Successive governments, instead of setting the record straight regarding war crimes accusations, sought to appease Tamil groups based in Europe, the US and Canada. Their failure encouraged and inspired those seeking to humiliate Sri Lanka. Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran’s shocking declaration in 2016 without a shred of any evidence despite him being an ex-Supreme Court Judge that the Army poisoned over 100 LTTE cadres in custody is a case in point. The exposure of propaganda, also during the Yahapalanaya rule, pertained to the Mannar mass graves, is another example of political parties here extending support for the Geneva project. But governments conveniently turned a blind eye to such treacherous actions. Had the Mahinda Rajapaksa government built Sri Lanka’s defence on wartime US Defence advisor Lt. Colonel Lawrence Smith’s denial in June 2011 of battlefield executions, also taking into consideration General Sarath Fonseka winning all the Northern and Eastern districts at the 2010 presidential election, with the backing of the TNA, a solid defence could have been established.
The stage is set for a devastating attack on Sri Lanka at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), in Geneva, on 08 September. The 47-member HRC, dominated by Western powers, will advance their anti-Sri Lanka agenda unopposed. In line with their despicable strategy, Austrian lawyer and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will present his trumped up damning report against Sri Lanka, while turning a blind eye to the unprecedented US-backed genocide taking place in Palestine.
The reportage of the Austrian’s visit here, in June, underscored their intentions at the forthcoming session.
Every government, beginning with the war-winning Mahinda Rajapaksa administration, facilitated the Geneva project, trusting the hatchet men/women placed in key UN positions by the powerful West that couldn’t stomach Sri Lanka’s triumph over separatist Tamil terrorism, 17 years ago. Their pathetic failure to counter lies propagated by interested parties, both here and abroad, allowed HRC to proceed, while the US, the UK, Canada et al resorted to high profile measures against the war-winning country.
Regardless of heavy and determined Western pressure meant to throw a lifeline to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the combined armed forces brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009. The LTTE boasted of its invincibility over the years but collapsed on the Vanni east front, where it was cornered behind a Tamil civilian human shield, following a nearly three-year long relentless security forces campaign.
Unfortunately, the government and the then main Opposition UNP couldn’t reach consensus on Sri Lanka’s greatest achievement since independence. The UNP teamed up with the one-time LTTE ally the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the JVP to field war-winning Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka as the common candidate at the 2010 presidential election. That reprehensible political project failed. But, five years later, the same lot succeeded. Wartime SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena switched his allegiance to UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to secure backing for his candidature at the 2015 presidential poll. Having secured the TNA backing, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo had no option but to betray the country.
Sri Lanka threw its weight behind the Geneva project. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government dubbed Yahapalanaya (good governance, without it being anything but that) betrayed the war-winning military and political leadership in October 2015. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government treacherously co-sponsored a resolution against the country. That was in line with a tripartite agreement among the US, Sri Lanka and the TNA. The TNA, that recognised the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil speaking people, today demands accountability on the part of Sri Lanka.
The 60th HRC sessions takes place against the backdrop of Canada declaring that Sri Lanka perpetrated genocide, while former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as well as Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, former Chief of Defence Staff Gen Shavendra Silva, and scores of other military officers have been summarily blacklisted without any due process whatsoever.
Close on the heels of the Geneva betrayal, Australia declined to issue a visa to the then serving officer Maj. Gen. Chagie Gallage. That was in 2016. The Gajaba Regiment veteran was among those cream of officers who spearheaded and hastened the collapse of the LTTE’s conventional capability. Gallage had been among those on the ground when the Army (58 Division, 53 Division and Task Force Eight) encircled and annihilated the LTTE fighting units at Anandapuram in April 2009. The then Brigadier Ralf Nugera and Brigadier G. Ravipriya had been among the officers on the ground with Gallage. The Anandapuram debacle hastened the LTTE’s collapse.
Had politicians bothered to listen to/read what Gallage said at Gajaba Regimental Headquarters, in September 2018, they may have realised the need to take tangible measures to counter lies. Instead all political parties sought to deceive the public. The worst was President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government that declared Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from the 2015 accountability resolution. That was nothing but a blatant lie and an attempt to pull wool over the eyes of gullible people. In spite of that ridiculous declaration, the Geneva project proceeded unabated. Next week’s HRC session is evidence that foolish declarations made by the SLPP government in Geneva made no difference.
Key issues
The writer sought the views of the UK-based Editor-in-Chief of ‘Tamil Guardian’, Dr. N. Thusiyan, on Sri Lanka conflict-related matters. After having asked the writer to submit the questions, Thusiyan said that the issues raised by The Island couldn’t be addressed by him at present. The Island regularly reproduces online ‘Tamil Guardian’ reports. It is an online, English language news site, based in London.
With the UK and Canada planning to propose a new resolution on Sri Lanka, during the forthcoming session, it would be pertinent to discuss the issues that were raised with Dr. Thusiyan.
(1) Your name:
(2) Profession:
(3) Previous job/journalism experience:
(4) When did you last visit Colombo?
(5) Are you a British citizen? If so, when did you receive UK citizenship?
(6) If so, when did you move to the UK? Or were you born in the UK? If not, where were you born?
(7) When did you receive the appointment as Editor, Tamil Guardian? Who was your predecessor?
(8) Would you mind sharing your feelings with the writer about how you felt when a joint UK-French attempt, in late April 2009, failed to halt the combined security forces offensive against the LTTE? Did you receive an opportunity to discuss their failure with the then UK Foreign Secretary (2007 to 2010)?
(9) Did you ever meet LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham in the UK?
(10) Recently, the Tamil Guardian posted statements attributed to lawmakers Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Shanakiyan Rasamanickam. Both of them demanded international investigations into accountability issues (war crimes perpetrated by armed forces). The writer, too, accepts that international investigations, with the participation of foreign judges, are essential to ensure justice. There cannot be any dispute over that. However, India and Tamil groups responsible for terrorist acts, too, should be subjected to such investigations as atrocities perpetrated by the Indian military in NE Sri Lanka cannot be ignored. What is your opinion?
(11) Do you think India should be held accountable for launching a terrorist campaign in Sri Lanka?
(12) Let me ask you about a specific allegation made by Jaffna District lawmaker Dharmalingam Siddharthan. During an interview with the writer, way back in 1997, in Colombo, Siddharthan alleged that his father V. Dharmalingam was assassinated by TELO in 1985 on the instructions of RAW. Tamil Guardian, in early September 2024, reported the 39th death anniversary of Dharmalingam at Thavadi at the Dharmalingam memorial monument. Do you think a Truth Commission should inquire into all killings from the very beginning?
(13) Having sanctioned Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, General Shavendra Silva, General Jagath Jayasuriya and Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, alias Karuna Amman, on March 24, 2025, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy, declared that he assured the electorate, during the election campaign, to ensure those responsible wouldn’t be allowed impunity. The Ministry quoted Lammy as having said that the imposition of sanctions ensured that those responsible for past human rights violations and abuses were held accountable. What would you say to allegations/assertions UK political parties/lawmakers are brazenly engaged in petty vote-bank politics?
(14) Following quite a foolish Hamas foray into southern Israel in early October 2023, possibly out of sheer desperation, and the Jewish State’s counter attack, many experts, including Indians, compared Benjamin Netanyahu’s war with Sri Lanka’s campaign against the LTTE. The writer is of the view that the Gaza war, that has been expanded by Netanyahu, with the blessings of the US and UK and other like-minded countries, cannot be compared with Sri Lanka’s war at all. What is your take on such comparisons?
(15) Over the years, Tamil speaking lawmakers, and various other interested parties, demand the immediate release of ‘political prisoners’ held by the government. Tamil Guardian constantly gives coverage to media briefings, protests and other events meant to highlight the issue whether it is true or not. The writer is of the view that out of over 12,000 LTTE combatants who surrendered to the military in 2009 almost all were released and only a handful convicted for terrorism and a few held under PTA remain in custody because of heinous crimes and awaiting trial. Those who had been demanding the release of political prisoners strangely never mentioned names of those in custody. Perhaps you should, in consultation with those who made that claim, disclose the identities of all political prisoners?
(16) In the wake of the UN Human Rights Chief’s declaration that armed forces should hand back public and private property held by them in the Northern and Eastern regions, the writer sought clarification from the military regarding the issue. The military confidently declared that 91% of all such land had been released by June this year. When we raised the issue with the UN Human Rights Chief’s office, he, too, admitted so. According to Tamil Guardian sources, what is the status of land held by the military?
(17) Some, perhaps wrongly believe Tamil nationalism suffered due to the NPP winning the Northern and Eastern regions at both the presidential and parliamentary polls last year. In spite of Tamil political parties, particularly the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) making a strong comeback at the subsequent Local Government polls, the situation there seems politically fluid. However, the forthcoming Provincial Council elections is likely to give the Northern and Eastern electorates a chance to reassess the situation. What do you think Tamil political parties, particularly the ITAK, should do to garner the support of the Northern and Eastern electorates?
(18) There had been several abortive attempts at a negotiated settlement during the conflict. Initially, the TULF spearheaded the effort on behalf of the Tamil community. Subsequently, the government held talks with half a dozen Indian-sponsored groups, including the LTTE. Following the decimation of rival groups in the wake of Indian withdrawal from Sri Lanka, in 1990, after having established the Provincial Council system, the LTTE emerged as the only group committed to establish Eelam. Now that they have been eradicated for once and for all, what do you think is the best possible way forward to achieve a lasting solution?
(19) Do you think post-war reconciliation can be achieved by punishing the war-winning military whereas absolutely no action is contemplated against those who fought for the LTTE and often committed heinous crimes in the name of liberation, but now enjoyed the privileges as Europeans, Canadians, etc.?
(20) What would you think may pave the way for voluntary reconciliation among various Tamil factions? Perhaps you may like to discuss the case of Gopalswamy Mahendraraja, alias Mahattaya, whom the writer had the opportunity to meet at Koliyakulam, Vavuniya, in January 1990, a few years before his execution at Velupillai Prabhakaran’s behest? Would you like to explain why the Tamil Diaspora never made reference to Mahattaya? Do they believe the LTTE’s number two had been involved with RAW, as alleged by Subramaniam Sivakamy, alias Thamilini, in her memoirs before she succumbed to cancer at the age of 43?
(21) Canadian Parliament, in May 2022, unanimously and blindly declared without any credible evidence that Sri Lanka had perpetrated genocide during the conflict. Do you believe the UK and other countries, where a significant number of people of Sri Lankan origin live, too, should follow the Canadian example? (It is obviously a case of these colonialists having committed large scale genocide to rob the lands of the natives now blindly accuse others of doing similar things to assuage their own guilty consciences. So why not hold these colonialists to same laws they are now trying to punish poor countries, like Sri Lanka with, especially she having been a victim of Western colonialism/genocide, like at Wellassa, several times?)
(22) How do you view the continuing dispute between India and Canada over the latter’s backing for those still pushing for an independent Sikh state, known as Khalistan? Shouldn’t this issue be closely examined against the backdrop of Canada placing Gary Anandasangaree in charge of border controls, etc., in spite of some challenging his integrity?
(23) Approximate strength of Tamil Diaspora?
(24) What is your opinion on the Provincial Council system that had been introduced in terms of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 29, 1987? Do you think the PC system is sufficient to meet the aspirations of the Tamil speaking people and finally would you push for re-merger of the Eastern Province with the Northern Province in line with overall Tamil thinking?
Post-war destabilisation
For want of consensus among political parties, represented in Parliament, regarding the post-war reconciliation process, interested parties succeeded in exploiting Parliament to the hilt.
The co-sponsorship of the anti-Sri Lanka resolution, in October 2015, just a couple of weeks after the general election won by the UNP, paved the way for the legislature to pass laws in line with the understanding reached with the US and the TNA.
The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo were so beholden to the TNA, its leader the late R. Sampanthan was made the Opposition Leader.
Secretary to the Federation of National Organisations (FNO) Dr. Wasantha Bandara, who had been at the forefront of the campaign against the Geneva project, asserted that those hell-bent on doing away with the country’s unitary status succeeded in exploiting Parliament to advance their agenda. Three of the offices that had been mentioned in the Geneva road map had been set up beginning with the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in Aug 2016, followed by Office of Reparations in Oct 2018 and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) Bill in January 2024. Dr. Bandara said that their efforts to convince the SLPP and SJB to take a firm stand against the separatist agenda had been in vain.
Successive governments instead of setting the record straight regarding war crimes accusations sought to appease Tamil groups based in Europe, US and Canada. Their failure encouraged and inspired those seeking to humiliate Sri Lanka. Former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran’s shocking declaration in 2016 without a shred of any evidence despite him being an ex-Supreme Court Judge that the Army poisoned over 100 LTTE cadres in custody is a case in point. The exposure of propaganda, also during the Yahapalanaya rule, pertained to Mannar mass graves, is another example of political parties here extending support for the Geneva project. But governments conveniently turned a blind eye to such treacherous actions.
Had the Mahinda Rajapaksa government built Sri Lanka’s defence on wartime US Defence advisor Lt. Colonel Lawrence Smith’s denial in June 2011 of battlefield executions, also taking into consideration General Sarath Fonseka winning all the Northern and Eastern districts at the 2010 presidential election, with the backing of the TNA, a solid defence could have been established.
The disclosure made by Lord Naseby, in October 2017, on the basis of information obtained through the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000, further strengthened Sri Lanka’s position. But, Yahapalanaya simply ignored Lord Naseby’s efforts. Quite shockingly, President Gotabaya Rajapaksas’s government, too, never made a genuine effort to use all available information to counter lies.
The Geneva process has reached a dangerous stage and those protesting against foreign intervention must realise that their agenda cannot be reversed by signing petitions, seminars or demonstrations. Interested parties still play politics with the issues at hand thereby facilitating the Geneva project.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
