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Evidence against
Dr Brian Senewiratne
HUB Forensics
30.3.2018
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BS on CT
MARCH 16, 201 8
AUTHOR: BRIAN SENEW IRATNE
52 COMMENTS
Sri Lanka: The Human Rights Crisis In The Tamil North & East – An Appeal
For International Intervention
I am a Sinhalese from the majority community in Sri Lanka. I have campaigned for
the past 70 years for the Tamil people to live with equality, dignity, safety and
without discrimination. I cannot think of any time in the past seven decades that the
outlook for the Tamil people has been more disastrous than it is today.
Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) politicians are simply incapable of addressing the major
human rights problems faced by the Tamil people. They do not have the ability,
integrity or honesty to see that what has been done to the Tamil people in the North
and East is unacceptable.
This publication is being written for circulation at the 37th Sessions of the Human
Rights Council in Geneva (27 February – 23 March 2018) so that those who attend
the Sessions will be apprised of the major abuse of human rights in the Tamil North
and East, and the absolute need for international intervention.
Tamil Eelam
This leads me to the de facto Tamil State run by the LTTE for a decade. I
have not been to this place but I know someone who has and has written
extensively on his experience. Professor Kristian Stokke, Professor of
Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Norway, who spent
some time in the area wrote an outstanding account “Building the Tamil
Eelam State – Emerging State Institutions and Forms of Governance in
LTTE controlled areas of Sri Lanka”. It is on the net and also in the 3rd
World Quarterly 2006.
The most striking feature was a well-organised legal system and an
excellent police service, as a result of which serious criminal activity was
rare and rape virtually unknown.
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The judicial system included several District Courts, two High Courts, a
Court of Appeal and an apex Supreme Court. Particular care was taken to
ensure that the Courts were just.
Despite their relative youth, the ‘Judges’ were perceived by the public as
professional. The entire Judicial system carried substantial legitimacy
and public confidence.
Penalties were generally more severe than those imposed by the Sri
Lankan government Courts which also functioned in the same area.
Despite this, the people had so much confidence in the efficiency and
fairness of the de facto Courts that they opted to take their legal
problems to these rather than those run by the Government.
I spoke with a former Supreme Court judge who had visited the de facto
State and he said that he was most impressed by what he saw. Although
the ‘judges’ were young, he said that they knew the law and applied it
without fear or favour – which is more than what he could say for the
legal system in the South.
The Police (Tamil Eelam Police) was the other key institution for
maintaining law and order. Police stations were established throughout
the LTTE-controlled areas, and assigned duties to prevent crime,
regulate traffic and disseminate information about crime prevention.
The community involvement with the Police was a key feature
responsible for the low crime rate in the de facto State.
There is not the slightest doubt that where law and order and serious
offences are concerned, the civilian population in the North and East are
far worse off now, after the area was overrun and handed over to the
thoroughly corrupt and undisciplined Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) Armed
Forces and Police, and the highly dubious judicial system.
The most impressive thing the Tamil Tigers did was to show that an
outstanding State, the de facto State of Tamil Eelam, could be run –
something that has never happened in the rest of the country under
Sinhalese politicians.
I like the way he never criticizes the LTTE, he is silent on their crimes. No wonder he
is ignored by all except the Tamil diaspora.
24
What question?
11
I wonder when Dr. Brian Senevirtne visited Jaffna last. I did only a
couple months ago. I am not going to comment on what he says about
constitutional and political issues. I have known Dr.Seneviratne as a
medical student and I recall his colourful and larger than life personality.
To him, everything he said was the absolute truth and other people’s
opinions were rubbish. This article he has written reflects his old
personality that I knew. He makes claims that have not been verified and
bends the truth to suit his needs. True that alcohol and drugs have
become a problem in the North. It is not because Navy brings it down
but because there are so many unemployed youths who have money in
their hands. It is true that there is a crying need for psychological
services. It is not because state neglects them but because of myriad of
reasons such as shortage Tamil speaking psychiatrists and reluctance of
affected people to seek in help. The few psychiatrists who are there, are
overworked but they are doing a wonderful service in the North. I have
no intention of comment on his claims that armed services have acquired
lands and commercial operations.
What I wish to ask Colombo Telegraph is why would you give such
coverage to a person who is known to have extremely biased views on
nationally important matters?
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The best solution to the “drugs problem” would be for Sri Lanka to follow
the lead of Uruguay and California (and other US states) and legalise
Cannabis. It could be a valuable cash crop for Sri Lanka.
He is not from the “majority community in Sri Lanka”. He has lived in Australia,
of which nation he is a citizen, since 1976, when in his own words he “quit Sri
Lanka”. He has always been an outsider in Singhalese society and the
Singhalese community, because he has never spoken the language fluently.
Language is an important determinant of what can reasonably be called the
“Singhalese community”. It means he cannot understand their books and
media, and cannot communicate with them in their own language.
His claim that he has been “campaigning for the past 70 years for the Tamil
people to live with equality, dignity, safety and without discrimination” is a
blatant, self-serving lie. This is evidenced most starkly in his treatment of his
Tamil wife (my mother) who he has described publicly as a his “personal slave”.
She is also the butt of his public jokes about “sleeping Tamils” and private
jokes about “Colombo 7 Tamils”. He has also said, and this is true, that she has
been a moderating influence on his views, but rather than welcoming this, he
continued that “were it not for my Tamil wife I would have been much
stronger”. To an audience of several thousand Tamil Tiger supporters in
Canada, in 2008, my father shouted that he was married to a Tamil and had
been married to this Tamil for 51 years, for which he was applauded. He then
continued to say:
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I urge you to act. To free the Tamil people to live with dignity, and safety in their
area of historical habitation – the North and East. I urge you to act; to act to save
the Tamil people from the Genocide, started in July 1983, and now progressing at an
alarming rate. Like the Welikada prison massacre, it is ¾ done. Act now. Tomorrow
may be too late for the Tamils in the North and East of the ‘Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka’, as it likes to call itself.
The Human Rights Crisis In The Tamil North & East: An Appeal For
International Intervention – Part IV
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By Brian Senewiratne –
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China has a stranglehold on Sri Lanka. 4 years ago Sri Lanka built
Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota
(Rajapaksa’s home area) with Chinese assistance of $190 million. Today
MRIA is running at a huge loss and Sri Lanka is unable to pay back dues
to China’s EXIM bank.
China will lend money to countries at high interest rates which the
recipient country is unable to repay. This leads to China getting a
permanent footprint in the country.
Not far from the loss-making airport is the sea port of Hambantota also
built by China. China has recently got a 99-year lease for running the
Hambantota port.
For the Hambantota port project, Sri Lanka borrowed US $ 300 million
from China at interest rates of 6.3%. Interest rates for loans from India
to neighbouring countries is as low as 1%, and even lower.
Sri Lanka is currently unable to pay its debt to China because of its slow
economic growth. To resolve its debt crisis, the Sri Lankan government
has agreed to convert the debt into equity. This will probably lead to
Chinese ownership of the project finally.
Clearly this is applicable to the North and East of Sri Lanka where the
Tamil people are in need of protection.
Sirisena is the weakest and most insecure President that Sri Lanka has
ever had. Ranil Wickremasinghe, head of the UNP and Prime Minister, is
in effect the de facto President, Sirisena ( a breakaway from the SLFP)
being the elected President.
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One way or the other, at the next Presidential election I will be most
surprised if Sirisena is re-elected. Into the vacant shoes will step in the
Rajapaksas who are waiting in the wings. Sri Lanka could end up with
Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President and Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime
Minister. That will be the end of Sri Lanka in general, the Tamils in
particular. I will get back to this dreadful possibility later.
They are now getting even more violent. The Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist
Power Force) led by a very violent man in yellow robes who should have
been arrested for threatening the Police and even Ministers in the
Government, remains at large.
Presidential elections are not due till January 2020. If they are held now,
it is very likely thet President Sirisena will be defeated and the
Rajapaksas will be back in power. Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot contest the
Presidency because he has already held the maximum number of terms.
However, his brother, Gotabaya, a US citizen, can contest provided he
renounces his American citizenship.
Much of the current chaos has been set out in the publication already
referred to by the International Crisis Group (Brussels) titled “Sri
Lanka’s Transition to Nowhere”. For the current publication what is
important are the “Recommendations”
Restore civilian authority and build confidence in the north and east by:-
1. expediting and making more transparent the return of military occupied land
to its owners;
2. ending military involvement in farms and shops that harm local businesses;
3. ending military involvement of Buddha statues in Tamil and Muslim areas; and
4. ceasing intimidation and surveillance of lawful political activities.
5.
This very important paper was published on 30/01/17 and updated on
16/05/17 – well before the recent (March 2018) provincial council
elections in which Sirisena’s party was routed by the new party formed
by the previous President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
A follow-up publication by ICG will be worth reading.
International pressure
The need for international pressure on the Sri Lankan government has
been mentioned several times in this publication.
Something will have to be done to save Sri Lanka, in general, the Tamils
in particular. Here I will only deal with the latter.
In Sri Lanka
They were protesting against the military occupation of the North and
East and the chauvinistic policies of the Sri Lankan government
including Sinhalisation of the Tamil areas. A long list of problems faced
by the Tamil people was displayed. I wrote a piece about this which is on
the net (Colombo Telegraph, 4 October 2016).
With more than 1 million Tamils living in all the important countries in
the world, these expatriate Tamils are the strongest force that those in
the Sri Lankan North and East have got. Unfortunately, this massive
force is divided for petty reasons or, more recently, have become
apathetic and have not appreciated the gravity of the situation facing the
Tamil people. Here is what they can do:
1. Get the message to the world of what is going on in the North and East –
especially the fact that the area is a military/police state.
2. People cannot exist if their lands are taken over and their occupation,
agriculture and fishing, are prevented.
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3. The Tamil people in this area do not live, they merely exist. Even that is
becoming increasingly difficult.
4. Jaffna is awash with drugs and alcohol brought by the Sri Lankan Navy from
India. Those who disbelieve this must go to Jaffna and talk to the people. To go
there and live in a 5-star hotel or with family and then say that all is well is
adding to the problem, in addition to being untrue.
5. Torture is taking place in at least 40 sites – mainly Police stations and Army
Camps. The Joseph camp in the middle of Vavuniya and the CID 4th Floor in
Colombo must be visited even if they are told that they are not a ‘tourist
attraction.’
6. Do what was done to Apartheid South Africa – isolate Sri Lanka.
7. Say ‘No’ to Sri Lanka is worth supporting.
8. Goods and services in and out of Sri Lanka, especially tourism, must stop.
There are many places with golden beaches and sea such as Bali in Indonesia
and Phuket in Thailand where the beaches are not blood stained.
9. This publication and the dozen dvds I have recorded on the Tamil struggle must
be distributed.
10.The fact that unless the international community, especially the aid-donors act,
the Tamils will cease to exist as a people. That is genocide.
11.The best way to find out what is going on in Sri Lanka is by going there. Get
your MP and others in positions of power to go there and see what is going
on.
12.Time is crucial. You must act now. Tomorrow may be too late for the Tamils.
13.If you cannot go to Sri Lanka, let ‘Sri Lanka’ (asylum seekers) come to you.
Listen to what they tell you. They know full well the ground situation in the
Tamil areas.
14.Check the outstanding publications of Yasmin Sooka – ITJP.
15.Read what international human rights organisations such as AI, HRW and ICG
publish.
16.More important than all of these, get involved. The future of an entire nation –
the Tamil Nation of Sri Lanka – is at stake.
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Latest Comments
Ad / March 22, 2018
16
“Sirisena is the weakest and most insecure President that Sri Lanka has ever had.” Obviously the clumsiest.
People should be educated to elect a new person to be next president who should wipe out corruption
completely. Non from the existing rotting consignment.
REPLY
Spring Koha / March 22, 2018
The show goes on, our Brian is attempting our own War and Peace.
Still, as long Sri Lanka keeps on giving him ammunition, he will write.
If nothing else, what he writes should remind us how not to the next time around.
REPLY
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / March 22, 2018
42
Brian, you have written, as a suggestion for what the expatriate Tamils
can do: “This publication and the dozen dvds I have recorded on the
Tamil struggle must be distributed.”
I don’t like being the one to tell you this, but the “dozen DVDs” you have
made are clumsy home-made propaganda that has been freely available
on YouTube for many years. They are inaccurate regarding the facts you
have provided and you expect your audience to accept your wild claims
without evidence, on the basis of your uninformed assertions. Your most
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o
Anpu / March 22, 2018
18
11
o
Burning Issue / March 22, 2018
31
Romesh,
“You need to come to terms with the fact that your side lost the war, and
accept this with good grace and dignity.”
The war is lost and it should not have started in the first place! Both
“grace and dignity” should be espoused by both parties. Brian will not be
penning such articles, if the victors showed magnanimity will he?
“This is despite your making the videos as gory as possible to try and
shock your audiences.”
Brian does not need to make the videos “as gory as possible” because the
events were gory as they came. If you dispute, please show us in deeds
that Brian is wrong.
We Tamils know that we messed up but you on the other hand is in
denial that the Sinhala are incapable of governing justly; the likes of you
ever prepared to find excuses and show is going on.
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What excuse have you for the Sinhala Buddhists to attack the Muslims?
REPLY
Jim softy / March 23, 2018
11
BURNING ISSUE: WE TAMILS KNOW WE MESHED UP. A fight between 15 million sinhala people some
of hwom were for the Fake struggle. !00 million Tamils including those 65 million in Tamilnadu could
Orumiththa nadu. How is Sinhala Janapada Kalyani from Katubedda area, Are you going to marry her or
do you love her ? diooes she kno that you are Tribalist..I heard you do not lie VELONA instead you buy
cloths from Tamilnadu imports. How do you feel about muslims girls ? did you find a place to move in for
both. Any jungle parties, you were drunk and talking, remember.
REPLY
Eagle Eye / March 23, 2018
14
Burning Issue,
At Aluthgama and Kandy Muslims attacked Sinhala Buddhists first. Some people who have followed what
happened at Aluthgama and Kandy say they have video evidences to prove that Muslims attacked first.
Then there was a backlash. International media blame Sinhala Buddhists as the culprits. Who was really
behind these incidences? Tamil Diaspora; Norway; Evangelical Church; See Eye A; Hindia??? Ampara and
Kandy incidences were well planned to coincide with UNHRC meeting to discredit Sri Lanka.
REPLY
Burning Issue / March 23, 2018
REPLY
Native Vedda / March 23, 2018
Burning Issue
–
“Jim and Eagle, Sorry I do not debate with idiots!”
–
But I do.
REPLY
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / March 24, 2018
Hi BI.
This is called “The New Killing Fields of Asia” (2007) by Brian
Senewiratne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohU9UKXHexM&t=1s
It has had 64 views in 2 years, since it was uploaded to YouTube, with 3
dislikes and no likes.
The effort to link his ‘documentary’ with the successful movie about the
1970s Cambodian genocide by Pol Pot’s regime is obvious, and was later
repeated by the British Channel 4. It begins with a summary of the races
in Sri Lanka and their arrival to the country, but fails to mention
Veddhas (or the evidence of early man in Sri Lanka from Balangoda
30,000 years ago). The inaccuracies are too many to explain in a
comment on CT, but even you should be able to notice how little he says
about the crimes of the LTTE.
His later videos include atrocity photos that were taken from TamilNet,
and were also used by Vaiko and Bruce Fein in their video presentations.
These came from the LTTE propaganda department, and include some
killings that were probably done by the LTTE rather than the SL Armed
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o
Taraki / March 22, 2018
25
Well said Dr Romesh. It is hard for you to write this about your own, but
you have done so. Well done.
REPLY
o
Jim softy / March 23, 2018
12
Exactly, LTTE rump is still mourning their loss. So, they wrtie funny articles which make us Believe this
Tamil Doctor is losing his analytical ability.
REPLY
o
Susan Somalingam / March 23, 2018
18
Romesh,
You need to specify exactly which items in Brian’s DVDs are inaccurate. In my view,
you are making a false statement about the accuracy of these DVDs.
Brian has written the foreword to the book, which documents in great details the
human rights violations committed until around 1988, by the Indian army, SL
military, LTTE and other Tamil armed groups. Also, he condemned the LTTE’s
murder of one of the authors, Dr. Rajini Thiranagama.
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Brian did not make the DVDs as gory as possible! It is the murders, HR violations
and other incidents committed by the SL military which are gory!
Why do you pretend that you have not read human rights reports on Sri Lanka,
written, by HRW, ICG, AI and different UN orgs? According to these international
organizations, the GOSL and SL military committed much more murders and human
rights violations, than the LTTE.
REPLY
Susan Somalingam / March 23, 2018
15
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / March 24, 2018
Susan,
In the foreword to Broken Palmyrah, Brian Senewiratne says “we may
never know who killed Rajini Thirinagama” when he knew full well that
it was the LTTE. I personally attended a meeting in Brisbane in 1990,
shortly after her killing, where he tried to blame the Sri Lankan
government for the murder.
The inaccuracies in his DVDs are obvious to an unbiased viewer. They
are too many to explain in a single CT comment, and I won’t try. HRW,
ICG and AI have demonstrated their bias against several countries,
including Sri Lanka. I don’t read their reports any more.
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REPLY
o
Kumaraya / March 23, 2018
Now Sri Lanka’s agenda is exposed in the UN; The delaying tactics, impunity, Monks brutality etc. View the
links for more information
MOUNTING JUSTIFICATION FOR TAMILS TO RESORT TO SELF-DETERMINATION AND
RFERENDUM
https://www.academia.edu/35415017/MOUNTING_JUSTIFICATION_FOR_TAMILS_TO_RESORT_TO
_SELF-DETERMINATION_AND_RFERENDUM
https://www.academia.edu/34151481/SRI_LANKAS_CREDIBILITY_AND_UNS_RESPONSIBILITIES
https://www.academia.edu/34202740/SRI_LANKAS_GENOCIDE_OF_TAMILS
https://www.academia.edu/28419263/chemical_weapons_used_to_wipe_out_the_Tamils_in_Sri_Lanka
https://www.academia.edu/34826116/Frequent_visits_by_UN_special_Rapporteurs_and_Sri_Lankas_d
efiance_in_implementing_their_recommendations
REPLY
o
Native Vedda / March 23, 2018
11
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam
–
When did your dad release you from captivity?
Hope you are alright now.
Why don’t you take your family quarrel/dispute to your dinning table?
REPLY
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / March 24, 2018
NV
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o
Native Vedda / March 23, 2018
12
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam
–
Please do take Taraki with you when you meet your dad in order to arbitrate between
you and your dad.
–
Are you saying there has been zero Civilian causality in Sri lanka from 5th April 1971
and Jan 2015.
REPLY
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / March 24, 2018
Native Veddha
1. You can arbitrate yourself, if you want.
2. I don’t say silly things, but there is a difference between civilian
casualties and deliberately targeting civilians. The LTTE deliberately
targeted civilians on numerous occasions (including Tamil civilians). I
am not convinced that the Sri Lankan armed forces did. But there were
many civilians killed. I don’t know how many, and neither do you.
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REPLY
Jim softy / March 22, 2018
14
Brian Senevirathna: did Mahinda Rajapakse, when you met him, says that JEsudasan has written many
sinhala – nationalist songs ?
REPLY
o
Tamil from the north / March 23, 2018
13
Jimba Shitty, this is not a place for a simpleton like you. This is a place where people with intelligence
gather to write comments. Please find some nationalist garbage newspaper for you to write something. Bye
bye!!!!!!!!!!!!
REPLY
Jim softy / March 22, 2018
10
I heard, you met him in Jayakodi junction a man who is selling mustard oil, remember. he gve you some
news.
REPLY
Eagle Eye / March 22, 2018
8
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21
Of course there is a human rights crisis in the North and East. Yapanaya Wellala Demalu discriminate
against Yapanaya Daliths. Yapanaya Wellala Demalu discriminate against Tirikunamale Demalu. Yapanaya
Wellala Demalu and Tirikunamale Demalu discriminate against Madakalapuwa Demalu. Yapanaya Wellala
Demalu, Tirikunamale Demalu and Madakalapuwa Demalu discriminate against Wathu Demalu.
International community please do something about this.
REPLY
Jim softy / March 23, 2018
I heard Tamils live in the South are changing their names. Ambala Vaanar and thiruvanakarsu are two
difficult names to translate. but the govt does not have a policy to issue birth certificates in converted
sinhala names and had asked, instead , to take a sinhala name
REPLY
Jim softy / March 23, 2018
Brian Senaratahne: I heard Jesus is born in Sri lanka and he is still eating milk rice as rolled balls. That is
his Samsaric habit I heard. He likes to chase behind goats and the child (A female) is very beautiful just like
a porcelain statue. I heard you were told by Chintamani to meet at Isipathanaramaya in Magadha desha,
Hidia.
REPLY
Hela / March 23, 2018
18
Brian’s articles very well explains why there’s a need for majority Sinhala people to
have their organisations to protect themselves. The articles demonstrates how
external forces such as ICG interfere in Sri Lanka and determine the personalities
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who should govern the country! No amount of Sinhala bashing in websites like CT
can take away the threat Sinhalese and Sri Lanka face. This amply justifies Sinhalese
actions to defend the nation & the country.
REPLY
o
Native Vedda / March 23, 2018
11
Hela
–
“Brian’s articles very well explains why there’s a need for majority Sinhala people to have their
organisations to protect themselves.”
–
True Sinhala and Buddhist people need to protect themselves from Sinhala/Buddhist fascists, in other
words they need protection from you, somass, jimmy, sach, Shenali Waduge, Dayan, Gota, Wimal,
Basil, …………………….
REPLY
Percy / March 24, 2018
Romesh Seneviratne
Unfortunately you have an arsehole of a father, a man who has betrayed his
birthright, and is an unmitigated traitor. We can see the falsehoods, the fabrications,
and the blatant manouverings of your despicable father for whom an unimaginable
end is in store. What is his life worth? I was told that the local council is now trying
to evict him from his house for not paying his rates and that Tamil Sangam is
collecting funds to bail him out. A special place in hell should be reserved for him.
REPLY
o
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam / March 24, 2018
1
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Percy, you are misinformed. The Brisbane City Council is not trying to
evict my father. They previously charged him (many years ago) with
damage to protected vegetation, for which he sought support from the
expatriate Tamils. This issue is now resolved (my parents paid a fine)
and they have since sold most of the rest of their land on which over 15
new houses are being built,. He has plenty of money to pay his rates.
REPLY
Hela / March 24, 2018
BS on ABC
An 81-year-old Australian doctor says he was locked in a small cell without food,
water or toilet access for more than five hours, before being deported back to
Australia from Singapore on Saturday.
Australian Tamil rights advocate decries deportation from Singapore (Credit: ABC)
Dr Brian Senewiratne is a Sri Lankan-born Australian who has been a long-time critic of the Sri Lankan
Government over its treatment of Tamils.
He was on his way to Malaysia and Indonesia to speak at forums on the Tamil refugee issue, when his
deportation took place.
SENEWIRATNE: There's one thing I might add to your introduction which I heard. I am actually a
Singhalese from the Majority community. I am not a member of the Tamil community and my cousin was
the previous president of Sri Lanka. So I've got nothing to gain personally from getting involved in all this
except the good name of Australia, because its handling of the asylum seeker problem is a violation of the
UN Refugee Convention, the UN Rights of the Child and Human Rights Convention. [he did have
something to gain – he was given trips around the world, money, applause and praise, and he wanted to be
made the first professor of medicine in the new country (Tamil Eelam) if the Tamil Tigers won the war]
COCHRANE: OK.
COCHRANE: That is helpful to give us the context of where you're coming from and how you fit into the
political and ethnic background of this obviously highly charged issue. So tell us from what...
SENEWIRATNE: And I have been campaigning from 1948, when as a 16 year-old boy I protested at the
disenfranchisement of the plantation Tamils of Indian origin.
COCHRANE: Well, we might come up to recent times and talk about why you were heading to Malaysia in
the first place. What was the point of your trip?
SENEWIRATNE: The point of the trip was that I was invited to come to Malaysia by concerned Malaysians
who said, look, Malaysia is part of this refugee problem and to either allow them to sink in the ocean or to
lock them up in Malaysian so-called detention centres or whatever is unacceptable. Will you please come
and give us a run down of the situation regarding the push factors in Sri Lanka as well as the plight of the
refugees and I said yes, beside of the fact that I'm 81 and in heart failure. I will come.
COCHRANE: Were you planning on engaging in any protests or any potentially illegal activities?
SENEWIRATNE: No, I had two closed doors invited meetings of senior Malaysian human rights and
leading members of society. They were closed meetings. They were not advertised and there were two
meetings, one in Jahore, which is just adjoining Singapore and in Kuala Lumpur. They were not open
meetings. I was not there with a megaphone on the streets urging revolts or anything like that.
COCHRANE: OK. So those were your plans. You've left Australia, you've arrived in Singapore. What
happened to you in Singapore?
SENEWIRATNE: Right. I left Australia at 11.45 on Thursday 13th. December, arrived at Singapore Changi
Airport at 5 am. I filled up the immigration form that they give you. I took my passport and went to the
immigration, customs counter. The guy typed in my details and then looked at me and looked at the screen
and raised his eyebrows and this raising of the eyebrows went on three times and I realised that there
seemed to be some problem. And he said, a momento, I'll just get my boss. The boss came and led me to
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a room, maybe ten foot by ten foot, maybe a little bigger, with a couple of seats and I was asked to sit there
and there was no toilet, no food, no drink, no nothing. And I sat there 8.30, (word indistinct) 5.30, 6, 6.30, 7,
and in the meantime there were Tamil boys or boys coming in and out talking in Tamil which is the
language I don't understand, but nothing happened to me.
COCHRANE: Did you at any point request further facilities from the airport staff?
SENEWIRATNE: No, I didn't request security from anybody, because there was nothing to secure.
COCHRANE: Not security, any facilities. Did you ask for a drink, water, a toilet break?
SENEWIRATNE: Oh, well I said, look, I've not had food from 4 o'clock this morning. They said well, that's
tough luck.
COCHRANE: And what did they say. Why did they say they were keeping you detained in the airport?
SENEWIRATNE: The deportation order came, was handed to me later and if you want me to read it out
right now I can.
COCHRANE: Can you give us the overall gist of it. What's the main thrust of it?
SENEWIRATNE: It's one sentence. This is to inform you that you are being refused entry into Singapore for
1, 2, 3, 4. The fourth reason is tick, being ineligible for the issue of a pass under immigration policies. That
was handed to me by the armed guard with a revolver in his pocket who took me to the aeroplane.
COCHRANE: That's a fairly vague reason for denying you access and deporting you. Do you have any,
were you given any further ideas perhaps verbally about why you were being detained?
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SENEWIRATNE: Why I asked, what are these, what exactly do you mean by immigration policies? The
police officer with a gun said, well, I'm only a police officer. I said, well, ask the boss who sent you there to
explain to me what these immigration policies are? He said, look, you are going to the plane, right. So now
you come with me and that was it. And I said, what about my passport? He said, no, you're not going to get
your passport. I said can I go to Indonesia where I had a hotel booked. They said no, you're not going
anywhere. You're going straight back to this place and they opened the door of the plane, took me to the
last, one but the last row, told me to strap myself in and he said goodbye and left, that's it.
COCHRANE: Now, have you been in contact. Well first of all, let me ask you, have you been prevented
from travelling before, especially to Malaysia?
On the way back, I was asked by Malaysia, can you please come to Malaysia. There are about 20,000
people here waiting to hear you and deliver the same address. I said, yep, if you've got police permission
and it's all above board. He said it's a dinner party for a start. [a rather big ‘dinner party’ if he expected
20,000 people – elsewhere he has said 5000 people where waiting to hear him in Malaysia] Can you come?
I said yep, of course I can. So I flew into Kuala Lumpur, I got exactly the same treatment. I was kept in a
room without food or drink or water or anything like that and then walked before a lady with a veil on her
head who said I am deporting you. I said on what grounds. She said because your presence in Malaysia is
a threat to Malaysian security. I said Madam, if an unarmed doctor on medicine, I was 78 at that time. If a
doctor of medicine who had never carried a weapon in his life [not true, he was a shooter] and never had
advocated violence [he supported the Tamil Tigers and called them freedom fighters rather than terrorists]
is a threat to Malaysian security, then your security can't be crash hot. He said I don't care what you think
of Malaysia, but you are being deported right now.
COCHRANE: OK. So let's return to the incident that happened on Saturday, your most recent detention in
Singapore. You've explained to us the official reasons that you were given fairly vague reasons relating to
immigration policy. Why do you believe you were detained and deported?
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SENEWIRATNE: I believe that the government of Sri Lanka is in cahoots with Malaysia certainly, possibly
Indonesia, certainly Australia, because I was harassed even on the arrival in Brisbane where I've been a
resident for 37 years and an Associate Professor of Medicine. I couldn't even get back to this country,
back ...
SENEWIRATNE: At Brisbane airport, I was searched and detained for at the immigration people who went
through every single stitch of luggage that I was carrying for nearly three hours and then the immigration
officer who had been a patient of mine, I think, because he came to me and said Doctor, don't hold it
against us. We are not responsible. I said look, I know that, but I want to know who is responsible?
COCHRANE: Have you been able to get in contact with the Australian authorities since returning?
COCHRANE: Yes.
SENEWIRATNE: No, I haven't, because the Foreign Minister of Australia is currently distributing your
money and mine in Rajapaksa's regime 35 million dollars and he's actually in Colombo. I'm sending a letter
to the Department of Foreign Affairs right now and I'm carrying a letter, a copy of a letter, in another hour's
time to my member of Federal member of Parliament one, Kevin Rudd and asking him what he is going to
do about it.
COCHRANE: Who is, of course, Australia's former prime minister. What do you hope that Kevin Rudd will
do?
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SENEWIRATNE: I don't care what he does, but I am a member of his. I have voted for him. He has known
me for 20 years. He called me Brian introduces me to other people as a worker, both in health as well as in
human rights and he knows me very well. And I'm going to say, Kevin, you have to put your money where
your mouth is and tell me exactly what you're going to do about it. I'm sending a copy to Sarah Hanson-
Young and to Senator Lee Rhiannon and former senator Bob Brown to table this in parliament and I'm
going to send a copy to Bishop Desmond Tutu whom I have met a couple of years ago and whose very
well, who very well realises the situation and I'm asking him whether he can contact Justice Navanethem
Pillay in the UN Human Rights Council to table it.
NOTE: An Australian Foreign Affairs Department spokesperson says "We are aware of media
reports that an Australian man was deported from Singapore. The man did not approach Australian
consular officials for assistance before he was deported."
What he didn’t say – the truth about his meetings in Canada and Malaysia and
who organized them, or his role as a ‘senator’ of the ‘Transnational
Government of Tamil Eelam’ (TGTE).
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By Brian Senewiratne
18 March, 2012
Countercurrents.org
The Channel 4 News videos on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka are about the
most important contributions to apprise the world of what has gone on, and
is still going on, behind the closed and censored doors of Sri Lanka.
There are now two documentaries, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields released in
June 2011, and Sri Lanka 's killing Fields. War Crimes
Unpunished released in March 2012. They contain crucial evidence of war
crimes and crimes against humanity, if not Genocide of the Tamils.
The world needs to see these, since all that comes out of Sri Lanka is what
the Sri Lankan Government wants the world to believe. That is what a
Totalitarian does – to shut down the Media, among other repressive
measures. It is therefore essential that these dreadful atrocities be seen by
as many people as possible.
The dozen dvds I have recorded on the plight of the Tamil people has
essential information on this. I do not expect people to wade through this
mass of information, but the last of these, “ Sri Lanka , Genocide, Crimes
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyiqtp4WVO4&index=13&list=PLEj8
di1CMqDv65cS8e6dnBMIduTSC9ME-&t=429s
For those who want more information, this will be found in my “ Sri Lanka .
Humanitarian Crisis in the Tamil areas. An Appeal to stop the slaughter
and ensure Peace with Justice” which is in two volumes, an hour each.
These are too long for the ‘average' viewer.
What I have done in Brisbane , Australia , when these Channel 4 dvds are
shown, is to start the meeting with a powerpoint presentation based on
information in my shorter dvd. This takes about 15-20 minutes. It provides
the basic information – the ethnoreligous and language set up, Sinhala
populist politics to get elected to power by discriminating against the
Tamils to get the votes of the Sinhala-Buddhist population (70% of the
population), peaceful protests by the Tamils for years at this discrimination,
and when they failed, a resort to an armed conflict, essentially a liberation
struggle to free the Tamil people from Sinhala domination. These
systematic and recurring pogroms against the Tamils and the ‘need' to wipe
out the Tamils, by committing Genocide of the Tamils if necessary, was
‘necessary' to make multiethnic, multilingual, multirelgious Sri Lanka, into
a Sinhala-Buddhist nation.
It is in this setting and with this agenda, that President Rajapaksa launched
his murderous assault, the closing stages of which are seen in the Channel 4
videos. My dvds are not as heinous as the Channel 4 videos, but cover a
much wider time-frame, and show that Rajapaksa only completed what a
succession of Sinhalese leaders, at least since 1956, have wanted to do but
were not barbaric enough attempt. The Rajapaksas had no such problems.
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If it was ‘necessary' to murder the entire Tamil population in the North and
East and/or make them ‘non-people', they were more than happy to do so.
All they needed was an Army commander with the same mind-set, and in
General Sarath Fonseka, they found the man and his interview with a
Canadian newspaper a couple of years ago.
I then go on to show the weapons that the GoSL unleashed on the Tamil
people and the human and structural damage done. “Now that you know
the background and the agenda of the Sri Lankan government, I will now
show you the end stages of this massacre of Tamils in the Channel 4 video
- Sri Lanka's Killing Fields - obtained from Sinhalese soldiers who
recorded these on their mobile phones as grisly ‘war trophies' I now have
the Channel 4 video screened.
I then return to the podium and ask whether there are any points which the
audience wants clarified. If so, I do.
I then throw the ball into their court, “ Now that you have seen what has
gone on and is still going on behind the closed and censored door of Sri
Lanka , what are you going to do about it? If it is simply to express horror
and go home, then the whole point of seeing these videos is lost. It is not
just a blood bath, it is more, much more. It is Genocide being committed
with international observers excluded from the area – Genocide without
witnesses, are you going to let that go uninvestigated and unpunished? ”.
To counter any ‘patriotic Sinhalese', and those who support the murderous
Rajapaksa regime and claim that the Tamil Tigers have been crushed
and “terrorism has been wiped out” , I ask the obvious question, “If that is
so, and there are happy smiling Tamil people in the Tamil North and East,
why is Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis
Group and International Media still not allowed to enter the area and
speak with these happy people?”
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I point out that these are questions that must be raised with “your
parliamentarians” asking them what they intend to do about it. If they
intend to do nothing, then they will have to be prepared to admit thousands
of asylum seekers and refugees, fleeing a barbaric regime in Sri Lanka .
As for the size of the audience, I do not think it matters. I have addressed
and shown these videos to 10 or 300. The presentation is what matters, not
the number of recipients.
I have been to meetings organized by others where just the Channel 4 video
has been shown. After the meeting, non-Sri Lankans have come up to me
and asked, “ Are not the Tamils the terrorists?” I tell them that Tamils are
citizens of the country who have been in the country probably (on
archeological evidence) for many centuries before the Sinhalese ever got
there. I tell them that if after what they have seen they ask such questions,
it is clear that they have no idea of what has gone on (and is still going on),
in Sri Lanka. Since this is clearly the case from the question asked, they
should organize another meeting where I will set out the basic facts about
Sri Lanka and the complex ethnic problem in that country, which the Sri
Lankan government is happy to dismiss as ‘ nothing but Tamil terrorism '.
At most of the meetings I organize, I have a copy of the Channel 4 dvd (and
now both dvds), and my dvd on ‘ Sri Lanka : Genocide, Crimes against
Humanity, Violation of International Law' . These are handed around free,
with a request that instead of payment, I would appreciate it if it can be
passed on to others, who can contact me if they want me to organize a
meeting for them. This is obviously in Australia only. For other countries,
someone else (one or, hopefully, many) will have to do this.
I will be more than happy to send the dvds and even the powerpoint
presentation I have referred to – at no cost. All I need is a postal address.
Sinhalese, know what their Government has done (and is still doing) in
their name.
I do not believe that the majority of Sinhalese are barbarians despite their
‘celebration' of Rajapaksa's 'victory'. I do believe that many, indeed most, of
them will be horrified if they see what their Government has done to the
Tamil civilians in the North and East. It must be remembered that in 1983
when the J.R.Jayawardene government organized and conducted the 1983
Tamil pogrom in Colombo and the South, it was my people, the Sinhalese,
who risked life and limb to save hundreds, if not thousands, of Tamils. Had
they not done so, far more than 3,000 Tamils would have been butchered
by Jayewardene's hoodlums and the thugs in yellow robes. Just for the
record, my mother was a staunch Buddhist and I have gone to Buddhist
temples with her for years.
It is also important to get the point across to the Sinhalese that yesterday it
was the Tamil people, tomorrow it will be the Sinhalese, since this is what
Totalitarian regimes have done for centuries – wipe out all who hold an
opposing point of view or protest at, say, the rising cost of living (as is
already happening in Sri Lanka. The blueprint is there.
My dvds will not be allowed into Sri Lanka . They will have to be smuggled
in – a risky operation. The best I can suggest is that they be uploaded on to
the internet. Someone in Sri Lanka might be able to download them. The
same hold for the Channel 4 videos. I doubt if these will be freely available
in Sri Lanka . However they are on the net – in a dedicated site thanks to
Channel 4, and will remain there. The GoSL could well block this access as
it has done to Tamilnet.
goes on in one of the most repressive and brutal countries in the world –
masquerading as a ‘Democracy'.
There is, of course, a price to pay. In Sri Lanka , it will be the arrival of a
“White Van”, and that is it.
The other problem is telephone abuse. For at least three days after each of
my talks or articles, I can look forward to abusive phone calls – “You
mother f…..g Tamil Tiger c…t” etc. These come 15 minutes apart, day and
night, to disrupt my work, and to make sure that I do not sleep. I respond to
these using the Queens English rather than get into the verbal gutter with
the caller. I say, “Sir/Madam (some are), I have always treated my mother
with the utmost respect. If this is what you do to your mother, then you
have a problem. May I suggest that you call my Secretary for an
appointment to see me and I will point you in the right direction. I am
sorry to disappoint you, but I am not a Tamil, nor a Tiger. As a student of
human anatomy, may I also point out that your description of me is
anatomically impossible. The organ needed for one act is not present in
those who have the other. So you have to make up your mind as to what I
have – it cannot be both. Thank you for calling. Feel free to call again but
try and keep to the Queens English and not get into the gutter. It does not
help. Goodnight Sir/Madam, Thank you for sitting up all night to call
me”. Tthis usually works. To lose your cool never works.
Why not take the phone off the hook. I cannot, because I am ‘on-call' to
some hospitals, and in any case, must be available for my patients. My
letter box is vandalized on a regular basis.
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To get back to the Channel 4 videos, it is crucial that they are shown to as
many people as possible to counter the disinformation campaign of the
GoSL. These videos must be shown but only after the presentation of a
basic outline of the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka , emphasizing that what the
GoSL is trying to do is to settle a political problem by wiping out a section
of the population – the Tamils in the North and East.
Tweet
Dear Mr.Downer
I am an Australian of Sri Lankan descent. I come from the majority (Sinhalese)
community. The current President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga is my
cousin. This introduction is only to indicate that my concerns about the
appointment of Major General Janaka Perera are not intended to embarrass the Sri
Lankan government. On the contrary, it is to save the Sri Lankan government (and
ours, here in Australia) considerable embarrassment.
Major General Janaka Perera has about the worst record of human rights violations
of any Army officer in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in the two decades that I have
monitored the human rights situation in that country. I am not claiming that Major
General Perera killed anyone but that he was the Officer in Charge of areas where
major human rights violations have occurred and this is very well documented. He
is a most unsuitable person to be accepted by Australia as a High Commissioner
(or even a visitor).
“Disappearances”
In 1999 and again in 2000, the UN stated that Sri Lanka had the second highest
incidence of unresolved “disappearances” in the world. Brigadier (later Major
General) Janaka Perera has been implicated in many of these. The worst, but
certainly not the only one, was the notorious Chemmani massacre (and mass
graves), which I will detail. There have been at least 6 others, the details of which
I will not bore you with but you could check in a series of Amnesty International
(AI) reports in November 1997, April 1998 and August 1998.
In 1996, the Sri Lankan Armed Forces moved to the Jaffna peninsula to regain
control of the area. The Peninsula was divided into two; one division was put under
Brigadier Janaka Perera.
Thousands of Tamil civilians were rounded up and taken for “questioning” in the
area under the Command of Perera. Most of them were released but about 1,000
“disappeared”. These were people who were taken into army custody, where
Perera was the Commanding Officer and, who have not been seen again.
With claims that some 1000 people had been killed and buried in mass graves in
this area, there was an investigation. AI confirmed in a series of reports in
November 1997, April 1998 and August 1998 that some 600 people taken into
custody had disappeared. The November 1997 report states that of the bodies
found “nearly all of them are likely to have died under torture or been deliberately
killed in Sri Lankan military custody.”
Lance Corporal Somaratne Rajapakse from Brigadier Perera’s own unit in the Sri
Lanka Army stated in Court under oath that, “There were 300 to 400 bodies in the
land (Chemmmani)” and that “almost every day dead bodies were brought there
and the soldiers were asked to bury them”. Two other soldiers have confirmed this.
Rajapakse went on to tell the Judge, “We only buried bodies. We can show you
where 300 or 400 bodies have been buried”. This enraged the senior echelons of
the Army. Their attempts to silence this crucial evidence were seen a few days
later.
Following the disclosure, there was a wave of protests, both in Sri Lanka and
Internationally. NGOs complained in writing to the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), a credible body of retired Judicial Officers and headed by a
retired High Court Judge. The NHRC asked that Rajapakse and his two fellow
soldiers be taken under escort to Chemmani in Jaffna to locate the graves. That
night the three soldiers were severely beaten up and nearly killed by the very
guards, who were supposed to guard them. Rajapakse had to be hospitalized.
Whether it is 600 people (as documented by AI) or 1000 (as claimed by the local
people) is irrelevant. What is important is that several hundred people taken into
custody by Brigadier Perera’s soldiers have been gone missing and bodies have
been found in mass graves in an area that was directly under Brigadier Perera. It
has been repeatedly pointed out that such large numbers of people could not have
been killed and buried in an area to which only the Army had access without the
knowledge of the Commanding Officer, Brigadier Perera. In fact, several soldiers
who participated in the burials said as much.
I do NOT say that Brigadier Janaka Perera physically killed every one but it is a fact
that at least 600 people have “disappeared” in an area under his direct command.
I would point out that there is no evidence that Adolf Eichmann or Kondrads Kalejs
physically killed a single Jew. Nonetheless, they were convicted as war criminals
because the areas (camps) were under their direct control. So also the former
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic. So also the Indonesian Generals who
were responsible for the slaughter in East Timor. They did not kill anyone but were
in charge and that is what matters. Janaka Perera cannot be the exception.
1980s, Brigadier Perera was sent to the area to “clear” the area for resettlement by
Sinhalese from the South. There is well-documented evidence of mass murder in
this area. Hundreds of Tamil civilians were massacred and thousands fled the area.
Thousands of houses were bulldozed and entire Tamil villages were wiped out to
make room for Sinhalese “settlers”. Janaka Perera even had a village in the cleared
area named after him. Mankindimalai was renamed Janaka Pura (Janaka Town)
after this exercise, which amounted to ethnic cleansing.
There are several more atrocities in the Tamil area which Janaka Perera has to
explain. These include the bombing and shelling of densely populated areas in the
North, the deliberate destruction of Christian Churches, Hindu Temples, refugee
camps, schools and thousands of civilian homes, all of them in his area of
Command.
Chandrika Kumaratunga was so shocked by this outrage that she said that if
elected to the Presidency, she would investigate all the Army Officers who were
involved in this and other gross violation of human rights. When she was elected,
she attempted to cleanse the Defence Forces and had a list drawn up of Officers,
whose names were implicated in these atrocities. In a series of articles in the
Sunday Leader in Sri Lanka, it was claimed that President Kumaratunga’s uncle
Anuruddha Ratwatte, whom she appointed as Deputy Minister of Defence (she
being the Minister), prevailed on her not to proceed with the “clean-up” operation
claiming that this would seriously demoralise the Defence Forces. So, action was
not taken to bring those responsible to book because of a question of morale, not
because they were innocent!
I might add that Canada was faced with a similar situation in the 1980s when
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My concerns
1. As an Australian, I am concerned about Australia’s image abroad if this is the
type of person admitted to this country as a diplomat.
4. I am concerned about the reception the Sri Lankan President will get (I remind
you that she is a close relative of mine), when she attends the CHOGM conference
in October in my hometown of Brisbane. I am well aware that massive
demonstrations have been planned to draw international attention to what is going
on in Sri Lanka. I am trying to keep these (legitimate) protests at a reasonable
level. I am afraid that such restraint may not be possible if the Sri Lankan
Government sends someone with Major General Janaka Perera’s human rights
record as the High Commissioner. He will be there with the President.
Action to be taken
I hope that commonsense will prevail and that this appointment will be stopped. I
hope that we are not forced into a situation where we have to take some action to
have the new appointee charged with serious human rights abuse or to embarrass
the Sri Lankan President when she come here. If we are forced into this, it will be
the responsibility of those who are currently in government and who accept him as
High Commissioner.
The claim that action, such as indictment, will not be possible because of
“Diplomatic Immunity” may not hold water. I am, in fact, taking this up with the
Attorney General, the Hon. Darrell Williams who, I gather, has set up, or in the
process of setting up, an International Court in Australia (on the lines of the one in
the Hague) to try just this sort of person alleged to have committed crimes against
humanity or human rights abuse.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Sri Lankans in other countries (the US,
Canada, UK and New Zealand) to express their concerns to the Australian
authorities.
and Mary Robinson, the UN Human Rights Commissioner. I hope all this will not be
necessary since it will bring a great deal of embarrassment both to Australia and to
Sri Lanka.
I was so concerned about this that I went to Canberra yesterday (7May 01) and
saw Graeme Lade, Director, India and South Asia Section of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade to urge him to recommend to his Minister that Major General
Perera should not be accepted as a High Commissioner. Mr Lade told me that there
were “pros and cons” and that “Major General Perera is a highly decorated Ofiicer”.
I had to remind him that so were Konrads Kalejs, Adolf Eichmann, Slobodan
Milesovic, General Wiranto and numerous others. When I asked him to list out
some of the “pros”, I thought he had a problem in doing so.
To talk of “pros and cons” is nonsense. The gentleman in question has been the
Commanding Officer in areas where serious human rights violations have occurred
and that is all there is to it. These atrocities have been well documented.
Yours faithfully
Brian Senewiratne
Consultant Physician
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine,
University of Queensland,
Australia
Copy.
35,Empire Circuit
Forrest
ACT-2603
Dear Sir,
We categorically deny all allegations made against Sri Lanka's new High
Commissioner, His Excellency Major General Janaka Perera by Dr.Brian
Senewiratne.
Since we feel that the mere issuing of a denial would not suffice to clear up the
minds of your readers and would only insult their intelligence we would like to take
some pertinent points and answer them.
Firstly Dr. Senewiratne who claims to be a relation of the Sri Lankan President Her.
Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga states his aim is not to
embarrass his cousin or the Governments of Sri Lanka or Australia.
But then he goes on to make baseless allegations about human right violations
against the new Sri Lankan envoy whose appointment had been approved by not
only his relation and her government but also the Australian Government which
only gave the green light for the appointment after careful scrutiny of the envoy's
background. We quote the Australian foreign Minister Mr.Downer,"We have been
made aware of claims, and we have sought to indicate that the circumstances of
the High Commissioner's military service meant that he was likely to have served
in areas where human rights abuses were alleged to have occurred, but none of
these claims, my department advises me, has been backed by any direct evidence
of his involvement."
It is evident that the LTTE terrorists and their apologists made up these allegations
to discredit one of their most capable opponents, for Maj.Gen. Perera was
associated with some of the stronger military operations where only his able
leadership prevented the terrorists from achieving their aims.
Without mentioning dates or time periods this great `monitor' of the Sri Lanka
situation then accuses the envoy of being in charge of areas where major human
rights violations occurred. If they are well documented as stated, either in the
north or south of Sri Lanka, we challenge him to produce them without making
insinuations with the intention of maligning Maj.Gen.Perera and hoodwinking the
Australian public.
the bodies?
Would one prefer to take the words of rapists and murderers who wanted to take
revenge on the man who made it a personal commitment to ensure that justice
was meted out to the brutal rapists and killers of a young girl who was only a few
years older than his eldest daughter? We leave it to your readers to decide.
Maj.Gen.Perera did what any right thinking law abiding person would have done
after hearing the rumours about the disappearance of Krishanthy Kumaraswamy.
He made the search for the truth a personal commitment and without any
assistance from the people of Jaffna to whom he appealed twice, without success
at meetings of the People's Council for Peace and Goodwill-and succeeded in his
task.
And true to his words of warning to his soldiers of dire consequences should they
be caught harassing or harming civilians, he pursued the matter until the guilty
were punished. All those involved in the rape and killing of Krishanthy
Kumaraswamy were sentenced to death.
Maj. Gen.Perera is denigrated only by one group of people, namely the terrorists of
the LTTE and their supporters who have been thwarted in every attempt at
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separating Sri Lanka by professional soldiers like him. They would be tough with
their enemies in battle and would ask for and give no quarter. But they would
always endevour to observe and uphold therights of the civilians in the tradition of
an officer and gentleman trained at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.
We would like to digress here to clear one more lie. That Sri Lanka's envoy to
Canada Maj.General Tissa Weeratunga' was recalled to Sri Lanka after protests by
human rights group. He not only served his full term as Sri Lanka's High
Commissioner to Canada from June 1986 to July 1989 but requested for and
received a two months extension.
P.N.Senanayake
Information Counsellor
Krishanti Kumaraswamy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Krishanti Kumaraswamy
கககககககககக ககககககககககக
Krishanti Kumaraswamy
Born 1977
Occupation Student
Contents
[hide]
1Incident
2Government investigation
3Related to incident
4See also
5References
6External links
Incident
On August 7, 1996 Krishanthy Kumaraswamy went missing on her way home after sitting
her GCE Advanced Level examination, equivalent to grade 12 in many countries, at Chundikuli
Girls High School. She was last seen alive at 11.30 am at Kaithady Army checkpoint in Jaffna.
Her mother Rassammah, brother Pranavan (Age 16), and family friend Mr. Kirupakaran (Age 35)
became concerned and went in search of Krishanthy. They were also murdered. [1]
According to pro-rebel Tamilnet Forty five days later, the bodies of the four were later found in
shallow graves within the army base. A three quarter width rope was found tied round the neck of
mother Rassammah’s corpse. Mr Kirupakaran too appeared to have been strangled in the same
manner since the rope was wound tightly round his body. The bodies of Krishanthy and her
brother Pranavan were cut in several pieces and haphazardly wrapped in black colored sheets. [2]
Later investigations revealed that she was abducted by five soldiers and another six gang
raped and killed her at the checkpoint. [3]
Government investigation
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations like Women for Peace launched a
[4]
sustained campaign to pressure the Sri Lankan government to arrest and prosecute the soldiers.
Six soldiers who were directly involved in the raping were sentenced to death by the court of the
government of Sri Lanka. [5]
In the court case about her rape and murder one of the accused informed the state about an
alleged mass grave known as Chemmani mass graves that was investigated to contain 15
bodies. [6]