'Blatant violation of women's rights'

In a statement issued to the media, they said:

"Such assaults on cultural producers have been witnessed in the past under all governments and fit into a history of attempts to control the culture and the free expression of artistes.

The recent burning of the contents of the house of Ms. Weerasinghe, is one example of a criminal act of vandalism and arson.

The attack on Weerasinghe's house was a follow up to an assault on various women artistes at a political rally in Veyangoda in December last year in which actress Chandi Rasika was also injured.

We condemn the recent politically motivated attack on award winning film and stage actress Mr. Anoja Weerasinghe.

Anoja Weerasinghe, who has won several international awards for her performances was recently playing the role of Hecube, in the Sinhala anti-war play "The Trojan Women" In this context, the destruction of Mrs. Weerasinghe's house and 22 year cultural archive at her home in Moneragala is disturbing. Its destruction is a great public loss since we do not have a national film archive in this country. Some of the films burnt were the only copies in existence. There were other artistes both women and men who pledged their support openly and freely to different candidates and addressed to meetings and sang on the political platform during the Presidential Election in December 1999. We believe that Ms. Weerasinghe was targeted both for her politics and because she is a woman artiste. As such this attack constitutes a blatant violation of women's human rights.

Given the implications for democratic rights, all concerned parties should unite to protest against such violence. We demand a full, fair and impartial inquiry into this attack.

Signatories

Women's Education and Research Centre Selvi Thiruchandran
Women's Coalitionfor Peace Darini Rajasingham
Women's NGO Forum Ksharma Rahavana
International Center for Ethnic Studies- Radhika Coomaraswamy

Gender Unit

Women and Media Collective Kumudini Samuel
Feminist Forum Kumari Jayawardena
Social Scientists' Association-Gender Unit Mangalika de Silva
Muslim Women's Research and ActionFront Faizun Zachariya
Center foe Women's Research Swarna Jayaweera
INFORM Sunila Abeysekera
Kantha Shakthi Rohini Weerasinghe
Women's wing-People's Coalition for Peace Chandirika Kumarasiri
& democracy, Kandy
Sama Liya Collective, Kandy Samanthi Ganegoda
Centre for Development Alternatives-Gender Unit S. Rajeswary Kany
Women's Development Center, Kurunegala Sumika Perara
Sooriya Women's Development Center,Batticaloa Vasuki Jeyashankar.

A bull or beefing up security?

By Shelani de Silva and S.S. Selvanayagam

Last week the Batticaloa Government Agent S. Pathmanathan was briefed on the issue and given a specimen of the forms to be filled by the residents.

Mr. Pathmanathan told The Sunday Times he had briefed divisional secretaries and grama niladharis on the Government's decision.

"There are plans to follow the system operating in Jaffna. People in the cleared areas will be given a permanent pass while those in the uncleared areas will be given a temporary pass. Although I was briefed on this it is still not clear and some clarification is required," he said.

He said that the Government was planning to introduce this system from February 16.

"There are moves to set up a unit in Batticaloa and other areas and have officers from the Department of Registration of Persons to issue the IDs," he said.

Meanwhile, residents said this system would cause much inconvenience to people who would have to submit a photograph every time they required a pass. This would cost them at least Rs. 80.

The special pass is handled by the Ministry of Defence as a security measure. Ministry officials confirmed that moves were underway to issue new IDs but they declined to give details since the matter had not been finalised.

As a protest Batticaloa residents on Friday launched a hartal crippling the civil administration. 

Government's decision to introduce the special ID has raised concerns over the peace process.

Head of the Religious Alliance for Peace Ven. Kamburugamuwe Vajira Nayake Thera told The Sunday Times it was a necessity as a security measure but there was a possibility that the peace efforts would be hampered.

"It should be done in a correct manner. The timing is not too good specially with the possibility of peace talks, but it should be worked out correctly," he said. 

Meanwhile, Tamil political leaders alleged that the new system to restrict the movement of the civilians in these districts is a flagrant violation of the Constitution as well as all norms of human rights enshrined in it.

TULF's Batticaloa district leader Joseph Pararajasingham told The Sunday Times there was a pass system that was in force in Vavuniya which had caused immense hardship coupled with severe inconvenience to the people of the North. "Now the government is trying to introduce it in Batticaloa and Ampara districts which also will mean greater hardships to the people, particularly Tamils in these districts.

"The government, by such an act, is severing the North-East from the rest of the country. Each citizen has the right to freely travel throughout the country wherever he or she wants to go. By this act, the government is discriminating against the Tamil people by showing they are not part and parcel of this country. This is something that warrants the strongest condemnation.

"The government, if it wants to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people, must immediately withdraw this counter-productive action," he said.

EPDP leader Douglas Devananda said they were opposing the move and had held a passive resistance campaign in the form of a hartal in Batticaloa on Friday against the pass system.

EPRLF leader Suresh Premachandran said: "Because of this pass system in Vavuniya, hundreds of youth cannot find jobs. Civilians are faced with a situation where they cannot obtain urgent medical treatment.

"Despite protests and complaints to President Chandrika Kumaratunga as well as to the Defence Ministry for years, no meaningful remedial measures have been taken.

As such, the move to bring Batticaloa and Ampara districts too under this system would be a serious matter. It would violate human rights. It would not be just to violate basic human rights of a vast number of citizens to apprehend five or ten LTTE suicide bombers," he said.

While expressing the hope that Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala parliamentarians too would join to pressurise the government to give up its new move, Mr Premachandran said the new measure would probably nudge the entire Tamil people to lean towards the Tigers.

Former North-East Chief Minister A. Varatharaja Perumal who is leading the dissident EPRLF group said though the government's new measure to be implemented seemed to be intended to beef up overall security and check LTTE infiltration, it would subject the Tamil people to severe hardship.

While maintaining that security measures were inevitable, he insisted that the new measure should not violate the dignity of the Tamil people.

While alerting the government to the adverse effects of the move, which the Tigers would use for their own vicious objectives, Mr. Perumal called upon the government to reconsider the move to issue special identity cards to the residents of Batticaloa and Ampara districts.

New ACTC leader says no compromise on Tamil issue

By Roshan Peiris

In an interview with The Sunday Times, N. Kumaraguruparan, the new general secretary of the ACTC, said the party would never compromise on the issue of Tamil national aspirations.

"We believe that the present merged North-East Province comprises the traditional homeland of the Tamils. This is the focal point of our policy. The Tamils are a proud people comprising a nation with distinctive language, culture and hallowed traditions. Thus they enjoy the right to self determination.

"As Kumar often pointed out, we believe the Timpu principles are the only alternative for separation. Therefore, the government should clearly state the nature of the unit of devolution and on the status of the Northern and Eastern Provinces," Mr. Kumaraguruparan said.

He said his party called for equality of all citizens. "Tamis must be treated as absolute equals with all other national and ethnic entities of the countries."

Like Mr. Ponnambalam, Mr. Kumaraguruparan also emphasised the importance of talks with the LTTE for any solution to the 17-year-old ethnic conflict. 

Asked whether the ACTC would initiate a dialogue with the LTTE, Mr. Kumaraguruparan said, "the only person who could have spoken and negotiated for us with the LTTE was Kumar and he is nor more".

Voicing concern about large-scale arrests of Tamils, especially during cordon-and-search operations, Mr. Mr. Kumaraguruparan charged that even women with infants were arrested and their whereabouts were not known. He said his party would take the matter up with foreign missions here to put pressure on the government in disciplining the armed forces. 

"Party President A. Vinayagamoorthy has faxed the diplomats, giving details of the unjust arrests of Tamil peoples. We are awaiting their response. We hope the international community will do something to stop harassing the Tamil people. After all harassing the Tamil people will only aggravate the crisis." 

Mr. Kumaraguruparan was proposed by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, the only son of the late ACTC leader, for the post of general secretary at the recent party convention. He was quite emphatic when he said that no Tamil group or persons were responsible for Mr. Ponnambalam's death. "Our suspicions are on Shantha who spoke in very high flown Sinhala," he said.

"Kumar's memory and life is a great inspiration to us and so the ACTC will forge ahead safeguarding the rights of the Tamil nation and work hard and devotedly to solve the ethnic problem.

CWE booming, but some workers languish in Jaffna

By Nilika de Silva 

B.G. Ratnakumar, a labourer from Jaffna claimed that he has worked in the CWE for five years. "I have not yet been made permanent," Mr. Ratnakumar complained.

Another worker in the CWE regional office for several years, A. Selvarajah also from Jaffna said, "Inspite of writing letters to the highest authorities we are still not being made permanent."

Many others like Messrs Selvarajah and Ratnakumar, in Jaffna have the same problem.

Officials at the Jaffna regional office of the CWE, confirmed that of the 47 employees at the office, 42 were still on contract basis. 

"We don't know why this is. All are young educated people, they deserve to be made permanent," one employee said.

However, CWE Working Director Anton Ratnayake told The Sunday Times on Friday, that following instructions issued by the minister, most of the contract workers if not all of them will be made permanent, probably before June 30.

Vavuniya, already gripped in uncertainty and fear, is rocked by a bomb explosion in the Post Office

Battwred town now shattered

By Leon Berenger

It was another normal routine day in this city of Vavuniya on Thursday, when the LTTE decided to shatter the peace and send residents bolting for cover once again.

It was a military target the Tigers would say since the building was crowded with off-duty soldiers and policemen, but it was an unarmed target since none of those present were carrying any firearms.

Most of the soldiers who were killed in the blast were the poorest of the poor in the military who had joined the ranks purely to keep the wolf away from the door.

But then the LTTE is indifferent to all these, for it is not the first time it has targeted off-duty police and security forces personnel. Infact they have found them an easy prey as the target is unarmed and therefore unable to fight back on an equal footing.

At the end of it all, there were 11 dead including five civilians and 73 injured, 22 in a life threatening condition. Three soldiers and three policemen accounted for the balance fatalities. Thursday's bombing was perhaps the last thing the people needed in this city of some 200,000 people who have been grippped in fear ever since the LTTE rolled into their front yard after successfully capturing several army camps in surrounding jungles of the Wanni.

In November last year Vavuniya remained deserted for at least a week after the LTTE informed the people that the city had now come within the reach of their artillery guns, which incidentally were removed from the army camps they had captured earlier.

The residents however later returned after the LTTE promised not to target the town but warned people to stay away from police and military locations since these were on its target list.

Thursday's explosion which occurred at about 10. 45 am was heard throughout the entire city and this was enough to send residents once again scurrying for cover as traders put up shutters, banks closed early and school teachers kept their charges confined to the classrooms fearing the worst.

Most traders however opted to remain closed for the day fearing looting, not by the security forces but by other rogue groups linked to former militant outfits.

But this was not to be as the police and security forces acted swiftly and wisely and before dusk calm had once again returned to the tense town and surrounding areas.

The first task at hand for the security men was to remove the dead, the dying and the injured to the hospitals, while the more serious cases were rushed to the Anuradhapura Government Hospital, 60 kilometres south of Vavuniya.

The most worrying aspect for the defence authorities in the region is the breach in security despite a heavy police and military presence that allowed the bomber to roam freely before reaching his/her target.

One senior policeman based in Vavuniya said it was a difficult task to try and stop each and every LTTE infiltration, indicating that the Tigers could strike again without a warning.

"Their main aim appears to keep the heat on the defence and government authorities with such attacks while at the same time sparing the civilians who are mainly Tamils who make up nearly 80 per cent of the city's population", Senior Police Superintendent SSP Meryvn Fernando told The Sunday Times.

"But this time it seems the LTTE did not have time to separate the civilians from the security forces before going ahead with the bombing, and the end result is well known," he said.

Other security officials silently admit that certain elements in Government sanctioned armed groups may even be helping the LTTE. This link has never been ruled out, they said.

Meanwhile two more people injured in the blast succumbed to their injuries at the Anuradhapura Hospital, while the fate of 22 others remains gloomy as doctors and medical staff battle to save them.

The two who died included a soldier and a civilian, according to the hospital's Medical Superintendent Dr. W. Atapattu.

Most of the patients have suffered serious bone fractures and it would take some time for them to recover, he said.

Meanwhile police assisted by the military and para military guards yesterday began searching for possible LTTE infiltrators hiding in and around Vavuniya. 

Several people were questioned and a few were detained, but apart from that no breakthrough have been made.

Police believe the bomb concealed in a parcel was stashed with about five kilograms of explosives and may have been among the mail that was ready for delivery. It was apparently triggered off by a timing device, according to police.

Thursday's bombing has meanwhile prompted the top brass in the security forces and police to once again brief the lower rankers on neccessary precautions they should take while moving in civilian areas when not on duty.

Meanwhile security authorities in the metropolis and other areas south of the country are on alert for LTTE operatives after state intelligence agencies warned of a possible strike sometime before Independence Day celebrations that begin on Friday. 

Several suspected suicide bombers are also reported to be among the LTTE activists who have slipped into the south to target key people on all sides of the political divide.

Most of the LTTE agents had reportedly entered the city from Batticaloa where travel restrictions are more relaxed giving civilians easy access to other parts of the country. Investigators have found out that all the recent bombings in Colombo and elsewhere were carried out by LTTErs who had arrived from Batticaloa. 

Additional reporting by Faraza Farook

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