Is Sri Lanka heading towards a Kangaroo Court?

Posted by On February 12, 2016 0 Comment

By Shenali D Waduge

A weekend newspaper brought the news of an 11 member Consultation Task Force to enforce provisions of the US-backed resolution which Sri Lanka co-sponsored in 2015. UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparations and Guarantees of Non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff is to arrive in Colombo next week.

The names selected for the 11 member committee & subsequent committees raises conflict of interest and questions exactly which victim’s grievances will be addressed. The names and their links raises doubt of impartiality and urges the government to relook at the names being nominated.

No one disagrees to any committee that is established putting together people who have proven track record and are respected in society and not the circles that they move around in.

However, the list of persons being nominated as the Consultation Task Force and other committees raises serious doubts whether this objective is likely to be achieved. It would be a grave injustice and would make a mockery out of the objective being expected from the public. Afterall, the people expect a team of impartial and unbiased nominees in lieu of foreign judges.

Some of these entities are working for local offices that are funded by foreign governments and think tanks linked to advancing their geopolitical agendas. These locals are paid by them and therefore their allegiance and their livelihoods are sustained by the disbursements of funds that come from overseas. In such a scenario one cannot expect them not to be influenced by their paymasters. Their allegiance therefore is not for truth or justice for the people or victims of this country.

  1. 1.    Manouri Muttetuwegama (Chairperson)

Is a member of the Friday Forum, a unit that has never issued a single statement against LTTE atrocities throughout 3 decades or even against Sinhala victims of LTTE terror. She has held appointments as chair to several Presidential Commissions on the Disappearance of Persons during the 1990s and has also been a member of the Human Rights Commission.

  1. 2.    Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuthy (Secretary)

Dr. Pakiasothy is the Executive Director of the CPA. “CPA has since its inception been at the forefront of the advocacy of federalism as a political and constitutional idea for addressing many of the constitutional problems and anomalies that characterize the Sri Lankan State.” (www.cpalanka.org)

CPA was at the forefront of the 2002 Norwegian backed Cease Fire Agreement and recipient of Rs. 272.31 mn during the three-year period. Some of these funding sources Norwegian Embassy, Commission Des Communautes (Norway), European Commission, European Union, National Endowment for Democracy (US),

Donors to CPA include USAID, Canadian International Development Agency, EU, Ford Foundation, GTZ, National Democratic Institute, NORAD, OXFAM, Save the Children Sri Lanka, Asia Foundation, Berghof Foundation, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung, UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR

He was openly critical of the GOSL banning 16 LTTE fronts under UNSC Resolution 1373 in 2014 though not calling that they be investigated to prove their links to the LTTE and thereafter have them removed if not.

Quoting Colombo Telegraph “Dr Saravanamuttu is himself accused of similar kinds of corruption – billing for un-held workshops, double billing scandals; i.e getting grants from two donors to do the same task and duplicating receipts, hotel bills and other bills to submit to donors (perhaps even submitting same bills to multiple donors), and hoodwinking donors by filing expenses under safe cost columns.” www.colombotelegraph.com
Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu & CPA Slip White-Collar Crime Under ‘Executive-Summary’ Carpet www.colombotelegraph.com

“The constitution has to change. A federal government for all of Sri Lanka will improve the government for all, including the Sinhalse in the South.”www.cwvhr.org

  1. 3.    Dr Gamini Viyangoda

Leads the Purawesi Balaya movement “Civil society leaders including Dr. Gamini Viyangoda, who leads the Purawesi Balaya movement that strongly supported the Sirisena candidacy in January” (Daily Ft)

www.colombotelegraph.com the letter featured is co-signed by several names in the panel and others associated with the new constitution – Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne

  1. 4.    Prof. Chitralekha (Sitralega) Maunaguru

head of the Department of Tamil Language at the Eastern University. Co- founder of Suriya Women’s Development Centre in Batticaloa. Attended a three-day international conference on `Facets of Tamil Diaspora’ in 2007. She is also signatory of a letter signed on behalf of Tamil women which called for the release of detainees under PTA, demilitarize the north and east, facilitate UN special rapporteur visits. This letter was also signed by Sandya Ekneligoda. www.colombomirror.com

She is also the author of “Gendering Tamil Nationalism: The Construction of `Woman’ in Projects of Protest and Control.” Unmaking the Nation: The Politics of Identity and History in Modern Sri Lanka.

She also sits on the Advisory Board of the Noolaham Foundation

She also served in the Board of Directors of ICES (International Centre for Ethnic Studies) ICES receives funding from a range of bilateral and multilateral donors and foundations including Ford Foundation, CIDA, IDRC, Diakonia and NORAD

  1. 5.    Prof. Daya Somasunderam

senior professor of psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna, and a consultant psychiatrist. lrrp.wordpress.com “Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Daya Somasundaram himself fled Sri Lanka fearing for his and his family’s safety, and is Australia’s first ‘refugee scholar’ at the University under the Scholar Rescue Fund. He advocates devolution “When it comes to addressing the real issue, it is a matter of power devolution. “

LTTE website Tamilnet wow.tamilnet.com

  1. 6.    Mirak Raheem

former researcher with the Centre for Policy Alternatives (working under Pakiasothy Saravanamuthu), serves as Trustee for Neelan Tiruchelvan Trust (Neelan Tiruchelvan a promotion of federalism/devolution) He also sat on the FLICT Steering Committee (Facilitating Local Initiatives for Conflict Transformation funded by  German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. FLICT is also supported by the European Union)

Raheem & Bhavani Fonseka co-authored a report ‘Land in the Eastern Province-Politics, Policy and Conflict’ acknowledging their debt to Pakiasothy, but the report after visits to 3 towns is full of generalities and reflects an attempt to shift landownership rights from a sovereign government into the hands of minorities.

  1. 7.    Dr. Farzana Haniffa

Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo, manager of The Citizen’s Commission. She is a council member of the Social Scientists’ Association and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Secretariat for Muslims (originally Peace Secretariat for Muslims set up in 2004 and received a grant of Rs. 23,9 million from the Norwegian government in 2005 and Rs.27m in 2006)

  1. 8.    Visakha Dharmadasa

heads an NGO to champion the armed forces as founder and chair of Association of War Affected Women and Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action but at the one to one meeting with UNHRC head Pillay she had spoken against the Sri Lanka Armed forces. Is also part of another NGO – Inclusive Security founded by Ambassador Swanee Hunt (member of Council for Foreign Relations) Inclusive Security’s advisory council also includes former President Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland/UN Commissioner for Human Rights 1997-2002 and well known for the Durban racist conference) – Mary Robinson was also a signatory to The Elders letter sent to UNHRC encouraging a resolution against Sri Lanka, also serving on the advisory council is Kenneth Roth the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch an agency that belongs to George Soros. Roth has been accused of bias in Venezuela, Rwanda,

  1. 9.    Dharmasiri Bandaranayake

Is a film director & producer of Ekadipathi (The Dictator) in 1976, Makarakshaya (The Dragon) in 1985, Dhawala Beeshana (Men Without Shadows) in 1988, Yakshagamanaya (Resistible Rise of Arturo) in 1994 and Trojan Kanthavo (Trojan Women) in 1999.

Sinhalanet Note; Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, notoriously popular as Federalist and pro-Tamil separatist

10. Shantha Abhimanasingham PC

Jaffna Bar Association President, Chairperson of the National Committee studying the problems faced by Women-Headed Households

11. Prof. Gameela Samarasinghe

Associate Professor in Psychology in the Department of Sociology, University of Colombo. She has served in the Citizen’s Commission on the expulsion of the Muslims from the Northern Province by the LTTE in 1990. She is also the Founder of The Good Practice Group

The other members to function as Expert Advisory Panel and Representative (Regional) Advisory Panel include the following names.

The names of the 2 Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka members have not been given neither have the social activists from Jaffna and Batticoloa.

These teams are to set up the following commissions

1. Commission for Truth, Justice, Reconciliation & Non-recurrence

2. Office for Missing Persons based on the principle of families right to know (with expertise from the ICRC)

3. Judicial Mechanism with a Special Counsel

4. Office of Reparations.

They are given 3 months to finish consultation & submit recommendations of a terrorist conflict that lasted 3 decades!

12. Bhavani Fonseka

She is a senior researcher in the Centre of Policy Alternatives headed by Pakiasothy Saravanamuthu

cpalanka.org(co-authored with Mirak Raheem also in the Task Force and both involved with CPA)

13. Brito Fernando

President of the Families of the Disappeared. How many of LTTE’s victims does this organization represent?

Signatory to letter urging government to stop hate campaigns.www.right2lifelanka.org. A UK newspaper however, reveals that ‘Violence more common’ in Bible than Quran www.independent.co.uk

14. Sudharshana Gunawardena

co-convenor of ‘Platform for Democracy’. Representing Rights Now Collective for Democracy his letter to Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka “www.eyesrilanka.com (same names keep appearing)

15. Nimalka Fernando

She is President of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR). As a student was involved in Student Christian Movement. In 2011 she received the Citizen’s Peace Award from the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka (the head of the NPC spoke at a meeting organised by NESoHR which had a map of Eelam behind him)

her interview given to IPS on the 22 March 2006. (www.ipsnews.net)

“the reconciliation that is needed should also provide dignity to the Tamil Nation on the island.” (2014 – tamilguardian.com)

16. Niran Anketell

Since late 2008, he has worked in the chambers of Mr. M.A. Sumanthiran (TNA) – he is loyal junior of Sumanthiran.

Spoke in favor of a Commission of Inquiry at the seminar organized by Nimalka Fernando’s IMADR in Geneva 2014, also speaking at this event were Sandya Ekneligoda and Ananthy Sasitharan of the TNA. imadr.org

17. “Mr. Niran Anketell,

a Tamil lawyer based in Colombo, started his presentation by welcoming the consensus resolution which includes key set of civil society’s demands such as: the international involvement in the transitional justice process;

“the TNA with Sumanthiran or Anketell cannot be trusted with information pertaining to war crimes and crimes against humanity”

Don’t Trust The Colombo TNA Leadership With War Crimes Evidence! www.seithy.com

18. Father Yogi (why is a Catholic father included to a Task Force?) Does he work for a NGO?

www.ft.lk – When Dr, Pakiasothy Saravanamuthu, Bhavani Fonseka, Brito Fernando, Niran Anketell, Rev. Fr. V. Yogeswaran who are the very members of the Task Force have endorsed that the Sri Lankan army are already guilty before being found guilty by any court of law and their organizations have also endorsed same where is the neutrality? 

In 2015 a host of ‘academics’ signed a letter addressed to President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Bin Ra’ad, Leader of the Opposition R. Sampanthan and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka, stressed the need for learning from the experience of the countries such as South Africa and Cambodia.

These academics seem to have confused LTTE terrorism with Apartheid in South Africa and Pol Pot in Cambodia (they may not have known that Pol Pot was secretly funded by both the US & UK Governments). Some of the names chosen for the Committee were signatories highlighting that they have already concluded that war crimes have been committed by the Sri Lanka armed forces. This makes them automatically unsuited to sit on the panel. 

Given that two of the above team are looking into the affairs of the Muslims, we need to next wonder why there is no champion for Sinhalese rights/grievances when the Sinhalese compose 70% of the population of Sri Lanka.

What is also obvious is that at no time in the post-2009 reconciliation process have any of these entities or individuals named, uttered a single word on the need to resettle Sinhala IDPs, address Sinhala grievances, look into the socio-economic welfare of Sinhala victims of LTTE terror or demanded the return of the Sinhalese & Muslims to their original homes in the North. None of the above named individuals or their organizations have issued a single statement against LTTE or questioned how LTTE struck terror for 30 odd years or called to investigate the individuals/organizations or countries that provided material and other support to the LTTE. Given that the resolution explicitly says ‘both sides’ why is the LTTE always omitted from investigation? In particular the 12,000 LTTE cadres that surrendered acknowledging they were working for the LTTE. 

Any individuals by virtue of being funded by foreign parties and linked to ideologies that run contrary to Sri Lanka remaining a unitary & sovereign nation are unsuited to be on any task force of national interest.

The above are identified as NGO activists paid by foreign funds to steer a pro-foreign policy agenda. None of them are respected amongst the majority community or have shown to have functioned with unbias & neutrality. None of them have openly condemned LTTE terror on civilians at any time throughout the 30 years. Their organizations have never gone to Geneva to complain against the manner LTTE has systematically targeted civilians outside of the war zone. These players are only targeting their statements at the government forces. There is no balance in the composition of the Task force.

A committee must have balance. None of the names have a track record of highlighting LTTE’s crimes on civilians or thought it fit to use their organizations to showcase the manner LTTE struck terror. The Sri Lanka Armed Forces belong to the State of Sri Lanka, their conduct cannot be determined by civil society. There are military courts to do that. The foreign experts who have sat on international tribunals for previous war crimes have determined that the forces did not commit war crimes.

When the Tamil IDPs have got their fair share of reparations after the conflict, the Sinhalese & Muslim victims of LTTE were omitted from this but none of these individuals or their entities have highlighted this fact. On what grounds were the Sinhala & Muslim victims of the over 300 LTTE attacks omitted from getting international attention or sympathy.

A government needs the support of the People. The previous government was toppled by the People. The present Government needs to be aware that in a democracy governments need the People’s mandate to stay in power. The people are watching.

  • Who are funding these Task Force teams?
  • How are these Task Force nominees earning their living? Who pays them and who do they work for?
  • Have these members declared their personal wealth?

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