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Non-Silent Night! Un-Holy Night! Escalation of Sri Lanka State Terror!

In the name of human rights, democracy, religious and racial harmony, justice and fair-play, the IFT appeals to the International Community (IC), to condemn without delay, the brutal murder of the Tamil Parliamentarian and human rights activist, Joseph Pararajasingham during the midnight Christmas cathedral service and to hold Sri Lanka government and President Mahinda Rajapakse responsible for the heinous crime committed through the State Intelligence Unit and the paramilitary forces operating in the north-east.

The IFT has, in a number of appeals to the IC pointed out to the impending danger to the CeaseFire Agreement (CFA) caused by the Intelligence Unit and the paramilitary forces in the north-east. These two evil forces were well developed by the former UNF government of Ranil Wickremasinghe and further strengthened by Chandrika Kumaratunge. The present contender for the UN Secretary General’s post, Jayantha Dhanapala, during his tenure as the Head of the government peace secretariat, hoodwinked the world by denied their existence, while nurturing it to maturiy on the sly. It is now being craftily orchestrated by Mahinda Rajapakse to fulfil his election pledge, to abrogate the CFA and eliminate Norway from the facilitating scene. The Intelligence Unit and the Paramilitary Forces have been identified with the brutal murder of hundreds of civilians, peace activists like Chandra Nehru, journalists like Nadesan and Taraki and many others.

Although the government of Sri Lanka has repeatedly denied harbouring and using paramilitary cadres in the north-east, a blatant violation of the CFA, a report submitted to Colombo Headquarters on 21.03.2005, by Steen Joergensen, Head if the International Ceasefire Monitors, Batticaloa and a report by Brigadier Peiris of Batticaloa Command, to Admiral Daya Sandagiri, the Commander of the State Armed Forces, confirm to the contrary. Two recent escapees from the paramilitary cadre have confessed, in the presence of international press, to the paramilitary and Intelligence Unit murders and provocations of violence and tension between Muslims and Tamils in the east.

Joseph was felled down by his assassins who shot him at the foot of the crib, immediately after receiving Holy Communion from the hands of the Catholic Bishop, conducting the service for world Christmas peace. Blood of eight others was spilled before the altar on Christmas midnight, including that of Joseph’s wife who is still in a critical condition.

Unilateral declaration of cease-fire was observed by the LTTE at Christmas during its two decades of war. But bombing and desecration of Christian churches and schools remain bloodied blotches on the annals of Sri Lanka. Notorious Navaly church aerial bombing in the Jaffna peninsula, the cannon blast at the pilgrim shrine in Madhu in the Mannar district during the ninety’s and now the spilling of blood during church Christmas service in the Batticaloa district, offer a blood-soaked “triple gem” to the Head of Sri Lanka state who takes pride in coming to power with the assistance of extremist religious chauvinists.

Joseph Pararajasingham was a true democrat and an advocate of peaceful resolution to the national problem in Sri Lanka. He was one of the founder members of NESOHR, the North- East secretariat of human rights. He was a pragmatist, advocating for over a decade, even before the signing of the CFA, a direct dialogue between the government and the LTTE. As a veteran of the TULF, he was also instrumental in convincing the party hierarchy that the emancipation of the Tamils lay in supporting the LTTE at the peace talks. During parliamentary elections in the past, there were a number of life-threats on him from paramilitary cadres and the state Intelligence Unit. He survived them all, finally to succumb during a church Christmas service, to an assassin’s bullet, which made mockery of the “Silent night,” and, “Holy night!”

In Sri Lanka, “All is not calm,” and “All is not bright!” now.

26 December 2005

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