URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka: Hyper-militarisation for PsyOps as 21C political solution of an ethnic conflict

Members

Foreign Affairs Committee

Parliament

Denmark

Dear Committee members

Sri Lanka: Hyper-militarisation for PsyOps as 21C political solution of an ethnic conflict

Please bring justice to the oppressed in Sri Lanka:

Ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka have been oppressed from the time of independence in 1948

till today - Appendix

Hyper-militarisation for PsyOps on the war-ravaged people:

The military assaults of the war ended on 18 May 2009. The war-torn area was made out

of bounds for the public and ICRC the following day. In the last several days up to 18 May

2009, the people who manage to get up on their feet and walk away from the warzone

were all compulsorily led to army-guarded Menik Farm camp and detained there for

several months b a few years before release. They have since then spoken of those on the

ground in the warzone unable to get up and walk away but tugged at their feet and clothes

of those who were leaving the warzone. We do not know what happened to them as ICRC

was not allowed in.

A. Plan. Post-war Militarisation of the North: Psychological Operations(PsyOps) by the

military on the population:

‘’A 2009 report and supporting documentation indicated that the Sri Lankan military

planned to expand greatly over the next five years. ……

Conduct of Aggressive

Intelligence Operations and pursuing Psychological Operations to rehabilitate

the

mindset

of the public to tilt their affinity will also be facilitated by such a deployment.

…..

.'' - Sri Lanka Army Troop Strength,

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/sri-

lanka/army-troops.htm

Preventing aid agents from giving assistance and channelling it through task force

–

PTF -

will make sure tilting people's mindset:

''With nearly 200,000 people still displaced in the North

—

some living in temporary camps

while others squat with host families

—

international agencies are running out of money to

meet urgent needs like water supply and resettlement grants, according to a report

released last week.

The funding crisis follows the government’s refusal to endorse the

2010 Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP). ....... A letter was issued to the OCHA

by the presidential task force headed by Basil Rajapaksa saying the CHAP was no longer

necessary. The government’s contention is that humanitarian and other assistance for the

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

North and East should be channelled through the task force and line ministries rather than

via the OCHA.''' - State stubbornness leaves IDPs in a big fix, Namini Wijedasa, 15 Mar

2010,

http://www.infolanka.com/news/IL/1213.htm

PsyOps practised on an armed rebel group is unleashed on the oppressed population:

''The Directorate of Psychological Operations(PsyOps) was established on 18th April 1994

and carried out very effective PsyOps on LTTE terrorist to lower their morale during the

fight against terrorism. Presently Directorate carry out Psychological Operations activities

targeting local population where they are deployed.'' - Annual Performance Report 2012,

Sri Lanka Army,

https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/documents/paperspresented/performance-report-

srilanka-army-2012.pdf

‘Increase in demand’ for PsyOps:

‘’The demand for PsyOps, products and the personnel on the increase …….

Wide publicity

provided to all major events of the Army and successfully countered false/adverse news

articles in the Electronic and Printed Media during the year..’’ –

Sri Lanka Army. Annual

Performance Report 2013,

https://parliament.lk/uploads/documents/paperspresented/performance-report-srilanka-

army-2013.pdf

Training to improve PsyOps:

‘’It is also suggested that foreign

training courses / seminars be arranged to train Officers

with a view to carry out potential psychological operations in field.’’ –

Sri Lanka Army:

Annual Performance Report 2016,

https://parliament.lk/uploads/documents/paperspresented/performance-report-srilanka-

army-2016.pdf

Changing the

mindset

necessitated switching target group from adults to young students

and children:

‘’What we have realised is that it is extremely

difficult to change the

mindsets

of some of

the adults,…... Therefore,

we switched our target group from adults to young students and

children.’’ - Crucial reconciliation steps in North, 9 May 2018,

http://www.ft.lk/opinion/Crucial-reconciliation-steps-in-North/14-654694

Change of government does not mean any change in disciplining the society:

‘’I

agree that we are not exhibiting what we are doing. Then we want to discipline the

society. …..with

the change of government in 2015, we are proud to say that we are not

under pressure from the President/PrimeMinister/Ministers..

…......’’

- Sri Lanka is the only

country that has eradicated terrorism, 16 May

2018,

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/sri-lanka-is-the-only-country-that-has-

eradicated-terrorism/article23895657.ece

''Too much of freedom'' and ''too much of peace'':

''In an interview given to the BBC World News on Thursday (02), the Army Commander

said ......

Question : And why do you think Sri Lanka was targeted ?

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

Commander :

I could give an answer like this. Too much of freedom, too much of peace

for the last ten years. People forget what happened for thirty years. People are enjoying

peace and they neglected security.''

Sri Lanka Army Commander urges public to have

confidence in Armed Forces, 3 May

2019,

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/May03_1556901470CH.php

The armed forces are almost all Sinhalese and Sinhalese have known an endless chain of violent

attacks against the Tamils fand political and economic discrimination rom the time of independence

in 1948. The absence of outright physical violence on a large scale against Tamils(there are many

episodes of individual attacks by the Police and the Armed Forces that they claim to be

''accidental'') makes the Army Commander say ''too much of freedom'' and ''too much of peace''

though the Tamils are forced to live under heavily militarisation and PsyOps of the Army.

How can that be any kind of freedom or peace?

If ''psychological operations'' happen in North Korea the whole world would be up in

arms.

B.GROUNDWORK for Implementation:

1. Budget Allocation for Militarisation:

The increase in military expenditure during the 30-yr war continues post-war

https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/sri-lanka/military-expenditure

Sri Lanka raises defence budget, 8 April 2019,

https://www.janes.com/article/87729/sri-lanka-

raises-defence-budget

Budget Allocation 2017-2018 -

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/infographics/1034584/budget-

allocation-comparison-2017-2018

Budget 2018 Expenditure break down

–

https://www.newsfirst.lk/2017/10/09/budget-2018-

1st-reading-expenditure-breakdown/

2.Post-war Militarisation of the North:

i. shifting the military into the Vanni(rebel-held area) after it was made made out of bounds

for the public and ICRC for eight months from the day after the war ended on 18/05/2009:

‘Nearly 80% of the Army had been pushed

the North/East within 4/5 months at the end of

the war:

Northern Province

–

15 Divisions + very numerous sub-divisions,

Eastern Province -

2 Divisions,

South(=7 provinces) - 4 Divisions + several sub-divisions(Sri Lanka has 9

provinces) -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_Sri_Lanka_Army_formations

''Analysis of

the density of military personnel shows that its ”peace” time density in the

Northern Province is much higher than during the peak times of activity in Iraq, Northern

Ireland, Kashmir, Chechenya

and the French occupation of Algeria. ……. The Sri Lankan

government may have won the war against the LTTE in the north-east of the country, but

another protracted struggle is looming on the horizon, that of winning democracy and

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

development back from the clutches of militarisation”

–

Notes on the Military Presence in

Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, Vol –

XLVII No. 28, 7-14 July

2012,

http://www.epw.in/insight/notes-military-presence-sri-lankas-northern-province.html

ii.Economic activities of the Armed Forces:

‘’ MANY SOUTH Asian military bodies are running lucrative commercial ventures

that rival private businesses, in so doing threaten not only to militarise civil society

but also to corrupt the services.

…….. Sri Lanka, which is south Asia’s most

militarised country, opted, after defeating the Tamil Tiger guerillas in May 2009, to

involve its bloated military in a range of commercial activities.’’

–

Armies that create

their own lucrative empires, 27 September 2011,

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/armies-

that-create-their-own-lucrative-empires-1.610298

Land in the High Security Zone(HSZ) formed three decades ago is being returned to the

owners extremely slowly. HSZ has been used by the Army for farming and tourism

activities in Jaffna District as the war was concentrated in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu

districts. Post-war, the army appropriated large swathes of land for farming in the North.,

depriving the war-ravaged people chances of economic activities and livelihood. The

various Brigades of the Army had set up restaurants along A9 in Kilinochchi and Jaffna

districts. But the Civil Security Department coordinates many of the economic activities of

the Army and employs former rebels as farmhands(mainly men). The Army runs hundreds

of pre-schools in the North and employs pre-school teachers(mainly women rebels). All

these employees go as employees of Civil Security Department. This is part of PsyOps by

the Army.

Civil Security Department- The Deep Militarisation of the Vanni, Adayaalam Centre fror

Policy Research, September 2017,

http://adayaalam.org/wp-

content/uploads/2018/01/ACPR-Report-Civil-Security-Department-The-Deep-Militarisation-

of-the-Vanni-.pdf

Though the Presidential election and General election were held in early 2010, Northern

Provincial Council(NPC) election was held only in September 2013, two months before

CHOGM2013 was held in November 2013 in Colombo, Sri Lanka enabling maximum

grabbing of land by the Military and state settlement of Sinhala colonies in the North

assisted by compulsory detention of the war-affected people of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu

districts in Menik Farm camps long as possible though there was vehement disapproval of

the international community. When the camp was finally closed on 24 September 2012,

the vast swathe of land was taken over by the army for farming. The Army took over more

land in early 2013:

Massive land grab by the Sri Lankan military, Sri Lanka Campaign, 21 May 2013,

https://www.srilankacampaign.org/massive-land-grab-by-the-sri-lankan-military/

It would have been a contentious issue had the Northern Provincial Council election had

taken place in 2010.

Postponing the election also helped in taking chunks of ''aid'' in various forms such as Housing to

settle Sinhala colonies in various parts of the Northern Province, eg a colony in Navatkuli(close to

the Railway Station) and another in Mullaitivu Coast. It also enabled periodic staying of Sinhala

fishermen in the Northern coasts for weeks and months with the help of Sri Lanka Navy.

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

Successive governments boast that there is devolution of power through Provincial

Councils enacted through the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

But it is effectively a system that takes away with the left hand what it gives with the right

hand:

‘’Although

there have been many changes in local government over the last 25 years,

most have been eosmetie in nature, changing the names of offices and councils but

having little impact on the power relations between the national government and local

governments or

in the efficiency of local government.’’ –

Chapter VI,

Decentralization and

Local Government in Sri Lanka

by Robert C Oberst in

Local Democracy and Politics in

South Asia,

D. K. Vajpeyi (ed.), 2003 -

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-

663-10676-0_6

‘’In

short, the executive and legislative powers of the Provincial Council continues to be

with the President and exercised by the Governor whom he

appoints’’ –

Devolution of powers under the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka: Fact or Fiction? MCM

Iqbal, 19 July 2009,

https://groundviews.org/2009/07/19/devolution-of-powers-under-the-13th-

amendment-in-sri-lanka-fact-or-fiction/

'National Symposium on Devolution

was held on 20-21 February 2011

where the research report,

An Evaluation of 22yrs of Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka,

produced by the Institute of Constitutional Studies in December 2010, was discussed.''

- Are Provincial Councils a White Elephant? http://www.nation.lk/2011/02/20/newsfe5.htm

A New Devolution Settlement for Sri Lanka: Proceedings and Outcomes, Conference of

Provincial Councils,

August 2016 edited by Dr Asanga Welikala.

The conference was organised by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), with the

participation of delegations from all nine Provincial Councils including Governors and Chief

Ministers, as well as local and international experts of comparative devolution and

multilevel governance. -

https://www.cpalanka.org/a-new-devolution-settlement-for-sri-

lanka-proceedings-and-outcomes-conference-of-provincial-councils/

But what hope could be there for any change in Sri Lanka -

''It was distressing to see in parliament what should have gone through with absolute consensus, as

an opportunity for democracy had to be negotiated in a process that in my view, undermined some

of the opportunities for Constitution making.'' - THE 19TH AMENDMENT AND THE FUTURE

OF SRI LANKA

–

PROF. SAVITRI GOONESEKERE,

29/06/2015,

https://srilankabrief.org/2015/06/the-19th-amendment-and-the-future-of-sri-lanka-prof-

savitri-goonesekere/

''The Prime Minister became the Chairman of the Steering Committee that has met

over 80 times and has brought two comprehensive reports. He comes to the constitutional

assembly and says this is not ours.’’-

Roads and buildings cannot substitute for power in

the

people’s

hands, 28 July 2019, M.A. Sumanthiran addressing the

parliament,

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/07/28/opinion/roads-and-buildings-cannot-

substitute-power-people%E2%80%99s-hands

''All the government’s good will and political capital was spent on defending a scam, not on

constitutional reform or transitional justice.''

Ranil’s

Recalcitrance and Liberal license, 21 September 2019,

https://groundviews.org/2

019/09/21/ranils-recalcitrance-and-liberal-license

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

C. IMPLEMENTATION

1.Militarisation of Presidential Task Forces for Development of Northern Province:

i. Presidential Task

Force(PTF) for ‘’Northern Development’’ was appointed on

7 May 2009

(11 days before the end of war) with Secretaries from Ministries in the central government

and seven members from the military and without a single Tamil and without a single

member representing the North - the only Muslim is a Ministry Secretary

- https://reliefweb.int/report/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-president-appoints-new-task-force-rebuild-

north

ii. Another Presidential Task Force for ''Development '' of North/East:

’'President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a high-level

48-member task force - with

himself as the Chair - to direct, coordinate and monitor development activities in the

Northern and Eastern Provinces. The task force members include Prime Minister Ranil

Wickremesinghe, 15 Cabinet ministers, the Governors of the two provinces, the Chief

Ministers of the two provinces, secretaries to several ministries and Commanders of the

Army, Navy and Air Force

…….’’

- Highest level task force to expedite North-East

development, 10 June 2018,

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180610/news/highest-level-task-

force-to-expedite-north-east-development-297634.html

(The

Chief Minister of Northern

Province declined to accept his position saying he does not agree with the top-down

formation. Furthermore no development was carried out so far).

2.Running hundreds of pre-schools in post-war North/East:

What can be a more effective form of PsyOps than running pre-schools?

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC):

'"'Ensure that (i) all schools currently run by the military are transferred back under the

Ministry of Education; (ii) training of the Cadet Corps does not include military

activities''

- Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Sri

Lanka*, Feb 2018

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/LKA/CRC_C_LKA_CO_

5-6_30178_E.pdf

In spite of the directive from UNCRC, the army continues building/acquiring pre-schools:

https://www.army.lk/news/pre-school-construction-wanni-continues

http://www.cimicjaffna.com/Cimicnews_2019_01_10.php

Pre-school kids are regularly taken to the military airport and shown a plane and given ice-

cream. This was the site where a civil airport operated before the war intensified. For

10yrs after the war was over, the government had no intention of letting the civil airport

function.

Now there are ‘’talks’’ of letting this happen.

ii...Cadet Corps:

'Students from a Batticaloa school, who were made to form an armed guard of honour for

the governor of the Eastern province, had received weapons training from the Sri Lankan

army''-

Eastern governor welcomed by weapons-trained students,

12 February 2019,

https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/eastern-governor-welcomed-weapons-trained-

students

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

''Children in military attire were photographed handling rifles, whilst other Tamil children in

school uniform were taught marching techniques by Sri Lankan soldiers. ..............'' - Sri

Lankan military trains Tamil schoolchildren in Jaffna, 21 February 2019,

https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankan-military-trains-tamil-schoolchildren-jaffna

3.The Army officilas visit pre-schools as well as primary and secondary schools often and

give presents

–

books, school bags and even bicycles. The army deprives the parents of

livelihood and gives their children presents, mostly by inviting charities in the South of the

country -

PsyOps ‘’funded’’ by parents and the wider population!

4.Proof that the Military in the North, not the government in Colombo, is in charge of

making decisions for the North:

The President asked the Tamil MPs who complained about the slow release of land from

High Security Zone(HSZ) to speak with the military:

Sri Lanka security forces demand land and money to release civilian land in North,

October 2018,

https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lanka-security-forces-demand-

land-and-money-release-civilian-land-north

D. The government, instead of helping the war-ravaged people looking for livelihoods,

gave the Army contracts to build houses(Appendix2)

E PsyOps -

Security Forces Headquarters-Jaffna: Archives:

2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010

http://www.cimicjaffna.com/NewsBackbodyMain.php

2019 - ''donations'' by the Army, examples:

More Donations for Low-income families in Jaffna Peninsula, 29 March 2019,

http://www.cimicjaffna.com/Cimicnews_2019_03_29.php

Donation of School items, 2 March 2019,

http://www.cimicjaffna.com/Cimicnews_2019_03_02.php

Sri Lanka PsyOps by SLA - attachment

There has been no post-war development - therefore ''donations'' by the politico-socio-

economically powerful army in special functions is PsyOps to make the people believe that

the Army provides all services, viz Education, Health, Social Services, etc

Donation = anti-SustainableDevelopment.

The whole world is engaged in attaining Sustainable Development(SD) to achieve SDGs.

Usually children are taught: Give a man a fish, you give him one dinner; give a man a

fishing rod, you give him dinner for life = basic tenet of SD

Grabbing the livelihoods of the parents and giving ''Donations'' to their children at

schools = PsyOps = anti-SustDev = anti-SDGs

Receiving ''donations'' without any reason is bad psychology for children =

that

is the very

intention of PsyOps.

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

Economic oppression of war-ravaged people in all possible ways:

Government Ministries grant the Occupation Military contracts, without calling for tenders,

to build houses for IDPs who have been denied aid and livelihoods

- attachment

F.Denial of post-war political solution and economic development:

Northern Province Governor H.M.G.S. Palihakkara addressed the Annual General Meeting of the Ceylon Chamber

of Commerce on 25 June 2015: ''

The very fact that we are constrained to talk about conflict

related challenges more than six years after ending the conflict is in itself a matter of some

concern.'

http://www.ft.lk/article/439811/Northern-Province-Governor-s-rallying-call-for-investment-and-

reconciliation

(H.M.G.S.Palihakkara - Sri Lanka Representative to UN/NewYork, 2008/9)

Post-war norms are NOT followed in Sri Lanka:

''We would suggest that if hostilities do largely cease, five years after a war has ended, most

economies are likely to have returned to near-normalcy and 10 years after, the post-conflict

era can, in most cases, be regarded as having ended'' - - A Typology of Post-Conflict

Environments, Graham Brown, Arnim Langer & Frances Stewart, September

2011,

http://soc.kuleuven.be/web/files/12/80/wp01.pdf

G. ''Peaceful protests would ultimately lead to armed rebellion'':

This is a country that began militarising the North in 1961 following the peaceful protests of

Tamils for their rights because the Prime Minister's Secretary thought that in twenty five

years time there would be armed struggle by the Tamils for their rights -

'Jaffna:

Exorcising The Past And Holding The Vision’

- Memoirs of a former (Sinhalese)

Government Agent(1963-1966), Neville Jayaweera.

H. Was the British Empire tricked into writing a constitution for Sri Lanka without the

protection for ethnic minorities that was was given to those of other Commonwealth

countries?

''In the light of later happenings I now think that the commission did not also recommend

the entrenchment in the constitution of guarantees of fundamental rights on the lines

enacted in the constitutions of India, Pakistan, Nigeria and

elsewhere.''

- Viscount Soulbury in his Foreword to the book,

Ceylon: A Divided Nation

B.H.Farmer(1963)

Sri Lanka - School textbooks, Ethno-religious conflict and Education for Peacebuilding -

attachment

At least since the 1950s school textbooks have been used to instigate hatred in the ethnic

majority Sinhalese against ''the other'', ie the ethno-religious minorities(evidence in

Appendix1 too)

J.Oppressive war memorials(three out of several are given here) were constructed in large

swathes of economically and ecologically important land without public consultation when

the area was out of bounds for the public and ICRC - attachments

K.:Sri Lanka: UK diplomats and parliamentarians visiting SFHQ-J for 10yrs have been lied

to - attachment

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Foreign Diplomats visiting SFHQ-J for 10yrs have been lied to - attachment

L. Inhuman treatment of war-ravaged people:

Sri Lanka orders cuts in aid work, 9

July 2009: ‘’The Sri Lankan government has told

international relief agencies to cut back their activities in the country. … But it(ICRC) says

an estimated 300,000 displaced people still need food, medicine and help to return home.’’

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8142550.stm

‘’James Elder, the head of communications for Unicef in Colombo, was called in by the

foreign ministry and told that his diplomatic status would be revoked.’’

- Sri Lanka orders

Unicef official to leave, 6 September

2009, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/06/sri-lanka-expels-unicef-official

''The funding

crisis follows the government’s refusal to endorse the 2010 Common

Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP)…. The UN and other humanitarian agencies are

running out of resources to meet the urgent needs of internally displaced persons

in the North.’’

- No funds to meet needs of nearly 200,000 Northern IDPs due to govt

refusal to endorse 2010 action plan, 15 March

2010,

http://www.infolanka.com/news/IL/1213.htm

M. The war is over, but the conflict remains unresolved: there is no hope on the horizon

that the ethnic conflict would be resolved without the insistence of a third party(ref

Northern Ireland):

In the elections of April 1956, May 1970 and July 1977 the Sinhala leaders came to power

with an overwhelming majority. End of War/LTTE in 2009 gave overwhelming support to

the President in 2010. None of the leaders gave justice to the Tamils and peace to the

country.

The government in 2015 was voted in for ‘’Good Governance’’:

i. ‘’Prof Frances Stewart

of Oxford University, writing on Horizontal Inequalities, based on

her study of several African and Asian states, affirms that the exclusion of some

communities from an equitable share of the benefits of prosperity, causing cultural,

economic and political

inequalities, has resulted in violent conflict.…..…. If the policies I

briefly enumerated above are successfully implemented within the next few years, together

with the full guarantee of rights to the minorities through the constitution, I believe that Sri

Lanka will progress as a democratic, pluralist society in which all communities of its

peoples could live in harmony, enjoying a durable peace.’’

- Reconciling Divided Societies,

Building Democracy, and Good Governance: Lessons from Sri Lanka, H. E. Mrs.

Chandrika Kumaratunga, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, 23

May 2017, http://www.biiss.org/web_2017/proceedings_23_may_2017.pdf

ii.H.E. Mrs

Chandrika Kumaratunga’s hopes are dashed to the ground:

''The Prime Minister became the Chairman of the Steering Committee that has met

over 80 times and has brought two comprehensive reports. He comes to the constitutional

assembly and says this is not

ours.’’-

Roads and buildings cannot substitute for power in

the

people’s

hands,

28 July 2019, M.A. Sumanthiran (Tamil National Alliance MP) addressing the

parliament, http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/07/28/opinion/roads-and-buildings-cannot-

substitute-power-people%E2%80%99s-hands

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

N. William Clarance(head of UNHCR in Sri Lanka from 1988 - 1991) in his book, Ethnic

Warfare in Sri Lanka and the UN Crisis(2007), gives a long list of 'storm signals post-

independence unheeded by the international community'.

There is a much greater need now for the following in Sri Lanka:

''there is an immediate need for the creation of an independent group which would have

the function of making clear and making widely known the present serious condition of the

Tamil people and their genuine demands. It is important that such a group should maintain

its independence from the Tamil groups who are presently shouldering this burden and

attempting to fulfil this function alone.”

Ethnic Violence, Development and Human Rights,

Netherlands Institute of Human Rights Consultation - Utrecht, 1-3 February

1985,

http://tamilnation.co/conflictresolution/tamileelam/85sim.htm

P. The following gives a glimpse of hope to the oppressed around the world in countries

like Sri Lanka:

''One of the pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the pledge to

‘leave

no one

behind’. This paper argues that we must recognise that many people

throughout the world are not just being left behind. They are being pushed even

further behind, and their levels of well-being are falling, often in ways from which it is

impossible to fully recover.'' - Push no one behind, UN Committee for Development Policy,

June 2018

Yours sincerely

P.Selvaratnam

Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka

14, Tamarind Yard

London E1W 2JT

Appendix

a. Successive governments have been failing to treat all ethno-national identities equally:

''... The socio-political forces who took the reins of power since independence failed to

integrate all the ethno-national identities in the country into the decision-making process.

All attempts taken earlier by the ruling parties to restructure the state were abandoned in

the implementation stage, even after the signing of agreements with Tamil parties, in the

face of political pressure from a small section of Sinhala Buddhist extremist in society.

..........'' - Human Security and Extremism in Sri Lanka: Synergy and Conflict - IV, Prof

Gamini Keerawella,

International Conference on Human Security Approaches to Counter

Extremism in South Asia 24-25 November 2009, BIISS, Dhaka,

Bangladesh,

http://www.island.lk/2009/12/21/features3.html . (The full title of the

Conference: International Conference on Human Security Approach to Counter Extremism

in South Asia: Relevance of Japanese Culture on 24-25 Nov 2009

- https://biiss.org/photogallery-list.php?gl=48 )

b.Conscientious Sinhalese told Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission:

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

i.''The lessons we have to learn go back to the past

–

certainly from the time that we had

responsibility for our own governance on 4 February 1948. Each and every Government

which held office from 1948 till the present bear culpability for the failure to achieve good

governance, national unity and a framework of peace, stability and economic development

in which all ethnic, religious and other groups could live in security and equality. Our

inability to manage our affairs has led to the taking of arms by a desperate group of our

citizens. We need to rectify this bad governance and the first and foremost task before us

is to undertake constitutional reform in order to ensure that we have adequate devolution

of power. We need to have State reform; we need to have rule of law established; we

need to ensure non discrimination amongst our citizens; we need to have devolution of

power and a tolerance of dissent and a strengthening of democratic institutions.''

- Jayantha Dhanapala, former UN Under-Secretary-General, told Lessons Learnt and

Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), 25 August 2010

ii...Mangala Moonesinghe(barrister, diplomat and politician) to LLRC, 17 August 2010:

‘’So

who started terrorism? It was we - and then the Tamil youth went into terrorism in

the North. So terrorism did not come on its own. We created them, Sir, we created

them.’’

(*barrister, diplomat and politician)

iii..Prof Priyan Dias to LLRC, 7 October 2010:''If we do not feel guilty about the Northern

military uprising we cannot go anywhere as a country in the future.''

iv..*Chandra Jayaratna, to LLRC, 23 September 2010:

‘’Years of inequitable allocation of

national resources and consequential disparities in regional economic development

infrastructure development and public service delivery has sown the seeds of discontent

and disillusionment leading to conflicts, insurrections of the South and the North and even

the armed struggle towards a

separate administration.’’

(*former Chairman of Ceylon

Chamber of Commerce), http://www.scribd.com/doc/104705097/Conscientious-Sinhalese-

Tell-LLRC

c. 'Even the end of war does not change the mindset of the ethnic majority:

'By redefining the conditions of the ethno-political conflict in a no-war context, the military

defeat of the LTTE has opened a new historical space to find a durable solution to the

ethno-political conflict. Simultaneously, it has created many constraints due to

'triumphalism' and the majoritarian mindset of the regime and its ethno-political clientele.'' -

Post-war Sri Lanka: Is Peace a Hostage of the Military Victory? Dilemmas of

Reconciliation, Ethnic Cohesion and Peace-Building, *Gamini Keerawella(Prof of History,

University of Peradeiya, June 2013, http://ices.lk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Gamini-

Keerawella-book.pdf (*Sinhalese Professor)

'''The case of the fishing industry in the Jaffna Peninsula suggests that the current

development strategy can reinforce and reproduce some existing social hierarchies, power

relations and suppressions among people in the war affected areas. The manner in which

post-war development is being framed by mainstream nationalism strengthens uneven

development among different ethnic communities that would lead to more tension amongst

inhabitants in the war affected areas.'' - Fishing in turbulent waters, 31 March 2012,

*Sumith Chaminda,

http://groundviews.org/2012/03/31/fishing-in-turbulent-waters/

(*Sinhalese)

d.Judiciary has been oppressing the ethnic minorities:

''Minorities have been

victimised throughout this country’s history. They have had nowhere

to turn, except perhaps towards the only institution that is tasked with checking power: the

URU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 28: Henvendelse fra Women for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka om undertrykkelse af etniske minoriteter i Sri Lanka

judiciary. Sri Lanka’s judiciary has been called upon time and again to vindicate minority

rights

in the face of overwhelming oppression by the other organs of government. ……...At

the heart of the post-independence mandate of the judiciary to protect the rights of all

communities was Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution. As detailed in the introduction of

this study, the fundamental thinking behind the protection of minority rights flowed from

this constitutional provision. However, the contents of this provision were consistently

undermined throughout the survival of that Constitution, and in 1972, were omitted

altogether from the new Republican Constitution. The gradual undermining of Section 29,

culminating in its ultimate omission, in many ways reflected the slow deterioration of

minority rights in Sri Lanka.'' - The Judicial Mind In Sri Lanka; Responding To The

Protection Of Minority Rights, Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Kishali Pinto-

Jayawardena and Gehan Gunatilleke(all three are Sinhalese lawyers), 4 February 2014,

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-judicial-mind-in-sri-lanka-responding-to-

the-protection-of-minority-rights/

e. Former President at UN General Assembly:

‘’I

dare say that countering threats from terrorist organizations would only deal with the

outward manifestation of the problem. In responding to the challenges to peace and

security, one must adopt a holistic view and look deep into their genesis and causes. Work

by scholars confirms that the principal cause of dissent and violent conflict is the existence

of social, economic and political inequalities and marginalization. Perceived injustice

engenders violent or terrorist responses from the victims of that injustice. It has been

demonstrated time and again, that inclusive and integrated societies give rise to sustained

peace and stability.’’ –

Former President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Kumaratunga, In a World

of Risks: Today’s Threats to International Peace and Security,

UN General Assembly:

High-Level Thematic Debate on UN, Peace and Security,

United Nations, New York, 10

May 2016,

http://www.presidentcbk.org/good-governance-speeches-10-06-16.php

f. Former President told LawAsia:

''...... The ethnic problem of Sri Lanka has led to political conflict, violence and terrorism.

Problems began to arise between the three major communities that had lived in harmony

and peace for many centuries, after de-colonisation in 1948. Similarly to other newly

independent nations, the majority community in Sri Lanka established itself within the

political power structures, claiming their rights in the economic, social and cultural spheres,

setting up laws, institutions and practices to guarantee their privileges to the exclusion of

the “other” that are the minorities. The ruling elite, comprised mainly of the majority

community, arrogated an unequal share of opportunities to itself, while excluding the

others.

……........

The war is over. We have won the war but we have not yet won

peace.

...........We need your wise counsel ……………….’’

- A Legal Framework for

National Reconciliation - The Way Forward, Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga

addressing 29th LawAsia Conference on 12 August 2016, https://www.g-l-

f.org/site/global_leadership_foundation/assets/pdf/kumaratunga_-

_a_legal_framework_for_national_reconciliation.pdf