The Violent Death Of Two Tamil Students: Accident; Isolated Incident; Or Symptoms Of Systemic Violation?

By Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe –October 29, 2016

Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe

As usual, there are conflicting presentations and interpretations being made in relation to the recent incident where two Tamil students riding on a motorbike had died in Jaffna. One version is that the Police had shot and killed one of them and that the other had died when the motorbike had subsequently crashed into a wall. In that case, the Police officers on duty, charged with the duty to protect and serve, would be responsible for serious violation of the law, taking the lives of two innocent civilians. This version is supported by the claim that the autopsy report had indicated a bullet wound found on the body of one of the students. The other version officially given by the Police authorities is that they had died due to an accident, where they had crashed into the wall. As usual, special investigations are to be conducted to ascertain the truth of the case. If it is somehow proven that they had been shot at by the Police officers resulting in their death, that in itself would be illegal- and criminal. But more importantly, if this is the case, then the fact that the Police Authorities at the very top of the pyramid had tried to cover it up constitutes an even worse crime against the people. It simply would add another piling case of rampant criminal injustice and abuse of power by the Police and to the litany of criminal injustice committed against the Tamil people. If there had been even an attempt at a cover up and a case of repeated criminal impunity, and If justice is to be made into another glaring travesty, on trial would not just be the two police officers but the judicial system, the system of law enforcement, the Ranil-Sirisena Regime and the State itself.

Who is to be held accountable for the death of these two students? The issue of accountability, truth and justice hangs in balance in this case, as much as accountability, truth and justice for violation of human rights related to the war. Every human life matters. The scale and magnitude does not matter as much as the issue of whether the targeting of Tamil civilians and the criminal culture of impunity still prevails. Let us try to analyze the issue at hand. This is important since there is a reputed pattern of police brutality in general and a damning culture of cover up and impunity by the State that corrode all sense of justice, rule of law and civilized decency, that has long since ravaged the political landscape in the Land of Lanka. The important question remains, what is the ultimate structural source, the generative causes, of the culture of impunity, along with such recurrent cover-ups that have cumulatively contributed towards a generalized breakdown of the rule of law and erosion of elemental democratic norms, accompanied by a cynical disregard for the value of life, and a resulting profound loss of faith in the institutions of governance?

Read More