Saturday, 05 March 2005

Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranathunga

The President,

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Your Excellency,                                                                                                   

Initiate a Comprehensive Assessment of Violations of the Ceasefire Agreement – Not Piecemeal Assassinations of the LTTE

The Society Peace Unity and Human Rights of Sri Lanka (SPUR), a 10 year old human rights organisation operating from Australia is deeply concerned by your reported initiative to establish a Presidential Commission limited to inquiring the recent militia attacks on LTTE terrorists in the East of Sri Lanka. Whilst we unequivocally condemn any loss of human life or unprovoked attacks on individuals, we believe the ruckus created by the LTTE and the peace negotiators Norway to only be a distraction that will retard the Government’s good work associated with providing tsunami relief.

SPUR believes providing tsunami relief to affected parties to be the Government’s top priority at present and commend the Foreign Minister, Mr Lakshman Kadiragaman for making clear and unambiguous comments to this effect whilst touring India.

There is irrefutable evidence that the LTTE, sheltering under the ceasefire signed by the deceitful former Wickremesinghe Government, is preparing for war.  SPUR would like to base its case on a number of reports released during the last two days detailing crimes perpetrated by the LTTE rather than restate the 2000 plus ceasefire violations reported by the SLMM. We would like to draw your attention in particular to:

1.  The Annual United States Department of State "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the Year 2004", issued on Monday February 28 declared that the Tamil Tiger Terrorists continue to engage in politically motivated killings, practice intolerance of dissent among the Tamil ethnic community, holding people for ransom and unlawful detention, disallowing the exercise of universal franchise in the areas under its occupation and continuing to recruit under-age children for military combat

2.  The latest Killing of a Sri Lankan Army soldier by the Tamil Tiger Terrorists at Kilali in the Jaffna peninsula on the 23 February 2005.

3.  The complaint by Kathirakumar Yogeswaran, brother of late Uma Mahesvaran (murdered by the LTTE) now living in France on 1 February 2005 to the French Ambassador, the SLMM and the leader of the PLOTE about the LTTE seizing his passport and extorting money from him, when he returned to the North of Sri Lanka after 24 years to visit his kinsfolk. The PLOTE leader and parliamentarian Dharmalingam Sithathan stated this yesterday in parliament

4.  The internationally reputed journalist Mr John Thomson writing in the National Post in Canada this week has stated that the LTTE has built up a global criminal structure combining heroin trafficking, passport forging and people smuggling to support its soldiers and terrorism, including the expansion of its suicide bombing force

5.  The ongoing child conscriptions by the LTTE showing no respect to the UN Security Council’s call on the LTTE to stop and renounce its continued conscription of children as LTTE soldiers. An irate mother (Mahendran Wasanthi) complained on 2 March 2005 to Sri Lanka’s security forces of her daughter’s kidnapping by the LTTE for use as a child conscript. She had pleaded with Sri Lankan forces to rescue her daughter from LTTE’s grip.  The LTTE abductor had confessed that during February 2005 the LTTE had abducted 20 children from the surrounding area and transported them to Jaffna

6.  The killing of Dayanidhi Subramaniam a tsunami-affected father of four children by LTTE’s pistol gang whilst travelling towards the Petroleum Corporation in Batticaloa after he left the Internally Displaced Persons centre at the Paddy Marketing Board.

7.  Funded by the Norwegian and Malaysian branches of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a boat-building yard in Nelliyan, Vadamaradchchi east division in the Jaffna district was commissioned to re-strengthen the depleted boat numbers of the Sea Tigers. It was blatantly obvious that this was a ploy by the Sea Tigers to build their fleet of boats under the guise of providing boats to tsunami affected fishing folk. The presence of M Carder, Senior Commander of the Sea Tigers and the control he had of the day’s proceedings demonstrated to all that this was nothing but a sea tiger charade.

During the last few months the LTTE have built air strips, assassinated soldiers, smuggled ball bearings to use in bombs, abducted scores of children, killed Tamil civilians and politicians expressing opposing views, destroyed historic Buddhist archaeological sites and subverted democracy at every turn.  They have even resorted to assaulting international members of the SLMM.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission recently reported on the third anniversary of the signing of the Cease Fire Agreement that the LTTE had violated the Agreement 2668. This compares with less than fifty violations by the Government over the same period.

We urge you most humbly to reconsider your decision to appoint a Presidential Commission to probe the death of LTTE tiger terrorists at the hand of the dissident Karuna faction.  We strongly believe that the Terms of Reference of the Presidential Commission should be expanded to include a comprehensive assessment of all violations of the Cease Fire Agreement; especially catalogue and expose those heinous crimes committed by the LTTE.

An independent report on compliance with the CFA must be prepared by an eminent person such as the Secretary to the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation (SAARC) prior to any further movement in the peace process. 

Full implementation of the CFA and an independent report on the GOSL and the LTTE’s compliance would go a long way towards establishing the credibility and the commitment of each party to peace. Such a report by a widely respected independent third party would restore public confidence and reassure the international community and expatriate Sri Lankans that the LTTE terrorists are indeed serious in their commitment to peace.  Permanent abandonment of violence and a time-table for handing over weapons should be an integral part of any peace negotiations with LTTE terrorists.

A gradual withdrawal of privileges enjoyed under the CFA should be seriously considered without fear or favour as a means of forcing compliance from either party.

We urge your Excellency, as the President of Sri Lanka, to provide the necessary leadership to defeat terrorism, usher in durable peace and deliver sustainable economic prosperity to all Sri Lankan citizens irrespective of geographic location, ethnicity or political allegiance.

Yours faithfully,

Dr D Jayasuriya 

President

Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR)

Reg No. A 003 07777 M

PO Box 4066

Mulgrave    VIC 3170

Australia