Horrible rise of disappearances in post-war Sri Lanka continues unabated
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Image from Transcurrents
[Editors note: Also read New wave of abductions and dead bodies in Sri Lanka]
Twenty nine disappearances (including an attempted abduction) have been reported in Sri Lankan media between February and March 2012. There have been fifteen in March and fourteen in February. This brings the total number of disappearances reported in the last six months to fifty six.
Nineteen cases were reported while the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council were in progress in Geneva from the 27th of February to the 23rd of March 2012.
Out of the twenty nine disappearances in February-March 2012, sixteen of the twenty nine (16/29) appear to have occurred in the Colombo district while eight have been reported from the Northern Province (8/29). Five of those reported from the North are said to be ex-LTTE cadres who had been detained, released from detainment and then abducted. There are also three from the indigenous Wannilaye Aetto (Veddah) community.
Amongst the twenty nine 29 are also two school girls (one of whom escaped) and one university student, businessmen, a Government politician and relatives of politicians and individuals reportedly to be members of underworld gangs. Twenty four have been reported as abductions and five are reported as “missing”. Out of the persons who are reported as “missing” are three people from the Veddah community and two people from Jaffna. It was reported that one of the people missing in Jaffna was found dead.
Media reports had presented startling facts about involvement of the government in some of the abductions in March 2012. On 10th March, Mr. Ravindra Udayashantha, a government politician who is the Chairman of Kolonnawa Pradeshiya Sabawa (local government body in the Colombo district), was saved from being abducted when his political supporters intervened. The abductors were apprehended by the supporters, were positively identified as being from the Army and handed over to the Police. The number of the vehicle involved in the abduction, the names of the alleged abductors, their photos and even a video clip have been published. However, the abductors were released from police custody afterwards.
On the 26th of March 2012, former Western provincial councilor Mr. Sagara Senaratne, brother-in-law of Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga was released within hours of being abducted after the abductors had got “a call” while he was still in the van that he had been abducted in. The driver of Mr. Sagara was a eyewitness to the abduction and it appears that “the call” given to abductors to release Mr. Sagara had come after Mr. Sagara’s driver informed Minister Kumaratunga, who in turn had informed President Mahinda Rajapakse and Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse. Mr. Sagara had claimed that he would not be alive if not for the intervention of the Minister, the President and the Defense Secretary. It is not clear how the Rajapakse brothers and Minister Kumaratunga were able to ensure the release of Mr. Sagara even as he was being taken away by the abductors, without even the involvement of the Police.
In February 2012, Mr. Nethiyas Chandrapala was abducted outside the main court complex in Colombo. Also, in February 2012 Mr. Ramasamy Prabhakaran, a former detainee who had been severely tortured before being released as innocent was abducted two days before the case he had filed against senior police officers was to be taken up in the Supreme Court.
When will we see an end to disappearances in Sri Lanka?
Disappearances in Sri Lanka from Oct. 2011 – March 2012 (based on media reports)
This very good in-depth article shows that international independent investigation against all HR violations is the only solution as suggested by UN expert panel , HR , AI , British PM David Cameron see@ http://youtu.be/y9qRA847Tn8
public should sign @ http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14586 on Her majesties gov. web and support such investigation
Amazing how no one can actually say in an article ‘the Rajapakses control the white vans’ – everything has to be alluded to and implied … i guess that is the power of the ‘disappearance’ programme.
But then these very journalists didn’t care when Tamils were kidnapped by the white vans. They fed the Giant and created a monster. Now it’s their duty to put a stop to this out of control monster.
Let’s restore democracy in Srilanka.
They probably didn’t forsee what the Rajapaksas would turn into after the war. The tamils have been beaten into submission and it is the turn of the sinhalese.
This is really horrendous for the whole country. Ir has additional connotations for the Northeast:
Non-communal voters of North must be given leadership – Defence Secy – http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/05/news02.asp
”Communal” problems cannot go away if there is high militarisation and military administration and no elections are held for the Northern Province and the North and the East have retired military officers (who served in the occupation forces of the Northeast and terrorised them) as governors and the Chief Minister of the East has no political power.
Northern Province elections have been delayed long enough to carry out Sinhalisation of the North !!!!!
Defence Secretary has let the lion out of the bag!!
”The Defence Secretary said that when appointing National List MPs for the North, decision and policy makers should consider appointing persons from the province, representing those new voters who want to join mainstream, non – communal national politics” – Non-communal voters of North must be given leadership – Defence Secy, 5 April 2012, http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/04/05/news02.asp
”This paper will show that the concept of Sinhalization extends well beyond the subjects of strategic state-planned settlements, land, military intrusion, boundary changes and the renaming of villages. Sinhalization has made its way into Tamil cultural events, religious life, economic activity, public sector recruitment and even the Sri Lankan education system” – ‘Salt on Old Wounds: The Systematic Sinhalization of Sri Lanka’s North, East and Hill Country’, 20 March 2012, http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/2012/03/20/salt-on-old-wounds-post-war-sri-lanka/?fb_ref=.T2ihTCH4Ew4.like&fb_source=home_multiline
”new voters” ??
I.
Chandra Jayaratne to LLRC, 23 September 2010:
”… Plans to settle majority community families in order to change the traditional area demography otherwise than by natural development oriented migration ….”
Manel Abeysekere to LLRC, 23 August 2010:
”….The practical thing to do in my opinion is firstly to draw up an action plan with priorities and the implementation time-frame …… not allowing an influx of Sinhalese to the North for rehabilitation related development work ’’
Father Shelton Fernando to LLRC, 19 November 2012:
”…. some of the people from the South are employed but no people have been employed from the war torn areas …”
The following video shows how Tamil fishermen are moved inland to let Sinhalese fishermen take their place with army camp for protection:
http://www.france24.com/en/20100204-reporters-sri-lanka-tamil-tigers-civil-war-refugees-civilians-return-army-probation
II.
Submission by Harim Peiris to LLRC, 7 October 2010:
‘’….. If General and Presidential Elections can be held in the North and the East it is impossible to argue that the Northern Provincial Council’s elections need to be delayed any further. ….”
New Voters +++++
1. ”But that truth cannot excuse human rights violations that currently afflict the nation as a whole; or for that matter obscure the looming threat of the cultural and political colonisation of the north by the Sinhala Buddhist majority” – Biased and Prejudiced Collection on Sri Lanka, *Gananath Obesekere, Economic & Political Weekly, Mumbai, 28 January 2012
2. 28 Buddha statues erected along A-9 Highway since war ended in May 2009, Imaad Majeed, 19 February 2012, http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/8355
3. Many new viharas all over the Northeast – land grabbed and many Buddhist monks settled to support the viharas.
This is a response to the concluding question in the article – When will we see an end to disappearances in Sri Lanka. The continuing phenomena of disappearances of persons in Sri Lanka is the direct result of the total disregard to the recommendations of the Commissions of Inquiry into Disappearances of Persons appointed during the period between 1994 and 2000 which had made well considered recommendations on the steps that need to be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents after the spate of disappearances that took place during the ‘period of terror’ often referred to as the ‘beeshana samaya’ .
The recommendations included changes in the relevant laws and criminal procedures and the need to take legal and disciplinary action against the perpetrators. None of these things were implemented either by the Chandrika Government or the Rajapakse government. Consequently the cult of impunity that prevailed then in the minds of the police and the security forces personnel became ingrained in the system. Ironically successive governments continued to allow the personnel concerned to be in their positions and promoted them. Thereafter they are being made use of to cause the disappearances of persons who have dissenting views or have money which could be demanded by ransom seekers. So the simple answer to the question is disappearances of persons will continue as long as the valuable recommendations of the relevant commissions of inquiry remain unimplemented.
Let me talk Sri Lankan now. “If USA can kidnap cant Sri lankan do it.”
What the dicken’s is our country’s judiciary doing to stop this irreverence to Life? It may be true that death is the only certainty once we’re born, but to just disappear like all of sri lanka were the bermuda triangle? In the name of justice, just how much corruption can languish in our politicians fat bellies before they drown in their own puke? Or does the leadership forget – seemingly still drunk from crushing the terrorists – that karma is a fundamental part of the religion they so piously practice? Don’t you forget the fate of one Premadasa who had the golden Dramatist/Jorrnalist Richard de Zoysa abducted abducted and murdered? Yes, as one jubilant and humorous man described : “id you know that after Premadasa was killed by the tigers, they discovered he had “blue” eyes?” “No” “Well, one “blew” this way and the other “blew” the other way.” Be warned, Corrupt Leadership. Your own fate may be “blue-printed” in harsh terms. Of course,it is fact that even the innocent may die under cruel circumstances, but to actually make people disappear? Refrom, in the name of Life.