''There is no indiscriminate firing''-S C Chandrahasan

S C Chandrahasan is the son of Samuvel Selvnayagam, a Tamil leader who was known as the Mahatma Gandhi of Sri Lanka . After the island-nation's ethnic conflict
began in 1983, Chandrahasan founded the Organisation For Eelam Refugees' Rehabilitation.
Offer works in Sri Lanka and India, and has offices in all the 104 refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. It also works in the north and east of Sri Lanka, two regions badly
affected in the conflict.
The soft-spoken leader slams both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the mess in the island state.
He spoke at length to rediff.com's Special Correspondent A Ganesh Nadar.
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What was the position on the ground at the time of the ceasefire and peace talks in 2002?
At the time of the ceasefire some areas were controlled by the Sri Lankan government and others were under the control of the LTTE. There were some hazy areas
where both the LTTE and government troops moved around.
What is the position now?
Currently the LTTE s presence in the east has been cleared.
Why did Colonel Karuna go against the LTTE?
The people in the east did not appreciate the way the LTTE leadership shared the facilities that came by because of the ceasefire. There was a committee to oversee
development activities. Not a single person from the east was on that committee. They did not give enough positions in the administration to the people in the east.
That hurt them. Karuna objected to this.
What is the composition of the people in the east?
In the east, the majority are Tamilians, then Muslims and Sinhalese. The Muslims speak Tamil but of late they want to be classified separately and not be bunched
with the Tamils. So they are being classified that way. But they are Tamil speaking and culturally Tamil. The Tamils and Muslims did have a good rapport, but with the
ethnic conflict, and the divide and rule policy of the government, there has been some friction.
Do you work in the east too?
We are working in the east and we work with all three communities. We like our work to be balanced. Our work in the peaceful area is easy. On the battlefront it is
difficult. There both sides (the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army) are armed, and the hapless people are caught in between.
What is happening in the east now?
After the talks broke down, the army has moved forward slowly. In the east they have cleared the area and the LTTE is not visible there anymore in a meaningful
way. They are moving around there but no longer in command.
Which areas have been cleared?
Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts have been cleared. Mannar and Vavuniya and some places in the north are still under the LTTE's control.
With the increase in fighting there, why has there not been an influx of refugees to India?
There are places where civilians can still move around and find alternative residence. But people usually move as a last resort after the fighting starts and it becomes
dangerous. It is also difficult to get boats to India and therefore there has been no heavy influx of refugees.
There is a belief that when you have to move it is still better to remain within the country than cross the border -- then you lose everything. We work in Mannar too.
We advise people to remain there. Only as a last resort do they cross over to India.
Also the climatic conditions are not conducive to crossing. Also the navies of India and Sri Lanka and the Coast Guard are patrolling the sea.
Any other reason?
Another thing that has changed now is the approach of the army. Earlier, in the eighties, they used to attack Tamil civilians. Now civilians are not attacked.
But human rights violations are occurring. When they suspect that you are connected to the LTTE or an informer or you give wrong information, you are in trouble.
People have been summarily executed. People continue to disappear. The number of deaths and disappearances are unacceptably high. According to latest reports
the highest number of disappearances are in the government-controlled area in the north.
How can that be stopped?
Enough public opinion has to be built up to stop that. Once people are taken we do not know what happens to them. The government has to correct that.
What is the difference between life in a government area and an LTTE area?
In the LTTE areas, civilians were secure. Their only fear was forceful recruitment and taxes. The LTTE's taxation was highly arbitrary.
When fighting breaks out civilians are in great danger. After the fighting, life does not get better in the liberated area. There is a screening process and the army keeps
an eye on the people. Commodities are not allowed to come in as the army fears that it will fall into LTTE hands. So the civilian population is put to great hardship
even after the government gets back control.
Has the LTTE helped in getting justice for the Tamil people?
The LTTE coming into the picture has two phases. Earlier they were not killing innocent people. Then they started internecine fighting and started killing innocent
people and other Tamil leaders. They have become a problem rather than the solution.
What is the alternative?
Some of us who believe in the non-violent process know that the struggle will go on until justice is achieved. It will go on much more effectively if the LTTE is not in
the picture.
Tell us about your father's role in the struggle?
My father S A V (SJV)Selvanayagam was the leader of the Tamil people from 1948 to 1983. He was the leader of a federal party. He believed that a federal solution was
possible. If people would have accepted that solution there would have been no problem now. It was a non-violent struggle. He was very firm that we must not use
violence, that we must convince people. It was Gandhi's method that he adopted. Then the militants went and hijacked the process and could not sustain it.
The problem started in 1948. They brought in an act in Parliament whereby half the Tamil population lost its citizenship. The act took away the citizenship of all Tamils
of Indian origin who were working in the plantations. That was the basic cause.
At that time my father said, 'What is now happening to the Indian Tamils will happen to us tomorrow'. People did not believe him and in the 1952 elections he lost. In
1956 people realised that what he had said was right.
People who returned to India at that time say that the Sri Lankan Tamils supported the government in chasing out the Indian Tamils?
One Tamil leader did go along with the Sinhala government and that gave us all a bad name. My father said that any act that is discriminatory should be opposed.
They began the struggle at that time. Only one percent of the Tamils driven out at that time were business people. Most of them were in the plantations.
Then began the process of colonisation. The majority Sinhala people were sent into the Tamil areas with free land, money and equipment. The locals did not get
anything. Then came the language act. That was the last straw. They said anybody seeking government employment had to be fluent in Sinhalese.
What happened to the non-violent movement for justice?
The movement gathered strength and in 1960 we paralysed the entire government machinery in the northeast without any violence. Unfortunately with violence
spreading in the south in the seventies infecting other areas, the Tamil youth started reacting.
What did the government do next?
The violence on the Sinhala side increased. They first started recruiting more Sinhalese in government service. If you take the police in 1977, 99 percent were
Sinhalese. The army is still worse. When you have two large ethnic communities and you fill the security forces with one side, it is a big mistake. Now it is a bit late to
do anything about it.
What about the influence of the LTTE on the Tamils?
The LTTE has a hold on about 10 percent of the Tamils. That also is the fault of the government. When someone in your family disappears in a white van, there is
bitterness and a desire to support the LTTE. The activities of the Sinhala government and its troops have been encouraging militancy. Tamil militancy is reactive.
Otherwise people would have gone the non-violent way. The influence of the Gandhian movement in India had a tremendous effect on the island. The actions of the
army, including indiscriminate firing on civilians in the eighties, encouraged militancy.
You feel that it has changed now?
Now that has changed. There is no indiscriminate firing. Also there is a sizable population among the Sinhalese who say 'We must live together'. That is a qualitative
change.
What is the position of the LTTE today?
Unfortunately, the LTTE factor is a problem. The LTTE not being in the picture will strengthen the Tamil side. It will facilitate India coming in a very meaningful way.
We had a two-day discussion in Tamil Nadu among representatives of the refugees. Everyone agreed that we should not take an LTTE-centric view of everything.
The LTTE view will show everything going wrong. But if you don't look it at that way, there are other means. The struggle will go on till justice is achieved.
If the non-violent movement had continued after 1977 we would have got our rights by now.
Courtesy- Rediff
- Sri Lanka Guardian

Fight Terrorism, Don’t Capitulate To It - says Israeli Prime Minister Tue, 2008-03-25 16:05 By Walter Jayawardhana
"Do not give in to terrorism because it will only bring destruction to your country. Terrorism must be fought; one must not capitulate to it," said Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert to visiting Sri Lankan Prime Pinister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka.
A statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office quoted Olmert as saying to the Sri Lankan leader during the first day of the Sri lankan leader’s four day visit
to Israel that terrorism has to be fought against severely.
The visiting Prime Minister of Sri Lanka said in Jeruselam that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is maintaining strong relations with internationally accepted
terrorist groups like PKK and some affiliates of the dreaded Al Qaida.
Quoting experts of terrorism Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, who happens to be the Indian Ocean island republic’s first Prime Minister to visit Israel said that “Sri
Lanka’s LTTE maintain maintain relations with PKK, Taliban, Islamic groups in the Philippines and some affiliates of the Al Qaida.”
He added that they have received reports about some LTTE youth receiving training in Palestinians camps in Syria and Lebanon.
Speaking about the current situation in Sri Lanka the Sri Lankan leader said, “The black Tigers are responsible for suicide operations and have perfected suicide
bombings and assassinations. It is generally believed that they learnt it from some Palestinian groups.”
Wickremanayake has held talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
He will also be travelling to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.
On a four-day working visit to Israel, during his meeting with Olmert, Wickremanayake noted that his country has been dealing with a severe terrorism problem that is
affecting both the daily life as well as the national economy, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Wickremanayake said his island nation shares a lot of commonalities with Israel and both the nations have been at the receiving end of terror attacks.
- Asian Tribune -
All set for polls in East
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
The Election Commissioner's Department is all set for Provincial Council polls in the Eastern province and all steps have been taken to assure a fair and free
election, Defence Spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rabbukwella said today (25).
The Minister, addressing a media conference, said that nominations have been called for the election beginning Thursday 26th of March. The deadline for the handing
over of nominations is 03rd April, he added.
He also said that there was no truth in some media reports to the effect that the strength of the STF is to be reduced on the request of Pillaiyan, the TMVP leader.
"The STF had been operating in the East, particularly the Amparai region for over 22 years and changes if any would be carried out on the instructions of the IGP as
Administrative Head to meet the requirements of the Service. Any inquiries or investigations involving personnel would be conducted on the withdrawal of such
officers from the station concerned.
"If on the other hand STF officers were removed on Pillaiyan's request it should have been done prior to the local elections in the East. Further Pillaiyan's political
base is in Batticaloa and not Amparai. About 25% have left Amparai on service requirements which is normal in any station according to the prevailing situation. The
Police Chief also has the freedom to reorganize the Department in the best interest of the service."
The Election Commissioner's Department has not given any ruling on removing of officers from an area and does not consider it advisable to do so either Minister
mentioned. Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 March 2008 )

UNP decides to contest east polls
The United National Party has finalized its decision to contest the May 10th elections for the Eastern Provincial Council, party General Secretary Tissa Attanayake
said.
The UNP’s Working Committee that met today (Mar. 25th) appointed a committee headed by party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to prepare a list of candidates that
would be fielded at the polls.
It also comprises party Chairman Rukman Senanayake, General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, Joseph Michael Perera and legal experts Shibly Aziz and Daya Pelpola.
Also, the UNP Working Committee adopted three conditions, including the disarming of the Pillayan Group and other armed groups in the east, that have to be
fulfilled by the government, Attanayake said.
The other conditions are the reestablishment of the police Special Task Force camps that had recently been removed from the province and the appointment of an
international panel of observers to monitor the polls.
Wickremesinghe will be the final authority of the party in taking all decisions with regard to the election in the east, according to Attanayake.
He is expected to meet Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem tomorrow to discuss an alliance between the two parties to contest the polls.

Top Stories
THE HINDU Tuesday, March 25, 2008 : 1300 Hrs
India will never allow a separate Tamil state: Wickremanayaka Jerusalem (PTI):
India will never allow a separate independent state for Tamils to be carved out from Sri Lanka, the island's Prime Minister Ratnasiri
Wickremanayaka said here.
"It should be borne in mind that India will never allow a separate independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka because such a development will have a disastrous effect in
India," Wickremanayaka, who is the first Sri Lankan Prime Minister to visit Israel, told a gathering.
"India has always been committed to Sri Lanka's territorial integrity," he added.
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, who is on a four-day visit, claimed that LTTE leader V Prabhakaran wanted to create a Tamil state by "including certain parts of
India as well".
He said that his country is committed to a political solution to the three-decade-old conflict and is not seeking a military solution. He ruled out any division of the
island nation, which he said has remained as one single unit throughout history.
"It is not feasible politically or economically", the Sri Lankan leader emphasised.
While asserting that his governments doors are always open to peace talks, the island nation's premier dismissed any chances of a breakthrough with the LTTE under
"the current megalomaniac leader".

*Lanka turning to Asian donors: Kohona
Sri Lanka’s traditional donors — the United States, Canada and the European Union — have receded into a very distant corner, to be replaced by countries in the
East, particularly China, Foreign Secretary, Dr. Palitha Kohona told the New York Times in an interview published yesterday.He gave three reasons: The new donors are neighbours; they are rich; and they conduct themselves differently. “Asians don’t go around teaching each others how to behave,” he said. “There are ways we deal with each other — perhaps a quiet chat, but not wagging the finger”.
At the same time, according to Dr. Kohona, Chinese assistance has grown fivefold in the last year to nearly $1 billion, eclipsing Sri Lanka’s longtime biggest donor,
Japan.
The Chinese are building a highway, developing two power plants and putting up a new port in Hambantota.
Dr. Kohona noted that India’s contributions had also grown, to nearly $500 million this year. India is building a coal-fired power plant and Indian companies have
been invited to build technology parks and invest in telecommunications. New Delhi, like Washington, has shut the tap on direct military support, but it could still help
with crucial intelligence, particularly in intercepting weapons smuggled by sea.
The picture in Sri Lanka is emblematic of a major shift from 20 years ago, when India was the only power centre in the region. Now come China’s artful moves in
India’s backyard. As C. Raja Mohan, an international relations professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, points out, China has started building a
circle of road-and-port connections in India’s neighbouring countries, and it has begun to eye a role in the Indian Ocean, as its thirst for natural resources makes it
more important to secure the sea lanes.
That offers countries like Sri Lanka ample opportunities. “Now the smaller countries have increasingly turned to China to influence India’s strategic interests, and thus
silence it on human rights issues,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.
She cited Burma, where, in the 1990s, India pressed for democracy and watched the military junta sidle up to Beijing. “Now India is concerned about China’s role in
Sri Lanka because of control over the Indian Ocean,” she said. Bank attempts to seize property housing EPDP office
Officers from the Colombo District Court today had gone to seize the Park road property where an EPDP office is located, on a court order obtained by a private
bank. However, the order was not executed following a temporary settlement. Comments He is a culprit. Sampath Bank, you should not give-up. Seize his property, this is the way he makes money.
Posted By: Jayantha Jayamanne Doglas, earn the money on the correct way then it will last. It will be a curse if you inherit public property. Sampath Bank should seize his property.
Posted By: Rohana Godagampala Hay bearded man, now all your corruptions are coming out one by one. How long you could cheat the people? At-least now repent.
Posted By: Rawzdeen oh no. Douglas should have known that one day the clock will turn back. May be his time is running out with the govt.
Posted By: kumara This property belongs to a a businessman and he gave this on rent to this guy. He has not been paying the rent for nearly 17-18 years. Thus, the owner may have
opted to go the property to the bank. This reveals how corrupt the Sri Lankan politicians are. What could happen now is that a high ranking minister will call this bank
of true countrymen and Mr.DD or close friend/relative will buy the property for a song.
Posted By: A revealer
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Coca-Cola ups commitment to water stewardship !!
Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Limited, one of the foremost sparkling and still drinks manufacturer in the island was reiterating its commitment to water stewardship
on March 22, which also was International Water Day. This is in lieu of one of their core global CSR initiatives, Water Stewardship. The Coca-Cola Company firmly believes that water is vital to both the global community and mainly to the company because water happens to be the core ingredient
used in every product manufactured at the bottling plant in Biyagama.
Some of the foremost aspects Coca-Cola promotes through its water stewardship program are measurable conservation, improving and encouraging efficiency,
community partnerships to promote and protect climate and the environment and inspiring a global movement to conserve and protect water resources. In keeping
with these guidelines Coca-Cola Sri Lanka has so far promoted two successful water projects in Sri Lanka. In partnership with the UNDP, Coca-Cola constructed
and provided pipe-borne water by laying a 2km pipeline, connecting the Galle water board supply to a Tsunami affected village in Kalupe, Galle where approximately
sixty homes and families benefited. This program managed to provide safe drinking water to the villagers of this area.
The second project is currently underway in Kattankudi, Batticaloa also in partnership with the UNDP. The Company has pumped in a total amount of USD
450,000 which is considered as one of the largest amounts deployed for a water project in Sri Lanka by an MNC. Carried out in one of the most densely populated
areas in South-east Asia, the project is designed to be a comprehensive water and sanitation solution to the population living in the area. This project incorporates
three key aspects; namely wastewater management and treatment, enhanced access to water through rainwater harvesting and awareness-raising activities on hygiene
promotion and community awareness on health and sanitation.
Mr. Basil Gadzios, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka said, “In June 2005 Coca-Cola made a pledge to replace the water we use in our beverages.
Our pledge to replace the water we use has three core components: reduce, recycle and replenish, which is called the 3R approach. This means continually working
to improve water use efficiency in our operations, recycling water used for manufacturing processes so it can be returned safely to the environment, and replenishing
water in communities and ecosystems through locally relevant projects.” According to Gadzios, upon evaluating the progress of the two existing projects, the
Company will be looking at more opportunities to promote water stewardship in Sri Lanka.
“We have plenty of regional success stories with regard to the Coca-Cola water stewardship programs. For example, in India we have established more than 300
rainwater harvesting systems which is a great achievement for a country that has high demand for drinking water. In Nepal, together with UN-HABITAT, Coca-Cola
has launched a safe drinking water program targeting the main cities. With the lessons learnt from these programs, I’m positive Coca-Cola Sri Lanka will be able to
continue their water stewardship program incessant to the benefit of the larger community,” said Mr. Manish Chaturvedi, Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives
– Coca-Cola Far East Limited.