Chilaw Bishop under influence of regime and filthy lucre: pressurizes Fathers to give false evidence

-Fathers’ and fishermen’s lives in danger

(Lanka-e-News- 01.March.2012, 6.00AM) Following the recent killing of the Chilaw fisherman Anthony by the Govt., there are more dire threats to lives of the fishermen and the catholic priests, according to reports reaching Lanka e news. There are still police sleuths hovering about and they are also in the Chilaw Bishop’s house too. Chalenz Mendis , the Chilaw Bishop is taking the side of the regime and exerting pressures on the fishermen and the other priests (Fathers) to commit sins. Bishop Chalenz Mendis has forced the Father in charge of the church, Egodawella division where the murder occurred to give false evidence in court. The residents of the area point out that this pressure brought to bear by the Bishop is most reprehensible and is inimical to the catholic religion and the country . Already threats to life of the Egodawella division Father had been posed by unidentified groups. The fishermen had been threatened to accept the fuel concession and resume their fishing . The fishermen had however stated that the concessions given on the earlier occasion was withdrawn after two months , and therefore , whether the Bishops would take the responsibility in the event that withdrawal is repeated in this instance too. Bishop Mendis had refused to take the responsibility. Meanwhile Herman Perera ,the representative of the fishing community had gone into hiding in fear of the deadly threats held out to him, reports say. In the circumstances , the people are urging the responsible opposition parties to protect the fishermen.

Asian Tribune Works With GSL Military Intelligence Services

Colombo TelegraphMARCH 1, 2012

By Colombo Telegraph -

Courts of Appeal in Sweden heard that Asian Tribune is closely associated with the Sri Lankan government, its undercover agents and Sri Lankan Military Intelligence Services.

Capt SK Ranatunga, who came from Sri Lanka, said that he is from the Sri Lanka’s Defence Unit and his official boss Prof. Rohan Gunaratna had advised him to appear as a witness who working on Intelligence and Terror research matter,

KT Rajasingham called on former Director of Military Intelligence Brig.Kapila Hendawitharane who is now the Director of National Intelligence and Captain Ranatunge from The Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment Unit of the Sri Lanka Army as witnesses inNadarajah Sethurupan defamation case.

The Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment Capt SK Ranatunga, who came from Sri Lanka, said that he is from the Sri Lanka’s Defence Unit and his official boss Prof. Rohan Gunaratna had advised him to appear as a witness who working on Intelligence and Terror research matter, He said that We Defense people known KT.Rajasingahm long time and writing many things which is closely associated with the Sri Lankan government. KT.Rajasingham’s lawyer asked Capt SK Ranatunga that “who are you and always telling that ‘We, We’ what you mean by ‘we’?” Capt SK Ranatunga said that “we mean we are defence people of Sri Lanka.

Brig.Kapila Hendawitharane’s lawyer, Mr.Kalinga N.Indatissa said that his clint has lost to understand as to why he has been summoned as a witness in the above case and he has had no connection whatsoever, either with Kanapathipillai Rajasingham or who are parties to above case.

The court heard that threats against NORWAY NEWS journalist Sethurupan’s life originated from the Sri Lankan military intelligence and Sri Lankan National intelligence according to KT Rajasingham’s testimony in Court.

Regime chief gets down illicit African Sinha oil for pooja to destroy his evil spell – but devil in him is indestructible

(Lanka-e-News- 01.March.2012, 6.00AM) The astrological advisors of the regime chief who claim that the latter is currently going through a very bad spell have held a pooja on the sly at Temple Trees on the 25th night. The regime chief who has implicit faith in blind superstitions had held this event at five places across the country including the Temple trees at the same time most secretly.

Not only very essential drugs, rare herbs and flowers , even Kattadiyas ( exorcists) from India had been got down. These Indian men and matters have been organized by Nadesan ,the husband of Nirupama Rajapakse.

As the regime chief was told by a Kattadiya that Sinha (Lion’s) oil is indispensable for this pooja , a huge sum of money had been spent and this oil made available. Illicit Hunters in Mozambique , Africa who are prohibited from killing lions had been paid these monies unlawfully to get this oil after killing lions.

The individual who played a central role in these activities and deals was Chandrasiri Bandara , a notorious fraud who was once an enemy of the regime chief , and arrested for crimes by the CID earlier , but later released . This fraudulent crook ,of all people is now the President’s astrological advisor.

He is now going on talking about this Sinha oil pooja at various places . He has also blabbered how following his astrological advise to rid of an evil spell earlier, the President was made to take the form of a beggar and crawl on his stomach four times round at Ruwanweli Seya.

Sri Lanka Rattled by Planned UN Rights Resolution

By Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Feb 29, 2012 (IPS) - Strung across the main road leading away from the international airport is a banner that has an intriguing message: ‘USA, Pls Do Not Support Terrorism’.

Most of the other large billboards and banners on the same stretch are also directed at visiting tourists, but these are less political and exhort them to visit beach locations or buy jewellery.

The banner is part of a government campaign to thwart or at least discredit a United States-led resolution to be tabled at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) that began in Geneva on Monday.

The resolution calls on the Sri Lankan government to detail how it plans to act on the recommendations made by its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), according to U.S. assistant secretary of state for south and central Asia Robert Blake.

The LLRC was set up in May 2010 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to inquire into the civil war and related events between 2002 and May 2009, when the conflict finally ended. It presented its final report in November 2011.

The Sri Lankan government has steadfastly rejected international intervention into the conduct of the final phase of the war, despite mounting allegations of rights abuses. So far, it has successfully resisted all attempts to bring on international scrutiny.

In May 2009, as the war was ending and government troops were mopping up the remnants of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan diplomats in Geneva were able to quash a resolution at the UNHRC calling for an international inquiry.

The South Asian nation, backed by India, China and Russia, was then able to get passed a counter-resolution hailing the victory of government forces.

Since then, however, the diplomatic atmosphere in Geneva has changed. Colombo appears shaken by the impending resolution, with high-ranking government officials publicly dubbing the move by the U.S. as intrusive intimidation.

"President Rajapaksa had challenged the conflict management theory introduced by some Western countries. They have named Sri Lanka a country engaged in human rights violations," youth affairs minister Dullas Alahapperuma told media a day before the Geneva sessions were to start.

"At a moment when they should be supporting Sri Lanka’s revival, they are trying to impose their will on us," Alahapperuma complained.

Mahinda Samarasinghe, minister and leader of the Sri Lankan delegation at Geneva, said as the sessions began: "We are of the view that this (resolution) could be perceived as undue interference with internal processes of recovery and reconciliation containing strong elements of prejudgement and the application of double standards."

The government, Samarasinghe said, had in fact begun to implement some of the LLRC recommendations. He was referring to the army and the navy setting up internal inquiries to ascertain whether there were any rights abuses.

Separately, the attorney-general’s department too has begun interviewing some of those who gave evidence at the LLRC.

However, rights activists say that the government needs to show a consistent intent that it is serious about carrying through the LLRC recommendations, rather than reacting when calls for international scrutiny are heard.

"It has to set up an apex body, with possibly the president at the head, to carry out the recommendations. Then it would be clear that the intent is there," Jehan Perera, executive director of the Colombo-based advocacy body, the National Peace Council, told IPS.

Perera believes that despite the criticism, the final report of the LLRC does give the government a vital entry point into national reconciliation after three decades of civil war. "It is a very important document, one that gives a lot of opportunities."

Other activists say that widespread protests – some 150 were held in various parts of the country on Feb. 27, mostly organised by ruling party legislators – were unlikely to create any kind of pressure in Geneva.

"I don’t think protests here will change anything in Geneva. Any resolution in Geneva is usually negotiated for several months and weeks," Ruki Fernando, head of the human rights in conflict programme at the advocacy body, Law and Society Trust, told IPS.

Fernando felt that the government was trying to drum up support by harping on charges of a foreign conspiracy against an independent leadership.

"I think it’s misleading to call this a resolution against Sri Lanka," said Fernando. "How can a resolution that calls for the implementation of our own LLRC’s recommendations, dealing with accountability issues that the LLRC couldn’t address and having an action plan and road map with specific timelines be against Sri Lanka?"

No official version of the resolution has been made available, but leaked drafts indicate that it will call for the implementation of the LLRC recommendations.

In August 2011, the government acknowledged for the first time, in a report, that there were civilian casualties in the final phase of the war, but did not give any numbers.

The report was released soon after a U.N. experts panel spoke of tens of thousands of people having been killed in the last months of the war and deliberate shelling of civilians. 

TNA Leader Sampanthan’s letter to UNHRC member countries

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL – 19TH SESSION, GENEVA, MARCH 2012

27th February 2012

I write to you as the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the principal elected representative of the Tamil people in the North and East of Sri Lanka, to extend my gratitude for your sustained commitment to peace, justice and substantive democracy in our country.

Subsequent to assurances given by the President of Sri Lanka in May 2009, and in pursuance of the same, the Secretary General of the United Nations appointed a panel in June 2010 to advise him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka with respect to the final stages of the war. When the Panel released its report on 31 March 2011, stating that there were credible allegations that both sides had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, the TNA welcomed that Report and urged the implementation of its recommendations. We are convinced that telling the truth and ascertaining responsibility is the best means of avoiding a repetition of past tragedies.

The Sri Lankan government promised that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which it had appointed in May 2010, would address questions of accountability. The LLRC delivered its report in November 2011. We have shared with the international community our comprehensive analytical response to the said report, and also enclose it herewith. We submitted that the LLRC failed the victims of the war, and that its composition, mandate, process and findings fell dramatically short of international standards.

Notwithstanding this, the LLRC also made several positive recommendations, including for the rapid demilitarization of the North and East, investigations into human rights violations committed by paramilitary groups and legislative recognition of the right to information. Though the LLRC recognized the critical importance of making visible progress on devolution of power, successive governments for well-nigh six decades have failed to address this issue. The failure to evolve a political solution based on devolution of power is the root cause of the conflict in Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka continues to demonstrate a lack of commitment to implement even the LLRC’s recommendations within a specific time-frame.

In fact, even the LLRC observed that its own interim recommendations which were issued in September 2010, such as publishing a list of detainees and disarming paramilitary groups, have not been implemented. This consistent record of non-implementation by the government, and its refusal to take steps towards creating a social and political environment of positive peace and justice remains the most serious problem for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

The state of human rights protection and human security in Sri Lanka continues to cause great distress to us. The spate of killings and abductions, even in the last few months; the intrusive presence of the military in governance, on the streets, in trade and business as well as in the day to day lives of citizens; the negation of effective civilian administration in the North; the expropriation of private lands; the arbitrary utilization of state lands for sectarian purposes; and the erection of massive military cantonments in areas where people should have been allowed to resettle; are all manifestations of how the social and political freedom of the Tamil people in the North and East of Sri Lanka is being severely jeopardized. The worst affected victims of this intense militarization are women and children, where widows and orphans are rendered particularly vulnerable to systematic exploitation and violence. Former women LTTE cadres and other vulnerable women are coerced into playing the role of comfort women. Furthermore, paramilitary groups acting in consort with the military are known to be involved in incidents of rape and abuse, as well as human trafficking and organized prostitution.

The democratic verdicts of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka have been consistently disregarded by successive governments for well-nigh six decades. There is now a concerted attempt to silence that Tamil democratic voice. At the urging of those with extremist views, the government is engaged in an irreversible process whereby the demographic composition of the North and East is being altered through the establishment of Sinhala settlements, the entrenchment of the military, and the systematic exclusion of Tamil people from the civil service. The juggernaut of the government and the military is relentlessly engaged in transforming the cultural, linguistic and religious makeup of the North and East and forcibly imposing the dominant culture on those areas. This is also evident in the destruction of numerous Hindu places of worship, and the proliferation of new Buddhist shrines.

We are convinced that a speedy resolution of the ethnic issue through a negotiated settlement with the government on granting the North and East access to powers of governance is necessary to reverse these trends. Despite many government commitments at the talks not being honoured, we have patiently and responsibly engaged the government in a series of bilateral talks in this regard since January 2011. We were also very disappointed when the government irresponsibly and unilaterally withdrew from these bilateral talks in January 2012. We remain committed to the evolution of a reasonable, workable and durable political solution within an undivided, united country.

We are also committed to the cause of truth, justice and reparations for the atrocities committed by both sides during the last stages of the war. We believe that it is our duty – as representatives of the Tamil people – to communicate their profound desire for truth and justice. We ourselves have been struck by the intensity of this desire, and the determination with which it is expressed to us. We have maintained that accountability remains an urgent and important need to help victim communities overcome trauma and rebuild their lives; to bring closure to our collective and personal grief; to ensure genuine reconciliation; to break the cycle of impunity in Sri Lanka and most importantly, to insure against a return to violence. For these reasons we have urged the international community to take steps to institute an international investigation into the credible allegations of war crimes committed by both sides during the last stages of the war.

We observe that at the upcoming 19th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, a Resolution will be tabled that will declare that the government of Sri Lanka has not yet done enough to implement the recommendations of the LLRC, and will comprehensively address the issue of accountability. You are aware that the Sri Lankan government has consistently failed to abide by its commitments and to implement recommendations made by Commissions appointed by the government. This Resolution will provide an opportunity for the fulfillment of the commitments repeatedly made by the government of Sri Lanka, and now contained in the recommendations of the LLRC, and thereby for the realization of the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people.

Yours sincerely,
R. Sampanthan,
Leader, Tamil National Alliance

Courtesy: TamilCanadian
Published on: Feb 29, 2012 20:19:26 GMT

Centre urged not to bail out Sri Lanka

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT February 29, 2012

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and DMK president M. Karunanidhi want India to back the United States-backed resolution seeking probe into Sri Lanka war crimes. File photos

Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi want India to back resolution seeking probe into war crimes

Shocked by reports that India is set to strongly back Sri Lanka in case a United States-backed resolution is taken up in the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva seeking an inquiry into allegations of war crimes in the last stage of the civil war, leaders from Tamil Nadu on Wednesday appealed to the Centre not to bail out the island nation.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh insisting that “India should support the U.S.-backed resolution and strongly condemn the Sri Lankan government when the same is brought forward in the Council.”

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi, an ally of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, also demanded that India not vote in favour of Sri Lanka.

In her letter, Ms. Jayalalithaa recalled a resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on June 8, 2011, urging the Government of India to take up the issue of war crimes with the U.N. and to declare those found guilty of war crimes against Tamils as war criminals.

The resolution had also demanded that India work alongside other nations to impose an economic embargo on Sri Lanka until Tamils living in post-war camps were fully rehabilitated and given equal Constitutional rights on a par with the Sinhalese. While she was under the impression that the government was pursuing action based on the Assembly resolution, she had come across media reports that quoted a Sri Lankan spokesperson expressing confidence about India's support to the Sri Lankan position, she said and added that she wanted to reiterate the State's stand in this regard.

In his statement, Mr. Karunanidhi took note of Sri Lankan Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe's assertion that India will stand by his country when the resolution sponsored by countries such as the U.S., France and Norway is placed for voting. He said the DMK's high-level executive committee on April 24, 2011 had adopted a resolution calling upon India to take steps to bring to book those who were responsible for such war crimes, instead of justifying the argument that killing of people was inevitable in a war.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stated that India should support such a resolution to take steps to evolve a mechanism to investigate the war crimes and genocide committed by the Sri Lankan government against the Tamils.

Mr. Vaiko described as shocking Mr. Samarasinghe's claim that India will support Sri Lanka in the crucial vote.

Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished

Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished

29/02/2012

TX: Wednesday 14th March, 10:55pm, Channel 4

Last year Channel 4 broadcast Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, a critically-acclaimed and RTS Award winning forensic investigation into the events of the last few weeks of the decades-long war between the government of Sri Lanka and the rebel forces of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), presented by Jon Snow. It featured devastating video evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity captured on mobile phones by both victims and perpetrators - some of the most horrific footage Channel 4 has ever broadcast.

This footage featured atrocities committed on both sides but its most disturbing finding was of a series of war crimes perpetrated by victorious Sri Lankan government forces including evidence of sexual assaults on female fighters, the execution of bound prisoners and the shelling of civilians in what were supposed to be safe ‘No Fire Zones'.

Screened at the UN in Geneva and New York and also shown to politicians at the House of Commons, the European Parliament and key figures in the US Senate, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields prompted comment from leading political figures around the world, including Prime Minister David Cameron. Yet these war crimes still have yet to be properly investigated or those responsible brought to account - despite UN sources suggesting the Sri Lankan government forces killed up to 40 thousand civilians - perhaps many more in this period.

This powerful follow-up film, also presented by Jon Snow, presents damning new video evidence of war crimes including contemporaneous documents, eye-witness accounts, photographic stills and videos relating to how exactly events unfolded during the final days of the civil war. It investigates who was responsible - the results point to the highest levels of the Sri Lankan government and complicity at the top of the army.

Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished forensically examines four specific cases and investigates who was responsible. The cases are: the deliberate heavy shelling of civilians and a hospital in the ‘No Fire Zone'; the strategic denial of food and medicine to hundreds and thousands of trapped civilians - defying the legal obligation to allow humanitarian aid into a war zone; the killing of civilians during the ‘rescue mission' and the systematic execution of naked and bound LTTE prisoners - featuring new chilling video footage of a 12-year-old boy who has been brutally executed.

Despite pressure from human rights groups and the report by a UN-appointed panel of experts which called for a thorough international investigation into alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, the Sri Lankan government's internal inquiry, ‘The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission' published in December last year, failed to conduct any kind of rigorous investigation into the allegations of war crimes. It specifically denied that any civilians were knowingly targeted with heavy artillery. Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished explores the reasons behind the apparent international inaction at the time, in calling the government of Sri Lanka to account.

Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished presents shocking new video footage and evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity which trace ultimate responsibility up the highest echelons of the chain of command. This film asks questions of those who still hold the reins of power in Sri Lanka - President Rajapaksa, commander in chief and his brother Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaska - and two former army chiefs who have landed prime diplomatic posts since the war ended and immunity from prosecution.

With the England cricket team set to tour Sri Lanka once again this month and Sri Lanka now confirmed as the venue for the next commonwealth heads of government meeting in 2013, this film is a stark reminder of the terrible suffering of a people who have been failed and forgotten by the international community.

Director: Callum Macrae
Exec Prod: Chris Shaw
Prod Co: ITN Productions
Comm Ed: Dorothy Byrne

Sri Lanka: A two-act drama unfolding in Colombo

29-Feb-2012

Guest Column by Dr Kumar David

The large and quite unexpected (by the ordinary person) hike in all prices that Sri Lanka woke up to in the first week of February set off protest movements that are growing and could swell into something very serious within weeks or months. Then, apart from, or some say as an attempt to divert attention there from, the government unleashed a wave of street protests against “the imperialist plot to destabilise Sri Lanka and undermine its sovereignty” at the UNHCR sessions which opened in Geneva on 27 February. People in knowledgeable places say the diversion theory and the panic theory are both true. Hence the startled, jerky, anti-West campaign the regime has instigated.

It is clear that the government is very frightened. I do not know what Maria Otero and Robert Blake did or said to Lanka’s political leaders but they seem to have pressed on all the panic buttons; the behaviour of GoSL has changed dramatically since this January visit. What has been publicly said by the Americans is that they will move a resolution at the UNHCR calling on Sri Lanka to implement the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) recommendations and follow up on the accountability issues that the LLRC pussyfooted around with. (Accountability is a euphemism for alleged human-rights violations and alleged war crimes by the Lankan military).

Is there more than meets the eye? Full Story>>>

Denial in Sri Lanka

IT’S BEEN nearly three years since the Sri Lankan government ended a long war by crushing the Tamil rebel army, killing thousands of civilians - perhaps tens of thousands. The United Nations Human Rights Council, which meets in Geneva this week, should push Sri Lanka to investigate war crimes. But accountability for past crimes must not come at the expense of Sri Lanka’s future.

Tamils who are full of bitterness over their defeat must not miss this chance to offer a vision for peaceful coexistence. The questions that perpetuated this terrible conflict remain unresolved: How much autonomy will the Tamil minority have? What must be done for Tamils to feel respected as equal citizens?

Until recently, many Tamils refused to accept anything short of a separate country. Even today, hardcore leaders in the United States and Canada cling to that dream. Their denial is a disservice to their people. Many refuse to acknowledge war crimes committed by their own fighters - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who pioneered suicide bombings and kept civilians as human shields during the war’s bloody finale. If Tamils want a UN probe into the past, they must acknowledge that both sides committed unspeakable crimes.

The Sri Lankan government is also in denial about its crimes, which include the systematic shelling of hospitals, arbitrary arrests, and disappearances. Allegations of summary executions and rape abound. The Sri Lankan government must implement the modest recommendations of its own war inquiry commission, including investigations into disappearances, an end to attacks on journalists, and a halt to policies aimed at settling members of the Sinhalese majority in Tamil areas. If Sri Lanka’s leaders prove unwilling, the United Nations should set up an independent probe. But no United Nations investigation can replace an honest effort by Sri Lankans to come to terms with what they have done to each other. 

As US Blake Opposes Sri Lankan General Silva as UN Adviser, French PR Araud No Comments & Worse

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 28 -- While countries like Pakistan have tried to help the UN's image by urging that Sri Lankan general Shavendra Silva, whose 58th Division is depicted in UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Panel of Experts report as engaged in war crimes, not continue as on the Senior Advisory Group on Peacekeeping Operations, the French putative owners of UN Peacekeeping have had nothing to say.

  Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in row atop the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, has evaded the issue including at a recent press conference. 

  On February 28, after SAG chairperson Louise Frechette said it would not be appropriate for Silva to participate andSri Lanka fought back in the Asia Group, Inner City Press asked French Permanent Representative Gerard Araud if France thinks Silva should be on the SAG.

  Araud hesitated, then said nothing and continued. Silence, as they say, is consent. 

  French foreign minister Alain Juppe is speechifying in Geneva that "there can be no impunity" with regard to Syria. But on this issue, whether French-dominated UN Peacekeeping should be advised by an alleged war criminal, France has nothing to say at the UN. At least publicly....

Blondeau & Araud, NY Diva, spin of DPKO & war criminal not shown

   Publicly, on Twitter, US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake on Tuesday took Inner City Press' question: "What does US say to Asia Group mulling backing Gen Shavendra Silva as UN adviser, & Ban Ki-moon being silent?"

  Blake responded, publicly, "Appointment was inappropriate given lack of independent investigation into end of war circumstances."

   By contrast, not only did Araud say nothing publicly -- privately, Inner City Press is informed, he has been defending Ladsous and Ban Ki-moon's inaction, claiming they have no jurisdiction at all, and even undermining Frechette's determination. We can have more on this. France is the home of human rights? Hardly.

UPDATE 2-Sri Lanka rupee hits new low, but state intervenes

Tue Feb 28, 2012 

 Cenbank says will intervene in high volatility

* Dealers say cbank employing moral suasion

* Spence deal boosts turnover to 6-mo high (Adds stock close and rupee close)

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's rupee hit a new record low on Tuesday on importer dollar demand, but a state bank sold greenbacks to reverse the drop in an apparent break with the central bank's new policy not to intervene at a specific price, dealers said.

The rupee fell 1.6 percent to hit a record low of 123.40 in early trading, but the central bank's intervention with a $40 million sale through a state bank helped the currency recover to close at 121.40/60, down from Monday's 121.30/121.50.

It is the first time the central bank has sold dollars into the market since announcing on Feb. 9 it was dropping price-specific intervention.

The central bank after the market closed said it will intervene in periods of high volatility through dollar sales or moral suasion.

Currency dealers said sustaining such intervention would be difficult as the central bank's heavy rupee defence in the past had depleted the country's foreign exchange reserves by a third amid a balance-of-payments crisis.

"What the central bank may do is they will hold the rupee at a maximum of 123 level until they get some inflows," a currency dealer said on condition of anonymity.

Some dealers said the central bank has asked currency dealers to bring the rupee to 121.00 via moral suasion, a method of coercing the market to move in line with the monetary authority's desires without direct force.

"This is an overreaction, but it will stabilise soon and we may do something on that," Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Reuters.

Most dealers expect the currency to slide to around 125-130 a dollar by end of this year.

Sri Lanka's main share index lost 0.82 percent or 44.92 points to move to 5,431.67 on profit-taking, but block deals in Aitken Spence PLC boosted volume, accounting for 86.5 percent of the 5.9 billion rupee turnover, the highest since Sept. 1.

Spence shares closed essentially flat at 115.50 rupees.

The Colombo bourse is one of the worst performers this year among Asian markets, with a 10.6 percent loss while the majority have had positive returns.

Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 24.8 million Sri Lanka rupees ($204,500) on Tuesday, extending the net foreign inflow to 3.18 billion rupees so far this year, after net outflows of 19.1 billion last year. ($1 = 121.2500 Sri Lanka rupees) (Editing by Bryson Hull)

Britain defends the decision to deport asylum seekers

28 February, 2012
Charles Haviland

Britain has questioned concerns raised by two charities which say that Sri Lankan Tamils deported from the UK are at danger of being tortured or raped.

Srilankan asylum seekers protesting against deportations in 2009

Another charter flight returning people to the island nation, including Tamil and Sinhala failed asylum-seekers, is due to leave on Tuesday.

But Human Rights Watch and Freedom from Torture say that the flights should be suspended because some ethnic Tamils been subjected to cruel treatment after arriving.

Courts satisfied about safety

The British Foreign Office told the BBC that the government only sends people back to Sri Lanka when it and the courts are satisfied that an individual has no protection needs.

It cited a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that not all Tamil asylum-seekers require protection. And it said there had been no substantiated allegations of mistreatment of those returned from the UK.

In effect Britain is disputing strongly-worded statements released by the US-based Human Rights Watch and the British-based Freedom from Torture.

Beaten and raped

The former said last weekend that the Sri Lankan military and police have arrested some Tamil returnees, beating them, covering them in kerosene or raping them to force them to confess involvement with the Tamil Tigers.

The organisations say that although British High Commission officials meet most returnees and give them a small assistance package, this is far from adequate protection.

Police denies accusations

And they say deportation charter flights including one due to leave on Tuesday should be suspended.

The Sri Lankan police have strongly denied the allegations levelled against them, including those of rape. But they admit that some deportees are arrested at the airport.

Cardinal Malcom Ranjith speaks for the murderers and not the victims in the Christian spirit

LEARN FROM THE ABOVE LEADERS

Cardinal Malcom Ranjith speaks for the murderers and not the victims in the Christian spirit

President Rajapakse blessing
 Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith

 
 A passionate response from a true Christian
( February 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)
Cardinal Malcom Rajith continues to scandalise his fellow Christians with his behaviour as a rabid Sinhala ethno-nationalist, with his support to suppress any international investigation of the massacre of innocent Tamil civilians in their tens of thousands by the Sinhala armed forces in the last stages of their war against the Tamils.

The world did not rush to condemn these war crimes and crimes against humanity until photographic evidence and eye witness accounts of these crimes committed by the state forces started inevitably to leach out of the sites of these crimes and it was no longer possible to deny them. International Human Rights NGOs have been driven to campaign for international investigation of these crimes and the genii is out of the bottle now, and cannot be pushed back. The UNHRC will today be debating this issue with Western nations representatives seeking a long overdue independent investigation and a possible referral to the International Criminal Court.

It is against this background that the notoriously servile Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith is trying to curry favour from the chief perpetrator of these crimes, the vile President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka who has the blood of the victims of this genocide on his hands. Cardinal Ranjith must know that murder is foul and mass murder is most foul. But in his anxiety to please his President and the murderous government establishment, he has seriously eroded the vows that he took on his consecration as a Cardinal to follow in the footsteps of Our Lord, even to the point of sacrificing his life in defence of sanctity of life and his faith.

The red colour of the vestments presented to him by the Pope when he took his pledge was to remind him of this commitment. He should use his voice to serve his Lord and to defend truth and justice. I am afraid that he must be deemed a disgrace to his religion and to the high office of a Cardinal of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Might it not be the time now for His Holiness the Pope to say as King Henry II of England once said of his Archbishop of England, Thomas Becket in 1170 AD "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest." Archbishop Becket was a good man then, and stood against the tyranny of a King.

But this Archbishop of Colombo and a Cardinal is a deeply flawed man who pays obeisance to a despotic President.

The Catholic Church should reprimand him and order him to stick to his proper spiritual ministry. If he cannot do it, then he should be recalled to the Vatican where he can do no more damage to the Church and be assigned to one of the Titular Churches there.