Issues

The battle over.... No exodus out...   An election dominated... The people...

War rhetoric and the numbers game

PM says K'nochi could've been
 taken by yesterday (23)

Predictions coincide with elections
notes Janaka Perera

PM's and Def. Min. casualty figures
differ drastically

High desertion rate a cause for worry

By Ranjith Jayasundera

When Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake ascended the stage to address an SLFP rally in the Kuruwita area of Ratnapura last week, he roared that the military was in a position to capture Kilinochchi town by yesterday (Saturday).

"We are very, very close. Kilinochchi is not very far from our site," he insisted, emphasising that "Our boys might even take Kilinochchi by August 23." Unfortunately, in a telling sign as to how much enthusiasm the government is received with in Ratnapura, the rally was practically deserted.

This, of course, the PM attributes to the fact that people were afraid to attend due to terrorist threats, according to the BBC Sandeshaya Service. It appears that as the war draws closer to an end, the level of terrorist threats seems to increase in proportion.

As startling as the Prime Minister's claim was, it was quickly rebuffed by a retired army general with political ambitions. "I am puzzled as to why always these predictions coincide with elections," was the wry comment of Major General Janaka Perera, the UNP's main candidate in yesterday's North Central Provincial Council election.

Not alone

But the Prime Minister wasn't alone in his proclamations; his was simply the most outlandish. The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, was not far behind with his pledge that Kilinochchi will be captured by the army within the next few months.

His was a follow up to a statement by the military that the army had already entered the Kilinochchi District from an undisclosed location. Yet the Army Commander himself admitted, the military' strategy is one that might allow the LTTE insurgency to "last forever."

As many analysts have been saying since the military campaign in the Wanni started, it is one that lacks clarity or direction. At various times officials have made statements so self-contradictory that they lead to fears that - despite the ruthless professionalism emanating from the soldiers on the ground - the top brass do not know whether they are coming or going.

It also begs the question whether overall military strategy is being compromised at the altar of political expediency as was evident with Prime Minister Wickramanayake's desperate claim that Kilinochchi will be captured by election day, August 23.

Main aim

The Defence Secretary, for example, told the New York Times in a May interview that the government's main aim was "to destroy the leadership" of the LTTE. This has in the past been the work of the army's deep penetration units and air force bombers, coupling their strikes with accurate intelligence information on target positions.

But by last week the Secretary Defence had changed his mind. He told the UK's Times Online that he had to "go after (the Tigers) and completely eradicate them." His brother, President Mahinda Rajapakse has often insisted that the ongoing war was part of a humanitarian campaign to free civilians, or systematic retaliation to LTTE aggression.

Yet in the heat of the elections with opinion polls not favouring the government, the Commander in Chief too came out with his real thinking on the war while he was addressing a rally in Ruwanwella, Sabaragamuwa. "There is no turning back under any circumstances or influence now, until every inch of land is recaptured and each and every terrorist is killed or captured!" he thundered to the crowd.

Given all its contradictions, the government will find it difficult to maintain its facade of impending victory, unless it finds some form of tangible 'victory' to show to the public. Over 14,000 soldiers have deserted the forces in 2008, Military Spokesman, Brigadier General Udaya Nanayakkara told The Sunday Leader. This figure is around 5.4% of the army's total strength over a period of just over half a year.

Heavy expenditure

Although these soldiers are not from the army's most battle-hardened regiments, they are troops who have seen combat, and whom the military depends on to hold the territory behind its advances. The military spends over Rs. 1 million on the 15 week training periods for each and every one of these soldiers, the Brigadier said.

"That cost includes the cost of their starting salaries, paying their instructors, buying their uniforms, rations, weapons and other equipment, as well as rations and accommodation," he said. Even the lowest ranking soldier serving in an operational area would collect just under Rs 30,000 monthly, according to the military - a figure that even adjusted for inflation, is far higher than that ever paid to soldiers over the last few decades of conflict.

The general thus doubts that deserters have left the army for economic reasons and instead suggests that 'personal reasons' played a bigger role. Brig. Nanayakkara also said that during the late 1990's, the desertion rate was much higher and over 30,000 would desert the army in a year.

"Now the figures are far lower," he said. 5.5% however, is an extremely high rate of desertion for any army - enough to cause alarm. At the peak of the US military's Vietnam debacle, when a draft (effectively conscription) policy was in place and tens of thousands of American soldiers were being slaughtered, the desertion rate peaked at 5%.

Too soft

A senior military officer, who wished to remain anonymous due to a witch hunt against officers who speak with 'traitorous' journalists, felt that the military was taking the desertion issue too softly. "When we are supposed to be in a successful military campaign, 5.5% is a crazy rate. Don't forget, you're saying 5.5% out of the whole strength of the army, but that is including all from engineers to admin officers. If you look at what number of combat troops are deserting, that's a huge and scary number."

It is impossible to independently establish the ground situation faced by soldiers on the Wanni battlefront, since the military does not allow access for journalists to visit the front lines. Yet the threat of insurgency faced by the military, especially in the light of outright retreats by the LTTE, has been significantly downplayed.

Even in the cleared Eastern Province, which is now effectively the domain of Karuna and Pillayan, the military and the STF find signs of LTTE infiltration nearly every day. Barely a day has passed since Pillayan was appointed Chief Minister in May, without the military and STF either encountering an LTTE splinter cell, or discovering a stash of weapons - ranging from automatic weapons, to claymore mines, rocket propelled grenade launchers to light artillery mortars.

If this is the situation in the Eastern Province, whose former LTTE czars are on the government's side, it is easy to imagine the abundance of military hardware stashed in safe-houses and jungle hide-aways, behind the army's advances.

'Clever tricks'

Karuna himself warned last week that Pirapaharan may have some clever tricks up his sleeve. He told a news briefing in Welikanda - while out campaigning - that the LTTE would use northern civilians as blatant human shields, and use chemical weapons to try to halt the army's advances. He also took the 'credit' for the LTTE's military operations to rout the Jayasikuru campaign, and the operations to capture Elephant Pass and Kilinochchi from the army. Without him, says the Colonel, the Tigers are past their heyday.

The Sunday Leader earlier cited a research paper published by the British Medical Journal, which warned that due to errors inherent in normal casualty reporting methods, the death toll from Sri Lanka's war may be higher than 300,000 - opposed to the earlier estimate of 60 to 70 thousand.

With the government's own figures, nearly 16,000 people - of whom just fewer than 2,000 were civilians - have been killed in the past two years of conflict. This year alone over 600 security forces personnel have laid down their lives, in 'return' for the military claiming to have killed some 6,300 LTTE cadres in the same period.

The month of July has been the bloodiest yet, with the government claiming to have iced 1,017 terrorists for the loss of 106 soldiers' lives. These figures were revealed by the Prime Minister to parliament, before the entire government took off on election campaigning work.

The most worrying part of the Prime Minister's statement was that he said 622 - six times the number killed - soldiers were 'injured' in battle. This is not a military that counts a scratch on the arm or a broken toe as an injury. A lot of these soldiers, aged 18 and up, have been hurt so badly that their lives have been effectively shattered.

The stats

Also, if the government claims that nearly 12,000 Tigers have been killed between 2006 to date, surely at least a similar number must also have been maimed?

The Prime Minister's numbers for those killed last month however did not tally with our own records of news releases from the Defence Ministry.

The Ministry doles out the odd news story of a soldier who "laid his life for the motherland" or "made the supreme sacrifice" every so often, scattered amongst the banner headlines of all the hundreds of terrorists it is killing every week. The total number of soldiers admitted killed by the military itself in the month of July was just 55, almost half the 106 that Ratnasiri Wickremanayake claims were killed.

Similarly, the military's reports only allow that 299 soldiers were injured in the month of July, despite the Prime Minister's figure being double this. Although these figures cannot be verified, time and time again they are found to be untrue and reek of fabrication.The intention is obvious and there in lies the rub.

Rather than fight the war on a strategic basis to corner the Tigers what the government is doing all too obviously is dish out false propaganda simply to achieve political ends as opposed to real military successes. Thuswhile claiming on a daily basis that only one or two soldiers are killed as opposed to dozens of Tigersin their propaganda handouts, the government is conditioning the minds of the people on a daily basis the war is nearing end at very little human cost to the military.

Monthly statement

Then comes the monthly statement of the Prime Minister at the emergency debate giving lie to the government's own daily propaganda by stating over 100 soldiers were killed for the month with over 600 injured if July is taken as an example. That figure of course does not spell out the number of missing in action or deserters. What does this mean in real terms ? In July alone for example there were over 725 soldiers either killed or injured in battle. Simply put that is an average of 23 soldiers are killed or injured every day.

Now the purpose of highlighting this fact is not to demoralise the soldiers because they know the ground realities being in the frontlines but to impress upon the government not to fight the war through the news media to achieve narrow political ends since the truth will out and it will not do the government's credibility any good via the very people they are trying to convince.

Thus,over the seven months that we have been recording the Defence Ministry reports, it has been easy to spot certain amusing trends. The number of soldiers announced killed in any report is almost certainly couched towards the end of a story, and it is generally zero, one or two. The number of LTTE cadres killed however, often follows a different pattern. Often the number of Tigers reported killed would match the day of the month or the article's ID number on the Defence Ministry web site.

Propaganda war

Thus the Ministry is winning its war, but a propaganda war. Around Colombo the Presidential Secretariat has gotten in on the act by replacing the contents of nearly every single Colombo Municipal Council hoarding to advertise President Rajapakse and his Nelum Mal logo.

The government has set yet another target for capturing Kilinochchi, Pirapaharan's headquarters. It is well known that as the military advances, the Tigers will have nowhere to run, as the army is in place north of Elephant Pass along the Muhamalai - Nagarkovil defence line.

Thus, as the President promised, once "every inch" of land has been captured, the government would be hard pressed to explain themselves should the senior LTTE leadership manage to escape and disappear, as did Bin Laden in Afghanistan, or 900 Tigers who simply 'vanished' from a 'surrounded' Thoppigala last year.

If the military is unable to capture Pirapaharan or his top rankers, and the government proceeds to appoint another 'Karuna' out of nowhere to run shop in the Northern Province, the sinister back room dealings that took place between the President's confidants and the LTTE during and just after his presidential election may finally begin to make sense.

The government would thereforeat least now do well to fight the good fight and give the valiant soldiers their due credit and respect by recognising their achievements and sacrificeswithout overplaying the propaganda card since before long they would have wiped out not just the LTTE but the entire Tamil population twice over if it is to simply be a numbers game alone.

The people have  spoken

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
in Anuradhapura and Arthur Wamanan in Ratnapura

Polling at the North Central Provincial Council elections concluded yesterday in a relatively calm atmosphere amidst a higher than expected voter turn out.

Given the high level of violence recorded in the Anuradhapura District just days before elections, the atmosphere on the day of the elections was rather subdued.

Army personnel were also deployed to provide security on the day of the elections and the police did not permit any outsiders, including the media to enter into any of the polling stations in the Anuradhapura District.

Election monitors, Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) said that over 70% voters turned out to exercise their franchise in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Districts. Most of the voting took place in the morning and by 11 a.m. over 50% of the voters in many polling stations had cast their votes.

The same trend prevailed in the Ratnapura and Kegalle districts in the Sabaragamuwa provinces and once again, except for a few isolated incidents the election was peaceful and largely free and fair.  The enthusiasm shown by the female population in the provinces was rather shocking. So eager were they to cast their votes at the election that many were seen walking into the booths carrying their infants early in the morning.

Long queues

The long queues of voters waiting to cast their votes extended even to the gates of the polling stations. According to monitors, the people casting their votes in the early hours of the morning prevented any attempts of impersonation.

Opposition parties however, claimed that the high voter turn out was an indication of the people's desire to bring about a change to Sri Lankan politics through the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council elections.

The government however claimed it would emerge victorious due to the unprecedented support it has received from UNP and JVP supporters.

UPFA Chief Ministerial candidate for the NCP, Berty Premalal Dissanayake said minutes after casting his vote at the Deepani Maha Vidyalaya in Anuradhapura that the government would definitely win the North Central Provincial council elections.

He also dismissed allegations of violating elections laws and engaging in violence leveled against him by opposition parties by saying polling was carried out in a peaceful manner without any violence.

"If there is to be any violence it should happen now when the people are going to cast their votes. The media highlights only one side.

They speak of attacks on the UNP, but they do not say our supporters who have been shot, where one person is still in critical condition," he said. He also charged that it was the UNP that was engaged in violence.

UNP's Chief Ministerial candidate Major General Janaka Perera said the UNP managed to carry out its election campaign successfully amidst the violence unleashed by the government. Referring to incidents that took place in the Anuradhapura District yesterday, Perera said that there have been 128 reported cases where polling cards have been taken from the people.

Cases of assault

Among the other reported incidents, he said were 37 cases of assault, six cases of arson, nine cases of attempting to disrupt people from voting and 19 attempts to burn ballot boxes (six from Horowpathana, seven from Kala Wewa, one from Mihinthale and two from Kekirawa electorates among others).

According to Perera, not many cases of attempts on impersonation have been reported yesterday.

"We have information from very reliable sources that 10 ballot boxes were moved out from the Kachcheri into the Chief Minister's office," he said. Perera also said that although the senior police officials had called on the HQI to investigate into the matter, action was not taken till the conclusion of the elections.

Perera claiming victory at yesterday's polls said that although the government tried to rob the people's victory at the polls, the UNP has been very vigilant in acting to save the people's rights.

JVP's chief ministerial candidate, Wasantha Samarasinghe after casting his vote at the Thumbuttegama Central College said that the people's victory for the country would be brought through the North Central Provincial council election.

"The people will vote to rid the North Central Province from violence and corruption and everyone has united for that cause," he said. He added that unlike during the previous times, the people have come forward to safeguard their democratic rights.

"That itself is a sign they want a change. The people have responded to the government attempts to rig the polls," Samarasinghe said. Several voters who spoke to The Sunday Leader after casting their votes said they wanted to bring about a change to the North Central Province, as it was needed to bring about a better future.They said that the high cost of living and other issues were cause for much concern. However, there were also some who said they wished to see an end to the war and it was only the present government that could bring about such an end to the ethnic conflict.

"The government will win because we need to see and end to the war," 88 year old Appuhami said. A much younger Sineth Dasanayake said the voters were faced with a dilemma. "They have to choose between wanting a much needed change and ending the war," he said. Dasanayake added that while on the one hand the government has shown positive signs of ending the war, on the other the people faced with a high cost of living and the country is being isolated by the international community.

"People are not fools; they know that global fuel prices are not the sole reason for the high cost of living. The government has also got the country isolated among its international funders. We understand all these," he said.

While voting was in full swing in almost every electorate in the Anuradhapura District, voting in the threatened villages was to the contrary. A voter from Kebitigollewa said most of the votes in the area have already been cast as majority of them were members of the civil defence force. "Also, 5-10% of the people cannot vote anyway because they have no identification papers with them," he said.

Minor violations

However, minutes after polling commenced at 7 a.m., minor incidents of election law violations were reported from several parts in Anuradhapura. One of the main incidents reported was from Galnewa in the Kala Wewa electorate where the resident of JVP candidate Dhammika Jayawardena was shot at and destroyed allegedly by Dissanayake's supporters. Jayawardena said that since polling began yesterday morning and he and his supporters were being constantly attacked allegedly by Dissanayake's supporters.

He said the attack on his house and the assault on his father who was admitted to the Megalwewa Hospital was a follow up to a rift that took place in the morning between the Galnewa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman's brother and one of Jayawrdena's coordinating secretaries.

Nissanka Udaya Kumara who was at Jayawardena's residence at the time of the attack said that a green cab and white van parked outside the house and two persons in military fatigue opened fire at the house while three persons who arrived in the van started to smash the house. "After attacking the house, they assaulted Dhammika's father. Soon after they left, Berty and his convoy passed the place.

While passing Berty had a good look at the place," he said. Election monitors said that at the time of conclusion of the polls, the major incidents recorded by them were the attack on the JVP candidate's residence and the assault case that led to it.

"Apart from that no major incidents were recorded from the Anuradhapura District," CAFFE monitors said.

Regardless of who may emerge victorious at the polls, the people have spoken in one clear voice - a change is definitely needed from who ever assumes power in the province.

Meanwhile the Provincial Council elections in the Sabaragamuwa province was held in a peaceful environment except for a few incidents of threats and intimidations.

Around 60-70% of voters turned up at the polling booths to cast their votes in the Kegalle and Ratnapura. Districts.

The voter turn up during the morning hours was dull in many of the places, but picked up momentum as the day progressed.

Security however was beefed up in the Ratnapura town. There were very little security personnel deployed in the interior.

JVP Chief Ministerial candidate Chameera Koswatte said that the environment was peaceful and that only few skirmishes were reported.

He also stated that the police had provided its support when they had complained of certain drawbacks during the polls.

The monitors last week lashed out at the police stating that they were functioning in a biased manner.

Police spokesperson SSP Ranjith Gunasekara had said that the police had taken maximum steps to ensure that the polls were held in a free and fair manner.

"We are not saying that they were fully cooperative. But, they took immediate action when we had brought certain drawbacks to their notice. It is good when considering the fact that they were blamed for not doing their job properly by the monitors," he said.

At least two police personnel were deployed at the polling stations.

Issues related to identity cards arose when some of the voters were not allowed to cast their votes, as they did not have their identity documents. The Election Commissioner's Department had made it compulsory for voters to prove their identity before voting.

PAFFREL Spokesman  Rohana Hettiarachchi however stated that it was not a serious problem and stated that it was the fault of the people for not taking the issue seriously.

Some of the civilians stated that the message to apply for at least the temporary identity card, which was issued for the provincial council polls was not notified. The Election Commissioner's Department made it compulsory for the voters to provide their identity documents in order to reduce election rigging.

Proof of identity

This message had not reached the people who are living in the interior.

Koswatte said that mainly women and older people who very rarely come to the main town were not aware of the process and therefore were not allowed to cast their votes.

"The good thing about this procedure is that people are asked to prove their identity before casting their votes. There is very little or no chance of impersonation due to this method," Koswatte said.

The civilians, even those who were asked to go away for not possessing the identity documents said that this was a good move by the authorities in order to reduce election rigging.

However, the sad truth is that some have not even got their national identity cards, though they had applied for it years ago. "It is good that they had done this. Several voters especially those living in areas affected by the recent flood said that they were expecting a change, as they were not properly assisted by the government.

They said that they were well looked after in 2003 when they had faced worse floods.

UNP Chief Ministerial Candidate, Ranjan Ramanayake also stated that the polls were conducted in a free and fair environment.

"The statistics show that more than 60% had voted. This shows that the people want change and that they are fed up of the current administration," he told The Sunday Leader.

The counting of votes started late last evening.

The battle over Indo-Lanka Tele-Medicine project

By Nirmala Kannangara

The health sector is up in arms over the Finance Ministry's failure to consult the Health Ministry and the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) on the proposed tele-medicine project between the governments of Sri Lanka and India.

Discussions were held by the Sri Lankan and Indian government representatives on the proposed project early this year and plans were afoot to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the SAARC Summit, but had to be delayed due to strong opposition by the GMOA, the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and the 38 Colleges of Consultants in Sri Lanka according to GMOA sources.

The Indian government which had a direct dialogue with its Sri Lankan counterparts on the proposed tele-medicine project has failed to introduce a background document in order to explain the implications of the proposed project and the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry which was behind the pact also failed to consult the medical representatives of the Colleges of Consultants, the SLMC and the GMOA before giving its clearance to the 'project,' the GMOA alleged.

 The tele-medicine project is where the usual person-to-person consultation with the doctor is replaced by a similar procedure but being done either over the phone or internet. 

'Deliberate failure'

Finance Ministry's 'deliberate failure' to consult the Health Ministry, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) and the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) on the proposed tele-medicine project between the two governments would not only hamper the country's dignified medical profession which is compatible with the developed countries in the region but also would bring bad repercussions to the patients in particular, these sources charged.

"It is absolutely essential to have a background document in order to understand the implications of the proposed project since the draft MoU only provides an abstract concept of the project. In that backdrop how can the Finance Ministry decide whether the country needs a tele-medicine project or not without having any expert advice," Committee Member GMOA, Dr. Upul Gunasekera told The Sunday Leader.

According to Dr. Gunasekera the Department of External Resources, Ministry of Finance and Planning has given its approval for the project on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. in a letter dated May 22,  to Santosh Jha, Counsellor Economic and Commercial High Commission of India in Sri Lanka.

"Director - Bilateral East Division for Director General, Department of External Resources in a letter dater May 22, to Santosh Jha, Counsellor Economic and Commercial High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, has stated that the Sri Lankan government has no objection to the draft MoU on implementation of tele-medicine network in the country.

"Who is he and on what basis has he said that there are no objections to the proposed project? Has he consulted the GMOA, the SLMC or even the Health Ministry before giving the consent to the project," queried Dr. Gunasekera.

Failure to contact Health Ministry

When The Sunday Leader contacted Director - Bilateral East Division, Department of External Resources in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, A. Kumarasiri to find out as to why the External Resources Department failed to consult the Health Ministry and also the 38 Colleges of Consultants, the GMOA and the SLMC before giving clearance to the project, Kumarasiri said that he need not consult the medical representatives but only the Health Ministry for any implementation.

"As the Director - Bilateral, External Resources Department I need not consult the doctors but only the line ministry," Kumarasiri added.

However Kumarasiri conceded he had failed to get approval from the Health Ministry before he sent the letter of approval to the Government of India. (See box)

Since the SLMC, the GMOA and the 38 Colleges of Consultants have shown their displeasure over the clauses in the MoU, which is without the background document, the proposed project could lead to potential harmful effects, the GMOA claimed.

"We were left in the blues when we realised that the Sri Lankan government has given its approval to the proposed project and when we met Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage on May 23 to discuss the issue we were taken aback when he said that he himself did not know what this project was and as to why the government has given its approval without consulting the Health Ministry. Who is behind this deal and do they want to pull the well qualified Sri Lankan consultants to a lower standard?" queried Dr. Gunasekera.

Developing infrastructure for  tele-medicine

According to Dr. Gunasekera the preamble of the MoU was that the Government of Sri Lanka expressed a desire to develop the infrastructure for tele-medicine.

"Which organisation expressed this desire and on what basis was this done? Is there any evidence to show that there is a need for a tele-medicine project in Sri Lanka and at which point did the medical representative bodies request such a project? We know for certain that the government is trying to mess up the country's health system and also  make our hallowed service second to the Indian medical profession," alleged Dr. Gunasekera.

Dr. Gunasekera further said that the Sri Lankan government has agreed to the said project that envisages the setting up of a tele-medicine network in accordance with the technical scope and specifications as mutually agreed between the host country (Sri Lanka) and the Government of India.

"In Sri Lanka we have a dignified medical service where the SLMC has the sole authority to cancel the license of a doctor for any medical mishap. Even the patient has a right to go before courts if any injustice has occurred to him. But unfortunately under this project the Indian doctors give opinions and prescribe the treatments but finally if anything goes wrong the patient cannot take legal action against the Indian doctors as they have received legal protection from the MoU," Dr. Gunasekera further claimed.

Sole executive agency

According to Dr. Gunasekera it was the Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) a government of India enterprise that would be the sole executive agency for the implementation of the project including procurement of material and machinery required for the project. 'The Government of India (GOI) shall appoint a project-monitoring committee to supervise the implementation of the project,' the MoU states.

"If the TCIL will be the sole executive agency for the implementation of the project including the procurement of machinery and material and has the authority to appoint the project monitoring committee leaving Sri Lanka in the blues, then there should be a hidden agenda. If it was a MoU there should be bilateral collaboration and unless there would be an equal local representation it would be a risk uncontrolled, unsupervised spending and no personnel to look after Sri Lanka's interests," Dr. Gunasekera claimed.

According to Dr. Gunasekera Sri Lanka being one of the few countries in the region that has an excellent medical service with well qualified medical graduates would not need a tele-medicine project with India as the SLMC does not know the qualifications and the standard of the Indian medical degree compared to the Sri Lankan medical degree.

"There are many Indian medical faculties throughout India and how do we know what the standard of the Indian medical degree is? Sri Lanka produces the top if not the best medical graduates in the world and that is why the Sri Lankan degree is well recognised even in European countries. Europeans come to Sri Lanka for their research but not to India since they have found that  Sri Lankan doctors are well qualified, compared to the other countries. In such a scenario could the government force the Sri Lankan medical consultants to get Indian opinions in future?" Dr. Gunasekera questioned.

Consultant doctors

At present there are 960 consultants in the country who have undergone training in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand and whenever they require any expert opinion they always take their foreign tutor's opinion.

"Likewise if we consultants need to seek the opinion of the Indian doctors in the event we need any expert consultation we would always consult them; but going for a tele-medicine project where the Sri Lankan consultants would have to work according to Indian instructions would definitely have severe repercussions on the country's medical profession and the consequences would be serious," claimed Dr. Gunasekera.

According to the abstract, the GOI would arrange the finances required for the implementation of the project and further pay the recurring expenses for the project in the first year. In subsequent years the responsibility of the recurring expenditure will be that of the host country and the recruitment of labour, administrative, technical and other personnel for the project will be confined to the nationals of either country.

"This abstract is ambiguous and is subject to interpretation of the project managers. The stake of the Sri Lankan government has to be clearly stated when deciding on recruitments and preference should be given to the nationals of the host country but not equally with the government of India," he further alleged.

Dubious document

Dr. Gunasekera further said that according to 'this dubious document' the host country should agree to make available the space required in the designated hospital for the project, free of cost and free from all encumbrances. Other local infrastructure in the designated hospital - power, water, air conditioning, furniture, furnishing, security etc., for the equipment/rooms shall be the responsibility of the Sri Lankan government and the cost of utilities and consumables also should be borne by the host country - Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka would also be responsible for the resolutions of administrative as well as legal issues if any, in the execution of the project. The payment of compensation if any and settlement of claims or disputes arising in connection with any of these agreements is to be the sole responsibility of the Sri Lankan government.

"The Sri Lankan government after  spending a massive amount will also have to bear the cost of utilities and also accountability for administrative and legal procedures. The MoU tries to exonerate the Indian government from liabilities of intended or unintended mishaps circumventing the law of the land which would be dangerous and unacceptable," said Dr. Gunasekera.

According to Clause 6 of the MoU, no taxes, levies/ duties including VAT, royalties of any kind shall be levied by Sri Lanka on any activity/work in connection with the project. 'Sri Lanka shall not levy any income tax on any Indian national or Indian firm employed by the GOI as contractor with the project.'

Tax concessions

"What is this nonsense? Tax concessions could be given for a specific time period to the company but not to the individuals' employed in the project. Clear provisions should be incorporated before signing the MoU as it cannot be changed after signing the MoU," Dr. Gunasekera stressed.

"In Clause 7 it states that the personnel of the executing agency shall at all times respect the laws of the government of the host country. However no suit, prosecution or legal proceedings shall be instituted against any person in employment of the executive agency for anything, which is done in 'good faith' or purported to be done in good faith for the successful and expeditious implementation of the project, which is unacceptable since it is contradictory.

"It states that the executive agency should respect the law of the land, but it also claims protection from legal action. Why do they claim that legal action cannot be taken against any Indian, working for the executive agency who would carry out the job in good faith and that alone is subjective, and therefore dangerous. Be it an Indian or Sri Lankan national we should have the right to take legal action against any medical mishaps and over any calamity and the judiciary should be the ultimate authority," Dr. Gunasekera added.

All attempts to contact Secretary, Health Ministry, Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage by The Sunday Leader for a clarification failed.

No exodus out of Wanni yet

Tigers recommence public
training for civilians

Civilian training a propaganda
ploy - Government

Supplies getting in, but concerns remain

By Amantha Perera

Kilinochchi is squarely in the crosshairs of government troops advancing into the Wanni, predictions have been that the Tiger political nerve centre could fall into government hands before the year is through and it is not only the government that is making the claim.

As government forces increased their momentum, so did tens of thousands of civilians who fled areas where troops were moving into. In the last two months, over 12,000 families have fled the fighting, according to UN agencies. The exodus also picked up speed after July 20. Now most of these displaced are living in make-shift centres just south of Kilinochchi and in the Murugandi area.

Their path out of the fighting was to Vellankulam then to Murugandi areas through Thunukkai and Mallavi. Instead of moving further east from the two strategic towns towards Mankulam, the fleeing civilians veered north east and towards Kilinochchi. If they had continued towards Mankulam, they would have been just 35km from Omanthai, but now they are probably 60 km north of the only gateway to the Wanni.

Playing it safe

They probably would not have wanted to take a chance of getting caught in the fighting in the Palamoddai area, north west of Omanthai or as the government and Amnesty International have suggested may have been prevented from leaving the Wanni by the Tigers. Now they are staying within a 10 km radius of Kilinochchi.

Last week's developments indicate that the civilians may not find it easier to leave the Wanni in the coming days and weeks. High among them were reports on August 18 in two pro-Tiger websites Puthinam and Sankathi that said that the Tigers had conducted basic military training for 1000 civilians both men and women in Kilinochchi.

The reports said that the head of the Tiger legal section, Para, was the 'chief guest' at the training session. Civilians working in government, non-governmental sector and those self employed had taken part in the training session. Among others who also took part have been former cadres who had left the organisation.

Unconfirmed reports from Wanni also said that the Tigers had early last week aired a call to rejoin to former cadres over the Voice of Tigers. The announcement had come two days after the Kilinochchi training session.

No option

In the Wanni if the Tigers order, there is no other option but to fall in line, unlike elsewhere where deserters generally roam free. The training session itself was nothing spectacular, the Tigers made a habit of conducting such programmes, out in the open in the north and east in the last two years. However there have been not many such programmes that have been made public of late. Last week's was the first such occasion in 2008.

The event, coinciding with local and international attention mounting on the situation of the Wanni IDPs could be a signal from the Wanni as to where the civilians stand.

"Defence experts observe that this is nothing more than a propaganda stunt by the LTTE since civilians, with the paltry training they can be expected to have got given time and other constraints, will not be a match to the elite units of the security forces," the Government Information Department said last week.

Tigers have not made a secret of using loosely trained civilians, in fact, they had entrusted the security of the southern Wanni FDL to its 'auxiliary force' made up of civilians named Makkal Paddi. The last journalists to visit the Wanni, in mid-2007 spoke of these members, in their own particular uniforms patrolling FDLs.

A similar but clandestine force was also present in Jaffna and Mannar, at least on paper when the first attacks targeting the government forces were recorded in Jaffna in December 2005. It was supposedly an offshoot of the civilian movements which were organising pro-Tiger events like Pongu-Tamil. In statements it warned that it had hundreds of members in Jaffna, but slowly disappeared off the margins. The Wanni is however a totally different scenario.

Difficult

The training by the Tigers also made it even more difficult for government security personnel to determine who is a hardcore cadre, a second tier operative and a non-combatant. Now that fear has been even more heightened.

The latest reports from the Wanni also indicate that government authorities and relief agencies were making plans expecting the IDPs to remain in the Wanni and also possibly move north and north east of Kilinochchi.

"Sites north east of Kilinochchi are being identified to accommodate the newly displaced people. This includes one site approved by the GA for 500 families, while another site for 500 families is under assessment. In addition to a number of smaller sites to accommodate 100 or less families identified by NGOs, eights sites (three large and five small) are to be assessed by stakeholders on 16 August. Needs currently are outpacing shelter supplies," the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) said last week.

Shelter appears to be the biggest concern at the moment with rains expected in late September. Most of the displaced are living in make-shift shelters in open ground or in government buildings, mostly schools. Though some were left in the open initially, relief agencies said that most had some kind of shelter now.

IDP figures

Food supplies for the time being have gotten in to the Wanni. "WFP reported as of 12 August, 105,315 individuals (27,794 IDP families) have been provided with dry rations in Kilinochchi District. This caseload includes 15,365 families (59,349 individuals) who have recently been displaced. Similarly, 8,619 families (31,838 members) have been provided with dry rations in Mullaitivu District," the same report said. The latest WFP figures say that at least 130,000 were depending on the supplies in Kilinochchi.

UN and other humanitarian agencies have warned that supplies could be kept moving as long as the A9 is open and Omanthai functions.

From late June itself agencies were planning for thousands of IDPs trapped in the Wanni. "The SLA is advancing towards the north and according to rumours, could reach Kilinochchi within months, thus creating a situation whereby thousands of IDPs would become caught in between the fighting parties," according to the minutes of an IASC Logistics Meeting held in Colombo on June 27.

The contingence plans were for the relief agencies to have buffer stocks in the Wanni. "This scenario necessitates forward planning from the UN and NGO side in order to have as much food as well as Non Food Relief Items present in the Wanni as possible within a short period of time.

Second displacement

A conservative estimate of "second displacement IDPs is around 129, 000 individuals," according to the minutes. The secondary displacements thus far have been between 55,000 to 75,000. At the same meeting Solidar, had reported having a number of trucks available in the Wanni area to be used in case of emergency transport of food and non-food relief items. Norwegian People's Aid, which ran into a storm when their heavy vehicles were taken over by the Tigers is part of the Solidar consortium in Sri Lanka.

Movement on the A9 cannot be guaranteed. Fighting has been reported in Palamoddai, about 10 km north west of Omanthai. ICRC that observes movement between the no-man's land in fact stayed away from the crossover point for a week between July 1 and 8 after artillery duals and air raids close to the northern boundary of Omanthai where the Tigers have their offices that are sometimes referred to as 'lodges'.

"ICRC reported that movement west of the A9 is becoming more and more restricted and will continue to be so for the next couple of months. According to information received, this is due to the continued movement of the SLA as well as the continued artillery barrages and SLAF sorties into this area," the meeting minutes said, and a week later the warning came true when ICRC officials pulled out.

However, Omanthai has functioned without a hiccup since then. It was closed for a brief time period one afternoon during the first week of August and other than that has been open all six days it works.

Best route

And Omanthai still remains the best escape route for any one wanting to leave the Wanni. A few have taken the sea route, to Mannar and to Pulmoddai, south of Mulaithivu, but that appears not to be a popular choice and heavy clashes have been reported on both sides of the Wanni coast.

Reports that more entry/exit points would be open to facilitate civilian movement out of the Wanni remained pure speculation. Last week Military Spokesperson Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said that opening of new entry/exit points, was practically rendered difficult by fighting along the A 32 Mannar Pooneryn highway and at Thunukkai/Mallavi east of it.

There are no major roads east of Omanthai and even the minor roads are hardly used. Also with the Tiger military strength concentrated in Mulaithivu the organisation would not allow thousands to flee through them. The only option open is west of Omanthai. "There is fighting that has made opening new crossover points difficult and people have also being sacred to get on the A9 and come down," Brig. Nanayakkara said.

Better option

The government however says that it prefers the civilians to move south, and there were unconfirmed reports that officials were thinking of air dropping leaflets telling the civilians to move south.

"No such decision (to air drop leaflets) has been made yet," Brig. Nanayakkara said last week.

Thus far the only certainty is that thousands remain within the Wanni, by choice or otherwise and their situation is precarious.

"The battle with the Liberation Tigers has now reached a peak, and people are caught in the middle. As the troops advance, people are leaving their villages and running for their lives. They don't know what to do," Jaffna Bishop Rev. Thomas Savundaranayagam said last week.

There is not much room left for them to run.

An election dominated by violence

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe together with chief ministerial candidate Janaka Perera inspecting a burnt out vehicle belonging to Dr. Johnpulle following the attack by UPFA supporters (inset) Dr. Johnpulle’s house and dispensary which was smashed up and burnt by UPFA supporters while the police looked on

By Arthur Wamanan, Raisa Wickrematunge and Minal Wickrematunge

Election violence in both the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces saw a drastic increase last week with the majority of complaints being reported from the Anuradhapura District.

Monitors expressed concerns over the fact that the opposition parties that were at the receiving end during the initial stages had also resorted to violence during the latter stages of the election campaigns, largely due to being frustrated by police inaction.

People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) had received a total of 163 complaints from the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. Incidents of violence have been on the rise since the time nominations were announced for the provincial elections.

Both the government and opposition were blamed for the increasing pre-election violence.

The monitors however noted that the opposition parties were mostly responsible for the last wave of attacks.

Election violence

The North Central Province was subjected to 110 incidents of election violence, 64 from Anuradhapura and 46 from Polonnaruwa. Meanwhile there were 32 reported incidents in Ratnapura, and 21 in Kegalle making a total of 53 such incidents in the Sabaragamuwa Province.

According to PAFFREL, of these incidents, 49 were cases of assault, and 48 were instances concerning damage to vehicles while 28 cases of misuse of government property and 17 other minor incidents.

Spokesperson, Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE), Keerthi Tennekoon said there were a total of 265 incidents between the provinces. Of these, 99 were from Anuradhapura and 61 from Polonnaruwa. Kegalle reported 56 incidents and Ratnapura, 49.

There were 79 reported instances of assault, 48 cases of intimidation, two cases of impersonation, 24 reports of damage to vehicles, 22 concerning misuse of state resources, 43 attacks on party property, 17 complaints against the police and 30 violations of election laws, according to CAFFE.

Tennekoon said that just after nominations were announced there was a huge increase in attacks perpetrated by UPFA members, and that UNP and JVP members were preparing for counter attacks. "There have been reports of UPFA supporters with weapons involved in the attack on UNP organiser Dr. Raja Johnpulle's house. There are many unmarked vehicles running about in Ratnapura."

Attack and counter attack 

"Everyone is attacking each other; it is a chain reaction of attack and counter attack.  The frequency of attacks was getting lower, but everyday there are fresh reports of incidents, in places such as Talawa and Tambuttegama," Tennekoon stated.

The situation in the Sabaragamuwa Province remained somewhat calm when compared to the North Central Province until a few weeks before the polls.

Violence was reported from Nivithigala and Pelmadulla in the Ratnapura District where the UNP and the JVP were mainly targeted.

Tennekoon said that the situation had however changed as the polls drew near.

"The opposition had started to attack. These attacks were mainly carried out as retaliation. However there is a marked increase in election violence overall," Tennekoon said.

CAFFE also stated that this provincial poll had resulted in the most number of incidents of violence and violations.

Another allegation levelled by the opposition parties was the use of armed cadres for campaigning purposes in Welikanda.

Help to rig polls

The TMVP had fielded Mangalan Master to contest under the UPFA ticket in Welikanda. The opposition alleged that the government was getting the help of the TMVP to rig the polls in Welikanda, as was the case in the east.

Mangalan Master however denied the allegations and said that only political cadres were present in the area.

He added that no armed cadres were present even to provide security to the TMVP offices.

PAFFREL also stated that apart from the allegation that there were armed cadres in Welikanda, there were no other complaints made with regard to armed cadres harassing the public.

"Though there were complaints made to PAFFREL that armed cadres were present in Welikanda, we have not received any further complaints apart from that," Deputy Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi said.

The monitors also noted that the police was biased. Police Spokesperson SSP Ranjith Gunasekara however denied the charges made by the monitors and stated that the police had not acted in a biased manner.

The monitors had expressed fears that the incidents related to the  elections could rise dramatically if the police failed to act impartially.

Police security measures

SSP Gunasekara when contacted by The Sunday Leader said that the police had detailed security measures in order to deal with the election violence in the two provinces. "We have deployed 21 senior police officers, and five DIGs to Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, to oversee operations," Gunasekara said.

Mobile patrols were to be implemented to cover all polling stations every 30 minutes, and static guards deployed in areas identified as volatile to ensure safety, according to Gunasekara.

"There will be no army personnel in the polling stations. However there will be patrolling by army mobile units to prevent incidents, and roadblocks  will be set up. There will be a senior police officer at each police station, and police officers at the polling booths to ensure maximum security," said Gunasekara.

Gunasekara stressed that there was a pre election and post election security plan in place as well as one for election day. There will also be four riot squads, one deployed to each of the provinces, with a standby riot squad and a welfare team for the police officers, explained Gunasekara.

Gunasekara also responded to allegations made by the monitors and opposition parties that the police force was biased. 

"We will not accept these allegations. We have arrested, indicted and questioned so many people," he offered.

Threat of legal action

Meanwhile CAFFE has warned that it would take legal action if the police failed to do their duty during the polls.

Tennekoon said that CAFFE had already filed a case against the inaction of the police during the Eastern Provincial Council polls.

"We have already filed a case with regard to the inaction of the police at the Eastern Provincial Council poll. We will be forced to file another case if the police do not do their job properly at these elections," Tennekoon added.

Petroleum Resources Minister, Duminda Dissanayake who is also in charge of the UPFA campaign in the North Central Province commenting on the situation regarding election violence said that UPFA offices and several members had been attacked.

A UPFA office at the Jaffna junction was attacked by some people who had come in a van. "They opened fire and threw three petrol bombs. Offices in Malwanagama, Vilachchiya, Maningamuwa and Mawathawewa were also attacked," Dissanayake said.

Dissanayake alleged that the latest burst of violence was sparked off when UNP chief ministerial candidate Janaka Perera's supporters attacked a UPFA supporter. "Ajantha Wasala, my personal assistant was shot on August 20 by some people who came in a van and he is still in hospital," Dissanayake said. "A vehicle was also burnt in Divulwela." A supporter of Janaka Perera, whose name is also Ajantha, was involved in the shooting, alleged Dissanayake.

People in the rally attacked

Dissanayake also alleged that during a UPFA rally in Kadapanaha, people coming into the rally and passing Janaka Perera's office, which is on the main road, were attacked. "One UPFA supporter was shot, then dragged into Janaka Perera's office and not released," charged Dissanayake, adding that the person who was shot was still in a critical condition.

A UPFA office in Kekirawa was also attacked, according to Dissanayake.

"On the 21st, Jathika Saviya Coordinating Secretary, Chethiya's vehicle was attacked by Janaka Perera's supporters, and Upali, a war hero, was attacked in Basavakkulama," Dissanayake further alleged.

The opposition however stated that leave alone attacking the security provided to the opposition candidates and the politicians themselves was not adequate.

Imminent defeat

The UNP charged that it was the Dissanayakes - father Berty Premalal and son Duminda - that had unleashed violence in the Anuradhapura District in the face of imminent defeat. They said the UNP Anuradhapura District Coordinator Dr. Johnpulle's dispensary and house were attacked and set on fire along with many vehicles, and that luckily Dr. Johnpulle had managed to escape with minor injuries.

"That was the last straw for us and we decided to meet fire with fire," UNP members charged.

UNP MP, Kabir Hashim told The Sunday Leader that no security arrangements had been made by the police to protect the opposition party members. The MP went on to say that his party members have been using their own security to ensure safety.

Two police officers are to be allocated to each polling booth.  Hashim said that his  party had requested the presence of the army at particular polling booths in areas that were more prone to attacks, such as those in the Mawanella District. "However this request has been ignored and nothing has been done about the matter," complained Hashim.

Hashim also said that the presence of unmarked vehicles and  vans with tinted glasses act as an indicator of the violence that could be unleashed on polling day.

Hashim further said that in view of the violence unleashed in the Eastern Province elections, the security provided to opposition party members as well as the security at the polling booths was insufficient.

To tighten security

JVP chief ministerial candidate for the Sabaragamuwa Province Chameera Koswatte told The Sunday Leader that they had requested the police to tighten security in the areas where violence was likely to erupt.

He said that the party had not indulged in any acts in violation of the electoral process though they were targeted by politicians on several occasions.

He added that no complaints had been made against the JVP so far. "There was only one complaint made with regard to the attack by the JVP protestors in Nivithigala. And that too was made by a government minister," said Koswatte

The JVP also accused the government of trying to prevent the public from voting. "That too would work in favour of the government. The government is trying to keep away the public from polling booths as much as possible. That is why we have requested the police to ensure that nothing of that sort happens," Koswatte added.

The JVP's chief ministerial candidate in the North Central Province, Wasantha Samarasinghe also said that the JVP had been targeted on several occasions.

No incidents had been reported on Friday, the day before the poll, he said.

"There were several incidents against the party in the province. The media was informed earlier of the other attacks against the JVP on the days leading up to the polls.  But, we have not received any reports of attacks today (Friday) so far," he said.

The monitors stated that it was the responsibility of the police to ensure that yesterday's polls were held in a free and fair manner.