One every five days: Ruki Fernando on disappearances in Sri Lanka

25 October 2012

At 2.31pm on 21 August 2012, a 32-year-old woman sent a text message to her relatives saying she had been taken to the Criminal Investigation Department in Vavuniya in the north of Sri Lanka. No one has heard from her since.

Businessman Ramasamy Prabakaran filed a claim against the authorities after he was detained, tortured and subsequently found innocent in court. Two days before the hearing this February, he was abducted by armed men in Colombo, the capital.

Lalith Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganantham, activists who supported families of Sri Lanka’s disappeared, became victims themselves on 9 December 2011, on the eve of the commemoration of Human Rights Day. Over 1,000 people protested against their abduction.Prageeth Ekneligoda, a journalist and cartoonist critical of the present government, has not been seen since 24 January 2010. He disappeared two days before the Sri Lankan presidential election.

Dozens of people, including Catholic priest Francis Joseph, witnessed Sinnathurai Sasitharan, a prominent leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, surrender to the army during the final stages of the civil war in 2009. All of them are now missing. For decades, Sri Lankans of all stripes have suffered enforced disappearances. In the 1970s and 1980s, tens of thousands of young people from the majority Sinhalese community were disappeared. Since then, most victims have been minorities, with Tamils constituting the main target.

During the last months of the war and its immediate aftermath, thousands of Tamils are thought to have disappeared, some, according to eyewitnesses, after surrendering to, or being arrested by, the armed forces. The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which was set up by the Sri Lankan government in 2010, received information about 3,596 disappearance complaints. It concluded that a further, specialised investigation into disappearances was needed. The end of the war has not brought an end to these abuses. Based on reported cases (including attempted abductions), someone is disappeared every five days in Sri Lanka. Over 50 people have been taken from their loved ones in the first six months of this year.

The rationale behind these attacks – both during the conflict and now – appears to be silencing dissent, whether this dissent comes from armed groups, journalists, aid workers, human rights defenders, members of the clergy or anyone else. The UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances has submitted 12,460 cases to Sri Lanka, of which 5,671 remain outstanding. Only Iraq has a worse record.

Together with friends and colleagues, I have accompanied those left behind – mostly wives and mothers – in the search for their loved ones and for the truth, documenting their stories, and supporting their complaints to local bodies. We witnessed the callous treatment they received from the police and Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and the general unwillingness to search for the disappeared or to hold perpetrators accountable. “You wouldn’t talk like that if it was your daughter,” one mother said to the LLRC last November.

In November 2011, the head of the Sri Lankan delegation to the UN Committee Against Torture declared confidently that the disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda was living overseas. Upon returning to Sri Lanka, he admitted in court that he was not actually aware of Ekneligoda’s whereabouts. Earlier this year, when specific information about the location of two disappeared activists was provided to the national Human Rights Commission, it refused to undertake an immediate investigation, despite a clear mandate to do so.

Even worse, some of the families of those missing have been intimidated and ridiculed. So too have many people who have supported them in their quest for truth and justice, including human rights defenders, journalists, politicians, religious leaders and lawyers. Many have been labelled “traitors” or “terrorist sympathisers”. Commemorations and campaigns for those who have disappeared have been banned, disrupted and restricted. Organisers and participants have been threatened and harassed.

The failure of domestic mechanisms to act has compelled many families to seek international assistance for their loved ones. While the support and concern from human rights groups has been welcomed, many are frustrated that the international community has not been able to provide tangible help. There is also disappointment at the unwillingness to put real pressure on those involved. For me, the main glimmer of hope was the courage of the families of the disappeared, who refuse to accept defeat. However powerless I felt, I am honoured to have been part of their struggle.

It is now three and a half years since the end of Sri Lanka’s long-running civil war. But until the families of the disappeared receive the support and compassion they deserve from the government and society at large, until their quest for truth, justice and accountability is over, until democracy and the rule of law are restored, a sustainable peace will remain elusive.

In line with the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, families should receive financial and legal support; access to counselling; prompt assistance with the issuing of relevant documentation, including death certificates; and full cooperation by national authorities to investigate cases. They should be free to hold memorials and to protest peacefully if adequate action is not taken. Reform of legal and other institutions, notably the Human Rights Commission, is also needed.

At the international level, pressure should be put on the Sri Lankan government to ratify the Convention and to allow the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to visit the country. The Group has had an invitation pending for six years. This could help shed light on the fate of the disappeared and would also serve as a sign of political commitment by the government to address and prevent enforced disappearance. The engagement of countries in Central and South America that have experienced and found ways of dealing with mass disappearances is also crucial.

But what is needed above all is for all Sri Lankans to wholeheartedly join the families of the disappeared in their search for truth, justice and accountability.

Ruki Fernando is a Sri Lankan human rights activist who has worked closely with families of the country’s disappeared on documentation, local campaigns and international advocacy.

TNA just making noise - Gota
28 October 2012

Gotabhaya Rajapakse has spoken to Uthayan, during his trip to India, regarding his stance on the 13th Amendment, and questions of demilitarisation in the North.

Extracts translated below:

Uthayan: Are you absolutely firm in your position [regarding the 13th Amendment]?

GR: Absolutely. My opinion on the 13th Amendment is firm. The Amendment was only introduced to solve Prabhakaran’s problem. But even Prabhakaran rejected it. Then the TNA had nothing to say, and it’s amusing that they are now raising their voices and crying out for the 13th Amendment.

Uthayan: Are you saying in that case, that the 13th Amendment will not resolve any problems?

GR: Absolutely. It may help with some administrative problems, but this amendment will never provide any realistic, practical solutions.

Uthayan: The TNA pointed out to India that the number of soldiers in the North and East need to be reduced and that military camps in the region need to be abolished. Did you receive any pressure from India concerning this during your trip?

GR: I received no such pressure from India, and there is no need for India to give it. The TNA are creating problems. Whether it is in the North or the South of the country, army camps are essential for national security. When it comes to security, there is no distinction between North, East, South or West.

Some of India’s key military bases are located in Tamil Nadu. Has anyone ever said that they need to be abolished in Tamil Nadu? The TNA are being worse than the Tigers. We will not compromise the defence of our country in order to bend to pressure from anyone.

The TNA is creating an outcry about the 13th Amendment. But does the 13th Amendment say anything about abolishing army camps in the North and East? The TNA needs to dissolve its act and come forward in a straightforward manner.

BTF and other Diaspora organisations participate in the Universal periodic review (UPR)on Sri Lanka

BTF and its partner organisations are actively working to bring awareness of the Sri Lankan situation in the 14th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) UPR is a good tool to debate Human Rights records of a country; but it can only do very little in the case of Sri Lankan State’s oppression of the Tamils.

But it is important to participate and enlighten the States blindly supporting Sri Lanka. British Tamils Forum will join hands with its partner organisations working in the UNHRC Project. This is part of our Geneva project and we seek your support and participation in our advocacy actions.

UPR Working Group started on Monday 22nd October 2012 with Sri Lanka on the agenda on 1st of November. BTF made its submission in April 2012 focusing on Systematic land grab by the State and demographic alterations with a political motive. Along with BTF many Diaspora organisations and International NGOs made their submissions; this time we took an initiative to coordinate the work to avoid overlaps. A three-member delegation from BTF will be traveling to Geneva today to be present at the second cycle of the UPR with side events planned as well as materials produced for advocacy work.

In March 2012 Sri Lankan diplomats exerted all its political capital to avoid a resolution on Sri Lanka by pushing the “agenda” from the 19th session of the UNHRC to 14 working group session of the UPR.

But our coordinated effective Geneva advocacy with international pressure pushed through a resolution on Sri Lanka during the 19th session of the Human Rights Council.

UPR is non-binding recommendations; during the first cycle of UPR in 2008 Sri Lanka rejected over 25 recommendations which were crucial to protect the Tamils. The common pattern is that the Sri Lankan state will accept any recommendations, which are not measurable by external independent people.

On the other hand it has rejected all the recommendations, which suggested having any independent elements to evaluate or validate Sri Lankan records.

War Crimes In Sri Lanka Have Been Ignored Too Long

Warning: Extremely Graphic images!

War Crimes In Sri Lanka Have Been Ignored Too Long

“One of the worst atrocity crime stories of recent decades has barely registered in the world’s collective conscience. We remember and acknowledge the shame of Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. We agonise about the failure to halt the atrocities in....

THE AUSTRALIAN

War crimes in Sri Lanka have been ignored too long

GARETH EVANS

From:The Australian

October 30, 2012

…ONE of the worst atrocity crime stories of recent decades has barely registered in the world's collective conscience. We remember and acknowledge the shame of Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. We agonise about the failure to halt the atrocities in Syria. But, at least until now, the world has paid almost no attention to war crimes and crimes against humanity comparable in their savagery to any of these: the killing fields of Sri Lanka in 2009.

Three years ago, in the bloody endgame of the Sri Lankan government's war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, about 300,000 civilians became trapped between the advancing army and the last LTTE fighters in what has been called "the cage", a tiny strip of land between sea and lagoon in the northeast of the country.

Badulla MC member destroys Hotel and brutally attacks its owner and family
(Lanka-e-News -30.Oct.2012, 11.00PM) Range Manju, the former Badulla Deputy Mayor and current Badulla Municipal Council member , has resorted to the worst rowdy and disgracefully murderous tactics following the MaRa regime lawless administration by launching a brutal attack on the owner of a super class Restaurant and his family while also devastating the Hotel, according to reports.

This ruthless and lawless attack had been directed against the owner , his family members and the workers of Greenwood Hotel . The son of the Hotel owner who had sustained critical injuries had been transferred to the Colombo Hospital because of the fear to admit him to the Badulla Hospital in the background of this fierce attack. Following this devastating attack, the Defender vehicle, the Restaurant and the residence of the Hotel owner had been severely damaged.

Though this fierce attack was launched on the 28th , so far the police had failed to arrest anyone , underlining the prevailing lawlessness in the country with Govt. politicos and their henchmen taking the law into their hands with complete impunity.
The most deplorable side of the prevailing lawlessness under the MaRa regime was demonstrated when the police even released those arrested while the victims were being transferred to the Hospital . This release is absolutely unlawful and cannot be justified under any circumstance, yet the police the law enforcers have just done that .

It is learnt that this murderous hooligan of a politico , Range Manju is a favorite and a number one stooge of Rajapakses.

Rains pound North-East as cyclone Neelam approaches
30 October 2012

12:43 GMT Mullativu. Photographs Sri Lanka Red Cross Society A depression in the bay of Bengal, has intensified into a mini cyclone - named cyclone Neelam - which is said to be approaching the North-East and India. The Meteorological Department in Sri Lanka, said last night that it was approximately 100km from Trincomalee. This morning, the Met Depart has stated the cyclone has changed course and is likely to pass over Kankesanthurai this afternoon. All images are courtesy of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. Mullaitivu district The news comes as heavy rains and gusts of upto 80kmph continue to batter Mullativu district and across the North-East. Despite the change of direction of the cyclone, the pounding of the North-East is set to continue. Flooding in Jaffna The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society reported that Tamils who had only be recently resettled due to the armed conflict are "mostly effected", particularly in Puthukkudiyiruppu, along with Manthai East, Maritimepattu, Oddusuddan and Thunukkai. Satellite imagery of cyclone Neelam. 0600 UTC, 30 Oct 2012

Sri Lanka: Address Rights Rollback at Review

UN Should Focus on Accountability, Media, and Civil Society

OCTOBER 30, 2012

Governments should use the UPR to question Sri Lanka’s deteriorating human rights situation and make recommendations for meaningful change. Of particular concern is the government’s ongoing failure to hold anyone to account for numerous deadly abuses by both sides during Sri Lanka’s long war.

Brad Adams, Asia director

(Geneva) – United Nations members should urgeSri Lanka to act on accountability for abuses at its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on November 1, 2012, Human Rights Watch said today. Sri Lanka must also be reminded of its international obligations to protect free expression and to stop intimidation of civil society and the media during its UPR at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The UN scrutinizes the human rights record of each member state every four years, and this review allows governments to examine Sri Lanka's rights record and make recommendations for improvements. Sri Lanka’s last UPR, in 2008, occurred during the conflict between the government and the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which ended in May 2009.

“Governments should use the UPR to question Sri Lanka’s deteriorating human rights situation and make recommendations for meaningful change,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Of particular concern is the government’s ongoing failure to hold anyone to account for numerous deadly abuses by both sides during Sri Lanka’s long war.”

In its 2012 submission for the review, the Sri Lankan government claims that it has taken measures to implement the recommendations made during the 2008 UPR to “investigate all allegations of extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary killings.” However, there is no evidence that any such investigations have occurred. The government also said it would strengthen grievance mechanisms and pursue investigations of attacks against media and civil society. Instead, those abuses have continued, with senior officials publicly threatening those who advocate for government accountability. The government has also failed to censure any official implicated in such acts of intimidation.

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‘India postponed Operation Eelam and Blue Star intervened’

By Sam Rajappa 30 Oct 2012

Posted 29-Oct-2012 Vol 3 Issue 43 A quarter century of India’s military intervention in Sri Lanka, ostensibly to help find a political solution to the ethnic strife that has torn the island nation apart, has left the Tamil minority under occupation of the Sinhala military trained and equipped by New Delhi and their political rights almost extinguished. In contrast, the same Indian military was able to liberate the people of what was then East Pakistan subjected by the oppressive West Pakistan regime, in a quick surgical military operation lasting less than a month in 1971. India remains a mute spectator to the rapid Sinhalisation of Tamil homeland. A recently constructed Buddhist stupa in Tamil territory The reason for producing such a vastly different result is the present poor political leadership in Delhi. Colombo suffers from a Mahavamsa mindset and New Delhi from a Malayalee mindset. Both are detrimental to the interests of the Tamils of Sri Lanka and standing in the way of finding a lasting political solution to the ethnic problem. It remains to be seen whether the mandarins in the South Block are able to pull the wool over the eyes of the new External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, as they successfully did in the case of SM Krishna and his predecessor who is presently the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. To give just one example of how naïve our political leadership has been, a statement made by Mukherjee on 27 April, 2009, after a visit to Colombo accompanied by Shivshankar Menon, national security adviser, will suffice. He said: “The Sri Lankan security forces have been instructed to end the use of heavy caliber guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons, which could cause civilian casualties. “Sri Lankan forces will now confine their attempts to rescue the civilians who remain and give foremost priority in saving them. This is an important first step in addressing concerns for the safety and security of Tamil civilians and internally displaced persons trapped in the conflict zone.” Read More A huge Buddha statue at Kilinochchi

SRI LANKA: Do legislators have the right to be 

silly in parliament?

Contributors: Basil Fernando-October 30, 2012

In an earlier article we asked the question, "Can the legislature declare all automobiles to be rickshaws?" We must simplify the question by asking whether legislators have the right to be silly when they are legislating. We are not concerned about their silliness outside their duty to deal with legislation. Even if we are guilty of selecting some silly fellows as our legislators, we have right to expect that they will behave properly at the duty hours.

Now, any fellow who plays the fool by placing scurrilous letters in front of parliament is doing a very silly thing. More than the silly fellow, their controllers are at fault.

That is nothing, however, compared to what the government is trying to do by attacking the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice with all kinds of things, including appearing to file a motion for impeachment against Chief Justice just because she does not do exactly what the government wants.

What is worse is that all this is done merely to assist those fellows who are placed in the ITN and state media to do all kinds of silly things. Everyone knows these jokes but to make Supreme Court the target of such jokes is downright irresponsible. There are things that we never play jokes on. And the country's highest court is one of those.

Only lunatics do not know where to stop a joke, and surely the silliness among the legislators should not be allowed to go that far.

It for the people to say that we do not enjoy these jokes. If people do not do that, then the world will think that this whole nation is silly, if not mad.

The people of a nation that allows their legislative assembly to be used to play silly pranks on the country's Supreme Court will only prove the saying that people get the leaders they deserve.

Sanctions on Iran cause drop in Sri Lankan tea prices
2012-10-30

COLOMBO, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan tea typically exported to Iran has come under strain as prices dropped this week causing concern for the industry, a broker said in a statement Tuesday.

According to tea broker John Keells Ltd., averages have been plummeting steadily from 452 rupees (3.50 U.S. dollars) per kilo at sale in late September to 407.31 rupees (3.20 U.S. dollars) at the recently-concluded sale in mid-October, which reflects a drop of 45 rupees (0.30 U.S. dollars) in four sales. "High priced Tippy teas which feed the Iranian market have come under severe strain with prices dropping significantly in comparison to the Leafy teas,"the produce broker said.

It was reported that the European Union which met in Brussels on Oct. 15 had decided to enforce further financial and trade sanctions on Iran with the exception for humanitarian trade.

In addition to the extensive trade and financial sanctions already in place, the new sanctions will add more pressure on the Iranian economy.

Iran is one of Sri Lanka's largest buyers, which together with the Middle East account for 60 percent of tea exports.

John Keells said tea imports to Iran are expected to continue at least during the current winter months, but with the local currency recording a sharp fall in value, customers will be compelled to pay higher prices as importers will find it difficult to acquire letters of credit and transfer of funds.

"The situation in Syria remains another area of concern, particularly for the Low Grown Leafy teas, which have also not fared too well. Given the present scenario, the immediate prospect for a quick turnaround does not look promising," it added.

Sri Lanka earned 1.49 billion U.S. dollars from tea exports last year.