SUB-Commission on
promotion and protection of Human Rights
An
Appeal to
The
United Nations
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights
52
Session / Sesione / Sesion
31
July 2000 18 August 2000
CONTENTS
Appeal
4
UN Secretary General Mr. Koffi Anna’s recent
statements on Sri Lanka 7
Recent United
Nations Reports on Sri Lanka
1. Report
of the Special Rapporteur of Independence judges and awyers 8
2. Report of
the Working group on Enforced or Involuntary isappearances 11
Sri Lanka still has the 2nd
highest number of disappearances TCHR 14
3. Report of
the Special Rapporteur of Freedom of expression 15
4. Report of
the Special Rapporteur of Disappearances and Summary Executions 16
5. Report of
the Special Rapporteur of Torture and detention 18
6. Committee
Against Torture (53rd session) 23
7. Report of
the Special Rapporteur of Religious Intolerance 24
8. Press
release of Special Rapporteur against violence against women
Assassination
of Kumar Ponnambalam
Special
Rapporteur’s communication 25
Kumar’s assassins
protected by politician 26
Are
politicians involved in assassination kept hidden? 28
Identification
Parade 29
Economic, social and cultural rights
Education 30
Health 31
Food 32
Freedom of Expression
EU sponsored
seminar questioned 34
Draconian
measures against printing presses
Newspapers
shut down
Arbitrary arrests
and killings including those related to disappearances
Arbitrary
arrest / detention / torture 35
Arbitrary
killing 38
Sri Lanka Navy
officer committed War Crime 40
Chemani mass
grave
42 skeltons
discovered
500 civilian
casualties 41
Rights of the
child
Right to life denied 42
Children
assaulted in custody
Rape of children by police and army
Embargo starves children
Violence
against women
Police
force into women’s homes 43
Woman
raped
Young
mother killed
Seven
soldiers allegedly raped Ida Hamilitta
Population
displacements and asylum seekers
Refugees in Europe and other Western
countries 44
Civilian
evacuation failed
Country Situation
Norway Embassy bombed 47
ICRC, UNHCR urged over ceasefire
Sri Lanka rejected cease-fire offer 48
TCHR summary
(names, dates, place of incidents, etc)
Arbitrary arrest / Detention 00
Extra judicial killings / Summary
executions 00
Enforced or involuntary
disappearances 00
Rape / Torture and others 00
ANNEXES :
TCHR letter to the Chairman of Human
Rights Commission 49
Sri Lankan Govt decision
shuts door on talks 50
Bishop’s appeal to foreign missions in Colombo 51
31
July 2000
The Chairperson
Members of the Sub-Commission on
Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights
52nd Session
United Nations
Geneva
Switzerland
Honoured
Sirs / Mesdames
We,
the Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR, herewith submit our appeal with our summary
report on arrests, arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, rape, torture
etc which clearly records the deterioraaing human rights situation in Sri
Lanka.
The
UN Secretary-General has called for the new century to be the century of
prevention. The sensitivity of our reports, based on past incidents, calls for
all possible preventive measures to be urgently taken by the UN Human Rights
forums. The Human Rights situation in
Sri Lanka is far from improving, in fact it is deteriorating, therefore the UN
Human Rights mechanisms are crucial.
Sir/Mesdames,
the latest reports of the UN Special rapporteurs and the Working groups
(included in this appeal) and the statements by the NGOs to the last Commission
on Human Rights clearly indicate that there is imminent danger in Sri Lanka!
It
is crystal clear that Sri Lanka does not reply to many of the communications by
the UN Special rapporteurs and the Working groups. However, this lack of
response even combined with Sri Lanka’s hard lobby within the United Nations
cannot hide certain facts. Sri Lanka still ranks the 2nd highest number
(12,113) of disappearances compared to other countries in the world. It is
noteworthy that Sri Lanka was the only country the Working Group on
Disappearances_visited three times (1991, 1992 and 1999) since the Group came
into existence in 1980.
It
is well known that Sri Lanka is one of the poorest countries in the world. It
is less widely known that the major part of the Tamil living areas have been
under an Economic embargo for over ten years. According to International NGOs
and the Specialised organisations - health, education, housing, etc are
under-going extreme and severe conditions. No Food, No Medicine, aerial bombing
and shelling on civilian targets continue to kill innocent people on a mass
scale and destroy civilians’ housing including a home for the aged, religious
places and schools. Despite all this, the North East of Sri Lanka has become
the dump yard and testing ground for modern and sophisticated weapons. In recent days, many countries have given
large quantities of arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka, where people live in
extreme poverty.
As
far as Human rights defenders are concerned, from Late Mr. Richard de Zoysa -
Journalist to Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam, assassinations were carried out by SO CALLED UNKNOWN gunmen. Mr.
Ponnambalam - a leading lawyer and a good friend of our organisation was
assassinated on 5 January this year - soon after he returned from attending
conferences and seminars held at various world bodies in Europe, and in other
continents, including the 55th session of the Commission on Human Rights.
According to media reports - the killers of Kumar Ponnambalam are well
protected and the investigations are manipulated and witnesses misled by the Sri
Lankan Police. The President Chandrika Kumaratunga is the Commander-in-Chief of
the security forces in Sri Lanka.
In
a report (E/CN.4/2000/12) submitted to the 56th Session of the Commission on
Human Rights - the High Commissioner for Human Rights sadly recalled that the
former Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial and Summary or Arbitrary
Executions, warned in his 1993 report that the situation in Rwanda had
deteriorated to such an extent as to raise the distinct possibility that
genocidal acts would take place, but this warning issued well in time, went
unheeded. Action was not taken in response to the early warning. The same
Special Rapporteur visited Sri Lanka from 24 August to 5 September 1997 and
submitted a report, (E/CN.4/1998/Add.2), the warnings of which, go unheeded!
We, in TCHR, have repeatedly
mentioned as an early warning, the on-going systematic cultural genocide and
massive and gross violations of fundamental human rights of the Tamil people in
Sri Lanka, in particular the right to life. The failure of early contact and
early action by these august forums will certainly lead to repetition of the
failure of the UN’s preventive techniques regarding genocide, as in Rwanda,
Cambodia and Former Yugoslavia.
Sirs/Mesdames,
it is true that Sri Lanka has become party to the optional protocol in the
recent past. This does not mean that all human rights violations in Sri Lanka
will be addressed through this procedure. The UN VIPs have reminded us that "Naming and Shaming" is one
of the preventive techniques of violations of human rights. Therefore, the
appeals, reports, joint-statements, interventions, written statements, and so
on to the UN Human rights forums are very important. TCHR will continue this arduous task at any cost.
We
would like to inform the delegates and members of the UN Human Rights forums
that the Sri Lankan government’s invitation to certain NGOs and other VIPs to
visit Sri Lanka in the name of human rights missions / seminars etc will not
produce any independent facts on the situation in Sri Lanka nor will such
invitations help to improve the human rights situation! Instead, these visits
will certainly help to strengthen the propaganda of the Sri Lanka mission in
New York, Geneva and other places rather than enabling the fact finders to
present their own observations and analysis.
The last visit of the Working
Group on Disappearances was a typical example of how this visit was used in the
56th session (CHR) by the Sri Lankan government for their propaganda purpose!
As
far as propaganda is concerned, nowadays, Colombo has adopted a policy of
entering gradually and imperceptibly into the arena of high level people from
the International Community. Through these contacts, they feel that propaganda
can be conveyed more powerfully than they can do by themselves!
We
take this opportunity to remind the Honourable members of the Sub-Commission
that the National Commission on Human Rights of Sri Lanka is not an independent
body. It is totally dependent on the Government and they are not allowed to
function as an independent body, by the Security forces. They investigate also
the violations, which took place during the period of the earlier government
until 1994!
The
recent statement by the UN Secretary General, the reports of the Special rapporteurs
and Working groups, visits by Human Rights organisations and personnel
(although the fact finding visits to Sri Lanka fail to get unhindered access to
North East), urgent appeals of the International NGOs and specialised agencies
and finally, the massive import of arms and ammunitions to Sri Lanka have all
proved that the question of human rights in Sri Lanka, has characteristic which
preclude from the claim that it is an "internal affair".
We
kindly appeal to all human rights forums to apply the preventive techniques in
time. We are sure, as no doubt you are too, that "Prevention is better
than cure".
We
urge you, the distinguished Chair and yourselves, distinguished members of the
Sub-Commission, to seriously take our appeal into your kind consideration, to
reflect on it as a call for action to be taken to prevent further gross and
systematic violations and genocidal acts. We believe that the Sub-Commission on
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights has the capacity to express the noble
values and aspirations in favour of human rights, therefore we appeal to you
from the depths of our hearts to take action.
Thanking
you,
S. V. Kirubaharan
General
Secretary - TCHR
UN SECRETARY GENERAL CONCERNED IN SRI LANKA
(Press Release - SG/SM/7385 - 9 May 2000)
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY ESCALATION OF FIGHTING IN SRI LANKA,
APPEALS TO ALL PARTIES TO AVOID PLACING CIVILIAN LIVES AT RISK
The following statement was
issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General is
concerned about the possible humanitarian consequences of the recent escalation
of fighting in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians are in danger of being
displaced. He appeals to all parties to avoid placing the lives of civilians at
risk, and to ensure humanitarian access to all in need.
The Secretary-General strongly believes that a political solution
is necessary to the conflict in Sri Lanka. He welcomes the offer by the
Government of Norway to facilitate such a solution.
Statement
issued by the Spokesman for Mr. Kofi Annan
(Press
Release - SG/SM/7416 24 May 2000)
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL, CONCERNED OVER FIGHTING ON SRI LANKA’S JAFFNA
PENINSULA, WELCOMES PEACE EFFORTS BY NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT DELEGATION
The
following statement was issued this evening by the Spokesman for
Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The
Secretary-General is concerned that the fighting on the Jaffna peninsula in Sri
Lanka continues unabated. As a result, tens of thousands of civilians have already
been displaced. The Secretary-General again appeals to all concerned to ensure
that civilians will not be the victims of this conflict and that humanitarian
workers will have safe and unimpeded access to all in need. He also wishes to
reiterate his unequivocal condemnation of all acts of terrorism, including
those that have frequently occurred in Sri Lanka.
The Secretary-General notes that a
delegation from the Government of Norway is currently visiting Sri Lanka and
the region. A political solution is needed to bring this conflict to an end,
and the Secretary-General welcomes the Norwegian peace efforts.
THE QUESTIONS OF INDEPENDENCE OF
THE JUDICIARY, ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, IMPUNITY
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Param Cumaraswamy, submitted in
accordance with Commission resolution 1999/31
(E/CN.4/2000/61 - 21 February
2000 )
Sri Lanka
Communication
to the Government
247. On
9 December 1998, the Special Rapporteur sent a letter to the
Government concerning the case of Kumar Ponnambalam, a well‑known
defence lawyer and General Secretary of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress. It was reported that there had been a
widespread and well‑publicized call by Sri Lankan newspapers that
Mr. Ponnambalam should be taken into custody and charged with criminal
defamation of the President and with supporting the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The
source claimed that the calls for his arrest were based upon his work as a
criminal defence lawyer and for speeches or statements he had made before
various international bodies concerning the human rights situation in
Sri Lanka. Fears were expressed
that Mr. Ponnambalam would be arrested upon his return to Colombo on
25 December.
248. On
18 May 1999, the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal to
the Government concerning further developments in the country and in
particular the case of. Percy Wijesiriwardenn, a Grade 1 Judicial
Officer. According to the information
provided, Mr. Wijesiriwardene was removed from office by the Judicial and
Legal Service Commission without being accorded due process and in particular
without being shown the charges against him.
Furthermore, it was reported that Mr. Wijesiriwardene had been
intimidated into submitting a letter seeking retirement. Mr. Wijesiriwardene’s petition to the
Supreme Court for leave to challenge the removal on the grounds of breach of
his fundamental rights pursuant to articles 12 (1) and
14 (1) (g) of the Constitution was dismissed without any reason
given.
249. The
Special Rapporteur also requested an invitation from the Government to carry
out an in situ mission to Sri Lanka to study matters relating
to the independence of the judiciary and the independence of lawyers, including
the role and impartiality of prosecutors.
250. On
22 June 1999, the Special Rapporteur transmitted a letter to the
Government concerning an incident at Ratnapura Magistrate’s Court. It was reported that on
19 May 1999 the Magistrate of Ratnapura was threatened, insulted and
humiliated by an unruly mob for having performed his lawful judicial
function. Though the Minister for
Justice had condemned the action of the mob, the alleged incident was of
concern.
251. On
13 September 1999, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to
the Government concerning information he had received regarding the appointment
of a new Chief Justice. According to
the information provided, the Chief Justice was retiring and a controversy had
arisen over the appointment of his successor.
The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that his attention had
been drawn to the fact that, save in a very few cases, the general practice had
always been to appoint the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court as Chief
Justice. However, he was informed that
the Government was considering appointing the current Attorney‑General to
the post who, although he had been a Supreme Court judge when he was appointed
Attornny‑General, was the most junior of the judges. His attention had also been drawn to
two petitions before the Supreme Court to strike the Attorney‑General
off the rolls of advocates for misconduct.
252. On 28 October 1999, the Special
Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government concerning the criminal
prosecution of Jayalath Jayawardena, a member of Parliament, whose trial
had been postponed several times since it began on 30 May 1997 at the
behest of the prosecution for flimsy reasons, very often for the non‑availability/absence
of counsel for the prosecution. International
foreign observers had been present in court to observe the trial on several
occasions and the postponements had been costly in terms of effort, time and
expense. The trial was called for
hearing once again on 14 October 1999, when all the witnesses were
present, but prosecuting counsel was not present for “personal reasons”. The court once again postponed the trial
until 11 November 1999. It
was also alleged that the trial is politically motivated and the postponements
were orchestrated by the Government to frustrate international observers.
Communications
from the Government
253. On
26 January 1999, the Government sent a letter to the Special
Rapporteur in reply to his letter of 9 December 1998. The Government informed the Special
Rapporteur, inter alia, that Mr. Ponnambalam had reportedly
made a public statement on national television that he was a supporter of a
well‑known terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The LTTE is banned in Sri Lanka. In view of the statement, the law enforcement authorities were
obliged to carry out investigations as to the nature of Mr. Ponnambalam’s
support. There was no prior decision to
arrest Mr.Ponnambalam. Action would be
taken to conduct an inquiry to ascertain the facts and if any wrongdoing is
discovered appropriate legal proceedings would be instituted. Like any other citizen of Sri Lanka,
Mr. Ponnambalam can challenge these legal proceedings, if and when they
are instituted, in the courts, in particular in the Supreme Court, which has
jurisdiction over fundamental rights in accordance with the Constitution of the
country and the International Covenants on Human Rights.
254. On 7 July 1999, the Government
sent a letter to the Special Rapporteur in reply to his letter of
18 May 1999. In view of the
confidentiality of the material disclosed in this communication and the request
of the Government for confidentiality, the Special Rapporteur will limit
himself to a very short summary of the communication, which stated that the
Commission which was chaired by the Chief Justice did communicate the
allegation to Mr. Wijesiriwardena.
The allegations were quite serious in nature. Because of the seriousness, and rather than face disciplinary
proceedings, Mr. Wijesiriwardena agreed to take early retirement. There was no pressure exerted on him by the
Commission.
255. On 29 October 1999, the
Permanent Mission acknowledged receipt of the letter of the Special Rapporteur
of 28 October 1999. The
contents of the communication had been transmitted to the authorities concerned
in Sri Lanka for clarification.
256. On
19 November 1999, the Government sent a letter to the Special
Rapporteur in reply to his letter of 13 September 1999. The Government, inter alia, drew the attention of the Special
Rapporteur to article 107 (1) of the Constitution, which provides, inter alia,
that the Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President of the
Republic. The Honourable Sarath N.
Silva, Attorney‑General of Sri Lanka, was appointed Chief Justice in
accordance with the above provision on 16 September 1999.
Observations
257. The Special Rapporteur notes with great
concern the assassination of Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam on
5 January 2000. The Special
Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government in regard to this
assassination.
258. With
regard to the case of Mr. Wijesiriwardena, having read the Government’s
response, the Special Rapporteur considers that being a judicial officer with
some experience, Mr. Wijesiriwardena ought to have appreciated the implications
of his agreement to take early retirement rather than face disciplinary
proceedings.
259. With
regard to the appointment of the Attorney‑General as Chief Justice, as
the appointment is now being challenged before the Supreme Court which will
continue its hearings on 7 and 8 February 2000, the Special
Rapporteur has decided not to disclose the full text of the Government’s
response to his communication. He also
reserves his observations on this issue in view of the proceedings before the
Supreme Court.
THE
QUESTIONS OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY, ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE,
IMPUNITY
Report of the
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers,
Mr. Param
Cumaraswamy, submitted in accordance with
Commission resolution 1999/31
(E/CN.4/2000/61/Add.2- 24
March 2000)
Addendum
Sri Lanka
1. In
paragraphs 252 and 255 of his main report (E/CN.4/2000/61), the Special Rapporteur
referred to his communication of 28 October 1999 to the Government of Sri Lanka
concerning the criminal prosecution of Jayalath Jayawardena and the
Government’s acknowledgement, dated 29 October, of receipt of the same
communication.
2. Since
the completion and submission of the main report, the Special Rapporteur
received a communication dated 3 February 2000 from the Government in response
to the points raised in the communication of 28 October 1999.
3. The
Government refuted the allegations that the trial had been postponed several
times at the behest of the prosecution for unsubstantial reasons and
orchestrated by the Government to frustrate international observers. It explained as follows:
(a) The request for postponement on 14
October 1999 was due to a genuine personal difficulty, which arose on the
morning of the trial date as a result of persistent torrential rains. The Prosecuting Counsel was in fact prepared
to conduct the trial;
(b) When it became apparent that he would not
be able to proceed to work that morning, immediate steps were taken to inform
the Senior Defence Counsel about the difficulty. Further, the Permanent State Counsel was instructed to obtain
early dates in November, which he did;
(c) Consequently, there is nothing to
indicate that the Prosecuting Counsel acted other than with a sense of
responsibility in the circumstances;
(d) It should be reiterated that questions of
impartiality and fairness cannot arise when an application for postponement is
made on the basis of a genuine personal difficulty. The presence of international observers at the trial is
welcome. However, it does not have any
negative effect on the manner in which the trial is conducted by the
prosecution. International observers
should be assured that the postponements are in no way connected to their presence at the trial. There has been no request made to the
Attorney-General to inform international observers regarding postponements,
which could be anticipated in advance.
Such a request could be
accommodated, if made;
(e) The trial was taken up on 11 and 30
November and the evidence of all the witnesses who were summoned on those two
days was taken and concluded;
(f) Further trial was fixed for 21 January
and 10 February this year. On
21 January, none of the witnesses were available. It was later found upon inquiries being made
that the summons had been sent for 10 February only and not 21 January, owing
to a mistake on the part of the court staff.
4. In
paragraph 259, the Special Rapporteur observed that the appointment of the
Chief Justice was being challenged before the Supreme Court and that
hearing would be continued on 7 and 8 February 2000. The Special Rapporteur has since been
informed that in view of certain preliminary objections taken by the
petitioners’ counsel, the Court has further adjourned hearing to 26 and 27 June
2000.
QUESTIONS OF DISAPPEARANCES AND SUMMARY EXECUTIONS
Report of the Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances
(E/CN.4/2000/64 - 21 December
1999)
Sri Lanka
84. The Working Group transmitted seven
newly reported cases, two of which occurred in 1999. All the cases were sent
under the urgent action procedure. During the same period, the Working Group
clarified the two cases that reportedly occurred in 1999 on the basis of
information submitted by the source according to which the persons concerned
were released after 39 days of unacknowledged detention in the People's
Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) camp at Kovilkulam Junction.
85. Five of the newly reported cases
concerned displaced persons residing at the Veppankulam camp in Vavuniya
district who were abducted by members of an armed Tamil group opposed to the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, allegedly acting with the acquiescence of the
security forces. Local investigations have so far given no indication as to
their whereabouts.
86. At the invitation of the Government
of Sri Lanka, a member of the Working Group, Mr. Manfred Nowak, and the Working
Group's Acting Secretary visited Sri Lanka from 25 to 29 October 1999. The
report on the visit is contained in addendum 1 to the present report.
Visit
to Sri Lanka by a member of the Working Group
on
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
(25-29
October 1999)
(
Extracted from addendum - E/CN.4/2000/64/Add.1
- 21
December 1999)
Introduction
1. Since
the establishment of the Working Group in 1980, 12,258 cases of
disappearance alleged to have occurred in Sri Lanka have been reported to
the Working Group. The cases occurred
in the context of two major sources of conflict in that country: the confrontation of Tamil separatist
militants and government forces in the north and north‑east of the country,
and the confrontation between the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) and the
government forces in the south.
The cases reported to have occurred between 1987 and 1990 (145
cases in 1987; 182 cases in 1988; 5,027 cases in 1989 and 4,777
in 1990) took place mostly in the Southern and Central Provinces of the
country, during a period in which both security forces and the JVP resorted to
the use of extreme violence in the contest for State power. In July 1989, the conflict in the south
took a particularly violent turn when JVP adopted even more radical tactics,
including enforced work stoppages, intimidation and assassination, as well as
targeting family members of the police and army. To thwart the JVP military offensive, the State launched a
generalized counter‑insurgency campaign and the armed forces and the
police appear to have been given wide latitude to eliminate the rebel movement
and restore law and order in any way they saw fit. By the end of 1989, the armed forces had put down the
revolt.
4.
The first
visit to Sri Lanka took place from 7 to 17 October 1991 and was
carried out by three members of the Working Group, Mr. Agha Hilaly, Mr. Jonas
Foli and Mr. Toine van Dongen.
Their report (E/CN.4/1992/18/Add.1) was presented to the Commission on
Human Rights at its forty-eighth session.
The same members of the Working Group undertook a second visit from 5 to 15 October 1992 for the purpose, inter alia,
of evaluating the progress of the implementation of its recommendations
formulated in 1991. Their report was
submitted to the Commission at its fiftieth session (E/CN.4/1993/25/Add.1).
5.
The purpose of
its third visit was two fold:
to follow up on the recommendations made by the Working Group during its
visits in 1991 and 1992 and to identify efforts taken to minimize and resolve
the problem of enforced or involuntary disappearances, as well as to follow up
on the latest developments. The Working
Group was represented by one of its members, Mr. Manfred Nowak, and
by its Acting Secretary. The visit took place from 25 to
29 October 1999.
15. The
three regional Presidential Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or
Disappearance of Persons set up in November 1994 submitted their reports to the
President of the Republic on 3 September 1997.
The Commissions investigated a total of 27,526 complaints and found
evidence of disappearance in 16,742 cases.
A further 10,135 complaints submitted to the Commissions by relatives
and witnesses remained to be investigated by the present (fourth) Presidential
Commission of Inquiry. They relate to
6,517 cases of disappearance and include complaints of disappearances alleged
to have occurred in war zones like Wanni, Puliyankulam or the east of
Ampakaman, which are of difficult access.
The Chairperson of the present Commission of Inquiry informed the
Working Group that out of these 6,517 remaining cases of disappearance, the
Commission only considers 4,052 cases to be “proven”. Apart from only very few disappeared persons who were found
alive, all of the more than 20,000 persons established by the four Commissions
as disappeared are considered to be dead.
More than 15,000 death certificates have already been issued in
accordance with temporary legislation (see below, para. 52)
17. All four Commissions were authorized only
to investigate cases of disappearances, which occurred under the former Government. Although the rate of disappearances
increased again significantly during 1995 and 1996, no Presidential Commission
of Inquiry was established in relation to these cases.
21. On
11 August 1998, the Commission submitted its first Annual Report, which covers
the period from 17 March 1997 to 30 March 1998, to Parliament. The report has, however, not yet been made
available to the general public. According to this report, the Commission
has received a total of 4,350 complaints, has visited 1,240 police stations and
291 detention camps where it was in contact with a total of 3,444 detainees
most of whom (3,325) were of Tamil ethnic origin. It investigated 842 cases of missing persons and traced 219 of
them. In Vavuniya, out of 142 cases,
104 persons have been traced. In
Jaffna, 16 persons were traced out a total of 325 cases. In Batticaloa 62 persons were traced out of
a total of 204 cases and in Colombo, out of 76 cases, 16 persons were
traced. The Human Rights Commission
could, however, not indicate whether any of the disappeared persons reported to
the Government of Sri Lanka by the United Nations Working Group were among
those traced by it.
22. During the period between August 1998 and
September 1999, the Human Rights Commission received 1,852 complaints against
members of the armed forces and the police.
A total of 1,122 persons were reported missing during this period of
whom the Human Rights Commission could actually trace 648, i.e. more than half. In Vavuniya, 251 out of 497 missing persons
were traced, in Batticaloa, 274 out of 285.
Again, the Working Group was not able to check whether any of the
disappeared persons on its list were traced by the Human Rights Commission.
24.
Members of the Human Rights Commission also informed the
Working Group that a total of 932 visits to police stations and 380 visits to
detention camps had been carried out from January 1999 to September 1999;
2,315 detainees were visited, including 520 in Vavuniya, 476 in Jaffna,
462 in Anuradhapura and 202 in Batticaloa, of whom 2,179 were of Tamil ethnic
origin.
C. Prosecution
of those responsible for disappearances (E/CN.4 1992/18/Add.1, para. 204
(g))
34. With
respect to criminal action against perpetrators of enforced disappearances, the
three Presidential Commissions of Inquiry mentioned above (paras. 7 and 15)
played a crucial role. They established
evidence concerning 16,742 cases of disappearance and identified, in their
final reports of September 1997, suspected perpetrators in relation to 3,861
cases of disappearance which had occurred under the former Government. On the basis of this evidence the Inspector
General of Police in December 1997 established a special Disappearance
Investigation Unit. In relation to the
3,861 cases of disappearance, police investigations against 1,560 suspected
perpetrators members of the police and the armed forces were initiated.
36. With
respect to the disappearances which occurred during the present Government, the
Board of Investigation into Disappearances in Jaffna Peninsula in its report of
9 March 1998 (see above, para. 19) identified 21 cases of
disappearance where “evidence has revealed sufficient facts to justify further
inquiries by the police with a view to pursuing legal action against offenders”. In another 134 cases of disappearance the
Board of Investigation found sufficient evidence of criminal acts but could not identify the alleged
perpetrators. It recommended
further inquiries by the Service Commanders to identify the offenders. According to information provided to the
mission by the Secretary of Defence, the first indictments will be issued in a
few weeks.
37. In spite of
these efforts to investigate cases of enforced disappearance and to bring the
perpetrators to justice, family members of disappeared persons and
representatives of non‑governmental organizations complained that many of
the persons who were identified as suspected perpetrators by the three
Presidential Commissions of Inquiry continued to serve in their posts or have
even been promoted. A person quite
often named in this respect is the former Deputy Inspector General of Police,
Premadasa Udugampola.
G. Revision of the Prevention of Terrorism
Act and Emergency Regulations (E/CN.4/1992/18/Add.1, paras.204 (e)
and E/CN.4/1993/25/Add.1, para.146
(a))
50.
The Working Group recommended that
the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations currently in
force be brought into line with accepted international standards regarding due
process of law and treatment of prisoners.
The mission was informed that the Government had not made any amendment
to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and that the review of the Emergency
Regulations had been limited to the reduction to 21 days of the maximum period
of detention in areas outside the north and east of the country, and to 60 days
in the north and east.
51. Non-governmental organizations continue to claim that PTA and the Emergency Regulations, above all regulation 17, are the main reason for the continuation of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances. They therefore call for the immediate abolition of these laws.
III. CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
56. With respect to disappearances which occurred
during the late 1980s and early 1990s, in particular the JVP-related cases of
1989 and 1990 in the south of the country, almost 40,000 complaints have been
investigated and more than 20,000 cases of enforced disappearances have been
established by the four Presidential Commissions of Inquiry. On the basis of special temporary
legislation, more than 15,000 death certificates have been issued and
compensation has been paid to more than 12,000 families of disappeared
persons. In almost 4,000 cases, suspected
perpetrators were identified, criminal proceedings were instituted against some
500 members of the police and the armed forces, and some of the accused
have been convicted and sentenced by the courts. Others have been subjected to disciplinary sanctions.
59.
The Working Group also welcomes the recent establishment of
a special Unit in the Rehabilitation of Persons, Properties and Industries
Authority (REPPIA) with the specific task of establishing a database on disappearances
in response to the cases transmitted by the Working Group to the Government of
Sri Lanka and with the explicit aim of clarifying these cases on the basis of
presumption of death, the payment of compensation to the families and other
means of establishing the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons. This
Unit claims that it has clarified 4,010 of the roughly 12,000 cases submitted
by the Working Group (2,761 of which on the basis of death certificates) but
the Working Group has not yet been in a position to examine this information on
a case-by-case basis.
61. Non-governmental
organizations also rightly claim that the present Government has not done
enough to investigate disappearances which occurred after it took office and to
prevent disappearances in the future.
Whereas disappearances under the former Government were investigated by
four independent Presidential Commissions of Inquiry whose findings were in
principle made available to the public, the more recent cases were only investigated
by a non‑independent and confidential Board within the Ministry of
Defence. The Human Rights Commission,
which in principle could play an important role in investigating and preventing
disappearances, seems to lack the necessary authority, political and financial
support to carry out this task in an efficient manner.
62. As far as prevention is concerned, many
of the earlier recommendations of the Working Group have not been
implemented. First of all, the
Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations, which are rightly
considered as the main reason for the continuation, albeit on a much less
severe level, of enforced disappearances, have not been abolished or brought
into line with internationally accepted standards of human rights. Secondly, no central register of detainees
was set up. Thirdly, the safeguards for
the prevention of arbitrary arrests, and in particular the legal obligation to
immediately inform the Human Rights Commission of arrests and detentions, seem
not to be widely known by the law enforcement bodies and are often disregarded
in practice.
63. In conclusion, the Working Group
addresses the following recommendations to the Government of Sri Lanka:
(a) The Government should establish an
independent body with the task of investigating all cases of disappearance
which occurred since 1995 and identifying the perpetrators;
(b) The Government should speed up its
efforts to bring the perpetrators of enforced disappearances, whether
committed under the former or the present Government, to justice. The Attorney-General or another independent
authority should be empowered to investigate and indict suspected perpetrators
of enforced disappearances irrespective of the outcome of investigations by the
police;
(d) The Prevention of Terrorism Act and the
Emergency Regulations currently in force should be abolished or otherwise
brought into line with internationally accepted standards of personal liberty,
due process of law and humane treatment of prisoners;
(e) Any
person deprived of liberty should be held only in an officially recognized place of detention as stipulated in article
10 (1) of the Declaration. All
unofficial places of detention, in particular those established by paramilitary
organizations fighting alongside the Security Forces, such as PLOTE and TELO,
should immediately be dissolved;
(Extracted from Ref: CH/01/04 (CHR 56)
- 7 April 2000)
2- According
to the Working group on disappearances, Sri Lanka has 12,258 disappearances and
this is the second highest number compared to other countries.
3- Sri
Lanka was the ONLY country where the Working group on disappearances has
visited THREE TIMES!
4- When
the working group on disappearances visited Sri Lanka in October last year, the
representative of the working group Mr. Manfred Nowak NEVER MET anyone
working on the disappearances in the North-east of the Island. Annex I of Mr.
Manfred Nowak (E/CN.4/20006/64/Add.1) programme itself proves this clearly. The
North-East is the region where many disappearances have been reported recently.
It is to be noted that the latest
report of the Working group on Disappearances says that ``THE HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION COULD, HOWEVER, NOT INDICATE WHETHER ANY OF THE DISAPPEARED PERSONS
REPORTED TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA BY THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP
WERE AMONG THOSE TRACED BY IT``.
5-
The National Human Rights Commission in Sri Lanka is a
Government-funded Commission and it has no mandate to function independently.
6-
Extracted from the report of the Special
Rapporteur Mr. Abid Hussain
(E/CN.4/1999/64
- 29 January 1999)
An essential aspect of the mandate involves
country visits. From 20 to
26 September 1999, the Special Rapporteur undertook a mission to the
Sudan. He also visited Ireland from 18
to 22 October 1999 and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland from 24 to 29 October 1999. Finally, the Special Rapporteur undertook a mission to Tunisia
from 6 to 11 December 1999. The Special
Rapporteur also requested the Governments of Albania, Argentina, China, Cuba,
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Indonesia, Peru, the Russian
Federation, Sri Lanka and
Viet Nam to invite him to visit
their countries, but he regrets that invitations have not so far been received.
16. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur
visited Geneva from 8 to 14 April 1999 for consultations and to present his
report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty‑fifth session.
He discussed his intention to undertake
field visits with the Permanent Representatives of the Sudan, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Egypt and Peru and
with representatives of Cuba and the Russian Federation.
Sri
Lanka
105. On 18 June 1998, the Special
Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka on the
case of Iqbal Athas, a journalist who was allegedly the target of an abduction attempt
on 12 February 1998. The Special Rapporteur was informed that Iqbal Athas was
being subjected to continued harassment which is believed to be related to his
investigations into corruption in the top echelons of the security forces as
well as in connection with some of the military actions undertaken in the
ongoing conflict between the security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam. In his communication, the Special Rapporteur welcomed President
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's order for the Criminal Investigation
Department to conduct an investigation into this incident.
106. On 24 June 1998, the Special
Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka concerning
Lasantha Wickrematunge, an editor and journalist of an independent weekly
openly critical of the Government, who reportedly was the target of an armed
attack. According to the information transmitted to the Special Rapporteur,
Lasantha Wickrematunge had received anonymous telephone threats and was
attacked by an unidentified number of individuals who opened fire from a van
outside his house after he and his family had returned home on the night of 17
June 1998. It was also alleged that he had been the target of an assault three
years ago and that his house had been watched by persons in unmarked vehicles.
The Special Rapporteur welcomed the fact that Mangala Samaraweera, the Minister
of Post, Telecommunications, and Media, had condemned that attack and called
for a thorough police investigation into the later incident.
107. On 29 April 1998, the Special
Rapporteur requested the Government of Sri Lanka to extend an invitation to him
to carry out an official visit to the country in the course of 1998.
108. Despite an acknowledgement sent by
the Government on 4 May 1998, no further reply has been provided to the Special
Rapporteur, in particular with regard to the above-mentioned cases.
QUESTIONS OF DISAPPEARANCES AND SUMMARY EXECUTIONS
Extracted
report of the Special Rapporteur, Ms. Asma Jahanhir,
(E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1
- 2
February 2000)
Addendum
402. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one
urgent appeal and nine communications to the Government concerning violations
of the right to live of the following persons.
Urgent
appeal
403. On 15 June the Special Rapporteur
transmitted to the Government an urgent appeal after having been informed that
former Sri Lankan army lance corporal Somaratne Rajapakse and his family
had received death threats in the form of letters addressed to Mr. Rajapakse’s
wife. Mr. Rajapakse had been
summoned by the magistrate in charge of forthcoming exhumations in the Chemmani
area of Jaffna to indicate locations of alleged mass graves. There were reportedly also concerns for the
safety of four other members of the security services, currently held at
Colombo prison, and their families after they reportedly corroborated Mr.
Rajapakse’s evidence about the graves.
Mr. Rajapakse was reportedly being held in Bogambara prison, in Kandy,
awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a death sentence imposed by the High
Court in Colombo in July 1998. The
Court had found the five men guilty of the rape, abduction and murder of 18-year-old
Krishanthy Kumarasamy and the murder of her mother, younger brother and
neighbour in 1996. During the trial
Mr. Rajapakse reportedly told the Court that hundreds of other bodies had
been buried at the same site as those of the above‑mentioned
persons. In view of these allegations,
the Special Rapporteur appealed to the Government to take the necessary steps
to ensure the safety and integrity of the above mentioned persons.
Communications
sent
404. The
Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government communications on behalf of the
following persons.
405. Sathasivam
Sanjeevan was arrested by the police at Paandiruppu, Amparai district,
on 3 October 1998. It was
reported that when his relatives visited him at the Kalmunai
police station on 14 and 15 October, they noted that he could not lift his
arms and that he had difficulty swallowing.
On 16 October the police informed his relatives that he had been killed
in an armed confrontation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
while being taken to Amparai by the police.
406. Santhini
Thangarasa and her sister Bavani Thangarasa were reportedly killed on
21 November 1998 at the village of Murippu in Mullaitivu when their house
was destroyed in an air strike allegedly carried out by Sri Lankan airforce
bombers. Two young boys, Muhunthan and
Gegan, also died in the incident and five other persons were wounded.
407. Sevethi
Joseph, Mohanraj Kavitha and Nagendran were killed on 23 November 1998 at
Koddaikattiyakulam in Killinochchi in an air strike allegedly carried out by Sri
Lankan airforce bombers. Ten other
civilians were also wounded in this incident and admitted to hospitals in
Mallavi and Akkarayankulam.
408. Velupillai
Sellathurai,Visuvalingam Yogarani, Yogachandran Mallikadevi,
Kalanathan Thanusha, Rasalingam Suthas and Siva were reportedly killed on
2 December 1998 at the fishing village of Nallathanithoduva-Chundikulam
inntheeeast of Vadamaradchi as a result of a bombing allegedly carried out by
Sri Lankan airforce Kfir jets. Several
others were also reportedly wounded in this incident.
409. Sambasivam
Arudchelvan and Rasu Letchumi were killed on 13 November 1998 at Vanni as a
result of a bombing allegedly carried out by Sri Lankan airforce Kfir jets.
410. According
to reports, Muhunthan Balchandran was killed on 21 November 1998 at the village
of Murippu in Mullaitivu after an air strike allegedly carried out by Sri
Lankan airforce Kfir bombers.
411. Gnaneswary
Muthie was reportedly killed on 21 November 1998 at the village of Murippu in
Mullaitivu after an air strike allegedly carried out by Sri Lankan airforce
Kfir bombers.
412. Arulselvan
Ramalingam was reportedly killed on 14 November 1998 at Kokkavil after an air
strike allegedly carried out by Sri Lankan airforce Kfir bombers. He was on his way to Mallavi for business
when he got caught in the reported air raid.
413. Anura
Sampath was allegedly taken to the Moratuwa police station on 30 December in
order to make a statement. His brother
reportedly visited him the same day and Anura Sampath told him that he was
being ill-treated by the police. The
following day, Anura Sampath allegedly had disappeared from the police station
and the officer in charge later told Anura Sampath’s family that he was dead,
providing them with accurate information about the whereabouts of Anura
Sampath’s corpse which the family found in Kalubovilla hospital.
Observations
414. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the
Government has not replied to her communications.
QUESTIONS OF TORTURE AND
DETENTION
Extracted report of the Special
Rapporteur, Sir Nigel S, Rodley,
(E/CN.4/2000/9 - 2 February 2000
)
Sri
Lanka
Regular
communications and replies received
929. By letter dated 15 November 1999, the
Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he continued to receive information
on the practice of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, in particular in
the context of the ongoing armed conflict between the security forces and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As in previous years, the Special
Rapporteur has received information that persons arrested on suspicion of being
members or sympathizers of the LTTE are reportedly tortured, in particular in
the north and east of the country and in Colombo. There is a continuing use of unauthorized places of detention,
especially in the Jaffna peninsula and Vavuniya, which is believed to be a
factor facilitating torture. The People's Liberation Organization of Tamil
Eelam (PLOTE) is reported to run such places of detention, where torture is
allegedly routinely practised with the tacit approval of members of the army
and the police, who are said to regularly visit those camps. Elements within
the security forces are reportedly helping these paramilitary groups to protect
the secrecy of their camps and the torture taking place there. Prisoners held
there are allegedly beaten, administered electric shocks, have petrol poured on
their back and lit, and are bitten by dogs on their private parts.
930. Torture
of common criminal suspects and people taken into custody in a non-political
context is reportedly widely practised, in order to extract confessions from
suspects in theft and other criminal cases. The Evidence Ordinance nevertheless
contains strong provisions to prevent the extraction of confeesions under
torture, since it makes them inadmissible in courts. The Supreme Court is
said to have awarded compensation to people arrested on suspicion of petty
crimes who were subsequently tortured by the police in several cases. It is
alleged that members of the public often approach local police officers to
intervene in their disputes with neighbours, business rivals, family members or
tenants. Many persons arrested in that context are said to have been
subsequently tortured.
931. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur has
received information according to which corporal punishments continue to be
imposed by courts, including on juveniles. Section 52 of the Penal Code
reportedly lists whipping as a punishment to which offenders are liable under
the Code. It is explicitly provided for as an additional punishment for theft
of, among other things, vegetables and fruits. Section 29.1 of the Children and
Young Persons Ordinance 1939 allows whipping to be imposed as a form of
punishment by magistrate's courts on male children, as an additional punishment
for certain offences. Cases have been reported.
932. Finally, according to the information
received, despite the long-term existence of legislation to punish torture, and
the enactment of the Torture Act in 1995,
this violation is reported to be still committed with impunity. No one has
reportedly been convicted in relation to the crime of torture in Sri Lanka.
Seven indictments are nevertheless said to be currently before the High Courts,
arising from eight judgments by the Supreme Court during 1997 and 1998 where
the Court had found police officers had been responsible for torture, had
awarded compensation and had recommended further investigations. But it is
reported that the Supreme Court has
expressed its frustration at the lack of follow-up by the relevant authorities
to the Supreme Court's recommendation for further investigations and
appropriate action against members of the security forces involved in acts of
torture.
933. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the
Government information on the individual cases summarized below.
934. Weerage Buddhika Weerasinghe was
reportedly arrested on suspicion of robbery in May 1996 and allegedly tortured
at Pannala police station by being suspended over a rice pounder and hit
repeatedly with a hosepipe while being forced to confess. The police in their
statements to the court are reported to have denied that he had been tortured.
The Supreme Court reportedly awarded compensation to him in a judgment of 31
October 1997.
935. Sinnarasa Anthonymala, a 17-year-old girl
from Jaffna, was reportedly shot in the thigh by the Navy while travelling on a
boat to India on 16 July 1995. Rescued by the Navy, she was reportedly taken to the Kankesanthurai navy camp, where she was
allegedly stripped of her clothing and tortured by being struck on the head
with an iron rod, for which she needed stitches. She was also allegedly
handcuffed at the ankles and suspended upside down from a window bar, electric
wires were applied on her body, and she was burnt with cigarettes and heated
metal rods. On 28 August 1995, she was allegedly transferred to the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID), where she was reportedly cut on the back of her
neck, hit on the mouth and hit on her left leg with a piece of wood. After a
month she was allegedly forced to sign seven statements typed in Sinhala.
She was then reportedly transferred to the Welikada prison. After three months
at the Welikada prison, a bullet was removed from her thigh by the prison
hospital authorities. On 27 June 1997, she appeared in court. On her body the
examining medical officer reportedly found a number of irregular marks and
scars that corroborated all of her testimony of being tortured.
936. Anura Sampath was reportedly taken on 30 December
1998 to the Moratuwa police station and beaten by police officers. The
following day, his family was eventually informed by the officer-in-charge that
he was dead. They reportedly found his body at the Kalubovilla Hospital. A post
mortem inquiry reportedly found that he died from 24 internal injuries,
probably caused by assault. The police reportedly stated, however, that he had
died after allegedly jumping from the police jeep.
937. Sathasivam Sanjeevan died in police
custody allegedly as a result of torture. He was reportedly arrested during a
police search operation on 13 October 1998 in Paandiruppu and detained at
the Almunai police station, where he was allegedly tortured. On 17 October
1998, the family reportedly went to the Amparai police station and then to the
Government Hospital where they were informed that their son had been killed in
an armed confrontation with the LTTE when he was being transferred to the
Amparai station. A deep cut along his chest had reportedly been stitched up, his
tongue severed and stitched together, and there were injuries on his head and
hip. A second post-mortem inquiry ordered by the local magistrate confirmed
signs of injuries by blunt weapons inflicted before the shooting. The second
magisterial inquiry was still continuing.
941. T. Ranjani was allegedly arrested on 26
November 1997 in Colombo and tortured by police officers at the Cinnamon
Gardens police station. She was reportedly examined by the Judicial Medical
Officer (JMO) who found that she had seven injuries and that they were
consistent with her allegation that she was hit with a PVC pipe and with
sticks.
942. Muthuthamby Vanitha was reportedly
arrested on 19 November 1998 by the Kotahena police in Colombo. She allegedly
attempted to seek asylum in France, from where she was deported back to Sri
Lanka in early October and detained for one week, during which she was
allegedly beaten with iron pipes on her stomach and not allowed to use the
bathroom. She was examined by a JMO who is said to have found evidence of
torture. She is currently at the Welikade women's prison, where she is
reportedly receiving medical treatment but is still allegedly suffering from
the aftereffects of torture.
943. Periyathamby Subramaniam was reportedly
taken into custody on 8 June 1997, by the "Razeek Group", a group
which is described as being affiliated to the Eelam People's Revolutionary
Liberation Front. He was allegedly burnt, beaten with a wooden rod, burnt on
his penis with a cigarette butt, nearly suffocated with a bag containing chilli
powder and petrol, pricked with pins on his body, and stabbed with a knife on
his shoulder. He was reportedly transferred to Patpodi army camp where melted
polythene wax was allegedly poured over his legs and one of his finger nails was
removed with pliers. He was also reportedly tortured in the Counter Subversive
Unit of the police in Batticaloa.
944. Thirty-five young men and women were
reportedly taken into custody during a round-up by the army from Manipay on 2
January 1997. They were allegedly detained at the Thavady camp, where they were
interrogated about their identity. On the third day of their detention, three
soldiers were reportedly killed in an ambush by the LTTE. The soldiers at the
camp allegedly started beating the detainees with poles, cricket bats and
electric wire. Plastic bags filled with gasoline and ants were allegedly placed
over the detainees' heads. On the fourth day of their detention, they were
reportedly transferred to Manipay army camp where some complained to the
commanding officer about the torture. Later that night, soldiers allegedly came
to beat them. Male detainees were
allegedly hung upside down by their toes and made to inhale chilli fumes that
were being burned under the ropes. They were also allegedly beaten with PVC
pipes and wire, and were subjected to electric shocks. Nails are said to have
been driven into their hands and feet.
945. Kanapathipillai Sasikumar was reportedly
arrested on 3 April 1997, and detained at a tower behind the Indian High Commission,
which is said to be a "safe house" used by members of the army. He
was allegedly stripped naked, had a bag with gasoline and chili powder pulled
over his head and tied to his neck, and was tied to a chair. He was reportedly
beaten all over his body with broken legs of tables and chairs and with PVC
pipes filled with concrete. His hands were allegedly tied behind his back and
he was suspended from a ceiling fan by a nylon thread attached to his thumbs.
He was allegedly administered electric shocks. On 5 April, he was reportedly
handed over to the Crime Detection Bureau. A doctor at Nagoda government
hospital recommended surgery to his penis, but up to October 1998, the
authorities at Kalutara prison, where he is detained, are believed to have not
acted accordingly.
946. Bathatha Jayatunga Gamage Malsha Kumari, a
14-year-old girl, was reportedly tortured by police at Hungama in September
1995. She was allegedly hung by her wrists from a tree in an effort to make her
confess to theft. While she was in this position, she was reportedly beaten
with rubber hoses and sticks on her heels and all over her body by four police
men.
949. Velusamy Baskaran, Neelian Yogesan,
Vadivel Kanagaratnam and Somasundaram Shanmugarajah, four members of the Tamil
Traders Association at Nuwara Eliya, were reportedly arrested in mid-November
1998 and tortured during their detention. They were reportedly transferred from
the police station to the Counter Subversive Unit office where they were
severely beaten.
950. Michaelpillai Robert Wellington died
allegedly as a result of torture while in army custody at Point Pedro army
camp. He was reportedly arrested on 20 July 1998 and beaten. He was
allegedly dragged by five soldiers to the army camp and by the next morning was
dead. His body is said to have showed marks of severe beatings and knife marks
across his entire body, and his hands were broken. His body had six gunshot
wounds, allegedly inflicted after his death.
951. Vythilingam Thiruchelvam was reportedly
arrested on 31 October 1997 by members of the armed forces at Sudalaiady
junction. His hands were allegedly tied up with a rope and he was taken to
Uruthirapuram, where he was forced to jump into a latrine. He is said to have
received gunshots while in the latrine. A friend of his, Shanmugasuntharam, was
allegedly shot dead. The latrine was reportedly then closed. After two days in
the latrine, Vythilingam Thiruchelvam was reportedly able to escape.
952. Kanthasamy Kalanithy, a Tamil woman, was reportedly
arrested on 25 June 1998 by the army chief of the Mirusuvil army camp, who is said to have wanted to force her to
marry one of the Sinhalese soldiers. She allegedly had to stand in front of
10 soldiers, but refused to choose one. She was allegedly gang-raped and then
killed. The soldiers refused to hand over her body for examination and they
have allegedly attempted to threaten her parents into silence.
953. Vallipuram Suganthi, a 15-year-old Tamil
woman, was reportedly arrested on 10 July 1997 by 12 police officers and taken
to Wellawatte police station where it is reported that she was severely beaten.
She was also allegedly threatened with
rape if she did not sign a statement about her involvement with the LTTE, which
she eventually did. On 25 July 1997, she was reportedly transferred to the
Crime Division Bureau, where she was allegedly beaten with a wooden stick on
the head three times and was then threatened with being killed. After her
release, she is reported to have undergone medical treatment at the Family
Rehabilitation Centre of Colombo.
954. Thambirajah Kamalathasan was one of 192
Sri Lankan asylum seekers who were reportedly arrested on 15 July 1998 and held
in detention for several weeks after they were returned to Sri Lanka from Senegal.
He was allegedly tortured for several days at the Pettah police station. He was
allegedly hit with a rod, had chilli powder rubbed into his eyes, and his
genitals were squeezed. He was reportedly transferred to the Terrorist
Investigation Department on 21 July 1998, and was reportedly held on the 6th
floor.
956. Kanapathipillai Navaratam was allegedly
detained and tortured with her husband. They were reportedly arrested on 9
August 1997, when they were fishing in the Thalayady Sea. They were allegedly
beaten with batons and electric wires. They were then reportedly transferred to
the Navy camp at Trincomalee, where they were beaten by at least 10 Navy
personnel. When they became unconscious due to the beatings they were
reportedly given to the police. They were then reportedly interrogated for 17
days at police headquarters. They were
allegedly hung upside down and beaten with batons, had salt water poured on
them and were sprayed with chilli fumes over their wounds. They were
reportedly then transferred to Poose detention camp and kept there for 10
months, during which time they were allegedly tortured continuously. After
appearing in court, they were released under a general amnesty 21 days later
from the Kagasean detention camp.
958. Veeraputhiran-Thevy fled to Paranthan when
the Sri Lankan forces reportedly entered the Vadamaradchy area, and then to
Mallavi. While en route from Vavunia, she was reportedly beaten by women police
on 24 September 1998. She was allegedly hit on the hip, thigh and cheek with
iron bars.
959. Krishanthy Kumarasamy, a Tamil, was
allegedly raped by army and military officials at a checkpoint in Chemmani. Her
mother Rasamma, her 16-year-old brother, Piranapan, and her neighbour,
Kirupaharan Sithamparam, went to the Kaithady armycheck post that afternoon,
asking for information on her. The soldiers allegedly denied any knowledge of
her. When the mother refused to leave without her daughter the three of them
were placed in army custody and on that night, they were allegedly strangled to
death with rope. They were reportedly all buried in a shallow grave. On 24
October 1996, their decomposed bodies were allegedly brought to Colombo by
plane. Her family allegedly received death threats several times from the Sri
Lankan armed forces. Somaratne Rajapakse, one of the six members of the
security forces who were found guilty of the rape, abduction and murder of the
above-mentioned persons and were reportedly sentenced to death in July 1998 by
the Colombo High Court, is said to have been assaulted by Welikade Prison
guards on 23 August 1998. He reportedly sustained injuries to his mouth, below
his left eye and his chest. He was subsequently visited at the hospital by one
of the attackers, who is reported to have threatened him not to talk about the
incident. During the trial, he reportedly revealed to the court that 300 to 400
other bodies were also buried at Chemmani, Jaffna district, where the body of
Krishanthy Kumarasamy had been discovered. The
attack on Somaratne Rajapakse is believed to have resulted from his refusal to
sign a written statement, allegedly on the order of a Minister, to the effect
that he had been emotionally disturbed at the time he made the statement to the
High Court about the mass graves and that it had been untrue.
960. S.
Selvarani, a deaf and dumb girl, was reportedly raped on 16 March 1998. She
was allegedly riding her bicycle to visit a friend when she was stopped at the
Meesalal checkpoint in Chavakachcheri. She was reportedly bound and gagged and
then gang raped by several Sinhala soldiers. When she returned home she
attempted to kill herself by dousing herself in kerosene and setting herself on
fire. The authorities are said not to have taken any action regarding this
case.
961. Ehamparam Damayanthi, a 15-year-old girl,
was allegedly tortured and sexually assaulted by soldiers at the Patpodi army
camp in February 1997. She was allegedly kicked, hit with clubs, had gasoline
poured over her face, and was submerged in water. Soldiers also reportedly
pinched her buttocks, touched her breasts and asked indecent questions. On 15
January 1998, the Supreme Court awarded the maximum amount in compensation for
a 15-year-old girl. The court allegedly
noted that the charges of torture were not denied by the soldiers.
962. Selvaratnam Ravinsagar was reportedly
arrested in Trincomalee on 1 February 1997 by the police. He was
reportedly interrogated about a girl who was accused of being a member of the
LTTE. He was allegedly handcuffed and beaten by three policemen on the soles of
his feet with a wooden bar and a PVC pipe. He was also allegedly hit under his
chin with a hard shoe heel and a petrol-filled bag was allegedly put over his
head. He was reportedly constantly interrogated about the above-mentioned girl,
but he denied knowing her. He is reported to have eventually admitted knowing
that this girl was part of the LTTE. After one week he was reportedly
interrogated by a sub-inspector of the Crime Detection Bureau (CDB) in Colombo,
where he was asked to sign a new statement. He allegedly refused and was beaten
again with a wooden bar by the sub-inspector and two sergeants. He was held in
the CDB cells for one month, during which time he was handcuffed in such a way
that he was unable to lie down. He was then reportedly held in a cell for four
months and a half.
963. Kandasamy Sri Ram was allegedly tortured
by police at Mirihana police station after his arrest on 25 August 1999. He was
reportedly given bail on 15 September. Police officers reportedly burnt
his body with cigarette butts and he was electrocuted. Pins are said to have
been driven into his nails and an iron rod was inserted into his anus. He has
made complaints to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Committee
to Inquire into Undue Harassment and Arrest. The results of their
investigations are not yet known. He is currently receiving medical treatment
for physical and psychological trauma.
964. Selvarajah Thenuka, a 10-year-old Tamil
girl, from the village of Pathameny, was allegedly gang raped by soldiers at
Atchuvely, on 11 November 1996. She was reportedly brought to the Puttur V C
army camp where she was allegedly raped.
965. Srilal Priyantha, a journalist working for
the Lakbima, an independent Sinhala-language newspaper, was reportedly arrested
on 14 May 1999. He was reportedly accused of the murder of five individuals in
the southern uprising of 1989 and 1990 and of having concealed his identity. He
reportedly had in fact written articles which exposed the corruption and abuse
of power of the security forces. After his arrest, he was reportedly tortured
by members of the CID. During his interrogation he was allegedly stripped naked
and severely assaulted by police officers. On 14 June 1999, he was reportedly
admitted to the Colombo National Hospital to be treated for injuries allegedly
sustained during his detention.
968. Luis Rama was reportedly detained on 20
July 1995 by the Sri Lankan Navy for two months. She was then allegedly
transferred to the Magazine Prison where she was reportedly suspended by the
ankles, cut with blades, burnt with cigarettes and had a bag put over her head.
She reportedly had linear scars over her chest and legs, ranging from two to
seven inches in length. She reportedly had multiple cigarette burn marks on her
left breast, knee, back, and elbow. She was reportedly examined by the office
of the JMO in Colombo on 17 May 1997.
969. Sivalingam Kajenthiran, a deaf and dumb
man, was reportedly tortured and killed by soldiers. He was allegedly arrested
by Sri Lankan soldiers out of suspicion that he was a LTTE spy.
970. Rasanayakam Uthayakumar was reportedly
arrested by the Sri Lankan army at Nayanmarkaddu, on 23 October 1998. He was
reportedly interrogated at the Gnanams hotel army camp in Jaffna town. On 27
October 1998, his wife was told that her husband was already dead when his body
was brought to the Jaffna hospital by the army. The body reportedly showed
signs of abuse, including marks on his left foot and right hand, which
indicated that he had been tied in chains.
971. Sivam Ashokumar was reportedly arrested by
the PLOTE on 24 January 1999, while he was working along the roadside, and was
driven away in a minibus. He was reportedly brought to Vairapuliyankulam PLOTE
camp on 24 January 1999, and transferred that day to Kovikulam PLOTE camp. He
was reportedly chained for 26 days and beaten on the chest, legs and hands
with a pole and electric wire. He was reportedly released on 4 March 1999.
973. Chandramalige Bernard Joseph Silva
reportedly died at Kandana police station on 22 February 1999. He had
reportedly been arrested on 22 February by officers of this police station and
his dead body was reportedly handed over to the Ragama hospital by these
officers on the following morning. His family was informed by the police that
he had died of a heart attack and that he had been taken to the hospital. The
Deputy Inspector General of the area was asked to undertake a proper inquiry
into the case. The preliminary report of the post-mortem examination submitted
by the JMO of Colombo North Hospital reportedly concluded that the deceased had
sustained injuries due to repetitive, systematic and selective blows from blunt
weapons.
Urgent appeals
and replies received
974. On 8 March 1999, the Special Rapporteur
sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairman of the Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances on behalf of Silvam Ashokumar who had reportedly
been arrested from his home in Vavuniya on 24 January 1999 by members of the
PLOTE, and of Arumugam Pakkiri, alias Ieya, who had reportedly been arrested on
7 February 1999 by members of the PLOTE. Both were said to be have been
arrested on suspicion of being LTTE members. They were reportedly held in
incommunicado detention in an unknown place.
(Note: Due to limited space, we could not reproduce
the Special rapporteur’s report on Sri Lanka, which extended to eight and a
half pages, in full. Please refer to UN publication for further cases of
torture. TCHR)
Report of the Committee against Torture
General Assembly
Extracted
from report of the Committee against Torture
(A/53/44
- 16/09/98 - General Assembly Official
Records Fifty-third session)
P. Sri Lanka
4. Subjects of concern
249. The Committee is gravely concerned by information on serious violations of
the Convention, particularly regarding torture linked with disappearances.
250. The Committee regrets that there were few, if any, prosecutions or
disciplinary proceedings despite continuous Supreme Court warnings and awards
of damages to torture victims.
251. The Committee notes the absence, until recently, of independent and
effective investigation of scores of allegations of disappearances linked with
torture.
252. The Committee noted that, while the Convention against Torture Act 22/94
covers most of the provisions of the Convention, there were certain significant omissions.
253. The question of the admissibility under the emergency regulation of
confessions is also a matter of concern, as well as the absence of strict
legislation governing detention consistent with international norms.
5. Recommendations
254. The Committee urges the State party to review Convention against Torture
Act 22/94 and other relevant laws in order to ensure complete compliance with
the Convention, in particular in respect of: (a) the definition of torture; (b)
acts that amount to torture; and (c) extradition, return and expulsion.
255. The Committee furthermore recommends that the State party:
(a) Review the
emergency regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act as well as rules of
practice pertaining to detention to ensure that they conform with the
provisions of the Convention;
(b) Ensure that
all allegations of torture - past, present and future - are promptly,
independently and effectively investigated and the recommendations implemented
without any delay;
(c) While
continuing to remedy, through compensation, the consequences of torture, give
due importance to prompt criminal prosecutions and disciplinary proceedings
against culprits;
(d) Take the
necessary measures to ensure that justice is not delayed, especially in the
cases of trials of people accused of torture;
(e) Strengthen the
Human Rights Commission and other mechanisms dealing with torture prevention
and investigation and provide them with all the means that are necessary to
ensure their impartiality and effectiveness.
256. The Committee urges the State party to declare in favour of articles 21
and 22 of the Convention.
257. The Committee would be remiss if it did not acknowledge that the Sri
Lankan delegation made every effort to make the dialogue with the Committee
fruitful, so that the State party might be helped to put an end to violations
of the Convention.
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE
(E/CN.4/2000/65
- 15
February 2000)
95. Two Seventh Day Adventists, including a
pastor and pastor’s son, were reportedly arrested in 1998 and are said to have
been detained since then on the basis of apparently unjustified suspicion of
involvement in terrorist activities. The Special Rapporteur would like to
receive the views and comments of the Government of Sri Lanka as soon as
possible.
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR DISMAYED AT CONTINUING REPORTS OF VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN IN SRI LANKA
(Press Release 14/03/2000)
The Special
Rapporteur on violence against women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, says she is dismayed
that the incidence of gang rape and murder of women and girls by Sri Lankan
soldiers is continuing unabated in Sri Lanka.
In a letter dated 13 March 2000, the Special Rapporteur expressed her
grave concern over the lack of serious investigation of allegations of gang
rape and murder of women and girls. She focused on three individual cases which
had been brought to her attention:
Sarathambal Saravanbavananthakurukal, aged 29, was reportedly gang-raped and
then killed by Sri Lankan navy soldiers on 28 December 1999 in Pungudutivu,
near Jaffna Peninsula. Despite an order by the President to immediately
investigate the events, it is reported
that 'very little is being done to pursue the matter'.
Ida Caremelitta was allegedly gang-raped by five soldiers and then killed
during the night of 12 July 1999 in Pallimunai village on Mannar Island. Five
masked and heavily armed men reportedly entered the house where she and her
family were sleeping, took Ms. Caremelitta outside and violently raped and then
killed her. The post mortem report indicates that Ms. Caremelitta had been
repeatedly raped and that her body had been sexually mutilated.
On 6 October 1998, Ms. Pushpamalar, aged 12, was allegedly detained while
returning from school and raped by a soldier in Sangathaanai, Chavakachcheri,
east of Jaffna.
In her letter, the Special Rapporteur also expressed concern about political
violence in the south of the country affecting women in particular. She cited
the case of Anoja Weerasinghe, an actress whose house was attacked on 24
December 1999 and 2 January 2000 reportedly because of her political
activities, including speaking in support of the United National Party and
picketing peacefully in Veyangoda on 17 November 1999 to protest attacks
against actors and actresses.
The Special Rapporteur expressed the hope that every effort will be made to
prevent further violations through the investigation of the alleged incidents
and the prosecution of alleged perpetrators in a manner consistent with
international human rights standards.
ASSASSINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
KUMAR PONNAMBALAM
Extracted
from the report of the Special Rapporteur
on
the independence of judges and lawyers
(E/CN.4/2000/61 - 21 February
2000 )
Sri
Lanka
Communication to
the Government
247. On
9 December 1998, the Special Rapporteur sent a letter to the
Government concerning the case of Kumar Ponnambalam, a well‑known
defence lawyer and General Secretary of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress. It was reported that there had been a
widespread and well‑publicized call by Sri Lankan newspapers that
Mr. Ponnambalam should be taken into custody and charged with criminal
defamation of the President and with supporting the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The
source claimed that the calls for his arrest were based upon his work as a
criminal defence lawyer and for speeches or statements he had made before
various international bodies concerning the human rights situation in
Sri Lanka. Fears were expressed
that Mr. Ponnambalam would be arrested upon his return to Colombo on
25 December.
Communications
from the Government
253.
On 26 January 1999, the Government sent a letter
to the Special Rapporteur in reply to his letter of
9 December 1998. The
Government informed the Special Rapporteur, inter alia, that
Mr. Ponnambalam had reportedly made a public statement on national
television that he was a supporter of a well‑known terrorist group, the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE is banned in Sri Lanka. In view of the statement, the law
enforcement authorities were obliged to carry out investigations as to the
nature of Mr. Ponnambalam’s support.
There was no prior decision to arrest Mr.Ponnambalam. Action would be taken to conduct an inquiry
to ascertain the facts and if any
wrongdoing is discovered appropriate legal proceedings would be
instituted. Like any other citizen of
Sri Lanka, Mr. Ponnambalam can
challenge these legal proceedings, if and when they are instituted, in the
courts, in particular in the Supreme Court, which has jurisdiction over
fundamental rights in accordance with the Constitution of the country and the
International Covenants on Human Rights.
Observations
257. The Special Rapporteur notes with great
concern the assassination of Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam on
5 January 2000. The Special
Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government in regard to this
assassination.
Assassins of Kumar Ponnambalam
Protected by pro-government
politician
Kumar
assassins protected by politician
(“Lakbima” 8 March 2000)
According to the latest information in
the grape vine, ACTC leader Kumar Ponnambalam was assassinated by hired assassins of the under world on the orders of a
strong politician. Two people suspected of carrying out the killing “Army
Ranjit” and “Saman” alias Kamalsiri from Moratuwa, are heard to be in hiding
these days in the house in Kandy owned
by the son of the above politician.
This
politician’s son was introduced to these two killers by a police constable, through him the
deal had been made. A motor cycle and a Pajero with darkened windows have been
used during the shoot out which also have been used by the assassins to get
away. A fax claiming the responsibility for this killing sent by an
organisation called “National Movement against Tigers” was received by the writer of this article
which was written at 2.30 am on the 6th of January and faxed at 4.30
am and signed by one Wijaya Ranabahu. This fax, probably sent by the attention
somewhere else, but nevertheless the govt was more or less blamed for the
killing.
Interviews of Chief Investigator
to news papers in Sri Lanka
Senior Superintendent of Police Bandula
Wickramasinghe - Director, Crime Detection Bureau (CDB) - is the chief Police investigator of the
assassination of Kumar Ponnambalam. He
has given a few interviews to news papers in Colombo regarding the
assassination.
Extracted
from “The Sunday Leader” of March 19,
2000
Q:
What progress have you made in the Kumar Ponnambalm murder case?
A:
We
have progressed very well. We have identified the real person. But we will not
come out with the full story now. But I told Mrs. Ponnambalam that with my 33
years of experience and a feather in my cap, I will definitely solve this
issue. I traced two witnesses with greatest difficulty. They refused to come
forward. I had to go and beg from them to come forward and help us in this
regard. Then only they made the statement and gave us a the artistic impression
as well. And following this I have now identified who the person is. I won’t
commit my self now by revealing further information. But I am 100 per cent sure
that this case will end up successfully. Even
the witnesses at home identified the person.
Q: But the
family members have said you are investigating this murder case with a
pre-conceived notion that the government has had no hand in it. Why is this?
A:
All
I can say is this. I don’t have divine powers. Let me further investigate into
this and prove to everybody who has done it. That is all. In the field of crime
I have lot experience. And using my experience I will do it. It will be another
feather in my cap, if I prove this very soon.
Q:
It has also been alleged that you had forced two domestic aides in
Ponnambalam’s house to identify a Tamil suspect from Batticaloa. Is this
correct?
A: No. Not
correct. Why I should I force? Can you fool the country? Can you fool the
people?
Q:
It is believed that underworld figures connected to the government were
responsible for the murder. What do you say?
A:
There
is no truth is it at all. Underworld has
no such weapons to carry out such a cold murder. Even the police do not
have such weapons. Of course the army has. The underworld may have T-56 and
revolvers. That is all. Or they may have grenades. They don’t have any other
weapons.
Extracted
from “The Weekend Express” of May 6-7, 2000
Q:
Did you make any break through in the Kumar Ponnambalam assassination case?
A:
I
told Mrs. Ponnambalam that I am not a racist. Anybody who committed the murder would
be brought to book. I have made very good success in this case but I cannot
tell to which community he belonged. We have got a very good clue and already
traced and photographs have been identified by the two domestic servants of the
late Mr. Ponnambalam. I think we will announce it when we have 100 per cent
confirmation.
Kumar’s
Assassin refused for Identification
(“Ravaya”
of May 25, 2000)
A request made by the wife of
assassinated ACTC leader Kumar Ponnambalam from CID Director Bandula Wickramasinghe
to arrange for an identification parade of “Moratuwa Saman” suspected to be the
person calling over at Kumar’s residence on the day he was killed and in police
custody now, was turned by the latter on the grounds that it has been
established that the LTTE did the killing and there is no need for such an
identification.
Many leading newspapers alleged that it
was this “Saman”, who is wanted by the police for many murders and robberies
that actually killed Kumar Ponnambalam.
Kumar
Ponnambalam’s killers traced
(Government
owned “Daily News” June 15, 2000)
The Colombo Detective Bureau (CDB)
probing the killing of All Ceylon Tamil Congress leader Kumar Ponnambalam
yesterday told the Daily News that they have identified the two underworld
characters alleged to have killed Mr. Ponnambalam at Ramakrishna Road,
Wellawatta on January 5.
Director CDB Senior SP Badula
Wickremasinghe who is conducting investigations on the direction of Colombo DIG
Bodhi Liyanage revealed that a Police Constable had telephoned the CDB
headquarters and informed them that he was responsible for giving the contract
to Morotuwa Saman and Sujeewa to kill Mr. Ponnambalam.
He has told the police that he knew Mr.
Ponnambalam for a couple of months and had associated with him closely under
the name of Shantha. On the day of the incident he requested Mr. Ponnambalam to
come with him to go to Ramakrishna Road for a private errand.
While
entering the Ramakrishna Road, he had requested Kumar to stop the vehicle and
got off the car. As arranged earlier, the underworld characters had gunned down
Mr. Ponnambalam. Later all three of them got into a three wheeler and escaped.
He had told Mr. Wickremasinghe that he would soon surrender to the CDB. But Mr.
Wickremasinghe said he had deployed a special police team to arrest the
suspect.
POLITICAL
LINK IN KUMAR KILLING?
(Extracted
from “The Sunday Times” of June 18, 2000)
Police probing the assassination of
ACTC leader Kumar Ponnambalam in early January are looking into a possible
political connection, investigators said yesterday. The political link to the
murder is being probed after it was confirmed that a reserve police constable
had ordered the contract hit using underworld operatives.
Police have begun a massive hunt for
the constable after his name emerged following the arrest of two underworld
hit-men who are alleged to have planned the killing and later fired the fatal
bullets at Mr. Ponnambalam. The two underworld operatives identified as
Moratuwa Saman and Sujeewa were wanted by police in connection with series of
criminal activities, largely robberies, extortion and intimidation of certain
political elements.
They have repeatedly told investigators
that the hit on Mr. Ponnambalam was carried out purely for patriotic reasons
and that there was nothing else to it. The police however, will investigate
further. There are also reports that the son of a VIP is alleged to have
attempted to use some kind of friendly persuasion seeking the release of
‘Moratuwa Saman’ according to sources.
Mr. Ponnambalam’s widow had earlier
requested the CDB to conduct a parade to identify the suspects, but the CDB
turned it down on the grounds that Moratuwa Saman had been taken in for other
cases. However, in a sudden change, the CDB has now identified the Moratuwa
Saman as the suspect involved in the killing of Mr. Ponnambalam.
Kumar’s killers in seven murders
(Extracted
from “The Weekend Express” of June 17-18, 2000)
Suspected assassins of the All Ceylon
Tamil Congress (ACTC) Leader, Kumar Ponnambalam, were arrested this week
through a tip-off given to the Kesalwatte Police Station, senior police source
said yesterday.
Latest police investigations reveal
that the killers, Sujeewan and Moratuwa Saman were told to come to the alleged
place where the late Mr. Ponnambalam was last seen, by reserve policeman Sugath
Ranasinghe alias Shantha, who was a close friend of Sujeewa and Moratuwa Saman
and of the late ACTC leader. However, police said that Shantha had left the
police during the conspiracy to kill Mr. Ponnambalam.
Are politicians involved in Kumar
Ponnambalam assassination kept hidden?(“RAVAYA”
of Sunday June 18, 2000)
CID Director Bandula
Wickramasinghe told media last 15th that a reserve Police Constable has
confessed to planning the assassination of ACTC leader Kumar Ponnambalam and
that he hired two killers Moratuwa Saman and Sujeewa, who are now in police
custody, to do the job. Adding that these two assassins have also confessed he
stated that the two pistols used for the killing have been discovered.
"Ravaya" of the 23rd of April published in its lead "Ponnambalam
assassination suspect arrested: Investigations suppressed" that Moratuwa
Saman actually killed Kumar and the assassination was planned by a Police
constable, who is in possession of Kumar's'' cellular phone. It also added that
these two belonged to a killer gang functioning with the govt protection. When
Mrs. Ponnambalam contacted the CID director requesting an identification parade
to identify the suspect, it was politely turned down saying the suspect is not
assassin of her husband but Kumar was killed by the LTTE. Now he has admitted
these facts himself.
However in order to
divert the attention from the investigation he goes on to add that the killing
was done on the insistence of the Police constable. "Moratuwa Saman"
is a well-known criminal who was wanted in connection with 15 murders and a
string of armed robberies. Though the
police knew his whereabouts, he was arrested quite accidentally while they were
deliberately trying to evade his arrest on the orders of a deputy minister. It
was beddagane Sanjiwa from the Presidential Security Division, who
actually coordinated between these criminals and gave them these contracts.
In addition to Kumar's killing, this gang is involved in killing
"Satana" editor Rohana Kumara and the attack on singer duo Rukantha
and Chandralekha. This gang as a habit walks away with the cellular phones of
their victims. They took away Rukantha's cellular phone. It was known that the
"Lakbima" cameraman's phone was also taken by this gang when they
attacked media men on 15 July. This was later given to a third party by a PSD
officer. However, police investigations in to this too have been abandoned by
now. As "Ravaya" has revealed, the police knows that a person who
knows everything about Journalist Rohana Kumar's assassination is in Jail but
no attempts have been made to investigate it.
Witnesses asked to demand the suspects to open their mouths
!
On 3rd July 2000 an Identification
Parade was held in the courts in Colombo to identify one of the
suspects in the assassination of Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam. The witnesses were
forced by Mr Bandula Wickramasinghe - Senior Superintendent of Police, to
demand that the suspects lined up in the parade open their mouths to expose
their teeth!
Mr. Bandula Wickramasinghe instructed
the witness to identify the man with the unusual teeth as the real suspect!
Since, in fact, the witnesses did not see the man called Shantha whom they had
seen at Mr Ponnambalam’s residence, and for whose identification the ID Parade
was organised, they could not identify anyone. The incident has been well
publicised in the Colombo media, and proves that Mr. Wickeramasinghe - SSP is
misleading the witnesses and manipulating the investigation into Mr Ponnambalam’s
assassination. (TCHR).
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL SITUATION
Shrine
in disrepair and sanctity defiled
4 March 2000 - The group of
Tamil devotees from the Sri Lanka's capital who went to observe the Saivite
festival of Maha Sivarathiri at the ancient Shiva temple at Thiruketheesawaram
occupied by the Sri Lankan army
returned to Colombo with reports that the shrine was in disrepair and
its sanctity had been defiled.
The tempe is in the Mannar main land on the north-western coast of the island.
The government promised to withdraw troops from the precincts of the temple
following protests by Tamils locally and internationally. A former UN
consultant threatened to fast unto death if troops were not withdrawn from the
temple.
The devotees who visited the temple
said that most parts of the shrine except its sanctum sanctorum had been
desecrated and that the temple was in state of disrepair. The Army took only a
stipulated number of devotees in buses on Maha Sivarathiri day to Thiruketheeswaram
temple. The windows of these buses were shut and were completely covered with
paper. Devotees from Mannar were allowed to go to Thiruketheeswaram only after
being finger printed and voided by the Army.
The Mannar devotees were then issued special identity cards and travel passes
by the army before they were taken in the covered buses to the temple to
observe the Maha Sivarathiri vigil and bathe in the Palaavi river the morning
after.
The temple drew thousands of Tamil pilgrims from all over the island during
this time of the year before the army moved into its precincts in 1990.
Temples, schools in Batticaloa ordered to closed
22
March 2000 - The Sri Lanka Air Force ordered that a school and a temple in
Batticaloa be closed immediately as they are within the land allocated for the
future expansion of its base near the eastern town.
Air Force officials in Batticaloa
summoned trustee board members of the Sri Sithivinayagar temple and the
authorities Sri Vigneswara Vidyalayam, the affected school, to a conference at
the Airbase and ordered them to close down both institutions forthwith.
As the orders had been quite strict the management of the temple vacated the
precincts before noon according to a trustee board member. Air Force officials
warned that no one would be allowed to enter the temple. The temple and Sri
Vigneswara Vidyalam (school) serves the villages of Puthunagar, Veechukalmunai,
Sethukudha, Thimilaitheivu and Vavunathievu.
Jaffna University boycotted lectures
7 April 2000 - Jaffna
University Students were boycotting lectures demanding army authorities to
permit civilians held up in the war zone to leave the area.
The Students Union said about 3,500 civilians are being held by the government
troops as human shields in the villages of Pallai, Pachchilaipalli, Maasar,
Soranpattu and Sinnathalayadi area and are barred from communicating with
relatives. The students demand that immediate steps should be taken to allow
these civilians to proceed to safer areas.
29 April 2000- According to the Department of Education
officials in Mutur, the Government Tamil Mixed School (GTMS) in Ilankanthai has
been shifted to a safer location in the interior for fear of attacks by Sri
Lanka Naval gunboats. The classes for the children were conducted under trees
following the Navy attack as there are no buildings in the interior for running
the school. Several huts and a school were damaged in the shelling.
The school building was amaged on two occsions in past when the village was
bombarded by Navy gunboats. The civilians in villages of Soodaikudah and
Ilakanthai say that the Navy gun boats generally fire indiscriminately on the
coast from a safe distance at sea.
World
Bank urges to exert pressure on the Ministry of Education
29
June 2000
The World Bank team visiting Sri Lanka told a delegation of the Ceylon Tamil
Teachers Union -CTTU that the money allocated by World Bank for the
construction of quarters for teachers serving in the war-torn areas in the
Northeast province had not been utilized by the authorities.
The World Bank had allocated this money to the Sri Lankan Government to provide
quarters to teachers as an incentive for them to serve in war-torn areas. Not a
single cent has been utilized for this purpose, the visiting World Bank team
told the CTTU delegation. CTTU has complained that the Northeast Ministry of
Education had not implemented a scheme to pay incentive allowance to teachers
who serve in difficult areas.
The World Bank team requested the CTTU
delegation to exert pressure on the Northeast Ministry of Education to
construct quarters for teachers serving in war-torn areas. This World Bank
team was in Sri Lanka assessing the progress made in the implementation of the
new education reforms, funded by the World Bank.
Construction work of Ayurvedhic hospital blocked
4 March 2000 - The
construction work on the first district Siddha Ayurvedhic hospital of the
North-eastern province was blocked by the Government Agent of Trincomalee due
to pressure from Buddhist organisations.
The land allocated for the Siddha Ayurveda hospital is likely to be acquired by
the Trincomalee Government Agent for the extension of the Sangamitta Buddhist
Pilgrims Rest near Samudragama, a state backed settlement of Sinhala
encroachers. The hospital was to be built in two stages by the Northeast
Provincial Department of Indigenous Medicine 'Siddha Ayurveda'. When the first
stage of this project commenced in January this year, the Government Agent went
to the site and ordered the contractor to stop all construction work at the
site forthwith.
Following this the Divisional Secretary, as directed by the Government Agent,
instructed the Provincial Director of Indigenous Medicine to stop all building
work until another suitable land was found for the hospital. The Buddhist
organizations have played a vital role in pressurizing the Government Agent to
stop the construction work on the proposed District Siddha Ayurveda hospital
project. The Trincomalee Government Agent has always worked systematically
against Tamil interests in the district.
Security forces blocked ICRC medical supplies
20 April 2000 - Sri Lankan
security forces prevented the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
from taking its Ministry of Defence
authorised medical supplies for its mobile and primary health clinics in
the Vanni. The civilians in the Vanni relied on the ICRC facilities.
According to the ICRC spoke person “ICRC has sought permission from the
Ministry of Defence for 45 types of drugs. The Ministry of Defence gave
clearance but considerably reduced the quantities. “However, the security
forces in Vavuniya blocked 31 items completely and further reduced the
quantities of the 14 which permitted, even though we had the Ministry of
Defence clearance. "As a result, there was hardly anything we could take
in," spoke person said.
Surgery closed down
7 May 2000 - The surgery
of the Mallavi hospital and two branches of the Mullaithivu hospital were
closed down due to a severe shortage of medical supplies in the Vanni. The
Medicine Sans Frontier - MSF and the ICRC have raised concern over the shortage
of medicine in the Vanni due to blocking by the Sri Lanka army. It was reported
in 1998 that 36,515 patients in the Mullaitivu District reporting fever, 16,936
tested positive for malaria and 3,239 had cerebral malaria, which damages the
brain and 60 percent of children suffered third- degree malnutrition.
10 April 2000 - Hospitals in Vanni
have not received their first quarter allocation of Medicines, X-ray films and
laboratory chemicals which is seriously affecting treatment of patients.
According to the Hospital authorities they are already experiencing shortages
as only 30% of the required supplies reached Vanni hospitals during the second
half of 1999.
Permission
not granted for ambulances
9 May 2000 - The
ambulances donated by the UNICEF to the Mallavi, Kilinochchi, and Mullaithivu
hospitals in the Vanni cannot be sent because Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence
is continuing to delay permission.
The three ambulances were donated by the UNICEF to help medical authorities in
the Vanni cope with the problem of handling serious emergency cases that cannot
be treated there due to a severe lack of drugs and intensive care facilities
for surgery. Health department officials in Vavuniya said the few ambulances
that are currently in service in the Vanni are in a very bad condition due to
the dilapidated roads and jungle paths of the region.
Short supply of medicine / malaria epidemic / undernutrition
-
Supply
of medicines for the first quarter of this year were allowed only in May. But
all medicines were drastically cut. Even though 185 patients were admitted for surgical operations - only
49 major operations were carried due to lack of medicines.
-
In
November 99, the mortality rate among the 710 patients admitted to Mallavi
hospital was 4%, while the rate for children under 12 years was 6.5%.
-
According
to the report of Redd Barna Norwegian NGO, undernutrition among children in Sri Lanka is 37%, but in the Vanni
it is high than 70%.
-
In
1999,216,000 people were treated in Kilinochchi hospital, 31,600 for malaria At Mallavi hospital,
158,000 people were treated, including for malaria, septicaemia and diarrhoea.
-
During
1997 and 1998, 53% of the 430,240 malaria patients in Sri Lanka were from Vanni
and Kilinochchi Districts. 80% of the 182 deaths due to malaria were in these
districts.
There continues to be serious problems
with access to food for most of the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons,
in the Vanni, due to the economic embargo imposed on the area by the Sri Lankan
government. For about ten years food and essential items have been severely
restricted. Many NGOs have stated in international human rights forums such as
the Commission on Human Rights and Sub-Commission on Promotion and Protection
of Human Rights that these severe and cruel restrictions on food supply, is
tantamount to using food as a weapon of war against the civilian
population.
Deaths
due to starvation
Earlier this year the Government Agents
of both Mullaithivu and Kilinochchi Districts reported that “starvation among the population is
identified and acute shortage of essential drugs is also experienced”. As the
people are malnourished their vulnerability to epidemics grows. Around 500,000
people suffer from malnutrition in the Vanni, according to NGOs in the region.
Malnutrition has reached grave levels causing a series of deaths. Treatment for
anaemia due to malnutrition is difficult because of lack of availability of blood
for transfusion.
From time to time the people have been
demonstrating in large numbers at the offices of aid agencies and local
officials. The injustice of being denied food to such a huge number of persons
is really very serious. They demonstrate in the hope that some action will be
taken on their behalf, and that the international community will react and
exert influence on the government to rectify the situation, and allow basic
food supplies to reach the people.
Fishing
families unable to work to feed families
In the coastal village of Pesalai, west
of Mannar, the fishermen have had their kerosene for their boats confiscated by
the Sri Lankan army, despite the fact that their supplies were cleared by the
Sri Lanka army and the police. Families that rely on the supply of fish for
their daily food, especially those in the local refugee camp, are affected.
Such difficulties are forcing them to seek refuge and access to food across the
water in Tamil Nadu.
No
food for displaced in Peninsula
There are problems in the Jaffna
Peninsula too. In the “Ootru” survey report it was revealed that sixty seven
per cent of the school children in Jaffna are undernourished. This high level
of undernourishment among these children is due to bloated prices of essentials,
unemployment and death of breadwinners in many families. There are 20,000
widows in the Peninsula with no regular means of income. Recently there have
been additional problems, for those displaced yet again due to the war
situation.
Local officials and Catholic church
sources said on April 1st that they were quickly running out of rice
gruel for more than 7500 persons displaced in the Pallai sector due to the war
situation. They said that there had been no funds or supplies to feed the
people who fled the shelling in Pallai and Maasar, north of the Elephant Pass
garrison, since Monday, March 27 as all civilian transport had come to a halt
because of the fighting on the A9 highway and the interior between Pallai and
Eluthumadduval.
International and local humanitarian agencies based in Jaffna town were not
able to respond to this crisis so far the officials and church workers said.
The Catholic church was the only organisation assisting the people arriving
from the war zone. The condition of the refugees was deplorable and there were
only seven priests from the Jaffna Catholic Church who were already overworked.
Their cassocks were splattered with blood and mud as many war wounded came also
with the newly displaced people.
The Chavakachcheri Divisional Secretary (DS), Mr.S. Sundarampillai declined to
give cooked food for the refugees arriving in Mirusuvil from the war zone on
the ground that he had to first get permission from the Jaffna Kachcheri to do
so. The refugee crisis could turn acute with the expected arrival of the
thousands held up at Kilali later that day Jaffna Catholic Church sources said.
The situation could deteriorate further because of the Divisional Secretary's
refusal to provide cooked food and the inability or reluctance of the international
aid agencies in Jaffna to visit the Mirusuvil area.
The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC), however, handed out non food relief items to about 109 persons
who arrived in Jaffna town from the war zone when the fighting broke out.
EU sponsored seminar questioned
2 May 2000 - The Counter Subversive
Unit of the Sri Lankan Police
questioned a senior Tamil journalist regarding a seminar sponsored by the
European Union in Batticaloa in April. The
CSU interrogated Mr.R.Thurairatnman, the Batticaloa correspondent for the Tamil
daily Thinakaran, the Daily News and the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation,
and recorded a statement from him regarding the participants and purpose of the
EU sponsored seminar.
The CSU had later contacted an official of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance
(SLTMA), a joint organiser of the seminar and exchange program, and obtained
from him a list of the journalists who took part in the event. An organiser of
the seminar said that the general tenor of the CSU investigation appears to be
aimed at framing or intimidating some senior Tamil journalists and regional
correspondents who report on the war.
The European Union sponsored the seminar and inter-provincial exchange program
for Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim journalists in Batticaloa on April 21 and 22 in
conjunction with many local organisations. The program was designed to build
better understanding and rapport between Sinhala media persons and Tamil
speaking journalists, particularly regional correspondents. This CSU
investigation shows that Tamil journalists continue to remain vulnerable to
arrest, interrogation and detention by outfits.
Promulgation of draconian measures against printing presses in Sri
Lanka
4
May 2000 - The
Sri Lankan President promulgated draconian measures under the public security
ordinance banning all activities perceived as a threat to national security.
Under these regulations, the government can take possession of ships, planes
and vehicles and other assets from the public for national security purposes
and for the maintenance of the essential services. The regulations also provide
for the government to ban any publication and seize printing presses.
The regulations were gazetted on 3 May 2000. The promulgation has been made
under Section 40 of the Public Security Ordinance. The government can seize the
buildings and any other assets of any person found guilty under the Prevention
of Terrorism Act and obtain the services of anyone in the national interests or
to run the essential services.
The printing, distribution and selling
of some publications that are not acting in the interests of national security
will be banned. The government will have the right to seize printing presses
acting in contravention of the regulations promulgated. Persons engaging in
such acts will be arrested. Displaying banners and posters and distributing
leaflets are banned.
Those who speak against the President, the constitution and the judiciary will
be severely punished. Strikes and
organising strikes are banned. The government has the authority to close the
bank accounts of organisations which engage in strike action. The right to
arrest any person has been granted to the Police and officers appointed for the
purpose by the commanders of the Sri Lanka Army, Air Force and Navy.
Foreign
media censored
4
May 2000 -
The Sri Lankan Government renewed press censorship on the foreign media. Sri
Lanka's local media have been subject to censorship since last year. However,
Colombo-based foreign media had been exempted. Minister of post,
telecommunications and media has said that all war-related reports shall be
submitted to the censor.
Newspapers shut down
19
May 2000 -
The Sri Lanka army sealed the Jaffna
daily, Uthayan. According to a jounalist at the paper, soldiers who went to
the paper's office in Jaffna town locked the building, cut the phone lines and
took the keys away. Earlier the Army
warned the Uthayan paper's assistant general manager and associate editor for publishing a story about the Sri Lankan
President's meeting with Indian Air Force commander.
22
May 2000 -
The Sunday Leader (English news paper), one of Sri Lanka's main
newspapers was closed down by the government on 22 May 2000. No reason had been
given. The Sunday Leader has been critical of the ruling People's Alliance for
a considerable period.
3
UNP organisers arrested in Batticaloa
Three organisers of the UNP in
Batticaloa, Sinnathamby Kathirkamathamby, W. Fernando and Rudra Ignatius were
arrested in Batticaloa on 3 February 2000 by a special CID team from Colombo.
The chief UNP organiser for the district Mr. Rajan Sathiyamoorthy surrendered
later on 10 February to the Police. The four are being held by the CID for
investigations under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
UNP MP questioned by CID
8
March 2000 - Mr. Alisahir Moulana, United National Party member of
Parliament for Batticaloa was grilled by officers of the Criminal Investigation
Division CID of the Sri Lankan Police for five hours. Mr. Moulana was summoned
to the CID head quarters and had been questioned at length. The UNP had got in
touch with the Inspector General of Police about the interrogation of the MP.
Mr. Moulana was questioned about the
activities of the four Batticaloa UNP organisers who were arrested last month
by a special CID team and about the party's election campaign work in those
parts of the eastern district. The CID had asked the MP about the identity of
some LTTE leaders in his district sources close to him said.
Batticaloa MP subjected to search
11
March 2000 - Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, Member of Parliament for
Batticaloa district and the Leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Tamil
United Liberation Front was subjected to severe search at Mannampity security
post. Security personnel examined his bags and baggage's although he identified
himself as a Parliamentarian.
Mr.Pararajasingham left Batticaloa in his official vehicle with his police
escort to Colombo. At Mannampity security check point he was subjected to
severe search by the police. His vehicle was also thoroughly searched by the
security police personnel.
Six Tamils arrested in Colombo
12
March 2000 - Six Tamils have been arrested in Colombo by the
investigations arm of the Sri Lankan Police. The director of the Criminal
Investigation Division of the Police, said
today that his section has arrested these persons in Dehiwela, a suburb in the
capital's southern sector, and in Pettah in downtown Colombo.
200 arrested in Amparai
13
March 2000 - Nearly 200 people from Attapallam village in the south
eastern Ampara district were detained by the Special Task Force during a search
operation. Most of them taken in for questioning are agricultural laborers who
had gone to the village for paddy harvesting from other areas. Attapallam
village is Tamil village in Ninthavur electorate, about 20 km. east of Amparai
town.
White van abductions in Vavuniya
15 March 2000 - A young woman
and a youth have been abducted by unidentified men in a white van in the
northern town of Vavuniya. Ponnaiah Sureshini, 24, of Marukaarampalai junction
on the Vavuniya-Mannar road was abducted at Pandaarikulam, while she was on her
way to the village administrative office.
Kalimuththu Kovintharajah, 25, was abducted from his house in Vepankulam, by a
group of armed personnel who came in a white van. According to a complaint made
by his relatives, the abductors, 3 men and 3 women, came in a white van and
took away Kovintharajah around 9 p.m. The men were in civil and women were in military fatigues. He has
been missing since then.
Germany deported Tamils arrested at Airport
17 March 2000 - Sri Lankan
Police took two Jaffna Tamils deported from Germany into custody at Katunayake
International Airport. Both Tamils, Vaitilingam Suthaharan and Subramaniam
Theiventhran, permanent residents of Jaffna, were ordered on remand by the
Negombo Magistrate. According to German Embassy spokesman, 150 Sri Lankans who
had been refused asylum were deported last year.
Mother and 7 month old child arrested
21
March 2000 - A 30 year old woman, Sukanthi Narenthiran, was arrested at
Kaluwanchikudi in the Batticaloa District by a CID team from Kandy. She was
taken to Kandy for questioning along with her 7 month old child. Her husband,
Narenthiran, was summoned for questioning.
More arrests
in Vavuniya
22 March 2000 - Five
civilians including four employees of the main Post Office in Vavuniya were
arrested by a special team of the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the
Sri Lankan Police from Colombo. An employee of a Jewellery shop in Vavuniya
town was also taken into custody by the Police investigators from Colombo. See
summary report, Arrests, cases 035-039 for names.
Three
arrested in Trincomalee
23 March 2000 - Three youths
were arrested during a combined search operation by the Sri Lanka Army and police
in the Mutur Town area in the Trincomalee District. Three Tamil youths-two from
Menkamam and one from Sampoor, villages were taken into custody. The youths were brought down to Trincomalee
town for further interrogation.
Seven arrested in the East
24 March 2000 Seven Tamil
villagers were arrested by the Sri Lanka Army near the district border between
Ampara and Batticaloa. Eight persons including an eight year-old boy were
travelling in a tractor from 13th milepost towards Malayarkadu in Ampara
district for work. The Army arrested the seven adults near Malayarakadu. The
eight-year old boy was abandoned alone at the spot.
The boy, however, managed to find his way home and told his family and others
in his village that the Army had taken all the adults who were with him into
custody. On representations made villagers, Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham,
Parliamentarian of Batticaloa district contacted the Army authorities at
Amparai.
The Army first denied the arrest. Later the Army admitted that troops had
arrested seven persons travelling in a tractor in Malayarkaddu and that they
had been handed over to the Police for further inquiries.
Tamils youths arrested in Colombo
29 April 2000 - Eight Tamil
youth, including two girls, were arrested in Colombo. The boys and girls were
taken into custody by the Sri Lankan Police during a search conducted in
several lodges in the suburb of Bambalapitiya.
The eight youth are from various parts of the island's northern and eastern
provinces.
Police claimed that the youth were arrested because they did not have any valid
reasons for their presence in Colombo.
They are being interrogated in detention at the Bambalapitiya Police
station.
Several arrests in Batticaloa
27 May 2000 - At least 25
persons were arrested during a search operation by the Sri Lanka Army in the
Thaandavanveli area in the Batticaloa. The arrested are being interrogated at
the Batticaloa police station. Meanwhile, Sarumathy Krishnapillai (24) from
Palukamam in Batticaloa was arrested by the Sri Lankan police. The young woman
was employed at a garment factory and was staying at Wattale.
In another incident Sri Lankan police arrested Kanapathipillai Kangeswaran, 34,
of Batticaloa at Manampitty check post. He was on his way to work in a paddy
field at Kaduruvela in the neighbouring Pollanaruwa district when he was
arrested. In Kalmunnai, the Special Task Forces arrested S.M.Nizar, 23 May
2000.
Tamil journalist arrested
28 May 2000 - The Sri
Lankan Police arrested a senior journalist of the state run Tamil daily,
Thinakaran. The Tamil journalist, Arul Sathiyanathan, was arrested in his home
at Talawakella in the hill country district of Nuwara Eliya. Mr. Sathiyanathan
was taken into custody by the Police although he had shown them proof that he
was a senior accredited journalist at Thinakaran.
8 youths arrested in Batticaloa
4 June 2000 - Eight youths
were arrested when the Sri Lanka Army soldiers and Police conducted a cordon
and search operation in Kokkuvil, a village 4 km. north of Batticaloa. The troops used masked spotters during
the search. The youths who were identified by the spotters were taken to the
Batticaloa police station.
58 University students arrested
8 June 2000 - Sri Lankan
police arrested 58 Tamil undergraduate students of the Engineering Faculty at
the University of Moratuwa, south of Colombo. The police imposed an unofficial
curfew in Moratuwa .
Sexual abuse by Sri Lanka soldiers on Tamil detainees
9 June 2000 - At least 1 in
5 male Tamil detainees in Sri Lanka have suffered sexual abuse, including rape,
according to The Lancet, the British medical weekly. "We believe that
sexual abuse of Tamil men in detention is common in Sri Lanka," a report
by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture published in The
Lancet said, adding that the number of victims "is probably higher [than
20%] as some will not have reported it."
Based on examinations of 184 detainees, a group of 17 doctors contributed to
the Medical Foundation's report. Of the 184 men, 38 said they had been sexually
abused during their detention. Three of the 38 said they had been given
electric shocks to their genitals, 26 had been assaulted on their genitals, and
four had sticks pushed through the anus, usually with chillies rubbed on the
stick first.
One said he had been forced to masturbate a soldier manually, three had been
made to masturbate soldiers orally, and one had been forced with his friends to
rape each other in front of soldiers for their "entertainment". Of
the men who said they had been sexually abused, 11 reported being raped as part
of that sexual abuse.
Cordon and search
operation
9
June 2000 -
In another incident, four people, including a woman, were arrested when the
police searched a rice mill in Welikande in Batticaloa.
13 June 2000 - A large
number of Sri Lanka Army soldiers and police cordoned off Muttur town, south of
Trincomalee, in its entirety and conducted a search operation. At least 25
people were detained on suspicion during the search. Residents were herded to
the town hall and interrogated in front of masked spotters.
More than 150 police personnel from
Trincomalee, and about one hundred Army
soldiers from Kallady camp were sent to the Muttur town to conduct the
search. Meanwhile six people from Amparai district who went to work in paddy
fields in the Polonaruwa district were arrested by the Army soldiers. Those arrested are being detained at the
Anuradhapura prison.
6774
Tamils arrested in Colombo since July 1999
July 1999 152 January
2, 2000 2246
August 275 January 6th 3000
September 80 February 157 (whole month)
October 560 March 37
November 60 April
55
December 49 May
45
June 58 (Until 15th)
Total arrests in Colombo = 6774
Arbitrary Killings
JMC member killed
1
March 2000 An unidentified youth shot and killed a member of the
Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC), representing the Eelam People's Democratic
Party (EPDP) in Jaffna Town. Mr.
Anton Sivalingam was talking to another JMC member when the armed youth entered
his house at 4th Cross Street and opened fire. He died on the spot. His body
was taken to the Jaffna Hospital.
Youth killed in Mannar
26
March 2000
- In Mannar, the Special Task Force units from Semmantheevu and Naanaattaan had
gone to cordon off and search Vaalkaipetraan Kandal had opened fire on two
youth who had tried to get away on a motor bicycle. The pillion rider was shot
dead while the other escaped. The Special Task Forces had arrested some people
from the village following the shooting and took them away according to an
unconfirmed report from Murunkan.
Indian fisherman dies in custody in Sri Lanka
March
28 2000 -
A Tamil Nadu fisherman arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in February near
Kachchathivu died in custody. A human rights lawyer who went to see his body at
the government hospital in Colombo charged that he died due to neglect of the
injuries sustained when Sri Lanka Navy personnel assaulted him during arrest in
the high seas.
The fisherman , Velsamy Rajah, 38, was taken into custody by the Sri lanka Navy
near Kachchathivu on February 19 for
fishing in Sri Lankan waters. He was produced before the Mannar courts and was
then sent to the remand prison at Welikada in Colombo.
Velsamy was later transferred to the Police special detention camp in Mirihana
where he fell ill. He died after being admitted to the government hospital in
Kalubowila, an outer suburb of Colombo. Velsamy Rajah is from S.T.C Road in
Vaithiyanathapuram in Madurai 10.
19 killed in a bomb explosion in Batticaloa
17
May 2000 -
At least 19 people, including 4 Sri Lanka Army soldiers and a police officer
were killed when a powerful bomb exploded in Batticaloa. Forty-two civilians
and 21 members of the security forces were wounded in the blast.
The blast occurred near Mangalaramaya Vihare close to the Batticaloa police
station.
A large number of people had gatherd at
the venue to see Wesak celebrations at the Buddhist temple when the bomb which
was believed to have been fixed to a bicycle of an ice cream vendor exploded,
the police said.
15 killed and 31 wounded at home for aged in Jaffna
19
May 2000 -
Aid agency sources in the north said that 15 persons were killed and 31 wounded
at the home for the aged in Kaithady, east of Jaffna town, when it was hit by
artillery shells. The Sri Lankan army has been shelling the general area of
Kaithadi heavily since the Liberation Tigers overran its positions in and
around this junction town on May 17.
According to a reliable source the
bodies of the home's inmates who were killed in the shelling were blown to
pieces. Eleven inmates of the Kaithady home for aged were killed on the spot
and thirty five were seriously wounded when the shells hit the building and the
premises.
Four of the wounded elders died later due to inadequate medical facilities in
the area due to economic embargo to the peninsula. Aid agencies sources in
Jaffna who came to know of the incident said they are not in a position to
visit the scene as the shells continues to fall.
Shelling killed six in Batticaloa
24
May 2000
In Batticaloa said six civilians living close to the Sri Lanka army camp in a
Batticaloa suburb were killed when a shell hit their garden. The Army base is
located close to the coast in Batticaloa town's southern suburb of Kallady.
Three civilians in the neighbourhood were wounded.
Bomb kills Sri Lankan minister
June
7, 2000 - A senior Sri Lankan government minister was
assassinated by a suicide bomber in the capital, Colombo. Industry Minister CV
Gooneratne and 20 others died in the attack which took place during
celebrations honouring the country's war heroes. Dozens of people were wounded -
including the minister's wife.
The police have blamed the attack on
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The minister was attacked as he was
collecting donations for the army in his constituency in Colombo. One
eyewitness said he saw a man approach the minister as he walked in a parade in
front of a big crowd. He then embraced him before setting off the bomb. "I heard a huge explosion and then saw
parts of bodies flying around. I can't remember what happened immediately after
that," said another bystander. A BBC correspondent says questions have
been raised about a possible breach of security, which allowed the bomber to
approach the minister.
Arbitrary killings named as a crime against humanity war crime
The
Federal Court of Australia establishes that former Sri Lankan Navy officer
committed war crime
Bandisattambige Ajith Susantha
Fernando, a former Sri Lankan Navy officer committed
a crime against humanity, a war crime, and therefore was not eligible for refugee
status, concluded the Federal Court of Australia, 8 June 2000. He was excluded
from coverage of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees under
Article 1F(a) and 1F(b)
The decision of the Federal Court
upheld that of the Refugee Review Tribunal. The latter’s report, dated 10th March 2000, had stated that, “The tribunal is satisfied that the
applicant’s actions cannot be regarded as being isolated or random acts, but
rather part of a larger design to persecute Tamil civilians, including Tamil
refugees.”
Fernando admitted to killing unarmed
civilians in a refugee camp. In early 1993 he was stationed near Jaffna in the
North of Sri Lanka. An ICRC refugee camp giving shelter to 300-400 Tamil
refugees stood in the way of the Sri Lankan forces securing a pier from the
LTTE. The ICRC flag was flying above the camp, clearly identifying it as being
under the auspices of the ICRC. Fernando’s
commanding officer ordered him to kill the civilians in the camp. He was not surprised or alarmed at the commanding
officer’s direction.
Under Fernando’s command, 8 men and a
Tamil speaking interpreter approached the camp wearing clothes consistent with
the usual dress of the LTTE, and tried through the Tamil interpreter, to engage
the civilians in the camp. The civilians in the camp were apparently not
deceived by the guise and started shouting at them. The nine members of the Sri
Lankan armed forces exposed their M16 rifles, formed an angle formation and
shot at the civilians. None of the camp occupants were armed, their ages varied
between 5 and 50 years of age. 40
refugees were murdered, 18 of whom were in the range of Fernando, including a
pregnant woman. The remaining refugees fled. After the massacre Fernando
was commended by the commanding officer and told to forget about the events. He
had freely participated in the act.
Chemmani case moved before Chief Magistrate
1
June 2000 -
The Magisterial inquiry relating to Chemmani graves came up for hearing before
Colombo Chief Magistrate. Initially the Jaffna Magistrate's Court heard the
case, but following an order by the Court of Appeal, the matter was transferred
to the Colombo Magistrate.
The Court of Appeal made this order after an application by the suspect army
officers that their lives were in danger in appearing at the Jaffna
Magistrate's Court for the case. The Court allowed an application by Senior
State Counsel seeking written authority from Court to enable a senior CID
Officer to proceed to Jaffna and bring the relevant case records presently lying
at the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court.
The Chemmani case revolves around the testimony of one of the soldiers found
guilty in the assault, rape and murder of Krishanthy Kumaraswamy and the murder
of her mother, brother and a neighbour. Upon being convicted, Rajapakse queried
why he was being singled out for punishment when he knew of hundreds of bodies
being dumped by other soldiers in the grounds of Chemmani.
The government opened the investigation into the allegations after intense
international pressure. After many
delays and rumours of evidence being destroyed, 17 bodies were discovered in
the areas the Rajapakse pointed out.
42 more Skulls and
skeletons found in Kilinochchi
Between
7-10 March 2000 - Eight skeletons were recovered from a sewage-pit in
Uthyanakar, Kilinochchi. The remains were found when the owners were cleaning
the compound. Jewellery was also found in the pit. The skeletons are believed
to the remains of people who had gone to visit relatives in Kilinochchi, when
the Army was in control of the town, and were latter reported 'missing'.
10
March 2000 - A human skull and an arm bone were recovered from a sewage
pit in a house at Thirunakar in Kilinochchi. The skeletal remains were handed
over to the Kilinochchi hospital
21 March 2000
-
Three more human skeletons were recovered from toilet pits in Kilinochchi
north. These were the remains of civilians killed by the Sri Lanka Army when it
was in control of the area. About ten human skeletons were found from sewage pits
early March at Thirunagar and Uthayanagar in Kilinochchi district. Six of them
were identified by relatives from the remains of clothes found in the pits.
23 March 2000 - One skeleton
was discovered from the same waste-pit in Urithirapuram, Kilinochchi where
three skeletons were unearthed before. The
skeleton found contained remnants of a reinforcing surgery done to one broken
leg bone. The three skeletons found on 22 March, had some clothing around them.
The waste-pit was situated about 700 m north of the Forward Defence Lines of the security forces when Kilinochchi was
occupied by the Sri Lankan Army. The
skeletons have been taken to the Kilinochchi District Hospital for medical
examination. They will be later taken to Akkarayan for possible identification.
So far 42 skeletons have been
discovered in Kilinochchi district including the 13 found on the 6th, 8th, 11th
and the 20th of March.
500 civilian
casualties due to bombing and shelling
9
June 2000 -
The Bishop of the Catholic Church in Mannar Rt.Rev.Dr. Rayappu Joseph said in
appeal sent to the heads of foreign missions in Colombo that there were more
than five hundred civilian casualties due to bombing and shelling by Sri Lankan
security forces in the Madduvil area, close to Chavakachcheri in Jaffna.
"I am given to understand that the attitude of the armed forces is that
'it is better to kill the people than allow them to go into the LTTE controlled
areas' the Bishop states in the appeal.
The following is the full text of the Mannar bishop's appeal. "Situation of the war area of
Chavakachcheri-Kodikamam, Jaffna. I wish to express my concern regarding the
state of the civilians in the above mentioned war area. The Parish Priest of
Chavakachcheri Rev. Fr. Ananthakumar having moved out of this trapped area with
76 families to Koanavil in Vanni via Sangupiddy - Pooneryn has contacted me
from Madhu. He described the pathetic situation of the people being mercilessly
made victims of this senseless war. Since they are trapped, they have no way of
escaping from this plight.
"Few have risked their lives amidst Sri Lankan Army's heavy artillery
shelling and aerial bombings to move out into safe area. This exodus takes five
to six days when they cross over to Vanni via Sangupiddy-Pooneryn. In the meantime
quite a number have been killed and I am given to understand that the attitude
of the armed forces is that " it is better to kill the people than allow
them to go into the LTTE controlled areas".
"I am also informed that people who are compelled to live within the
bunkers are helpless and starving. According to this source the number of
civilian casualties in the Madduvil area is more than 500. This type of
massacre is witnessed to be extending to other areas of Thenmarachchi as well.
The people of Meesalai, Sarasalai and Manthuvil have sought refuge in school
buildings. There are 157 inmates, all sickly and helpless, housed in the
Kaithadi Home for the Elders. Unfortunately, the NGOs are not permitted by the
security forces to move into these areas.
"Hence, I appeal to Your Excellency to prevail upon the Government and the
LTTE to rectify the alarming situation at least by permitting the NGOs like the
UNHCR and ICRC to reach those areas with food and medicine and if necessary to
evacuate those victims from there in a situation of temporary cease fire."
Children,
amongst the most vulnerable members of the community, continue to face severe
and multiple violations of their rights.
All children have the right to food, healthcare and education. They also
have the inherent Right to Life itself. There exists chronic suffering for
Tamil children whose rights in all these areas are being denied.
Right
to life denied.
Children continue to be killed by Sri
Lankan armed forces. Children of all ages are affected. Mariyanayakam Jude,
aged 17 was shot dead by Sri Lankan Navy on 26th April 2000 as he
was fishing off the coast of Chundikulam. At the other end of the continuum of
childhood, the infant son of Sivanesan Annaimary was killed when the Sri Lankan
army shelled his parent’s home on 26th May, in Madduvil.
Children
arrested and detained. Assaulted in custody.
Eleven cases have been documented of
children arrested by Sri Lankan security forces since January. The youngest was
aged twelve and was arrested while studying in his school, Urumpirai
Chandrothaya Vadyalayam. Two girls who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Army
stationed at Maavadivembu, on 28th May, were severely assaulted
whilst in army custody. Kala Alakaiah and Kubenthini Thillainathan were so
badly injured that they were admitted to Batticaloa hospital by prison
officers.
Rape
of children by Sri Lankan army and police
There has still been no denunciation or
investigation by the government of the horrific rape case of twelve year old
girl-child Pushpamalar who was raped by a soldier in Sagathaanai, Jaffna, on 6th
October 1998.
On 11 February, a Muslim boy was
sexually assaulted by two policemen who were attached to the police post inside
his school in Muttur, Trincomalee. They forcibly took him to a wooded area near
the school before committing the offence.
Embargo
starves children
In the Vanni area, school children
continue to suffer due to the economic embargo on the area, imposed by the
government of Sri Lanka for more than a decade. Severe malnutrition and disease
result from the lack of food and medicine. The denial of these basic
necessities of life to children is a serious breach of the government of Sri
Lanka’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its
obligations to respect humanitarian law in armed conflict. Night blindness, due
to lack of vitamin C continues to affect many children as do respiratory
infections, scabies, malaria and anaemia.
Education
of children disrupted
With
disturbing frequency schools are taken over and occupied by the Sri Lankan
army. Please see section on Education for specific examples. Also for instances
of schools being shelled by Sri lankan armed forces. Children are not safe even
in their own classrooms.
Child maimed by explosion
Tharmalingam Vinodharan, a 10 year old
child from Maravanpullo in the Thenmaradchi area of the Jaffna Peninsula, lost
both hands below his wrists when an unidentified explosive detonated on 21st
June 2000. according to hospital sources, he was admitted to the Mallavi
hospital and later transferred to Vavuniya General Hospital for surgery. The
child’s relatives said that his eyes were also affected by the explosion.
The human rights situation for women
continues to be desperate and serious. Rapes and sexual assaults of Tamil women
by Sri Lankan army, Police and navy continue unabated. As was pointed out by
NGOs during the 56th session of the Commission on Human Rights even
though the President, the Prime Minister and the Special Rapporteur on Violence
against women, are all Sri Lankan women, the situation for women has not
improved.
Police
force into women’s homes at night
In the Sinnakadi area of Mannar
residents reported on 18th June 2000 that six policemen have been
attempting to rape women in the area. The policemen, attached to the checkpoint
situated at the Building Materials Co-operative in Sinnakadai forcibly open the
doors of local residents at night. This is terrifying for anyone living in the
house, and with the high rate of rape and murder of Tamil women by Sri Lankan
army and police, this is clearly inflicting terror on these women. A complaint
has been lodged with the brigadier general of the area. However, given the
impunity with which the armed forces carry out their violations of human
rights, it is not surprising that 100 families are seriously considering moving
from the area. Sri Lankan police and army checkpoints are notorious locations
for sexual harassment, arbitrary arrest and “disappearance”.
Woman
raped
A woman was admitted to Manthikai
hospital, Point Pedro, on March 3rd 2000, in an unconscious state.
She had been raped by three Sri Lankan army soldiers from Malusanthi army camp
near her house. The soldiers had said they wanted to check her identity card,
and forced their way into her home, while she was alone. All Tamils have to
have identity cards and cannot even stay with relatives or friends without
registering with the police.
Unsafe
at home
Another case of a woman being unsafe in
her own home is that of Ponnuthurai Kathirasipillai, aged 52. She was in her
kitchen when, on 26th March she was shot in the stomach by Sri
Lankan Special Task Force Police who opened fire in her village, Vaalkaipetraan,
South East of Mannar. First she was admitted to the small local hospital at
Murunkan, then to Mannar hospital and finally to Vavuniya, for treatment. It is not infrequent for the Sri Lankan
police and army to fire indiscriminately into residential Tamil neigbourhoods.
Even in their homes people live in terror.
Young
mother killed
Mrs. Sivanesan Annaimary, a young
mother, and her infant son were killed instantly when Sri Lankan army shelling
hit her home in Madduvil Sivankovilady, on the morning of 26th may
2000. She was simply in her own home when this atrocity happened. Many other
people were injured in surrounding homes.
Mother
killed returning from hospital with newborn
Another shocking killing of a mother took
place on the afternoon of 27th March 2000. Sritharan Yogeswary aged
38 was coming home from Jaffna hospital with her newborn baby, and her husband
and sister in an auto rickshaw. At Iththaavil, the Sri Lanka army fired at the
rickshaw. Yogeswary was blown to bits, her husband and the driver too.
Witnesses said the baby was splattered with the flesh and blood of the dead
parents. Yogeswary’s sister and the baby survived.
Seven
soldiers alleged to have raped Ida Hamilitta
According to one of the soldiers
attached to the Pullimunai Sri Lanka Army camp, Kaliyan Murukaiah Mahalingam,
seven soldiers were involved in the horrific gang-rape and murder of Ida
Hamilitta, on July 11 1999 in the early hours. The names of those already
arrested and in remand are Dayananda Upal Gurusinghe and Rjah Somaratne. The other five are still serving in other
areas. Their names are, Lieutenant BB Mahinda Perera, Lance Corporal MK Ruvan
Kumara, KP Jayamande Hewawasam, SD Uppali Karunaraten and R Dissanayake
according to Mahalingam. Mannar Magistrate Mr Illancheliyan ordered their
arrest.
At the post-mortem of Ida Hamilitta the
Judicial Medical officer stated that she had been raped, shot at her genitals,
had 18 injuries on her body, had been bitten and had been stabbed on her
abdomen.
It is routine practice for Sri Lanka
police, army and navy to be moved to other areas after serious incidents of
violence against women, and massacres, in cases where the local people and
family have been courageous to report and follow the matter up, despite the
fear of retribution. Once the incident is known nationally or internationally,
then the transfers occur, in an attempt to prevent action being taken against
them.
One example in point is the case of
Sarathambal Saravanbavananthakurukal, 29 year old mother gang-raped and
brutally murdered by Sri Lankan Navy on 28th December 1999. Although
the President was reported to have ordered an immediate investigation on 30th
December, the Naval personnel believed to have carried out the heinous crime
were immediately transferred. TCHR issued an Urgent Action on 4th
January, stating this fact (see report to 56th session of the CHR).
In her letter of 13/03/00 the Special Rapporteur on violence against women
stated that “very little is being done to pursue the matter.” Unfortunately this does not come as a
surprise to us.
POPULATION DISPLACEMENTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS
Refugees in Europe and other
western countries
(The
figures are subject to verification)
During the 1990s, more than 170,000 Sri
Lankans sought asylum in Europe and North America, including nearly 15,700 in
1999.
In 1999, nearly 12,698 Tamils applied
for asylum in Europe, 2,915 applied in Canada, and 83 in the United States. The
United States granted refugee status to 18 percent of the 1,000 Sri Lankans who
applied for asylum during the 1990s.
European countries returned more than
500 rejected Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka during 1998.
According to UNHCR records, nearly
138,000 Sri Lankans applied for asylum in Europe between 1990 and 1998.
European governments recognized 18 percent as refugees and granted another 12
percent other forms of temporary refuge.
During the same period, 31,000 Tamils
applied for asylum in Canada, which granted more than 80 percent of them
refugee status.
Internally displaced people
(The
figures are subject to verification)
According to the Sri Lankan government,
687,000 Sri Lankans were internally displaced at the end of 1999. However, that
figure did not reflect the number of people actually displaced.
Nearly 100,000 Tamils were newly
displaced during the year. In Jaffna most of the 269,000 persons are to be
considered as displaced.
In March 99, the government launched
two offensives in the western Wanni that displaced more than 20,000 people. The
first offensive on March 4, displaced 4,000 people from Iluppaikulam,
Mundrumurippu, and nearby areas. The second offensive displaced some 5,000
people from Vidataltivu and Pappamoddai in Mannar District.
The Sri Lankan army did not permit the more than 10,000 displaced
persons housed in welfare centres in Vavuniya to leave.
On November 20, at Madhu church in
Mannar, a shell fired by the Sri Lankan army killed 42 displaced civilians,
including 13 children, and injuring 60
others.
In 1998, Some 150,000 displaced Tamils
lived in established "welfare centres" in government-controlled
areas.
A military offensive in December 1998
displaced more than 15,000 people from Oddusuddan, some 30 miles Northeast of
Vavuniya. The displaced fled heavy artillery shelling by the army.
In
Vavuniya, there are more than 22,000 Tamil refugees in 12 camps. Health and
sanitary conditions in the camps are extremely poor. The security forces have
refused permission for many people in the camps to travel to Colombo.
IDPs
massacred
Refugees in camps for the internally
displaced are highly vulnerable. Sri Lankan armed forces are capable of
committing vile atrocities against these unarmed defenceless people. 40 such
internally displaced persons were murdered by a Sri Lankan Navy officer and
those under his command, in a case which has come to light only because he
subsequently sought protection in Australia, as a refugee, but was refused ! (More details above in section on Arbitrary
Killings)
Refugees in India
(The
figures are subject to verification)
More than 100 Tamil refugees
repatriated from India, and some 3,500 formerly displaced persons returned
home.
Out of 110,000 refugees, 70,000 lives in
refugee camps and nearly 40,000 lived outside the camps.
According to UNHCR, 3,839 Tamil refugees fled to India during
1998.
On July 26, 1998, a boat carrying about
50 refugees capsized; 40 of the refugees drowned.
In September 99, 12 Sri Lankans fleeing
to India drowned when their boat capsized.
36 Refugees at
Rameswaram coast
13 June 2000 More than 36 Tamil
refugees arrived in one of the sand dunes off the Rameswaram coast. According
to officials, the refugees had informed about their arrival through the
fishermen before they arrived at the coast.
Civilian evacuation failed
27
May 2000 -
The evacuation of an estimated 15,000 civilians from the embattled
Chavakachcheri sector failed on 27/5/2000, as heavy shelling by the Sri Lanka
Army prevented them moving to designated points where UNHCR officials were
waiting, following the declaration of a cease-fire by the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam. Sri Lanka Army is using civilians as human shields and subjecting
them to indiscriminate artillery and aerial bombardment.
The UNHCR had informed the Sri Lankan government about the cease-fire
arrangement but the Sri Lankan government failed to respond.
An estimated 15,000 Tamil civilians are entrapped in the battle zones in the
Chavakachcheri sector and are at considerable risk.
Present situation
More
than 50,000 people are displaced in Maruthankerni, Thenmaratchy and Palai.
20,000
are accommodated in refugee camps established, and provided with dry rations.
The
camps are in Point Pedro, Chankanai, Kokkuvil, Manipay and Thirunelveli in the
Jaffna peninsula.
More
than 6,500 people are in the compound of St Patrick's College, Chundikuli.
Nearly
7,000 are in the compound of Jaffna Hindu College.
Nearly
70% of the civilians in Jaffna town had moved to safer areas.
More
than 5,000 people are awaiting at Trincomalee for a ship to take them to
Jaffna. They are facing many difficulties in Trincomalee.
2000 rupees to buy
our coffins!
4 April 2000 - Do you intend to give
us 2000 rupees to buy our coffins?" "Are you going to let us be used
as human shields?" asked angry refugees from the war zones in the southern
sector of Jaffna when senior government officials went to distribute dry
rations among them. More than three thousand civilians who fled the war have
been blocked at Kilali by the Sri Lanka Army. The irate refugees were reacting
to reports in the media that the government had promised to give 2000 rupees
(28 USD) as relief to each family displaced from the war zone near Jaffna's
gateway garrison following representations made by Tamil Parliamentarians about
their plight.
The displaced civilians refused to accept the rations from the them. Some in
the crowd told the officials "We came here not because we have no money or
food, but to save our lives. So you must let us go to find safety."
There are 1114 persons housed in the Kilali Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School
and the Church in the same compound. The Army says that it has a legitimate
security concern in allowing these civilians to go to the other parts of Jaffna
without screening them first, to identify infiltrators.
COUNTRY SITUATION
Norway embassy
bombing claimed
24
May 2000 -
A group calling itself as National Front Against Tigers (NFAT) claimed
responsibility for the grenades attack on the well guarded Norwegian mission in
Colombo. The group in a statement faxed to the newspaper offices in Colombo
said that the Norwegian government is the "international agent" of
the Liberation Tigers. The same group
claimed responsibility for the assassination of Kumar Ponnambalam on 5 January.
The Norwegian mission was attacked with grenades. The building suffered minor
damages in the attack. The Royal Norwegian embassy provided security by the Sri
Lankan government following a protest against the Norway government in front of
the mission by Sinhala nationalists and Buddhist priests on 16 April.
The BBC's Sinhala service journalist was assaulted and the Norwegian flag burn
by the militant protestors. "We will take serious actions against all
those "agents" who pose a threat to Sri Lankan state", the
statement said.
Protest against
Norwegian involvement in negotiation
Nearly ten-thousand people demonstrated
in Colombo, protesting against Norway's role in resolving Sri Lanka's conflict.
The demonstration was organised by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a
Marxist party, which is considered as a third political force in the island.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered at Lipton Circus near downtown Colombo and
marched towards Hyde Park, shouting slogans against talks with the facilitation
of Norway to end the ethnic conflict in the island. A rally was held at the
Hyde Park.
JVP has announced that it would organise a country wide protests against
Norway's involvement.
On
15 March 2000 - A group of extremist Sinhala Buddhist organizations
picketed in Colombo protesting against the Norwegian peace initiative seeking a
political solution to the island's ethnic conflict.
About 100 people, representing several Sinhala extremist organizations,
including Sinhala Weera Vidhana and National Movement Against Terrorism,
marched from Borella towards the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ward Place and
began shouting slogans against Norway's involvement said sources.
Protestors shouted slogans such as "Do
not interfere in internal affairs" and "Do not talk with the
Tigers".
ICRC, UNHCR urged over cease-fire
9 June 2000 - The
Liberation Tigers said they had urged
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help arrange a temporary cease-fire
between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces to facilitate the evacuation
of civilians trapped in the battle zones of the thenmaradchi division in the
Jaffna peninsula. The civilians are unable to leave as the Sri Lankan armed
forces are pounding the possible routes of evacuation, the Tigers said in a
statement from their London offices.
Following is the extracted text of the press release: "The Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam has urged the resident representatives of the UNHCR and
the ICRC to help to arrange a temporary cessation of armed hostilities between
Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE combat formations in the Thenmarachchi
division of the Jaffna peninsula to facilitate the evacuation of Tamil
civilians stranded in the fighting zone.
"The LTTE has made this appeal to these non-governmental humanitarian
organisations following large scale civilian casualties sustained in the
fighting zones of Thenmarachchi as a consequence of indiscriminate barrage of
artillery shelling, multi-barrel rocket fire and heavy aerial bombardment by
Israeli made Kifir combat aircrafts. Already a large section of the stranded
population has moved to safe area in Valigamam, Vadamarachchi and Vanni sector.
Yet thousands are still caught up in the crossfire unable to move to areas of
safety. The Sri Lankan armed forces are pounding the possible routes of
evacuation to prevent civilian movement. "The LTTE has also requested the ICRC
and the UNHCR to visit the battle zones to take stock of the tragic and
dangerous situation the civilians are exposed to."
Cease-fire as gesture
of good will
8
May 2000 -
The Liberation Tigers said that they are prepared to declare a temporary
cease-fire to allow the Sri Lanka Army troops in the northern Jaffna peninsula
to withdraw safely. In a statement from its London offices, the LTTE said its
offer was "gesture of goodwill" to prevent further bloodshed and
"to create a congenial environment" for the SLA "to withdraw
from the unfavourable theatre of war with dignity and honour".
The extracted text of the statement : "We call upon the government of Sri
Lanka to consider our proposal seriously and respond positively without delay. A
positive response, we are confident, will create cordial conditions for a
permanent cease-fire, peace talks and negotiated political settlement for the
Tamil national question. We also wish to indicate to the Sri Lanka government
that it will bear total responsibility for the disastrous consequences of heavy
military casualties if it rejects our proposal for de-escalation and continues
the war effort."
Sri Lanka rejected
cease-fire offer
8
May 2000 -
The Sri Lankan army totally rejected the cease-fire offer by the Liberation
Tigers. An officer at the operational headquarters of the Ministry of defence
said that their Army will fight to the last man to defend Jaffna.
The officer said that there was no question of withdrawing from the peninsula.
The Sri Lanka Army is confident of its position there as many countries have
pledged military assistance to fight the LTTE according to the officer. He
dismissed the LTTE offer for a cease-fire to enable the army to withdraw its
troops from Jaffna as psychological warfare tactics.
Diplomatic relations
with Israel
4
May 2000 -
The Government of Sri Lanka decided to resume diplomatic relations with the
Government of Israel with immediate effect.
Modalities of representations were to be mutually discussed and decided upon by
the two governments, a press release stated. Urgent resumption of relations
with Israel comes in the wake of negotiations to resume military assistance for
fighting the Liberation Tigers in the north.
ANNEXES
TAMIL CENTRE FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS TCHR
(Estd. 1990)
9, Rue des Peupliers, 95140 Garges les Gonesse, FRANCE
The Chairperson
UN Commission on Human Rights 56th
Session
United Nations
Geneva
Switzerland
Dear Sir,
With reference to the statement made yesterday
under agenda item 17 - on Human Rights Defenders - by the Geneva Sri Lanka
representative in the UN Commission on Human Rights - 56th Session; we, the
Tamil Centre for Human Rights non ECOSOC organisation, categorically deny
that we have justified any killings what so ever in the past or present. Our
organisation does not distribute the bulletins of other organisations and we
cannot bear responsibility for the activity of other organisations.
Within our last ten years of service,
we have earned our reputation through hard work and honesty, which has led to a
considerable amount of respected testimony from the UN and other international
bodies.
We hereby request the Sri Lanka
representative to produce any document written by our organisation that proves
his accusation to be true and correct. This allegation was a shock and a
surprise to us. It begs the question, why has the Sri Lanka representative
accused us this year, in particular, and not before?
We are sure that every state
representative and NGO can see, through their own experience and knowledge,
that the Sri Lanka representative’s baseless statement about our organisation
has a hidden motivated agenda to earn us discredit with other states and NGOs.
This is for your information and kind consideration, please.
Thanking you.
Yours
truly,
S.
V. Kirupaharan,
General
Secretary
SRI LANKAN GOVT DECISION SHUTS DOOR ON TALKS
(By Nirupa Subramanian, The Hindu
Newspaper 19 June 2000)
COLOMBO, JUNE 18 - The Sri Lankan Government's decision to exclude the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) from the proposed interim council to
administer the north-east has shut the door on negotiations with
the separatist group, at least for now.
With
this, the President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, has made it clear that there
would be no bargaining with the LTTE. After consultations with the Opposition
United National Party and Tamil parties, it would be presented as a fait
accompli to the group.
The immediate
fall-out of this could be on the Norwegian facilitation of a dialogue between
the Government and the LTTE.
It is evident that the compulsions of majoritarian Sinhala politics have played
an important role in the decision. With general elections round the corner, the
President's position seems to be aimed at reassuring her party's Sinhalese
constituency that she had no intention of cutting a deal with the LTTE. Hard-line Sinnhala organisations have been opposed
to the idea of devolution, and any plans to involve the LTTE in it would only
add fuel to fire.
Only a few months ago, Mrs. Kumaratunga
had accused her main opponent in the presidential campaign, Mr. Ranil
Wickremesinghe, for conspiring with the LTTE when he suggested that an interim
council be set up in the north-east with the LTTE in charge.
Tamil
politicians are apprehensive about what this political posturing forebodes for
the search for a lasting solution to the country's ethnic conflict. The Tamil United
Liberation Front, which has been pressing for talks with the LTTE, reacted with
dismay to the announcement. ``It is
strange for the Government to adopt such a position. What will the President
tell the international community which is pressing her to open talks with the
LTTE? How can she appoint a facilitator for negotiations with the LTTE and then
shut the door on them?'' asked Mr. V Anandasangaree, senior
vice-president of the party.
Though he conceded that the LTTE would
have in any case ``never agreed'' to participate in the proposed council, the
Government's pre-emptive exclusion of the group was ``surprising'', Mr.
Anandasangaree said. He reiterated the party's demand that the LTTE ``will have
to be party to any solution in the north-east''. ``Otherwise there can be no
peace in the country,'' Mr. Anandasangaree warned.
Bishop says 500 civilian casualties in Madduvil
The
Bishop of the Catholic Church in Mannar Rt.Rev.Dr. Rayappu Joseph said in
appeal sent to the heads of foreign missions in Colombo that there were more
than five hundred civilian casualties due to bombing and shelling by Sri Lankan
security forces in the Madduvil area, close to Chavakachcheri in Jaffna.
"I am given to understand that the attitude of the armed forces is that 'it
is better to kill the people than allow them to go into the LTTE controlled
areas' the Bishop states in the appeal.
The following is the full text of the Mannar bishop's appeal. The appeal is
dated June 9 but was released to the press on 12/6/2000.
"Situation of the war area of Chavakachcheri-Kodikamam, Jaffna.
"I wish to express my concern regarding the state of the civilians in the
above mentioned war area. The Parish Priest of Chavakachcheri
Rev.Fr.Ananthakumar having moved out of this trapped area with 76 families to
Koanavil in Vanni via Sangupiddy- Ponneryn has contacted me from Madhu. He
described the pathetic situation of the people being mercilessly made victims
of this senseless war. Since they are trapped, they have no way of escaping from
this plight.
"Few have risked their lives amidst Sri Lankan Army's heavy artillery
shelling and aerial bombings to move out into safe area. This exodus takes five
to six days when they cross over to Vanni via Sangupiddy-Pooneryn. In the
meantime quite a number have been killed and I am given to understand that the
attitude of the armed forces is that " it is better to kill the people
than allow them to go into the LTTE controlled areas".
"I am also informed that people who are compelled to live within the
bunkers are helpless and starving. According to this source the number of
civilian casualties in the Madduvil area is more than 500. This type of
massacre is witnessed to be extending to other areas of Thenmarachchi as well.
The people of Meesalai, Sarasalai and Manthuvil have sought refuge in school
buildings. There are 157 inmates, all sickly and helpless, housed in the
Kaithadi Home for the Elders. Unfortunately, the NGOs are not permitted by the
security forces to move into these areas.
"Hence, I appeal to Your Excellency to prevail upon the Government and the
LTTE to rectify the alarming situation at least by permitting the NGOs like the
UNHCR and ICRC to reach those areas with food and medicine and if necessary to
evacuate those victims from there in a situation of temporary cease fire."
Rev.
Dr. J. Rayappu Joseph
Bishop's
House, Pattim, Mannar
Telephone
: + 94 - 23 - 2191
Fax
: + 94 - 23 - 2191
56th Session of the UN
Commission on Human Rights
MASSIVE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
How long will the UN Commission
for Human Rghts continue to listen to the reports of its own Special
Rapporteurs and of NGOs concerning massive human rights violations in Sri Lanka
as it has been doing for over a dozen years without addressing its primary
causes?
- Society for Threatened Peoples
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HORRIFYING SITUATION FACED BY
TAMIL WOMEN
The fact of rape used as a weapon
of war by the armed forces of the Sri Lankan government is not new to this
Commission. A number of NGOs here, in previous sessions of the Commission and
Sub-Commission have expressed alarm at the horrifying situation faced by Tamil
women.
The Tamil Centre for Human Rights
(TCHR) has documented catalogues of cases of women whose rights are grossly
violated by the Sri Lankan security forces. Taken on average over the last four
years, a Tamil woman is raped every 16 days, a Tamil girl child is gang-raped every
three months and every two months a Tamil woman is gang-raped and brutally
murdered by the Sri Lankan armed forces. The real figures are considerably
higher. These are only the documented cases.
According to the Sri Lanka Police
statistics, crime against women has reached horrendous figures in the South of
the island. Between January and June 1998 there were 26,565 recorded cases, and
between January and July 1999 there were 26,660 cases.
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International Peace Bureau
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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
ASSASSINATED
France Libertes would like to
draw attention to violations of human rights perpetrated against human rights
defenders in Sri Lanka, particularly the case of Mr G.G. Ponnambalam.
According to the Urgent Action
document of the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (ref no: AE/02/01) dated 28th
February, there are many clues in the assassination of Mr Ponnambalam but no
serious investigation took place. It is stated in the same document that the
government Analyst Department which examined the car in which r Ponnambalam was
killed, could find no finger prints inside the vehicle not even those of Mr
Ponnambalam who had driven this car to the place where he was assassinated.
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FRANCE LIBERTES / Foundation Danielle Mitterrand