A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Sunday, July 16, 2017
Abduction, torture of Tamils remain systematic: ITJP
2017-07-14
Abduction and torture of Tamils by the Sri Lankan security forces remain
systematic because in 30 months the new Government has failed to
dismantle the networks of the ‘deep state’, a Johannesburg-based, the
International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said in its latest
report.
This includes torture chambers in one of the country’s largest army
camps, immigration fraud, human smuggling and extortion by government
allies, the report stated.
“It is hardly surprising that Sri Lanka’s white van abductions continue
as those in charge of past system crimes have been promoted and rewarded
by this Government, which reassures perpetrators that they will never
be held accountable,” said the ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka.
“In addition, torturing Tamils has become a highly lucrative business,”
she added.
The ITJP comprises prosecutors and lawyers who’ve worked on
international tribunals, UN commissions and the ICC. Its findings are
reinforced by medical NGOs and doctors who do painstaking work
forensically examining the scars of torture survivors.
For its latest report the ITJP took detailed testimony from 57 Tamil
victims of illegal detention and torture under the Sirisena government
-- 24 of them tortured in 2016 or 2017. No official has been
investigated or held accountable for such torture.
The ITJP’s report, “Unstopped”, indicates that the ongoing torture is
not the conduct of a few “rotten apples” in the Sri Lankan security
forces as it includes senior officers who themselves participate in the
torture which is systematic and condoned
The ITJP’s report provides graphic descriptions of the torture methods
used in 2016/17, which include beating with cricket wickets and pipes,
burning with cigarettes and branding with hot metal rods, asphixiation
and hanging upside down. In addition, 18 victims (15 male) described
experiencing sexual violence.
“It’s hard to convey the extent of the sexual depravity and cruelty of
the perpetrators,” said Ms Sooka, “what’s clear is any security sector
reform in Sri Lanka must ensure that officials responsible for these
grave crimes are held criminally accountable”.
- In a third of cases in 2016/17 senior officers are described entering
the torture chamber, indicating knowledge on the part of those in
command.
- 12 victims in 2016/17 heard other prisoners screaming from their solitary cells, indicating
(a) More people were tortured and
(b) All the security personel present at the site would have had knowledge of the torture.
- Biometric fingerprinting has been used in the torture chambers,
technology that was only recently introduced for passports. Organised
crime would be unlikely to use this or want to fingerprint in the first
place.
- Victims describe being asked questions about information given during
previous interrogations that was not widely known, indicating those
involved in torture now have access to a centralised database of past
interrogation records.
- 8 victims describe some of their perpetrators wearing military uniforms.
- In 7 cases the victim was tortured in a known site - the Vanni Security Force Headquarters (also known as Joseph Camp).
- Victims are held in purpose built cells and tortured in rooms already equipped for torture.
- The abductions, release and detentions follow a similar modus operandi as during the Rajapaksa years.
- Reprisals continue against family members after the victim has fled.
PRESS-RELEASE-Unstopped-FINAL.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd