Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Final draft of the resolution on Sri Lanka tabled at UNHRC, eliminates India’s complicity in war
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 25, Geneva: The final draft of the resolution on Sri Lanka sponsored by the United States, the United Kingdom and three other countries was submitted to the 25th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva this morning .
The sponsors submitted the revisions and amendments to the resolution HRC25 “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” before today’s deadline. The Council will vote on the resolution Wednesday, March 26.
The draft of the revised resolution, which specified a time period to investigate the alleged human rights violations, was circulated among the member states of the UNHRC Monday.
The revised version requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to undertake a comprehensive independent investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka, during the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), and establish the facts and circumstances of such alleged violations and of the crimes perpetrated with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring accountability, with assistance from relevant experts and special procedures.
The revised draft limits the time period for the OHCHR to conduct the investigations to the period covered by the LLRC which investigated the incidents from February, 2002 to May, 2009.
The more recent time period specified by the resolution means the numerous suicide bombings, massacres and other atrocities committed by the Tamil Tiger terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before 2002 during the three-decade long war, as well as the violations by the Indian Peace keeping Force (IPKF) in the late 80s will not be investigated.
The Sri Lankan government has stressed that it is grossly unfair to investigate only the last phase of the war and constantly called for a comprehensive investigation during the whole three decades of war if an international inquiry were to be conducted.
However, the text of the final version of the resolution formulated with the help of India effectively eliminates any probe on India’s complicity in Sri Lanka’s terrorist war.
Following is the text of the revised draft resolution HRC#25.
Draft resolution HRC 25 24 March 2014 25/1. Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka
The Human Rights Council,
1. Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
2. Guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant instruments,
3. Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,
4. Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1, on institution-building of the Council, and 5/2, on the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders, of 18 June 2007,
5. Recalling also Human Rights Council resolutions 19/2 of 22 March 2012 and 22/1 of 21 March 2013 on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka,
5 bis. Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka,
6. Reaffirming that it is the responsibility of each State to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of its entire population,
7. Reaffirming also that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, as applicable,
8. Recognizing the Human Rights Council’s support of Reaffirming that all Sri Lankans to are entitled to the full enjoyment of their human rights regardless of creed, faith religion, belief, or ethnicity, in a peaceful and unified land,
9. Welcoming and acknowledging the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, and resettling the majority of internally displaced persons, but noting nonetheless that considerable work lies ahead in the areas of justice, reconciliation, land use and ownership demilitarization, the resumption of livelihoods and the restoration of normality in civilian life, and stressing the importance of the full participation of local populations, including representatives of civil society and minorities, in these efforts,
Welcoming the announcement made by the Government of Sri Lanka that elections to the Provincial Council in the Northern Province will be held in September 2013,
10. Welcoming the successful holding of Provincial Council elections held on September 21, 2013 and in particular the high turn-out and participation in all three provinces, but noting with concern reports of election-related violence, as well as voter and candidate intimidation,
11. Expressing appreciation for the efforts and cooperation of the Government of Sri Lanka in facilitating the visit of a technical mission from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and providing her with open access, and encouraging the Government to increase its dialogue and cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, and welcoming the visit of the High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in August 2013,
12. Expressing deep concern over reported intimidation and retaliation against civil society members who engage with UN human rights mechanisms including those who met with the High Commissioner during her visit,
13. Expressing serious concern at the continuing reports of violations of human rights in Sri Lanka, including sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, threats to judicial independence and the rule of law, as well as intimidation of and reprisals against human rights defenders, members of civil society, lawyers and journalists,
14. Alarmed at the significant surge in attacks rapid rise in violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, particularly against members of religious minority groups in Sri Lanka, including Hindus, Muslims and Christians,
15. Calling upon the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfil its public commitments, including on the devolution of political authority which is integral to reconciliation and the full enjoyment of human rights by all members of its population,
16. Taking note of the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of Sri Lanka, its findings and recommendations, and acknowledging its possible contribution to the process of meaningful national reconciliation in Sri Lanka,
17. Recalling the constructive recommendations contained in the Commission’s report, including the need to credibly investigate widespread allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, demilitarize the north of Sri Lanka, implement impartial land dispute resolution mechanisms, re-evaluate detention policies, strengthen formerly independent civil institutions, reach a political settlement on the devolution of power to the provinces, promote and protect the right of freedom of expression for all persons and enact rule of law reforms,
18. Taking note also of the national plan of action to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission of the Government of Sri Lanka and its commitments as set forth in response to the findings and recommendations of the Commission,
19. Noting Reiterating Noting that the national plan of action does not adequately address all of the findings and constructive recommendations of the Commission, and encouraging the Government of Sri Lanka to broaden the scope of the plan to adequately address all elements of the Commission report,
20. Noting Also reiterating Noting with concern that the national plan of action and the Commission’s report do not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,
21. Emphasizing Emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive approach to transitional justice incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures, including, among others, individual prosecutions, reparations, truth-seeking, institutional reform, vetting of public employees and officials, or an appropriately conceived combination thereof, in order to, inter alia, ensure accountability, serve justice, provide remedies to victims, promote healing and reconciliation, establish independent oversight of the security system and restore confidence in the institutions of the State and promote the rule of law in accordance with international human rights law, with a view to preventing recurrence of violations and abuses
22. Underlining underlines that truth-seeking processes, such as truth and reconciliation commissions, that investigate patterns of past human rights violations and their causes and consequences are important tools that can complement judicial processes and that, when established, such mechanisms have to be designed within a specific societal context and to be founded on broad national consultations with the inclusion of victims and civil society, including non-governmental organizations,
23. Recalling Reaffirms the responsibility of States to comply with their relevant obligations to prosecute those responsible for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law constituting crimes under international law, with a view to end impunity;
24. Recallingthe High Commissioner’s conclusion that national mechanisms have consistently failed to establish the truth and achieve justice, and her recommendation that the Human Rights Council establish an international inquiry mechanism to further investigate the Noting the call made by the High Commissioner for an independent and credible international investigation into alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law and monitor any domestic accountability processes,
25. Encouraging the Government to increase its dialogue and cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, including with regard to technical assistance,
1. Welcomes the oral update of 25 September 2013 and the report of 24 February 2014 of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on advise and technical assistance for the Government of Sri Lanka on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka and the recommendations and conclusions contained therein, in particular including on the establishment of a truth-seeking mechanism and national reparations policy as an integral part of a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to transitional justice;
2. Calls upon Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka: to implement the recommendations made in the reports of the Office of the High Commissioner, and also calls upon the Government to conduct an independent and credible investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as applicable; to hold accountable those responsible for such violations; to end continuing incidents of human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka; and to implement the recommendations made in the reports of the Office of the High Commissioner;
3. Reiterates its call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to implement effectively the constructive recommendations made in the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and to take all necessary additional steps to fulfil its relevant legal obligations and commitment to initiate credible and independent actions to ensure justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans;
4. Urges the Government of Sri Lanka to investigate all alleged attacks, by individuals and groups, on temples, mosques, and churches and to take steps to prevent future attacks; and calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to investigate and hold accountable perpetrators of attacks on places of worship, journalists, human rights defenders, members of religious minority groups, and other members of civil society, as well as on temples, mosques and churches, and further urges the Government of Sri Lanka to hold perpetrators of such attacks to account and take steps to prevent such attacks in the future;
5. Calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to release publicly the results of its investigations into alleged violations by security forces, including the attack on unarmed protesters in Weliweriya on August 1, 2013, and the Army Court of Inquiry report of 2013;
6. Encourages Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to provide ensure that all Provincial Councils, including the Northern Provincial Council, and its Chief Minister with the resources and authority necessary to govern, as required by are able to operate effectively, in line with the 13th Amendment of Sri Lanka’s constitution;
7. Welcomes the visit by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in December 2013, and to issue an invitation to the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants; and calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to facilitate the effective implementation of durable solutions for IDPs, including the long-term displaced
7 bis. Further welcomes the invitation to the Special Rapporteurs on the Human Rights of Migrants and the Right to Education;
7 ter. Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate with other special procedures mandate holders and to respond formally to their outstanding requests, including long standing requests;
8. Welcomes Takes note of the High Commissioner’s recommendations and conclusions regarding ongoing human rights violations and on the need for an independent and credible an international inquiry mechanism in the absence of a credible national process with tangible results, and requests the Office of the High Commissioner:
a) to monitor the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and continue to assess progress toward accountability and reconciliation on relevant national processes;
b)to undertake a comprehensive independent investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses ofhuman rights and related crimes by both parties in Sri Lanka, during the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and establish the facts and circumstances of such alleged violations and of the crimes perpetrated with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring accountability, with input assistance from relevant experts and special procedures special procedures mandate holders as appropriate,;
c) to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh fourth session, and a comprehensive report followed by a discussion on the implementation of the present resolution at its twenty-eighth fifth session.
9. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant special procedures mandate holders to provide, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, advice and technical assistance on implementing the above-mentioned steps;
10. Calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate with the Office of the High Commissioner concerning the implementation of this resolution.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
UNHRC - Part I: Navi Pillay Faulted For Abuse Of Power
By Kalinga Seneviratne
InDepthNews.info
SINGAPORE (IDN) - UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) head Navi Pillay’s current campaign against Sri Lanka over alleged human rights violations – along with similar campaigns against Libya and Syria earlier – could jeopardize the cause of human rights around the world, analysts say.
Pillay released a report in February calling for an international investigation into alleged war crimes when the Sri Lankan armed forces crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a final battle in May 2009.
Sri Lanka’s Permanent Envoy in Geneva conveying the Sri Lankan Government’s response to Pillay’s report stated that the UN High Commissioner’s recommendations, “reflect the preconceived, politicised and prejudicial agenda which she has relentlessly pursued with regard to Sri Lanka”, and in a 18-page document pinpointed her double standards accusing her of giving “scant or no regard to the domestic processes ongoing in Sri Lanka”.
The Sri Lanka government has also criticized the report for arriving at conclusions in a “selective and arbitrary manner” and ignoring requests from the Sri Lankan government to provide factual evidence to substantiate allegations and to refrain from making general comments.
Sri Lanka’s criticism of Pillay is not new. But, commentaries in both mainstream and online media in Sri Lanka indicate a hardening of attitudes in the island state against Pillay’s perceived bias and alleged abuse of power as head of UNHRC. She is said to have got away with it in the international media because the western media apparently tended to believe – and continue to – most of the propaganda put out by the LTTE supporters in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora over the past 30 years.
At the twenty-fifth session of the UNHRC from March 3 to 28 in Geneva, Pillay’s report is due to be officially tabled, and she has refused to entertain a request from the Sri Lankan government that its response to the report be attached as an appendix. The United States has indicated – supported by EU and India – that they may table a resolution at the meeting to establish an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka, which the government is sure to reject.
“How many of the bullying countries accusing Sri Lanka of crimes against humanity and war crimes have clean hands or a flawless record?” asks Senaka Weeraratne, a Sri Lankan lawyer and international affairs analyst.
“What we see today in western dominated international organisations such as the United Nations related bodies such as the UNHRC, ICC and the like are proceedings conducted on an Inquisitorial footing i.e. witch hunts aimed at devastating the target country or individual usually of non–European descent thereby perverting the course of justice. No quarter is given to the other party until it submits to the political will of the bullying nations,” argues Weeraratne.
“It is a shameless display of brute power making a mockery of institutional rules and procedures. The targeted country is assumed to be guilty right from the start ruling out any mitigating circumstances. It is virtually a re-enactment of the Inquisition under the auspices of the United Nations rather than the Catholic Church as in the days gone by.”
It is not only Sri Lankans that are complaining about the UNHRC and Pillay’s tactics. Anti-war activists in the West and supporters of the former Libyan regime and that of Syria have also pointed out how these UN agencies, and particularly UNHRC under Pillay, are practicing double standards to promote Western imperial designs.
Veteran Canadian antiwar activist Ken Stone writing for the website ‘Syria 360’ argued in an article written last year that Pillay has abused her power to facilitate western military interference in Libya and Syria to change regimes. He argues that the western media, and CNN in particular, have used interviews with Pillay to promote military intervention in Libya and Syria, where she relates the actions of these regimes to defend their country from rebel forces, to human rights violations and crimes against humanity.
In the name of humanitarian intervention
“Two very useful precedents for illegal, but so-called ‘humanitarian’, intervention by NATO were set by the United Nations in regards to Libya,” argues Stone. “The first was that the doctrine of the responsibility to protect (R2P) was successfully invoked, for the very first time, as a legal ground for over-riding the fundamental principle of national sovereignty as the basis of international law.”
R2P holds that, if a government cannot protect the human rights of its own citizens, the international community may step in to do so. In the case of Libya, R2P was used to justify United Nations Resolution 1973, the motion that authorized NATO to create a no-fly zone over Libya.
“Resolution 1973 was perverted by NATO within hours into a full-blown military intervention for regime change in Libya that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Libyans, pogrom against black persons resident in Libya, the assassinations of Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family, massive infrastructure damage, the de facto partitioning of the country, and a failed state machine,” notes Stone.
He argues that the first precedent (above) could not have been realized without the fancy legal footwork executed in advance by the nimble Pillay in demonizing Mouammar Gaddafi and his son, Saif, at the UN. “The second precedent, then, was the initiative taken by the UN Human Rights Council, chaired by Pillay, in calling for an international inquiry into violence against civilians in Libya,” he says.
Stone goes on to detail how Pillay has been playing a similar role in appearing in the international media accusing the Syrian government of crimes against humanity and calling upon the ICC to mount a war crimes investigation against President Assad, while ignoring the role played by foreign-funded mercenaries in the civil war. “Humanitarian intervention is a powerful tool in the West, where even people on the ‘left’, who should know better, fall for it,” notes Stone.
Libya is the real tragedy of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ that has turned into an ‘Arab Winter’. This brings into question the real motives of those International NGOs who promote human rights with an evangelical zeal.
Libya under Gaddafi may have been an authoritarian state in terms of freedom of speech (not any worse than U.S. allies in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and UAE), but, was a success story in human development. In Gaddafi's Libya, the right to free education for everyone from elementary school right up to university and post-graduate studies at home or abroad were implemented with government subsidies; there was free health care with 1:673 doctor-patient ratio; free electricity for all citizen; interest-free housing loans; and free land for farmers.
Libya had no external debts and its reserves amounted to $150 billion. Today we have a Libya that is ruled by warlords and terrorists and human rights campaigners are silent about the human rights abuses taking place today in Libya and no one is asking the question what is happening to Libya’s huge financial reserves and its oil? Who is benefiting from it?
What happened in Libya amounts to a war crime for which both NATO and International Crisis Group (ICG) that came up with the R2P formula should be held accountable, analysts say. But, UNHRC is muted about it. Instead, a report will be tabled at the current session titled “Technical assistance for Libya in the field of human rights”.
The report does not discuss accountability issues with regards to human rights in the implementation of the R2P formula nor does it address in any serious manner the problem of the anarchy created as a result of regime change. It assumes that there is a regime in charge, when there is not.
A question often asked by Sri Lankans is why Pillay is not calling upon President George W Bush, Tony Blair, David Cameroon and ICG to account for the war crimes USA, UK and NATO forces have indulged in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya?
During her visit to Sri Lanka last year, at a press conference, she said that UNHRC has indeed questioned these countries on certain human rights issues and they have responded. But, what the Sri Lankan journalist didn’t press her on is why she cannot do the same with Sri Lanka, rather than indulge in a public spat and witchhunt?
Opening up old wounds
Most people in Sri Lanka believe that what she is trying to do is to open up old wounds and it is completely counter productive to promoting reconciliation between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. Nor is it helping to improve human rights in Sri Lanka, where a government that is threatened by what they see as an international conspiracy to change regime, has cracked down heavily on internal dissent and freedom of expression.
Weeraratne argues that Pillay’s methods are harming human rights and increasing the credibility gap of UN agencies in the eyes of the international community (which is not just the U.S., EU and its allies). Instead he argues that UNHRC should adopt the Japanese model of solving a post-war crisis.
“The Japanese approach advocated by the Buddhist Prince Shotuku to use the method of consensus and dialogue, and not allow the accused party to lose face is a far more enlightened approach to resolution of complex human rights issues than the ‘ burning at the stake’ inquisitorial approach of the West” notes Weeraratne.
“It is the employment of double standards and devious methods to achieve ulterior political ends of powerful Western actors that have resulted in the moral collapse of the UN and related agencies.”
*Kalinga Seneviratne is IDN Special Correspondent for Asia-Pacific. He teaches international communications in Singapore. [IDN-InDepthNews – March 3, 2014]
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Australian company to set up US$ 190 million solar panel plant in Sri Lanka
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Feb 24, Colombo: The Sydney-based Australian solar panels manufacturer, Energy Puzzle Group will invest US$ 190 million to set up a state-of-the-art factory in Sri Lanka to manufacture solar panels.
Sri Lanka's investment promotion agency, the Board of Investment (BoI) said the Energy Puzzle Group will set up its plant in the BOI's new Export Processing Zone at Mirijjawela, near Hambantota in the deep south.
Chairman of Energy Puzzle, Patrick Featherston and Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Dr. Lakshman Jayaweera signed the agreement recently in Colombo.
Energy Puzzle will be developing their operations in Sri Lanka under several phases and in the first phase, which is covered under the agreement with the BOI, the company will manufacture solar cells and panels of up to 150 MW/year.
"However the company envisages a greater production of Solar Panels and Energy Technology in the future," the BoI said.
The company will originally employ 150 staff of which there would be a mix of Sri Lankan and some Australian managers and workers.
According to the BoI, Energy Puzzle has a vast experience in solar power projects and provides consultancy services to the governments of Australia, the USA and Sri Lanka in this form of alternative energy.
Production of solar panels will be mainly exported but some of this production will also be made available to the local market. The Company could be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange under a new scheme which is being set up by the BoI and Stock Exchange.
Feb 24, Colombo: The Sydney-based Australian solar panels manufacturer, Energy Puzzle Group will invest US$ 190 million to set up a state-of-the-art factory in Sri Lanka to manufacture solar panels.
Sri Lanka's investment promotion agency, the Board of Investment (BoI) said the Energy Puzzle Group will set up its plant in the BOI's new Export Processing Zone at Mirijjawela, near Hambantota in the deep south.
Chairman of Energy Puzzle, Patrick Featherston and Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Dr. Lakshman Jayaweera signed the agreement recently in Colombo.
Energy Puzzle will be developing their operations in Sri Lanka under several phases and in the first phase, which is covered under the agreement with the BOI, the company will manufacture solar cells and panels of up to 150 MW/year.
"However the company envisages a greater production of Solar Panels and Energy Technology in the future," the BoI said.
The company will originally employ 150 staff of which there would be a mix of Sri Lankan and some Australian managers and workers.
According to the BoI, Energy Puzzle has a vast experience in solar power projects and provides consultancy services to the governments of Australia, the USA and Sri Lanka in this form of alternative energy.
Production of solar panels will be mainly exported but some of this production will also be made available to the local market. The Company could be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange under a new scheme which is being set up by the BoI and Stock Exchange.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Caught Red Handed! Regime Change Activities of the US around the World!
WOW! Read this ... It is Truly Frightening how DESTRUCTIVE a Force the USA is becoming, and why the left-wing Obama Administration is as bad as the right-wing Bush Administration it replaced!
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Caught Red Handed
Secret Tape Reveals US-backed Plot to Topple Ukraine's Democratically-Elected President
By Mike Whitney
"Information Clearing House - "Counterpunch"
InformationClearingHouse.info
February 12, 2014
“In the latest debacle for the US State Department and the Obama Administration, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was caught on tape micro-managing Ukraine opposition party strategies with US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. That the Ukraine regime-change operation is to some degree being directed from Washington can no longer be denied….The taped conversation demonstrates in clear detail that while Secretary of State John Kerry decries any foreign meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs, his State Department is virtually managing the entire process.”
– Daniel McAdams, “‘F**k the EU’: Tape Reveals US Runs Ukraine Opposition“, Ron Paul Institute
Washington is at it again, up to its old tricks.
You’d think that after the Afghanistan and Iraq fiascos someone on the policymaking team would tell the fantasists to dial-it-down a bit. But, no. The Obama claque is just as eager to try their hand at regime change as their predecessors, the Bushies. This time the bullseye is on Ukraine, the home of the failed Orange Revolution, where US NGOs fomented a populist coup that brought down the government and paved the way for years of social instability, economic hardship and, eventually, a stronger alliance with Moscow.
That sure worked out well, didn’t it? One can only wonder what Obama has in mind for an encore.
Let’s cut to the chase: The US still clings to the idea that it can dominate the world with its ham-fisted military (that hasn’t won a war in 60 years) its scandalized Intel agencies, its comical Rambo-style “Special Ops” teams, and its oh-so-brilliant global strategists who think the days of the nation-state will soon be over hastening the onset of the glorious New World Order. Right. Ukraine is a critical part of that pipe dream, er, strategy which is why the US media puts demonstrations in Kiev in the headlines while similar protests in the US are consigned to the back pages just below the dog food ads. In any event, the crisis is likely to intensify in the months ahead as Washington engages in a no-holds-barred tug-o-war with Moscow over the future of civilization.
For bigwig strategists, like Zbigniew Brzezinski, Ukraine is a war that Washington must win to maintain its position as the world’s only superpower. As he sees it, the US must establish outposts throughout Eurasia to diminish Russia’s influence, control China, and capitalize off the new century’s fastest growing region. Here’s how Brzezinski sums it up in Foreign Affairs in an article titled “A Geostrategy for Eurasia”:
“America’s emergence as the sole global superpower now makes an integrated and comprehensive strategy for Eurasia imperative…Eurasia is home to most of the world’s politically assertive and dynamic states. All the historical pretenders to global power originated in Eurasia. The world’s most populous aspirants to regional hegemony, China and India, are in Eurasia, as are all the potential political or economic challengers to American primacy…
Eurasia is the world’s axial supercontinent. A power that dominated Eurasia would exercise decisive influence over two of the world’s three most economically productive regions, Western Europe and East Asia. A glance at the map also suggests that a country dominant in Eurasia would almost automatically control the Middle East and Africa…
What happens with the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to America’s global primacy and historical legacy.” ( “A Geostrategy for Eurasia”, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Foreign Affairs, 1997)
Okay, so the not-so-subtle Brzezinski is telling US policymakers that if they want to rule the world, they’ve got to take over Eurasia. That’s pretty clear. It’s the Great Game all over again and Ukraine is one of the biggest trophies, which is why the US has allied itself to all kinds crackpot, rightwing groups that are stirring up trouble in Kiev. It’s because Washington will stop at nothing to achieve its objectives. Of course, there’s nothing new about any of this. The US frequently supports violent, far-right organizations if their interests coincide. Here’s a little background on the topic from Eric Draitser in an article in CounterPunch titled “Ukraine and the Rebirth of Fascism”:
“In an attempt to pry Ukraine out of the Russian sphere of influence, the US-EU-NATO alliance has, not for the first time, allied itself with fascists. Of course, for decades, millions in Latin America were disappeared or murdered by fascist paramilitary forces armed and supported by the United States. The mujahideen of Afghanistan, which later transmogrified into Al Qaeda, also extreme ideological reactionaries, were created and financed by the United States for the purposes of destabilizing Russia. And of course, there is the painful reality of Libya and, most recently Syria, where the United States and its allies finance and support extremist jihadis against a government that has refused to align with the US and Israel. There is a disturbing pattern here that has never been lost on keen political observers: the United States always makes common cause with right wing extremists and fascists for geopolitical gain.” (Ukraine and the rebirth of Fascism“, Eric Draitser, CounterPunch)
Death squads here, jihadis there; what difference does it make to the big shots in Washington?
Not much, apparently.
But, wait, what’s all this talk about the US being on the side of anti-Semites and fascists in Ukraine? Is that true?
It sure looks that way. In fact, there was a funny story in the World Socialist Web Site about Assistant Secretary of State Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland which shows how far these people will go to achieve their objectives. In this case, Nuland, who — according to the WSWS — is “the grand-daughter of Jewish immigrants who fled to America to escape pogroms in Tsarist Russia”…was seen “handing out cookies in Maidan square to Svoboda thugs who venerate the mass murderers of Hitler’s SS.” (“Leaked phone call on Ukraine lays bare Washington’s gangsterism“, Bill Van Auken, World Socialist Web Site)
Nice, eh? So Vickie was having a little snacktime with guys who’d probably shove a knife in her back if they were given half a chance. That’s what you call dedication. By the way, Nuland’s “husband is Robert Kagan, the right-wing foreign policy pundit who served as the founding chairman of the Project for a New American Century, the neo-conservative Washington think tank that played a key role in the political and ideological preparation for the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The fact that Obama and Co. are directly involved in this latest would-be coup, doesn’t surprise anyone. According to a recent poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, “almost a half (45%) of Russian citizens think that protests in Ukraine have been provoked by Western special services.” By “special services” we presume the survey’s authors mean US Intel agencies and US-funded NGOs which have a long history of poking their noses in other country’s affairs. Here’s a statement by Rep Ron Paul in 2004 to the US House International Relations Committee which helps to throw a little light on the issue:
“It is clear that a significant amount of US taxpayer dollars went to support one candidate in Ukraine. …. What we do not know, however, is just how much US government money was spent to influence the outcome of the Ukrainian election.
Dozens of organizations are granted funds under the PAUCI program alone, (Poland-America-Ukraine Cooperation Initiative, which is administered by the US-based Freedom House.) and this is only one of many programs that funneled dollars into Ukraine. We do not know how many millions of US taxpayer dollars the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) sent to Ukraine through NED’s National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. Nor do we know how many other efforts, overt or covert, have been made to support one candidate over the other in Ukraine.
That is what I find so disturbing: there are so many cut-out organizations and sub-grantees that we have no idea how much US government money was really spent on Ukraine, and most importantly how it was spent.” (“What has the NED done in Ukraine?“, Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell)
The fact is, the USG gives away tons of money to all types of shady groups who carry out their agenda. As far as Ukraine is concerned, we actually have a better idea of the money that’s been spent than Paul thinks. Check out this video of Nuland addressing various industry groups and admitting that, “Since the declaration of Ukrainian independence in 1991, the United States supported the Ukrainians in the development of democratic institutions and skills in promoting civil society and a good form of government…We have invested more than 5 billion dollars to help Ukraine to achieve these and other goals.” (“Washington’s cloned female warmongers“, Finian Cunningham, Information Clearinghouse)
5 billion smackers to topple a democratically-elected government in Ukraine while 8 million Americans still can’t find a damn job in the US. That tells you a lot about Obama’s priorities, doesn’t it?
Last week’s fiasco surrounding Nuland’s leaked phone conversation has clarified what’s really going on behind the scenes. While the media has focused on Nuland’s obscenity, (“Fuck the EU”) it’s the other parts of the conversation that grabbed our attention. Here’s a brief summary by the WSWS’s Bill Van Auken:
“The call (exposes) the criminal and imperialist character of US policy in Ukraine …What the tape makes clear, is that Washington is employing methods of international gangsterism, including violence, to effect a political coup aimed at installing a regime that is fully subordinate to US geo-strategic interests…
The precise goal of US efforts is to shift political power into the hands of a collection of Western-aligned Ukrainian oligarchs who enriched themselves off of the private appropriation—theft—of state property carried out as part of the Stalinist bureaucracy’s dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In doing so, it aims to turn Ukraine into a US imperialist beachhead on the very border of Russia, whose territory it also wants to divide and subjugate to neocolonial status as part of its drive to assert American hegemony throughout the strategic landmass of Eurasia…
Nuland makes clear that behind the scenes, Washington is dictating which leaders of the opposition…should enter the government to swing it behind Washington and what role the others will play…”(“Leaked phone call on Ukraine lays bare Washington’s gangsterism“, Bill Van Auken, World socialist Web Site)
Same old, same old. Like we said earlier, there’s nothing new here, nothing at all. All the blabber about “democracy” is just public relations crappola. It means nothing. US elites want to trim Moscow’s wings, set up shop in Eurasia, control China’s growth, be a bigger player in the continent’s oil and natural gas markets, export its financial services model, and make as much money as possible in the 21st century’s hottest market, Asia. It’s all about profits. Profits and power.
But then, you probably knew that already.
Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com.
.................................................
Caught Red Handed
Secret Tape Reveals US-backed Plot to Topple Ukraine's Democratically-Elected President
By Mike Whitney
"Information Clearing House - "Counterpunch"
InformationClearingHouse.info
February 12, 2014
“In the latest debacle for the US State Department and the Obama Administration, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was caught on tape micro-managing Ukraine opposition party strategies with US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. That the Ukraine regime-change operation is to some degree being directed from Washington can no longer be denied….The taped conversation demonstrates in clear detail that while Secretary of State John Kerry decries any foreign meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs, his State Department is virtually managing the entire process.”
– Daniel McAdams, “‘F**k the EU’: Tape Reveals US Runs Ukraine Opposition“, Ron Paul Institute
Washington is at it again, up to its old tricks.
You’d think that after the Afghanistan and Iraq fiascos someone on the policymaking team would tell the fantasists to dial-it-down a bit. But, no. The Obama claque is just as eager to try their hand at regime change as their predecessors, the Bushies. This time the bullseye is on Ukraine, the home of the failed Orange Revolution, where US NGOs fomented a populist coup that brought down the government and paved the way for years of social instability, economic hardship and, eventually, a stronger alliance with Moscow.
That sure worked out well, didn’t it? One can only wonder what Obama has in mind for an encore.
Let’s cut to the chase: The US still clings to the idea that it can dominate the world with its ham-fisted military (that hasn’t won a war in 60 years) its scandalized Intel agencies, its comical Rambo-style “Special Ops” teams, and its oh-so-brilliant global strategists who think the days of the nation-state will soon be over hastening the onset of the glorious New World Order. Right. Ukraine is a critical part of that pipe dream, er, strategy which is why the US media puts demonstrations in Kiev in the headlines while similar protests in the US are consigned to the back pages just below the dog food ads. In any event, the crisis is likely to intensify in the months ahead as Washington engages in a no-holds-barred tug-o-war with Moscow over the future of civilization.
For bigwig strategists, like Zbigniew Brzezinski, Ukraine is a war that Washington must win to maintain its position as the world’s only superpower. As he sees it, the US must establish outposts throughout Eurasia to diminish Russia’s influence, control China, and capitalize off the new century’s fastest growing region. Here’s how Brzezinski sums it up in Foreign Affairs in an article titled “A Geostrategy for Eurasia”:
“America’s emergence as the sole global superpower now makes an integrated and comprehensive strategy for Eurasia imperative…Eurasia is home to most of the world’s politically assertive and dynamic states. All the historical pretenders to global power originated in Eurasia. The world’s most populous aspirants to regional hegemony, China and India, are in Eurasia, as are all the potential political or economic challengers to American primacy…
Eurasia is the world’s axial supercontinent. A power that dominated Eurasia would exercise decisive influence over two of the world’s three most economically productive regions, Western Europe and East Asia. A glance at the map also suggests that a country dominant in Eurasia would almost automatically control the Middle East and Africa…
What happens with the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to America’s global primacy and historical legacy.” ( “A Geostrategy for Eurasia”, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Foreign Affairs, 1997)
Okay, so the not-so-subtle Brzezinski is telling US policymakers that if they want to rule the world, they’ve got to take over Eurasia. That’s pretty clear. It’s the Great Game all over again and Ukraine is one of the biggest trophies, which is why the US has allied itself to all kinds crackpot, rightwing groups that are stirring up trouble in Kiev. It’s because Washington will stop at nothing to achieve its objectives. Of course, there’s nothing new about any of this. The US frequently supports violent, far-right organizations if their interests coincide. Here’s a little background on the topic from Eric Draitser in an article in CounterPunch titled “Ukraine and the Rebirth of Fascism”:
“In an attempt to pry Ukraine out of the Russian sphere of influence, the US-EU-NATO alliance has, not for the first time, allied itself with fascists. Of course, for decades, millions in Latin America were disappeared or murdered by fascist paramilitary forces armed and supported by the United States. The mujahideen of Afghanistan, which later transmogrified into Al Qaeda, also extreme ideological reactionaries, were created and financed by the United States for the purposes of destabilizing Russia. And of course, there is the painful reality of Libya and, most recently Syria, where the United States and its allies finance and support extremist jihadis against a government that has refused to align with the US and Israel. There is a disturbing pattern here that has never been lost on keen political observers: the United States always makes common cause with right wing extremists and fascists for geopolitical gain.” (Ukraine and the rebirth of Fascism“, Eric Draitser, CounterPunch)
Death squads here, jihadis there; what difference does it make to the big shots in Washington?
Not much, apparently.
But, wait, what’s all this talk about the US being on the side of anti-Semites and fascists in Ukraine? Is that true?
It sure looks that way. In fact, there was a funny story in the World Socialist Web Site about Assistant Secretary of State Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland which shows how far these people will go to achieve their objectives. In this case, Nuland, who — according to the WSWS — is “the grand-daughter of Jewish immigrants who fled to America to escape pogroms in Tsarist Russia”…was seen “handing out cookies in Maidan square to Svoboda thugs who venerate the mass murderers of Hitler’s SS.” (“Leaked phone call on Ukraine lays bare Washington’s gangsterism“, Bill Van Auken, World Socialist Web Site)
Nice, eh? So Vickie was having a little snacktime with guys who’d probably shove a knife in her back if they were given half a chance. That’s what you call dedication. By the way, Nuland’s “husband is Robert Kagan, the right-wing foreign policy pundit who served as the founding chairman of the Project for a New American Century, the neo-conservative Washington think tank that played a key role in the political and ideological preparation for the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The fact that Obama and Co. are directly involved in this latest would-be coup, doesn’t surprise anyone. According to a recent poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, “almost a half (45%) of Russian citizens think that protests in Ukraine have been provoked by Western special services.” By “special services” we presume the survey’s authors mean US Intel agencies and US-funded NGOs which have a long history of poking their noses in other country’s affairs. Here’s a statement by Rep Ron Paul in 2004 to the US House International Relations Committee which helps to throw a little light on the issue:
“It is clear that a significant amount of US taxpayer dollars went to support one candidate in Ukraine. …. What we do not know, however, is just how much US government money was spent to influence the outcome of the Ukrainian election.
Dozens of organizations are granted funds under the PAUCI program alone, (Poland-America-Ukraine Cooperation Initiative, which is administered by the US-based Freedom House.) and this is only one of many programs that funneled dollars into Ukraine. We do not know how many millions of US taxpayer dollars the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) sent to Ukraine through NED’s National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. Nor do we know how many other efforts, overt or covert, have been made to support one candidate over the other in Ukraine.
That is what I find so disturbing: there are so many cut-out organizations and sub-grantees that we have no idea how much US government money was really spent on Ukraine, and most importantly how it was spent.” (“What has the NED done in Ukraine?“, Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell)
The fact is, the USG gives away tons of money to all types of shady groups who carry out their agenda. As far as Ukraine is concerned, we actually have a better idea of the money that’s been spent than Paul thinks. Check out this video of Nuland addressing various industry groups and admitting that, “Since the declaration of Ukrainian independence in 1991, the United States supported the Ukrainians in the development of democratic institutions and skills in promoting civil society and a good form of government…We have invested more than 5 billion dollars to help Ukraine to achieve these and other goals.” (“Washington’s cloned female warmongers“, Finian Cunningham, Information Clearinghouse)
5 billion smackers to topple a democratically-elected government in Ukraine while 8 million Americans still can’t find a damn job in the US. That tells you a lot about Obama’s priorities, doesn’t it?
Last week’s fiasco surrounding Nuland’s leaked phone conversation has clarified what’s really going on behind the scenes. While the media has focused on Nuland’s obscenity, (“Fuck the EU”) it’s the other parts of the conversation that grabbed our attention. Here’s a brief summary by the WSWS’s Bill Van Auken:
“The call (exposes) the criminal and imperialist character of US policy in Ukraine …What the tape makes clear, is that Washington is employing methods of international gangsterism, including violence, to effect a political coup aimed at installing a regime that is fully subordinate to US geo-strategic interests…
The precise goal of US efforts is to shift political power into the hands of a collection of Western-aligned Ukrainian oligarchs who enriched themselves off of the private appropriation—theft—of state property carried out as part of the Stalinist bureaucracy’s dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In doing so, it aims to turn Ukraine into a US imperialist beachhead on the very border of Russia, whose territory it also wants to divide and subjugate to neocolonial status as part of its drive to assert American hegemony throughout the strategic landmass of Eurasia…
Nuland makes clear that behind the scenes, Washington is dictating which leaders of the opposition…should enter the government to swing it behind Washington and what role the others will play…”(“Leaked phone call on Ukraine lays bare Washington’s gangsterism“, Bill Van Auken, World socialist Web Site)
Same old, same old. Like we said earlier, there’s nothing new here, nothing at all. All the blabber about “democracy” is just public relations crappola. It means nothing. US elites want to trim Moscow’s wings, set up shop in Eurasia, control China’s growth, be a bigger player in the continent’s oil and natural gas markets, export its financial services model, and make as much money as possible in the 21st century’s hottest market, Asia. It’s all about profits. Profits and power.
But then, you probably knew that already.
Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com.
Friday, February 7, 2014
From Sri Lanka, questions about wars
TheHindu.com
November 20, 2013
November 20, 2013
The real question in the debate over India’s Sri Lanka policy isn’t whether it is pragmatic or ethical. It goes, instead, to the heart of the ethics of the wars our country fights, and will fight in years to come.
Florence-on-the-Elbe, they used to call the historic German city of
Dresden, before it began to turn to ash that evening in February 1945.
Inside of days, the United Kingdom and the United States bomber command
dropped some 3,900 tonnes of ordnance over the city, creating an inferno
which would claim an estimated 25,000 lives.
The military utility of the slaughter is still debated by historians:
proponents claim it destroyed key Nazi communication hubs, and broke the
will of Germans to resist; opponents say it was vengeance, plain and
simple.
“There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre,” wrote Kurt
Vonnegut, who watched the destruction of Dresden from a prisoner of war
camp, in his classic Slaughterhouse Five.
Perhaps Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would agree: neither he, nor
anyone else in the Indian government, has attempted to explain his
controversial decision to stay away from the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting in Sri Lanka. That leaves supporters of the choice to
contend it was driven by high principle, and opponents to claim low
politics triumphed over pragmatic foreign policy.
It is time New Delhi thought of something intelligent to say on the
issue, because it goes far deeper than India’s interests in Sri Lanka.
Instead, the issue is enmeshed with how India fought the wars it
believed were necessary to survive as a nation — and how it will fight
the wars it is fighting today, and the ones yet to come.
Making sense of the killing that unfolded in Sri Lanka in the last days
of the Eelam War isn’t easy: we don’t know how many lives it claimed or,
indeed, whether a genocide took place at all. Estimates for civilian
fatalities, produced by the United Nations and human rights groups,
range all the way from 20,000 to 1,47,000. There is no expert consensus
on whether civilians were targeted on purpose, and, if so, when. There
are indeed several well-documented cases of extrajudicial executions,
but these are not the same as a genocide.
The numbers
It is important to understand why so many different numbers exist, what they mean, and what they imply.
The methodology behind these figures was first proposed by the
University Teachers for Human Rights, a Jaffna-based human rights group.
In essence, the UTHR proposed deducting the number of civilians who
arrived at the government’s refugee camps from those known to be living
in the so-called no-fire zone. This gave a number for people who could
be presumed to have been killed.
However, no one knows how many people were actually living in the
no-fire zone to start with. The government agent in Mullaithivu
district, K. Parthipan, estimated the population to be around 330,000 in
February 2009. Mr. Parthipan, though, had no way of conducting a census
in the no-fire zone; he relied instead on reports from local headmen.
He did not have any tools to distinguish civilians from LTTE conscripts
and irregulars. He had no way of accounting for people who fled the zone
to safety as the Sri Lankan forces closed in.
Mr. Parthipan’s numbers weren’t supported by the United Nations Panel of
Expert’s analysis of satellite images, which suggested a population of
2,67,618. The U.N. experts then attempted a rule-of-thumb calculation of
1:2 or 1:3 civilian dead for every person known to be injured, which
suggested 15,000 to 22,500 fatalities — much lower than the estimates
that have now become commonplace. Finally, the panel plumped for an
estimate of 40,000, based on Mr. Parthipan’s numbers.
Notably, the panel did not distinguish between civilians and the LTTE
cadre — a fact noted by the U.S. State Department’s December 2009 report
to Congress. The LTTE’s regular forces, estimated by experts at around
30,000, were backed by irregulars, the makkal padai, as well as press-ganged conscripts.
Deliberate killing?
It isn’t unequivocally clear, either, that disproportionate or
indiscriminate force was used to eliminate these forces. Satellite
imaging shows that right up to May 17, the Sri Lankan Army was facing
fire from the LTTE’s 130 mm, 140 mm and 152 mm artillery. The Sri Lankan
Army claims to have been losing over 40 soldiers a day during the last
phases of the war. The former U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert
Blake, sent a confidential cable to Washington, DC, on January 26, 2009,
saying that the Sri Lankan Army “has a generally good track record of
taking care to minimise civilian casualties during its advances.”
Jacques de Maio, head of operations of the International Committee of
the Red Cross, concurred: on July 9, 2009 he told a U.S. diplomat that
Sri Lanka “actually could have won the military battle faster with
higher civilian casualties, yet chose a slower approach which led to a
greater number of Sri Lankan military deaths.”
It is worth noting, too, that the U.N. panel acknowledged that the LTTE
put some of those civilians in harm’s way. The report found “patterns of
conduct whereby the LTTE deliberately located or used mortar pieces or
other light artillery, military vehicles, mortar pits, and trenches in
proximity to civilian areas.”
D.B.S. Jeyaraj has graphically described how the LTTE forced civilians
into the Karaichikkudiyiruppu area to defeat an offensive by the Sri
Lankan Army’s 55 division and 59 division. Photographs taken by a
cameraman for The Times of London on May 24, 2009, for example,
show what appear to be pits for siting mortar, an arms trailer and a
bunker, in the midst of a civilian location in the no-fire zone.
None of this, of course, settles things one way or the other — and
that’s the point. There is very little doubt that the Sri Lankan forces
did commit crimes. They worked with savage paramilitaries who were out
to settle scores with the LTTE. It doesn’t follow from this, though,
that Sri Lanka’s campaign against the LTTE was genocide. And this brings
us to the larger question.
The language of war
The real question is a simple one: when, and how much, is it ethical to
kill in war? Through the history of modern warfare, commanders have
confronted the same dilemmas that Sri Lanka faced in 2009, or Winston
Churchill confronted in 1945. Iraq, the University of Washington’s Amy
Hagopian and 11 co-authors have estimated, lost 461,000 lives, either
directly or indirectly, because of the U.S. invasion.
In April 2004, up to 800 civilians were reported killed when the U.S.
tried to clear insurgents from the Iraqi city of Fallujah — a cost so
high that embarrassed commanders were forced to call off the campaign.
Iraq continues to see abnormally high rates of birth defects, which some
researchers attribute to depleted-uranium munitions used.
The second battle of Grozny in 1999-2000, when Russian troops backed by
armour and air-power battled Chechen insurgents, saw the city reduced to
what the U.N. later called “the most destroyed city on earth”.
For decades, India has propagated the comforting fiction that its
counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations are conducted within
the framework of everyday criminal law. Leaders and lawmakers have, at
once, countenanced extra-judicial executions, torture, and collective
reprisals against civilians. This hypocrisy is corrosive to the armed
forces, and to India’s polity.
This isn’t reason to countenance sanctimony. The laws of war, as we know
them, were written in the wake of 1945 — driven by a particular
historical experience of war. They continue to evolve mainly in Europe
and the U.S., where nation-states have no lived experience in
generations of the hideous consequences — and costs — of
existence-threatening insurgencies.
In India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, though, there has been next
to no first-principles discussion of the ethics and law. We have lost
our ability to talk honestly about war, and what it entails — and that
won’t do.
“The language of war is killing,” 9/11 bomber Khalid Sheikh Mohammad
told his interrogators, perhaps unconsciously borrowing words from the
great strategist, Carl von Clausewitz. He was right. How to speak it is
something we must learn to honestly discuss. Sri Lanka is as good a
place to begin as any.
praveen.swami@thehindu.co.in
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Documentary on Sri Lanka aired on NBC network in US
Colombopage News Desk, Sri Lanka
ColomboPage.com
Feb 06, Colombo: A public relations firm in the United States contracted by the Sri Lankan government has aired a 30-minute documentary on Sri Lanka on the prime network TV.
The 28 minute documentary titled "Sri Lanka Reconciling & Rebuilding" produced by the Thompson Advisory Group (TAG) has been aired on the NBC network, the Daily FT reported.
The paid program narrated by the former CNN correspondent and global PR consultant Gene Randall was aired on last Sunday (February 02) on the NBC network following the "Meet the Press" program, according to the Daily FT report.
The same documentary was reportedly presented at the US Capitol last week before a group of Congressmen and officials specially invited by TAG to meet a Sri Lankan delegation headed by Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga.
Sri Lanka's Central Bank hired the Washington-based Thompson Advisory Group last year at a cost of US$ 66,600 per month to promote a political environment in the US that is more conducive to enhancing Sri Lanka's long term political and economic aspirations and to implement a relationship building program between the Sri Lankan and US governments.
The airing of the documentary and lobbying of influential US lawmakers are aimed at counteracting a third US resolution the State Department will table at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva next month.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Sri Lanka Accountability: Investigate LTTE-TNA allegiance
By Shenali D. Waduge
LankaWeb.com
January 30, 2014
We agree with the US, UK, EU, UN and UNHRC head. There are serious allegations to be investigated. The onus is on the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately INVESTIGATE – how the LTTE emerged, who trained, armed and financially sponsored them and the most important link between a terrorist organization and a political entity such as the TNA. In our eyes both LTTE and TNA are one and the same – the Sri Lankan public now demand that this evil nexus be investigated and the criminality of these entities be exposed and charged under the country’s laws and regulations.
LTTE-TNA links (lethal combination of Terrorists and Politicians)
Attempts at Separatism
1. Creation of Tamil ethnic political party – All Ceylon Tamil Congress during British rule
2. Creation of the ITAK (Federal Party) by Chelvanayagam in 1949 (year after independence)
3. Vaddukoddai Resolution 1972 calling for youth to take up arms (Prabakaran was just 18years)
4. Creation of Tamil New Tigers on 22 May 1972 by Prabakaran
5. Tamil New Tigers rechristened as LTTE on 5 May 1976
Collective Responsibility – Guilty by Association
· Did Prabakaran hijack what the Tamil politicians wanted or were both following the same objective by different route?
· Did it serve both Prabakaran and elements of the Tamil political set up to annihilate all moderate Tamil politicians who were for peacefully living with other communities?
· How many Tamil civilians do not wish to make their stand about the LTTE or the TNA and to negate the false assumption that Tamils wish to live separate from the other communities in Sri Lanka?
· Why do Tamils not come out to say that most Tamils in reality live outside of the ‘Tamil Homeland’ thus putting to rest the charade and lies? Does the Tamil civil population not hold the key to silencing all critics and nullifying separatist claims on the grounds that Tamils cannot live with Sinhalese.
TNA-LTTE
TNA is an unregistered alliance formed in 2001.
TNA comprises ACTC (All Ceylon Tamil Congress) / EPRLF (Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front) / TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization) / TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front)
LTTE’s influence over voters enabled TNA politicians to enter Parliament – Investigate this.
TNA and LTTE are making the identical demands. The only factor that differentiates the 2 is LTTE had arms.
Now with the LTTE factor removed TNA is continuing the same demands.
LTTE-TNA alliance
2001 TNA election manifesto
TNA announced that the LTTE was the ‘sole Tamil National Entity’ in 2001. TNA claimed LTTE was the SOLE REPRESENTATIVE of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka and LTTE had a right to negotiate on behalf of the Tamil people. Investigate!
a) Recognition of Tamils as a distinct nationality
b) Recognition of a Tamil Homeland with guaranteed territorial integrity
c) Recognition of the inalienable right of self-determination of the Tamil nation.
d) Recognition of the right to full citizenship and fundamental democratic rights of all Tamils.
2004 TNA election manifesto
“Accepting the LTTE’s leadership as the national leadership of ‘Tamil Eelam’ Tamils and the Liberation Tigers as the sole and authentic representative of the Tamil people, let us devote our full cooperation for the ideals of the Liberation Tigers’ struggle with honesty and steadfastness. Let us endeavour determinedly, collectively as one group, one nation, one country, transcending race and religious differences, under the leadership of the LTTE, for a life of liberty, honour and justice for the Tamil people.”
Investigate:
· TNA Parliamentarians attending pro-LTTE events abroad and locally throughout 30 years
· TNA Parliamentarians speaking atop LTTE stages, delivering speeches that echo separatist sentiment.
· TNA Parliamentarians paying homage to dead LTTE suicide cadres
· TNA Parliamentarians communicating and liaising with LTTE fronts overseas
· Foreign mission briefings/country data on Sri Lanka that describes ‘TNA as a pro-LTTE party’ while international media too carry the same description.
· 2004 EU Election Observation Mission Chief John Cushnahan released the EU report on 17 June 2004 clearly establishing the LTTE-TNA alliance: Quote: Firstly, the LTTE intended that no other rival Tamil party (or Tamil candidate from the mainstream political alliances) to the TNA would be able to claim to represent Tamil interests. A chilling message to this effect was sent early in the campaign when a UNP candidate and an EPDP activist were murdered. Incidents such as this seriously restricted the right of the parties other than the TNA to campaign freely in the Northern and Eastern Districts. During the 2004 elections, the major incidences of violence was perpetrated by the LTTE, whereas at the earlier elections, the primary source of the violence (although not all), were the two largest political parties. Unquote
· 2009 statement by Anandasangaree (President/Secretary of TULF) to the President of Sri Lanka:
“Democratic Tamil National Alliance considers the TNA, as the first and the worst enemy of the Tamil People. They should take full responsibility, among many other matters, for the loss of several thousands of lives and for causing injuries for many more.…. All have become paupers now. They will find hardly anything left when they return to their homes one day. All these or atleast 90 % of these could have been saved and total displacement could have been avoided if only the TNA had the forethought to advise the LTTE to release the people from their grip, to go anywhere they liked. The TNA is blamed for this because, when everyone, every organization, every country, the EU, the UN etc. had made this request specifically, only the TNA kept on asking for the war to stop. When the 8000 students who sat for the G.C.E(O/L) exam were taken away for compulsory training by the LTTE the TNA kept mum. Some of them are now dead and others are under detention by the Government. Where are the children and grand-children of the TNA MPs. Will the TNA at least now tell the world as to what happened to the students at Sencholai. …. “Who are these gentleman of the TNA now wanting to form an alliance with the DTNA. They are the people whom the LTTE elected to represent them in parliament fraudulently and it is they who unashamedly claimed the LTTE as the sole representatives of the people. The LTTE is no more and hence they do not need any representation in Parliament. Under the Present circumstances the most honourable action the TNA can take or must do is to quit parliament without clinging on to that office. Neither the PLOTE nor the EPRLF (Pathmanabha) gave any indication to Mr. Srikantha who met me by appointment and the other two by accident. As for me I will not touch the TNA even with a “pole”. The dead, the injured and those living in the IDP camps deprived of all their rights will not pardon us if we have any deal with them. The TNA should not under-estimate our alliance partners who cannot be bought over with a mayor-ship or with any membership in Parliament as they sold themselves in April 2004. …. “For five years I fought a lone battle, amidst threat to my life, unbearable humiliations etc. I was also christened as a “traitor”. I now feel exonerated. Let the souls of the dead haunting our homes bless me and not curse me.”
V. Anandasangaree, has signed the statement as President – TULF & Secretary – DTNA/2009. Incidentally, Anandasangaree had to eat his own words because he has now joined the TNA alliance which he accused in 2009.
Guilty by Association
In investigating and establishing the links with LTTE-TNA every killing and act of crime committed by the LTTE automatically incriminates the TNA as being guilty by association.
LTTE’s crimes include suicide missions, destruction of civilian property, premeditated targeting of civilians, denying fundamental rights under the UN Charter to Tamil men, women and even children by forcibly recruiting them as terrorists, denying children their right to life, right to live with parents, right to education and right to freedom of movement, banks heists, political assassinations, narcotic trade, human smuggling and a host of other crimes which TNA by association with LTTE becomes culpable. Investigate!
COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY – COLLECTIVE GUILT
Allied Forces Denazified Germany – LTTE/TNA need to be denazified as well
When Germany was denazified by the Allied Forces with the objective to totally eliminate any ideology associated with Nazism.
Sri Lanka must totally eliminate ideology associated with SEPARATISM.
· Germans could not decry against foreign occupation (The Sri Lankan Army is the National Army of Sri Lanka and the GOSL has every right to position its troops wherever they like and their numbers cannot be questioned by any nation or group)
· Germans could not object to foreign military presence which remained for 13 years in Germany
· Denazification is a legal term coined by Pentagon in 1943 (Denazification Directives)
· The Allies thus removed all physical symbols associated with Nazi regime.
· The Nazi Party was abolished (TNA is the political arm of the LTTE)
· Nazi links to cultural, social, intellectual, economic or even politics was abolished.
· Everyone who supported Hitler or the Nazis were held accountable and charged with war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials. (WE DEMAND INVESTIGATION TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED LTTE/TNA IN THEIR CRIMES FROM 1980S TO DATE)
· The Nuremberg Trials aimed to purge all elements of Nazism – even the Swastika was removed
· German and Austrian refugees had to fill a questionnaire that categorized them – 1.5million Germans were categorized as hard-core Nazis
· US took over German media and 37 German newspapers, 6 radio stations, 314 theatres, 642 cinemas, 101 magazines, 237 book publishers, 7384 book dealers and printers made sure there was NO CRITICISM of Allied occupation or its troops.\
· More than 30,000 book titles ranging from school textbooks to poetry were banned, those who possessed these books were punished
· All artwork related to Nazism was prohibited
· If denial of holocaust is considered a CRIME and is BANNED. The denial of LTTE crimes must be equally considered a CRIME and should be BANNED. 30 years of suffering LTTE put Sri Lanka through cannot be forgotten. Each of us are victims in our own way. We need to differentiate who made merry by LTTE terror and who suffered because of LTTE terror. Investigate.
· Allied forces ran posters in German which read ‘YOU ARE GUILTY OF THIS’ or “THESE ATROCITIES : YOUR GUILT” photos of dead humans carried headings with “WHO IS GUILTY” or “THIS TOWN IS GUILTY”.
· Germans were forced to see rotting corpses and made to feel guilty in an Allied program to make ALL GERMANS feel ‘collectively responsible’ and ‘collectively guilty’ for the crimes of the Nazis. This was how US, UK and FRANCE treated ACCOUNTABILITY. Sri Lanka went about a totally different path and for that these same countries find fault.
YES WE WANT ACCOUNTABILITY:
· We want the world to know that India first mobilized groups of unemployed Tamil youth from Sri Lanka and trained them in India by Indian intelligence and retired army officers.
· We want the world to know that these trainings began far before the July 1983 riots which makes us wonder whether this was a created incident to bring out the LTTE into the open.
· We want the world to know that the majority of Tamils live outside their propaganda suited “Tamil Homeland” and amongst the very Sinhalese they say they cannot live with.
· We want the world to know that in countries where minorities like Tamils making just 10% of the population can never hold positions as Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Inspector General of Police, Chairman of the Central Bank, Chairman of State TV, Heads of Government Departments, University Professors and Vice-Chancellors, Ambassadors and High Commissioners and the person tipped to be the first Tamil PM was gunned down by the LTTE as was the Mayor of Jaffna who became the 1st killing of the LTTE.
The public have been demanding that the GOSL INVESTIGATE the LTTE and its links to the TNA.
This investigation must commence now. The Public must be invited to send all evidence of such ties and the State must bring criminal charges against all the men behind these two movements having proven their guilt by association for the bulk of LTTE crimes were meted upon civilians and under Geneva Conventions and all other customary international laws civilians are non-combatants and anyone targeting them in the pre-meditated manner the LTTE had using suicide bombers becomes a war crime and if TNA is guilty by association all TNA members must be brought to trial using all the country laws already in place to facilitate this.
WE DEMAND AN INVESTIGATION INTO LTTE-TNA ALLIANCE without delay.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
MoD to probe TNA-LTTE nexus ahead of Geneva HR summit
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
January 28, 2014
*EU polls monitors’ report used as evidence
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) would probe the nexus between the LTTE and the five-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a senior MoD spokesman told The Island yesterday.The official said that the investigation would focus on the close relationship between the LTTE and the TNA since late 2001, when the political grouping recognised the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamil speaking people. Based on the findings, legal action would be taken against TNA members, the MoD said.
The international community, too, would be informed of the TNA’s pro-LTTE activities during the conflict, the MoD said.
The TNA consists of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), the TELO, PLOTE, EPRLF and TULF.
The MoD official was responding to a recent resolution adopted by TNA-led Northern Provincial Council to urge the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to inquire into the alleged atrocities against civilians during the military offensive against the LTTE.
The MoD official said:
"We intend to investigate senior TNA members including those in Parliament and the Northern PC. The investigation is aimed at ascertaining how the TNA influenced the LTTE strategy leading to war in mid 2006."
Asked whether the MoD had irrefutable evidence to support allegations against the TNA, the official said that following parliamentary polls in December 2001, an EU Election Observation Mission had revealed that the TNA had been backed by the LTTE to win the majority of seats in the Northern and Eastern districts.
The MoD said some senior TNA representatives had even attended the passing out parades of the LTTE’s child soldiers. Photographic evidence was available, the MoD said. "We will also inquire into the circumstances under which the TNA on behalf of the LTTE ordered Tamil speaking people to boycott presidential election in November 2005." The TNA made the announcement on November 10, 2005 in Kilinochchi, the then nerve center of LTTE operations in the Northern Province.
The MoD acknowledged that there hadn’t been a comprehensive investigation into the TNA-LTTE nexus though some military officers felt an inquiry was a necessity. Responding to a query, the MoD said that except for last presidential polls in January 2010 when the TNA backed former army commander General Sarath Fonseka, the alliance had worked closely with the LTTE at the general elections in 2001 and 2004.
Friday, January 17, 2014
LTTE Political Wing was meant to infiltrate military-held areas; Sasitharans no saints -MOD
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Island.lk
January 16, 2014
The Defence Ministry yesterday said that Northern Provincial Council member Ananthi Sasitharan was under investigation, though she had publicly distanced herself from the LTTE fighting cadre.
A
senior Defence Ministry spokesman said that the ongoing inquiry was
meant to establish her role during the conflict as well as the post-war
era. The Defence Ministry was responding to criticism of its decision
to weigh the need to rehabilitate Ms. Sasitharan.
During the conflict Ananthi Sasitharan worked at the Kilinochchi Divisional secretariat.
Ms
Sasitharan successfully contested the first Northern Provincial
Council polls last September. Representing the Illankai Tamil Arasu
Kadchi (ITAK) she polled the second highest preferential votes in the
Northern Province comprising the administrative districts of Jaffna,
Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
Asked
whether authorities had specific information regarding Ms.
Sasitharan’s involvement in terrorism, the official pointed out that an
attempt was being made to sanitize her on the basis that her husband,
Velayutham Sasitharan alias Elilan functioned as the political wing
leader of the Trincomalee district.
The
Defence Ministry alleged that the LTTE created a political wing
especially to infiltrate territory in Northern and Eastern Provinces,
during the Norwegian arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) in early 2002.
The CFA stipulated that LTTE could establish political offices in areas
under the government control, the ministry said, adding that the
Sasitharans could have taken advantage of the CFA on many occasions.
Sri
Lanka wouldn’t give special status to those terrorists masquerading as
political activists, the Defence Ministry insisted. Referring to the
killing of LTTE political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan in early
November 2007, the ministry stressed that the former Jaffna commander
was targeted as he was a member of a terrorist outfit.
In
fact, a US military team that examined the ground situation in late
2002 asserted that the LTTE was exploiting the CFA to its advantage. The
team from Pacific Command alleged that: "Since the signing the CFA
with the government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE has increased political
presence within military controlled territory and actively
repositioned, re-equipped and re-trained combat forces. As a result of
these activities, the LTTE has improved its ability to affect civilian
popular opinion, interdict military lines of communications and seize
control of additional territory."
The ministry
said that those who had visited Sri Lanka to examine the ground
situation ended up listening to either former terrorists or the Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) which endorsed the LTTE as the sole
representative of Tamil speaking people leading to the outbreak of eelam
war IV.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Economic outlook 2014 SL will show all characteristics of growth of small developing countries: Dr. Kelegama
The
Talking Economics editorial team interviewed Institute of Policy
Studies (IPS) Executive Director Dr. Saman Kelegama to get his views on
the outlook for 2014 for the global economy and for Sri Lanka. Excerpts …
Q: Dr. Kelegama, what is your overall take on the economic prospects for 2014, globally?
It’s difficult to forecast global economic growth in contemporary times because of the high volatility and uncertainty in an inter-connected world. Slow recovery from the 2008/2009 global economic crisis and external shocks has further aggravated the situation.
Even an international institute like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) keeps changing its global economic forecasts every quarter. What was stated in its World Economic Outlook in April 2013 changed in the October 2013 report. Any prognosis on the global economic outlook and its implications need to be interpreted with caution.
Q: Based on the data available, what are your views on how 2014 will pan out for developed countries in particular?
The IMF expects that global economic growth in 2013 would be recorded at 2.9 percent and this will increase to 3.6 percent in 2014. Both forecasts are down by 0.3 and 0.2 points, respectively, from the last prediction made by the IMF in July 2013. These latest predictions were made despite the signs of recovery in the Euro area in the third quarter of 2013.
In the EU, business confidence indicators suggest that activities are close to stabilizing in the periphery and recovering in the core economies. But the worrying public debt level and the fragmented financial system are issues in the EU. The Japanese economy recovered from -0.6 percent growth in 2011 to stable 2 percent growth in both 2012 and 2013 after a quantitative easing policy pursued by the new government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
As a large sum of the quantitative easing money is flowing out or leaking from Japan, the impact of this policy will gradually diminish in 2014, indicating a lower growth in the Japanese economy. Meanwhile, the US economy is expected to recover from 1.6 percent growth in 2013 to 2.6 percent in 2014.
Q: Let’s stay with the US for a minute – what are the key developments in the US economy to look out for?
After the financial crisis in 2008, US used several rounds of the bond buying strategy, known as ‘quantitative easing’, to pump credit to the US economy to revive it. Further to the announcements in June 2013, on December 18, 2013, it was announced that monthly bond purchase will be reduced by US $ 10 billion, which will amount to US $ 75 billion with effect from January 2014.
So, there are very clear signs of a tapering off of quantitative easing and the US Fed making a permanent exit from low interest rates. The impetus for stronger global growth will as usual come from the US economy.
Q: What about the prospects for emerging markets, particularly China, India and ASEAN?
China’s growth moderated in 2013 due to the rebalancing policy of focusing more on the domestic market. China is gradually shifting from the export-oriented and investment dominated economic model to a somewhat domestic-oriented and consumption dominated economic model.
The 7.6 percent growth in 2013, although less than the 9.3 percent growth recorded in 2011, remains high by international standards. China is expected to maintain this growth rate for 2014 with 0.3 percentage points lower than 2013.
India, the other major market in Asia has shown much slower growth during 2012 and 2013, 3.2 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively. This has happened due to low business confidence resulting from policy uncertainty, double digit inflation caused mainly by deregulating administrative prices and depreciating currency, rising current account deficits, etc.
The Indian case clearly shows that rising external account deficits cannot be solved by short-term foreign capital inflows. Measures to enhance exports by addressing deep seated structural problems in the economy are essential. With currency depreciation and other measures taken in recent months, India will show a growth revival to 5.1 percent in 2014 but elections related uncertainty in mid-2014 could dilute growth prospects.
Q: To what extent are developments in the West, for instance the Fed taper, having an impact on these emerging markets?
After June 2013, with the signals of US gradually ending its quantitative easing policy, we saw some funds exiting from developing countries back to the US. It is estimated that countries such as Malaysia and Thailand lost close to 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) growth due to such pull-out of funds.
Some East Asian countries saw an increase in portfolio inflows from Japan consequent to the Japanese stimulus which compensated for some of the capital outflows to the US. These developments in the global market have created volatility in Asian financial markets.
Meanwhile, EU austerity is having an impact on ASEAN exports to the EU. Overall, ASEAN countries will show a marginal improvement in their growth rates from 5 percent in 2013 to 5.4 percent in 2014.
Q: What are the prospects for global trade in 2014 – will there be a notable impact?
Yes, all of these developments mean that there will be a weak recovery of global trade. This will be also due to some emerging protectionist forces by the limited progress of the WTO Doha Round (although the WTO Bali Ministerial was successful) and growing space of negotiations of mega regional initiatives like the Trans Pacific Partnership and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Of course, there will be better growth in 2014 compared to 2013 in overall global trading. In contrast to 2013, where a lower growth of imports and exports were seen compared to 2012, in 2014, there is estimated to be acceleration of import growth by 5.9 percent and export growth by 5.8 percent compared to lower growth for both in 2013.
Q: What about oil and commodity prices?
As estimated by international agencies, there will be a decline in both oil and food prices in 2014 and this will ease pressure on the foreign reserves of developing countries and support inflation management policies.
The consumer price increase at 5.7 percent for emerging and developing countries estimated for 2014 clearly shows that maintaining inflation at the single digit level will not be a major problem for most developing countries although the case may vary from country to country.
Q: How are small developing countries coping with these changes?
Despite volatility, the developing economies have shown promising growth in services exports, tourism and remittances. The services export growth has been mainly driven by the IT sector. In Sri Lanka, for instance, IT exports that amounted to less than US $ 50 million in 2001 have reached close to US $ 500 million in 2012. The growth in tourism is a result of the growing income levels, spread of Internet, etc. and this too was seen in Sri Lanka in the post-2009 period at a rapid rate.
People travelling overseas for jobs are also showing an increase. Remittances now exceed overseas aid and FDI in many developing countries. In Sri Lanka, remittances exceed 8 percent of GDP and are an important source of support to the balance of payments. With male migration for jobs now exceeding female migration, Sri Lanka is gradually moving towards exporting semi-skilled and skilled labour.
Remittances and tourism have been significant sources in sustaining the economic growth momentum in some developing countries and we will see the same trend in 2014.
Q: Let’s focus a bit closer on Sri Lanka now. What is your overall assessment of Sri Lanka’s economic prospects for 2014?
In 2014, Sri Lanka will show all characteristics of growth of small developing countries as I mentioned above with IT services exports, tourism and remittances playing a role in overall growth. With close to 6 percent GDP public investment in physical infrastructure as announced in the 2014 Budget, the debt financed government-led growth with some spillovers to private sector activities like construction will be visible in the economy.
Overall, Sri Lanka will also show a slight improvement in growth in 2014 compared to 2013 but the improvement may not manifest in full if 2014 is going to be an election year. Perhaps the growth rate will be between 7 percent and 7.5 percent — a reasonably high rate from an Asian perspective.
Q: You mentioned debt-financed growth. There are many questions regarding the sustainability of this strategy. How do you see it playing out in 2014?
We may see the end of global easy money in 2014 with the tapering off of quantitative easing in the US. Short-term foreign capital inflows to Treasury bonds/bills cannot be relied upon as an assured source of foreign exchange to boost up reserves in the coming years. LIBOR rates will grow at a faster rate in 2014 relative to 2013. This in turn means that international commercial borrowing is going to become costly in 2014.
Sri Lanka has already seen these tendencies in the second half of 2013 in its pursuit of borrowing from the global market where the US $ 750 million bond issue of the NSB carried 8.87 percent interest rate and the bond issue of the DFCC carried 9.62 percent interest rate and the bank settled for US $ 100 million instead of going for the desired US $ 250 million. Already the government has announced that it will go for a US $ 1.0 billion sovereign bond in 2014.
Presumably, part of it will go for infrastructure development work and other part for debt/interest repayment. What interest rate it will carry with the current BB- Sovereign Credit Rating will be an important issue in the context of overall management of the economy. Needless to say, a lower rate will be more manageable than a higher rate.
Q: Do you see any significant developments on the international political economy and trade front?
During the last four years Sri Lanka has been hit by two sanctions, viz., the GSP-Plus removal in August 2010 and US sanctions on Iran starting July 2012 that diminished crude oil imports from Iran at a concessional rate. The GSP-plus removal led to Sri Lanka losing over Rs.780 million from ready-made garments – the largest export item of the country — as was reported in Parliament in October 2013.
In 2014, Sri Lanka will embark on the China-Sri Lanka FTA. Will Sri Lankan ready-made garments gain in the Chinese market what it lost in the EU? Will the China-Sri Lanka FTA give duty free market access to key exports from Sri Lanka like ready-made garments, tea, gems and jewellery, rubber products, IT, etc.? If generous market access to Sri Lankan active exports is offered by China it will also give a boost to the overall exports that is much needed at a time when the export share in GDP has declined.
Likewise, the US sanctions on Iran will hit Sri Lanka’s oil imports – the largest import item of the country — in 2013 since Sri Lanka had to opt for some spot market purchasing from Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam, etc., instead of the earlier arrangement of 93 percent dependence on Iranian crude oil at a cheaper rate. Before the sanctions, the oil bill was 25 percent of the overall import bill of US $ 20 billion; i.e., close to US $ 5 billion.
In 2014, there are reasons to believe that the oil bill might be more than US $ 5 billion if the price factor dominates over the volume. Given the improving relations between US and Iran there may be a possibility of removing these sanctions and in that case, with overall global downtrend in oil prices in 2014, Sri Lanka will be a beneficiary.
Two important global political events to watch in the context of the Sri Lankan economy would be the March 2014 UNHRC session in Geneva outcome and the May 2014 Indian elections outcome and their implications for the economy.
Q: What are some of the key ongoing policy issues facing Sri Lanka that need to be tackled in 2014 and beyond?
Global experience shows that debt financed consumption and investment-led growth do not necessarily improve market sentiments and is not sustainable. Sustainable growth requires real sector growth with exports taking the lead and increased inflow of FDI.
So, it becomes all the more important to build on the export pick up seen in Sri Lanka in the months of September and October 2013 and also create a consistent and predictable policy environment to attract more FDI to ensure sustainable high growth in the coming years.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Why 1984 Golden Temple raid still rankles for Sikhs
In June Sikhs gathered at the Golden Temple to mark the 29th anniversary of what they see as a war crime
Four
Sikhs have been convicted in London of attacking a retired general who
led the Indian army's assault in 1984 on the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The storming of the Golden Temple, codenamed Operation Blue Star, was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.
They had been demanding an independent homeland - called Khalistan - in the Punjab.
The army's operation outraged Sikhs around the world, who accused the troops of desecrating the faith's holiest shrine.
Storming of the Golden Temple
- 1982: Armed Sikh militants, led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, take up residence in the Golden Temple complex
- 3-8 June 1984: The Indian army attacks the Golden Temple, killing Bhindranwale, his supporters and a number of civilians
- 31 October 1984: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who had given the go-ahead to Operation Blue Star, was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards
- November 1984: More than 3,000 are killed in anti-Sikh riots across India
According to the Indian government, about 400 people were killed, including 87 soldiers.
But Sikh groups dispute this figure. They say thousands died,
including a large number of pilgrims who were there for an important
Sikh festival, the anniversary of the death of their fifth guru, Arjan
Dev Ji.Parts of the temple were damaged during the fighting and Sikhs felt it was an attack on their religion.
Operation Blue Star led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her Sikh bodyguards in revenge.
Almost three decades later a group of Sikhs saw an opportunity to take revenge on Lt Gen Brar, who was in London on holiday with his wife Meena, a visit the couple regularly made, astonishingly without any security.
Lt Gen Brar told the court - by video-link from India - there had been many attempts on his life since 1984 and several extremist Sikh websites had had him listed as their number one target.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court were told by Lt Gen Brar: "[Operation Blue Star] wasn't carried out against the Sikh community but against militants who had been carrying out a lot of killings."
He said they had given the militants lots of warnings but when they had failed to respond, they had had no other option but to go into the temple.
Lt Gen Brar, bearing the scars to his throat, returns to India after the attack in London
"You can't sit there like dead ducks," he said, adding that they had had to fight back to defend themselves.
His attackers - Mandeep Singh Sandhu, 34, Birmingham, and Dilbag Singh, 36, from London, were just children when Operation Blue Star took place, but they bore a grudge.
When Singh Sandhu and Dilbag Singh found out Lt Gen Brar and his wife were in the capital, they made two reconnaissance missions to check out their movements.
A friend, Harjit Kaur, 38, of Hayes, west London, followed the couple into a casino, a restaurant and onto a bus.
Then on the night of 30 September, in a quiet street just yards away from their hotel, Lt Gen Brar and his wife were attacked.
The court heard Mrs Brar was thrown against a wall as three men grappled with her husband.
He told the court: "I shouted out, 'Who are you? Go away!' and tried to fight back."
The attackers will be sentenced on 19 September
"I thought I was never going to see my wife and children again," he said.
The attackers ran off into the night and drinkers from a nearby pub helped Lt Gen Brar as blood poured from his wounds.
He was taken to hospital, where he needed emergency surgery to the deep cuts to his face and neck.
The police initially treated it as attempted murder, but the defendants were charged with wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm.
The Golden Temple was built in the 16th Century and contains one of the holiest books in Sikhism
Mandeep Singh Sandhu refused to give evidence. Kaur also denied the charge.
But all three were found guilty of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
A fourth man, Barjinder Singh Sangha, 33, of Wolverhampton, had previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Another man remains at large.
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