Sri Lankan Prime Minister D. M. Jayratne told in Parliament while motion extending emergency regulations that the Government has taken measures to confiscate all assets of the defeated terror outfit the LTTE in the future.
He further said that these assets included houses, plots of land and business establishments that were run by the LTTE in Colombo and the suburbs. Information about the assets of the LTTE in Colombo and the suburbs are being divulged by LTTE cadres who have been arrested.
In the meantime the security forces have arrested 723 LTTE cadres from IDP centres during the last month. “Altogether 765 have been arrested under the Public Security Ordinance and another 74 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act” PM told Parliament.
The Prime Minister citing the reasons for extending the emergency stated that the pro-LTTE International Organizations are attempting to give a boost to the LTTE. The Government of Canada very recently banned an NGO that supported the LTTE. Another person in South India was also imprisoned for one year after continuing to support the LTTE.
The Emergency was extended by another month in parliament on Tuesday with 120 members voting for and 38 against. The UNP and JVP voted against the extension and accused the government of using the emergency laws to stifle political dissent.
Mean while Amnesty International issued a statement on Wednesday about displeasure for extending emergency regulations. "The decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka ended more than a year ago, but emergency powers are still in place, sending the wrong message", Amnesty International said.
However, Rajiva Wijesinha, a member of parliament, defended the state of emergency, saying the government had maintained such measures since its defeat of the Tigers in May 2009 because of the concern that former cadres might "reactivate" with support from abroad.
Wijesinha said that while Amnesty's accusations were unwarranted, he recognized room for improvement. "We are aware that torture and other violations do occur, which is why we are trying to improve training for the police, as was done consistently with the army."
Expectations for reconciliation and rehabilitation are strong since fighting ended.
The Sri Lankan government has set up a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate events in the final years of the civil war, from February 2002 to May 2009.
The Panel appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to advise him on matters relating to Sri Lanka is compiling a list of Sri Lankan officials who will be approached in order to gather information to compile a report, UN sources said.
When asked if detained former Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka is among those likely to be approached, the UN source refused to commit to a response but added that his name 'may be' included after the General himself publicly announced that he is prepared to meet the Expert Panel.
The panel is yet to name the Sri Lankan officials who are likely to be approached and although the Sri Lankan government has already said that visas will not be given to the panel members to visit Sri Lanka to carry out their work, there is a possibility that the information will be collected over the telephone.
Meanwhile speaking from New York, the UN's Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haqq said that the three member panel had already held its first meeting in New York and are expected to meet again early this month.
A UPFA delegation is set to sit down for another round of talks early this week with a UNP delegation headed by Ranil Wickremasinghe on the issue of constitutional reforms.
The UNP leader who undertook an official tour of India last week returned home July 30th and talks between the two delegations are likely to get underway soon.
The UPFA and the UNP leaders hope to discuss at length the topics of the introduction of executive premiership, the implementation of the 17th amendment to the constitution and the overhauling of the election system.
A team of US government officials headed by Assistant Trade representative for South AsiaMichael Delaney arrived in Colombo and met members of the Sri Lankan government, private and public sector employers and trade unions to discuss workers' rights in the country. The delegation's visit is in response to an appeal by one of America's largest association of trade unions, alleging that Sri Lanka did not comply with international labour norms and therefore US trade concessions to it should be stopped.
Last month the US government had announced it had received a petition filed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO) which called for Sri Lanka's removal from the list of beneficiaries from the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme. Sri Lanka is the 14th largest user of the US GSP programme among developing countries and according to US government, it “benefitted by an approximately $116 million worth of goods” under the US GSP system in 2009.
The American President is mandated by the US Congress to review the GSP programme on a yearly basis and the American public can make submissions in this regard.
The US government is also expected to hold a public hearing on the subject in Washington DC on August 11. It is not clear yet whether members of Sri Lanka's inter-ministerial committee would send its representatives to the hearing or would have Sri Lankan ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, appear on Colombo's behalf. Sources in Sri Lanka's Labour Ministry indicate that given the legal and technical aspects of the issues involved, it is likely that Sri Lankan government representatives would be sent from Colombo.
At a press conference at the American Centre in Colombo on July 21, the US junior assistant secretary of state Robert Blake had said the US GSP would “remain in effect for Sri Lanka,” while the American process of looking into workers' rights was under way.
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