SRI LANKA

 

 

 

Law and order, judiciary fail – Impunity prevails.

Way paved for  War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity

 

 

Wake up call

to the UN Human Rights Council

 

Website : www.tchr.net

 

5th session / 5ème session / 5° período de sesiones

 

11/06/2007 -- 18/06/2007

 

Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR

Centre Tamoul pour les droits de l'Homme - CTDH

Centro Tamil para los Derechos Humanos

(Established in 1990)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR

Centre Tamoul pour les droits de l'Homme - CTDH

Centro Tamil para los Derechos Humanos

(Established in 1990)

Website : www.tchr.net

    

  

Head Office

9, rue des Peupliers

95140 - Garges les Gonesse

FRANCE

Email : tchrgs@hotmail.com

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Fax : + 33 - 1 – 42 67 54 36

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Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom

Table of Contents

Appeal                                                                                                                                02

Corruption in Sri Lanka’s Judiciary

Country reports on judicial corruption – 2007, Transparency International             03

Voice Out Corruption Community Interactive                                                             05

Abductions, Disappearances and Extra-Judicial Killings

Missing top Sri Lankan may be dead, says family                                                      06

Red cross workers killed in Colombo                                                                         07

Police point fingers at Karuna in Red Cross killing                                                     08

Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement condemns the murder                                    

Secretary General mourns deaths of two aid workers in Sri Lanka                            09

            UN agencies and partners condemn killings of two Sri Lankan aid workers              

British High Commission's Statement on recent acts of violence                                            10

ICJ inquest observer finds flaws in investigation into killing of ACF aid workers

Law and order, judiciary fail and impunity prevails in Sri Lanka (Summary)            12-23

Ethnic cleansing

Sri Lanka police send Tamils back to their villages                                                    24

Ranil on forced eviction of Tamils                                                                             

Steps to acquire traditional lands of Muslim community                                                         24a

Batticaloa Farmers affected due to ethnic cleansing!                                                25

Economic, social and psychological impacts of conflict                     

Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression

Press Freedom is in peril in Sri Lanka!

            A sinister campaign of disinformation in Sri Lanka                                                     26

            Questioning of Morning Leader Editor reiterates the urgent need....                         27

Chairman of Standard Newspapers Ltd. Tiran arrested

Release arrested Tiran Alles immediately                                                                  28

Young reporter with Tamil newspaper murdered in Jaffna                            

Appeal by TISL to create an environment to guarantee basic democratic norms                  29

Tamil journalist murdered in government-controlled zone

Defence secretary threatens editor and journalist on Daily Mirror                               30
Call for press group finance chief to be freed

Army said to be holding Tamil journalist who went missing                                        31

International response

Sri Lanka’s International lobby - unprofessional and undiplomatic                             32

EU willing to reconsider aid freeze if need arises                                                       35

World Food Programme (WFP) calls it quits in North-East                                          36

Sri Lanka - ICRC personnel return to crossing points                                    

 

Annexes

Letter written to Archbishop of Canterbury by Karen Parker, JD                                            37

            Written statement submitted by International Educational Development                               39

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11 June 2007

Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba

President

Members and Delegates

5th Session - Human Rights Council

United Nations

1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

 

Distinguished Sirs / Mesdames,

 

Tamil Centre for Human Rights wishes to place before your esteemed honours our latest information report on the violations of human rights and denial of fundamental freedoms perpetrated by the Sri Lankan Government, its armed forces and by the paramilitary on innocent civilians, in the NorthEast, the capital Colombo and other parts of the island.

 

In this submission to the 5th session, we will be mainly taking stock of decades of human rights violations perpetrated in the Northeast by successive governments that ruled and are ruling the island. We have already documented most of the violations during the recent years. Herewith, we include a summary of abductions, disappearances, killings and massacres that have taken place since 1956 and which have had no inquiry - nor have the perpetrators been arrested and punished. There are many more to be added to the summary of violations.

 

In the Northeast the human rights situation has been deteriorating for many long years. Genocide, cultural genocide, multiple displacements and a systematic economic embargo to the NorthEast are carried out with authorisation of the government. Impunity is a very serious problem in Sri Lanka. Many notorious human rights violators in the Security forces are encouraged and are allowed to move freely in society - and the violations continue.

 

In the Northeast, the security forces have created “High Security Zones” in the vacated premises of the IDPs, occupying civilian homes and buildings.

 

Press freedom and freedom of expression are in peril in Sri Lanka. Journalists are arrested, tortured, abducted, disappeared and killed over-night. Misinformation is heavily used by the Sri Lankan government to distort the real picture of what is happening in the conflict areas.

 

Sirs / Mesdames, you all are well aware that since last October Diplomats of the European Union took the initiative and the EU presidency tabled a “draft decision 2006/..... Sri Lanka” (A/HRC/2/L.37) in the Human Rights Council. Unfortunately, as anticipated by many, this was unsuccessful in the past sessions and it is doubtful whether it will be successful even during the current sessions.

 

The victims of human rights violations in Sri Lanka, feel that the International Community is not only failing in its duties regarding Sri Lanka but is also indirectly backing an aggressor which is perpetrating crimes against humanity against a people struggling for their Right to Self-determination.

 

We urge you to take immediate and effective action during this session of the Human Rights Council.

 

Thank you,

 

Yours sincerely

 

S. V. Kirubaharan

General Secretary

 

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Corruption in Sri Lanka’s Judiciary

Country reports on judicial corruption – 2007, Transparency International

 

Sri Lanka has reasonable legal provisions to guard against executive and legislative intrusions on the independence of the judiciary. However, experience shows that constitutional provisions alone cannot protect judicial independence without critical oversight by the media, professionals and academics, as well as public recognition of the need to protect the integrity of the institution. Corruption is one outcome of Sri Lanka’s cowed judiciary. The situation has worsened since 1999 when Sarath De Silva was appointed Chief Justice over protests from national and international judiciary bodies, and attempts by two successive parliaments to impeach him for abuse of power and corruption.

 

Judicial structure

 

The Supreme Court is the highest court of the country, comprising between six and ten judges and headed by a chief justice. Among the Supreme Court’s major jurisdictions are constitutional, final appellate and fundamental rights. Below the Supreme Court are the court of appeal, provincial high courts, district courts, magistrates’ courts and primary courts. The Supreme Court has supervisory jurisdiction over all others. Judges have fixed retirement ages of 65, 63 and 61 years in the Supreme Court, the court of appeal and high courts, respectively. Salaries are increased periodically and, although they earn less than lawyers in private practice, wages are adequate. Judges can only be removed by order of the president after an address in parliament based on proven misbehaviour or incapacity. Lower court judges, like other civil servants, retire at 55, subject to annual extensions to a maximum age of 60.

 

Until 2001 the president appointed the Chief Justice and other high court judges, and the judicial services commission, composed of the Chief Justice and two Supreme Court judges, exercised power of appointment, promotion and discipline over judges in lower courts. A constitutional amendment was introduced in 2001 to prevent political manipulation in appointments to important judicial positions, stimulated by the furor over the Chief Justice’s appointment (see below). The amendment established the constitutional council to screen and ratify presidential nominations to positions in higher courts. The appointment procedure of members of the judicial services commission was also changed, requiring ratification by the constitutional council before confirmation of their appointment. The effects of these reforms have been less impressive than was hoped due to the lack of political will to implement them.

 

Integrity of chief justice an issue since 2001

 

In September 1999 the then attorney general Sarath De Silva was appointed Chief Justice by former president Chandrika Kumaratunga. This was an unusual promotion. The usual convention was to appoint the most senior judge on the Supreme Court, in this case Justice M. D. H. Fernando who was well regarded internationally and noted for delivering judgements that fettered executive and legislative power – to

the chagrin of Kumaratunga.

 

De Silva’s reputation was questioned at the time of his appointment. Two motions pending before the Supreme Court sought to strike him off the roll of attorneys at law on grounds of misconduct and abuse of authority. One of the petitions was lodged by Victor Ivan, editor of Ravaya, a Sinhala weekly newspaper. He accused De Silva of covering up a rape and embezzlement of funds by Lenin Ratnayake, a magistrate and relative, by suppressing documents and providing false information.1 Experts also expressed concern at his appointment, including the UN Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, who advised the government not to proceed until enquiries into De Silva’s alleged misconduct had been concluded. Kumaratunga disregarded the advice.

 

A number of other measures were taken to block the appointment. Two parliamentary motions to impeach the new Chief Justice were submitted in 2001 and 2003 on charges of abuse of official power, case fixing for political interests, and shielding subordinate judges and officials engaged in corruption. In both instances, Kumaratunga dissolved parliament before the motions could be examined. The allegations against the head of the judiciary led to great public dissatisfaction with the integrity of the institution.

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Subsequent breaches of the new rules on the appointment of senior judges compounded this situation. According to the 1999 amendment, presidential nominations to the court of appeal and the Supreme Court need to be ratified by the constitutional council, a body comprised of six members appointed by parliament and four ex officio members. Since November 2005 the council has been defunct due to the refusal by Kumaratunga’s successor, President Mahinda Rajapakse, to activate the body on the grounds that smaller political parties had not yet nominated the last remaining member. In June 2006, the president appointed a new judge to the Supreme Court and two others to the court of appeal on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, by-passing the council altogether.

 

Control of case listing sidelines experienced judges

 

The Chief Justice also controls which Supreme Court judge hears which case. The Court sits in benches of three for each case. It is the Chief Justice who approves the bench list, nominates judges for benches and appoints a fuller bench for matters warranting a divisional bench.

 

The counsel appearing in petitions challenging the Chief Justice’s appointment sought a fuller bench in order of seniority, the normal course of action when constituting a divisional bench. Notwithstanding protests by lawyers and the public, De Silva appointed a bench of seven judges in ascending order of seniority, which excluded the four most senior judges.

 

The decision set a precedent and De Silva has controlled the listing of cases ever since. Prior to his appointment, the convention had been for the court registrar to list cases and the Chief Justice formally to approve it. From 1999 to 2003 the senior Supreme Court judge, Justice Fernando, was excluded from almost all important constitutional cases. This led to his retirement in early 2004, two and half years before the end of his tenure.

 

There does not presently seem to be a clear policy on conflict of interest in the listing of cases in the Supreme Court. Lay litigant Michael Fernando, who had made the Chief Justice a party in a case, was sentenced to one year’s hard labour for criminal contempt by a bench consisting of the Chief Justice himself and two other judges. Fernando had raised his voice in court and ‘filed applications’.2 Sri Lanka does not have an act on contempt of court despite an ongoing campaign to codify the contempt laws. Instead, judge-made law has laid down strict principles that tilt the balance toward shielding judges from criticism, even when serious questions of integrity and independence are at issue. These laws have been invoked to silence journalists and other critics since 2002 when a media campaign led to the abolition of criminal defamation provisions in the Penal Code.

 

A corruptible judicial system

 

The judicial services commission consists of the Chief Justice and two other Supreme Court judges, generally the most senior. At the time of the People’s Alliance government, which came into power in 1994, the two most senior judges were Justices Fernando and Dr. A. R. B. Amarasinghe. De Silva replaced them with two of the least experienced judges from the Court.

 

The judicial services commission manages the large workforce employed in courts and its purpose is to ensure integrity in judicial administration, the independence of judges in the lower judiciary and the prevention of corruption. Though the commission exercises the powers of appointment, promotion, dismissal and disciplinary control in lower courts, there are no disclosed criteria. Judges who do not toe the political line are warned and, if incorrigible, are dismissed on one pretext or another. Conversely, judges who are politically in line with the administration are shielded from disciplinary action despite evidence of corrupt practices, including bribe taking and the procurement of sexual favours from litigants and junior court staff.3

 

Survey data from the Marga Institute4 is helpful in displaying the breadth and depth of corruption in the lower judiciary. An in-depth survey in 2002 of 441 legal professionals and litigants, all with experience with the judiciary, revealed that 84 per cent did not think that the judicial system was ‘always’ fair and impartial, and one in five thought it was ‘never’ fair and impartial. Among judges, lawyers and court staff, 80 per cent considered the judicial system was ‘not always’ fair and impartial. Among respondents as a whole, 83 per cent held that the judicial system was corruptible with a mere 17 per cent holding that it was never corruptible.

 

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The same survey showed that of 226 incidents of bribes reported by judges, the largest single bloc of officials who benefited were court clerks (32 per cent). Bribes were typically offered to influence the issuance of a summons and choice of the trial date. Other beneficiaries were public prosecutors, police and lawyers. The lowest incidence of bribe taking was among judges. It is worth noting, however, that it was judges who identified at least five of their colleagues as bribe takers.

 

Recommendations

 

● Random listing of cases in higher courts plays a key role in protecting judicial integrity and prevents abuse by judges or officers for private gain. No judge should be able to access a case record except in the exercise of judicial duties. Rules guiding listing of cases must be published.

 

● An effective system should be designed to review the functions of the judiciary and hold judges accountable for their actions. The absence of a process for reviewing judgements and other judicial orders is unhelpful, as is judges’ excessive involvement with administrative matters.

 

● The impeachment of judges cannot be fairly and effectively achieved by parliament because a judge with political affiliations can prevent such a move. An independent panel of Commonwealth judges should be convened to probe allegations against Sri Lankan judges.

 

● The behaviour of the Chief Justice is crucial to the integrity of a judiciary. The government should take the longstanding allegations of impropriety against the current incumbent before an independent panel of inquiry.

 

● The lower judiciary should be protected from the arbitrary and mala fide decisions of the judicial services commission.

 

● A code of judicial ethics, covering conflict of interest, general social comportment and pending cases against judges, must be adopted and published.

 

● Judges’ associations should be free to function without direct or indirect interference from the judicial services commission or the Chief Justice.

 

● Any aid or financial assistance to the judicial branch must be transparent and any personal benefit that accrues to a judge should be based on disclosed criteria.

 

Kishali Pinto Jayawardana and J. C. Weliamuna (TI Sri Lanka, Colombo)

 

(http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/download_gcr#7 - Page 275-278)

 

Voice Out Corruption Community Interactive

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL)

Tuesday, January 23rd 2007

 

Transparency International Sri Lanka Chapter (TISL), the only national organization committed to rolling back corruption is initiating a process to receive complaints on corruption in Tsunami reconstruction work. While conducting its recently concluded Value for Money Audit project and Tsunami Responses project TISL realized the inadequacy of a public complaint procedure on corruption in tsunami recovery process. TISL realizes that any negative public sentiments on tsunami recovery process should be substantiated with relevant information. Presence of a forum to receive such information is paramount in this regard.

 

The programme will be implemented for a period of five month in which one month will be totally allocated to receive complaints. Complaints can be lodged through the hotline (5627432) or be sent through fax (011 2592287), regular mail (28/1, Buller’s Lane, Colombo 07) or e-mail (voicecorruption@tisrilanka.org) till the 28^th of February 2007. Complaints are welcome from all tsunami affected districts and complains can be lodged in Sinhala, Tamil or English.

 

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All complaints with substantial evidence will be analyzed to measure the problematic areas in the recovery process while channeling them to relevant authorities where appropriate. (namely Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, Auditor General’s Department, RADA and Colombo Fraud Investigations Bureau). In addition to the complaint procedure a research will be conducted to collate so far reported corruption cases in media. A follow up will be conducted to look into their current status. Public forums giving an opportunity for the public to directly share concerns and experiences with TISL officials will be held in Hambantota, Matara, Galle, Kalutara and Colombo in March and April. The dates of public forums will be announced later.

 

Press releases will issues on regular basis to divulge the project experiences to the public. TISL strongly believes that this effort will be another step to mount pressure to lobby for policy level changes in order to minimize corruption in Sri Lanka while creating a public discussion on the subject.

 

Rukshana Nanayakkara

Project Director

 

Abductions, Disappearances and Extra-Judicial Killings

Missing top Sri Lankan may be dead, says family

 

Indiaenews, Monday June 04, 2007 - A respected Sri Lankan academic who disappeared from Colombo six months ago and was believed to have been seized by a pro-government Tamil group has probably been killed, his distraught family said Monday.

 

After hoping against hope all these months that S. Raveendranath, who headed the Eastern University of Sri Lanka when he went missing Dec 15 last year, was alive a key family member now said that they feared the worst.

 

Amid media reports that the breakaway Karuna group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had murdered him, Raveendranath's doctor son-in-law M. Malaravan told IANS over telephone: 'Now I don't even have one percent hope of seeing him alive.'

 

'I don't know what to do,' said a despairing Malaravan, an eye surgeon in a Colombo hospital. 'My mother in law has collapsed, she is crying non-stop. Our family is in a bad shape. Nobody in the government is telling us anything.

 

'This is so sad. All these months we kept on hoping that he would be released one day. We wanted him in our midst.

 

'I am literally begging the authorities to at least confirm if this news about his death is true. Even unofficially no one in the government is speaking.'

 

The 36-year-old surgeon, who is married to one of Raveendranath's two daughters, said Tamil sources were telling him that the worst was true. Asked if he had any hope of seeing his father-in-law alive, Malaravan replied in the negative.

 

But there is no trace of Raveendranath's body. Several people abducted in Sri Lanka in recent times have disappeared. In some cases, bodies have turned up - with gunshot wounds.

 

Even by the standards of a strife-torn country where human rights abuses and disappearances have become the norm, Raveendranath's case attracted attention in academic circles worldwide because of his standing and international links.

 

Raveendranath was attending an international meeting in Colombo when he disappeared from a supposedly high security area of the Sri Lankan capital. No one ever claimed responsibility for the crime.

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The abductors, widely believed to be from the Karuna faction, apparently wanted Raveendranath, who was from the island's north, out of the Eastern University near the eastern town of Batticaloa, in a zone they consider as their own.

 

The academic's problems came in the open when armed men kidnapped the dean of the arts faculty of the university in 2005 demanding Raveendranath's exit.

 

He sent his resignation as vice chancellor to the University Grants Commission, and soon the dean was freed. According to the family, the UGC told him to work in Colombo. He complied and thus remained the vice chancellor.

 

After two mysterious telephonic threats, Raveendranath asked UGC to relieve him. The UGC refused. And he disappeared Dec 15, becoming the most high profile of Tamils who have gone missing in Sri Lanka in recent times.

 

The worried family issued public appeals urging the kidnappers to treat him kindly, pointing out that he was a diabetic and suffered from hypertension, both of which needed regular doses of medicines.

 

The abduction was widely condemned. Messages of solidarity poured in from Western academic circles including the US, Britain, France, Denmark, France, Sweden, Canada and Japan.

 

Malaravan knocked on every single door in Colombo seeking justice, meeting even President Mahinda Rajapakse. But his father-in-law remained missing. 'Now it seems it is all over,' he said. 'I have taken leave to take care of the family.'

 

Red Cross workers killed in Colombo

 

BBC Sinhala service, 3 June 2007 - The International Red Cross in Sri Lanka says two of its volunteers have been abducted and shot dead by gunmen claiming to be policemen.

 

Their bodies were found in Kiriella, near central Sri Lankan town of Ratnapura. The two, both from the Tamil community, had been seized at the Colombo fort railway station in the capital on (1 June) Friday night. The bodies were identified as Sinnarasa Shanmugalingam, 32, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) Volunteer Unit and Karthikesu Chandramohan, 27, Assistant Executive Officer.

 

Abducted in Colombo

 

The deaths mark the worst attack against aid workers in Sri Lanka since the killings of seventeen French aid workers in August (2006). The two workers were abducted by unknown people came in a white van while waiting for a train to Batticaloa, head of SLRC Batticaloa branch K Vasantharajah said.

Six SLRC employees were waiting at the station to return home after attending a two-day workshop in Colombo, he added.

 

Police reaction

 

Police said the investigations are being carried out over the killing of aid workers. Deputy Inspector General (DIG), S Prathapasinghe, told BBC Sandeshaya that there was no link between the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the abduction. A Sri Lanka Army statement said the abductees have arrived in a white van bearing registration No 251- 6437. DIG Prathapasinghe said police are they are trying to trace the address. (Excerpt)

 

 

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Police point fingers at Karuna in Red Cross killing

Top TMVP official dismisses charges, claims victim a relative

 

Daily Mirror, 5 June 2007 - In the latest twist to the abduction and killing of two volunteer workers of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, police yesterday said they suspected the vehicle used in the abduction belonged to the Karuna faction.

 

Sabaragamuwa Province DIG Sarath Perera said they had identified the number of the vehicle used in the abduction and suspected the vehicle was being used by the Karuna faction. Police also said the vehicle had been seen in the area on the day of the crime.

 

However the Karuna faction denied any hand in the killing and claimed one of the Red Cross victims was a close relative of a high ranking official in Karuna’s Colombo office.

Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) peace secretariat Chief Mahesh told the Daily Mirror Mahadevan Chandramohan (27) was his cousin. The victim who earlier resided in LTTE controlled areas in Batticaloa had later moved into cleared areas in Chenkaladi and joined the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC).

“He was my mother’s sister’s son and was the only boy among seven in the family. I was shocked to hear of his untimely death and am grieving together with my family. We don’t know who did this but it has become an easy route for many to blame Karuna,” Mr. Mahesh said.

While condemning the brutal slaying of his relative together with another colleague, both who were Tamils and residents of Batticaloa, Mr. Mahesh admitted as the TMVP had many enemies the crime could have been committed by anyone. He said the TMVP was also trying to identify the perpetrators.

 

The latest enemies of Karuna is the group led by his former ‘supreme commander’ Pillayan following a bitter split between the two sides but Mr. Mahesh did not point fingers at anyone over the killings.

 

Meanwhile the CID recorded statements from four fellow workers who were with the two victims at the Fort Railway Station when the abduction took place. They were waiting for the Batticaloa train after participating at a workshop for Red Cross workers at the Mount Lavinia Hotel.

 

The victims were abducted last Friday and their bodies with gunshot injuries were found on the following day dumped in a tea estate in Kiriella.

 

The witnesses stated that five persons claiming to be CID officers arrested the victims and took them in a white van. DIG, of the Criminal Investigations Department W.B.Prathapasinghe who denied any involvement of the CID in the arrest of the victims said a special police team was sent to Batticaloa to record the statements of the witnesses.

 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe were among those who paid their last respects to the victims whose final rites will take place later today.

 

Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement condemns murder of

Sri Lanka Red Cross staff

Joint press release by the ICRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society Colombo/Geneva – The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement strongly condemns the abduction and murder of two Sri Lanka Red Cross Society staff members which occurred in the capital Colombo on 1 June.

 

Sinnarasa Shanmugalingam (32) and Karthekesu Chandramohan (26) had worked for the Batticaloa branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross for many years. They had been in Colombo attending a training workshop organized by the Sri Lanka Red Cross national headquarters. At about 6.45 p.m. on 1 June they were abducted from Fort railway station in Colombo by unknown men while waiting to return to Batticaloa. Their bodies were found on 2 June at the Dumbara Estate in Kiriella, Ratnapura district.

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"We are shocked by these brutal murders and wish to convey our sincere condolences to the family members and colleagues of the dead", said Sri Lanka Red Cross director general Neville Nanayakkara. At the same time, the Movement calls upon the Sri Lankan authorities to carry out an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the killings.

The Movement reminds the parties to the conflict that murder is prohibited under international humanitarian law, and that they must respect the work of humanitarian agencies and refrain from any acts that might jeopardize humanitarian staff or activities. It also urges them to take all necessary measures to ensure that aid workers assisting the civilian population and persons not or no longer taking part in the hostilities are spared from attack and can move freely and safely.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement will carry on with its conflict-related and post-tsunami work in Sri Lanka. (ICRC Press Release 07/72, 4-06-2007)  

 

Secretary-General mourns deaths of two aid workers in Sri Lanka

4 June 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned the brutal killings of two employees of the Sri Lankan Red Cross at the weekend and offered his condolences to their families.

 

Mr. Ban demanded that the police thoroughly investigate the incident and reminded the Government of its obligation to investigate the murders of 17 Action Contre la Faim aid workers who were killed 10 months ago, according to a statement released by his spokesperson.

 

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the security of civilians and aid workers in Sri Lanka and reminds all parties in the country that aid workers have a right to protection at all times,” the statement said.

 

Mr. Ban has spoken out repeatedly this year against the intensifying violence between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and called for them to return to the negotiating table.

 

UN agencies and partners condemn

killings of two Sri Lankan aid workers

5 June 2007 – United Nations agencies and their partners on the ground today condemned in the strongest possible terms the brutal killings of two workers of the Sri Lankan Red Cross, warning that this is a sign of intensified danger for relief personnel.

 

In a statement issued today, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) country team in the South Asian country – comprising UN agencies and its partners including the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Oxfam and Save the Children – said that the circumstances surrounding the abduction and killings of the workers demand that the police investigate the case thoroughly.

 

“The IASC is deeply concerned about the security of all aid workers in Sri Lanka,” the Committee said, recalling that just ten months ago, 17 aid workers from Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) were killed in Sri Lanka.

 

“These latest killings are an ominous sign of an evolving situation in which aid workers are facing increasing difficulties in delivering assistance to needy populations.”

The Committee’s members called for those behind the killings to be brought to justice and for confidence to be restored to the humanitarian environment.

 

Yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings, voicing concern about the security of civilians and aid workers in Sri Lanka and reminding “all parties in the country that aid workers have a right to protection at all times,” according to a statement by his spokesperson. ( UN News Centre)

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British High Commission's Statement on recent acts of violence

05/06/07 - The British High Commissioner said today,

 

"Two recent incidents highlight how serious the security situation and breakdown in law and order in Sri Lanka has become.

 

Over the last week a bomb was set off, almost certainly by the LTTE, in a crowded street in Ratmalana during rush hour. Seven people, innocently going about their everyday business, lost their lives. Then, over the weekend, two workers for the Sri Lankan Red Cross were abducted in Colombo and brutally murdered. These incidents took place against a backdrop of increased fighting between the armed forces and the LTTE in the north of the country.

 

The Ratmalana bomb and the murder of the Red Cross workers were both appalling acts. I would like to send my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those killed. Targeting people who work for the Red Cross, an organisation renowned for its strict neutrality and determination to assist those in need irrespective of their origins, is particularly contemptible.

 

The internal conflict and the violence connected to it are doing immense harm to the country. The longer the violence continues, the further the country gets from the conditions in which a lasting, negotiated peace can be obtained." (British High Commission, Colombo)

 

 

Sri Lanka – ICJ inquest observer find flaws in investigation

into killing of ACF aid workers

23 April 2007 - The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today released the report of its observer of the inquest into the killings of 17 aid workers in Sri Lanka in August last year. Senior British barrister, Michael Birnbaum QC, found significant flaws in the investigation carried out by the local police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

 

The report recommends the establishment of a team independent of the police and security forces to investigate this crime, to identify the perpetrators and to report to the Attorney-General, who should then ensure that those responsible are prosecuted. The ICJ also recommends the establishment of a comprehensive witness protection programme.

 

In the first week of August 2006, 17 aid workers of Action Contre la Faim (ACF) were shot dead at close range in the grounds of the ACF office in Muttur, Sri Lanka. The killing took place in the aftermath of a battle for control of the town between the security forces of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). To date, the CID has not identified the perpetrators of this crime.

 

The ICJ's observer based his report on his observation of inquest proceedings in Kantale in November 2006 and March 2007; analysis of court records, police reports and forensic reports; and meetings with both Magistrates who heard the inquest, the CID, the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms, and the lawyer for the families of the victims, amongst others. The report examines in detail the police investigation into the killings and the course of the inquest proceedings.

 

The ICJ acknowledges the inherent difficulty of investigating serious crimes such as these killings, particularly in the context of a violent armed conflict and that the CID's investigation is continuing.

 

Nevertheless, the observer identifies evidence of a disturbing lack of impartiality, transparency and effectiveness of the investigation to date, including the following:

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 Official police reports indicate that from the outset, prior to any investigation, the police had decided that the LTTE were responsible for the killing.

 Collection of evidence has been incomplete and inadequate. In particular, the CID has not interviewed any member of the Sri Lankan security forces, nor any Tamil, apart from the family members of those killed.

 There are a number of unanswered questions as to the finding, description and transmission of the ballistic exhibits. The observer made a detailed analysis of the relevant documents and reports and found many apparent inconsistencies. Concern is raised regarding the failure of police to obey certain orders made by the second Magistrate, in particular an order that the ballistics exhibits should only be opened in the presence of an Australian expert.

 

On 4 September, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), via the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms ordered the Muttur Magistrate, who had already conducted three hearings in the inquest, to transmit the case to the Magistrate of Anuradhapura. The ICJ observer found no provision in Sri Lankan law that could justify the substitution of one magistrate for another, especially at such an advanced stage in the inquest proceedings. The substitution amounted to an unwarranted interference in the proceedings and was not in accordance with international standards.

 

The observer found that both magistrates had conducted the inquest with sensitivity and fairness and that the improper substitution did not compromise their independence and impartiality.

 

The ICJ is making a number of recommendations elaborated in the report, including that the Government of Sri Lanka should:

 establish a team of investigators independent of the police and security forces to investigate this crime and identify the perpetrators;

 establish a witness protection programme that could include provision of protection by security personal not associated in any way with the Sri Lankan police or military, use of pseudonyms for witnesses, evidence given in camera, evidence given via video link, relocation of witnesses, including the possibility of relocation outside of Sri Lanka;

 seriously consider reforms of the criminal justice system to ensure impartial and effective investigations and independent decisions as to prosecution.

 

The report also makes recommendations to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI), appointed in November 2006 to look into 15 specific past human rights violations including the ACF killings, regarding witnesses it may wish to call and lines of enquiry that could be pursued.

 

The ICJ urges the GoSL to ensure that whatever the outcome of the CoI, every effort is made to identify and to prosecute those responsible for the killings through the criminal justice system.

 

The ICJ expresses it condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the victims.

 

(Please refer – page 26, for abduction and killing of journalists)

 

 

11

 

Law and order, judiciary fail and impunity prevails in Sri Lanka

Justice delayed, justice denied

(Salient violations - many more to be added)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Justice denied

Month/Year                                                &n