Minister Douglas Devananda hopeful of seeing an active Northern Provincial Council soon:

Dozens of Jaffna students were around Minister Douglas Devananda when we visited his highly secured Social Services Ministry in Colombo to which the LTTE sent a handicapped woman suicide cadre to take his life. The students have come all the way from Jaffna to visit Colombo and were showing their new innovations to the Minister. "You should use your creativity for development not for terror acts", the Minister was advising the students while admiring their work.

Minister Devananda is of the opinion that Tamil community has been deprived of all their democratic rights because of the LTTE leadership. Destroying the LTTE leadership is a prerequisite to ensure democratic rights of the Tamil people in the North. "To re-establish democracy we have to defeat the LTTE", Minister Devananda says in an interview with the Daily News. He says he is happy the way the Government has taken steps to implement the Provincial Council system in the East and hope that Northern Provincial Council will also be established soon after the liberation of the North.

Q: You will soon complete your third year as Secretary of Defence. What is your assessment of these past years and the role you played there?

Within these three years we’ve achieved a lot. I wouldn’t call these my achievements but it was those of the security forces. I think personally that the people elected the President primarily to solve this problem, and not for anything else. The people despite their silence were unhappy about the trend in the country and wanted the kind of change President Rajapaksa could bring. You can see this clearly in the voting pattern.  When we took over there areas referred to as LTTE controlled areas; they were not accepted by any country, leave alone Sri Lanka. This is one country and for one part to be called LTTE’s is certainly not acceptable. We have been able to bring a lot of these areas under our control and the real victory here is the Eastern province. We’ve had elections there and established a democratically elected provincial government and started a development process. This is a major achievement. The weakening of the LTTE and their sea Tiger capabilities,  were areas not tackled for a long time. Maybe smuggling by the LTTE still continues, but in the last year alone we destroyed 10 of their ships and as of today we have  complete domination in the sea around Sri Lanka. The Navy has changed its tactics and we’ve been very successful against the LTTE.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, undertaking the first ever foreign ministerial visit to Brazil on the invitation of his counterpart, held bilateral talks with the Minister of External Relations of Brazil Celso Amorim, and signed the Framework Agreement on Technical Cooperation, which aims at fostering close cooperation in areas such as agriculture, livestock and energy.

Statement made on behalf of Sri Lanka by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, at the debate on the Universal Periodic Review, at the 9^th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. 

The Universal Periodic Review, Mr President, proved a fascinating exercise. It has been a learning experience for Sri Lanka as well as for many others and, as the decision to have this item on the agenda at this session indicates, this is a show that will go on. We hope that, well before the first act draws to a close, we would all have learned the lessons of faith, hope and charity without which this Council would be as an empty vessel, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. 

Sri Lanka, Mr President, was pleased at the recognition of many of our friends that, though we had problems, we had succeeded in maintaining fundamental social and economic rights for all our people. Our efforts in providing health and education at comparatively high levels even to those of our citizens temporarily under the control of terrorists were appreciated, and we intend to live up to the expectations we have created even as the struggle against terrorism enters a decisive phase.

A visit by young cricketers from the East to the South is the main item in the Peace Secretariat celebration of International Peace Day on September 21^st 2008.

Following the liberation of the East last year, much effort has gone into political and economic development. The election of a Provincial Council in which both the government and the opposition are mult-ethnic, unlike in the past, and the new investment that has flowed into the area are a harbinger of the pluralistic prosperity the East can soon enjoy.

However it is also necessary to pay attention to social harmony if we are to ensure prosperous development. Whilst much needs to be done following the divisive attitudes of the past, the Peace Secretariat thought it would be appropriate to arrange a cricket match between two different parts of our country as a symbol of how peace can flourish. The interaction of youngsters is essential to build up the future of Sri Lanka, and we were pleased at the unstinting cooperation we received from so many individuals and branches of government to take the idea forward. 

Fri Sep 19,

COLOMBO (AFP) - Tamil Tigers were once regarded one of the world's most ruthlessly efficient rebels, but they risk losing their mini-state as Sri Lankan forces make a determined push after decades of bloodshed. After months of bitter fighting, security forces have reached the outskirts of the Tiger political capital -- Kilinochchi -- the six-kilometre (four-mile) long township along the main A-9 highway to the Jaffna peninsula.Aid workers who evacuated Kilinochchi this week -- in line with a government order to leave ahead of an expected military show down -- said bombs and artillery shells were landing just within the political offices of the Tigers.

"The military advance is getting closer to Kilinochchi and the Tigers may simply melt away," an aid official who declined to be named said soon after leaving the north.Sri Lanka's top brass had said they want to take Kilinochchi before the end of the year, but defence analysts argue that it must be done sooner as monsoon rains could intensify and render heavy armour ineffective from about October.

By C. Bryson Hull

COLOMBO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers will go underground rather than "fight to the last man" once a northern offensive that has cut their strength to 3,000 fighters from 12,000 nears its end, Sri Lanka's army chief said on Thursday.

Lieutenant-General Sarath Fonseka also said he had no clear timeframe for retaking territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), because his aim was killing all of the insurgents rather than seizing ground.

"We don't want to end up in a situation like in Iraq when you're moving fast, but you left behind a whole army who will resort to guerrilla tactics," Fonseka told Reuters in an interview at Army Headquarters in the capital Colombo.

"Therefore I don't give a timeframe," said the 38-year-veteran who was appointed army commander in 2005. The military in the last three months has stepped up an 18-month-old drive to wipe out the Tamil Tigers -- regarded as one of the world's most resilient guerrilla groups -- and end a war that has killed 70,000 since exploding in 1983. The Tigers want to establish a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils, in a nation that has been ruled by majority Sinhala-led government since independence from Britain in 1948.

Information and Media Minister and Cabinet spokesman Anura Priyadharshana Yapa yesterday assured that the Government has not left any room to create a shortage of food stuffs and medicine to the civilians in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi areas. The Government on the request made by the District Secretaries is continuing the supply of food items and medicine to the civilians in these two districts without any hindrance.

As the Government mechanism is operating in these two districts, the Government is always committed to release sufficient food stocks to cater to the civilian needs, the Minister told the weekly Cabinet press briefing yesterday. "We are happy to note that some political parties have also endorsed the Government's attempts made to release the required amount of foodstuffs to the civilians in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi areas."

The Seva Vanitha Unit of the Foreign Ministry has presented medical equipment to the new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Nikaweratiya Base Hospital, upon a request of the Ministry of Health. Additional Secretary of the Ministry, Jayantha Palipane on behalf of the President of the Seva Vanitha Unit of the Foreign Ministry Deepthi Bogollagama, handed over the equipment to the Provincial Director of Health of the North Western Province, Dr. A.K.S.B. de Alwis and the Acting District Medical Officer, Dr. A.D.P.M.D. Athukorale, last Saturday (13th September 2008) at the hospital.

The donation of this urgently required medical equipment was made possible by Dr. Thomas H.C. Cheung, Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Hong Kong and flown to Sri Lanka by the courtesy of SriLankan Airlines.

At least 25 terrorists were killed, 10 LTTE craft reported destroyed, including 3 large attack boats in the coastal waters at Valaipadu, off Nachchikudha, following an intense sea battle between Navy and LTTE, Thursday (Sep 18), since 11.30 a.m.  According to naval sources, the battle, which erupted 5 nautical miles West of Nachchikudha, lasted over 3 hours forcing LTTE to retreat with heavy damages.As the battle progressed, naval Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS) and elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) craft were reinforced into the confrontation zone.

Statement made on behalf of Sri Lanka by Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, during the Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the High-Level Fact Finding Mission to Beit Hanoun.

Sri Lanka welcomes the report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Beit Hanoun and the presentation of Archbishop Tutu. The Mission appreciated the need for thorough investigation before pronouncing on so worrying a situation, and we are sorry that Israel did not feel itself able to cooperate with the Mission. The terrible suffering of the Palestinian people over so many decades is an issue that has worried the world, and we believe Israel, set up through the United Nations, and legitimately concerned about terrorist threats to its existence, should make it clear through cooperation with the United Nations that it subscribes to international norms and law, in its efforts at self defence. Discussion with Israeli personnel was intended to redress the imbalances perceived by Israel, and such discussion should not be denied in a context in which, as even the European Union had indicated, disproportionality was feared.

Mike Watson travels to Sri Lanka to see tea plantations and learn more about the island's history 

Next time you pour yourself a cup of tea, drink a toast to Devastating Emily. That was the lurid nickname of a leaf virus that wiped out the coffee crop in Ceylon in the 1870s.

But a group of mainly Scottish pioneers weren't to be beaten. They were already growing tea – green gold. The plantations they established and the bankrupt coffee estates they bought are still producing some of the best of the world's crop.

Four thousand feet up in the centre of the country, now Sri Lanka, life has hardly changed since those days. The British connection is still strong and many plantations have British names – Blair Atholl, Brookfield, Kew and Kirkoswald. On the winding railway (designed by Brits) up to the best plantations there's even a station called Great Western.

Statement of Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, responding on behalf of Sri Lanka in the General Debate on ‘Human Rights situations that require the Council’s attention’. 

Sri Lanka is deeply touched by the concern expressed by countries of the European Union for the human rights situation in some countries in Asia and Africa. We hope that, with advances in globalization, such concern will soon be universal. As others here have pointed out, the moral stature this Council should command requires consistency. Though we know this is not easy, we hope all of us will strive to achieve it in time.

by: Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

In the plethora of allegations being flung against the Sri Lankan government with regard to what is claimed to be a humanitarian crisis in the Wanni, Jehan Perera’s most recent essay may serve as an object lesson as to how the discussion has been so sadly affected by prejudice. I have long believed that, unlike many who assume the government is necessarily bad, Jehan tries to be balanced. Unfortunately he fails because he begins with preconceptions without considering the facts. 

The essay entitled ‘Humanitarian Crisis has larger implications’ is primarily about the decision that ‘all international humanitarian organisations’ should leave the Wanni, which he thinks ‘signals a war without limits and without witnesses’. But this in itself is just plain nonsense. A war without limits means a war which ignores international law, and this is something the government has never done. A war without witnesses implies a determination to do things which will not bear witness, but as Jehan later acknowledges, the government has ‘permitted the ICRC to remain’. Indeed, when the government issued its instructions for others to relocate, it had asked that both ICRC and WFP wait behind, and it was the UN that, in a Three Musketeers mood, announced that it should be all or nothing. – ‘I informed him that …. It is not possible for the staff of one UN agency to work alone’.

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Secretary General of SCOPP and Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights met with the WHO officials of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse and discussed immediate mental health needs of Sri Lanka in relation to the conflict, and put forward some suggestions with regard to mental health and reconciliation He highlighted the fact that one of the key elements in advancing the peace process of Sri Lanka is confidence building between the parties through reconciliation and that dealing with the simpler mental health issues might assist with this. In this regard, Prof. Wijesinghe requested WHO assistance to initiate projects on reconciliation through the line Ministries, through assistance with therapy based on interactions.

Training for this purpose and providing space and opportunity for such interactions could serve an invaluable purpose. This was particularly true with regard to the reintegration of ex-combatants in the Eastern Province at present, and it would soon need to be extended to the Northern Province too.

By: Marian Menaka Fernando

The LTTE launched its armed struggle over two decades ago vowing to protect civilians. But, today it has come to such a pass that it is shamelessly taking cover behind people. When Prabhakaran promised a final solution through war in his heroes` day speech of 2005, a few days after the induction of the present President Mahinda Rajapaksa, one may have thought he was equal to the task. Then, he threw down the gauntlet at Mavil Aru and dragged a wavering government into war. The rest is history.

The Defence Ministry order that all the INGOs as well as the UN agencies withdraw from the LTTE-held areas has compounded Prabhakaran`s fears. Time was when the LTTE rode roughshod over INGOs, which had to keep their local staff indoors for months on end to prevent them being forcibly conscripted. But, today the situation has changed. The LTTE is prostrating itself before INGOs pleading with them not to leave Kilinochchi. It is organising protests against the pullout of the UN. Civilians have also been banned from leaving the LTTE-held areas.

Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade, arrived in Geneva last week to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in Geneva 11-12 September 2008 and the Geneva Trade and Development Forum in Crans Montana from 17-20 September 2008. 

The IPU Conference on the WTO constituted a high-level forum attended by Parliamentarians from many countries, to discuss various issues relating to the WTO and the multilateral trading system, including the Doha Round of negotiations, trade and climate change, international trade and the global food crisis, and developments in Information Communication Technology (ICT) and trade.

by:Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

Over the last month, Amnesty International has issued a number of statements about Sri Lanka. Its latest is entitled ‘Blocking Aid Workers Endangers Trapped Civilians’, and is replete with quotes from a gentleman named Sam Zarifi, who has taken the place of the previously ubiquitous Yolanda Foster. Yolanda’s concern with Sri Lanka had not been confined to her Amnesty hat. Right through August, she had been one of the key players in trying to orchestrate a letter of complaint to the Secretary General of the United Nations with regard to Sri Lanka.

That letter was finally sent it seems over the signatures of several Sri Lankan Non-Governmental Organizations. It was not however sent to Sri Lankan government officials and, at the time of Amnesty’s September 11^th demarche, it had not even been shown to the Sri Lankan Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. It had however been sent to heads of various UN agencies in addition to the Secretary General, including Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, the most senior Sri Lankan now working in the UN system. She had been encouraged to pass this around, but refrained from doing so.

Colombo, Sep 16 (IANS)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed confidence that his troops will crush the Tamil Tiger guerrillas “completely”, but he refused to set a time frame for a military victory.At a dinner meeting here at his heavily-guarded official residence Temple Trees, Rajapaksa told foreign correspondents Monday that the military authorities and the service commanders “are very happy with the progress they have made” in their fight to finish the campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island’s north.

“We will completely crush the LTTE, but I do not want to set a time frame for it. It can be done. It will definitely take some time,” said Rajapaksa, warning that “some sleeping LTTE cadres” would still be left even after the tigers were defeated militarily.