By Daya Gamage – Asian Tribune Political AnalysisWashington, D.C. 15 February -Courtesy Asiantribune.com
The United States which denied entry visas to Sri Lanka Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva and his family this week ‘officially’ reasoning that it has credible information he was responsible for gross violation of human rights and extrajudicial killings” earlier revoked or denied visas to International Criminal Court (ICC) members who were scheduled to visit the U.S. to investigate alleged war crimes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan.Sri Lanka’s Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva
The Trump administration announced last year it was barring entry into the U.S. to ICC investigators to probe into possible U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan in 2017. A 2016 ICC report accused the U.S. military of torturing at least 61 prisoners in Afghanistan and accused the CIA of subjecting at least 27 prisoners to torture, including rape, at a number of CIA prison site.
Earlier Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States will revoke or deny visas issued to International Criminal Court members who’ve been investigating possible war crimes committed by the U.S. military. Pompeo also threatened investigators with sanctions, and noted that the rules would also apply to members who investigated American allies without the U.S.’s consent.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (center) whose U.S. entry visa was revoked by the U.S. State Department last yea
Pronouncements from the Trump administration suggested that the United States was preparing to go to war against the ICC itself, motivated largely by an effort to silence investigations into alleged American war crimes committed in Afghanistan. In a speech at a Washington D.C. event held by the Federalist Society, Donald Trump’s onetime national security adviser John Bolton denounced the ICC as illegitimate” and expressed his intentions toward the institution in no uncertain terms. We will not cooperate with the ICC,” Bolton said. We will provide no assistance to the ICC.”
Because it involves U.S. officials themselves, at the center of the campaign against the ICC is a 2016 report by ICC prosecutors that deals in part with the war in Afghanistan. That report alleges the commission of widespread crimes by the Taliban and Afghan government forces. But the report also makes allegations of serious crimes committed by U.S. military forces and the CIA, including torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape.”
The ICC investigators were scheduled to arrive in the United States to continue with their investigations when the Trump administration revoked their entry visas.
The crimes in question appear to have been related to detention programs run in Afghanistan during the early years of the U.S. occupation. While the report does not name the individuals responsible or their victims, it indicates that there are dozens of cases in which torture, cruel treatment, and sexual assault were committed by American soldiers and CIA officers in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2004.
The report also states that the alleged crimes were not the abuses of a few isolated individuals,” adding that there is a reasonable basis to believe these alleged crimes were committed in furtherance of a policy or policies aimed at eliciting information through the use of interrogation techniques involving cruel or violent methods which would support U.S. objectives in the conflict in Afghanistan.”
Having had this checkered past of disallowing the ICC to carry out its routing probe in revoking the investigative team’s entry visas, the U.S. denied visas to the family of Sri Lanka Army Commander Shavendra Silva, as Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry stated there were no substantiated or proven allegations of human rights violations against him.”
When Shavendra Silva was appointed the Army Chief last August, the U.S. Embassy in Colombo in a media note stated its deep concern about the appointment because of allegations of gross human rights violations against the new Army Commander, documented by the United Nations and other organizations, are serious and credible.”
This week, in refusing the entry visa to Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva the State Department issuing a statement said:
“Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in a gross violation of human rights or significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States. The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the public designation of Shavendra Silva, the Department is also designating his immediate family members.
“The allegations of gross human rights violations against Shavendra Silva, documented by the United Nations and other organizations, are serious and credible. His designation underscores the importance we place on human rights in Sri Lanka and globally, our concern over impunity for human rights violations and abuses, as well as our support for promoting accountability for those who engage in such acts. We urge the Sri Lankan government to promote human rights, hold accountable individuals responsible for war crimes and human rights violations, advance security sector reform and uphold its other commitments to pursue justice and reconciliation.
“We deeply value our partnership with the Sri Lankan government and the long-standing democratic tradition we share with the Sri Lankan people. The United States remains committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka and helping reshape its security forces to tackle current and emerging threats. Security cooperation will continue to emphasize respect for human rights as a fundamental component of our training, assistance, and engagements.
“The United States will continue to use all available tools and authorities, as appropriate, to address human rights violations and abuses around the world no matter when they occurred or who perpetrated them. Today’s actions underscore our commitment to support human rights, promote accountability for perpetrators, and encourage reconciliation in support of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Sri Lanka.”
Short-sighted decision with consequences related to Indo-Pacific region
The refusal of entry visas is not necessarily a decision taken in Washington. In the case of Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, this is solely taken by the American diplomatic mission in Colombo in concurrence with Washington. The State Department acts are based on reports sent by the American Embassy in Sri Lanka.
Shavendra Silva was leading a Division of the Army, supported by other Divisions, engaged in the final assault on the Tamil Tiger fighting cadre that led to the defeat of the separatists.
Washington was not happy about the final defeat of the LTTE as Washington maneuvered in April 2009, a month before the total defeat, to get the Government of Sri Lanka to halt the offensive on the pretext of safeguarding the unarmed civilians to prevent a total annihilation to save the top leadership of the outfit for later use as a ‘pressure group’ to make changes in Sri Lanka’s polity which the U.S. often believed under the control of extremist Sinhalese.
This unexpected defeat of the LTTE led Washington to manipulate the UNHRC in Geneva to investigate how Sri Lanka handled the final stage of the Eelam War IV. Washington’s decisions to halt the offensive against the Tamil Tigers and its moves to use UNHRC were largely influenced by operatives of the LTTE in the U.S. and many Western capitals. State Department officials were in constant contact with the LTTE representatives in the Tamil Diaspora during the final months of the War. A month before the war ended (May 18, 2009), the LTTE activists in the U.S. were engaged in a discourse with Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher and U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake who were on video conference linking Colombo and Washington.
Since the advent of the Trump administration in January 2017, Washington – both the State Department and Pentagon – worked very closely with the centrist Sirisena-Wickremasinghe administration, which had already replaced the Rajapaksa administration which had moved away from the United States due to latter’s drastic reduction of military assistance during the (2006-2009) war, to enlist Sri Lanka as a ‘Willing Partner’ in its ambitious military buildup in the Indo-Pacific region to face the expansion of China.
The 2007-signed – eight-page – Acquisition and Cross-Services Agreement (ACSA) was drastically revised and enhanced to 83 pages for the U.S. and Sri Lanka to sign in August 2017. Washington thereafter was interested in signing a Visiting Forces Agreement (also known as Status of Forces Agreement/SOFA), which could bring American boots to Sri Lanka, to fully activate the ACSA. The SOFA is still under scrutiny and pending. During the past three years Washington’s military enhancement in the Indo-Pacific region – with both U.S. and India cementing their military bonds following two 2+2 Ministerial Dialogues – Sri Lanka was drawn closer to American military endeavor because of its strategic location in the region. The Asian Tribune has often reported in these columns that Washington wants to keep Sri Lanka as a Willing Partner” in its military exercise to meet the Chinese expansion in the region highlighting the frequent visits to Colombo of US military leaders.
Since Gotabaya Rajapaksa became the President in November 2019, his administration has so far made no indication that he was neither interested in a SOFA agreement nor prepared to move away from the 2017-signed ACSA.
Having known this background the U.S. Department of State rejected the entry visa for Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, a move that could unnecessarily anger President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who served in the Sri Lanka military with Silva in the last millennium and was closely tied with him during the Eelam War IV (2006-2009) when Rajapaksa was Defense Secretary giving the leadership to the battle against the separatist LTTE which was threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.
The Asian Tribune is currently carrying a report – Philippines scraps military pact – SOFA/VFA – with the U.S. – a result of refusing an entry visa to a close colleague of President Duterte. Media widely reported that the move to end the pact follows anger over Washington’s reported decision last month to cancel the U.S. visa of Philippine Sen. Ronald dela Rosa. The former chief of National Police, dela Rosa, enforced Duterte’s war on drugs, which has been widely condemned by international human rights watchdogs.
Though Parliament comes in for public scrutiny on a regular basis, it is seldom that the work of the various Committees of Parliament receives any kind of public attention, with the sole exception of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) which does make waves from time to time. One Parliamentary Committee that is almost never spoken of outside Parliament is the High Posts Committee which vets nominees for high positions in the government service. I wish to bring to the attention of the public, a serious conflict of interest issue in relation to the High Posts Committee of Parliament which will have a direct impact on the national interests of Sri Lanka.
Last Thursday the Secretary to the Committee on High Posts sent me a letter enclosing representations made to the Committee on High Posts against my nomination as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva, and asking for my responses to the allegations made.
The so called ‘representations’ that had been made to the High Posts Committee were actually printouts of a scurrilous article that appeared on the JDSLanka website on the 3rd February and a media release by the so called International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) headed by Yasmin Sooka. The latter included a ‘dossier’ on me and that too had been included as a part of the representations made against me.
This was sent to me in an envelope marked ‘Confidential’ and inside the outer envelope was another envelope to which was attached the covering letter, and the so called representations made against me were in the second envelope. The administrative staff of the High Posts Committee need not have bothered to take all those precautions. On the 7th February, an article appeared in the JDSLanka website under the title ‘Police mislead parliament to whitewash criminal record of Geneva envoy’, where they had reproduced a confidential police report on me sent to the High Posts Committee. It’s only too plain that there is a direct link from the High Posts Committee of Parliament to overseas websites and groups working against Sri Lanka’s national interest. So we might as well discuss everything in public.
TNA to vet nominated SL envoy to Geneva!
The JDSLanka article of 7th February mentioned above stated that “The (High Posts) committee chaired by opposition lawmaker MA Sumanthiran is due to meet on 7 February.” What this means is that if I had been able to get my documentation across to the High Posts Committee on time, Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran would have been presiding over the committee when I presented myself for an interview! There seems little doubt that the JDSLanka website is better connected to the High Posts Committee than I am, and when they say that Sumanthiran was not only to sit on the High Posts Committee on the 7th February but to actually preside over it, I have reason to believe what they say. There is a direct conflict of interest involved if M.A.Sumanthiran or indeed any member of the Tamil National Alliance sits on the High Posts Committee to interview the nominee for the position of Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva.
The TNA wants UNHRC Resolution 30/1 implemented in full. Just last Friday, the headline story in The Island stated that the Tamil National Alliance had urged the visiting European Union delegation to bring pressure on the present SL government to fully implement Resolution 30/1. If an MP belonging to an organization that was canvassing international support to force the government of Sri Lanka to fully implement UNHRC Resolution 30/1 was to sit on, or preside over the High Posts Committee when it meets to interview the nominee for the position of Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva, does that not constitute a conflict of interest?
Furthermore, the scurrilous JDSLanka-ITJP articles against me were reproduced on the Vikalpa website which is operated by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, an NGO with which TNA Parliamentarain M.A.Sumanthiran is closely associated. (See following link: https://www.vikalpa.org/?p=36787) The outstanding issues in Geneva revolve around UNHRC Resolution 30/1 which seeks to take punitive action against the Sri Lankan armed forces for having won the war, and the September 2015 Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka and its precursor, the 2011 Report of the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts which accuse the Sri Lankan armed forces of having committed human rights violations.
The Tamil National Alliance which sits and according to JDSLanka even presides over the High Posts Committee, is on the other side of the divide and has a vested interest in ensuring that a person who can represent the government of Sri Lanka effectively does not get to Geneva. The TNA is routinely described by the international media as ‘proxies of the LTTE’ as the following examples show.
= The Hindustan Times 6 November 2006 – an article titled “Pro-LTTE Tamil Party seeks Indian aid.” states that the Tamil National Alliance supports the LTTE.
= The Economist 13 august 2009 – an article titled “Voting in the empty Tiger’s lair” states that the Tamil National Alliance used to be a proxy for the LTTE and took their orders from Velupillai Prabhakaran.
= The Colombo Telegraph: 4 September 2018 – an article by Kumarathasan Rasingam titled ‘Tamil National Alliance – a sinking ship’ states that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was formed with the blessings of LTTE leader Prabhakaran in 2002.
While the international media thus speaks of the direct link between the LTTE and the Tamil National Alliance, the LTTE for its part is portrayed as follows:
= The Economic Times 12 January 2008 – an article titled “LTTE deadlier than al Quaeda: FBI” observes that the FBI had ranked the LTTE ahead of Al Quaeda and Hamas and as the deadliest terrorist organization in the entire world.
= FBI Website 1 October 2008 – in a post titled “Taming the Tamil Tigers” asserts that the Tamil Tigers are among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world.
Thus if according to the JDSLanka website the person who had presided over the High Posts Committee on February 7th to vet Sri Lanka’s nominee to be the Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva was M.A.Sumanthiran, a politician who belongs to the TNA which according to the news reports quoted above is widely considered to be a proxy of the world’s most ruthless and blood-thirstiest terrorist organization, would that not have been a travesty of propriety? It need hardly be stressed that anybody even remotely connected to the LTTE and its offshoots will have a vested interest in seeing to it that a person who can look after Sri Lanka’s national interest within the UN Human Rights Council is not sent to Geneva.
Members of the TNA and especially individuals like M.A.Sumanthiran are connected to the NGO network that has been working against Sri Lanka both locally and in Geneva. This includes JDSLanka and ITJP which have been jointly canvassing against my appointment. I have written the most exhaustive account not just of the war, but of the entire conflict from the time it began in the 1950s till it ended in May 2009.
From that point onwards, The Island has comprehensively covered the international campaign launched against Sri Lanka. From the time the UN Secretary-General appointed a Panel of Experts to advise him on the issue of accountability with regard to allegations pertaining to the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka in June 2010, I have written extensively about the processes in the UN in relation to Sri Lanka.
It’s well known that The Island exclusively made public the contents of the 2011 Report of the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts. I have written extensively on the Resolutions that were passed against Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council in 2012, 2013 and 2014. I have also written in extensive detail on the provisions of the controversial Resolution 30/1 and its extensions 34/1 and 40/1 which the previous government co-sponsored in 2015, 2017 and 2019. I have analysed the September 2015 Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka on which Resolution 30/1 was based.
I have also analysed the implications of the local laws that the previous government introduced in fulfillment of the provisions of Resolution 30/1 such as the Office of Missing Persons Act, The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance Act and the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. In 2015, The Island exclusively made public the legal opinions and reports that six of the world’s foremost experts in the law of armed conflict, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, Desmond de Silva QC, Rodney Dixon QC, Professor David M. Crane, Prof. Michael Newton and Maj. Gen. John Holmes had provided to the government of Sri Lanka. Apart from all this, I also happen to be a journalist who has analysed in minute detail the TNA influenced draft constitution which was presented to Parliament by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe in January 2019.
For all these reasons and more, Parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran and the TNA in general because of their politics, would have cause to be displeased at the fact that I have been nominated to represent Sri Lanka in Geneva. As such there is a serious conflict of interest issue if M.A.Sumanthiran or any member of the TNA even sits on the High Posts Committee when I as the nominee for the position of Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva turn up to be interviewed. Yasmin Sooka and the anti-Sri Lanka activists in JDSLanka will make accusations against me at that end and M.A.Sumanthiran et al. will examine those accusations at this end! How is the High Posts Committee of Parliament supposed to look after Sri Lanka’s national interest in such circumstances?
Conflict of interest
Section 7(f) of the draft Code of Conduct for Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament states that “Members shall declare any private interest or conflict of interest if any, relating to their public duties and take necessary steps to resolve any conflict arising thereby in a way that the public interest is protected.” Has M.A.Sumanthiran declared as he should, that there will be a conflict of interest if he presides or even sits on the High Posts Committee when it interviews the nominee for the position of Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva? Obviously not. Even though Sri Lanka still does not have a proper code of conduct for MPs, that does not mean that they have a licence to do just as they please.
In this context, I wish to draw attention to a 2008 report to the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament titled “Various facets of misconduct and basic attributes of standards of conduct/behavior expected of Members” where conflict of interest has been defined as “a situation in which a member has knowledge of his private pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest that is sufficient to influence the exercise of his public duties and responsibilities; or a situation in which a reasonably well informed person can have a reasonable apprehension that such a conflict of interest exists.” If any member of the Tamil National Alliance presides over or even sits on the High Posts Committee when the nominee for the position of Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva turns up to be interviewed, will not any ‘reasonably well informed person’ have a reasonable apprehension that a conflict of interest exists?
The Lok Sabha report quoted above observes that the vote of a member can be challenged on the ground of personal, pecuniary or direct interest and can even be disallowed by the Speaker if, in his opinion, it has been validly challenged. Objections can also be taken to the inclusion of a member in a Parliamentary Committee on the ground that the member has a personal, pecuniary or direct interest of such an intimate character that it may with prejudice affect the consideration of any matters to be considered by the Committee. If the Speaker holds that the member in question has a personal, pecuniary or direct interest in the matter before the Committee, he ceases to be a member thereof forthwith.
The Parliamentary Research Service of the Indian Parliament states that Legislators may be required to disclose interests where they hold pecuniary interests (income from employment, shareholding, and directorship) and non-pecuniary interests (membership of an interest group). In some cases, the legislator may be asked not to participate in the discussion or vote on a topic where there may be a conflict of interest. An MP may object to another MP joining a Parliamentary Committee on the grounds that he has personal, pecuniary or direct interest. Till the Speaker’s decision, the MP cannot vote in the committee. If the Speaker decides against the MP, he shall quit as a member of the committee. Such is the practice in India.
Smear campaign
Of course, Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament can argue that we don’t have the rules that the Indian Parliament has, so we can do just as we please and ride roughshod over all notions of propriety. The JDSLanka-ITJP representations made to the High Posts Committee of Parliament against my appointment as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva contain two allegations – firstly that I was a member of a death squad called PRRA in the late 1980s, and secondly that on the instructions of Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe former Prime Minister and present leader of the United National Party, I had killed four people including two lawyers called Kanchana Abeypala and Charitha Lankapura. I categorically reject all such allegations.
If anyone asserts that I was a member of a death squad called PRRA, it is up to the person making that assertion to prove it in a court of law. Likewise, if someone claims that I had killed anybody, that too should be proved in a court of law. These alleged incidents are supposed to have taken place over 30 years ago. Twenty years ago, in 2000, there was a smear campaign orchestrated against the then Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and myself just before Parliament was dissolved for the general election of the year 2000. I was then perceived to be the media advisor to Mr Wickremesinghe. This smear campaign of 20 years ago has been revived for the collateral purpose of questioning my suitability to be the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva.
The specific allegation in the ITJP-JDSLanka representations made against me to the High Posts Committee, is that the killings of four persons including Kanchana Abeypala and Charitha Lankapura had taken place on the instructions of Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe. Those who are alleged to have been killed are supposed to be members of the JVP. Political fellow travellers of the Tamil National Alliance like the ITJP and JDSLanka have brought this issue before the High Posts Committee. Yet for the past 10 years and more, both the JVP and the TNA have worked very closely with Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe.
At the 2010 Presidentail elections, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, the JVP and the TNA all worked together in an attempt to make Gen. Sarath Fonseka the President of this country. Though they failed on that occasion, the collaboration between these parties continued and in 2015, Mr Wickremesinghe, the TNA and the JVP working together succeeded in making Mr Maithripala Sirisena President of this country. Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe then became Prime Minister and the TNA and the JVP unequivocally accepted his leadership. At a Cabinet meeting that took place on 21 January 2015, an Anti-Corruption Committee was formed under the Leadership of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. TNA leader R. Sampanthan, TNA Parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran and JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake were all members of that Committee.
JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in fact was appointed as the head of the Rapid Response Committee of that Anti-Corruption Committee headed by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. If the JVP leader had believed for one moment that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had actually instructed anyone to kill their members or sympathizers, he would not have accepted the position of Head of the Rapid Response Committee of the Anti-Corruption Committee under Wickremesinghe. Throughout the tenure of that government, the JVP and the TNA stood by Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe. When he was ousted from the position of PM in October 2018, the TNA and the JVP were right at the forefront of the campaign to have him reinstated and they succeeded in doing so.
The High Posts Committee should take note of the fact that according to the scurrilous allegation made by JDSLanka and the ITJP, it’s Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe who had given me instructions to kill the four people they have mentioned. Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe is still in Parliament and still the leader of the United National Party. I invite the High Posts Committee and particularly its TNA and JVP members to ask Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe whether at any point in the past, he gave me instructions to kill anybody. That I think, would be the best way to put this matter to rest.
The United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Relations over the travel restriction imposed on Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva.
The Government of the United States imposed travel restrictions on Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members due to credible information of his involvement in gross violations of human rights”.
However, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement, pointing out that there were no substantiated or proven allegations of human rights violations against the Army Commander and strongly objected to the travel restrictions imposed on him.
Accordingly, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka has been summoned to the Ministry tomorrow (16) to convey Sri Lanka’s stance on the matter, stated Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
We need a closure. We know how many Sri Lanka
Armed Forces personnel died or were injured during the final phase of the
conflict but the problem lies in determining the dead LTTE and dead Tamil ‘civilians’.
Confounding matters is that LTTE had a trained and armed civilian terrorist
unit. These civilians dying during hostilities with the Sri Lankan Armed Forces
CANNOT be categorized under civilian dead. Obviously ICRC, UN, UNHRC, OHCHR
& OISL and all entities on the ground during the conflict are shy to answer
how many LTTE died, how many civilian LTTE died and how many Tamil civilians
who had no role in hostilities died and more importantly how many of these
Tamil civilians were killed by LTTE or by Sri Lankan Armed Forces. Without
being able to answer these fundamental questions no one has any right to credit
all deaths to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces & accuse them of war crimes. The
British MPs writing on behalf of LTTE fronts in UK better have answers to these
questions.
Paul Scully MP as head of the All-Party
Parliamentary Group for Tamils has written to the British Foreign Secretary on
29 January 2020 has sought clarification on 3 points related to Sri Lanka’s conflict
which ended in May 2009.
Point 3 is important and certainly demands
the OMP and LLRC & MOD to combine the names and prepare a master list of
the dead/missing with details. But, it also necessitates Britain and all other
foreign countries to come clean about the Tamil refugees/asylum seekers in
their countries as well. For all we know some of the missing, presumed dead may
actually be alive and living in the UK, EU, Canada, Australia etc… we have very
valid reasons to claim this as the case of Kathiravel Thayapararaja, said to
have been tortured and killed by the Sri Lankan security forces on 13th
September 2009 (after LTTE defeat) but ended up very much alive when arrested
by Indian police in 2014 (5 years later). So for 5 years the Sri Lankan Armed
Forces had been accused of killing Thayapararaja and NONE of the accusers saw
fit to apologize to the Armed Forces & Sri Lankan Government or correct
their stories.
But who is MP Paul Scully – he may be head of
the APPG-Tamils but he was also speaking at the Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day
2018 at the Reformer’s Tree, Hyde Park, London
What is noteworthy about the APPG-for Tamils
is that its registered secretariat is the British Tamil Forum a group banned in
April 2014 at a LTTE Front using UNSC Resolution 1373 but had the ban removed
following the co-sponsored of UNHRC Resolution in September 2015 on a flimsy
excuse of ‘reconciliation’ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/180606/tamils.htm
If we go by official figures – complaints filed with the Presidential
Commission of Missing Persons has only 23,586 as of 2017, of which 5000 are
missing Sri Lankan soldiers.
Who
are the 18,586 in the Missing Persons Commission.
OMP
must release their names.
The 2011
Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission Report declared 22,247 LTTE dead
of which 11,812 had been identified by name. Has the remaining 10,435 LTTE
dead been identified and are any of these names included in the OMP list?
The UN
Country Team report gave 7721 dead – have these names been identified
The GoSL
survey at end of conflict claimed 7400 dead – have these names been identified
The
population survey done by Tamil Teachers in July 2011 revealing 7896 dead – have these names
been identified
CAN THOSE
WHO CLAIM 40,000 to 100,000 to even 200,000 submit the names of the dead?
But we can piece the puzzle of the missing or
dead if the foreign governments helped by disclosing names of Tamil refugees/asylum
seekers.
When LTTE retreated they took a lot of Tamils
to be used later as human shields & hostages.
The appeals by UNSG, UNSC and diplomats to
LTTE to release Tamil civilians is proof of this. That LTTE shot and killed
Tamils fleeing is also nothing the UN system & diplomats can deny. The
question is HOW MANY TAMILS who tried to flee did LTTE kill? These deaths
cannot be credited to the Sri Lanka Army account.
CATEGORIZING
MISSING TAMILS BY NUMBERS & IDENTIFYING THEM
How many Tamils were forcibly taken by LTTE
How many Tamils were forcibly taken by LTTE & killed for
disobeying LTTE
How many Tamils were forcibly taken by LTTE, made to
fight & died fighting
How many Tamils fighting for LTTE in civilian clothing
were left to die or shot by LTTE when injured to prevent them disclosing details
to Sri Lanka Armed Forces
How many LTTE fighters who were injured were killed by
LTTE (ex: put into buses & exploded)
How many Tamils did LTTE bury without informing their
parents?
How many unidentifiable LTTE fighters who died during
fighting were not accepted by LTTE when ICRC wanted to hand over bodies to them
and had to be buried by Sri Lanka Army (none of these can be categorized as
civilians)
How many Tamils fled the country & where did they
flee too?
How many Tamils are using UN cards & buying time to
gain residence in countries?
How many Tamils applying as asylum seekers/refugees are
kept secret by foreign govts for geopolitical arm twisting against Sri Lanka.
How many Tamils who were not involved in hostilities died
due to collateral damage as a result of both LTTE & Sri Lanka Armed Forces
exchanging fire
How many are intentionally hiding and living under a
bogus name but are claiming to be ‘missing’ in order for their families to
claim compensation?
LTTE caught shooting civilians trying to escape their area.
Can all those accusing Sri Lanka’s armed
forces of war crimes give figures and names of
LTTE killed in uniform
LTTE killed in civilian clothing
LTTE civilian armed unit killed in combat
Tamil civilians forced to fight for LTTE & dying
during hostilities
Tamil civilians trying to flee killed by LTTE
Tamil civilians who had no role in hostilities dying from
LTTE fire
Tamil civilians who had no role in hostilities dying from
Sri Lanka Armed Forces fire.
Only those who can supply proper evidence to above questions can accuse Sri Lankan Armed Forces of any war crimes – otherwise as a Nation we refuse to accept fairy tales and we will not allow our National Army be defined as war criminals for no reason.
MCC is one of the 3 pillars of US National
Security Strategy initially rolled out in 2002 (Defense, Development &
Diplomacy) ACSA and SOFA are clear US strategic military arrangements while MCC
falls into category of US national security strategy ‘development’ pillar. US national security strategy’s 3 pillars
aligns to Dept of State & USAID Joint Strategic Plan 2018-022. The 4th
pillar of the NSS (Advance American Influence”) stresses the importance of
collaboration with partners and focusing investments where the U.S. Government can
have the most impact (this is envisaged via privatizing State land for
commercial purposes with US companies and transnational companies operating the
economic corridor). By virtue of MCC Board having member of USAID – the MCC-USAID
connection is also clear. With US Secretary of State & Congress aligned to
MCC-ACSA-SOFA the connections of the 3 cannot be ignored either. Some are naïve
enough to demand to be shown in black & white how the 3 are connected! While
the 4-member Committee only subjecting their review to the clauses of MCC
Agreement, the GoSL cannot afford to ignore the geopolitical objectives of the
US aligned to its national security strategy, indo-pacific strategy and overall
objective to contain China as well as grab resources in Asia Pacific for US
& Allies. We are foolish not to connect the dots & ignore the future
dangers.
It is not a US military base that US intends to set up in Sri Lanka but a US military logistics hub (‘lily-pad concept)
In 2017 Congress passed the Reinforcing Education
Accountability in Development (READ) Act, (Division A, Public Law 115-56). US
agencies part of this ACT are U. S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor,
Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC), National Security Advisor, and Director of the
Peace Corps. These agencies will work with partner countries, other donors,
multilateral organizations, the private sector, non-government organizations
(NGOs), and faith-based institutions
around the world. The READ document features 3 players operating in Sri Lanka –
US State Dept, MCC & US Peace Corps. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/USG-Education-Strategy_FY2019-2023_Final_Web.pdf
How US
is influencing Sri Lanka
LAW ENFORCEMENT: US training &
assisting Sri Lankan officials in counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism
JUDICIARY: USAID assisting rule
of law & improve management of legal system & policy formulation in
partnership with Sri Lanka Bar Association & US Legal Aid Commission
TREASURY: US Treasury assisting
fiscal & debt challenges
AGRICULTURE: US has given $21m to
increase dairy sector
EDUCATION: US Peace Corps to
teach ‘AMERICAN’ English
MEDIA: US embassy Colombo
training journalists on access to information, types of stories covered and
improving English
PARLIAMENT/MPs: 2016, collaboration
between Sri Lanka Parliament & US House Democracy Partnership training MPs
and Parliament staff
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: USAID training local
government institutes in Eastern Province & reintegration and stabilization
in North & East
GENERAL PUBLIC: USAIDtraining democratic governance, women
and minorities
Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018
specifically calls for expanding cooperation with democratic partners in South
Asia, including Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.”
US
influence increasing since 2015 Regime Change
2018 – US ‘brilliantly succeeded’ in deploying US
Indo-Pacific Command within days of Easter Sunday attack on pretext of
assisting Sri Lanka fight ISIS.
Aug 2018 USS Anchorage and a unit of US Marines visited
Trinco port.
Dec 2018 – US set up ‘logistics hub’ to ‘receive support,
supplies & services’ for US Navy ships operating in the Indian Ocean.
Jan 2019 – US Navy’s 7th Fleet for 2nd
time carried out ‘temporary cargo transfer’ using Bandaranaiake International Commercial
Airport to move supplies to US aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis located in
Trinco (Colombo-Trinco connecting by air) US Military craft did not come under
Sri Lanka Civil Aviation Authority but was landing on Sri Lankan soil &
over Sri Lankan airspace & were levies paid or waivered – if an accident/crime
happened who would adjudicate?
23 Jan 2019 US Embassy Colombo “The United
States Navy is doing a cargo transfer operation at Sri Lanka’s main
international airport under a plan to use the island’s location to make it a
MILITARY LOGISTICS HUB”
Jan2019 Commenting on the cargo transfer operation – 7th
Fleet’s Logistics Readiness Cell Chief Lt. Austin Gage says “We are
generating standard operating procedures to optimize our supply chain to be
more agile and mobile and utilize strategic locations in the Indian
Ocean.”
USS John C. Stennis Leverages Logistics Hub in Sri Lanka –
(US Navy website) https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=108052
September 2019 Taking advantage of a growing naval partnership with Sri Lanka,
the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) established a
logistics hub in Sri Lanka to receive support, supplies and services at sea”
Dec 2019 – USS John C Stennis visits Trinco Port as part
of Pentagon’s plans to establish a logistics hub for US Navy. A Mass
Communication Specialist on board USS John C. Stennis in a dispatch to the US
Navy official web portal wrote: The primary purpose of the operation is to
provide mission-critical supplies and services to U.S. Navy ships transiting
through and operating in the Indian Ocean. The secondary purpose is to
demonstrate the U.S. Navy’s ability to establish a temporary logistic hum ashore
where no enduring U.S. Navy logistic footprint exists.”
The primary purpose of the operation is to provide
mission-critical supplies and services to U.S. Navy ships transiting through
and operating in the Indian Ocean,” said Lt. Bryan Ortiz, John C. Stennis’ stock
control division officer. The secondary purpose is to demonstrate the U.S.
Navy’s ability to establish a temporary logistics hub ashore where no enduring
U.S. Navy logistics footprint exists.”
SOFA allows US personnel rights & privilege in a host
country
Status of Forces Agreement includes access to
facilities free of charge, right to own and operate telecommunication systems
and use of radio spectrum, waiver of claims for damages and losses including
death, disputes to be settled by consultation and not through any national or
international court.
SOFA establishes the rights and privileges of
US personnel present in a country in support of the larger security
arrangement.
Draft text of SOFA leaked via Sunday Times. Provisions
in the SOFA include, the wearing of uniforms, taxes and fees, carrying of
weapons, use of radio frequencies, licences, and customs regulations.
Washington was ‘pushing hard’ to sign SOFA which
Pentagon traditionally demanded as pre-requisite to establishing military bases
in foreign countries (M K Bhadrakumar Jul2019)
ACSA allows US logistics & supplies usage in a host
country
Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement
(ACSA), the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and Millennium Challenge Compact
(MCC) are agreements integral to US national security and self-defense
strategies
ACSA provides for joint military cooperation
between Sri Lanka and the US and includes logistic support, supplies, services
and the use of airports and ports during „unforeseen circumstances‟. ACSAs also allows visiting military forces to receive
logistic support in the form of supplies; petroleum; transportation; base
operations support; use of repair and maintenance facilities; and access to
airfields and ports.
The 2007 ACSA required renewal but the 2017 ACSA signed by Ranil Govt &
contents not disclosed to the Public or Parliament does not require renewal.
This would be the FIRST TIME foreign US/Allied troops would be permitted to freely
roam the country in uniform, carrying weapons and communications equipment.
Note IPKF was confined ONLY to war torn areas of North/East.
Sri Lanka has no authority to take any legal
action against US troops in Sri Lanka for any crime or abuse committed by them.
While China’s presence in Sri Lanka and
Hambantota Port, the US ACSA and SOFA are purely military for servicing US
personnel (uniformed and civil) as well as contractors.
Article 1 (4) The Government of Sri Lanka shall bear such share of the costs of the Peace Corps program incurred in Sri Lanka” HOW MUCH ?
MCC: AID as part of US National Security Strategy
ACSA Sri Lanka was signed on August 4, 2017
MCC is a US Government entity. Its Board is
headed by the US Secretary of State and includes Secretary of the Treasury,
USAID, US Trade Representative and private sector officials. MCC Grants are
funded by US Congress.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is
requesting $800 million for fiscal year (FY) 2019, to support compacts in
Tunisia, Burkina Faso, and Sri Lanka……… This request will advance U.S. values
and interests overseas”
Sri Lanka’s compact will focus on
modernizing the country’s transportation and land management sectors. These interventions are aimed at
reducing transport bottlenecks and congestion in the Western Province and
between the Western Province and other regions; and optimizing the use of state lands for commercial purposes.”
We have explained that the Indo-Pacific Strategy is the
name we give to US policy. It describes what we Americans strive to do to
protect and advance a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific Region,” US
Ambassador Randy Berry to Nepal on MCC.
Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia David J Ranz, said that the Millennium Challenge Corporation(MCC)where the US has
put $500 million in grant to Nepal is
part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy
Foreign Aid component is a key component of a
comprehensive US national security strategy and every bit important as
investment in military power (Is the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Overstating Its Impact by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign
Affairs. Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment)
ACSA signing was mooted by Prasad Kariyawasam
who unknown to all was employed by the US federal government backed Agency for
International Development (USAID) but working inside Sri Lanka’s Parliament.
M K Bhadrakumar says that US interference is ‘destabilizing’
Sri Lanka and that it is happening only because of ‘India’s passivity bordering
acquiescence’ – it is unfortunate that India is going to be held accountable by
Asia for destabilizing entire Asian continent.
WHAT IF family member end up working for MCC-PEACE CORPS in Sri Lanka & all are entitled to IMMUNITIES and TAX EXEMPTIONS?
Sri Lanka has taken strong objection to the imposition of travel restrictions on Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members by the Government of the United States, based on independently unverified information.
The media release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published today (14), noted that Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva was appointed as the Commander of the Army by the then-Head of State, taking into account his seniority and that there were no substantiated or proven allegations of human rights violations against him.
His elevation as the Acting Chief of Defence Staff by the current Head of State President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on account of his being the senior-most serving military officer,” it read further.
The Sri Lankan government also pointed out that the timing of this travel restriction six months after Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva’s appointment as the Army Chief is concerning.
It is disappointing that a foreign government should question the prerogative of the democratically elected President to call upon persons with proven expertise to hold key positions on national security-related matters,” the statement continued.
The Government of Sri Lanka has accordingly requested the United States to verify the authenticity of the sources of information and to review its decision.
The State Department of the United States today (14) designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva due to credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s Civil War in 2009.”
The press statement of the State Department noted that this measure was taken under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.
Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in a gross violation of human rights or significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.”
Hence, the immediate family members of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva were also publicly designated and barred from entering the country
The State Department of the United States has designated the Commander of Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva due to credible information of his involvement in gross violations of human rights”.
The press statement published by the State Department read that it will designate Shavendra Silva’s immediate family members as well.
The State Department’s complete statement is as follows:
The Department of State has designated Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Acting Chief of Defense Staff, as required under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, due to credible information of his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings, by the 58th Division of the Sri Lanka Army during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s Civil War in 2009.
Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign officials have been involved in a gross violation of human rights or significant corruption, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States. The law also requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the public designation of Shavendra Silva, the Department is also designating his immediate family members.
The allegations of gross human rights violations against Shavendra Silva, documented by the United Nations and other organizations, are serious and credible. His designation underscores the importance we place on human rights in Sri Lanka and globally, our concern over impunity for human rights violations and abuses, as well as our support for promoting accountability for those who engage in such acts. We urge the Sri Lankan government to promote human rights, hold accountable individuals responsible for war crimes and human rights violations, advance security sector reform, and uphold its other commitments to pursue justice and reconciliation.
We deeply value our partnership with the Sri Lankan government and the long-standing democratic tradition we share with the Sri Lankan people. The United States remains committed to strengthening the bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka and helping reshape its security forces to tackle current and emerging threats. Security cooperation will continue to emphasize respect for human rights as a fundamental component of our training, assistance, and engagements.
The United States will continue to use all available tools and authorities, as appropriate, to address human rights violations and abuses around the world no matter when they occurred or who perpetrated them. Today’s actions underscore our commitment to support human rights, promote accountability for perpetrators, and encourage reconciliation in support of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Sri Lanka.
Discussing the subject matter on Pathikada program today to try and figure out the large sums of money lost by the National Airline as a result of irregular Commissions availed of by the CEO and other unknown parties holding positions on the Airline’s Board and politicians who played role in the original order from AirBus and subsequent decision to cancel a segment of the original order resulting in penalties to be borne by the airline and payment of commissions to those negotiating terms with the supplier.
This ill-conceived order based on earning commissions by high ups and subsequent cancellation resulting in huge penalties, plus personal commissions extracted from the debt-ridden airline coming on top of the Central Bank Bond Scam is a double whammy that would sink the airline and the public who will be required to make good such losses.
The authorities concerned should get to the bottom of
this scandalous robbery and ensure that the monies wrongly obtained are
recovered and due punishment meted out. Your suggestion to withhold
voting any politician tainted with such dishonest conduct, and electing those
free of any wrongdoing or corruption will serve the nation well.
The LINK to the Pathikada discussion is given below.
Cabinet spokesman, Minister Bandula Gunawardana said today the family members who accompanied Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on his visit to India last week had spent their own money for air tickets and accommodations.
He said this in response to a journalist at today’s weekly cabinet news briefing asking who footed the bill of the family members.
Former parliamentarian Mohamed Mussammil, today (13), lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) against former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.
The complaint has been lodged regarding the illegal transfers of money to a bank account of Bathiudeen in the United States.
It was recently revealed that Rishad Bathiudeen has been credited with US $ 100,000 to an American bank account between October 26 and December 16, 2018, when he was the Minister of Industry and Commerce.
Bridges must be built to create peace instead of creating distances between communities, says President’s Counsel Ali Sabry.
He expressed these views addressing a function held at Zahira College in Maradana last evening (12).
We in this country live in great fear and doubt of each other.
Muslims are always in fear that there would be an issue for them. On the other hand Sinhalese wonder when another bomb would blast. Both sides have fear.
We should build bridges to overcome this fear.
If we can get together and talk to each other, we will realize that no one in this country is conspiring against others.
And that all just want to develop the country in peace.”
The President and the Cabinet of Ministers will stand up for the District Forest Officer of Gampaha, who refused to bend the laws to construct a playground in a mangrove land in Negombo, says Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana.
He stated this addressing the media briefing held this morning (13) to announce Cabinet decisions.
The government always stands up for public servants who act according to the law, the minister said continued.
During a meeting in Negombo, chaired by State Minister of Fisheries and Inland Fisheries Industry Sanath Nishantha on Monday (10), a group of residents of the area had demanded the construction of a Volleyball playground in part of the preserved mangrove land and engaged in a verbal clash with the said female District Forest Officer.
A video of the meeting went viral in which District Forest Officer, who stood her ground, could be seen flatly refusing to bend the law for this purpose despite the pressurization from the State Minister and the villagers.
The District Forest Officer emphasized the fact that the proposed land is preserved and belongs to the government and pointed out the need to protect ecosystems in the country.
The OIC of the Colombo Crimes Division informed the Court today that he has not yet received necessary legal advice to arrest the interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya.
The case regarding telephone conversations between MP Ranjan Ramanayake and interdicted High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya was taken for hearing before Nugegoda Additional Magistrate H.U.K. Pelpola.
The Colombo Crimes Division OIC Neville De Silva said that since he has not received any legal instructions so far, he is not ready to obtain an arrest warrant on Judge Pilapitiya today as well.
Anyhow, the Attorney General’s Department informed the Court yesterday that the Acting IGP is not taking any action regarding this incident based on instructions issued by the Attorney General.
A President Counsel, Ali Sabri, who appeared for High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya stated that the chairman of the Bar Association president counsel Kalinga Indratissa has informed him and another 5 president counsels to look into this case and report the facts to him.
Later, Nugegoda Magistrate ordered to call the case again on February 26th.
(A Paper Published by the Sri Lanka Geo- Political Study Circle)
/contd from Part 1
Reading the draft MCC Agreement, America’s plan for Sri Lanka is clearly evident; their plan is to take-over Sri Lanka’s Land and subjugate the Island Nation to the US by replacing, Sri Lanka’s Parliament, Sri Lanka’s Administration and Sri Lanka’s Judiciary (in all matters and in all geographical locations connected with the American project) with a MCC-Parliament, a MCC-Judiciary and a MCC-Administration. (See Annex 1, page 34 of the draft MCC Agreement).
The initial American Landgrab of Sri Lanka’s territory begins with the 2-Million Acre Corridor from TCO to CBO, the two Ports in TCO and CBO and all land covered by the proposed Japanese Monorail transport system, the latter under the MCC transport component.
The TCO-CBO
Corridor coveted by the Americans is replete with minerals and other resources.
Furthermore, the area is a treasure trove of Sri Lanka’s rich cultural
heritage.
The draft MCC
Agreement has not included a Cultural map of the land, in the US desired
Corridor, that would reflect the precious history and heritage of our country
which would be lost forever if the Agreement is signed.
Not included
either in the draft MCC Agreement is a detailed economic map of the US
‘focus-of-interest’ Corridor, indicating the values, the quantities, the
qualities, the depths and extents of the diverse resources and minerals found
therein.
And gallingly,
there is no environmental report on, how these minerals and resources should be
extracted, what impact the extraction of such minerals and resources would have
on the environment .
Is there a
business plan on how the wealth from the minerals and other resources would be
shared?
If the draft
MCC Agreement is signed, brought before Parliament and, in Parliament, a 2/3
majority obtained in favour of the draft Agreement, the Government would invoke
Article 157 of the Constitution. From that point on, the MCC Agreement cannot
be retracted.
Article 157
lurks insignificantly, but menacingly, in the Constitution. It permits the
conditions laid out in an Agreement – such as the draft MCC Agreement – to have
the full force of the law once a resolution is appropriately passed in
Parliament.
Article 157 of
the Constitution arguably allows the Constitution to be changed without getting
the people’s mandate at a referendum.
Gotabaya’s waffly conduct continues to worry about the people of Sri Lanka. Is this one of the prime reasons why Gotabaya is asking for a 2/3rd majority in Parliament so that he can obviate the need to go before the people and get their mandate if the Agreement is signed?
The Americans
appear to be jubilant at the way the Country is slithering forward.
In the run-up to the Presidential Election, Gotabaya posed off as the champion of the anti-MCC Movement. But his subsequent conduct, after being elected, suggests that he had deliberately hoodwinked the 5.9 Million people who voted for him.
Gotabaya
appears to be suffering from a, ‘To-Hell-with-The-People’ syndrome, a common
post-election condition that affects politicians across the board; his mind is
now fogged. He does not know whether the MCC is inimical to the interest of the
Country or not.
In a sneaky
move, Gotabaya has attempted to shy away from his responsibility by setting up,
on 20 Dec 19, a committee of four to decide on the merits and demerits of the
draft MCC Agreement.
The Committee
is headed by Gunaruwan from the pen of Western Economics; he is no stranger to
the Pathfinder Foundation.
Gotabaya should
have known better; he cannot delegate responsibility. Indeed, when he went to
battle on 16 Nov 19 and championed the anti-MCC cause on behalf of the Sri
Lankan people, the people justifiably imagined that he had studied the
battlefield thoroughly.
Gunaruwan and
his committee will be submitting their report only after the General Elections,
But, by reading
just annex 1 (page 34) of the draft MCC Agreement, not to speak of the other
sections of the Agreement laden with more sell-out clauses, it is glaringly
obvious to even the ‘not-so-erudite’ that the draft MCC Agreement is a total
sell-out of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty to the Americans.
It does not
take 10 minutes to read, understand and digest annex 1 (Page 34) of the draft
MCC Agreement to perceive the danger to the Country.
This Study
Circle exhorts the Committee to issue an interim report immediately, to warn
the Government against signing the draft MCC Agreement and, to make the
contents of that interim report available to the People. The main report can
follow, as was previously instructed.
It needs no
emphasis that the Committee functions with the largesse of the people’s money
and it is their country that is under attack, due to a secret deal made by the
politicians and the Americans.
This is the
opportunity for the Committee to take their stand and save our Motherland; the
people stand solidly behind you just as much as they would with the Survey
Department which has been tasked unfairly by the Americans to accelerate the
survey of the TCO-CBO Corridor in order to accelerate the issue of a million
Land Grants.
Without
appropriate survey maps, the million Land Grants cannot be issued and without
Land Grants, the MCC is stymied.
This is the
opportunity for the committee of four to underline their integrity and have
their names written in Gold in the pages of Sri Lanka’s history for saving Sri
Lanka. They and their families will be revered by all Sri Lankans and the
unborn generations to come.
The cost of
conducting a Presidential Election is heavy and this burden is borne by the
people of this country.
If the
presumption given afore, about Gotabaya posing off as a Champion in the anti
MCC campaign and his subsequent selective amnesia is accurate, Gotabaya has
deliberately misled the people; his (and his team’s) dishonesty about a crucial
issue affecting the future of the Country has made the Election meaningless and
he has thereby subverted democracy.
Going on the
same presumption re Gotabaya’s conduct, as far as the people are concerned, the
money expended on the Election has been spent on a meaningless exercise, made
meaningless by Gotabaya and his teams’ seemingly dishonest disposition.
The people
opine that Gotabaya and his team in such a scenario should account to the
people for this colossal waste of their money.
We, in this
study circle, hope and pray that our presumptions are inaccurate
Some people are
posing the question today. Is Gotabaya a Crypto-American?
Gotabaya,
albeit a good Administrator, is politically naïve; his naivete has been
frequently exposed when making Reagan-like public utterances.
A classic gaffe
is about Sri Lanka being a Neutral country when the Country’s committed policy,
as a founding member of the Movement, is one of Non-Alignment.
‘Neutrality’
may be his personal opinion perhaps; but the people do not give a toss for his
personal opinion. He is the people’s representative and he must be mindful of
the people’s opinion. He has not been empowered by the people to change a
Country’s Foreign Policy according to his whims and fancies.
Or was that
remark made on the advice of his mercenary American-advisors whom Gotabaya has
surrounded himself with? It appears that the ‘Pathfinder’ Foundation is
Provided by Daily
News (via HT Media Ltd.) President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
receives the ‘Study on Managing Foreign Policy and Relations with the UN
System’ from Pathfinder Foundation Chairman Bernard Goonetilleke.
educating Gotabaya on
the rudiments of Foreign Policy
As a
politician, Gotabaya does not have a vote base to speak of; he came to power on
the shoulders of Mahinda Rajapakse, a charismatic personality who has a genuine
feel for his Motherland.
People recall
with pride how Mahinda handled Miliband, Kouchner and Blake during the critical
stages of the terrorist war.
Mahinda is a
hero in the eyes of the Sri Lankan people; a part of that shine rubbed off on
Gotabaya, because of his good Administration, during the war against Eelam
terrorism. The Rajapakse name is consequently etched in the hearts of Sri
Lanka’s rural families.
But from hero
to zero is but a step away. One act of treachery, like Gotabaya signing the
draft MCC Agreement and surrendering the Country to the Americans, would tar
all Rajapakses with the same brush; it would drag the Rajapakse name from its
revered pedestal into the dust bin of Sri Lanka’s history.
Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) yesterday urged the Commission of Elections to expand postal voting to cover private-sector workers. Writing to the Commission, CaFFE Executive Director, Manas Makeen said that people’s interest in voting at general, provincial and local council elections is less, compared to Presidential Election.
“Therefore people employed at essential services in the private sector are not that interested in returning home to vote. Those in the private sector are given leave, calculated according to the distance to their home from the office. However, this only allows time to reach home, vote and return. This is not an attractive proposition to those who have to travel long distances,” Makeen said in the letter.
Expanding the postal vote for those employed in private hospitals, security firms, hotels, and garments would allow these workers to cast their vote with ease. Given that a general and provincial council election is to be held this year, CaFFE urged the Elections Commission to consider their request.
A Simmering controversy over massive kickbacks received by former CEO of SriLankan Airlines Kapila Chandrasena and his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayaka to influence the acquisition of 10 airbuses and leasing of four other aircraft and the subsequent termination of the leasing agreements for three aircraft, A 350-900, has taken a new turn with a revelation that the then Public Enterprise Minister Kabir Hashim informed the Cabinet that the national carrier on Oct 04, 2016, had finalized three early termination agreements without the approval of the line ministry (Public Enterprise Development), the Cabinet and the Attorney General.
Chandrasena and his wife are in remand pending investigations. They are to be produced before the Fort Magistrate’s court again on Feb. 19.
Sources said that the national carrier had sought Cabinet approval on Oct 28, 2016, to terminate leasing agreements, more than three weeks after finalising them.
The total amount of compensation paid to AerCap leasing Company was not known yet though SriLankan referred to USD 98 mn as the payment in case certain conditions were met by the airline, but the paper presented by the airline placed the amount at USD 154 mn, sources said.
The national carrier initiated re-fleeting project during the 2010-2015 Rajapaksa administration and the termination of leasing contracts on three aircraft was effected during the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration.
Although Public Enterprise Development Minister Hashim, on President Maithripala Sirisena’s advice, on Feb 02, 2017, briefed the Cabinet on the termination of aircraft leasing agreements, the government refrained from initiating an inquiry.
UNP MP Mujibur Rahman recently called for the setting up of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to probe the Sri Lankan re-fleeting plan.
SriLankan negotiated with AerCap though original agreements had been reached with International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). Neither the line ministry nor the Cabinet was not informed why SriLankan had negotiated with AerCap in the absence of any provision to do so in terms of the original agreements with the ILFC.
All papers related to the termination of leasing agreements hadn’t been submitted to Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) and the Cabinet.
According a memorandum dated Feb 08, 2017 submitted to the Cabinet, in response to President Sirisena’s directive, the Finance Ministry, on Oct 26, 2016, outlined the process followed by the national carrier in termination of the lease agreements. However, the line ministry hadn’t been involved in the decision making process, sources said, adding that SriLankan was on record as having informed the Cabinet that it gone ahead with the termination as the Finance Ministry raised no objections.
SriLankan also claimed that the Prime Minister, too, had approved the process, according to the Cabinet paper dated Feb 02, 2020.
The line ministry received a copy of the termination agreement late January 2017, three months after the signing of it.
AerCap forfeited USD 7.5 mn paid as a security deposit. Inquiries revealed that the aircraft lease termination had been carried out under controversial circumstances with the line ministry informing the Cabinet that commercial agreements entered into by the national carrier didn’t require approval the Attorney General’s approval.
India’s Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing and ratification of the protocol amending the agreement between India and Sri Lanka for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion in respect to taxes on income.
The move entails the updation of preamble text and inclusion of Principal Purpose Test, a general anti-abuse provision in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), which will result in curbing of tax planning strategies which exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules.
An official release said that the existing DTAA between India and Sri Lanka was signed on January 22, 2013, and came into force on October 22 that year.
India and Sri Lanka are members of the Inclusive Framework and are required to implement the minimum standards under G-20 OECD BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) Action Reports in respect of their DTAAs with Inclusive Framework countries.
Minimum standards under BEPS Action 6 can be met through the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) or through agreement bilaterally.
India is a signatory to the MLI. However, Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the MLI as of now.
Therefore, amendment of the India-Sri Lanka DTAA bilaterally is required to update the preamble and also to insert Principal Purpose Test (PPT) provisions to meet the minimum standards on treaty abuse under Action 6 of G-20 OECD BEPS project,” the release said.
