The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) said that it hoped member states of the UN would raise war crimes committed by the UK in Iraq at the forthcoming session of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March.

Andreas Schueller, legal adviser at the Germany-based ECCHR said that he would appreciate UNHRC members as well as those representing other countries referring to a comprehensive UK war crimes dossier the ECCHR together with prominent law firm Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) of the UK recently handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Schueller was responding to questions raised by The Island in the wake of the ECCHR and PIL pushing the ICC to launch war crimes probe targeting the UK. The 250-page dossier titled, ‘The Responsibility of UK Officials for War Crimes Involving Systematic Detainee Abuse in Iraq from 2003-2008’ dealt with accountability issues.

Having accused Iraq of stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), the US and UK spearheaded the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Asked whether they would submit a copy of the same dossier to UNHRC ahead of the next Geneva session, Schueller said that the Geneva body was a political organ and therefore they felt no need to move it. The decision to send the dossier to the ICC was taken on the basis it was a judicial body, the official said.

The UNHRC consisted of 47 countries divided into five sectors namely Africa (13 seats), Asia-Pacific (13 seats), Latin America and Caribbean (8 seats), Western Europe and other states (7 seats) and Eastern Europe (6 seats).

Responding to another query as regards the UK membership in the UNHRC in the wake of war crime allegations, Schueller emphasised that the UK should address accountability issues raised by ECCHR and PIL. The UK should especially explain its failure to conduct domestic prosecutions. Schueller stressed: “Every state is duty bound to effectively investigate and prosecute international crimes, this includes the UK as well as Sri Lanka.”

Members of the council serve for a period of three years and are not qualified for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms. The UK won a term beginning 2014.

When pointed out that the UK had ruled out the possibility of appearing before the ICC, Schueller said that the decision would be made by the ICC as the UK was a signatory to the Rome Statue.

The UK ratified the ICC Rome Statue on Oct 4, 2001 though the US shunned the ICC.

A spokesperson for UK Defence Ministry earlier told The Island that there was absolutely no need for ICC intervention as the allegations were either under thorough investigation or had been dealt with through various means including through the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, independent public inquiries, the UK and European Courts and in Parliament.

The official said: “Further action through the ICC is unnecessary when the issues and allegations are already known to the UK Government, action is in hand and the UK courts have already issued judgments. Should we be approached by the ICC, we will take the opportunity to explain the very extensive work underway to deal with historic allegations of abuse.”

The UK Premier David Cameron has set March 2014 deadline for Sri Lanka to address accountability issues or face the consequences at the UNHRC. The deadline was given on the sidelines of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) last November.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in its quarterly human rights report for the last quarter of 2013 stated that the Human rights situation in Sri Lanka had not improved in the last three months despite the intensified international focus on the country’s human rights issues.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the number of soldiers based in the North has been reduced to 12,000 following the end of the war.

He said that around 60,000 – 75,000 soldiers were based in the North during the conflict but now there are only around 12,000 soldiers.

Speaking to the public after opening the new Thelipallai Trail cancer hospital in Jaffna today, the President said that the Government will ensure equal treatment for all communities in the country.

He said that no race can suppress another race in Sri Lanka and the Government will not leave room for such an attempt.

“Our blood is the same. There is no green, yellow or black blood,” he said.

The President also said that following the end of the war the Government had a short period of time to address most issues.

He said that within a short period of time the Government was able to resettle over 300,000 war displaced people, rebuild the war damaged areas and also release rehabilitated former LTTE cadres.

The President also said that by holding elections, including provincial council elections, the Government was able to ensure the people were able to exercise their democratic rights.

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V Wigneswaran and Government and opposition politicians including UNP MPs Ruwan Wijeywardena, Harsha de Silva and Eran Wickremeratne were also present at the event.

Speaking in Tamil to the public, the President spoke on the importance of the new cancer hospital for the North. He said the people of the North will stand to benefit from the new hospital.

Source: Colombo Gazette (Sri Lanka)

Kicking off her political campaign in a bold and determined note confronting her rivals, the newly-appointed Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Colombo Central Organiser Hirunika Premachandra today said no-one could separate her from President Mahinda Rajapaksa as she was his adopted daughter.

Ms. Premachandra who was speaking at a SLFP Bala Mandala meeting at her residence in Kolonnawa today morning said she was an adopted daughter in the Rajapaksa family.

“I am the adopted daughter of President Rajapaksa’s family and the sister of MP Namal Rajapaksa and no-one can separate me from them,” she said.

She said she had told President Rajapaksa to summon her at any time if he received a complaint about her, so that she could respond.

Ms. Premachandra said that her future would be a challenging one when it comes to politics. “I have faced lots of obstacles, and will have to face more in the future, but that will not pull me down,” she said amidst loud cheers from her supporters.

She said many had asked her why she was so adamant about the killing of her father-the late Presidential advisor and former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra-and stressed that she wouldn’t be silent until the killers were brought to book.

“I cannot bear the painful feeling I experience whenever I meet my father’s killers. and that is why I cannot keep quiet about it,” she said.

She told the gathering that her campaign would be like the tortoise in the famous folk-tale that moved towards its goal slowly but steadily, unlike the rabbit that started running only when it saw its opponent was at the threshold of victory.

“I will move slowly but steadily like the tortoise unlike the rabbit,” she added. (Yohan Perera)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Former SAS officers were allowed by the British government to train security forces in Sri Lanka around the time of the 1980s Golden Temple massacre, recently released government documents show.

The disclosure comes days after documents emerged appearing to show that SAS officers were involved in training Indian troops in the months leading up to the raid on the Amritsar temple, the Sikh religion’s holiest site, in June 1984.

It will intensify the diplomatic tensions over Britain’s role in the raid in Amritsar and add to evidence suggesting the government was happy to let former and serving special forces soldiers operate in India.

The new documents show that in September 1984 foreign secretary Geoffrey Howe’s private secretary, Peter Ricketts, wrote to David Barclay, private secretary to prime minister Margaret Thatcher about a request to allow a British company with SAS connections to work in Sri Lanka.

Continue read >>http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/former-sas-officers-training-sri-lanka

Source: The Guardian (UK)

The Galle Additional Magistrate Gunaratne Kumara today ordered the police to arrest the 24 suspects identified by the Police as those involved in the attack on two prayer centers in Hikkaduwa

The Magistrate gave the order after the Police made submissions to court.

The Magistrate also ordered all media institutions to handover to the police the unedited video footage of the attack which damaged the two prayer centres to the Police.

A group of protestors including monks attacked two prayer centres belonging to an evangelical denomination last Sunday causing damage to the prayer centres in the presence of media and the Police. ( D.G Sugathapala)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

The upsurge in religious violence in recent times was profoundly damaging to the national psyche and should concern all fair-minded Sri Lankans and social and religious harmony was the patriotic duty of every citizen, especially in a country emerging from 30 years of ethnic conflict, Chairman of the UNP Leadership Council Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday.

Jayasuriya pointed out that last Sunday’s attack on two churches in Hikkaduwa were neither isolated nor accidental.

His statement in full:

“It is merely the manifestation of a greater tragedy that is now engulfing our nation; religious and ethnic intolerance is being allowed to reign with impunity by the ruling regime distorting the values inherent to Sri Lanka’s culture, ethos and long respected civilisation.

“This orchestration of violence against ethnic and religious minorities is not only a conspiracy against the country but also an attempt to destroy the concept of Buddhism as taught by the Buddha, who gave the world a philosophy of peace, loving kindness and non violence towards all beings. These actions are by certain extremists claiming to represent all Buddhists but they only befoul and denigrate the teachings of the Buddha. The impunity these groups enjoy has brought Sri Lanka to the very brink of communal strife yet again.

“The greatest tragedy of this moment is not merely the tacit patronage provided to these extremist groups by the state and its agents, but also the fact that Sri Lanka finds herself staring into this abyss once again less than five years after the end of brutal and protracted conflict. No true patriot of Sri Lanka, grateful to have seen the end of war, would have wished to see a repetition of past mistakes so soon again in their lifetime.

“Religious intolerance that saw the attacks in Hikkaduwa last Sunday, has reached its climax due to the impotence and inaction of the ruling regime in the face of a dangerous trend that contributes to the insecurity of minority communities and embarrasses the Buddhist majority. While untrammeled hate speech has ruled the day, leading to numerous attacks against religious minorities and a massive spike in inter religious tensions, to date the government has failed to book a single perpetrator or hold any single person accountable for these crimes. It is baffling that the police tasked with protecting every Sri Lankan citizen irrespective of race or religion have been made to look like powerless by standers to this unfolding tragedy. This leaves Sri Lankans with no alternative but to conclude that this religious intolerance and violence has the blessing of the present regime.

“As a party that believes in studying and learning from the mistakes of the past, the UNP holds firm to the values of pluralism and freedom of conscience. As standard bearers of the country’s oldest party, we will stand for the religious freedoms of all Sri Lankans. If the place of religious worship of any Sri Lankan is subjected to attack, the UNP will raise its voice against it. If we hold true to the concept of one Sri Lanka, then our reaction to an assault against a mosque, a church or a Hindu Kovil cannot differ in strength to the reaction against an attack on a Buddhist temple, for they all belong to Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka belongs to them all. In this country that has been often called the land of the Buddha, there is space enough, tolerance enough, peace enough for each of these religious communities to co-exist.

“Political expediency sought through sowing discord between religious faiths threatens all this.

“Against this devilry and short-sightedness, the UNP will take the strongest possible stand. This party places on notice all those officials who fail in their duty to protect and uphold the freedom of religion in this country and thus lay the building blocks for religious and communal strife that threatens to engulf and destroy the very fabric of Sri Lankan society. It is an unpardonable offence and a crime against the nation.

If the present regime believes that by patronising these extreme movements which wish to create further division they will garner the support of Buddhists in this country, they are making a fundamental mistake. The fanaticism and violence irk the moderate and peace loving Buddhist of Sri Lanka, that I believe still forms the majority, irrespective of their political affiliation. The proof of their repulsion will be known at the next national election.”

By Zacky Jabbar
Source: The Island (Sri Lanka) 

UNP National leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said today Sri Lanka received Buddhism and a rich culture with the advent of Arahat Mahinda Thera, but now we have received casinos and ethanol detrimental to the nation.

“With the advent of Arahat Mahinda Thera we received Buddhism and a rich culture and spiritual values based on Buddhism. But this regime supports drugs, Ethanol and casinos which will ruin the rich culture and spiritual values inherited from the advent of Arahat Mahinda Thera. So far these values were upheld with the blessings of the past leaders,” Mr. Wikremesinghe said.

Mr. Wikremesinghe said at the “Campaign against Casinos” held at the Maharagama Vipashyarama Temple under the guidance of Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera that if the Government took action against this drug, ethanol and casinos by establishing an Independent Police Commission, Judiciary System and Attorney General’s Department, they would help the government despite political differences.

“When we protested against this the Government said the other countries also have these things, but here it is done by the Government politicians. In those countries, they caught drug traffickers but here it is the government that does it. It is only in Sri Lanka that the casinos are operating with the blessings of the Government,” he said.(Ajith Siriwardana and Muditha Dayananda)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

The Government has decided to postpone the opening of the Galle — Matara section of the Southern Expressway by another month. This section was to be commissioned on January 31 by the President.

This move has been prompted by the delay in completing the access point from Nupe Junction in Matara to Godagama and the landscaping of the stretch of land from Pinnaduwa to Godagama.

Presidential coordinator Ven. Getamanne Gunanada Thera said the opening was scheduled to take place during the first week of March this year.
Government sources indicate that this section of the Southern Expressway would be commissioned before the elections to the Southern Provincial Council.

Meanwhile the delay had attracted a large number of peacocks to this section of the highway and the peacocks entertain the visitors with a colourful dance, which is a wonderful sight for tired eyes. (Krishan Jeewaka  Jayaruk)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Hirunika Premachandra, daughter of slain former UPFA Parliamentarian for the Kolonnawa Electorate Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra has been appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa the Colombo Central SLFP Organiser and will contest the Western Provincial Council Election scheduled for March on the UPFA ticket.

SLFP sources told The Island that President Rajapaksa had taken that decision after discussions with Hirunika, who was dilly dallying over entering politics, but said that she would follow her father’s principles. President Rajapaksa met her yesterday morning at Temple Trees.

Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra was killed in an intra party confrontation during the 2012 Local Government Elections at Kolonnawa. At the time of his death, Bharatha was an adviser to President Rajapaksa on trade union affairs. He was killed during a clash with Parliamentarian Duminda Silva and his supporters, in which Silva, too, received at least two bullets to his head.

She said that she was getting the backing of the Kolonnawa voters who would assist her fully and was optimistic about doing well in Colombo Central at the Western Provincial Council Elections.

By Lal Gunasekera
Source: The Islands (Sri Lanka) 

Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide after the body of a woman, a child, and a baby were found in a flat in London.

The 33-year-old woman was found dead alongside two boys aged seven months and five years in Woodgrange Close, Brent, at around 5.30pm yesterday.

Neighbours believe the woman was the children’s mother and the father discovered the bodies at their family home.

Leslie Gotts, who has lived in Woodgrange Close for 18 years, said the family, who are believed to be of Sri Lankan origin, had lived in the first-floor flat for around a year.

Continue read >> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/woman-found-dead-in-london-with-child-and-baby-in-suspected-murdersuicide-9052341.html

Source: The Independent (UK)