Sri Lanka: Brigadier who ordered shooting at Weliweriya protestors given a Diplomatic Post

Weliweriya killings

Brigadier Deshapriya Gunawardhana who commanded the Army battalion which murdered two school students and a youth employed in Colombo while firing at the Rathupaswala residents demanding for drinking water, has been appointed as the Military Attaché for Sri Lankan Embassy in Turkey.

Following the objections rose regarding the Rathupaswala murder the government had publicized that Brigadier Deshapriya was interdicted.

Sri Lanka: Military personal suspended for Weliweriya killings reinstated; Inquiry report still a secret

Weliweriya: Military run amok

''In Weliweriya – as in the North – the killings happened not because there was a breakdown in discipline but because strict discipline was maintained and soldiers obeyed their orders. If there is a genuine inquiry, the truth about who ordered what in the North and in Weliweriya will come out. That is why the Rajapaksas will never allow a proper national inquiry into either case. One cannot reasonably expect the Siblings to place themselves in jeopardy.

This week the four suspended officers were quietly reinstated in new posts .''

Conjurers and Dupes  by Tisaranee Gunasekara

What has happened to the Weliweriya inquiry?

In the Weliweriya incident where innocent bystanders died as a result of the army firing into the crowds asking for clean water, a military court of inquiry found that the soldiers had ‘exceeded the scope’ of their duties.
 No consequential punishments imposed
This by itself is a remarkably understated conclusion given the level of aggravation which occurred, with soldiers chasing and assaulting journalists who were legitimately reporting on the fracas and abusing men and women of the cloth when panic stricken villagers sought shelter in a nearby church. Even so, what has happened in due course?

SC grants leave to proceed for FR case on violent mob attack against place of worship in Weeraketiya

Statement issued by the NATIONAL CHRISTIAN EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE OF  SRI LANKA (NCEASL)
 The fundamental rights case (Case Number 19/2013 SCFR) filed on behalf of the Jeewana Alokaya Church in Weeraketiya, which was violently attacked on 09th December 2012 and 18th March 2013, was granted leave to proceed after being called in the Supreme Court on 21st January 2014.

Police officer blocks vehicle parade over Rathupaswala

ASP Chandana Kodithuwakku: I will stop you

Gampaha ASP Chandana Kodithuwakku has allegedly forced a group of activists to abandon a vehicle parade to spread awareness regarding the drinking water issue in Rathupawala. 
An organization for the protection of water had organized a vehicle parade today (13), to educate the public regarding the Rathupaswala water crisis, after the glove factory at the center of the recent controversy in Welieriya had decided to recommence operations.

Weliweriya shooting: Army exceeded its remit

The Court of Inquiry appointed Army Commander Lt. General Daya Ratnayake had found that the army had exceeded their legal duties during the Weliveriya shootings, and a ‘summary of evidence’ is currently under way in order to frame charges for a Court Martial.

Sri Lanka asks detractors at HRC not to discredit the Northern PC election process or prejudge its outcome and impact

Exercising a 'right of reply' with regard to references made to Sri Lanka by Germany, the US and Ireland under Agenda Item 4 - General Debate at the ongoing 24th Session of the Human Rights Council, the Sri Lanka delegation on Thursday (19 September 2013) said, it seemed ironic that at a time when for the first time since the introduction of the Provincial Council system in 1987 elections to the Northern Provincial Council are to be held later this week, that Germany should choose to discredit the process and prejudge its outcome and impact.

Sri Lanka: Police intimidate Rathupaswala witnesses

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday charged that officers attached to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) are intimidating the witnesses who have given evidence on the Rathupaswala incident. The BASL charged that witnesses giving evidence at the magisterial inquiry, held in connection with the three persons who died during the demonstration by the residents of Rathupaswala demanding clean drinking water, were obstructed from freely articulating evidence by the CCD officers, who kept disturbing them with murmurs.

Weliweriya victims recount and relive night of horror at Magisterial inquiry

Victims of last month’s Army shooting and assault in Weliweriya, this week relived their nightlong horror at a Magisterial inquiry.
They recounted their nightmare caught up in the crossfire and also the assaults they were subject to when they took refuge inside the Catholic church.

Policemen bring to courts weapons that were used by soldiers on the day of the attack. Pix by Indika Handuwala

Weliweriya Killings: BASL wants Army probe scrapped

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has expressed strong opposition to the investigations conducted by the Army into the Weliweriya incident on 1 August, where three persons were killed.
They also requested Gampaha Chief Magistrate, Tikiri Jayatilleke, to call off all investigations conducted by the Army, alleging that they are in the blame for the three deaths.

Law professor and Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris says killing 3 peaceful protestors is part and parcel of life

Weliweriya, part and parcel of life in SL?
Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs who also (to the eternal shame of his students) was a professor of law and a past Vice Chancellor of the Colombo University surpassed himself last week by his nonchalant announcement that the ‘Weliweriya incidents’ were ‘part and parcel of life’ (see Financial Times, August 8th 2013).

Sri Lanka army intimidates media over shooting, says rights group

A Sri Lankan media rights group on Sunday accused the military of intimidating journalists who reported a deadly army crackdown on villagers protesting at contaminated water supplies.
The army has been come under pressure after soldiers fired on unarmed locals on August 1 in a village outside Colombo, killing three, as they protested against a factory which they say polluted their ground water.

Sri Lankan opposition activists protest military's killing of 3 civilian protesters

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Opposition and human rights activists in Sri Lanka demonstrated Wednesday to demand that the government punish those responsible for the military's killing of three civilians during a recent protest seeking clean drinking water.

Sri Lanka: Canada urges swift investigation into Grandpass and Weliweriya incidents

Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, today issued a statement on the incidents at Grandpass Mosque and Weliweriya protests in Sri Lanka.
“Canada expresses concern over the attack on Grandpass Mosque in Grandpass, Sri Lanka, on August 10, 2013.

European Union concerned over unrest in Sri Lanka

(Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has joined the U.S. in raising concerns over Sri Lanka's political and religious rights after three people were killed in an army shooting and a Buddhist mob attacked a mosque, the bloc said in a statement on Wednesday.

Weliweriya – It is also about service delivery, stupid

On 1 August, a group of innocent citizens demanding water fit for human consumption ended up paying the price for demanding a service – access to clean drinking water.   Three youngsters paid with their lives in the most unfortunate manner and 33 were injured. All because, unarmed but angry, they demanded from the authorities, for a better service delivery. Much has been said and written about the 'Weliweriya incident.' Most of it has been critical accounts on the conduct of the military in quelling a peaceful protest. There had been public outrage at what happened but finally, it turned out to be a double whammy for the innocent citizen in Rathupaswala in Weliweriya.

Why no apology over civilians killed in North and East?

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna District Parliamentarian and Spokesperson, Suresh K. Premachandran, who yesterday lauded Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa, for apologizing for the death of three civilians in Weliweriya, has questioned as to why the minister or his government hesitate to extend an apology to the killing of thousands of innocent civilians in the North and East.

Just as we are United in our Grief Over Weliweriya we Must be United in our Struggle against Tyranny-Sumanthiran MP

‘I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent’. – Mahatma Gandhi
Grief is the inevitable consequence of violence. The tragic and inexcusable events of Weliweriya have left its residents with unimaginable grief. Akila Dinesh Jayawardena was a 17-year-old student of Chandrajothi Vidhyalaya, Yakkala. He was killed by a soldier’s bullet as he inched through protesters searching for his mother.

Release the police from their political prison - Editorial, Sunday Times

Seers predict that in the future, like in the past, wars will be fought over water. For water is life. In ancient times, the Buddha had to engage in conflict resolution time and again between the many clans in northern India over water issues. Once, he told the Litcchavi clan how to settle a dispute by meeting peacefully, discussing peacefully, and dispersing peacefully.

Flinging the gauntlet down to the Sinhala people

Shoot to kill - real life army drill at Weliweriya

Kishali Pinto Jayawardena
As the full facts of the mayhem at Weliweriya came to light this week, the brutalities inflicted by the army on protestors and bystanders caught in the melee, was horrifyingly inevitable. It was a natural culmination of all that we had allowed to happen in the preceding years through clear complicity in applauding a Government bloated with arrogance and through equally clear omission coupled with a blind refusal to acknowledge the monster for what it has become.