War crime suspect in Rajapaksa entourage plans charted flight escape

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 2010, 00:44 GMT]

Sri Lankan Major General Chagi Gallage, a member of Mahinda Rajapaksa's entourage to London, plans to escape war crimes accusation in the courts of London by chartering a flight, informed circles in London said Thursday midnight. Meanwhile, if Mr. Rajapaksa's visit was a private one as claimed by him, why there were senior ministers like G.L.Peiris and military commanders in the entourage, wonder media circles in London. The escape plans of the military commander follows attempts by the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) to file a war crimes case against him in London. Valid reasons are suspected behind the escape attempt of Chagi Gallage. Around 7,000 Eezham Tamils in London protested the presence of Rajapaksa entourage in London Thursday.

Sri Lanka Army commander Maj. Gen. Chagi Gallage

Meanwhile, briefing a press conference Thursday at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in London, Colombo's minister Dr. G.L.Peiris said that SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ‘freedom of expression’ had been violated in Britain by Tamil protesters.

When journalists countered him by pointing out to the status of freedom of expression in the island of Sri Lanka, Dr. Peiris said that during certain times governments are forced to take certain measures. He drew a parallel, citing the British way of handling freedom of expression during the height of IRA struggle.

Sri Lanka never killed any civilians, Mahinda Rajapaksa told British media Thursday. “Many of our army officers trained at Sandhurst. That is why they will never kill a civilian,” he was quoted as saying by James Harding and Ben Macintyre of The Times.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to London was part of a media offensive orchestrated by the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger hired by Colombo, says Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor of The Times.

In the mean time, the British Defence Secretary Dr. Liam Fox on Wednesday met Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa who was on his ‘private visit’. Fox was tight lipped of his half an hour ‘private meeting’ with Rajapaksa.

But, it seems, the British Foreign Office is not happy about the Defence Secretary getting close to Colombo. Citing a source, Sam Coates said that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Secretary Mr William Hague may step in if the Defence Secretary were judged to be too close to Colombo.

SLA command complicit in Vanni massacre (Courtesy: Sunday Observer)

Tamils call for Rajapaksa's arrest

Activists accuse Sri Lankan president of being a war criminal as new footage of a massacre is aired during his UK visit.

Tamil activists are calling for an international arrest warrant for Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president who is currently visiting the United Kingdom.

Many Tamils have dubbed Rajapaksa a war criminal and, as commander-in-chief of the Sri Lankan forces, they hold him responsible for the deaths of thousands of Tamil civilians in a civil war that ended in May 2009.

Rajapaksa was greeted by Tamil protestors as he arrived in London on Monday night, a day before a British TV channel broadcast video footage of an alleged massacre by Sri Lankan forces of civilians, which could inflame Tamil anger further.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from London.

Rajapaksa 'linked to Tamil deaths'

A leaked cable says US believes Sri Lankan president is implicated in mass deaths of Tamils.

Last Modified: 02 Dec 2010 10:12 GMT

Another leaked US embassy cable released by whiste-blowing website WikiLeaks has added weight to calls for an independent inquiry into the final days of Sri Lanka's civil war.

US diplomats in Sri Lanka believe the country's president carries much of the responsbility for the mass deaths of ethnic Tamil civilians in the final days of the civil war.

According to the cable written by Patricia Butenis, the US ambassador, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his generals and family members are implicated.

The UN has said that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the final months of fighting.

Butenis wrote in January that responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President [Rajapaksa] and his brothers and opposition candidate General Fonseka," she said, according to WikiLeaks.

Gotabaya Rajapakse, the president's brother, is defence secretary.

Former general Sarath Fonseka led the army's defeat of the Tamil Tigers but was arrested shortly after losing a presidential bid this year.

Rajapaksa has resisted external pressure for an international probe into allegations that both the rebel Tamil Tigers and the military committed war crimes during the conflict.

He has instead opted for an internal investigation, a move that was also questioned by Butenis.

According to the cable, Butenis, said that "there are no examples we know of a regime undertaking wholesale investigations of its own troops or senior officials for war crimes while that regime or government remained in power."

Further doubts

The document also shows Butenis questioning whether the Tamil Tiger fighters captured by government forces will receive a fair trial.

"The Government of Sri Lanka is holding thousands of mid- and lower-level ex-LTTE [Tamil Tiger] combatants for future rehabilitation and/or criminal prosecution. It is unclear whether any such prosecutions will meet international standards." she said.

Last year, the army killed the top Tamil Tiger leadership, during a nearly four-decade campaign in which they fought for a separate Tamil homeland.

The revelations coincide with Rajapaksa's visit to the United Kingdom. Noisy protests at London's Heathrow Airport greeted the Sri Lankan president when he arrived on Monday.

the Oxford Union, Britain's prestigious debating society,, has cancelled a speech he was due to give, citing security reasons, as Tamil activists were said to be planning a large demonstration outside the venue.

Source: Al Jazeera English

Sri Lanka - Evidence for war crimes published by GTF and Channel 4 UK

In the First video Col. Ramesh a senior LTTE leaders is investigated by the army after his surrender or capture at the end of the war. Later the army reported he was killed in war. Col. Ramesh's family reported he was not found after his surrender/capture.

WikiLeaks cables: 'Sri Lankan president responsible for massacre of Tamils'

Tamil activists in Britain - where Mahinda Rajapaksa is currently visiting - are seeking an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes

• Julian Borger, diplomatic editor guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 December 2010 19.10 GMT
• Article history

Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Photograph: Keystone/Rex Features

American diplomats believed that the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, bore responsibility for a massacre last year that is the subject of a UN war crimes inquiry, according to a leaked US cable.

Lawyers for Tamil activists in Britain are seeking an arrest warrant against President Rajapaksa for alleged war crimes committed last year at the bloody end of the long-running civil war against Tamil separatists. Rajapaksa, who is in the UK, is due to meet the defence secretary, Liam Fox, tomorrow and had an address to the Oxford Union scheduled for Fridaycancelled due to security concerns.

Thousands of Tamils are thought to have died in a few days in May 2009, when a large concentration of Tamil Tiger guerrillas and civilians, crammed in a small coastal strip, came under heavy bombardment from Sri Lankan government forces.

In a cable sent on 15 January this year, the US ambassador in Colombo, Patricia Butenis, said one of the reasons there was such little progress towards a genuine Sri Lankan inquiry into the killings was that the president and the former army commander, Sarath Fonseka, were largely responsible. "There are no examples we know of a regime undertaking wholesale investigations of its own troops or senior officials for war crimes while that regime or government remained in power," Butenis noted.

"In Sri Lanka this is further complicated by the fact that responsibility for many alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers and opposition candidate General Fonseka." Fonseka was convicted of corruption by a court martial this year.

In her cable to Washington, Butenis seeks to explain why there is so little momentum towards the formation of a "truth and reconciliation" commission, or any other form of accountability.

Most Tamil Tiger commanders, also under suspicion for war crimes such as the use of civilians as human shields, had been killed at the end of the war.

President Rajapaksa had meanwhile fought an election campaign promising to resist any international efforts to prosecute "war heroes" in the nation's army.

Not only was the Colombo government not interested in investigating itself, but Tamils in Sri Lanka – unlike those abroad – were also nervous about the issue as it might make them targets for reprisals.

Butenis wrote: "While they wanted to keep the issue alive for possible future action, Tamil leaders with whom we spoke in Colombo, Jaffna and elsewhere said now was not time and that pushing hard on the issue would make them 'vulnerable'.

"Accountability is clearly an issue of importance for the ultimate political and moral health of Sri Lankan society," the ambassador concluded, but she did not think it would happen any time soon.

Last month David Cameron endorsed calls for an independent investigation into the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009. The UN has set up a inquiry into the events of last May, but Butenis thinks any overt foreign push for prosecutions would be counter-productive.

"Such an approach, however, would seem to play into the super-heated campaign rhetoric of Rajapaksa and his allies that there is an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka and its 'war heroes'," Butenis argued.

A spokesman for Fox said: "Dr Fox will be meeting President Rajapaksa in a private capacity. This reflects Dr Fox's long standing interest in Sri Lanka and his interest in, and commitment to peace and reconciliation there."

Source: The guardian UK

US embassy cables: Rajapaksa shares responsibility for 2009 Sri Lankan massacre

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 December 2010 19.10 GMT

Friday, 15 January 2010, 12:23
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000032
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INSB
EO 12958 DECL: 01/15/2020
TAGS PGOV, PREL, PREF, PHUM, PTER, EAID, MOPS, CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA WAR-CRIMES ACCOUNTABILITY: THE TAMIL
PERSPECTIVE
REF: A. 09 COLOMBO 1180 B. COLOMBO 8
COLOMBO 00000032 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA A. BUTENIS. REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)

Summary

1. US ambassador to Colombo said that the main reason there will not be a Sri Lankan enquiries into the mass killings that marked the end of the war with the Tamil Tigers last year was that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, bears much of the responsibility, along with his government, generals and some of his family. Key passage highlighted in yellow.
   
   
2. Read related article

1. (S) SUMMARY: There have been a few tentative steps on accountability for crimes allegedly committed by Sri Lankan troops and civilian officials during the war with the LTTE. President Rajapaksa named a committee to make recommendations to him on the U.S. incidents report by April, and candidate Fonseka has discussed privately the formation of some form of "truth and reconciliation" commission. Otherwise, accountability has not been a high-profile issue -- including for Tamils in Sri Lanka. While Tamils have told us they would like to see some form of accountability, they have been pragmatic in what they can expect and have focused instead on securing greater rights and freedoms, resolving the IDP question, and improving economic prospects in the war-ravaged and former LTTE-occupied areas. Indeed, while they wanted to keep the issue alive for possible future action, Tamil politicians with whom we spoke in Colombo, Jaffna, and elsewhere said now was not time and that pushing hard on the issue would make them "vulnerable." END SUMMARY.

ACCOUNTABILITY AS A POLITICAL ISSUE

-----------------------------------

2. (S) Accountability for alleged crimes committed by GSL troops and officials during the war is the most difficult issue on our bilateral agenda. (NOTE: Both the State Department Report to Congress on Incidents during the Conflict and the widely read report by the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) also detailed many incidents of alleged crimes perpetrated by the LTTE. Most of the LTTE leadership was killed at the end of the war, leaving few to be held responsible for those crimes. The Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) is holding thousands of mid- and lower-level ex-LTTE combatants for future rehabilitation and/or criminal prosecution. It is unclear whether any such prosecutions will meet international standards. END NOTE.) There have been some tentative steps on accountability on the GSL side. Soon after the appearance of the State Department report, President Rajapaksa announced the formation of an experts' committee to examine the report and to provide him with recommendations on dealing with the allegations. At the end of the year, the president extended the deadline for the committee's recommendations from December 31 until April. For his part, General Fonseka has spoken publicly of the need for a new deal with the Tamils and other minorities. Privately, his campaign manager told the Ambassador that Fonseka had ordered the opposition campaign to begin work planning a "truth and reconciliation" commission (ref B).

3. (S) These tentative steps notwithstanding, accountability has not been a high-profile issue in the presidential election -- other than President Rajapaksa's promises personally to stand up to any international power or body that would try to prosecute Sri Lankan war heroes. While regrettable, the lack of attention to accountability is not surprising. There are no examples we know of a regime undertaking wholesale investigations of its own troops or senior officials for war crimes while that regime or government remained in power. In Sri Lanka this is further complicated by the fact that responsibility for many of the alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers and opposition candidate General Fonseka.

THE TAMIL PERSPECTIVE

---------------------

COLOMBO 00000032 002.2 OF 003

4. (S) For different reasons, of course, accountability also has not been a top priority for most Tamils in Sri Lanka. While Tamils have told us they would like to see some form of accountability, they have been pragmatic in what they can expect and have focused instead on securing greater rights and freedoms, resolving the IDP question, and improving economic prospects in the war-ravaged and former LTTE-occupied areas. Indeed, while they wanted to keep the issue alive for possible future action, Tamil leaders with whom we spoke in Colombo, Jaffna, and elsewhere said now was not time and that pushing hard on the issue would make them "vulnerable."

5. (S) The one prominent Tamil who has spoken publicly on the issue is Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, self-proclaimed presidential candidate, and Prabhakaran relative M.K. Sivajilingam. Breaking from both the TNA mainstream and the pro-government Tamil groups, he launched his campaign because he believed neither the government nor the opposition was adequately addressing Tamil issues. Sivajilingam has focused on creating a de-centralized federal structure in Sri Lanka with separate prime ministers for the Sinhalese and Tamils, but he also has spoken about accountability, demanding an international inquiry to get justice for the deaths and suffering of the Tamil people.

6. (S) Other Tamil politicians have not made public statements on accountability and are generally more pragmatic in their thinking. In our multiple recent discussions with TNA leader R. Sampanthan, he said he believed accountability was important and he welcomed the international community's -- especially the diaspora's -- interest in the issue. But Sampanthan was realistic about the dim prospects for any Sri Lankan government to take up the issue. Granting that governments in power do not investigate their own, Sampanthan nevertheless said it was important to the health of the nation to get the truth out. While he believed the Tamil community was "vulnerable" on the issue and said he would not discuss "war crimes" per se in parliament for fear of retaliation, Sampanthan would emphasize the importance of people knowing the truth about what happened during the war. We also have asked Sampanthan repeatedly for his ideas on an accountability mechanism that would be credible to Tamils and possible within the current political context, but he has not been able to provide such a model.

7. (S) Mano Ganesan, MP and leader of the ethnic Tamil Democratic People's Front (DPF), is a Colombo-based Tamil who counts as supporters many of the well-educated, long-term Colombo and Western Province resident Tamils, and was an early supporter of Fonseka. The general made promises that convinced him that if Fonseka were to win, ethnic reconciliation issues would then be decided by parliament, not the Executive President. On accountability, Ganesan told us that while the issue was significant XXXXXXXXXXXX accountability was a divisive issue and the focus now had to be on uniting to rid the country of the Rajapaksas.

8. (S) TNA MP Pathmini Sithamparanathan told us in mid-December that the true story of what happened in the final weeks of the war would not go away and would come out eventually, but she also said now was not the time for war crimes-type investigations. Finally, on a recent trip to Jaffna, PolOff found that local politicians did not raise accountability for events at the end of the war as an issue of immediate concern, focusing instead on current bread-and-butter issues, such as IDP releases, concerns about Sinhala emigration to traditional Tamil regions, and

COLOMBO 00000032 003.2 OF 003

re-developing the local economy.

COMMENT

-------

9. (S) Accountability is clearly an issue of importance for the ultimate political and moral health of Sri Lankan society. There is an obvious split, however, between the Tamil diaspora and Tamils in Sri Lanka on how and when to address the issue. While we understand the former would like to see the issue as an immediate top-priority issue, most Tamils in Sri Lanka appear to think it is both unrealistic and counter-productive to push the issue too aggressively now. While Tamil leaders are very vocal and committed to national reconciliation and creating a political system more equitable to all ethnic communities, they believe themselves vulnerable to political or even physical attack if they raise the issue of accountability publicly, and common Tamils appear focused on more immediate economic and social concerns. A few have suggested to us that while they cannot address the issue, they would like to see the international community push it. Such an approach, however, would seem to play into the super-heated campaign rhetoric of Rajapaksa and his allies that there is an international conspiracy against Sri Lanka and its "war heroes." BUTENIS




source: the guardian uk

Wikileaks: Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa blamed for killings

2 December 2010 Last updated at 12:41 GMT

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to the UK has been disrupted by protesters

A US envoy believed the president of Sri Lanka bore responsibility for an alleged 2009 massacre of Tamils, suggest cables obtained by Wikileaks.

The claim was reported in a message from the US envoy in Colombo.

It comes as Sri Lanka's parliament was suspended after a scuffle between MPs over demonstrations in the UK against President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit.

More protests are planned later in London outside the hotel where Mr Rajapaksa is thought to be staying.

The demonstrations have been blamed for the Oxford Union's decision to cancel a speech by Mr Rajapaksa planned for Thursday.

Thousands of Tamil civilians are estimated to have been killed during a military bombardment as the 26-year insurgency ended in May last year.

Heathrow protest

The US ambassador in Colombo, Patricia Butenis, said in a diplomatic cable sent on 15 January this year that President Rajapaksa and the former army commander, Sarath Fonseka, were largely responsible.

She said there seemed little hope of accountability given that there were no examples of a regime investigating its own troops for war crimes.

"In Sri Lanka this is further complicated by the fact that responsibility for many alleged crimes rests with the country's senior civilian and military leadership, including President Rajapaksa and his brothers and opposition candidate Gen Fonseka," Ms Butenis writes.

The president's visit to the UK has drawn strong protests from UK Tamils

It is one of more than 250,000 classified American diplomatic cables, obtained by the Wikileaks website and released to several publications, including the Guardian and the New York Times.

On Thursday, parliament in the capital, Colombo, had to be suspended after several MPs tried to attack an opposition Sinhalese member.

Dr Jaylath Jayawardena was accused of instigating a protest by a large group of Tamil demonstrators at London's Heathrow Airport as President Rajapaksa arrived on Monday night.

Dinesh Gunawardena, a cabinet minister, called for an inquiry into the conduct of the United National Party MP.

Several government members then tried to assault Dr Jayawardena, who was protected by a few of his colleagues and some members of the ruling party.

Sri Lanka has repeatedly rejected international calls for an independent inquiry into the war against the Tamil Tigers.

'Shot while surrendering'

At least 7,000 Tamil civilians were killed in a few days of bombardment when the military cornered the rebels in a small coastal strip in May last year, according to the UN.

Amateur footage allegedly shows the extra-judicial killing of Tamil Tiger prisoners by Sri Lankan troops. Its authenticity cannot be verified. It has been edited here only to remove the most disturbing images

Other estimates put the death toll as high as 20,000. Both sides have been accused of crimes against humanity.

The former army chief, Sarath Fonseka, said last year during his failed campaign for the presidency that military decisions had been taken in the final days of the war without his knowledge.

These included the president's brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, allegedly ordering Tamil Tiger rebel leaders to be shot dead as they tried to surrender, Mr Fonseka claimed.

The Sri Lankan government said they were shot by other insurgents.

Mr Fonseka led troops to victory last year over the Tamil Tigers, but fell out with the president when he stood unsuccessfully against him in polls; he was charged with corruption and jailed.

Meanwhile, Colombo dismissed the authenticity of footage broadcast by the UK's Channel 4 News, purportedly showing Tamil prisoners being killed.

Channel 4 said the video - apparently showing trussed-up male and female prisoners being shot dead amid taunts from onlookers - was taken shortly before the Tamil Tigers' defeat.

Oxford Union cancels Sri Lankan president's talk as Tamil groups protest

Sri Lanka

The Oxford Union has cancelled a talk by Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa citing security concerns over planned protests by Tamil groups who are trying to have him arrested for war crimes.

Calls for a war crimes inquiry intensified yesterday following President Mahinda Rajapaksa's arrival in Britain Photo: AFP/GETTY

By Dean Nelson in New Delhi and Laura Roberts 6:45PM GMT 01 Dec 2010

Mr Rajapaksa had been due to address the Oxford Union on Thursday night, but protests were expected following the release of a video that purports to show a Tamil Tiger leader under interrogation by army officers despite government claims he was killed in combat.

Pro-Tamil supporters from across the country including students were intending to protest outside the Union and will now gather outside the London hotel where Mr Rajapaksa is staying on Thursday.

“It is no surprise the event has been cancelled given the release of the video. There is some relief that Rajapaksa won’t just be allowed to walk around with impunity,” said James Martin, 33, a student at SOAS.

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“The new video that has emerged is devastating and its sad to see the response of the Sri Lankan government. There needs to be an independent investigation.”

In a statement, the Oxford Union said: "Due to security concerns surrounding Mr. Rajapaksa's visit which have recently been brought to our attention by the police, the Union has regretfully found that the talk is no longer practicable and has had to cancel his address."

In the video, which has been seen by The Daily Telegraph, a prisoner who identifies himself as Col Ramesh, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's leader in eastern Sri Lanka, is shown being interviewed by a series of men in army uniform. Colombo has said Col Ramesh was killed at the end of the country's three-decade civil war.

The London-based Global Tamil Forum last night claimed the video confirmed that he had surrendered in the last days of the war and appeared to have been later killed in breach of the Geneva Covention.

A government spokesman said he could not comment on the video or the Global Tamil Forum's claims, but reiterated his government's claim that Col Ramesh had been killed in fighting.

The Ministry of Defence had confirmed Col Ramesh's body had been discovered along with two other Tamil Tiger leaders on May 17 last year.

But according to a spokesman for the Global Tamil Forum, Col Ramesh had surrendered to Sri Lankan forces at a camp for civilians displaced by the fighting along with his niece on that day. They had since been told by their sources in the Sri Lankan military that he was later killed.

"This is a breach of the Geneva Convention. Someone had surrendered and they have killed him while he was in custody," claimed the spokesman.

Mr Rajapaksa expressed regret after the Oxford Union cancelled the scheduled speech by him amid security concerns, his office said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I am very sorry this has had to be canceled, but I will continue to seek venues in Britain and elsewhere where I can talk about my future vision for Sri Lanka,” the president’s office quoted him as saying.

Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil community in London had planned a demonstration to coincide with Thursday’s event. They also staged a protest when Rajapakse arrived in London on Tuesday.

“This (cancellation) is a decision that has been made unilaterally by the Oxford Union, reportedly as a result of pressure applied by pro-LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) activists,” Weeratunga said.

Mr Rajapaksa had been due to appear at the Oxford Union before his recent inauguration for a second term but the visit was postponed on fears that he could be arrested under British laws allowing arrest warrants to be issue for human rights abuse. The government subsequently gave assurances that he would be treated as a head of state and immune to arrest, allowing the visit to go ahead.

The Ministry of Justice on Wednesday published an amendment to a law that puts visiting officials at risk of arrest for alleged war crimes.

The bill, which will be debated in parliament in the coming weeks, proposed that any arrest warrant for war crimes under universal jurisdiction provisions must be approved by the government’s chief prosecutor.

Calls for a war crimes inquiry intensified yesterday following President Rajapaksa's arrival in Britain as up to 50 MPs signed a letter to David Cameron, the prime minister, calling for a war crimes inquiry.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has demanded a transparent investigation into war crime allegations against the Sri Lankan government.

Up to 10,000 civilians were killed in the last months of the war.