Tag: Sri Lanka

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Unleashed Cricket Venom at the ABC

There’s an offside article at ABC Unleashed today by Dileep Premachandran which disingenuously insinuates that it was Pakistani extremist elements who were responsible for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Here’s an expanded version of my comment at ABC Unleashed.

“Try telling that to those indoctrinated into a more poisonous faith, those infected with the virus of extremism.”

That’d be RAW, the Indian Intelligence Force, who appear to have been the perpetrators of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers. Payback for the Sri Lankan government’s pursuit of the LTTE and/or the Mumbai terrorism?

From the UK Telegraph:

“A leaked report from Punjab’s Crime Investigation Department (CID), passed to Pakistani papers reveals that authorities were warned almost six weeks ago, of a plot and urged the all security agencies in the state and federal governments to take special precautions to protect the visitors.

The report identifies the Indian intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), as the force behind the plot – an accusation regularly traded between India and Pakistan – but specifically identified the drive between their hotel and the stadium as the scene of the attack.

Pakistani newspapers quoted the report, dated January 22nd 2009, warning:”It has reliably been learnt that RAW (Indian intelligence agency) has assigned its agents the task to target Sri Lankan cricket team during its current visit to Lahore, especially while travelling between the hotel and stadium or at hotel during their stay.

“It is evident that RAW intends to show Pakistan a security risk state for sports events, particularly when the European and the Indian teams have already postponed their proposed visits considering it a high security risk to visit Pakistan .Extreme vigilance and heightened security arrangements indicated.” A further letter from Punjab’s then chief minister Shahbaz Sharif’s office to Lahore’s Inspector-General of Police and security ministers, requested extra security protection for the tourists. “The chief minister has seen the enclosed source report and has desired that every effort may be made for the security of the Sri Lankan cricket team during its current visit to Lahore. He has further desired that extreme vigilance and heightened security arrangement may be made to avert any untoward incident,” his officials wrote.

More pertinent evidence is presented at Grande Strategy:

“Bags of ammunition was left in front of Al-Fatah store in neighborhood of Gulberg. Weapons left behind included 84mm Carl Gustav recoiless rifles, controversially a standard issue weapon to the Indian Army, a weapon not typically found with the Taliban.

Carl Gustavs are of Swedish origin and exported to the Indian army and never exported to the Mujahideen. RPG-22 rocket propelled anti-tank grenades, another standard issue for the Indian special forces (and another weapon less typical for the Taliban who more typically prefer RPG-7s) was also used. A senior defense correspondent, while remaining anonymous, states that the choice of weapons as well as other evidence, clearly indicates India’s hand in the present attack and is being seen as a “response” to the Mumbai attacks.

Terrorist attacks perpetrated by RAW have many previous precedents but given the present sensitivities and the Indian reaction to the Mumbai attacks, they could prove to be a catalyst for heightened tensions between the two beleaguered neighbors.”

Further, a coverup is afoot in the Punjab.

The Punjab governor on Thursday claimed that the CID report on RAW’s plan to attack the Sri Lankan cricket team was not provided to him or to his key official by the outgoing chief minister and his chief secretary. However, the facts show that following the imposition of governor’s rule, Taseer removed six key officials, who were in possession of the CID report, including the then-chief secretary Javed Mehmud, the then-IGP Shaukat Javed, the then-CCOP Pervez Rathore, the then-secretary to the chief minister Dr Tauqir, the then-secretary (coordination) to the chief minister Dr Ajmal and SSP (operations) Lahore Chaudhry Shafiq.

These officers were replaced by Taseer’s trusted men, including Khalid Farooq, appointed as Punjab IGP; Najibullah Malik, who was made chief secretary; Haji Habibur Rehman came as CCOP Lahore; Ahmad Nawaz Sukhaira, the principal secretary to the governor is now the secretary to the provincial chief executive; Tariq Najib Najmi is the new secretary coordination while Amjad Saleemi has been brought in as DIG (operations) Lahore. From amongst the top concerned officers only home secretary Nadeem Asif remained unchanged.

Analysis from the Frontier Post includes:

The overwhelming body of evidences is available that the Lahore carnage is being supported by the RAW agency and there are equally several veiled accusations that India’s involvement cannot ruled out because India was unhappy with Sri Lanka’s cricket tour to Pakistan.

..

In this regard, Indian establishment always disliked growing Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s diplomatic and strategic relationship and feeling threat for their hegemonic designs. India’s security establishment does not like Pak-Sri Lanka defence cooperation and they also have reservation about Sri Lanka’s tilt towards Pakistan. It is interesting to note that India has already refused to meet Colombo’s needs with regard to lethal weapons and at the same time, they want to disturb cordial relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka with regard to the charting strategy against the country’s territorial integrity. In reality, diplomatic and strategic relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan are not a new phenomenon because both countries have long-time understanding and close association. However, presently Islamabad is one of the Colombo’s largest suppliers of military equipment and it has no problem to supply lethal weapons to Sri Lanka for its counter-insurgency operations.

…

So, India wants to prevent Pakistan from gaining more ground in the region and for this purpose, in the recent past RAW arranged blast through LTTE on August 14, 2007 and targeted Bashir Wali Mohammed, Pakistan’s outgoing High Commissioner to Sri Lanka because of the defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In this context, RAW has a long history of subversive activities in South Asian countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They are sponsoring sabotage and separatists movements to Balkanize the countries and for this purpose they are creating instability, political anarchy, and terrorism and always exploiting racial, cultural, sectarian, religious differences for further deteriorating the conditions to other countries.

Copies of the original CID documents are available at Teeth Maestro. The document’s main points are:

1. It has reliably been learnt that “RAW” (Indian Intelligence Agency) has assigned its agents the task to target Sri Lankan Cricket Team during its current visit to Lahore, especially while traveling between the hotel and stadium or at the hotel during their stay
2. It is evident that RAW intends to show Pakistan as a security risk state for sports events particularly when European and India teams have already postponed their proposed visits considering it a high security risk to visit Pakistan.
3. RAW has also collected photographs of leaders of Jamaat-ud-Daawa (Proscribed) and its establishment to target them
4. Extreme vigilance and heightened security arrangements indicated

The ABC owes the honourable sport of cricket a more complete coverage of the Lahore attack.

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Sri Lankan Government Mimics Israeli Tactics with Massacre

Harsh military tactics, slaughter of civilians, firing on the UN, intimidation of the press, killing journalists and a blockade on humanitarian aid – Israel’s merciless, cruel tactics are being employed by a ruthless, corrupt Sri Lankan government bent on exterminating Tamil resistance in the north of the island.

It is believed that 250,000 people have become caught up in the end-game of the island’s bitter civil war as the military continues to drive the Tamil Tigers into an ever-diminishing area of jungle following the capture of Mullaittivu, the rebels’ last major town, at the weekend. Humanitarian convoys, on which the civilians depend, have not been able to reach them for almost two weeks.

UN workers, taking shelter inside a safe area designated by the Sri Lankan government, told how they twice came under fire. About 20 people were killed and many more were wounded in the bombardments. The workers said it was unclear who had fired the shells but it is understood they came from both the government and rebel positions.

Speaking last night from, Colombo, the UN spokesman Gordon Weiss, said: “This is a serious crisis. Our staff were in the designated safe area and there was incoming fire from artillery shells. There were shells which killed and wounded dozens of people, the last of which was Monday morning when 10 people were killed and many more were wounded. They have seen this first hand.”

Mr Weiss said he was aware of an unconfirmed report from the regional director of health services that said 300 people had been killed.

The Red Cross said hundreds of Sri Lankans had died during the past two weeks, based on body counts carried out by its staff. “People are being caught in the crossfire, hospitals and ambulances have been hit by shelling, and several aid workers have been injured while evacuating the wounded,” said Jacques de Maio, head of the South Asia operations. “When the dust settles, we may see countless victims and a terrible humanitarian situation.”

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has issued a statement urging both sides, “to accord immediate and absolute priority to ensuring the protection and well-being of civilians, including humanitarian aid workers”.

The growing humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka comes as government troops continue to force back the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam fighters after a decades-long civil war. After capturing Mullaittivu on Sunday, the military is now pushing along a stretch of coastline to try and encircle the rebels, a manoeuvre they believe will be completed within weeks. Yesterday, the military, which has denied firing into the safe zone, escorted journalists into Mullaittivu, a town now largely deserted. As government forces approached, the rebels apparently ordered residents into the jungle and stripped the town of anything that might be of use.

Journalists have been blocked from entering much of the conflict zone and media organisations questioning the military’s tactics have been intimidated and even killed, meaning that the government’s efforts to crush the Tigers is a largely hidden conflict. So too, is the plight of the hundreds of thousands of civilians, trapped in an area measuring around 115 sq miles. Mr Weiss said most of the civilians, driven north and east by the Sri Lankan army, were now stranded along the A35 road that leads north- west from Mullaittivu – most with just the few possessions that they can carry. It is along the A35 that the government last week designated the “safe zone” for civilians.

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Sunday Leader editor & Columbo government critic assassinated

Outspoken government critic and editor of the Sunday Leader in Columbo, Lasantha Wickramatunga was assassinated as he drove to work yesterday by unidentified gunmen on motorbikes.

There have been several attacks on and attempts to intimidate journalists in Sri Lanka in recent times while the government has been engaged in bloody campaigns against LTTE troops in the northern Tamil areas.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa condemned the killing of Mr. Wickramatunga as an attempt to discredit the government while the Leader of the Opposition and a former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, accused the government of silencing its critics.

Mr. Rajapaksa described Mr. Wickramatunga as a close friend and a courageous journalist and maintained “the heinous crime points to the grave dangers faced by the democratic social order of our country, and the existence of forces that will go to the furthest extremes in using terror and criminality to damage our social fabric and bring disrepute to the country.”

Addressing a news conference along with other Opposition leaders, Mr. Wickremesinghe alleged that the murder of the Sunday Leader editor was part of an anti-democratic conspiracy.

The Committee to Protect Journalists “called on concerned ambassadors in Colombo to weigh in forcefully and immediately with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put an end to the attacks raining down on Sri Lanka’s media.”

The killing follows the January 6 early morning assault by about 15 masked gunmen on Maharaja TV (MTV) studios outside Colombo. Earlier, some state media had called the station “unpatriotic” for its coverage of the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). CPJ called for an impartial parliamentary inquiry into the attack, saying the government has been a prime suspect in attacks on journalists in the past. Rajapaksa has condemned today’s killing as well as the attack on MTV.

Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator said

“The assassination of Lasantha Wickramatunga signals that the government is unable or unwilling to protect the country’s journalists who dare to report critically. The international community in Colombo must act quickly to bring pressure on President Rajapaksa to reverse this murderous trend.”

The Sunday Leader is well known for being critical of Rajapaksa’s government. In a recent editorial, the paper accused the president of stepping up the war with the secessionist LTTE in order to stay in power.

Wickramatunga’s editorial admonished the Columbo government severely for its pre-election tactics:

What is perhaps most offensive about Rajapakse’s attempts to manipulate the electorate in the face of an election is how much he takes for granted the fickleness of his Sinhala-Buddhist following. Nothing could better personify the “Sinhalaya modaya” stereotype than the President’s disdain for his own people. And they love him for it. So long as a steady stream of Tamils are exterminated, there is little to impede Rajapakse’s cruise to yet another victory.

The dead journalist also criticised the UNP opposition for its non-committal policies:

Sadly for both Ranil Wickremesinghe and Karu Jayasuriya, they have failed to convey effectively to the country their concerns about the issues of our time. As a party, the UNP is yet to decide whether or not it supports the war and if so, whether it subscribes, for example, to the present practice of aerially bombarding Tamil villages labelled as LTTE hideouts in the north.

To say it opposes the war but nevertheless congratulate the army on capturing Paranthan or Killinochchi, however, is morally and intellectually dishonest. After all, the government would not dare bombing LTTE hideouts in the south – let us say in Wellawatte – for fear of collateral damage. Yet, in the remote townships of the Wanni, such bombardment has now become routine, with enormous cost to the civilian population.

The attacks on Tamil villages by Sri Lanka’s government mirror those of Israel on the people of Gaza. Both parties under attack have had national aspirations under occupation for 60 years, and both peoples can trace continuous existence in their native lands. Before British rule, Tamil and Sinhalese coexisted in two kingdoms –

the Tamil Kingdom comprising the north and eastern parts and the Sinhalese Kingdom(s) the western & southern parts of Ceylon. There were brief periods when the whole of Ceylon came under a single ruler. Otherwise, there existed two or more Kingdoms and the Tamil Kingdom always one of them. The Tamil Kingdom, later came to be called the Jaffna Kingdom existed as a separate polity for centuries. The first war between a Tamil King who ruled Anuradhapura and a Sinhalese king from the south was fought in the 2nd century BC.

In the case of Palestine however, Zionist colonialisation of Palestinian land began in the 1880s with the advent of kibbutzs set up by European Jews.

When Sri Lanka declared independence from the British in 1948, its constitution incorporated the state with its official religion as Buddhism. The Tamil people are predominantly Hindu. Success in the first election by Sinhalese Buddhist candidates enabled the passing of

“the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Amendment Act No.48 of 1949 which deprived the Tamils of their franchise as well. This category of Tamils who had 7 seats in the Parliament and held balance of power in a further 20-30 electorates failed to elect even a single member in the elections to the parliament held in 1953.”

Tamils were further marginalised in 1956 with the passing of the Sinhala Only Act:

The enactment of this Act, quite contrary to the hitherto official policy of recognising both Sinhalese and Tamil as Official languages, made Tamils second class citizens in their country of birth overnight.

The Tamil people staged a non-violent demonstration against the stripping of their rights and were met with violence.

The peaceful Satyragraha by the Tamils to protest against the Sinhala Only language policy at Galle Face Green overlooking the Parliament in Colombo was broken up by Sinhalese hoodlums. This was followed by Island wide riots in which hundreds of Tamils lost their lives and property worth millions destroyed. The 1956 riots was the beginning of a series of racially motivated Tamil pogroms by Sinhalese covertly encouraged by successive governments and overtly supported by the security forces. These pogroms with increased ferocity and venom were repeated in 1958, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983.

The government of Sri Lanka has still failed to address the just, legitimate rights of the Tamil people, instead pursuing violent means to crush “the Other”. As usual, violence met with violence in return. The Tamil Tigers (LTTE) are claimed to be “the official army of the Tamil people”.

@Jinjirrie http://is.gd/eX8R Lasantha Wickramatunga ed of Sunday Leader & govt critic shot by unidentified gunmen in Columbo http://is.gd/eXak