A UN Report And War Crimes Probe

A Time magazine conducted poll saw President Rajapaksa being voted as the fourth most influential person. This influential position could not prevent the Ban Ki-Moon report.
The government in an organised manner handled a massive campaign to bring Mahinda Rajapaksa into the fourth place via email voting and followed up with a publicity thrust through the government owned as well as the private media. But wait, Time magazine was not kind to Mahinda in the fine print. They described Mahinda as a leader who dispensed with independent commissions, ignored human rights and thumbed his nose at democracy. The negative aspects highlighted by the magazine however were carefully omitted by the local media.

But the matter did not end there. In its final list, editors at Time Magazine did not include the name of Mahinda Rajapaksa as being among its 2011 top 100 most influential people. All this after state run institutions acting on orders used computers to vote a couple of hundred times from each desk top in favour of Rajapaksa thereby propelling him to a No. 4 slot in the pre final list.  Nevertheless, editors at Time were unimpressed and axed Rajapaksa from their final list. Despite the President having “fairly or unfairly” polled over 194,000 votes.

Time Magazine Fiasco

That President Rajapaksa was ahead of President Obama according to this poll was blown up. But the government went into reverse gear with this propaganda thrust with the leaking of the Ban Ki-Moon report. Rajapaksa coming ahead of Obama was not to be plugged at this moment. It was not politically prudent. The government took precautions by advising certain sections of the media to hold their horses. Annoying the United States and other Western powers at this crucial juncture was not wise and the government put a lid on it.
President Rajapaksa was in Medamulana celebrating the Sinhala New Year when the three member committee report on the last days of the war in Sri Lanka was handed over to Ban Ki-Moon. Many who visited Medamulana to wish him considered the contents of the report posed a challenge to him. President Rajapaksa used his characteristic lingo to describe his plight. “I am neck deep in trouble now,” he said. However he was in an aggressive mood. He had to take the report head on. The people had to be mobilized against the report. “The people are behind me… That is my strength…” said Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He was yet an angry man and ready for a scrap when he returned to Colombo. He gathered the party leaders of the government camp to a meeting as the report merited serious consideration.
“These people (who raised the report) say they have enough evidence. I do not know from where this so called evidence was gathered. We have a plan in place to counter. We need a show of strength as a country and an elected government in the first instance. We will mobilize China and Russia to support us in the UN Security Council. This will further strengthen us. The most important factor is the support of India. Right now the policy making body which looks after Sri Lanka is split in their thinking. Some support us whilst others do not. India has always backed us when war crimes were spoken of in the past.
“But do not forget that India did not sign our petition when we sought the assistance of the Non Aligned nations in the recent past. That was the first indication that India had changed their stance towards us,” he said. Milinda Moragoda, a party leader who supports the government was of the view that the government had handled India without due consideration. He felt that the time was ripe to work at it to get India back on track. Agreeing, Rajapaksa said that he would send a team to India. “They are now part of the Security Council and we need them,” he said.

Counter Attack

Be that as it may, Rajapaksa summoned SLFP seniors Maithripala Sirisena and Susil Premjayanth to plan a show of strength at grassroots level, in another counter operation. Sirisena was of the opinion that Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe should be roped in to support the counter moves. “Ranil was in support of this report covertly, at the outset. He was fully into it at the early stages. But when Sajith challenged him to the leadership, he dropped all of that and sought my help. I too helped him. But don’t worry…on this issue he is with me,” declared Mahinda.
He spoke further, “You organise the May Day to show our strength. We must show that the people are with us. Work hard towards this. We don’t need protests where people flock to eat and drink and go home. Organise a protest to show patriotism. Bring at least a million to Colombo…” Rajapaksa urged. He followed this up with a meeting with the electoral organisers and advised them too as to how the protest should be conducted.
The United Nations Office was quick to learn of the planned protest. The UN Office got in touch with Sri Lanka’s representative at the UN, Palitha Kohona. They reminded him about the previous attempt at a similar protest in front of the UN Office in Colombo where the UN  staff were harassed and requested Kohona to prevent such from happening again on May 1. Palitha Kohona brought this to the notice of Prof. G.L. Peiris who in turn apprised the President prior to his leaving to Bangladesh.

Blow Hot, Blow Cold

By now Rajapaksa’s aggression had abated and he was quick to warn state media heads to stop attacking the UN and Ban Ki-Moon though such requests were made earlier. “The private media will attack the UN. Then they will think that this is the pulse of the nation. If the state media does it the UN will think that the government is fashioning the anti UN feeling amongst the people. The private media is already doing so,” he said.
It is the impression of political observers that this change came by after meeting with the Russians and the Chinese. They feel that these governments’ advice would have been to desist attacking the UN as it would not be the best way to handle this situation. When the Ambassador of Russia met with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa it was his view that this was not a UN report but one which was to advise the Secretary General.  They also were of the view that leaking of this report to a section of the media was wrong. The UN too voiced their concerns over this.
The report was not to be released until such time the Sri Lankan government had time to respond. This appears to have been the agreement. It was in fact the Government of Sri Lanka that had made such a request.  Recall, in an earlier attempt to sort this out with the UN when the Attorney General and a team met with UN officials it was the Government of Sri Lanka that wished that the discussions be kept confidential. Yet when Prof G.L Peiris was on an official visit to the United Kingdom he admitted to a question by the British press that such a confidential meeting did take place. The UN on this occasion too showed their displeasure.

Inner City Press

The advisory committee report being handed over to the Government of Sri Lanka and the agreement between the parties to keep it confidential was reported in the Inner City Press by Mathew Lee in the following fashion.
“The scanned portion of the UN Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka war crimes leaked, presumptively by the government, to The Island newspaper has been obtained by Inner City Press and is being put online here.
It shows that the Panel’s three members signed off the report on March 31, 2011. Why was it only on April 12 that it was handed over to Ban Ki Moon, who on April 13 gave it to Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, General Shavendra Silva?
Inner City Press spoke both with Silva and with Permanent Representative Palitha Kohona on the evening of April 19, arriving uninvited at a reception at Kohona’s residence. Despite statements by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s spokesman that the report would be released, Kohona argued that it should not be made available to the public.
Kohona emphasized, as it seems his government did to Ban Ki Moon, that because April 13 onward was a holiday in Sri Lanka, the UN should not release the full report. Kohona said that Monday was a lunar holiday, and the UN should not release the report — giving a new meaning to Ban Ki Moon.
Those days were used to leak a portion of the report to The Island newspaper, with President Mahinda Rajapaksa calling for mass protests against the UN report on May 1.

BAN, WITH KOHONA LOOKING ON, WITH SILVA, 196 PAGES & 36 HOURS LATER STILL NOT SHOWN

At Kohona’s reception, the Permanent Representative of Egypt – Maged Abdelaziz, the same one as under Hosni Mubarak — arrived and chatted with Silva and Kohona. Egypt, as Head of the Non Aligned Movement, pressured Ban Ki Moon against any real investigation of war crimes in Sri Lanka.
Abdelaziz left early, as did Inner City Press. Silva said he had two other events to attend — part of a campaign about and against the Panel of Experts report. We’ll have more on this.
With the UN Secretariat in seeming paralysis holding back the war crimes Panel of Experts’ report for a five full days after portions were leaked, presumptively by the government, to The Island newspaper, sources have described the process to Inner City Press.
The report, they say, is 196 pages long. On April 11, Inner City Press learned that it would be handed over to Ban Ki Moon on April 12. After it was, it was also provided — on hard copy only  to Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative, General Shavendra Silva, who is himself implicated in war crimes in the final stages of the conflict.
The UN told Shavendra Silva that Ban would be releasing the report in 24 hours, sources tell Inner City Press. Silva responded that the Sri Lankan government wanted or needed “a little more time”. The UN replied that it would give 36 hours, tops.
But the 36 hours came and went. And by then a scan of the hard copy had been provided to The Island, a newspaper which agrees with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Island ran it, with typos identified by Inner City Press.
Inexplicably to many, Ban and the UN Secretariat even then did not release the report. They held it over the weekend, and did not release it either Monday or Tuesday. They have, many say, undermined the report.
The Experts, too, have done their part. Their report as excerpted says that all international staff left an area — then when were international staff witnessing the shelling of a medical facility? This will be fodder for the government’s response. But the government of Rajapaksa has already responded, with a call for mass protests against the UN report on May 1.”
Even China and Russia feel that the report of the UN should be held back till such time the Government of Sri Lanka responds to it. However the UN Political Affairs Chief Lyn Pascoe briefed the Security Council on the report. Recall that Russia objected to discussing the war in Sri Lanka when it came up at the UN Security Council in 2009. This time Russia had taken out an objection based on procedural error but listened to Lyn Pascoe’s briefing silently.  The Inner City Press had reported that the UN Security Council had agreed that the report should not be taken up till the entire report is released but showed displeasure at the leaking of the report.
The listing of Sri Lanka’s war crimes in the agenda of the UN Security Council for the first time is considered a set back for the Government of Sri Lanka. Some feel that the human rights charges against Russia and China would be glossed over by them agreeing to discuss Sri Lanka’s war crimes charges. However Lyn Pascoe stated that in the coming weeks the report would be issued and Ban Ki Moon would state what action would be recommended thereafter.

Against Expectations

The Government of Sri Lanka never expected the report to be as bad. This was why the government sent the Attorney General and others secretively to meet with the panel. The government would have wanted a true picture of the war explained by none other than General Shavendra Silva who himself was a key player of Sri Lanka’s military and thereby minimize to an extent an otherwise serious report being presented. The final outcome was not as expected.
Even when lining up countries to support the cause of Sri Lanka the government has stumbled. The best example is when India is clearly important the government has crossed swords with India over IPL cricket. Sri Lanka Cricket has asked the local players to return prematurely to train for the forthcoming England Tour before the IPL tourney ends. This immediate recall after the displeasure shown at the treatment meted out to Rajapaksa and other ministers during the recently concluded World Cup in India would not have missed the attention of the Indians.
While the Indian Cricket Board is at discussions with the Indian government on this issue there remains a threat that Sri Lankan cricketers may run the risk of being blacklisted from future IPL tournaments. With all these on the boil it would be a hard task for the Sri Lankan government to seek India’s help to counter the Ban report. Meanwhile Indian Premier Manmohan Singh had telephoned Rajapaksa on Wednesday. The discussion had lasted about 45 minutes and President Rajapaksa had sought India’s help.
Whilst all this was happening Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was holidaying in Spain. He moved to London to attend the birthday celebration of his friend and onetime adviser Ramesh Bandara, an ex police officer and security detail. He was sent to London by Ranil. He had several cases of assault in court. Ramesh had differences with Ranil’s current Private Secretary Sudath Chandrasiri who was also a former police officer. Though these were sorted out Ramesh was sent to the USA but was brought back as an adviser when Ranil won in 2002. Later he was sent to London.

UNP Still To Respond

When the UNP was in the process of preparing its response to the UN committee report, Ranil according to the pro RW web site Lanka News, had requested Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya to consult Ramesh. The latter was a physical training instructor and had worked under a Sri Lankan businessman running a sex shop in the USA. These are some who advised Ranil on how the party should be run. It is Sudath who prepares the list of speakers for press conferences or meetings. The Secretary of the UNP Tissa Attanayake has even charged that he has attempted to alter the minutes of the UNP Working Committee.
The minutes of the meeting of the UNP Working Committee where Ranjith Madduma Bandara’s name was proposed was said to be brought before Sudath Chandrasiri by a secretary at Siri Kotha and Tissa had occasion to hold a meeting of the staff to warn them against such in future. However Sudath seems more powerful than the General Secretary. Some seniors lament that the party is run by a police mafia. They go further and say whilst Rajapaksa is bent on running the country through the military, Ranil is doing so with his party through the police.

Ranil – Sajith Clash Again

Meanwhile many UNPers who stand by democratic practices are irked by the actions of Ranil whereby he has sidelined those who did not support him during the Sajith episode. They are also annoyed at the way Ranjith Madduma Bandara’s nomination to the post of National Organiser had been handled by Ranil and are preparing many protests both locally and overseas. They want the main party in the opposition, the UNP, to be transparently democratic. Towards this end they plan to inform IDU, the International Democratic Union where Ranil holds a position amongst other organisations.
Be that as it may Ranjith Madduma Bandara met with the Maha Nayakas to seek their blessings to assume the post of National Organiser of the UNP. The Maha Nayakas had said that the small man has no place in the UNP of present. Sajith has also said that the party will be pushed into further turmoil if the party constitution is violated. He has stated unless the party leader desists from undemocratic actions he would be compelled to take drastic political action. Some feel that he would give up his positions within the party and go back to grass roots level politics and work towards changing the course of the party. It seems like fireworks will begin once again when Ranil returns to the country.

Gen Fonseka To Give Evidence

By the weekend speculation was rife as to what evidence Gen. Sarath Fonseka was going to give in the White Flag case. This was more so with the UN report being leaked and Fonseka’s evidence following close on its heels. Fonseka had asked for time to give evidence and the government did not object to the postponement.  The world order will be watchful and keeping an eagle eye on his evidence with the UN report yet fresh on the table.
The Maha Sangha too have asked that Fonseka be released so that the war crimes charges can be defeated. Some ‘patriots’ within the government ranks too are clamouring for the release of Fonseka to strengthen the state’s efforts at defeating the war crimes charges. The UN panel report and the demand for the release of Gen. Fonseka have added to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s woes.