International community should take Sri Lanka as an example - Defence secretary tells LLRC

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

During the first few days of the hearings of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), several key personalities came up with the shortcomings of the truce between the UNP Government and the LTTE, the human rights violations committed by the LTTE and measures taken by the present government to maintain zero casualty rates in the humanitarian operation that was launched to rescue over 290,000 civilians during the final battle.

The Sri Lankan Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa commenced sittings at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies, Colombo from August 11.

The Commission was appointed by the President under Section 2 of the Commission of Inquiry Act to inquire and report on several areas between the period of February 21, 2002 and May 19, 2009.

It completed six sittings in Colombo and two sittings in Vavuniya. The Commission is tasked with inquiring into matters and circumstances that led to the failure of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) which came in to effect from February 21, 2002 and the sequence of events that followed thereafter up to May 19, 2009. It will investigate whether any person, group or institution directly or indirectly bears responsibility for any failure, the lessons which could be learnt from such failures and measures that need to be taken to ensure that there is no recurrence of a similar conflict in future.

It will also look into a methodology to restitution of any person affected by those events or their dependents or heirs and the institutional, administrative and legislative measures that need to be taken to prevent any recurrence of such concerns in the future and to promote further national unity and reconciliation among all communities and to make recommendations.

The Commission headed by C.R. de Silva comprises C. Chanmugam, Manohari Ramanathan, H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, Rohan Perera, Karu Hangawatte, M.T.M.Jiffry and M.P.P. Paranagama.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man behind the acclaimed military strategy that defeated the LTTE in May 2009, spelling out how the military operation was turned into a humanitarian mission, said before the LLRC that the military had to pay a high price to maintain the zero casualty rate adopted by the Government from the very inception of the military exercise.

He denied that any human rights violations were committed by the troops during the battle and said the military had followed all humanitarian norms. Rajapaksa said the three Forces were well trained and provided with knowledge in human rights and International Humanitarian Law. The Army has a special directorate called ‘Human Rights and Humanitarian Law’ and these cells operate at all levels. He added that the military took action against those who had committed offences.

He said no one talks about the losses suffered by the military due to the zero casualty policy and the difficulties that the soldiers faced during the final battle.

He said that while 6,000 troops died and 30,000 injured in Eelam War IV, at least 6,000 LTTE cadre also died although the real statistics of LTTE casualties could be higher.

Rajapaksa said, “There is video evidence of how the LTTE were fighting in civilian clothes and how they changed from uniform into civilian clothes when they were injured.

“I want to bring out this fact because some people talk about civilian casualties. It is difficult to identify civilian casualties. If the military suffered, you can imagine the number of LTTE casualties. Nobody talks of LTTE casualties. They all count these figures as civilian casualties. Obviously, if the Army suffered that much, there would have been similar casualty figures from the LTTE. I am sure it is much more because the fire power of the Government forces, was higher.”

He said that some have deliberately forgotten the heavy price paid by the military to liberate civilians. It was mainly due to the Government’s strategies to minimise civilian casualties.

In his three-hour long evidence session, the Defence Secretary explained the measures taken to provide relief to the fleeing civilians at every stage of the battle since its inception.

He said the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA), headed by the former Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, met at the Defence Ministry where all the UN agencies and diplomatic heads of several missions including the Co-Chairs to the peace process were present and had taken all steps to maintain a continuous flow of humanitarian assistance throughout the rescue operation.

He said the first CCHA meeting was held on October 14, 2006 following a meeting between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Co-chairs and the representatives of all the INGOs and NGOs active in the North and East participated at the meetings.

“No one had complained of human rights abuses by Security Forces during the CCHA meetings”, he said.

Rajapaksa said that the Government continued to supply food and medicine to LTTE-held areas, knowing very well that the LTTE was seizing the relief stocks.

He said the UN agencies handled the food distribution and Indian medical personnel with the Sri Lanka Navy based at Pulmoddai attended to the medical needs of the civilians.

The Defence Secretary, explaining how the LTTE abused the relief sent to the civilians, said there were occasions when the terrorists fired at food convoys, but the government continued to do everything possible to safeguard the civilians. .

He produced a letter addressed to the then Navy Chief, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda by the then Head of the ICRC Paul Castella, praising the Navy for facilitating the evacuation of the war-wounded under extremely difficult conditions amidst fierce fighting. He said that LTTE cadre arriving in Government-held areas too had been given medical treatment.

Restricted fire power

Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said the use of heavy fire and air power during the final stages of the battle was restricted to minimise civilian casualties.

He also said that the Government declared a No Fire Zone (NFZ) and shifted it to two other places while the LTTE was firing their heavy weapons within the NFZ.

But he accused sections of the international community for turning a blind eye to human rights violations committed by the LTTE which used the civilians as a human shield.

He blamed them for not taking any serious effort to pressure the LTTE into freeing the civilians, but instead trying to pressurise the Government into abandoning the humanitarian operation.

The Defence Secretary commenting on the final days of the battle, said that if the Government had bent down to international pressure, which the trapped LTTE leaders were expecting, LTTE leader Prabhakaran would have survived to fight another day.

He disclosed that during the final few days of the battle, Prabhakaran had tried to influence the Government through the international community with the support of Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) to halt the military push.

Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said the international community which is engaged in military exercises in various parts of the world could take Sri Lanka’s humanitarian operation as an example.

The Defence Secretary told the Commission that the military could clarify the ground situation leading to the conclusion of the war in May last year.

He said that since the liberation of Kilinochchi in January 2009, the LTTE had gradually retreated towards the north-eastern coast, taking the civilian population with them at gunpoint. The Gajaba veteran said the LTTE went to the extent of carrying out a suicide attack on civilians seeking refuge in the Government-held area east of the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road.

He said the Armed Forces had carefully studied their targets before neutralising them; the best example for such accuracy was the successful air strike on LTTE Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan.

Rajapaksa said that the Security Forces would remain in the liberated areas, though the LTTE no longer retained a conventional military capability. They would gradually release the State properties and land with the restoration of the civil administration.

He stressed the importance of a sustained military presence, particularly in northern jungles to thwart any fresh LTTE plans to recruit and train cadre.

“Nothing could be as important as the surveillance of seas to ensure that the LTTE would not procure armaments from foreign sources and smuggle them in”, he said.

Explaining the measures taken to integrate ex-LTTEers through a well- designed rehabilitation process, Rajapaksa said that except for hardcore cadre, the rest could be released and that the majority have already been released to their families after undergoing rehabilitation.

He said the first batch of Tamil-speaking police personnel was receiving training at the Kalutara police training school and would soon be deployed in the North.

Eminent lawyer, and former Attorney General C.R. de Silva, Chairman of the LLRC, opening the hearing, said the people of Sri Lanka had under-gone a traumatic nightmare and had vanquished the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world. Sri Lankan Forces had vanquished the LTTE over a year ago and now their primary concern was to consolidate the military victory through reconciliation.

“We have sailed through rocks of communal disharmony and mistrust in this country which is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. Now we have to move in peace and tranquillity,” he said.

Former Ambassador to the US, Bernard Goonatilake, testifying at the eight-member LLRC at the very first sitting, said the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) was ‘full of shortcomings’ as it was signed hurriedly and was drafted by Norwegian mediators in consultation with LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham “to make the future good for the LTTE.”

Shortcomings

“There were many shortcomings in the draft for the Ceasefire, but we had no other alternative. But some of them could have been corrected. There was an accusation that the CFA gave more rights to Tigers, but that is not right. They had to be given some rights to bring them to the table of discussion, but the Army had the overall power”, he said.

He said the LTTE had missed an opportunity to share the credit with the Government for a mega development drive in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the Norwegian-arranged CFA.

The former Head of the Peace Secretariat, Goonatilake revealed that a few weeks before the LTTE quit negotiations in April 2003, the Government and the LTTE had agreed on some 480 foreign-funded projects in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

“The World Bank had been ready to facilitate the projects. Some countries had pledged funds even before they finalised the arrangements. But, shortly thereafter, they pulled out of the entire process, blaming the LTTE for walking away from the peace process”, he said.

The eminent diplomat said that the Government could have ignored the ISGA (Interim Self Governing Authority) demanded by the LTTE in October 2003 as a prerequisite for a return to the negotiating table.

Goonatilake said that chief LTTE negotiator Anton Balasingham had rejected a proposal to set up an international mechanism to monitor human rights in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during talks in Harkone.

He said that the Norwegian facilitators had pushed for the speedy finalisation of a written agreement regardless of Sri Lanka’s concerns.

He also said that the Norwegian facilitators went to the extent of accepting the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE as equal partners at the negotiating table.

Goonatilake said the members of the Monitoring Mission (SLMM) tasked with supervising the CFA were powerless to take action. “They didn’t have the power to bite; they could only bark. The LTTE simply ignored their rulings and at the time it concluded its mission, there were over 3,000 rulings against the LTTE and some 200-300 against the Government”, he said adding that the CFA was not a good model for an accord between a government and a non-State actor.

“It was a bad model but if we tried to negotiate such a document, it would have taken months if not years. In that case, there would not have been a CFA, particularly in the backdrop of hostility between the Government and the Executive,” he explained.

Emphasising the need for having good relations with the international community, Goonatilake said that as a hardcore section of the LTTE would continue to pose a threat and was unlikely to give up their strategy, through the LTTE no longer retained a conventional military capability, it was vital to work with the international community to thwart LTTE plans.

He said that the LTTE ramp was still lobbying politicians and officials in various countries and nothing could be as important as winning the hearts and minds of the Tamil Diaspora.

Goonatilake emphasised the need for facilitating the Tamil Diaspora to acquire dual citizenship and also the reduction of military presence in the Northern and Eastern Provinces to win over the Tamil community.

The former Head of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne accused the international community of not making a genuine attempt to save children from the LTTE.

She said that the demobilisation of children was not discussed as a serious issue at the tripartite discussions and that the international community failed to make child rights a condition for financial support to rebuild the war devastated areas.

“If the LTTE had been genuinely interested in a negotiated settlement, they would not have needed fresh recruits”, she said.

She had visited the LTTE-held areas during the CFA and said the failure of the international community gave a chance to the LTTE to use more children as combatant in the Eelam IV battle and that the majority of those killed during the three-decade war were children.

Dr. Wijemanne said that until the final battle, the LTTE continued to recruit children by abducting them.

Projects for children

She said the international community showed an interest in starting projects for children flocking to Kilinochchi after the CFA, and pumped massive amounts of funds for various projects through the LTTE, but there was no evidence that either children or the ordinary people really benefited.

“The LTTE had been the major beneficiary of the funds made available by international donors though the CFA”, she said.

Former Defence Secretary Austin Fernando said that despite being the Defence Secretary, he had no authority whatsoever to intervene though the CFA extensively dealt with national security issues.

He said that before the then Prime Minister signed the CFA with the LTTE, the military was not consulted and he as the Defence Secretary had not been involved in preparing the CFA.

He said that the LTTE would not have come for talks had the CFA favoured the Government.

Fernando said that he too had been perturbed by some of the provisions in the CFA.

He said failure on the part of the Norwegian facilitators and the then Government to take, what he called, the Muslim factor into consideration had been a major drawback in the peace process.

Making a lengthy presentation before the LLRC last Wednesday, the retired public servant said that their lapse had contributed to the collapse of the Oslo-led peace drive.

The Muslim factor had been sort of categorised as a secondary issue, he said.

He said the failed peace process had the backing of the US, EU and Japan and the dispute between the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe caused major damage to the peace process.

“Their dispute was one of the biggest problems and obstacles faced by the peace process”, he said.

Fernando accused the then Major General Sarath Fonseka of not cooperating with the Government and alleged that Fonseka had refused to vacate some buildings as directed by the Government.

Explaining how the Government was being soft towards the LTTE during the CFA, he said the Government helped the LTTE in many ways including in bringing its sick media spokesman Daya Master for treatment to Colombo while the LTTE was attacking soldiers.

The former Defence Secretary accused the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission for its contribution to the collapse of the CFA.

“The military declined to cooperate due to their mistrust of the Monitoring Mission”, he said,adding that the local monitors had been as bad as the SLMM.

Fernando requested the implementation of a comprehensive compensation package for all those who had suffered due to the war regardless of their status, and urged the Commission to explore ways and means of promoting national reconciliation.

“Sri Lanka can draw on the experiences of several countries which had been ravaged by internal conflicts in our own efforts to move forward”, he said.

Military role apprecaited

Appreciating the military for engaging in a true humanitarian operation V. Anandasangaree, leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) said that the present military was the best humanitarians and they treated the IDPs very well.

He said the administration of the conflict-affected areas should now be handed over to civilians. He emphasised that establishing civil administration in those areas is one of the measures to achieve true reconciliation. He also said that the Government Agents (GAs) know the area better than the Army. “This country is now ready. It does not lack intelligent people”, he stressed.

He also emphasised that there are capable Tamil expatriates who are willing to assist in the post-conflict reconstruction of the country. “There is no need to rely on a single person to get the support of the expatriates,” he stressed.

Anandasangaree said there was no need for a large military presence in the Northern areas now, as not a single gunshot had been heard after the death of the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran. “Terrorism is over now. There is no terrorist activity in the North. The people in those areas do not want to see even a toy gun, he said. Anandasangaree also stated that ex-LTTE combatants being detained by the Government are not criminals as a majority of them were recruited forcibly by the LTTE. He pointed out that a mechanism should be drawn to assess these ex-combatants case by case review information as to how they were recruited and take appropriate measures to integrate them into civilian life. He suggested that the Government, through this Commission, appoint a committee to make such inquiries.

“They are our children. It is a crime to call them combatants. They were misled by the LTTE leadership. When they were recruited, no one dared to do anything about it. Even the so-called Diaspora misled them”, he stressed.

Referring to an incident which had occurred during forceful recruitment by the LTTE, Anandasangaree stated that the Diaspora did not do anything to stop such events and those children had to give up their education.

“They were severely tortured by the LTTE. I haven’t heard about that kind of torture in this civilisation. My heart bled having seen all that.’

“I wrote to Prabhakaran and called him a coward for sacrificing the lives of others and hiding himself all the time”.

“The people in Jaffna are happy.

They are capable of self-development as they have houses and property to call their own. But the people in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi are the worst affected.

They are unable to engage in agriculture as they do not have land”, Anandasangaree pointed out and added that this is the kind of compensation they need.

“The Sinhalese and Tamils can accommodate each other. My best friends are Sinhalese and Muslims,” he said and added that reconciliation is made easier when each learn the language of the other.

“However, the language problem cannot be solved without solving the ethnic problem. They go hand in hand,” he said.

Anandasangaree also stated that the CFA was a failure because the LTTE was ‘violently abusing it’. “They were allowed to travel to Government controlled areas. The LTTE did everything without the knowledge of the other party while the others did everything with the knowledge of the LTTE,” he said.

Director of the Marga Institute Godfrey Gunatilake said the LTTE used over 250,000 civilians as a human shield after the military operations began in the north, but the international community failed to apply any serious pressure on the LTTE.

“From the beginning, the CFA was a failure as it did not pay much attention to political solutions, disarmament etc., in addition, it also gave the LTTE official status. This agreement did not have a mechanism to protect human rights, law and peace and some Tamil sections also alleged that the CFA subjected the Tamil people to a complete military rule”, he said.