Englishmen in peace-time visit to Periyamadu

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 246

November 27, 2018, 9:28 pm 

Periyamadu, Nov 19, 2018: Some members of the England cricket team accompany Mine Advisory Group (MAG) personnel to an area cleared of explosive devices. From Left : Joe Root, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Olly Stone and British High Commissioner Dauris (partly covered) at the back (pic courtesy BHC, Colombo)

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Having visited one-time LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) dominated Periyamadu on Nov 19, morning, Englishman Olly Stone tweeted: "GREAT DAY UP IN NORTH SRI LANKA VISITING THE MINEFIELDS WITH MAG (Mine Advisory Group), AN AMAZING JOB THEY ARE DOING WITH THE LOCAL PEOPLE TO HELP MAKE THE PLACE SAFE AGAIN AND GROW THE COMMUNITY!"

Twenty five-year-old Stone is a right-arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman of the visiting English team. Stone was one of the four members of the English team to experience the life in former battlefield east of the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road. Captain of the team Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Keaton Jennings, too, visited an area declared cleared of mines.

Root tweeted: "IT’S BEEN BRILLIANT TO COME HERE AND SEE THE GREAT WORK MAG IS DOING. WITH THE MINES BEING SO DIVISIVE IN TERMS OF SEPARATING COMMUNITIES AND DOING SO MUCH DAMAGE, AND SEEING ALL THAT BEING TURNED AROUND HERE, IT HAS BEEN REALLY IMPRESSIVE."

Jennings tweeted: SUCH AN EYE-OPENING AND HUMBLING EXPERIENCE IN MANNAR DISTRICT WITH MAG YESTERDAY. THE CLEARING WORK THEY HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO FOR THE COMMUNITY IS INCREDIBLE."

Manchester-headquartered international mine clearing organization, MAG declared in its website: "The site in Periyamadu, in the north west of the country, is nearly 1.3 million square metres – 59 times the size of Lord’s Cricket Ground – and is being made safe to rehouse families and build schools to support people…."

MAG launched mine clearing operations here in 2002 close on the heels of the Oslo-arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

 Unfortunately, the Sri Lankan media, both electronic and print, including The Island, failed to provide sufficient coverage to this really significant event, though being aware of the impending visit, thanks to a media advisory issued by the British High Commission in Colombo. The following is the full text of the media advisory, dated Oct 24, 2018, from the BHC:

Members of the England Cricket Team will be travelling to a UK-funded demining site, in Periyamadu, in the Mannar District, on the 19th of November. They will observe the demining operation by MAG (Mine Action Group) and engage in a game of cricket with children from recently resettled families in the area. (We kindly request that you do not publicise any of this information until the day of the event).

As we have limited capacity at the demining site, we need to take a count of how many persons will be at the event – in order to make arrangements for the same.

We would like to request that those of you who would be interested in covering the event and have the capacity to send across a crew, journalist or photojournalist to the event – please submit your interest and the details of your staff. Kindly do so by Monday 29th October.

If you have any further questions regarding the event, please contact me on the number given below or by responding to this email. Thank you and looking forward to having your representatives at the event."

Obviously, the BHC in Colombo didn’t anticipate President Maithripala Sirisena causing massive political chaos a day later by staging a constitutional coup that brought an unceremonious end to the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe political marriage. Had the sacking of Wickremesinghe’s government taken place a couple of weeks before, the seven-week long tour could have been jeopardized.

President Sirisena dissolved parliament, on Nov 09, 2018, and set parliamentary polls for January 05, 2019, after having sacked Wickremesinghe on Oct 26, 2018.

 President Sirisena could have avoided dissolution if he could have mustered a simple majority. The project went awry due to the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe combine failing to engineer the required number of crossovers.

 Although some Western powers, in the wake of the political crisis here, sought to discourage foreign visitors to Colombo as part of their overall strategy to undermine the Sirisena-Rajapaksa combine, the English team continued with its highly successful tour.

 Certainly, the Sirisena-Rajapaksa project hadn’t been finalized at the time the English team arrived in Sri Lanka on Oct 1, 2018, in two separate flights, EY266 and EY264.

England plays five ODIs, a one-off T20 and three Test matches in a series taking place from 10 October to 27 November. The Englishmen defeated the hapless Sri Lankans in all three forms of the game. In spite of that Sri Lanka should be grateful for them continuing with the tour and also sending a section of the team to Periyamadu.

 The BHC couldn’t attract the required media coverage to the Englishmen’s Periyamadu visit due to chaos in parliament. In the run-up to the Englishmen’s visit to the former battle zone, parliament erupted with the reconvening of parliament on Nov 14 thanks to the temporary suspension of the dissolution order, pending ruling on Dec 7, 2018. Western envoys, including the British, reacted sort of angrily to the crisis caused by President Sirisena. Obviously, they felt betrayed by President Sirisena’s move that threatened to reverse a grandiose project to thwart China consolidating its position here. On the invitation of the UNP, and the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Western diplomats flocked to parliament during the third week of November, 2018. The British were among them. British High Commissioner in Colombo James Dauris, rebuked unruly Sri Lanka politicians following an extremely serious fracas on the afternoon of Nov 15, 2018. In a strongly worded statement, dated Nov 16, 2018, BHC James Dauris deplored the violence unleashed by a section of Rajapaksa loyalists, of the current Sri Lankan government, in parliament against the opposing MPs and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Dauris, who is also UK’s Ambassador to the Maldives, said all Sri Lankans witnessed deplorable behavior by some members of Parliament, unbecoming of MPs belonging to the noble institution.

"Voters across Sri Lanka elected Members of Parliament to do an important job. But today Sri Lankans have again seen deplorable behaviour by some MPs, unbecoming of them and of their noble institution.

Dauris asserted that no parliament could perform its role, when its own members prevented it from doing so.

Dauris is certainly right. There is no dispute over the deplorable behaviour of Sri Lankan lawmakers. Perhaps, the diplomatic community should be reminded of how Sri Lankan political parties and their members behaved during the conflict and after. But, before that, let me discuss how Periyamadu which attracted international attention due to the English cricketers Nov 19 visit, was brought under control in late June 2008 during a vital stage of the Vanni offensive, west of the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road.

Periyamadu link up

The military brought Periyamadu under its control during the last week of June 2008. Two fighting formations, namely Task Force II (subsequently 58 Division) and 57 Division, deployed west of the Kandy-Jaffna road, linked up southwest of Periyamadu as the enemy retreated northwards. Subsequently, the two formations intensified operations with TF II making rapid progress northwards while the 57 advanced laboured towards Kilinochchi. The LTTE deployment west of the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road collapsed in the wake of the TF II seizing Pooneryn in mid-November, 2008, and turning eastwards. Just six weeks later, TF II troops crossed the Kandy-Jaffna A 9 road, cleared LTTE fortifications north of Paranthan and moved southwards to take Kilinochchi while the 57 brought part of Kilinochchi under its control. By the first week of January, 2009, the military fully dominated the entire region west of the Kandy-Jaffna A 9 road. Less than five months later, the military cleared the entire Vanni east and brought, what some experts believed could not be solved through military means, to a successful conclusion on the morning of May 19, 2009. Several other formations, including once Jaffna-based 53 and 55 Divisions, 59 Division that launched offensive action from Mullaitivu in January 2008, crushed the LTTE conventional military power totally.

 The British were devastated. Having had provided strategic support to the separatist project in Sri Lanka, since the 80s, with the LTTE’s theoretician Anton Balasingham allowed to exploit British citizenship until the very end, the British went out of their way to throw a lifeline to the LTTE. The then British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, on April 29, 2009, flew in here to pressure President Rajapaksa to suspend the offensive. The British official visited Menik Farm where Tamil civilians fleeing the LTTE-held areas were accommodated.  Miliband was accompanied by his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner. President Rajapaksa told them in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t accept anything short of an LTTE surrender.   The LTTE leadership, until the very end, foolishly believed in a US-led military operation to evacuate its hardcore leadership.

Miliband and Kouchner raised three key issues (1) an immediate ceasefire (2) unhindered access to the displaced held at Menik Farm and (3) timetable for the return of the war displaced. The government ruled out ceasefire under any circumstances as the LTTE was on the verge of collapse and a truce at their insistence would only allow the LTTE a chance to regroup.

A high profile security breach that led to the releasing of classified US diplomatic cables exposed Miliband, who played politics on his behalf as well as that of his political party. Thanks to WikiLeaks, Miliband’s despicable effort to secure British votes of Sri Lankan origin is in the public domain. Miliband championed international intervention leading to truce at the expense of Sri Lanka to win support of expatriate Tamils living in key Labour marginal seats, a UK-based US diplomat Richard Mills quoted a British Foreign official as having said.

Tim Waite, a Foreign Office team leader on Sri Lanka, was quoted in a leaked US Embassy cable explaining why Miliband was lavishing so much attention on Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE.

"Waite said that much of (the government) and ministerial attention to Sri Lanka is due to the ‘very vocal’ Tamil diaspora in the UK, numbering over 300,000, who have been protesting in front of parliament since 6 April 2009," political officer Richard Mills at the US Embassy in London wrote.

"He (Waite) said that with UK elections on the horizon and many Tamils living in Labour constituencies with slim majorities, the government is paying particular attention to Sri Lanka, with Miliband recently remarking to Waite that he was spending 60 per cent of his time at the moment on Sri Lanka."  Mills sent the cable to Washington in May 2009.

Had Western powers succeed in arranging a ceasefire, by now the LTTE could have regrouped and launched a fresh campaign and caused so much destruction, Sri Lanka was likely to have lost the capacity to host an international team.

Members of the English cricket team staying at Shangrila-La, are unlikely to know that those who once held the northern region, including Periyamadu, assassinated Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Clancy Fernando on the morning of Nov 16, 1992 on the road facing the hotel they were staying in. The Englishmen would be surprised the same lot on the morning of January 31, 1991 blasted the Central Bank situated about a Kilometre away from the hotel they are staying. The ousted UNP led administration ‘stormed’ the Central Bank twice in Feb 2015 and March 2016. BHC Dauris did not publicly find fault with those lawmakers who perpetrated the treasury bond scams. Perhaps, Western powers and international lending agencies they could have easily saved the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government if pressure was brought on the UNP to reverse the Feb 2015 bond scam. Had there been a meaningful intervention on the part of the British and its allies, the ousted government could have mended its ways. Unfortunately, Western powers did nothing to discipline the then government until it was too late.

Threats on Parliament and its members

 At the height of the war, the government feared the possibility of the LTTE using lawmakers or House employees to smuggle in explosive devices into parliament. The then Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara directed lawmakers not to bring in laptops or some other electronic equipment to thwart the LTTE using such to smuggle in explosives. (House bans laptops to prevent LTTE infiltration-The Island, June 30, 2008).

The JVP mounted a grenade attack on the morning of Aug 18, 1987, in parliament. It was directed at the then government group and claimed the life of Matara District MP Keerthi Abeywickrema. Twenty-two persons received injuries when two grenades (some said three) were tossed into a meeting room about 40 minutes before Parliament was to reconvene for the first time since the then President Jayewardene signed the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord.

 The writer covered Abeywickrema’s funeral, held in Matara. Having joined The Island, in June 1987, as a trainee, it was the writer’s first experience in covering the funeral of an assassinated politician.

Today, the JVP works alongside the UNP and the TNA in parliament. It would be pertinent to mention that the JVP backed the candidature of General Sarath Fonseka and Maithripala Sirisena at 2010 and 2015 presidential polls, respectively.

 Norbert Senadeera, an official with the Parliament staff, died later of a shrapnel wound to the head. Sixteen others including National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali, Prime Minister Premadasa and Ministers Gamini Jayasuriya, Montague Jayawickrema and E.L.B. Hurulle suffered injuries, though in most cases they were superficial wounds. President J.R. Jayewardene escaped injury. May the writer take this opportunity to remind the readers that the second JVP insurgency should be examined against the backdrop of Indian intelligence and then military intervention in Sri Lanka. The JVP terror campaign received a big boost by way of Indian intervention in Sri Lanka and for want of a proper policy Sri Lanka is yet to discuss vital issues in a proper context.

India forced Sri Lanka to accept the Indian Army deployment in July 1987 after having compelled President JR Jayewardene to call off the first large scale Jaffna offensive against the LTTE.

 Perhaps against the backdrop of the Englishmen’s visit to the once mine-infested Periyamadu, the reader would like to know a bit about the introduction of mine warfare way back in the 80s. India trained Tamil terrorists in mine warfare. Several Tamil groups received the know-how and one of them (PLOTE) also provided the required expertise to the JVP. The JVP mounted several landmine attacks in the South. The military retaliated indiscriminately. The writer accompanied by photographer Jude Denzil Pathiraja visited the scene of the first mine blast at Kapparatota, Weligama, on the morning of July 21, 1988.

Who facilitated the JVP to receive training under PLOTE instructors? Could the PLOTE provide training as well as explosives to the JVP without the IPKF’s knowledge? Did the PLOTE personnel conduct joint operations with the JVP? The IPKF quit Sri Lanka in March 1990.

 The writer and staff photographer Jude Denzil Pahiraja were the first journalists from Colombo to visit Kapparatora where the JVP carried out its landmine attack. The JVP had targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying a group of UNP Southern Provincial Council members to Galle. Those standing near the scene of the blast alleged that it could have caused deaths among students of the nearby Sangananda Kapparatota Vidyalaya. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any children on the narrow road when the targeted convoy passed the spot.

 The blast took place in the wake of the then President JRJ placing the security in the entire Southern Province comprising the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota under the army.

 Western powers and the civil society didn’t find fault with the LTTE for assassinating lawmakers. They turned a blind eye to allegations that Indian Intelligence used Sri Lankan terrorists to assassinate TULF politicians. They remained silent when now their darling the TNA recognized the LTTE as the sole representatives of the Tamil community way back in 2001 and in turn the grouping ordered northerners not to exercise their franchise at 2005 presidential poll, having secured 22 seats at the parliamentary polls in the previous years with direct LTTE help.

The EU Election Observation Mission report bared the LTTE-TNA direct nexus though the Rajapaksa government did absolutely nothing to inquire into wrongdoings. Shocking video footage of TNA heavyweight M.A. Sumanthiran directing UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella in the presence of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe during parliamentary proceedings on the morning of Nov 23 is evidence of the grouping’s growing influence in the UNP led group.

Naseby receives award from Dauris

British Sri Lanka Association Accolades 2018

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 245

November 20, 2018, 9:11 pm 

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Lord Naseby (Michael Wolfgang Laurence Morris) on Oct 13, 2018, received the BRISLA (British Sri Lanka Association) award for being an Outstanding Friend to the British-Sri Lankan community from British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to Maldives, James Dauris.

The Grow Traffic Limited sponsored the award at the fourth edition of the BRISLA awards, at the Long Room, Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The inaugural BRISLA awards ceremony was held on Nov 15, 2015 at Grange St Paul’s Hotel in London. Sri Lanka cricket great Kumar Sangakkara was also among those honoured at the inaugural event.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government was represented at the recently concluded event by Sugeeshwara Gunaratna, the Acting Sri Lankan High Commissioner in the UK.

Non-profit organization BRISLA recognizes achievements and contributions made in the spheres of Healthcare, Literary Arts, Performing Arts and Entrepreneurship.

The writer believes the highlight of the event was the presentation of an award to Conservative politician Lord Naseby for being an outstanding friend to the British Sri Lankan community.

Among those present was Princess Katarina Karadordevic of Yugoslavia, the widow of Desmond de Silva QC, who spearheaded Sri Lanka’s efforts to counter unsubstantiated war crimes allegations. The late Desmond de Silva was a key member of the Legal Advisory Council that assisted the Paranagama Commission. The team comprised a team of international legal and military experts. Other experts included, Prof. David Crane, Sir Geoffrey Nice and Maj. Gen. John Holmes. Sir Desmond had been involved in Human Rights violation and war crime issues in Sierra Leone, Belgrade and Syria. Prof. Crane functioned as the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and has spent 30 years working for the US federal government. Sir Geoffrey served as the deputy prosecutor to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

In addition to Lord Naseby the following received BRISLA 2018 awards:

Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare, sponsored by Research Intelligence Unit: Professor Karim Meeran, presented by Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Cllr Thay Thayalan

Outstanding Contribution to Literary Arts, sponsored by Olympia Clinic: Michael Roc Thomas, presented by Mayor of Harrow Cllr Kareema Marikar

Outstanding Contribution to Performing Arts, sponsored by St James’s Place Wealth Management: Dilini Seneviratne, presented by acting Sri Lankan High Commissioner to UK Sugeeshwara Gunaratna

Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Al Rayan Bank: Dr. Desmond Biddulph CBE, presented by Leicestershire Cricket Club CEO Wasim Khan, MBE.

Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Specsavers Opticians: Des Gunawardena, presented by Buckingham University Vice Chancellor Sir Anthony Seldon

The 2018 BRISLA awards took place with corporate sponsorship from Altair, Sri Lanka’s most recognized high rise development project.

An outstanding friend

Lord Naseby obviously received the attention of BRISLA for voluntarily coming to Sri Lanka’s rescue. Lord Naseby spearheaded Sri Lanka’s defence since his historic speech in the House of Lords, on Oct 12, 2017.

BRISLA rewarded him exactly one year after Lord Naseby’s House of Lords disclosure which efficiently countered primary accusation as regards the massacre of over 40,000 Tamils on the Vanni east front.

Unfortunately, Sri Lanka parliament didn’t even notice the honour bestowed on Lord Naseby, whose tireless efforts to set the record straight in Geneva never received the required support from Sri Lanka. Lord Naseby received the wrath of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government for successfully countering the despicable UN project.

The inaugural BRISLA awards ceremony took place six weeks after Sri Lanka co-sponsored Geneva Resolution 30/1 to pave the way for hybrid judicial mechanism to probe accountability issues during the war. Sri Lanka brought the war to an end on the morning of May 19, 2009 on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon.

Lord Naseby countered the Geneva operation on the basis of wartime dispatches from the Colombo-based British High Commission, during January 1, 2009-May 31, 2009. Lord Naseby, on the basis of official documents, asserted that the maximum Vanni death toll couldn’t have been more than 7,000-8,000 of which one fourth were LTTE cadres and that the then Sri Lanka political leadership didn’t deliberately target the civilian community.

The Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry essentially dismissed Lord Naseby’s assertions based on hitherto classified military dispatches obtained with the intervention of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office in terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The revelations were made during a debate on Sri Lanka. Lord Naseby declared: "...the UK must recognize that this was a war against terrorism, so the rules of engagement are based on international humanitarian law, not the European Convention on Human Rights."

Baron Naseby explained in parliament how the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office had dismissed his 2014 request for Gash’s reports pertaining to the period January 1 to May 19, 2009, in accordance with the freedom of information law. Thereafter, Baron Naseby’s appealed to higher officials, too, but they too had rejected his request, prompting the intrepid politician to seek the intervention of the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner’s intervention resulted in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office making available 26 pages of heavily redacted dispatches from Gash. Had Gash condemned the SLA, those reports would have been extensively used by the British and the British media outfits such as Channel 4 years ago to further malign Sri Lanka. Had the British not done so, the May government would have used them during debate on Sri Lanka in response to Baron Naseby.

The Baron explained to British parliament how he had received an additional 12 pages, all redacted, from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office when he pointed out insufficient number of Gash reports.

Baron Naseby explained how he gave up his struggle for Sri Lanka when judges of the First-tier Tribunal upheld the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office assertion that had they revealed confidential information they wouldn’t receive such information in the future. It would be better to reproduce verbatim what Baron Naseby told parliament: "...Still concerned about the lack of dispatches in the past few days, I made a final appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, assisted by my very good friend Amal Abeywardene. We had the sympathy of the judges for the cause, but they accepted the Foreign Office view that if confidential information was given out, nobody in future would give us any more. So I now have the princely sum of 39 pages of heavily redacted dispatches—nevertheless, if you dig deeply, as in life, you find some real gems. For example, on 28 January:

"It is not possible to distinguish civilians from LTTE cadres as few are in uniform".

Then, from 16 February: "IDPs being cared for in Trincomalee. Welfare appears to be overriding security considerations".

Then on 20 January they say, "no cluster munitions were used", and on 26 April, "civilians killed Feb 1-April 26—6432".

Obviously, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office stance cannot be acceptable as the person making available information in this case Lt. Colonel Gash was a British government employee. The British position could have been acceptable if those dispatches were sent by a mole within the Sri Lankan establishment. Those who had perused Wiki Leaks now know how our honourable members of parliament provided information to US diplomats in Colombo regarding a range of matters.

Sri Lanka suppresses Naseby disclosure

The writer received the following response from the Foreign Ministry on Oct 27, 2017, as regards Lord Naseby’s disclosure: "The Government of Sri Lanka remains committed to national processes aimed at realizing the vision of a reconciled, stable, peaceful and prosperous nation. Engaging in arguments and debates in the international domain over the number of civilians who may have died at a particular time in the country will not help resolve any issues, in a meaningful manner, locally, except a feel good factor for a few individuals who may think that they have won a debate or scored points over someone or the other."

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government conveniently refrained from taking advantage of the UK revelations to seek a fresh examination of Geneva Resolution based on accusations based on UNSG Panel of Experts (PoE) report.

Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana on Nov 25, 2017, assured parliament Lord Naseby’s disclosure would be used as ‘an ace’ when the time comes and at the right place.

Marapana said so in response to a query raised by Joint Opposition Leader MP Dinesh Gunawardena, as to why Lord Naseby’s statement was not used at the Universal Period Review of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Marapana assured Lord Naseby’s revelations would be used at an appropriate forum.

The Minister said, "We are not saying that we will not use Lord Naseby’s statement. We certainly will use it at the proper time and at appropriate forums. There may be a time when the UNHRC will ask us to conduct investigations into the allegations of war crimes. We will use this statement when such a time comes. Otherwise, our opponents will find counter arguments so we must use it as an ace," he said.

The Foreign Ministry never used Lord Naseby’s disclosure to Sri Lanka’s advantage. The government dismissed by President Maithripala Sirisena has been determined to ensure the continuation of the Geneva process hence the decision to suppress Naseby revelations. The then government, obviously felt that Lord Naseby’s revelations could jeopardize its ‘arrangement’ with the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The UNP feared to take tangible measures on Naseby’s disclosure. President Maithripala Sirisena, in spite of repeated high profile promises to protect Sri Lanka’s national interests, too did absolutely nothing. Much to the dismay and disappointment of the vast majority of people, President Sirisena finally squandered an opportunity at the recently concluded UNGA, New York, last September to take up Sri Lanka’s case and follow it up with Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Subsequent inquiries made by the writer at various media conferences since the Naseby disclosure in Oct last year revealed the government hadn’t at least discussed the Geneva Resolution before the then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera co-sponsored it about 10 days after Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha rejected the document.

Dauris on Lord Naseby

British High Commission in Colombo was rattled by Lord Naseby’s disclosure. In early Dec 2017, the British High Commission declared that Lord Naseby’s House of Lords statement pertaining to accountability issues in Sri Lanka didn’t reflect UK’s stand.

The British HC said so in response to The Island query whether the BHC had discussions with the Foreign Ministry here or the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as regards Lord Naseby’s call for reviewing Geneva Resolution 30/1. The following is the text of the BHC statement: "Lord Naseby was not speaking for the British Government when speaking recently in a debate in the House of Lords. As a Member of Parliament he is entitled to express his own views."

"A point that has not been in dispute in all that has been written and said since Lord Naseby spoke is that many thousands of civilians died during the conflict. We continue to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to implement the commitments it gave and which are set out in UNHRC resolution 30/1 and reaffirmed in UNHRC resolution 34/1, including the undertaking to establish a truth-seeking commission. Resolution 30/1 emphasises the importance of a comprehensive approach to dealing with the past, incorporating the full range of judicial and non-judicial measures, including truth-seeking. The resolution affirms that the commitments given, if implemented fully and credibly, will help to achieve reconciliation. Achieving reconciliation is in the clear interests of every community in Sri Lanka."

Dauris constantly played down Lord Naseby’s disclosure. Had Sri Lanka and the international community acted on British High Commission revelations, they could have had helped post-war national reconciliation efforts. Knowing the very basis of politically motivated case against Sri Lanka could be undermined, Sri Lanka and the UN turned a blind eye to the British revelations. In fact, the entire set of diplomatic dispatches from Colombo to London hadn’t been revealed so far and still remains classified. Even the documents that had been released to Lord Naseby were censored, drastically for obvious reasons. The recent BRISLA award certainly renewed interest in Lord Naseby’s efforts to clear Sri Lanka of war crimes allegations.

Finally, the top British diplomat Dauris ended up presenting one of the five BRISLA awards - perhaps the most important accolade - to Lord Naseby.

Lord Naseby has pointed out "It is therefore disappointing that the British High Commission fails to acknowledge the importance of the dispatches of its own former defence attaché and the insight that is provided by his communications with the British Government."

It would be pertinent to mention that Dauris hadn’t been in Colombo during the war and received appointment here in April 2015 within months after the change of government leading to the Geneva Resolution. The British worked overtime to convince the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to accept uncorroborated war crimes accusations in the wake of Maithripala Sirisena succeeding war-winning President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The British would never have contemplated successful intervention by the Information Commissioner’s Office on behalf of Lord Naseby, who sought disclosure of Lt. Colonel Anton Gash’s dispatches. The revelation of records countered the very basis of anti-Sri Lanka project. Had the Foreign and Commonwealth Office given into Lord Naseby’s request made on Nov 06, 2014 for Gash reports, perhaps he could have caused quite a problem for those pushing for Sri Lanka co-sponsorship of a Resolution against its own political and military leaderships.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government created history by backing a Resolution against its own, to spite the previous leadership that won a war, which most ‘experts’ claimed was unwinnable, a treacherous act in deed.

Lord Naseby’s efforts should have been examined against the backdrop of Kumar Sangakkara’s "Spirit of Cricket" lecture at the July, 2011, Sir Colin Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s.

Let me reproduce verbatim the section which should have inspired our parliament:

Having recollected the terrorist attack in Lahore, Sangakkara recounted an unforgettable experience he had with a Sri Lanka soldier back at home. Sangakkara told the audience: A week after our arrival in Colombo, from Pakistan, I was driving about town and was stopped at a checkpoint. A soldier politely inquired as to my health after the attack. I said I was fine and added that what they as soldiers experience every day we only experienced for a few minutes, but managed to grab all the news headlines. That soldier looked me in the eye and replied: "It is OK if I die because it is my job and I am ready for it. But you are a hero and if you were to die it would be a great loss for our country. I was taken aback. How can this man value his life less than mine? His sincerity was overwhelming. I felt humbled."

For them, avoiding bullets, shells, mines and grenades, was imperative for survival. This was an experience that I could not relate to. I had great sympathy and compassion for them, but had no real experience with which I could draw parallels. That was until we toured Pakistan in 2009."

"We all realized what some of our fellow Sri Lankans experienced every day for nearly 30 years. There was a new respect and awe for their courage and selflessness."

The ongoing constitutional crisis following the sacking of PM Wickremesinghe is evidence in spite of absence of war, political parties cause debilitating damage all around.

WILL POLITICAL PARTIES HEED CBSL GOVERNOR'S ADVICE?

2019 GENERAL ELECTION:

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 244

November 13, 2018, 9:04 pm 

This article was written before the Supreme Court yesterday (Nov 13) suspended President Maithripala Sirisena’s gazette notification calling nominations for parliamentary polls from Nov 19 to 26. The election was scheduled to be held on January 5.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy recently advised the electorate as regards the next general election before President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament at midnight on Nov 09, 2018.

President Sirisena set nominations’ acceptance from Nov 19-26 and election for January 5, 2019.

Dr. Coomaraswamy’s statement, made before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCol) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka, couldn’t have been made at a better time for those who expected a genuine change in the political environment. Unfortunately, the media, pathetically, failed to provide sufficient coverage to, undoubtedly, the most important statement made by a respected public official, in the recent past, on any issue.

Dr. Coomaraswamy told the P Col that the country was facing a non-virtuous cycle of debt and it was a very fragile situation which could even lead to a debt crisis.

"Of course my colleagues in the debt department have plans and capability to manage it. But it’s the duty of every citizen to act responsibly as regards the government policy," he told the PCol.

Dr. Coomaraswamy emphasized that people should elect MPs who were prudent enough to handle fiscal and monetary matters of the country. "I am not referring to any government, but it’s been the case ever since Independence."

Dr. Coomaraswamy couldn’t have been aware of President’s move at the time he appealed to the electorate. In fact, there hadn’t been a previous instance of a serving top public official advising the electorate how to exercise their franchise at perhaps the most crucial election in post-independence era.

Dr. Coomaraswamy’s statement should be examined against the backdrop of him taking over the CBSL in July 2016 from the corrupted and disgraced Singaporean Arjuna Mahendran, the 13th Governor, of CBSL.

President Sirisena brought him in, in spite of fierce opposition from the then Prime Minister and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The change at the CBSL took place in the wake of the massive second treasury bond scam, perpetrated by the UNP, in late March 2016 - over a year after the first fraudulent transaction.

The writer stressed the pivotal importance of Dr. Coomaraswamy’s appeal in the live political programme Sirasa Pathikada on Nov 7, 2018 and in a piece to Irida Divaina in its Nov 11 edition. Political parties, civil society groups, as well as the clergy, conveniently refrained from reacting to Dr. Coomaraswamy’s important and timely advice to the voter.

Before discussing the current political developments further let me reproduce a brief report on Dr. Coomaraswamy, posted on the CBSL website: "Dr. Coomaraswamy completed his university education with a BA (Hons.) Degree from the University of Cambridge and went on to obtain his PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex. He joined the Central Bank of Ceylon in 1974 as a staff officer.

Dr. Coomaraswamy served the Central Bank for 15 years, working in the Departments of Economic Research, Statistics and Bank Supervision. However, from 1981 – 1989 he was released from the Bank’s service to serve at the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

He held a number of senior positions at the Commonwealth Secretariat, from 1990 – 2008, including Head of the Economic Affairs Division, Deputy Director of the Secretary General’s Office and Interim Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Social Transformation Programme Division.

He was a member of the Monetary Policy Consultative Committee of CBSL, from 2013 – 2015, and Advisor to the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade, 2015-2016.

Dr. Coomaraswamy was also a Non-Executive Director of John Keells Holdings and Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC. In addition, he was associated with a number of research institutes in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Coomaraswamy was also a keen sportsman. He captained the Sri Lanka Rugby team and led the country to emerge runners-up at the 1974 Rugby Asiad, held in Japan. He also played first-class cricket."

Obviously, rapid post war deterioration of national economy and erosion of political standards had prompted Dr. Coomaraswamy to express his concerns over the status of the recently dissolved eighth parliament.

Sri Lanka brought the war to a successful conclusion, in May 2009, on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon. Addressing a massive celebration in Colombo, the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared: now that the war was over his priority would be to eradicate corruption. However, revelations made before the ongoing PCoI on SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka had revealed how the then President Rajapaksa’s brother-in-law Nishantha Wickramasinghe ruined the national carrier. Wickramasinghe abused the national carrier to his heart’s content while the political leadership looked the other way. It has transpired before the P CoI how Wickramaisnghe spent public money lavishly on some female employees, mismanaged the entire operation and thereby accelerated the rapid downfall of the once profitably Emirates-run enterprise.

The Rajapaksa government removed the Emirates management in 2008 at the height of the war on the Vanni front.

Thanks to PCoI on treasury bond scams perpetrated in 2015 and 2016 and the ongoing P CoI on SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka, the public are aware how the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe yahapalana (good governance and accountability) government and the Rajapaksa administration ruined the CBSL and Sri Lankan Airlines, respectively. Interestingly, the probe on airlines and Sri Lanka Catering also revealed the wrongdoings on the part of the UNP, after the change of government, in January 2015.

Dr. Coomaraswamy wouldn’t have appealed to the electorate to vote in suitable candidates if he was at least to some extent satisfied with members of the eighth parliament.

Had Dr. Coomaraswamy bothered to peruse regular reports released by parliamentary watchdog committees - Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) - he would have certainly recognized the unbelievably corrupt system in place to protect mega thieves. President Sirisena couldn’t absolve himself under any circumstances of the responsibility for dissolving parliament on the night of June 26, 2015 to prevent the then COPE Chairman Communist Party General Secretary Dew Gunasekera from presenting his report on the 2015 treasury bond scam, involving now disgraced and suspended primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL). The dissolution of parliament took place on the eve of the presentation of the COPE report. Had President Sirisena allowed the explosive report to be tabled, the outcome of the general election in August 2015 would have been different. The June 2015 dissolution paved the way for far bigger treasury bond scam in March 2016 and the President didn’t appoint PCoI till 2017 January to probe those massively corrupt transactions. Sri Lanka would have been certainly in a far more stable position.

Prez on corrupt political system

President Sirisena, in his first televised address to the nation since the dissolution, on Nov 09, alleged that he was prompted to dissolve parliament to prevent MPs being bribed to switch allegiance ahead of the expected showdown in parliament. Claiming that lawmakers had been virtually selling themselves for amounts, ranging from Rs 50 mn to Rs 500 mn, President Sirisena said that it was the primary reason for the dissolution. One-time SLFP General Secretary declared that he wanted to thwart bribe-taking lawmakers. President Sirisena gave two other reasons to justify dissolution of parliament. The President alleged that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s reaction to the situation as well as the possibility of violence in the chamber of parliament when it was reconvened contributed to his decision.

Unlike on previous occasions, President Sirisena didn’t cite the alleged threat to his life and the involvement of a minister in the plot from the dissolved cabinet as cause for the dissolution. In fact, no SLFP or Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) spokesman ever justified the dissolution of parliament to thwart bribe-taking lawmakers.

President Sirisena confidently declared that there hadn’t been such high level corruption in previous parliaments, involving members, since 1947. Referring to the C.P. de Silva crossover, in Dec 1964 leading to the defeat of the government of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike government in the following year, the President asserted that there hadn’t been such large scale corruption in any of the dissolved parliaments.

However, there had been numerous accusations as regards lawmakers switching allegiance for personal gain over the years. Outspoken politician and academic Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, a year ago, revealed an unprecedented corrupt transaction involving some members of parliament representing the then SLFP-led People’s Alliance and the UNP. Wijesinha made the revelation in the wake of shocking revelations made before the PCoI on treasury bond scams, in 2017.

The writer dealt with Wijesinha’s letters to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in his piece the in Nov 11 edition of Irida Divaina.

Prof. Wijesinha’s letters

All political parties brazenly utilize/exercise bribing in various forms, ranging from large scale payments to allocation of National List slots. Foreign diplomatic postings as well as plum ministerial portfolios are offered and asked in return for support. The UNP secured the New Democratic Front twice to field common candidates, General Sarath Fonseka and Maithripala Sirisena, in 2010 and 2015 respectively. Chairman of that party Shalila Munasnghe was rewarded with a lucrative appointment. Munasinghe received the appointment as Chairman, Litro Gas, courtesy the Finance Ministry. Munasinghe lost his job after he was taken into custody over the illegal transfer of massive amount of money from a Taiwanese bank. Shamila Fernando, also of the NDF, too, received a plum state sector appointment. So it would be important to keep in mind that there are various ways and means to look after political buddies. The following letters written by Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha are self-explanatory. The Island received copies from Prof. Wijesinha with his permission to publish them.

 First letter dated April 21, 2015 (This letter was written in the wake of the change of government in January 2015)

The Chairman

COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS OF BRIBERY OR CORRUPTION

No 36 Malalasekera Mawatha,

Colombo 07,

Sri Lanka.

Dear Chairman

I was away and have only just heard that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of bribing Tissa Attanayake with a ministerial position and that you wish to investigate this. 

If indeed such matters come within the purview of the Bribery Commission, I would like to report that (the then member of the cabinet/name withheld), told me that (the then member of the cabinet representing a different political party/name withheld) had wanted payment to cross over to support the campaign of the current President. He had also told (the then MP) that he had to give (leader of another political party/name withheld) a portfolio because that had been a condition of his support for the current President. 

I would not have thought that such promises would ordinarily come under your purview, but if the complaint against the former President is being investigated, then it would only be fair to investigate (the then member of the cabinet/name withheld) too, for what must similarly be considered bribery that warrants the attention of your Commission.

Yours sincerely

Rajiva Wijesinhna, MP

Second letter dated Sept. 20, 2017 (This was written following the last parliamentary polls)

Justice T.B Weerasuriya

Chairman, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Corruption and Bribery

No 36 Malalasekera Mawatha,

Colombo 07

Dear Sir

Last Sunday evening I was informed by Mr. Nahil Wijesuriya that, in 2001, he had, as requested by Mr (the then MP/Name with held), given (the then MP and party leader) Rs 60 million. He had given this, in the form of two cheques he said, to Mr (MP) who had said he should hand them over direct to the then (the then MP and the party leader/Name withheld).

He then went to the (address withheld) and gave him the cheques. I believe this money was used to bribe members of Parliament to cross over so as to bring down the government which President Kumaratunga had constituted, following the 2000 election.

This is a very serious matter and I would urge you to investigate it promptly, since it is obviously improper for a politician to continue in office if his practice is to bribe members of Parliament to ensure support. Given too the extraordinary behaviour of (name withheld) to try to cover up the criminal activities with regard to the Central Bank bond scam, you will be placing the country in grave danger if you do not take up this matter.

I wrote to you previously about (name withheld) own admission that he was going to see (name of political party leader/ name withheld) on Christmas Day, 2014, to ensure his support for the candidacy of Maithripala Sirisena for the Presidency. A statement from me was recorded, but I was not told about any follow up. In this case there are clear lines of investigation open, since Mr Wijesuriya said I could quote him, and his statement was in front of witnesses who would also I believe be happy to testify.

Yours sincerely

Rajiva Wijesinha

Third letter dated April 21, 2015

HE Maithripala Sirisena

President

Your Excellency

I attach a copy of a letter (the first letter that dealt with Attanayake matter) I have sent to the Bribery Commission, with regard to statements of the (name of the party leader withheld) which suggest that he too has been involved in dealings such as the former President is accused of. I had not thought, given the traditions of Sri Lankan politics, that such matters would warrant investigation. But perhaps this is a good opportunity to make it clear that bribery, and certainly bribery involving money, as led to the downfall of two SLFP governments, in 1964 and in 2001, is not to be tolerated.

While the matter is being investigated, it may be best for the (name withheld) to step down, and an (position withheld) appointed.

Yours sincerely

Rajiva Wijesinha, MP

A corrupt institution like

no other

When Dr. Coomaraswamy had advised the electorate to be mindful of those elected to the parliament, the much respected official, perhaps inadvertently made no reference to the National List. In accordance with the Constitution, 196 members are elected and 29 appointed to parliament through the National List. Attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku over two years ago found out that the wording of the provision in the 14th Amendment in respect of the appointment of National List MPs, is different from the wording that was presented to and was passed by parliament in 1988. The original version obviously excluded defeated candidates at the general election from being appointed on the National List. All three branches of state seemed to have colluded in this fraud at the highest levels.

Actually, the National List is meant to accommodate suitable professionals such as Dr. Coomaraswamy, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha or perhaps Gamini Wijesinghe, current Auditor General. Unfortunately, all political party leaders had packed their National List with defeated candidates or inexperienced politicians. The National List has been also traded by political parties with minority parties abusing the National List of the UNP in shameless way. In the last parliament, two National List MPs representing SLMC and the ACMC quit their seats to enable two others to enter parliament. That move enabled two more persons to receive tax exemption amounting to a staggering Rs 33 mn each for serving parliament perhaps about a year. In other words, two persons had been allowed to immensely benefit from a hugely corrupt system collectively maintained by all political parties represented in parliament.

The writer raised the National List abuse at a media conference called by Dinesh Gunawardena, Susil Premjayanth, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and C.B. Ratnayake at the Prime Minister’s Office on Nov 11. None of them contested the writer’s assertion that the National Lists had been abused by all political parties, including the UPFA, undoubtedly the worst culprit, and whether they could give a public guarantee that it wouldn’t happen at the forthcoming general election.

Now that President Sirisena, in his latest statement, declared that the electorate now got an opportunity to elect well-educated experienced lawmakers, it would be his responsibility and of his partner Mahinda Rajapaksa to field suitable persons and also to name qualified and those genuinely interested in the wellbeing of the people in their National List.

All political parties should declare that those rejected wouldn’t be accommodated through their respective National Lists, under any circumstances. The writer believes there is absolutely no dispute over Dr. Coomaraswamy’s wish for prudent MPs in the ninth parliament. But that wouldn’t be a reality unless political parties make drastic changes to their nomination and National Lists. It’s time for tangible measures and not mere rhetoric as happened hitherto.

A fresh examination of Geneva Resolution required

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 243

November 6, 2018, 9:08 pm 

By Shamindra Ferdinando

President Maithripala Sirisena’s former ministerial colleague, Sarath Fonseka, one-time Commander of the country’s war-winning Army, is on record as having said that Geneva intervention had never been discussed in the cabinet.

The then Wildlife Minister Fonseka said so in response to a query raised by the writer at a media briefing in Sept 2018. Defeated Democratic Party (DP) candidate Fonseka was accommodated in the cabinet in place of National List MP M.K.D.S. Gunawardena who passed away in January 2016. In late June 2016 Fonseka took UNP membership and was appointed UNP Kelaniya Organizer.

Fonseka’s colleagues in the yahapalana government’s cabinet in November 2017 (Dayasiri Jayasekera in his capacity as the co-cabinet spokesperson) and August 2018 (Mahinda Samarasinghe in his capacity as the SLFP spokesperson) revealed that Geneva hadn’t been taken up at the cabinet. Samarasinghe admitted that the far reaching Resolution titled "Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ co-sponsored by the then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Oct. 1, 2015 hadn’t been discussed at all. Samarasinghe also told the writer that the Rajapaksa government didn’t take up the 2009 Geneva Resolution in cabinet.

All political parties have conveniently forgotten that Geneva is pushing for a new Constitution here.

Dayasiri Jayasekera reacted angrily at a post-cabinet media briefing at the Government Information Department when the writer sought an explanation as to the failure on the part of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo to use revelations made by Lord Naseby in the House of Lords in Oct 2017 in Sri Lanka’s defence.

Interestingly, President Sirisena refrained from making reference to Geneva issue at all in his lengthy statement to the nation on Oct. 28, 2018. President dealt with circumstances leading to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s dismissal as Prime Minister though no reference was made to Geneva imbroglio. President Sirisena found fault with Wickremesinghe for many issues, from treasury bond scams to selling of state assets, except Sri Lanka’s accountability process. It would be pertinent to mention that President Sirisena did nothing officially since Samaraweera co-sponsored Resolution 30/1 to reverse the Geneva process though he assured the nation that foreign interventions wouldn’t be allowed as long as he held the presidency.

Australia’s denial of visa to Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage in late 2016 on the basis of war crimes alleged to have committed by the 59 Division on the Vanni east front in 2009 exposed the failure on the part of Sri Lanka to defend her armed forces.

In fact, Wickremesinghe’s successor Mahinda Rajapaksa or other spokesmen for the new government desisted from blaming the UNP for the accountability process though former External Affairs Minister and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris flayed the UNP over the opaque constitution making project. Addressing the media at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last Sunday (Nov 4), Prof. Peiris strongly criticized the ongoing constitution making process while warning of dire consequences in case of full implementation of the Geneva Resolution.

However, co-government spokesman and Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at the first post-cabinet media briefing at the Government Information Department on Oct.29 quoted President Sirisena as having assured foreign envoys on the previous day the new government’s commitment to national reconciliation process. Obviously, Samarasinghe’s reference was to the Geneva-led process and therefore it would be pertinent to examine the entire gamut of issues leading to the co-sponsorship of the Oct 1 resolution.

Ven Abeytissa’s advice

Having assumed duties as Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Oct 29, amidst the blessings of the Maha Sangha, received advice from Ven. Dr. Medagoda Abeytissa Thera, Chief Incumbent of the Sunethra Maha Devi Pirivena. The Ven Thera said: "You have only one agreement. That agreement is with the people. You have no agreement with politicians, various cliques groups and Diaspora. People expect you to resume your programme terminated in 2015. I wish you strength to take the country forward."

Scholar monk Ven Abeytissa played a significant role in ‘Eliya’ organization, one of the outfits formed after the change of government to back wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

PM Rajapaksa, No 02 in the new government, shouldn’t forgot the circumstances leading to the then SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena switching his allegiance to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in late Nov 2014. PM Rajapaksa and his supporters as well as Sirisena-Rajapaksa dispensation should closely examine the 2010-2015 period to ensure they do not repeat past wrongdoings. The bottom line is that the new administration cannot under any circumstances afford to resume the programme rejected in January 2015.

Having brought the war to a successful conclusion, in May 2009, the previous administration behaved irresponsibly thereby creating a perfect environment for interested foreign powers to exploit discontented political parties here to influence the electorate. Their candidate Maithripala Sirisena succeeded, in January 2015, though Gen. Fonseka failed, five years before, by a staggering 1.8mn vote margin.

The new dispensation should address major issues which caused the downfall of the Rajapaksa administration. The Rajapaksas suffered a debilitating setback for want of cohesive strategy to address accountability issues. Their scandalous mishandling of the Geneva situation facilitated a despicable political project that overwhelmed Sri Lanka in late 2014. Years after the conclusion of the war, Wikileaks revealed how the US had intervened, in the political project, to form a UNP-led coalition in 2015. The US role in forcing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to throw its weight behind Fonseka, in spite of accusing the SLA of widespread human rights violations, is in the public domain. The fact that the then US Ambassador Patricia Butenis, in a classified missive to Washington, accused Fonseka of war crimes, did not deter the US from backing the General to the hilt.

Even today, those who had been opposed to foreign intervention here do not realize that Western powers brought the TNA into the UNP-led alliance in 2010 and 2015 on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations. The Rajapaksa government’s silly response to Western project made things easier for those wanting to haul Sri Lanka before foreign judges. The war-winning government never bothered to prepare a comprehensive defence, utilizing information made available by foreign governments and organizations, including the UN. Instead, Sri Lanka’s ‘defence’ was handed over to various US firms. Perhaps, the Rajapaksa administration wrongly believed the US system could be manipulated through propaganda projects.

Interestingly, the US, on its part, invested heavily in the political change in Sri Lanka, in 2015. No less a person than the then US Secretary of State John Kerry revealed in 2016 US spending USD 585 mn in Nigeria, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. This was in addition to USD 3.4 mn made available to the yahapalana government between the January 2015 presidential and the Aug 2015 parliamentary polls.

The External Affairs Ministry lacked strength to decide, or advice the government, on a strategy to counter war crimes allegations. Then External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, too, failed in his responsibility (2010-2015). Instead of building a strong case, on available information, the war-winning government paid millions of USD to lobbyists, legal and public relations experts through the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) both during and after the war. The External Affairs Ministry facilitated the operation. Some of the payments were made during Rohitha Bogollagama’s tenure as the Foreign Minister (2007-2010). The government never bothered to at least inform the cabinet and parliament about the massive payments made to the US lobbyists.

After the change of the government, in January 2015, the writer sought information as regards those controversial payments from the then Governor, Singaporean Arjuna Mahendran, in the wake of the first treasury bond scam perpetrated on the afternoon of Feb. 2015. Mahendran revealed there had been million dollar payments, channeled through the CBSL, between May and November 2014. The writer asked Mahendran as to why the UNP didn’t really go after the previous government over there US payments especially in the wake of criticism of the first treasury bond scam. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government that had been embroiled in the first treasury bond scam, perpetrated the second one in 2016 March. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government never conducted a proper investigation into the US payment scam, which cost the Sri Lanka taxpayer dearly.

The Rajapaksa government never acknowledged undisclosed payments made to US firms, in addition to some British firms. To-date, payments made to lobbyists, legal and public relations firms for work done in respect accountability issues and image building exercises, remain a secret.

The civil society organizations, too, refrained from commenting on such scandalous payments.

Perhaps, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government, or those who backed Sirisena at the 2015 presidential poll weren’t comfortable in attacking the Rajapaksa government over squandering public funds.

Perhaps, the new government should make a full disclosure on such payments or the UNP should forcefully raise the issue, both in and outside parliament.

A new strategy needed

Dr. Sarath Leelananda Bandara Amunugama veteran civil servant and politician who had served both the UNP, the SLFP-led People’s Alliance and SLFP led UPFA received the vital foreign ministry portfolio following the constitutional coup that brought an end to Wickremesinghe’s rule in late Oct 2018. The top retired public servant with experience in serving the UNESCO, Amunugama is the fourth to hold the foreign ministry portfolio, since January 2015.

Now, it would be Dr. Amunugama’s responsibility in convincing the new government to take appropriate measures to have original unsubstantiated allegations inquired into without delay. In fact, proper investigation should be the new dispensation’s priority. Instead of opposing international assistance/interventions, Sri Lanka should secure their backing to establish the truth. Dr. Amunugama can receive comprehensive briefing as regards the Geneva issue from newly appointed Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, who functioned as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva at the time Sri Lanka co-sponsored Geneva Resolution 30/1.

Ambassador Aryasinha held the post of Additional Secretary/ Economic Affairs and Trade in the Foreign Ministry since April 2018. Perhaps, Dr. Amunugama should receive comprehensive briefing from Aryasinha as regards reasons for Sri Lanka rejecting the Geneva proposals at a meeting called by Sri Lanka Core Group about 10 days before Sri Lanka co-sponsored it. It would be a grave mistake to hold Minister Samaraweera responsible for co-sponsoring the Geneva Resolution, instead of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government.

Key UNP strategist and Matara District MP Mangala Samaraweera headed the Foreign Ministry (2015 January to 2017 May), UNP Assistant leader and Colombo District MP Ravi Karunanayake (2017 May to 2017 Aug) and UNP National List MP Tilak Marapana, PC (2017 Aug to 2018 Oct).

Current Foreign Minister Dr. Amunugama (UPFA National List), who served the yahapalana administration from its inception should examine the following (1) Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka released on March 31 2011,(2) US Defence Advisor Lt. Colonel Lawrence Smith’s explosive declaration in Colombo at the first defence seminar organized by the SLA in early June 2011 (3) Amnesty International publication ‘When will they get justice?: Failures of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission released in September 2011 (4) the entire set of WikiLeaks cables pertaining to Sri Lanka (5) Pawns of Peace: Evaluation of Norwegian Peace Efforts 1997-2009 (6) a letter wartime Norwegian Ambassador Tore Hattrem wrote to the then influential MP and presidential advisor, Basil Rajapaksa. The following is the text of Ambassador Hattrem’s letter dated Feb 16 2009 addressed to Basil Rajapaksa: "I refer to our telephone conversation today. The proposal to the LTTE on how to release the civilian population, now trapped in the LTTE controlled area, has been transmitted to the LTTE through several channels. So far, there has been, regrettably, no response from the LTTE and it doesn’t seem to be likely that the LTTE will agree with this in the near future."

At the onset of Marapana’s tenure, Lord Naseby gave Sri Lanka the required ‘ammunition’ to counter war crimes allegations - deliberate killing of 40,000 civilians by indiscriminate shelling of ‘no fire zones, hospitals and makeshift medical facilities and denial of humanitarian assistance to those trapped there.

The writer sincerely hopes Dr. Amunugama will spend time studying Lord Naseby’s revelations made available to President Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa some time ago.

Having obtained a part of wartime (January-May 2009) British High Commission, Colombo dispatches in May 2016, in terms of the Freedom of Information Act(2000), Lord Naseby strengthened Sri Lanka’s defence. Lord Naseby successfully secured the Information Commissioner’s intervention after Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) turned down his request for Colombo dispatches submitted to FCO on Nov 6 2014. For almost three years FCO suppressed information that could have shielded Sri Lanka in Geneva. The British deliberately resorted to such despicable action to pave the way for Oct 1, 2015 Geneva Resolution following the change of government. Let me point out that the then SLFP General Secretary Sirisena switched allegiance to the UNP less than three weeks after Lord Naseby sought the FCO disclosure of wartime dispatches.

Lord Naseby’s Nov 6 2014 request to FCO: "Details of the dispatches written by Colonel Anton Gash, the Defence Attaché of the British High Commission in Sri Lanka, to the UK Foreign Office during the period of January 2009 to May 2009. These dispatches described his assessment of what he had seen during this period of the Sri Lankan civil war."

Marapana, in spite of assuring parliament, in late Nov 2017 that Lord Naseby revelations would be used appropriately, refrained from taking it up in Geneva. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe dispensation couldn’t interfere with Geneva project primarily because of its commitment to foreign judges, in the Sri Lanka judicial mechanism, to probe war crimes. The tripartite agreement on foreign judges was revealed by TNA heavyweight M.A. Sumanthiran in Washington in June 2016. Jaffna District MP Sumanthiran’s statement was made available to the writer by TNA leader R. Sampanthan’s Office with a request to publish it.

Sumanthiran declared that they had reached a tripartite consensus in respect of foreign judges, defence attorneys, investigators, etc., in a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism under the UNHRC Resolution 30/1 adopted unanimously.

Attorney-at-law Sumanthiran told an American ‘Congressional Caucus for Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka’, in Washington, that the government of Sri Lanka, the TNA and the US had been involved in the negotiations leading to the agreement.

The declaration was made in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Washington, Prasad Kariyawasam. Ambassador Aryasinha succeeded Kariyawasam just before President Sirisena moved against Wickremesinghe.

MP Sumanthiran revealed that the resolution was moved in Geneva following an understanding that the participation of foreigners wouldn’t be contrary to Sri Lanka’s Constitution. Declaring that he had been personally involved in the negotiations, with the United States of America also participating in that particular process, Sumanthiran said: "There were some doubts created, as to whether the Constitution of Sri Lanka would allow for foreign nationals to function as judges and we went into that question, clarified it, and said yes they can".

Sumanthiran told the Congressional Caucus that the resolution adopted in Geneva, had been negotiated and they settled for a hybrid model though they originally asked for an international inquiry.

The TNA didn’t find fault with The Island coverage of the issue. The government, too, didn’t dispute the reportage.

In the wake of PM Rajapaksa being advised to resume his programme, terminated in 2015, it would be pertinent to mention that Sri Lanka paid a very heavy price for past blunders of its leaders. Mahinda Rajapaksa is no exception. The unpardonable refusal to enact the National Audit Bill for over a decade paved the way for corrupt politicians and officials to rob the national economy, enactment of 18th Amendment in early September 2010 in the wake of Mahinda Rajapaksa securing a second presidential term, impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake in January 2013, Kandy night races held in spite of objections by Mahanayakes, and waste, corruption and irregularities at an unprecedented scale at national carrier SriLankan Airlines during Nishantha Wickremesinghe’s tenure ruined the then government. At the time President Sirisena appointed Presidential Commission of Inquiry on SriLankan and Mihin Lanka inviting Mahinda Rajapaksa to take over premiership would have been the last thing on his mind. Perhaps, Sri Lanka should have a ‘Truth Commission’ to enable political parties to acknowledge past blunders and explore what went wrong. Brazen manipulation of parliament must stop forthwith. No less a person than President Sirisena on Oct 28, 2018 accused parliament of deliberately delaying CIABOC investigation into treasury bond scams.