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CHARGESHEET AGAINST LTTE : We demand accountability of 30 years of LTTE War Crimes

Posted by On June 19, 2015 0 Comment

No domestic inquiry should take place before the People of Sri Lanka are told by the UN & the International Community of what actions they will take against the LTTE for the following list of war crimes and Geneva Convention violations given that the organizations/individuals linked to LTTE are now banned under UNSC Resolution 1373.

War Crimes upon Sinhalese & Muslims

  • Pre-meditated murder – planning and executing
  • Ethnic cleansing – Chasing Sinhalese & Muslims out of the North though they had been living in North Sri Lanka even before independence and have valid deeds to lands as proof
  • Ethnic cleansing – Sinhalese & Muslims given 24 hours to vacate the North
  • Theft of lands & property – The Sinhalese & Muslims who were chased out of the North had their lands & property stolen by LTTE and these are occupied by LTTE families. LTTE destroying traces of evidence that proves claim to these lands/property belonging to Sinhalese/Muslims.
  • Mental agony to families who have had to flee areas they had been living in, having to search for new homes, no financial help from the state and the loss of property that remains unreturned.
  • The many Sinhalese & Muslims left injured some with grievous wounds that deny them employability and thus a financial burden on their already poor families having to pay for medical treatment since 1980s.
  • Armed LTTE storming villages and cutting people and children to pieces to instil fear in them to leave their villages so LTTE could expand their territory.
  • Targeting civilian installations and carrying out pre-meditated murder upon civilians getting about their daily lives.
  • Instilling fear among civilians who feared leaving their homes not knowing when or if they would return.
  • Loss of revenue for the country as a result of 30 decades of terror in terms of lack of investment / development / tourism etc.

Upon (selected) Tamils

  • LTTE denies Tamil children their fundamental right to education/ violating Article 26 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights ((1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory) – Abducting children (as young as 10) who were going/returning from school and taking them to be trained in LTTE camps. LTTE visited schools and addressed students as young as 14 to indoctrinate them. Principals or teachers opposing LTTE were simply gunned down
  • Forcing every family to ‘donate’ a child for the LTTE cause (note: children of low caste & poor families had to donate – no Tamil children from high caste/class in Colombo, elsewhere or in foreign countries donated their children to the ‘cause’ and neither did LTTE demand it.
  • Mental agony for Tamils whose children were forcibly taken and died and the financial losses they are suffering
  • Forcible recruitment of Tamil adults as ‘volunteers’
  • Forced unpaid labor – LTTE getting Tamils to dig bunkers & work as slaves for them (LTTE referred to this as Donor Labor) Those unwilling had to pay Rs.5000. Forced labour is a violation of Geneva Convention
  • LTTE violating Article 4 and 5 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights – that no one is to be held in slavery/servitude as slavery and slave trade is prohibited. No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman degrading treatment or punishment. LTTE prisons for both Tamils and Sri Lankan soldiers denied all these rights.
  • Denying freedom of movement (Restriction of movement is against international laws as well as violation of Sri Lanka’s Constitution) Tamils given passes issued by LTTE’s Transport Monitoring Division (TMD). No Tamil could leave LTTE checkpoints without permission. Tamils wanting to leave North had to leave a family member as ‘guarantor’ even land deeds had to be placed as guarantees of returning! Note Chief Minister Wigneswaran’s declaration that North is only for Tamils is also a violation of international laws & violates Sri Lankas Constitution
  • LTTE denies Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by denying Tamils right to life, liberty and security of person
  • LTTE denies Tamils freedom of thought and expression and democratic rights – any Tamil opposing LTTE were shot & killed (journalist DBS Jeyaraj was also attacked)
  • LTTE confiscation of Tamil lands/property (we are yet to know how many LTTE families have taken over lands/property of Tamils by either killing them or making them flee to other parts of Sri Lanka)
  • Psychologically terrorizing Tamils (in Sri Lanka & Abroad) physically abusing Tamils if they did not contribute monthly to the LTTE kitty
  • Forced starvation for compliance – LTTE stealing the essential goods (rice, sugar, dhal, flour etc) sent by the GOSL for the Tamil civilians. LTTE gave these goods to LTTE families only.
  • Tamil farmers having to having to give a bag of paddy each to the LTTE
  • LTTE Taxed Tamils (in Sri Lanka & Overseas) – Business operators had to make a payment to the LTTE for each shipment passing its checkpoint. Households had to pay according to income (even India had to pay a monthly stipend because LTTE complained of lack of revenue in signing Indo-Lanka Accord)
  • Public executions for any Tamil who provided information to the Sri Lankan Military/Police
  • Ordering Tamils to commit suicide : Human Rights Watch declares suicide bombing a crime against humanity. HRW also declares that ‘political elites, commanders, and those that organize, facilitate, and encourage these suicide attacks are likewise guilty of conduct that offends against prevailing norms of international criminal law’. Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch says, “[t]he people who carry out suicide bombings are not martyrs, they’re war criminals, and so are the people who help to plan such attacks.” * [Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 28(b), U.N.Doc. no. A/CONF. 183/9 (17 July, 1998), 37 I.L.M. 999].
  • If suicide terrorism is a crime – LTTE and in particular Adele Balasingham cannot escape from its role in mass murder, recruitment leading up to death, destruction of life and intentional killing of others. ‘Accountability’ must start with charging Adele Balasingham for turning men, women and children into killers, kidnapping them from parents, giving them training in arms, placing suicide vests on them, drugging and brainwashing them into killing others and taking their own lives. Proof of Adele Balasingham being a LTTE key member is given in the Norwegian Government website (SL) where she is listed a member of the LTTE delegation during the 2002 round the world peace talk sessions held in Thailand (three sessions), Oslo, Germany and Japan. www.norway.lk
  • Suicide terrorism has no legitimacy under international or local laws. There is no ‘just cause’ in homicide. Suicide missions are all crimes against humanity. No suicide bomber or suicide commander/trainer can be more important than the life or lives they are intentionally planning to eliminate. Suicide attacks fall into the category of murder with a mens rea – willingness to kill and willingness to die
  • Assassination of Tamil leaders and killing of any Tamil going against LTTE wishes – over 200 Tamil politicians, parliamentarians, academics, intellectuals, public officials, religious leaders, civil society members, journalists, media personalities, rival militant groups and their leaders and Tamil civilians including children have been killed by LTTE since 1970s.
  • Tamils from whom LTTE plucked children to turn into cadres were all low caste & poor and they are too scared to demand justice from LTTE for killing their children. However some have filed cases against missing children kidnapped by LTTE & in particular Elilan LTTE leader and husband of TNA member Ananthy.
  • LTTE illicit international networked scams that range from narcotics, human smuggling, money laundering, credit card, boat smuggling, propaganda to turn economic migrants as asylum seekers.

LTTE crimes during the conflict

  • Forcibly abducting Tamil children despite appeals by parents
  • Shooting parents who tried to stop their children been abducted to be sent into battle
  • Shooting fleeing civilians (appeals made by UNSG and foreign envoys to allow civilians to cross over gives evidence that LTTE was stopping civilians from fleeing to Government controlled areas)
  • Sending innocent children and untrained men and women to battle and thus compromising their lives giving them guns and ordering to shoot when they had no training whatsoever and with the conflict described as armed conflict the rules of war applies entailing even civilian combatants who are engaged in combat activities & hostilities to be shot at by a military (soldiers cannot be faulted if civilians are put on the line of combat by LTTE).
  • Severely torturing forcibly abducted children who tried to escape and were caught
  • Parents of children who refused to allow children to be taken assaulted and some fathers put into LTTE prisons
  • Confiscating essential commodities including food, medicines and even fuel sent by the Government to the people of the North and East (this was done decades before & during conflict) Such stolen provisions were found inside LTTE bunkers after conflict ended and include UN/NGO food packs as well. Stolen essential goods sent by GOSL were sold in LTTE shops
  • pregnant females abducted by force were given medicines to abort the baby
  • Falsely using photos of LTTE murders and claiming them to be done by Security
  • Destroyed cultivation areas denying means of livelihood for villages
  • UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon has accused the LTTE of forcibly cutting hair of girls trying to flee the conflict to mislead the military into thinking there were LTTE. Those who have any doubts may like to read the report that confirms this – www.hrw.org
  • LTTE using Tamils as human shields and not allowing them to escape to safer areas & away from combat is a violation of Third & Fourth Geneva Conventions & Additional Protocol 1 and International Criminal Court declares ‘utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render points, areas or military forces immune from military operations’ is a war crime (UNSG & foreign envoys have been public appeals to LTTE to release civilians & Ban Ki Panel report confirms Tamils were kept as human shields) – LTTE’s excuse is that civilians were Volunteer Human Shields (this is out of scope in IHL)

o    Article 5 of IHL says “Civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules, which are additional to other applicable rules of international law, shall be observed in all circumstances” (Protection of civilian population).

o    Article 23 (Third Geneva Convention) specifically states that a prisoner of war is not to be used “to render certain points or areas immune from military operation”. (Geneva Convention III).

o    Article 28 declares illegal the practice of employing human shields under IHL Fourth Geneva Convention “the presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operation”.

o    Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Convention – Article 51(7) says “the presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations”. This clearly applies to passive and active human shields whether they are voluntary human shields or not.

  • LTTE violation of No Fire Zone / Civilian Safety Zone – LTTE forcibly took civilians with them as they retreated. LTTE entered the safe zone meant only for civilians. LTTE violated “The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.” What is the action of the IC on LTTE violations of the laws of human shields, shooting at civilians attempting to escape?
  • GOSL declared No Fire Zones – on 21 January 2009 & on 12 February 2009. Loudspeakers, leaflets were dropped directing Tamils where to escape to. Inspite of this LTTE took its heavy machinery and moved with civilians firing from among them. Having used civilians and shot from among them LTTE now claims civilians were shot by GOSL troops when civilians should not have been kept in a firing range. Returning fire is a perfectly legitimate action. LTTE was also not in uniform and were often in civilian attire.
  • LTTE shooting at fleeing civilians – www.youtube.com Anna Niesat of Human Rights Watch
  • LTTE using civilians to bargain and buy time.
  • LTTE violated Geneva Convention by hiding amongst civilians, keeping their weapons amongst civilians and firing at the Sri Lankan Army from these positions
  • LTTE killing of injured LTTE cadres – plenty of witness accounts

LTTE fronts continuing LTTE activities abroad

  • Despite bans on 16 organizations as LTTE fronts and banning 494 individuals these entities are continuing programs to collect funds – Tamils living overseas are forced to send their children to these ‘Eelam Madrasas’ and fees charged go into the LTTE kitty
  • Tamil civilians living overseas are coerced into peddling lies over electronic media and children are forced to take part in demonstrations carrying Eelam flags which are illegal
  • LTTE has misused the freedom of religion to control the kittys of the foreign kovils and many of these kovils are now under foreign surveillance. Churches should similarly be monitored as well given that some priests have been openly supportive of LTTE terror as Father Emmanuel of GTF is also named as involved in terror.
  • LTTE instils fear among Tamils – Tamil people are scared to say that they suffered because of the LTTE and fearful to condemn LTTE lest their families back home may suffer
  • Tamils are forced to feel that if any Tamil relations are living overseas (in better pastures) it is due to the LTTE and so Tamils must be eternally indebted to the LTTE. This forced psychological gratitude factor continues to prevail because remnants of the LTTE prevail still.
  • LTTE fronts manipulating the social service systems of foreign nations – LTTE fronts have incorporated themselves as charities and humanitarian organizations channeling money accumulated by telling lies across the world; money raised tax-free from which they have even purchased arms and other sophisticated machinery for their terror campaigns while enjoying a luxurious life overseas.

Other illegalities to be investigated

  • Immediately following 9/11 & War on Terror establishing the Tamil National Alliance to transfer LTTE ideology onto a political platform in the event drastic actions were to be taken against the LTTE internationally! Thus LTTE links to TNA – its creation, those linked need to be investigated.
  • Bias of UN/ICRC/NGOs officials towards LTTE that Tamils stopped lodging complaints with them
  • Complicity of NGOs/INGOs even UN and links to LTTE terrorists : In 2002 TIME magazine was taken to one of these female LTTE Tiger bases. Some of the foreign NGOs operating in the North held seminars at these training sites some of which went under the cover of LTTE run ‘orphanages’. None of these foreign representatives of agencies claiming to work on behalf of children and women ever wrote to their principals reporting LTTE violations.
  • Investigating NGOs for gifting heavy machinery & other equipment which LTTE made use of for digging bunkers & making bunds!

Some questions yet to be answered by the International Community:

  • LTTE violated Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions that prohibits acts aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population. What was done against LTTE’s ‘acts of terror’? These acts had no military advantage except to create mayhem. Why are the 32 nations that continue to ban LTTE not taking action especially since LTTE fronts are now declared banned under UNSC Resolution 1373?
  • What are LTTE’s obligations under IHL given that the conflict is described as non-international armed conflict and what are the actions to be taken against LTTE for these war crimes as the offenders (initiators of terror) shouldn’t LTTE crimes be investigated first, GOSL was only defending its People a legitimate right that a sovereign government has?

a) Did the LTTE respect and ensure respect for IHL by all those acting on its instructions, or under its direction or control.

b) Did LTTE allow and facilitated rapid unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief.

c) Did LTTE keep hostages – a violation of Geneva Conventions.

d) Did LTTE keep human shields – a violation of Geneva Conventions.

e) Did LTTE blur distinction between combatant and civilian.

  • If LTTE does not have any legal status under IHL but LTTE is legally obliged to as an armed group to ensure that its members respect IHL what is the international community doing about LTTE violations? (simply saying Prabakaran is dead won’t do and is not acceptable)
  • The crimes of LTTE over 30 years and during the conflict is given above, what are the criminal charges LTTE will face including the LTTE fronts banned for links with LTTE
  • LTTE cadres (captured enemy fighters) are not prisoners of war. In non-international armed conflicts LTTE can be prosecuted for taking up arms. Prisoner of War is a special status given under Third Geneva Convention to captured enemy soldiers or ‘combatants’ in an international armed conflict only. LTTE is not entitled to these provisions.
  • It is unfair to only demand IHL amnesties for the final conflict when throughout 30 years the unarmed civilian victims have been given no sympathy or empathy from the International Community.
  • If the Sri Lankan military had been indiscriminately firing at the No-Fire Zones since 21 January 2009, how did 11,000 LTTE combatants live to surrender themselves to the military and why would the elimination of the LTTE have taken till 19 May 2009 to complete?
  • Why would 5,000 or more soldiers sacrifice their lives, when going by the genocide and mass-killing argument, the Sri Lankan military could have blown the entire area to smithereens? If the LTTE was firing from within the civilian safe zone and the army retaliated with fire, who was primarily at fault?
  • In short ignoring the suffering of unarmed civilians who either died, were injured and continue to suffer mental trauma outside of a war terrain throughout of 3 decades of LTTE terror and the pro-active efforts by UN & international entities to demand accountability for only the last phase of the conflict is a violation of the rights of all Sri Lankans who have been ignored. Where is the justice for them. The IC must remember that it was LTTE who took to arms and began killing and it is against the initiator of violence that the justice system must function against.
  • 9/11 was just one incident but US/NATO ended up invading and occupying a country that did not have any role in 9/11. Sri Lanka’s military option was taken after 30 years of suffering and only after local and internationally mediated ceasefires, peacetalks, negotiations all failed to deliver any outcome or stop LTTE’s killing.

These factors cannot be overlooked with such vengeance by the IC /UN & its associated entities because it is showing a clear bias and lack of empathy for the real victims who did no wrong to the LTTE to be targeted and killed by them.

Therefore, we are against any new domestic investigation until and unless the UN/IC commence war crimes trials against LTTE using the already incorporated provisions of the UNSC Resolution 1373 and take action against all individuals and organizations that had been linked to LTTE over the years.

Shenali D Waduge

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