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On the Official Release of the Report of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Panel on Sri Lanka |
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Wednesday, 27 April 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 19 April 2011
On the Official Release of the Report of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Panel on Sri Lanka The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil Associations in Australia and New Zealand welcomes the official release of the above report by the United Nations on Monday 25 April. AFTA earlier appealed to the UN Secretary General (UNSG) to release the report in full without further delay, to end Sri Lanka’s partial release of the report and the mischievous media speculations that followed.
AFTA is satisfied to see that the three member panel has said in its report that there were "credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity". AFTA is also contended that the panel in their report has urged the Sri Lankan Government (SLG) to acknowledge formally and in public its responsibility for the extensive civilian casualties in the final stages of the conflict.
AFTA, whilst welcoming the panel’s recommendation that the Sri Lankan government should respond to the serious allegations "by initiating an effective accountability process beginning with genuine investigations" which would meet international standards, wishes to register its grave doubts on SLG taking any genuine effort on this matter. The blatant failure of the several commissions of inquiry appointed by the SLG in the past to investigate crimes committed by its security forces and that of the latest Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), stand testimony for this pessimism.
The SLG had earlier dismissed the report handed to them for their review as "fundamentally flawed" and "biased". Subsequently their foreign miniser Hon. G. L Peiris had asked the United Nations system to consider “whether this report will be useful. Is it going to contribute to the building up of national unity? Or will it do the opposite, really to accentuate differences, bitterness, acrimony? Which are the many things that we want to get away from.” But the past experience gained from many conflicts around the globe including in South Africa shows that genuine reconciliation can be achieved only through establishing the truth, acknowledging wrong doings, bringing perpetrators to books, compensating the victims and implementing a lasting political solution and not through sweeping the crimes under the carpet as Hon. Peiris wants.
AFTA is encouraged by the decision of the UNSG to respond positively to the Panel's recommendation for a review of the United Nations' actions regarding the implementation of its humanitarian and protection mandates during the war in Sri Lanka – particularly in the last stages.
AFTA is disappointed by the UN statement that “in regard to the recommendation that he establish an international investigation mechanism, the Secretary-General is advised that this will require host country consent or a decision from Member States through an appropriate intergovernmental forum.” This means the Security Council, General assembly or the UN Human Rights Council only can initiate such an International investigation mechanism. However AFTA wishes to point out that whilst the UN Charter describes the UNSG as "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, the Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”.
AFTA is also encouraged by the recent Security Council decision to be more proactive in the name of human rights, authorising military intervention in Libya to protect civilians.
AFTA therefore appeals to the UNSG to bring this matter to the urgent attention of the UNSC and urges the UN member nations, especially the power wielding nations in the UNSC, US, Britain, France, Russia and China to help the UNSG to implement the panel’s recommendation to bring sustainable reconciliation and lasting peace and prosperity in Sri Lanka.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
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Web: www.tamil.org.au |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:12 |
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Tamil parliamentarian narrowly escapes Assassination |
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Thursday, 10 March 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 10 March 2011
Tamil parliamentarian narrowly escapes Assassination
The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), the umbrella body of the peak Tamil associations in Australia and New Zealand, condemns in the strongest term the assassination attempt on Mr. Sivagnanam Sritharan, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian from Northern Sri Lanka.
Mr. Sritharan told Australian Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (ATBC) - a 24 hour Radio broadcasting from Sydney - on Tuesday night that he narrowly escaped from a group of attackers who lobbed two hand grenades targeting his vehicle and fired at the vehicle using pistols from behind at Nochchiyaagama in the north central Anuradhapura district on Monday 7 March. When he was attacked, the parliamentarian was on his way from north to Colombo in the south to attend the Tuesday’s sittings of the Sri Lankan Parliament. “The armed men fled the site when my security guard opened fire in self-defence”, the parliamentarian told the ATBC radio from Colombo by telephone. According to the police in Anuradhapura district, no one was hurt in the attack and the shaken parliamentarian was escorted by them to the capital Colombo.
His party colleague in parliament and the General Secretary of TNA, Mr. Senathirasa has told that this attack on the parliamentarian has been carried out as a threat to silence Tamils’ democratic voice. If the perpetrators of this dastardly act are not identified and dealt with, it will be construed as the government is accepting responsibility for this crime, he added.
Even after this attempt on his life, Mr. Sritharan declared publicly on Tuesday that his constituents are being photographed and forced to register with the military, despite the fact that there was a court ruling that it is illegal for the military to be involved in such activities.
AFTA feels that the experience Mr. Sritharan has just gone through on Monday could be the beginning of a new series of assassinations of democratically elected Tamil leaders to undermine Tamil voice seeking a just political solution to the long standing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It should be noted that after Mr. Rajapakse took over the presidency, three Tamil parliamentarians were killed in cold blood and the perpetrators of these crimes are yet to be brought to justice.
In a written statement to the sixteenth session of the Human Rights Council (28 February – 25 March 2011) the Amnesty International has pointed out that “Sri Lanka’s human rights record has not improved since Amnesty International last addressed this Council in May 2010. Impunity persists for past violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law, and new and serious violations of human rights continue to be reported.” The full AI statement can be accessed at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/002/2011/enAFTA
AFTA calls on all the Australian and New Zealand parliamentarians and the governments to condemn this terror tactic outright and bring pressure on the Sri Lankan authorities to identify and bring to books the perpetrators of this crime.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
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Web: www.tamil.org.au |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:34 |
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Leaked UN Report Says War Crime Allegations in Sri Lanka are Credible |
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Tuesday, 19 April 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 19 April 2011
Leaked UN Report Says War Crime Allegations in Sri Lanka are Credible The Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), wishes to draw the attention of the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, the media and the NGOs to the sections of the UN report leaked to Sri Lanka's Island Newspaper that accuses both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. This 3-member expert panel was appointed by the UN Secretary General (UNSG) to examine the modalities, applicable international standards and comparative experience on how to provide accountability for reported violations of international humanitarian law and advice him how to proceed with the accountability process. This report that was presented to the Sri Lankan Government prior to its intended release to the public is reported to have been leaked by a government official aimed possibly to trigger opposition to the report from Sri Lanka’s allies.
The Sri Lankan government had earlier responded to the report by calling it "fundamentally flawed" and "biased". A foreign ministry official confirmed to AFP that the leaked document was genuine. The UN spokesperson for the UNSG had expressed regret over the leaking of the report to the media.
The newspaper quoted the report as saying, "the Panel found credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law were committed both by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Among those alleged crimes were "(i) killing of civilians through widespread shelling; (ii) shelling of hospitals and humanitarian objects; (iii) denial of humanitarian assistance; (iv) human rights violations suffered by victims and survivors of the conflict, including both IDPs and suspected LTTE cadre; and (v) human rights violations outside the conflict zone, including against the media and other critics of the Government," the leaked text said. The report also rapped UN political bodies for not doing enough to protect civilians during the final stages of the brutal war.
The UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka at the time of Sri Lanka’s last phase of the war, Gorden Weiss in an interview to the British Channel 4 TV on 16 April 2011 had said that the death toll of the civilians could be “shockingly high.” “I believe a modest estimate of the number of civilians [killed] is probably 20-40,000. Others have said the figures may well be far higher” said Mr Weiss.
Reacting to the contents of this report, Professor Boyle, expert in International Law, and Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law has called for the support to the recommendation in the report that U.N. Secretary General set up an International Commission of Inquiry on Sri Lanka to investigate the government of Sri Lanka for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Tamil people by reference to and in accordance with, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Given that the war crime allegations directed against the Sri Lankan government and its armed forces are credible, the Sri Lankan President appointed local Lessons Learnt and Recociliation Commission (LLRC) has now, no credibility. AFTA strongly feels that the UNSG has to now either ask the Security Council to request the ICC to initiate its own investigations or appoint a Special War Crimes Tribunal for Sri Lanka, similar to the one created for the former Yugoslavia. AFTA appeals to the UN Member Nations, Australian and New Zealand governments in particular, to persuade the UNSG to take immediate action on this matter to bring the perpetrators of the war crimes and crimes against humanity to book. AFTA also calls upon the independent media to give prominance to this matter in the days and weeks to come to mount pressure on the member nations of the UN to render justice to the victims and help restore rule of law, normalcy, dignity and peace for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
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Web: www.tamil.org.au |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:16 |
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Mass Rally in front of Parliament House in Canberra!! |
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Wednesday, 23 February 2011 00:00 |
Media Release 23 Feb 2011
Mass Rally in front of Parliament House in Canberra!!A repeat of General Mantiri saga haunts Australian government Australian Tamils from Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane will assemble on the lawns of the Parliament House in Canberra, on Thursday, 24 February 2011 from 11.00 am – 3.00 pm, under the leadership of the Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations (AFTA), an umbrella organisation of the peak Tamil organisations in the States and territories of Australia and the cities of Wellington and Auckland, in New Zealand, that has served the Tamil community in the region for the last 27 years. AFTA is organising this rally primarily to express the Australasian Tamil community’s objection to the proposed appointment of the Ex-Navy Commander, Admiral Thisara S.G.Samarasinghe as the next High Commissioner for Sri Lanka. Admiral Samarasinghe was the Director General Naval Operations in Sri Lanka from 2006 was sent in 2007 to command the Eastern naval area and in 2008 to command the Northern naval area. The Sri Lankan Navy is known for their shelling of coastal villages killing and displacing civilians and for harassing and killing hundreds of fishermen (including from Tamil Nadu) and civilians fleeing by sea. During the final phase of the war navy gun boats carried out indiscriminate shelling on civilian targets in the coastal town of Vaharai in the east and Puthumathalan area in the north. Even hospitals have come under attack from the sea. Even though Admiral Samarasinghe has not fired the guns himself, obviously he had command responsibility for these crimes committed against humanity. The news about Adm. Samarasinghe’s nomination for appointment reminds us the incident when Canberra had already accepted General Herman Mantiri’s nomination as the Jakarta’sambassador to Canberra, before a storm of protests arose over remarks General Mantiri had once made in defence of Indonesian troop behaviour during the Dili massacre of East Timorese in 1991. As a result of these mass protests, the then Foreign Minister Gareth Evans publicly criticized General Mantiri and privately sought his withdrawal. Eventually Jakarta conceded. AFTA urges the Foreign Minister Hon. Kevin Rudd to take a principled position on this matter and not to entertain the appointment of alleged war criminals as diplomats to Australia and be sensitive to the genuine concerns the Australian Tamils have over the Sri Lankan government’s political motive – seeking diplomatic immunity on the one hand and to intimidate the vocal Tamil Diaspora on another - and avoid unnecessary strain developing in the relationship between the Australian Tamil community and the labour government.. The protesting Australian Tamils will also be demanding an investigation into the alleged involvement of the dual Australian/Sri Lankan citizen and former DFAT official, Dr. Palitha Kohona’s, alleged involvement in an obvious war crime committed during the last phase of the war. During 2008-09, Dr Kohona was secretary of the Sri Lankan foreign affairs ministry and played a role in negotiating the surrender of Tamil Tigers in the last days of the war. Among those who surrendered were three senior Tiger members. On May 18, the day after the Tigers admitted defeat, the three men, along with at least a dozen others were killed in cold blood when they surrendered holding a white flag as negotiated with the Sri Lankan Government through external parties. According to Marie Kolvin, the UK Sunday Times correspondent, Dr. Kohona guaranteed their safety. It was subsequently revealed by Major Gen Sarath Fonseka that the orders to kill all surrenderees came from a top ranking government official. AFTA has conveyed these community concerns to our Foreign Minister at a meeting with DFAT officials recently and through this rally AFTA is taking this matter to the Federal Parliament and the media. AFTA appeals to the media to be in attendance at this rally at the lawns of the Parliament House on this day to hear from the Australian Tamils and carry their urgent plea to the federal parliamentarians and to the wider Australian community. Media inquiries:
Queensland: Prof Selva Selvanathan 0402 960 439
Sydney: Dr Victor Rajakulendran 0402 484 209 Melbourne: Mr Siva Sivakumar 0404 894 591 New Zealand: Dr. Siva Vasanthan 021 023 51 007
Email:
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Web: www.tamil.org.au |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 09:36 |
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