Midweek Review
Post-war deceptions
Fifteen years after the eradication of the LTTE, unsubstantiated allegations regarding the number of dead civilians, LTTEers and missing persons persist. Forced disappearances, as alleged by the UN, remains a major issue, with the concerned demanding accountability on the part of Sri Lanka. How many of those who had been categorized as missing are living overseas, under different identities, with passports issued from various countries. Unfortunately, the powers that be seemed to be wholly incapable of building Sri Lanka’s defence. For one and half decades, they shirked their responsibilities. Shame on this lot.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Parliamentarian Akilan Manoharan Ganesan found fault with the US-led Western powers, successive post-war governments and one-time LTTE mouthpiece, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for what he terms the continuing predicament of the Tamil community.
In a statement tweeted on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the conclusion of the war, the former Yahapalana Minister alleged (1) the international community gave Sri Lanka the go ahead for all-out war against the LTTE (2) Sri Lanka ordered the closure of the Vanni Office of the UN to pave the way for war without witnesses (3) international community failed to ensure a political solution nor address accountability issues, as promised (4) Western powers arranged ‘honeymoon’ between Sri Lanka and TNA (5) Tamil community not allowed to commemorate the war dead (6) President Ranil Wickremesinghe response to Tamils’ concerns and grievances questionable (7) UN failed to ensure the Tamils’ right to commemorate war dead and (8) the failure on the part of the US to convince/compel Sri Lanka to address Tamils’ grievances.
MP Ganesan shared the tweet with his leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the JVP-led Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB). Interestingly, when the UNP backed retired war-winning General Sarath Fonseka’s candidature at the 2010 presidential poll, Mano Ganesan’s party was in that coalition, consisting of the UNP, TNA, JVP and SLMC.
Lawmaker Ganesan chided outgoing US Ambassador Julie Chung for the US inaction, despite all of her interferences here, especially in regard to the success of the violent protest movement that ousted the duly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. She conveniently called them peaceful protesters and prevailed on the military and police not to take any action against them. Chung’s successor Elizabeth Horst has already caused controversy by declaring that Sri Lanka imposed a one-year-ban on the entry of foreign research vessels into our waters at their behest. Appearing before the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Horst has stressed the need for the ban that came into effect on January 1, 2024. The US move, made in consultation with New Delhi, is meant to block visits by Chinese naval vessels.
Let us get back to the issue of post-war consensus among the communities on political solutions, the status of the accountability process and foreign interventions.
Sometimes foreign interventions made for strategic reasons (US interventions here are meant to counter Chinese influence, appease India and influence Tamil community) can be quite devastating. So-called bipartisan US resolution that had been introduced to the US Congress calling on the United States to work towards an independence referendum for Eelam Tamils and recognize the ‘genocide committed against them’ by the Sri Lankan state revealed the superpower’s evil machinations here not having learnt any lessons from their vicious plots executed almost world over. They should at least now open their eyes to the calamity they have created in Palestine by their imperialist plots.
If the US is so sincere in its intentions why not it first create an independent nation for the natives of that country, virtually wiped out by numerous acts of genocide committed by white settlers to grab their land. The few natives who survived such pogroms are still more or less confined to reservations created by white colonialists in most hostile environments. As retribution, the world must demand that the US creates native independent states right across the country for each surviving decimated native tribe.
The same goes for Canada which had been found guilty of killing more than 2000 native children, forcefully boarded at Church run schools there, till themid-1990s to make them assimilate into the white man’s world. The victims’ bodies were found buried in unmarked graves in the precincts of those schools.
The circumstances the resolution compared the Sri Lankan situation to that of South Sudan, Montenegro, East Timor, Bosnia, Eritrea, and Kosovo where independence referendums had been held with support from the United States and other countries are a mystery
Parliamentarians, who represent the Tamil community, not only in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, but the Up country region as well, should state their position on the US proposal. The UNP reduced to just one National List seat in Parliament, the main Opposition party the SJB, largest single group in Parliament, the SLPP, and the new darlings of the West, the JVP, too, should reveal their position.
The US-based Tamil Diaspora seems to be working overtime and appeared to have taken the lead in a high profile campaign to carve out a separate state in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Their task has been made easier by an utterly corrupt and treacherous political party system, hell-bent on advancing personal agendas even at the expense of the country’s unitary status.
Lawmaker Ganesan’s hard-hitting tweet must have surprised Western embassies. Or did Ganesan just fire the first shot for a fresh round of ethnic chaos here with a wink from the evil West, whose hands are tainted with so much innocent blood from across the globe. However, the not so young politician conveniently left out any reference to India, whose leadership cannot absolve itself of responsibility for the consequences of the war here that she laid the foundation for. The death and destruction caused by India, in Sri Lanka, in the ’80s, and the revenge assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in May 1991, by an LTTE suicide bomber, underscored their overall involvement here.
Perhaps, MP Ganesan should consider commenting on the origins of the war as well. The accountability issue cannot be discussed, leaving out India, as she lost nearly 1,500 military personnel fighting the LTTE (July 1987-March 1990).
Having entered the Colombo Municipal Council, in 1999, on the People’s Front ticket, Ganesan successfully contested the Colombo District at the 2001 General Election on the UNP ticket. He was re-elected at the 2004 General Election on the UNP-led UNF ticket. At the 2010 General Election, he moved from Colombo to Kandy but failed to retain his seat. In the following year, he was back at the CMC after successfully contesting the 2011 Local Government polls on the Democratic People’s Front (DPF) ticket. At the Provincial Council polls held in 2014, he was elected to the Western Provincial Council as a DPF member.
The 2015 General Election marked a significant change in Ganesan’s political life when the Yahapalana leadership granted him a newly created National Dialogue portfolio. In the wake of the UNP split in 2019/2020, following the 2019 presidential election, Ganesan switched his allegiance to the Leader of the breakaway UNP faction, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, Sajith Premadasa. The outspoken politician contested the last parliamentary poll on the Premadasa–led SJB ticket and was elected from the Colombo district. The war-winning Army Chief is the Chairman of the SJB.
Ganesan leads the DPF (Democratic People’s Front, originally Western People’s Front founded in 2000 to represent the interests of Tamils of Indian origin living in Colombo and its suburbs).
At the onset of the Yahapalana administration, Ganesan played a significant role in establishing the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA). In his capacity as the DPF leader, Mano heads the TPA, comprising the National Union of Workers and the Up-country People’s Front.
However, the TPA seems to be sharply divided over political strategy as the country heads for the next presidential poll. At the recently concluded May Day celebrations, TPA’s Palani Digambaram appeared on stage with Sajith Premadasa, at Thalawakelle, whereas Ganesan joined the TNA May Day show in Kilinochchi.
War without witness
It was nothing but a blatant lie that Colombo District lawmaker Ganesan uttered in his statement that Sri Lanka received the blessings of the international community to conduct a war without witnesses. Let me discuss the MP’s allegation, taking into consideration the Report of the UNSG’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka.
During high intensity battles in the Vanni east, the only permanent hospital functioning in that region was at Puthukkudiyiruppu. Regardless of government denials, that hospital had been hit repeatedly by SLA artillery, including Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs) during the January 29-Feb 04, 2009 period. There is absolutely no point in denying that fact.
According to the UNSG’s report that had been officially released on March 31, 2011, the SLA granted UN international staff access to the hospital damaged due to attacks during January 29-Feb 4, 2009. The report also disclosed that there had been two ICRC international members at the hospital when it was hit on February 04 (Paragraph 91).
Therefore, there is no basis for MP Ganesan’s malicious claim that Sri Lanka conducted a war without witnesses. The UNSG’s report also acknowledged that LTTE cadres who had been wounded in fighting in nearby frontline were brought to Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital where the organization maintained a ward for them. (Paragraph 94).
As the SLA further advanced into LTTE-held territory, the ICRC international staff that had been in Puthumathalan throughout the offensive were evacuated by ship flying the ICRC flag on February 10, 2009. Although Sri Lanka didn’t allow UN international staff on that vessel. ICRC ships evacuated thousands of wounded civilians, beginning February 10, 2009 till May 09, 2009, the last voyage before the conclusion of the war. But on 16 occasions, ICRC flagged ships arrived at Puthumathalan during this period, ICRC international staff were allowed to return to Puthumathalan each time the vessels came.
The writer was one of the few journalists allowed to observe the movement from a SLN Fast Attack Craft (FAC) positioned off the Puthumathalan coast in the last week of April 2009 and then visited Pulmoddai where the wounded were handed over to the Indian medical team, based there.
The UNSG report admitted that altogether 2,350 metric tons of food had been delivered to Mullivaikkal, from February 10, 2009 to May 09, 2009 and 14,000 wounded civilians and their relatives evacuated during this period (Paragraph 108).
The ICRC made a bid to bring in supplies and evacuate the wounded on May 15, 2009, but couldn’t do so due to heavy fighting. The bottom line is that the ICRC had access to Puthumathalan till May 09, 2009, just 10 days before the SLA killed LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
The bottom line is that the ICRC remained in Vanni east till late January, though the UN pulled out of Kilinochchi in Sept 2008. However, UNSG report admitted that UN international staff were allowed entry to the Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital, following the January 29-Feb 4, 2009 ,artillery barrage.
The international community never gave Sri Lanka the go ahead for an all-out war in 2006. In fact, Western powers constantly put pressure on Sri Lanka to continue negotiations, regardless of grave provocations by LTTE terrorists. There couldn’t be a better example than the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, at his Bullers Lane residence, in August 2005. The assassination had been carried out just four months before the presidential poll, regardless of the Norway arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) that was meant to destabilize the country.
Western powers, Japan and the UNSC asked the government to continue with the CFA. In April 2006 an abortive bid was made to assassinate Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka. In early Oct, the same year, another abortive suicide attack was mounted on Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In January, 2007, the LTTE blasted FAC, off Trincomalee, killing the SLN crew on board. When the LTTE was behaving as if it was on top of the world, none of those shedding crocodile tears bothered at least to issue a statement requesting the LTTE not to escalate chaos. Then in late July 2006, the LTTE closed down the sluice gates of Mavil-aru, depriving the people downstream of water. In the second week of August 2006, the LTTE declared Eelam War IV with simultaneous attacks on the SLA’s northern frontline and in the East. The rest is history.
Western powers and India never believed that the Sri Lankan military had the wherewithal to bring the war to a successful conclusion. In the wake of a relentless ground offensive, backed by strategic air and naval strikes, in addition to operations carried out in support of the advancing troops, the LTTE retreated on all fronts until they were trapped in Mullaithivu. Once considered to be invincible, the LTTE collapsed within two years and 10 months 15 years ago.
Turning a blind eye to post-war developments
Those who couldn’t stomach eradication of conventional fighting capability of the LTTE continued to find fault with Sri Lanka for various post-war shortcomings. Unfortunately, successive governments haven’t done enough to convince the people and the global community of successful handling of post-war developments.
Sri Lanka can quite rightly be proud of the way over 12,000 LTTE combatants at all levels, including hardcore cadres, were integrated back into the society. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the support of the international community, including the UK, the US, Norway, Japan and Australia, implemented quite a successful project to reintegrate them to civilian life, following rehabilitation under military supervision.
The Tamil Diaspora, or Tamil political parties represented in Parliament, never wanted to support that project. They played politics until the government and the IOM brought that project to a successful completion. Tamil Diaspora and Tamil political parties never acknowledged that over 12,000 terrorists were released without being produced in court. They never appreciated the gradual release of land held by the military during the war. Instead, they propagated lies. One of the most blatant lies was the declaration that 104 LTTE cadres, held by the SLA, were poisoned to death. The claim was made by the then Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran, his TNA colleagues and a section of the Tamil media.
Retired justice Wigneswaran had no qualms in involving the US by requesting their intervention to conduct medical examination whereas international media gave ample coverage to the TNA lie.
Headline in the Madras-based Hindu online edition of August 18, 2016, updated on Nov 17, 2021, screamed ‘104 LTTE cadres poisoned to death at Sri Lanka rehab centres’ with strap line ‘Startling accusation by Tamil politicians who say the surviving ex-combatants had claimed physical disability as a result’
Wigneswaran went to the extent of seeking the then US Ambassador Atul Keshap’s intervention. Finally, Wigneswaran ended up with egg on his face but that didn’t prevent him from entering Parliament on Thamil Makkal Theshiya Kutani (TMTK), a newly formed political party.
Obviously, Tamil political parties and the Tamil Diaspora never expected Sri Lanka to reintegrate thousands of LTTE cadres, detained during the final offensive, to be rehabilitated and released within a few years.
Then they unleashed a far bigger lie when the SLA was accused of killing and burying thousands in Manner mass graves. The then UN human rights Chief Michelle Bachelet held Sri Lanka accountable. But a US lab revealed that the bones found therein were several centuries old and belonged to the colonial period.
The radiocarbon dating analysis by the Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory in Florida, US, in respect of six skeletal samples sent there in January 2019 determined scientifically that the skeletons belonged to a period that covered the Portuguese and the Dutch rule here. The UN never bothered to verify facts. The global body was in an indecent hurry to heap up pressure on war-winning Sri Lanka.
The following is the relevant section bearing No 23 from Bachelet’s report: “On May 29, 2018, human skeletal remains were discovered at a construction site in Mannar (Northern Province), Excavations conducted in support of the Office on Missing Persons, revealed a mass grave from which more than 300 skeletons were discovered. It was the second mass grave found in Mannar following the discovery of a site in 2014. Given that other mass graves might be expected to be found in the future, systematic access to grave sites by the Office as an observer is crucial for it to fully discharge its mandate, particularly with regard to the investigation and identification of remains, it is imperative that the proposed reforms on the law relating to inquests, and relevant protocols to operationalize the law be adopted. The capacity of the forensic sector must also be strengthened, including in areas of forensic anthropology, forensic archeology and genetics, and its coordination with the Office of Missing Persons must be ensured.” The Bachelet report dealt with the situation here from Oct 2015 to January 2019.
If the LTTE hadn’t been eradicated 15 years ago how many more children could have perished in the war? The LTTE mercilessly used child soldiers in high intensity battles in the northern theatre until the very end. Had Sri Lanka been allowed to finish off the LTTE at an earlier stage lives of thousands could have been saved. Had that happened, the war could have been fought to a finish somewhere else not at Nanthikadal from where Prabhakaran was sent to the netherworld.
The SLPP’s decision to reach an agreement with Maithripala Sirisena in the run-up to the general election in August 2020 is nothing but a fatal decision. The SLPP disregarded Sirisena’s pathetic and catastrophic failure to thwart the Easter Sunday carnage when the party finalized an electoral pact that enabled the SLFP to contest on the SLPP ticket. Sirisena returned to Parliament from Polonnaruwa on the SLPP ticket. The former President was among 12 SLFPers elected on the SLPP ticket. One SLFPer entered through the SLPP National List, while another was elected from Jaffna, under the SLFP symbol hand.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the fourth President trying to get to the bottom of the April 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, the only post-war major violent incident. If his predecessors in the top seat had been compromised in some way or another, and that was the reason for their failure, then he is our true hope!
The nearly 30-year brutal internecine war that appeared to drag on endlessly was brought to a successful conclusion in May 2009 to the surprise of many, through proper leadership, both militarily and politically, with the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government deciding to fight it to a finish, unlike previous regimes. Even some of the former security forces top brass, also made a business out of it when they were at the helm. Having witnessed the sorry way the LTTE challenge was met previously, war-winning Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, too, made a prophetic public pronouncement that he would not leave the war to a successor to fight.
Maithripala Sirisena, who had served as the President, in addition to being the Minister in charge of Defence and Public Security, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, at the time of the multiple Easter suicide attacks, was faulted by the Supreme Court in January 2023. The SC ordered him to pay Rs. 100 mn. Sirisena paid the entire amount by August 2024. The final instalment amounted to Rs 12 mn.
The failure on the part of Sirisena’s administration to thwart the attacks, blamed on the now proscribed National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ), facilitated Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s sweeping victory at the Nov. 2019 presidential election. There is no doubt about that against the backdrop of the Gajaba Regiment veteran repeatedly assuring the country that security would be restored. Therefore, the crux of the matter is whether the wartime Defence Secretary ordered the Easter Sunday carnage for his benefit, while he and his powerful family were out of power. If it had been the case, as alleged by his opponents, there should be a plausible explanation as to why the extremist NTJ wanted to promote Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s candidate at all, as most Muslims by then detested the Rajapaksas because of their perceived bias towards Sinhala extremists, like Bodu Bala Sena. Such feelings among Muslims were obviously exploited by interested parties with the help of some of their leaders. Even corrupt monks, too, were exploited by them with foreign trips, and what not, to fan flames on the majority side. And, obviously, their ultimate target was the war-winning Rajapaksas for defying the West and destroying their pet Tigers.
Those who planned and executed the Easter Sunday terror project, Mohamed Zahran Mohammed Hashim (Shangri-La bomber) and Mohommad Ibrahim Ilham Ahmad (Shangri-La bomber) and Mohommad Ibrahim Insaf Ahmad (Cinnamon Grand bomber) and rest of the team, obviously couldn’t have been unaware of the opportunity the bloodbath afforded to the SLPP candidate. May be it was yet another plot to destroy the Rajapaksas as the dastardly attacks in a way helped the Rajapaksas to return to power, while other sinister plans against them were being brewed.
The Catholic Church wholeheartedly backed Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the 2019 presidential election. The top leadership had been so confident the new President would ensure investigations free of political interference, the Church backed the SLPP candidate unreservedly at the August 2020 parliamentary election as well. The Church also declined an offer made by President Gotabaya to nominate a person of its choice to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on the Easter Sunday attacks. The Church obviously felt that nomination of a person perceived to be their nominee could undermine the PCoI named by Sirisena in Sept. 2019.
Hence, the five-member PCoI, headed by Supreme Court Judge Janak de Silva, only consisted of Appeal Court Judge Nissanka Bandula Karunarathna, retired Judge of the Court of Appeal, Nihal Sunil Rajapaksa, retired Judge of the High Court, Bandula Kumara Atapattu, and retired Ministry Secretary Ms. W.M.M. Adikari, continued with the Inquiry with no representation from the Catholic Church.
Sirisena appointed the PCoI as the report presented by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that conducted an inquiry (May-Oct. 2019) into Easter Sunday carnage showed him in a bad light. Sirisena obviously wanted to clear himself, hence the appointment of the PCoI.
Disastrous move
Trouble started soon after the PCoI handed over its final report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Feb. 01, 2021. The President had earlier received the first and the second interim reports which were handed over to him on Dec. 20, 2019 and on March 02, 2020 respectively. Director General, Legal Affairs of the Presidential Secretariat, Hariguptha Rohanadheera, handed over the report to Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC, on February 25. Two days before Rohanadheera met Livera, President Rajapaksa caused himself and his government irreparable damage by appointing a six-member Committee, consisting of SLPP parliamentarians, to examine the report.
A statement issued by the Presidential Media Division declared that the Committee had been entrusted with a wide ranging mandate. The PMD explained: “Identifying the overall process, including the measures that need to be taken by various agencies and authorities such as the Parliament, judiciary, Attorney General’s Department, security forces, State Intelligence services and implementing recommendations as stipulated by PCoI to avert recurrence of a national catastrophe of such magnitude is the prime responsibility of the said Committee.”
The Committee, chaired by President’s elder brother Chamal Rajapaksa, included Johnston Fernando, Udaya Gammanpila, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Prasanna Ranatunga, and Rohitha Abeygunawardena.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa owed the country an explanation as to why he named such a Committee that only strengthened accusations regarding his role in the Easter Sunday terror project.
‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth
’, authored by Prof. Rajan Hoole meticulously dealt with the issues at hand. In spite of its launch in late Sept. 2019, just about five months after the Easter Sunday massacres, Hoole’s work didn’t receive the expected response but the course of action President Rajapaksa resorted to as regards PCoI, in Feb. 2021. influenced the public. By then, the Sinhala version of the Prof.’s work was available.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government conveniently failed to implement the PCoI recommendations. In July 2021, less than five months after the President had received the PCoI report, the Catholic Church (National Catholic Committee for Justice to Easter Sunday victims), politely called for the implementation of the recommendations. Their plea was disregarded.
Director, State Intelligence Service (SIS) Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, who had been the main culprit, as asserted by the PSC and the PCoI responsible for security failure, remained in the police till July 2024. Jayawardena served as Senior DIG in charge of the Central Province before receiving appointment as Senior DIG (Administration), in other words, the number two in the Department.
Having raised the Easter Sunday carnage at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council, and with the Vatican, the Church, without hesitation, backed the unprecedented public protest campaign (March-July 2022) that forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office. That brought UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe into power in July 2022. Having declared his intention, in Sept. 2022, to secure the assistance of Scotland Yard, Wickremesinghe quickly and conveniently forgot his promise as he slowly turned around the economy. Emboldened by apparent success on the economic front, Wickremesinghe made a catastrophic bid to postpone presidential election. The rest is history.
PCoI recommendations regarding MS, RW
The PCoI report differed from the PSC in respect of the findings regarding political party leaders. Based on the PCoI findings, the Church, in July 2021, questioned President Rajapaksa as to why punitive recommendations, pertaining to Yahapalana President Sirisena (Final Report of PCoI. Vol 01. Page 265) hadn’t been implemented. The Church also demanded to know as to why Premier Wickremesinghe hadn’t been investigated for his shortcomings and failures (Final Report of PCoI. Volume 01. Pages 276-277).
The PCoI recommended that the AG consider criminal proceedings against Sirisena, under any suitable provision in the Penal Code. The Church found fault with the PCoI for not making any specific recommendations in respect of Wickremesinghe after having blamed him for contributing to the overall security failure.
The PCoI asserted that Wickremesinghe’s negligent approach towards extremism had been one of the primary reasons for the government’s failure to counter the growing threat. Therefore, the Premier’s failure facilitated, what the Church called, the build-up of Islamic extremism to the point of the Easter Sunday attack.
Within three weeks of his election, President Dissanayake visited St. Sebastian’s Church at Katuwapitiya, Negombo, where he assured justice for the Easter Sunday victims. One of the key issues that should receive the attention of the investigators is the continuing controversy over the Easter Sunday mastermind.
Who actually masterminded, or engineered, the Easter Sunday terror project? Retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, who served as Public Security Minister during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s tenure as President, declared Mohammadu Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer alias Naufer Moulavi as the mastermind. However, many people are skeptical about the claim. The Kattankudy-born man, who had been arrested in Dambulla, a few days after the Easter Sunday blasts, is in custody pending investigations and court proceedings.
Top spokesperson for the Catholic Church Rev. Father Cyril Gamini Fernando recently declared a person identified as Abu Hind as a key figure in the Easter Sunday conspiracy. Widely believed to be a creation of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of India, that technical persona, or avatar, infiltrated the network planning Easter Sunday attacks. Those who still suspect an Indian had had a hand in the terror project haven’t explained as to why New Delhi provided specific intelligence on three occasions before the suicide attacks. The use of such avatars is all part of counterintelligence strategy employed not only by India but many other countries as well. So was it a foreign plot or something on those lines? No wonder foreign personnel were crawling over some of the attacked places, like the Colombo Shangri-La, no sooner it happened, and even before some of our own investigators got down to work.
Dematagoda link
But have we paid sufficient attention to the family of wealthy spice exporter Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim who live at Mahawila Uyana Road, Dematagoda. If not for their financial and moral support, the Easter Sunday operation couldn’t have been mounted under any circumstances. Would it be unfair on our part to ascertain them as the Easter Sunday masterminds or prime facilitators? The question is whether Easter Sunday strikes could have materialized without the involvement of the Ibrahim family.
One of Ibrahim’s sons, Mohommad Ibrahim Ilham Ahmad along with Mohamed Zahran Mohammed Hashim mounted an attack on Shangri-La. Ilham’s brother, Mohommad Ibrahim Insaf Ahmad blasted himself inside the Cinnamon Grand hotel. The two brothers are believed to have first met Zaharan at a wedding ceremony in the East. The two brothers may have also met Zaharan in Kurunegala, home town of Zaharan’s wife Abdul Kadar Fathima Hadiya. It would be pertinent to mention that Ilham had managed their spice farm in Matale.
Fathima Jefri, the wife of Ilham, detonated a bomb on the first floor of their three-storey luxury home when investigators came to their place to gather evidence. The blast killed three CCD (Colombo Crime Division) personnel who entered the house, as well as her three sons. Fathima, in her early 20s, had been pregnant at the time.
Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim, who had been the President of the Pettah Traders Association, was among the JVP National List nominees for the 2015 parliamentary election. Of course at the time the JVP accommodated the wealthy trader on its National List, the deadly ‘religious’ plot may not have been conceived. Therefore, it wouldn’t be fair to demand an explanation from the JVP or JVP-led JJB, now in power ,regarding the inclusion of Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim on their 2015 National List.
Prominent lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, who had been detained in April 2020 in connection with the Easter Sunday carnage, was granted bail and released in Feb. 2022. Investigators failed to link Hizbullah to the Easter Sunday plot though he professionally knew the Ibrahim family.
Instead of playing politics with the issues at hand, the government should undertake a thorough review of all available information. The truth is that the radical preacher Mohamed Zahran Mohammed Hashim had been under investigation years before the Senior DIG Jayawardena, in his capacity as Director SIS received the first Indian intelligence alert on April 04, 2019.
Jayawardena’s failure to act is inexplicable as on his request the entire investigation on the extremist had been brought under the SIS on April 08, 2018, a year before the attacks. The delay on the part of the Attorney General’s Department in providing required instructions/advice pertaining to extremist activity to the police, too, contributed to the overall security failure. The PCoI recommended disciplinary action against State Counsel Malik Azees and Deputy Solicitor General Azad Navavi.
The Yahapalana government disregarded the then Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse’s dire warning issued in Parliament in mid Nov. 2016 regarding radicalization of the local Muslim community against the backdrop of some Sri Lankans joining the Islamic State (IS). A section of the government parliamentary group and other interested parties lambasted Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, a President’s Counsel, over his prima facie suspicions. The Justice Minister wouldn’t have made such a grave declaration, in Parliament, if he was not sure about what he was talking about.
What really made both the political and intelligence apparatus turn a blind eye to extremism? The shocking revelation made by Yahapalana Minister Harin Fernando, immediately after the Easter Sunday carnage that his father received a specific warning on April 20 regarding the impending attacks from a CID investigator, underscored a pathetic state of affairs.
As a responsible Cabinet Minister there cannot be any doubt that he alerted Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene regarding the impending attacks.
Collective int’l failure
The PSC in its report questioned the failure on the part of SIS to act swiftly and decisively against the backdrop of information available on active extremist groups, including arrest warrant issued on Shangri-La bomber Mohamed Zahran Mohammed Hashim way back in March 2017. Having found fault with the SIS Chief, the PSC headed by the then Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, asserted that Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, IGP Pujitha Jayasundera, Chief of National Intelligence retired DIG Sisira Mendis and Director of Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) Brigadier Chula Kodituwakku, in addition to the SIS Chief, were collectively responsible for the catastrophic security failure.
The need to examine the CID and TID response to the extremist threat, as well as the impact of the 2018 Oct. political conspiracy to bring in Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM, should also receive the attention of the new government. The bottom line is that the intelligence services had loads of information on the NTJ and they should have been able to thwart the deaths of 270 people and injuries to over 500 even with Indian warning. That is the truth.
Allegations directed at retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Salley regarding his direct involvement with the suicide squad should be investigated, taking into consideration the overall failure on the part of the SIS, Secy Defence, IGP, CNI and DMI to thwart the Easter Sunday plot. The investigation should seek to ascertain whether Salley, in spite of being attached to our High Commission as Minister Counsellor in Kuala Lumpur, influenced the DMI.
Following extremely serious allegations pertaining to Salley’s role in the Easter Sunday plot made by the UK’s controversial Channel 4 well-known for doing hatchet jobs, about an alleged clandestine meeting between the former DMI chief and the suicide squad at an estate in the Puttalam district in Feb 2018, President Wickremesinghe appointed a three-member Committee in Sept., 2023 to investigate the allegations. Salley, in response to a questionnaire posed to him by Channel 4, claimed that between Dec. 2016 and Dec. 2018 he left Malaysia only once for a week in Dec .2017 to visit Colombo. And he hadn’t left Malaysia for any other country during this period. This should be investigated. Having served as head of DMI from Oct. 2012 to Nov. 2016, he received a diplomatic appointment. Brig M D U V Gunathilake succeeded Salley. But at the time of the Easter Sunday carnage Brig. Chula Kodithuwakku had been at the helm of the DMI.
The committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice S.I. Imam, consists of retired Air Force Commander A.C.M. Jayalath Weerakkody and President’s Counsel Harsha A.J. Soza PC.
In June 2023, Wickremesinghe appointed a Committee, headed by retired High Court judge Ms. A.N.J. De Alwis, to probe the SIS and CNI and other related services regarding the handling of the Easter Sunday intelligence warnings received from India and local investigations carried out before that. The Committee included SLAS special grade Officer Ms. K.N.K. Somaratne and Attorney-at-Law W.M.A.N. Nishane.
Wickremesinghe’s failure to release the reports, before the Sept. 21 presidential election, is baffling. The UNP leader’s successor President Dissanayake is yet to release the reports. As demanded by the Catholic Church and former MP Udaya Gammanpila on behalf of the Opposition, the reports should be released. The reports should be able to shed light on the entire intelligence apparatus and when examined along with all other material available can expose the murder plot. The need to identify conspirators at all levels regardless of their standing in the society cannot be disregarded.
“Medical intervention in someone’s life is a break-in to their world. In a way, it’s a violation of their world that turns them into dependents.”
Luce Irigaray (From her book, “Je, Tu, Nous”: toward a culture of difference)
by Susantha Hewa
Luce Irigaray’s (French feminist, philosopher, psychoanalyst and cultural theorist) above quote may, at a glance, seem defiant or even impudent. Perhaps, it is not so. Anyhow, the incorporation of “Medical Humanities” into medicine curriculum, which was the subject of Randima Attygalle’s interview with Dr. Santushi Amarasuriya, published in The Sunday Island of October 6, 2024, may perhaps resonate with the undertones of Irigaray’s quote above. Possibly, in light of what Dr. Santushi Amarasuriya, Clinical Psychologist and Head of the Department of Medical Humanities says about the new discipline- to quote: “It helps medical practitioners to reorient themselves into a holistic and person-centered approach to health care” – may help us to get a more nuanced understanding of Irigaray’s seemingly confrontational sentiment.
The above interview brings to light the important role the Department of Medical Humanities (established in 2016) is playing to improve the quality of medical education given to prospective healthcare professionals. In the words of Dr. Amarasuriya, the goal of medical humanities is “to foster compassionate care, professionalism and ethical practice among medical and other health care professionals, whilst also being sensitive to the socio-cultural context in Sri Lanka”. This will be good news for the citizens who certainly deserve a better healthcare service. It was not so long ago that there were tragic episodes related to “substandard medicine” undermining patients’ right to life and proper health. It goes without saying that the country was grateful to all those who helped expose the alleged corruptions related to it. Those who have read the text of the interview may have rejoiced at the news of the said upgrading of the syllabus. Surely, the society should be grateful to all those academics and professionals who have contributed to the creation of the new department.
As we know, empathy humanises the relationship between the doctor and the patient, which will be beneficial to both parties. Incidentally, as Dr. Joe Schwarcz, in an article titled, “Would Osler stand by his famous quote today?”, where he refers to Prof. William Osler- one of the founders of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine- says that the latter had used to tell his students, “Listen to your patient, he’s telling you the diagnosis”! And, more interestingly, Dr. Michael McCarthy in his article “The importance of humanities in medicine” notes, “Legend has it that Dr. William Osler prescribed a reading list to his students, books not only about physiology and science, but classic literature. He was able to see that “Don Quixote” and “Gray’s Anatomy” both had indispensable value to a physician”. Perhaps, no one would grudge the apportioning of due respects to Dr. Osler, who would have realized the crucial importance of medical students reading literature so as to become more proficient doctors- to cultivate a “holistic and person-centered approach to health care”.
In the above two extracts of Dr. Osler, the first – “Listen to your patient, he’s telling you the diagnosis” – underlines the importance of empathy between the medic and the patient. Consider the famous lines:
“A glance at our rags would be more
Revealing. One and the same cause wears out
Our bodies and our clothes.” (Bertolt Brecht’s poem, “A worker’s speech to a doctor”)
Surely, Brecht’s somewhat incisive “diagnosis” implied in the above lines is beyond the jurisdiction of the doctor, but it doesn’t detract from Dr. Osler’s advice to his students to listen to their patients with more empathy. Further, Brecht’s relevance in the context is felt more when we come to the second excerpt alluded to Dr. Osler, which says that he prescribed to his students “books not only about physiology and science, but classic literature”. It signifies the substantial role humanities can play in enhancing medical practice, which, by the way, is an illustration of the useable relatedness of all disciplines, which we usually keep separated for convenience.
It’s no news that frequently a result is produced by more than one seemingly dominant cause. Yet, it is easy to overlook all the underlying causes of an event. Often, we depend on researchers and experts to show us the numerous underlying causes of a single event, say – 9/11 attacks in 2001, tsunami in 2004 or Covid19 epidemic in 2019 – that we begin to appreciate there being more to something than meets the eye. Hence the need for the collaboration of customarily discrete disciplines, i.e. medicine, history, mathematics, literature, etc., for a fuller understanding of any issue, which highlights the value of the new-fangled programme (Medical Humanities).
Of course, in designing syllabuses, it wouldn’t be easy to strike a fine balance between a dogged focus on one field of expertise and an obsession with a more eclectic approach covering several subjects with the aim of bringing the best of benefits to the society. The best option may be to introduce the right amount of the seemingly “external” ingredient at the right time to enrich the quality of the cocktail, as the University of Colombo Medical Faculty has done. As Prof. William S. Beck has said, “Fields of learning are surrounded ultimately only by illusory boundaries—like the “rooms” in a hall of mirrors. It is when the illusion is penetrated that progress takes place. … science is a vital part of our culture, our culture is part of it, it permeates our thinking, and its continued separateness from what is fondly called “the humanities” is a preposterous practical joke on all thinking men. (Modern Science and the Nature of Life).
Perhaps, we can be optimistic that other “privileged” disciplines would take a cue from the Colombo Medical Faculty to broaden and enhance their programmes by integrating traditionally alienated disciplines. Surely it would help usher in a more people-centred education in the country.
By Lynn Ockersz
Certainly, Ethics is no ‘banal’ matter,
Since it divides Man from Beast,
And gives the former a purpose,
Nor is it a mere academic matter,
That marks Ivory Tower scholars,
But a thing that needs to be defended,
By getting in the ‘line of fire’,
As was the case with the great Socrates,
Who, for the sake of ethical thinking,
Readily drank of the poisoned chalice.
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