s mass vaccination program between 5 December 2020 and 15 April 2021.
An efficacy level of almost 80% is higher than that of many two-dose vaccines.
Sputnik Light has proven effective against all new strains of coronavirus, as demonstrated by the Gamaleya Center during laboratory tests.
Phase I/II of the Safety and Immunogenicity Study of the Sputnik Light vaccine has demonstrated that:
Sputnik Light can elicit the development of antigen specific IgG antibodies in 96.9% of individuals on the 28th day after vaccination;
The Sputnik Light vaccine elicits the development of virus neutralizing antibodies in 91.67% of individuals on the 28th day post immunization;
Cellular immune response against the S Protein of SARS-CoV-2 develops in 100% of volunteers on the 10th day;
The immunization of individuals with pre-existing immunity against SARS-CoV-2 with Sputnik Light can elicit the increase of the level of antigen specific IgG antibodies by more than 40x in 100% of subjects 10 days after immunization;
No serious adverse events were registered after vaccination with Sputnik Light.
The two dose Sputnik V vaccine remains the main vaccination tool.
The Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases of the Health Ministry has recommended that pregnant women should only be vaccinated with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath told the Daily Mirror.
He said since there are no sufficient data on other vaccines, the Committee had recommended only the Sinopharm vaccines will be given to pregnant mothers.
Though Army Commander announced that the pregnant woman would be given priority when giving Sinopharm vaccine in relevant areas, Dr. Herath said there are certain practical issues in giving vaccine to the pregnant women.
“The Family Health Bureau is in the process of sorting them out. There are certain checks and balances that need to be included to the circular that is to be issued soon in this regard” he said.
“As it is a very complicated process, the Family Health Bureau is still developing the guidelines,” Dr. Herath underlined.
He stressed that vaccinating pregnant mothers has not yet commenced, and added it would take some time to finalise the relevant guidelines and only after that the vaccination could be started.
Moreover, he said he had received several reports that some pregnant mothers have got the vaccines without proper approval from the Health Ministry.
The attention to vaccinate pregnant mothers has been drawn as they come under one of the high risk categories.
Against this backdrop, Army Commander Shavendra Silva today announced that they would give priority to the pregnant women, and those above 60 years of age when giving Sinopharm vaccines in the areas announced earlier from June 8.
Army Commander General Shavendra Silva says that islandwide travel restrictions will be further extended until June 14.
He stated that the travel restrictions, which are currently in effect and had been initially extended until June 07 (Monday), will now remain in force until 4.00 a.m. on June 14.
Accordingly, the islandwide travel restrictions will not be lifted on June 07, as announced previously.
hirty-nine more deaths in Sri Lanka have been attributed to the novel coronavirus infection, Director-General of Health Services confirmed today (June 02).
The latest fatalities have moved the country’s death toll to 1,566, according to Epidemiology Unit data.
The deaths have taken place between May 17 and June 01, the Department of Government Information stated.
Reportedly, 27 of them were over the age of 60.
The deceased – 19 females and 20 males – were identified as residents of Moratuwa, Muwandeniya, Matale, Borella, Badulla, Jaffna, Wahamalgollewa, Trincomalee, Gampola, Kotmale, Vavuniya, Kelaniya, Waththegama, Badalkumbura, Elpitiya, Dompe, Kattankudy 02, Wellampitiya, Wattala, Horana, Bandaragama, Maskeliya, Hatton, Watawala, Nawalapitiya, Hapugasthalawa, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Gelioya, Bogawanthalawa and Medawachchiya.
COVID pneumonia was recorded as the cause of death of majority of the victims.
Chandimal Jayasinghe, Piyumi Hansamali and thirteen others, who were taken into custody over a party at a five-star hotel in Colombo violating quarantine laws, have been sent to Passara quarantine centre.
Accordingly, they will be under quarantine for a period of 14 days.
Thirteen individuals who were arrested for attending the party hosted by Chandimal Jayasinghe and Piumi Hansamali were been granted bail earlier today (June 02).
The arrestees – 11 males and 02 females – were produced before Colombo Additional Magistrate Bandara Nelumdeniya.
When the case was taken up, the police had made an appeal to direct the suspects to quarantine procedure through the prison, however, the additional magistrate ordered to release them on personal bails each valued at Rs. 100,000.
Fort Police Station had conducted investigations into an alleged incident in respect of a birthday party organised at a five-star hotel in the Galle Face area on the night of May 30.
On May 31, the Fort Police arrested Chandimal Jayasinghe and Piyumi Hansamali, who were produced before the Fort Magistrate and released on bail.
Later, six persons were arrested by Fort Police yesterday (June 01) for attending the said party. In addition to that, seven more individuals were taken into custody earlier today.
FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Sen. Menendez, Robert Sen. Cardin, Benjamin Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne Sen. Coons, Christopher Sen. Murphy, Christopher S. Sen. Kaine, Tim Sen. Markey, Edward J. Sen. Merkley, Jeff Sen. Booker, Cory Sen. Schatz, Brian Sen. Van Hollen, Chris Sen. Risch, Jim Sen. Rubio, Marco Sen. Johnson, Ron Sen. Romney, Mitt Sen. Portman, Rob Sen. Paul, Rand Sen. Young, Todd Sen. Barrasso, John A Sen. Cruz, Ted Sen. Rounds, Mike Sen. Hagerty, Bill
FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. Rep. Malinowski, Tom Rep. Sherman, Brad Rep. Sires, Albio Rep. Connolly, Gerald E. Rep. Deutch, Theodore Rep. Bass, Karen Rep. Keating, William R. Rep. Cicilline, David N Rep. Bera, Ami Rep. Castro, Joaqui Rep. Titus, Dina Rep. Lieu, Ted Rep. Wild, Susan Rep. Phillips, Dean Rep. Omar, Ilhan Rep. Allred, Colin Z. Rep. Levin, Andy Rep. Spanberger, Abigail Davis Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy Rep. Kim, Andy Rep. Jacobs, Sara Rep. Manning, Kathy Rep. Costa, Jim Rep. Vargas, Juan Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott Rep. McCaul, Michael T. Rep. Smith, Christopher H. Rep. Chabot, Steven Rep. Wilson, Joe Rep. Perry, Scott Rep. Issa, Darrell E. Rep. Kinzinger, Adam Rep. Zeldin, Lee M. Rep. Wagner, Ann Rep. Mast, Brian J. Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. Rep. Buck, Ken Rep. Burchett, Tim Rep. Green, Mark E. Rep. Barr, Andy Rep. Steube, W. Gregory Rep. Meuser, Daniel Rep. Tenney, Claudia Rep. Pfluger, August Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole Rep. Meijer, Peter Rep. Jackson, Ronny Rep. Kim, Young Rep. Salazar, María Elvira
THE TRUTH ABOUT SRI LANKA – BEFORE YOU BELIEVE STORIES OF
GENOCIDE”, MARGINALIZATION” ,
DISAPPEARANCES” AND FORM MISIDEMOCRACY AND THE CHOICE MADE BY THE TAMIL PEOPLE
LIVING IN SRI LANKA, CONSIDER THEIR DESIRES TOO AND NOT ONLY THOSE WHO COME
THROUGH YOUR DOORS TO FEED MISINFORMATION.
THIS IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATING LEGISLATORS IN THE USA ABOUT SRI
LANKA. PLEASE READ THE ATTACHMENT. (The content below was sent as
an attachment to the members of both The Congress and Senate in foreign
affairs.)
HOW CAN YOU BE GUIDED BY PROXIES OF A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION AGAINST A
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT THAT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO ALL CITIZENS WHEN SUICIDE
BOMBERS AND FORCED CONSCRIPTION OF CHILDREN AND TERROR TOOK PLACE FOR 30 YEARS?
DID THE WESTERN POWERS EXPECT THE COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT TO TURN THE OTHER WAY?
THEY PROTECTED ALL PEOPLE BUT FACE HUMAN RIGHTS ALLEGATIONS” WITHOUT ACCURATE
PROOF.
PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELF WITH THE TRUTH BEFORE SPONSORING RESOLUTIONS
AGAINST THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT DEFEATED TERRORISM AND IS ENJOYING PEACE.
PANDERING TO THE PRO LTTE DIASPORA DOMICILED OUTSIDE SRI LANKA AMOUNTS TO
MISERY FOR THE TAMIL PEOPLE LIVING IN SRI LANKA AND TO THE 17 MILLION SINHALA
MAJORITY THAT ALSO INCLUDES MUSLIMS WHO WERE ETHNICALLY CLEANSED AND MURDERED
BY THE LTTE. WITHIN THE COUNTRY THE
REALITY IS THAT THE MAJORITY REFERRED TO, THE SINHALA PEOPLE ARE A MINORITY IN
THE WORLD WITH NO OTHER COUNTRY THAT SPEAKS THEIR LANGUAGE. THE MINORITIES
REFERRED TO – TAMILS AND MUSLIMS HAVE ALMOST 6 TIMES THE POPULATION OF SRI
LANKA IN OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND THE REGION.
IF THE US PRESSES THEIR AGENDA,
REMEMBER THAT THE AGENDA TO PANDER TO THE PRO TERROR PROXIES IS A PUSH TO
OPRESS A WORLD MINORITY OF SINHALA PEOPLE.
TAMIL PEOPLE HAVE 60 MILLION IN TAMIL NADU ACROSS THE SEA AND THE INDIAN
CONSTITUTION DOES NOT PERMIT SEPARATION BUT THEY HAD TERROR TRAINING CAMPS ON
SOUTH INDIAN SITES. NOW INDIA OPPOSES ANY FURTHER TERROR ACTIVITIES AFTER THEY
LOST THEIR LEADER TO SUICIDE BOMBING BY THE TAMIL TIGERS AND A WOMAN BOMBER. A
MAJORITY OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE LIVING IN SRI LANKA DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE AGENDA
OF THOSE WHO COME THROUGH YOUR REVOLVING DOORS WITH CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND
LIES.
WE THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA OPPOSE ANY PUSH AND STRONG DEMANDS BY ANY
RESOLUTIONS TO TAKE AWAY THE FREEDOM AND PEACE OF OUR PEOPLE. DO NOT OPRESS A WORLD MINORITY BASED ON
MISINFORMATION. GO TO SRI LANKA AND SEE
THE GROUND SITUATION. IT CAN BE ARRANGED FOR ANY POLICY MAKERS WHO SO DESIRE.
YOU ARE CAVING INTO PRESSURE FROM THE GROUP THAT IS LOOKING TO EXPLOIT THE
UNITED STATES. OPERATING ILLEGALLY TO
UNDERMINE A SOVEREIGN GOVERNMENT WITH THE TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL
ELAM (TGTE) UNDER THE RADAR, OPERATING IN THE UNITED STATES? HOW CAN YOU IGNORE SUCH ACTIONS? HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THE GALLEON SCANDAL
INVOLVING MONEY LAUNDERING FOR THE LTTE?
HOW COULD YOU DISMISS SOME OF THE GLARING VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF
INNOCENT CIVILIANS THAT INCLUDED A VAST NUMBER OF TAMIL PEOPLE FORCED INTO
THEIR WAR MACHINE FOR 30 YEARS . WITH SUICIDE BOMBINGS THAT TOOK THOUSANDS OF
LIVES IN THE STREETS, SCHOOLS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP, TRAINS, BUSES AND THE LIST
GROWS BUT THE WESTERN NATIONS IGNORE?
HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THE FBI CLASSIFICATION OF LTTE AS THE MOST BRUTAL
TERROR GROUP EVER KNOWN? HOW CAN YOU
ENTERTAIN AND BE DICTATED TO BY PROXIES OF SUCH A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION THAT
IS PROSCRIBED IN THE UNITED STATES AND 31 COUNTRIES? HOW CAN YOU CONDONE TERRORISM, IMMIGRATION,
ASYLUM AND HUMAN SMUGGLING THAT HAS BECOME A BUSINESS FOR THOSE WHO COME
THROUGH YOUR DOOR WITH LONG AND FALSE STORIES OF ABUSE AND MARGINALIZATION
UNFOUNDED AND UNPROVEN. REFER TO THE DATA IN THE REPORT MYTH OF
DISCRIMINATION” BELOW. REFER TO THE
VIDEO CLIPS OF THE LTTE BRUTALITY. LISTEN TO LORD NASEBY SPEAK IN THE UK HOUSE OF LORDS AS PROVIDED BELOW. WHY DOES THE UNITED STATES IGNORE SO MANY FOR
SO FEW WHO HAVE AN AGENDA THAT IS THEIR SELF SEEKING RACKET OF HUMAN SMUGGLING
AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES.
HERE’S THE DATA AND THE TRUTH. PLEASE DO NOT LEGISLATE BY REMOTE CONTROL. WE WARN YOU THAT YOUR ACTIONS DO NOT HELP THE
POOR AND INNOCENT TAMIL PEOPLE. YOU WILL
SOON HEAR FROM THEM TOO. THEIR VOICE
WILL BE HEARD AND IT IS NOT WHAT YOU HEAR FROM THE DIASPORA THAT FINANCES
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS CLAIMING TO BE THE SAVIORS OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE. THE TAMIL PEOPLE IN SRI LANKA HAVE NOT BEEN
HEARD. THEY NEED A VISIT FROM SOME OF
YOU TO PLEASE CONTACT THE Jaffna Civil Society that will enlighten you. These are Tamil people who have a story to
tell that the United States needs to hear. Contact the Jaffna Civil Society
President Arun Arulampalam on email at:
Arun Siddharth Arulanandam -President of the Jaffna Civil
Society of Tamil People living in Sri Lanka.
CLAIMS
OF GENOCIDE CANNOT BE ACCEPTED WHEN THE VERY DIASPORA PROXIES WHO COME TO YOU
ARE VISITING THE COUNTRY OF SRI LANKA, AND RETURNING WITH NO ATTACKS OR RISKS
DUE TO RACE. THEY OBTAINED DUAL
CITIZENSHIP AND ARE LARGE SCALE PROPERTY DEVELOPERS AND BUSINESSMEN ENJOYING
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. IF GENOCIDE
APPLIES TO SRI LANKA, HERE’S THE DEFINITION AS PER THE UNITED NATIONS. I URGE READERS TO QUESTION WHETHER THIS
APPLIES TO SRI LANKA BY A GROUND VISIT OR BY CONTACT WITH THOSE LIVING THEIR
LIVES THERE.
Definition of Genocide as per the UN
The deliberate and systematic destruction of a
racial, political, or cultural group. In
Sri Lanka we are looking at ALLEGATIONS of accusations of deliberate and
systematic destruction of a racial group. On the other hand, the terrorists
(Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam – LTTE) are inaccurately named as non-state
players and have escaped any accountability for destroying over 60,000 civilian
lives in suicide bombings and an additional 29,000 uniformed security personnel
who were acting to save civilians of all ethnicities. Their sacrifice for peace in 2009 was not
dished out based on ethnicity. All
people are relieved to see the end of an era when indiscriminate suicide
bombings and mass scale killings have been almost a daily occurrence.
As per the UN Definition Article II as it
applies to the accusations of acts committed to destroy in whole or in part an
ethnic group as accused, examining the acts one by one as below, it is clear
that Genocide as applied to Sri Lanka by the UNHRC contradicts the UN definition
to the core. The UNHRC picture is that it applies to the entire the Tamil
community.
Definition according to Article II
In the present
Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group,
as such:
Killing
members of the group; The LTTE participated in mass killing
of their own Tamil citizens for not participating in the extremist, terrorist
activities that they executed starting with killing the Mayor of Jaffna and
anyone who was a dissident. We know personal stories from sibling of one such
Tamil youth member who expressed objection to their criminal activities and he
was murdered. There are many such cases. The JAFFNA CIVIL SOCIETY MEMBERS ARE
FAMILIES THAT HAVE MORE STORIES OF ABDUCTION AND KILLING OF THEIR TAMIL FAMILY
MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.
Causing serious bodily or mental
harm to members of the group; If there was such serious
bodily harm, how can 60% of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka live in the South
of the country mingling and even intermarrying with the Sinhala people among
whom they live amicably. Some even express that they are more comfortable
outside of the Elam” area where the caste system is predominant and
intolerable. The civilians living in Sri Lanka do not want a return to the LTTE
dominated separatist agenda that the US believes in as a solution. It is to the Tamil people a return to
violence as they will state fearlessly today in 2021.
Deliberately inflicting on the
group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in
whole or in part; This is absent in the country because
there is equal opportunity in education, employment, business, and property
ownership. There is no infliction or
physical destruction.
Imposing measures intended to
prevent births within the group; There are no
state controls set for the Tamil community in by the government or ethnic
majority as controls on the population growth among the Tamil minority.
Forcibly transferring children of
the group to another group. Forcibly
transferring children was brutal action by the LTTE when they conscripted
children as young as age 10 forcibly taken from the clutches of their parents
and school rooms or even abductions.
When the LTTE recruiters met with resistance from parents or teachers,
they killed the adults for protecting kids.
Kids were removed dragged crying for their parents and assaulted for
asking to go home. This fits into one of
the conditions in the UN definition of forcible transfer for terrorism a
violation of children’s human rights. Some of these occurrences are evidenced
in the supporting videos included in this document.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SRI LANKA – CHALLENGING FALSIFIED PROPAGANDA
EXPLOITING WESTERN COUNTRIES WITH LUCRATIVE ASYLUM
OPPORTUNITIES USING UNVERIFIED LIES, EXPLOITING SRI LANKA FOR FREE EDUCATION,
FREE HEALTHCARE, EMPLOYMENT AND FREEDOM TO OWN PROPERTY WHILE COMMITTING HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST CHILDREN AND POOR HELPLESS TAMIL PEOPLE WITH THREATS
AND MASS KILLING FOR DISSENT. ELIMINATING MODERATE TAMILS IN VISIBLE
INTELLECTUAL ROLES AND THE LESS POWERFUL WHO REFUSED TO BE PARTICIPANTS TO
TERRORISM OR BECOME PROXIES OF TERROR TODAY.
The war of 1983-2009
ended with peace for all people. Twelve
years later in 2021 the proxies of terror continue to bury the truth with
fabricated lies offering no proof. The
USA is among 32 countries that banned the LTTE but their proxies continue to be
part of the campaign against Sri Lanka while western nations including the USA
are caving into proxies of terror.
The FBI declared the LTTE one of the most brutal terror
groups. The crimes committed against children is unquestioned by any Western
nation or the United Nations that have become prey to pro LTTE proxy
diaspora. Their complacency is
tantamount to accepting and being pro
terroism and anti democracy. The USA needs to seek the truth if it is a leader
to promote democracy against all forms of proven terrorism against civilian life
with suicide bombings that destroyed innocent people going about daily life.
Sri Lanka’s suffering under domestic terror lasted almost 30
years and the real civilian victims never received justice or even a passing
consideration at the UNHRC in the resolution given leadership by the USA and
now UK. It is time for the US
Administration to wake up to the truth by a desire to seek the truth and not the
propaganda forced on them. If there is a
desire to do so, there is no shortage of opportunities to seek the truth about
Sri Lanka.
The current situation in 2021 is that those who cry
Genocide” and continue to be proxies of the terror supporting LTTE remnants
operating in the US and other western nations that have banned the LTTE,
continue to carry out illegal fundraising for a terrorist cause. They however, obtained foreign citizenship,
and made use of the dual citizenship privileges given by Sri Lanka and continue to return to the Land of Genocide”
that their lies provided and foreign governments fell for without
verification. Concurrently, claims of
Geocide and their trips to Sri Lanka continue without opening a dictionary to
figure out the true meaing of Genocide that would not permit their existence if
it was the land of Genocide.
Today, the biggest new found wealth and financing of
realestate are owned by those who deceived Sri Lanka, and their host
nations. It will only be a matter of
time when their power will deprive democracy to Sri Lanka due to the short
sighted, unverified biases of western countries that followed their trail of
lies.
Data that disproves claims of race based discrimination
that became the reason for the internal insurrection that became full blown
terrorism.
Supporting LTTE war
funding and suicide bombings with criminal activities on par with the top
terror groups recognized by the United States that fails to compare the
similarities to LTTE – Mackenzie Institute Canada.
Extensive
evidence in pictures and names of assasinated leaders and use of child soldiers.
This is graphic and has evidence of the human rights violations of civilians
and killings.
Ltte tamil terrorist atrocities
presentation by Jaliya – issuu – Click on this link for DETAILS OF ASSASINATION OF TWO LEADERS –
Indian Prime minister, Sri Lankan President, The Tamil Minister of Foreign
Affairs in Sri Lanka and other Tamil leaders by those who were self appointed
protectors of the Tamil people.
The Australian wife of the LTTE second in command who
trained child soldiers and inducted them to war with cyanide capsules on their
neck currently lives a luxury life, unscathed by any legal charges for aiding
in use of child soldiers forcibly recruited.
Lord Naseby Addressing the House of Lords – UK – Denouncing deceit of
LTTE and challenging misinformation.
Webinar on
Fake Genocide Claims and Illegal Business of Human Smuggling to western
countries for a fee. Only wealthy
countries are chosen for this operation for a fee. If they were truly saving Tamil people, why
not move to countries closer to Sri Lanka.
This must be recognized by the countries that have been fooled.
AT THE END OF VIEWING THIS PROOF, WE HOPE
YOU ARE CONVINCED THAT THE TRUTH LIES IN THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA WHO LIVED
THROUGH THE 30 YEARS AND CONTINUE TO RELIVE THE HORROR. THE POOR TAMIL PEOPLE WHO UNDERWENT REAL HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE HANDS OF THE LTTE AND SUFFERED MURDER OF THEIR FAMILY
MEMBERS INCLUDING CHILDREN HAVE NOT BEEN HEARD. THE SECURITY FORCES PROTECTED
ITS PEOPLE JUST AS THE US MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM WOULD DO. THERE IS NO
DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMITMENT TO SERVICE.
WE HOPE SANITY WILL PREVAIL AFTER VIEWING
FIRST HAND EVIDENCE IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Ships catching fire in high sea is
not an uncommon thing. But a Panamanian registered missive oil tanker carrying
270,000 Metric tons of crude oil catching fire in September 2020 in the Eastern
sea. east of Sri Lanka and another giant ship carrying containers within 7
months getting completely destroyed by fire in May 2021 in the Western sea only
9.5 nautical miles from Colombo Port needs our special attention and serious
investigations,
To me both these incidents pauses a
big mystery in view of the following reasons.
Firstly, why they caught fire in our
seas at this time in this way
2 Second, were they mere accidents or
preplanned destruction plans by someone, like the LTTE Diaspora or ISIS with
the connivance of anti – Sri Lankan forces who failed in their earlier
attempts to destroy this country,
3 Third, to assess the damage already
done to the marine life and coastal the belt and environmental damages that
would follow due to pollution and possible acid rain to the Islands water
resources, vegetation, to humans and fauna and flora both in the short and long
runs
4 Fourth the immediate and long run
impact on the fishing industry and the fishermen by disrupting their basic
livelihood.
5 Fifth the damages already done and
that would follow to the national economy in time to come
6 Sixth assess the cost of
operational activities in cleaning up the coastal belts and disposing waste
material etc and for purposes of claiming compensation for the national economy from those who are
responsible and finally to work out legal provisions and administrative
planning to avoid such calamities at least in in future at least.
1 The oil Tanker caught fire during
the North East monsoon in the Eastern sea, where, two important ports Trinco and Oluwil
are located, when the winds were blowing south westward sweeping across the
Island
2 X- Press Pearl carrying a thousand
of Containers containing a massive volume of toxic and chemical material caught
fire in the Western sea, where the wind is blowing from the South West across
the Island during this season and within 9.5 nautical miles from Colombo the
major commercial port of the Island nation the nerve point of the nation’s
national economy a major disruption of which is beyond all imagination.
Who is responsible for this disaster?
In this backdrop the whole nation is now
left with a big mystery unsolved?
by The Sri Lanka Study Circle (Sheets 1- 5 of 14 sheets)
Preamble
This is an open letter
issued by the members of the Sri Lanka Study Circle to the former Attorney
General de Livera, calling him to explain why punitive action should not be
initiated against him for alleged professional malfeasance connected with the
Port City Bill.
He is accused of having
conducted himself in a manner that compromised the Country’s sovereignty and
threatened her National Security; his alleged impropriety is more fully
described in the body of this letter.
Charges levelled against Mr.
de Livera
The charges levelled against
you, Mr. de Livera, are:
·
Serious dereliction of duties during the time you held the post
of Attorney General.
·
Bringing the post of AG and the AG’s Department, into uttermost
disrepute.
·
Conducting yourself in a manner that was prejudicial to good
order and departmental discipline.
·
Compromising the Constitutional role and responsibility of the
Attorney General.
·
Collaborating with elements attempting to subvert the Constitution
of the Country.
·
Conducting yourself in a manner unbecoming of the Attorney
General of Sri Lanka.
We, the members of the Study
Circle, are aware that you are no longer the AG; we therefore request you to
submit an explanation expeditiously.
We opine that you owe an
explanation to the people of this Republic, who had financially sustained you
in the department all these years and whose benignity would contribute to your
pension and sustain you during your lifetime on Earth.
If an explanation is not
provided
Failure to provide an
explanation, as requested in this letter, may result in the public being compelled
to pursue a course of action against you which could result in the suspension
of any foreign travel you may have planned, your passport being impounded, your
pension and assets being frozen and punitive legal action being initiated
against you, even in absentia; if you are ensconced abroad, it may compel the
people to take measures to have you extradited.
In the absence of your explanation
and in the unlikely event of successive Governments displaying a reluctance to
initiate action against you, the people shall patiently bide their time until
the opportunity is afforded when you could be brought before court to face
charges.
If perchance you have
deceased by the time the opportunity is afforded to initiate action against
you, the trial against you shall proceed, with your progeny being given ample
opportunity to defend your name.
There shall be no time
prescription in initiating charges against you.
Why did you mislead the
Government and the people?
Mr. de Livera, you are
kindly requested to explain, why you misled the Government and the people
and brought your department to such disrepute by assuring all stakeholders that
the Port City Bill was not in violation of the Constitution when it was
glaringly obvious, to even a layman, that the Bill was indeed in violation of
the Constitution?
Your conduct, an enduring
blotch on the office you were privileged to hold, smeared the reputation of the
Department when the Supreme Court found the Bill to be in violation of the
Constitution in a record 25 instances!!
If you were to plead that
your ignorance of the Constitution and the law occasioned this apocalyptic faux
pas in the history of the Department, it would indeed be a sad commentary on
your professional ability; if that is your explanation, it is strongly
suggested that you tender your resignation forthwith and walk away from the
Department without your pension, hanging your head in everlasting shame.
Failed in your
Constitutional responsibility
Article 77 of the
Constitution makes you mandatorily the prime Legal Protector of the
Constitution. You have failed miserably in your Constitutional responsibility.
When a blunder of this
proportion is made by a man of your experience in the twilight of his
government career, would it be unreasonable to entertain suspicions that you
could possibly have been influenced politically or otherwise, especially when a
ridiculous offer of a diplomatic assignment, at retirement, is made to you?
Asset declarations and Bank
statements
To allay suspicions in the
minds of the people (and also in the name of transparency) you are kindly
requested to forward to the public, copies of your annual asset declarations
for the last five years, which presumably you have already submitted, and to
make available all your bank statements for public scrutiny for the same period
of time.
On
31 ST May , SPUR -Vic Australia together with well wisheers in
Australia have jointly collected funds and handed over a Stella 100
CPAP machine with non-vent mask, with a leak Port to be able to deliver BiPap
to the Hikkaduwa District Hospital.
Exco
member Keerthi. at considerable risk to himself, drove to the hospital and
handed the equipment to Dr Anuradha in charge of the Accident and Emergency
Services node at the hospital. Dr Himal Kalambearchchi, the consultant
physician to a number of South Coast Hospitals also attended the handover
function. Dr Anuradha is dressed in green and Dr Himal is the person with the
tie.
by The Sri Lanka Study Circle (Sheets 5- 8 of 14 sheets or Part 2)
/ Contd from sheet 5 (or
Part 1)
Abandoning your
responsibility as AG when Messrs G L Peiris and P B Jayasundera intervened in
the hearings as intervenient petitioners
You are also called upon to
explain, why you acted the way you did at the Supreme Court hearings when the
Port City Bill was taken up?
The Constitution of this
country has specifically entrusted you with the role of ensuring that Bills
placed before Parliament are not in violation of the Constitution. It is your
sacred Constitutional duty to do so diligently with all the legal acumen at
your disposal.
It devolves on you to defend
the Constitution whenever it needs to be defended in any Judicial forum; you
could be described as the helmsman of the Constitution.
When therefore 19 persons
petitioned the Court against the Constitutionality of the Bill, not only were
you regulatively and constitutionally required to defend the Constitution and
the interest of the Government – both objectives being mutually inclusive – but
indeed you were the best person to do so considering your opinion that the Bill
did not violate the Constitution in any way.
It came as a surprise, to
you too it so seemed, when two members from the Government side – Messrs G L
Peiris (a member of the President’s cabinet) and P B Jayasundera (the Secretary
to the President) – applied to the Court for special leave to intervene in the
hearing.
To many it seemed as if the sacred
precincts of the Judiciary had been invaded by the Executive.
And, what was even more
surprising was when, contrary to practice, these two persons had two private
lawyers to represent them. Representing Mr. G L Peiris was Mr. Gamini Marapona
who, we learn now, has been tipped to be the ‘Chairman’ of the Port City
Commission.
Did it not cross your mind,
Mr. de Livera, that this may have been a subtle attempt by these Executive
minions to impose undue influence on the Judicial process?
Though not entirely
convincing, your performance that followed, conveyed the impression that you
were somewhat miffed by the turn of events.
But at the end you relented
with hardly a bleat and permitted Messrs Peiris and Jayasundera to take on the
‘prima donna’ role while you seemingly sulked and slinked to the background.
Indeed, your performance was bizarre for more reasons than one and had many,
smelling a rat.
What surprised many was how
easily you relented and like Esau, the biblical character, forsook your rights
enshrined in the Constitution, allowing Messrs Peiris and Jayasundera from the
Executive Arm of Government to take centre stage; thereby you seemed to
undermine the repute of your office and your department while leaving the
people of the country, in abject despair.
Theoretically, you were the
person most competent to refute the arguments of the petitioners and you were
the one Constitutionally entrusted with that task.
We ask you, What special
interests did Messrs Peiris and Jayasundera have that you could not have taken
care of?”
And, What were your
submissions and responses in Court to this intervention by the ‘Executive’ duo
with their private lawyers?”
It is customary that the AG
appears gratis for those on the Government side.
The implication of employing
private lawyers meant that the cost of their fees would be an additional
financial burden on the people; unless of course in hind sight, it is a case of
these lawyers appearing pro interesse suo.
UNHRC and the establishment of
a parallel AG’s department
A thought crossed our minds;
it was in Geneva, just earlier this year, that the UNHRC attempted to establish
a parallel AG’s Department in Sri Lanka and failed.
If anyone, holding a
prominent position, intentionally undermines the repute of the AG and the
Department, such conduct would only aid the Americans who are bent on
establishing that parallel Attorney General’s Department in this country.
Reports are circulating that
the Americans are passing Human Rights resolutions against Sri Lanka in their
Senate; there are also unconfirmed reports that you are being short listed by
the Americans for a post in this parallel AG’s department, the Americans wish
to establish.
We would appreciate if you
would, in your response, shed any light to this persisting rumour, regarding
such an appointment.
A crab roams a Sri Lanka beach polluted with nurdle pellets that washed ashore from burning ship MV X-Press Pearl. (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)June 1, 2021 at 4:37 p.m. GMT+1
Tons of potentially toxic debris is threatening miles of coastlines and seas around western Sri Lanka after a fire on a ship led to the leak of nitric acid and nurdles — the small, lentil-sized pellets that are melted into all kinds of plastic products.
Sri Lankan authorities are racing to clear tons of nurdles blanketing the South Asian country’s usually pristine beaches and threatening fishing industries and wildlife tens of miles away. There are additional fears that the nurdles themselves could be contaminated with chemicals from the ship.
Here’s what to know about nurdles, the granules at the heart of one of Sri Lanka’s worst environmental crises.
Nurdles are the raw materials melted down to produce plastics. Each kind of plastic is composed of nurdles of different compositions and colors. When plastics are recycled, they can be turned back into nurdles and the cycle is repeated. Nurdles are often shipped all over the world in large sacks to factories, where they are turned into various plastic products.
How do they impact the environment?
Nurdles are the backbone of so much packaging we use — and of some serious health and environmental challenges.
Due to improper storage or transfer, nurdles frequently leach into bodies of water, where fish and other marine animals can mistake the pellets for food. Ingesting the nurdles, which can also absorb other chemicals, could be deadly for animals and pose a serious danger for the wider ecosystem if they become caught in food chains.
It’s an environmental disaster,” Sri Lankan marine biologist Asha de Vos told The Washington Post. She said the plastic pellets will be in our beaches for a long time to come.”
Fish in Sri Lanka are a key source of protein, and there are now major fears over the long-term health of the fishing industry. The pellets could also increase the temperature of the sand, which could in turn impact the gender makeup of turtles who lay their eggs there, de Vos said.
Authorities have warned people not to touch the nurdles as it is unclear how toxic they are.
How can they be cleaned up?
Massive efforts are underway to clear Sri Lanka’s beaches coated in nurdles that have washed up to shore. There were an estimated 78 metric tons of nurdles aboard the MV X-Press Pearl, Mongabay News reported.
It was nuts,” de Vos said. It was basically [plastic] snow on our beaches, these tiny white pellets, and piles of them.”
Authorities have already banned fishing in the area and deployed the Sri Lankan military, wearing protective gear, to remove debris from the sand and sea. Efforts by Sri Lankans to help, however, have been hampered by covid-19 restrictions on movement.
It took 7,000 volunteers to clean up a nurdles spill of a similar magnitude in Hong Kong in 2012, according to Mongabay, though in that incident there were no fears of chemical contamination.
Environmentalists have called for changes to how nurdles are stored, as they are frequently kept in sacks that can easily tear.
Our oceans are covered in microplastics, but nobody really thinks about it,” de Vos said. I hope this drives home that we are all part of this problem.”
The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 856 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,845.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 189,241.
As many as 153,371 recoveries and 1,484 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 34,386 active cases are currently under medical care.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has advised to tow the fire-ravaged container ship ‘X-Press Pearl’ into deeper seas in order to prevent further marine pollution.
The President has issued these instructions to the Chairman of Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) today (June 01) at a special meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat, President’s Media Division stated.
During the meeting, the Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena revealed all the details on the vessel including its route from the United Arab Emirates on May 09 to the arrival near the Port of Colombo on May 19.
The suggestion of representatives from a number of fields, including shipping and environment, was to take the vessel to the deep seas to minimize possible damage to the marine environment as the vessel was at risk of sinking.
Accordingly, the President had given instructions to issue an immediate order to the Chairman of MEPA to tow the vessel into the deep seas based on technical facts as well as the advice of the Attorney General.
The President had stated that the decision taken should be based solely on technical facts and not on politics.
Ministers Douglas Devananda, Mahinda Amaraweera, State Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, Nalaka Godahewa, Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam, Secretary to the President P. B. Jayasundera, Defence Secretary-General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne, Commanders of the Navy and Air Force and the officials of Ports Authority, Marine Environment Protection Authority, NARA and other line institutions had been present at the meeting.
With the ban on the import of chemical fertilizer, the Ministry of Agriculture has identified the need to take immediate action to supply the required organic fertilizer for the 2021/2022 Maha Season.
Currently, there are 27 local organic fertilizer manufacturers licensed by the National Fertilizer Secretariat Office.
Considering the production capacity of 10 of them, it is possible to supply carbonic fertilizer locally for 224,000 hectares for the 2021/2022 Maha Season and to manufacture the required carbonic fertilizer for another 100,000 hectares after making available the required facilities for the identified farmers.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal tabled by the Minister of Agriculture to take the following measures:
– Appointing a special procurement committee on organic fertilizer, natural minerals, and kilated herbal trace and a technical committee specialized for the relevant subject to assist the procurement committee.
– Import required carbonic fertilizer and natural mineral through the state-owned fertilizer company for 500,000 hectares of paddy cultivation on 2021/2022 Maha Season with accordance to the international competitive bidding method and distributing them through the Department of Agrarian Services.
– Import the carbonic fertilizer through the licensed companies that have permission to import fertilizer for 600,000 hectares of the other crops adhering to the recommendations of the research institutions of the relevant crops.
– Import identified specific fertilizers for non-food ornamental plants, cut flower cultivations, and non-soil cultivation through the Import License Method adhering to the recommendations of the research institutes of the relevant crops.
Another six individuals who attended the birthday party hosted by Chandimal Jayasinghe and Piumi Hansimali have been arrested, Police Media Spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana said.
Event organizer Chandimal Jayasinghe and model Piumi Hansimali were arrested yesterday (May 31) for violation of quarantine regulations.
The duo had had reportedly organized a birthday party at a 5-star hotel in Colombo on May 30 with around 25-30 people in attendance.
They produced before the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court in Colombo with charges under Section 264 of the Penal Code for violating health criteria and were subsequently were released on personal bails worth Rs 1 million each.
Police had identified 12 of the attendees yesterday and the remaining attendees were to be identified through CCTV footage.
With the arrest of another 05 male and 01 female suspects, a total of 08 arrests have been made over the incident.
The 06 persons arrested today (June 01) are to be produced before the court, DIG Ajith Rohana said.
Investigations are underway to apprehend the remaining attendees of the party, he said.
(CNN)A huge cleanup operation was underway for a sixth day in Sri Lanka Tuesday after a container ship laden with chemicals caught fire 12 days ago, inundating the country’s western coastline with microplastic pollution and potentially hazardous waste.Sri Lankan environmentalists said it is one of the worst ecological disasters in the country’s history and have warned of a potential threat to marine life and the fishing industry.Members of the Sri Lanka Navy donned protective suits and rubber boots to remove the plastic pellets, chemical waste and debris that have blanketed beaches near the capital Colombo, including the popular tourist spot of Negombo.The Singaporean-registered ship, called the MS X-Press Pearl, was sailing from India’s Gujarat to Colombo when a fire broke out onboard on May 20, as it was nine nautical miles off the Sri Lankan coast. Since then, the Sri Lanka Navy and Indian Coast Guard have been trying to put out the flames and stop the ship from breaking apart or sinking.If that happens, 350 metric tons of oil could leak into the ocean with the potential to cause widespread ecological damage to marine life and affect 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) of coastline between the capital and Negombo, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Fisheries Kanchana Wijesekera said last week.The ship was carrying 1,486 containers when the fire started, 81 of which held “dangerous goods,” including 25 metric tons of nitric acid, according to X-Press Feeders, the operators of the X-Press Pearl. The other chemicals onboard the ship are yet to be confirmed.
Sri Lanka Navy personnel remove waste washed ashore from the burning cargo vessel MV X-Press Pearl on the beaches of Wattala to Negombo in the suburbs of Colombo, on May 28.On Monday, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority said the vessel’s hull remained structurally intact and “no oil or chemical spill (had been) observed till now.””Salvors are also exploring the possibility of boarding the ship and making a tow connection so it can be moved,” the port authority said in a statement.X-Press Feeders said on Monday there were “no visible flames aboard the vessel, though smoke is still issuing from areas in the ship’s aft,” according to the company’s Incident Information Center, referring to the area toward the rear of the vessel.”Firefighting tugs will continue spraying and misting operations to ensure the cooling of all hotspots and the vessel’s hull and hatches, with temperature readings being taken with specialized equipment that has arrived from the Netherlands,” it continued.The 25-member crew have been evacuated and most are in quarantine at local hotels. Two crew members sustained leg injuries following an explosion onboard on May 25 and were taken to hospital. One of the pair later tested positive for Covid-19 and was transferred to a special facility in a military hospital, according to X-Press Feeders.
An earthmover removes debris from the X-Press Pearl ship, on a beach at Pamunugama in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on May 28.The company said it was “helping local police with their enquiries into the fire and are cooperating with investigators.””X-Press Feeders remain fully focused on the ongoing firefighting and salvage operation and will continue cooperating with the relevant investigations into this incident,” it said.Sri Lankan authorities have launched criminal and civil probes into how the fire started.X-Press Feeders said it was “too early to tell” but had previously reported one of the containers onboard was leaking nitric acid at its previous stops in Hamad Port in Qatar and Hazira Port in India. The company said “the advice given was there were no specialist facilities or expertise immediately available to deal with the leaking unit.”
Concerns for fishermen and marine life
The Sri Lankan Marine Environment and Protection Authority (MEPA) said in local media the plastic waste had caused “the worst environmental disaster we have seen in our life time.” MEPA added the damage from the ship was still being calculated.Muditha Katuwawala, coordinator of Sri Lankan environmental group Pearl Protectors, said the ocean surrounding the ship would be “quite toxic” and raised fears for the potential impact on marine life, including several local species of turtles and fish.
Members of the Sri Lanka Navy remove debris washed ashore from the Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl.One of the biggest concerns was the millions of plastic pellets that are polluting the waters and washed up on beaches along the coast after an estimated three containers fell into the sea, he said, raising concerns for fish and other wildlife likely to swallow the microparticles.The plastic pellets, or nurdles, are used to make other plastic products and are a big source of ocean plastic pollution. Due to their small size, the pellets can be mistaken for food to birds, fish and other marine wildlife.Katuwawala said another concern is the monsoon rains and wind washing the pellets further along the coast.”Yesterday, and even today, we see how the movement of pellets are polluting all the western coast of Sri Lanka and along the southern coast. This is going to have a severe impact, socially and environmentally,” he said.Researchers were still trying to determine the impact on the environment and marine life, he added. But the fishing industry — of which many Sri Lankans living along the coast rely on for their livelihoods — has already been impacted due to coronavirus restrictions.Wijesekera, the fisheries minister, suspended fishing in the area around the stricken ship and said compensation would be provided to those whose jobs were affected by the disaster.Speaking to CNN last week, Wijesekera said: “We are trying our best to protect the coastline” but if the ship does sink, “we don’t have adequate resources to manage the entire spill.”Even if the ship does not sink, he said it could “take weeks to finish the cleanup.”
CNN’s Angus Watson in Sydney contributed reporting.
