{"id":115605,"date":"2021-06-28T15:41:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T22:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=115605"},"modified":"2021-06-28T15:41:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T22:41:14","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-20-c-9a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/06\/28\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-20-c-9a\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY   Part 20 C 9A"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>The War\ncrimes\u2019 charge, with its wild claims of excessive deaths needed international\nsupport. Therefore Eelamists pushed for \u2018impartial\u2019 reports on Eelam War IV\n(2006-2009).The result was four reports which discussed the war crimes of Eelam\nWar IV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Report of\nthe Secretary-General&#8217;s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri&nbsp;&nbsp; Lanka (Darusman&nbsp; report), March 2011 <\/li><li>the Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation, (LLRC report) November 2011<\/li><li>The Report on the second mandate of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Into complaints of abductions\nand disappearances (Paranagama\nreport) August 2015.<\/li><li>Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL report) September 2015. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LLRC REPORT.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Commission of Inquiry on\nLessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LRRC) was appointed by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/President_of_Sri_Lanka\">&nbsp;President<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mahinda_Rajapaksa\">Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/a> in May 2010.\nThe report was completed in November 2011, published in December 2011, and\ntabled in&nbsp;&nbsp; Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LLRC\nwas composed of eight members. *<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/C._R._De_Silva\">C. R. De\nSilva<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/President%27s_Counsel_(Sri_Lanka)\">PC<\/a>\n(chairman)&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Attorney_General_of_Sri_Lanka\">Attorney General<\/a> (2007\u201309), <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Solicitor_General_of_Sri_Lanka\">Solicitor General<\/a> (1999\u20132007).\n* <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A._Rohan_Perera\">A. Rohan\nPerera<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/President%27s_Counsel_(Sri_Lanka)\">PC<\/a>&nbsp; former legal advisor to the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Sri_Lanka)\">Ministry of Foreign Affairs<\/a> and&nbsp; Chairman of the United Nations Ad Hoc\nCommittee on <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comprehensive_Convention_on_International_Terrorism\">Comprehensive\nConvention on International Terrorism<\/a> and member\nof the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Law_Commission\">International Law Commission<\/a>.*\nKarunaratne Hangawatte, Professor of Criminal Justice at the Department of\nCriminal Justice, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/University_of_Nevada,_Las_Vegas\">University of Nevada, Las Vegas<\/a> and former\nconsultant to the United Nations<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lessons_Learnt_and_Reconciliation_Commission#cite_note-18\">[<\/a> *Chandirapal\nChanmugam, Secretary to the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ministry_of_Finance_and_Planning_(Sri_Lanka)\">Treasury<\/a>\n(1987\u201388).*Manohari Ramanathan ,former Deputy Legal Draftsman and former member\nof the Monetary Board of Sri Lanka *Maxwell Paranagama, former High Court Judge\n*M. T. M. Bafiq, Senior Attorney at law and member of the Human Rights\nCommission of Sri Lanka. and *<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/H._M._G._S._Palihakkara\">H. M. G. S. Palihakkara<\/a>, former\nSecretary, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ministry_of_Foreign_Affairs_(Sri_Lanka)\">Ministry of Foreign Affairs<\/a> and former\nPermanent Representative to the United Nations 2008-2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The commission was asked to inquire and report on the following matters that may have\ntaken place during the period between 21st February 2002 and 19th May 2009,\nnamely;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nfacts and circumstances which led to the failure of the Ceasefire Agreement\noperationalized on 21st February 2002 and the sequence of events that followed\nthereafter up to the 19th of May 2009;<\/li><li>&nbsp;Whether any person, group or institution\ndirectly or indirectly bear responsibility in this regard;<\/li><li>. The\nlessons we would learn from those events and their attendant concerns, in order\nto ensure that there will be no recurrence;<\/li><li>&nbsp;The methodology whereby restitution to pay\npersons affected by those events or their dependants or their heirs, can be\neffected;<\/li><li>&nbsp;The institutional, administrative and\nlegislative measures which need to be taken in order to prevent any recurrence\nof such concerns in the future, and to promote further national unity and\nreconciliation among communities and; to make any such other recommendations with\nreference to any of the matters that have been inquired into under the terms of\nthe Warrant.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These terms\nof reference\u201d call for comment. They imply that the Ceasefire Agreement, which\ncreated an embryo Eelam, was acceptable.&nbsp;&nbsp;\nAlso that the Government of Sri Lanka was wrong in waging war and must\nnow pay reparation to the secessionists.&nbsp;\nPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa should not have taken this position.&nbsp; As President of Sri Lanka, he is expected to\nuphold the unity of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Eelam war\nwas a&nbsp; war of secession, between the\nlegitimate government of Sri Lanka and a bogus ethnic group, (\u2018Ceylon\nTamil\u2019)&nbsp;&nbsp; occupying a critical parcel of\nland (Trincomalee port, Pulmoddai sands, Mannar oil) and taking to arms with\nthe support of a foreign country.&nbsp; Such\ncivil wars, based on international power politics have taken place in many\ncountries. Eelam is part of this pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further, the\nTamil demand for secession&nbsp;&nbsp; was nothing\nnew and the Eelam war should not have come as a surprise. The call for Eelam\nwas made in the 1940s, soon after independence.&nbsp;\nTamil politicians created the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi in 1949.\u201d\nIllankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi\u201d (ITAK) means \u2018Tamil State Party of Sri Lanka \u2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore&nbsp;&nbsp; in my view, the President should not have\nappointed the LLRC. Not only were the terms of reference faulty, but they were\nalso too broad for one committee. The Commission did its best. It conducted\nhearings and issued a report of 388 pages.&nbsp;\nThe report was heavily criticized by the Tamil Separatist Movement and\nSri Lanka does not&nbsp;&nbsp; seem to have acted\non it, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nInternational Crisis Group was one of the many NGOs that were highly critical\nof the LLRC report. The ICG is a&nbsp;&nbsp;\nleading,&nbsp;&nbsp; hyper- active,\npro-Eelam NGO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;ICG said, The LLRC\u2019s conclusions are\nuntenable for several reasons. First, it is obvious throughout the report that\nit considered only the materials the government chose to place before it. There\nwas no independent assessment of the full scope of information in the\ngovernment\u2019s possession \u2013 including all communications with the UN, ICRC and\nsources in the conflict zone, as well as other evidence from government and\ninternational sources, such as uncensored satellite images and footage from the\nmilitary\u2019s unmanned drones. Similarly, the record before the LLRC is inadequate\nto draw conclusions ruling out unlawful attacks when there are thousands of\nwitnesses who did not come forward, partly because of the lack of witness\nprotection, and when there is no indication that the LLRC had physical access\nto the final war zone where most of the civilian casualties occurred. Those\nareas have been off limits to everyone but the military since the end of\nhostilities.\u201d&nbsp; (end of quote)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DARUSMAN REPORT. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second, report, Report of the Secretary-General&#8217;s Panel of Experts\non Accountability in Sri Lanka &nbsp;&nbsp;is known at the \u2018Darusman report\u2019 or \u2018PoE report\u2019. The panel consisted of Marzuki\nDarusman, (Chairman) former Attorney General of Indonesia, Yasmin Sooka, High\ncourt judge, South Africa and Steven R. Ratner, Professor of Law, University of\nMichigan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Panel\nwas asked to advise the&nbsp;&nbsp; UN&nbsp; Secretary General on\u2019 the modalities,\napplicable international standards and comparative experience&nbsp; relevant to the&nbsp; fulfillment of the joint commitment to an\naccountability process having regard to the nature and scope of the alleged\nviolations\u2019. The Panel focused\non the period between September 2008 and May 2009 in the Eelam War IV as this\nwas the final military offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Panel was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in June 2010. &nbsp;The\nPanel started investigation in September 2010 and the report appeared in&nbsp;&nbsp; September 2011. It is a voluminous report of nearly 200 pages, said analysts.\nAbout 80 pages are appendices and the text is around 120 pages. The most\nimportant section is p 20-51 where the Panel looks at allegations of war crimes\nand human rights violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As soon\nas he received the report, the Secretary General sent it &nbsp;on to the UN Human\nRights Council and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights .\nThere, the report hit a snag. The report had not been authorized by the UNHRC or\nany other UN body. &nbsp;UNHRC therefore\nrefused to recognize it as a UN document and&nbsp;&nbsp;\n&nbsp;did not give it a UN document\nnumber. The Darusman Report does not carry a UN document number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sri\nLanka had&nbsp;&nbsp; told the Secretary\nGeneral,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; well before he appointed the\nPanel,&nbsp;&nbsp; that such a Panel could only be\nappointed with the approval of either the UN Security Council, UN General\nAssembly or the UN Human rights Council.<em> <\/em>Secretary\nGeneral&nbsp; &nbsp;took no notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\nis clearly a compelling motivation for the Secretary General of the UN to go to\nsuch an extent in violating UN regulations, observed Neville Ladduwahetty.&nbsp; This step had been taken, perhaps with the\nplanned intent to serve the agenda of the member states on whose behalf the\nSecretary General was acting. The\nSecretary General is not going to take this step without some motivation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Secretary\nGeneral initially said the Panel was set up only to advise him and that it was\nnot an investigative or even a fact finding body. However, the way the Panel\nset about it, makes it clear that this was an investigation all right, said\nChandraprema. Allegations against the government are, &nbsp;that it killed civilians through wide spread\nshelling,&nbsp; shelled hospitals and other\ncivilians objects,&nbsp; denied humanitarian\nassistance &nbsp;and &nbsp;did not look after IDPs when the war&nbsp; ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nmain purpose of this Panel report was to legitimize the submissions made to the\nPanel by interested parties, observed Ladduwahetty. This data would be the\ngroundwork for the next phase. That phase is unlikely to be through the\nSecurity Council, because&nbsp;&nbsp; some of its\nmembers will use the veto.&nbsp; So they will\nprobably go thought the Human Rights Council in Geneva, he concluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UN\nSecretary General sent a copy of the Report to Sri Lanka.\nThe Government of Sri Lanka&nbsp;&nbsp; rejected\nthe report, saying it was fundamentally flawed. But the\nTamil Separatist Movement loved this report. It contained all the data and\nutterances that the Tamil Separatist Movement needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nDarusman Report became the basis of the \u2018war crimes\u2019 dances performed by the\nTamil Separatist Movement. Its contents have been quoted over and over again.\nThey were used in reports, declarations, &nbsp;statements and also in Channel Four\ndocumentaries. The Darusman Report quickly became\npart of the modus operandi of the Eelam project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nmy discussion on the Darusman Report. see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/04\/15\/the-darusman-report-part-1\/\">https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/04\/15\/the-darusman-report-part-1\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/04\/16\/the-darusman-report-part-2\/\">https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/04\/16\/the-darusman-report-part-2\/<\/a>\n(continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KAMALIKA PIERIS The War crimes\u2019 charge, with its wild claims of excessive deaths needed international support. Therefore Eelamists pushed for \u2018impartial\u2019 reports on Eelam War IV (2006-2009).The result was four reports which discussed the war crimes of Eelam War IV. They are Report of the Secretary-General&#8217;s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri&nbsp;&nbsp; Lanka (Darusman&nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}