Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM Spokesperson United Sri Lanka Assn. New Zealand

To: OHCHR,

Investigation on Sri Lanka.

Dear Sir

I write in response to your call for submissions on   information …on alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes allegedly perpetrated   from 21st February 2002 until   15th November  2011 in Sri  Lanka by either party to the armed conflict.”

The main basis of the UNHRC instituted investigation on Sri Lanka, despite the longer period of cover, was the allegation that Sri Lankan forces achieved victory over the Tamil Tigers in their armed conflict at the cost of an unacceptably high casualty rate quoted upwards of 40,000 among the Tamil civilians trapped by the Tigers as human shields , in the last few weeks of this armed conflict. Further that this was the result of indiscriminate and directed fire by the SL forces at these civilians.

These allegations however  do not hold true against scrutiny and the inquiry instituted is fraught with many concerns  as shown below.

 Why the above allegations defies logic and makes no sense

• What did the Government of Sri Lanka stand to gain by causing upwards of 40,000. Why would they kill 40,000 and then go onto rescue 300,000 at great risk to themselves (see below), if Tamil Genocide was the government ‘s objective as the original authors of this allegation try to make out.

• The GOSL had a well publicized policy of Zero Civilian Casualties” which they successfully carried out in the earlier liberation of the Eastern Province. Why this was not possible in the liberation of the North was because of the 300,000 civilians trapped as human shields by the Tigers. Consequently, any civilian casualties would have been the unavoidable collateral damage , despite the greatest care and likely to be a much smaller number .

• Though it is now over 4 years since this allegation originated, not one specific name amongst these 40,000 has yet been revealed.

• If 40,000 were killed in a brief period of time in an area of a few square kilometers, how were the bodies disposed of  without any discovery of mass graves in this area that has now been fully repopulated by the rescued 300,000 Tamil residents, leading an entirely free existence in their original homes.

• Activity creating such mass graves would surely have been   spotted by US and other international satellites in orbit.

• If such a large number of casualties were caused in such a brief period through indiscriminate and directed shooting at the trapped Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan security force, would  all 300,000 of these trapped civilians have streamed into the hands of the very same Sri Lankan security forces, as they did in full view of the world media, the moment the embankment built by the Tamil Tigers to prevent them from so escaping, was breached.

• If the SL security forces intention was violating these Tamil civilians as above, why did these same forces spend the next 2-3 years, at great personal risk to demine vast areas of land to resettle all of these civilians in their homes as they have done, verifiable by any one visiting these areas now

• ‘Wiki leaks’ leaked correspondence from US embassy in Colombo has confirmed the extreme caution used by  SL in the last few months of the conflict , without which they may ended the war earlier and with several thousand less casualties  among the SL forces.

• If the above were true, why did the GOSL care for  the wives and families of many of the Tiger leaders who lost their lives in the conflict including the parents of the Tiger leader Prabakaran  cared for by GOSL for several years till their demise.

• If the   above and further allegation of violation of the wider Tamil community were true why has the administration expended so much effort to ensure  that :
• all of the over six hundred Tiger child soldiers have been rehabilitated & handed back to their parents to pursue their education that had been robbed off them by the tigers

• Over 12,000 ex combatants have been rehabilitated and incorporated into the civilian mainstream

• Several thousand  Tamil civilian men and women & reformed ex -combatants have been trained and recruited into the national police and security forces

• If the above and the further allegation of violation of the wider Tamil community is true , why has the GOSL expend so much energies and resources to the Northern and Eastern Provinces, where the Tamil population constitutes the ethnic majority and which were the areas ravaged most by the conflict, to ensure a growth rate of 24% pa compared to a national average of 8%,  reconstructing  roads, hospitals (150), schools (300) . In Radiotherapy, the newly furbished teaching hospital in Jaffna  has the most up to date equipment of all of Sri Lanka. All of these has ushered in unprecedented prosperity to the region in  a mere 5 years post conflict. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VVlcUyEuxI&feature=yoube

• If the above was true would the government risk this disproportionate spending in the Tamil areas that may have  even resulted in a electoral back lash at the hands of  the Sinhalese Majority  seen at the UVA provincial council election in Sept. ’14 that has seen the government vote plummet  from 72 % in 2011 to 51%.

• If the above and the further allegation of violation of the wider Tamil community is true , why has the GOSL declared and is working robustly towards transforming all of Sri Lanka to a truly a tri lingual ( Sinhales,e Taml & English) administration of the  security forces, police force and civil service from a Sinhalese administration of now. This goal is targeted to be achieved in a few years. In keeping  with this objective widespread opportunities are being provided for the Sinhalese to learn Tamil  & vice versa.

• If the above and the further allegation of violation of the wider Tamil community is true why would the government restore all the democratic rights to the Tamil civilians of the northern and eastern provinces that they were deprived of for three decades & hold provincial council elections most recently in the Northern province, that has seen the election of Tami dominated provincial council and a Tamil Chief Minister from the ranks of the opposition.

• If the above and the further allegation of violation of the  wider Tamil community is true , how is it that the majority community in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo now is Tamil at around 35%. Also how is it that over 50% of the economy of Colombo are in the hands of the Tamil community , even though they only form 12% of the national population.

• Also if the allegations are true how is it that three of the top ten contributors to the Colombo Stock Exchange are Tamils. In fact the largest contributor till recently was a Tamil businessman based in New York , till he fell foul with US law  that has now taken   him behind bars.

• Death to Injured Ratio: The ground breaking study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 1999, examined casualty ratios to injured, in wars from 1940 to 1988[1]. The study showed that the number of people wounded is at least twice the number killed and may be 13 times as high” depending on the conflict type, weapons used and other factors. So if 40,000 died there should have been at least 80,000 wounded if 1:2 ratio was applied but more like 120,000 on 1:3 proportion. Where were these injured people among the nearly 300,000 civilians that escaped into the arms of the SL forces after allegedly being   under indiscriminate fire by these same forces. There were none , certainly not a significant number to be counted. This once again demonstrates the lack of logic and implausibility   of these allegations.

Why the evidence being forwarded to support  the allegations  above lack credibility:

• These allegations were initiated by the Tamil Tiger international diaspora , within days of the end of the armed conflict” on the 19^th of May 2009. The major claim to fame of this group has been their capacity to disseminate misinformation to wrongly discredit   Sri Lanka. This reputation of the Tigers would immediately cast doubts on the credibility of these allegations.

• The allegations coming within a few days of the end of armed hostilities, before adequate time to take make a correct assessment, would suggest an already prepared allegation being released when the  armed campaign to secure their goal of a separate state, Tamil Elam failed., These allegations would form the  core for a propaganda campaign  aimed at politically destabilize SL through accusing & convicting  it’s security forces and its strong leaders of war crimes , installing a weak administration and securing Elam through them.

• UK & Canada , two countries that have accorded credibility to these allegations are countries where the Tiger Diaspora is largest and most powerful and exert the greatest political clout on both sides of the political divide through their voting strength in key marginal electorates that play a vital role in the outcome of these electorates and through  this  the national outcome.

• The other country that has accorded credibility to these Tiger initiated allegations is the US .. Doing so would serve US’s  geopolitical interests in the Indian Ocean by destabilizing & replacing the current strong Sri Lankan administration with leanings towards China with a weaker one  that would be more easily manipulated  to serve US interests better.

• The two countries in the western alliance unshackled by such vested interest, and so able to make an independent assessment , Australia & New Zealand refused to co-sponsor the US led UNHRC resolution founded on the basis of these allegations , so indicating lack of faith in these allegations.

• At the UNHRC , in March ‘2014,nearly half voted against the resolution with non of the south Asian countries familiar with the ground realities  in Sri Lanka voting for the resolution. Many of the smaller nations that voted in favor have admitted to doing so in response to economic pressure exerted by the US.

• Amnesty international, an NGO who has vociferously orchestrated these allegations has admitted to receiving a donation  of $50,000 from the Tiger Diaspora in Canada in 2012.

• The current Australian Foreign Minister , revealed at a press conference in March’13 on her return from an extensive, independent visit to Sri Lanka   which involved three days in the North, that on pressing for specific instances of  white van” disappearances in Sri Lanka  as was frequently  alleged after the end of armed conflict, , she  did not receive a single specific instance. This  allegation is similar to the allegations 1, 2, & 3. above, all general and nothing specific.

• The most frequently & prominently quoted and orchestrated visual evidence of indiscriminate and wide spread civilian carnage to support the allegations above come from a series of films from Channel 4 starting with the Sri Lanka Killing Fields”. The gruesome scenes of war carnage  shown were  allegedly caused by SL security forces fire  allegedly recorded on cell phones and sent to  Channel 4 by disgruntled SL security forces personnel. Among the many challenges to the credibility of the claim that the video scenes in these films show SL forces inflicted carnage include:

• The fact is that the scenes  simply showed gruesome human carnage of war, that could have come from any of the scenes of carnage during the three decades of war, not necessarily from the last  few weeks , and from any where including from the sites of many Tiger suicide & other bombings.

• At no point was the exact location or the perpetrators of the carnage or authors of the videos identified or made clear.

• The viewer was left  connecting   these scenes to the theatre of war in the last weeks and  connecting  the  SL Security Forces  with causing the carnage, through a  very cleverly delivered partisan commentary .

• At other times unidentified informants with disguised faces and muffled voices made the same allegation making them less than credible.

• But for the commentary, the scenes could well have been Tiger caused carnage any where & at any time over three decades or unavoidable collateral damage, all recorded by the Tigers themselves, for use in propaganda, which in reality may well be the case. 

• Not a single of the alleged suppliers of these videos has ever surfaced.

• Many experts have  ruled that the quality of these videos  makes it unlikely that they are from cell phones. 

• The Tiger propaganda chief Daya Master, now surrendered, reformed  and rehabilitated has confirmed that for decades they committed scenes of carnage to film for future use in propaganda.

• He also confirmed that the Tigers dressed in uniforms of captured soldiers would summarily shoot them as they lay naked to give impression of summary executions by the SL forces and commit them to video for future use in propaganda. There were such scenes shown in the Channel 4 films. One  give away was the conversations in Tamil were heard in the back

 

• Other scenes of civilians crying in agony in trenches were clearly shown to be play acting on recovery of  videos  showing a wider view.

• Expelling of Channel 4 news crews by GOSL during the height of the war albeit for their own security, would have been a motivation for the Channel 4 campaign.

• The Tiger war chest of billions now devoted entirely for propaganda is also well placed to offer handy encouragement to cash strapped news agencies to support their cause.

• The other source most frequently quoted to support the allegations 1.2. & 3 above is the Darusman commission, appointed by the UNSG, against the express wishes of two permanent members of the SC, Russia & China, to advice him on the accountability process available in SL . The commission went beyond their brief and concluded that there was credible evidence of up to 40,000 casualties in the last weeks of the war”. Consisting of three commissioners, known to have publicized adverse views on Sri Lanka &  appointed without any recourse to SL, depending entirely on representations from pro-Tiger lobby, the commission  came to it’s conclusions based on information received from sources, the exact identity of which the commissioners have refused to reveal for 20 years.  These would detract  very seriously from attaching any credibility to their findings.  Yet, this  provided a convenient  a reference for Sri Lanka bashing, referring  to it as an UN commission, when it was anything but that .

• The documentary , Lies Agreed Upon”, easily accessed via U tube, documents the testimonies of over fifty Tamil civilians representing the three hundred thousand rescued, that confirmed that they were never under directed fire from the SL forces, had only the highest praise for them and confirmed that the only directed fire they received was from the Tigers, to prevent their escape that would have deprived the Tigers of their human shield protecting them from the SL forces . http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=lies_agreed_upon_20110801

• Lies Agreed Upon,  also documents the testimonies of six Tamil doctors who also were with the trapped civilians throughout and operated the hospitals that were relocated along with the relocation  by the Tigers & the herded civilians as the Tigers retreated . These doctors besides confirming the civilian testimonies also confirmed the availability of adequate medical supplies at all times. Their assessment of civilian deaths  was at 6-700 based on what they had seen and treated. The doctors also confirmed that the Tiger repeatedly located their artillery at close proximity to hospitals  using hospitals as shields for their artillery & to expose hospitals to security forces fire for propaganda gain. Some of these testimonies have subsequently been confirmed under oath.

• A Tamil Member of Parliament S Kanagaratnam , who was with the 300,000 trapped civilians throughout, has also confirmed the above including the assessment of civilian casualties at about 600,  saying not one of them were at the hands of the SL forces”.

• Tracing the evolution of the allegation of 40,000 casualties is itself a very compelling  argument against it’s credibility. This evolution was as follows:

• About 7000 casualties was the first number suggested a few days after the end of hostilities on 19.5.09, quoting unnamed UN sources and appearing in the Tamil Net.

• Sir John Holmes at the time dissociated the UN from this figure as he said they were not present at the site of the end of hostilities and hence had no way of knowing a number.

• This angered the Tiger Diaspora and accused the UN of colluding with SL to release an artificially low number. This accusation the UN vehemently denied

• Shortly thereafter, The London Times, who had an an axe to grind with the SL government for having earlier expelled their reporters along with other reporters from the front line for their own safety more than anything else, next claimed a figure of 20,000 civilian casualties claiming it to be based on analysis of areal photographs. 

• Gordon Weiss, a Colombo based UN employee with a book on the war named Cage” to sell, sensationalized it further claiming 40,000 casualties, while refusing to reveal the source of his revelations. However, an year later in Melbourne he retracted the number to 10,000 under intense interrogation as to the accuracy of the 40,000 figure.

• The Darusman Commission as referred to earlier in this documented , concurred with the 40,000 figure but refused to divulge their sources for twenty years, so much for their transparency and credibility.

• A SL government census in the war zone which was carried out by Tamil teachers in the region in Feb/March 2012 came with a figure of 7432 un accounted for from the original civilian population of the region, very similar to the first figure in the Tamil Net .

• Given that the SL government lost 4000 personnel in this final period it is very likely that about a same number would have been from those conscripted forcibly by the Tigers for the final fight,  leaving a figure of about 3000 as the number of non combatant civilians to die in the cross fire ,many of them possibly deliberately exposed as Tiger’s human shields.

• This is indeed a far cry from the 40, 000 and far more credible, even though much higher than the estimates of 6-700 coming from the trapped doctors and MP.

• The allegation of directed shooting at no fire zones is completely untenable as they were never no fire zones, To be so Tigers had to observe  no fire too and the Tigers never agreed to it nor  observed them . Instead before any civilians could move in the Tigers moved their heavy artillery into the heart of these zones to protect the artillery & to expose their trapped civilian human shields  to maximum harm for propaganda gain . The heavy artillery  had to be taken out to rescue the civilians. Despite greatest care there would have been inevitable civilian casualties , which  may be where some of the channel 4 videos came from. 

• Paying for Torture: Recent (Oct ’14) demonstration of Tiger Diaspora paying to receive mutilating wounds as evidence of torture, in places in London inflicting these & showing these to authorities claiming they were inflicted by SL forces, which were accepted without inquiry to grant refugee status. This brings into question the veracity of any of the claims of torture by  SL forces, even when evidence of torture is present.

  Why this commission & inquiry is un-warranted & Unjustified;

• Several commissions of inquiry have been appointed by the government of Sri Lanka to inquire into this type of allegations.

• The LLRC has completed their inquiry , submitted their report . Their recommendations have been largely implemented with any thing outstanding been pursued with vigor. These have been acknowledged by various international bodies and

• The LLRC cleared SL forces of systematic killing of civilians but left it open for inquiry into isolated instances of violation that errant officers may have been guilty of.  However, such allegations appear to have been very limited if at all.

• LLRC would appear not to have received any complaint suggesting large numbers of civilian casualties 

• The Army Commission to inquire into specific allegations against the army has also submitted their report without credible complaints of large scale killings 

• The Missing Persons Commission, is still having sittings many in the northern province to make it easy for those that may have been affected.. The response has been very robust with reports indicating  that many of the complainants are parents and relatives of children and youth forcibly abducted by the Tigers to fight for them, who never

• If there is credible evidence to substantiate the allegations of widespread civilian killing , why have they not been presented to these commissions. If they were presented and not properly investigated , the masters at propaganda the Tiger Diaspora, could have used it   as a another  tool to orchestrate against Sri Lanka. The absence of such presentations can only means there is no such evidence. 

• Despite this the Tiger Diaspora enthusiasm for an international inquiry is driven by their confidence in their ability to influence witnesses and so even inquirers using their powerful international political and media allies, acquired through their manipulative  use of their political clout  & ill gotten war chest of billions, referred to already, as they appear to have done  effectively with  the Darusman commission.

• Fear of such manipulation is one of the many compelling reasons for SL government’s opposition to international commissions.

• The experience at the CHOGM in Sept. 2013 in Colombo, reinforced this fear . The western press especially from the UK, already primed by the Tiger Diaspora as above, that descended on Sri Lanka in hoards, led by the infamous Channel 4, only released adverse reports on Sri Lanka, in keeping with the Tiger agenda. 

• Glaring example was when they went to Jaffna with UK Prime Minister David Cameron they only reported on a demonstration of some twenty well tutored mothers  holding placards of their sons who allegedly disappeared  at the hands of the army . However the much larger demonstration of mothers asking for their sons abducted by the Tigers., escaped entirely, their apparently blinkered vision and hearing. 

• These reports were lapped up world over , much to Sri Lanka’s embarrass and detriment.

• Even Prime Minister Cameron knew what not to notice .

• This selective reporting was shamefully pursued even by Prime Minister Cameron who, in his press conference only fielded questions from the western press that further reinforced negatives on Sri Lanka and did not field a single question from the Sri Lankan or Asian press that was present in abundance there.

• Non of Sri Lanka’s outstanding achievements in post war northern and eastern reconstruction, Tamil rehabilitation, ethnic reconciliation and development throughout the country nor the spectacular opening ceremony received a mention in the international press, even edge ways.

• Calls for international press to report on the on going demonstrations seeking their children abducted as child soldiers by the Tigers, from former Tiger leaders wives now in the northern Provincial council , have also received only a deafening silence.

 Why the investigation is  intrusive & Counterproductive;

• Muttiah Muralidaran the famous cricketer and arguably the best known Sri Lankan Tamil internationally when asked by Channel 4 during the CHOGM about an international inquiry , he argued against further inquiry calling them re-opening healing wounds” & invoked Jesus Christ’s doctrine of forget and forgive & move on” 

• Other Tamil leaders including former deputy leader of Tigers, Vinyamoorthi Muralidara (Colonel Karuna), now minister and successors to Prabakaran  as Tiger leader K Pathmanathan have also rejected  further inquiry saying  that what Tamils wanted was what any other community wanted, roof over their heads, food on the table, schools for their children and healthcare for their sick and jobs to access these. 

• Mr Arun Tambmuttu’s ( Member Eastern Provincial Council)both of whose parent were victims of  Tamil Tiger assassinations whilst being members of Sri Lanka’s parliament , estimates that one third of the families in the eastern province would have been affected by Tiger Terrorism . A comprehensive investigation if implemented  would open up many  old wounds and animosities  & once again pit one family member against the other, when they now putting these differences behind them and moving forward. 

• Nearly half of the membership of the UNHRC including SL’s immediate neighbors India, Pakistan & Bangladesh who are more aware of the ground realities in SL, than far away western countries did not support the establishment of this inquiry in March 2014 for these reasons.

• These neighbors of SL have also refused entry into their countries to conduct this inquiry resulting in Thailand being the closest the inquiry could get to, to Sri Lanka to inquire into Sri Lanka!. This would detract considerably from the credibility of their findings.

• In the UNGA in Sept.2014 a group of 22 Like Minded Nations, by statement endorsed the view that, this inquiry was unwarranted & intrusive

• A further eight nations in the course of their address to the UNGA expressed the same view.

 

• President Obama  in 2011 soon after  assuming office rejected call to investigate allegations of Bush era torture, calling  instead to look forward not backward”

• All this contradicts the view that proper reconciliation requires further inquiry. This view is being used by some western nations to justify this inquiry. 

Why the investigation is disproportionate compared to other UNHRC  Interventions –

• 3 decades of Tiger terrorism in Sri Lanka, that killed over one hundred thousand including citizens of all three communities, including a SL President, an Indian Prime Minister, many ministers , members of Parliament, community leader, drew no attention from UNHRC or OHCHR, neither  resolution nor inquiry. But Tamil Tiger Diaspora inspired allegations relating to a few weeks of the three decades draws UNHRC’s immediate  attention and that of it’s ethnic tamil head , Navy Pillai! 

• US led invasion of Iraq to take out WMD’s, probably known to be non existent  even at that time, that led to a much higher rate of dead and wounded is  also greeted by a deafening silence by the UNHRC & it’s head.  

The Unmet Need That The Commission Should Investigate Most

The one area that the commission could lead an investigation that Sri Lanka does not have capacity to do, is to inquire into how , well known Tiger Supporters of the past & now internationally based   like Father Emanuel  leader of the Global Tamil Federation &  the  Head of the Trans National Government of Tamil Elam Mr Rudrakumaran,  could operate so feely as they do now and investigate their culpability to sustaining three decades of Tiger Terror in Sri Lanka and bring them to book. Similar inquiry should also be instituted into the role of Adele Balasingham , ,who donned the cyanide capsule on hundreds of  child soldiers before sacrificing them as canon fodder. Details of this activity are easily accessed on U Tube. Yet, she  now leads a free & charmed existence in UK.

What The Commission Should Do Ultimately.

• Support Local Measures at ethnic reconciliation & economic recovery of the war ravaged areas and all of Sri Lanka outlined above

• Investigate UK & internationally based people and groups, now renamed, who sustained and funded three decades of Tiger terror in Sri Lanka and bring them to book as appropriate.

Executive Summary

The main basis of the UNHRC instituted investigation on Sri Lanka, despite the longer period of cover, was the allegation that Sri Lankan forces achieved victory over the Tamil Tigers in their armed conflict at the cost of an unacceptably high casualty rate quoted upwards of 40,000 among the Tamil civilians trapped by the Tigers as human shields , in the last few weeks of this armed conflict. Further that this was the result of indiscriminate and directed fire by the SL forces at these civilians.

These allegations however  do not hold true against scrutiny and the inquiry instituted is fraught with many concerns  as shown below.

The allegations are illogical   since if it was true  all three hundred thousand of the trapped Tamil civilians  would not have fled the Tigers and into the arms of the same Sri Lankan soldiers at the first opportunity in full view of the world media. If they were true the soldiers   would not have  risked their lives for the next two years demining the land where the civilians homes were, to return them  to their homes as they have done, nor would the soldiers have ensured their rehabilitation and reabsorption  into civil society as they have done , nor ensured that over six hundred Tiger child soldiers were reunited  with their parents , nor ensured  that over 12,000 ex-combatants were rehabilitated and integrated into civil society, nor launched an unprecedented development program in these areas that has seen an annual growth rate of 24%  in comparison to a national average  of 8%. If these allegations were true it would not make any sense for SL government to launch in earnest a drive to make Sri Lanka a truly trilingual nation where   Sinhalese, Tamil & English would have equal importance, nor to have Northern Provincial Government Elections that has seen the election of a provincial government and a Tamil chief minister, drawn from an opposition Tamil party. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VVlcUyEuxI&feature=youtu.be

These allegations also have no credibility since they  were initially leveled by the Tiger Diaspora. They are best known for their capacity to disseminate misinformation. These allegations were initiated  to destabilize SL & achieve their goal of Elam through propaganda having failed to do so  through the war. These allegations  were supported by two countries UK and Canada where the Tiger Diaspora  exercised considerable political clout in several marginal electorates that ultimately determined which party won the country wide general elections. They were also supported by the US whose geopolitical ambitions in the Indian ocean were better served by a weak , unstable & easily manipulated Sri Lanka. Western nations with no such vested interest like Australia & New Zealand have neither supported these investigations nor the inquiry. The allegations were also orchestrated by NGO’s, like Amnesty international and cash strapped   media groups like UK Channel 4, all of whom did benefit or were well positioned to benefit from handsome encouragement from the Tiger’s ill gotten  war chest of Billions now devoted entirely to propaganda. The  Darusman commission is the other frequently quoted supporter of these allegations . It was made up of commissioners with previously declared opposition to Sri Lanka. They refused to reveal the sources of their information for two decades. This has left  no credibility with their findings. In contrast in the documentary Lies agreed-Upon” http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=lies_agreed_upon_20110801 over 50 rescued Tamil civilians representing the 300,000 , doctors and Member of Parliament  denied  allegations  of SL forces shooting any civilians and had only praise for them. Tracing the evolution of the casualty  figure from an unknown to 40,000  also exposes the complete lack of credibility of the claim.

This inquiry is unwarranted and so intrusive as three earlier commissions,  Sri Lanka’s  LLRC,, Sri Lankan Army Commission & Sri Lanka’s missing persons commission had  or were inquiring extensively into these allegations. The findings so far have not supported these allegations .  However  recommendations made where necessary were  being implemented in earnest.  This view was supported at the UNHRC in May 2014 by Sri Lanka’s South Asian neighbors including India and Pakistan, who were more aware of the ground realities of Sri Lanka than far away western nations. They did not support the inquiry. Therefore they  have all refused the commission entry into their countries .Thailand is the closest  to Sri Lanka, the commission was being permitted, in their investigation of Sri Lanka! This would detract considerably from the credibility of their findings This view of unwarranted & intrusive”  was further reinforced by statement  at the UNGA in September 2014 by a 22 member Like Minded group” and by  eight other nations in their addresses to the UNGA .

The inquiry is also a disproportionate .   Three decades of Tiger Terror  in SL  drew no response from the UNHRC or it’s ethnic Tamil head Navy Pillai , but Tamil Tiger Diaspora inspired allegations relating to a few weeks  of these three decades drew immediate response!. Additionally, conflicts that had seen much higher casualties, most notably US led invasion of Iraq on pretext of non existent WMD’s also drew only a deafening silence from the  UNHRC & it’s head.

Many Tamil groups in Sri Lanka have similarly denounced the brief of this inquiry as one  re-opening healing wounds”  and  have drawn attention to their possible counterproductive outcomes . The CHOGM experience served to warn Sri Lanka of the dangers of  western backed   inquiry where allegations could be selectively orchestrated to Sri Lanka’s disadvantage.

Consequently, the best course for the commission would be to recommend that UNHRC actively supports Sri Lanka’s processes of reconciliation identified above.

The one area that the commission could lead an investigation that Sri Lanka does not have capacity to do, is to inquire into how  well known Tiger Supporters of the past now internationally based   like Father Emanuel  leader of the Global Tamil Federation &  the  Head of the Trans National Government of Tamil Elam Mr Rudrakumaran,  could operate so feely as they do now and investigate their culpability to sustaining three decades of Tiger Terror in Sri Lanka and bring them to book. Similar inquiry should also be instituted into the role of Adele Balasingham , ,who donned the cyanide capsule on hundreds of  child soldiers before sacrificing them as canon fodder. Details of this activity are easily accessed on U Tube. Yet, she  now leads a free & charmed existence in UK.

Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM

Spokesperson.

United Sri Lanka Association

Lower Hutt

New Zealand

28 October 2014

luxmindraj@ – Luxmindra Jayasekara – UNITED KINGDOM

anandaw1@ – Ana WijesingheCanadanda – Canada

sarindra7@ – s perera – uk

priyani567@ – ANOM,A – UK

madurahs@– H.K.Madurapperuma – New Zealnd

niromick@ – Nadun Kithulagoda – New Zealand  —

mahindaa@ – Mahinda Attanayake – New Zealand  —

susanthaw34@– Susantha Wijayanayake – New Zealand  — Sri Lanka went through a near 30 year war thanks to India for training equipping and supporting a megalomaniac till they discovered that the monster whom they had on their lap was  posing a danger to them after the death of Rajiv Gandhi.
After many attempts to work out a settlement and as nothing answered there was no other alternative other than a full scale war to annihilate this most ruthless terror machine other than a full scale war. Many tried and failed and in 2009 with all synergies drawn that got concluded and the whole country has started moving. The North and East has seen large scale development unprecedented. The need of the hour is not to stifle the efforts of rebuilding as the LTTE massacred much more than the alleged deaths at the time of conclusion of the war.
If war crimes is a factor to be gone into then before bringing in Sri Lanka the UN should charge BUSH AND BLAIR for the great disaster that is visible even now in Iraq.This move is largely to satisfy those in need of votes of the economic refugeesnow domiciled in their countries. If Netanyahu has not been indicted for the mass scale murder of unarmed men women and children recently, I fail to comprehend on what basis these do gooders are chasing SL.I unequivocally oppose this effort while recognising that what prevails at home is far from satisfactory but thats a matter for the electorate and not outsiders

guna@ – P.Gunawardana – new zealand  —

jayamunirs@– Rumal Jayamuni – Australia  — I extend my fullest support.

mdthilanka@ – Gamini De Alwis Goonewardena – Sri Lanka  — The fact that the Tamil communities live in harmony with Sinhala and Burgher communities in other parts of the country more than in the north, engaging in social activities and their children attending the same schools, also has to be taken into consideration when inquiring into these allegations.

Further, the other communities feel that the inquiries are based on dividing the country and creating sectarian violence to bring back poverty to the country again.  We have observed many such instances in the world where this unethical practice has brought disharmony to the entire region. For whose benefit ? ? ? America, Canada and European countries are in the process of orchestrating allegations to show the world that coloured people do not know how to live.

Gunawadanegamini@ – Gamini Gunawardane – Sri lanka    —

chinkioh@– Rashantha de Alwis-Seneviratne – Sri Lanka  — The argument for an external investigation into war crimes does not hold water as we have seen too much bias from UN agencies that Sri Lanka has so far dealt with.  Double standards abound and a country that is still struggling to leave behind a tortured past is being victimised.

janakic@– Janaki Chandraratna – Australia  — Spurious
Dear-Chula
I do concur with all the sentiments expressed in this submission and thank you for forwarding it to me. This is the most spurious investigation in the world today and parallels the invasion of Iraq on false pretenses based on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). This investigation, which would most certainly based on unsubstantiated evidence, has the potential to unleash violence and disrupt the peace Sri Lankans had so painstakingly established since the defeat of the 30-year terrorist war in 2009. Janaki Chandraratna.

rajapaks@– Chula Rajapakse – New Zealand  —

kumaracdesilva@y – Kumara De Silva – Australia  —

lalithatta@ – L.Attanayake  – Australia  —

gothami@ – Gothami Meepe – Australia  —

mgsk@– Dr Mahendra Gonsalkorale – United Kingdom  — It is important that any action taken by the UN needs to be consistent and applicable to all countries and situations and at all times. The impotence of the UN in ensuring that its own resolutions are carried out in relation to Israel and Gaza, the superficial dismissal of allegations against the Superpower USA in relation to the behaviour of the US in Cuba and in the Middle East, does not show an even handed approach. While  those who read this submission may be entitled to say that the subsequent admirable post war behaviour of the GOSL(so well documented by Dr Rajapakse), does not necessarily indicate whether unjust GOSL activity took place during the last stages of the War, and indeed such critics may possibly take the position that the GOSL were so desperate to get rid of the LTTE who caused so much damage to all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka that the GOSL sometimes took action which they knew may harm civilians, not with the expressed intention of harming them (the entirely ridiculous claim made by some Diaspora elements of Genocide) but they were torn with a crisis of thinking on the lines that the “end justified the means”. Be that as  it may, however, the writer makes a strong point that the Darusman report is NOT a UN report but merely a submission to Mr Banki Moon and is flawed for many reasons including the fact that they do not disclose their sources of information and that there is good reason to doubt their impartiality. I therefore wholeheartedly support this submission by Dr Chula Rajapakse. Many positive steps have been taken, and are being taken to restore normality for ALL the people in Sri Lanka who suffered so much for nearly 30 years and further demonisation of the GOSL will not benefit the people of Sri Lanka (of ALL ethnicties), on the contrary, it will setback progress and do untold harm.

Rajapakses@  – Senaka Rajapakse – Poland

eperera26@ – Eric Perera – Australia  —  I fully endorse the statements made above.
UN system needs a complete re-think and an honest and impartial role to play in restoring trust and confidence, instead of maintaining double standards on World Issues. Sri Lanka stands accused on False and unsubstantiated allegations, by the Very Same powers, that bombed and destroyed countries based on blatant Lies. They go unpunished and are allowed to sponsor Resolutions impose sanctions, Invade Militarily and destroy countries.

achelali_fernando@ – Achela Fernando – Australia  — I support this submission. Leave Sri Lanka alone! It is a sovereign country that can carry out its own investigations in a fair manner.

desilva_rw@ – Ranjith De Silva – New Zealand  —

ar9193@ – Andrew Ratnayake – United States  — Tigers were terrorists.

kusum@– Kusuma Gunawardane – New Zealand  — Tiger terrorism killed many of buddhist monks, innocent chidrens and civilians ,bombed cities ,banks ,damge sour sacred palces for three decades ultimately we had to uproot our self from our origins to protect our children an dour selves an dflee away from the country. President Obama recently said terrorists do not understand any other language than weapons or force. It was same with Tigers. All the people who speak on behalf of them are extremists and racists.

punchi12@ – Aloka Punchi-Banda – New Zealand  — Totally agree with above.

mpj11111@ – mahinda Jayasinghe – New Zealand  —

nihalg@  – Dr Nihal Gonsalkorale – New Zealand  — Taking unilateral action based on information given by one interested party is not becoming of such an erstwhile organisation that UNHRC is supposed to be. Failure to take action for years when the Tamil Terrorists were committing genocide against the innocent Sri Lankan people does not say much about the impartiality and decent character of those heading the ” corrupt” organisation. It is a pity that some well known and well respected persons are being associated with this latest witchhunt.

rpremasiri@  – K.A.Premasiri Ranasinghe – Sri Lanka  —  Save the country of sri Lanka for future generation.

tpljrr@  – Thilak Ranasinghe – Australia  —

ppwij@  – Premasiri Wijewardhana – Sri Lanka & New Zealand  — I support the above request made by Dr Chula Rajapakse of United Sri Lanka Association in New Zealand.

pswelgama@h  – Palitha Welgama – Australia  — Best thing happen to Sri Lanka was the elimination of Tamil Tiger terrorists.  That task was achieved through immense sacrifices.  It is not a war crime, but an humanitarian operation.

asoka9@  – Asoka Kuruppu – Australia  —

milinda@  – Milinda Soysa – New Zealand  —

geetha6@  – Daniel Muthumala – New Zealand  — I fully endorse the facts expressed in the above submission and it is my honest view that every Sri Lankan feels the same way. We urge the UNHRC to be realistic and endeavour to look at the matter without prejudice.

chitrawije@  – Chitra Wijesekera – New Zealand  —

harshanathw@  – Harsha Weerakoon – New Zealand  — I support Dr.Chula’s Submission on this inquiry.

thejaw@ – Theja Wijeweera – New Zealand  — In addition to above, there are specific Rape allegations made against Sri Lankan Army recently, which when more closely scrutinised, appears to be completely false & have been solely made to gain access to residency/”Asylum” abroad while discrediting the Sri Lankan Army.  Case in point is the claim of Rape by “Nandini” (as reported in Sri Lanka’s Unfinished War, a BBC Documentary presented by Frances Harrison) refuted by facts given by her own mother & sister.
THESE TOO SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED – AS MOST OF THE OTHER ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE SECURITY FORCES MAY HAVE SIMILAR ORIGINS / BIAS.

ranjitj@  – Ranjit and Nalini Jayamaha – New Zealand  — We fully support this submission

Ranee2020@  – Ranee Ratnayeke – Sri Lanka  —

anura_hettihewa@ – ALAH Hettihewa – Austrlia  —

chiranjaya@  – Jagath Rupasinghe – NZ  — Excellent. One small correction, U tube to be written as www.youtube.com. Please do not publish my detail. Regards.

sthalakada@  – Sumithra Thalakada – New Zealand  —

senakew@  – Dr Senake Wickremasinghe – United Kingdom  — Please allow Sri Lankans to settle its own affairs through its national reconciliation programme

senakewick@  – Mrs Shanthi Wickremasinghe – United Kingdom  — It is sad to see that the western world is crucifying Sri Lanka

donwijewardana@ – Don Wijewardana – New Zealand  — Since the end of the war new evidence has emerged which confirm that decisions of the UNHRC were based on faulty premises and cooked up allegations. The Council should discard the resolutions.

jay_ds@– Jay De Silva – New Zealand  — Chula – Thank you very much for your hard work!

nagiherath@ – Mahesh Herath – Australia    — Leaders , PLS stop humiliating Srilanka, if somebody wants to help my country, go to Sri lanka & see from your eyes & do the needful rather than criticising without knowing anything.

nagiherath@  – Mahesh Herath – Australia    — Leaders , PLS stop humiliating Srilanka, if somebody wants to help my country, go to Srilanka & see from your eyes & do the needful rather than criticising without knowing anything.

gamjay59@  – Gamini Jayasuriya – Australia  —

kapilarw@ – Kapila Waidyasekara – New Zealand  —

Suwinee@  – Suwinee Wijesekera – Australia  —

nimalabeysinghe@ – nimal abeysinghe – new zealand  — I fully endorse the above submission.

alwisg22@ – Dr Gamani Goonetilleka – Australia  — This is an excellent presentation and one would fervently hope that good sense will prevail and the UNHCR will note the points raised in their deliberations and give due credit for the TRUTH stated. Sri Lanka needs support to recover from the thirty odd years of terrorism, out of the 67 years of Independence. Sri Lanka has really had NO time to develope her inherent culture, infrastructure and all other aspects necessary for development in a Nation under heavy interference by countries with vested interests. Please consider all these aspects and adopt a helpful stance instead of a biased, one sided stand.

cwijesekera@  – Chandra Wijesekera – New Zealand – I fully support Dr.Chula Rajapkse’s view on this submission.

sl_honconsul@  – anthony swan – australia  — Enclosed is the submission and I have co signed

chinthakew@ – chinthake wijesooriya – Australia  — Democratically elected governments must not be manipulated by the extremist groups or other unwarranted interest groups. To preserve democracy and the rights of the people it is critical that we are aware of changing forms of extremism.

msamarakoon09@ – Mangalika Samarakoon – New Zealand  — Anyone who appreciates world peace would never encourage terrorism.

palipanebuddhi5@  – Nihal Palipane – Australia  — I asupport the above submission.

rangiwa1@  – Vinodh Wanigasinghe – New Zealand  —

tantrigg@ – Tantri Tantirigama – New Zealand  —

Renuka56a@g RENUKA WIJESEKERA – New Zealand    —

saponsu@  – Suranjith Aponsu – New Zealand  —

gnanam0591@ – Selva Gnanam – Australia  — Promoters of war feed on the carrion.Diaspora Tamils were used to promote a useless conflict by the West on Tamils in Sri Lanka hoping as usual to rob the country of its resources and exploit its geographic position to promote further wars. Through “Tamil Eelam” the division of India was another of its goals.  I just wonder why  we Tamils have not yet realized that we are being used as the “Cat’s paw” by the the Anglo-Saxon empire
Selva Gnanam.

anurajiweerakoon@– Anuraji – New Zealand  — I give my fullest support for this submission

ranjitrupesinghe@ – ranjit rupesinghe – australia  — This is the work of a true patriot-more strength to your elbow – JAYAWEVA !

jithmia@ – Jithmi Alexander – New Zealand  —

donbanda@ – Dr Don Bandaranayake – New Zealand  — The good work that is being done now should not be soured by unnecessary enquiries into fabricated allegations.

milton_desilva@ – Milton de Silva – Canada  — I agree.

gamini5@ – Gamini Jayantha Weerasekera – Brisbane Australia  — I agree with Dr Chula Rajapaksha’s views

wgpre@ – Dr.Wijaya Gamini Premaratne – Australia  — This is an excellent representation of the actual facts.The legitimately elected government of Sri lanka had to wage war against a terrorist group holding all sri Lankans to ransom within their own borders.If the government is not going to act who will?On the contrary why is the UNHRC quiet about the countries invading other sovereign countries saying they are a threat to their security-US in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel in the Gaza where war crimes were committed in full view of the world to see?

gilbertm@ – M.G.Mendis – Sri Lanka  —

dayawij@– Daya wijesuriya – Australia  — These are planned propaganda by Tiger Diaspora who does not care of innocent tamil people

bulath@ – Sarath Bulathsinghala – New Zealand  — We must not support this one sided, unequal  and biased inquiry and give it legitimacy. The inquiry has no balance as it is only limited to a limited period  of the war and focus only on the last stages of the war. Sri Lanka suffered 30 years of unrelenting terrorist onslaught aided and abetted by interested parties in Sri Lanka and abroad. If an investigation is to be carried out then it should encompass this whole period and not just the last few weeks. The role of the UN and other interested parties who aided and abetted terrorism in Sri Lanka too should be investigated.

naradadw@ – narada warnasuriya – Sri Lanka  — Ifully endorse the abovesubmission

jay_ameratunga@c J Ameratunga – Australia  —

doolandads@sltnet.lk– Dooland de Silva – Sri Lanka  —

manilal1010@y– Manilal Gooneratne – Sri Lanka  — Truly wish this attempt to convince the UN will succeed as all big powers(western) are all out to destabilise us thro the Tamil diasphora,as seen in today’s news of the EU removing the LTTE from their TERRORIST LIST!

maliklenora@ – malik and lakshmi lenora – New Zealand  —

gswijekoon@y – sarath wijekoon – New Zealand  — UN should not interfere with the internal affairs of any country, rather UN should facilitate such investigation by providing financial help and manpower. Also UN should force Srilankan government to carry out acceptable and reliable internal investigations.Imposing sanction is n0t an answer.

Hasithawije@ – HASITHA WIJESEKERA – New Zealand    — I support the submission.

wallysilva@ – walter silva – sri lanka  —

yosanta@– Yasantha Rajapakse  – Australia  —

jayanthalg@ – Jayantha Gonsalkorale – New Zealand  — Thank you very much for the opportunity to sign this petition. I lived in Sri Lanka from 1992 to 2002 and narrowly escaped the LTTE attack on the Central Bank whilst working in the World Trade Centre. We lived in fear of terror attack for 10 years not knowing returning home after work was a possibility. My two daughters attended a state girls school and was under constant terror attack, which caused so much stress to the family both immediate and extended. Travel within Sri Lanka was not possible without the risk of being caught in a bomb blast. This was the life of all ethnic groups living in the major cities, esp Colombo.

lucian1939@ – Nihal Goonetilleke – Australia  —

jagathsiri@ – Puspakumara – NewZealand  —

Ktennakoon@g– Kithsiri Tennakoon – Australia  —

dherat@ – Dhamitha & mahesh Herat – Australia  — We were present during the 30 year war  by the LTTE and the atrocities committed by them. WE were also present to see the carnage committed during the numerous suicide bombings and the devastation caused as a result of the bombing of the Bank of Ceylon building among other things. Instead of taking a one eyed inquiry , there should be an impartial and balanced inquiry into the atrocities committed by the LTTE and their hierarchy and the fact that they now live a prosecution free life in the west protected by the west. Why aren’t they being prosecuted and chased in the same manner?

 

nihalpj123@ – Dr Nihal Jayamaha – New Zealand  —

 

ramyasiri@ – D R Ramyasiri – New Zealand  —

 

serendib7@ – G D Gunatilleke – Sri Lanka  —

nilanthak@ – Nilantha Karunarathna – Australia  —

nuwgun@ – Nuwan Gunawardana – Australia  —

swkmanamperi@ – Sanjeewa Manamperi – Australia  —

malwis@ – Mahinda Alwis in – New Zealand  — I agree with the content made by the author.

athulaw@ – Athula Wanasinghe – New Zealand  — I fully agree with the contents of this submission by Dr.Chula Rajapakse and wish to support his efforts of trying to give the true picture of the events to whom it may concern.
Best Regards, Athula Wanasinghe,Wellington – NZ

rabelrar@  – Ranjith Rabel – New Zealand  —

saratha21@ – Sarath Amarasekera – New Zealand  — I totally agreed with the contents in this letter.

chandrasena55@  – Chandra Koswatte – New Zealand  —

sisirajayanatha@  – Sisira Jayanatha – New Zealand  —

pererasue@ – Sue Perera – Newzealand  — If you can get Commander Sarath fonseka to sign this.. would be very effective?

suresh211@  – Suresh Rajapakse – New Zealand  —

desilvakvp@ – Vijaya De silva – New Zealand  — .

serendib7@– Gita Gunatilleke – Sri Lanka  —

dwijesekare@   –   David Wijesekare  –  Sri Lanka

prop747@  R. Narangoda  –  Sri Lanka

kalupahana.usla@   –  R Kalupahana  —  New Zealand

Sadun.Kithulagoda@ –   Sadun Kithulagoda  —  New Zealand

 

saas@  –  Aseni Kithulagoda  —New Zealand

 

.rajapakse@–   Dr. Preethi Rajapakse — Sri Lanka

 

bsperera@  — Dr.Sarath Perera —England

[1] Robin M Coupland, surgeon and David R Meddings, epidemiologis, Mortality associated with use of weapons in armed conflicts, wartime atrocities, and civilian mass shootings: literature review, BMJ. Aug 14, 1999; 319(7207): 407–410t