People’s Tribunal On Sri Lanka In Dublin
By Munza Mushtaq
Fearing persecution by the Sri Lankan government, a large number of eye witnesses to alleged war crimes will give evidence in camera at this week’s People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka in Dublin which is being held to investigate whether the Government of Sri Lanka and its armed forces allegedly committed war crimes during its final phase of the war with the LTTE.
Organisers of the People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka told The Sunday Leader via email, “We have also received a large number of requests from all over the world who are ready to give evidence. As we cannot accommodate all these we have requested them to submit their evidence in the form of affidavits.”
“There are also many who would like to give evidence by camera due to fear of persecution by the Sri Lanka government. We have made arrangements to protect the witnesses,” coordinator of the People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka, Jude Fernando said.
The tribunal will be held on Thursday and Friday at the Trinity College,
Dublin, with the provisional findings from the tribunal scheduled to be announced at a public meeting on Saturday.
A well known 11 member jury from Asia, Middle East, Europe and Latin America will serve in the tribunal.
This will bring out the truth. This will be good for Sri Lanka either way.
They way forward can only be realized with all honesty.
Thank you, Jane.
Thousands of murders in the last four years alone remain uninvestigated and the IPPEG left the country saying there is no political will to solve the crimes.
Where are you going to get the eye witnesses from? I hope they are not from Ireland. The reason I raised this question is, that I thought most of the eye witnesses are in Manik Farm or some other camp in Sri Lanka.
Producing pro-LTTErs, LTTE exortionists, LTTE beneficiaries as witnesses without any cross examining is like throwing faeces onto a window we like to see through and will make the attempt murky and one sided.
Who are the winners of this game and who are the losers?
1. LTTE – loser
2. LTTE exortionists – partial losers but making the maximum out of this situation
3. LTTE beneficiaries – partial losers
4. TAMIL PEOPLE – losers, whatever the result is
5. Government of Sri Lanka – well if one goes another will come and another and another
6. Sri Lankan people as a whole – a win win. LTTE is gone and it’s a win and if a corrupt, human rights violater is gone still it’s a win.
7. Chauvinists on either side – they will be losers all the time
You are a singhala racist and deserve no reply!
Do you know a lot of Tamils from the Manik Camp have escaped by bribing the singhala soldiers and left Sri Lanka. These people of course are going to be the eye witness, you droping eye!
Adey soorya,
You are fighting a losing battle, you lost one on the 17th of May 2009 and wasting time on the other! Go to work
Mind your language you fool. You seems not to understand what we are talking about here. We are talking about justice and reconciliation not winning or loosing battles. I am working and at the same time capable of thinking.
Ado Soorya,
You are a ‘Chunni illay Tamil’ I wanted to know who is going to represent all the innocent Sinhala people and priest’s who were slaughtered by LTTP terrorists in the past? Where were you then..? Where were the courts then? No body in the west give a damn. Noyhing but crooked western politics.
Look at these morons talking about priests and sinhala being massacred. Who killed whom in 1983 riot. Ask your mummies and daddies before you come in front of your PCs. WHo killed Tamils in 1956? WHo started this off?
Mongolian Buddhist Monks urged our Southern Brethren to KILL the Indigneous People, since their ARRIVAL, for the past 1400 years.
Evil Buddhist Monks were destroyed by Moghul Muslims in Northern India.
Hi Prabhakaran
“You are a ‘Chunni illay Tamil’ I wanted to know who is going to represent all the innocent Sinhala people and priest’s who were slaughtered by LTTP terrorists in the past? Where were you then..? Where were the courts then? No body in the west give a damn. Noyhing but crooked western politics.”
Well, haven’t u got a minster in ur governments’ cabinet who can give eye witness or perhaps be even convicted of doing those? so why nor ask him?????????
thank you JANE,
firstly let dublin bring out its own truth on catholic /protestant massacrs!
This is nothing but a kangroo court. The judge and the jury are the same.
As if the courts in SL are divine dispensers of justice. Whatever happened to the various investigations by the HRC which folded up just like that. Just take your little ostrich head out of the sand and you will see a better world.
This is far better than the singhala courts in Sri Lanka. There are no judges and no juries but the President is behind everything.
But not anywhere near the LTTE court where the judges shoot the accused in the ear.
Kalag, you are not well informed! The srilankan army shoot LTTE fighters in the ear. Watch the foto composition of dead LTTE men. By the wy have not heard about the fair justice system of the LTTE. Even the srilankan courts asked for assistance in some cases from the LTTE courts in Vavuniya. You are not an illiterate,
don´t you?
If what you allege the LTTE has done will come as no surprise, it being branded a terrorist organisation but surely you are not that dumb to know that the SR legal system has become a laughing stock. No less than appointed by the President himself, the International Eminent Jurists indictment of the kind of justice dispensed in SL is just the sort of justice you are talking about.
correct SOORYA in sri lanka their is no justce.sri lanka is a criminel island.
Hay Mr. claude OR Mr. clouded,
So I take that you live in Mars or some where else other than planet Earth or you may be deaf & blind to not to notice anything thats going around in the world. Where is the justice for innocent Iraqi’s, Afghanis and Palestinians whoes getting killed daily due to terrorist activities and coalition forces? US, UK and some other western countries are the biggest criminals in the whole world. Sri Lanka was forced to defend here self (by any means) due to criminal terrorists (LTTP).
soorya u are a idiotic fool whos mother has been done by a sinhala army
that yr buru prabhas court where hindus who converted to christianity were shot in kovils! that why da dog died adog
This is a Tribunal, not a normal court. Do you not know the difference?
Who is this clown Jude Fernando? From where did he get the authority to appoint tribunals? Who is funding this guy? Let’s have all the info.
Well, if you’re so concerned about someone who is working for the perservation of human rights in the world, you should do your own research and find out who he is. I know it might be an entirely new concept in Sri Lanka, but try anyway. And while you’re at it, why not start asking the same questions about your politicians who run your country, and find out what they’ve been doing to the people and the country.
Thank you a million times, Nancy.
Citizen, attack the message, not the messenger.
Please tell us why this tribunal should not have been undertaken.
If Sri Lanka serves its citizens justice, this won’t take place outside Sri Lanka.
This is not from tsunami money, that is for sure!
Who is this ‘clown’ who calls himself/herself ‘Citizen’? Excuse me, but your way of talking about someone whom you don’t know is very bad. It only shows a horribly grumpy attitude, and talking in such a way about a fellow citizen does not leave a good impression about a citizen….
HOW about a peoples tribunal on USA AND BRITAIN AND THE WHOLE OF NATO FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN IRAQ, AFGANISTAN AND IN THE NW PROVICES OF PAKISTAN.
They are Sri Lankans. Our kith and kin. Their plight needs to heard and aired so the culprits can be brought to justice. Everyone knows that Gota was waiting for the General to go to China to expedite the war. That’s how civilians got killed.
Of course! Otherwise the General would have stood in between the shooters and the terrorists.
Perera, do something about USA and UK if you wish. Nobody is preventing you. If anybody prevents you, please complain in places like this.
This is about Sri Lanka where thousandsof murders remain uninvestigated through lack of political will.
Perera, don’t you worry about other countries like your president says. We will look after whatever happened in Sri Lanka and let others look after their own country… ofcourse they have to give alms and arms whenever your president needs…
By the way, what is the Generaal’s response on the execution vedeo shown on Cnannel 4…how can the General fonseka keep quiet of the acts by his own men..?
He does not have to. He was away from the country at that time!!!!
And you were with him? According to your opinion the ex-General would have to be there to say anything about this cold blooded killings!
His mouth was SHUT by Gota and Gota’s Mouth was speaking.
why did gota put his di in SF mouth?
The People’s Tribunal will be impartial in the proceedings of the hearing and will expose the truth to the world. This is what everyone have been waiting for.
We would like everyone who have clear witness accounts of the killings and criminal acts during the war and after the war; to contribute without being shy or afraid of anyone. Let’s do it together to make it a success.
Seyad – from UK.
War criminal Palitha Kohana said, this Tribunal is paid by the LTTE. But he is not sure whether it is paid personally by Mr. Pirabaharan.
who is MR.piraharan?? the cold bloded killer whos family was killed in front of him & then killed like a dog?
thank you SEYAD. we will see what will happen to the killers.
Sri Lanka does not have to pay any attention to this court. This is all the Tamil Diaspora’s work. The judges in these courts do not have any other jobs so they want to keep themselves busy. This court has to be dismantled with the help of Sri Lanka’s friends.
You mean China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia (The axis of evildoers ) who gave napalm bombs, cluster bombs, MIGs and hireling airforce of Pakistan to do the dirty bombings on villages and towns for 10% or higher commission?
Do Sri Lanka have friends? China, India or Iran? Axis of Evil.
Donkey Soorya,
West is envy of Sri Lanka. Why? because they totaly destroyed terrorism and by doing so they manage to navigate SL away from the crooked western powers who didn’t want to see an end to this problem. Norway and other nordic countries did their part as well (to de-stabilise the whole reagon, south asia).
I don’t think your tamil brain is bright enough to understand the geo politics here. Grow up Mr.
This is only a tribunal do not worry. Why we want to fault others. Take a look at our courts, we have poya day judges even in the Supreme courts. What about the helping Hambantota case. What is happening GST and other tax cases the list will be a big one. Those who take the stand to protect the country from foreign forces must be prepared to clean the skeletons in our own cupboards first
Kalag
You seem to be someone who is at least taking time to read other people view but I am sorry to say you are blinded by the “LTTE terrorist” euphomism. Is it your heartfelt belief that it was OK to have killed 10s of thousands of civilians to ensure that the few hundred LTTE cadres who were amongst them were killed. Would you have accepted,during the JVP uprising, had the Sri Lankan government bombed the entire heartland of JVP, killing tens of thousands of civilians to ensure that all the JVP cadres were killed. That would have been a war crime. If you bomb an area with the full knowledge that it will cause civilian casualties that constitutes a war crime.
The civilians who were in the no fire zone who were killed in the last few days of the war, went there on the request of the Sri Lankan government. It was a cold blooded murder that these civilians were bombed to kill the LTTE cardres who too moved with these civilians into the no fire zone. If on the other hand if you believe that no such bombing took place what is there to hide. Do you realise that the criminal act by the leadership is making the entire Sri Lankan people criminals when their acts are defended by people like you. When there is clear evidence emerging showing what happend in Mullivaikal, refusing even to consider the evidence in order to establish the truth does not bode well for future reconciliation of the peoples of this island. I hope you rise above the blinkered view that it was OK because they were only Tamil civilians and that they were moving along with the LTTE therefor deserved to die.
N K Ratnam,
Who declared the existence of “war crimes”? Isn’t war a crime in itself? and who decided what a “war crime” constitutes? These are not questions relevant to the discussion, really, but thinking about them might help us understand the ‘bigger picture’, methinks.
mil of the God is slow, but sure!
I would have thought that its being held in Dublin would necessarily limit the available eyewitnesses to those who happen to have left Sri Lanka for Ireland and other countries within easy travel distance of Ireland. I have no idea of the numbers, and it may be that they are large enough to provide a wide range of witnesses. Maybe not.
If the preliminary findings are to carry weight, it is crucial that they be the product of an even-handed inquiry, and even if the evidence is overwhelmingly one-sided, it is important that the Tribunal’s Report be less so.
Jude Fernandopulle has missed a whole heap of eye witnesses, who have seen gory massacres by LTTE cadres, like those who witnessed innocent villagers being cut to pieces and killed; innocent kids being dashed against trees ; exploding bombs in buses and trains killing hundreds of bread winners and school children at a time, etc. Most conspicuous of them all is the evidence recorded on video, where Adele Balasingham is seen handing over cyanide capsules to child cadres conscripted by the LTTE. Jude Fernandopulle is myopic, for sure.
I agree with you, potta harry. seems you see well, despite being potta. N K Ratnam also seems to have a partial vision problem.
looks like soorya wants pound of flesh and is a full timer on this page..,this is what happens when u act aginst humanity, nature and civilizations,, hitler had to be eliminated ,Idi Amin had to be eliminated so is murderous Prabakaran..Do not weep on his death..,im a son born to a tamil mother sinhala father., Every time a bomb went off in south my mother feared ,.but our neighbours relations of father protected us.i went to a singhaleese school and i was accepted as a brother..we did not have complex problems., Do not compare the 83 riots as the behaviour of all singhaleese., It was the thugs of UNP government who did it, which gave reason prabakaran to exist., We need to forget the past., Soorya let not inflict any pain on the wound which has started healing.,give up revenge.. Accept the truth,, Tamil and all others live peacefully after prabakaran..What a joke these missionaries doing.,. They should hold trial for all what their ancestors did to other religeons in 1800′s..Soorya enough and rest your revengeous soul..
I agree with u man.Hatred has to end.Prabakaran had to die for the betterment of or future generations.Now all tamils can raise their heads and walk anywhere without being mistakenly noticed as a suicide bomber..
forgive forget let the younger generation with good moral background take over the country. let present glory seekers to the pasteur and rest follow the moral philosophy of buddhism hindusim christianity and koran for the country be a paradise. a dream reality i will be dead and gone
Most of the Democratic countries are trying to Have a Research and Analysis of War Crimes on Sri Lanka.
Congratulations to Dublin for being a Pioneer on World Justice. The Evil (Buddhism) must be erased from Good World Order.
u words show what kind of a man by insulting another religeon.your words show what religeon/faith u follow ..i feel sorry for u..
hope the tamils are freed from the camps……….
let them get on with their lives….
btw does anyone know how many eye witness there are
i know one of them becuase sh is on cousin but like any one know any people?
Hi Guys,
We say LTTE is a Terrorist so we cant expect them to behave like responsible government. SL Government killed its own citizen , it is called Government
terrorism. Sept 11th gave the way for all the government to use their force against freedom fighters as Hilary said.I got some naked pictures of LTTE GIRLS in a horriable way SENT BY some Singala Army.
If you have sisters or if LTTE had dome to any Singala girls then Srilankan government will use that as propaganda.
So forget things , look for reconcilation and development unless you dont want any tamils to live in Srilanka.
The truth has been exposed now and congratulations to the War Crimes Tribunal in Dublin. Now the next step will be to take those responsible for Genocide and war crimes against the tamil population to the International Courts. There must be justice and all those responsible punished. I am sure everyone agrees that we cannot have a blind eye and make criminals to walk freely. We all must rally around once again and take all witnesses and recorded truth to the International Courts.
Seyad – from UK
This Irish guys and the Channel 4 are messing up with Sri Lanka again. RW, SF and TNA are encouraging this to show the people that how bad it is. MR will sort this out once the election is over and after getting the second term.
SF will be preparing for the “EXIT” now, I suppose.
hye friends.. don’t belive srilankan army..b.c they kills aloads kids
if you don’t belive .. last fiting time i watch some real vedio cilp also
singala people realy they no nothing about last time war.(mullaithivu)
b.c singala news peper say wer kills only ltte. but 2 years kids olso they kill. so.. 2 years kids ltte??? don’t belive srilankan courment news
watch some ather news also..
thanks
hello surya.. keep it up . good job.. bc some singala friends they don’t no
anything about last war b.c singala president rajapaksa. sencer news
how monny tamil pepel missing in colombo? howmony peple waigth van
kidnaping tamils.. they don’t no?
singala peple always sleeping hahaha
thatsway gourment playing with peple