Sri Lanka Weekly Brief

Political and Internal Developments

Perhaps to strike a conciliatory note before the forthcoming United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council Meeting in Geneva compelled the Sri Lankan government to repeal the decades long emergency. Further, the Sri Lankan government rueing that the international community, especially the West, has been unjustly cornering it on the war crimes issue, despite considerable support from China, Russia and tacitly India as well.

Yet the government has promulgated new regulations under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to keep the LTTE as a banned organisation, to retain the High Security Zones (HSZ) and to deal with LTTE surrenderees and detainees with the lapse of the emergency. Although the government claims that the introduction of these regulations under the PTA was a temporary arrangement until a new law called ‘the Emergency Consequential Provisional Bill’ is enacted in Parliament.

On the other hand, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) demanded that the 'government should immediately repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and grant a general amnesty to all the political prisoners and the detained ex-LTTE cadres'. Moreover, TNA MP, M. K. Shivajilingam has said “if necessary action is not taken to repeal the PTA it will be a hindrance to the national reconciliation process”. In another development, TNA MP, Suresh Premachandran insisted that “a cohesive devolution of power to the Tamil people to be the only solution that can ensure long standing peace in the country”. Besides, he denied that the TNA has issued any ultimatum to the government and has limited faith in the efficacy of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) as many such efforts in the past proved futile.

The Sri Lankan government, whilst contending the international community on the war crimes charges, continues its reconstruction efforts in the North. A special scheme for building houses for 1000 newly settled IDP families in the North was inaugurated in Mullaitivu. Accordingly, each family would be given a total of Rs 300,000. For its part, the National Housing Authority would provide Rs 200,000 at a concessionary rate of interest while the Resettlement Ministry would provide Rs 100,000 to them as a grant. Each family was given 80 perches of land free-of-charge by the Mullaitivu District Secretariat for this purpose. Technical assistance too would be provided free of charge by the National Housing Authority as a part of this programme. The scheme is to build 200 houses per year in all five districts in the Northern Province under the Janasevana Housing scheme. In addition, the Economic Development Ministry has also allocated Rs 2,830 million for developmental activities in Batticaloa District in the East this year.

Apart from these housing schemes to resettle the displaced Tamils, the Sri Lankan government has also undertaken efforts to demine the area. A total of 360,938 mines have been cleared and destroyed by the Army Field Engineers, in a land area of 4000.53 square kilometers in North and the East using mechanical and manual methods. There are about 1500 soldiers and 29 Flail machines have been deployed for these activities. The mines include 257,518 anti personnel mines, 710 anti tank mines and 102,710 unexploded ordnance (UXO’s). These clearing operations were conducted in Jaffna, Mannar, Maullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa and Vavuniya districts.

Following it up with the over all increase in budgetary expenses, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance has estimated that next year’s defence budget to be approximately Rs 223 billion, up from Rs.210 billion in 2011. Accordingly, Rs 217 billion would be set aside as recurrent expenditure and the capital expenditure is expected to be around Rs 6000 million which is to allocated for capital expenditure on new technology to be used for security, the development of infrastructure facilities for the Army, Navy and Air Force as well as the establishment of Police stations in the North and East.

Relations with India

As some strategic thinkers had predicted that Indian Ocean would be the future battle ground, recent events in the Indian Ocean seems to be in consonance with this observation. The Indian Navy tracked a Chinese ship in the Indian Ocean, which appear to have disguised as a fishing trawler, had moved towards Sri Lanka and docked at the Colombo port. However, Sri Lanka Navy, which has the full authority over every security related matters including the physical inspection of every vessel that is entering Colombo Port denied detection of any suspicious equipment on board Chinese vessels in the recent past. Though it was claimed that it was a spy ship with more than 20 laboratories to measure the water currents, depths and collect other relevant data for submarine and ship movement.

External Affairs Minister of India S.M. Krishna responding to a question in the parliament has said that “a total of 104 Sri Lankan fishermen are still being by the Indian authorities whereas all Indian fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities have been released”. Further, there are no Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan jails on fishing related violations. Last year a total of 352, and as on August 16 this year 131 Sri Lankan fishermen had been apprehended by our authorities. A total of 104 Sri Lankan fishermen are still in our custody.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), continuing its recent efforts to prop up the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. The opposition Leader Ms Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from 16-20 September. Earlier a delegation of Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu visited Sri Lanka, including the camps where the Internally Displaced Persons were staying.

Furthering its efforts to assist Sri Lanka in the rehabilitation process, India is holding a month-long artificial limb rehabilitation camp in Jaffna from 1 September. A team of 20 technicians from the famous Jaipur-based Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) would undertake the process. The camp is being organised by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the BMVSS. This is the second such camp to be organised in Sri Lanka. Last year, a similar camp was organised at Vavuniya, in which 1,240 persons were fitted with the artificial limbs.