Prez makes headway amidst deepening turmoil

 SPECIAL REPORT : Part 446

Published

  2022/11/30

President Wickremesinghe with US Ambassador Chung at the Colombo harbour, on Nov, 22, at the commissioning of newly acquired Offshore Patrol Vessel, formerly of the US Coast Guard.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Having comfortably won the vote on the Second Reading of 2023 Budget, two days earlier, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on November 24, dealt with a spate of issues, including the responsibilities of the armed forces and the police, obviously indicating how a second Aragalaya, aimed at ousting his government from power, by way of violent protests, as was done to the previous President, would be tackled, as the country could not possibly afford any more turmoil.

The UNP leader stressed the responsibility on the part of the government to protect the armed forces and the police, who performed their legitimate duties and responsibilities.

The Parliament approved the Cudget, on Nov. 22, with 121 voting for and 84 against, as the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) reiterated its commitment to a political marriage of convenience with UNP leader Wickremesinghe whose party has only one seat in the 225-member Parliament. Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Finance Minister, presented the Budget, on Nov. 14.

The SLPP secured 145 seats, at the last General Election, though three breakaway groups of lawmakers have since distanced themselves from the party.

Speaking on the continuing threats faced by his government, Wickremesinghe underscored the responsibilities of all, including Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. Perhaps, President Wickremesinghe’s reference to responsibilities of those from Corporal to Field Marshal should be examined against the backdrop of perceived relationship between the war-winning Army Commander and the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), accused of toppling Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe talked tough and didn’t mince his words when setting the tone for the remainder of his term, secured on July 20, courtesy the SLPP. Wickremesinghe seemed confident that the balance of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term, won with a landslide at the Nov. 16, 2019, presidential election, could be completed.

Wickremesinghe received the appointment as the Acting President, on July 13, and was elected the eighth President on July 20. As the sole UNP National List MP, Wickremesinghe polled 134 votes, including his own, whereas his rivals Dullas Alahapperuma (SLPP) and Anura Kumara Dissanayake (JVP) obtained 82 and 03 votes respectively.

Wickremesinghe delivered a clear message. The UNPer didn’t mince his words when he warned that unauthorized protests, meant to undermine his government, wouldn’t be tolerated, under any circumstances.

Wickremesinghe declared that trouble makers wouldn’t be allowed to take cover behind human rights and any attempt to adopt strategies, similar to those employed against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, would be crushed, militarily. There is absolutely no ambiguity in Wickremesinghe’s stand.

So, in case the FSP et al launched the second phase of ‘Aragalaya,’ targeting the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government, they can expect the armed forces and law enforcement authorities unleashed on them.

 Immediately after taking oaths, as the eighth President, Wickremesinghe directed the military to clear the Presidential Secretariat (old Parliament). Ironically, President Wickremesinghe, who was always for protests against the government in power, when in the Opposition, overnight metamorphosed into ignoring protests by the NGO-led mafia against the deployment of the armed forces. It would be pertinent to mention that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa gave in to US pressure not to use the armed forces to evict those camping outside the Presidential Secretariat until it was too late.

Even on May 09 when a well-orchestrated wave of physical attacks, and torching of properties of government politicians, was unleashed across the country, as if in spontaneous response from the public at large, over the attack on the Galle Face protesters, the same evening the US Ambassador Julie Chung issued a statement, through the local media, warning the armed forces and the police not to crackdown on peaceful protesters. We all saw how peaceful these foreign-funded protesters were when the opportunity arose. On May 09, they even turned on a group of SJB MPs, led by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, when they visited the Galle Face protest site. Luckily for them, they beat a hasty retreat, with their security, sensing what was in store for them, after getting a few knocks.

During the campaign against Gotabaya Rajapaksa that commenced with violent protests outside his private residence, at Pangiriwatte, Mirihana, on March 31, SLPP lawmaker Rear Admiral (ret.) Sarath Weerasekera told this writer, on a number of occasions, the danger of failing on the part of the then administration to deal with the growing threat efficiently. Weerasekera was one of the few who demanded tangible action against the protest campaign. By July 09, protesters forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee Janadhipathi Mandiraya by sea. Field Marshal Fonseka, MP, had been the only parliamentarian to address the protesters, near Janadhipathi Mandiraya, just a few hours before they forced their way into the presidential abode.

No one bothered to remind the Field Marshal of his obligations at that time. In addition to Sajith Premadasa, Fonseka, too, received an invitation from Gotabaya Rajapaksa to accept the premiership. Both declined for different reasons.

But, on the part of Wickremesinghe, there hadn’t been any wavering, as in the case of Premadasa, despite being the Leader of the Opposition. The UNP leader simply grabbed the opportunity and proceeded step by step, having evicted those occupying the Presidential Secretariat.

Lawmaker Weerasekera, who sided with President Wickremesinghe at the Budget vote, told The Island the UNP leader had dealt appropriately with those trying to undermine law and order. Unfortunately, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, despite being a distinguished former frontline combat officer, hesitated to meet the protesters’ violent challenge due to well hatched Western propaganda against his government, the MP asserted.

Prez steps up pressure on Opp. Leader

President Wickremesinghe used the opportunity to remind the House of the correspondence between his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa in the run-up to him being sworn in as the Premier on May 12. During his Nov. 24 address to Parliament, the UNP leader tabled in House Sajith Premadasa’s letter, dated May 12, to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe, engaged in a desperate bid to consolidate his position, faulted the former UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa for Gotabaya Rajapaksa giving up the presidency. The President’s strategy seems clear. In addition to dealing with the economy, Wickremesinghe faces two primary challenges, namely rebuilding the UNP, now reduced to just one National List slot (Wajira Abeywardena), in preparation for future elections and the resolution of the national question (post-war national reconciliation)

The re-building of the UNP has to be achieved at the expense of Sajith Premadasa. There is absolutely no ambiguity in Wickremesinghe’s strategy. Wickremesinghe has no option but to relentlessly push SJB members to switch their allegiance to him. Although many believed Wickremesinghe could influence the majority of the main Opposition, the SJB, to switch sides, in the wake of his appointment as the Premier, it didn’t materialize. Of the 54-member SJB parliamentary group, Manusha Nanayakara (Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment) and Harin Fernando (Minister of Tourism and Land) deserted Sajith Premadasa when they accepted Cabinet portfolios, on May 20 from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The two SJB MPs, who spearheaded a high profile campaign, targeting Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, had no qualms in receiving their letters of appointment from the very person.

The other SJB MP to accept state ministerial portfolios from Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe, respectively, in April (Transport) and September (Tourism) was Diana Gamage, now at the centre of a simmering controversy over her allegedly being a British national. When there are probably at least half a dozen or so other dual citizen MPs in Parliament we wonder why just Diana Gamage is being targeted by so many.

President Wickremesinghe appears to be confident that some of those who had been elected on the SJB ticket, as well as some SLPPers, may accept Cabinet portfolios soon. Appointments are likely to be finalized immediately after the final vote on the Budget, scheduled to take place on Dec 08.

Wickremesinghe needs to reach a consensus with the top SLPP leadership, as regards Cabinet portfolios, as the latter wouldn’t, under any circumstances, tolerate appointments, sans its approval. However, Wickremesinghe will go out to engineer defections from the SJB. Will the UNP leader be able to influence a group large enough to cause the disintegration of Sajith Premadasa’s party, formed in early 2020, to contest the last General Election?

However, in spite of enjoying executive powers, Wickremesinghe would find it an extremely difficult task as the SJB, as a group, abhorred joining the SLPP-led government. On one hand, Wickremesinghe required the continuing support of the SLPP to sustain his government. On the other hand, Wickremesinghe’s dependence on the SLPP made him quite unpopular. The SLPP has so far refused to accept that it couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for the economic fallout, caused by utter mismanagement of the national economy. Had the SLPP government sought the IMF intervention, soon after the 2019 presidential election, Wickremesinghe wouldn’t have ended up as the President. The circumstances that compelled Gotabaya Rajapaksa to invite Wickremesinghe to accept the premiership underscored the seriousness of the situation the country had fallen into.

Having failed to get elected, from Colombo, at the last General Election, Wickremesinghe re-entered Parliament, in late June 2021, on its National List, at a time the national economy was rapidly deteriorating.

But, even Wickremesinghe wouldn’t have anticipated the turn of events that compelled the desperate Rajapaksas to invite him to accept the premiership, one month short of a year later. Having taken over the government, under an incomparable situation, Wickremesinghe seems to be hell-bent on pursuing his own agenda. The SLPP seems to be so far satisfied. The vote on the Second Reading of the Budget meant that the SLPP and Wickremesinghe are prepared to work together. though quite significant differences remain.

However, the SLPP has, in no uncertain terms, indicated that it didn’t bother about the mandates received at the 2019 Presidential and 2020 General Elections at which its candidate received 6.9 mn votes and the party obtained a staggering 145 seats, respectively.

Prez roadmap

SLPP National List MP Gevindu Cumaratunga, in two speeches in Parliament (delivered during the ongoing Budget debate) dealt with Wickremesinghe’s strategy. The leader of civil society group Yuthukama did it quite well. The first time entrant to Parliament discussed the issues at hand, including the alleged move to deliberately lose state control over land that may cause irrevocable consequences. At the onset of one speech, lawmaker Cumaratunga reacted somewhat angrily as some government members continued with their noisy private conversations, among themselves, as the MP dealt with contentious issues.

The MP asked whether Wickremesinghe was exploiting the current political-economic-social crisis to advance his own roadmap at the expense of the country. Cumaratunga raised the possibility of those enjoying the political power allowing further deterioration of the economy. The MP expressed fears of Wickremesinghe’s Budget causing a heavier debt burden at a time the country has suspended repayment of loans. The MP also slammed the government over the inordinate delay in amending the Exchange Control Act of 2017 to make it mandatory for importers to bring back massive amounts of funds ‘parked’ overseas, over a period of time, within a stipulated time frame.

In addition to Cumaratunga, Prof. Charitha Herath, as well as Prof. Channa Jayasumana ,made important contributions during the ongoing Budget debate. Both of them dealt with the land issue.

Herath, who earned public appreciation for his role as former COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) Chairman dealt with a number of issues, including an ‘operation’ meant to facilitate land grabs. The first time MP alleged that the move to place state land under the purview of Divisional Secretaries was nothing but a ruse to allow land grabs.

Participating in the Second Reading debate on the 2023 Budget, Prof. Herath alleged that the move was meant to allow cronies of the ruling party to get hold of government lands. Declaring that LRC lands had been misappropriated for the political gains of successive governments, since 1977, Prof. Herath questioned the way state land were utilized. The 2023 Budget has proposed to legitimize wrong procedure, lawmaker Herath said, adding: “We summoned the LRC, two or three times before the Committee on Public Enterprises, and investigated the issues at hand. We found out that there had been many shortcomings in its land utilization process. We instructed the officials to take remedial measures. Now the 2023 Budget has proposed that these LRC lands should be placed under District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries and allow them to decide to whom those lands should be given for the purpose of cultivating them. The proposal would prune down the powers of the Lands Minister.

“We do not approve the status quo of the LRC because every Lands Minister has placed the LRC under his or her friends who, in return, placed the lands at LRC under the mercy of the Minister. This should come to an end but not in the manner that has been envisaged by the 2023 Budget, Prof. Herath said.

Prof. Jayasumana raised the legitimacy of crucial decisions taken by Wickremesinghe as the UNP leader didn’t have a mandate to do so from the people. Addressing the Parliament, during the Committee Stage of the Defence Ministry vote, the first time MP asked whether the President could take decisions pertaining to national security and policy matters as he was only entrusted with completing the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term.

The Anuradhapura District MP suggested the need to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court as regards the ability of Wickremesinghe to call for a presidential election four years after the last poll. In this case the one held in Nov. 2019. Lawmaker Jayasumana declared that he would submit a private member’s proposal to enable Wickremesinghe to call for a fresh presidential poll after completion of one year in office. If consensus could be reached, a fresh presidential election could be held in July 2023, Prof. Jayasumana said, adding that if Wickremesinghe won he could implement whatever his proposals. Pointing out that as Wickremesinghe’s agenda had been rejected by the electorate in 1994, 2004 and 2019, the UNP leader could face serious public challenge unless he obtained a fresh mandate.

Declaring that Gotabaya Rajapaksa received a huge mandate at the 2019 presidential election to preserve Sri Lanka’s unitary status, Prof Jayasumana questioned the moves to even go beyond the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The academic reminded that the Supreme Court had been divided on the 13th Amendment.

The SLPP rebel reminded that the Supreme Court bench that decided on the 13th Amendment did so by a majority of just one judge.

Sri Lanka is heading for unprecedented political upheaval as Wickremesinghe pushes ahead with his agenda amidst further deterioration of political-economic-social situation. The much-touted USD 2.9 bn in emergency aid from the IMF, spread over a period of four years, seems wholly inadequate to remedy the situation. Impending political turmoil appears to be quite threatening and may even undermine the economic recovery efforts unless the Parliament addressed the issues at hand with the dedication such situations required.

Post-war national reconciliation: Diaspora sets prerequisites

 SPECIAL REPORT : Part 445

Published

  2022/11/23

Justice Minister Rajapakshe and Panchalingam Kandiah, of the Canadian Tamil Congress, address the media at the Justice Ministry

Indian Premier Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Jaffna Cultural Centre, in March 2015, two months after the change of government in Sri Lanka, in the wake of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s shock defeat at the presidential election. Retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran served as the Chief Minister of the Northern Province at the time. Since then he deserted the Tamil Alliance (TNA) and formed his own party Tamil Makkal Thesya Kootani. Narendra Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister and only the second foreign leader, after British Prime Minister David Cameron, to visit Jaffna since the conclusion of the war. It was the first official visit by an Indian Premier, since July 1987, when Rajiv Gandhi flew in to sign the disastrous Indo-Lanka peace accord foisted on hapless Sri Lanka.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) wants the Sri Lanka government to hand over the Jaffna Cultural Centre, built by the Indian government, to the Jaffna Municipality.

Danton Thurairajah, Executive Director, CTC, in a letter dated Nov. 01, 2022, requested that the Jaffna Cultural Centre, the tallest building in the Jaffna town, situated next to the Jaffna Public Library, be brought under the Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC). It was the sixth out of the 10 requests made by Thurairajah.

Panchalingam Kandiah, on behalf of the CTC, handed over the letter to Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, at his Ministry, on Nov. 16.

The following is the text of the letter released by the Justice Ministry:

Dear Minister,

We thank you for de-listing some of the Tamil Diaspora organisations, including the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC). We feel this is a first step towards achieving improved ethnic relations and economic outcomes in Sri Lanka. While this is a step in the right direction, by the Government of Sri Lanka, we think that additional and meaningful actions are critical in continuing to build bridges with the Diaspora and help the island nation prosper.

Immediately after the de-listing by the Sri Lankan government, and given the current urgent need, CTC, as a responsible organisation, announced that it would provide critical life-saving medications to six hospitals in the Northern, Eastern, Central and Western Provinces of Sri Lanka.

However, we strongly feel that the Sri Lankan government has not taken any meaningful actions which are long overdue.

These include, but are not limited to: Immediate steps in the short term:

1) Release all political prisoners

2) Repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)

3) Release all private lands, occupied by the Sri Lankan military, and cease all illegal land grabs in the Northern and Eastern provinces

4) Allow Tamils to mourn and remember the dead, free of intimidation by Sri Lankan state authorities.

5) Support economic growth in the north, and foreign investment, by reopening the Palaly International Airport

6) Hand over the Jaffna Cultural Centre, funded by the Indian government, to the Jaffna Municipality

7) Comply with the UNHRC resolution 46/1 of 2021

8) Fully implement the 13th Amendment and immediately hold the provincial council elections

9) Reform the security sector, especially in Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, to the same levels as the rest of the country and stop all business initiatives in the Northern and Eastern provinces operated by the Sri Lanka military which makes it difficult for local farmers and businesses to compete (Farms, Hotels, and Bakeries, etc.)

10) Open the KKS and Mannar ferry services to India.

The CTC urges the Sri Lankan government to take some firm steps to help build trust and create a conducive environment for reconciliation. The work on a permanent long-term solution, acceptable to all Sri Lankan communities, is vital for the collective growth of the island.

The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government delisted six Tamil diaspora organisations, including the CTC, and 316 individuals. The following organisations were delisted:

1) Australian Tamil Congress (ATC)

2) Global Tamil Forum (GTF)

3) World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC)

4) Tamil Eelam People’s Assembly (TEPA)

5) Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC)

6) British Tamil Forum (BTF)

The delisting was announced through an amendment to the List of Designated Persons under Regulation 4(7) of the United Nations Regulations No. 1 of 2012. The ban was imposed in 2014 by the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also held the defence portfolio. The ban covered 15 Diaspora groups. Rajapaksa now serves the incumbent government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s successor, Maithripala Sirisena, lifted the ban in 2015 to pave the way for talks with them. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa re-imposed the ban in 2021.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) issued a statement appreciating the decision. The TNA pointed out: “However, it must be noted that even others who remain on the list have been so named without any evidence, connecting them to terrorism, and by not following the prescribed procedure. We urge the government to at least continue this process of re-evaluating and de-proscribing all.”

Indian External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, and the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, virtually inaugurated the Jaffna Cultural Centre, on March 28, this year, three days before public anger exploded at Pangiriwatte, Mirihana, most probably a well-planned instigation rather than a spontaneous eruption that triggered a series of violent incidents, leading to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster. It was like the well-orchestrated attacks and torching of residences of then government politicians, across the country, on May 09, followed by more mindless violence on July 09.

The Jaffna Cultural Centre, built at a cost of USD 11 mn, on an Indian grant, with 11 floors and facilities, including an auditorium that can accommodate 600 persons, a conference hall, an amphitheater and a digital library, was completed in January 2020. Having signed the agreement for the facility, in 2014, construction took place during the Yahapalana administration, and the work completed close on the heels of the Nov. 2019 presidential election.

In terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by India and Sri Lanka in 2014, New Delhi was expected to hand over the facility to the government, which in turn would have handed it over to the Jaffna Municipal Council. Amidst concerns that JMC lacked the wherewithal to maintain the facility, New Delhi has offered to provide the required funds for a period of five years.

There are growing concerns that the building has been used only once,after the virtual opening in March.

The Jaffna-based Indian Consulate celebrated India’s 75th Independence Day, on August 15. Several hundred invitees were treated to Nadaswaram performance by Maestro Banu and group, a Bharatanatyam performance by the Natya KalaKendra institute Barathanatiyam group, and folk dance performance by the Kumara Narththanaalayam group. Earlier in the day, Consul General Raakesh Natraj and Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General W.M.G.C.S.B. Wijayasundara paid respects at the IPKF Memorial in Palaly by laying a wreath, an annual event and a grim reminder of Indian intervention here and the heavy price it paid for the folly of heavy-handed interference in the affairs of a neighbouring country, in which powerful Western countries, too, were very much involved, but through covert subtle means, in instigating the turmoil here, from the early ’80s, most probably with the wish to break up India for being close to the former Soviet Union. The West then obviously wanted to fan separatist flames right across India by not only giving succor to Eelamists, but to others like separatists in Punjab, Assam, etc. New Delhi should be doubly wary of possible new plots for not blindly towing the Western line in Ukraine.

Post-war reconciliation

The CTC’s prerequisites for post-war national reconciliation underscored their refusal at least to repent the war waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) until terrorism was finally eradicated. If not for Sri Lanka’s successful campaign against terrorism, that brought the war to an end in May 2009, 15 years after the capture of Jaffna town, the Jaffna Cultural Centre would never have been a reality.

It would be pertinent to ask Justice Minister Rajapakshe, who received the CTC’s letter on behalf of the government, whether the government could accept those prerequisites. The CTC played a significant role in the overall campaign that led to the Canadian declaration of May 18 as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

The CTC’s message this year stressed that (1) Not a single case on wartime atrocity allegations has been resolved in a court of law (2) Not a single Tamil victim of enforced disappearance has been found alive or the circumstances of their disappearance revealed to date and (3) Not even a single person was held accountable.

As usual, the CTC, like other Diaspora groups, and the TNA, conveniently forgot why Sri Lanka had no other option than to eradicate Tamil terrorism at any cost. The Tamil Diaspora should at least now prepare a list of dead and the disappeared, since 1983. (1) the number of people killed as a result of fighting among Tamil terrorist groups, trained by India (2) the number of people killed due to fighting within a particular terrorist group (3) members of rival groups killed by the LTTE (4) LTTE cadres killed by rival groups (5) killings within the LTTE (6) Tamil terrorists who fled their respective organisations and sought asylum in the West and those who went underground in India (7) Tamil civilians killed during the Indian Army operations (8) LTTE cadres killed in clashes with the Indian Army (9) PLOTE cadres killed in abortive bid to assassinate Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in Nov. 1988 (10) LTTE operatives killed by Indian security agencies after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 (11) Tamil civilians killed during military operations, particularly the last phase of the assault on LTTE human shields in 2009 and finally (12) how many Tamils received foreign passports during the war and since the conclusion of the war.

Where was the CTC when the LTTE forced the entire Vanni population to withdraw across the Jaffna-Kandy A9 road towards the Mullaithivu district where the group brazenly used them as human shields to deter the advancing Army? The CTC, like its counterparts in other countries, remained confident of the LTTE’s superior fighting skills to defeat the Army on the Vanni east front. They started protests in the Western capitals, in 2009, after the then Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s Army inflicted devastating battlefield losses on the LTTE and forced conventional fighting units to retreat towards the Mullaithivu coast.

Perhaps, the Diaspora should be reminded that the Tamil community voted overwhelmingly for Fonseka at the January 2010 presidential election, at the behest of the TNA after accusing him and his army of committing war crimes. Fonseka comfortably won all predominantly Tamil speaking northern and eastern districts, though Mahinda Rajapaksa routed the war-winning Army Commander in the South.

The Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) never acknowledged Sri Lanka bringing an end to forcible conscription of children for the war. The LTTE deployed children as fighting depleted its units over the years and UN efforts to discourage conscription of teenagers in the late ’90s failed. Hope those who shed crocodile tears for war victims at least appreciate lives saved by the eradication of the LTTE.

The Army paid a huge price for trying to minimize loss of civilian lives. If not for U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, who was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years in a military prison for turning over more than 700,000 classified files to Wikileaks in the biggest breach of secret data in the US history, Sri Lanka wouldn’t have known what was happening behind the scenes. There was a spate of cables that dealt with the situation here. But one of the most valuable cables from our point of view originated from Geneva.

The cable, dated July 15, 2009, signed by the then Geneva-based US Ambassador Clint Williamson cleared the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) of crimes against humanity during the Vanni offensive. The cable, addressed to the US State Department, was based on a confidential conversation Ambassador Williamson had with the then ICRC head of operations for South Asia, Jacque de Maio, on July 9, 2009, and several weeks after the war was brought to a successful end, that hardly anyone expected, with the annihilation of the LTTE in the battlefield.

Ambassador Williamson wrote: “The army was determined not to let the LTTE escape from its shrinking territory, even though this meant the civilians being kept hostage by the LTTE were at an increasing risk.

So, de Maio said, while one could safely say that there were ‘serious, widespread violations of international humanitarian law,’ by the Sri Lankan forces, it didn’t amount to genocide. He could cite examples of where the Army had stopped shelling when the ICRC informed them it was killing civilians.

In fact, the Army actually could have won the war faster with higher civilian casualties, yet chose a slower approach which led to a greater number of Sri Lankan military deaths. He concluded however, by asserting that the GoSL failed to recognize its obligation to protect civilians, despite the approach leading to higher military casualties.”

The government should respond to CTC’s demands, as issues raised by other Diaspora groups are essentially the same though the writer hasn’t previously come across any group demanding that the Jaffna Cultural Centre be brought under the Jaffna Municipal Council. Their first demand for the release of political prisoners is silly. Minister Rajapakse has repeatedly denied that there were political prisoners and explained both here and abroad the circumstances in which they were held.

The strange case of Katuwapitiya suicide bomber’s wife Pulasthini

 SPECIAL REPORT : Part 444

Published

  2022/11/16

Pulasthini Rajendra aka Sarah Jesmine

Can Pulasthini Rajendra aka Sarah Jesmine, wife of Katuwapitiya suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun, reveal something Abdul Cader Fatima Hadiya, wife of Zahran Hashim, couldn’t? This is the question that baffles lawmaker Mujibur Rahuman. Did Pulasthini know somethings not known to any other person alive? Rahuman asked, pointing out another mystery – the case of Jameel, who had been tasked to carry out a suicide blast at the Taj Samudra but opted to go back to a hotel in Dehiwela where he met an intelligence services officer before he triggered the blast. SJB MP Patali Champika Ranawaka made reference to intelligence officer’s alleged links with Jameel in Parliament. SJB MP Eran Wickremaratne, too, made a statement in Parliament on similar lines. However, Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando, who had led the campaign to find the truth about the Easter Sunday carnage, dropped the matter after receiving ministerial portfolios from Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the behest of the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) lawmaker Mujibur Rahuman declared in Parliament on Nov. 10, 2022 that Pulasthini Rajendra aka Sarah Jesmine, wife of Thowheed Jamaat suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun, who carried out the 2019 Easter Sunday blast, at St. Sebastian’s Church, at Katuwapitiya, Katana, “is alive”.

Alleging Jesmine had taken refuge in India, the Colombo district MP, who represented the UNP at the time of the Easter Sunday carnage, said that the government was struggling to prove she died during a series of blasts at Saindamaruthu, Kalmunai, on the night of April.

Speaking on the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act, MP Rahuman briefly addressed four contentious issues, including the claim Jesmine received refuge in India. So was she a RAW agent in Zahran camp as some speculated.

Addressing largely an empty House, lawmaker Rahuman questioned (1) the inordinate delay in amending the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in spite of promises given by Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Prime Minister (2015-2019), and ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (2019-2022), (2) the failure on the part of the Attorney General to disclose the cases withdrawn during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration (3) disappearance of Jesmine and finally (4) dual citizens in Parliament.

Claiming that Jesmine, too, survived the Saindamaruthu blasts, MP Rahuman quoted terror mastermind Zahran Hashim’s wife, Abdul Cader Fatima Hadiya, as having told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) into the Easter Sunday blasts, that she heard Jesmine’s voice, after the blasts.

Zahran Hashim detonated himself at Shangri-la, on the morning of April 19, 2019. Those killed at Saindamaruthu, a week later, included Zahran Hashim’s father Mohamed Hashim and his brothers Zainee and Rilwan. Rilwan is believed to have been one of those who detonated bombs. Fatima and her child survived the Saindamaruthu blasts and remain in government custody.

MP Rahuman said that three DNZ tests, conducted on the human remains found there, had proved Jesmine hadn’t been among the dead at Saindamaruthu. Of the three tests, two were conducted during the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probe into the Easter Sunday blasts and the P CoI, the MP said, pointing out the third was conducted in the wake of the then Public Security Minister Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera’s declaration in Parliament that the government believed Jesmine didn’t survive the Saindamaruthu blasts.

The lawmaker questioned the failure on the part of the government to establish the truth as Abubakkar, the Traffic OIC of Kalawanchikudy police who allegedly helped Jesmine to flee the country, is in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The outspoken MP alleged that successive governments hadn’t sought Indian assistance to apprehend Jesmine, the only person who could shed light on the Easter Sunday conspiracy.

In a way this is strange logic on the part of Rahuman to assume that Jesmine would know more about the Easter Sunday conspiracy than Zahran’s wife Fatima, who, too, survived the blasts ,with her child. Mind you Zahran was the mastermind and definitely not Jesmine’s husband Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun, who also perished when he detonated a suicide bomb at the packed Katuwapitiya Church, on Easter Sunday. Besides Jesmine, who was originally a Tamil Hindu, and had converted to Islam, only after she fell under the spell of Hastun, in 2015. So she couldn’t have been privy to the terrorist cell’s deep conspiracies, being more of an outsider.

MP Rahuman told The Island that the country couldn’t move forward without addressing the Easter Sunday mystery. The police owed an explanation as regards the arrest of Abubakkar and the status of the investigations into the police officer’s complicity in Jesmine’s escape.

Pulasthini marries Hastun

Abdul Cader Fatima Hadiya

Rajaratnam Kavitha, the mother of Jesmine (former Pulasthini before she married Hastun) is on record as having told the P CoI that her daughter had been with Fatima from February 2019 to April 26, 2019, the day the remnants of the Zahran’s group triggered the Saindamaruthu blasts.

The P CoI was told how Pulasthini had been converted to Islam, in 2015, by the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamaat (SLTJ) Abdul Razik. Pulaththini, born in 1996, had obtained 8As and 1B at the GCE O/L examination. Having chosen to study biology, Pulasthini attended private tuition classes at Kalmunai. Kavitha had been employed in Abu Dhabi at that time.

Pulasthini has disappeared in late July, 2015 and, according to Kavitha’s testimony before the P CoI, her mother (Pulasthini’s grandmother) had informed her (Kavitha) over the phone on 29 July, 2015, of the disappearance of Pulasthini. Kavitha had instructed her mother to lodge a complaint with the Kaluwanchikudy Police. Meanwhile, Razik had called Kavitha’s brother to inform that Pulasthini was with them.

It would be pertinent to mention that these developments take place at the onset of the Yahapalana administration.

Negligence on the part of police

Kavitha had been so worried she had returned from Abu Dhabi and visited Razik’s office, at Maligawatte, where she met Pulasthini dressed like a Muslim woman. There had been three men, including Razik and a woman. Having talked to Pulasthini, Kavitha had lodged a complaint with the Maligawatta police. While Kavitha had been at the Maligawatta police, Pulasthini, accompanied by Razik, visited the police station where the police advised her to take the girl home for 15 days if she remained faithful to Hinduism. But in case Pulasthini decided to follow Islam, she should be allowed to join Razik, the police stressed, while warning she would be arrested if she didn’t act accordingly.

When P CoI queried whether she was aware that a mother had the right to a child, regardless of religion, and if so, did she explain that to the Maligawatte police, Kavitha said that she was aware of that and when that point was raised, law enforcement men had told her that Pulasthini was over 18 years old and that she could do as she wished.

Kavitha also said that the police officers had got her to sign a three-page document. She added that she could not understand the contents as it had been in Sinhala.

“Razik’s aim was to convert Hindus to Islam. When I first went to the Maligawatte Police station I told them that, but the Police did not pay any attention to it and only listened to Razik,” Kavitha added.

However, Kavitha had managed to bring Pulasthini back to her home at Kalawanchikudy where she had removed the Abaya and practiced Hindu rituals. But, 15 days later, Razik had demanded that Pulasthini be returned to them. Then again, Pulasthini had disappeared on Sept. 24, 2015, after accompanying Kavitha to the Batticaloa hospital. Kavitha lodged a complaint with the Batticaloa police.

The following day, Razik had informed Kavitha that Pulasthini had got married to Hastun. Kavitha, accompanied by her brother, and one of her aunts and son, had visited Razik in Maligawatte though he couldn’t prove the said marriage took place. Maligawatta police declared they could not intervene as both Hastun and Pulasthini were over 18 years of age. During that visit to Maligawatte, Kavitha had got to know her only daughter Pulasthini had been named Sarah Jasmine after the marriage.

Obviously, there had been differences between Hastun and Jesmine and the latter left her husband and sought refuge in Abu Dhabi in early January 2016. Jesmine had arrived in Abu Dhabi on January 06, 2016, and was there for about four months. During that short spell she had been employed as a cashier there.

After having convinced Kavitha that she wanted to resume her studies and wouldn’t return to Hastun, Jesmine had returned to Kalawanchikudy in mid-2016. However, Hastun had lodged a complaint with Kattankudy police. Though Jesmin lived in Kalawanchikudy, Hastun had been so influential he got the police to hand her over to him. This couldn’t have been achieved without the intervention of a particular Muslim Federation.

Kavitha told P CoI Zahran’s wife Fatima had taken Pulasthini to a house at Narammala and the last call to her was taken on February 19, 2019 around 12.30 pm.

Kavitha explained how she made abortive attempts to lodge complaints with the Kalawanchikudy and Kattankudy police, after having lodged a complaint with the Narammala police (April 06, 2019) of her daughter’s disappearance. Subsequently, Kavitha lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission’s Regional Office in Batticaloa.

Kavitha asserted that her daughter’s jewellery hadn’t been among the items shown to her by the police, recovered from the scene of the Saindamaruthu blasts.

A tearful Kavitha urged law enforcement authorities to find her daughter. And had she done something wrong to punish her. “But if she is alive, give me a chance to see her at least once”, Kavitha told P CoI.

Over two years after the Easter Sunday attacks, the then Director General, Legal Affairs at the Presidential Secretariat, Attorney-at-Law Harigupta Rohanadeera insisted the government wasn’t aware of what really happened to Pulasthini though aware of her presence at Saindamaruthu at the time the military surrounded their hideout, about a week after the April 21, 2019 blasts. Rohanadeera was on Hiru ‘Salakuna’. The panel of journalists pressed the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s aide over Pulasthini securing refuge in India, having fled the country in a boat.

HRCSL inquiry

Mujibur Rahuman

The Island inquired into the Pulasthini’a matter, in August 2020. The writer took up this issue with the then HRCSL Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama and was assured that Kavitha never mentioned about Zahran’s Hashim’s involvement in her daughter’s disappearance when she visited the HRCSL regional office, in Batticaloa.

Dr. Udagama said there hadn’t been any reference to Zahran when Kavitha visited the Regional Office, on April 17, 2019, four days before the Easter attacks.

Dr. Udagama was responding to The Island query whether the Regional Office informed Colombo of receiving a complaint as regards the missing young woman. The Island raised the issue with Dr. Udagama in the wake of Kavitha‘s testimony, before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI), in late July 2020.

Kavitha said that she visited the HRCSL Regional Office, in Batticaloa, after the Kaluwanchikudy and Kattankudy Police stations declined to accept her complaints. Kavitha said: I informed an officer there that I found out my daughter was with Zahran. At that moment he said he knew Zahran and that there was nothing to be scared of since Zahran was a normal person.”

Kavitha also quoted a Batticaloa-based HRCSL official as having said there was no need to lodge a complaint and that he would look into the matter.

Q (The Island): Did HRCSL receive a complaint in this regard or any information regarding Kavitha’s visit to HRCSL Regional Office?

A (Dr. Deepika Udagama): We obtained a detailed report on the matter from our Batticaloa Regional Office. It also includes the log entry relating to the visit of Ms. Kavitha to the Regional Office on 17 April, 2020. According to our records, one Ms. Kavitha of Mankadu, Cettipalayam, had visited our Batticaloa Regional Office on 17 April, 2019, accompanied by a male. Her complaint was that her daughter P. Pulasthini (age 24) had gone away with a young man from the Muslim community and had married him, in 2015, and that her whereabouts were not known. She had appealed to the HRCSL to assist in finding her. As the matter was of a private nature, our officer had informed Ms. Kavitha that it did not fall within the HRCSL’s statutory mandate. Ms. Kavitha had been advised to seek the assistance of the police to find her daughter. At that point the mother had not been informed of any attempts to complain to the police or of any inaction on the part of the police. If that were the case the complaint would have been registered.

In her complaint Ms. Kavitha had stated that one Razik, from a Muslim organisation, was having influence over her daughter’s family life. There had been no mention of a Zahran. In fact, as a gesture of assistance, our officer had called a telephone number, provided by Ms. Kavitha, which was said to be that of Razik.

He had denied knowledge of Pulasthini’s whereabouts and had mentioned that the parents had complained to the Maligawatta police station about the matter and that the police, including CID, had questioned him in that regard. As there was nothing out of the ordinary about the complaint, the HRCSL Colombo had not been informed. That is the regular procedure.

Q: Did P CoI ask HRCSL personnel to appear before it? And if not, will you be inquiring into this (in the wake of PCoI revelation.)

A: No, we have not been summoned by the P CoI. The records from our Batticaloa office, in our opinion, do not give rise to any issue that requires further investigation.

Q: Did HRCSL inquire into the Easter Sunday tragedy or receive complaints as regards the government’s failure to thwart the carnage?

A: Even in the absence of a complaint, the HRCSL could investigate this matter on its own initiative (per S.14 of HRCSL Act, No 21 of 1996). However, we are aware that the same issue is being canvassed before the Supreme Court via FR petition by at least one aggrieved party. When a matter is being canvassed before the Supreme Court in a FR application, the Commission does not conduct a parallel inquiry. The decision of the SC is binding on all parties.

Safer dead

Four years after 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, the fate of Pulasthini remains a mystery. The first volume of the P CoI final report (Vol. 1, page 223) referred to this matter as follows: “The Commission of Inquiry received evidence of two witnesses who testified that Sarah was seen alive after the Easter Sunday attacks and had fled to India. In her testimony, Zahran’s wife Abdul Cader Fatima Hadiya said that after the blasts at Saindamaruthu, on April 26, 2019, she lost consciousness. After she regained consciousness, she could hear the voice of a woman which sounded like that of Sarah. The DNA analysis, with the mother of Sarah, did not establish that Sarah had died in the blasts. In view of this testimony, the COI recommends that investigations into Sarah be continued.”

Several lawmakers, including S.M.S. Marrikar (SJB), Manusha Namayakkara (SJB) and Rauf Hakeem (SLMC), also elected on the SJB ticket, commented on Sarah’s matter.

The former Attorney General Dappula de Livera, in an interview with News First journalist Zulfick Farzan, on May 17, 2021, commented on the issue at hand. Livera said that her death at the Saindamaruthu gun battle, followed by explosions, is yet to be confirmed. “We understand that she fled to India, but that too is not confirmed. Actually, her whereabouts remain unknown.”

The National Catholic Committee for Justice to the Easter Sunday Attack Victims, on July 12, 2021, raised a gamut of issues pertaining to NTJ suicide attacks with the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Sarah’s disappearance was high on the Catholic group’s agenda. Gotabaya Rajapaksa did nothing to address the concerns of the Catholic Church. The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government, too, seems yet to address the issues. The SJB MP Rahuman’s criticism in Parliament, on November 10, 2022, is evidence that the Easter Sunday mystery hadn’t been solved.