By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D.Former Government Agent, Matara District.
What were the Superpowers doing when our armed forces were defeating the terrorist LTTE at Nandi kadal and Mullativu?
Japan had even sent a team of “tsunami experts” who unknown to the Government did build “a channel to launch underwater craft-a 360 ft. long, 25 ft. wide tunnel and a 300 ft. long and 30 ft. deep dock” .( The Island 4/9/2009. It was done to help the terrorists to get armaments and when required to escape, which they could not do because of the very effective naval blockade. That was Yakushi Akashi, who posed as our saviour- who did 23 trips in those few years in the guise of helping us.
Then in one unending chorous, the Superpowers- Britain, the US, Norway, France, Canada- all of them pressurized our Government to stop the war- give the terrorists a new lease of life. That was very strange. This included Chief Officers of the United Nations and even Hilary Clinton the US Secretary of State. They hardly knew that we had a man of steel in Mahinda Rajapaksa- a man who could not be moved. He knew the art of handling the various Foreign Ministers and emissaries that emerged almost daily to advice him. They were all greeted, hosted, allowed to talk but were told in no uncertain terms what our plans were. If not for the sagacious manner in which he handled them, we would never have defeated the terrorists. Their plan was to send an international force which we avoided. Last, the USA compiled- fabricated incidents of atrocities to take our leaders before the International Courts for war crimes- the Courts that are now trying Karadavic. If similar incidents that did happen in Vietnam and recently in Iraq and Afghanistan are documented even the Pentagon will not have sufficient space to hold the paper documents. Their threats could not pierce the mettle of our leader who was undeterred. Today- 12 th December the US House of Representatives has called for a report on how the Sri Lankan Government is addressing their war crimes dossier! The USA of all countries should understand that Sri Lanka is a sovereign country, because the USA was itself a colony of Britain. The USA had to fight a bitter war to become a sovereign nation
>> Full Story
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The International Conspiracy
EU and Miliband play key roles in Swan Lake
Lucian Rajakarunanayake Courtesy Daily News
As the Presidential Election campaign progresses, the election will have to make a clear choice between the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who led the nation to victory against terror, and the so-called Common Candidate Sarath Fonseka, the former Army Commander who shed his uniform to run against his immediate Commander-in-Chief.
Twenty-two candidates being in the fray is significant proof that representative democracy remains very much alive in Sri Lanka, after 78 years since universal franchise was introduced under British rule in 1931, making this the oldest democracy in Asia.
The coming weeks will give Sri Lankan voters the chance to decide both on policies to be followed in the next six years, laying the groundwork for full restoration of peace after three decades of war, violence and mistrust, and, hopefully pave the way for national reconciliation in a pluralist society.
This period will also show what the voters think of how the war on LTTE terror was ended, and who they will credit to for this major achievement in the modern history of Sri Lanka.
It will also raise major questions about a political party that has shed both symbol and colour, to hang on to the fading uniform of a retired General.
>> Full Story
CAN WE TRUST CONTRADICTORY AND DOUBLE TOUNGUED SARATH FONSEKA FOR PRESIDENCY?
Malin Abeyatunge
Sarath Fonseka (SF) is not the only hero in the defeat of LTTE as he claimed. He was only one among the others like Chiefs of Navy, Air force, STF, Police and Hasalaka Gamini and all personnel from the tri forces who fought gallantly and valiantly. It is sad to see the war hero Sarath Fonseka gradually turning out to be the biggest betrayer of the nation .He pointed out at Gotabaya Rajapaksa and said in an interview with Leader paper that Gotabaya has given orders to kill the Tiger leaders who surrendered with a white flag during his absence from the war scene. At another press conference he was trying to white wash his comments on Gotabaya saying that he has been misquoted by the editor Frederica Janz which she totally rejected that claim. He follows western media like BBC and CNN, ABC who broadcast inaccurate and false information on hearsay about Sri Lanka and then try to make excuses. Even if they apologize, the damage is already done and cannot be reversed and this is a tactic used by the western media. Likewise, Sarath Fonseka also made some inaccurate and false statements to Leader paper and then tried to hide behind a statement saying that he has been misquoted. By that time the damage is done and cannot be mended as the International Community (western block) who is all out to bring Sri Lanka into War crimes has got ammunition from the horses mouth to play around.
There are two important matters which concerns the Sri Lankan voters. SF has made such a bold and grave destructive statement against our Defense Secretary Gotabaya on HEARSAY. The second important matter is can the Sri Lankan voters trust a naïve person like SF to run the country who contradicts his own statements later on. Are we going to entrust the trustee of the country to a double tongued SF? Yesterday’s press conference (DM-15/12/2009) he says now that he takes the full responsibility of the war during his period as the Army Commander until the date LTTE was militarily defeated. How can we trust person like SF to be the leader of the country when he does not have a vision (vision borrowed from UNP & JVP) and every turn he makes contradictory statements.
>> Full Story
U.S. halted military aid to Sri Lanka when battling LTTE terrorism: Does SL need it now?
Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune
Washington, D.C. 19 December (Asiantribune.com): The United States Senate and House Conference report of the 2010 Appropriations Bill, now ratified by both chambers, in the section which deals with U.S. financial assistance to Sri Lanka restricts any military assistance to Colombo.
The section of the bill directs the Secretary of State to submit a report supplementing her report on October 21 on crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka detailing whether any measures have been taken by Colombo and international bodies to investigate such incidents, and evaluating the effectiveness of such efforts for the U.S. Congress to restore military assistance.
"...If all conditions are met by Sri Lanka, then the Secretary of State should ensure that any military assistance to Sri Lanka be used to support the recruitment and training of Tamils into the Sri Lankan military, Tamil language training for Sinhalese military personnel, and human rights training for all military personnel," the 2010 Appropriations Bill said.
The conference agreement includes a provision directing the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States executive directors of the international financial institutions to vote against financial support for Sri Lanka, except to meet basic human needs, unless certain requirements are met.
>> Full Story
It was leadership that saved soldiers' strength - Shavendra Silva
Major General Shavendra Silva explained how Army's 58th brigade eliminated the ruthless terrorists and rescued the innocent civilians held hostage in the environs of the beautiful Nandikadal lagoon in the last battle against the LTTE terrorists, in a rare talk delivered at the Mahaveli Centre Auditiorium yesterday.
Addressing the Royal Asiatic Society members the Major General said the Tiger leader died like a pussycat by the side of Nandikadal mangroves.
At the time the last phase of the battle against the terrorists were raging the whole country aligned themselves with the valiant soldiers who were first simply known as Army Karaya became known as Ranaviruwa in the eyes of the public. It was the leadership of this country that gave the Armed Forces the support they needed both in logistics and innovative methods to cope with rains or drought. Everything the Army did depended on the country's leadership, the Maj General noted.
The Tiger leader not only assassinated the Sinhala political leaders but also the Tamil political leaders culminating in the assassination of Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi. Showing slide displays of the large scale sabotage by the terrorists, the 58 Brigade Commander Major General Shavendra Silva said the terrorist group killed people of all ethnic groups and all religions mercilessly.
The mass media played a vital role supporting the forces from behind the scene.
The longest ever trek made by the Sri Lanka Army 58th brigade was a path that was strewn with mines and booby traps over two hundred kilometers till the final victory over terrorism was achieved. It also did the world's biggest humanitarian rescue operation and we made history, he said. All these victories were not achieved easily but with supreme sacrifice made by a large number of our youth who had joined the Armed Forces from the poorest of the poor families. Some gave their sight, some their limbs some became completely disabled for life, Maj Gen Silva recalled.
He said there was no fear in the battle but everyone was aiming at the same objective. When there was rain civilians sent us tarpaulins, when there was heavy rain Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa sent heaters to dry the soldiers uniforms. Everyone cooperated with the Armed Forces and it was country's leadership that made the decisions promptly and at the correct time that enabled us to win the war against terrorism.
>> Full Story
Friday, December 18, 2009
President Mahinda Leads Fonseka by 24.8% - Election Survey Reveals
The first ever election survey conducted by an Independent Team revealed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will win the Presidential Election with a handsome majority.
The survey revealed that United Peoples Freedom Alliance candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa will always maintain a lead of 24.8 percent against his nearest rival Sarath Fonseka.
The survey was conducted by an independent team in all nine provinces amongst 5700 voters.
When a sample polling was conducted, 3254 has voted in favor of President Mahinda Rajapaksa , while only 1292 have voted in favor of Fonseka. A total of 654 persons have indicated that they were “undecided”, the survey revealed.
The results of the survey shows that 12.8 percent were still undecided, but it will however not in any way affect the final result of the election, says those who conducted the survey
>> Full Story
Thursday, December 17, 2009
President Rajapaksa hands over his nominations for the polls
A confident President….
UPFA Presidential candidate President Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over his nominations a short while ago for the Presidential Elections to be held next year. His nomination papers were handed over to the Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayaka at the Elections Secretariat in Rajagiriya.
>> Full Story
U N F O R G I V E N - RANJIT WICKREMERATNE
It is unfortunate and sad to hear from someone who was decorated as a war hero by the president of my country not long time ago to give a statement to the press accusing one of our greatest war heros Gotabaya and Shavindra Silva for giving orders to kill the most ruthless killers from LTTE while they were coming forward to surrrender with a white flag. This is absured. Pure crazy from a menatally disorder man. A sick man only will utter those kind of crazy words.It’s a betrayal to the whole country and to the Sinhala race. It’s shame and unforgiven betrayal from someone who was respected and loved during the war. This monster in making should be stopped before making more statements like that to the press and destroy our newly gotten freedom,our country,it’s leaders and it’s peoples We cannot just leave him without a punishment for betraying the country. He should be jailed for treason. This is not democracy he is talking about it’s purely revengeful act by a power hungry revengeful person. We should all get together and protect our land and our leaders from local and foreign conspirators. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Bughers, and Malays should live side by side in harmony as our leader has freed our nation from LTTE terrorists
TIGERS KILLED IN COLD BLOOD was the heading in Arab news yesterday just imagine what was the news in the western press regarding the betrayal and the false statements from a war hero cum traitor.I feel really sad inside my heart and feel ashmed why this happening at this time to our motherland when we are still celebrating our victory and the country is running smoothly with progress every corner of the country. It’s not fare to the country,to the leaders and to the people of Sri Lanka. Actually we are coming to a new era after the bloody war for thirty years and we need blessings from all walks of life to overcome the suffering we had for thirty years. I will not forgive this guy at all for doing such a cowardly act against his country and his collegues in the Armed forces. Being a Sinhalese and a war hero to do such a low thing will not be approved by any person irrespective of colour,faith or religion if someone loves his motherland. Its correct to call a conspiracy theory because these would have been planned by this crooked guy sometime back while on duty to gain power.
>> Full Story
Gen. Fonseka falls on his sword - H. L. D. Mahindapala
Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonseka thought he was hurling a deadly missile when he accused Maj-Gen. Shavendra Silva of carrying out the orders of the Defence Secretary, in his absence, to eliminate the top LTTE leaders in Nanthi Kadal as they were coming out with white flags. But his missile hung in the air for a while and instead of hitting his opponents it swung violently and boomeranged on him, knocking him down and exposing him as a man not fit to wear the Sri Lankan Army uniform, it is sad to say.
It is not only the first biggest gaffe in his election campaign it is a crime committed against his own Army which he can never live down. He has kicked the Army which lifted him to the highest rank of a general. Yesterdays’ hero is acting like today’s Nero gone mad. The international repercussions reverberating round the world are a testimony to the irreparable damage he has done to the most professional Army of elite cadres that had won global respect for defeating the “invincible” Tamil Tiger terrorists.
Right now Gen. Fonseka is as confused as Velupillai Prabhakaran when he was on the run, retreating as fast he could, into Nanthi Kadal. On Sunday he accused one of his brilliant field commanders, Maj-Gen. Shavendra Silva, without whom he could never have won the war, and on Monday he summons a press conference to retract and claim full responsibility for all what happened in the battlefield. This is a useless exercise which does not serve either him or the Army which he commanded because, whether he admits it or not, under the laws of “command responsibility” he has to bear the responsibility for all the acts of his men, irrespective of whether he was aware of it or not. So he has shot himself in the foot by opening his mouth.
Also consider his other contradiction. On Sunday he uses the anti-Sri Lankan media in the private sector to fire his volley targeting the government, particularly his friend, Gotabaya Rajapakse, who made him the Army Commander over his other rivals, and on Monday he files charges in the Supreme Court against the state media targeting him.
>> Full Story
INTERVIEW-Sri Lanka sees recovery in credit growth-cenbank
By Shihar Aneez
COLOMBO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's private sector borrowing is showing signs of recovery that could help to achieve a 3.5 percent economic growth target now that interest rates have come down, a central bank official said on Friday. The island nation's private sector credit growth has recorded negative growth of 5.2 percent in September year-on-year, the latest data from the central bank shows, despite a continuous reduction in policy rates.
"What we see in November and December is banks' lending is picking up," K.D. Ranasinghe, director at the central bank's economic research department, told Reuters in an interview.
>> Full Story
Artistes scoff at Opposition’s claim they were bought over
Veteran artistes who met at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute on Tuesday challenged the Opposition to prove that artistes had been bought over by the government for sums ranging from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 500,000.
Veteran Director and Producer Somaratne Dissanayake assured that none of the artistes had taken money from the government.
He said as public figures they thought it their responsibility to help elect a suitable president. They had carried out such a campaign earlier for the election of President Rajapaksa, he said.
Dissanayake said that President Rajapaksa had kept his pledge to eradicate terrorism and taken several initiatives to safeguard the culture and society at large.
Veteran musician Rohan Weerasinghe said that more than 95 per cent of the artistes were with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He said that artistes would jointly organise a series of campaigns to ensure the victory of President Rajapaksa.
>> Full Story
The need for standards
W. E. Jayawardena
A main issue that all those contributing to the making of a healthy public opinion, especially the national newspaper groups, have to reckon with, is the need to spare truth falling victim to the acrimony caused by the volume of the heat generated by continued contest of issues like in the case of the present debate on the presidential election.
In its issue of December 7, a national Sinhala newspaper reporting an account on the UNP convention held at Wattala on December 4, gave publicity to the speech of the leader of the UNP. In this report of the speech of the leader, reference was made to the Apollo Hospital being the "Rajje" of the Rajapaksa brothers and also boldly claiming that the Rajapaksa brothers were "rogues" who should be chased out of office. The report, per se, would have stood on its own, if not for a subsequent TV programme on this subject.
>> Full Story
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
From War Hero to a Fallen Idol
Can such a man be the Commander –in- chief of his own forces and win the respect and loyalty of his troops when he exposes them to war crimes. Is it to settle a score of a personal nature- so far a main plank in his campaign? Can a presidential candidate jeopardize national interest arising from personal disputes? Should the People vote for such a person to high office?
Fonseka indeed is the best spokesman for his opponent, so far. For a competitive contest at the Presidential Election, which this country deserves, Fonseka should either SHUT UP or GET OUT, in the interest of those loyal blind supporters of the political parties that support his candidature.
Is the retired Commander becoming an informant against his own army and its officers? Imagine a nation where the main witness for an international prosecutor against its Armed Forces would be its possible Head of State? Whom is the Nation to turn to defend itself.
Will he as the President be an informant against his own army of committing war crimes? With his disclosure, he can be summoned to an international war tribunal to testify against his own forces. Indeed he is a material witness against his Men. A star witness for those who accuse Sri Lanka of war crimes on the one hand and a candidate for Executive Presidency on behalf of responsible political parties on the other. A Commander-in-Chief in the making-such is Fonseka.
This is more than political immaturity; it is closer to juvenile delinquency. When babes in politics decide to run for high office beyond their intellectual maturity they expose their limitations and endanger national security.
It is an interview the General will rue for life, as he stands exposed waiting to be questioned by local and foreign authorities, as he is in possession of material sufficient to warrant investigating under the Geneva Convention for War Crimes.
It is not a matter on which Sri Lanka can lightly rest with accusations being already leveled against the nation for war crimes. Is the retired Commander becoming an informant against his own army and its officers? Imagine a nation where the main witness for an international prosecutor against its Armed Forces would be its possible Head of State? Whom is the Nation to turn to defend itself.
>> Full Story
Gota says battlefield excesses charge exposed Opp. strategy
In his first public comments on last week’s The Sunday Leader lead news item "Gota ordered them (read as surrendering LTTE cadres) to be shot," on the basis of an interview given by former Army Chief turned Opposition presidential election candidate, General Sarath Fonseka, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Island that a section of the international community, hell bent on undermining the Sri Lankan State, would take advantage of this situation.
Although General Fonseka had later claimed that the broad sheet misquoted him irreparable damage was done, he said. International wire services had zeroed-in on this allegation. Nothing could have pleased them as much as an opportunity to blame the Sri Lankan forces of battlefield excesses, he said.
The Sunday Leader, in what it called ‘an explosive revelation’, alleged that Rajapaksa had ordered Maj. General Shavindra Silva, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 58 Division not to take prisoners though a section of the LTTE leadership offered to surrender.
The former Gajaba Regiment veteran said that almost all major media groups, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and the influential Indian press sought his comments though he did not respond. According to him, the Indian press had emphasised that he could not turn a blind eye to criticism of his conduct as it was a major issue in India. The bottom line is that even if the Opposition candidate had disputed the news item, those who sided with the LTTE during Sri Lanka’s war on terror would now go on the offensive. He pointed out that the unsubstantiated allegation would help the Tamil Diaspora and peace merchants to revive their campaign against Sri Lanka.
He said that it would be interesting to see whether The Sunday Leader retracted its last week’s story. An irate Defence Secretary said that he could not understand how the Opposition could exploit an alleged war crimes charge to go one up at the ongoing presidential election campaign. Obviously this was nothing but an attempt to appease the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Tamil Diaspora and some countries which desperately tried to save the sinking Tigers, he said. According to him, this particular allegation had been directed at frontline troops, including the Special Forces commanded by Major General Silva, though all fighting formations would now be suspect of war crimes. "Can anything be as despicable as this," he said emphasising that whatever the Opposition said people would not be deceived or surprised.
>> Full Story
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Why I can’t vote for you, dear General...
You were one of our heroes, a ‘Knight in Shining Armour’, who rose up to the challenge of taking on the dragon. When you won, we won, the whole country won, sans a few. The dragon was elusive, but its evil-hearted offshoot was freely wandering and quite vocal out in the open, denigrating and insulting you and every move you made to defeat their master. When they did, they also denigrated and insulted our people and all patriotic forces, who stood by you and what you stood for, in the name of our country. Despite all their attempts, the country was saved due to your leadership and your men’s valour, dedication and sacrifice. In contrast, the nature of the villains of the nation became all too clear and we could see the depths that they could stoop down to, in order to stall the progress of our nation and attain their own ends.
Thus, when the traitors of the nation sneered in jealousy at our heroes, we were angered and compelled to speak against them and speak in support of our heroes in whatever way we could and we did that with so much pride and a feeling of oneness. We did not do that to bet on the winning horse but out of love for our motherland. We, as a people, prayed to see you silence them with your actions; actions that we knew for certain would free our country.
We wanted to see you win. They wanted to see you fail. We had faith in you. They had faith in all unpatriotic forces to stall you in your advance. We supported you in your every move. They criticised it. We held you in the utmost esteem. They disparaged you as a misfit. We celebrated the elimination of the dragon, at last feeling the feel of real freedom as a proud nation. They faded into darkness, hiding their faces for a while. We knew we had beaten the dragon and its offshoots and we knew it would not have been possible without you. They knew they had been fairly and squarely defeated and would have no future. It was clearly a battle between those who wanted to see the country freed and those who wanted it to suffer to make a living out of the country’s ailments. When all the victory celebrations were over, we wanted you to be safe and serve the country for many years to come. They wanted to destroy you at the earliest, one way or the other, for their own greed and survival.
We are quite perplexed to see the same enemies of our nation, who ridiculed you, now singing hosannas to you and we are feeling dejected as they say that you will be leaving us to join them. We would not know what to believe until we hear from you, but we hope it is not true.
>> Full Story
An attempt at hara-kiri - Island Editorial
There is a high octane performance on the part of government propagandists and their Opposition counterparts engaged in a ruthless mud-slinging contest.
The government used to boast that it had ensured there were no irregularities in military purchases unlike in the past. But, now, we are being told that while Fonseka was the army commander, his son-in-law was involved in some questionable business deals with the army.
In the aftermath of Prabhakaran’s death, Fonseka pooh-poohed allegations of war crimes against the army. When asked, at the inaugural press conference after entering politics, to comment on moves being made in some quarters to press war crime charges against the Sri Lankan military, Fonseka said those who wanted to do so had to make specific charges with times, dates, locations etc mentioned––the implication being that the allegations levelled against Sri Lanka were baseless. He has also claimed on more than one occasion that he personally handled the successful ground operations which decapitated the LTTE.
Now, we have Fonseka saying he has information that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ordered a ground commander to kill the LTTE leaders who tried to surrender. (The Sunday Leader of Dec. 13, 2009)
As much as the government's allegations against Fonseka and his son-in-law are tantamount to a self-indictment, Fonseka's charge against Gotabhaya has seriously affected his own credibility in that he contradicts his much advertised claim that he alone commanded the victorious army. If Fonseka says that his ground commanders who steered the army to victory took orders from someone else, how could he justify his attempt to promote himself in politics as the man who won the war and seek the executive presidency in return, as it were?
Both the government and Fonseka, blinded by rage, venom and thirst for power, are sadly serving the purpose of sinister anti-Sri Lankan forces which craftily managed to cause a split in the anti-terrorism camp by pitting Fonseka against Rajapaksa. The wise old folk in this country may call this method 'using a pig's back to chop its own meat'. Fonseka said a few weeks ago, while he was still Chief of Defence Staff, that he had resisted during a tour of the US a move by the US Homeland Security Department to elicit information about Gotabhaya as regards what had happened during the final stages of war. Today, he is levelling a serious allegation against Defence Secretary Rajapaksa and Maj. Gen. Shavindra Silva, an efficient ground commander who became famous for his 170-kilometre-long 'March to the Sea' from Mannar to the eastern coast via Pooneryn. Ironically, Shavindra was handpicked by Fonseka himself for that task over and above others.
>> Full Story
SF allegations: Govt. to go legal
While dismissing the allegations made by Presidential Candidate General Sarath Fonseka the government yesterday vowed that legal opinion will be sought to take action against what it called the ‘malicious attempt to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka and the armed forces’.
Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe addressing a hurriedly convened press briefing at the Media Center for National Security said yesterday that the statement made to a weekend newspaper by General Sarath Fonseka was very damaging locally and internationally.
“This is a great betrayal against his former boss, colleagues and soldiers of the armed forces who fought the war side by side against a common enemy. We have no doubt that the baseless allegations are for personnel gains,” Minister Smarasinghe stressed.
Quoting a statement made by General Fonseka on July 10 at Ambalangoda, Minister Smarasinghe said the two statements were highly contradictory.
He alleged that on July 10 General Fonseka has said at a felicitation ceremony: “I managed the war like a true soldier. I do not make decisions from AC rooms. I was under pressure to stop the war even during the final phase. I got messages not to shoot those who are carrying white flags. A war is fought by soldiers. They do so by putting their livea on the line. Therefore, their decisions about war should be taken by the soldiers in the battle front. Not nth people in the AC rooms in Colombo. Our soldiers have seen in life the kind of destruction carried out by those people before they decides to come carrying a white flag. Therefore, they carried out their duties. We destroyed any one connected with the LTTE. That is how we won the war”.
Minister Samarasinghe said the modus operandi to make this kind of ‘extremely harmful’ and ‘baseless’ allegations was to give oxygen to the US State Department attempt to inquire the so called Human Rights violations during the humanitarian operation.
“Do not forget that PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa has appointed a 6 member committee to look into the charges. But these people are not satisfied and they want to internationalize the issue,” Minister Smarasinghe added.
“The Sri Lanka armed forces have prosecuted war in a highly professional manner, in line with the international law. . Otherwise they could not have taken LTTE leaders like George Master or Daya Master in to custody. Even the parents of Prabhakaran are in the care of the government. If what General Fonseka claimed is to be true, how could they survive?” Minister Smarasinghe asked.
“Sri Lanka has emerged a free nation with a bright future before it. The government has taken all measure possible to make Sri Lanka the hub of naval, air, trade and financial hub of the region. There are many in the local and international for a with an agenda hell bent on destabilizing it”, Minister Samarasinghe emphasized.
>> Full Story
Army Chief says troops faced their biggest betrayal
Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, speaking to troops at the Army Headquarters a short while ago, said that the Army had faced its “biggest betrayal” a few hours ago but did not elaborate on who committed the betrayal or what the incident was.
However it is believed the Army Chief was referring to the comments made by General Sarath Fonseka on the last stages of the war. He was reported to have said that top government officials had told the army to kill senior LTTE officials who surrendered to the army during the latter part of the war in May this year.
Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, speaking after handing over appreciation letters to soldiers who took part in the final battle, said that the army should be conscious about this betrayal and face it together.
>> Full Story
Sri Lankan rebels killed in cold blood - Sarath Fonseka
* “Gota Ordered Them To Be Shot” – General Sarath Fonseka - http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2009/12/13/%e2%80%9cgota-ordered-them-to-be-shot%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-general-sarath-fonseka/
* Gen. Fonseka has committed the greatest betrayal to the nation and troops -Mahinda Samarasinghe - http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=8798
by Amal Jayasinghe
COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shot dead surrendering Tamil Tiger leaders on the orders of the defence secretary, the former army chief who is now running for president said on Sunday.
General Sarath Fonseka said Gotabhaya Rajapakse -- the brother of the current president -- instructed field commanders not to take prisoners in the days before the Tamil Tiger separatists were defeated in May.
"Gotabhaya Rajapakse spoke directly with (commander) Shavendra Silva and told him not to accommodate any surrendering LTTE leaders and that they must all be killed," Fonseka told reporters at a meeting of opposition parties.
Fonseka said he was away in China and was unaware that Rajapakse was giving direct orders to officers in the field during the final stages of battle against the Tigers, officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
He said he only learnt after the war that senior Tiger rebels had used foreign mediators to organise a plan in which they would carry white flags and give themselves up.
Fonseka led the army's successful offensive to finally crush the LTTE and end the island's decades-long ethnic conflict, but he later fell out with President Mahinda Rajapakse and the defence secretary.
He resigned last month, accusing the government of sidelining him, and is now attempting to unseat President Rajapakse in elections on January 26.
Sri Lankan authorities have resisted international calls for a war crimes investigation amid allegations by the United Nations that more than 7,000 civilians were killed during the first four months of this year alone.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara declined to respond to Fonseka's remarks.
"This is a comment given by General Fonseka and he will come out with many more," Nanayakkara said. "We will not comment on what he says."
The government has previously denied ordering troops to kill Tamil Tiger political wing leader B. Nadesan, senior rebel S. Puleedevan and another Tiger official and their families.
The military claimed victory over the LTTE on May 18 after wiping out the leadership of the once-powerful movement, which began its armed struggle for an independent Tamil homeland in 1972.
Velupillai Prabhakaran, the group's founder, was killed in the fighting and his body shown on national television.
During the war's finale, the United States and other Western nations voiced alarm at Sri Lanka's treatment of non-combatants, along with its internment afterwards of up to 300,000 Tamil civilians.
Sri Lanka has said it is now allowing the civilians to leave state-run camps, although human rights groups say that many have nowhere to go with their villages destroyed in the fighting.
When launching his election campaign, Fonseka said he was moving into politics because corruption was preventing Sri Lankans from benefiting from the success that military forces had secured under his command.
He also surprised critics by agreeing to a possible war crimes investigation.
JVP leader had no discussions with EU on GSP plus
Paris, 12 December,(Asiantribune.com):
The JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe The JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe failed to meet any of the EU leaders or senior bureaucrats of Paris, London and Brussels during his recent European tour. Revealing this, Sri Lankan diplomats and expatriate leaders said that Mr Amarasinghe’s claim that he was assured by the EU that GSP plus concessions to Sri Lanka would be continued if there is a government change at the Presidential elections next month “is an absolute lie’.
Although JVP branch leader in Paris, Manel Gunwardane tried to get some appointments with French ministers, MPs and senior bureaucrats for Mr Amarasinghe, he could not get a single appointment,” the sources said. “JVP leader could meet only few leaders of the Sri Lankan expatriates. His claim that he had discussions with EU leaders on GSP issue is a fabricated story”.
Diplomatic sources in the three capitals confirmed that Mr Amarasinghe did not have any discussions with the European leaders or officials. “It is not easy get appointments with EU leaders and French and British Ministers,” a diplomat said. “In recent months we managed to get appointments only for Minister G L Peiris for discussions on GSP issue,” he pointed out.
>> Full Story
Sunday, December 13, 2009
21 Questions to Sarath Fonseka for straight replies and to clear his name
Danuna registered and operated the company from USA with the influence and assistance from his wife, Anoma Fonseka and father-in-law Sarath Fonseka”, informed sources told AT. According to them, there were occasions when Anoma Fonseka called senior army officers and sought favours to promote her husband’s business of supplying arms and ammunitions.
Notwithstanding Gen (retd.) Sarath Fonseka’s loud assertions that his son-in-law Danuna Tilakaratne is clean, more shoddy deals and scams are tumbling out. The latest ‘scam’ involves binocular deal. “My son-in-law has nothing to do with this" says the former General but Asian Tribune has also come across information that will not please him.
It is time probably for the General, who has joined politics on his retirement, to clear his own name instead of he issuing denials or his son-in-law slapping legal notices instead of offering a rebuttal on reading inconvenient reports on arms deals.
Asian Tribune has a few questions based on its extensive investigations to help the General….
1. Is it true that Danuna Tilakaratne is illegally residing in USA with the visa document obtained by submitting forged documents to the Home Land Security and Immigration in USA?
2. Is it true that Oklahoma based Communication Company used by your son-in-law to file for the H1 visa had folded up when the application for H1 visa extension was submitted?
3. Did your son in law suppress this information and use the H1 visa to travel in and out of USA to engage in illegal arm businesses.
4. What have you to say to the correspondence between Hicorp International in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Army regarding the binocular tender - See attached Bino1
>> Full Story
The story of a Puppet who has no policies
by Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D.
Former Government Agent, Matara District.
For a long time Sri Lanka had two major Political Parties, one of which secured the majority to rule depending on the decision of the people at the polls. In 1970 it was the socialist SLFP led coalition. In 1977 it was Jayawardena who moved to embrace the West and the IMF. In 1995 Kumaranatunge came back with the socialists and again Ranil Wickremasinghe established a Government in 2001. Mahinda Rajapaksa became the President in 2005 on a socialist card. In all these elections the contenders for the presidency had their own policies and plans. At the 2005 Presidential Election our President submitted the Mahinda Chintanaya, the most comprehensive cluster of policies ever included in any one election manifesto. I have lived through elections in Sri Lanka, in the USA, in the UK and never have I seen so comprehensive an election manifesto. This included the development of the country as well as defeating the terrorists. Restoring the sovereignty of the country from shore to shore was a task that had defied attempts by all past Presidents . Mahinda Rajapaksa has achieved the task of defeating the terrorists and now his realm covers the entire island.
>> Full Story
Posts
