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Topics: International condemnation increases over intensified attacks, Systematic silencing of journalists and other civilians, Pivotal interpretations of the ceasefire agreement, News roundup
Violent, retaliatory attacks have maintained their intense level following the Vigneswaran assassination, the organized killing spree in Trincomalee, and the bomb attack against SL armed forces chief Sarath Fonseka. As the hope of peace talks is fast becoming a distant memory, there seems little that can stop the trend of violence. Condemnations by the international community have had little effect so far on either side. The escalation of violence seems to be kept in check by the mildly successful international diplomatic campaigns of both sides and the reluctance to be the side blamed for reigniting full-scale conflict. A lot of factors hang in the balance. The ceasefire monitors are beginning to assert that despite the ceasefire being valid, a war is going on. The countries that support the peace process are scrambling to reassert their influence over the developments in the island, but they also threaten to distance themselves from the conflict if things worsen.International condemnation increases over intensified attacks:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4949268.stm
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/507/
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL14334.htm
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK4522.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060428/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankaunrest_060428153437After the aerial bombings in Sampur of Trincomalee district, the LTTE denounced the bombings to the world as genocidal. The Asian Human Rights Commission decried the lack of democratic norms throughout the entire government as the root problem of the conflict, and linked the violence to that. The UN criticized both sides for frequent killings, and it made the distinction between the LTTE's targets being military and the government's targets being civilian.
http://www.tamilcanadian.com/pageview.php?ID=4055&SID=39
The SLMM followed a week later with its own denouncement of the extra-judicial killings (which they later retracted)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060511/wl_nm/srilanka_attack_dc_3
In the naval conflict from a few days ago in which 2 fast attack craft of the SL Navy were destroyed near a troop transporter ship, the SLMM criticized the LTTE for instigating the attack.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060429/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankaunrestpress_060429074154
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2006/05/060507_jhu_akashi.shtml
The SL president reacted to the criticisms regarding government abuses by claiming that the country was becoming the victim of a propaganda war. When the Japanese Envoy to SL for the peace process suggested recently that UN peacekeepers might be needed if all-out war occurs, the JHU party denouced the statement as a threat to SL sovereignty.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18020
Systematic silencing of journalists and other civilians:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17503
The renowned journalist Taraki, a.k.a. D. Sivaram, was murdered a year ago and his murder has gone unprosecuted, even though it is an open secret that it was conducted by a specific paramilitary group working in government territory.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/060429/19/yrpb.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4955938.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4956088.stm
Civilians who have been the victims of some of the bombings in the Northeast now live in a state of fear and uncertainty that is effectively no different from a war environment. LTTE soldiers are angry and impatiently waiting to fight.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4966252.stm
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/northern-sri-lankan-town-holds-strike-to/n20060504071009990005
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18012
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=17997
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18027
The government targetted employees at two newspapers on two separate occasions. Two employees were killed in the first incident. The two incidents, occurring just before and after World Press Freedom Day, is reminiscent of the kind of brazenness in which Joeseph Pararajasingham MP was killed during Christmas Mass.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18040
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18053
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18060
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18071
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18059
Another incident causing tension was the killing of 8 people at a temple in Jaffna. Although the SLMM merely declared that there were no bodies found at the crime scene, the SL Human Rights Commission publicly stated their findings of blood stains and gun shells. Regardless of what transpired, the SL Army used the commotion to declare a curfew for the region at night, during which they redployed troops to different positions.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL285225.htm
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14586281.htm
Statements by the SLMM clearly indicate that, although the killings are retaliatory between the LTTE and the SL military, the SL responds to LTTE attacks by attacking innocent civilians.Pivotal interpretations of the ceasefire agreement:
The difference between the current Norweign-led peace process and the last peace process in 1994-95 is that there is a monitoring group set up to be a trusted neutral party and report on ceasefire violations. The party that gets identified as the one that broke the ceasefire and resumed full-scale war will stand to lose a lot diplomatically in reputation. Therefore, the opinions of the SLMM matter greatly. The opinions of the SLMM have been noticably inconsistent in the past week.
There is a reluctance among independent, non-profit groups -- including the SLMM -- to criticize the government for excesses. For NGOs, falling out of favor with the government could mean that their permission to stay in the country will be reovked. The SLMM also works under pressure to maintain the support of the government and the English media in the South. As the interview of the late Hagrup Haklund suggests, the SLMM also strives to satisfy the pressures from the international community.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060430/ts_nm/srilanka_dc_55
The SLMM refrained from making statements that would clearly blame the government for harboring paramilitary groups, while recognizing that it is very possible. The attack by the LTTE on a paramilitary camp successfully proved the connection between the government and paramilitary groups beyond a doubt.http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200605021864.htm
http://www.ltteps.org/?view=1304&folder=2
Due to harsh criticism from the SL govt. against the SLMM for their criticism of extra-judicial killings of Tamil civilians, the SLMM retracted its statement and instead issued words of support for the government. The LTTE criticized the SLMM for making statements responding to political pressure more than its impartial opinion.
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18042
As a consequnce of pressure from both sides, the head of the SLMM took a contrived position in between its earlier two positions.http://www.tamilguardian.com/beta/news_details.asp?newsid=630
This Tamil Guardian editorial concludes that if the SLMM is no longer impartial, then there is no basis for the LTTE to continue maintaining appearances, just like the SL government, that it is not engaged in the ongoing unofficial war.http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18092
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4763027.stm
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18103
Following the sea battle in which 2 SL Navy fast attack craft were sunk, the SLMM announced that the LTTE should bear full responsibility for the clash since the LTTE had no right to operate in the seas (or air) since it is not a government. The LTTE pointed out that they had a naval force and control of certain sections of the sea before the ceasefire, and maintaining the balance of power is what the ceasefire is based on. By extension, the argument put forth SLMM can also apply to the right of non-state actors to control land. Therefore, at stake in the argument was the legitimacy of the LTTE itself.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4764521.stm
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/keeping-access-to-sea-prompts-tamil/n20060512050309990001
The statement by the SLMM on sea rights was quickly incorporated into an AP article full of vivid assumptions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060512/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankaunrest_060512094559
The LTTE is seeking parity between the Sea Tigers and the SL Navy by asking monitors to patrol on Sea Tiger ships, too. The LTTE claims that SLMM monitors on SL Navy ships are inadvertantly being used as human shields.News roundup:
http://sangam.org/taraki/articles/2006/05-03_Eelam_Ilankai.php?uid=1707
The meaning of the word Eelam in Tamil is not "homeland", as is often reported in Singhalese English media.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060507/wl_sthasia_afp/indiasrilankaunresttalks_060507102031
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060510/kyodo/d8hgrd9o0.html
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18028
The Indian government is seeking to make a last minute entry into the SL peace process while there is still a chance. India is still held back by Tamil parties from Tamil Nadu from signing any defence pacts with Sri Lanka.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006050911320100.htm&date=2006/05/09/&prd=th&
http://in.news.yahoo.com/060512/43/646zt.html
In the state-wide elections in Tamil Nadu, the timidly-supportive DMK has won the most seats and is allied with Congress, the ruling party in the national government. The parties which are more vocally supportive of the LTTE are now in the opposition in the Tamil Nadu government, but they still might be able to exert influence on Indian foreign policy regarding the conflict.
http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2006/05/11/1574535-sun.html
The fallout of the SL government's efforts to isolate the LTTE politically in the international fora have extended to Canda, where the Tamil are undergoing harrassing raids and interrogations. Tamil students in Toronto protested the raid on an important Tamil school for the community.
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