Commission on Human Rights

 

 

An appeal to

The United Nations

 

Commission on Human Rights

 

 

 

Fifty-sixth Session

20 March ­ 28 April 2000

 

 

Contents

                                                                                                                                    Page

TCHR appeal to the 56th session                                                                  5

 

Reports :

 

1 -        Assassination of a Human rights defender

Kumar Ponnambalam                                                                    

                        Extracts from TCHR report to 55th session                                           7

Travel to Jaffna refused                                                                          8

                        Open letter to President Chandrika Kumaratunga                                

Shot dead -                                                                                          10

Killing claimed - Son gave evidence                                                     11

                        Urgent action of TCHR                                                                        

                        Member European Parliament statement                                           12                             

Sri Lanka government accused                                                           13

                        Ponnambalam honored                                                                       14

                        If killing not by LTTE - no investigation!

                        President Chrdrika’s condolence                                                         

                        Why was “Shantha” in the PSD not questioned?                                             

                        Urgent Action of TCHR on cover-up and manipulations                      15                   

                        So far no-one identified by eyewitnesses                                             16

 

2 -        Economic, Social and Cultural Rights                                      

                        Right to Food                                                                                    17                                                                                Starvation in the Vanni                                                             

                                    Government Agents appeal for food                                                                

                        Right to Education                                                                           18                                                       Council of NGOs statement ­ Pre-school education              

                                    Sinhala text book humiliating Tamils                                       

                                    Hindu school with Buddhist priest                                            19

                                    Police block University students protest                                  

                                    Muslim admission opposed ­ one teacher for 70 students    20

                                    UNICEF ­ Colombo    (September 1999)                                

                        Right to Health                                                                                    21     

                                    Drug shortage ­ NGOs council report - UNICEF                    

Rights to work                                                                                     22                             

NGOs council report ­ Discrimination in selection                 23

                                    Fishermen protest over withdrawal UN aid

                                    Plantation workers     

                        Colonisation                                                                                        23

Ref. to  “Sinhala Colonisation”- addendum to this appeal       

 

3 -           Civil and political rights                                                                                     

                        Arbitrary arrest and detention                                                          24

                                    Council of NGOs situation report                                             

                                    Released and re-arrested                                                        

                                    Detention order on Government Agent                                                            

                                    3000 Tamils arrested                                                               

                                    Tamils arrested in Colombo ­ (since July 1999)                      25                   

Torture                                                                                                                                              

Head covered with petrol and chilli fumes                                26

                                    Judge rules on excessive torture                                             

                                    Woman tortured in custody                                                     

                                    Nail and teeth removed - JMO                                                  27       

                                    Student tortured                                                                       

                        Disappearances                                                                                  28                                                                              Three missing in Amparai ­ Amnesty appeal                           

                                    Missing “can’t be traced” says Ministry of Defence                             

                                    Ministry of Defence on disappearances in Jaffna                                            

                                    Amnesty calls for independent inquiry                                      29

                                    Fate of missing in Jaffna unknown!                                                     

                        Summary executions                                                                                                                                                            UNDP says 55,000 killed in Sri Lanka                                      30

                                    Skulls and skeletons found                                                      

                                    Neelan Thiruchelvam killed                                                       32

                                    Ten killed in election rally                                                         

                        Massacres                                                                                           33                                                      Puthukudyiruppu                                                                      

                                    ICRC confirmation ­ Amnesty express concern                     

                                    Fifty-six killed in Amparai - Sinhala veera vithana                    

                                    Madhu Church                                                                        34

                                    ICRC ­ Amnesty                                                                      

Urgent Action of the TCHR                                                       35                             

No action on Batticaloa massacres                                         36

                        The Chemmani mass graves                                             

                                    Early exhumation ­ Government investigators visit                38

                                    Skull unearthed ­ Names of Army officials available                39       

                                    Kumar Ponnambalam denied travel to Jaffna                         

                                    Many locations identified ­ Rape/murder home found             40

                                    Rajapakse seeks legal advice                                                  41

                                    AG department on Chemmani exhumation                             

                                    Filled up pit                                                                                42

                                    Army commanders intefering with investigation                                  

                                    President of MPGA arrested by the army                                

                                    Skeletons found in Chemmani (in date sequence)               

                                    Magistrate instructs government to complete investigation     44

                                    Extracts from TCHR report to 55th Session                       

                                    Chemmani Road closed ­ Smoke visible                                                                                                                  Rajapakse assaulted by prison guards                       

                        TCHR raises questions                                                          45

                        Kalutara Prison killings      

                        Prison killings since 1983                                                         46

Protest of political detainees­ more joins the fast                   

                        One murdered, 33 injured - More violence -                            

                        Second death ­ ICRC Rep. Injured                                          47

                        Detainees in Welikada prison assaulted

                        Prisoners died of gun shot, Magistrate                                                

                        Freedom of Expression

                                    Priest threatened ­ New ID cards for Trincomalee                  48

                                    Pass system in Batticaloa                                                       

                                    Journalist demonstration stopped by police                            

                                    Editor questioned ­                                                                  

                                    Member of Parliament killed   - Censorship imposed              49

Editor and sub editor interrogated                                           

                                    Presidential Security Division threatens Editor                        50                   

                                    Call for Buddhists to “Gun Down” Dr. Jayalath                       

UN Human Rights Committee accepts complaint                   51

Election violence and Executive Presidency                   

                                    277 Complaints recorded during the election                           52

                                    President can kill, steal and sell

                                    Demonstration against Executive Presidency                                                

                                    Presidential election challenged in Courts                               53

                        Independence of judiciary, administration of justice                   

                                    Bail application by detainees                                                    54

                                    1641 Fundamental rights cases in five years                          

                        Impunity                                                                                               55

                        Religious intolerance                                                                     

                                    Hindu Priest arrested                                                                56

                                    Historic Hindu Temple land for Army camp

                        Emergency regulations and Prevention of Terrorism Act            57

 

4 -        Violence against women

                        TCHR statistics on rape                                                                       59

                        Raped and shot at genitals                                                                  

                        Raped body exhumed                                                                          

                        Widowed mother gang raped                                                               60                               

                        Mother and daughter sexually harassed                                              

                        Mother gang raped and murdered                                                        61                 

Urgent Action of the TCHR                                                                

 

5 -        Rights of the child                                                             

                        Two children killed in Puthukudiyiruppu                                               62

                        School can be place of danger                                                             63

                        Sexual harassment                                        

                        13 year old girl gang raped                                                                  

 

6 -        Displaced persons

                        Displaced by recent military operations                                               64

                        Relief cut since 1997                                                                           

 

TCHR summary report (names, dates, places of incidents, etc)

            Arbitrary arrest / Detention                                                                                65

            Extra judicial killings / Summary executions                                                    73

            Enforced or involuntary disappearances                                                          82

            Rape / Torture and others                                                                                84

Summary of fishermen killed and seriously injured in recent years

            Killed                                                                                                                 93

            Seriously injured                                                                                               98

            Equipment and property damage                                                                     99

 

ANNEXES :

Press release of the TCHR on Human Rights Day                                       102

Human Rights Watch - 2000                                                                          103

Catholics Appeal to Pope and UN Secretary General                                    106

            Human Rights agencies appeal to UN for peace

            Press release by Mr. A. Vinayagamoorthy - Human Rights Lawyer              107

            UNICEF report ­ September 1999                                                                 108

            It’s time for action                                                                                                                               

Norwegian mediation  Sinhala point of view                                                   109                 

            Peace with war by Mr. S. Sivanayagam                                                         111

            Report of the U.S. Department of State ­ February 25, 2000                        112

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                20 March 2000

The Chairperson and Members

56th Session of the

Commission on Human Rights

United Nations

1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

 

Honoured Sirs / Mesdames,

 

First of all, we extend our congratulations to you for your appointment as the Chairperson of the 56th session. Unlike the past years, this year marks the birth of the new millennium - we, the Tamil Centre for Human Rights would like to submit our appeal to you, with deep sorrow which comes from the bottom of our hearts!

 

One of the bravest human rights defenders, Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam who attended the Commission on Human Rights for the last few years from Sri Lanka, is no more with us. He was killed by so-called unknown gunmen in cold blood in Colombo, on 5th January. He made his last intervention during the 55th session. He had several meetings with many members of the Commission, Special Rapporteurs and Senior Personnel of the OHCHR. During his last visit to Geneva, Mr. Ponnambalam stated clearly to everyone that he could be murdered at anytime by the Sri Lankan government. Now this has become a tragic reality. WHO KILLED HIM? The answer is quite simple - who is benefiting from his absence?

 

Sirs/Mesdames, the details of this assassination are given in sequence in this appeal to you. Being neutral and high-ranking persons of this human rights forum, you have the right to come to a conclusion as to WHO WAS THE KILLER? From this assassination what we all can learn is that the lives of any one of us - who presents the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, may not be spared! There is no guarantee that we will attend the future session of this Commission.

 

The assassination of Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam has many clues but no proper investigation has taken place. There are serious cover-ups and manipulations going on in this case. Nothing has emerged so far, other than a few eye-wash statements by the investigators! Until the present day, not a single person has been identified by the eyewitnesses, but the investigators issued a press release saying that the killer had been identified. This makes us consider the possibility that the investigators may know the real killers and are protecting them!

 

The TCHR brought the danger faced by Mr Kumar Ponnambalam to the notice of the OHCHR in December 1998. Subsequently, during his visit last year in April he met with several officials responsible for certain sections and gave them an affidavit regarding the threat to his life.

 

Furthermore, on 9 September 1998, TCHR brought a very confidential matter to the notice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Later this was transferred to another section for a follow up. Now, it is plain for all to see that what we predicted on September 9, 1998, is gradually materialising at the hands of the party concerned.

 

The human rights situation for Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka continues to be horrendous. Aerial bombing of civilian targets, such as places of worship, hospitals and schools, continues. Last December, 42 Tamil refugees were massacred by the Sri Lankan Army as they sought refuge in the chapel of Madhu church in Mannar.

 

The 600 persons who "disappeared" by Sri Lankan army, during 1996 in Jaffna, are still unaccounted for. The callous letters to relatives of the two disappeared persons whose skeletons were identified in the mass graves at Chemmani, stating that the whereabouts of these persons are still unknown, displays the brutal inhumanity and disregard of the Sri Lankan government for Tamil lives. Torture, rape, arbitrary detention and extra-judicial killings of Tamils by the Sri Lankan government armed forces continue.

 

The food, health, education and employment situation has been severely affected in the North and East of the Island. The People in the Vanni region are starving and suffering due to ten years of economic embargo. Reports released by the U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Watch, UNICEF and other bodies have described the humanitarian situation in the North and East.

 

In Colombo, the Tamils are simply arrested because they are Tamils. In January alone more than 3000 Tamils were arrested in Colombo because they are Tamils.

 

Impunity is a serious problem in Sri Lanka. The security forces are given a free hand under the Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). They arrest, torture, kill and dispose of bodies as they wish. Many notorious human rights violators in the Security forces especially in the Army and the Police have got the best promotions and special awards from the head of state! This is the only sort of improvement you can see in the context of human rights in Sri Lanka!

 

Mr/Madame Chairperson, TCHR kindly requests the 56th session of the Human Rights Commission to demand that the Sri Lankan government appoint an independent public inquiry into the assassination of Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam with observers from the OHCHR.

 

We also request the 56th Session of the Commission on Human Rights to intervene directly to prevent the continuing gross human rights violations in Sri Lanka, in particular to : Call upon Sri Lanka to lift the economic embargo which is in force for the last ten years in Tamils regions; Call upon Sri Lanka to respect the Right to Life and the Right to Liberty; Appoint an independent committee to investigate into the mass graves in Chemmani in the Jaffna peninsula; Call upon Sri Lanka to lift press censorship immediately; Call upon Sri Lanka to free all political prisoners; Call upon Sri Lanka to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) ; Call for the removal of thoroughly undisciplined Sri Lankan army from the North East of the Island of Sri Lanka, thereby ensuring the right to personal security of the Tamils in their homeland.

 

We take this opportunity to request the 56th session of the Commission on Human Rights to appoint a country Rapporteur on Sri Lanka. This could facilitate the UN recording acts of violence, humanitarian violations, ethnic and cultural genocide, etc that are taking place in Sri Lanka especially in the North East.

 

We hope that as we move into a new century and millennium more voices will join the fervent call for the human rights of the Tamil people and of all peoples to be restored, so that human dignity will prevail.

 

We place our hope in the hands of this Session. More than pity, we hope for concrete action. To halt the genocide requires an act of will, individual and collective. If this Commission does not find such will to act -then what hope can we give to those whose wounds are being cut deeper and deeper? We believe that this Commission CAN be a vehicle for an expression of the noble values and aspirations for humanity that underpin the UDHR and all the Covenants and Conventions which we stand by. We appeal to you from the depth of our hearts and in the name of humanity, to take action.

 

Thanking you.                                                                                          Yours sincerely

                                                                                                                S. V. Kirubaharan

                                                                                                                General Secretary ­ TCHR

 

 

 

ASSASSINATION OF A HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

MR. KUMAR PONNAMBALAM

JANUARY 5, 2000

 

Mr. Ponnambalam presented the human rights situation in Sri Lanka in the last (55th Session) of the UN Commission  on Human Rights

 

Mr G.G. Ponnambalam Jnr. (known to everyone as Kumar Ponnambalam) was
involved in human rights for many years. He was a leading lawyer in Colombo. Gunmen assassinated him in cold blood on 5th January in Wellawatta in Colombo.

 

Mr Ponnambalam, as a prominent expert and able criminal lawyer defended
thousands of Tamil people, over many years, who suffered gross and systematic
violations of human rights at the hands of the Sri Lankan government security
forces - the Special Task Force, the Army and the Navy. The Attorney-General
Department has stated that Mr Ponnambalam held 98% of the (PTA) cases, which went
through their department, which is virtually equivalent to the entire number
of cases fought by the Crown Prosecution Service.

 

Mr Ponnambalam filed many reports on important human rights cases. These  include the internationally known case of gang-rape and murder of Krishanthi  Kumaraswamy, which led to the eventual revelation of the eighteen mass graves, including Chemmani, in the Jaffna Peninsula.


His work became a challenge to the Sri Lankan government, which with its
record of massive human rights violations amounting to genocide, met in him a force
to be reckoned with.

 

Mr Ponnambalam was a brave and tireless champion of civil and political
rights, and fundamental human rights. He was not afraid to speak out on Human rights and this has cost him his life. His assassination marks a tragic loss for all
who strive for the cause of justice and human rights.

 

( Incidents are quoted in date sequence)

Freedom of Expression (TCHR report to the 55th Session)

In March 1997, Mr. G. G. Ponnambalam was requested by certain NGOs to make representations on behalf of the Tamils, at the 53rd Session of Commission on Human Rights. On his departure from the international airport in Sri Lanka, an army of  customs and police officers rummaged through his personal belongings, as if in search of a rat, to get at his papers.

 

Harassment of a Lawyer (TCHR report to the 55th session)

 

Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam, a leading Criminal Lawyer and General Secretary of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, the first Tamil Party in Sri Lanka was interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on 13 January and 20 January 99.

 

According to the CID, Mr. Ponnambalam was deemed to have committed a crime under section 2 (1)(h) of the PTA during his interview with the Swarnawahini TV channel. Mr. Ponnambalam stated that nowhere in the Swanavahini interview did he say anything to offend that section 2 (1)(h) of the PTA.

 

This is considered as political revenge by the Government on Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam for exposing the fallacies in Sri Lankan President Chandrika's interview to the South African Television. In this TV interview, President Chandrika Kumaratunga had said : "They are wanting a separate state - the minority Tamils who are not the original habitants of the country".                                                                           

 

Kumar Ponnambalam denied travel to Jaffna


Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam was denied an air ticket to Jaffna on August 27th 1999 because he had not obtained permission from the Ministry of Defence for visiting the north.

 

Mr. Ponnambalam had pointed out to officials at Heli-Tours, the firm that currently operates civilian flights between Jaffna and Colombo, that he as a Sri Lankan citizen does not need any permission or clearance to travel to any part of the country.

 
 Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam then contacted an Army officer at the Ministry of Defence and explained to him that it was not necessary for him under Sri Lankan law to obtain the army's permission to visit Jaffna or any other part of the country.

 
Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam wanted to participate in the court proceedings on Chemmani on August 30th 1999.

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT KUMARATUNGA BY

THE LATE KUMAR PONNAMBALAM

I refer to your Victory Speech of 22-12-99 on your election, once again, as President.

I write as a Tamil Eelavan. But more importantly, I write as an unalloyed and unrepentant supporter of the political philosophy of the LTTE and as one who, with that conviction, lives in the South. I write as one who has publicly stated this position of mine not only within this island but also without, and both verbally and in writing. I write as one whom you have recognized in your speech. And, I write as one who refuses to be deterred by the naked threats that dot your speech.

Permit me to tell you that your speech reflects the hatred that you have, only too readily, recognized in others.

Your speech is nauseatingly replete with one word - "peace". But the tenor of your speech is anything but one that is, in any way, conciliatory or given to peace.

You have sent a clarion call to all your "Tamil brothers and sisters" with outstretched hands of friendship. This shows your stark insincerity if one only recalls your speech made many moons ago when you inaugurated the Sama Tawalama at Anuradhapura with the unacceptable posture that this island is Sinhala land and Buddhist country.

You refer to 18th December 1999 as "the night that will go down in history as the night this land was touched by the hand of darkness one too many times". You indulge in this rhetoric because it happens to concern you. Do you not realize that there are thousands of widows in Tamil Eelam to whom certain nights have gone down, in their own lives, as nights that have been touched by the hand of darkness caused by your machinations as Commander-in-Chief of your armed forces?


You have challenged "those who doubt (your) resolve to lift the curse of hatred and death that has fallen upon (this) land" to look you in the face now and voice our doubts about the sincerity of the desire to forge permanent peace. I hasten, with this letter, to say just that to you with all the vehemence I command. I am fortified in this statement by your victory speech itself.

You want to finish the LTTE. Please do so, if you can. With that will go, for all times, any prospect of permanent peace in this island. Your election results shows ruthlessly that all Tamils, not only Tamil Eelavar but also the Upcountry Tamils, not only do not want you because they do not trust you anymore, but also do not want a political solution from you. This is an indictment on all your postulations of wanting to forge permanent peace.

Just take your peace packages. There were three in as many years, during the first three years after the commencement of your tenure. For the next two years, there was not a murmur about those packages. Even those three packages were diluted with each subsequent appearance! Surely, anyone who has a genuine desire to bring about a political solution will not trifle with packages every summer? One stands or falls with just one.