The government’s high profile project to enact the 22nd Amendment failed to secure any tangible support from anyone outside the NPP, in Parliament or outside. In a statement, the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) noted that the proposed amendment concerned the sovereignty of the people and, therefore, required approval through a referendum. The ITAK, a key member of the six-party Political Council of Tamil-Speaking people (PCTSP) and the second largest party in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, other than the NPP, is opposed to President Dissanayake’s move. Tamil Progressive Party (TPA) leader and former Minister Mano Ganeshan, also of the PCTSP, has rejected the 22nd Amendment. The Island learns that all political parties, represented in the PCTSP, are opposed to the proposed Amendment.

The NPP obtained the most seats at the Parliamentary General Election 2024. Other parties that managed to gain seats in Parliament are the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB/40 seats), Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK/8 seats), New Democratic Front (NDF/5 seats), Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP/3 seats), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC/1), Sarvajana Balaya (SB/1), United National Party (UNP/1), Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA/1), All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC/1), All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC/1), Jaffna – Independent Group 17 (IND17-1) and the Sri Lanka Labour Party (SLLP/1).

Timeline

* March 30, 2026, BASL wrote to Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara seeking a meeting to discuss 22A

* May 25, 2026, BASL wrote to President Dissanayake seeking a meeting to discuss the same

* July 16, 2026, BASL wrote again to the Justice Minister underscoring the failure on his part and the President to respond to previous letters

* July 27, 2026, NPP executive committee member advocate Lal Wijenayake declared opposition to the government move

* July 29, 2026, BASL met the Justice Minister, sought a meeting with President Dissanayake

* July 31, 2026, Mahanayakes of four Chapters (Nikayas) wrote a joint letter to President Dissanayake urging him not to go ahead with the 22nd Amendment. But, the Mahanayakes refrained from releasing the letter to the media

* August 3, 2026, BASL disclosed the Mahanayakes’ letter to the President. Justice Minister Nanayakkara, accompanied by Health and Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayathissa, visited the Mahanayakes to explain the government stand. But, they denied receiving the crucial letter

* August 7, 2026, UN requested President Dissanayake, in no uncertain terms, to abandon the move.

* August 11, 2026, Government admitted receiving the Mahanayakes letter

* August 18, 2026, 22nd Amendment Bill presented in Parliament. Those opposed to the constitutional amendment began filing petitions. The BASL led the way. By 24 August, 21 petitions were filed.

* August 20, 2026, Catholic Bishops’ Conference urged the government not to proceed without adequate consultations.

* August 24, 2026, BASL, in a motion filed in the Supreme Court, suggested that Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena recuse from hearing the petitions

By Shamindra Ferdinando

In support of the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government’s highly contentious move to enact the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution despite worldwide condemnation by eminent jurists, meant to extend the retirement ages of superior court judges, NPP leader and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will address a series of countrywide meetings.

Dissanayake is also the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main constituent of the governing party.

Justice and National Integration Minister and Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara, on 18 August, 2026, tabled the controversial 22nd Amendment Bill in Parliament. Nanayakkara also tabled the Judicature (Amendment) Bill on the same day. That will pave the way for the increase of the retirement ages of High Court judges to 63 years, and District Court and Magistrate Court judges to 62 years. The government wants to increase the retirement ages of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges to 67 and 65, respectively.

However, the government has proposed a six-year term for the Chief Justice but he/she will have to retire at the new mandatory retirement age of 67.

Health and Media Minister, as well as Cabinet spokesman Dr. Nalinda Jayathissa, recently announced the decision to launch the high profile propaganda campaign on 5 September. The NPP and JVP leader has vowed to enact the 22nd Amendment, come what may.

Dissanayake, who took over the party leadership on 2 February, 2014, at the 17th convention of the JVP, and formed the NPP in 2019, has indicated that he wouldn’t, under any circumstances, give up the 22nd Amendment. Dissanayake didn’t mince his words when he received a top level delegation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) at the Presidential Secretariat, on 12 August, to discuss the burning issue wracking the country. It would be pertinent to mention that the BASL raised the issue with Dissanayake, on 25 May, after Nanayakkara ignored their first request, made on 31 March.

The Supreme Court will hear over 20 petitions challenging the constitutionality of the 22nd Amendment Bill. Now that the matter is before the Supreme Court, the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) shouldn’t have sought to involve the BASL in a futile attempt to educate the NPP parliamentary group. The BASL, too, should know better. The BASL and SJB are among those who moved the Supreme Court. Against that background it would be unthinkable that the NPP parliamentary group wants to listen to BASL. Government activists, on Monday (24), organised a protest outside BASL Secretariat, NO. 153, Mihindu Mawatha, Colombo 12 demanding the resignation of BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya.

SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa clashed in Parliament with the leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake over his bid to bring in the BASL team to address the whole Parliament. NPP National List lawmaker Najith Indika declared on X that “the Opposition Leader couldn’t call all MPs for meetings. BASL either does not follow parliamentary procedure or knows how to manipulate public perception.”

The Supreme Court will receive petitions during two weeks, after the tabling of the Amendment. The Court should inform the Speaker of its determination within three weeks. Parliament will receive that determination ahead of President Dissanayake completing his second year in Office. The last presidential election was held on 21 September 2024.

Dissanayake won a five-year term and in November, the same year, led the party to a resounding victory at the parliamentary poll. The NPP/JVP position is that both Bills can be enacted with a 2/3 majority. With a mammoth 159 seats in Parliament, the government is confident that its political project can be easily achieved. But, the NPP operation has run into significant opposition with the United Nations, throwing its weight behind the BASL-led campaign.

Tabling of the two Bills on 18 August coincided with the 39th anniversary of the JVP grenade attack on the UNP parliamentary group, in the wake of the signing of the Indo-Lanka peace accord in 1987. Ajith Kumara, at that time a minor parliamentary employee, lobbed a hand grenade at the UNP group meeting, chaired by President J.R. Jayewardena. Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, too, was present. The then National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali narrowly escaped death in the attack that took place in the Committee Room 1 of Parliament. Deniyaya MP and Matara District Minister Keerthi Abeywickrema was killed. The writer covered the funeral, held on 22 August, 1987, at the playground of the Morawaka Maha Vidyalaya. Then the young Minister in charge of Youth Affairs and Employment, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was among those who represented the government at the funeral.

Kumara had been recruited as a sweeper by no less a person than the then Secretary General of Parliament, Nihal Seneviratne. Had Kumara been a member of the proscribed JVP at the time he joined the parliamentary staff or did the JVP approach him later?

The Colombo High Court acquitted Ajith Kumara on 12 October, 1990, and released him from custody on 6 August, 1993. Subsequently, the JVP accommodated Ajith Kumara on the party’s politburo and paved the way for him to contest the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council poll on the JVP ticket. With fat hopes the JVP named him their chief ministerial candidate.

Key Opp demands

Pointing out that the matter before the Supreme Court judges related to them, the BASL requested that a bench consisting of a full court, comprising all the judges, be constituted to determine the constitutionality of the 22nd Amendment Bill. The BASL also requested the Supreme Court to determine that the Bill is inconsistent with Article 3 of the Constitution and required approval by the people at a referendum.

In the alternative, the BASL sought determination that Clause 2 of the Bill is inconsistent with Article 3 of the Constitution and required approval by the people at a referendum and Clause 3 of the Bill is inconsistent with Article 3 of the Constitution and required approval by the people at a referendum.

Essentially, all petitioners have requested for a full court, comprising all Supreme Court judges and a referendum, if ordered, it’ll be the second instance. The first referendum was held in December 1982. The UNP that won an unbeatable 5/6 majority in a 168-member Parliament, at the 1977 parliamentary election, obtained a mandate of the people to extend the life of Parliament by six years. That utterly undemocratic, unreasonable and treacherous act contributed to the overall deterioration of the country. By the time the 1989 parliamentary poll was held, the police, backed by the armed forces, were fighting the JVP in the South, and the Indian Army, deployed in the Northern and Eastern regions, in terms of the Indo-Lanka Accord.

Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, convenor of the Joint Opposition grouping, too, moved the Supreme Court against the 22nd Amendment, and General Secretary of the SJB Ranjith Maddumabandara did the same. Altogether there were nearly two dozen petitioners

Ex-Law Professor Peiris has vigorously campaigned against the government move, and the weekly media briefing. held at former President Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office, has become the focal point of the Opposition campaign. Peiris insists that the Supreme Court shouldn’t hear the petitions as justices were direct beneficiaries of the proposed Amendment. Therefore, determination should be made at a referendum. In case the Supreme Court decides to hear the petitions, the full court consisting of all judges should be constituted to determine the constitutionality of the 22nd Amendment Bill, the former parliamentarian has asserted.

As repeatedly stressed by Prof. Peiris, two previous determinations by the Supreme Court that the alteration of superior court judges’ retirement ages should be subject to a referendum cannot be disregarded, under any circumstances. One of the determinations is of crucial importance as former Chief Justice Murdhu Fernando (December 2024 to July 2025) served on the three-member bench that made the far reaching announcement in 2022.

But, the BASL made an unexpected move on Monday. Close on the heels of its petition against the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, the BASL filed a motion in the Supreme Court suggesting that Chief Justice Preethi Padman Suresena recuse from hearing petitions.

Petitioners BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya and its Secretary Nalin de Silva cited Attorney General as the respondent in a motion filed in terms of Article 121 read with Article 120 of the Constitution to determine whether the Bill, titled “Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution,” or any part thereof, is required to be passed by a Referendum in terms of Article 83 of the Constitution.

The BASL pointed out that the first Judge of the Supreme Court, who would benefit if this Bill is enacted into law without the process of a referendum, is the Chief Justice, and further that if a referendum is mandated, then that there is a possibility that the Chief Justice may retire before its completion, and if for those reasons, the Chief Justice wished to recuse from hearing this matter, then the petitioners have requested the Chief Justice to constitute a bench comprising of all other judges in Supreme Court.

The maximum number of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges are 17, including the CJ and 20 judges ,including the President of the Court of Appeal, respectively. The NPP caused controversy by not filling vacancies among the superior court judges with the Opposition alleging there were four vacancies each. There’ll be another vacancy among the Court of Appeal judges in the first week of September.

The warning issued by the UN following a spate of other statements from various local and international bodies has brought tremendous pressure on the government. Having initially denied any knowledge of a joint letter, dated July 31, addressed to President Dissanayake by the Malwatta, Asgiriya, Amarapura and Ramanna chapters, the government, on 11 August, admitted the President received the letter.

However, the Catholic Bishops Conference publicly commented on this issue, only on 20 August, after all other concerned parties censured the government over the move. A section of the civil society that portrayed the 22nd Amendment as the panacea for a mountain of cases held up in courts had no option but to sing a different tune after the UN warned the NPP government over the pet project that seemed to have backfired. The UN’s position rattled the government and its backers.

18A and 20A

War-winning President Mahinda Rajapaksa enacted 18th Amendment to the Constitution in early September 2010. That despicable political project did away with a two-term time limit for the executive president and expanded presidential powers over independent commissions. That Bill received 161 votes, two more than the NPP parliamentary group. But, 18A didn’t do any good for President Rajapaksa or his party. Maithripala Sirisena, General Secretary of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party, betrayed him, won the 2015 presidential election, and created an utterly undesirable political environment that, over a period of 10 years, ruined the country’s major political parties.

The emergence of the NPP as the dominant power should be examined taking into consideration the deterioration of the UNP, SLFP and the SLPP. The UNP and SLFP are no longer represented in Parliament while the SLPP that won a commanding 145 seats at the 2020 parliamentary poll was reduced to just three lawmakers in Parliament. SLPP’s National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa was so concerned about the transformation of the political environment he took refuge in the National List. Had he not taken that precaution, he wouldn’t be in Parliament today. While the SLPP deteriorated from 145 seats to just three, the NPP, whose 2020 parliamentary group consisted of just three, including one National List member (Dr. Harini Amarasuriya) ended up taking 159 seats, the best results achieved under the Proportional Representation system introduced in 1989.

Having handsomely won the 2019 presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa brought in the 20th Amendment aimed at further consolidating his hold on power. Basil Rajapaksa, a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the US, wanted to enter Parliament through the National List. The Rajapaksas removed a particular clause through the 19th Amendment to enable Basil Rajapaksa to enter Parliament. Subsequently, the SLPP accommodated Basil Rajapaksa in the Cabinet as the all-powerful Finance Minister. He succeeded Mahinda Rajapaksa in July 2021. But by then, the national economy had suffered irreparable damage and the 20th Amendment, meant to consolidate executive power, seemed irrelevant. Public protest campaign that received overt and covert US and Indian backing was launched in March 2022, leading to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s unceremonious ouster in July of same year due to India and Western backed violent protests.

The 18th Amendment and the 20th Amendment were enacted at the expense of particularly the 17th and 19th Amendments, respectively.

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has alleged that the 22nd Amendment would enable the government to implement its neoliberal programme. The breakaway JVP group has asserted that the government’s sinister project is intended to remove whatever obstacles to its neoliberal strategy.

FSP’s Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda said: “A new Fisheries Act will divide the ocean into plots, lease the fish-rich areas to multinational corporations, and deprive local fishermen the opportunity to catch fish in the deep sea. The biggest obstacle to this is the fishermen. A Quality Assurance and Accreditation Commission Act is being drafted to grant state recognition and legality to degree mills. Three thousand schools are going to be closed, depriving children of the fundamental right to education. To do that, every pillar of the state must be brought under government control. A long list can be given: privatising hospital laboratory services, selling off state institutions, bringing forward new repressive laws like the PSTA (Protection of the State from Terrorism Act), and a new Cooperatives Act that snatches away people’s funds—many things like that. Taking the arbitrary power required to execute these into the hands of the executive is the true objective of this constitutional amendment.”

By Lynn Ockersz

Nature’s not on any vengeance trail….

Rather, from dense forests of the West,

Now all aflame in parts as if in rage,

To South-East Asia’s savaging floods,

And Sri Lanka’s fierce dry spells,

Where man and beast are imperiled,

Nature’s signaling she’s distressed,

Over her custodian’s ravenous lust,

Which unceremoniously gobbles-up,

Her graciously bestowed riches;

‘Take warning; slow down at least now’,

She seems to be chiding her wayward son,

‘Be gentle with me and all my treasures,

And I’ll look to your continuing wellness,

But rein-in your self-destructive fire,

Lest it consumes your willful self in full,

And all I have left in your custodial care.’

Baffling MAG and others cleared 1 mn mines claim at Westminster House event

The Army, too, used mines against the LTTE with devastating success. Deep penetration units, operating in areas under the LTTE control in the run-up to the 2001 December parliamentary polls and during Eelam War IV (Aug 2006 to May 2009), carried out mine attacks on selected high value Tiger targets. The Army used mines in almost all operations carried out during President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga presidency and the last phase of the conflict. In fact, mines had been the main weapon used in such operations that weakened the LTTE’s hold. The deep penetration units, armed with mines and other weapons, posed such a formidable challenge, the CFA, arranged by Norway, included a clause that exclusively dealt with operations undertaken by deep penetration units behind enemy lines.

By Shamindra Ferdianndo

At the conclusion of Sri Lanka’s successful war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists, in May 2009, the country faced two daunting challenges. One was rehabilitation of approximately 12,000 surrendered LTTE cadres and clearing the Northern and Eastern areas contaminated with various types of mines and unexploded ordnance.

Restoration of normalcy couldn’t have been achieved without proper rehabilitation of combatants as well as clearing the entire terrain of mines and unexploded ordnance to pave the way for speedy resettlement.

Although the eradication of the LTTE had been a combined security forces effort, the responsibility for the rehabilitation of the ex-LTTEers and clearing of landmines fell on the Army’s Lt. Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, who succeeded the war-winning Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka, in July 2009. With Jayasuriya, the former Royal College boxing Captain, with a never say die attitude, at the helm, and those on the ground, tasked to carry out post-war operations, proceeded speedily and methodically. The international community essentially backed both projects. Sri Lanka couldn’t have achieved success without their support.

This was despite a section of the global community, leaning to the West exerting crude pressure on Sri Lanka, on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, then President Mahinda Rajapaksa pressed ahead with both rehabilitation and mine clearing operations. Some of those who turned a blind eye to the military threat posed by the LTTE, and terrorism perpetrated by the group, continued to undermine Sri Lanka’s efforts, but a determined political leadership was in overdrive.

It would be pertinent to mention that the country, at that time, was in deepening political turmoil, consequent to the 2010 presidential election won by then incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the arrest of the defeated common candidate Sarath Fonseka, mostly due to his foul mouth ahead of the 2010 parliamentary elections.

To pile on the pressure on those who pulled off the victory that the so-called experts said Sri Lanka was incapable of achieving by crushing the Tigers in the battlefield, in the following year, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) serving as the cat’s paw of the spurned West, caused unprecedented turmoil when it blindly accused Sri Lanka of killing 40,000 Tamil civilians during the last phase of the offensive.

Instead of supporting post-war rehabilitation and resettlement, Geneva pursued a highly hostile campaign against Sri Lanka. The US and UK wholeheartedly backed the project to undermine Sri Lanka’s efforts to bring about reconciliation.

Against that background, let me discuss Golden Globe, Emmy, and Olivier Award-winning actress Rosamund Pike’s recent visit to Mannar and Mullaitivu minefields in support of Mines Advisory Group (MAG) engaged in clearing operations in Sri Lanka.

The British High Commission (BHC), on 7 August, issued a statement quoting High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick as having said: “Sri Lanka’s progress towards becoming landmine-free is a remarkable achievement, made possible by the courage and dedication of Sri Lankan deminers, the leadership of the Government of Sri Lanka, and the support of international partners. The United Kingdom is proud to have supported this important work.

The BHC statement coincided with MAG Ambassador Rosamund Pike’s visit meant to mark the clearance of one million landmines since the end of war. According to the BHC, Pike’s visit underscored the remarkable progress made by Sri Lanka’s mine-action sector and the importance of maintaining momentum towards the country’s goal of becoming landmine-free.

Rosamund Pike was quoted as having said: “Having seen MAG’s work all over the world, I am always struck when the necessity for mine clearance and risk education follows civil war. There is a sense of reconciliation in restoring the land to safety. MAG’s programme in Sri Lanka inspires me for its courageous teamwork and moral integrity, providing superb training for deminers to do this dangerous work, with strict safety protocols and building a sense of family within the organisation.”

BR leads Uthuru Wasanthaya

Then Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the head of the Presidential Task Force responsible for major resettlement, reconstruction, and development initiatives in the Northern Province, following the war, worked overtime to speed up the process. Whatever the accusations regarding corruption and abuse of political power directed at Basil Rajapaksa, the parliamentarian played a significant role in the much touted project called Uthuru Wasanthaya.

Corps of Engineers of the Sri Lanka Army spearheaded the effort. The others involved in mine clearing operations were DASH, HALO Trust, MAG, SHARP, DDG, NPA, Horizon, JCCP, MMIPE, RONCO, Sarvatra and FSD. The recovered items were categorised as anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, Unexploded Explosive Ordnance and small arms ammunition. At any given time of the hazardous operations, the Corps of Engineers had cleared more than double the recoveries made by all other agencies.

One-time Chief Field Engineer retired Maj. Gen. Udaya Nanayakkara told The Island that the country could quite rightly be proud of its achievements in post-war mine clearing, as well as rehabilitation of ex-combatants. The wartime Military Spokesman emphasised the pivotal importance in mine clearing and rehabilitation which he described as a prerequisite for meaningful post-war reconciliation.

In spite of constantly harassing Sri Lanka with fictitious and unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, the United Nations, too, grudgingly acknowledged the progress on the ground as the Rajapaksas sustained the momentum. However, there had been excesses on the part of the military and police.

The wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa threw his full weight behind the operations that President Mahinda Rajapaksa took a personal interest in both initiatives – namely rehabilitation of ex-combatants and mine clearing operations. They didn’t allow continuing political turmoil to derail post-war reconciliation efforts. Sri Lanka not only rehabilitated ex-terrorists and made the Northern and East land safe for resettlement, the political leadership ensured that the military-held areas were gradually released. During the 2009-2026 period, successive governments released nearly 70,000 acres. The military now retained the bare minimum land in line with overall security requirements.

The government ensured the participation of the international community in the projects. Senior Colombo-based diplomats and representatives attended the regular progress meetings of the National Mine Action (NMA) programme. The meetings were held under the leadership of Basil Rajapaksa.

A government statement quoted the UN Resident Representative, Subinay Nandy, as having told a progress review meeting of the NMA, in August 2012:

“Sri Lanka has achieved excellent results in the demining. The country can complete the demining process soon in continuing the present institutional setup and machinery. The work carried out by the Ministry and the centre in this humanitarian movement is tremendous and now Sri Lanka can share its demining experience with other countries,”

But, in spite of various predictions made by successive governments and external parties regarding early conclusion of mine clearing operations, work dragged on. Multiple assertions were proved wrong.

Although the rehabilitation of ex-combatants had been completed years ago, mine clearing activity that began earnestly, after the end of the war, continues even today, under the political leadership of the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government.

Pike, during her short visit here, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya. A selected group of persons were also invited to meet the actress at the British High Commissioner’s residence (Westminster House, Wijerama Mawatha) but, unfortunately, none represented the Army that spearheaded the operation and did the lion’s share of the work. The whole exercise seemed questionable as the notable achievement of clearing one million mines in Sri Lanka cannot be celebrated, under any circumstances, without the Army’s yeoman participation. In fact, the BHC statement, dated 7 August, conveniently left out the Army. Only a section of the media received an invitation to the special event at the HC’s residence where Pike declared that MAG and others cleared one million mines.

Sri Lanka should have celebrated the momentous occasion as the eradication of terrorism, once sponsored by India, with the able backing of a section of the Western countries, is undoubtedly the country’s greatest post-independence achievement. What made our government and the Army forget their responsibility to mark this occasion of immense national significance?

India, UK roles

Having launched the Sri Lanka destabilisation project, in the early ’80s, India introduced landmines as New Delhi stepped up pressure on the Sri Lankan military and police. Their agenda was clear. In line with their overall strategy to expand terrorist operations, the movements of armed forces and police had to be curtailed drastically.

The first major landmine blast, and small arms attack on two light vehicles in Tirunelveli, Jaffna, on the night of 23 July, 1983, set the country ablaze. The country’s then ceremonial Army couldn’t stomach the deaths of 13 men of the Light Infantry Regiment. The Army went on the rampage in the Thirunaveli area. In other parts of the country ordinary Tamil civilians were set upon by mainly Sinhala mobs, also comprising sprinklings of Muslims, especially from Colombo slums, more to get rich by grabbing whatever valuables belonging to fleeing Tamils. President JRJ administration virtually got paralysed by the audacity of the operation, targeting an Army patrol, and allowed the attacks on Tamil civilians that followed as if to assuage the rising anger in the South. Or, was it a deliberate way of warning the Tamils to behave by the President? Had the government promptly intervened and easily nipped the violence in the bud, a major catastrophe, that scarred the whole nation, could have been averted. The Government was so paralysed, deliberately or not, it was left to the duty conscious ordinary Sinhalese to save besieged Tamils by helping them to reach safety as often the police either turned a blind eye to what was happening or they simply failed to act or were busy helping looters

India achieved its despicable objective. Overnight, Sri Lanka’s security crisis received the attention of the West. The UK stepped in. Successive British governments turned a blind eye to senseless violence perpetrated by Indian-sponsored terrorists, gave them sanctuary and, most importantly, created an environment for separatist movement to engage in a massive fund raising campaign in the West that sustained the separatist project here.

The UK played a Jekyll-and-Hyde role that solidly backed the separatist movement, though its retired Special Air Services (SAS) personnel were allowed to train the paramilitary arm of the police, the Special Task Force, to counter the growing threat from terrorists. The UK went to the extent of giving British citizenship to one-time British High Commission employee, Anton Balasingham, who served as the theoretician to the LTTE terrorist movement. This writer interviewed him in Colombo in 1989.

The British knew that funds raised in the UK, in other European countries, and various other parts of the world, were used to procure armaments. Among the LTTE’s arsenal, various types of mines played a crucial role in the overall strategy. MAG and other British mine clearing organisations, like HALO Trust, launched mine clearing operations here consequent to the signing of the Norway-facilitated Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) that recognised an LTTE controlled region in the Northern and Eastern regions. The CFA came into being on 21 February, 2002.

Addressing the gathering at the BHC’s residence, Pike declared that MAG and others had cleared one million mines since the end of the war. The Sri Lanka Army, responsible for clearing more than half of the mines, etc., was simply ignored, other than MAG. Since the mine clearing operations began, 90 percent of the contaminated land had been cleared and, as Pike declared, just 21 square kms, or an area the size of half of the Colombo City, remained to be cleared.

As expected, Pike appealed for more funding for MAG. The world must not forget that India, that trained terrorists in the deployment of mines, and Western countries, including the UK, responsible for funding that enabled the acquisition of explosives and technology, should be held responsible for the deaths and injuries caused by them.

HALO Trust several years ago declared that it cleared over 60,000 mines from the Muhamalai frontlines, extending from Kilali to Nagarkovil, on the Vadamarachchi east coast. The Army, and the LTTE-held strongpoints, in this vital sector, with the largest concentration of mines, meant to prevent each other from breaking out. The HALO Trust claim of recovering over 60,000 mines in the Muhamalai sector underscored the gravity of the situation. The British mine clearing organisation is on record as having said that the cleared area in Muhamalai was roughly three times the size of the New York Central Park.

That HALO Trust statement is evidence of the unprecedented challenge faced by Sri Lanka in clearing mines. Those who repeatedly demand accountability on the part of Sri Lanka for unsubstantiated war crimes conveniently forgot that landmines were introduced by India and such operations were sustained by funding from the West. The UK must have been one of the largest funders, if not the largest funder, of the terrorist project here throughout the conflict. The UK involvement was so deep, the LTTE was allowed to operate freely, in the UK, even after the Tigers assassinated former Indian Prime Minister and Indian Congress Party leader Rajiv Gandhi.

How long those engaged in mine clearing operations here need to complete the job. Some of the mine clearing operators, who had been active here, terminated their operations years ago. Readers would be interested to know that Indian Sarvatra and Horizon groups, led by retired Indian military officers, were brought in by the then Minister Milinda Moragoda’s MMIPE. They moved in about a year after Norway arranged CFA and suspended operations as hostilities erupted following the 2005 presidential election that set the stage for Eelam War IV. Deployment of Indian mine clearing organisations cannot be discussed without taking into consideration that India introduced landmine warfare and they paid a heavy price when the LTTE used the same with devastating success against the Indian Army deployed here to implement the Peace Accord, signed in July 1987. Of nearly 1,500 Indian officers and men killed and nearly 3,000 others wounded here, among them there were probably hundreds of deaths and injuries due to mines.

Mine blasts shatter CFA

The LTTE suspended mine attacks following the 2002 CFA, arranged by Norway. That arrangement had the backing of the US, EU and Japan as well. Although the UK didn’t join Sri Lanka Peace Co-Chairs, the British backing for the Norway-led initiative was known. So much so, the British facilitated a secret meeting between UK citizen Balasingham and top level Norwegian facilitators, following the LTTE assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, in August 2005.

The LTTE resumed mine attacks in December, 2005, just weeks after Mahinda Rajapaksa won the 2005 presidential election. A series of blasts in the Jaffna peninsula claimed the lives of 15 soldiers in early December, 2005. The Norway-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) commended the military for its restraint but it conveniently failed to condemn the LTTE. Australia was the only country that unreservedly condemned the mine attacks.

The LTTE mounted mine attacks outside the Jaffna peninsula. The Navy was also targeted in the northwestern Mannar region. The LTTE set the stage for Eelam War IV with mine blasts that threatened to overwhelm the military. The claymore mine and rocket propelled grenade attack on the Navy, in December, 2005, sent shockwaves through the military establishment. The LTTE stepped up pressure on the newly elected Rajapaksa government, struggling to cope up with the unexpected and extraordinary threat.

In the first week of January, 2006, the LTTE launched a suicide attack on a Navy Fast Attack Craft (FAC) off Trincomalee in Koddiyar Bay. Thirteen naval personnel on board perished in the attack.

Neither the LTTE nor its supporters ever expected the combined armed forces to sustain the offensive action for nearly three years. During that period, the LTTE suffered a spate of irreversible setbacks, leading to the collapse of their strongpoints, south of heavily mined Muhamalai frontlines. The Task Force 1/58 Division attacking northwards, from Paranthan, made the LTTE positions at Muhamalai untenable. Their minefields, meant to deter the Jaffna-based fighting formations, namely the 53 and 55 Divisions, were largely rendered useless and the collapse of the formations deployed at Muhamalai.

The LTTE, surrounded in the Vanni east and unable to open a sea escape route, due to heavy Navy presence, collapsed within months. Velupillai Prabhakaran’s death was inevitable. Had he survived under any circumstances, national reconciliation would never have been a reality. Rehabilitation of ex-combatants and successful clearing of mines enabled the post-war national reconciliation process, though the ITAK sought to derail the process at every turn. The Tamil Diaspora, too, targeted the national reconciliation process.

The alleged attempt to assassinate an ITAK parliamentarian, during the Yahapalana administration, emphasised the threat posed by those who still believed in violence. The group, hired by the Diaspora, planned to trigger a claymore mine blast, targeting Sumanthiran’s vehicle on the Soranpatru-Thaalayadi road, in the Jaffna peninsula. The Police Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) uncovered the plot. There hadn’t been any other incident in which any type of mine was used/or planned to be used in the post-war period.

Sri Lanka needs to remain in a high state of alert as there can be interested parties hell-bent on causing mayhem.