Elina wanted Premadasa to succeed JRJ

 SPECIAL REPORT : Part 333

September 9, 2020

Ranil Wickremesinghe garlanding the DS Senanayake statue, at the UNP’s 72 anniversary, two years ago. The UNP celebrated its 74th anniversary over the weekend without a single elected MP in parliament. Over a month after the general election, the party is yet to decide on the single National List nominee, with a section backing Wickremesinghe for that slot.

– new biography

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The late Elina Jayewardene (EJ), nee Rupasinghe, had strongly pushed for Ranasinghe Premadasa as her husband first executive President JRJ’s successor in the run up to the second presidential poll, in the late 80s, according to ‘Elina Jayewardene’, authored by journalist Sagarika Dissanayake.

The then first lady had insisted that Premadasa should get the opportunity as he was the most suitable person to take over the party, following JRJ’s retirement. This discussion, on the party leadership, had taken place near the Kalutara temple, while they were on their way to Mirissa. JRJ assured EJ of his decision to accept her proposal, as they got down from the vehicle at Mirissa.

The author attributes the revelation to Pradeep Jayewardene, the eldest grandson of JRJ and Elina. The author dealt briefly with EJ taking a stand on two crucial matters, namely JRJ’s decision to sack Rukman Senanayake, and the UNP’s next leader. Though JRJ ignored EJ’s strong protest against Rukman’s sacking, her suggestion, as regards RP, was accepted. EJ had felt Premadasa was the most qualified and she also had opposed any other successor that might reinforce accusations of power being always monopolised by the elite.

Sagarika Dissanayake, who had served the Lake House publication, ‘Silumina’, before being moved to its daily ‘Dinamina’, couldn’t have launched ‘Elina Jayewardene’ at a better time as the UNP struggled to cope up with the worst ever defeat the party suffered in its over 70-year history. The 2020 general election reduced the UNP to a solitary National List slot whereas its parliamentary group, in the last parliament, comprised 106 members.

The failure on the part of the UNP to resolve the leadership issue, even over a month after the last general election, is evidence of the deterioration of once the most powerful political force in the country.

 

Elina chooses JRJ over SWRD

EJ, the only daughter of one of the richest families in Sri Lanka, at that time, lacked a formal education, though she attracted the attention of young lawyer Junius Richard Jayewardene, as well as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, subsequently the leaders of the UNP and the SLFP, respectively. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike had been able to get to know EJ before JRJ. Dissanayake dealt with how S.W.R.D gave up his love for EJ, after seeing her with JRJ, at the former’s residence, saying: “My congratulations.”

EJ married JRJ on the evening of February 28, 1935 at ‘Breamar’, Ward Place. Winning EJ’s hand hadn’t been easy for Junius Richard Jayewardene (Dicky to his friends) as her family was not so excited about the proposal from his mother Agnes Helen Jayewardene, the wife of the late top lawyer E.W. Jayewardene. Agnes Helen Jayewardene was a sister of press baron D.R. Wijewardene, of Lake House fame.

‘Elina Jayewardene’ is based on interviews with several persons, including Pradeep Jayewardene,  Rukshan Amal Jayewardene (the second grandchild JRJ and Elina), Sharmaine Mendis, first wife of late Ravi Jayewardene (their only son), close relatives, Professor Asvini Fernando and Lakshmi Suneetha Subasinghe, Dr. Sathis Jayasinhe and Nalini Mapitigama. In addition to them, the author had interviewed several female aides, who had been with EJ until the very end. Among them were Galahitiyage Lilawathie, Hettiarachchige Magilin and Lilani de Silva. Pradeep Jayewardene’s younger brother, Amrik, hadn’t been so excited about the brief biography about their late grandmother, hence the author not getting an opportunity to speak with him. The author also quoted from the work of the late senior government servant, Amara Hewamadduma.

The author’s failure to interview JRJ and EJ’s only son, Ravi Jayewardene, is a shortcoming. “RJ was no more when I started working on this,” Sagarika Dissanayake told the writer. RJ passed away on April 3, 2017, at the age of 80.

EJ passed away at a private hospital in Colombo, on Nov 17, 2007, at the age of 95. Her death occurred 11 years after that of JRJ. The author dealt with how EJ’s son, RJ, and his second wife, Penny, interfered with the food provided to the ailing EJ, much to the discomfort of other family members, as well as those looking after her. The author, quoted Hettiarachchige Magalin as having said Pradeep Jayewardene argued with his father after the latter ordered that fish or meat should not be given to the ailing lady. The removal of the nurses, assigned to look after EJ, and a number of other issues, were dealt with, though there is no explanation why Ravi Jayewardene and Penny interfered with the staff looking after EJ. Pradeep Jayewardene didn’t mince his words as he faulted his father for the rapid deterioration of EJ’s health. May be the son didn’t want to prolong his mother’s vegetative state as she was literally unconscious, even before his father’s death, in late 1996.

EJ hadn’t been aware of JRJ’s passing away, for 11 years, as she never really recovered from her illness and never uttered a word during the last five years of her life. EJ had been with JRJ throughout his volatile political career during which he faced the second bloody JVP inspired insurgency, in the 80s, in the wake of the signing of the Indo-Lanka accord.

 

JRJ’s entry into politics

Having served as a lawyer for seven years, after getting married, in February, 1935, 32-year-old JRJ had entered politics through the Ceylon National Congress (CNC), functioned therein in the capacity of joint Secretary, till 1946. JRJ had served as a lawyer for a period of three years, before his marriage to Elina, after breaking up with two or three early relationships.

His entry into the colonial legislature, the State Council, in 1943, was made possible by his triumph over E.W. Pereira at a by-election for the Kelaniya electorate, following a novel polls campaign where JRJ used relatives and friends to personally visit each and every household in the electorate. JRJ’s campaign headquarters had been at ‘Manelwatte’ property, situated at Bollagala, about three miles away from the Kelaniya temple.

JRJ, however, lost Kelaniya, at the 1956 general election, called by Sir John Kotelawela. Having experienced relentless political turmoil, JRJ led the party to a historic victory, at the 1977 general election, to pave the way for a parliamentary dictatorship that plunged the country into unprecedented crisis. Grandson Pradeep talked lovingly of the period he and his brother spent with their grandparents, between 1956 and 1977, as JRJ struggled as an Opposition member. There was reference to food shortages and the affluent people’s practice of buying rationed essential commodities from the poor, at a much higher price, than they bought at the market.

The author pays a glowing tribute to JRJ for quitting active politics, in 1989, at the zenith of his political power. The author discussed how EJ made available her inexhaustible wealth to assist her husband’s quest for political power and subsequently lavishly spent on those who sought her help. Perhaps, JRJ couldn’t have realized his political ambitions if not for his wife’s financial backing as he struggled to cope up with family commitments, in the wake of his father’s death, at the age of 58. JRJ had nine siblings. EJ, however, never played an active role in JRJ’s political career, whereas Sirimavo Ratwatte, who married S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, became Sri Lanka’s first woman Premier, after the assassination of her husband, in late Sept 1959. She served three terms.

The Jayewardenes had always lived at their private residence, ‘Breamar’, though they could have chosen to live at the President’s House. Incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, too, chooses not to move into the President’s House, or utilize Temple Trees. There had been instances of both the President’s House and Temple Trees being used by the same party, contrary to the accepted norms.

However, the author refrained from at least briefly discussing how JRJ caused political calamity by depriving the people of the parliamentary election, scheduled for 1983. Having won a second six-year presidential term, in Oct 1982, JRJ held a sham national referendum, in Dec 1982, to give an opportunity for the people to extend the life of parliament by six more years. JRJ’s move was meant to maintain a five- sixth steamroller majority in parliament, the UNP won, in 1977, at the expense of democracy. JRJ introduced the Proportional Representation (PR) system at the 1989 general election. Obviously, the UNP believed no party could secure two-thirds, or at least come close to the magical 150 mark, under the PR system, though both Mahinda Rajapaksa (April 2010) and Gotabaya Rajapaksa (August 2020) proved the UNP wrong. Mahinda Rajapaksa won 144 seats whereas Gotabaya secured 145.

Although the author maintains that EJ always intervened, on behalf of the people, and courageously expressed her views on matters of grave political interest, there is no indication of her stand on JRJ’s disastrous decision to put off the general election, scheduled for 1983, by six years. EJ knew of what interested JRJ as she used to read aloud, what she considered, important news items, from the daily newspapers, at the breakfast table.

 

Children move in to ‘Breamar’

Pradeep (1960) had been only 11 years when his mother left him and his younger brothers, Rukshan (1961) and Amrik (1962), following a long standing dispute with his father. Ravi J had been faulted for the break-up of his marriage to Sharmaine nee Vandakoon. They divorced, in 1969, after being separated for a year.

Among the issues discussed, in brief, in “Elina Jayewardene’ was the arrest of Ravi Jayewardene, over his alleged involvement in the first JVP-led insurgency, in 1971, and his release within 24 hours, after JRJ lambasted the government in parliament over his son’s arrest.

Both Ravi J and Sharmaine had been experts in rifle shooting, as well as trained pilots. The author passionately discusses the developments, leading to the breaking up of their marriage leading to both re-marrying. The children ended-up with their grandparents. The children had been also bothered by their father’s somewhat troubled relationship with their grandmother, whose love for dogs gladdened them.

Their grandfather following Canadian Air Force exercise regime, in the morning, having been a schoolboy boxer and rugby player, and grandmother, walking in the backyard of ‘Breamar’, as it was not safe to walk in public grounds due to threats posed by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, seemed fresh in the minds of the grandchildren. EJ never had female aides and always received no assistance in readying for official functions. The Jayewardenes never kept even the expensive gifts received from foreign leaders and officials.

The author dealt with elder Jayewardenes’ struggle with their three grandchildren. Rukshan recalled how his grandmother slapped him, on more than one occasion, for not being obedient, and grandfather once delivered a thundering slap after JRJ found him arguing with his grandmother. In the wake of the breaking up of Ravi Jayewardene’s marriage, JRJ had built a three-roomed house, next to ‘Breamar’, for the grandchildren. The author provided an excellent description of the life at ‘Breamar’, and its adjoining house, until the health of the former declined with them both hospitalized together, simultaneously. JRJ had prevented EJ visiting him at the hospital as he felt the sight of him being on a hospital bed would dishearten her.

The Chapter, based on what Ravi Jayewardene’s first wife, Sharmaine, said, was truly interesting. That Chapter dealt with Ravi Jayewardene proposing to Sharmaine, her parents rejecting the suggestion, Sharmaine learning Kandyan dancing from Heenbaba Dharmasiri and Niththawela Gunaya at the Sinhala Cultural Institute in Colombo, a chance encounter with EJ and rifle shooting practices at the Negombo Rifle Club, leading to their marriage, in 1959. In spite of the breaking up of their marriage, JRJ and EJ had maintained an extremely cordial relationship with Sharmaine who acknowledged her husband having several other relationships, leading to him leaving their Gregory Road home. The conversation between Sharmaine and JRJ, after the latter realised his son, was not with the family at their newly built house at the Gregory Road, Colombo 7 revealed how JRJ calmly received the breakup of their marriage, though it devastated both JRJ and EJ.

 

Premadasa assassinated

JRJ and EJ, along with several others, including Pradeep Jayewardene, had been in India, on the day the LTTE assassinated President Ranasinghe Premadasa on May Day 1993. Ironically, JRJ had been there to deliver the keynote address at Rajiv Gandhi’s commemoration. The LTTE assassinated Gandhi on May 21, 1991, in Sriperumbudur, India.

Premadasa had been blown to bits at the time JRJ, having delivered the speech, was returning to his seat. They returned home immediately, after the May Day blast, near Armour Street, claimed the life of JRJ’s successor along with several of his bodyguards. The assassin happened to be a person who had infiltrated President Premadasa’s inner circle for some time.

Premadasa’s assassination paved the way for Ranil Wickremesinghe’s emergence as the UNP leader, though Dingiri Banda Wijetunga took over the presidency in the wake of Premadasa’s assassination. Gamini Dissanayake, the remaining challenger, was assassinated by the LTTE, in Oct 1994 in the run-up to the presidential election, after having briefly got the UNP leadership, not without  a struggle with Ranil. The author quoted Galahitiyage Leelawathie, an aide to EJ, as having alleged Wickremesinghe didn’t help even if EJ asked. Leelawathie alleged Wickremesinghe flatly refused to help her eldest son, receiving admission to D S Senanayake College, when her husband, Arnolis, Jayewardene family’s chief man servant, requested him to do so. Subsequently, Arnolis talked directly to the then DS Principal Alles and got their eldest son admitted. The family got all four boys admitted to DS, one with the help of Minister Nissanka Wijeratne.

 

Continuing UNP crisis

The UNP is in a deepening crisis, unprecedented in its history. The failure on the part of the party to resolve the leadership issue, over a month after the last general election, is testimony to what has been its indecisive plight, under Ranil, all these years. The UNP is still struggling to cope up with the catastrophic setback against the backdrop of the SLPP’s emergence as the most powerful political force in the country. Having been reduced to just one National List member, in the 225-member parliament, the UNP is in such a mess, with over a half a dozen defeated candidates, and former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, seeking to succeed Wickremesinghe, whereas the latter wants to continue, till the Provincial Council polls. The once invincible UNP, to suffer such a humiliating setback, could be its death knell. JRJ’s eldest grandson, Pradeep, has ended up as a member of the Colombo Municipal Council, while Ranasinghe Premadasa’s son, Sajith, now commands the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), a political outfit, recognized under controversial circumstances, at the expense of the UNP. Premadasa made his move having failed to convince Wickremesinghe to give up the leadership, ahead of the last general election. Wickremesinghe, and those close to him, remained convinced UNPers would remain committed to the elephant symbol, though they exercised their franchise in support of Premadasa, who had the backing of the vast majority of the parliamentary group, in the last parliament. In the absence of proper leadership, the UNP moving directionless as the SJB takes the lead in opposing the controversial 20th Amendment to the Constitution proposed to replace the 19th enacted at the onset of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration, in 2015. Will the 20th Amendment prove to be so controversial so as to make it a rallying point for the Opposition, under the SJB’s leadership?

Playing politics with disappearances

 

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 332

 September 2, 2020

A recent protest in Jaffna demanding justice for those who had been reported missing during the conflict and after the successful conclusion of the war, in May 2009(pic posted by PEARL)

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Washington-based People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) says it campaigns for justice and self-determination for the Tamil people, living in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Identifying itself as a non-profit organization, PEARL says formation of the group took place in 2005 in the wake of volunteers visiting Sri Lanka – the year before the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched the fourth phase of the war.

Having reignited the war, in August 2006, with devastating initial success, the LTTE, however, lost the entire Eastern Province, by mid-2007. The armed forces brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009. Since then, various Tamil politicians, Diaspora organizations and suspicious bleeding hearts, in the West, have been alleging enforced disappearances on a mass scale.

“For too long, the plight of the families of the disappeared has been used as a talking point and a prop for politicians and the international community, but no concrete measures have been taken,” said PEARL’s Executive Director Tasha Manoranjan. “The international community contributed to the destruction of Tamil lives and Tamil aspirations in 2009 — it is now time for the same international community to meet the demands of the families of the disappeared,” she said, in a statement issued in solidarity with the Tamil families of victims of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, from the 1980s and during the entirety of the country’s armed conflict. PEARL estimated the number of disappearances at 60,000-100,000, during this period.

PEARL, too, alleges genocide and demands accountability on the part of Sri Lanka. The group admits that it twice revised its five-year strategic plan after wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the 2019 presidential election. The original plan, put out in 2018, has been revised in Dec 2019 and April-July 2020. Perhaps, PEARL will have to revise its strategic plan further in the wake of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party securing an unprecedented near two-thirds majority at the Aug 5, 2020 general election. PEARL anticipates rapid deterioration of the situation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces as a result of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory. PEARL has conveniently forgotten Tamils living there overwhelmingly voted for General Sarath Fonseka at the 2005 presidential election. The group’s concerns over Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory obviously seemed baseless against the backdrop of Tamils’ backing for war-winning Army commander Fonseka’s candidature at the 2005 presidential election.

PEARL will also have to take into consideration the major setback suffered by one-time LTTE mouthpiece, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), at the recent general election. Having championed hybrid war crimes court in terms of Geneva Resolution 30/1 ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’, co-sponsored by the yahapalana government, the TNA felt comfortable though the general election results proved otherwise. The TNA ended up with just 10 seats, its worst performance since winning 22 seats at the April 2004 general election with overt and covert help from the LTTE.

In addition to the TNA, two other political outfits, namely the Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress (AITC) and Tamil Makkal Theshiya Kutani (TMTK), led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and C.V. Wigneswaran, respectively, have emerged at the expense of the TNA grouping, led by veteran Sampanthan. It was more a war of attrition, fought by the two, against the established TNA that resulted in the major electoral reversal by the latter.

It would be pertinent to remind how lawmaker Ponnambalam, on Aug 21, 2020 reiterated genocide allegations during the debate on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy statement, delivered on the previous day. While declaring their resolve for self-determination, Ponnambalam challenged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s mandate, and that of the SLPP, received in Nov 2019 and August 2020. Many an eyebrow was raised when Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in respect of C.V. Wigneswaran’s provocative speech, at the inauguration of the parliament, declared that lawmakers were free to say whatever they wanted to.

The writer felt the need to examine the contentious issue of missing persons, against the backdrop of PEARL’s latest statement, headlined “PEARL stands with Victims’ Families in Sri Lanka on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances”, with the strapline ‘Since the end of the war in 2009, thousands of Tamils have not been heard from, after surrendering to the government’

PEARL has estimated the number of disappearances at 60,000-100,000 during the conflict and after. If the number of disappearances has been estimated as much as 100,000, wouldn’t it be necessary to examine the number of killed? Did some of those, who had been listed among the disappeared were actually killed in the fighting, or perished after being caught in the crossfire. Before examining the missing persons issue, let me remind the reader what yahapalana Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said of those categorized as disappeared.

 

Ranil sets the record straight

The 2015 presidential election brought an end to war-winning President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rule. The Rajapaksa administration was repeatedly accused of running secret detention facilities, both in the Northern and Eastern provinces. A section of the Western powers, too, subscribed to these unsubstantiated allegations. In spite of the change of the government, in 2015, accusations persisted. In the run-up to the 2015 Geneva sessions, Sri Lanka was accused of still operating secret detention facilities.

In 2015, Sri Lanka agreed to set up (1) a judicial mechanism with a Special Counsel to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international human rights law (11) Commission truth, justice, reconciliation and non-recurrence (111) An Office on missing and (1V) An office for reparations.

In the run-up to the Geneva sessions, Premier Wickremesinghe chose to set the record straight, at a ceremony at Rukmale Sri Dharmaloka Vijayaloka Maha Viharaya, on March 01, 2015, to felicitate the newly appointed Maha Nayaka Thera Ven. Ittapane Dharmalankara. Among those present was Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo. Premier Wickremesinghe declared that as all those who had been taken into custody, during the war and the post-conflict period, were being held in legally run facilities, all detainees/prisoners could be accounted for. The UNP leader didn’t mince his words when he emphasized that those missing, but not listed among those in government custody, had either perished during the conflict or were living overseas ‘(Prime Minister denies existence of secret detention camps’. with strap line ‘Those not among prison population either perished during the war or living overseas, The Island March 04, 2015.’)

A couple of days later, Premier Wickremesinghe challenged the much-touted UN claim of over 40,000 civilians killed on the Vanni east front, in 2009. Wickremesinghe also stressed the urgent need to verify the UN claims, as well as various other accusations. Unfortunately, Wickremesinghe’s did nothing. Wickremesinghe handling of the post-war accountability issue, too, contributed to the humiliating defeat his party suffered at the recently concluded general election. Over seven decades old, the UNP ended up without an elected MP. Nearly a month after the general election, the UNP is yet to reach consensus on its solitary National List slot.

The UNP leader Wickremesinghe set the record straight in an exclusive interview with Indian Thanthi TV in which he insisted that figures, quoted by the UN or other organizations, couldn’t be accepted without being verified. The March 6, 2015, interview couldn’t have been conducted at a better time, though Wickremesinghe did nothing subsequently to examine the Vanni death toll. Instead, Wickremesinghe gave the then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera the go ahead to co-sponsor the accountability resolution, in Geneva, on Oct 01, 2015. The rest is history.

When the interviewer, S.A. Hariharan, pointed out that the Tamil Diaspora had estimated the number of civilian deaths closer to 100,000, Wickremesinghe asserted that it wouldn’t even come up to 40,000. Wickremesinghe pointed out that, in addition to the PoE (Panel of Experts) report, there had been other official reports that dealt with accountability issues. The Premier emphasized the pivotal importance of verifying such accusations to establish the number of civilian deaths. The Premier said that some official reports placed the number of civilian deaths at 5,000. The UNP leader never called for the verification of the UN report until he was kicked out of parliament.

In spite of underlining the importance of verifying accusations, Wickremesinghe didn’t take any follow-up action. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government conveniently refrained from using heavy ammunition in our rightful defence, provided by Lord Naseby, in Oct 2017, to counter the PoE report. The incumbent government, too, is yet to formulate a cohesive strategy to use Lord Naseby’s disclosure.

 

PEARL owes an explanation

During the conflict, thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils fled the country. The war here gave them an opportunity to secure political asylum in Europe, the US, Australia and the Scandinavian region. The Tamil Diaspora provided a substantial amount of funding, required by the LTTE to continue its conventional military campaign. The LTTE, in turn, controlled the Diaspora groups. The LTTE maintained strict surveillance over them. The Diaspora groups lacked courage at least to request the LTTE not to use their own helpless people as human shields in 2009. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what PEARL did during the last phase of the war in Sri Lanka? Did PEARL intervene on behalf of the Vanni Tamils after the LTTE abandoned Kilinochchi, in January 2009? Did PEARL request the LTTE, at least privately, to let go of those who were being held as human shields on the Vanni east front at the behest of a megalomaniac?

PEARL’s Executive Director, Tasha Manoranjan, and a member of its board of directors, having alleged in their latest media release that the international community contributed to the destruction of Tamil lives and Tamil aspirations in 2009, demanded the same international community should meet the demands of the disappeared. As a Diaspora group seeking to influence Western policy, through legal and political advocacy and direct research and reporting, PEARL should know how Western powers prolonged the conflict. In fact, the LTTE wouldn’t have survived nearly three decades without Western support, if not overt, but definitely covert. Western powers allowed the funding required to procure arms, ammunition and equipment needed to wage war though some countries proscribed the group. Neither did they unmask the international Tiger terrorist network, which was also resorting to drug running, extortion, etc., to fund the war here. However, the US facilitated the destruction of the floating arsenals in secret naval operations undertaken by the SLN. This was at the onset of the Vanni offensive.

If PEARL is genuinely interested in knowing what really happened to those who had been reported missing, it would seek the assistance of Western powers, as well as India. A substantial number of those who had been categorized as missing is today living in various countries, in many cases under assumed names. If not for them, there wouldn’t have been so many Diaspora organizations still raising funds on behalf of their people living in the Northern and Eastern Province.

PEARL tweeted on August 14, 2020: “Today marks 14 years since the #SLAF dropped 16 bombs over the #Sencholai children’s home, killing at least 51 #Tamil schoolgirls and 4 teachers. We remember them, acknowledge the gendered dimension of genocide, and continue to call for justice and accountability.”

Tasha Manoranjan, who had been in the Vanni at the onset of the Eelam War IV, tweeted on the following day; “I visited Sencholai hours after the bombing. The wailing of the mothers and families of these slaughtered schoolgirls haunt me to this day.”

Now that Tasha Manoranjan had claimed that she was hours away from Sencholai at the time of the SLAF attack on August 14, 2006, how could she become the founder of PEARL, established in 2005.

Manoranjan certainly owed an explanation.

Let me produce the description of the PEARL official on its official website: “Tasha Manoranjan is the founder and director of People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL). She spent over a year documenting human rights violations committed against Tamil civilians in northern Sri Lanka, and remains committed to pursuing accountability for violations of international law. Tasha was previously an associate in Sidley Austin LLP’s Litigation Practice. Tasha received her B.A., magna-cum-laude, in Justice and Peace Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Tasha earned her law degree at Yale Law School, where she served as the Features Editor and Book Reviewer for the Yale Journal of International Law, Chair of the South Asian Law Students Association and Community Enrichment Chair of the Women of Color Collective. While at Yale, Tasha wrote a paper entitled “Beaten but not Broken: Tamil Women in Sri Lanka”, which was subsequently published in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.”

According to the website, Manoranjan works as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Is she a Canadian passport holder?

From Vanni to the US

How could Manoranjan, who had been in LTTE held Vanni, on August 14, 2006, ended up in the US? Or had she been a member of the PEARL at the time she entered the Vanni? In other words, what was her status at the time she entered Vanni? Did she ever serve the LTTE? When did she leave the Vanni? And, most importantly, how did she leave the country? Depending on the duration of Manoranjan’s stay in the Vanni, she can surely shed light on the circumstances leading to the entire Vanni population being herded into accompanying the retreating LTTE fighting units. What was Manoranjan’s status in the Vanni? Had she been a displaced person? Did anyone of her family serve the LTTE or any other terrorist group? In Manoranjan’s brief description there is no reference to her being in the Vanni during the conflict.

PEARL board of directors includes Dr. Vino Kanapathipillai, Gajan Raj and Sadena Thevarajah. In addition to the PEARL board of directors, its team comprised Tasha Manoranjan (Executive Director), Mario Arulthas (Strategic Advisor / Sr. Advocacy Officer, US), Anji Manivannan (Legal Director), Vivetha Thambinathan (Research Director), Avi Selvarajah (Sr. Legal Officer), Sivakami Rajamanoharan (Sr. Advocacy Officer, UK), Sagi Thilipkumar (Sr. Advocacy Officer, CH), Archana Ravichandradeva (Sr. Advocacy Officer, CA), Abarna Selvarajah (Advocacy Officer, CA), Thevya Balendran (Advocacy Officer, CA), Ernest Rajakone (Advocacy Officer, US), Luxsiga Ambigaibagan (Research Associate / Education Coordinator), Brannavy Jeyasundaram (Operations Officer) and Athavarn Srikantharajah (Interim Project Manager).

In addition to Manoranjan, did other members of the PEARL board of directors, as well as the PEARL team, live in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, during the conflict? Had their parents been refugees during the conflict? Had their parents served the LTTE, or any other terrorist organization? As PEARL had secured the services of a capable team, it can probe how 60,000-100,000 people disappeared during the conflict. Let me remind multiple causes for disappearances/ cases where bodies were not found.

* Disappearances resulted from fighting among /between Indian trained terrorist groups.

* Abductions of civilians carried out by Tamil terrorist groups

* Disappearances during Eelam War 1 (1983-July 1987) blamed on Sri Lankan military and police.

* Disappearances blamed on the Indian military during its deployment here (July 1987-March 1990).

PEARL should take into consideration the level of fighting between the Indian military and the LTTE as the former lost well over 1,300 officers and men and over 2,000 wounded.

* Those who disappeared /killed during weapons training in India

* Disappearances/deaths due to capsizing of boats taking youth to training facilities in India or while returning from India

* Those LTTE cadres killed by Indian security forces and police after the assassination of Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur, India.

* PLOTE cadres killed/disappeared during an abortive sea borne raid on the Maldives in early Nov 1988 and as a result of Indian military operations.

* Disappearances blamed on the Sri Lankan military during Eelam War II (June 1990 to 1994), Eelam War III ((April 1995 to Dec 2001) and Eelam War IV (Aug 2006 to May 2009)

* Those who perished while trying to reach Australia in boats.

* Clandestine movement of Sri Lankans facilitated by foreign missions in Colombo during the conflict and after.

* Issuance of new foreign passports to Sri Lankans under different names. One of the most glaring examples is Australia issuing a new passport to leader of the breakaway JVP faction Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Kumar Gunaratnam bearing Noel Mudalige, a Sinhala Buddhist. Many countries continue to issue passports under different names, even to former members of terrorist groups.

*Those taken refuge in India and other countries to avoid forced conscription by the LTTE.

* Bodies disposed of by Sri Lankan and Indian militaries due to their failure to establish identities of the dead. Those killed during clandestine operations in the South. And finally,

* Political asylum in industrial countries for bogus refugees on the false grounds of persecution in Sri Lanka?

Let me end this piece with a story of an ex-LTTE cadre who ended up being an internationally renowned actor. Anthonythasan Jesuthasan, the lead actor of French film ‘Dheepan’ which won the top Palme d’Or prize for director Jacques Audiard at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival in 2015 had been an ex-LTTE cadre who fled the country in early 90s. Jesuthasan is on record as having said that he wanted to reach the UK but had to settle for France. Perhaps, members of the PEARL board of directors/team should watch ‘Dheepan’ if they hadn’t already done so.

Those who had been killed in combat though their bodies were not recovered and those who fled Sri Lanka for various reasons and are leading comfortable lives overseas while Sri Lanka is under pressure to account for the dead and the missing. The vast majority are those who had secured political asylum, on bogus grounds, taking advantage of hostility of some countries towards Sri Lanka.

Genocide charge reiterated

 SPECIAL REPORT : Part 331

 August 26, 2020

August 20, 2020, parliament: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivers his policy statement.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Lawmaker Gajendrakumar Ponnanbalam, 46, on August 21, in Parliament, alleged that the Tamil community, in the North-East, had been subjected to genocide, Sri Lanka committed war crimes during phase IV of the war and that they wanted international accountability.

Ponnambalam deviated from the Geneva Accountability Resolution, co-sponsored by the previous UNP-SLFP/UPFA coalition, in Oct 2015. That resolution was meant to set up hybrid war crimes courts, comprising local and foreign judges, in terms of a tripartite agreement, involving Sri Lanka, the US and the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Having represented the LTTE mouthpiece, the TNA twice, in Parliament, in 2001 and 2004, Ponnambalam addressed Parliament, last week, as the leader of the Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress (AITC), a constituent of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF). The TNPF, established in 2010, had never been previously represented in Parliament, though it contested both the 2010 April and 2015 August parliamentary polls. In addition to Ponnanbalam, the TNPF secured one National List slot. Ponnambalam accommodated Selvarasa Gajenthiran, who quit TNA, along with him in 2010, on the National List.

Angajan Ramanathan, elected to Parliament on the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ticket, from the Jaffna electoral district, was in the chair at the time Ponnambalam delivered his explosive statement. Former UPFA National List member Ramanathan is the Deputy Chairman of Committees.

Gajendrakumar dismissed an attempt made by the State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, to intervene. In fact, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna member Weerasekera was the only one to make an attempt to challenge Ponnambalam, in Parliament, on that day. The former Navy Chief of Staff was not successful.  On the previous day, Weerasekera wanted to respond to C.V. Wigneswaran, leader of the Thamizh Makkal Kootani (TMK), though was asked by his party not to, as only party leaders addressed Parliament, during the inaugural session.

 

GP, Wiggy mount frontal assault

Both Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran represented the R. Sampanthan-led TNA earlier. Ponnambalam quit the TNA, in March 2010, having successfully contested the Jaffna district twice, in 2001 and 2004, with the blessings of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). At that time, TNA nominations, as well as the National List, were subjected to the LTTE’s approval. Former Supreme Court Judge Wigneswaran functioned as the first Chief Minister of the TNA-run Northern Province, during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure as the President.

The TNA stood solidly with the LTTE as it declared Eelam War IV, in August 2006, with simultaneous attacks on the Army, both in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Ponnambalam attacked President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy statement. The lawmaker targeted the following section in particular: “It is equally important to precisely interpret the mandate given by the people. We respect the trust that the people have placed in me and the Prime Minister and the newly elected people’s representatives. We have a clear understanding of the expectations with which the people gave such a powerful mandate to the government. We will leave no room for such expectations to be dashed for any reason. It should always be remembered that the prime responsibility of a people’s representative is to serve the public. We will be sensitive to fulfilling the needs of the people, keeping in mind that all these positions are responsibilities and not privileges.”

Ponnanmalam declared that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s mandate (2019 November presidential and 2020 August parliamentary polls) did not extend to the North-East region. Ponnambalam depicted the vote received by all Tamils, including SLFP’s Ramanathan and the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Douglas Devananda, elected to the new Parliament, as one that overwhelmingly endorsed self-determination of the Tamil speaking people. Ponnambalam justified international intervention on the basis of the Tamil community being deprived of the security it deserved.

Declaring them (Tamil lawmakers) received a mandate for Tamil rights to be recognized, Ponnambalam declared: “two nations exist in this country.”

 

Int’l intervention justified

“Sovereignty can never be a defence. This country has gone through a war and the whole world says that heinous crimes have been committed and the state is the number one accused party,” Ponnambalam declared, adding “Under no circumstances can any President, or any country, for that matter, try to hide behind the concept of sovereignty, to prevent accountability for heinous crimes. The victims of these heinous crimes stand as Tamils… the major victims stand as Tamils and they have consistently said that genocide has been committed and that they want international accountability.”

When Ponnambalam went on and on repeating war crimes allegations, in Parliament, former Presidents and Commanders-in-Chief, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena, as well as war-winning Army Chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, were present. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, too, was present.

It would be pertinent to ask lawmaker Ponnambalam whether, as a member of the TNA, he endorsed the party’s decision to vote for the then common presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka at the January 26, 2010 presidential election. Did the TNA decision to join the UNP-led coalition, comprising the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) et al unanimously approved by all constituents of the TNA?

 

Why North, East endorsed Fonseka?

Now that Ponnambalam reiterated genocide allegations, he owed an explanation why the Tamil community overwhelmingly endorsed Fonseka at the presidential election. Fonseka comfortably won all electoral districts, in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, though the South ensured Mahinda Rajapaksa secured a second term, with a staggering 1.8 mn majority. Mahinda Rajapaksa polled 6,015,934 votes (57.88%) whereas Fonseka received 4,173,185 votes (40.15%). Fonseka comfortably won the predominantly Tamil electoral districts of Jaffna, Vanni, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Digamadulla and Nuwara-Eliya. 

The 2010 presidential election was held less than a year after the armed forces eradicated the LTTE. Blindly accusing Sri Lanka of war crimes, and genocide, seemed ridiculous, after having voted for the very man who conducted the ground offensive that brought the LTTE to its knees, in May 2009.

Accusing the Sri Lankan state of attacking Tamils, Ponnambalam justified international intervention here. But not so much as even a word about many Tamils, including so many moderates who were butchered by the terrorists in cold blood like internationally respected jurist and TULFer Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam or even a person like TULF Leader Appapillai Amirthalingam for merely ruffling the feathers of the LTTE. Both Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran conveniently forgot how India transformed a low level insurgency, in the North, to an unprecedented terrorist campaign.  

 

Interpreting ‘own citizens’

Ponnambalam advised President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who, during his 20-year service as a frontline combat officer of the Sri Lanka Army, fought Indian-sponsored terrorist groups.  “What the President must also realize is that when it comes to international relations, sovereignty comes with a certain baggage, one of the most cornerstone principles on which sovereignty will be compromised is if within the country the state does not protect its own citizens, or, even worse, if, within the country, the state attacks its own citizens,” Ponnambalam declared.

 Perhaps, other members of Parliament should remind Ponnambalam that the LTTE, as well as half a dozen other Tamil groups, that consisted of Tamils who waged war on the State. Fighting among Tamil groups claimed the lives of hundreds before they all, except the LTTE, renounced violence, in 1990. Those who had been categorized as ‘own citizens’ also killed over 1,300 Indian servicemen and wounded over 2,500 (Oct 1987-January 1990) and blew up one-time Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Former Indian High Commissioner in Colombo J.N. Dixit, didn’t mince his words when he admitted direct Indian involvement in destabilizing Sri Lanka in ‘Makers of India’s Foreign Policy: Raja Ram Mohun to Yashwant Sinha.’ India paid a terrible price for destabilizing Sri Lanka. Indian-trained Sri Lankan terrorists tried to capture power, in the Maldives, in Nov 1988. The Tamil community cannot absolve itself of the culpability for the mass killings perpetrated in the name of ‘Eelam.’ Where were those elected representatives of the Tamil people when the LTTE used the Vanni population as human shield in its last bastion Mullaitivu?

Perhaps, those propagating war crimes allegations, in Parliament, should peruse Australia-based ex-terrorist Niromi de Soyza’s ‘Tamil Tigress’, first published in 2011, two years after Sri Lankan military finished off the LTTE on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon. S. Attanayake of Kottawa, Pannipitiya, sent the writer ‘Tamil Tigress’ having read the Midweek piece, titled ‘Chargie’s predicament  inspires novel, highlights Lanka’s pathetic response to external threats,’ published on March 18, 2020. It was a comment on award-winning author Sena Thoradeniya’s ‘Nimala Mala-Miya Giya Soldaduwekuge Nomiyena Kathawa’ (Immortal Story of a Dead Soldier). Attanayake quite rightly guessed the writer hadn’t read ‘Tamil Tigress’ hence sending it by post soon after the government lifted the ‘Covid lockdown.’

 

GP’s entry into TNA politics

Qualified as a barrister-at-law, in the UK, in 1997, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam received Sri Lanka qualification as an attorney-at-law, two years later, before entering active politics, in the wake of his father Kumar Ponnambalam’s assassination, in early January 2000.

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s All Ceylon Tamil Congress/Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress. Its roots can be traced to his legendary grandfather G.G. Ponnambalam QC, who was a colossus as a lawyer and politician. ACTC had been among the four parties which formed the TNA, in Oct, 2001, at the behest of the LTTE. Constituents included, in addition to Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress, the TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) and two former terrorist groups TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization) and the PLOTE (People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam). The TNA functioned as the political wing of the LTTE. The TNA had been subservient to the LTTE to such an extent; it recognized Prabhakaran as the sole representative of the Tamils.

The TNA remained mum when the sole representative quit the negotiating table, in April 2003, to pave the way for the presidential takeover of ministries and, subsequently, the sacking of the UNP government.  Kumaratunga called for early general election, in April 2004. The LTTE unleashed violence against those who dared to challenge the TNA in the then temporarily merged North-East region. Thanks to the LTTE intervention, the TNA secured 22 seats. Having won the lion’s share of seats in the North-East region, the TNA-LTTE combine, in Nov 2005, ordered Tamils to boycott the presidential election. The move was meant to ensure UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s defeat. The UNPer lost by 186,000 votes. Those who allege the Rajapaksa Camp bribed the LTTE to disrupt election in the North and East to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s advantage should explain whether the LTTE received money from them. As the TNA announced the polls boycott, on behalf of the LTTE, it owed an explanation to the public. Did the LTTE receive money from the Rajapaksa Camp?

The truth is that the LTTE and the TNA really believed they could take care of Mahinda Rajapaksa far more easily than Wickremesinghe. Having dug its own grave, the LTTE faced a relentless three-year military onslaught, once it initiated a military offensive in the second week of August 2006.

The armed forces eradicated the LTTE, in May 2009. In the following year, the TNA backed the very man who led the campaign against the LTTE at the presidential poll.

Accusations pertaining to war crimes and genocide, in Parliament, should be examined against the backdrop of the TNA losing political clout, following the poor performance at the general election. The TNA parliamentary group now comprises 10 lawmakers. In the last Parliament, the TNA group consisted of 16. The TNA won 16 seats when it contested the general election, for the very first time, in 2001. At the 2004 general election, the LTTE threw its full weight behind the TNA to enable the coalition to win 22 seats, 14 seats in 2010 and 16 in 2015.  In spite of the setback suffered by the TNA, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran are likely to go flat out against the government.

In the wake of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presenting his policy statement, a section of the much-depleted TNA met the Indian High Commissioner. The meeting took place on Friday, August 21. The TNA, in a  brief statement issued on the same day, quoted Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bagley as having assured India’s continuing commitments to finding a resolution to the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka. The TNA delegation consisted of  R. Sampanthan Mavai Senathirajah, Dharmalingam Siddarthan, Selvam Adaikalanathan and M.A. Sumanthiran. ITAK (Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi) leader Mavai Senathirajah is no longer an MP having been defeated at the August 05 general election.

It would be interesting to see whether Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran received invitations from the Indian High Commission.

 

Over 100 LTTE cadres in

custody poisoned

Let me finish this piece by reminding how the likes of Wigneswaran propagated lies. Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara’s brother-in-law, Wigneswaran, chided the government over the July1983 violence, while insisting the need to consult India, if the government wanted to do away with the 13th Amendment, introduced in line with the Indo-Lanka Accord. Wigneswaran should know that the July 1983 violence wouldn’t have happened if not for India providing the LTTE expertise to wipe out a mobile military patrol. India sponsored terrorism here to create the conditions required for direct military intervention. The incumbent government should set the record straight, at least now.

Sri Lanka never took tangible measures against those who propagated lies as part of an overall strategy to ruin the country. Some cannot stomach the LTTE’s annihilation, on the Vanni east front, over a decade ago. Wigneswaran is one such person. Wigneswaran, and a section of the Tamil media, in August 2016, accused the military of killing over 100 LTTE combatants, in custody, by poisoning them. The PTI and NDTV were among the international media which reported unsubstantiated allegations.

Accusers placed the number of such deaths at 104. Accusations were made while the U.S. Pacific Command’s ‘Pacific Angel’ exercise was underway, in the Jaffna peninsula.

Wigneswaran brashly declared that the U.S. Air Force’s medical team, in Jaffna, would examine the former rehabilitated LTTE cadres, who, he alleged, had fallen sick because they were injected with poisonous substances, at government detention, or rehabilitation camps.

The then State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene and Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne dismissed the vicious accusations. Wijewardene offered the international community access to rehabilitation facilities. What the Minister didn’t realize was that by August 2016, the vast majority of ex-LTTE combatants had been released.

The US conveniently refrained from making its position clear on Wigneswaran’s claim when the writer raised the issue with the US Embassy in Colombo. There had never been such a claim, before Wigneswaran sought to humiliate Sri Lanka with it. It would be pertinent to mention that one-time LTTE subordinate, the TNA, backed common candidate Maithripala Sirisena, at the 2015 presidential poll, having earlier supported Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the previous poll. On both occasions, the TNA delivered all northern and eastern electoral districts to Fonseka and Sirisena, who contested on the New Democratic Front (NDF) ticket with the ‘Swan’ as its symbol. The TNA did the same for Sajith Premadasa, in the North and the East at the last presidential poll, though the South overwhelmingly defeated the UNPer.

In answer to several questions The Island posed, regarding ex-LTTE cadres being poisoned, the US Embassy said: “Operation Pacific Angel is providing assistance, based on the specific needs of the local communities. Among the nearly 70 members of this multilateral assistance programme – including some medical staff and engineers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives, as well as the United States – are over 40 doctors, providing basic medical services: dental procedures; physical therapy; general medical assistance; and optometry. These are the only services being provided.”

The writer asked the US Embassy whether it could confirm that US Pacific Command personnel, conducting medical tests on ex-LTTE cadres, allegedly poisoned by the previous government; whether they would be moved to overseas medical facility for further tests; whether the GoSL had been informed of the development; when did the TNA request the US intervention and whether the US military had conducted similar tests in other countries. For obvious reasons, the US refrained from responding to The Island queries.

The five-day ‘Operation Pacific Angle’ was launched, in Jaffna, by the then US Ambassador in Colombo Atul Keshap.

The New Indian Express quoted Wigneswaran as having said that the US Air Force’s medical team would examine ex-LTTE cadres who had been sick because they were injected with poisonous substances by the Sri Lankan armed military while they were undergoing detention, or rehabilitation. Wigneswaran, according to the New Indian Express, had told the NPC (Northern Provincial Council) that he had mentioned the plight of the former combatants in his conversation with the US Ambassador, Atul Keshap, and asked if the USAF team could examine them and give an independent report.

Wigneswaran’s allegations died a natural death. The TNA, or the US, never discussed the issue publicly. But, such calculated lies caused massive damage.

 

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ICRC on genocide accusation
 

A leaked 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. 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 (Maio) 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 military battle 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, in spite of its approach resulting in higher military casualties.” Sri Lanka never properly used available information, including Wikileaks revelations, pertaining to Sri Lanka and Lord Naseby’s disclosure to counter lies. The travel ban slapped on Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, as well as Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, by the US is evidence of Sri Lanka’s continuing failure to set the record straight.