‘LTTE had no interest in terminating conflict’: Norway’s dual role led to CFA breakdown – LLRC
The Lessons Learnt and Reconcilliation Commission (LLRC) in its final report to the President which was tabled in Parliament last Friday criticised the role of Norway, that their actions contributed significantly to breakdown of the CFA.
It observed that the Nordic peace makers’ dual role as the facilitator and the monitor of the peace process did not synchronise well and this decision to play two opposing roles led to a conflict of interest and failed strong action by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in instances of grave violations of the CFA, particularly by the LTTE.
“The Commission is of the view that Norway failed to effectively monitor compliance with the CFA on the basis that by such action its neutral role as the facilitator will be compromised. ”
The members of the LLRC, after their over one and a half year sittings concluded the breakdown of the CFA was mainly due to the the ‘disinclination of the LTTE to terminate conflict’ and enter the political process to find a lasting solution and the Norway’s conflicting dual role, too, contributed to this significantly.
It observed ‘the LTTE was totally disinterested in a negotiated settlement short of a separate state and the peace process was a way of buying time to strengthen itself militarily for the next battle.’
The Commission blamed Norway and the then Government for not reading the LTTE properly. It said the CFA which categorised the country into two distinct areas helped the apparent legitimization of the territorial claims of the LTTE.
The members of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission were required to inquire into the matters or events that led to the breakdown of the 2002 CFA and the sequence of events that followed thereafter, in order to learn from the past experiences to avoid a repetition of the past.
The commission was chaired by retired Attorney General and President’s Counsel C. R. de Silva.
The report also criticised that Norway had handed the Government a compromised text with the LTTE as a draft CFA, with a take it or leave it approach, violating established principles of such a process in order to keep the LTTE in the negotiating process.
The Commission called the 2002 CFA a ‘largely unworkable and unrealistic goal and it failed to provide a platform for sustainable peace in the longer term’ apart from a short lived respite for a nation battered by terrorism for decades. However on a positive note the Commissioners observed the CFA that kept the LTTE at the negotiating table for a considerable period, may have acted as a catalyst in the disintegration of the LTTE and the breakaway of the Karuna faction.
Courtesy: Sunday Observer
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After avoiding service for more than 9 months, and despite statements by Colombo that Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse is not answerable to US Courts, Rajapakse-appointed counsel from the lobby firm of Patton Boggs filed a motion with the District Court of District of Columbia for “enlargement of time to respond to the complaint” related to the legal action, 11-cv-00235, by three Tamil plaintiffs sponsored by Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a US-based activist group. Legal observers expressed surprise at the filing, which, in addition to effecting waiver of service, also attempts to set the time window for response pleading tied to a discretionary act by Judge Kotelly on seeking view of the US State Department.
Legal observers said that despite earlier defiance, Rajapaksas may have relented after receiving legal advice from US indicating that failure to respond to the Court summons may result in a default judgment which will likely bar Rajapaksa from entering the US without paying the monetary award if granted by the court.
In addition to seeking the view of the US State Department, Rajapakse filing, even while the verdict on the acceptability of LLRC’s work is being debated, disingenuously asserts that “United States Government has endorsed the work of the LLRC in addressing allegations concerning the actions of the combatants during the now-ended conflict” and uses the Assistant Secretary of State, Robert O’ Blake’s statements as defense to Rajapakse’s alleged crimes and the purported US’s policy approach to Sri Lanka, legal sources who have studied the Rajapakse motion said.
The Complaint by the three Tamil plaintiffs alleges multiple violations of the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) based on Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa’s command responsibility for the extrajudicial killings of Ragihar Manoharan, the son of Plaintiff Dr. Kasippillai Manoharan, of Premas Anandarajah, a humanitarian aid worker for Action Against Hunger, and husband of Plaintiff Kalaiselvi Lavan, and four members of the Thevarajah family, all relatives of Plaintiff Jeyakumar Aiyathurai.
A quote from a Sinhala author:
“The Rajapaksas believe that they can uproot Tamil nationalism by changing the demographic soil which nurtured it, and by using terror.
They do not believe in the existence of an ethnic problem and is allergic to devolution because of its democratising potential. The Rajapaksas want to concentrate all power in their hands. They are thus viscerally opposed to sharing power with anyone, including fellow SLFPers. One of the main purposes of the LLRC is to deflect international pressure and buy time for the Rajapaksas who are trying to create a new ground reality in the North and in parts of the East. A new ground reality consisting of military camps and cantonments amidst Tamil villages, which, the Rajapaksas hope, will render devolution unviable and a Tamil resurgence impossible.”
Ref blog 1 of DC, there is no truth whatsoever in what was stated. The position remains that Hon President of SL is not anwerable to US Courts who have no jurisdiction over SL. In like manner, President of USA is not answerable to any court in any country. Recently, former US President George Bush arraigned before Court in Malaysia for gross war crimes and crimes against humanity for conducting illegal war in Iraq and killing more than a million civilians by indiscriminate bombings and torture of captured POWs. He was found guilty and sentenced in absentia. He would be arrested if he travels to Malaysia and the sentence carried out. All Heads of State are immune from arrest in any country.
Ref blog 2 of DC, he has quoted someone without naming the person. Hence his statemnt has no validity.
Ref Blog 3, President George W can be arrested if he travels to malasia or Switzerland.
Likewise, if the case against President MR is ruled in favour of the appelants and if the defendant fails to settle damages, he can be arrested if he travels to the US.
Ref Blog 4, the article was written by Tisaranee Gunasekera and published in many fora including Transcurrents.com.
Happy now Mr Nicholas?
Mr.president you are right,Solheim and the Norway they are the worst Mafia in the world….Let D.C. and the tamil tigers to dream their home land in srilanka.Srilanka is one country and one nation.therefore tamils they have to adjust according to srilanken,otherwise they can go to tamilnadu where all the parayas come……god bless srilanka.
Nicholas Dias is apparently happy in his cocoon in Onlanka.
There are hundreds of other websites and blogs representing Sinhala and tamil and national interests which are keenly following the rapid developments in Sri Lanka.
I had placed FM’s analysis of the report in one of the “national” oriented blogsites and it went viral attracting over 30,000 hits in approximately 2 hours.
The general opinion is the LLRC did its job properly but the Blue Brother Government released its own version of the report with the commissioners’ signature planted.
This Govt released report has been trashed by Amnesty International. The UNSG is reading the report having stated what he expected to see in it.
The doctoring of the report is bound to precipitate unfavorable opinion on GOSL. The noose is tightening.
ND will come out with a nationalistic tirade based “MR is the MAN” and “One Country, One nation”. These are outdated concepts. Any credibility MR had was destroyed in the Kudu Duminda incident. He stands exposed sans credibility.
As I have stated earlier, all Heads of State are immune from prosecution in any country under UN protocols while he/she is still in office. Hon President MR has visited USA, Britain and Australia defying diaspora Tamil/LTTE conspiracies to arraign him before the courts of these countries but all their stupid efforts came to nought. I wonder how many millions were wasted by these Tamil organisations in these conspiracies, money obtained through force from gullible diaspora Tamils.
TG is a well-known stooge of imperial West and diaspora LTTE, TNA. She is probably richly rewarded for her anti-UPFA and pro LTTE stand. Hence her credibilty is at stake.
I only read worthwhile websites and certainly not websites that spread lies and concocted gossip.
The Blue Brothers narcissitic regime my dear Nicholas, even though is doing irreparable social and economic damage to the country, is very popular among the Sinhala masses purely because it has unleashed maximum havoc, torture and mayhem on Tamil people experienced ever since the so-called independence.
Nicholas, if you would like to live in your own cocoon and believe that “all Heads of State are immune from prosecution in any country under UN protocols while he/she is still in office” you are perfectly entitled to do so.
Nicholas,
On another point, you are relying on “UN Protocols” related to protection for Heads of State. It is the same UN that you hate for having set-up the Darusman Commission.
Many leaders of the Sinhala community even proposed the setting up of an alternative “UN” to counter the “threat” of the current UN to Sri Lanka.
Double standards, Mr Nicholas.
Nicholas,
Why silent? Have you been beaten by the DC-FM-JS combined assault?